And then not only did you have me, you rebuked me. :')
When things get mundane and unsexy - especially in quotidian matters like your example of the backyard project - I grow weary, bored, uninterested. I become inconsistent. And that inconsistency breeds skepticism in my wife and daughters.
Thank you for naming something in me that needed to be named. God bless you for that.
What a wonderful response. Thanks for this confession, Nate. Though the backyard example was (somewhat) fictional, I am very much in the same boat. Preaching to myself. Lord, may we each day become more the trustworthy men you made us to be.
Everything you say is fundamentally correct. I just want to point out that there is a distinct difference between a leader and an authority. A leader, well... leads. And an authority maintains order. The police officer who pulls me over, is an authority, but calling him a leader would be a stretch. We need both, but our egalitarian society likes to rebrand all authority as leadership. Sometimes they can coexist in the same office (like parenting) but they are not the same thing.
Just my thoughts. Anyway, absolutely stoked for your faith/mustard seed piece!
Sid, very interesting! "Our egalitarian society likes to brand all authority as leadership." I have to think on this. Yes, "leadership" is definitely one way in which we moderns have tried to escape the inevitable reality of hierarchy. Your point about the police officer is an especially good one. I think for me, leadership is at least a big part of what authority looks like on a small scale. On the scale of a modern nation state (or even ancient empire), sure many authority figures have no distinct leadership role. You have to have a shared goal to need a leader. If we each live by our own individual goals, well then we are our own leaders. And the authorities are just there to make sure we don't speed or kill anyone on our way to doing our business. But perhaps there is a deeper reality in which many forms of authority are dormant leaders. Lifeguards are not leaders most of the time. They just have the authority to tell you not to do certain things. But in an emergency, their authority becomes leadership. Same with police officers. In urgent moments, when strangers suddenly have shared goals, perhaps then authority figures become leaders. Yet, to your point, it could also be true that in those moments, there are other non-official participants who become the true leaders. Authority and leadership are not always in alignment. Anyway, glad you brought it up!
Wonderful , Ross! It is always good to lead by example, as you say- to not mind getting muddy and bloody—. Thank you
Thanks Bobby. You're a prime example of exactly what I'm talking about.
Key takeaway: if by good leadership Ross Byrd can teach his 8 year old to run a chainsaw, I can too.
You can’t prove that I did that.
Love the piece, as usual.
Thanks man
Ross, you had me up to point 5.
And then not only did you have me, you rebuked me. :')
When things get mundane and unsexy - especially in quotidian matters like your example of the backyard project - I grow weary, bored, uninterested. I become inconsistent. And that inconsistency breeds skepticism in my wife and daughters.
Thank you for naming something in me that needed to be named. God bless you for that.
What a wonderful response. Thanks for this confession, Nate. Though the backyard example was (somewhat) fictional, I am very much in the same boat. Preaching to myself. Lord, may we each day become more the trustworthy men you made us to be.
Everything you say is fundamentally correct. I just want to point out that there is a distinct difference between a leader and an authority. A leader, well... leads. And an authority maintains order. The police officer who pulls me over, is an authority, but calling him a leader would be a stretch. We need both, but our egalitarian society likes to rebrand all authority as leadership. Sometimes they can coexist in the same office (like parenting) but they are not the same thing.
Just my thoughts. Anyway, absolutely stoked for your faith/mustard seed piece!
Sid, very interesting! "Our egalitarian society likes to brand all authority as leadership." I have to think on this. Yes, "leadership" is definitely one way in which we moderns have tried to escape the inevitable reality of hierarchy. Your point about the police officer is an especially good one. I think for me, leadership is at least a big part of what authority looks like on a small scale. On the scale of a modern nation state (or even ancient empire), sure many authority figures have no distinct leadership role. You have to have a shared goal to need a leader. If we each live by our own individual goals, well then we are our own leaders. And the authorities are just there to make sure we don't speed or kill anyone on our way to doing our business. But perhaps there is a deeper reality in which many forms of authority are dormant leaders. Lifeguards are not leaders most of the time. They just have the authority to tell you not to do certain things. But in an emergency, their authority becomes leadership. Same with police officers. In urgent moments, when strangers suddenly have shared goals, perhaps then authority figures become leaders. Yet, to your point, it could also be true that in those moments, there are other non-official participants who become the true leaders. Authority and leadership are not always in alignment. Anyway, glad you brought it up!
Great response! The “dormant leader” is interesting. Thank you