Have you heard the news?

GA^® is celebrating its 100^th birthday this year!

This is HUGE news!

How many things do you know that are 100 years old? Do you have a relative that has reached that milestone?

Did you know that Grand Central Terminal in New York City turned 100 on February 2? 

Did you know that the income tax turned 100 years old on February 3? 

And, 100 years ago in Pittsburgh, did you know that the first modern drive-in gas station opened for business? 

2013 is certainly a year to celebrate major milestones. And, for WMU^®, one of the biggest will be the 100th birthday of missions education for girls!

Royal Ambassadors^® (RA^®) can join in the fun and help their church’s GAs celebrate. Here are few possible ways for the boys to help the girls celebrate:

* RA leaders can work with GA leaders to plan a surprise GA Birthday Party! Be sure to include cake, ice cream, balloons, noise makers, etc. Enjoy a time together, celebrating the last 100 years of girls’ missions education and looking forward to the next 100 years!

* RAs can give to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering^®, Lottie Moon Christmas Offering^®, World Hunger Offering, state missions offering, etc., in honor of the GAs in their church. What a wonderful way to honor the leaders and girls involved in GA.

* RAs can invite GAs to come to an upcoming RA racecar event. During their time together, the boys can sing happy birthday to GAs!

* RAs (or their leaders) can write a GA 100^th Birthday skit and perform the skit at an upcoming meeting or in church. (Be sure to send a copy of your skit to ra@wmu.org! You never know, you might see your skit show up on our Facebook page or Web site!)

* RAs can invite GAs to participate with them in an upcoming missions project! What better way to celebrate the 100^th birthday than by serving others together?

These are but a few ways RAs can honor GAs as they celebrate this milestone. If you have additional ideas, please let us hear from you. You can send those ideas to ra@wmu.org. We can’t wait to hear from you!

M. Steve Heartsill
Managing Editor, RA/Challengers^®

My son turned five-years-old in February.

From his perspective, he’s probably not growing fast enough.

From his parent’s perspective, he’s growing up “too fast.” Honestly, there’s a part of us that wants him to stay that innocent little boy that he currently is. The one that tells us everything and likes to hug and kiss on his parents.

At the same time, we want him to mature, grow, and one day be self-sufficient in life.

It’s tough being a parent!

So, the question is: How fast is too fast? How quickly should children grow up?

The subject of children growing up too fast is one that is often talked about by mothers and fathers like us, and by other parents that we know. We often find ourselves discussing what’s appropriate for our children to wear, to watch on TV, and how they behave.

It is interesting to me how my wife and I often go back and forth between wanting to be in control too much and seeing the other side of the issue: “Well, everyone else is doing it. Should we let him do it as well?”

There are so many factors that play a role in how children grow and mature. Yet, ultimately, my wife and I will be the ones to determine the boundaries for our son. We will be the ones to determine what he does, what he wears, what he watches, what he listens to, etc. At least in these early years of his life. We’ll give him freedom, but ultimately we are responsible for his upbringing and care.

My wife and I have realized that the only way we can adequately guide our son is by being there for him and spending time with him. We must constantly work on having a positive relationship with him, spending time playing with him, listening to him, and offering guidance to him. Our focus must be on building a strong bond with him now, rather than thinking we can do that later.

Parenting matters. Building a positive relationship based on mutual respect, caring, and commitment lays the foundation for dealing with challenges that will come later. We know the challenges will come, probably sooner than later. But, we can’t be asleep at the parenting wheel.

I’m praying for you as you parent your child or children. May God grant you the wisdom you need in the days ahead.
 

By M. Steve Heartsill
Managing Editor for RA^® and Challengers^®

In my lifetime, I’ve applied for countless jobs.

You know how the process works. You hear about a job from a friend or see it posted online. The job posting looks great and seems to fit you perfectly. You fill out the application form, send it in, and wait. And wait. And wait. Finally, someone calls and asks you to come in for an interview.

On the day of the interview, you prepare the best you can. You get your hair cut. You wear the nicest outfit you own. And, of course, you prepare for the list of interview questions to come. What will they ask? What will they want to know about me?

Eventually in the interview, you are asked the question you most dread to hear: “What kind of leader are you?”

How do you answer that?

Well, no matter what training we have, what our background may be, what level of education we have obtained, we are all leaders.

So, the question remains, what kind of leader are you?

Over the years, I have discovered that there are basically four different styles of leaders:

* Visionary leader
* Directing leader
* Empathetic leader
* Process leader

Let’s think about each of those styles for a few moments. You might be asking how you recognize your own style.

• A visionary leader has the ability to see down the road. They are able to see what’s coming before anyone else. They inspire others to dream big dreams. Someone like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates could be examples of a visionary leader.

• A directing leader is someone that is extremely focused. They are clear on what needs to be done to get to where the vision is being guided. Someone like Donald Trump may be an example of this.

• An empathetic leader is highly intuitive and highly sensitive to other people’s behaviors. Many talk show hosts are empathetic leaders. They seem to have the ability to sense that there is more information needed in order to move forward with a decision.

• A process leader is very analytical. They are detail-oriented. They like things written down and structured. Many editors and reporters fall into this category.

So, which style of leader are you? Maybe a little of several styles? Or, maybe just one?

While it is important to understand your own style of leadership, it is equally important to surround yourself with different types of leaders. For an organization to run smoothly, various leadership styles are good and will benefit the overall work of the group.
 

By M. Steve Heartsill
Managing Editor, RA^® and Challengers^®

It’s tough being a leader. Whether you only lead yourself, a team of volunteers, or you lead a much larger team, it’s not easy being the leader.

How should we lead leaders? Are there some guidelines to follow that would make leading leaders easier? Or at least make it more manageable. Here are five thoughts.

1. You need to learn your own style of leadership. Before leading others, a leader must know what his or her own leadership style is. Do you have a tendency to micromanage? Or, do you tend to be more hands off in leading? Whichever is true, your first responsibility is making sure you provide your leaders with the leadership that allows them to succeed at their task. As the leader of leaders, it really does all begin with you.

2. Expect your leaders to treat those under them the same way you treat those under you. Simply put, your leaders will follow your leadership style to a certain point. If you’re a detailed-oriented leader, part of that will rub off onto those under you. If you are more easygoing and laid back, your leaders will follow much of that as well. Take a close look at who YOU are first and how YOU run things. That’ll give you a good idea how your leaders will be.

3. Give your leaders room to succeed and fail. I guess most of us are scared to fail. It’s human nature that we want to succeed. No one likes to bomb at things. Not even the unimportant things of life. As we lead others we must give them space to succeed, but we must also allow them to experience failure. Even if we could shield our leaders from failure, they will never grow as a leader without some failure mixed in. Failure makes us want to try harder next time. All leaders need to experience that.

4. Give clear expectations. Do your leaders know what is expected of them? Do they know what target they are aiming for? What goals you want them to reach? How you will measure success? If your leaders do not know these things, they will more than likely not become the strong leaders they could be.

5. Let your leaders lead. Wow! That’s a tough one. As the leader, you must set the course for those serving under you. But then you must back off and let them lead. There is absolutely nothing that frustrates a leader more than having their leader always step in and take over. Guide your leaders. Believe in them. And then, most importantly, have faith in them. They may not do things exactly like you. But, does that really matter? No!

Being the leader of leaders isn’t easy, but it is possible. Try out these five tips and see if you are able to develop stronger leaders serving with you.

By M. Steve Heartsill
Managing Editor, Royal Ambassadors^® and Challengers^®