Greetings,
About 10 years ago, I felt a pull to write a book. I had never written a book. I had never had ANY desire to write a book. Nonetheless, I felt the tug at my heart to do so.
I wrote ‘Jericho: A Historical Novel’ in my “spare” time. I was a single homeschool mom with a full-time plus job. I had to discipline myself to only write at night after both boys were in bed. I did not want to ignore them and sit at my computer screen. Not sure that qualifies as “spare” time, but it worked.
Five years later, in 2012, I got a publisher and it was available for purchase within four days from my first contact with him. Seemingly overnight I became a published author. That was the first of several surreal experiences.
He immediately wanted another one to publish, but it wasn’t ready yet. It still took a couple of months to complete my second novel. ‘Restoration: A Tale of Redemption’ was born in 2013. Surreal … again.
After that, writing took a back seat. I sold my sign shop, got a different job that was consuming (90+ hours per week) and eventually met a fantastic man and got married.
Now, I’m back to being self-employed (I again have a sign shop and build websites, both from home), my boys are grown, and my husband encouraged me to begin writing again. This time, at his urging, I did something completely different. I drew from a lifetime of experience to write something non-fiction. It is a leadership book, but from the perspective of a volunteer manager.
Here is an excerpt from the book:
“My volunteer journey began when I was a child. I helped in the church nursery and played on the worship team during services. In my teen years, I worked with the youth group in a leadership position, hosted workshops, started and trained drama teams, continued to play and sing on the worship team, volunteered for leadership positions at summer and winter camps, participated in over 20 short-term missions trips, and pretty much threw my hand in the air any time a volunteer was requested. As an adult, I have continued with many of those activities.
In my 20s, I had my first real taste of volunteer management when I was asked to lead the worship team. I found myself in the position to be the one making the schedules and plans, trying to communicate effectively, being overly diplomatic so as not to upset anyone, and working to keep the other musicians on the team satisfied.
Despite my years as a volunteer on the ‘other side of the fence,’ it was surprisingly difficult on the leadership side. Just as in any pursuit, it is very easy to ‘judge’ your leaders and criticize them without the perspective of being able to see the whole picture. I had suddenly become privy to all of the things on the backside of the equation that the volunteers (and/or employees) rarely get to see. There was more to it than I thought.
In my 30s, I began volunteering with the Friends of NRA program to raise grant money for youth shooting sports. After six years of helping out, I was named Volunteer of the Year for the state of Colorado. Later that year, I accepted a position with the National Rifle Association to lead about 450 fellow like-minded volunteers. We hosted 25 annual fund-raising banquets, and raised over $500,000 (net) per year for the NRA Foundation. Definite challenges arose with managing that many people. Just the idea of scheduling around all of their lives, plus having up to a six hour drive – each way – to reach many of them, presented abundant opportunities for personal growth.
Over the years, I have also been involved in several multi-level, direct sales, and network-marketing companies. I have done well with some, yet others haven’t even worked out to $1 per hour for my time. Despite consistent talk of potential income, I did not earn much. In retrospect, I certainly consider myself to have been a very dedicated ‘volunteer’ at some of those organizations.
Recently, I have donated my time and talents as a graphic artist, sign maker, and web designer to many of our local churches and ministries, as well as having served on the board of directors for our thrift store and ministry to the homeless and under-privileged in my hometown. In addition, I am still the worship leader at our church.
Having spent many years as a volunteer and many years as a volunteer manager, I have seen the beautiful, the outstanding, the inspiring, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly from both sides of the aisle.
Unfortunately, some leaders have mistreated me and did not value or utilize my giftings, however, most have been sincere in their efforts to be strong and solid leaders. Many have lacked the proper training, yet they have certainly done the best they could. Others have gone above and beyond to show appreciation, earn my loyalty, and retain me on their team.
This book is a compilation of my years of formal leadership training, reading, studying, hands-on learning, and hard-earned insights about how to effectively manage the volunteers we have been given to steward.”
This book, ‘Would You Follow You?’ was published in eBook format last month, and the paperback version became available two days ago.
It was indeed surreal – again – to hold a book that you wrote in your own hands. I feel extremely blessed to be able to be part of something so much larger than me.
You can purchase it on Amazon by clicking here.
You can read excerpts and find leadership thoughts and quotes at the www.WouldYouFollowYouBook.com.
You can read more about me as well as the first two books at www.GwenChermackHartzler.com.
You can find us on Facebook – “Would You Follow You? by Gwen Chermack Hartzler”
You can follow us on Twitter – @wouldyoufollowu
Thank you so much! I pray God blesses you as you read the words He gave me.
~Gwen