LEADERS ARE FAITHFUL - PART III

Let me continue from the last two weeks … Leaders are Faithful …

Effective leaders believe that others are trustworthy and can be counted upon.

Faithful leadership acknowledges that every person we encounter is made in the image of God. Therefore, leaders view others as worthy of trust. Effective leaders rely upon others for the completion of the work of filling the earth with God’s glory. Effective leaders assign and delegate duties and responsibilities with a steadfast confidence in the willingness, ability, and trustworthiness of others to complete what they have agreed to do.

But – what is the basis for this trust? What better role model do we have than God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? Each member of the Godhead is a perfect model of faithful:

Faithfulness is a key characteristic of God the Father. Throughout history, God made promises to His people. Over and over again God kept those promises. He did what He said He would do:

*God the Father promised Noah’s family safety from the great flood, and they were delivered
*God the Father promised an old man with a barren wife that his descendants would outnumber the stars in the heaven, and then gave Abraham and Sarah a son
*God the Father promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that their descendents would inherit a promised land, and then delivered His people out of bondage in Egypt and led them to the Promised Land
*God the Father told a shepherd boy that he would become a king, and then carried David onto the throne of Israel
*God the Father promised to bless David’s descendents, and then gave wisdom to Solomon
*God the Father promised to send the seed of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head, and then sent Jesus
*God the Father promised to solve the problem of a world broken by man’s rebellion, and sacrificed the Lamb that took away the sins of the world
*God the Father promised to grant eternal life to His people, and He sent a Savior whose resurrection secures eternal life and His Spirit to lead us on this sanctifying journey

With each and every promise, God the Father was completely true to His word. God kept his promises. He was faithful. Consequently the ancients of old staked their lives and reputations on these promises. As Luther put it, these leaders believed and followed “the naked voice of God.”

Faithfulness is a key characteristic of God the Son:

*In the Garden of Gethsemane God the Son showed his faithfulness to the ghastly task that was ahead of Him, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Matthew 26:42, ESV).
*God the Son faithfully promised that He would not lose any of his sheep. (John, chapter 10)
*God the Son reminded His disciples of His faithfulness and trustworthiness, “If it were not so, would I have told you?” (John 14:2, ESV).
*God the Son promised that whatever we ask in His name He would be faithful to give it to us. (John, chapter 15)
*God the Son proved His trustworthiness by saying He would be raised from the dead and then actually arose. (John 2:19)

Just as God the Father is faithful, so, too, God the Son, Jesus, is faithful to everything that He promised. What He has promised is certain. It has and will come to pass. You can count on His promises. You can count on Him to deliver. God the Son is faithful. You can count on Him to be faithful.

Faithfulness is a key characteristic of God the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Spirit, who is the same in substance and equal in power and glory with God the Father and God the Son, is also completely faithful and trustworthy:

*God the Holy Spirit is faithful in uniting you, lastingly, to Christ
*God the Holy Spirit faithfully equips you, God’s child, with gifts that enable you to grow the church into unity, maturity, and strength
*God the Holy Spirit faithfully intercedes for you “with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8: 26-27, ESV)
*God the Holy Spirit is faithful, trustworthy, and reliable
*God the Holy Spirit is the guarantor of your salvation, granting hope in eternal life
*God the Holy Spirit gives you the ability to serve the living God
*God the Holy Spirit enables you to resist the author of evil, Satan himself (Hebrew 9:14)
*The Holy Spirit is your faithful companion on the journey of life.

Truly effective leaders understand that every person they encounter in their personal and professional arenas was created and charged to be faithful – just as God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is faithful.

What better role model do we have than God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as we claim and cultivate this core leadership attribute, faithful?

You are a leader!

Now go out and lead in His image!

This is The Genesis Principle of Leadership!

LEADERS ARE FAITHFUL - PART II

Let me continue from the last posting...

LEADERS ARE FAITHFUL!

You were created to be faithful. You were created in the image of God. As a bearer of God’s image, you are to entrust your life, well-being, and soul to the faithful and true Creator. Similarly, others should acknowledge you as
trustworthy and reliable as you faithfully do your work and good deeds. And in the same way, you are to view others as worthy of your trust and steadfastly rely upon them for the completion of the work.

As you saw in this definition, there are three distinctive features to this crucial leadership attribute, faithful:

First, as a leader, you must entrust your life, soul, well-being, and future to the true and faithful Creator. This must be done simply, completely, and with confidence - boldly. Why not? The Scriptures tell us, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23, ESV).

In other words, God is constant, reliable, and trustworthy. He can be counted on – so much so that among His names are the titles “Faithful” and “True” (Revelation 19:11, ESV). For this reason alone, God deserves your full acceptance and confidence – nothing more; nothing less. Yes, there is a sense in which this is a passive trust. In other words, there is nothing in and of yourself that merits this attribute in God. There is nothing you can do but to simply rely upon the Creator who promised and is as good as His word. He has given you glorious and hope-filled promises, and has always shown Himself to be true to His promises – each and every time.

But there is also an active dimension to your complete and unwavering (though passive) trust in God. Because you place your trust and hope in the One who makes and keeps His promises, you can act. You must toil and strive to do what He expects of a faithful person. If you are faith-filled (that is, if you are active in your belief in, and trust of, God), you will joyously and passionately pursue deeds and works consistent with that faith. If you believe God is real, then you have to believe that His opinion of your character and conduct matters. And if He is truly God, His bidding and His wishes for your conduct should be your highest concern.

Indeed, such an active, faith-filled trust appears to be what underlies the Apostle John’s words when he encouraged his friend, Gaius, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers”

(III John: 5, ESV). In other words, John is excited, overjoyed, to find Gaius and others doing something with the truth that was revealed to them.

True faith is a thing you do. Faithing is more than intellectual assent. Others should find you, a bearer of God’s image, to be constant, reliable, trustful, and one who can be counted on. Like Westley in The Princess Bride, you should do what you said you would do – you should do what you have been asked to do. As a leader, you reflect the faithfulness of God by showing yourself to be faithful.

You are faithful.

You are a leader.

This is the truth about leadership!

This is the Genesis Principle of Leadership.

Now go out and lead!

To be continued...

LEADERS ARE FAITHFUL

As a leader you entrust your life, well-being, and soul to the faithful and true Creator. Similarly, others acknowledge you as trustworthy and reliable as you faithfully do your work and good deeds. In this same way, you unreservedly view others as worthy of your trust, steadfastly relying upon them for the completion of the work.

“Hear this now! I will come for you!” Westley smiles at her, Buttercup smiles too, throws her arms tightly around him. They kiss.

It’s at this point in the movie, The Princess Bride, where the exasperated grandson (played by the youth actor, Fred Savage) interrupts his grandfather (played by Peter Falk) who is reading him a storybook and asks, “Is this a kissing book?”

You remember this wonderful fairytale don’t you – the classic movie, The Princess Bride, directed by Rob Reiner? Swordplay – Torture – Revenge – Sea monsters – Mammoth rodents – Breathtaking chases – Narrow escapes – Miracles – A beautiful princess – An evil prince – True love – and, oh yes, some kissing! I’m certain that my grandchildren have seen this movie a hundred times. They can flawlessly recite every single line. Yet, like our children and grandchildren, we never tire of seeing this enchanting tale of adventure and true love.

In this enchanting story, Buttercup, the young farm maiden, and Westley (or “farm boy” as Buttercup affectionately called him) discover they are helplessly in love. But Westley has no money for a wedding. So, he decides to leave the farm in search of his fortune far across the sea. In a touching scene, Westley and Buttercup are standing at the gate to the farm embracing each other:

BUTTERCUP: “I fear I’ll never see you again, Westley.”
WESTLEY: “Of course you will.”
BUTTERCUP: “But what if something happens to you?”
WESTLEY: “Hear this now! I will come for you!” [i]

He smiles at her, she smiles too, throws her arms so tightly around him. They kiss. Then as Westley walks away, Buttercup watches him go in search of his fortune.

But Westley never reached his destination. Time passed: scaling the Cliffs of Insanity – battling rodents of gargantuan size – facing torture in the Pit of Despair – and more. Buttercup feared that Westley had died.

But Westley did not die. He did return for Buttercup – just as he promised.

WESTLEY: I told you, "I would always come for you." Why didn't you wait for me?
BUTTERCUP: Well ... you were dead.
WESTLEY: Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.
BUTTERCUP: I will never doubt again.
WESTLEY: There will never be a need.

And now, they kiss; it's a tender kiss, loving and gentle.

Westley did what he said he would do. He was faithful.

You were created to be faithful. As a bearer of God’s image, you are to entrust your life, well-being, and soul to the faithful and true Creator. Similarly, others should acknowledge you as trustworthy and reliable as you faithfully do your work and good deeds. And in the same way, you are to view others as worthy of your trust and steadfastly rely upon them for the completion of the work.

There are three distinctive features to this crucial leadership attribute, faithful. We’ll take a look at the first one next week.

Until then – let me ask you - Have you purchased your copy of The Genesis Principle of Leadership? They are available from the publisher:

PRINT BOOK: http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60462-483-0

AUDIO BOOK: http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60604-106-2

…or you can find your copy of The Genesis Principle of Leadership on amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Principle-Leadership-Claiming-Cultivating/dp/1604624833/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212414215&sr=1-1

See you next week.

[i] Goldman, William, The Princess Bride, Movie, 1987.