Torch, Summer 2000

6 Torch cross-eyed. And yet, here was an unusual leader for God. So it’s not just how a person looks. I am thoroughly persuaded that God will take His own and make them His leaders in His time. Some of you will have unusual opportunities for leadership that no doubt will surprise you and surprise many of your friends. If we go back into our high school yearbooks and we look at those voted the most likely to succeed, are they the ones that really did succeed? Once again, we can with confidence know that God is in control. If integrity is a part of your life, God will use you as a leader. Integrity is vital, but we also have to have skillful hands. Did you notice how all the experts included elements such as knowledge and judgment in their lists of leadership attributes? However, don’t lose the order of priority. There are certain gifts that we must have if we’re going to lead, but if the integrity isn’t present, then we really won’t succeed, regardless of what we have in our hands or what we know. In Acts 6:3, the early church was instructed: “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.” These are to be ones who are known to have integrity. That was the model set by the early church. Just as the church was looking for leaders, all aspects of our present-day culture are still looking for leaders. If we look for those who are full of the spirit of God and have wisdom and have integrity, we can’t go wrong. Yet, we have gone wrong, haven’t we? Unfortunately, we have placed in leadership roles technological and political giants who have proven themselves ethical dwarfs. I think we have to be very careful that we don’t major on things like technological skill and political prowess and forget the ethical aspects of leadership. some of the things that these experts listed. All of them, with one exception, identified character as an essential element. The lesson is clear: If you want to be an effective leader, one who has a lasting legacy of achievement, you must be a person of integrity. One of my favorite passages about this is Psalm 78:70-72. The Scripture says God chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens. He brought him from tending the sheep to be the shepherd of His people. The Bible tells us that David shepherded them with integrity of heart. This is a story of someone no one else selected. He didn’t look the part of a leader. Sometimes there are those whose height or build or something about their eyes or their charisma causes people to look and say, “That’s a leader.” David didn’t fit that mold. When God chose David, people were astounded because he didn’t look the part of the leader. It didn’t seem like he had any great ambition to be a leader: after all, he’d been out in the wilderness with the sheep! The apostle Paul didn’t fit the mold either. We have reason to believe that Paul may have been less than five feet tall, that he really wasn’t very good looking, and possibly had an eye problem that even made him look like he was Roosevelt Moss Canter, professor at Harvard: • intelligence • ability to inspire • judgment • underlying character • empathy • charisma Jeffrey Isonaught, president of the Freedom Foundation: • character • unflappability • judgment • ability to inspire • intelligence • toughness Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Computers: • situation awareness • knowledge of industry • intelligence Carol Bartes, CEO at Auto Desk: • intelligence • empathy • ability to inspire • judgment • charisma • character Thomas Pete Garity, dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania: • character • judgment • ability to inspire • empathy • toughness • humility George Fisher, the CEO of Eastman Kodak: • ability to inspire • judgment • character • knowledge of the industry If you want to be an effective leader, one who has a lasting legacy of achievement, you must be a person of integrity. Leadership: