DEEP SPIRITED POWER

Is “Mother Teresa” the first name that comes to mind when you think of powerful people? Me neither.

I usually think of people like Alexander the Great, John Wayne, or Bill Gates. Sometimes I think of villainous leaders like Attila the Hun or Joseph Stalin – or even fictional characters like Luke Skywalker, Batman, or Mighty Mouse. Though their motives differ, each character conjures images of people who are rugged, good-looking, tall, wise, wealthy, strong, and powerful.

But – Mother Teresa? Powerful?

Yes! Though she possessed none of the characteristics typically associated with power – male, tall, rugged, strong, wealthy or powerful – Mother Teresa is considered by many to be one of the most powerful people in history. Mother Teresa was female, small in stature, frail, poor, and lived most of her life in obscurity. For over thirty years, she labored in obscurity tending to the needs of the “leasts” of society – the “poorest of the poor.”

Then, following the release of the documentary, “Something Beautiful for God,” and the publication of her own book by that same title, Mother Teresa became an international celebrity. She received numerous awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

In spite of her sudden notoriety, this small, frail, humble leader continued her work among the poor. Mother Teresa died in September 1997, at the age of eighty-seven. She left a rich legacy of powerful leadership by serving the cause of the poor and dying.

Today, the Missionaries of Charity founded by this frail nun is composed of over 4,000 sisters, a brotherhood of over 300 members, 10,000 volunteers, and 610 missions operating numerous hospices, homes, soup kitchens, orphanages, schools, and counseling centers in 123 countries including, intriguingly, the United States of America.

Little wonder that one journalist would say that Mother Teresa, Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, was “one frail nun who moved millions … a one-woman world power for good.” Some even called her a “superhero.” On October 19, 2003, soon after her death, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa as “Blessed Teresa of Calcutta,” the first major step toward canonization and possible sainthood.

Is Mother Teresa your image of power?

Mother Teresa claimed and cultivated her inherent, God-given power and authority over that which was around her – which God created – as a responsible steward. She lived and labored amidst indescribable poverty, unimaginable disease, and gruesome death. Yet she was obedient to God’s command to be fruitful, to fill the earth, and to subdue the earth by exercising dominion – her created power – over a horrid situation. She obeyed God’s command to exercise dominion using the very attribute God gave her when he created her. Or to put it another way, she emulated the characteristics given to all men and women – given to you – as an image bearer of God by exercising dominion, that is, power, over every square inch of her corner of the world in Calcutta.

This is deep spirited leadership.

Leadership – your leadership – is all about the exercise of created attribute – power. Leadership that transforms people and circumstances is ultimately the result of the proper use of this God-given attribute. Effective leaders possess, cultivate, and make use of their created power. Pittacus (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), one of the seven wise men of ancient Greece, put it this way, “The measure of a man is what he does with power.”

So – how do you measure up? How do you use your power?

You are a leader.

This is the truth about leadership!

This is the Genesis Principle of Leadership.

Now go out and lead!