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Leadership

18 Oct

Dear God, I am supposed to be helping teach a class on leadership this coming Tuesday. I’m puzzling over it a little. As I think about the definition of leadership and examples of leadership (both good and bad) in the Bible, I wonder how I should really approach this with the men in the class on Tuesday.

Here are the Bible stories that have disjointedly occurred to me:

  • David and Goliath: Young David setting the example for the older soldiers and Saul.
  • David and the two opportunities he had to kill Saul.
  • David leading his men with the intent to kill Nabal (example of bad leadership).
  • David honoring Israel’s anointed king (both Saul and then Ishbosheth).
  • David not dealing with Amnon’s rape of Tamar (example of bad leadership).
  • Naomi leading her daughters-in-law after their husbands die.

I could go on and on with Old Testament examples, but David is a nice mix of good and bad. When it comes to the New Testament, the gospels give several examples:

  • Herod’s killing of the innocents (example of bad leadership).
  • Joseph caring for Mary and Jesus regardless of what it cost him.
  • James and John wanting to sit at Jesus’s right and left hand in heaven (example of bad leadership).
  • Jesus washing the disciples’ feet.
  • Jesus telling James and John not to cast down fire on the Samaritans.
  • Jesus helping Martha understand what’s important.

Again, I could go on and on–especially about Jesus. Yeah, there are zero examples of bad leadership from Jesus. How could there be?

Father, help me to prepare to teach this class, and teach me through this. I’ve been struggling with my own leadership at work lately, and I feel like I could use these lessons as much as anyone. Give me ears to hear and eyes to see. Be glorified through me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 18, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Peter & John — 1 Peter 5:1-4

21 Jan

1 Peter 5:1-4 (NLT)
And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you: Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.

Dear God, I’m not an elder in the church, but I am a leader of an organization and a person who is involved in a lot of aspects in our community. The question for me, I think, is, what are you calling me to do to care about the people around me? How should I care for the flock entrusted to me? How do I do it with humble love?

If I were to make a list of the needs in our community that are on my radar it would get out of control quickly. Just off of the top of my head:

  • Early childhood intervention for children in poverty
  • Human sex trafficking
  • Drugs and substances like vaping in the schools
  • Social worker for the school to help with situation-by-situation interventions
  • Domestic violence
  • Men’s Bible study for those economically disadvantaged

A couple of those tangentially touch my vocation, but none of them would be part of our organization’s mission statement. Any involvement in them would be absolutely extra work for me. Thankfully, you partnered me with others who have been able to take up the domestic violence issue and there is now a group taking that and running with it without me. And I know there is a nonprofit along with churches in town who are looking at childcare–perhaps not real intervention for traumatized children, but it’s a start. In fact, most of these things have others who care about these issues besides me. I think what I need to do is figure out at what level you want me to be involved in each one through prayer to you and the Holy Spirit’s leadership.

Then there is the leadership I need to provide to my own family. What does my wife need from me? What do my children need? There has been one thought that came to me a week ago regarding one of my adult children, and I still feel like I need a lot of wisdom from you before I know what to do about it. But I know that, whatever you call me to do, you want me to do it through gentle love and not by lording it over them.

Father, help me to know how to lead, and also help me to know how to follow and be an easy person for others in authority over me to lead. Help me to not grumble, but to find ways to finish the race and complete the tasks you have given to me.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 21, 2019 in 1 Peter, Peter and John

 

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Emails to God – Flawed Leaders (Esther 3:12-15)

14 Jun

12 Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed with his own ring. 13 Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews —young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.

15 The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered.

Dear God, I think my favorite part of this passage is frank look at the situation at the end of verse 15: “The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered.” That’s great. You know, we always want to think that the people in leadership know what’s going on and are making good decisions, but sometimes the truth of the matter is that they really don’t know that much more than the rest of us, and they are prone to make just as foolish decisions.

I wonder how much people might look at me as a leader who will surely make the right decisions. I think the board that I work with trusts me in this way. I think our staff trusts me and looks to me in this way (for the most part). My kids used to, but they are older now and in the mode where they don’t think anything I do is right. But the truth is, there are times where I am just as overwhelmed or lost as any of them might be. I don’t have any special power that gives me a monopoly on wisdom. The most I can say I that I have you.

Father, help me to simply make the right decisions at any given time. Love others through me, first and foremost. There is a woman coming this morning to visit with me, and it will be up to me to see how she will get help to pay for a surgery. Give me discernment about this. I have another big project today. Help me to remember and share everything I am supposed to. Represent yourself through me with integrity, honor, and your glory.

 
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Posted by on June 14, 2012 in Esther

 

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Emails to God – The Last Shall Be First (Matthew 20:17-28)

26 Mar

17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

A Mother’s Request

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

21 “What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Dear God, I wonder how much the story of Jesus telling the disciples about his death and this story of James’ and John’s mother coming to Jesus go together. I tend to forget that this was all written as one document—without chapter breaks, verses, and even subheadings like “A Mother’s Request”. But if I imagine reading this without the subheadings, then I see that verse 20 starts with the word “Then”. It implies that this happened right after Jesus stopped speaking. I think Matthew wanted us to get that these things were related.

So, if this is true, what were James and John thinking at this point? What was their mother thinking? Did they go and tell their mom what Jesus had said? Did they or she figure their time was running out to make this request so they had better hurry?

Of course, the overall lesson here is about leadership. What do you expect of me as a leader? What do you want me to do to support those who lead me? Also, what is the difference between leadership at work and out in the world and leadership with my children? How much more responsibility do I have to not only serve my children, but to expect more of them too? Where do I draw that line?

Father, I suppose I am grateful for the impertinence of James’ and John’s mother because it gave Jesus a chance to say that words he spoke here. Help me to lead at work and at home. Help me to understand what leadership, especially at home, should look like and to follow it. I need you as my leader and I submit myself to your leadership. Be glorified through me in all areas of my life and watch over my children. Watch over my wife. Watch over me as well. Please bind us all together and help us to recognize Satan’s attacks and respond to them with your cleansing power.

 
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Posted by on March 26, 2012 in Matthew

 

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