Comments on: Principles of Christian leadership

By: Fritz_CT

Fritz_CT — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:14:18 +0000

“Building Your Leadership Resume”- even the title sounds overly product oriented and works-based. No matter how I envision it, whether 2000 years ago, or if He was ministering in the flesh right now, I don’t see Jesus looking to “build” HIS leadership resume, or any resume for that matter. Let us not forget the principles of simplicity, grace, and influence.

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By: arcadia

arcadia — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:56:31 +0000

Sawgunner: If there is any one overarching political message of most of the evangelical posters on this board it is that America has somehow lost its way, has become estranged from sprirituality and needs more spritual, biblically inspired political leadership.

Yet you casually dismiss as “mandated by god” the utter exclusion of over one-half of the population from providing this spritual leadership and inspiration.

This attitude does not go unnoticed in the country. In the last election the women voted 56-43 for the Democrats while men voted 49-48.

Frank in Spokane: By what authority do you declare the biblical model of male authority to be right?

You are the one who is asserting some kind of Santa-with-an-Uzi in the sky who defines morality for all of us. Show him to us.
Without the bible, your god is nothing; without your god, the bible is nothing. So produce him (or her).

I can produce roughly equal numbers of people of the same species. You seek to disqualify half of them from leadership. You better be able to show why.

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By: Scroop Moth

Scroop Moth — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:55:40 +0000

This whole politician-engineered housing bubble brought on by..?? Did they every say “I made a bad call”?? The perpetrators of FREDDIE/FANNIE are still in office.

Pretending that he cares about responsibility, as opposed to political blame, SAWGUNNER incriminates queer Barney, who supposedly corrupted FREDDIE/FANNIE, which supposedly caused the subprime mortage crisis (which caused the financial crisis, which caused the recession, which brought down the house that Reagan built). None of the suppositions about queer Barney is true. Start with Alan Greenspan and former Sen. Phil Gram. Neither are still in office, but their party is.

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By: Sawgunner

Sawgunner — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:16:27 +0000

I think we have to defer to God on roles for genders. Women can do everything a man can do in any secular pursuit. But for His reasons (perhaps to offset his church from heathen priestess religions?) the Lord doesnt want women to be the spiritual head of a church or the spiritual head of any home.
I revere Margaret Thatcher and the late Golda Meir; as no doubt do the men who served under their leadership.

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By: Sawgunner

Sawgunner — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:13:48 +0000

A colossal mandate. A key thing for good leadership as I understand it is humility and facing up to mistakes for which you alone are ulitmately responsible. This whole politician-engineered housing bubble brought on by..?? Did they every say “I made a bad call”?? The perpetrators of FREDDIE/FANNIE are still in office.
Cf with recent military examples. Years back a sub commander ordered the ship to surface. In doing so they damaged a Japanese tourist fishing boat. The ship commander owned up and took the verdict of his court martial. More recently, in a brilliant Noonan column Peggy showed how the marines investigated the deaths of USMC men in training out in California. Those deemed responsible were identified. The corps conclusion: “These individuals failed our standards, they are no longer part of our organization.”

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By: Harris

Harris — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:58:44 +0000

The one aspect of leadership not brought up in the post (can’t say if it’s in the book) is the role of what you give up for this one desire. The single-minded focus, the drive does ask us to give things up. Paul talks about going celibate for the Kingdom — giving up marriage. Practically this seems to be the pattern in a lot of lives: the driven leader is not especially a good marriage partner for a human spouse.

As to leadership, I’m a little leery about the link of passion and leadership, since this passion for God should be part of all of us. Isn’t that the stuff of saints, after all? One of the desert fathers spoke of how we should be ablaze for God. This kind of passion is pretty gender-neutral if history and experience be any judge.

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By: Scroop Moth

Scroop Moth — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:52:30 +0000

Be desperate, determined, directed. Ask yourself, “Am I dying to see a great work for God accomplished through our church and our people?”

The wilder the witch doctor, the bigger the magic.

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By: tammie

tammie — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:45:48 +0000

please, note the difference between “women in leadership” and “women in pastoral leadership.”

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By: Frank in Spokane

Frank in Spokane — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:44:22 +0000

Hmm. Interesting.

The thread is about leadership, and yet you jumped in very short order to a discussion of power.

Additionally, you haven’t answererd my question, “What is the moral basis of your complaint against the Christian church’s rules re. women in leadership?”

By what authority do you declare the biblical model of male leadership to be wrong?

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By: arcadia

arcadia — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:50:13 +0000

Frank: What, you think that excluding over one half of the population of the world from power is “moral”? That democracy should always be as it was in the beginning of this “Christian Nation” with only white male property owners being allowed to vote?

Actually, maybe you do. This whole C-street Christian Cabal series of revelations is starting to shed some real light on Evangelical mens’ true attitudes towards women and families. Apparently yesterday, former Congressman Pickering’s wife filed an alienation of affections lawsuit against Pickering’s paramour. One of the allegations is that Pickering actually carried on the affair in the C Street building. And of course, none of his Christian Dominionist “family values” buddies who lived with him in this building, identified on tax records as a “church”, ratted him out.

Morality is only for the little people, you know. And power is only for men.

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