-Horizontal-Black.png){kind=logo}
From the Desk of Mr. Kyle Maestri
A lot of ink has been spilled on the topic of leadership. While I hesitate to spill more, every leader must wrestle with the unique complexities of leadership where the Lord has placed them. So, how do we develop leadership here at Trinity?
Leaders love God first and most.
As we lead the families, students, faculty, and staff here at Trinity; we lead as those who are undershepherds. We are under the Great Shepherd, Jesus. Leadership is following first. Following Christ. Ministry leader Henry Blackaby said, those who lead spiritually must recall what Jesus did. How so? Jesus spent time with His Father. He listened to His voice and then went to the people. We must do the same as leaders and keep our relationship with God primary. In this, Trinity is “all in.” How so? By partnering with parents to provide Christ-centered, biblically based classical education. On this journey of building our school, I am grateful the Lord reminds me of this deep truth. As the source of our power, in only His wisdom can we lead His people His way.
Leaders know themselves.
In our walk with God and His people, we learn who we are. We learn our authentic strengths and weaknesses. Pride and self-abasement are both rejected as I seek for a true confident humility. This comes from a proper assessment of myself in relationship to God and others. It is only through Him that I understand myself and those around me, much less know where to lead our community toward flourishing for His glory. Our focus on discipleship in the Upper School includes assisting students in discovering how God made them and where He is calling them into His story.
Leaders know they are servants.
In Philippians 2, Paul admonishes us: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Again with Christ as our model, leaders understand that we are called to serve. It’s not about ego, control, or power but rather about love and being for those we are leading. We want the best for our followers and we seek to bring them deeper in relationship with Christ, willing to sacrifice for them and love them with the love of the Father overflowing in us.
Leaders understand the times.
The tribe of Issachar, described in 1 Chronicles 12:32, has this tiny mention in the text. Here the tribe’s 200 leaders are cited who, “understood the times” they lived in and they knew what Israel should do. That’s it. Simple. We adopt this same mindset for our students and ourselves. In order to lead we need to know our world. We lead Trinity students to do just that. Each completes a capstone course, “Understanding the Times.” They engage the philosophies, today and past, equipped to find their answers to the big questions life will throw at them.
It is our sincere hope and prayer that you can hear through the many different voices in this issue that these key values shape our vision for leadership in all aspects of our school community, from the executive leadership at the top to the visionary seeds we plant in our graduates from the earliest age.