Where Is the Leader We Can Follow?

I know many of you are tyring to keep up with the political climate here in the States right now. Both Iowa and New Hampshire have registered their decisions, yet, if the exit polls conducted yesterday in New Hampshire are accurate, one in three Republican voters would have liked to have voted for "None of the Above." There is a need for real leadership today, for someone to tackle the issues, not hurl accusations at others.

I recently read a book on Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet. It was titled, "A Team of Rivals," written by Doris Kearns Goodwin. By the way, this is a book that I highly recommend. As you know, Lincoln guided this nation through some of its most perilous days. He made lots of enemies during the course of the 1860 election. Yet, interestingly enough, some of those political opponents that were most vocal against Lincoln, he appointed to his cabinet after his election. Why? Because they were most qualified for the positions they would hold. And, although Lincoln was castigated mightily by newspaper editors, military leaders, Congressmen and Senators, as well as some of his own cabinet members, Lincoln never retaliated. He just led. He stayed the course. He addressed the issues of his day with forthrightness and courage. And, in the end, he lived to see victory accomplished, at least victory in the war effort. Tragically, he never lived to see victory in the reconstruction.

At the church where I serve as Preaching-Teaching Pastor, Buffalo (MN) Covenant Church, I am working with two groups of men in discipleship-leadership development. We spent the fall studying the book of Nehemiah. This winter we are studying John Maxwell's book, "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership." Yesterday morning our focus was upon the Law of Influence. I cited as an example Daniel. Daniel was a man of character that is clearly shared with us in chapter 1. Daniel was also a young man who cultivated relationships with others, especially those in leadership roles: King Nebuchadnezzar and King Darius especially. And Daniel was a man who was faithful to his ideals and principles for seventy years, for when those who sought his demise tried to find skeletons in his closet with which to accuse him, they could find none (Daniel 6:4-5). I am confident that that would not be the case among our leaders today. We could say of Daniel, "He was a true leader."

I believe that is what many Americans are looking for today: someone they can have confidence in to lead our nation back to a position of strength and respect within the community of nations. They are looking for someone who will stand for principles even when those principles may be viewed unfavorably by others.

Friends, the world sits precariously close to the edge of the precipice. The European financial crisis has not gone away - Greece is still within a stone's throw of financial default with others clinging tenaciously to their own thread of survival. Iran, sensing the demise of the American presence and power in the Middle East, has issued one threat after another causing further unrest in an already troubled region. Stability in Egypt teeters toward radical Islamic rule after recent elections provided the Muslim Brotherhood and the radical Salafists with majority status in the new parliament. China's military is flexing its newly found muscles in the Pacific rim. With untested leadership North Korea could become even more rogue than in the past. And, here at home, people are clinging to any thread of hope they can find.

Yes, there is a crying out for real leadership. Who will be our Daniel? Who will be our Lincoln? Who will be the one who will lead confidently with courage and resolve?