Liked this post from Chuck Bomar over on the YS Blog – Chuck is coming out to teach at our discipleship retreat this weekend as well. Excited!

One lesson I’ve learned through the years is to take things slowly and especially when it comes to putting people into leadership positions. One of the balances we need to be very careful of working in college ministry is that of developing giftedness and character. College age people aren’t lacking in giftedness, but character can be an issue. Now, I know plenty of college age people that have a very solid character, but I also know those that have giftedness that far surpasses their character (same true for jr high or high school students). I confess, this was my story when I was in college. I had some gifts, but my character fell far behind. I wasn’t living a crazy lifestyle, but I didn’t have to for my character to be lacking. It’s said that giftedness is what gets you places, but character is what keeps you there.

We need to focus on the character of people and intentionally think through whether or not giving them a leadership position (in any capacity) is best for their long term character development. We don’t usually think about it this way. We see the gifts someone has and then typically release them in ministry…trying to balance character as they go. But often times this can lead to a damaged heart and potentially one filled with so much pride that it causes their ministry to come to an end. So, I’d encourage you to be very mindful of who you place in leadership — and when. They don’t need to be perfect (we certainly are not), but there ought to be a balance of how we lead them in developing their character and giftedness.

JG