Dare Great Things For Christ

Shouldn’t it all be easy?  That’s a question we a lot of us ask ourselves as we lead our businesses and work with our children – we have a dream in our mind, a kind of nostalgia, that life should be at least easy if we are good at it.  And we all want to be good at it so we think somehow or other that troubles or difficulties are signs of failure.  But that’s not what the life of King David shows us.  By looking at how King David dealth with trials we can learn a little bit more about our own.

Every good leader knows that there are few people in his life more important than those that he trusts to give good advice.  It was no different for King David.  In his kingdom he relied up on prophets and friends to guide him.  One of his most trusted advisors was the prophet Nathan.  Their relationship was profound.  Nathan corrected David twice and saved his kingdom and his legacy forever.  Let’s listen to the story and listen to God speak to us as well.

All of us need time where we can take a break and let our spirits be renewed.  In this very special series on “A Retreat With King David” I lead business professionals through a time of reflection on their own life as leaders in light of the story of King David.  God’s incredible working in David’s life presents a paradigm to help us understand the challenges and the grace of our own.

Every leader needs to pray.  The best gauge of h ow much we can stand for is the dignity of the One before whom we knee.  Prayer is the heart of leadership because it preservers the heart of the leader.  And the inner spirit that soars towards God can transform the world as needed.  One of the most powerful prayers for leaders is the prayer of The Litany Of Humility and I’m looking to sharing about it with you.

All too often in my life as a Priest I hear business leaders tell me that they don’t know why they pray.  It’s almost as if for them the time spent in prayer might be spent better by doing productive labors.  Our inability to honor the sabbath properly speaks to this.  What does the Bible have to say about the prayers of leaders?  What you find in the Bible might surprise you.

The life of the Virgin Mary is the tale of a hero.  In the face of great obstacles and great opposition Our Lady demonstrated leadership in the most excellent of ways.  She goes before us as a mother and a queen, but it can be easy to overlook the harrowing and trying circumstances in which she lived.  Learning about her heroism helps us in our own.

By our baptism we are called to lead.  We are called to bring the influence of Christ into our families, into our relationships, and into our world.  But in what does this leadership principally consist - especially for those of us who have been entrusted with communities, in our families, in our businesses, what are we supposed to do?  St. Thomas Aquinas offers us concise and insightful guidance in his work, De Regno, On The King, his letter to the King of Cyprus.

When all things are said and done, the goal of leadership ought to be simple.  Thomas Aquinas provides us with a wonderful summary in chapter sixteen of his work, On The King, he gives us a final goal - three things.  By focusing on these three things we can find the direction we need as we apply leadership to our home, our business, and our world.

In business as in life, success is largely a function of focus.  Knowing what our priorities are allows us to hit them correctly allows us to be successful.  What’s the proper focus for leadership?  What is it supposed to be all about?  Aquinas’ De Regno, offers us an amazing lesson in leadership, allowing us to see that the true end goal of leadership is in the ultimate perfection of those that we lead.

We all know the temptation to glory, power, and fame.  We all know the power of its allure and how desirable it seems to be.  So what’s the downside?  If in fact we don’t live as soldiers of Christ and followers of the King of Kings but become tyrants ourselves, benefitting ourselves at the expense of our flock, what’s the downside?  What could possible go wrong?  Listen in to my commentary on chapters 10 and 11 of Thomas Aquinas’ De Regno.