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Our times are turbulent. Technology has given us a “think globally, act locally” public square that brings the world to our doorstep. It’s a time that desperately needs leaders.
“Postmodernity” is the ten dollar word scholars use to describe our times. It’s a term referencing the global culture that emerged in the late Twentieth Century and continues today. Actually, postmodernity is both a period of time and a belief system, both of which are characterized by “moral relativism” (meaning people believe that truth cannot be defined or known, so neither can “right” or “wrong” be identified). It’s also a time characterized by extroverted sensuality, consumer choice among an infinite variety of options—including spirituality—and a sense of “living in the now.”
Postmodern men and women are able to do what’s right in their own eyes. And “what’s right” can literally be a construct of our own imagination. So one person’s determination of “What’s right” means nothing to the rest of us. We live in the now.
This sounds attractive, in part, because we’re all “closet libertarians.” We want to do what we want to do without interference. We want to follow our own self-generated rules for living. We sing along with Frank Sinatra, “I’ll do it my way."
But this free wheeling emotional, social, economic, and political landscape is the very thing that causes people to feel uncertain, confused, anxious, and afraid. It’s the cultural condition that creates people’s hunger for leaders who can make sense of it all.
Religion doesn’t seem to help much. Either religion has sold out to consumerism, offering schlock products rather than faith and wisdom principles for real life. Or religion is imploding on its own lack of confidence, no longer sure of its foundations or its vision for a better tomorrow. Of course if there is no truth, who cares what religion says anyway?
But therein is the problem. The idea that truth doesn’t exist is a satanic lie. If we’re deluded by this idea than maybe we’ll forget that God is, that he is sovereign over world affairs, and that He has a plan for us.
The “problem of our times” is also the “opportunity of our times” as leaders. The more volatile the times, the more leaders can more quickly make a difference. Like Theodore Roosevelt, who chose to address and alter the problems of his day, great leaders step up.
Postmodern times need leaders like Jesus, who—“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Our turbulent times need what might be called “shepherd leaders.”
Shepherd leaders know all their sheep—their abilities, their needs, their unique challenges. Shepherd leaders know their environment and the threats within it. They know where they’re going and why, and they know what their sheep need to do to be productive and successful.
Perhaps this analogy tends to break down, for not all followers are like sheep, nor are followers simply passive and leaders the absolute masters of their flocks. But there are still principles to glean.
Our postmodern times have deeply unsettled our culture, our country, and our colleagues, friends, and neighbors. Leaders with genuine Christian faith and hope, leaders who genuinely care about others, and leaders who genuinely give of themselves can bless their organizations and their communities with moral imagination, courage, and clarity. These leaders do not depend upon religion but upon a relationship with Christ. These leaders are compassionate, visionary, energetic, and true. They know that their confidence and their competence come from the Lord. These leaders trust Christ and are therefore able to be trustworthy. They believe in truth, so they speak truthfully. These leaders step up to the challenges and opportunities of turbulent times.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.
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- Written by Rex M. Rogers
Eleanor Roosevelt has been called the most influential American woman of the Twentieth Century. This isn’t her actual gravestone epitaph, but it’s how she’s remembered, so we might call it her practical epitaph. Will Rogers’s memorial epitaph reads, “I never met a man I didn’t like.” It’s one of Will’s famous lines, which captures his spirit for those of us who never knew him.
Reclusive but influential poet Emily Dickinson’s epitaph in Amherst, Massachusetts reads simply, “Called Back.” The Temperance Movement reformer, Carrie Amelia Nation, who used a hatchet to attack saloons and wrote her name “Carry A Nation” for the publicity value, was laid to rest with this eloquent epitaph in Belton, Missouri: “She hath done what she could.”
Old cemetery epitaphs are often thought provoking and entertaining reading. A gravestone in Thurmont, Maryland says: "Here lies an atheist. All dressed up and no place to go." Or how about this one in Round Rock, Texas? “I told you I was sick.”
One gravestone in New Mexico says, "Here lies the body of John Yeast. Pardon me for not rising." An epitaph in Winterborn Steepleton Cemetery, Dorsetshire, England reads, "Here lies the body of Margaret Bent. She kicked up her heels and away she went."
And then there's this one from Florida: "I promise never to marry again, Jack." Now was Jack trying to say his marriage had been so bad he didn't want to experience it again, or so good he pledged his troth to his wife forever? Or was he saying he'd been married several times and finally had had enough?
One of the most complimentary epitaphs you’re ever likely to read is written upon the West Point gravestone of Lt. Col. Herbert Bainbridge Hayden. It reads: "In appreciation of a loyal friend, a square man, an efficient officer, in every way a thoroughbred."
We’re also creating legacies with our families and our associates. Every day, we're influencing someone in a spiritually productive or unproductive way. Everyday our actions become reputations become legacies become epitaphs, the summary of our life and how we will be remembered.
What will your epitaph be? What will your associates write? What will God write?
Epitaphs don’t just happen to us. They are crafted by our choices day by day, so in a very real sense, we can write our own epitaph. Perhaps the greatest epitaph a person could hope to have is simply this: "Here lies the body of a godly man/woman who loved God and loved others."
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.
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- Written by Rex M. Rogers
Christian reaction to Osama bin Laden’s death at the hands of American Special Forces wasn’t that different from other US citizens’ reactions. Most rejoiced in an outpouring of relief, closure, or patriotism. Some gloated.
On the other hand, some, maybe many, used Twitter and other social media to worry aloud whether the death of any human being could properly be the focus of anything other than sadness. In an effort to avoid what they considered an improper response they seemed almost to lament bin Laden’s demise. Or at least they lamented America’s hand in bringing it to pass. It’s these latter responses that caught me by surprise.
I admit that I am glad we finally got bin Laden. I don’t feel any special charge from this. But I am pleased and relieved on behalf of the American people, our ideals, the families who lost loved ones in 9/11, and the families who lost servicemen and women in the last nine years of war. I also remember clearly that Osama bin Laden was a terrorist, mastermind of 9/11, and a clear and present danger to the United States if not the entire West. So in view of this Christian angst about the circumstances of bin Laden’s demise caught me off guard.
I certainly agree with those who suggest Christians, or Americans in general for that matter, shouldn’t become cocky. I appreciated President Barack Obama’s announcement. He spoke solemnly and strongly, said he made the decision, and reminded us of the “why” of the avoidable but tragic suffering of 9/11. He said we were not at war with Islam but with this one man: “Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims." The President avoided conveying an attitude of triumphalism, hubris, or bravado. Yet he warned the world’s bad guys that the US would protect its citizens. It was a well-crafted and well-presented statement.
It seems to me that Christians who’ve struggled with how to respond to OBL’s end confuse vengeance with justice. They quote Romans 12:19 asserting it’s God’s province to avenge. True enough, but bringing bin Laden to heel was not about vengeance. It could have been. It could have been about individuals acting independently and unlawfully to seek retribution. But it wasn’t. It was about an official government armed force, acting under direction of duly elected leaders to bring lawfully to account—to justice—a person deemed to be a mass murderer and threat to thousands or even millions of innocents.
Vengeance and justice are not to be confused. Vengeance aborts the law. Justice preserves the law. Vengeance disrupts order. Justice reestablishes order based on law.
Scripture says, “Rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” What American Special Forces did in bringing Osama bin Laden to account was an act of justice.
Looking upon OBL’s death as justice means we rejoice not in the destruction of a human being but in a victory of righteousness. Christians can support this, for God’s law is vindicated.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.
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