CEO Obama - Good to Great?

In 2001, Jim Collins wrote Good to Great, arguably the most influential business book of the decade, pored over in the offices of NGOs and charities, as well as in the gleaming HQs of multinationals. Collins analysed what turns good organisations into great organisations. One of his key findings was that the character of the CEO was vital. Two qualities distinguished the great leaders from the good, the bad and the mediocre. It wasn't their ability to cast a vision or their personal charisma or their soaring communication skills - all of which Obama has in brimming measure.

No, the two key characteristics of the truly greatest leaders were humility and iron focus. Humility - because the humble leader puts the needs of the organisation before personal preferences, ego needs or whims. Iron focus, because great leaders always retain crystal clarity about their long-term goal. The resonances with the character of the one who came to serve and give his life as a ransom for many are hardly surprising.

On Tuesday, Barack Obama made it abundantly clear what his goal is: to pass on the torch of the historic American understanding of freedom to the next generation, not as a spluttering wick but as a blazing beacon. It is this focus that has led to swift decisions about Guantanamo Bay, about torture and about transparency of government spending. It is this focus that has led him to reach out to Muslims and to choose his cabinet on merit rather than party affiliation.

But Barack Obama also seems to be a humble man. And that means he can have people around him who don't agree with him about everything. Obama chose Rick Warren to lead the Inauguration Prayers, effectively making him Billy Graham's successor as chaplain to the nation, but Rick Warren is against abortion and gay marriage - key issues for Democrats. Similarly, Obama's humility enables him to understand the way that America's reputation has been tarnished and to eschew the jingoistic, missile-rattling flexing of military might and offer an open hand to anyone who will uncurl their fist.

Humility and focus. Does Obama have anything to teach us in the pursuit and living out of our God-given gospel mission? You betcha. Will he prove to be a great President? Who knows? But he's made a great start. And he even knows how to party.

Mark Greene(LICC)

Name-calling

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Exodus 20:7 (NRSV)
Margaret Killingray (LICC) writes:
When I taught in East Africa in the 1960s I discovered that names meant a lot. Looking down the register, I could tell who were Gujarati speakers, who were local east coast Swahili speaking Muslims, or who were Catholic or Protestant. Sometimes you could spot when they were born, like the elderly man we knew whose middle name was Verdun. In the UK names have ceased to mean so much.

God's revelation of his name involves a revelation of his character and his heart. It is possible for us to know him - this one God, in Trinity, because he has told us who he is and what he is like. In revealing himself he has made himself vulnerable - vulnerable to misinterpretation, to blasphemy, to careless expletive, to endless representation in the art and literature of the world, to speculation and reinvention and to wayward imaginative reconstruction.

'Don't swear,' was the simple Sunday school version of this commandment, but it is not just about casual blasphemy by non-believers. It's the people of the covenant who are being addressed from Mount Sinai, who might misuse his name, distort the truth about him, and trivialise him: by corrupt or trivial worship; by judicial courtroom oaths before perjury; by the commercialisation of religious ideas and symbols; by using his name to pressurise the faithful to give money; by easy adaptation of God's truth to please more liberal ears.

We carry the name of the Lord; he makes us his children and we are called 'Christians'. If people know we are Christians and we deny his character in our lives, ignore him Monday to Friday, and trivialise both sin and its forgiveness, for example, then we misuse his name.

We need to take this commandment seriously and ask whether our lives, our evangelism, our communal worship, or simply our silent denial among irreligious colleagues, involves the misuse of his name. But if we are seeking to love him, with heart, mind and strength, he is always ready to forgive the stumbling lapses of our inadequate understanding of the name that is above all names.

labelling

Ron Willoughby suggests we have a break from 'labelling'.

I have a confession to make. I'm not normally inclined to confess to an audience I can't see, but confess I must. I'm a labeller. (My computer says it should have two l's, I think one would suffice.) No matter how you spell it, that's what I am. Well, actually, now that I think about it, that's not who I am, it's what I do. I label people. Maybe you know some labellers yourself.

Labellers live and operate as if everyone fits into nice, neat, definable, knowable categories. By assigning someone a label or labels it gives the assigner a sense of security, knowing, maybe even of power. We have Ian or George or Sybil all figured out once we can give them a label or two. 'Well that's George. He's a southerner after all.' 'Ian's an evangelical, would you expect any less from him?' 'Of course Sybil's a good student, she's Asian.' Then we all nod knowingly, as if that word, or those words, captures the essence or explains the behaviour of George or Ian or Sybil.

I remember when I pastored in the United States, people would come to see me and they'd begin their conversation with: 'Well Ron, my problem is that I'm your basic OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) . . .' or 'I think I might be a manic . . .' or 'I've had ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) my whole life.'

It used to blow my mind how we sum ourselves and others up. Who taught us to talk like that? And when did we become convinced that we could adequately synopsize the totality of our or another's existence by a label or two or ten?

It happened to me a few months ago. (Now don't tell anyone this, it's kind of embarrassing.) A buddy of mine from the States was over for a visit. We were chatting about whom I worked with and that sort of thing, when I get to telling him about this fellow I work with that I respect a good bit. I said something like 'Yeah, he's an Irish Evangelical Missiologist . . .' (I told you it was embarrassing.) I just paused and we both laughed. When did I start talking like that? When did I start talking about other people like they were brands of cereal or appliances or something other than living, breathing, complex, mysterious, human beings?

What I should have said about my colleague was something like: 'Yeah, he's originally from Ireland. Been through some stuff in his life. He came to Christ as a teenager, so he hasn't forgotten what it was like to be lost. He loves Jesus. He's an intelligent man who will challenge your worldview.' That's what I should have said.

Notice the difference? The former lacks a certain humility, don't you think? And I remember reading in the Bible somewhere that humility is a pretty good idea. Come to think of it, Jesus said something about those of us who follow Him should serve one another. Labelling and stereotyping doesn't strike me as terribly servant-like.

So, here's my proposal. I propose we go one week without labelling others. I know, I know, it sounds crazy, but I think we can do it. Just one week. We'll put words like conservative, liberal, traditional, modern, post-modern, charismatic, etc. all in our vocabularic closet. (I know vocabularic isn't really a word, but I'm a tutor so it's ok.) What do you think? Then we'll be free to get to know people and we won't have to pretend that we have them all sorted. And maybe, just maybe, along the way we'll discover that following Christ is easier without the use of labels.

It's just a thought.

Ron Willoughby - Tutor of Contemporary Christian Studies CLIFF COLLEGE

Paul: sweat-rags and miracles

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul. Handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. Acts 19:11-12

What are we to make of these verses? Are they true? Or is Luke describing the superstitions of a gullible people? And don't we immediately catch a whiff of the medieval faith in the relics of the martyrs?

This, Luke tells us, happened during the period when Paul was teaching daily for two years in Ephesus. Clearly the Holy Spirit was at work, drawing people from near and far to hear the word of the Lord, and imbuing that word with power.

And thus, it appears, the Spirit's power overflowed in extraordinary ways. The Spirit, we know, 'blows wherever he wills'. And at certain times, in Scripture (as in Luke 5:17) and history, he breaks out in remarkable ways.

Although the apostles didn't write much about it, it seems that manifestations of the Spirit in works of power were taken for granted in the early church. Indeed Luke's very use of the word 'extraordinary' implies that the church was familiar with 'ordinary' miracles.

I once heard a challenging sermon series entitled 'the naturally supernatural life': I prefer the phrase 'the supernaturally natural life'. The natural life - the life that we live here, on this earth, day by day, in our human relationships and duties. But supernatural in the sense that beyond the everyday - the world of politics, of commuting, of conceiving babies, of climbing mountains, of hiring and firing staff - is the power of a Holy Spirit whom we cannot predict or control. People are healed, people are set free and the good news is preached to the poor.

We mustn't allow our rationality to submerge our expectancy. In the US best-seller The Shack, the protagonist, Mack, reflects on his seminary education: 'It seemed that direct communication with God was something exclusively for the ancients and the uncivilized, while educated Westerners' access to God was mediated and controlled by the intelligentsia'. The more we expect, hope for and pray for, the more we are, in a sense, giving the Lord permission to work in the everyday in ways that we cannot understand.

To our faith and hope let us add expectancy, and ask the Lord to surprise us in 2009.

Helen Parry (LICC)

This year; persevere

Thanks to Word for Today* for this superb series on PERSEVERANCE, launching us into 2009:

"We will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 NIV

1) Perseverance means succeeding because you're determined to, not because you're entitled to. Achievers don't sit back and wait for success because they think the world 'owes them.' No, if you're wise you'll ask God for direction, stand firm on the word He has given you, go forward and refuse to quit. You must adopt the attitude of the man who said, 'We are determined to win. We'll fight them until hell freezes over, and if we have to, we'll fight them on ice.' Recalling the trials he'd faced, Paul said: '"I started, and I'm going to finish. I've worked much harder, been jailed more often, beaten up more times than I can count, and at death's door...And that's not the half of it"' (2 Corinthians 11:23-28 TM). One word describes Paul; relentless.
2) Perseverance means recognizing that life is not one long race, but many short ones in succession. Each task has its own challenges and each day its own events. You have to get out of bed the next morning and run again, but it's never exactly the same race. To be successful you must keep plugging away. It's said that Columbus faced incredible difficulties while sailing west in search of a passage to Asia. He encountered storms, experienced hunger, deprivation and extreme discouragement. The crews of his three ships were near mutiny. But his account of the journey says the same thing over and over: "Today, we sailed on." And his perseverance paid off. He didn't discover a fast route to the spice-rich Indies; instead he found new continents. The scriptural key to success is running the race each day (Hebrews 12:1-2).
3) Perseverance is needed to win the prize . It's said that Walt Disney's request for a loan was rejected by 301 banks before he finally got "yes." But because he refused to quit, he built the world's most famous theme park. At a sales convention the manager said to 2000 of his firm's sales force, 'Did the Wright brothers ever quit?' 'No!' they responded. 'Did Charles Lindburg ever quit?' 'No!' they shouted. 'Did Lance Armstrong ever quit?' 'No!' they bellowed. 'Did Thorndike McKester ever quit?' There was a long, confused silence. Then a salesperson shouted, 'Who in the world is Thorndike McKester? Nobody's ever heard of him.' The sales manager snapped back, 'Of course you haven't; that's because he quit!' Quitters never win, and winners never quit.
4) Perseverance turns adversity into advancement. Paul writes, 'Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel' (Philippians 1:12 NIV). Paul didn't give up; he rose up! How did he do it? He found the benefit to him personally that comes from every trial. One Christian author writes: 'Today we're obsessed with speed, but God is more interested in strength and stability. We want the quick fix, the shortcut, the on-the-spot solution. We want a sermon, a seminar or an experience that will instantly resolve all problems, remove all temptation and release us from all growing pains. But real maturity is never the result of a single experience, no matter how powerful or moving.' Growth is gradual. The Bible says, 'Our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters...and we become like him' (2 Corinthians 3:18 TM).
5) Perseverance means stopping not because you're tired, but because the task is done. Diplomat Robert Strauss quipped, 'Success is like wrestling a 1000-pound gorilla. You don't quit when you are tired; you quit when the gorilla is tired.' When you're fresh, excited and energetic you work at a task with vigour. Only when you become weary do you need perseverance. The Apostle Paul recognised this: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Fatigue and discouragement are not reasons to quit, they're reasons to draw closer to God, rely on our character and keep going. We underestimate what it takes to succeed. When we haven't counted the cost we approach challenges with mere interest; what's required is total commitment!
6) Perseverance doesn't demand more than we have, but all that we have. Author Frank Tyger observed, "In every triumph, there is a lot of try." But perseverance means more than just trying or working hard. Perseverance is an investment. It's a willingness to bind yourself emotionally, intellectually, physically and spiritually to an idea, purpose or task until it has been completed. Perseverance demands a lot, but here's the good news: everything you give is an investment in yourself. Each time you do the right thing - seek God, work hard, treat others with respect, learn and grow - you invest in yourself. To do these things every day takes perseverance, but if you do them your success is guaranteed. As author Judy Wardell Halliday said, "Dreams only become reality, when we keep our commitments to them."

ENEMIES OF PERSEVERENCE

Perseverance is a trait that can be cultivated, and the initial step to cultivating it is to eliminate five of its greatest enemies. These are:

1) A lifestyle of giving up. A little boy was promised an ice cream cone if he was good while accompanying his grandfather on some errands. The longer they were gone the more difficult the boy was finding it to be good. 'How much longer will it be?' he asked. 'Not too long,' replied the grandfather, 'we've just got one more stop.' 'I don't know if I can make it, Grandpa,' the little boy said. 'I can be good. I just can't be good enough long enough.' As children we can get away with that, but not as mature people, and certainly not if we expect to succeed in what God's called us to do.

2) A wrong belief that life should be easy. Paul told Timothy he must 'endure hardness, as a good soldier' (2 Timothy 2:3). Having the right expectations is half the battle. Clinical psychologist John C Norcross found the great characteristic that distinguishes those who reach their goals from those who don't; expectation! Both types of people experience the same amount of failure during the first month they strive for their goals. Members of the successful group don't expect to succeed right away; they view their failures as a reason to re-commit and re-focus on their goals with more determination. Norcross says, 'Those who were unsuccessful say a relapse is evidence they can't do it. They are the ones who have a wrong belief that life should be easy.' Bottom line: 'We count them blessed who endure' (James 5:11 NKJV).

3) Lack of resiliency. Harvard professor George Vaillant identifies resiliency as a significant characteristic of people who navigate the different seasons of life from birth to old age. In his book Aging Well he writes, 'Resilient people are like a twig with a fresh, green, living core. When twisted out of shape the twig bends but it doesn't break; instead it springs back and continues growing.' That's an excellent description of perseverance. We must not become dry, brittle and inflexible. We must draw on God's grace and endeavour to bounce back no matter how we feel.

4) Lack of vision. Everything that's created is actually created twice. First it's created mentally, then it's created physically. And where does our creativity come from? God, our Creator, who made us in His likeness (Genesis 1:27). A God-given vision will keep you moving forward when nothing else will. The lack of one will stop you dead in your tracks.

5) Lack of purpose. Rich Demoss remarked, 'Persistence is stubbornness with a purpose.' It's very difficult to develop persistence when you lack a sense of purpose. Conversely, when you have a passionate sense of purpose, energy rises, obstacles become incidental and perseverance wins out. World champion boxer Mohammad Ali said, 'Champions aren't made in the gyms, they are made from something they have deep inside them; a desire, a dream, a vision. They have last-minute stamina. They have to be a little faster, and they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.'

This year; persevere

FROM Word For Today New Year 2009
The daily devotional Word For Today is available free of charge for the UK and Republic of Ireland from UCB, Broadcast Centre, Hanchurch Lane, Stoke on Trent, ST4 8RY. Tel: 01782 642000. Email: ucb@ucb.co.uk www.ucb.co.uk