Sharing an Inspired Vision

This week I was especially impressed by the importance of sharing an inspired vision and not just sharing any vision. As the Gospel Doctrine teacher one of my main goals is to share a lesson. But it's not just any lesson, it's a lesson that I have prepared with the Spirit and will share with the influence of the Spirit as well. An inspired vision is a vision that is aligned with the will and Spirit of the Lord. I remember when I was being set apart that one thing mentioned in the blessing was that I would be able to share insights while still following the lesson. I think about this when I prepare the lessons: am I teaching what the objective of the lesson is and are my insights supporting or distracting from this objective? Sometimes it's tempting to go off on a tangent of my own or tell too many stories. I know that the Lord would have me share the material that I have been asked to teach in a humble and enthusiastic way. 

I've also thought about getting to know each heart better. While I know many of the names of the people in my ward, I know that I don't know a lot of them as well. What a blessing it was this morning when I received the ward list with pictures in my email inbox! I plan to study them. I don't have a very good memory and often times forget even when I have the best intentions, but I know that repetition works well for me. 

Well, this weeks lesson is about being born again through the Spirit. I really love this topic and beginning to realize that each lesson always goes back to the basic doctrines of the Gospel: faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. How grateful I am that the Lord repeats the basic truths so often! 

An Outline for "Divine-Centered Leadership"

I read this article for leadership class and really loved it. Here is a simple outline of it. Good stuff!

Divine-Centered Leadership

        I.            Motive: “What Would the Lord Have Me Do?”

a.       Motive, not skill sets leaders apart

b.      God’s will

c.       Find answers through prayer

d.      Process:

                                                               i.      Desire

                                                             ii.      Seek

                                                            iii.      Know

                                                           iv.      Do

e.      Roadblocks:

                                                               i.      The natural man-hearts set upon the things of the world

                                                             ii.      Pride

f.        Evaluate yourself and counsel with the Lord

      II.            Sharing An Inspired Vision

a.       Seek for, listen for, and follow divine guidance

b.      Obtain a personal testimony of the vision

c.       Integrate eternal truths into the vision

d.      Point beyond self toward God and Christ

    III.            Challenging Unrighteousness

a.       Challenge the unrighteousness within

                                                               i.      Turn to the scriptures for clearer understanding

                                                             ii.      Exercise faith in God and in the diving calling given

                                                            iii.      Use past righteous behavior and the priesthood to eliminate unrighteousness

b.      Engage in the repentance process

c.       Continually learn of spiritual things

d.      Preserver and endure opposition

e.      Challenge wrong appropriately:

                                                               i.      “[show] ‘forth afterward an increase of love’”

                                                             ii.      Stopping those who would damage the testimony of others

    IV.            Modeling the Way, the Truth, and the Life

a.       Live a life based on correct principles

b.      Be accountable before others, self , and God

c.       Accept personal responsibility for doing the Lord’s will

d.      Prepare spiritually through prayer, fasting, and scripture study

e.      Lead and manage self wisely-time, body, and resources

      V.            Knowing Each Heart

a.       Seek after and spend time to know the “lost sheep”

b.      Place people higher than projects, products, and profits

c.       Treat each person as a divine being with divine potential

d.      Demonstrate friendship, love, and compassion for each individual

e.      Know personally each individual

Changing Perspective and Vision

Yesterday in lab we discussed historical leaders, like President Hinckley, Adolf Hitler, and Mahatma Gandhi, and what made them leaders with lasting influence. One thing stuck out to me-leaders somehow change people's perspective of something. Now, applying this to my calling as a Gospel Doctrine teacher, I am trying to change people's perspective of the scriptures and doctrines of the Gospel as I teach. I am supposed to help them understand the scriptures better than before, with more clarity and meaning in their own personal lives. When the class members leave my class, they should have a more clear understanding of the Gospel and this means that their perspective has changed.

Something else that I learned-leaders have a vision AND the ability to convey that vision to others. As a Gospel Doctrine teacher I not only have to have a vision about how to teach the lesson, but also know it and have studied it so well that I am able to convey that vision in clear way. Sometimes a principle will make so much sense to me, but I have a hard time explaining it. I think that this is why the lesson manual instructs the teacher to prepare lessons a week in advance so as to have enough time to really prepare and think about the material and thus be able to share the vision effectively.

Gospel Doctrine Teacher!

My leadership role will be my calling as a Gospel Doctrine teacher. This is a position that I have influence over others as I lead the discussion about the doctrines and lessons of the New Testament.

Communication

Right now I am the Gospel Doctrine teacher in my ward. I taught last semester from the Old Testaments and am now in the New Testament for this semester. So far it's been a great experience. I've learned a lot about effective teaching and The Spirit. Of course there are times when I feel completely inadequate, but I think that every teacher does at some point. This week in Leadership class we learned about the individual "Lego pieces" that make a leader. The one leadership skill that particularly stood out to me was communication. As a teacher I have to be able to communicate the doctrines and principles effectively so that the class members understand me. It's not always easy to do. I've learned that in order to communicate clearly as I teach I first need to know the material. This means that I have to study and plan during the week. Also, I literally need to project my voice so that everyone can actually hear me since our Sunday school is a lot bigger than regular classes. Thirdly, I don't have to use fancy language, but simple understandable words. It helps to give examples and analogies. I am definitely not perfect at communicating effectively, but it's a skill that I practice each lesson.