LEADERS ARE GLORIOUSLY AND WASTEFULLY GENEROUS

What makes you deeply joyful - giving or taking?

As a leader you possess the created capacity and responsibility to be generous as God is generous, dispensing the sacrificial generosity of God to those around you by being supremely and wastefully generous with your time, talent, and treasure.

And how is it that this person has never given me one of her quilts?

In their beautiful, award-winning, picture book, The Quiltmaker’s Gift, [i] Jeff Brumbeau and Gail de Marcken tell the enchanting story of a very powerful and greedy king who, with the help of a little old quiltmaker, learned how to excel in the grace of giving.

In fact, this king was good, very good, at being greedy. Every Christmas and every birthday (which he celebrated twice each year) the king demanded that his subjects lavish astonishingly beautiful and magical gifts upon him.

Oh how the king loved his possessions!

He kept an accurate and detailed inventory of each one. From top to bottom, every nook and cranny of his castle was filled with the magnificent gifts he had received.

But the king was not happy.

He never smiled.

He was never satisfied.

He kept looking for that one perfect gift that would finally make him happy.

One day the king learned about a quiltmaker who lived in her little cottage in the mountains – high above the clouds. Throughout the world, people said that this quiltmaker made the brightest and prettiest quilts that anyone had ever seen.

Curiously, though, she never sold her quilts. People came from all over the world with pockets full of money to buy her magnificent quilts. Yet, no matter how hard they tried. She would not sell even one. No amount of gold or silver could change her mind. Instead, she always took her quilts to the town and gave them to the downtrodden and homeless. Then she would start another, and then another, only to give each one away.

The king demanded one of these magnificent quilts.

And how is it that this person has never given me one of her quilts? he bellowed.

But the quiltmaker refused. Several times the king threatened her. But again and again the quiltmaker refused. On one occasion the king threw the quiltmaker into the cave of a hungry bear. On another occasion the king placed her on a tiny, deserted island. Still, the quiltmaker refused to give the king one of her extraordinary quilts.

Eventually, in desperation, the king shouted, I give up! What must I do for you to give me a quilt?

In response, the quiltmaker finally promised to make the king a quilt, on one condition. He had to give away everything he owned to the poor. The king was stunned. Give away everything? Every one of his treasured gifts? What an absurd idea! The king dearly loved each and every one of his gifts. How could he possibly give them away? How could he even give one?

But finally, he gave in. He began ever so slowly at first. Starting with his smaller treasures, the king gave them away one by one. To his astonishment, he began to experience pleasure – not in receiving gifts – but in giving them away. Little by little he began to smile – and even laugh as he emptied his castle.

Soon his happiness turned into a deep, satisfying joy.

Even so, he could not understand how it was possible that he could experience such happiness by giving away his treasured possessions. But soon, the king was giving away his gifts by the wagonload.

He excelled in the grace of giving, becoming overwhelmed with inexpressible joy.

It took years for the king to give away everything. He went everywhere. He gave everyone he saw a gift. Soon there was not a person in his kingdom who had not received a gift from him. What joy filled his soul as he traded his treasures for smiles!

Finally, tired, tattered, and torn, the weary king returned home – poor – with holes in the toes of his boots. He had traveled all over the world giving away his treasures. Nevertheless, his eyes glittered with joy and his laugh had grown wonderful and thunderous. At last, he was happy.

Though poor, he felt like he was the richest person in the world.

The king kept his promise to the quiltmaker. He gave every one of his beautiful gifts away. And the quiltmaker kept her promise to the king and gave him one of the most beautiful quilts she had ever made. You see, the quiltmaker also kept her promise to herself – giving her quilts only to the poor. She stayed true to her calling; she excelled in the grace of giving.

Curiously, the king returned to the town only to give away his beautiful quilt to one he found shivering in the cold of night. The quiltmaker continued to make her magnificent quilts. From time to time the king would go to the quiltmaker’s little cottage high above the clouds and at night, take them down to the town, and give them to the poor and downtrodden.

As this wonderful parable ends, it is said that the king was ...never happier than when he was giving something away.

So - I ask you again - what makes you deeply and satisfyingly joyful? Giving? Taking?

You see, glorious and wasteful generosity is a mark of the effective leader!

You are generous.

You are a leader.

This is the truth about leadership.

This is the Genesis Principle of Leadership.

[i] Brumbeau, Jeff and De Marcken, Gail, The Quiltmaker’s Gift, Scholastic Press, 2001.

PART IV: A HIGHER LEVEL OF LEADERSHIP

Contrary to popular belief, effective leaders are not hard-nosed, cigar-chomping, commandeering, uncaring, individualistic, take-charge, lone wolves.

Rather – effective leaders are interdependent.

As a leader you are totally and dynamically reliant upon God and your fellow human beings for your well-being and continued existence. Nonetheless, you remain irreducibly distinctive, independent, and irreplaceable with even greater individual capacity, influence, and significance, finding the center of your existence and significance in God and others.

Occasionally, there have been leadership models that recognize that people are something more than programmable machines – that acknowledge that people, in fact, can think, reason, and are capable of judging for themselves – that it is not necessary for them to check their thoughts, ideas, and feeling at the door when they arrive for work – and that they don’t have to leave at the end of the day feeling like they have been treated like a number, or worse yet, a machine.

James Clawson's book, Level Three Leadership: Getting Below the Surface,[i] is an encouraging step forward. Clawson argues that effective leadership must recognize that people are much more than programmable machines. People have an intricately developed, personal set of values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations (VABEs). Workers do not check their VABEs at the door when they arrive at the workplace. People, just like you and me, use their world and life views – their conceptual frameworks – to observe, describe, interpret, and make decisions about the world around them – and then act accordingly. Clawson argues that there must be a moral foundation to leadership that consists of four cornerstones: truth-telling, promise-keeping, fairness, and respect for each individual.

What a remarkable leap from the mechanical and dehumanizing approaches to leadership still prevalent in the 21st century!

But there's more. In the words popularized by the cooking icon, Emeril Lagasse, “Let’s kick it up a notch!” Let’s take Clawson’s “Level Three” notion to a "Level Four."

According to Clawson, "respect for the individual means believing that all individuals have some intrinsic worth and should be treated accordingly with courtesy and kindness.” Clawson illustrates this with the common Buddhist greeting, “Namaste,” interpreted as, “I respect the part of God that is within you.”

Clawson had it right – ALMOST. People do have something “divine” within. Effective leaders show respect for that “divinity.” But I suggest that the traditional Christian view of “imago Dei” kicks the Buddhist notion of namaste "up a notch – to a higher biblical view of leadership – The Genesis Principle of Leadership.

You were carefully and purposefully created in God’s image.You possess most of God’s attributes.You are responsible to be a bearer of these attributes in every arena of your life.And you have been given the Genesis Charge to lead.

Though distorted by sin, every one of your co-workers and subordinates possesses, in equal portion and capacity, the created attributes of God. It is your moral responsibility, as a leader, to recognize, cultivate, and help each other steward these created leadership attributes.

This is interdependence at its best - the beginning of effective leadership.

You are interdependent.

You are a leader.

This is the truth about leadership.

This is the Genesis Principle of Leadership.

Now go out and lead!

[i] Clawson, James, Level Three Leadership: Getting Below the Surface, Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006, 2003, 1999.

Part III: Independent Interdependence without Codependency

As a leader you are totally and dynamically reliant upon God and your fellow human beings for your well-being and continued existence. Nonetheless, you remain irreducibly distinctive, independent, and irreplaceable with even greater individual capacity, influence, and significance, finding the center of your existence and significance in God and others.

Should you really be surprised that the quality of products and services decline when people are undervalued and treated like machines?

Contrary to popular belief, effective leaders are not hard-nosed, cigar-chomping, commandeering, uncaring, individualistic, take-charge, lone wolves. Effective leaders are interdependent.

This is a difficult concept for us rugged, individualistic Americans to accept, much less to put into practice. Leaders, true leaders, learned a long time ago that they can not be successful doing it their way. Even so, there is more to effective leadership than simply learning how to get along with others by attending team-building seminars, implementing participative management teams, or keeping up with the latest Japanese leadership fad.

Leaders truly understand that there is a complete, mutual, and dynamic reciprocity between all members of the team. It is this reciprocity that simultaneously increases organizational effectiveness while offering individuality and synergistic togetherness. Leadership is a perichoretic dance – a circle of shared life. It’s not all about me. It is independent interdependence without codependency.

The antiquated, individualized, independent, lone-wolf approach to leadership of the 1960s is reflected in too many of the current top-selling books and articles on leadership.

Far too many leadership books and articles being written today completely miss the vital interdependent dimension to effective leadership. There is so much more to leadership than identifying individual traits and characteristics, learning how one can exercise power, or building participative management teams. These kinds of approaches, though popular, fall far short because they do not tap into the ultimate depth and reality of interdependence. You become a truly effective leader when you become interdependent upon the people you are leading. Effective leaders are interdependent.

Pathetic Views of Leadership

Too many notions about leadership are based upon pathetically undignified (i.e. mechanistic) views of personhood. There is little to no willingness to recognize that people have rational minds and that they observe, think, value, and make judgments. Rather, the human mind is viewed as nothing more than a machine. Therefore, these machines are to be managed in much the same way one would manage any machine. “Machines” can be programmed to work in particular ways –in accordance with prescribed, engineered specifications.

Thankfully, these mechanistic approaches to leadership have been shown to be outdated and ineffective. Nevertheless, the scientific approach to management continues to be the driving force behind many leadership strategies promoted by today’s leadership gurus. Such depersonalizing approaches irresponsibly lead to the development of such things as policy manuals that attempt to force employees to perform tasks in narrowly prescribed, repeatable, machine-like fashion – all in the name of efficiency. As one employee told me, “We are not paid to think around here.”

Leadership by policymaking is the lowest form of human behavior.

Don’t misunderstand me, policies can be important. But, in my judgment, leadership by policy-making is dehumanizing and dangerous. Leading by policy-making is driven by the behavioristic philosophies discussed earlier on this blog. Such philosophies tend toward the devaluing of the individual and the undervaluing of the dignity and worth of each person as an image bearer of God. There is little to no regard for how people think, perceive, value, or process the world around them. Though this approach to leadership is antiquated and unproductive, the pressures of volatile economic, political, and global competition perpetuate its use by the illusion of repeatable production, consistent output, or increased productivity. We are beginning to witness the negative consequences of its use. Even as production has increased, the quality of goods and services has suffered.

So I ask you again – should you really be surprised that the quality of products and services decline when people are undervalued and treated like machines? Leading by policy making is the lowest form of human behavior.

You are interdependent.

You are a leader.

This is the truth about leadership.

This is the Genesis Principle of Leadership.

Now go out and lead!

LEADERS ARE INTERDEPENDENT: PART II

As a leader you are totally and dynamically reliant upon God and your fellow human beings for your well-being and continued existence. Nonetheless, you remain irreducibly distinctive, independent, and irreplaceable with even greater individual capacity, influence, and significance, finding the center of your existence and significance in God and others.

Lord of the Dance

Remember … the art of dancing holds the secret to effective leadership. Let me continue from last week …

There is a magnificent and transcendent picture of this kind of interdependence in the Godhead, the Holy Trinity. The early church fathers used the word perichoresis to describe the interdependent relationship of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Interestingly, this word, perichoresis, is the root word for dance. Perichoresis speaks about a deep interpenetrating relationship, a mutual indwelling, and a reciprocal interrelationship between the members of the Holy Trinity. The Trinity is significantly more than three distinct people who learned how to get along simply because they attended a team-building seminar together. There is a mutual relationship that is so deep and so complete that each person is completely in the other two – yet without coalescence, without losing any individual distinctiveness.

God the Father becomes even more distinctive as He completely interpenetrates God the Son and God the Holy Spirit; God the Son becomes even more distinctive as He completely interpenetrates God the Father and God the Holy Spirit; and, God the Holy Spirit becomes even more distinctive as He completely interpenetrates God the Father and God the Son.

Teach Me How to Twirl and How to Move

Andrew Stephen Damick captured this perichoretic portrait so wonderfully in his poem, Perichoresis. Again, don’t tell Sarah, but these words make me want to join the dance:

Perichoresis

O elegant and gentle Leader of the dance,

we do not know the meaning of each step

nor how to rightly turn this way or hold this pose.

Each spinning step or angled movement's twist

does sometimes give us vertigo here where we stand;

this mystery of how the rhythm's pulse

and how the music's lilt are tuned to only You

has caught us up, and we are overwhelmed.

O grace-filled, grace-bestowing Leader of the dance,

please teach me how to twirl and how to move;

please teach me how the song pervades each dancer's form,

these dancers who have learned to dance with You

throughout the ages of the song, the holy song

You sang in ages past to Abraham,

to Isaac and to Jacob and his Hebrew seed:

Now sing to me and give me, too, this life.

O Leader of the dance, this perfect partnership

of Leader and of led, of God and man,

this Incarnation's holy dance we see in You,

You now invite us to accompany.

This awesome dance, a truly cosmic synergy,

the interpenetration of us men

with Deity -- with Trinity! -- the universe

beholds and stands amazed and bows its head.

O holy Leader of this cosmic circling dance,

the union of both man and God is here

and imaged in the holy mystery of life

conjoined, a woman and a man conjoined.

He takes Your role as gentle leader, she as Church,

she follows him, and he must die for her;

their dance together joins the dance eternal now,

and in that human dance we see our God.

O Holy Trinity, Your dance eternal now

descends on us and consecrates our own,

the revelation here as Body and as Blood;

herein we taste the God become a man,

and men become as gods as David prophesied.

The Trinitarian rhythm has become

our own, to guide our dance, to grasp our hands and lead

us in the dance of stillness perfectly. [i]

What a magnificent picture of how you are to relate to others!

Did you catch the last line? The Trinitarian rhythm has become our own, to guide our dance, to grasp our hands and lead us in the dance of stillness perfectly. God created you in His image. As a bearer of His image, you, like each member of the Godhead, are interdependent. You were created with the capacity for a deep, mutual, interpenetrating, interdependent relationship with God and with others. You have been invited to the dance – even though you may not know how to dance. In this dance, you become even more distinctive in your responsibility to be a bearer of God’s image.

You are interdependent.

You are a leader.

This is the truth about leadership.

This is the Genesis Principle of Leadership.

Now go out and dance … lead!

[i] Damick, Andrew Stephen, Perichoresis, 2004.

LEADERS ARE INTERDEPENDENT: PART I

As a leader you are totally and dynamically reliant upon God and your fellow human beings for your well-being and continued existence. Nonetheless, you remain irreducibly distinctive, independent, and irreplaceable with even greater individual capacity, influence, and significance, finding the center of your existence and significance in God and others.

I Won’t Dance

Some people collect stamps; some collect rare coins; others collect antiques or baseball cards.

I collect experiences. My life’s album is a treasure chest of incredible, thrilling, “once-in-a-lifetime” adventures. Many of these experiences have been life-changing quests. I continue to have a zeal for adding even more pages to my collection of life-altering adventures.

However, there is one experience I have no desire whatsoever to add to my collection. I won’t dance! My wife, Sarah, is one of those tormented women described by Groucho Marx, who once quipped, “Wives are people who feel they don’t dance enough.” Sarah suffers great anguish because I won’t dance with her. Every fiber of her being yearns, desires, even aches, to waltz, polka, salsa, square dance, clog, even bunny hop at wedding receptions. But I won’t even slow dance. Privately, it grieves me to see the hurt in her eyes – but I just won’t dance.

I don’t have any moral or religious convictions against dancing. I’m sure that by now you are thinking that I am the perfect prude. But don’t misunderstand me – so let me shine more light on the matter.

The fact of the matter is – I simply can’t dance.

Every self-conscious fiber of my being rises to the surface. I feel exposed and naked. I just “know” that every single eye in the universe is riveted on me – pointing and snickering at me as I trip and stumble and jerk around the dance floor. My joints and muscles lock up. I end up standing, rigidly, in the middle of the dance floor – completely embarrassed and humiliated. It is at this moment that the words of the rock group, Genesis, play over and over and over again in my head:

I can’t dance, I can’t talk.
The only thing about me is the way I walk.
I can’t dance, I can’t sing
I’m just standing here selling everything.

But I Love the Dance!

Ironically, though, I enjoy watching others dance. I enjoy attending the ballet. I’ve even purchased front row seats to Michael Flately’s Lord of the Dance three times, so that I could fully experience, albeit vicariously, the classic tale of good versus evil, played out by perfect precision dancing, dramatic original music, colorful costumes, and state-of-the-art production techniques. I am amazed by the virtuosity of the dancers, who, it is estimated, complete 151,200 taps per show. I wonder how they can never seem to miss a beat. By the way, who had the time, energy, and keenness of eyesight to count 151,200 taps?

Indeed, there is indescribable beauty and elegance in watching a dancer reveal her soul through the movements of her body – dancing, as choreographer George Balanchine said, “…not because she wants to – but because she has to.” Nothing is more inspiring than watching people dance with energy, grace, and technical precision.

Yet, something more moving, more stirring occurs when dancers discover that they are not just good dancers because of their individual ability and technique, rather they become incredible dancers because of their passionate, soulish, interconnectedness with the other dancer(s). A dancer may be technically perfect individually, but when a dancer is partnered with someone else, when the dancers rely on each other to express a shared message, something more powerful, more graceful, more expressive, and more magnificent is created.

It is Magical!

Fred Astaire was a wonderful dancer, but when he danced with Ginger Rogers, it was magical! Such dancers are totally and dynamically reliant upon each other for their continued being and existence. The result is an artistic expression far surpassing anything they could create and perform individually. Such dancers have greater individual capacity, effect, and significance because they are mutually and dynamically interdependent upon one another. Simply stated, they are better together! As author Catherine Mowry LaCugna put it:

There is a mutual interanimation, dynamic reciprocity, and unsurpassable beauty between the dancers that can only be understood as an irreducible relational dynamic that simultaneously affirms both individuality and mutuality. [i]

Want to know the truth? (Please don’t tell Sarah) Deep down inside, I long to dance like this. I would dance, if only I could dance like this

Herein lays a profound secret to effective leadership. As the French dramatist, Moliere’ (1622) put it:

All the ills of mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the political blunders, all the failures of the great leaders have arisen merely from a lack at dancing.

To be continued next week …

[i] LaCugna, Catherine Mowry, God for Us, The Trinity and Christian Life, New York, NY, Harper Collins Publishing, 1992, p. 271.

LEADERS ARE FAITHFUL - PART IV

I apologize. I’ve been away for a few weeks – adapting to my new hip – for which I’m intensely grateful. Let me continue …

Thus far I’ve established that faithfulness is a core characteristic of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, faithfulness is a core, created characteristic of God’s servants, His leaders. God created you to be faithful and to live faithfully. Leaders entrust their life, well-being, and soul to the faithful and true Creator. Consequently, others acknowledge leaders as trustworthy and reliable as they faithfully do their work and good deeds. In the same way, leaders unreservedly view others as worthy of trust and steadfastly rely upon them for the completion of the work.

Faithful leaders lead with their heart, head, hands, honor, hospitality, humbleness, and happiness.

1. Leaders possess confident, compassionate, and courageous hearts. Typically, this is a quiet, yet compelling, confidence in the One who not only created the universe, but fulfills the eternal decrees of the Lord of that universe. Leaders have compassion for the people who were also created in the image of God and possess divinely appointed niches in fulfilling God’s plan. Leaders are courageous – fully engaging every arena of life, personal and professional, with no fear. Like John Wesley, effective leaders possess the confidence that “Until my work is complete I am immortal.” In other words, until the work that you came to earth to do is completed – every tiny detail of that work – God will allow no harm to befall you. Not one thing will interfere with the completion of your divinely appointed work. You know and admire people like this – confident, compassionate, and courageous. Names and faces come to mind, don’t they? What about Mother Teresa?

2. Faithful leaders lead with their heads in rational, reliable, and responsible ways. Because leaders are image bearers of the Creator, they are rational. They have the created capacity to make wise, fair, and sensible decisions. Leaders are reliable. They can be counted upon to be consistent, fair, and reasonable in their decisions and judgments. And leaders not only take and own full responsibility for their work, but are also willing to share this work with others.

3. Faithful leaders lead with their hands. In other words, leaders are action-minded. They are connecting, challenging, and changing the circumstances around them. They do not view themselves as a “victim” of their circumstances, nor do they stand passively on the sidelines wondering, “What just happened?” Life is a contact sport for faithful leaders. Leaders apply their created attributes by entering and engaging every arena of their personal and professional lives. Leaders challenge and confront, boldly at times, every corner of culture for God and for good.

4. Faithful leaders lead with honor. Contrary to the conventional wisdom of today’s culture, leaders do have a moral center. That is, effective leaders have developed a set of principled and ethical core values that direct their personal and professional lives. Therefore, faithful leaders are trustworthy. Leaders are honest; leaders tell the whole truth – all of the time; and leaders are reliable – they do what they said they would do when they said they would do it. Faithful leaders trust others as image bearers of God and, therefore, consider them to be reliable and trustworthy. Or to put it more simply, they have “high” expectations of others.

5. Faithful leaders are hospitable. They are approachable. Their demeanor invites and welcomes the thoughts, ideas, and concerns of others. Simply stated, faithful leaders are easy to talk to. Leaders are attentive, alert, and responsive; they give their undivided attention to others. They actively and attentively listen to what is being said and connect with the communicator. Leaders are amiable, interacting with others in warm, friendly, and light-hearted ways.

6. Faithful leaders are humble. This is not a false humility so often used by some to manipulate others (I actually attended a workshop once where we were coached on how to make others believe we were humble). Rather, there is a genuine inner calmness in leaders. They are “calm, cool, and collected.” Humble leaders have a distinguishing unruffled, serene, tranquil, and composed demeanor. Seldom do they become ruffled and disquieted – not even in their inner-most being. Leaders reveal an inner calmness that calms others in the midst of unsettling situations – often by simply walking into the situation – without having to say or do anything other than just being present.

7. Faithful leaders are happy. Deep inside they are content, satisfied, and at peace regardless of their circumstances. They are not defeated, depressed, nor distraught. Happy leaders are, in fact, comfortable and at peace. They are, truthful, cheerful, joyful, and in good spirits. Consequently, faithful leaders are encouraging. That is, their cheerfulness is contagious. They have the ability to encourage others and lead them out of their defeated mindset into a more positive frame – energizing them to greater work and impact.

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 in His image!

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!