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July 16 - July 22, 2024
It isn’t unusual for passengers to get nervous in adverse weather, but if you’re ever on a ship and the crew panics, you’re in real trouble. That’s exactly what happened here.
‘Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved’”
But by now they had more confidence in Paul’s leadership than any lifeboat.
They staked their survival not on a boat that could carry them to shore, but on a man in chains who could carry no one across the water.
Verse 22 of Acts 27 (“There will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship”) and verse 31 (“Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved”) strike the perfect balance between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. There is absolutely no contradiction between these twin truths. Both are true.
When God has spoken, there can be no compromise. It’s one thing to compromise on matters of preference. It’s entirely different to compromise on matters of principle.
In business, compromise is often a vital part of closing a deal. The person who refuses to compromise under any and every circumstance is obstinate, unreasonable, and selfish.
Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.” And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat.
A leader focuses on objectives, not obstacles.
A LEADER FOCUSES ON OBJECTIVES, NOT OBSTACLES.
Paul did not neglect the crew’s physical needs and lecture them about the spiritual needs of their souls. He balanced the spiritual and the physical. Then he himself began to eat, becoming an example for all. This is, in fact, a ninth important principle of leadership: A leader empowers by example.
They all began to feel better, stronger, and more hopeful. And then all hands set to work.
A LEADER EMPOWERS BY EXAMPLE.
The first thought every one of them must have had was thankfulness to the God Paul worshiped. His promises are sure. His Word is true. God’s angel had told Paul this would happen, and it came to pass exactly as he said.
The chief attractions in Corinth were pagan temples served by prostitutes. The pagan religions of the Greek and Roman world had made fornication into a religious sacrament, and Corinth became the focal point for that kind of profane “worship.”
Everyone knew that Corinth was a city of unbridled vice. It was analogous to modern Las Vegas, except that its chief attractions were temples rather than casinos.
This was, perhaps, not an auspicious place to found a church. But Corinth also had a large community of Jews and an active and centrally located synagogue. There Paul found an open door for the gospel. “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” (Romans 5:20).
The Corinthian church was therefore uniquely Pauline, especially and personally indebted to the great apostle for his leadership. They knew him well and had every reason to trust him, revere his influence, and remain loyal to him and his teaching.
He was actually relieved when this happened, because he felt it would spare the Corinthians some grief (1:23)—a letter being less awkward than a face-to-face rebuke. Moreover, Paul himself did not want another sorrowful visit to Corinth (2:1).
A leader cultivates loyalty.
Our society is so rife with corrupt leaders and so hostile to the concept of authoritative truth that loyalty is often perceived as a weakness rather than a merit. Rebellion and defiance have been canonized as virtues instead. “Who can find a faithful man?” (Proverbs 20:6).
Authentic loyalty is not blind devotion to a mere man. It is, first of all, an allegiance to truth and duty. But it involves devotion to the obligations of love and friendship as well. It is among the most godly and godlike of virtues, because God Himself is eternally faithful (2 Timothy 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:24;
2 Thessalonians 3:3).
The wise leader cultivates loyalty by being loyal—loyal to the Lord, loyal to the truth, and l...
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but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you”
Leadership is all about motivating people to follow. Therefore everything in leadership hinges on the leader’s relationship to his people. It is possible to motivate people simply by sheer force, but that is not real leadership; it’s dictatorship. And it never really achieves the goals of leadership. That can be accomplished only by a loving loyalty.
At the core of the values I try to get them to see, so that they can lead people effectively, is the virtue of loyalty to those above, beside, and below them in the structure.
they can be successful in any profession they choose if they do a few things consistently: Be on time, keep quiet and work hard, do what the boss tells you, have a positive attitude, and most important, be fiercely loyal to the people you work for and with.
our hearts have to be in our people, and our people have to be in our hearts.
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.
A leader has empathy for others.
Empathy is the ability to identify with another person so much that you feel what he feels (cf. Hebrews 4:15). It is essential to true compassion, sensitivity, understanding, and comfort.
Paul had much for which to rebuke the Corinthians. And he did go on to reprimand them with some firm and necessary words at numerous key points in the long epistle. But it is significant that he began this epistle with such an expression of empathy for them. Despite their failings, he remained loyal to them and empathetic toward them.
Leadership is ultimately about people, not just sterile objectives and strategies that can be written on paper.
But reproof and correction can be done—and should be done—in a context of empathy and edification, as Paul did here.
Such loyalty and empathy are essential for good leadership. Paul knew that, and as we shall observe in the chapters to come, it colored all his dealings with the troubled Corinthian church.
But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes.
Notice how he invokes all three persons of the Trinity to make this point: “The Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee”
This, too, is absolutely essential to good leadership: A leader keeps a clear conscience.
Remember, good leadership is a matter of character, and a righteous character depends on a healthy conscience.
it inflicts distress, in the form of guilt, whenever we violate what our hearts tell us is right.
Our sensitivity to personal guilt is therefore a fundamental trait of our humanness that distinguishes us from animals. To try to suppress the conscience is in effect to diminish one’s own humanity.
the conscience itself must be instructed by and conformed to the perfect standard of God’s Word
He had always shot straight with them. His words were always plain, honest, forthright, unflinching, and nonevasive—just like the apostle himself.
Good leaders must be able to make decisions in a way that is clearheaded, proactive, and conclusive. They must also be able to communicate objectives in a way that is articulate, emphatic, and distinct. After all, a leader is someone who leads. Anyone can waffle. Anyone can be timid and ambivalent. The leader, by contrast, must give clear direction. People will not follow if they are not certain their leader is himself certain.
A leader knows when to change his mind.
A good leader will not perpetuate a bad decision. Circumstances also change, and a good leader must know when to adapt to circumstances.
So rather than immediately coming to them “with a rod” (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:21), he decided to see if he could correct them by letter first. And immediately we encounter another major principle all leaders need to bear in mind: A leader does not abuse his authority.
you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children.
He did say to the Corinthians: “I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel” (1 Corinthians 4:14–15).
