Wake Up, Look Up

[Music]

hello everyone thanks for listening to

wake up lookup a podcast where we

connect events happening in real time to

the Gospel of Jesus Christ I'm Zach

wrock and in today's episode we're

asking the question have we cancelled

leadership this is prompted by an

opinion piece that was in the New York

Times this week by Darren Walker who's

the retiring chairman of the Ford

Foundation he's also sat on a variety of

for-profit and not for-profit boards

he's reflecting on a life of leadership

and making the point that as a culture

we might have killed the whole concept

of leadership he makes this argument in

a variety of ways but it starts with

this basic idea the more people he talks

to in the corporate world the fewer

people he finds who actually want to

step in to leaders ship and the the

reticence to be a leader is kind of

steeped in a couple of things one is

it's becoming increasingly unpopular in

our culture to have a strong opinion uh

voicing a strong opinion on really

anything leads to a pretty negative

backlash we're teaching people that the

best thing they can do is to keep their

head down but of course leadership

doesn't usually afford that opportunity

we're also a culture increasingly that

vilifies people who take risk s we're

waiting for someone to fail to pounce on

them to point our finger at them and to

say that we knew they would mess it up

all along well that creates a climate in

which again people don't want to step

into leadership leadership is risk and

what what's the point of risking if

people are just waiting for and even

rooting for you to fail and then finally

we're a culture where we process

everything through the lens of what's

best for us and Mr Walker makes the

point that leadership is often about

what's best for everyone else it means

being willing to put yourself on the

line even if you do take some shots and

for that reason in a selfish kind of me

centered culture fewer and fewer people

are wanting to be leaders I guess the

reason this is relevant is because uh I

have found a phenomena in the people

that I talk to where no one really wants

to be a leader and yet we're all

bemoaning the fact that we don't have

any leaders I mean a quick survey of the

political or cultural landscape makes us

feel pretty

leaderless and I feel this in the church

as well increasingly I'm finding fewer

and fewer people want to step up to be

deacons to be Elders to be volunteer

Ministry leaders or even to be pastors

we're about 10 years away from a real

crisis of leadership so the question is

if we are in a culture where we don't

value leaders where it isn't profitable

to be a leader how do we let the Bible

speak into this well well the first is

this that our ultimate leader in the

church is Jesus the Apostle Paul gives a

great definition of leadership when he

says it this way imitate me as I also

imitate Jesus leadership in the church

isn't fundamentally about me and my

ideas and my gifts and my passions it's

about looking to Jesus in a public way

so that people can see Jesus in what I

am doing and saying as a leader in other

words to be a leader is first and

fundamentally to be a great follower

second though the Bible is full of

leaders that God uses men and women that

God uses to advance his kingdom it's

also full of stories of how they fail we

have to have AIT better Theology of

leadership God has a category for

calling leaders who sometimes fail God

has a category for picking those leaders

up forgiving them dusting them off and

getting them back in the game when did

we get this idea that to be in a

effective leader you had to have a hit

rate of 100% outside of Jesus in the

Bible no one has that and if God doesn't

require that then why do we and third we

have to develop a Theology of gifting

and passion God has wired some of us to

lead because of the talents and the

gifts and personalities he has given us

we don't want to be like the guy in the

parable of the talents who takes what

God has given us and buries it and then

at the end of his life gives it back

what God has given us he wants us to to

invest he wants us to give the kingdom

to see it bear dividends but then fourth

those of us that aren't leaders need to

develop a better Theology of honoring

leaders of course we know in this day

and age blind Allegiance and blind

loyalty are stupid and yet the book of

Hebrews tells us in chapter 10 that we

should honor our leaders that we should

be uh thankful for men who give their

lives to sheering our souls knowing that

one day they'll give an account to God

in the church we must regain an

appreciation for leaders and a passion

and courage to become leaders and that

means some of you listen if you've been

holding off stepping up and stepping

into leadership today is the day for the

glory of God the good of the church and

for your own stewardship be a leader hey

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