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Episode One
Observations on Leadership
Good morning. My name is Rev Dr Bobby Lee. I am the Executive Director of the Singapore Baptist Convention and Special adviser to BICC. In this podcast, I shall be speaking on a very significant and relevant topic on biblical Leadership that is also connected to church growth. I have titled this Leadership series, LEAD the WAY.
In this Opening Episode One, I will introduce the concept of leadership, followed by addressing some of the general assumptions on the subject of leadership. At the end of this episode, I will leave you with 3 questions relating to this Introductory episode on this Leadership series, entitled LEAD the WAY. Let us begin.
Four Observations on Leadership
In surveying the leadership landscape, four critical observations can be discerned:
One, the explosion of books on effective leadership. Effective leadership matters in the past, the present and the future. Why? Because "everything rises and falls on effective leadership.” With effective leadership, a country, an organization, an institution can reach their full potentials and be successful in what they envision to do. There is saying from an Arabic proverb, “An army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep." Conversely, ineffective leadership hinders success, strangles growth and development of any country, institution, organisations, etc.
Two, there is a growing shift from "hierarchical", "heroic", "transactional", "authoritative" and "power" models of leadership to post-hierarchical, post-heroic heroic, transformational, influence, authentic models. In this model, "leaders no longer have the answers, but instead create a climate where followers are empowered, collaborative, and freed to pursue shared goals in their own way." Today's leadership sees bosses not lording over employees but as partners and empowered employees. They lead not so much from positional power, positional power but personal power.
Three, the call for servant-leadership is growing louder in the political, business, educational societal and religious arenas. Servant-leadership has become the most viable form of leadership in every sector of society.
Four, the classical concept that leaders are born and not made have been slowly giving way to leaders are made and not born. Everyone has leadership potentials. They need to be cultivated. Positions, titles, academic credentials do not determine effective leadership.
What do Winston Churchill, Ronald Ragan, Margaret Thatcher, Aung San Suu Kyi, Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Joan of Arc, Genghis Khan, John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Wesley, Martin Luther King Jr, Confucius, Booker T. Washington, William Wilberforce, Nelson Mandela, Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Bill Gill Gates, Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs, Lee Kuan Yew, Jane Soh, Lilian Lim, Alive Heng have in common? Though they come from different walks of life — some are politicians, military commanders, reformers, liberators, revolutionaries, religious leaders, explorers, industrialists, entrepreneurs, they are all effective leaders.
What is leadership? A simple question to ask, yet difficult to answer, isn't it? The search for leadership models is as old as the beginning of the human race. The reason behind is simple: the success of a community, nation, organization, and industry depends on effective leadership. Admittedly, there are as many books on leadership as there are models to choose from. Some are theoretical and others are practical. Two questions that inevitably surface in books on leadership are whether leaders are born or made (nature versus nurture) and what models to adopt to be successful and effective twenty-first century leaders.
Have you heard of the names of two kings in the Ancient Near East, Shutruk Nakhunte (1185-1155 BC) and Ozymandias also known as Ramesses II, an Egyptian Pharaoh who reigned from 1279 to 1213 BC?
For Shutruk Nahkhunte, you most probably heard of him from the movie “The Emperor's Club” which premiered in 2002. In the opening scene, you have the dedicated teacher Mr. William Hundert who majored in Classics trying to teach moral lessons to the new students at St. Benedict School, an exclusive private school for boys. There is a plaque above the door that reads:
I am Shutruk Nahunte, King of Anshand and Susa, Sovereign of the land of Elam. I destroyed Sippar, took the stele of Naram-Sin, and brought it back to Elam, where I erected it as an offering to my god. Shutruk Nahunte - 1158 BC.
The teacher Mr. Hundert made an insightful comment, “It's a quote from a virtually unknown king, who speaks of his list of conquests, but speaks nothing about the benefits. This king is unknown in history, because great ambition and conquest without contribution is without significance.”
For Ozymandias, we have a famous poem written by Percy Bysshe Shelley (AD 1792-1822) about an Egyptian ruler who in spite of all his achievements is remembered today for the pedestal on an empty plain.
Ozymandias
I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read,
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed,
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
On the other hand, it has been said that the man who never wrote a line has been made the hero to unnumbered volumes. He who never wrote a song has put music into the hearts of nameless multitudes. He who never established an institution is the foundation of the Church that bears his name. He who refused the kingdoms of this world has become the Lord of millions. His shameful death which scarcely produced a ripple on the pool of history in his day has become a mighty current in the vast ocean of the centuries since He died. His name? Jesus of Nazareth.
These two kings, Shutruk Nahunte and Ozymandias, were revered in the Ancient Near East for their proud achievements and exploits. Yet today, you don't hear about their influence and the impact of their names anymore. On the other hand, the son of a carpenter whose name has become the “Name above all Names” is revered and remembered. Why? Part of the reason has to do with leaderships styles. For the two kings, theirs was an autocratic leadership. They led others by intimidating them, influenced others by dominating them, and motivated others by manipulating them. Jesus Christ on the other hand practised servant leadership - self emptying and self- giving. He led others by serving them, influenced others by inspiring them, and motivated others by exampling.
This podcast is all about biblical leadership. What does it mean to be a leader and how does one become an authentic servant leader patterned after Christ?
Leadership Assumptions
In this Episode One of a Leadership Series, entitled LEAD the WAY, I talked about the concept of leadership, followed by addressing some of the assumptions on leadership. To help us review what we have heard from this podcast, I invite you to reflect on the following questions. Please join me for Episode Two, where I will talk about the literature relating to leadership, followed by Definitions of a Leader, and whether a Leader is Made or Born. Good-bye, and have a great day!
Discussion Questions
1. When you think of leadership, what comes to mind?
2. How would you define leadership?
3. Why is leadership so important in today’s world?