To be honest, when I first stepped on campus, I had kind of forgotten that Impact’s Fellows program was built to equip leaders. I was laser-focused on the apologetics classes, discipleship training, and the kingdom-driven and godly community. But building leadership is an essential facet of this program, built into every fiber of the material. Aside from our main lectures, we have whole classes dedicated to learning how we are predisposed to lead and how to use those tools to lead well.
One of our Principles of Leadership speakers, President of Union University Dub Oliver, defined leadership as a subtle process of mutual influence – fusing thought, feeling, and action to produce cooperative effort in service of the purposes and values of both the leader and the led.
I find that definition very true to my own style of leadership. Compared to my peers, I am not the most exuberant leader nor the most direct. But Impact has intentionally placed leadership opportunities in front of me, such as leading group projects, organizing events, and leading the class in worship (both with my violin and my voice!). Being bold and saying yes has enabled me to develop my personal leadership style, a quieter, more collaborative way of influencing and encouraging people.
This coming semester, we are all given more opportunities to lead our fellow students. We are leading our discipleship groups, Bible studies, and daily spiritual disciplines. Service teams have been switched up, and academics ramped up. This weight of responsibility is new, sobering, and a little heavier than I thought it would be. The thing that makes stepping into this semester hopeful is the community that we have developed. It fosters courage and confidence, each of us encouraging the others to lean into what God has for us. I know the skills that we are learning now are setting us up to carry on a life of leadership and influence, having been intentionally equipped to change culture and make disciples wherever we may be.
For His glory,
Lia Petty
Class XIX Fellow