Put Out the Pouters

I was looking back over my blogs and found two places where I indicated that I would address an issue and I failed to do so. The first place where I said I would address an issue was at the end of point XII "Courage to Cancel the Funeral." I noted that I would address the subject of "Casting out the Mourners." This past week I began to address that issue and ended up with a sermon, which you can access at Marginalizing the Mourners. But I still want to address this from the perspective of leadership. So I offer the following which should be considered after point XII.

It is difficult to lead people who persist in having a negative attitude. These are people like those found in Luke's Gospel, chapter 8. Jesus was on his way to heal the 12 year-old daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the local syagogue, when He stopped to talk with a woman who had been healed of a bleeding disorder. In the course of time someone from Jairus' home came with the bad news that his daughter had died. The messenger then told Jairus, "Don't trouble the Master any further." The messenger simply assumed that there was no hope. Jesus, however, looked at Jairus and said, "Don't worry, just believe and your daughter will be healed."

The messenger offered bad news and no hope, but Jesus offered hope and good news which was predicated upon the father's faith and God's power. There will always be people who see only the bad, the sad, the trials and the trouble. They almost always come with bad news and no hope. Every leader needs an honest assesment, and needs people who will be bold enough to bring the news even when it is bad. Leaders should let those around them know that they want the truth and that they are welcome to bring the news even if it is not favorable. However, leaders do not need people who will then publish this news throughout the organization and put a bad spin on every turn of events in the organization.

When Jesus arrived at the house of Jairus the professional mourners had already gathered to weep and to wail at the loss of the young girl. Jesus looked at the situation from the perspective of power, God's power. He said, "She is not dead, she is only sleeping." (She was biologically dead, but from the perspective of God's power, she was only sleeping.) When Jesus said she was only sleeping the people began to ridicule Jesus. Mark's Gospel tells us that Jesus put all the people out of the room except for Peter, James and John, and the girl's parents. Jesus put out the pouters, the grumblers and the doubters.

There are professional mourners in most organizations. These are the glass half-empty people who pout and doubt. They weep and wail over every challenge and see only problems where leaders see potential. The constant negativity of these people will poisen an organization and will spread that negativity throughout the organization if they are given a plateform. A leader does not wallow in self-pity and join the chorus of complainers, but instead the leader faces the situation squarely and then charts a course to overcome the challenge. It may even take a bold risk-taking vision that others may not grasp at first. In these situations the leader best serves the organization by marginalizing the mourners and mainstreaming the posibility thinkers and the bold risk takers who can see the vision and are willing to embrace the challenge.

Jesus raised the young girl back to life and that success set the stage for an even more dramatic event in raising Lazarus from the tomb after being dead for four days. One dramaic victory over seeming overcoming odds goes a long way toward establishing confidence and silencing the doubters. It is all too easy to listen to the negativity and fall into the habit of seeing only the problems or the trouble. Instead, a great leader looks at the situation from a different perspective than the average person and instills hope and possibility in the hearts of the people.