One of the biggest things God has grown me in, since we started the NewSpring Greenville Campus, can be summed up into one word…adaptability. Its a word we cherish around here and take to heart. It’s imperative.
As leaders, we would love to have all circumstances to be perfect. We’d love to have the right number of kids to volunteers, best stuff in all our rooms, etc. We’d also love to have all this WAY in advance! The truth is…its rare!
God is teaching me that a good leader learns to adapt! We’ve had to adapt in so many ways over the past couple of months and I count each and every instance as a blessing. Here are some of the things I’ve learned…
- Pray a lot.
- Know the ideal, work in the real.
- Always know the next step, how we get there may depend on how well we adapt.
- Communicate vision, share the power of adaptability with others.
- Complain none, complaining isn’t adapting.
- Have no agenda, simply follow HIS.
- Learn from everything.
- Smile.
- Learn to do the best with what you have.
- Remember the 1st step isn’t the last one, pace yourself.
- Know He has a reason for everything He brings us through.
- Empower before delegation, keeps you in the know.
- There’s always a reason God just doesn’t ‘give us’ the ideal.
- Adapting means we still make ‘it’ work excellently for His honor and glory!
- Never give up.
For me, I’ve learned that adaptability is key! It not only grows us as leaders but exposes the core of our character! It grows our perseverance and our ability to see things excellently, as what they truely are, without ever compromising the vision! 
How have you had to adapt lately?
July 31st, 2008 at 8:48 am
LOVE this post! I just sent the link to a bunch of my teacher friends! This is so true for teaching too! It is EASY to get frustrated and complain but in the end, what did that accomplish? It is much more EFFICIENT to adapt and move on! My favorite saying around the classroom is “Monitor and adjust”.
July 31st, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Thanks for sharing this. It’s something we all need to remember, especially when working with kids.
August 3rd, 2008 at 3:35 am
Thanks for posting this. I recently started a job as the summer Children’s minister at my church. It’s been difficult, but I know that God has shown me many things through this experience. I’ve found that I often fail to adapt to my surroundings. I often find myself thinking about the things I think we need, and how I wish things were instead of thinking about the things that God has already given me and how I can use the resources I already have. I guess God is teaching me that if I use what He’s already given me (what I already have), then maybe He’ll give me more of what I feel like I need. Anyways…great stuff and a great blog. I love attending Newspring every chance I get.
August 9th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
[...] Enjoyed reading how Pudge is having to ADAPT in his new role in Greenville. [...]