Finishing Well and the Vulnerability of Leaders

Just days before the world witnessed what the US military meant by “shock and awe” in the second Iraq War, President Bush authorized the launch of a series of precision guided smart bombs on a “leadership target” in Baghdad. Since a thorough bomb-damage-assessment was not possible at the time, we will never know for sure who was in this facility during the attack.

In terms of military strategy, the attack on this leadership target was an effort to “decapitate” the regime before we even got to “shock and awe.” Regardless of how you feel about the war there are some interesting lessons about leadership buried under all the military strategy and techno-jargon. And they are not new. While “shock and awe” along with “decapitation” may have become mainstream terms in the wake of the war, in the history of military strategy, they can be traced to the writings of Sun Tzu, a 5th Century Chinese author, as described in his classic text, The Art of War.

What does all this have to do with Christ-following leaders? In this month’s vlog, Finishing Well and the Vulnerability of Leaders, Steve Moore reminds us we are in a spiritual war, and while every Christ-follower is a target, if you are a leader, you are a bigger target. In fact, the likelihood of you being a target for attack increases in direct proportion to your influence as a leader. That’s why it’s so critical you give both energy and priority to finishing well.