Stats - Dr. Jon Spence
September 17th, 2008 | 1:08pm
Quantitative data drives decisions. We look at numbers to determine what to do with our money, political direction, and fantasy football drafts. The Bible provides interesting perspectives on quantitative data. In Judges 6 and 7, God trimmed Gideon’s army down to the right 300 soldiers to fight an enemy whose numbers were beyond counting. In Matthew 14, Jesus expands a child’s lunch into a buffet that fed over 5000 with leftovers to warm up at home. We began the first year of James River Leadership College with 12 students. Twelve does not ring up in a crowd motivated by statistical significance. Yet, we found the spiritual significance in that number; yes, it is the same number that Jesus chose for his staff, but more important was the confidence God gave us that these students were the right ones to begin the journey. Last spring we began to take time early in the day to pray for the college. We set out 30 chairs to see what it looked like; we believed those chairs would be filled with students. Last week we had chapel in that same room. As we stood and worshipped, my eyes were opened to see 40 chairs filled with students. Only God could make this happen. Two lessons learned: (1) God determines the right amount in order to show it is He, not us who make it happen; and (2) when we trust Him, He always gives abundantly more than we expect.
I Love America - Rocked
July 15th, 2008 | 9:52am
I Love America was awesome! We had over 80,000 guests that we shared the love of Christ with. The students did an incredible job by planning and working hard to make the event happen. ILA aired on God TV and there are amazing testimony's of people giving their hearts to Jesus Christ. Phil Wickham gave us a great concert after the event. We are thankful that God has given us the opportunity to impact our community and we are looking forward to next year!
Charlotte Scanlon-Gambill - Brandon Lindell
April 8th, 2008 | 5:23pm
This week Charlotte Scanlon-Gambill from Abundant Life Church in Bradford, England spoke to our students and church staff. It was awesome to be able to hear from a person with such a passion for the local church and ministry. The students loved it and were able to ask her great questions concerning her role in ministry. This was an exciting opportunity for them to learn from a person who is doing amazing things for the kingdom of God.
Fired Up After Spring Break!!!!! – Brandon Lindell
March 18th, 2008 | 9:08pm
Spring Break was refreshing for everyone and we are firing up for March and April with tons of ministry experience on the way.
As always Easter a JRA is going to be amazing! We are expecting a packed house with thousands of people who are hungry to know an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
As a college we will do our best to play our part and make sure that day is a great success!
All of our students will have a chance to inspire and encourage youth leaders from around the country through the L3 Student Ministry Conference. Our Guest speaker is Monty Hipp who will be speaking along with the entire Realife team.
The JRA Women’s Rally will be an awesome opportunity for us to encourage women and teach about their value in Christ. The rally features guest speaker Alicia Britt Chole an amazing speaker and the author of several books.
All of these opportunities are a few of the ways that we as a college will contribute to what God is doing at James River!
Developing Young Leaders - Dr. Jon Spence
February 18th, 2008 | 3:14pm
No matter what is written or said about leadership, it always comes down to influence. It is a sobering fact that, regardless of my role, my words and actions influence the decisions others make with their lives. As I work with others around me, I am responsible to assist them in connecting the dots between who God designed them to be and how they are to use their wiring to impact the world. For the past 20 years I have had the privilege to work with young people as they develop their potential. The Lord has helped me to define three principles of leadership that I try to emphasize with young people that will help them regardless of the context of their lives:
Leaders never come off the clock. I watch the counter help every time I go into a fast food restaurant just to see initiative in action. In a matter of seconds I can tell whether the young person serving me views his job as a means for financing his car and insurance or if he recognizes he holds the power of a customer’s return to the restaurant. It’s the concept of ownership. A leader doesn’t have the luxury of deciding when he is or isn’t going to be an example; the true leader takes ownership of his place in each situation. As David stated his case before Saul in I Samuel 17, his readiness for Goliath was based on his ownership of his father’s sheep (I Samuel 17:34-36). It is critical to teach young people that some of the greatest leadership lessons are learned when they take ownership of what seems like meaningless moments. Leaders do not ride the bench. When I go to football games, I often watch the players on the sideline. For many, this is symbolic of their lives; never participating in the action, never expecting to make an impact on the results of the contest. Often people take on the persona of a benchwarmer; that their existence is just to fill space. Yet, God took the time to create each individual with amazing potential only to be maximized when that individual partners with Him. Gideon only saw himself as a benchwarmer, “the least of the least (Judges 6:15).” When he chose to trust and obey the Lord’s command, Gideon was transformed into a mighty warrior who led a small band of men to defeat an enemy that numbered in the thousands (Judges 7:21-25). We must engrain in young people that regardless of their level of development, God created each person to accomplish extraordinary things in His time frame. God does not create people to live pedestrian lives; each person is uniquely wired to be an impact player. Leaders utilize reliable metal detectors. It is rare that while on trips to the beach that I don’t see someone with a metal detector searching for valuables. In warfare, metal detectors saved lives by revealing buried explosives. Leadership is no different. Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, was a metal detector. He saw that Moses’ governing practices were both ineffective and unhealthy (Exodus 18:17-22). When Moses followed Jethro’s advice to change his system, he became a more effective leader. Great leaders readily point to their support system as the backbone of success. Young leaders are in desperate need of supporting advisors who recognize potential and can operate as metal detectors in their lives. These mentors reveal both the land mines and the buried treasure that transports young leaders to new levels of maturity and productivity for the Kingdom.
