Christian Leadership: Inspiration

TED TALK: HOW GREAT LEADERS INSPIRE ACTION

 By Simon Sinek

Adopted: https://www.thechangery.com/how-great-leaders-inspire-action/

Two ideas stood out from Sinek’s TED talk, The Golden Circle and the law of Diffusion of Innovations. Inspiring leaders like Martin Luther King, the Wright Brothers, or Steve Job did not change the world by “What they do” or “How they do what they do”. Other leaders in their time protested, innovated, made computers, but what set them apart was their core-belief, “Why they do what they do”. 

King did not deliver the famous speech with “I have a Plan” but “I have a Dream”. As many that stood there, a crowd of 250,000 people in front of the Lincoln Memorial on a hot summer day in 1963, they did not come out for what King believed but what they personally believed. They are the Early Adopters and Early Majority. They were the tipping point. 

Coming back to Christian leadership, I believe local church leaders can inspire their congregation if they can articulate and communicate what they believe. They will answer for themselves this question, “why they do what they do”. In light of this, I also believe there is an embedded Golden Circle regarding the church found in the Apostles' Creed. The following phrases begin with I believe, "in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of the saints...". Matin Luther believed in the priesthood of all believers (the why part) which eventually gave laypersons and the clergy equal rights and responsibilities (the how part) in governing the church (the what part). It was Luther’s inspiration that brought forth the Protestant Church as a great “innovation”.

I believe every Christian leader, being innovated through the Spirit, discipled by the great Church tradition, can inspire others to become the Saints and leaders that God intended us to be. 

After thought: 

Thanks God for bringing me to think alongside the CSPG of SCAC as church leaders. When we talked about leadership I thought of two particular books that shaped me. The first one was used when I was mentored by a pastor and the second one was used to develop leaders in my previous church with very positive results. Maybe these two books will worth to keep in the tool box.