Monday, October 29, 2007
By Faith... the Judges, Part 12 of 62
TEXT: "In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were deserted, and the travelers walked along the byways. Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel, until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel" (Judges 5:6-7).
IDEA: Deborah demonstrated principles of leadership.
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize the strength of this woman who was both a judge and a prophet.
Do you know anyone who is called “Debbie”? Where did the name come from?
A child named Deborah has a great deal to live up to.
Gary Inrig talks about the principles of leadership that we can observe in Deborah’s life.
I. The first principle is that she saw a need and was committed to do something about it. Leaders see a need and then are committed to doing something about it.
In the song (Judges 5:6-7) the need that Deborah saw is spelled out.
She was critically realistic about the situation that she saw.
Often leaders are blind to the needs in their own organization or in the society around them.
Example: John Gardner, head of Common Cause, said, “Many modern institutions are caught in a savage crossfire between uncritical lovers and unloving critics.” He points out that love without criticism brings stagnation, but criticism without love brings destruction.
What is needed is a loving criticism of the church, the society, and its institutions.
Deborah set a clear goal and acted on it. It’s not enough to see things that are wrong. We ought to think about how to make them right.
II. The second principle of leadership we see in Deborah is that a leader enlists help.
Deborah was realistic. Israel had a military problem up north and she needed a military helper. She sent up north for the best person she could find, Barak. Apparently he had distinguished himself as a soldier (seen in the way he lived).
The mark of leaders is that they are aware of their own gifts and abilities but equally aware of how much they need other people who have gifts they lack to carry out their mission.
