imageI am reading two books right now.  Forthright news analyst and consultant David Gergen has written a book that gives historical context for four presidents, evaluating leadership qualities, both bad and good.  The name of the book is “Eyewitness to Power, The Essence of Leadership,  Nixon to Clinton.” There are nuggets of gold in this book.  I learn from leadership and history.

Another book is titled “The Hole in our Gospel.” World Vision leader and author David Stearns attempts to answer the question, “What does God expect of us?”  This book is a classic and you need to read it.  It gently but firmly confronts us as readers.  How can one read the book and say, “Maybe some day?”

Where Gergen helps us evaluate the development of leadership traits that we aspire to, Stearns confronts our Christianity to the core challenging you and I and our worldview.

Nancy and I had lunch with missionaries on Saturday.  That can be dangerous.  We heard their struggles, victories and most of all their heartbeat.  My prayer is that we were at least half as encouraging as they were to us.  However  delightful the “jump in when you can” conversation was, it reminded me of the books I am reading as it relates to you and I.

We can theorize  all we want! There is a point that we need to jump off into the radical edge of living, loving, leading and doing.  What about you?  Will we look, read and debate as if  we  are tourists looking at the Roman Coliseum for the first time and end up doing nothing?  Do we live in a world like a museum; look but do not touch?  Are we insensitive to get our hands dirty?  Are we cold-hearted to need?

Until my neighbor also includes a hungry child in Sudan or the prostitute that we pass by in our city, have we really gotten it?   Will you  just flat make a decision today to touch and change  your world?

What am I learning?  I need to lead in a world that is not my own.  I am passing through.  I need to lead in a world that has heard the Gospel but also needs to see and feel it.  Leadership is intentional.  Transformation is hard work, demanding patience.

What are you learning, doing?