Student leaders are back and training is in full swing. There is a mix of nerves and excitement, anxiety and anticipation in the air as we pray and prepare for new and returning students to populate campus.

As the planning season of our ministry preparation for the upcoming year is coming to a close, my thoughts are focused on how we do what we’ve been called to do — better than we’ve ever done it before.

Increasingly, those of us in ministry leadership are being pulled away from the old, top-down, style of leadership in order to be effective and meet the needs of this generation.

Students want in.

On every level of the process and experience.

And they won’t stand for it any other way.

If you’re anything like me, this reality can be cause for both great excitement and a little bit of fear and trembling.

The great excitement comes in knowing that the more collaborators that come to the table, the more great ideas, buy-in and shared ownership there is in what we are doing.

The little bit of fear and trembling comes in knowing that we (as leaders) will have to be willing to give up some of our control (over how things happen), vision (for what the ‘end product’ will look like), and the countless variables that come with working with a team (of students) that can make things more challenging than if we were to simply do it on our own.

It’s a risk-reward scenario that we must be willing to enter into. It can feel risky to allow others to shape things that we, ultimately, are going to be held accountable for.  We tend to like to control and manage all of the different things associated with the ministry we lead.  It can be hard for us to trust… especially students sometimes.  But increasingly, it would seem, that unless we are willing to take this risk of allowing others to share in the leadership of ministry on campus, the reward piece — of being a part of a thriving ministry on campus where students are living transformed lives — will be harder to come by.

Leadership opportunities can be one of the most powerful spiritual formation tools we provide for students.

That’s how I see it… how about you?

• How ‘open’ is your leadership?
• How will you invite others into the shaping process of your ministry on campus?
• Do you have any stories of success and/or failure in practicing open source leadership?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this!