(in)courage - Courageous Influence: Embrace the Way God Made You for Impact

I n todays social mediasaturated world, the word influence conjures up images of beautifully curated Instagram feeds or women who lead from the stage and have thousands of followers. Its measured by the number of likes and shares and how well we can get people to imitate us. Influence has almost become synonymous with fame and power, and if were being honest, many of us long to have it.

But in its purest form, influence is simply the capacity to effect change in someone. It doesnt have the implications of celebrity culture or amassing power for self-promotion. It is the ability to impact others for a certain purpose. And from a biblical perspective, influence is the right and responsibility of everyone who follows Christ.

Like a stone thrown into the middle of a lake, our life in Christ should have ripple effects that reverberate from us to all those in our circles. Our faith is in a living God, and thus His movements should be evident in every part of our lives, throughout every season, and to everyone around us. It is a natural result of life in Him that people see how weve been impacted by Jesus, and its our privilege to influence others to know Him too.

Influence isnt only for pastors and leaders in the church. Its not about having a position of power or years of experience. It has nothing to do with age or gender or how much clout we already have. All of us have been given influence in Christ, and we are to use it to encourage and lead others toward Him.

Influence will take on different forms for every person. It can look like using our gifts, skills, time, and effort. It can be about where God has placed usour location or our proximity to someone else or the role we play in our families, jobs, and communities. We can influence others in ordinary ways, like having someone over for dinner or walking with them through grief, or in particular ways, like writing a book or leading a ministry.

Wherever we are, however God has made us, in Christ we are women of influence.

As we push against our cultures definition of influence, we will need courage. We will run into doubt and insecurity. Some people may discount our capacity and abilities. The call to impact others for Gods kingdom might feel overwhelming. But thats why were going to do this together.

Over the next six weeks, we will study Gods Word and answer reflection questions that will help us put into practice what were learning. Our faith should always have both a solid orthodoxy (what we believe) and a solid orthopraxy (how we live it out), and this Bible study aims to achieve both. Courageous Influence will guide you in the journey of living the impact you were made to have.

Lets turn the worlds idea of influence on its head and become the courageous women of influence God calls us to be.

How to Use This Study

Courageous Influence is a great study for personal or small group use. If youre doing it with a group, we recommend allowing at least forty-five minutes for discussion, or more for larger groups. (We think groups of four to ten people work great!) Enhance your community study experience with our Courageous Influence leader guide and videos. Go to www.incourage.me/leaderguides to download your small group resources.

As you begin each day of this study, take a moment to be still and pray. Ask God to meet you, teach you, and convict you. Since there will be a lot of material to digest, take your time and feel free to go at your own pace.

Some days you will be asked to look up Scripture passages in different translations. Use www.biblegateway.com or a Bible app to reference those.

When you read through Bible passages, pay attention to word choice and repetition. If its a narrative, try to imagine yourself in that story and ask, What do I notice (setting, character, tone of voice, sequence of events, historical context)? What is God showing me about Himself? What is God showing me about myself?

Use every inch of white space in this study to process your thoughts and to write out prayers, questions, and reflections.

Each week focuses on a different aspect of influence:

• Week 1 begins with a foundational statement: You are a woman of influence.
• Week 2 reveals that influence is about where God has placed you and your willingness to say yes to Him.
• Week 3 explores what it means to be a person of integrity in using our influence.
• Week 4 teaches us to be generous with our influence.
• Week 5 shows us how to be intentional with our influence.
• Week 6 explores how storytelling can be a powerful way of influencing others.

Each week has a cadence that will help you get the most out of this study:

• Day 1 looks at our call to courageously explore that weeks topic.
• Day 2 tackles what the world says about that weeks topic.
• Day 3 spotlights how Jesus or another key biblical figure lived it out and what we can learn from that person.
• Day 4 shows Gods heart for you in that topic.