Pastor’s Corner

FROM THE PASTOR

God’s grace be with you.
The following is an updated newspaper column I wrote about 20 years ago. Although old, its truth still holds for us today.  Good leadership is born out of the desire to accomplish that which enhances the human spirit’s desire to become greater tomorrow than what we are today.  Sir Ernest Shackleton has piqued my imagination over the years. A famous explorer in the early part of the 20th century, Shackleton scraped together enough money and men to lead an exploration with the goal of crossing Antarctica. The accomplishment would bolster the scientific knowledge of a world hungry to know more about this earth on which we find ourselves. It would bolster our confidence to push forward future exploration of territories unknown. Antarctica had been discovered and partially explored. Shackleton wanted to conquer it and learn from it.
The noble notion of crossing Antarctica for the sheer joy of doing it and learning from it quickly became an even greater noble act for Shackleton. When he and the crew of the Endurance watched as their ship crushed to splinters in the middle of a massive ice pack, the goal of the mission turned to a test of survival.  With few provisions and no contact with the rest of the world, Shackleton led his group across the ice pack, tugging lifeboats and minimal survival supplies, to the point where they got into their boats and rowed several days to Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton and two others risked their lives in one of these tiny boats by sailing 800 miles across open sea and through a hurricane to the next island where there was a whaling station. They landed on the wrong side of the island forcing them to climb steep mountain passes to reach the tiny village on the other side.  Shackleton and his men did this on little food and water, and without our modern-day ships and climbing technology. Shackleton’s voyage of a lifetime ended with none of his men dying in the cold of the Antarctic. His fantastic leadership was born and manifested in the human spirit’s desire to become something greater tomorrow than what we are today. For him and his men, this meant doing that which allowed them to make it to the next day. By giving up fame and glory and reaching into the depths of their beings to pull out and share each individual’s gifts for the greater cause of preserving life, Shackleton defined what good leadership is all about.
Just imagine what our homes, our communities, our nation, and even our world would be like if we all claimed this notion of leadership as one of our guiding principles. Families, corporations, and nations would prosper in healthy ways as certain personal aspirations are laid aside for the good of the other. Just imagine how life would change if we, like Shackleton and his men, viewed life more seriously from their perspective of determination and survival on all levels of settling conflict, overcoming racism, and responding to human needs of hunger and thirst in our world. Just imagine, and then make it happen in the little ways you live your life and treat others. Your desire and the tireless pursuit to make tomorrow better and greater than today for you and those around you, is just the kind of leadership needed in our world for the present and future survival of our children and grandchildren.
May God bless us all as we journey together into the future, one day at a time; and may we find ourselves working together for the greater good of all.
Peace in the living Christ,
Pastor Steiner