Missional FriendshipSample

Day 10 - Commit To A Leadership Community

We are not defined by our intentions, but our commitments.

Missional Friendship is a commitment to a lifestyle of intentional relationships that are: authentically truthful, biased toward trust, committed to being present with and for each other, so that we can be fully known and fully loved. In this we will have people in our life who know us and our world, and can speak into our life.

With this commitment, it is impossible to be isolated. It is impossible to be alone. With this commitment, you are less susceptible to the lies of the evil one, and you have a community of grace to be restored and strengthened when you fall. You have a brotherhood and sisterhood who will celebrate your victories and walk with you through the valleys.

In an 18-month period, I had a close family member and a close friend take their lives by suicide. They were crushing blows, with constant thoughts of wishing I had been a better friend and been able to do something that would have averted this tragedy. I was in a state of grief and loss. It was the guys I spent weeks in the wilderness with who stepped up in the chasm of my emotions and the emptiness of my soul. One simply held me in my driveway as I wept. Another texted me every day to ask how I was, ask what he could do. Some days, I wouldn’t respond because I honestly didn’t know how to answer. And then the next day would be another text message…and the day after that…and the day after that…

I was not alone. I was not left alone. And the grace of God met me through their presence, those texts and the prayers behind them, to remind me that Emmanuel, the God who is with us, was with me through my friends. They showed their commitment by their actions. The time we spent in intentional community created the relationships to meet my needs.

We are not defined by our intentions, but our commitments.

You need a leadership community. You need missional friendships. But only you can make the commitment. Only you can make the deposits that you will eventually draw from.

Questions to Consider:

• Who on your prayer list of potential missional friends are you going to invite to explore a next step?
• Who can you do this devotional with to plant the seed of missional friendship?

Actions to Take:

• Invite four to six other leaders to meet to pray about and consider starting a leadership community of missional friendship. Decide to engage for a specific period of time, giving your community the opportunity to form and deepen.

Prayer to Make:

Ask God to create a movement of connected, healthy leaders who will lead with integrity and health for the Kingdom’s growth and to God’s glory.

If you want information about how to mobilize your network to create leadership communities of missional friendships, email admin@leadconnect.org. Leadership Connection partners with Kingdom Networks so they have connected, flourishing leaders serving each other in a safe, authentic community for greater Kingdom impact. Leadership Connection groups create safe places for Kingdom Leaders to do life and ministry together, in authentic ways, with people who understand their world and can speak into their lives.

We partner with the Lausanne Movement and their Bridge Leaders Initiative. The Bridge Leaders Initiative aims to identify, connect, and encourage current and future global Christian leaders aged 35-50 in their journey with Lausanne and the global Church.