What are you doing today that will last 150 years from now? Is your attitude worth mimicking, your leadership worth following, and your love for Christ and people worth pursuing? These are all goals any good leader aspires to reach and can be accomplished by having integrity whether you are managing a business, leading a ministry, or living your day-to-day life. Moreover, as an institution, it is our aim to send out leaders who embody integrity and are worth emulating. In pursuit of this objective, The Baptist College of Florida (BCF) held its first Leadership Summit, “The Cross Between Leadership and Faith.”
Leaders such as Mike Duke, former CEO of Wal-Mart®, Dr. Willy Rice, Senior Pastor of Calvary Church, Clearwater, FL, and BCF President Clayton Cloer headlined the summit that drew 109 businessmen, community leaders, and of course, faculty, staff, and students who were eager to learn about how to elevate their leadership while exalting Christ. Speaking with great passion and wisdom, Dr. Cloer opened the summit by emphasizing the value of integrity. Integrity, as Dr. Cloer highlighted, is important when establishing any endeavor, whether in business or ministry and must always be consistent with God’s Word.
Elevating the role that integrity plays in leadership, Mike Duke, the keynote speaker, shared his life story. Through the details of his story, he made it clear that he chose to let his faith in Christ dictate every action and choice he made, which eventually led him to becoming the CEO of Wal-Mart®. He stressed the importance of never underestimating what God can accomplish in your life when you fully surrender to His lordship.
Closing out the summit, Dr. Willy Rice walked us through the four levels of being a biblical leader and the key decisions that must be made at each level. By emphasizing the necessity of furthering the kingdom of God in each stage, Dr. Rice taught the four levels of leading yourself, leading others, leading teams, and leading leaders. Leading yourself centers on denying yourself and loving God, while leading others hinges on loving people rather than being self-centered. The ability of leading teams concentrates on loving the organization’s mission and clearly communicating that mission to all stakeholders. In leading leaders, Dr. Rice noted the significance of being decisively focused on loving the kingdom. All in all, being a biblical leader means prioritizing God and His will above all else whether leading a business or guiding a ministry.
Strong leaders value integrity. Strong leaders deny themselves. For it is the people you serve who make the difference. Strong leaders reproduce strong leaders. As said many times before, “For you teach what you know, but you reproduce who you are.” Strong leaders are kingdom minded. For it is our prayer that His kingdom would come, and His will be done. This is the cross between leadership and faith.
- Emily Robinson,
BCF Staff Writer