This last week, most of us had a day off due to a holiday
known as Presidents Day. Some enjoyed
the chance to sleep in, while others took the opportunity to enjoy an adventure
with their children. Whatever you
enjoyed during this day, hopefully you took time to consider the uniqueness of
our American Presidency.
American leadership is unique among any other in
history. It is a leader selected among
the people to represent the people. The
history of our presidents is as unique as the position itself, and offers a
vast knowledge of leadership lessons
and principles to be learned, and some to be forgotten.
Scripture teaches
us to honor leadership because “…there is no authority except
from God, and those which exist are established by God.” (Romans 13:1) While we may not agree with
leadership, we are called to honor them and pray for them. There is much we can learn from the history
of our American leadership.
Here are some leadership insights we can gain from
presidential leaders:
1. Great leaders are willing to take risks. Long before Washington was our first
President, he was our first general.
During the winter of 1776, he took what was considered one of the
greatest risks of the war, crossing the Delaware River. If he failed, the war could have been over,
but he did not. Because of this risk, it
became a turning point in the war, and solidified his position as Commander of
the American Army. While we may not be
fighting a war, we are in the battle for the lives of students we serve. What risks are we willing to take so that we
can make a significant impact? Let us
take the necessary risks so that we can impact our communities.
2. Great Leaders are willing to make unpopular
decisions. Now considered one of the greatest Presidents in our history, Abraham
Lincoln was not always so well liked.
Because of the deep rift between north and south, his election caused
the southern states to pull out of the Union.
He was willing to take a stand against something he deeply believed
in. He did not consider polls, or
opinions, he considered his conscience and his beliefs. He
stuck to these core values, and we admire him for it today. We as pastors must be willing to make the
difficult decisions that we know are right and true, and do so with grace and
humility. It might mean confronting with
love, and correcting with grace. Let us
being will to make the right decisions.
3. Great leaders are willing take
responsibility. Harry Truman had a
sign on his desk that read “the buck stops here.” He stated, after taking office, that he would be fully open to advice from his
Cabinet, which he had inherited from Franklin Roosevelt who had just died in
office, but that he would be making the final decisions. With this, he also communicated that he would
be taking full responsibility for his decisions. He is considered one of the top ten
presidents in our history. As pastors,
we must be the ones to take responsibility for how we leader our students and
congregations. It is easy to credit
when we succeed, but we must take responsibility during difficult times as
well. Let us protect those who serve us
in difficult times, and praise them when they succeed. Let us step up to the challenges that lay
before us and lead well.
4. Great leaders are willing to keep an
optimistic attitude. In 1979, the
country was in a deep recession, not unlike what we are experiencing
today. It was considered a time of
“malaise” and there was not much hope.
In to this stepped Ronald Reagan.
Instead of focusing on the situation at hand, he focused on what the
nation could be. He spoke optimism and
belief in to the American people. As
pastors, we are called to see the best in those we lead, and spoke hope and
life to those we pastor. Even in
difficult times, let us remember that our attitude has a great impact on those
we lead.
No matter your political persuasion, we are admonished to
pray for our leaders, as scripture teaches:
1 First of all, then, I urge that
entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on
behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in [a]authority, so that we may lead a tranquil
and quiet life in all godliness and [b]dignity. 1 Timothy 2:1-2
As we take time to
reflect on leadership, pray for our leaders, locally, regionally, and nationally. And as we see them lead, let us take from
that all we can, so we too can lead well.
Abe Daniel - District Student Ministries Director
Northern California and Nevada Assemblies of God Student Ministries
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