Too often, we act like Jesus just defined a goal and a method, and fail to seek the daily assistance of the helper he requested on our behalf. We can’t expect to reach the goal He did if we don’t take the same approach to our daily life as He did to His.
Who doesn’t love this (unsourced) quote from Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” It sounds so right, certainly something that we desire to be true, or is it?
I am fascinated by how well great truths mirror the teaching and examples in the Holy Scriptures. Cases where the modern-day teacher derives his or her thesis from scripture (e.g. Dale Carnegie) are interesting, but it is those cases where empirical data leads to the same conclusions as the teachings preserved as scripture that intrigue me most. One such example is Jim Collins and the concepts explored in his book Good to Great. Collins entered into his study of why and how some companies make the leap from a “good” company to a “great” company specifically looking for answers other than leadership. What he and his team found, however, is that the organizations that make the leap always did so with the guidance of a specific type of leader. The traits of this “Level 5 Leader” are remarkably unsurprising to anyone familiar with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
