Lesson #6: Peter Pan & leadership

Wednesday, February 20, 2008
My daughter is three years old and loves to sing. At any moment, she is likely to break out in song and joyfully sing at the top of her lungs. Her favorite song comes from one of her favorite Disney movies, Peter Pan. She sings the lyrics of Following the Leader whenever we need to go somewhere together, such as a bedroom upstairs, a room downstairs, or the park across the street. With her gorgeous blue eyes she looks at me and says, “OK daddy here we go, follow me and form a line. Following the leader, the leader, the leader, following the leader wherever we may go…” My daughter’s view of leadership is very pure and innocent. It is a very simple perspective; it includes the two basic ingredients – a leader and a follower. But that's not it. There is more to her perspective, one that she gets from watching Peter Pan. A common phrase you hear throughout the movie from Peter is, come on let's go.

In the movie, Peter separates himself from everyone else by showing the initiative and calling others to follow with the phrase, “come on, let’s go.” How many of us can say the same thing? The idea and motion of initiative is what separates those who lead and those who follow. Initiative can be defined as “The ability to act on your own; the ability to act and make decisions without the help or advice of other people.” It can further be defined as the “Introductory step. The first step in a process that, once taken, determines subsequent events.” In other words, it is a key characteristic in the life of a leader because it encompasses the idea of moving in a direction, taking the “first step”. Without the “first step” one is left standing along with everyone else waiting for someone to move and follow. In a sense, showing initiative awakens oneself amongst others who are sleeping. Let me explain:

If we look at the life of Jonathan in the Old Testament (1 Samuel 14) we catch a glimpse of a wonderful example of initiative. He literally moves forward, showing initiative while being surrounded by men who were sleeping. Even his father, Saul – the King of Israel was taking a nap. While amongst sleepers under a pomegranate tree, Jonathan awakes and calls his armor bearer towards him and says, “come, let’s go… (1 Samuel 14:6)” Did you catch the fact that the rest of the men were sleeping under a tree? That is right they were asleep, paralyzed because they did not know what to do. They lay motionless under a pomegranate tree, following the lead of their king Saul, who was afraid. He figured that his defeat at the hands of the Philistine’s was immanent. Therefore, instead of showing initiative and taking a step forward he lay complacent and did nothing. His perceived outcome caused him to react out of fear instead of moving forward with initiative. Sound familiar? We do this often, don’t we? We do nothing instead of doing something; we lay motionless, afraid of acting – afraid of showing initiative.

Initiative is an act of faith, stepping out into the unknown. It is a contagious act, compelling others to follow prompting them to faith as well. Notice that, Jonathan’s armor bearer did not hesitate when Jonathan called him. In fact, he took it one step further and responded to Jonathan be informing him that “I am with you heart and soul (1 Samuel 14:7).” What a response! What an encouragement! What a bond that was bound by a divine love that inevitably led to a divine moment!

Now do you see why this is such a distinguishing characteristic in the life of the leader? The ability to act and respond causes movement, movement that is compelling – drawing others to follow. Jonathan did not move alone, he had a companion for his battle. His nameless armor bearer faithfully responded by following Jonathan into battle where they slay “some twenty men” in about a half an acre (1 Samuel 14:13).

Finley's Room

Sunday, February 17, 2008


This past weekend the three of us painted Finley's room. The above is short clip of the finished product. If you want to know what it took to get there, keep looking because there are a few photos included as well.


Lesson #5: For mine or yours

Monday, February 4, 2008
Welcome,

Here we are continuing a series entitled, What I learned in Seminary. You can catch up with the links below.

As I reflect back on seminary I constantly find myself drawn to Jeremiah 9:23-24. This passage has forever been etched into my heart. It serves as a reminder to be that it is not about, "Mark Harris," it's about God. We have a tendency in our world and culture to draw attention to ourselves by laying claim to our human abilities. We are often drawn towards a lifestyle of "bragging" in order to get noticed and draw attention to ourselves. Read the words of the prophet Jeremiah to see what he wrote on this very subject:

This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his
wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast
of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he
understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises
kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these
I delight," declares the LORD.

The words speak for themselves, don't they? Let them sink in and penetrate your heart so as to help you identify areas in which you boast in. Is it your ability to make money, the gadgets you own, the car you drive, the job you have, the places you been, or the education you have that cause you to boast, drawing attention to yourself rather then God. Note, that if we are to brag and boast there is only one who we are to boast in, our Lord. Instead of boasting in the temporal human things of this world we are to boast in the heart of God. What is the heart of God? In this passage Jeremiah reveals three aspects of it: kindness, justice and righteousness. You see it's not about us and the things we boast in; it's about God and his heart for kindness, justice and righteousness. Let us be about his ways and his heart instead of our own selfish ways. After all, it's about Him not you.

Introduction
Lesson #1: Above all else
Lesson #2: The church as the body and family
Lesson #3: People or programs
Lesson #4: To consume or be consumed
Lesson #5: For mine or yours
Lesson #6: Peter Pan and leadership
Lesson #7: Rainbow vs. pot of gold