A crisis of leadership, Matthew 15:14 with a story/insight about and from Sonny Jurgenson

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 15:14 (The Message)
Forget them. They are blind men leading blind men. When a blind man leads a blind man, they both end up in the ditch.

A STORY as shared by Chuck Swindoll:
In typical fashion, when George Allen moved to Washington, D.C., as head coach of the Redskins, he promised the nation's capital the moon. He told them it would be just a few seasons before he would develop the Redskins into a championship football team. He promised them the Super Bowl by the second season. The team had a brilliant preseason that first year. Then, early in the regular season, they won several amazing victories. It appeared the Redskins were to be lifted from their common role of loser to the uncommon role of winner. As time passed, however, the inevitable occurred. They began to lose and lose and lose. The blame fell, at least in part, not on Coach George Allen, but on a quarterback named Sonny Jurgenson, in my opinion one of the most gifted and effective quarterbacks to ever play the game. Jurgenson possesses a quality I deeply admire: personal security. It seems as though no one can intimidate Sonny Jurgenson.

One day after another defeat, Sonny was getting ready to take a shower and go home. A sportswriter leaned over to him in the locker room and said, "Say, Sonny, be honest now. Don't all these off-the-wall remarks we write and all this public flack disturb you? Doesn't it make you want to quit when people throw things at you from the stands and when you get those dirty letters?"

Sonny just leaned back, gave a big, toothless grin, and sighed, "No, not really, I don't want to quit. I've been in this game long enough to know that every quarterback, every week of the season, spends his time either in the penthouse or in the outhouse."

Sonny's comment points out an important fact. It is true that if you are a leader, you spend your time either on the top or on the bottom. You seldom know what it's like to be in between. You are either the hero or the villain. You are respected or you are virtually hated. People in leadership must live on the yo-yo of public opinion, under the gun of verbal jabs as well as on the crest of great admiration. Being "in the outhouse" is a lot more difficult than those choice times "in the penthouse." It's when we are under verbal attack of the intimidating public that we show our colors.

I have discovered, after a number of years in the ministry, that this is true even in the spiritual realm. You commit yourself to a life of faith, you declare before God and man that you are going to walk with Him regardless, and suddenly, it happens! The enemy turns every gun he can upon you to blast you out of the saddle, to make you finish your season in defeat, to have you think that it's really not worth it after all.

AN OBSERVATION:
Ever have a crisis of leadership? It is not a good feeling especially when the discovery is made that certain key leaders began to work behind your back to defeat a decision simply because they disagreed with the decision. That is not a good feeling. A vote was taken and they were on the side that did not prevail … so, the worked behind the scenes to make sure that it wouldn’t be carried out. It is hard to lead when few are following.

Then the thought begin to surface … is it worth the time and effort? Oh, there is a high value placed on spiritual, biblical teaching, but not corporate leadership … thus, the crisis of leadership. Commitments were called for, but few responded. Give us a good experience on Sunday, but don’t expect too much from us during the week. It is a crisis of leadership.

Then a person of high integrity steps forward and shares his process, his feelings, his insights. He doesn’t talk behind your back nor make phone calls, but comes directly to you with his decision. There is high praise for such leadership with integrity and it is deeply appreciated. For that I am thankful.

Sonny Jurgenson’s words are good words for today because the feeling of being on the bottom is not a good feeling. Doubt and frustration dominate ones life. Empty praise is just that empty if individuals do not back it up with integrity and commitment. The failure to be captured by God’s vision is a failure of trust or simply, the blind leading the blind.

Oh, give the church and its people men and women of integrity and a willingness to be captured by God’s vision. It is scary to God-size ones vision – it means going where no one else is willing to go, to spend money before you know that God will provide, and doing what others are reluctant to do. Now that is leadership!

PRAYER:
We pray for men and women who are willing to forward and become God captured leaders – individuals of integrity and conviction – who are not afraid of the future and the unknown. Give us those men and women today. May each of us become such an individual. Amen.