Torch, Summer 2000

I have some great news! According to Psalm 75, despite the results of campaigns, God is still in control. We ought to be involved and interested in the political process; we ought to have our opinions and campaign for those who share them; we ought to vote and, as Christians, we ought to stand for those candidates who are pro-life. We ought to be against those candidates who are pro- abortion. I’ve often said, “I will never vote for a candidate who supports abortion.” But, if a pro- abortion candidate is elected, I can still say God is sovereign. Scripture says that He is the one who brings one down; He is the one who exalts another. We may not be able to understand it, but that is true. I Timothy 4:12 is another passage dealing with issues of leadership and integrity. It reads: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” Paul is endeavoring to motivate a struggling young leader named Timothy. By the way, Paul is alone in his belief in Timothy. Torch 5 from neglect, we will not be the leaders God wants us to be. There are three characteristics that are essential to successful leadership. They are integrity, skillfulness, and humility. You may say, “Aren’t there leaders in politics, government, businesses, and schools all across America who fail to manifest the kind of attributes in their being that would make them good leaders?” Certainly. There are those who appear to be performing well, but whose legacy is tarnished, perhaps even destroyed, because of their lack of character and integrity. Those who demonstrate character are better leaders over the long haul than the others. How can we explain the apparent successes of those who violate standards of character and integrity? We can’t. More importantly, we don’t have to explain it. We can simply know that character, fidelity, and integrity are essential elements of successful leadership. Psalm 75:6 reads, “No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges: He brings one down, He exalts another.” That’s an awesome passage. It means whatever your leadership role is, God gave it to you. That’s one of the reasons why when it comes to presidential elections we become interested. We have candidates at every level that we want to see elected. We get involved and we usually worry that if someone other than our candidate wins, then the country is just going to come apart. Even Timothy did not believe in Timothy. Evidently there wasn’t anyone who would encourage Timothy and say, “I think you can be a leader,” except for Paul. This older leader took Timothy under his wing and encouraged him and motivated him and said, “Don’t you look down on yourself and don’t you let anyone else look down on you because you’re young. God can use you. You be an example.” The application for us in this passage is that God wants us all to be leaders in ways far beyond what any of us could ever envision or dream. Find someone who believes in you, but always remember: more important than your spouse or your parents believing in you, or your pastor or your friends believing in you, is the fact that God believes in you and God is committing unto you this responsibility. Leadership experts have conducted many studies to try to discover the secrets of leadership. In the following table, consider the essential ingredients of leadership they have compiled. I hope that you will make note of