Leaders are learners

October 22, 2015 / Scott Bidwell

Have you ever read a book that you felt like God had ordained before the foundations of the earth for you to be reading on a particular day, during a particular season in your life? This has been true in my life over the last several weeks. Our team at Jonathan Creek is reading through John C. Maxwell’s anniversary edition of “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.” Reading this book again has been both challenging and encouraging. The first time I read this book, I was early in my working life and just beginning to understand what it meant to be a leader. Today as I am re-reading it, I am in many ways in the same boat–just beginning to understand what it means to be a leader. Funny how that works…This week we are on the third law, “The Law of Process.” If you are anything like me–impatient for results, impatient for growth, desiring to have the gray haired wisdom without having to walk through the wisdom building trials and tribulations, wanting to shake and bake this leadership process, wanting to microwave my maturity….if you are anything like this, when you read “The Law of Process” chapter, it is difficult to swallow.

Maxwell recounts the history of president Theodore Roosevelt and his unkindly childhood-describing him as thin and sickly. Obviously we know the end of the story with TR, we know he became one of the more influential presidents in our nation’s history-negotiating peace treaties, overseeing the building of the Panama Canal, helping the US to become a major world power etc. Many would say he became a leader over night, but Maxwell is quick to point out that in fact TR actually exhibited a disciplined life-long pattern of learning. Even after passing away, TR was found the next morning with a book under his pillow.

Leaders are Learners-

Maxwell characterizes a leader’s development in five distinct phases.

Phase one is characterized by the statement “I don’t know what I don’t know.” This is likely the time when many people aren’t really aware that they actually are leaders, that God has given them a command to be a leader of both their families (or future families) and that the Lord desires to use these leadership traits for His glory.

Phase two transitions to “I know that I need to know” This time in my life I can remember clearly–he speaks of that time when you are “leading” and you look around only to find out that no one is following. One author said that if you are leading and you look behind you and no one is following, you are really only taking a walk. This was when I figured out that being a leader and “being in charge” is something different altogether. This is a painful place for young leaders and can be discouraging, however in most cases the pain from this phase leads to the next…

Phase three–“I know what I don’t know” This is the time when, fortunately for me, I had several great mentors that came alongside me and begin to speak into my life. The were up front about my actions and words and how they were effecting people. The even offered to spend time with me on a regular basis to help me to grow through some of my glaring deficiencies. During this time, I had the opportunity to utilize several tools to help in developing a plan for my growth. We used Predictive Index, 360 degree evaluations and even some highly uncomfortable, courageously honest meetings. I am convinced that the Lord ordained some of these men and women to speak into my life at just the right time to help me to chang and grow as a leader but even more important to help me to mature both in my walk with Christ.

Phase four-“I know and grow, and it starts to show.” Maxwell tells the story of a young man approximately 19 years old and he makes a point of saying to him publicly, I think you can be a GREAT leader in about 20 years. It’s not going to be easy, but in five years, you will see progress and in another 10-15 years you will be great! When I was reading this part, I was further reminded that leadership isn’t something that happens overnight. It requires disciplined effort over time. “Leadership is developed daily, not in a day.” This is where I find myself in life right now. I am not the leader I want to be, however I am pressing on towards becoming the leader that God desires first for his Gospel in my own life, next for my family that God has given me the wonderful opportunity to lead and finally for the leadership stewardship God has given me today.

Phase five–“I simply go because of what I know” This last phase of leadership is likely one’s most “productive” stage of leadership. Maxwell concludes that here your decisions and thoughts become almost automatic–a grid through which you make decisions that seems to happen naturally. Each decision must be made mindfully but in this stage the many years of leadership development is now paying off. I am looking forward to this phase of ministry and leadership. In so many ways this phase of ministry seems like light years away, however I am excited to see how the Lord might use my later years in life to leave a legacy with my family and the ministries I have the opportunity to be involved in. I pray that this legacy would do nothing except bring glory, honor and praise to the name of Jesus.

So what does all of this mean for me today?

As I read these five phases it was obvious that in a great many ways, I am extremely blessed. I have had a long line of people that have been committed to helping me to grow as a leader. From very early on in middle and high school, I pursued music. Unbenownest to me the Lord put Band directors and their families in my path that they might push me. As I entered college there have been several men that have given me the opportunity to observe them up-close…to ask honest questions and get honest answers…as I mentioned before, a few them even took the effort to deliver courageously honest feedback about my current abilities and lack thereof. While those times were extremely painful, I am now coming to realize that that God was using these times to shape/mold me into a man who looks more like his son, Christ. All of that to say, I am blessed. I am keenly aware that I haven’t arrived as a leader, in fact I have so much growing to do, but I am seeking to grow as a believer and leader every day.

I am thankful for John Maxwell and for the encouragement he is providing me while on this leadership journey. If you have never stopped for just a moment to consider which phase of leadership you might be in I would encourage you to do so. If you are just getting started and trying to figure things out or if you have been at this a while, I would encourage you to press on. If you feel like you might be a little stuck in the phase you are currently in, I would encourage you to hear Maxwells advice that leaders are always learners. Get your hands on some current leadership material. Secondly, I would encourage you to begin seeking out someone farther along in life that you might observe and that you might have the opportunity to spend time with. Lastly, I would encourage you to look around your life and see who the Lord migt be calling you to invest in. First in your personal walk with the aloud, second with your family and then with others. I want to conclude with a few simple reminders from Maxwell’s book.

“Leadership is developed daily, not in a day.”

“If you want to be a leader, the good news is that you can do it. Everyone has the potential, but it isn’t accomplished overnight. It requires perseverance. And you absolutely cannot ignore the Law of Process. Leadership doesn’t develop in a day. It takes a lifetime.”

Adoption and the Gospel

October 15, 2015 / Scott Bidwell

My wife, Monica, is an amazing Godly woman. She continues to amaze me at her ability to be an incredible wife to me, mom to our children and relentless servant to those in our lives. In the meantime, she is becoming somewhat of an expert in regards to adoptions here in Kentucky. I wanted to take the opportunity to share some of our adoption story from her point of view. This article is especially relevant because this week we actually did the final step in adopting our youngest son, Levi Tate Bidwell. A good friend of ours told us when we first inquired about adoption that, “Adoption is not for the faint of heart, but it is so worth it.” I couldn’t agree more. We have watched God make the Gospel come alive in our own everyday lives through the adoption processes and they have been a continual reminder of our spiritual adoptions in Christ.

I hope you enjoy!

September 30, 2015 | By Monica Bidwell
Josiah’s birth

“I’m. . .him.”

These two words came to me as I held my eldest son for the first time in a crowded nursery in downtown Louisville. A precious, tiny, red-faced little boy lay in my arms, completely helpless and needing us. He had not yet been named, as the card on his crib indicated by the acronym BUFA (Baby Up For Adoption). We had briefly had the honor of meeting his courageous birthmother just minutes before, but now it was just us and him. The raw emotion in that room was overwhelming. We had been praying for a child for many months, we had labored intensely over piles of adoption paperwork, attended weeks of meetings, done extensive reading regarding adoption, and even experienced the pain of a previous adoption falling-through. In our hearts we had set our love on our future child. Without knowing his/her race, medical needs, family background and so on, we had chosen to adopt the child God would send to us. He or she could not choose us, we had to make a way for him or her to come into our family. And as we held our precious new baby Josiah on September 9th, 2009, our Father God floored us with a real-life picture of His supernatural adoption of us. Like Josiah, we could not choose Him. He chose us. He set His perfect love on us from the beginning, as was His divine plan. There were no mounting adoption fees for Him to pay, no extensive mounds of paperwork. No, the price was infinitely higher. The blood of His Son, the perfect sacrifice to satisfy His wrath once and for all and make us right with Him. To adopt us into His family forever.

You see, when Christ-followers choose to adopt a child, the Lord inevitably teaches us about our own adoption into His family in a way we could never had understood before. Our son Josiah now had a name, his father’s name. He was a Bidwell now. He has all of the rights and privileges of a natural child and heir. Glory! This picture is so vivid and perfect isn’t it? We now bear the Lord’s name, we have His inheritance, we are His. . .and we cry out, “Abba, Father!”
“I’m. . .him.”
Just two months ago, we had the awesome opportunity to adopt again as we have added another little baby boy to our family. His name is Levi and we love him so! Our family consists of a husband, a wife, and three children. Our precious daughter came to us biologically as our firstborn, but we make no distinction among the three. They all bear our name and our love. They are all “ours.” We are so thankful for a community of believers like Hardin Baptist Church, who have welcomed and celebrated the recent addition of Levi and our growing family!
Maybe God is calling you to adopt. Maybe He’s not, but He wants you to see your adoption in Christ with new eyes today. Or maybe He is calling you to support someone else in their adoption journey. If He is calling you to do something, He will give you the grace to follow in obedience. Today, if you bear the name of Christ, give Him the glory He is due for your amazing adoption into His family! If you have not yet responded to God in faith but you sense the Lord drawing you to salvation through His Son Jesus Christ, do not delay! Any of the leadership of Hardin Baptist Church would be honored to speak to you about how you can be adopted into God’s family through a relationship with Christ.
The Bidwell Family

On Starting A Blog…

October 13, 2015 / Scott Bidwell

Over the last several years I have found myself feeling more compelled to begin to write. I have to admit that I am the last person I would have ever imagined as a blogger. Frankly I wonder, “does anyone even read this stuff??”

I find myself being interested in a wide variety of subjects. Adoption, software development, homesteading, micro-farming, prepping for the proverbial end of the world, high and low ropes course construction, how to lead my family effectively, how to study God’s word, and how to provide excellent customer service, to name a few. And the list goes on and on. Given all of these interests, this blog could come across random at times. In the midst of all the randomness however, there is one thing that tends to stay consistent — I love to learn new things. I’m one of those people that has had 18 new hobbies in the last 10 years. I have all of the gear for each of these 18 hobbies (my wife loves this part). Yet once I understand them and participate in them for a while, I find myself getting bored and looking for the next thing to learn.

During my time at seminary, a professor made 2 statements (among many others) that have stuck with me :

Leaders must be learners.
Leaders must be readers and writers.

The first statement I was excited about because I love to learn and I think as a husband and father I have a Biblical call to be a leader. Furthermore, I believe God has put in me a desire to lead in such a way that brings honor and glory to Him.

The second statement I was less excited about. I had barely read a book cover- to-cover until I was in college. On a side note, my 8 year-old daughter Kilee has likely read more books cover to cover in the last 2.5 years than I did in my first 25! The Lord has given her a gift to understand languages and a deep love of reading.

When I began seminary I was astounded at the mountain of reading that was required. As I began to learn to break down the reading into manageable bites it became a little less overwhelming, and I managed to begin to develop a love for it.

The second part of this statement is still growing on me (and that is how I ended up here.) This professor expounded on the second point by saying that as a leader it would be impossible to have the full impact that God intends for your life if you do not write, because it will be impossible for you to spend time speaking with or building relationships with everyone God may want you to have influence with. I had seen this firsthand during our time in Haiti, as many of the books that I had read through seminary are now being translated into Haitian Creole and are being used by God to bring about discipleship in a language that the authors cannot speak and in a people that they will never know. (Not to mention the fact that many of the authors of the books that I have loved reading the most have now gone on to be with the Lord.) I had never thought about the task of writing in that light before and for nearly five years a nagging/conviction/desire has been brewing. I am excited to begin this journey. I am sure there will be bumps and bruises, false starts and even some hiccups but it’s good to finally be getting started.