Follow the Leader
June 21, 2004
Role modeling is crucial. Indeed, the significance
of role modeling is underscored by a study involving the cadet
wing of the Air Force Academy. Each cadet squadron is supervised
by an active duty officer, called the air officer commanding (AOC).
Cadets were asked to identify the primary role of the AOC. Their
most frequent selection, chosen five times as often as the next
possible alternative, was “officer model,” defined as a “person
who exemplifies what you want to be, acts the way you would like
to act.”
No leader can role model faith in God until he has
developed a consistent dependence on God. Once a consistent
faith is established, others will see it. Indeed, opportunities
will arise when others can’t help but see it. For instance,
before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead he prayed, “Father, I
thank you that you have heard me. I know that you always hear
me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here,
that they may believe that you sent me” (John 11:42).
The Lord’s faith in his Father was exercised in a
way that demonstrated the power of God in a hopeless situation.
As leaders we want to cultivate the kind of dependence on God
that others can see in real-life situations. Such a faith is not
cultivated during a crisis, but before it. It’s developed during
routine days. And the leader who cultivates such a faith will
provide a role model of steadfast dependence on God. . . a role
model that no follower will forget.
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