Saturday, October 17

Today’s Readings: Job 39:1-30; Luke 22:24-30; Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c

One of the things that most interests me in life is the topic of leadership. I LOVE spending my time thinking/reading about what qualities make an outstanding leader. There is one thing that I enjoy even more than thinking/reading about the topic of leadership, however. That thing is having the privilege of meeting a great leader.

In my first five weeks in California, I have had the chance to spend time with someone that I think is a phenomenal leader from whom I have much to learn. That person is named Lisa. She is the director of the nursery school which is affiliated with the church I serve.

So what makes Lisa a phenomenal leader?

There are many things I could list, but for the sake of time I will list just two. First, Lisa cares deeply about the people she serves. She consistently goes the extra mile to make sure the needs of the children and parents in the community are being met. Second, I respect the way she deals with the staff of the school. One of her sayings is: “I don’t ask the staff to do anything I wouldn’t do myself.”

In other words, Lisa embodies the sort of values Jesus was talking about in today’s passage from the Gospel according to Luke: “Let the senior among you become like the junior; let the leader act the part of the servant” (Luke 22:26 from The Message).

On a day when all of us are invited to think about what makes a good leader, I would invite you to identify someone you think manifests those qualities. Once you have identified that individual, take a moment and thank God for that person’s presence in your life. Til next time…