Qualities of Great Leaders (part 2): Vision

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Acts 16:9-10

9 That night Paul had a vision. He saw a man from Macedonia in northern Greece, pleading with him, "Come over here and help us." 10 So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, for we could only conclude that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.

NLT

In biblical times, it was not unusual for God to speak to people through visions.  In the passage in Acts 16:9-10 we have the account of Paul receiving a vision from God.  The vision involved a man from Macedonia pleading with Paul to come and help them.  Paul, out of obedience to God immediately decided to leave for Macedonia believing that the vision was God calling him to go to Macedonia to preach the Gospel to them.

Today since we have the full cannon of scripture, it is unusual for God to speak to His people through visions.  In fact, when someone today says they have had a vision from God, we should immediately go to scripture to see if their vision is in line with scripture or are they trying to establish some cult following.  This is why we must fill ourselves with the knowledge of God’s Word so we will not be deceived (Hosea 4:6). 

Vision is a quality all great leaders possess.  Great leaders are able to look beyond the present situation and have a vision of improving it.  As we survey the present situation in our country, it soon becomes obvious that we have a lack of visionary leadership.  Instead of a vision for improving the state of our country, most of our current leadership is engaged in spin control designed to preserve their political positions of power.  However, this has not always been the case in our country. 

In his May 25 speech to Congress on Urgent National Needs, President Kennedy said the following:

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.  No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space."
-President Kennedy, Address to Congress on Urgent National Needs, May 25, 1961  (1)

Unfortunately, an assassin’s bullet prevented President Kennedy from seeing his vision come to fruition but his vision not only landed a man on the moon but also was responsible for much of the technological boom we enjoy today.  Among the technologies developed by NASA are:

1)      Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs

2)      Infrared Ear Thermometers

3)      Artificial Limbs

4)      Ventricular Assist Device

5)      Anti-Icing Systems

6)      Highway Safety

7)      Improved Radial Tires

8)      Chemical Detection

9)      Video Enhancing and Analysis Systems

10)   Land Mine Removal

11)   Fire-Resistant Reinforcement

12)   Firefighter Gear

13)   Temper Foam

14)   Enriched Baby Food

15)   Portable Cordless Vacuums

16)   Freeze Drying Technology

17)   Harnessing Solar Energy

18)   Pollution Remediation

19)   Water Purification  (2)

The visionary leadership of President Kennedy set in motion research and development that has greatly benefited our lives even 49 years after the President stated his vision. 

Another visionary leader in my lifetime was Ronald Reagan.  The economic outlook of our country at the end of the 1970’s was very grim.  Our nation was suffering from inflation in double digits, high unemployment, and double digit interest rates.  Our nation even developed a new index to measure the misery of the country called the 'misery index'.  History records this period of economic history as a period of stagflation or a period of high inflation, increasing unemployment, and stagnant business activity.  (3)

In Reagan’s election eve speech on November 3, 1980, he outlined his vision for the United States.  His vision was a country that once again enjoyed economic prosperity and a nation that would be secure through strength.  (4)  The next day, the American people responded to his vision by electing him President of the United States. 

In spite of a media that did not support his presidency and democrat control of both houses of Congress throughout most of the eight years of President Reagan’s presidency, he was able to implement his policies of lower taxation, reduced regulation, and a strong military.  These visionary policies helped to restore the economic greatness of our country and ended the Cold War (5) 

Unfortunately, over the last five years of the Obama Administration we have witnessed how leadership lacking vision can dismantle the progress made by visionary leaders of the past.  President Obama has ended the manned spaceflight program because he needs to money to fund his socialist, progressive, and statist programs.  With his dismantling of this program, he has ended any technological advances it may bring.  Obama’s progressive economic policies mean businesses and individuals can no longer plan for a more prosperous future and instead must struggle for their survival.  In addition, his failed foreign policies and his dismantling of our military have sent a message of weakness to the world resulting in, among other things, the restarting of the Cold War with Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine. 

Our nation needs a visionary leader with the vision of restoring our nation to its position of technological innovator, economic super power, and security through strength.  In the next two elections, we the voters need to find leaders with such vision.  Next Saturday we will look at the importance of integrity in leadership. 

1. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. NASA Moon Landing. www.jfklibrary.org. [Online] [Cited: March 1, 2014.] http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-Legacy/NASA-Moon-Landing.aspx.

2. NASA. NASA Technologies Benefit Our Lives. spinoff.nasa.gov. [Online] NASA. [Cited: March 1, 2014.] http://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2008/tech_benefits.html.

3. U.S. Department of State. Stagflation in the 1970s. economics.about.com. [Online] About.com Economicx. [Cited: March 1, 2014.] http://economics.about.com/od/useconomichistory/a/stagflation.htm.

4. the American Presidency Project. Election Eve Address "A Vision for America". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. [Online] [Cited: March 1, 2014.] http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=85199.

5. Miller Center. American President: A Reference Resource Ronald Wilson Reagan Front Page. millercenter.org. [Online] University of Virginia. [Cited: March 1, 2014.] http://millercenter.org/president/reagan/essays/biography/8.