Lead With Courage

There is a leader in you and a leader in me. A poet writes, “A lion paces in every human heart. What quickens yours? What makes your lion roar?” The symbolic attributes of the lion include: Strength, Courage, Power, Royalty, Dignity, Authority, Dominion, Justice, Wisdom, and Ferocity. A lion is part of a pride or group where survival skills are learned and practiced. Lions like humans must overcome their fear and hesitancy to succeed and to recover from setbacks.

Fear creeps in when dangers appear. Perhaps you don’t know what to do if fears keep you from taking decisive action. During a financial crisis facing our college, it helped late one night to write down all my fears for our school, our constituents, my family and myself. It was my first time to write such a list and to share it with my wife, “Sometimes you need to look the tiger in the teeth and count every tooth.”

This act of describing my fears led me to remember President Franklin Delano Roosevelt who rallied a nation with these words, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Calming and overcoming my fears led me to two of my favorite Bible passages from the Apostle Paul, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13. And “the power by which God raised Jesus from the dead is alive and at work in you.” Romans 8:11. Or you may prefer the words of Mark Twain, “Courage is resilience to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”

When fear, apprehension and worry are weighing down your spirit, it is the time to unleash the courageous lion in you and become the person you are destined to be. Like a lion,

• Hold your head high even in times of conflict and conduct yourself with dignity.
• Stand tall and remember your birthright of power.
• Show your authority (not in a dominating way) but lead others with a caring heart.
• Protect and defend something or someone that is dear to your heart.
• Be courageous and have faith.

I have written this book for several reasons. As a memoir for my family it preserves some elements of our heritage. As a legacy of lessons learned in leadership experiences in ministry, educational administration, and business it offers information and insights on various opportunities to serve, many challenges to face, and blessings to receive. As a self-help book, it offers leaders at various levels with practical, how-to-do it examples and thought-provoking questions within each chapter for personal reflection and discussion. As a spiritual book, it reveals that faith and courage are gifts from God to face crises, resolve conflicts and enjoy your life and work.