Gratitude

This week I’m reading a few chapters from The Three Tasks of Leadership: Worldly Wisdom for Pastoral Leaders, a book written as a tribute to the great leadership insights of Max De Pree.  In one chapter Fuller’s President, Dr. Richard Mouw, reminds us of James MacGregor Burns’ well-known distinction between “transforming leadership” and “transactional leadership.”

Mouw comments, “Our gratitude toward our followers, then, has to do with the ways they have transformed us in a manner that would not have happened without our participation in the leader-follower relationship.”

As I read that quote, I thought immediately of a junior high girl named Pearl.  Pearl has a real burden for her friends who haven’t experienced church or don’t have a relationship with the Lord yet.  She is constantly bringing them to church and sharing her faith with them.  As an eighth grader, she has prayed with more of her friends who have made commitments to follow Jesus than most of us adults.

She’s a 13 year-old, and I’m grateful for the way she’s transformed my vision for sharing the gospel with my friends.

As a youth worker or parent, which kids are you especially grateful for today?  Take a minute to thank God for their impact in your life, and maybe even send them a note letting them know how they have helped you grow.

©2009 Fuller Youth Institute