THE CLASSICAL VIEW OF YOUR PERSONHOOD

A correct understanding of personhood - the classical view - is not merely a cold, obscure, and irrelevant religious dogma. It is a foundational and indispensable part of understanding who you are and your sense of self-worth and dignity. It opens the door to purposeful living, to a proper understanding of self, and ultimately determines your view of leadership.

The classic, Judeo-Christian view of personhood starts with an understanding of God Himself. The biblical record begins with God, In the beginning God… (Genesis 1:1, ESV). God alone is the fountainhead of all that exists. God is completely independent of and sovereign over all things He created. God is not dependent upon any created thing. Throughout eternity it is God alone who creates, upholds, and governs every part of His creation from the largest to the smallest.

All reality is created by, owned by, controlled by, and completely dependent upon God. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36, ESV).

This means that God is the author of mankind - of your personhood. Again the biblical record is crystal clear:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV)

Yes, you are a creature, part of the rest of God’s creation. Yet, at the same time, you are set apart from the rest of creation. You are unique, carefully shaped, male and female, in the very image and likeness of God. Consequently, you are distinct from the rest of creation. This likeness is not incidental. It is intentional. It was God’s conscious and purposeful design to make you in such a way that you reflect His image.

Being made in the image of God is the primary organizing principle of human life. It is the essential element of your existence. It shapes how you are to live. People should be able to look at you and see something of God because you are to represent something of God himself. You reflect Him, like a mirror, to the rest of creation.

Indeed, reflecting God’s image has significant implications for every person in every arena of life, including leadership. As Anthony Hoekema observed,

Any view of the human being that fails to see himself or herself as centrally related to, totally dependent on and primarily responsible to God falls short of this truth.

What is man? Man is the bearer of the very image of God. This is the answer!

This reality is foundational to understanding the truth about leadership!

Hoekema, Anthony A., Created in God’s Image, Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1986, p.1.

So Tell Me - Are Leaders Born or Made?

According to The Owosso Argus Press, Brad VanPelt was unquestionably the greatest athlete ever to come out of the farm country of mid-Michigan. Brad earned eight varsity letters in football, baseball, basketball, and track and field at Owosso High School. In his senior year he was named all-state quarterback and given honorable mention on the Sunkist All-American High School Basketball Team. Brad had enormous strength. In high school track and field, he threw the shot put 46 feet, 7 inches. Brad’s “Number 10” football jersey, now retired, hangs in the halls of Owosso High School.

All around town people say, “What a natural born athlete!”

Brad attended Michigan State University where he was a three-sport athlete, receiving collegiate letters three times in football and twice in baseball and basketball. He earned numerous honors from The Associated Press, Walter Camp Foundation, United Press, The Sporting News, Time Magazine, American Football Coaches Association, Football Writers Association, Football News, Universal Sports, The Columbus Touchdown Club, and others. Brad became the first defensive back – ever – to receive the Maxwell Award as the nation's top collegiate player. He was a second-team All-Big Ten pick in baseball as a pitcher and still ranks eighth on the Michigan State single-season strikeout list. When Brad played baseball at Owosso High School, one major league baseball team scout said, “No major league pitcher can throw the baseball as hard as Brad!”

“What a natural born athlete!”

Though drafted into professional baseball, Brad decided, instead, to play professional football. He was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants playing fourteen years in the National Football League (New York Giants for ten years, Los Angeles Raiders for three years, and the Cleveland Browns for one year). He played in five straight Pro Bowls and was named player of the decade for the 1970s by the Giants.

“What a natural born athlete!”

Brad continues to be honored for his athleticism. Brad was named to the Lansing State Journal's Michigan State University’s Centennial Super Squad in 1996; inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000; inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in April, 2002; and inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December, 2002.

“What a natural born athlete!”

Or was he?

You see, the only thing most people saw were Brad’s amazing athletic accomplishments on game day. Brad grew up in my neighborhood. Few people observed the countless hours he spent practicing and training – shooting thousands of free throws – often after dark – into the old backboard suspended over the garage door; pitching the baseball – again and again and again – into his father’s well-worn catcher’s glove; or, throwing the football, with laser precision, through the old rubber tire dangling from the tall burr oak tree in his backyard.

So, was Brad Van Pelt a natural born athlete – or was he made?

This is the very question that divides us on the topic of leadership, “Are leaders born or are leaders made?”

Or - is there another explanation?

Richard