Dare Great Things For Christ

Without a doubt the life of St. Paul is one of the best places to study leadership in The New Testament.  Not only is his life an example of leadership, but in his first and second letters to Timothy St. Paul exposes his heart.  He writes to his beloved son, Timothy, whom he has formed in the faith, a letter of encouragement to go all the way to the end to mee the demands of leading God’s people.  His letter gives us many wonderful insights, especially in how to rekindle the fire.

 

Let’s face it, leading other people is always hard.  If we say the wrong thing in the wrong way, we can actually discourage the people we are supposed to encourage.  On the other hand if we just tell them the truth like it is, we can leave them without any motivation.  Speaking the word of truth correctly is the art and essence of good communication and leadership.  But how do we do this?  Pope St. Gregory the Great offers us some amazing insights in his book, “On The Rule of Shepherds – Book 3.”

 

The Bible has a lot to say about talking.  The Letter of St. James, for example, says the tongue is the key to all virtue.  The Lord Himself says that every idle word we’ll have to account for on the day of judgement.  And all of us who manage people know the power of words to edify and destroy.  But what is the value of silence?  Is it possible to talk too much?  How do we know when to speak and what to say?  Pope St. Gregory The Great has some valuable insights.

As anyone who has ever had to manage people can tell you, jealousy is one of the most dangerous passions to rule in the workplace.  Where people are jealous division will ensue and teamwork will corrode.  We who are in charge of our teams needs to watch for jealousy and ward against it.  Pope St. Gregory The Great in his “Rule Of Shepherds” Book 3 gives us some valuable insights we can apply as we try to lead our workplace with Christ. 

Anyone who has had to manage any kind of organization – from a business to a family – know that patience is called for.  But how do we build it up?  How do we grow in our patience?  How do we know when impatience actually could be a good thing?  Pope St. Gregory The Great gives us wonderful insights in his tenth admonition in his third book “On The Rule Of Shepherds” written for pastors of the Church but applicable for business leaders and family leaders alike.

Ask any organizational leader what the hardest part of their job is and they will all say the same thing: managing people.  You cannot win at business without your people but your people can often be the reason why you lose at business.  Becoming an excellent manager is an art and a skill as much as it is a natural talent.  In Chapter 3 of his work, On The Rule Of Shepherds, Pope St. Gregory The Great gives us insight that can help all of us with this difficult task.

The one who rules by fear will also fall by fear.  This saying was never so true as in the life of King Saul.  In this fourth and final episode of our commentary on Saul as an anti-leader, we see the end of his life.  He ends his life in the same way that he led it:  fearful, controlling, and inconsistent.  Saul’s life is a wonderful pattern for us to avoid.  He shows us that the temptation to control ends in folly.

While seeing how leaders fail is never pleasant, it can also be very instructive.  The rise and the fall of King Saul in the Bible presents us a good example of a life gone awry in authority.  His jealousy over David is the most well known symptom but the cause of his downfall is rooted in something much deepers.  Not only character flaws but a stubborn pride that keeps him from accepting God’s will.  Here’s part three on my series on King Saul.

Most of us remember the life of King David in the Old Testament but few of us have ever studied the life of King Saul.  Just as the life of King David is an example to us of great leadership, the life of King Saul can be seen as an example of what I call “Anti-Leadership.”  In 1 Samuel 18 and 19, this anti leadership is on full display.  Saul is not only afraid to fight Goliath but gets jealous of David.  And his fear and jealousy have a lot to teach us about our own leadership today.

When it comes to leadership, I think you can learn as much from bad leaders as from good ones.  It is certainly the case in the life of King Saul.  King Saul ruled over Israel for forty-two years, beginning when he was 30 years old and his life spanned in 1 Samuel 9 all the way to 1 Samuel 31.  During his remarkable rule his faults become more and more evident.  And by studying them we can learn to avoid them in our own lives.