Dare Great Things

Heroes come in all sizes and stripes.  We are well versed in the lives of heroic priests and bishops in the Catholic church.  But not many of realize the heroism intrinsic in America women saints.  One of the most amazing of them is St. Marianne Cope.  I want to tell you about her life and her example of courageous leadership.

Fr. Nathan's series on courageous leaders to inspire us during difficult times!  Part 1 discusses the courage of St. Damien of Molokai.

There are many things that make us stop as leaders.  Things that keep us from doing that job that we’re here to do.  One of those biggest things is our fear of death.  How amazing then to follow Jesus Christ who came in order to die and to save us through His death.  What lessons does that hold for you and me today

I think all of us agree that preaching the Gospel is a good thing.  I think all of us actually understand that that forms the heart of our faith.  But I don’ think all of us understand how we who are engaged in the world in secular business and in professions can actually be expected to preach the Gospel.  What does it look like for a Catholic business leader or professional to preach the Gospel?

It goes without saying that leadership’s greatest problem doesn’t come from outside conditions but rather from working with people.  From ourselves and our own inadequacies to the various ways that the people we work with can perform well – or not.  If we could learn how to master the human heart, then everything else would fall into place.  The good news is that’s exactly what Christ came to do.  

Most people dread conflict.  It’s a simple fact.  In the life of a leader, however, conflict is necessary.  As a matter of fact many leadership organizational models teach you to mine for conflict – try to find it out and flush it out.  But is this really the role that Christ wants us to play as Christians?  When can conflict be healthy?  When is it to be avoided at all costs?  What does Christ have to say about this?  

Of all the sayings of Christ, His prohibition against judgement is one that has perplexed many for a long time.  Judging essential for leadership.  It is essential for living.  Then why would Christ forbid it?  What does this mean for us today?

For many Christians today, obedience is one of the hardest things to master.  Afterall, what exactly is its value?  Why should we try and inculcate a spirit of obedience?  How do we keep from being obedient and servile at the same time?  Christ speaks in John 6 of how He came to do the will of the Father and how this will of the Father is a good thing.  Let’s listen to His word.

Christians are called to live the life of Christ on Earth and to continue his saving mission in their businesses, in their families, and in their communities.  Christ’s mission as he puts it in John 10 is to come to bring us life and in fact and abundant life.  How do we implement that in our families, in our businesses, and in our world?

Christianity means that we belong to Christ as members of His body and that means that we extend his mission through our own body, our own space, and time.  What is the mission of Christ.  One of the reasons He says He came to this world was to seek and to save what is lost.  If we are to be faithful to our mission we need to do the same.

Serving others is a bit of a paradox.  To some it is an exaggerated title of glory, to others it is the worst of things – being demoted in the eyes of others.  What does it mean to serve as a Christian?  How did our Lord serve us?  If we understand how Christ served us we can find the dignity in serving others.

We all know that Christianity is a religion of peace.  We long for that peace and we long to bring that peace to the world.  What then could Our Lords have meant when he spoke in Matthew 10:25 of His mission to bring a sword?  What does that mean for you and I in our own Christian lives?  How is it that our leadership brings both peace and a sword?

We’re looking at the moments when our Lord reveals what His mission is.  By seeing His mission we better understand our own.  In John 18:33-38, our Lord speaks with Pontius Pilate about His mission.

Everybody wants to be authentic, but are we willing to pay the price?  What does authenticity really look like from leadership today?  Will people even respect it?  In the fourth of our series on the speeches of St. Paul in the Acts of The Apostles, we look at St. Paul’s speech in Jerusalem before the crowd that will eventually imprison him.  It is a speech in which he bears witness to the truth of his faith.

To know our mission as leaders we need to understand the mission of Christ.  To know Christ’s mission we have no better place to look that sacred scripture where He tells us why He came to this Earth.  In this first of our series I look at His proclamation that He came to cast a fire on this Earth.

The secret of every great leader lies in their heart.  St. Paul shows us what is in his heart during four great speeches that he gives throughout the Acts of The Apostles.  Let’s listen to the speech he gives in front of the Areopagus in Athens and hear more of the heart of this great leader.

There’s no better way to know about a leader than to listen them give their witness.  In Acts 26, St. Paul gives the witness of why he does what he does and why he does it the way he does.  Let’s listen in and hear the lessons that St. Paul can teach us about our own leadership.

When it comes to leadership, few Apostles could match the leadership of St. Paul.  Where do we see that leadership?  In his actions, obviously, in his choices, but nowhere more clearly than when he shows his heart in his speeches.  I’d like to begin this first of four treatments of the speeches of Paul in Acts of The Apostles – speeches that gives us a window into the heart of his leadership.

If I were to take a poll, most of my listeners would say they want inner peace.  Being aligned from the inside to the outside - from your motivations to your actions – it’s truly one of the great keys to success.  St. Paul shows us a very special way to find the inner peace and I would like to share that with you today.

Many books have been written about leadership, looking to know what it is.  The Bible has its own opinion.  For St. Paul, leadership comes from the inside and is destined to changing the inside of those who listen.  This idea of leadership is revolutionary for how we conduct ourselves in our own world and sphere of influence.