Thanks to a 2:30 am phone call (a hang up, grrr) I have been wide awake and trying to find ways to amuse myself...namely surfing the web. My random queries soon focused in on General Eric Shinseki as I wondered who he was and what the story was behind that great quote. I learned that General Shinseki is from Hawaii, his family immigrating there from Hiroshima in 1901. He serves in the Army, was wounded in combat in Vietnam and he is the highest ranking Asian American in the history of the United States. He currently is serving as the US Secretary of Veteran Affairs.
My query did not, however, lead me to the circumstances behind the quote that had caught my attention earlier. Instead, I found myself captivated by another of his quotes.
"You must love those you lead before you can be an effective leader.
You can certainly command without that sense of commitment,
but you cannot lead without it."
I have no idea if General Shinseki is a man of faith but it would appear from this quote that he knows something about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Is this not the way of Christ? Was his ministry not based upon building relationships born out of and nurtured in love? My mind is flooded by images: Jesus calling Matthew from his tax collector's booth - Jesus allowing a sinful woman to wash his feet - Jesus at the well offering new life to a woman who had ruined her own - Jesus with the Centurion - Jesus writing in the sand to save a condemned woman - Jesus with the poor - Jesus with the mentally ill - Jesus with the sick - Jesus touching the "untouchables" - Jesus in love...with everyone.
Why do I follow Jesus? Why do I profess faith in a man who, 2000 years ago, proclaimed himself Messiah, savior of the world? I guess we could say, in part, due to his leadership. I am not drawn to Christ by commandments and laws - I am drawn to Christ out of love...a love only realized by understanding that first he loved me. he loved me before I deserved it - he loved me before I loved him back - he loved me when I rebelled - he loved me when I came home - he loved me when I celebrated and he loved me when I wept. It is due to his love that I want to follow where he leads. It is due to his love for me that I now find the desire for his commands and laws. Were it not for love, I would not have followed.
Through my calling to lead a local congregation, as well as my volunteering to mentor local pastor's and serve on Church Transition teams - I find the word "leadership" comes up a lot. We seem to talk endlessly about what leadership looks like in the church. Phrases like "cast a vision" - "create a team" - "establish a mission statement" - "set measurable goals"come up often. I've attended seminar after seminar in how to be a better leader, and don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the training - I've learned so much. However, none of those things have made me a better follower of Christ.
I went to a conference once on preaching. Our goal was to learn how to be inspiring and relevant in the spoken word. I sat through terrific sermons and lectures on how to do so but I found myself captivated most by one speaker with a simple message...the only inspiration you need is found in loving your God and loving God's people. His premise being modeled after Christ who ate with folks, walked with folks, cried with folks, lived with folks...and listened to folks. This lecturer proclaimed that in hearing the stories of the people, we learn to love them and in loving them as Christ loved - we learn to lead them.
I believe this message translates to all of us as Christians - not just to ministers. General Shinseki's quote seems to be the proof. No matter whether our leadership role is as head of the family or head of a department or head of a corporation or head of a government agency - we can do none of it well without first loving.
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
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