Guiding with Heart: The Power of Transparent Leadership

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Can you imagine the power of leading with love and authenticity? In this episode, we unlock the secrets to training leaders by allowing them the freedom to grow. Broadcasting from vibrant Medellin, Colombia, we explore the transformative impact of transparency and vulnerability in mentorship. Discover how sharing your real self, including your weaknesses, can inspire those you guide, making you a relatable and effective mentor. 

We also discuss the importance of supporting future leaders in their unique journeys without imposing our own visions on them. Whether someone aspires to be a pastor, a Sunday school teacher, or anything else, our role is to provide the guidance they seek, not to dictate their path. Learn how to respect and nurture the individual aspirations and limits of those you mentor, ensuring they realize their full potential and feel empowered in their calling.

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Episode Transcript

W. Austin Gardner (00:00):
Well, I've been coming to you from Medellin
, colombia, and I've been tryingto talk to you a little bit
about training men, and Ithought today I would just make
a couple of more comments.
We discussed Having a looserein.
Don't try to control peoplewhen you train people.
Leaders in training are leaders.

(00:21):
Leaders in training are leaders.
And since they're leaders intraining and are already leaders
, they won't do well with atight control.
So teach them and love them andtie them down, but with chains
of love and not with orders andcommands.
And let them know the real you.
Let them know you.

(00:44):
Your weaknesses are going tohelp them more than your
strengths, because when they seethat you are so much above them
, then they don't think they can.
But when they see you're likethem, they realize maybe God
could use me.
So you and I want to betransparent and open.
Now, it's risky to do that.
If you share your heart andshare everything about you, it's

(01:11):
risky to do that, but it'sstill what we want to do.
The next thing I'd like to sharewith you briefly is you can
only take a person as far asthey want to go.
You know, and you need to kindof be uncomfortable but
comfortable with that.
So you'll start training someguys and you really believe you
see leadership in them.
You see that they may becomethe pastor or missionary or

(01:35):
evangelist.
But as you work with them theystart dropping off Somewhere
along the way.
One of them will say you know,I just want to be a regular
church member.
Another will drop off and say Ijust want to be a Sunday school
teacher or a deacon or whateverit is that they want to do.
You're not the one that callsthem.
You're not the one that placesthem.
You're not the one that makesthat decision.
All you do is help them be allGod wants them to be, and that's

(01:58):
not your call.
I don't get to decide who getsto be a preacher.
I don't get to decide who'sgoing to make it in the ministry
.
All I get to decide is I'llhelp you as much as you want me
to help you, as far as you wantme to help you, and I'll do
everything in my power to helpyou be what you feel like God
wants you to be.
So I'd like to tell you thatwhen you're training leaders,
you got to be careful to realizethat you can't determine how

(02:20):
far they go.
You can only determine how muchhelp you give them.
You can't determine how they'regoing to respond to the help
you're giving them.
They'll determine how much theywant to respond to that help.
So help them as far as you canto do all that they can do, all
that they want to do.
So they will be satisfied withpastoring a church and running
50 in church and others will besatisfied being a Sunday school

(02:41):
teacher with 10, and others willwant to be a missionary or
pastor of a large church and youcan train.
But remember your job is to bethere to take them as far as
they want to go.
They're like children and Idon't mean that in any way
insulting, but you know ourchildren have different
abilities and different desires.
One wants to be an artist,another wants to be a

(03:02):
mathematician, one wants to beelectronically no-transcript.