by Kathy Brasby | Mar 5, 2019 | Leadership, Paul
Leaders make decisions that are for the good of their tribe, based on clear goals. But what if those decisions land the leaders in trouble?
We’ve been following the story of Paul and Silas as they were visiting the ancient Greek city of Philippi.* Paul’s goal was to explain the story of Jesus to the people he met. His first encounter was at a prayer meeting. That went well.
Paul later met a servant girl who could tell the future. She was shouting words that were misleading people from what Paul was trying to teach, and so he commanded the spirit to leave her. That didn’t go as well.
The demon came out of the girl, but the servant girl’s masters lost their source of wealth. They were charging people for her fortunes.
Paul and Silas ended up in jail. They were severely beaten, and their feet clamped in stocks. Prisons in those days were miserable places, cold and damp.
Wouldn’t it be easy for Paul to re-examine his decision? The prayer group experience soared. Why had he tampered with the servant girl?
Locked away in a dark prison, Paul felt the bruises and the dried blood from his beating. Was that servant girl really worth this kind of torture?
Clarity of the goal always helps a leader and Paul didn’t forget why he had come to Philippi. It wasn’t for a cushy place to stay and a small group who hung on his every word. It was also for a poor servant girl who spoke words she didn’t understand. Paul had come to be sure people heard clearly the story of Jesus. This servant girl deserved to hear – not to distract others from the truth.
So Paul and Silas remained devoted to that goal. They were in prison, but that didn’t change their aim. Their audience now was other prisoners, and so they prayed and sang hymns to God – in part so the other prisoners would hear more about the nature of God.
God did amazing work that night. A massive earthquake shook the prison, and the doors flew open. Chains fell off. The jailer awoke to a shattered prison and assumed he had lost all the prisoners. That was the death penalty in the Roman empire, but Paul intervened.
“We’re all here!” he told the jailer. That’s impressive leadership in itself: the prisoners had not scooted away like cockroaches when the lights come on. They stayed with Paul.
Once again, Paul stayed focused on his goal. He wanted to tell people the story of Jesus. He wanted to explain the fantastic work of God. He was able to do that with the prayer group. And now he was able to tell a jailer about Jesus.
Talk about a transformation! The jailer listened and believed. He told his household. He cared for the prisoners and washed their wounds. He took them to his own house and gave them a meal.
Had Paul lost focus on his goal, he wouldn’t have taken the risk to free the servant girl. Had he forgotten why he came to Philippi, he could have escaped with the earthquake hit. In both cases, he took a risk.
But when the morning came, people had been changed. They found new life in Jesus.
Whether the immediate results are painful or joyful, leaders make decisions based on their goals. Even if it means time in a cold and painful dungeon.
*Acts 16
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by Kathy Brasby | Feb 19, 2019 | Leadership, Paul
How do you feel about offending someone? There are trolls in our society who revel in pushing other’s buttons, hoping to offend so they can enjoy the ensuing storm. But most of us avoid hurting others.
But is it ever necessary for a leader to offend?
Let’s take a look at Paul and Silas. As they traveled through cities in ancient Greece, they came to Philippi where they met a girl who had some sort of prophetic spirit.
The Ancient Greeks
The ancient Greeks regularly sought out priests for advice. Whether it involved a business decision, a marriage, or even a battle, they wanted to hear from the gods. So this girl would have found many willing to pay to hear about the future.
She began following Paul and his companions, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”
Most who heard that daily prophecy would assume that Paul was following Zeus or some great god. They would not have thought that Paul served God. And her words about being saved were not the Christian idea of salvation. Those hearing the girl would have assumed she was talking about rescue from a disaster or perhaps given good health or prosperity.
In other words, her daily prophecy sounds true to a Christian’s ear, but it would have misled the Greeks around her. They would have expected Paul to serve as the mediator for a great god, bringing them prosperity or other benefits.
Not Paul’s Idea
This was not what Paul was preaching, and he finally had enough. In the name of Jesus, he commanded the spirit to leave her. And it did.
Paul offended her masters. They had hopes of wealth through her prophecies – and people’s eagerness to pay for what they thought was divine guidance.
What happened next might have given Paul pause. The masters grabbed him and his friends and dragged them to the authorities in the marketplace. A riot ensued.
False charges were leveled. Emotions were whipped into a hot mess. Angry officials had Paul and Silas severely beaten and then thrown into prison.
First century jails were cold, damp, uncomfortable. Paul and Silas were taken to the inner dungeon, and their feet clamped in stocks.
So, was it worth it for Paul to offend these men?
Paul’s concerns were:
- A servant girl under the control of a spirit.
- Masters were oppressing the girl, using her oppression for their own financial gain.
- Her message caused people to misinterpret Paul’s message.
Those are good concerns. Would he have proceeded if he’d known the consequences? Of course, if you know the end of the story, God would do more in Philippi.
But for now, let’s stay with questions: is it OK for leaders to offend? Do the goals make the possible repercussions worthwhile?
These are questions leaders have to consider before diving in. What are your thoughts?
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by Kathy Brasby | Jan 22, 2019 | Leadership
Leadership can sometimes be as simple as taking the initiative. The problem is that initiative involves risk, which can look like ocean waves crashing over rocks.
We wonder what people will think. And what happens if we fail? Or insult someone? Or say the wrong thing? What’s the damage report if we crash?
Paul, who lived and worked in the first century, can give us some insights into leadership. He was a master at taking risks.
Paul’s usual strategy when entering a new city was first to visit the synagogue. There he could connect Jews to the Messiah. Because of their history, they understood much of what he described. That strategy worked well in his travels.
Philippi was a major Roman colony in the first century. When Paul came to Philippi, his approach vaporized. There was no synagogue. There weren’t enough Jews to establish one. And so he had to re-evaluate.*
Somehow he heard about a prayer meeting on the Sabbath outside of town. Roman pagans weren’t likely to attend Sabbath prayer meetings, so Paul suspected these people were Jews and God-fearers. God-fearers were Gentiles who saw something attractive and wise in Judaism, in contrast to the bold claims of the many gods and goddesses of paganism.
This prayer meeting consisted of Jewish and God-fearing women. That explains the lack of a synagogue since it took 10 Jewish men to form a synagogue. Women didn’t count.
Jewish and God-fearing Gentile (non-Jew) women meeting for prayer outside a major Roman colony might prefer some privacy. So, in a sense, Paul crashed the meeting.
That took initiative. He could have bypassed the meeting. Maybe the next city had a synagogue. Perhaps he’d find a group of Jewish men who would listen to his words.
Instead, Paul spoke to the group. If these women knew something of Judaism, they knew that this Jewish man shouldn’t be talking to them. But leadership can be bold, and Paul stayed focused on his goal: to introduce Jew and Gentile to Jesus.
Lydia, a wealthy businesswoman, listened to Paul and believed his words. She was probably a Gentile but, as a God-fearing woman, she was familiar with the Jewish stories. She had heard of Abraham and Moses, of David and Isaiah. She knew something of God’s plan.
Lydia believed what Paul said, and she was baptized. A God-fearing Gentile would have to go through a program of requirements to become a full-fledged Jew, which would culminate in baptism to declare the change from Gentile to Jew.
Paul bypassed that Jewish process. Lydia no longer had prerequisites to complete. God opened her heart to faith, and she was transformed.
She and her entire household were baptized. She had serious influence, and Paul had triggered it by his initiative. He had gone boldly into a place where he might have felt unwelcome. He had gone where his words might have confused.
[bctt tweet=”Initiative involves uncertainty…A bold leader accepts the risks.” #leadership https://kathybrasby.net/?p=289&preview=true” username=”kathybrasby”]
Initiative involves uncertainty. Paul spoke many times to people who did not believe. He would soon face significant opposition in Philippi and find himself in jail because he went boldly.
A bold leader accepts risks. Things don’t always go as we’d hope. Repercussions look destructive, like those ocean waves.
Leadership is not about taking the safe or comfortable path. It’s about taking initiative, risking failure and opposition.
[bctt tweet=”Transformation. Freedom. These are reasons to risk a crash.” #leadership https://kathybrasby.net/?p=289&preview=true” username=”kathybrasby”]
Transformation. Freedom. These are reasons to risk a crash. Paul saw people in need and he jumped into the situation.
Have you ever taken a risk as a leader? Did the results encourage or discourage you? Have you taken more chances because of that initial decision?
*This story can be read in Acts 16:12-15.
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by Kathy Brasby | Jan 7, 2019 | Jonah, Leadership
I’ve finished the series about Jonah and his leadership style. We can learn leadership from those who do it backward, too. And Jonah did. He followed his own agenda and suffered for it.
Here are the posts, in case you’d like to review:
Who Is This Jonah and Why do We Care?
When Leading People Isn’t the Main Thing
Why Loose Cannons are Not Good Leaders But You May Know One Anyway
Why We Need to Communicate Like Superheroes
How Recognizing Biases Helps Us to Lead
Should a Strong-Willed Leader Be Tamed?
What If a Plan Goes Too Well?
Why Leaders Should Offer Second Chances
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by Kathy Brasby | Dec 17, 2018 | Leadership
Once I was discussing superstitions with a co-worker who mocked anyone trusting in superstitions.
“I just don’t get it,” she said. “Black cats. Ladders. All that stuff. I don’t get it. Except for spilled salt, of course.”
Spilled salt?
“Well, yeah, when you spill salt, you toss some over your shoulder, or you’ll have bad luck.”’
Photo by Erika Lanpher on Unsplash
We live in a superstitious age. We have lucky shirts. We knock on wood to keep away a bad idea.
Superstitions are generally accepted. Think about the athlete who hasn’t shaved for weeks while his team is on a winning streak. Or the one who has to get new socks because her team is losing.
Although I’m not sure what force needs a beard or new socks to influence a game, many people trust those things.
Those beliefs can get modified from a “sure, why not?” effort to a rigid rule in time. That challenges a leader.
Christian leaders may see these rules in several ways. A man writes a check to his church, expecting to get a better job in return. A woman gives up coffee – or new shoes or manicures, hoping to see her daughter in church next Sunday.
I knew a man who came to every church gathering for over a year because he wanted a better-paying job for his wife. When it didn’t happen, he told me that “God just didn’t work out for me.” He quit coming, and I imagine he’s trying a new plan.
People can buy into magical thinking. “If I do this thing, something will happen – or not happen.”
And what does a leader do?
First, what’s wrong with magic thinking? It seems pretty harmless on the whole. But leaders think bigger:
[bctt tweet=”Magical thinking keeps us from pursuing something that might really work. #leadership https://wp.me/pahZ3c-4o” username=”kathybrasby”]
Magical thinking keeps us from pursuing something that might really work.
Maybe the athlete should work on his technique rather than growing a beard. Maybe she needs better conditioning rather than new socks.
Magic thinking lets us take shortcuts that seem to work but don’t. I know, plenty will defend the broken-mirror/bad luck connection, but have they really charted out those seven years?
Rather than looking objectively at the circumstances, people indulge in magical thinking, which lets them see what they want to see.
So… superstitions keep us stuck
Magical thinking blinds us to the bigger picture.
The man who wanted his wife to find a better job had a worthy goal, but he didn’t look at the bigger picture. Maybe she was sabotaging job interviews because she had self-esteem issues. Maybe her job skills needed brushing up. Maybe her husband needed to go find a job to supplement the family income.
Maybe she was exactly where she belonged because it allowed her the time to care for her ailing mother.
There could be many more significant issues involved.
Magic thinking keeps people stuck. They resist joining a team effort. They ignore painful effects on their own family or their circle of influence.
A Christian leader wants to step in, to guide a person out of magical thinking and into wisdom.
How to do it? A man’s magical thinking drew Jesus in. And Jesus helped. We’ll take a look at that story from Jesus’ life next week.
Have you ever indulged in magical thinking? Do you find it helps you?
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