WISE INTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TITUS CONNECTION Volume 20, Number 7 – July, 2026
WISE INTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
TITUS CONNECTION
Volume 20, Number 7 – July, 2026
Intentionally Developing Multigenerational Leaders
Throughout The World
Teachers and Learners in the leadership world needs to be a part of us if you want to impact your world for Jesus. In the Youth Ministry section, hopefully there are some fellow students and people you know that remind you of them as you read through this section. Mike
Leadership Paradox – Teachers and Learners
Technology exposes a leadership paradox that Tim Elmore elaborates on in being a teacher and a learner/pupil. The amount of information that we have become exposed to is astronomical. Information used to be contained in books. Now it is found all over, thanks to the internet. Google anything and you will get an answer or a plethora of answers.
Spiritual leadership is founded on this paradox. Jesus called those who follow Him to be disciples or learners/pupils of His (Matthew 28:18-20). Then one of the qualifications of leadership (elders) in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 is being able to teach. Additionally, from the knowledge and experience we receive as pupils, this needs to transform into the way we live and grow, thus being able to teach younger Christians how become more like Jesus.
From my experience, everything I learn should be transferred to other following 2 Timothy 2:2 principle of what I am taught, I need to pass on, teach to others who will then faithfully pass on what I taught to still others. We are to be conduits not the Dead Sea. A conduit is something that allows a material to transfer from one entity to another. The Dead Sea has no outlet and thus having no outlet, leads to rapid evaporation of water and trapping an excessive amount of salt. The result is living organisms like fish, plants, and other macroscopic organisms will not survive.
What do you prefer to be, a life-giving source or a dead entity? To be a life-giving source, we need to be both a learner (information and experience gatherer) and teacher (conduit). I greatly prefer to be life-giving, not dead and smelly.
Swallow your pride and develop a growth mindset. Be humble enough to admit you do not know everything and when someone has a better idea than you have, grab hold and run with it, teaching and sharing with others. When you stop learning, you start dying.
A writer named Alvin Toffler said, “The illiterate of the future will not be those who cannot read or write. The illiterate of the future will be people who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” I have heard it said that what a cardiologist (heart doctor) learned five years ago is obsolete. My hope is that if I ever need a cardiologist, this doctor is up to date on what should be learned.
Have you ever noticed when reading through the Bible that you read a passage that you have read numerous times prior and it suddenly has new insight. The Holy Spirit is apply learning, unlearning and relearning.
Being successful in whatever we do can dull our desire to learn new things and pass them on to others. Success can inhibit growth if we become content with where we are at. To be an effective teacher in any subject, you must continue to be a student in that area.
Pray for a continuous teachable spirit, control your emotions by swallowing your pride and learn from others, those “above you” and those “below you”. This includes knowing how to deal with yourself, how you tick and keep developing your character.
Work at becoming a better listener, willing to place the needs of others ahead of your own – Don’t think less of yourself but think of yourself less (C.S.Lewis and Philippians 2:3-4). Develop relationships with people from different backgrounds and experiences, pursuing higher emotional intelligence, the ability to perceive, manage, understand, and handle your emotions.
Admit when you do not know the answer and honestly will pursue the answer. Then share that answer. Ask questions, become a student of those you are teaching, be real and authentic and like it has been numerously mentioned, share what you learn with others.
Culturally, it may be difficult to learn from your students and for your students to ask questions or questions about what you are teaching. I will say this. There was only one perfect teacher to ever live, and He delegated teaching and developing others to us, His followers.
Remember again that in today’s world, we have access to an unimaginable amount of information. Some of our students very well can teach us something if we are willing to learn. That is a decision you must personally make.
Learn and teach, then learn some more and teach some more. Just imagine what we all can together learn!
YOUTH MINISTRY ILLUSTRATION – IMPACT YOUR WORLD
Don’t wait any longer. We the Church that Jesus died for must take His message to people. Hardly any Christian will argue over this statement, but believers do not always take advantage of the opportunities presented.
We are not perfect. We miss opportunities that the Holy Spirit offers. If we are not intentional about getting among the lost and take advantage of the “God-moments” we are offered, we have explaining to the Lord when we face Him.
Like you, I have been given the gift of eternal life because of God’s grace. Here are some insights into the Leadership Development class WILD offers in high schools. Bible chapters and verses have been taken out but truths and principles remain in the curriculum. Four quite intelligent young men shape these stories with different names.
Our first young man graduated a year ago. “Jim” was not your average student; in fact, he struggled. When I first met him, basically every other word was a swear word. He had experienced significant trauma in his life; few people have ever had to go through.
Jim and I worked to build a student-teacher relationship. As the semester class progressed, Jim allowed me into his world enough that he opened about some of his tragedies. He then chose to take the initial Team Development class his senior year.
Jim still had colorful language, but he spoke more about his religious or worldview values during the semester. I was able to speak truth into his life, but he had a long way to go. The last thing I told him the day he graduated, “let’s talk soon” so we could go deeper. That day never happened as he passed away in the past six months. It broke my heart when I was able to confirm the news. I was devastated.
“Pete” and I met for the first time on the first day of the Leadership Development class. I could not figure out why he stood the whole class time. Slowly he became comfortable with Mr. Geiger (teacher) and me and eventually sat down more than stood.
One activity in this class I teach is helping the students learn about their personalities and passions – how they tick and eventually the goal is help them learn why they were created (I use that term) and for what purpose. There are over 400 students who have gone through this activity. It is amazing what the students share. The goal is to help them see who they are and their great potential.
As Pete and I went through this section, he completely opened up. He has a medical condition, and in earlier grades, as he said, he acted like a jerk.
As the semester ends, with our classes, we have student select a characteristic or principle taught during the semester and present to their class a greater understanding of the characteristic chosen. With honesty and sincereness, Pete presented his project and ended up to be one of the top five I have ever graded.
During this last semester, Pete came enthusiastically up to me and told me he will be taking the Team Development class this next school year. I was beyond thrilled plus it was about the same time I learned about Jim. Pete and I have another semester to develop our friendship and for him to see Jesus in me.
“Dan” recently participated in the Leadership Development class. Like Jim, Dan is bored with school as he is not often challenged and has struggled running with a tough crowd. He always had a good answer when a question would be asked of him, but his attitude determined whether he would answer.
In the personality-passion section of the class, he opened up about his home life, being raised by his grandmother who works hard to raise him well. He has gone through some very difficult events. When Mr. Geiger and I had our interaction and saw we genuinely cared, backing up that we cared, Dan’s mask began breaking down.
Ending our time together, a tear ran down his cheek. My hope and prayer are I get to spend more time with him, especially if he takes the Team Development class, to build even further into his life.
I have known “Ron” for six years as he played football and I had the privilege to coach him. We have a good working relationship. Ron took the Leadership Development class a few years ago. This year he took the Team Development class.
During this year’s football season, Ron connected with a few Christians in and outside football, searching what it means to be a Christian. A couple of his family members also are Christians, so he had support from different areas.
One day Ron came to me saying, “I need Jesus”. From my involvement in his life, he knew where I was spiritually coming from. Once I was able to understand what he meant by that statement, Ron had already made a personal commitment to Jesus.
I simply caught the “fruit”. Ron is spiritually growing and faces the normal challenges of a new believer in Jesus. But wow, what an honor.
As I alluded to earlier, sharing these stories do not make me out to be someone special. The point is there are so many Jims, Petes, Dans and Rons searching for the true Jesus. Jesus got out among people and saw their needs. Then compassion flooded His heart (Matthew 9:35-38). It will happen to us too. Whose life does Jesus want you to step into?