Wednesday, August 06, 2008

The Leader As Servant

Over thirty years ago, Robert Greenleaf wrote an essay entitled "The Leader As Servant" that has had a profound influence throughout the world. Two weeks ago, "the leader as servant" was one of our themes at the ROM 10th Year Celebration in Fuzine, Croatia. From July 13-27, I joined seventy young leaders and speakers/mentors from 16 countries who came together to celebrate the past ten years of the ROM Leadership Development & Peace Gathering and to explore how to contribute to building a more caring society when they return home. Tonight I want to tell you the story of just one of the young leaders that participated.

Since he came to ROM for the first time in the summer of 2005, Gerti Bogdani has been selected to be the official spokesperson for the political party in power in Albania and has been elected as mayor of his borough in Tirana, the capital city of Albania. Last year Gerti obtained donations from several companies and grocers in Tirana with which his office put together over 300 food baskets to distribute to the poorest of the poor in his borough. Unlike prior administrations, they distributed the baskets without regard to the political affiliation of the recipients. Also, unlike his predecessors, Gerti would not permit his staff to contact the local media to cover this service event. I asked him why he would not want some positive publicity. His response was “Jesus said that when you give your alms you should not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.” He went on to explain that it would not be a gift if publicized through the media. It would just be more political manipulation. I realized then that I have a lot to learn from this young leader in his late 20s. As we enter the quadrennial "mean season," let's hope and pray that we have young leaders on the ballot like Gerti that we will be able to recognize and vote into office as we seek to build a more caring society right here at home.

Monday, August 04, 2008

What a messed up world we live in. A friend recently wrote to me of his sadness on learning of the loss of a friend. Here is the story that he related.

On July 31, Ruediger Noeh died with two other women in a car crash in Chad. He leaves his wife Barbara and 4 and 1 year old daughters. A bus crashed into their jeep in the early morning after the driver lost control of the bus speeding in a curve. Ruediger was a translation expert for Arabic dialects. His vision was to translate the new testament for a huge tribe in Southeast of Chad, close to Darfur. Another who died in the crash was a young lady who was serving as an agriculture expert. She left her University career to serve farmers in Chad and tell them about Jesus. The third one was a young girl - an intern for a year -who just arrived in Chad to serve the team. The last great job Ruediger did was conducting negotiations in Arabic to free a US hostage in Chad on July 24. All were there to serve others - to do good. Our hearts go out to their loved ones.

So much tragedy is caused by the decisions of others - like a bus driver speeding around a curve. When I hear of such a tragedy, my first impulse is to wonder why God would let such a thing happen to such good people. Then I realize that the real responsibility is on us.

We are each one capable of causing so much pain. The wonder is that God can and does cause all things to work for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. As I look through a glass darkly, I confess that most of the time I don't see that good or understand how good can come of it. But we are told that one day we will see Jesus face to face and then we will see more clearly. That hope is one of the things that keeps me going, particularly in times like these.

In the meantime, I choose to join the ranks of those who are working to build a more caring society. I recognize that we will never be able to create a utopia in which all of us are fully conscious of the potential effects of our decisions on others. At the same time, we must try.

We must work towards a time when a critical mass of individuals seek the good of others and not just our own. If the driver of the bus had chosen to do unto others as he would have them do to him, he would have eased up on the gas pedal and the lives of many in both vehicles would be better today.

I continue to be perplexed a majority of the time but I choose to stand firm on the little of goodness that I know. Will you join me there?