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The Character of Leadership: Jacob

In this study of the character of leaders, I find myself thinking about “the character of characters.” A “character” is a person, often someone who plays a part in a story and is an example from whom we can learn, but it is also a trait or attribute that can be applied to that person and to his/her leadership. When we study the character of that character – identifying biblical characters, and then identifying something in their character that can teach us something about who we are and how we lead – we learn things about the character of leadership that can be applied in our own lives. In this week’s episode, we are learning from Jacob.

I love that one of the accompanying ideas in the Bible that goes along with its inerrancy is the fact that the Bible tells the truth about people. It doesn’t sugarcoat what happens, and it doesn’t ignore the bad or the ugly It doesn’t paint biblical characters as superheroes or as models of perfect perfection (outside of Jesus), but portrays who they really are and what they really experienced, both the good and the bad. Jacob is one of many characters about whom that is very obvious.

From the moment of his birth, Jacob seemed to be selfish, conniving, and deceitful. He was fighting with his brother before he was even born. As a young man, he took advantage of his brother to take away his birthright. With his mother‘s help, he deceived his father to take the blessing that was supposed to go to his brother. He deceived his father-in-law to get the best of the sheep as his own. Now, to be fair, he wasn’t always the instigator or initiator, like when his mom pushed him to get his brother‘s blessing or when his father-in-law tricked him into marrying a different daughter than the one he asked to marry. But his faults are still glaringly obvious.

However, one of the positive aspects of his character that is revealed in his journey is his tenacity. He worked for decades to get the woman he wanted as his wife. He spent a long time carrying out a plan to grow his herd of sheep. But his tenacity became most obvious when he was returning home after years away, but before he got there, he wrestled with an angel of the Lord (perhaps the Lord himself?). His tenacity was on full display when he wrestled all night to win favor from the Lord, and it didn’t end until the being that he was wrestling with touched him and dislocated his hip socket. In that experience, his name was changed to Israel, and he became the father of sons who would become the tribes of Israel.

There are things that we can learn from the character of this character, and, like a lot of people that we learn from, they can be negative traits or characteristics. But I would challenge you to focus on his tenacity, his unwillingness to give up even when the fight has been long and tiring. Plans don’t usually come to fruition quickly, so they require someone who can envision the long-term outcome and will stick to it, even when obstacles threaten to derail it. Yes, there are times when you need to change direction, or throw your plans out and start all over, but at the same time, there will always be obstacles and opposition that threaten a plan that needs to be carried out. Have the kind of tenacity that Jacob had, standing strong and moving forward, and see the blessing that the Lord will bring. If you are going to take anything from the character of this character, take his tenacity.

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Podcast, Season 2, Episode 42: The Character of Leadership: Joseph

In this study of the character of leaders, I find myself thinking about “the character of characters.” A “character” is a person, often someone who plays a part in a story and is an example from whom we can learn, but it is also a trait or attribute that can be applied to that person and to his/her leadership. When we study the character of that character – identifying biblical characters, and then identifying something in their character that can teach us something about who we are and how we lead – we learn things about the character of leadership that can be applied in our own lives. In this week’s episode, we are learning from Joseph.

Here is the link to the podcast.

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The Character of Leadership: Joseph

In this study of the character of leaders, I find myself thinking about “the character of characters.” A “character” is a person, often someone who plays a part in a story and is an example from whom we can learn, but it is also a trait or attribute that can be applied to that person and to his/her leadership. When we study the character of that character – identifying biblical characters, and then identifying something in their character that can teach us something about who we are and how we lead – we learn things about the character of leadership that can be applied in our own lives. In this week’s episode, we are learning from Joseph.

I am starting this discussion with a story of one of the schools where God called me to serve. The specific ministry in Christian education to which God had called my wife and I was to participate in the healing and restoration of Christian schools, and we saw that in every school where God sent us to serve. In one school, that involved helping wounded people heal from broken trust. In my first year at that school, I made it one of my primary goals to restore trust, and I almost cried at the end of the school year when, in a review of the year with teachers, almost everyone identified trust as one of the top positive takeaways from the years. I share this because I think that trust is essential to effective leadership, and I also think it is a prime character trait of the biblical character, Joseph.

Joseph was young and immature when he aggravated and alienated his brothers, to the point that they intentionally chose to remove him from their family. He ended up in Potiphar’s house, where he earned the trust of Potiphar so much that he was given decision-making authority over everything in the household. However, he was betrayed and falsely accused, resulting in broken trust even though he had done nothing wrong, and was sent to prison. In prison, he earned the trust of the jailor so much that he was given decision-making authority over everything in the prison. However, even though he earned the trust of not only the jailer, but also some fellow prisoners who worked for the Pharoah, he was forgotten. Eventually, he was given the opportunity to earn the trust of the Pharoah so much that he was given decision-making authority over everything in the kingdom.

The point is, Joseph built trust. He did it by doing what he said he would do, and doing it right and with excellence. That doesn’t mean that everyone with whom he built trust was just as trustworthy in return. In fact, he built trust with Potiphar, but then was betrayed. He followed that by building trust with the jailer and his fellow prisoners in prison, but then was forgotten. You might think that he would give up, give in, and quit trying to be a trustworthy person because of these experiences. However, even though he himself was demonstrating trustworthy character, his trust was in God, not in others. So when others let him down, he was not shaken because his character wasn’t contingent on their response, but on God’s protection and provision. Ultimately, his experiences were steps in the journey of building trust with the Pharoah. The end result was that his trustworthiness put him in the position of being able to rescue his family when crises came.

There are two things I think we can and should learn from the character of this character:

  1. Be worthy of trust. Be a person of integrity who does what you say you will, doing it with excellence, and thereby earning the trust of the people you follow, the people you lead, and the people who are working with you. When they know they can trust you to do what is right and to keep your word, they are much more likely to follow you.
  2. Keep your trust in God, not in others. People will let you down, but be trustworthy anyway. When they break your trust, look at God and look for what He is doing, trusting that in all circumstances He has your best interest in mind as part of His plan.

So, the primary lesson we learn from the character of Joseph? Be trustworthy – someone in whom people can trust – but let your trust be in God.

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Podcast, Season 2, Episode 41: The Character of Leadership: Joshua

In this study of the character of leaders, I find myself thinking about “the character of characters.” A “character” is a person, often someone who plays a part in a story and is an example from whom we can learn, but it is also a trait or attribute that can be applied to that person and to his/her leadership. When we study the character of that character – identifying biblical characters, and then identifying something in their character that can teach us something about who we are and how we lead – we learn things about the character of leadership that can be applied in our own lives. In this week’s episode, we are learning from Joshua.

Here is the link to the podcast.

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The Character of Leadership: Joshua

In this study of the character of leaders, I find myself thinking about “the character of characters.” A “character” is a person, often someone who plays a part in a story and is an example from whom we can learn, but it is also a trait or attribute that can be applied to that person and to his/her leadership. When we study the character of that character – identifying biblical characters, and then identifying something in their character that can teach us something about who we are and how we lead – we learn things about the character of leadership that can be applied in our own lives. In this week’s episode, we are learning from Joshua.

For most of us, when we think about Joshua, there are probably two things to come to mind. The first is the encouragement that he received from God recorded in Joshua chapter 1, and most notably verse 9, which says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” That verse is printed on wall art, shared in devotionals, and often used as a challenge for boldness. The second is his role as the military leader who led them in a successful conquest of the promised land. After Moses passed away, the mantle of leadership was transferred to Joshua, and he led the people with the strategy of dividing and conquering, leading them to victory and then claiming the land as theirs, followed by dividing the land between the tribes. On a side note, it’s interesting that the 24 chapters of Joshua can be divided in half, with chapters 1-12 describing how the land was divided and conquered, and then chapters 13-24 describing how it would be divided and settled.

However, starting Joshua’s story there is like starting the biography of George Washington at the point in time when he became the leader of the colonial military in the American Revolutionary War. There was a whole lot that happened in his life before that point in time that was critical in shaping him into the kind of leader that he would be. In the same way, there are things we learn about Joshua in the Bible before we get to Joshua chapter 1, and it teaches us something about his character that can be beneficial to our leadership.

A simple reading through the books of Exodus and Numbers reveals quite a few mentions of Joshua, and always in the presence or service of Moses. He was chosen by Moses to lead the army in a battle against the Amalekites. He would follow along with and serve Moses when Moses was meeting with God on Mt. Sinai. He would report to Moses on what was happening among the people. He was one of the 12 spies selected by Moses to spy out the land of Canaan, and one of the only two among them who was willing to trust God’s provision of it. At the end of Moses’ life, God instructed Moses to appoint Joshua as the next leader, and called him “A man in whom is the Spirit.”

What do we learn about his character from this? Before he was ever in the position of leader of the people, first he was faithful, teachable, and willing to do the work. He was faithful to God, committed to obedience to God, and committed to a life that reflected godliness. He was also faithful to the task and responsibilities he was given, even before he had leadership authority. He listened to direction, both from God and from his leader, Moses, and grew in his capability because of that, which prepared him for future leadership. He did what he was tasked to do, even when it was hard work. He didn’t try to do Moses’ job, only his own, and worked at doing it well. In the end, the leadership role that he was given was the result of the character he had demonstrated along the way.

The character of this character is a lesson for all of us. Don’t wait until you have been given the position of leadership before reflecting the character that shows you are worthy and capable of leadership. Commit yourself to faithfulness to God and to the task He has given you, intentionally learning as you go and putting in the work to do your job well and grow yourself. If this is your character, when the time and place is right, God will put your next steps of leadership in front of you, and you will be ready. But remember that it doesn’t “just happen.” Rather, there is preparation and work that happens consistently long before you are given leadership responsibility. As the 10,000-hour rule has shown, true greatness doesn’t come without thousands of hours of work and practice in the background, and the same is true in leadership. The life you live and the character you show over time are necessary for effective leadership down the road. Be committed to demonstrating that kind of character regardless of your level of responsibility now, and then lead out of that character when the time comes.

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Podcast, Season 2, Episode 40: The Character of Leadership: Moses

A “character” is a person, often someone who plays a part in a story and is an example from whom we can learn, but it is also a trait or attribute that can be applied to that person and to his/her leadership. When we study the character of that character – identifying biblical characters, and then identifying something in their character that can teach us something about who we are and how we lead – we learn things about the character of leadership that can be applied in our own lives. In this week’s episode, we are learning from Moses.

Here is the link to the podcast.

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The Character of Leadership: Moses

In this study of the character of leaders, I find myself thinking about “the character of characters.” A “character” is a person, often someone who plays a part in a story and is an example from whom we can learn, but it is also a trait or attribute that can be applied to that person and to his/her leadership. When we study the character of that character – identifying biblical characters, and then identifying something in their character that can teach us something about who we are and how we lead – we learn things about the character of leadership that can be applied in our own lives. In this week’s episode, we are learning from Moses.

When I introduced this idea of studying the character of characters last week, I shared a personal illustration of my dad doing a temperament analysis on me and finding that my temperament was comparable to Moses’. So it only seems fitting to me that Moses is the first character that I talk about, and we’ll start with a little bit of brief overview of that character – of who he was.

We know that Moses was the deliverer of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. Because of his role, he is an incredibly significant figure in the Bible story. He was rescued from potential death and destruction as an infant, to be raised in the household of royalty. He stepped in to defend his people, but tried to do it in his own terms and in his own way, which sent him off to a period of isolation for a long time. It was in that desert experience that God prepared him for the task that he would have, the one for which God had appointed him. In that task, he interacted with the pharaoh, speaking on behalf of God, to be the instrument that God used not only to free the people from slavery, but to also show how this deliverance would be a picture of the coming deliverance of sin through the Savior Jesus Christ. Moses then led his people out of Egypt, to the threshold of the promised land, where they refused to trust God, and then Moses was tasked with leading the people for another 40 years as they wandered around in the desert until God‘s chastisement and judgment was complete for the sin that they had committed. In the end, Moses was never privileged to see the place to which he was called to deliver the people.

I know that is a woefully inadequate summary of who Moses was, but even in that very brief overview, there are a number of character traits or attributes that we could pull from the life of Moses, from the character of this character, but let me point out one or two that I go together and apply to your leadership struggle. I think one of the more interesting ones that we probably don’t think about that much is that of a lack of confidence and feelings of inadequacy, which we tend to refer to as the imposter syndrome. I know that Scripture doesn’t say this directly, but based on his comments and his experience, I have to wonder if Moses often felt like he was not capable of doing the job. I think he knew that, even though he was raised in the royal household, he was not actually royalty, but he had to act like it. When that season was behind him, and God spoke to him at the burning bush, he tried to find every way possible to get out of the job because he didn’t think he could handle it and he didn’t think he had the skills to do it. When the people were wandering in the wilderness, and they were complaining, Moses would cry out to God and ask why he was given these people to have to take care of. All of those things in some way reflect the hidden personal fear of incompetence or inadequacy. It is the feeling that you are not cut out for this, or that you are in over your head, or that you’re just not capable and eventually everyone will figure out that you’re not and that you have been faking it all along – again, known as the imposter syndrome.

I think the reason why it’s good for us to see this perspective of Moses’ character is because leaders often struggle with feeling like they’re not really capable, but having to pretend like they are while not letting anyone know the struggle. They know how much they don’t know, they know where they are lacking (even if other people can’t see it) and that’s what makes them struggle. I know, because I have been there. However, the other side of this that we see in the character of Moses is a commitment to the call that God had given. When Moses said to God that he was not capable, God reminded Moses of the Lord‘s presence, and then equipped him with the tools that he needed, and sent him to do the task anyway. God wasn’t depending on Moses’ capability, but rather expecting Moses to depend on God’s. And because Moses knew that he was not adequate but believed that God was, Moses obeyed, committed to carrying out the task to which God had called him. When the people complained in the wilderness, Moses continued to be faithful and to serve God and the task to which he was called and even defended the people when God would get angry with them. He remain committed to obedient action, regardless of how he felt.

So when we look at the character of this character, Moses, I think those are tremendous lessons for us. You may be good at what you do, but you also know where your flaws and faults are, and you know where you struggle, even when others are not aware. Remember that when you are called to a task, God is not depending on you, rather, you are depending on God. He has equipped you, He has a plan and purpose, He knows what you can and cannot do and what He has equipped and prepared you to do, and He’s placed you in a position for a purpose. Commit to faithfully obeying and serving the Lord, regardless of how you feel, knowing that God is God and he has a plan, and you get to be part of it.

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Podcast, Season 2, Episode 39: The Character of Leadership: An Introduction

A “character” is a person, often someone who plays a part in a story and is an example from whom we can learn, but it is also a trait or attribute that can be applied to that person and to his/her leadership. When we study the character of that character – identifying biblical characters, and then identifying something in their character that can teach us something about who we are and how we lead – we learn things about the character of leadership that can be applied in our own lives.

Here is the link to the podcast.

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The Character of Leadership: Introduction

When I was in high school, my dad, who was a pastor, was implementing a temperament profile as a teaching and counseling tool for himself and for a class he was teaching. It was a profile that identified certain temperaments and traits and then compared them to different persons in the Bible. He had me take this profile, and my matching biblical counterpart was Moses (who was described as a melancholy temperament, which seemed to match my temperament). This was a great learning experience for me, and probably my first introduction to personality profiles, and how they could help you understand yourself.

Recently, something reminded me of that experience, of learning about myself by looking at a biblical character (and in my case, Moses). But thinking about that character led me down a different path of thinking about two different uses of the word, character, and about how they can work together to help us learn more about leadership.

In the first use, a “character” is a person, often someone who plays a part in a story. It’s typically not a perfect person (in fact only Jesus was perfect), and often it is someone who is far from perfection. However, it is frequently an influential person, and in some form, an example from whom we can learn. Therefore, to understand a character is to know a little bit about who he/she was, and the context in which they lived or operated.

In the second use, as a separate definition, “character” is a trait or attribute that can be applied to that person and to his/her leadership. It is the identification of a particular behavior, attitude, or characteristic that defines the type of person they are, and is reflected in their conduct.

That word “character,” then, applies to both a person and an attribute. With that in mind, I think that there is lot that we can learn from the character of characters in the Bible. Therefore, there is great value for us in identifying biblical characters, and then identifying something that stands out in their character that can teach us something about who we are and how we lead. So for the next few weeks, and probably periodically after that, I want to select various people in the Bible and ask questions like, “Who is this character?” “What is their character?”, and “What do we learn from the character of this character?”.

I have often told my own children, “You learn most things from experience, but it’s usually less painful if it is someone else’s experience.” In this case, we are learning from someone else’s experience by looking at their character and the lessons of their successes and failures because of that character, and then seeing how to put the character of that character into practice in our own lives. We are learning about the character of leadership.

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