Keith H. Ray
By Keith H. Ray
Leadership is a divine mystery where the science of management, art of creative thinking, humility of servanthood, and prompting of the Holy Spirit meet to do the unimaginable for the kingdom of God.
Perhaps most delightful of all is watching God transform the simple acts of servitude into influential initiatives that bring about timely and fruitful change. This servitude is also accompanied by the sometimes difficult realities of truth. I call this “truthship,” where we speak the truth in love in order to bring God”s reality to bear on our ever-changing circumstances. Wishful thinking and notions of denial only deter the leader from moving to the cadence of what is the apparent hand of God moving his people forward.
To quote my favorite author on leadership, J.P. Kotter: “Leadership is moving people forward mostly through non-coerced means.” That begins to approach John 13, where Jesus illustrates the most profound notion of leadership and delegation in the act of foot washing. It carries with it the cross and the towel, the most powerful tools a leader can be afforded.
Keith H. Ray serves as president at Lincoln Christian University, Lincoln, Illinois.
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