The Leader and Emotion: Guilt
Leaders fail! Paul’s declaration that “All have sinned….” (Romans 3:23) certainly includes leaders. And sin produces the emotion of guilt which is not a pleasant feeling! David experienced guilt after committing adultery with Bathsheba. His sin was more public than most and David wrote openly about his guilt. 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according […]
The Leader and Emotion: Gratitude
Emotions are often spontaneous and unplanned reactions to the circumstances of life. David seems to have experienced them all. David also experienced gratitude, an emotion that can be chosen and cultivated by all leaders. Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3Know […]
The Leader and Emotion: Betrayal
Betrayal is a common experience in leadership which stirs up many emotions. Betrayal happens when a person close to us violates our trust. Betrayal itself is an action, not an emotion. But it often catches a leader by surprise and results in many different emotions such as anger, hurt, bewilderment, etc. A church member may […]
The Leader and Emotion: Loneliness
With our entire world connected by social media it seems that none of us should be lonely. But the United Kingdom recently appointed a “minister of loneliness” to deal with the increased social and health issues associated with this emotion. Loneliness is not a new emotion; it was keenly felt by David when he said […]
The Leader and Emotion: Depression
Can a servant leader experience depression? Consider David’s writing in Psalm 88. “LORD, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you. 2 May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. 3 I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death. 4 […]
The Leader and Emotion: Sorrow
From joy to sorrow, all leaders experience a broad range of emotions. Often they are mixed together as they were for David in Psalm 31. In the first verses he expresses his joy in God’s love but then he quickly reveals his sorrow. 9 Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress; my […]
The Leader and Emotion: Joy
David experienced much pain and difficulty in his life, but he also experienced deep and sustaining joy, some of which he expressed in Psalm 33. 1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 2 Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 3 Sing […]
The Leader and Emotion: Anger
David is known as “a man after God’s own heart” for many reasons. But I believe that one of the reasons is because he was able to appropriately express to God a wide range of emotions. We’ll look at some of David’s emotions from the book of Psalms and consider what they mean for leaders. […]
David and Absalom: Success
In this final reflection on the contrast between the leadership of David and Absalom, we’ll look at how they viewed and measured success. All leaders long for success and either consciously or unknowingly ask themselves, “Am I successful as a leader?” David and Absalom answered that question in very different ways. David sought God for […]
David and Absalom: Relationships
Leadership is all about relationships and the way we relate to those we lead. There is no leadership without relationships. But how relationships are viewed and developed varies greatly. In this reflection on the contrast between David and his son Absalom, we will examine their relationship with their followers. Both David and Absalom had relationships […]