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TechnoratiLAKE FOREST, Calif. – Less than a day after hosting a forum that brought together the presumed Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, megachurch pastor Rick Warren delivered a sermon at his church in Southern California, sharing with his congregation what he feels are the first three characteristics to look for in leaders.
While Warren acknowledged the fact that there are a lot of characteristics that are important to look for in a leader, he said none are more important than these three – integrity, humility, and generosity.
“A nation is never stronger than its leadership,” the prominent megachurch pastor stated Sunday in his sermon at Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, citing a number of verses from Proverbs throughout the service.
While Warren did make mention of the events from the day prior – when thousands gathered at Saddleback Church to hear Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain answer identical questions for an hour each – he said the sermon was not just about the presidency.
“In November, we’re going to vote for leaders at every single level of government – from the local community, the state, county, and on and on,” Warren pointed out.
Furthermore, “everybody has to lead at some time in life,” he added.
“If you want to summarize it in one word, leadership is influence,” he continued. “You have influence over neighbors, friends, relatives, at the office, at school, so you’re a leader.”
So what is the kind of leadership that America needs? What is the kind of leadership that God blesses?
First, Warren said, God blesses leaders who live with integrity.
“Most important thing a leader has is his or her credibility,” the Southern Baptist preacher stated. “If you have no credibility, you have no trust; if you have no trust, you have no leadership.
“All leadership is built on trust,” Warren asserted. “If people trust you, they follow you. If they don’t trust you, you may have the title, but you’re not the leader.”
And the source of credibility, Warren said, is integrity.
While leaders in the past, such as Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, were known for integrity, many leaders today are more interested in image than they are in integrity, Warren stated.
“Image,” he explained, “is what people think you are; character is what you really are. Character is what you are in the dark.”
To those who would say what a leader does in their private life does not really matter, Warren insisted that it does matter if they want God’s blessing.
“The truth is, what you do in your private life always affects your public life,” he said. “In fact, that’s the definition of integrity – that your public and private are the same.
“Any time you segment your life into public and private, you lack integrity,” Warren claimed, noting that the word “integrity” comes from the word “integer,” which means a unit of one.
And having integrity doesn’t mean perfection, because nobody’s perfect except Jesus, he said.
“What it means is ‘What you see is what you get.’”
More than visionaries and more than smart leaders, Warren said what America needs are leaders with character. Continue >>
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