Dare Great Things For Christ

Most of us are aware of the story of King David, of the way that God blessed him and of God’s eternal covenant with David.  And most of us are aware of the story of Bathsheba and David’s famous lack of chastity.  The lessons of the life of David for our spiritual lives are many and deep.  But studying his failures from Bathsheba to Absalom his son to his census of Israel teaches us a powerful lesson about God’s merciful love for his leaders.

We all know that leaders need to be strong and bold and brave.  We all know that a group’s success will depend in large proportion on the success of it’s leadership.  But what happens when leaders aren’t successful?  Have there ever been saints that showed us the other side of failure?  What can we learn from the stories of leaders, even Saints, who may have come up short from time to time.  Join me in my first part of the series, “Where Leaders Fail.”

In this final episode of my class on Saul Alinsky’s book, “Rules For Radicals,” I give an overview of this thought and describe why I think his thought is so dangerous and at the same time so appealing.  His vision for organizers represents a vision that many people share about leadership.  But I think it’s also an opportunity for us who follow Christ to understand better what the world is really longing for from our leadership. 

In Chapter 7 of his book, “Rules For Radicals” Saul Alinsky unveils what he is most famous for.  The rules for victory that radicals can follow for organizing a community for change.  These rules have sparked much interest and debate for many years because they are both practical and successful.  But are they aligned with the Gospel?  Where can we both learn from them and do better?

All leadership implies power but does power explain what leadership is?  From a Catholic perspective leadership requires principle.  Saul Alinsky would disagree.  In Chapter 6 of his book, “Rules For Radicals”, Alinsky lays out a very powerful description of leadership without principle.  What does the Christian have to say in response?

Regardless of what we have to say, our ability to say it is equally important.  If we cannot express what we have inside no one will listen to us anyway.  This is the great intuition of Saul Alinsky in “Rules For Radicals” where he outlines the words used by organizers, the education necessary for an organizer, and highlights the importance of their ability to communicate.  How does this relate to the Gospel?

Does a good end justify the means taken to get there?  Our leaders authorized to do the good “no matter what” by any means necessary – even means that are wrong?  Can we judge something as being wrong when it actually produces something that is good?  These questions are central to the question of leadership and the decisions we have to make as leaders.  Our Lord in the Gospel gives and answer to these questions.  So does Saul Alinsky in Chapter 2 of his book “Rules For Radicals.”  Let’s compare the two.

Christ calls us to be leaders, but what exactly is the point of the leadership to which He calls us?  In Saul Alinsky’s, “Rules For Radicals,” he presents a vision of leadership devoid of an ultimate end goal.  Instead he insists on the ultimate relationship between leadership and the power to wield it.  Couldn’t this be a Catholic moment?  Isn’t this an opportunity for us to build a bridge with his thought?

Sometimes the voice of the Gospel can best be heard by listening to the voices of those who do not profess it.  Such is the case for Saul Alinsky.  In his “Rules For Radicals” this social agitator outlined a series of beliefs that have produced stunning success.  But have they produced effective leadership?  What’s the difference between his philosophy on leadership and the truth of the Gospel? 

The persuasive power of any falsehood lies in its proximity with the truth.  Machiavelli’s, “The Prince”, contains many truths and many statements which ring true to our practical ears.  Chapter 22 concerning the secretaries of princes is a great example of this.  In this chapter we read many things that help us understand our role as servants against the backdrop of Machiavellian reasoning.