Tag Archives: anarchy

21st Century Leadership, Part 1

August 8th, 2023 | Dr. Charlie Self

One glance at the headlines and we see a global crisis of leadership. In addition to the (alas, the almost expected) personal and institutional corruption and oppression, we are experiencing the consequences of two generations of separating personal and professional ethics, and the displacement of personal agency with the Leviathan of control over so much of life. When one adds ideological polarization to the mix, we have an elixir of exhaustion and hopelessness.

There are hopeful signs amidst the anarchy and soft totalitarianism. At the local and regional level in the USA and Europe, thoughtful people are pushing back against the impositions of elites. In Africa and Asia, a new generation of leaders is emerging and they care more about the basic necessities (education, economic opportunity, and infrastructure) for their people than flying ideological flags and virtue-signaling.

In this essay and the next one, I want to share four enduring facets of good leadership. These apply to all domains, from households to nations, religious communities to corporations. As we examine these qualities, we must exercise humility and first examine our lives well before evaluating and judging others. Jesus’ words, “judge not, lest you be judged…” were not a call to never evaluate the moral decisions of others. Jesus was telling us not to “pass sentence” on people and think we can accurately assess all that is in their hearts. Too many people are afraid to speak their minds on ethics, while others too quickly condemn what does not feel good to them.

Character – goodness, integrity, and personal wholeness – is the first and most important attribute of excellent leadership. Ancient and modern sages, empirical research, and thoughtful observation yield the same insight: many if not most of the problems of leadership have significant character issues underneath the surface controversies.

Please notice the three markers about character given above. Sometimes good character is undermined by immoral and rebellious behavior, with narcissism and solipsism permeating the soul. Sometimes there is conscious and unconscious fragmentation inside, as people think one set of rules applies to work, another to family, and another to their religion. This is “dis-integration” and a real problem for leaders in public spaces. There can also be deep psychological issues rooted in abuse, rejection, and trauma that undermine character development. And all of these problems can be masked by personal charisma, political skills, and technical expertise.

Good character matters and leaders must keep working on virtue development, integrity, and healing in order to serve well. Progress, not perfection, humility and genuine effort should be the basic norms as we develop and evaluate leaders.

The second facet of good leadership is a thorough understanding of one’s charisms. Here we are speaking of natural and spiritual gifts (all divinely bestowed) that can be developed to serve others. In addition to particular abilities, a sense of calling and purpose (vocation) must inform leadership foci and activities. Sometimes leaders struggle when their particular gifts are not a match for what is needed in a particular setting. Other times, leaders rely on certain gifts to cover character flaws and incompetence. Charisms matter and learning and refining here includes ones’ personality, strengths, narratives of success, along with particular abilities.

Leaders get in trouble when they go outside the boundaries of their overall abilities and attempt to be someone else. Problems also ensue when gifts are undeveloped or certain expressions are never refined. For example, no matter how much I practice, I cannot and must not aspire to being a singer. But I can keep improving the teaching and writing charisms that are part of my calling.

Good character and wisdom concerning one’s charisms are two facets of good leadership. In the next essay, we will look at two more areas: competencies and capacity. Leadership involves both innate giftedness and developed skills. May we all find our places of influence and flourish as we acquire wisdom and practice love.

Certainties for 2023, Part 2

January 24th, 2023 | Dr. Charlie Self

As we look ahead to a new year, there are often feelings of hope and trepidation, a sense of a fresh start battling with nascent fatalism that wonders if life can change. The good news is that while we cannot control all the decisions of others or the events around us, we can prayerfully make wise decisions. Here are four more certainties for the coming year.

Fourthly, apocalyptic climate change propaganda will continue, along with reasoned pushbacks that call for environmental sanity that does not impoverish the working classes around the world. Global prosperity will always include a carbon footprint, and only elites sheltered from economic realities are promoting draconian policies. Thoughtful women and men will call for both/and approaches that sustain economies while developing amazing new technologies.

A fifth certitude is that many women and men will question traditional religious values and “deconstruct” their faith, while millions more find the freedom of the gospel. This paradox is reflected in the New Testament as the writers expect global evangelization and great apostasy, with awakenings matched by persecution. Serious Christians and healthy local churches will be places of intellectual, spiritual, and social refuge for women and men searching for meaning and truth. God hears the prayers and records the tears of millions crying out for an awakening.

Sixth, the gender chaos of the LGBTQIA+ movements will continue, but thoughtful men and women will offer nuanced responses to this anarchy, and its deliberate recruitment of vulnerable children and adolescents. Underneath the social trends is the deconstructionism of post-modern and Marxist ideologues that desire the end of the biological family and the remaking of human persons as transhuman group members, rather than male and female individuals with freedom. The good news is that reasonable people are seeing through the nonsense and offering ways forward that allow adults liberty while shielding children from nefarious agendas.

Finally, the new year offers an invitation from God to all: will we find our identity, peace, and rest through faith in Christ, or will we pursue our own idols and finish another year in frustration? Five questions that can help us as we aim for a flourishing life: 1) Will we live in humble reverence before God or make self-fulfillment our chief aim? 2) Will we allow the Lord to heal and bring hope, or will we wallow in fatalism? 3) Will we relate to others with love and wisdom, or see people only as a means to an end? 4) Will we discover and articulate a life mission that honors God and serves others, or live for momentary pleasures? And 5) Will we offer each day of work as an act of worship, or merely trudge along and live for Friday night? For more on these dimensions of life, go to www.discipleshipdynamics.com and discover the abundant life Christ has designed for each of us.

Please join me in welcoming the challenges and opportunities ahead. We are not alone. Our Lord is with us, and there are millions of faithful and thoughtful sisters and brothers praying for and with us.

What Does “There” Look Like? 2020 Election Edition

October 8th, 2020 | Dr. Charlie Self

For years I have been challenging myself, other leaders, and elected officials to offer compelling visions of the future that are inclusive, just, and propel all people and communities toward flourishing. Without hope (tempered by realism), we are left with either anarchy leading to new forms of totalitarianism, or timeworn experiments that have proven fruitless.

Here are some questions for those who care about our global and local future:

Is your vision inclusive of all classes and cultures? Or are you preying on envy and resentment and fomenting conflict to secure power over others?
Is your vision doable and can it be paid for without stifling creativity and opportunity? Are your ideas incrementally achievable or grandiose talking points rooted in scare tactics?
Does your vision continue enshrining freedom of conscience, religion, speech, and peaceable assembly, or are you placing whole groups outside the pale because they are not enlightened enough?
Does your vision include both changed hearts and just systems? Good intentions are helpful, but without access, equity, and opportunity, they will ring hollow.
Does your vision allow for progress without instant perfection and proximate justice on the way to full liberation? Can you find ways for principled compromise?
Does your vision build on the lessons of history so that old mistakes are not repeated, and wisdom can be applied afresh to new challenges? Or are you trapped in the recent fallacy that dismisses the insights of previous generations?
Does your vision reflect the need for people of character as well as new public policies?

A fresh vision of “there” will require imagination, integrity, intentional action, and a love for continual learning and refinement. We will never build a perfect world, but we can make the present one better.

Differences that Make a Difference

August 28th, 2020 | Dr. Charlie Self

Learning thoughtfulness amidst the overwhelming data around us is challenging. In our desires for peace and justice, we must refine our critical thinking capacities and recognize what is timeless truth and what are timely opinions.

Here are some differences that make a difference:

Legitimate outrage about racism vs. anarchy and destruction.

Repairing historic, systemic injustices vs. calls for ending the family and imposing Marxism.

Repentance of prejudices of class, gender, and race vs. hatred for anyone with traditional values.

Passionate, principled debate vs. a cancel culture of personal destruction.

Building a world with true toleration vs. fear of violence.

Serious journalistic inquiry and allowing real evidence to further investigation vs. repetition of talking points and allegations.

Repairing our environment vs. alarmism cloaking wealth redistribution.

Accepting history as a tapestry of beautiful and broken narratives vs. cherry picking for agendas.

Treating every person with dignity and respect and respecting cultural diversity vs. blanket categorizations and generalizations.

Freedom of conscience allowing us to bring our best selves to the public square vs. privatizing any moral and religious convictions.

Let’s help the world be more thoughtful.

July 14, 1789: Bastille Day and The French Revolution: So Much Promise; So Much Failure

July 14th, 2020 | Dr. Charlie Self

Liberté, Égalité, et Fraternité!” This cry of the revolutionaries in Paris, started a process of change that began idealistically and ended in anarchy, totalitarian rule, and complete change in the map of Europe. Bastille Day is the moment that two handfuls of political prisoners were liberated from prison. It symbolizes the end of the old hierarchies of church and state and the dawn of a new era of secular citizenship and equality. Many Americans were excited about another nation (and their ally in the War for Independence) throwing off a corrupt monarchy and becoming democratic. But the joy was short-lived as France went to war with most of Europe, secularized every institution, and, after a decade of turmoil, found herself ruled by Napoleon. What happened? Why is this Revolution so different from the American one just a decade earlier?

There are three reasons these two revolutions are NOT the same and why the one in France turned out so poorly. First is the historical context. The American colonies were quite diverse culturally and religiously, though British and Protestant sensibilities were dominant. Jews, Quakers, Baptists, Roman Catholics, and even free thinkers could flourish to some extent. This diversity led to the phrase, “E Pluribus Unum” – Out of Many, One.” France’s cultural and religious history was much different. In 1598 the Edict of Nantes offered limited toleration for Protestants; however, it was revoked by King Louis XIV in 1685 and France lost hundreds of thousands of Protestant and Jewish citizens, leaving a polarization between a reactionary Roman Catholic church and a secularizing Enlightened elite.

The second difference is the vision of the revolutionaries. The 1789-1792 era has many similarities with the USA, but after the execution of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, secular radicalism took over and imposed a new kind of intolerance. Soon there were all kinds of ideological and verbal litmus tests of how truly “revolutionary” one was…and over 40,000 died by the guillotine, most of them original supporters of the 1789 uprising!

Thirdly, anarchy and polarization left a vacuum for a totalitarian regime to fill…hence, the rise of Napoleon. At first his rule brought order and peace, new laws, and even religious toleration. Soon, however, he set about conquering much the European continent and battling Great Britain for dominance. Within a decade of coming to power, Napoleon was one more despot and military leader full of his own self-importance.

The legacy of 1776 and the birth of the USA is one of gradual toleration and democracy. The legacy of 1789 is more akin to the 1917-1922 Communist Revolution in Russia – another land without a history of religious diversity and representative governance. Though France is a strong republic today, she is still radically secular in her corridors of power. The USA remains a haven of religious freedom and diversity, enriching its communities and offering hope to a world.