Dare Great Things

One of the most enigmatic phrases of our Lord is his command to the apostles to be as coy as serpent and simple as doves.  Anyone, however, who is in the realm of leadership knows the importance of this balance.  In the third law of power by Robert Green, Green insists that keeping power means hiding ones true intentions by being duplicitous.  Christ obviously intends something different from us.  He shows us an example of authenticity.

When it comes to leading something, we can’t avoid is that we leaders are in the limelight.  Being in the limelight means that what we do and say is often measured in a worldly standard.  How do we reconcile this with the importance in Christianity to be hidden, to look for the hidden things as the most important?  The teaching of Christ shines out brilliantly and contrast with Robert Green’s sixth law of power and this fourth part of our series I take a look at what he proposes in contrast with Christ.

All of us who lead are men and women of action and being men and women of action we’re responsible to create changes to make something out of nothing.  To change status quo into something new and doing this in a social setting means that we will often encounter competition.  How are Christians supposed to deal with competition?  In this third of our series of 10 on “The Rules of Power” by Robert Green we focus on law 15 where instead of loving our enemies he calls us to crush them.

In 1999 Robert Green published a book called the “48 Laws of Power”.  The book was a sensation.  It’s sold over 1 million copies and has been translated into over 25 languages.  At its root the book is practical.  This practical book gives 48 lessons from history on how to grab and keep power.  It’s a helpful example for Christians about both what not to do and what to understand about the way people’s minds work today.

Christian leaders need help to lead just like anyone else.  We usually return to the gospels or the lives of the Saints or other Christian leaders for inspiration but sometimes it’s important to read those whose positions are antithetical to Christian leadership.  Sometimes we can learn a lot more from those who operate differently from us to show us just how special our position is.  One of these people is Robert Green and his “48 Laws of Power”.  I begin the series with a commentary on the preface from this book and Greens insistence on our thirst for power.

In 1997 and the year 2000 Pope John II sent a letter to all the priests in the world as was his custom and in both of these letters he emphasizes a very important truth: the priest has to lead out of who he is.  As important as this might be for priests to remember it’s also important for all leaders to remember Jesus doesn’t lead in abstraction.  He asks us to give ourselves.  Learning how to do this well is an essential aspect of Christian leadership.

Beginning of the first year of his pontificate, every holy Thursday Pope John Paul II would write a letter to all the priests in the world.  Since this tradition spans his entire pontificate, these letters are a very precious source of wisdom and inspiration for us that show how priests are called to lead in the world.  At the same time we can drive very special leadership lessons for people who are in the world to lead as well today we focus in on spirit filled leadership.

If I were to ask you who it is that's responsible for making the world holy most of you would respond your priest or your minister or someone who works for the church.  While this may be true, what’s the place for a businessperson or working professional or stay at home mom or even grandparents for that matter?  In his letters to priest from 1996, Pope John Paul II makes a compelling case for the special way that people can make the world holy too.

Because the lifestyle of a leader is marked by action, fatigue and wearing out are a common problem.  This is the same whether you are a secular leader or a religious one.  How can we renew our energy and find the way forward when we feel overwhelmed and worn out with exhaustion.  In this second part of “Leadership Lessons From Priests”  I focus in on Saint Pope John Paul II’s letter to priests from 1982.  Here he lays out for us a pathway to hope.

From 1979 to 2005 Pope John Paul II had the custom of writing a letter to all the priests in the Catholic world on the occasion of Holy Thursday.  The letters are a treasury of wisdom and insight into leadership and all leaders of denomination or state in life can find insight here.  In this beginning of our next session on “What Can Priests Teach Us?”, we discover our own role as stewards and witnesses.

The life of King Solomon provides many inspiring examples for leaders to follow.  At the same time it details some of the warning signs for Christian leaders to avoid.  In this final segment of our treatment of his life we look at the legacy that his choices left.  It’s a good way for us to remember the legacy that our own choices will leave behind us.  Leadership just like anything else is not just about what happens now but about how what we do now will impact generations to come.

The life of King Solomon is exceptional in many ways.  From his virtue to his success to his covenant with God, the life of King Solomon serves as a great example and inspiration for Christian leaders.  Nevertheless, not everything about the life of this great king is admirable.  Like all of us he had faults and failings.  And because he did not deal with them effectively these became the source of his downfall.  And in his failure as much as his victory we can also learn how to lead.

It is said by many that success can be harder to cope with than failure.  Certainly this was true for King Solomon.  The incredible success we read about in first Kings 9 and 10 is only the prelude to his incredible downfall.  But what a prelude it is.  What does God want us to learn from it?  In this our fifth segment on King Solomon, I examine the weight of success and the call for Christian leaders not only to achieve it but to live it like saints.

In the first book of Kings, the Word of God details the fact that King Solomon built the temple in which God lived.  What is said here in a very matter of fact and simple fashion has profound implications for the way that we view the work of our hands.  In this fourth part of our series on King Solomon we allow the life and example of the good king to challenge our own perspectives about our work and the ability we have to bring faith into our business.

The life of King Solomon was truly extraordinary.  Gifted with outstanding wisdom, King Solomon’s wisdom blessed Israel with outstanding abundance.  And even though everything in his life was not worthy of imitation, the Bible is careful to record that he used his gifts to build the temple of God.  This might surprise us.  Why would God want his leader to dedicate himself to building a temple?  It’s a question that opens us to a deeper understanding of our own leadership today.

Amongst the many notable lives of leaders brought to us in the Bible, the life of King Solomon stands out.  Not everything in his life is worthy of imitation, but other aspects of his life seem clearly to indicate the plan of God for us.  And one of those aspects in particular is the benefits that God shows for those who possess wisdom.  In this our second episode on King Solomon we look at the benefits of Godly wisdom in his life and compare it to the wisdom we find in Christ.

For anyone reading the Bible looking for an example of leadership, the life of King Solomon stands out as a must read.  Not everything that he did was exemplary, in fact much of what he did was problematic.  And yet still, God writes straight with crooked lines.  And looking at his life as it’s given us can teach us lessons both good and bad.  Things to do and things to avoid in our own leadership.  We begin our series on King Solomon by looking at his prayer for a listening heart.

Of there is one common denominator across all societies and all times, it’s that human beings have to work.  From finding the necessities of survival to advancing technology to a new level.  Regardless of the many ways it can manifest itself, the imperative to work is common to all of us.  Does these mean, however, that our lives are constrained to difficulty and toil?  What about work benefits us and makes us good?

Can power be a pathway to holiness?  It’s a provocative question, mostly because of the ways we view power today.  But what if I asked it differently?  What if I said, “Could leading others like a servant of Christ make you holy?”  Most of us would then say, “Absolutely.”  The way that we view leadership has a lot to do with how we exercise it.  In this second part of our series I try to unpack for us how leadership, in fact, is a practical truth.

In the myriads of articles and books written on leadership, it’s astonishing how few times truth is mentioned.  Certainly, there are many reasons for this but that fact that so many feel that truth can be omitted from a conversation on leadership only underscores its importance, especially or Christian leaders.  But for many of us the questions remain: “why is truth important?”, “does truth divide us rather than unite us?”, and if there is a truth how do we come to know it?  Welcome to the first of a series dedicated to these questions?