TheHighCalling.org: Leadership

Woman Made (Audio)

Howard E. Butt, Jr. — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:00:00 GMT

The First Chronicles genealogy for Ephraim, son of Joseph, lists 19 sons and one daughter named Sheerah. To survive with 19 brothers, Sheerah had to be one tough lady. In fact, the Bible says she built three cities.

In an age dominated by men waging wars and destruction, Sheerah built cities. And that's the point: God chose to highlight a woman—Sheerah, a builder of cities.

This is Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge speaking to people who daily build life into families, people, careers, legacies, and cities. When you feel discouraged, picture yourself alongside Sheerah: standing in history as a builder . . . in the high calling of our daily work.

The descendants of Ephraim: ...His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon as well as Uzzen Sheerah. (1 Chron. 7:20, 24)

Using Technology to Lead and Love People (Personal Reflection)

Dustin Steeve — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Editor's Note: In this article, Dustin Steeve refers to the upcoming Christian Web Conference. TheHighCalling.org is proud to be cosponsors of the 2009 Christian Web Conference with the Torrey Honors Institute. Register now to join us at the conference in Los Angeles this Fall and hear Mark D. Roberts (director of Laity Lodge) and Marcus Goodyear (senior editor of TheHighCalling.org) in person.

Near frenzy appears to drive the creation and adoption of web technologies. Just when one masters a blog, here comes a Twitter feed. When MySpace finally makes sense, Facebook changes the paradigm. If you’re a working professional you’re no doubt LinkedIn, check your Gmail on your BlackBerry, and periodically find your head in the tag clouds. As the Senior Director for GodBlogCon, now called the Christian Web Conference, it was my job to be aware of emerging web technologies and help you, the web savvy Christian leader, employ them effectively for the cause of Christ.

When I first was asked to assume leadership of the conference, I was excited. I am a leader at heart and have always dreamed of running my own company. I am especially attracted to the web industry. I observed that smart, trendy young people work for web-based companies. Many of our cultural geniuses and top CEOs reside on the top of mountainous tech companies. Tech is a booming industry and opportunity abounds. Who wouldn’t want the respect, power, and credibility of Microsoft’s Bill Gates? To this day, I really think that the web is going places. I see the web as our new social scene, our new town square. The web is full of useful tools that can plug us into its bustling commerce and social scene.

Through my work with the conference these past three years, I observed Christians giving mixed responses to the web. Some dismissed it as a source of porn and other unchristian indecency. Others saw frivolity or luxury in web based expenditures, preferring to reach people through time-tested, traditional media.

And yet to some Christians, the web appeal was strong. These Christians saw opportunity for local, national, or even global outreach via web technologies. Like these visionaries, I saw grand opportunity for Christians through use of the web. My head filled with ideas about employing web tools for evangelism. When I assumed leadership of the conference, I was hoping to help lead Christians to become masters of web technology, to create a place for themselves in the mainstream media of tomorrow. However, my early desires to conquer the web for Christ were put into a right perspective by the professors at my great-books general education program, the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University, and Ken Myers of the Mars Hill Audio Journal.

At Torrey, my professors challenged me to think more deeply, to see through the glamorous digital façade of the web to consider the real-life people behind that façade. Professor John Mark Reynolds succinctly gave reason for this when he said,

“Virtual reality is dependent on plain old reality, so it cannot escape harming or helping the souls on line. Because it’s so dependent on the world of concrete, neon, electricity, and physical bodies, it will never replace them. People are not just minds, but minds in bodies. To really know me (all of me), you have to know my whole self which includes my physical self.”

Effective Christian use of the web cannot merely be gauged on site “hits,” awards, or even revenue. It must help people live more Christian lives on- and off-line. Ken Myers pushed me further in my thinking when he reminded me that technology often shapes one’s interaction with the world. “To a kid with a BB gun, everything becomes a target,” Myers said at GodBlogCon in 2008. Myers cited several media ecologists who remarked on the decline in young people’s ability to read deep, extended texts due to habits cultivated by their fast-paced, keyword-search-based web surfing. Myers challenged me to think about the consequences of shallow reading. If the web teaches us to be shallow readers, what does this mean for Christians’ ability to read the Scriptures well?

If we are to fulfill our calling to love our neighbors, then we ought to think beyond mere mastery of our craft to the lives of those who use our products and how those products shape a person’s interaction with the world and walk with God. In the case of the web, conferences like the Christian Web Conference provide a place where Christian leaders can come together, become aware of the latest technologies, but also be immersed in deeply Christian perspective on their impact on the lives of our neighbors. If Christians are going to be leaders using online tools, we cannot lose sight of the web’s potential; simultaneously we cannot be blinded by the flashiness of the web. A leader’s foremost consideration must be the people for whom the web can be useful and how the technology is shaping their lives.

Middle Managers Might Find This a Bit Scary (Bible Reflection)

Gordon Atkinson — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

People say they love the parables of Jesus, which is understandable. Jesus was a wonderful storyteller. But I sometimes wonder if anyone is actually reading them. I find many to be rather frightening. In fact, the harshest judgment is for those who call themselves children of God and do not live faithfully in their daily lives.

I sometimes think the parables should carry a warning. “Let the reader beware.” One such parable is found in Matthew 24: 45-51. It is often called “The Parable of the Faithful and Unfaithful Steward.”

"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

The story is simple enough: A master leaves behind a servant, whom he puts in charge of the other servants. He is a steward of the workforce. He's the first century equivalent of middle management. Modern readers who exist in the business world on levels below and above middle management will probably enjoy this story. Middle managers themselves might find it a bit scary.

In the story, the steward is tasked with making sure the workers are given their proper allotment of food and drink and supplies. He has control of the schedule, keys to the supply room, and requisitions for new equipment and computers go through him. The CEO is often absent, sometimes for months. So this guy sets up quite a little kingdom for himself. He is abusive and cruel to those below him. He hogs new resources, using them for himself and his cronies, while others struggle to get their work done with aging computers and broken printers. He's pretty liberal with the petty cash too, taking himself and his friends out for long, expensive lunches. People in the office fear him and come to work each day filled with anxiety.

As you can imagine, the good times don't last forever. The manager thinks he knows when his boss is returning. Unfortunately for him, the CEO returns unexpectedly, and there is hell to pay. In the parable, literally.

There are numerous lessons in this wonderful story that have remained relevant for 2,000 years and will remain so as long as we have jobs and workers and people in charge. The abuse of power is, apparently, a thing that makes God quite angry. Woe to those who use positions of power for undue personal gain. The story also reminds us that much is expected from those to whom much is given by God.

The central meaning of the story is, however, faithfulness. God doesn't seem too concerned about what kind of job you have. Some have powerful jobs and others do not. What matters most to God is what you are doing with yourself on average days. On Tuesday mornings, say. And on Thursdays of uneventful weeks.

Happy are those whom the Lord will find obediently serving him when he returns. Happy are those who will be pleasantly surprised and filled with joy when they look up from their work and find that he has come. Happy are those who, being put in charge of others, are not seeking to benefit themselves, but instead carrying out their managerial tasks with grace and honesty and fairness to others.

Yes, happy are the faithful. For the day of the Lord always comes. In one form or another, it comes. And whether His coming is cause for celebration or trembling is determined, in part, by what happens in your life on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

-----------------------------------

Gordon Atkinson is a pastor at Covenant Baptist Church, blogger at RealLivePreacher.com, and editor at HighCallingBlogs.com a network of Christians thinking about the relationship between work and God.

What Are You Doing to Transform Your Workplace? (Wisdom from Howard E. Butt, Jr.)

Howard Butt, Jr. — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Incarnational evangelism is sometimes called friendship evangelism. That's the phrase Young Life uses. Think about that for a minute.

Jesus said we are . . .

the light of the world
the salt of the earth
the yeast that makes the whole loaf rise

All three—light, salt, yeast—work by penetration, by permeation, by their influence spreading out. None of these call attention to themselves—they just silently transform, flavor, and lift their environment.

Think about your daily work. What are you doing to transform, flavor, or lift your workplace?

Nehemiah (Audio)

Howard E. Butt, Jr. — Sun, 03 May 2009 06:00:00 GMT

By 430 B.C., the Jerusalem city wall had lain in ruins for decades. Now the Jews began to rebuild. Why not before? Lack of courage . . . no strong leader. Then Nehemiah appeared. He longed to serve and was put in charge. And stirring courage revived a community.

The Jews' enemies scoffed. Building materials were mostly rubble. But Nehemiah was tenacious. He treated workers well and protected them from abuse. He helped the poor. And he was a great man of prayer.

This is Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge. Let me point you to the book of Nehemiah. You'll find a great study on effective servant leadership—our model for the high calling of our daily work.

Our LORD, I am praying for your servants--those you rescued by your great strength and mighty power. Please answer my prayer and the prayer of your other servants who gladly honor your name. (Neh. 1:5-6)

Overcoming Discouragement (Bible Reflection)

Mark D. Roberts — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 06:00:00 GMT

"Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you" (Psalm 39:7, NLT).

When "Jim" left my office at church, I was elated. Our meeting had been a tough but productive one. As his boss, I worked hard to help Jim understand my expectations and where he had been falling short. I tried to be gracious as I spoke critically, and Jim received my counsel with a willing spirit. Months of supervisory effort seemed finally to be bearing fruit. An immensely talented young man, Jim had great potential to be an outstanding member of the church staff. Thus I was encouraged by his response to our meeting and looked forward with hope to our future together.

When I arrived at my office the next morning, a blank envelope sat ominously on my desk. It contained Jim's resignation letter. He was finished at the church. There was nothing I could do or say to change his mind.

At that moment I felt deeply discouraged. My hope for Jim's fruitful future at our church shriveled on the vine. I felt like a dismal failure as a boss. Who was I to think I could manage a large church staff? Maybe I should just pack up my bags and find more suitable employment.

You may not have faced something just like my experience with Jim, but I expect you have felt the heavy weight of discouragement. Maybe it came at work, as a project for which you had high hopes fell apart. Perhaps it had to do with a close relationship that splintered owing to a misunderstanding. Or your discouragement might have resulted from frustration with your inability to be the kind of person you know God wants you to be.

Discouragement . . . such a common emotion . . . how can we overcome it? How can we get beyond discouragement, and even learn from it?

Go Ahead and Feel Discouraged

First of all, if you want to overcome discouragement, allow yourself to feel discouraged. No, I don't recommend that you rev up negative feelings that aren't there. But if you are truly discouraged, don't pretend otherwise. Trust God enough to feel what you really feel.

Some Christians think that discouragement itself is something about which to be ashamed, almost as if it were a sin. One of my favorite hymns, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," urges: "Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer." Perhaps in an ideal world we should never be discouraged. But in reality, discouragement is a normal part of human life. The Psalmist asked for God's help with despair (see Psalms 42-43). The Apostle Paul admitted his own deep discouragement (2 Cor. 1:8-9). If we deny our discouragement and pretend we're "just fine," we won't be able to overcome it.

Understand Your Discouragement

If you're discouraged, why? Generally, discouragement follows on the heels of hope that doesn't pan out. For example, I had hoped that Jim would become a valuable employee. Instead, he quit, so I felt discouraged.

Knowing the source of your discouragement is essential to overcoming it. Maybe you were unrealistic in your hopes and need to learn to be more astute in your judgment (as in my situation with Jim). Maybe people you trusted let you down. Or maybe your discouragement is more generalized, a sign of burnout or broad dissatisfaction with your life. Discouragement could reflect underlying depression that is itself the symptom of deeper emotional discord. If you can accurately identify the cause of your discouragement, you'll be on the road to alleviating it.

Share Honestly with Trusted Counselors

If you're discouraged, don't keep it to yourself. Don't let pride or shame prevent you from sharing honestly with people who will listen empathically and respond wisely. Your gutsy openness will bring relief for you and freedom to others.

Throughout the years at Laity Lodge, we have followed the example of Howard Butt by sharing our lives openly, including our joys and our sorrows, our successes and our disappointments. Such honesty has opened our hearts to new experiences of God's grace. In my own life, I have found that the very act of sharing my disappointment at work with my wife or another close friend often leads to a lessening of my discouragement. Their input also helps me understand why I'm discouraged and what I can do about it.

Share Honestly with God

Or, to use more common language, pray about it. Here's where I agree completely with "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." If you feel discouraged, "take it to the Lord in prayer." We can tell him everything, including the fact that we're discouraged. When we do, we begin to experience God's gracious peace.

Moreover, when we share our discouragement with the Lord, we are open to discovering his presence in the midst of our unhappiness. Perhaps God is wanting to teach us something essential through our discouragement. Maybe he is redirecting our energies, our work, or our lives.

When we take our discouragement to the Lord in prayer, we find that our hope is redirected and rekindled. With the Psalmist, we confess, "And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you" (Psalm 39:7, NLT). This doesn't mean we never trust others or expect their help. But it does remind us that God alone is fully trustworthy and that his help is both necessary and utterly reliable. The more we hope in God, focusing on his trustworthiness, the more we will find our discouragement melting away, replaced by confidence in God. Thus we not only overcome discouragement, but also it becomes an avenue to spiritual growth.

Temp for Christ (Bible Reflection)

Tod Bolsinger — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Back when we were first married, we lived in Hollywood and my wife worked for a major entertainment company. That sounds more glamorous than it was, I'm afraid. Beth will be the first to tell you. She was "just a temp," a temporary worker, sent to the company from the temp agency. She ended up staying for eight months.

At the time, I was a minister to young adults at a church in Hollywood, and many of them were "temping" as well. Like Beth, they answered phones, sorted the mail, brewed coffee, and did everything that nobody else wanted to do.

Temping, for some like Beth, was just a way to pay the bills until the next phase of life. (We were trying to get me through seminary.) Others were trying to make it in another industry and were temping until they got a "real job." Indeed, most "temps" complained about how they were treated with low pay, long hours, and the like, but secretly they hoped to follow the road of the famous TV temp, Ryan of "The Office." Ryan went on to become a corporate executive for the Dunder Mifflin paper company (before he got arrested and fired, but that's another story . . .)

There's just something transient about temping. It is so temporary. No matter how bad a real job may be, at least it isn't a temp job. No matter how much you really want a dream job, it's hard to turn down the security, benefits, title, and potential future of working full time for a big company.

In many ways, we Christians are always temps no matter where we work or what we do. It is natural to want the security, position, and perks of belonging to the world, (or even a little part of the world like a corporation). We may work for a company, but Christians are called to see ourselves as temps who actually are owned by someone else. We have been bought with a price. Sure, we make it a priority to serve the company where we are temping, but we serve in the name of the one who bought us. Paul gave instructions to "slaves" regarding their earthly "masters." His language sometimes sounds odd in our ears today, but it is quite helpful: Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. (Col. 3:22b-24, NLT). Once we realize that our true Owner is the one who owns everything, then our work in any setting demonstrates where our true priorities lie. But of course, that raises a bigger issue: Does our work reflect our priorities? Do we intentionally seek to demonstrate the difference that Christ makes in our lives through our work?

Many of us, instead, live out a split-existence: We work for "the man," "the company," or the "corporation" Monday through Friday during business hours. And we serve our "Master" on Sundays and during "free time." (Of course we mostly serve ourselves, through both, but that's another issue, isn't it?) And that split-existence diminishes the effectiveness of our witness.

Instead, we are called to be those who serve in every sector of society, including our careers and in our workplaces as vastly different "workers":

We are to be more in "awe" of God (which is what "reverent fear" in the passage above means) than we are fearful of those who have the power of the payroll.
We know that whomever we serve, we are actually serving the Lord himself (consider that next time you abruptly put a person on "hold" when they call!)
We know that our ultimate "payment" is our Lord's pleasure ("Well done, good and faithful slave!" Matt. 25:21).

Ultimately, no matter how long we work someplace, or for that matter how long we live, we are all "temps" who belong to Christ and are working for the Kingdom of God. May God's Kingdom come and his will be done, in us . . . at work.

Interview with David Ramos, Part 2 (Interview)

Becky Garrison — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 06:00:00 GMT

As the founder of Latino Leadership Circle, the Rev. David Ramos works with other Latino leaders to provide venues for theological reflection, pastoral support, and educational forums. Also, in his capacity as a staff minister at Faith Fellowship Ministries, David serves as the Chancellor of Faith International Training School. In addition, he’s conducted missionary initiatives in Africa, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, India, Philippines, Turkey, Spain, and Venezuela. We decided to sit down with David to glean his insights regarding how he creates opportunities to give those who feel they’ve been excluded from the conversation the opportunity to have a real voice in the church.

What would you say to those who feel that you have to be ordained in order to serve as a religious leader?

You do not need to be ordained. In fact, the gospel talks about the priesthood of all believers. While I wanted to be ordained and am an ordained minister, for most of my life, I conducted ministry but was not ordained. I was what was known as a marketplace leader, who worked as a professional as well as within the church. Some of the most powerful strategic voices are people who are not ordained, but serve both God and people in strategic places in the kingdom of God and in the world. So, I really would encourage people not to get stuck on that.

Could you elaborate on the term "mosaic leadership" and how this concept informs your work?

Mosaic leadership integrates a tapestry of different people, along with their gifts, talents, worldviews, and various perspectives. This generation necessitates a mosaic leadership, because more than ever before, we've seen both politically and theologically the damage that can be done by ideology and ethnocentrism. But, I believe that if we have a Mosaic leadership that is very deliberate and sensitive to different positions and attempts to responsibly engage the other and create spaces where people's voices can be heard, then people can achieve full participation in the type of things that we're trying to achieve.

It's not always easy. Sometimes you may be deceived to think that you are operating that way until you realize that you, yourself, may have operated within particular enclaves, both theologically, racially, politically. And, hence, we continuously need to be open and sensitive to correction—by the Spirit of God, by friends, and by those who are interlocutors who oppose us. I think they are all educational opportunities.

How do you deal with the turf wars that always seem to happen when different groups try to come together to achieve a common goal?

If you have a heart to serve people, you'll always have opportunities. Some people try to rob your thunder or they try to circumvent you and take over. I think sharing is very, very important, both in process, as well as in distributing credit for any event or initiative that we do.

Also, one needs to step back if necessary. Sometimes, letting other people take the credit is okay. Now, you're not to be a doormat for people, and you need not be politically foolish. One can be wise and shrewd in the world and be able to halt abusive people or people who are solely politically motivated. We can do that without having this ambition for the limelight or an ambition of a personal agenda that auspicates the purposes of God and authentic spirituality.

What advice do you have for others who are working in multi-cultural settings as to how they can build up their leadership?

Get to know the people who know the grounds and include as many people as possible. Also, surround yourself with people who are unlike you theologically, politically, and racially. You can be of like-spirit in the sense of Spirit of God, but have different perspectives or different narratives. I think by us allowing ourselves to be informed and be touched by others, it changes our paradigms and enables us to have a much more global vision. In order for us to do that, we need to have an authentic openness. I don't think that can occur if we are so utterly locked within our own paradigms. If one is truly sensitive, one can be deliberate about a process.

Does it create more work? Sure. Are you going to make everyone happy? No. Are you able to retain control of your own leadership? Yes, if you can say, "Hey, listen. These are the things you want to do. These are the objectives we are trying to accomplish. And we would like to do this together. There are some things we can negotiate, and there are some things that are nonnegotiable." If you effectively communicate these things to the people you invite, I think they can respect you for making an honest attempt at honest dialog.

What advice do you have for those ministers who want to be multicultural but every time they plan an event, the gatherings tend to be almost all people like them?

One of the things is the issue of power. A lot of times we don't realize that our power paradigm speaks volumes to any relationship. If we're going to have authentic cross-cultural and cross-racial events and initiatives, then this power needs to be shared. When there is a shared power that may take you in different directions. Ask yourself if you are willing to do that. Are you willing to allow people to take you in a different path? Are you willing to allow it to look differently than your view of a particular event? How married are you to your vision?

I would highly recommend not to bring people in at the end of a particular thought process but to involve them from the very beginning. The earlier you bring people into the process of developing any type of endeavor, the better it is and the more authentic it is, because people will believe that you're having a valid, authentic dialog that started from the conception stage. If you allow people to inform the conception stage, then you allow them to have authentic ownership of the project.

How can outside organizations partner effectively with local grassroots groups?

A lot of times, people are afraid that their indigenous initiatives are going to be co-opted by outsiders. That could take many forms. For example, money is a form of power. A lot of times when people offer finances, there are very large strings attached. Those strings can be political with various agendas attached to this money that sometimes raises flags for people.

Instead of telling

What is servant leadership? (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 06:00:00 GMT

In the twenty-four years I've worked here, I've learned a considerable amount from Howard Butt, Jr. One of the clearest examples is my understanding of servant leadership. At its core, the concept is Trinitarian. That means, you can’t fully understand servant leadership without considering the nature of the Trinity.

Servant leadership is a combination of three things:

leading
following
being open to change

Over the years, I've read, heard, and seen people claim servant leadership as their method of operation. Most often, this means that people choose to be servants. They don't want that position to be seen as one of submission. So they choose to exercise their leadership by serving others. Up to a point. Then they exercise their leadership by not serving any longer. Howard Butt illustrates this well in his audio message "A Servant's Thanks." Often, we need control in order to feel powerful. "I'll serve you on my terms."

Other times, servant leadership becomes an opportunity to abdicate responsibility. People don’t know when to claim their leadership. The internal conversation sounds like this, "I know I'm the best suited to lead in this instance, but if nobody asks me I'll just serve everybody by practicing servant leadership." That's one of my favorite internal conversations. When individual leaders refuse to lead, the group suffers. We don’t serve anyone by denying our leadership responsibilities.

The heart of servant leadership is the struggle between two apparently opposite terms. Being a servant means submitting to the authority of another. Being a leader means claiming authority over others or a situation. When we breakdown the terms, servant leadership doesn't look as warm and fuzzy. Some people submit way too much. Others try to control too much. In either extreme, it isn’t servant leadership. If there is no tension between serving and leading, it isn’t servant leadership.

Tension doesn't mean agony or anxiety. It does mean a pulling, twisting, or bending. Servant leadership is constantly aware of the shift between leading—and following another's lead. It's a healthy tension that takes seriously the other people involved in our work.

If there is tension, invariably there is someone saying, "Relax."

That's not bad advice. But a better prescription for tension is flexiblity. It should be clear by now that tension doesn't have to mean rigidity. There needs to be a give and take. The relationship between our service and our leadership should be flexible. When we look at the language of the Trinity, we see a Father and a Son. The Father represents authority. The Son represents submission to the Father's authority. There is some tension in the father-son relationship. How is it resolved? The Holy Spirit introduces flexibility and restores unity.

Interview with David Ramos, Part 1 (Interview)

Becky Garrison — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 06:00:00 GMT

What are some of the best leadership lessons you’ve learned from your work as an ordained minister?

I’ve learned to put the people as a primary focus. If I focus on the needs of people and I factor their motivations, their fears, and what they are struggling with, then I’m able to be more sensitive to their needs and able to leverage their gifts in a way that they’ll find meaningful. So, part of my approach to leadership is really trying to get to know my people and to appreciate them individually.

Are there specific Bible verses or stories that have been most helpful to you in your work as a leader?

One of the verses that immediately comes to my mind is when David says about God, "Your gentleness has made me great" (Psalm 18:35). There has been so much talked about in the media about leadership. Ministers were modeling their churches on the paradigm of pastor as CEO; and some were actually taking cues from Donald Trump. So I went the total opposite direction. God had a tender relationship with David. The love David experienced with God enabled his gifts to grow so that he could become a very successful warrior, author, and leader. So, I believe in gentleness.

How do you define the idea of local leadership?

I believe biblical leadership aspires to have people tap into spiritual motivations and questions of meaning and purpose. This style of leadership takes a serious look at spirituality—not just as a luxury or something that one does on the side—but as something that forms one’s identity in a very real way. I believe that people yearn for spirituality. Many people feel divorced from their roles in the workplace. A lot of people suffer psychologically and physiologically, because they hate their work. If we could get people to align their labor with what is most valuable to them, I think they will feel more actualized. And I think that we’ll get better employees.

Why did you found the Latino Leadership Circle?

Back in 2001, I was seeing talented young leaders here in New York City who were divorced from the matrix of what was going on. I wondered, "Where are the mentors? What are they doing with this whole generation of emerging leaders?" I would kind of complain to God about this. Then, I felt God tell me, "Why don’t you do something?" I was a little stunned by that at first.

Then, I decided to gather friends and people I knew in the workplace who were divergent in their political views and their theological views. I invited them to come to have a discussion about their lives. Out of these meetings came the Latino Leadership Circle (LLC), which is a cohort of ministers and marketplace leaders. One of the primary things I wanted to do was to create a safe place where people could come and bleed. People have described the LLC as a lifeline where a great deal of intimacy has occurred. Also, we’ve moved into creating educational events in the city so people have forums available to look at the various issues.

How do you know that this venture is God-centered?

One of the things the Bible talks about is the "fruit of the Spirit"—love, patience, mercy, kindness. I see these reflective characteristics in the people who participate in the LLC. Also, I see it in the way we engage other people when we partner strategically with other organizations. We attempt to value them and really attempt to glorify God in all that we do.

How do you see the LLC working with your partners overseas?

We’ve begun to think of this notion of a global federation of the LLC. We have been approached by many other cities who want to create an LLC. While we just haven’t followed up on that, there is this idea of connecting people who are of like spirit. But it’s not just one particular city or environment. How do the global realities impact what we can do to help our brothers and sisters in a different country? I believe that our generation is seeing that gap being closed because of the Internet and the freedoms we have that generations before us did not have.

What is the impetus behind launching the ACTS Urban Youth Leadership Training program?

As a young minister, I was in a no-man’s land. Not only did I not receive any support, but I had a lot of resistance from my own local church. I didn’t want other young people to have to suffer the things that I suffered. So, I started working with the American Bible Society as a director of Urban Youth Strategy. One of the things that I proposed to them is to create a leadership program.

ACTS is an acronym for Assessment Consultation and Training and Support. The training is a 12-week intensive interactive training where we get urban youth leaders to learn about different things, such as strategic planning, project planning, creating community assessments, leadership team building, and social justice. We’re trying to help urban youth by giving them executive skills so they can actualize the responsibilities they have in their local churches.

How do you mentor others?

We’re looking to return to creating this mentoring dynamic where younger people can come and be able to bleed and then share and discuss their personal and professional journeys. Also, we stay in contact with our graduates and the people involved with LLC by inviting them to participate and collaborate with some of the events we do in the city.

Who have been your mentors?

My pastors in my life have all been mentors. They were men of God, w

We Are in the Middle of a Revolution (Wisdom from Howard E. Butt, Jr.)

Howard Butt, Jr. — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Someone on my staff shared this blog post by Clay Shirky, a professor at NYU. (You can read about Clay Shirky here.) His essay is long but worth sharing. Here are some excerpts:

Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable
Gordy Thompson, who managed internet services at the New York Times [said] something to the effect of “When a 14 year old kid can blow up your business in his spare time, not because he hates you but because he loves you, then you got a problem.” I think about that conversation a lot these days.
[...]
When reality is labeled unthinkable, it creates a kind of sickness in an industry. Leadership becomes faith-based, while employees who have the temerity to suggest that what seems to be happening is in fact happening are herded into Innovation Departments, where they can be ignored en masse.
[...]
Round and round this goes, with the people committed to saving newspapers demanding to know “If the old model is broken, what will work in its place?” To which the answer is: Nothing. Nothing will work. There is no general model for newspapers to replace the one the internet just broke.
With the old economics destroyed, organizational forms perfected for industrial production have to be replaced with structures optimized for digital data. It makes increasingly less sense even to talk about a publishing industry, because the core problem publishing solves — the incredible difficulty, complexity, and expense of making something available to the public — has stopped being a problem.
[...]
When someone demands to know how we are going to replace newspapers, they are really demanding to be told that we are not living through a revolution. They are demanding to be told that old systems won’t break before new systems are in place. They are demanding to be told that ancient social bargains aren’t in peril, that core institutions will be spared, that new methods of spreading information will improve previous practice rather than upending it. They are demanding to be lied to.
There are fewer and fewer people who can convincingly tell such a lie.
Read the rest of the article here.

Leadership Temptations in Tough Times (Bible Reflection)

Todd Lake — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 06:00:00 GMT

"There are no atheists in foxholes." However, when times are really tough, there may be few genuine Christians in foxholes either. When times get tough, people certainly want enough of God to get them through. But perhaps it is also true that, in the worst of times, we may not want God to get in the way of anything we think might get us through.

How should one lead an organization or team of people through difficult times? I once heard a leader say, only half in jest, "When times get tough, I am willing to rise above principle to get the job done." When things are going well, one has the luxury of doing the right thing even if it costs a bit more in time and money or decreases the efficiency or bottom-line productivity of the team. But when tough times come, the stakes are higher and there is a strong temptation to do whatever it takes to prevail.

In the seemingly endless stories of the leaders of Israel in 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles, one notices a sad pattern. King after king is rebuked because "he did not remove the high places." Notice that these kings never stopped worshipping the one true God. But they wanted to hedge their bets, so they never got rid of the pagan altars to the practical gods of rain and fertility.

Like the kings of Israel, we don’t want to give up on pagan ways that may save our skin if the true and living God doesn’t come through. Just in case the gospel way of living proves impractical, we still have access to idols in "high places": selfishness, if generosity is too expensive; intimidation, if kindness doesn’t work; outbursts of anger, if gentleness fails; vindictiveness, if forgiveness doesn’t cut it; and gossip and conniving, if honesty and sincerity aren’t working.

When budgets and salaries are on the rise, even a mediocre leader can bank on some enthusiasm for the tasks at hand. But when budget cuts come and salaries are frozen, outstanding Christian leadership becomes essential. Jesus led a group of disciples who accomplished the mission he had set for them against all odds (and with God’s help). Yet he offered little of worldly value to them, except his assurance that they were colaborers with him in building God’s kingdom.

First, we must show that it’s about them, not us. After Jesus fasted for forty days, the devil said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." The temptation isn’t to break a 40-day fast; Jesus was going to do that anyway. The temptation is to use our power for our own benefit. The perks, privileges, and pay that we steer our way as leaders will quickly undermine our ability to lead in difficult times. Later in his ministry, Jesus gladly made bread for thousands, but he never did a miracle for himself. Neither should we.

Second, we must show that we’ll share the struggle, not float above it. Scripture says, "Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, 'throw yourself down.' " It takes a Christian vision of leadership for us to be willing to share the lot of those we lead. We can delude ourselves into thinking that we should be spared the pain and struggle that others on our team are experiencing. Yet Jesus did not float above the struggles of his "team."

Finally, we cannot take God-displeasing shortcuts to achieve a God-honoring goal.

The story of Jesus’ three temptations concludes: "the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 'All this I will give you,'he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.' " In the end, Jesus will rule the world, so that is not a temptation. The temptation is to kowtow to the devil to achieve our worthy goal. Leaders who cut corners and compromise their ethics think they are getting the team to the goal more quickly. But it has been rightly said, "The ends don’t justify the means; the means are the end."

May God’s grace show us that tough times in our daily work never require us to abandon our high calling.

Seeking the Spirit, Transforming Life (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:00:00 GMT

I was with some friends not long ago, and the topic of spirit came up. There were a couple of “out there” expressions of spirits—none having to do with Christianity. Suddenly one guy said, “Wait, I want to hear from Dan.” The group stopped to hear my response.

Now, this was a wide-ranging group of nonbelievers, marginal believers, and skeptics. I began by acknowledging that there are many kinds of spirits. In Christianity we acknowledge that, but we choose to embrace the Holy Spirit of God.

So here is an encouragement of the Spirit. Jesus told us of the Counselor, the Holy Spirit in John 14:15-16:15 . Here are some highlights from that text:

John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—
John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
John 15:26 When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.
John 16:7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

Our responsibility as Christians is to listen for and listen to the Counselor Jesus sent. The more we apply this understanding to our faith, the better able we are to live in Christ. Jesus was not a one-time event in any sense. He was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.

Metaphor for Servant Leadership (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Motherhood is the great metaphor for servant leadership. A baby cannot survive without mothering. The needs of an infant are totally dependent. Yet, with all that power, mothers respond to every need of their infant children. An infant cries and mother responds. Danger is imminent, a mother protects. An infant is hungry, a mother provides food. Mothers don’t control infants; they lead them by serving the infant’s needs.

From Augustine’s mother Monica to Rosie the Riveter, women, as a class, demonstrate the immense potential for leading without power. Monica’s story, told by Augustine in The Confessions, symbolizes the influence of mothers on the growth of the church. It is well documented, starting with the New Testament, that everyone—rich, poor, free, slave, and even women—were welcome to follow the Way of Jesus.

As primary caregivers for their children, women have always had an enormous influence on their children's lives. Monica was no different. Married to a pagan, she raised her boys in the faith of Christ. Augustine, however, was a difficult young man who tested the limits of life and embraced some of his father’s life practices. Monica remained steadfast in her faith and in her son.

Many sources credit Ambrose with finally converting Augustine. I’m sure that he played a significant role in Augustine’s renewal. I don’t think it was any more significant than the role his mother played. But I wasn’t there, so the only thing I have to go on is a history of observing mothers and their influence. Monica is a symbol.

Another symbol, in more recent times, is the role of Rosie the Riveter during WWII. Again, it is well documented that when men left the factories to go to war, women filled those vacant positions to keep supplies moving to the troops. When the men returned, many “Rosies” left the factories.

Women returned to care for the household. The value of such a role has been heavily scrutinized over the last fifty years. Leading without power is not glamorous, widely esteemed, or easy. It is, however, at the heart of servant leadership.

With apologies to Kipling:

If you can meet with slavery and power
And treat those two imposters just the same;

You’ll be a servant leader, in the image of our Lord.

Interview with Andy Crouch, Part 1 (Interview)

Marcus Goodyear — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 06:00:00 GMT

"We make choices about what kind of business we are going to create, what the business is going to make, and how the business is going to make it." (Andy Crouch)

Andy Crouch’s most recent book Culture Making is one of the best things we read in 2008. Not that we were surprised. We’ve followed Andy’s work since he became director of the Christian Vision Project at Christianity Today in 2005.

He spoke with us recently about what it means to be a culture maker in our ordinary jobs. About the same time this interview took place, Andy committed to lead a retreat at Laity Lodge in the summer of 2009. Visit Laity Lodge for more information about his summer retreat with J. I. Packer.

Andy, your book is called Culture Making. What does it mean to make culture?

I chose that title for a couple of reasons. First, I realized that the only way you change culture is to make more of it.

This is important, because very often Christians have thought that the way you change culture is by criticizing it loudly and repeatedly or even by imitating it, by copying it. But those strategies don't actually change culture very much, if at all. Culture only changes when we make culture.

Also, I think we've missed how tangible culture is. We think of culture as this vague, abstract sort of ether that permeates everything. We hear about the fish swimming in water; it doesn't know it's in the water. And, we feel—well, that's what culture is like. Of course, there is some truth to that; but culture is actually made up of tangible goods, actual things.

Like omelets?

There are several recipes hidden in the book; and you know, that's culture. So is the chair that I'm sitting in; so is the house that I'm in right now; so is your office building; so are Interstate highways—something else I talk about in the book a lot.

When we see that culture is actual, tangible things and that any meaning or value that culture transmits comes through tangible things, then we start to realize, "Oh, I actually can affect this in some way—perhaps a small way—but I can create something."

Whereas, if we only think about culture at the level of meaning and value, we end up thinking that our job is to simply analyze meaning and value. We become philosophers of culture, but we don't become creators of culture.

You talk about cultural artifacts in the book—are you saying that every act of creation has meaning behind it?

Almost always. Anthropologists use the word "artifact," but my favorite word is "cultural good," because it kind of has that sense of something good and something specific. Initially, every cultural good is created by a small group of people who sense that something is lacking in the world.

So what's the cultural good of my stapler?

(Laughs) Oh my goodness. Actually, there are all sorts of meaning and values encoded into your stapler—the value of organization. It's better to make that pile of paper into a single thing rather than separate sheets that can be scattered around. Now, they're going to be read in a linear form.

So, there's a preference encoded into that for reading straight through a document rather than being able to spread out its pages or scatter its pages.

Is that a moral value to prefer linear reading over something more scattered?

I'm not saying that all cultural goods necessarily have a moral component; but they do address questions of how the world should be. And, the stapler says the world ought to be organized.

This is not something that all human cultures have taken for granted at all. I was in Kenya a couple of years ago, and I got to go on safari, which is what, I guess, most Americans do when they go to Kenya.

We flew over the bush on our way to the Masai Mara, and we could see these human settlements from the air, very irregular little enclosures where they keep their cows and where they live.

When you fly over the U.S., you see grids and circles, and the same in Europe; but when you fly over the bush in Kenya, you see these irregular, sort of, roughly circular shaped things. These are human cultures that don't place the priority that we do on measurement and order.

Is one system better than the other?

It's hard to say actually. In Kenya, they preserve certain kinds of possibilities in their relationships with one another and in their relationships with the environment that we find very hard to capture.

Even very concrete things—like your stapler or like the way we shape our human settlements—encode a certain set of assumptions about how the world is and how it ought to be.

The way we shape our businesses must reveal quite a bit about how we view the world as well.

Absolutely. We make choices about what kind of business we are going to create, what this business is going to make, and how the business is going to make it.

Every set of choices opens up one set of possibilities, but also closes down other possibiliti

Thank God for Good Teachers (Audio)

Howard E. Butt, Jr. — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 06:00:00 GMT

A man vacationing in Hawaii noticed that the colors of the daily rainbows always appeared in the same order. Why? He Googled his question. Soon, he was watching a video of Professor Walter Lewin at MIT—a teacher famously in love with physics.

Bounding across the stage, Lewin explained the “amazing” and “beautiful” physics of rainbows. Colors repeat order, he said, as light refracts and reflects in water droplets. Suddenly, the man saw the same world with new eyes.

This is Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge. A good teacher loves a subject so much that you love it too. The next time you see a rainbow, thank God for good teachers . . . in the high calling of our daily work.

Never be lacking in zeal , but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. (Rom. 12:11)

David Brooks on Leadership (Audio)

Howard E. Butt, Jr. — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Columnist David Brooks listed the qualities of a good president.

1) Leaders live surrounded by both yes-men and critics. They must constantly choose and improvise. So even more than experience, a good leader needs character and self-knowledge.

2) Leaders are internally driven. Their outlooks were grounded before they took on personal ambitions.

3) They want to solve problems, not take sides. Their view of good and bad runs not between parties—but down the center of every person.

This is Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge. Good leaders can step outside their own egos to understand the opposition. Brooks’ list is a checklist for us all . . . in the high calling of our daily work.

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. (Phil. 1:27-28)

Living as Faithful Stewards in a Fallen World (Leadership Is Stewardship, Part 3) (Bible Reflection)

Bill Peel — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 06:00:00 GMT

3. The principle of accountability. As we've learned, when a leader is given responsibility, he is accountable to the one who gave it. Paul reminds us "it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy" (1 Cor. 4:2, NASB). Jesus told several parables in which he used stewardship as metaphor for how his kingdom operates. Each one ends with the steward giving account of what he had done with the master's property. In the same way, we are stewards of everything we have been given, including our time, money, abilities, information, wisdom, relationships, and authority. And we will all give account to the rightful owner as to how well we managed the things he has entrusted to us.

Adam didn't do so well when God called him to account for violating a direct command not to eat from a certain tree. True to form, those who want to avoid being held accountable blame others. She did it. Or even, God, it's your fault. I don't know about you, but this tendency toward blame runs pretty strong in me and many people I know. When something goes wrong, my default response is to look for someone else to point the finger at. Not that it's always my fault, but that's usually the last place I look. However, personal accountability must be a core value of leaders. Paul reminds us, like it or not, that we too will be held accountable.

For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' " So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. (Rom. 14:10-12)

When we stand before God at his judgment seat, he won't be interested in how difficult our spouses were to love, how uncooperative our children were to parent, how difficult our boss or employees were to deal with, how obstinate the people were at church, or how corrupt a culture we had to endure. We'll give account for what we did with what he gave us.

4. The principle of reward. According to Jesus' parables of the Kingdom, faithful stewards who do the master's will with the master's resources, can expect a payday. We want to hear the master say, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matt. 25:21)

Interestingly, this promise of reward in the New Testament applies not only to the stewards of the huge estates described in Matthew 25, but also to slaves working in a household. Everyone is a steward in God's household, and everyone can look forward to a reward for faithful service. Notice what Paul says to slaves in Colosse: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (Col. 3:23-24)

Often we don't consider ourselves leaders unless we've been given some position of authority in an organization. Yet no matter what level or position you hold, you need to recognize that God has given you some responsibility of leadership—at the very least, you are a steward responsible to lead yourself and use your own gifts for his purposes and glory. If you have a family, you have been given a stewardship to lead them well—not for yourself, but for God.

So how do you think you are doing? The Parable of the Talents gives us a clue to the "reward" an unfaithful servant can expect.

Then the man who had received the one talent came. "Master," he said, "I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you." His master replied, "You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matt. 25:24-30)

This parable is a commentary, not on God's character, but on an unfaithful steward's perception of God's character. If we believe that our Master is harsh and exacting, we will act accordingly. Maybe we won't bury the vast resources that a talent represented (fifteen years' wages), but we will serve our own self-interests, not our Master's. And, in doing so, we will deserve to be thrown "outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Let's be honest. We know that's what we deserve. I've blown my leadership responsibilities and been less than faithful too many times to count. I've misused my gifts, mishandled finances, mistreated my family, and misappropriated praise. I still drive too fast, wasting gas and polluting the environment. Hopefully, I fail less often than I used to. The good news is that, although our Master is an exacting judge, he is also a loving Father. The penalty deserved by faithless stewards was absorbed by the Master's own Son. Jesus, the faithful Steward, received the judgment we deserved. He was thrown outside the Father's household and felt the hellish darkness of separation from his Father for our sake. He offers to exchange his faithfulness for our faithlessness, so we can be welcomed back into his Father's household. As we serve the Master, we need not fear the outer darkness ever again. Look at Paul's amazing statement: "If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself" (2 Tim. 2:13).

Jesus' humiliation on the cross not only removed the fear of ultimate failure, it provided the example of selfless leadership. Jesus was the ultimate steward. He did not accumulate power for Himself, but gave it away.

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance a

Not Ownership but Responsibility (Leadership is Stewardship: Part 2) (Bible Reflection)

Bill Peel — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 06:00:00 GMT

To be faithful stewards, we must understand four important leadership principles.

1. The principle of ownership. A leader has privilege, responsibility, and authority because he has been given these by his master. A steward doesn't own; he holds in trust and uses what he has been given for the one who owns it. Arrogance and pride don't have any place in this equation. The title deed to our lives and the entire universe is in God's name. He holds all the rights of ownership.

No organization—be it a family, company, or church—is created for the leader, nor is it created by the leader. Everything we have comes from God. The Bible is clear. He owns it all:

"The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." (Ps. 24:1)

In response to this divine claim, Abraham Kuyper, prime minister of the Netherlands at the turn of the twentieth century, proclaimed: "There is not one square millimeter of this entire creation about which Jesus Christ does not cry out, 'This is mine! It belongs to me!' " Everything in this world is God's by right of creation and by right of preservation as well. All that we have added to Creation—the skills and abilities we've used and the things we've developed—are from God. We don't even own the fruit of our own work. He reminded the Jews of this before they entered the Promised Land.

You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth (Deut. 8:17-18).

Every individual is also His by right of creation and by right of redemption.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1 Cor. 6:19-20)

Nothing belongs to us, not even our lives. As much as I might like to define myself by the size of my home, the speed of my car, or my title at work, everything I am and everything I have is God's. As leaders, we must be constantly aware that our time, skills, and energy, and every resource, person, and opportunity comes from God. These are not ours to use as we wish, no matter how hard we may have worked and no matter what we have contributed. We are stewards, not owners. I like how C. S. Lewis puts it.

Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already. So that when we talk of a man doing anything of God or giving anything to God, I will tell you what it is really like. It is like a small child going to his father and saying, "Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present." Of course, the father does, and he is pleased with the child's present. It is all very nice and proper, but only an idiot would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction.

2. The principle of responsibility. When I was a college freshman, I borrowed my resident assistant's car to drive a friend and myself on an off-campus errand. To impress my friend, I hit the accelerator when the light turned green and left no small amount of rubber on the pavement. Rather than being impressed, he said to me, "Remind me never to lend you my car."

That was not only a blow to my pride, but a memorable lesson in stewardship. The Bible teaches us that the human race was created to exercise stewardship over our planet. Just like the car I borrowed, this planet doesn't belong to us. We were given authority and are held responsible as God's stewards for what happens here, to the physical world and the creatures and people who dwell here. Whether or not we like it, we are responsible for what God has given. Paul understood this principle. That is why he preached the Good News whether he expected payment for his work or not.

If I were doing this on my own initiative, I would deserve payment. But I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust (1 Cor. 9:17, NLT).

Although God gives us "all things richly to enjoy," nothing is ours. Nothing really belongs to us. God owns everything; we're responsible for how we treat it and what we do with it. While we complain about our rights here on earth, the Bible constantly asks, What about your responsibilities? Owners have rights; stewards have responsibilities.

Though we don't own anything, God has graciously entrusted us with the care, development, and enjoyment of everything he owns. As his stewards, we are to manage his holdings well and according to his desires and purposes. And it stands to reason that if everything belongs to God, then every decision a leader makes has spiritual implications. Whether we consider something "spiritual" or not, there are no spiritually neutral decisions. Michael Novak puts it like this:

We didn't give ourselves the personalities, talents, or longings we were born with. When we fulfill these—these gifts from beyond ourselves—it is like fulfilling something we were meant to do. . . . The Creator of all things knows the name of each of us—knows thoroughly, better than we do ourselves, what is in us, for he put it there and intends for us to do something with it—something that meshes with his intentions for many other people. Even if we do not always think of it that way, each of us was given a calling—by fate, by chance, by destiny, by God. Those who are lucky have found it.

Most of us can grasp being a steward of money and tangible property. But when it comes to taking responsibility for the intangible things, such as our abilities—and especially our relationships—things start getting a little fuzzy.

I have a friend who has done a magnificent job of providing for his family. He has been an excellent steward of his own talent and the financial resources God has given him. However, he often treats family members as if they exist for his convenience. A lot of people tell me they've never considered that they are responsible before God as leaders for the way they deal with others. But we are. When it comes to people, God is very clear. They belong to him, not the leader, and they must be le

Leadership Is Stewardship, Part 1 (Bible Reflection)

Bill Peel — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 06:00:00 GMT

We live in the Age of Quantification. We want to know how many, how much, and for how long. When it comes to leadership, we like to grade skills, measure behaviors, and add up accomplishments. However, the essence of leadership is broader than possessing certain skills and expertise. It's deeper than what any leadership assessment can reveal. And it's much more profound than being accountable to shareholders to impart vision and reap financial results. Business consultant Peter Block suggests that leadership should be viewed more as stewardship.

If the term stewardship makes you think of sermons you've endured about church budgets and building programs, think again. In the ancient world, stewardship was not a religious term. Rather it was a key component of commerce. Almost every business concern had a steward who served like an ancient chief operating officer, running the daily affairs of the master of the house. Simply put, a steward was someone entrusted with the management of someone else's affairs.

In a business setting, Peter Block defines stewardship as “the willingness to be held accountable for the well-being of the larger organization by operating in service, rather than control, of those around us.”

More and more global enterprises are embracing this “new” concept of leadership, but many churches seem stuck in the 1980s. Command-and-control pastors emphasize their own vision and authority when they should be stewarding others' individual talents and potential leadership. Vision is important, but the church seems to be the last to catch up to what the business world has rediscovered—and the Bible clearly teaches.

In the Bible, stewardship is the inherent standard to which God calls leaders—whether we're leading a country, business, church committee, community organization, pack of Cub Scouts, our family, or ourselves. Paul's exhortation to Timothy on the topic of leadership selection for the early church is applicable to leaders in all these areas.

Contrary to popular understanding, the opposite of a leader is not a follower. It is a passive spectator—someone who waits for others to take responsibility. Rather than stepping forward, a nonleader steps back. Leaders don't wait for someone to tell them what to do. Leaders take the initiative and responsibility to be a faithful steward in God's Kingdom in both public and private life.

In Greco-Roman culture a household [oikos] was not just a family group or dwelling but the basic economic unit of the community, and it included everyone who lived in or worked at the house or estate. An oikos included immediate and extended family members, slaves, hired servants, skilled workers of various sorts, teachers, and tutors. The influence of an oikos extended into the community to those who did business with the household. And if a church happened to meet in a house, the influence of the oikos extended to the members of the house church and each of their oikoi too.

The Greek word for stewardship, oikonomia, is a compound of two words: oikos, household, and nomos, which means law or rule. In ancient culture, the words used together meant the administration or management of a household. (We get our English word economy from this compound word.) The translators of the King James Bible used the English word steward to translate oikonomos. The New International Version uses more modern terms, such as manager, management, administering, those entrusted with, and those being given a trust. But none of these English words capture the rich picture of leadership, authority, and accountability that the original Greek words portray.

An oikonomos, or steward, was indeed the “ruler of the house,” but he was not the ultimate ruler. In fact, in New Testament times the steward was almost always a slave to the head of the house. Although he was a slave, he was second in command, entrusted to manage the family and affairs. He was in authority as well as under authority. But—and this is the point of this Greek lesson—the authority granted to him was never to be used for his own self-interest. He was to use it to advance the interests of the master to whom he was accountable.

Looking at leadership through the lens of stewardship—authority over people and accountability before God—is the key to understanding what it means to lead from a biblical perspective.

The essence of stewardship implies a two-party proposition. One person owns the resources and the other person is entrusted with the resources. By definition, a steward is accountable to his master for how resources are invested. So how does this apply to us today? Since God owns all things, he is the Master; he distributes gifts and resources at his discretion. We are stewards, accountable to him for all that we do with all that we are given.

Thoughts for reflection and discussion:

Get the Master's instructions. If we are responsible to God as our Master, then learning his desires is one of the steward's chief responsibilities. Making decisions that honor him, as good stewarship demands, means knowing his likes, dislikes, vision, and values.
Do you know what God expects of you in each area of your life?

Editor's Note: This article is part 1 of a 3-part series called "Leadership Is Stewardship."
>> Read Part 2, Not Ownership But Responsibility
>> Read Part 3, Living as Faithful Stewards in a Fallen World
_____________________________________________________________
This article has been adapted from Bill Peel’s book What God Does When Men Lead. A Group Study Guide for What God Does When Men Lead is available for free download. You can also read more of Bill Peel by visiting 24SevenFaith, one of the many sites in our network at HighCallingBlogs.com.

Manage People, Not Robots (Personal Reflection)

Christopher de Vinck — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 06:00:00 GMT

As a school administrator, I am responsible for thirty teachers of English. A few come to work late or turn their paperwork in late. Sometimes they seem genuinely disconnected from their work.

When I was a young manager, I thought the best way to go was to follow the negotiated contracts and school handbooks and reprimand my teachers, write formal letters of rebuke and hope that having a heavy hand would make people comply with the rules. They did, for a day or so, and then snapped back to their old habits.

At some point, I decided to help the weaker employees. I got to know their husbands and wives, made sure that they had the needed materials for their classes, sent out extra reminders to them about work that was due. Sometimes I’d just say how much I love who they are, and how frustrated I get with their lapses in responsibilities. "I need your help," I’d say. Their help lasted for a day or so, until they bounced back to their old habits. Same results as before, but my new approach left a smile on their face.

One of my sloppy teachers is one of my best teachers. She makes the students laugh. They read many novels and plays and write wonderful essays about themselves. Whenever I see this teacher, I think of a disorganized Mary Poppins: disheveled, loaded down with bags and books, and yet also filled with a joy about who she is and about the goodness and potential of her students.

Blessed are the pure of heart. We can easily be blinded by unimportant things in our daily work and miss seeing the true labor. Life is sloppy. If we force all those who work for us into the same cubbyhole with the same rules and regulations, we may create a work environment that values rules and symmetry and frustrates innovation and charm.

We are called, each day, to tend to the lilies of the field. If we work with our God-given talents, our human failings will be minor footnotes to the great history of our lives. I would rather have a happy teacher reading Robert Frost aloud to her students than an unhappy teacher maintaining a neat room and filling out forms on time.

One of the many things that I learned in my graduate studies in administration at Columbia University was hiring criteria. The best workers are those who know their subject matter, deeply care about the people they serve, and have a unique, open personality.

Would I like all the people who work for me to come in on time? Yes. Would I like reports created in a timely manner? Of course. But I am a manager who learned long ago that I manage people, not robots. And if I manage people, I make sure that I treat them as my brothers and sisters, as my neighbors, as my friends. I share my vision for them and for their students and celebrate who they are. And at the end of the year, if the children became better readers, writers, and people, I don’t care how many missing district reports there are.

Rejoice in the high calling of our vocations, for it is in the joy where we find the sort of organization that truly matters.

Leadership Is About Giving Power Away (Bible Reflection)

Bill Peel — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:00:00 GMT

The last half of the twentieth century marked a shift in the way people think about leadership. Prior to the 1980s, leadership was considered more of a personality trait than a professional skill. But in the 1980s, the idea of leadership—the ability to cast a vision for the future, to transform what is into what could be—captured our imaginations. Americans have always liked the idea of a White Knight who could ride in and deliver us from our problems. Ronald Reagan delivered us from the Evil Empire. Lee Iacocca delivered Chrysler, its shareholders, and thousands of workers from economic disaster. Fred Smith delivered us from waiting days for mail and late packages. Rudy Giuliani saved New York City from a soaring crime rate. We like people who give us hope. And, it's exhilarating to be the one who brings hope.

Moses is a guy I consider to be one of recorded history's first world-class leaders. If ever a leader qualified for pedestal placement, it was Moses. Miraculously saved from drowning, he was raised as the darling child of Egyptian aristocracy. Moses probably knew from a young age that he was a man of destiny and purpose. He eventually parted large bodies of water with his staff and acted as God's miracle broker, feeding a population larger than Manhattan every day for a really long time. It's hard for me to fault Moses for giving in to the temptation of thinking he could handle most anything by himself. A few weeks into their journey, Moses did just that. He was tempted to assume more responsibility than God intended by trying to solve everyone's problems and disputes. Moses' father-in-law helped him see the danger of letting his leadership gifts run away with him again.

This volume of responsibility, authority, and notoriety may stroke a guy's ego, but it's dangerous for everyone involved—including the leader himself. In Exodus 18:17-18, Jethro warned Moses about the impact of hoarding authority. It is important advice for every leader.

So how do leaders avoid elevating their own importance and minimizing the contribution of others? Jethro gave Moses some excellent advice about how to escape these leadership traps. Rather than putting all the power in the hands of one leader, Jethro proposed that Moses lead by giving away power and authority and equipping people to use it. He believed that God can use a lot of people to make good choices. It worked in the desert for Moses. It worked for Jesus when he gave away authority to his followers. It worked in the early church when the apostles gave power away to faithful followers. It works today when leaders release decision-making power and put it into the hands of people actually doing the work.

Booker T. Washington summed it well: "Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him and to let him know that you trust him." It might be surprising, but that's exactly what God has done for you.

God has invested gifts, abilities, and talents in every man along with the dreams and imagination to use them. He has entrusted every one of us with his work and the power to get it done—not a privileged few. Wherever we've been given responsibility—great or small—there is a leadership role to play.

Max De Pree, chairman of Herman Miller, Inc., suggests a simple self-assessment to test whether we are leading well. "The signs of outstanding leadership appear primarily among the followers. Are the followers reaching their potential? Are they learning? Serving? Do they achieve the required results? Do they change with grace? Manage conflict?" In other words, are they leading themselves?

Whether you're leading at home, in the workplace, in your church, or community, you can take Jethro's advice. Read Exodus 18:19-23 and think about the following questions.

What areas of responsibility has God entrusted to your leadership?
What is the danger of too much success?
What is the hardest part of delegating responsibility and authority to others?
What responsibility and authority do you need to give away? How will people need to be equipped to handle that responsibility?
Consider Jethro's warning. Could you be wearing yourself and others out if you fail to give away power?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Adapted from What God Does When Men Lead)

A Group Study Guide for What God Does When Men Lead is available as a free download. Click here.

The Election (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 06:00:00 GMT

After listening to the multitude of voices on an historic night, I was struck by several things. From the emotion of many Americans who thought they would never live to see an African-American elected President, to the graceful concession of the defeated candidate, John McCain. Throughout the world, people marveled at the American political system.

It really struck me how ordinary this all was. A man was elected President of the United States. There was no great alarm in the nation. Chaos did not ensue. Revelers did not take over anything. President Bush’s congratulatory phone call to President-elect Obama promised a smooth transition of power. This is the ordinary manner in which power is transferred in this nation.

The greatest source of encouragement was during the campaign. Senator Obama wasn't being compared to Frederic Douglass or Martin Luther King, Jr. But he was compared to John F. Kennedy. It was an obvious and easy comparison.

So if there is one great Hallelujah moment in this election, it’s that labels didn't define the man. Maybe now we’ve moved beyond racial stereotypes. Maybe now we are beginning to see just a person. Not a black person or a white, brown, yellow, red, or multi-hued person, but merely a person. An ordinary person made in the image of God.

Traveling with No Spare Diapers (Personal Reflection)

Alyson Stone — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 06:00:00 GMT

It had been a wonderful trip to New Haven to visit my brother. And I even made my first visit into New York City. Exhausted and exhilarated, I was anxious to return home to my husband and children.

We had been on the tarmac for an extended time when the pilot announced that a hurricane in Texas would delay our departure for over an hour. The mood among the passengers changed palpably as we settled in to wait. I eyed the line of aircraft snaking along the runway and thought of my nine-year-old daughter who had been counting the hours since I’d been away. Minutes stretched to hours before we were told that all westerly routes out of New York City were closed indefinitely. We must stay on the plane and await an update.

I overheard a mother across the aisle tell her husband that their toddler was on her last diaper. A woman from the back of the plane demanded to be let off the aircraft. Cries of protest arose as the flight attendant calmly acknowledged the woman’s right to leave and confirmed fears that returning to the gate would forfeit our place in line for departure. A man pacing the aisle complained bitterly about the airline’s incompetence.

I hunkered down, turned up the volume on my iPod and tried to keep perspective. I avoided thinking about how frustrated I was or how disappointed my daughter would be, and instead marveled at the attitude of the mother across the aisle. I had not heard her complain once. Likewise, the flight attendant’s calm demeanor as she responded to agitated passengers was admirable. I resolved that if they could take this in stride, I would too.

Five hours passed before our flight was cancelled, and we were released into an airport bursting with stranded travelers. It was more than twenty-four hours before I made it home, giving me ample time to reflect on my experience.

As a group psychotherapist, I’m fascinated by group dynamics and the ways people affect one another. I thought about the subgroups that quickly formed on the plane as stress mounted. The woman who demanded to get off the plane stirred up others who grew claustrophic and panicky, while the man complaining of incompetence started grumblings about how the airline could have avoided the situation.

As for me, the mother with the toddler influenced me deeply. I would not have been so composed if I had been traveling with a child with no spare diapers. Her positive attitude and presence of mind gave me something to aim for. I wish now I had taken the opportunity to tell her how she affected me.

I wonder if she thinks of herself as a leader. Perhaps not, for she was quiet and unassuming. Yet, as Albert Schweitzer said, "Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing."Comfortably back at home, I have many memories of my trip. But the one I’ve been thinking about most is a woman, a child, and an empty diaper bag.

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Heb. 10:24)

Evangelicals and Culture (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 06:00:00 GMT

An Associated Press article was appearing in several print mediums over the weekend: “Evangelicals are in the news but not in the newsrooms." It is a very well-put article about the influence, or lack of influence, evangelicals have in major newsrooms across America. Rose French presents the article in a very clear manner.

One statement caught my eye. French writes, “Since the 1980s, when the Christian right emerged as a powerful force in American culture and politics, evangelicals have made significant inroads in law and government by training believers to work inside secular institutions.” Admittedly this statement is taken out of context, and I urge you to read the piece yourself. But that statement taken alone says much about America and its understanding of religious history in this country.

Such a statement reinforces some common misunderstandings about Christians.

First, evangelicals are not synonymous with the Christian right. Terry Mattingly's quote later on in the article addresses this somewhat. He told French, "It bothers me that when mainstream outlets want an evangelical voice, they've turned to Jerry Falwell or James Dobson or Pat Robertson. . . . They are men of high regard and standing, but there are others who have a different take on things."

Second, the statement implies that Christians emerged as a powerful cultural force in the 1980s. Here's a quick history lesson.

A study of the awakenings, which spread Christianity across the nation from Plymouth, MA, to Portland, OR, shows the influence of Evangelical Christianity on the culture of America long before the 1980s. I’m willing to bet that most Americans who finish high school can’t tell you anything about the Great Awakening. This cultural phenomenon and its succeeding revivals infused a new nation with a religious identity while embracing religious pluralism.

The fabled “Midwest” cradle of American values has always been evangelical. Its values and culture has been heavily influenced by Christianity. Similarly, the cultural centers in the Northeast have been heavily influenced by Mainline Protestantism and Catholicism. Mainliners had power and money. Catholicism controlled the workers. In the Southwest, the strong influence of Catholics, from Louisiana to California, made the largest single denomination in America appear as though it represented the American worker.

Things changed in the early twentieth century. Many evangelical churches turned inward, becoming isolated from mainstream society. They stressed a fundamental set of beliefs. There was a tendency to keep church members insulated from the broader culture. This did change radically in the 1980s when evangelicals took a more public stance in politics.

I think what happens in our culture is that we don't take the time to understand people. We like to paint everyone with the broad stroke of our immediate experience. But when painting a room or a house, we add color by mixing in tints. The tints are added in small portions to a larger quantity of base color. The tints provide the variety and pizazz while the hidden base provides the stability to cover the walls.

Ironically, evangelicals have been marginalized in America. Few people realize that it's evangelicals who provide the base to the broad spectrum of colors that make up America. It's the leadership that makes America work.

The Struggle to Be Free (Wisdom from Howard E. Butt, Jr.)

Howard Butt, Jr. — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 06:00:00 GMT

The Wayne Oates Institute recently reprinted his book The Struggle to Be Free and sent me a copy to review. (You can read the entire book online.)

Wayne Oates was one of the "big people" in my life as a counselor and friend. He was one of our first speakers at Laity Lodge. It was good to make contact with him again through this remarkable book. Here is a fascinating quotation from the book that you might find interesting . . . and challenging.

The person who commits himself or herself to the struggle to be free of pack thinking, propaganda, and party-line clichés does best to take a stand for justice for all and mercy for all. Yet this places him or her in the role of a reconciler, a peacemaker, a negotiator, an interlocutor. The hazard is that of being despised by all contending forces for not taking sides. There is a quantum leap of difference between taking sides and taking a stand as a minister of reconciliation. Jesus said: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9). After forty-two years of this, I can say with gratitude that to know one is a child of God is a source of peace in itself. However, my sense of sardonic or even gallows humor says: “Yes, Lord! But that is not all one will be called by any means!” (p. 69)

Leadership is Purpose, Vision, and Patience (Bible Reflection)

Stacy Jackson — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:00:00 GMT

What is so Christian about leadership?

From one perspective, leadership should be proactive. Leaders need to change this world. I don't know if you've noticed, but many things are in need of change in our world, in our institutions, and all around us. Because sin is all about us and in us, there is no safe location where change is not needed . . . and change requires proactive leadership. Proverbs 25:2 provides us with a glimpse of leaders seeking this type of change: "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings." Such leadership searches for a more noble direction—whether others support it or not. Take action, lead now, transform our world.

A second perspective is reactive. It is suspicious of our ability to define such direction, especially as individual leaders who differ from the pack. Martin Luther was suspicious of his own motives. That's why he sought prayerful time alone before stating if he would recant his views. This perspective of leadership considers the reality of our self-indulgent tendencies and considers how limited we are in our ability to truly know where to lead. It also considers our inclination toward institution-building when God may desire us to work in more humble reactive ways. It reveals the subtle difference between wanting to lead like God and wanting to be God.

The serpent in Genesis 3:5 understood this. He carefully crafted his message of temptation: "For God knows that when you eat of [the fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Adam and Eve gave in to this temptation because they desired power. They did not merely want to be like God, but rather they wanted to be God. This perspective on leadership suggests potential leaders should consider rejecting the limelight or seek to share power. Leading with others may insure no one person becomes the self-indulgent centerpiece of change.

So what is a Christian to do with leadership: accept it, share it, or defer? It seems all of those options may be required of Christians at different times. We observe Abraham allowing Lot, his nephew, to choose the land where he will live (Gen. 13). We see David patiently waiting as Saul serves despite the changes needed in the kingdom (1 Sam. 24:10). These men provide little vision or direction at those times, but rather defer to God's timing and the will of others. Similarly, in Mark 10:43, Christ states that whoever wants to be first must be the very last and the servant of all. Such examples and words do not immediately compel leaders to proactively create change (especially without the support of others).

However, our world is in need of change, and God is at work changing it through us and our leaders. People need purpose and vision. We are called to proactively plan (Prov. 12:5), even if it means leading alone. Our most familiar leaders of the faith—David, Elijah, Isaiah, Paul, and Moses—proactively led when few others would follow. Even Martin Luther returned from his time praying alone to announce he would not and he could not recant. Proactive leadership is needed at times. So how do we discern when to wait or share leadership and when we must lead without full support of those we care most about? Is there a way to integrate proactive and reactive leadership?

Discernment may hinge on our ability to accept two realities as Christians.

1) God truly does live in us (enabling us to lead).
2) But we truly continue to sin.

These realities require we exercise leadership in both proactive and reactive ways, willingly waiting and watching what God provides. We must not fail to distinguish a holy desire to be like God from a sinful desire to be God. We lead with trembling hands, face to face with Christ, clarifying the change we see while remaining willing to relinquish our certainty of how God will work. Whatever change we seek, it is not our change. All real change includes our proactive leadership but is never realized outside of our reaction to the direction God provides: In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps (Prov. 16:9).

Eisenhower on Leadership (Audio)

Howard E. Butt, Jr. — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 06:00:00 GMT

In World War II, General Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded the Allied Forces. He oversaw D-Day. Later, he was president of the United States.

Eisenhower knew something about being a leader. And he could be blunt in his definitions. He said: "You do not lead by hitting people over the head—that's assault, not leadership."

Eisenhower sent hundreds of thousands of troops into battle. He said, "Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done—because he wants to do it."

This is Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge. Think about the people who have most influenced your life. Did they bully you? Or were their ideas and actions worth following? It's the high calling of our daily work.

...Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21)

Real Heroes: Please Stand Up (Bible Reflection)

Bill Peel — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 06:00:00 GMT

As we sprint toward Election Day, leadership is a hot topic. A recent study reported that two-thirds of Americans believe we're experiencing a leadership crisis. According to David Gergen, three-quarters worry about what will become of our nation if we don't find better leaders soon. Many wonder where the Abraham Lincolns, John Kennedys, and Ronald Reagans of the 21st century are hiding. Yet, if leaders of this caliber surfaced tomorrow, would this be enough to turn our country around?

Probably not. Our leadership crisis is not due to a shortage of leadership candidates, but rather a shortage of street-level leaders who take seriously God’s mandate to lead themselves and those around them.

Throughout history, God’s heroic change agents have not been charismatic “rock star” leaders. They’ve been faithful individuals who lead from the ground up—not from the top down. Positive change in our country will only be wrought by a groundswell of ordinary men and women who decide to stop waiting for someone else to solve their problems and who take personal responsibility to lead themselves, their families, and others in their sphere of influence. God looks for people who are not driven by making a name for themselves, but who want to help others succeed. People who are willing to sacrifice their own personal interests for the interests of others. People who ask where they can make the most significant contribution rather than where they can make the most money.

Business journalist Bill George writes, “[We have] a wrongheaded notion of what exactly a leader is. This misguided notion of leadership often results in the wrong people attaining critical leadership roles. Search committees and voters alike fall into the trap of choosing leaders for their style rather than their substance, for their image instead of their integrity. Given this way of doing business, why should we be surprised when our leaders come up short?”

Jesus turned the concept of leadership on its head when he responded to James and John’s request for positions of leadership and authority in his kingdom (Mark 10:42-45).

Note that Jesus didn’t rebuke James and John for their desire for positions of leadership. He confronted their concept of leadership. He wanted them (and us) to understand that leadership is not about getting others to serve us or our purposes—no matter how noble, right, and good they are—but about abandoning self-interest to serve those we lead, helping everyone achieve God’s purpose.

While not stating this directly, this passage in Mark implies that those being led are not children who need everything done for them. They are people with gifts, abilities, and resources who need to be developed and put to work doing the things God designed them to do, learning to lead themselves.

When we become overly impressed with, and dependent on, leaders at the top, the leadership needed at every level of an organization suffers. Placing our hope for change on an individual, whether a candidate for president, pastor, community leader, or corporate executive, leads to disappointment—and often disaster.

According to God, leadership is more about who a person is and the choices he makes than the position of authority he holds. It’s about believing that what God says is more important than what the press says. It’s about understanding that putting on Christ is infinitely more empowering than putting on a power tie. It’s about what drives a person—not what he drives.

Substance, not style, qualifies a person for leadership. And our substance—the stuff at the core of our being—is formed from the choices we make day by day, hour by hour, at the private, intimate levels of life. Who we are up close and personal is the proving ground of true leadership.

Change begins right here—as ordinary people (like you and me) begin leading themselves.

Food for Thought

When was the last time you found yourself in a conversation about poor leadership? Did anyone offer up a personal solution? Next time, consider saying something like, “I wonder what we can do personally to address some of these concerns?”

What issues are you personally concerned about? If you had all the resources you needed and you knew you couldn't fail, what steps would you take to bring about change?

Now ask the question from a different perspective. Even though you don't have all the resources you need and you might fail, what can you do today about this concern?

What will likely happen if you wait on a perfect leader?

When a leader asks for your "vote"—whether he/she is a political leader, a church leader, or a workplace leader—instead of listening for what this person is promising to do for you, listen for what he is promising to do through you.

___________________________________________________________________
This article has been adapted from Bill Peel’s book What God Does When Men Lead. A Group Study Guide for What God Does When Men Lead is available for free download.

You can also read more of Bill Peel by visiting 24SevenFaith, one of the many sites in our network at HighCallingBlogs.com.

A Better Freedom (Wisdom from Howard E. Butt, Jr.)

Howard E. Butt, Jr. — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 06:00:00 GMT

This past weekend, Michael Card led our Labor Day Retreat at Laity Lodge. I wasn't able to be there myself, but I'm told it was fantastic! Mark D. Roberts, our Theologian in Residence, wrote an insightful review of the weekend, and I wanted to share some of what Mark said.

Michael’s subject was not one that would immediately jump out at you as something you’re dying to learn more about. In six messages he addressed the issue of slavery: in the Old Testament, New Testament, and in our lives. Though he mentioned the ethical crisis of slavery in today’s world, his focus was not so much on questions of justice as it was on what it means for us to be slaves of our Heavenly Master, the one who took the form of a slave in giving himself up for us on the cross....
The main point of Michael’s study of slavery was to challenge us to consider how we can be truly free by submitting ourselves fully to Christ as our Master. The point is not bondage, not at all. It is experiencing the freedom of the Christian life, a “better freedom,” as Michael calls it. If you’re interested in what this is all about, let me point you to a new song Michael has written, called “A Better Freedom.” It is not available on one of his CDs yet, but it can be found on the “By/For” website.

You can read more of Mark Roberts' review on his website.