By: Dale Weckbacher
Acts 17:6
But when they did not
find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city,
crying out,"These who have turned the world upside down have come here
too.
NKJV
Last Saturday we stressed the importance of the newly
elected senators and representatives moving from campaign mode to governing
mode. However, if these new leaders are
really going to make a difference that will last, they must shift from
governing to leading. Just because voters
elect someone and they have a title does not necessarily mean they are a leader
for leadership has special qualities that transcend just having a title or
position.
Jesus did not hold any office or have any worldly title of
prominence yet in just three short years of ministry Jesus made a tremendous
impact on the world. Granted, he is God
in the flesh (John 1:14) but when he walked the earth, he did so as a man. Eleven of the 12 Apostles, which were in
Jesus’ inner circle, went on to spread Jesus teachings around the known world
at that time. Since then descendants of
those impacted by the ministry of the apostles have taken the Gospel and spread
it around the world. Since neither Jesus
or his Apostles held any office or had any prominent worldly title, it is not
governing but leadership, based on Godly principles, that caused the Gospel to
spread around the world and turn it upside down (Acts 17:6).
It is refreshing to know that at least for the next two
years Republicans instead of Democrats will govern the United States
legislatively. However, we must live
with the reality that we are also only one election away from Democrats
wrestling control of the Congress from Republicans. We see these back and forth swings throughout
the history of the United States as well as other countries in the free
world. It will take solid leadership to
bring about lasting change in the direction of the country from liberalism and
socialism to the free republic the founders of our nation envisioned. What our nation needs is real transformational
leadership so let us look at the characteristics of transformational
leadership.
According to Michele McDonough writing for Bright Hub, (1) Transformational leadership consists of
1)
Idealized Influence – This influence engenders
trust, admiration, loyalty, and respect.
Our future transformational leader must be skilled at
a.
articulating a vision and explaining how to
attain the vision in an appealing manner
b.
leading by example
c.
acting confidently and optimistically
d.
sharing risks with followers
e.
emphasizing values and reinforcing them by
symbolic actions
The results of the recent election
demonstrate that the leadership of the nation was not exercising idealized
influence and leading by example. Thus,
the voters fired them from leadership.
New leadership must begin exercising idealized influence or face the
same fate in 2016. Voters have had
enough of leading, or pushing, from behind and desire leadership that will step
out front and lead the nation back to greatness.
2)
Inspirational Motivation – A transformational
leader must inspire followers to follow his or her ideas by,
a.
articulation of a clear and appealing view of
the future
b.
development of a shared vision in both economic
and ideological terms so that the followers see meaning in their work
c.
making sure of each follower’s role in the
fulfillment of the shared vision, and setting high standards for the followers
to attain objectives
d.
encouraging followers to integrate and become
part of the overall organizational culture and environment
e.
making vivid descriptions of a good future that
raises one’s imagination
f.
motivational speeches and conversations
g.
public display of optimism and enthusiasm
h.
highlighting positive outcomes
i.
stimulating teamwork
j.
persuading followers to transcend their own
interests for the collective team or organizational interest when required
Inspirational leadership may
actually require an individual to temporarily abandon his or her own interests,
not values, in the interest of transforming the nation. Some who have grown up relying on some government
handout may need to learn dependence on God and their God given abilities to
support them in the interest of controlling out of control government
spending. For far too long people have
been taught to believe the answers to their problems will come from some
government program, only to be disappointed.
Perhaps the main benefit of the
last six years of the Obama Administration has been people finally realizing
that government does not have the answers to their problems. This is causing people to seek answers from
other sources. My prayer is that my
fellow Christians will take this as an opportunity to point people to Jesus
Christ as the answer to their problems.
3)
Intellectual Stimulation – Encouragement of
change through intellectual stimulation through,
a.
fostering a climate that favors critical
examination of commonly held notions, beliefs, and the status quo
b.
creating an environment conducive to the
creation and sharing of knowledge
c.
encouraging innovation and creativity
d.
heightening sensitivity to environmental changes
e.
encouraging the suggestion of radical and
controversial ideas without fear of punishment or ridicule
f.
empowerment and imposition of the leader's idea
only in the absence of viable ideas from the followers (1)
Liberals have controlled the
education system and media for several generations and have managed to
virtually eliminate critical thinking, replacing it with indoctrination. (2)
Students are discouraged from
questioning their teachers out of fear of a lower grade or not being
politically correct. The media concurs
with this indoctrination creating the perfect opportunity to create a compliant
society that will not question their leaders.
In contrast, a transformational
leader encourages new ideas and surrounds him or herself with people that are
encouraged to present ideas, even if they differ from what the leaders
wants. A transformational leader
assembles a leadership team instead of acting unilaterally. This is what the founders of the United
States had in mind when they created a government system with power divided
among three coequal branches of government.
The founders believed that this division of power would result in better
government as ideas could be debated among representatives, the executive
branch, and courts.
4)
Individualized Consideration – Treatment of
individuals as whole people instead of people that are just there to serve the
leader.
a.
listening to each follower’s needs and concerns
b.
expressing words of thanks or praise as a means
of motivation
c.
making public recognition of achievements and
initiatives
d.
making private notes of congratulations to boost
self confidence
e.
ensuring fair workload distribution
One of the major faults of
socialism and communism is it demeans the individual in the interest of the
collective society. For my trekie
friends this would be like the Borg who conquers worlds by assimilating people
into their collective. (3) Thinking in this society is only allowed if it
agrees with the mastermind of the elitists governing the society. In many ways this is what is occurring in our
education system and media and is the major reason why freethinking people must
resist common core. (4)
Ronald Reagan was the most recent example of a
transformational leader in the United States.
His policies unleashed the free market stimulating its creativity leading
to the greatest peacetime economic expansion in the nation’s history. (5) Ronald Reagan surrounded himself with a
great team and encouraged them to present ideas, ideas that transformed the
nation from its stagnation back to its former position of greatness. (6)
With Republicans now in control of both houses of Congress
and with the election of a new President in 2016, it is imperative that we find
transformational leaders committed to restoring the United States to its former
position of greatness as a world leader.
The good news is we as voters and citizens of the country have an
opportunity to support and elect these leaders.
Next Saturday we will explore what makes a great
transformational leader.
1. McDonough, Michele. Characteristics of
Transformational Leadership. www.brighthub.com. [Online] Bright Hub, May
20, 2010. [Cited: November 14, 2014.]
http://www.brighthub.com/office/home/articles/71743.aspx.
2. Chomsky, Noam.
What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream. www.chomsky.info. [Online]
October 1997. [Cited: November 11, 2014.]
http://www.chomsky.info/articles/199710--.htm.
3. MD, Ronald
Cherry. The Borg vs. The People. intellectualconservative.com. [Online]
Intellectual Conservative, January 1, 2014. [Cited: November 14, 2014.]
http://intellectualconservative.com/the-borg-vs-the-people/.
4. DeWitt, Peter.
Have Standards Ever Promoted Independent Thinking? blogs.edweek.org. [Online]
Education Week, December 29, 2013. [Cited: November 14, 2014.]
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/12/have_standards_ever_promoted_independent_thinking.html.
5. Yale, Burton.
The Ten Legacies of Ronald Reagan. www.heritage.org. [Online] The
Heritage Foundation, November 15, 1988. [Cited: November 14, 2014.] http://www.heritage.org/research/lecture/the-ten-legacies-of-ronald-reagan.
6. Mohler, Albert.
Leadership Lessons from President Ronald W. Reagan. www.albertmohler.com. [Online]
June 11, 2004. [Cited: November 14, 2014.] http://www.albertmohler.com/2004/06/11/leadership-lessons-from-president-ronald-w-reagan/.
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