Tag: leadership

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE LONESOME LEADER?

Neal Pollard

He feels displeasure. An event usually triggers this. He reacts to the behavior or problems of another through negative emotion. An element of disbelief or disappointment may be the catalyst for his displeasure.

He feels disfavored. He may feel that God is against him, since he is going through the crisis. He will repeatedly ask, “Why?!”

He feels resentful. In these “lowlight” moments, he can resent the people who rely on his leadership. He may even feel like a surrogate, though stressed-out, parent. He may wonder why God put him into this caregiver role.

He feels helpless. He may feel unequal to the challenge before him. He may not know where to turn or how to resolve whatever the matter or issue is.

He feels overwhelmed. This is where the lonesomeness can feel greatest. He feels burdened down and incapable of carrying such a load. There may even be panic or at least severe dismay.

He feelsdepressed. He may even want “out of the job.” In severe cases, the depression can give him a distaste for life itself.

It is easy to see that problems leaders confront can seem like a snowball. Often, the reason the problem grows is because the leader is trying to do the work alone. The scenario painted above is not from my expertise or experience. It is an analysis of Moses’ problem in Numbers 11. the displeasure (11:10) and feelings of disfavor (11:11), resentment (11:12), helplessness (11:13), being overwhelmed (11:14) and depression (11:15) had brought this amazing leader to the brink. Moses apparently had a problem with letting go and getting others’ help (see Exodus 18).  The answer to both leadership dilemmas was identical. “Let others help!”  This time, instead of Jethro, God gave the answer to the “lonesome leader” syndrome. The solution came in the form of 70 men, helpers who would ease Moses’ burdens.

Many other Bible examples show the wisdom of delegation and letting others help shoulder the load. It was God’s idea, so we would expect it to work.  It worked for Old Testament Israel. It will help those who lead in spiritual Israel today. Elders and other church leaders who “get” it show wisdom and insight while finding relief and peace of mind in serving God.  You can break out of the “lonesome leader” syndrome!

HE WAS THEIR CAPTAIN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neal Pollard

It has been suggested that the Psalms where David appears most anxious were written from the Cave of Adullam. His time there represented one of the deepest valleys of his life. Yet, one of the many contrasts between the man who would be the most beloved king of Israel and his predecessor was the great drawing power he possessed. The drawing power was not his military prowess, though he possessed it. It was his righteous and godly way of life. His brothers and members of his family came to him there, but so did another group. About 400 men crowded into this cave. It is what is said about the non-relatives in the cave that catches my eye. Consider what is said in 1 Samuel 22:2.

Those in distress came to him. It is not said why they were distressed, but in their distress they gravitated to David. Maybe he soothed them by his faith or through his songs. But the distressed knew David would be a source of comfort.

Those in debt came to him. It is not clear how they had gotten into debt, whether of their own poor choices or through some unfair tactic of Saul or someone else. The Bible elsewhere condemns folly which leads to debt, but there is no such judgment here. The endebted knew David would be a source of relief and protection.

Those in discontent came to him. There is no reason to believe that these were discontent in the way their grumbling and complaining forefathers had been. It could well have been that they were discontent with the dangerous spiritual direction the nation was headed under Saul’s leadership. The discontent knew David would be a source of optimism and leadership.

There are people like these around you today. Some of them are your spiritual brothers and sisters. Others could be, if you were able to lend them the comfort, relief, and leadership that Christ promises (cf. Matt. 11:28-30). Are you the kind of Christian that others come to for help and guidance? Learn from David’s example and be an oasis to a world in a desert of sorrow and sin.

 

THE SWISS PARAGUAYAN

Neal Pollard

Moises’ Bertoni’s story is fascinating.  Born in Switzerland in 1857, son of a renowned lawyer, Bertoni was an idealist and an adventurer whose scientific passions took him first to Brazil and ultimately to Paraguay, where he and his wife raised their thirteen sons!  They suffered many hardships in the area known as Alto Parana, a department (like a region or state) featuring the Parana River.  When still living on the Brazil side of the river, it overflowed its banks and deluged the Bertoni home, destroying ten years of research on two continents.  Once in Paraguay, they faced pumas, jaguars, tapirs, monkeys, and anacondas.  He wrote, in an 1885 personal letter, “We have passed through all the difficulties that human existence can offer…villainy, the most absolute misery, freaky weather, hunger! We have born up under all of it, amazed at ourselves. We are not willing to give in…We are on the field of battle, and the fight offers only two outcomes: victory or death!”

Not surprisingly, Bertoni became an eminent figure in Paraguayan history renowned for his scientific research, agricultural advancement, publishing, environmentalism, and his work as an expert student the Guarani race of people who were his neighbors.  He suffered many disappointments and failures before succumbing to malaria in 1929, but his approach to the challenges of life proved him a fighter who persevered (some information via Mike Caesar, “Paraguay’s First Man Of Science,” 2002).

Though Bertoni was misguided in some of his pursuits, he exemplifies a principle we should all apply to our lives as Christians today.  Whatever difficulties and challenges we face, we must remember that we, too, are on the field of battle.  As he framed his work, how much more is ours a matter of “victory or death”?  Repeatedly, New Testament writers cast Christianity as a battle fraught with adversity (Rom. 13:12; 2 Cor. 10:4; Eph. 6; 1 Tim. 1:18; 2 Tim. 4:7; etc.).  Yet, this is the promised finale of the fight, that “you are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he that is in you than he who is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4).  In the next chapter, John explains that we overcome by faith (1 Jn. 5:4).  Some day, unless Christ’s coming precedes it, physical death will overtake us, but, if we are faithful in Christ, we will experience eternal victory!