LEADING WITHOUT LEADERSHIP

Genesis chapter 1




Today we are walking in: Leading Without Leadership




Today we look to the word-LEADER- H5057 nagiyd-- leader, ruler, captain, prince; excellent thing, (chief) governor, leader, noble, prince, (chief) ruler.





The Torah Testifies.............................

*****








The prophets proclaim...............





Isaiah 55:4 - Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader H5057 and commander to the people.










The writings bear witness.............





2Chronicles 32:21 - And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders H5057 and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword




CHAPTER SIX

Leading without Leadership




Your attitude is more powerful than your reputation.




Imagine that you have been walking along an isolated road for two days with no food or water and the sun is blazing down on you. Suddenly, you notice a well in the distance. Even though you are tired, you run with anticipation because you know that your thirst will be quenched. When you reach the well, however, you see a rope dangling over the opening, but no bucket. Deep down inside the well is what you need to satisfy your thirst and sustain your life, but you have no access to it.




This is a picture of humanity cut off from its life-giving Source. The leadership spirit exists deep down inside the makeup of every person because we are made in the image of our Creator and have an inherent dominion spirit. Yet we can’t fully manifest this gift in our lives because we don’t have the resources to access it. We have lost the Spirit of the Creator, and we have lost our awareness of the leadership spirit as well as the mind-set that enables us to exercise it effectively. Humanity’s lack of connection with the Spirit of the leadership spirit has led to a loss of true leadership in the world.




THE IMPACT OF THE DISCONNECTION




Let’s look more closely at our dilemma through two related illustrations. First, water is potentially a source of power. When it is harnessed, it can be used to run machinery, such as in a water mill. For this to happen, however, (1) you have to have access to the water, and (2) you have to have the machinery in place. If you are unable to harness the water or you don’t have the proper machinery set up, then the mill can’t fulfill its purpose. It’s the same with the spirit of leadership.




THE LEADERSHIP SPIRIT EXISTS DEEP DOWN INSIDE THE MAKEUP OF EVERY PERSON.




The loss of the spirit of leadership is also like buying a new computer that has all the hardware to enable you to run programs and carry out their functions but then not having any power source to run the computer. Suppose, then, that you discover a power source and plug it in. The computer is powered on and ready to go, but you still need software for it to be of practical use to you. You have the knowledge of what the computer has been designed to do, and all the components of the hardware are ready for use. The potential is there, the ability is there, everything the manufacturer put into it is there, but it’s almost as if you don’t own a computer because you can’t do anything with it.




These two examples illustrate the two-pronged nature of our problem. First, even though our potential as leaders is still within us, we’ve lost our connection with our Source of purpose and power. Second, even if the connection were to be reinstated, unless we obtain the right “machinery” or “software”—that is, unless we discover how a leader is meant to think and operate (the spirit of leadership)—we still won’t be able to fulfill our potential. Simply put, the leadership spirit is the inherent hardware, and the spirit of leadership is the software necessary for the hardware to function. I’ll be talking about these two crucial concepts in the next few chapters.




THE GREAT LOSS




In the Bahamas where I live, we are located in an area called the “hurricane zone.” From time to time, we are subjected to the uncontrollable force of nature as the phenomena of the elements conspire to remind us of our vulnerability. During the hurricane season of 2004, when the monster hurricanes named Gene and Francis followed each other on a path right across our archipelago, I remember how helpless I felt. My wife and I made all our preparations and then sat waiting for the long-announced arrival of the category 4 and 5 storms. During one of the storms, the winds bore down on us like a living monster and shook the battened-downed windows. Suddenly, the electricity went out, and we were left sitting in darkness.




I reached for the flashlight and surveyed the room. Then I took a walk through the darkened house and checked everything to make sure the shutters were holding. As I examined the rooms with the flashlight, I noticed the many items we had accumulated that had become so important to us, but that now were completely useless: the large-screen television, VCR, CD players, air conditioners, computers, printers, and other high-tech “toys” we had purchased.




I stood there in the dark for a moment and thought about all the power, potential, benefits, pleasure, and untapped functions trapped in each of these items that were completely useless and unbeneficial to me at that moment. They existed, but they could not contribute to my present situation and life. They were filled to capacity with possibility, but they could not deliver. Why? Because they were cut off from their source, their power supply.




MAN IS A POWERFUL CREATURE FULL OF DIVINE POTENTIAL WHO HAS BEEN CUT OFF FROM HIS POWER SUPPLY.




I then saw a true picture of mankind: a powerful creature full of divine potential, talents, gifts, abilities, untapped capacity, creativity, ingenuity, and productivity, who himself had been cut off from his power supply. Now, he walks the earth living far below his intended privilege and capacity, victimized by his ignorance of both his Source and himself.




The loss of our Source of purpose and power has led to a myriad of negative outcomes because of the confusion that inevitably resulted. The following questions have been asked by countless generations since Adam declared independence from his Source:




Who am I?

Where am I from?

Why am I here?

What am I capable of doing?

Where am I going?




These five questions summarize the essence of the human struggle and are what I, over the years, have called the questions of the human heart. They control everything that each human being does and are the motivation for all human behavior. All our social, economic, spiritual, and relational activities spring from the pursuit of answers to these questions. Until they are answered satisfactorily, there can be no personal fulfillment, and life will have no meaning. These questions address the five most important discoveries in the human experience: identity, heritage, purpose, potential, and destiny. They are the heart of the leadership struggle, and when answered, they give birth to true leadership.




WHAT DID MAN LOSE?




During the hurricane, as I looked at the computer sitting on my desk, I noted that the plug was still in the wall socket and that the physical casing and all its parts were still present. I also knew with reasonable certainty that the hardware and software were still intact. Again, the only thing that was missing, which prevented its function and operation, was the electrical power flowing from the source. Everything the manufacturer had promised that the computer could do was not able to be fulfilled or experienced because there was no power.




Man was created to function attached to Yah; he could fulfill his true potential and maximize his full capacity only through this connection. The key to effective and successful living was the indwelling Spirit of Yah—called the Ruach HaQadesh. The Ruach HaQadesh, therefore, is the key to true leadership. The Spirit is the critical component in every human’s existence because he is the only hope for our rediscovering our true identity, self-image, self-worth, significance, self-esteem, and destiny.




WITH THE LOSS OF THE SPIRIT OF Yah, WE LOST OUR LEADERSHIP AWARENESS.




Again, with the loss of the Spirit of Yah from our spirits, we automatically lost our leadership awareness. Each consecutive generation since the fall of man has wandered farther and farther away from its leadership power. There is no true leadership without a reconnection to our Source, and only the Ruach HaQadesh can reconnect us. He gives us our consciousness of the leadership spirit and is also the Source of the spirit of leadership.




A ROYAL SLAVE




The story is told of a prince who was born into a great royal family. When the prince was five years old, his father the king took the boy with him on a journey to a far country. During the journey, their ship struck a reef, and the entire crew and passengers were thrown into the angry waves.




During the turmoil and rescue effort, the little prince was saved by a native from a nearby island. The king was unaware of the rescue, and the little prince was now separated from his royal family. He became a member of the village and grew up unaware of his royal heritage. He learned to think and live like the natives and accepted this lifestyle as his own. In his poverty and simple life, he was not aware that he was from a wealthy family of high status and was heir to the royal kingdom of his father. In effect, he became a slave to the culture, customs, and standards of the community in which he found himself. He was a royal prince living under impoverished conditions. He did not know who he was, where he was from, why he was born, what he was capable of, or his rightful claim to be king. He lived his life vastly below his inherent privileges, not knowing the answers to the crucial questions of his life: his identity, heritage, purpose, potential, and destiny.




Knowing the answers to these fundamental questions gives a human being meaning and purpose. Without the answers, life is nothing but an experiment. This results primarily because of man’s disconnection from his Source and manifests itself in the loss of humanity’s original selfconcept or image, self-worth, self-esteem, and sense of significance.




As I said earlier, every activity of man is a result of his attempt to find the answers to these questions. It is the reason we engage in the great human experiment of trying to find a sense of identity through our relationship to the world around us. I think that this may be why mankind seems to have an insatiable desire to explore space. It’s a passionate search for where we fit in the scheme of the universe. It’s a manifestation of the deep human search for significance.




This is also why we study primates. We are seeking to discover our true origin by finding perfect connections to other beings with which we share the earth. Unfortunately, this search will never be satisfied. We cannot know who we are by relating to creation because creation is not our source—the Creator is.




IN HIS SEARCH FOR SIGNIFICANCE, MAN USES CREATION AS THE CONTEXT FOR HIS SEARCH.




It is interesting that, in his search for relevance and significance, man continues to use creation as the measure and context for his search. However, it is essential to understand that we can never discover our value or purpose by studying the creation but only by a relationship with the Creator. Yah created the earth and everything in it for mankind and then gave humanity dominion over it. Everything in creation, therefore, get its significance from Yah and from us, not the other way around.




Because we are unaware of our intrinsic leadership nature, however, the average person is easily influenced by anyone or anything that seems to be stronger than he is. For example, instead of our having dominion over the earth, the earth has become our dominator in certain ways. Some people allow themselves to become controlled by drugs that come from plants. Others are enslaved to money, which is in reality trees that have been converted to paper and made into currency. Still others are controlled by grapes that have become fermented. People’s lives are being destroyed by what is essentially vegetation. These are signs that we’ve lost our leadership awareness and ability. Imagine, sophisticated man with his immeasurable potential and intricate design being controlled by leaves and grapes. This is a tragedy and demonstrates how far we have been removed from our initial assignment of having dominion over all things in the earth.




I want to reemphasize that we haven’t lost our inherent leadership spirit. We have lost our connection with the Spirit of the Creator, through whom we have an awareness of our intrinsic value and our leadership spirit, as well as the power to put it into effect. Again, we can think of the Spirit of the Creator as our original “default” mode. If we lose our original mind-set, then we will believe whatever is put on our hard drive instead of the truth about who we really are. To use another analogy, the leadership spirit has been obscured by the smoke of our social and cultural context, and we have become victims of the hazy opinions of “experts” who actually know very little about our true selves.




We were not created to be enslaved to other people’s opinions, to our own passions, or to nature (creation). Yet man has become just like the animals because he now lives by instinct rather than discernment. This is why humanity as a whole has never regained its leadership awareness. Certain people—we saw examples of them in teaching two—capture glimpses of its truths and principles and apply them for effective leadership, but the full spirit of leadership is still not a reality in most people’s lives.




In essence, the royal prince is the leadership spirit trapped in the culture and customs of a world that hides and suppresses his true spirit of leadership. He is simply a royal slave who was designed to rule but has been trapped in subjugation—a leader trapped in a follower.




AN IGNORANT KING




Another result of the disconnect is that, while we were designed to rule, we have become ignorant kings. Not only do we not know who we are, where we came from, and what we are capable of, but we also don’t know how to use the resources that the Creator has given us.




Our brains are made up of millions of cells, but we tap only a fraction of our intellectual potential. Our bodies are intricately designed, yet many of us use our physical power and creativity to tear down rather than build up. We use them for violence, abuse, corruption, crime, and many other destructive things. Why would an intelligent, awesome creature such as the human murder his brother or sister, abuse his spouse, or commit incest against his own child? These things would be unthinkable to humanity in its original state. Yet, because of the disconnect, they have become a reality.




ALTHOUGH WE WERE DESIGNED TO RULE, WE HAVE BECOME IGNORANT KINGS.




Psalm 82 in the Old Testament gives an intriguing commentary on the human condition. In this psalm, the Creator is speaking, and he begins by questioning the assembly of “Yahs,” referring to mankind’s status as a being who, although not equal to Yah, has been created in Yah’s own image and likeness:




Yah presides in the great assembly; he gives judgment among the “Yahs”: “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, ‘You are “Yahs”; you are all sons of the Most High.’ But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler.” Rise up, O Yah, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.




The Creator asks, “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? [You should] defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy.”




The Creator then explains the cause of mankind’s behavior: “They know nothing, they understand nothing. They walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.” Darkness refers to their ignorance of truth, which results in evil actions. Because of their lack of justice, the very foundations of the earth are being shaken out of place. He adds, “I said, ‘You are “Yahs”; you are all sons of the Most High.’ But you will die like mere men; you will fall like every other ruler.”




Some scholars say that the term “mere men” refers to mere flesh and thus means living from base animal instinct. Dogs don’t have complex cognitive abilities; they have instincts. The Creator is basically saying, “I didn’t make you like that. You’re not a mere animal. You are in the ‘Yah-class’: You are made in my image and likeness

and posses my nature and characteristics, and are therefore meant to rule with justice.”




Compare this perspective to much of human behavior, and you will see that mankind has degenerated to engaging in inhumane activities. Moreover, this description of what happens when humans are not in touch with their Source is a graphic illustration of our present-day leadership dilemma.




If you read the questions and statements in this psalm, you will recognize the parallel to today. “How long will you defend the unjust?” In other words, in your courts, the criminal gets off while the victim is humiliated. This is because you’re not in touch with yourselves. You can’t even see the wrongness of your way of doing things. You’re so corrupt; you go after money rather than righteousness or justice.




“How long will you show partiality to the wicked?” You give tax breaks to the man who is greedy while you burden the poor man with more than he is able to pay. That’s showing partiality.




“Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless.” You don’t take care of the orphans. You fill your stomachs full of food but let children sleep under bridges.




“Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.” You don’t look after people; you oppress them. All these questions are a demand for effective, competent, compassionate leadership.




He says that all this is going on because of the people’s ignorance of who they truly are: Yah’s image. That

is why I think the term “ignorant king” is very valid. It explains why the leadership in our nations is so weak and inept and, at times, brutal and heartless. It is because of our detachment from our Source. Our Creator says, “What are you doing? You are completely the opposite of what I intended.”




Mankind has become a kingdom of ignorant kings living under the mentality of an inferiority complex. It is from this context that many of our leaders emerge and attempt to lead us to a “better future.” We long for leaders who think like true leaders.




MENTAL ILLNESS




The greatest impact of the disconnect, however, is what I call “mental damage” or “mental illness.” The essence of this idea is that we have become what we think we are. The most powerful thing that a human has on earth, in my view, is his thoughts. The mind itself only contains the thoughts, so the thoughts are more important than the mind. It is your thinking that determines your life.




WE LONG FOR LEADERS WHO THINK LIKE TRUE LEADERS.




It seems as if most of the human race is suffering from mental illness, and it is epidemic among the majority of our leaders today. It is probably difficult for you to consider that many of our CEOs, administrators, managers, religious leaders, educators, sports heroes, scientists, and lawmakers are suffering from a grave form of mental illness, but in light of what we were originally created to be, this is a reality.




Some of our motivational leaders are mentally damaged. Many of our news celebrities suffer from mental illness. Our state legislatures and assemblies, national congresses, houses of parliament, and supreme courts are incubators for the mentally ill.




I’m not referring to people in an insane asylum. When I use the term mental illness, I am not referring to the medical definition of being psychologically incapable of sound judgment in relation to what we call normal in our societies. In the context of our discussion, I am referring to the inherent mental defect in every human being that resulted from our detachment from our Creator-Source. I am referring to the confusion we all face with regard to discovering our identity, self-worth, self-image, selfesteem, and sense of destiny.




Men and women of every nation, race, culture, status, and socioeconomic context all seem to be doing everything imaginable to fulfill their deep internal desires to find purpose, significance, value, and worth. A study of our modern and postmodern societies will reveal that no matter how sophisticated we may believe we are, we are still haunted by a passion to know who we really are. Many have tried even destructive behaviors to make some sense of their lives.




• They have power without purpose.

• They have money without meaning.

• They have position without a passion for living.

• They have houses but not homes.

• They have children but are not nurturing their sons and daughters.

• They protect animals but kill unborn human beings.

• They pursue power at the expense of principles.

• They sacrifice integrity for temporary pleasure.




These ways of thinking and living manifest a strange form of mental illness, which we have come to accept as normal. I sometimes think that most people in insane asylums are actually saner than many of us because at least they generally believe their worlds. It’s the people who, deep down, don’t really believe in what they’re doing, but are doing it anyway, who are much worse off.




THE PERSON IN THE INSANE ASYLUM MAY ACTUALLY BE SANER THAN MANY OF US.




Isn’t it amazing that many of us go every day to jobs we hate, live with people with whom we have no relationship, complain about everything while changing nothing, keep doing the same things over and over again—but expect different results? We exaggerate our accomplishments, pretend to be more than we are, hide behind false images of ourselves, and believe our reputations more than our true characters. Are we sane?




The result of mental illness is self-hatred, self-denigration, self-deception (denying the truth about oneself, lying to oneself), fear (fear of failure, fear of success, fear of the unknown, a general suspicion of other people, a distrust of Yah), ignorance of personal identity, ignorance of personal ability, ignorance of personal purpose, ignorance of a sense of destiny, and a mentality of survival (we don’t really live—we just make a living).




The only thing that mentally ill people are sure of is death. In everything else, they live in uncertainty. That’s why they’re so suspicious and distrusting of others. Yet this is the mind-set from which we cultivate our leaders. We need help. (By the way, the insane never admit to their insanity, so if you disagree with this analysis, then perhaps you qualify!)




King Solomon, the wisest king who ever lived, wrote this statement in Ecclesiastes, his book on effective living and the challenges of life:




There is an evil I have seen under the sun, the sort of error that arises from a ruler: fools are put in many high positions, while the rich occupy the low ones. I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves....Woe to you, O land whose king was a servant and whose princes feast in the morning.




Here, the great leader Solomon warned us that the home, company, classroom, community, or nation that is under the leadership of someone who has a slave mentality is in great danger. His statement also implies that being in a leadership position, in itself, does not guarantee mental soundness. In essence, wearing a crown does not change your mind. Nothing is more dangerous than power in the hands of one who suffers from a sense of mental inferiority. The formula for oppression is power without mental soundness.




THE FORMULA FOR OPPRESSION IS POWER WITHOUT MENTAL SOUNDNESS.




Now, imagine such a person being in charge of your life! Since humanity as a whole is suffering from mental illness, the bottom line is that these are the people we elect as leaders. These are the people who rule over us— whether it’s as a manager, a supervisor, a company CEO, a judge, the chief of a village, a teacher in the classroom, a professor at a college, or the president or prime minister of a nation. They’re mentally damaged and yet in charge of tens, hundreds, thousands, or millions of people! This is what today’s worldwide leadership crisis comes down to.




WE CAN BELIEVE ONLY WHAT WE KNOW




Again, the cause of our mental illness is our detachment from our Source. Because we are ignorant of who we are, why we are here, where we came from, what we are capable of doing, where we are we going, and what our destiny is, our confusion produces mental problems. The alarming thing is that our mental state is the source of our attitudes because our thoughts and beliefs generate these attitudes.




The danger with this situation is that all we know is what we’ve learned, but all we’ve learned is not all there is to know. If what we’ve learned is not true, we will still live by it because we think of it as truth. We live and regulate our lives based on what we believe, and we believe what we’ve heard.




Our beliefs then become our philosophy, and our philosophy controls and regulates our lives and leadership.

A society generally cannot produce a leader better than itself because that leader usually gets his or her beliefs from the society. Therefore, basically, we appoint people who are no wiser than we are to lead and guide us. Every society should constantly check the source of the information by which it is living.




A SOCIETY GENERALLY CANNOT PRODUCE A LEADER BETTER THAN ITSELF.




Where do our beliefs come from? The word belief in the Greek language is pistis.28 Pistis is the word that we translate as “faith.” Every human being has faith—all seven billion of us. Even the atheist has faith. He believes that there is no Yah, so he has faith in no Yah. The question is, where did our beliefs, or faith, come from? They came from something we heard, imagined, or were taught.




Our leadership today is a product of the thoughts of our leaders, and therefore the saying is true: “As a man thinks in his heart [subconscious mind], so is he.” When you want to study leaders and their leadership, do not study their physical appearance or demeanor. Study their hearts. Find out where they got their thoughts and ideas.




Hitler was simply the manifestation of the philosophy in his heart. He was a product of various influences, such as the teachers he had; the books he read; his family, friends, and associates; and his attitudes about his life experiences. His thoughts became his beliefs, his beliefs became his philosophy, his philosophy became his life, and, unfortunately, he lived out his philosophy with a distorted leadership influence.




The first-century leader Paul said that faith, or belief, comes by hearing something. We need to be listening to the words of our Creator. Why? Our hearing needs to be tuned to our Source so that our beliefs are based on original information, or truth. Again, the only one who knows the truth about a product is the manufacturer. Everything else is an opinion, an idea, or a suggestion. If we want leadership that is truthful, then our leaders must derive their source of belief from truth. Original information is found only in the mind of the manufacturer who created it.




THE LIMITED LEADER




There are three types of limitations in life. First, there are limitations that are imposed by external forces. Second, there are limitations that are inherent in the purpose and design of a created entity. Yet, most important, there is limitation that is a result of ignorance and faulty belief. This is the worst type of limitation because it is self-maintained and preserved. It is determined by us and not by others. In essence, what we do not know about ourselves is limiting us.




We are leaders, but we are limited because we do not know the truth about ourselves due to our disconnection from our Source. When Yahusha Hamachiach, the ultimate leader, was on earth, he taught certain things to reconnect us to the truth. For example, he constantly encouraged his disciples to do things beyond what they thought they were capable of doing. He kept moving them beyond the limits of their thinking because their attitudes were limited by their thoughts.




Leaders are limited by the extent of their knowledge of the truth about themselves and the world. The only one who knows the truth about all those things is the One who created them. We are not fulfilling our leadership potential because we are suffering the mental damage that results from our ignorance of the truth about ourselves and about creation. We have distorted beliefs because we have not been reconnected to the truth about ourselves.




The answer: We must somehow be restored to our Source. Regaining the spirit of leadership is about rediscovering and capturing the hidden knowledge about yourself and how to appropriate that knowledge in your everyday life. You are a leader by nature, and by design, you must discover the mentality that will set that leader free.



PRINCIPLES




1. The two-pronged nature of humanity’s dilemma is (1) even though our potential as leaders is still within us, we’ve lost our connection with our Source of purpose and power, and (2) even if the connection were to be reinstated, unless we could discover how a leader is meant to think and operate (the spirit of leadership), we still wouldn’t be able to fulfill our potential.




2. The loss of our Source of purpose and power has led to a myriad of negative outcomes because of the confusion that inevitably resulted.




3. Knowing the answers to the questions “Who am I?” “Where am I from?” “Why am I here?” “What am I capable of doing?” and “Where am I going?” gives a human being meaning and purpose.




4. When we don’t know the truth about ourselves, we are just experimenting with our lives.




5. When human beings try to find the meaning of life, they often seek to gain their identity through a relationship with the world around them. We can never discover our value or purpose by studying the creation but only by a relationship with the Creator.




6. One result of our disconnect with the Creator is that we don’t know how to use the mental and physical resources that he has given us. We use them for destructive things, such as violence, abuse, manipulation, corruption, and crime.




7. The greatest impact of the disconnect is that we have become what we erroneously think we are.




8. The most powerful thing that a human has on earth is his thoughts. It is one’s thinking that determines one’s life.




9. Confused thinking about one’s origin and purpose results in self-hatred, self-denigration, self-deception, fear, ignorance of personal identity, ignorance of personal ability, ignorance of personal purpose, ignorance of a sense of destiny, and a mentality of survival.




10. We believe what we’ve heard and accepted as truth. Our beliefs then become our philosophy, and our philosophy controls and regulates our lives and leadership.




11. Generally, a society cannot produce a leader that is better than itself because that leader usually gets his or her beliefs from the society.




12. Leaders are limited by the extent of their knowledge of the truth about themselves and the world.




13. The home, company, classroom, community, or nation that is under the leadership of a ruler who has a slave mentality is in great danger.




14. If you want to study leaders and their leadership, do not study their physical appearance or demeanor. Find out where they get their thoughts and ideas.




15. To restore the spirit of leadership, our hearing needs to be tuned to our Source so that our beliefs will be based on truth.