PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

January 29, 2025

MARKS OF A GOOD LEADER

Several weeks ago Ryan Bales, Plymouth high school men’s basketball coach, was the speaker at the Plymouth Rotary club.  Ryan shared some biographical information, his previous coaching experience, and his philosophy of coaching.

One of Bales’ heroes is Lou Holtz, former Notre Dame football coach.  Ryan shared the following three questions that a player should ask of his or her coach.  “Can I trust you?”  “Are you committed?” “Do you care about me as a person?”  Holt’s three questions are good ones to ask of anyone who might be in a position of leadership.

As we enter another election cycle our political leaders in congress have a dismal approval rating.  The voters think they can’t be trusted; their primary commitment is to being reelected and doing favors for their financial supporters; and they are looking out primarily for themselves not the folks.  Those who have been elected to congress to lead our nation would seemed to have failed on all three of Holtz’s criteria for a good leader.

What I find interesting is that when voters are asked about their own representative or senator, they generally give them high marks.  As a result of personal contact, the local media, and conversations with others constituents, voters develop an impression of those who have been elected to represent them.  These impressions have been formed as the voters have asked in some fashion Holtz’s three questions.  And when they have, their elected representatives have come out looking good.

In one of the churches that I served there was a lady who was a lifelong Republican.  In visiting with her I discovered that she had voted for the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives.  When I asked her why, she said, “I met him at the county fair and he seemed like a nice guy, so I voted for him.”  She had never met the Republican running for the House.  Her brief visit with the candidate had convinced her that he was someone she could trust, that he had the country’s best interests at heart, and that he was interested in her as a person.  He went on to win many more elections in a strongly Republican district because he scored well on Holtz’s questions.

Jesus’ image of the good shepherd in the Gospel of John exemplifies Holtz’s description of a good leader.  The good shepherd is one whom the sheep have learned to trust and know that he is there to protect them, even to the point of giving his life if necessary for them.  If they should become lost, he will look for them.  He will lead them to green pasture and find a place for them to rest at night.  The good shepherd is not like the thief whose only interest in the sheep is for his own profit.  The sheep know the voice of their shepherd and respond when he calls.

Whether it be a coach, a politician, a religious leader, a business leader, an officer in an organization, or person in authority, a way to judge the quality of their leadership is by how they fare when asked Holt’s three questions.  “Can you be trusted?  “Are you committed to the cause?”  “Do you care about the folks who are under your authority?”

(This article was originally published January 29, 2012.  Comments may be sent to davidh15503@embarqmail.com.)