An interviewer asked the celebrated Western author Louis L’Amour about discrepancies in some of his novels. “In one place, you’ll have six bad guys getting killed, and later in the book, one of them is alive and shooting.” L’Amour, who prided himself on accuracy of place (“if I say there is a rock in the road there, you can find a rock in that road”) and led readers to believe his stories were authentic and true-to-life, answered, “The people who read my books don’t care about that sort of thing.”

In an old western movie I remember, the good guy is chasing the bad guys or vice versa. As they gallop across the plain, viewers can see the shadow of the film truck and the cameramen standing in back flash across the ground. In a more recent movie, Kirk Douglas runs up and hops on his horse and rides away. Just to the bottom right of the screen, though, we saw that he actually had jumped on something — a step or stool or something — and vaulted himself into the saddle.

Sloppy film-making and sloppy book-writing are ever with us, but I expect Mr. L’Amour is correct: few people care. We were not reading his books or watching those movies for educational purposes.

Some things don’t matter.

It’s a wise leader who knows what matters — what is crucial and essential — and what doesn’t — the things that are for cosmetic purposes or simply add-ons or for amusement.

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I recognize that “small” is relative. In Texas, land of vast distances and megachurches, a congregation of 200 souls may rank as tiny indeed. In Nevada and Montana, a church of that number would be seen as one of the larger congregations.

One thing we know, small congregations fight a never-ending battle for money to pay the pastor a living wage, money to cover the regular bills plus invest in missions, and money to maintain a decent program. Leaders of small churches are forever looking for ways to be more effective with limited resources.

Decision-makers of such congregations might want to take a lesson from the owner of a major league baseball team situated in one of the smaller markets in this country.

Stu Sternberg is principal owner of the Tampa Bay Rays, Florida’s American League baseball team. In the June 30, 2008, issue of “ESPN Magazine,” Sternberg shares “8 things you should know about running a small-market baseball team.”

In his article, we can find clues and insights here for a business or church being dwarfed by the big guys and having to get creative to stay competitive or effective.

1) Timing is everything.

Sternberg says there is no point in his team paying big bucks for a player he cannot afford to keep. So, what he does is watch for windows of opportunity, a moment when a quality player might be available for fewer dollars due to circumstances.

A small church may scrounge enough money to fund an ambitious program one time, but then what will it do? Better to prayerfully find the kinds of ministry suitable to their church, their mission field, their resources. Nothing is more important than seeking in prayer the will of the One who is the Sole Owner of your church.

2) Follow those Marlins.

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George Will says Barack Obama reminds him of Fred Astaire in that he’s the coolest guy in the room and all eyes turn in his direction when he enters. But would you turn over your nuclear arsenal to Fred Astaire without knowing more about the character of the man? Nor with Obama.

My wife and I disagree about John Edwards.

When the news broke Friday about his affair with a woman who worked on his campaign and the baby who may or may not be his, Margaret commented that “all men are naturally that way.” My first impulse was to utter, “Thanks a lot,” but what I said was, “Edwards is beautiful to look at, fabulously wealthy, and was potentially the president of the United States. Don’t you know a lot of women threw themselves at him.”

If a certain percentage of women come on to pastors–and, as my seminary prof Dr. James Taylor warned in the mid-1960s, “It will happen to every one of you in this room,” and he added, “Even you, McKeever,” to laughter from the rest of the class–then you know that a guy like John Edwards has been in the crosshairs of many a woman.

That is not to make a judgement on the woman in the news said to be his paramour.

I found it overwhelmingly sad that every television news show felt an obligation to devote hours to a) a report on Edwards’ affair, b) details on what had occurred, and c) speculation about how Elizabeth Edwards took the news and what this means for their family.

Welcome to the “National-Enquirer-ization” of our culture. Nothing is off limits; we no longer know any shame.

Oh, John Edwards is ashamed. But it’s the media’s constant hammering on what he did that strikes me as shameful. To my knowledge, at no time had he presented himself as beyond sin or without fault. We knew the man was fallible and capable of such sin, because–agreeing with my wife now–we’re all that way, capable of the worst moral failures.

Evidently, some time recently, the Times-Picayune ran an editorial cartoon from Walt Handelsman, former cartoonist for the T-P and ever since with Newsday out of Long Island, in which he caricatured John McCain’s twisted smile in some way. In going through all the newspapers I missed for nearly two weeks of vacation travel, I came across this letter to the editor from Tuesday, July 29.

“Walt Handelsman’s caricature of a ‘scowling’ Sen. John McCain was a real thigh-slapper.”

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The cover of TIME for July 21, 2008, pictures Nelson Mandela at age 90 beaming that sweet smile out to the world. The accompanying article is titled “The Secrets of Leadership: Eight lessons from one of history’s icons.”

“Secrets?” I thought. “Leadership has secrets? Hasn’t John Maxwell unearthed them all and written a book on each?”

Inside, I turned to the cover article, eager to learn what secrets Mr. Mandela had discovered. It was a good interview, the writer made some excellent points, so much so that we want to repeat his eight principles here with an occasional comment or two of our own. While no deep-dark secrets were embedded in the article, readers will find Mandela’s insights helpful.

You know who Nelson Mandela is, I’m confident. A political activist against South Africa’s apartheid in the days when to speak out was to land in prison, Mandela was sentenced to life in prison in 1964. In 1990, the President of South Africa F. W. de Klerk released him, three years later the two men received the Nobel Peace Prize, and in 1994, Mandela was elected president of the country. His autobiography is “Long Walk to Freedom.” (Definition: ‘apartheid’ was extreme racial segregation based on white superiority.)

Over the decades, Mandela became a mature voice for reconciliation, reason, and unity. Today, he is a symbol of so much for everyone on the planet, but particularly for Africans no matter where in the world they or their descendants live.

1) Courage is not the absence of fear–it’s inspiring others to move beyond it.

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In his book on the Korean War, General Matthew Ridgway paid tribute to perhaps the 20th Century’s pre-eminent American military leader, General George C. Marshall. He called him the greatest our country had seen since Washington. He quotes Marshall as calling for “moral courage,” illustrated as “that time when an officer lays his commission on the line.”

Peggy Noonan, in her biography “Ronald Reagan,” wrote: “In a president, character is everything. A president doesn’t have to be brilliant; Harry Truman wasn’t brilliant, and he helped save Western Europe from Stalin. He doesn’t have to be clever; you can hire clever… But you can’t buy courage and decency; you can’t rent a strong moral sense. A president must bring these things with him… A vision is worth little if a president doesn’t have the character–the courage and heart–to see it through.”

Everyone knows what courage is–when a person risks his life or safety in some noble cause. John Wayne said, “Courage is being scared to death–and saddling up anyway.”

But what is moral courage?

My working definition is: “A firm spirit that does the right thing at great risk.” In this case, you risk not bodily harm or your life but perhaps your reputation, success in your chosen field, or the support of friends and family.

My friend Bob was teaching in a Christian college, mind you, when he was informed by the dean and then the president that he should not be giving his Christian testimony to his students. Someone of another faith might be offended or feel discriminated against. Bob responded that he felt it was important for students to know who their professor is and to learn his world-view if they are to make sense of his teaching. Besides, he insisted, I thought we were a Christian school. They made sure Bob did not get tenure and eventually, God led him on to another institution.

Moral courage is standing up for the hard right against the easy wrong. Moral courage means refusing to stand idly by while others engage in wrong or hurtful acts.

Moral courage speaks truth to power.

Its opposite is cowardice in the name of getting along, silence in the face of cruelty and persecution, acquiescence in the cause of unity or personal advancement.

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If you plan to lead, it might be a good idea to know where you’re going. The folks coming along behind you would like to know where you plan to take them. That concept, that goal, that’s your vision. Your vision is the answer to the question: when you get where you are going, what will it look like?

“Some men see things as they are and ask why; I see things that never were and ask why not.”

That memorable line, often attributed to Robert F. Kennedy, actually belongs to the playwright, George Bernard Shaw from his “Back to Methuselah.” The mixup resulted from Senator Ted Kennedy’s quoting it about Robert at his funeral in 1968.

It’s a great line. It’s reminiscent of something from the famous 11th chapter of Hebrews. “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” (11:3)

There is among us a breed of humanity who see things no one else sees, who hear music unheard by the human ear, who know things not revealed in the physical world. These are people of a faith-vision.

The writer of Hebrews gives numerous instances of people with faith-vision which enabled them to see what God wanted them to do, where He wanted them to go, how He wished them to live. By faith, Abraham went out “not knowing where he was going.” (11:8) “By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land…for he was looking for a city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” (11:9-10)

“All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance….” (11:13)

“By faith (Moses) left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.” (11:27)

People of faith see things otherwise unseen. Faith vision.

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If you are foolish–and you do not want to be–you will see your spiritual leadership as one thing and the way you live your life in private as something entirely unrelated. In doing so, you will make a grievous mistake.

In his book, “See You at the Finish Line,” Don Wilton, now pastor of Spartanburg’s First Baptist Church, tells of an incident when he was a professor of preaching at our New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. The class was Preaching 101. Don would lecture about preaching, assign books to read and sermons to write, and at some point in the semester, the students each brought a short sermon to the class. Professor Don sat on the back row, listening to each one, making notes, trying to think of ways to correct, stimulate, and motivate these young prophets without overwhelming or devastating them. Not any easy task.

When Henry stood to preach to the class that day, no one had reason to expect they were going to hear anything other than the usual nervous stutterings of a 22-year-old trying to get his ministerial bearings. To the surprise of the class, Henry was eloquent. Don Wilton calls him “probably the most gifted young preacher I had ever heard.” Soon the class was caught up in his message and was responding enthusiastically. When Henry sat down, his classmates erupted in verbal approval and encouragement.

Two days later, Henry came by the professor’s office. He was concerned about the grade Don had awarded him for that sermon. “I got the impression in the class you thought I did a good job on the sermon,” he said. “That’s right. I did,” said Don. “Well,” Henry said, “I’m not asking for a high grade, but an F? And you gave me an F on the entire course. I don’t understand that. I thought I might have made an A even.”

Don said, “That’s right. You have flunked this course and will have to take it over. You might not even graduate this May.”

“But why?” the student insisted.

Don said, “Because you failed the most important part of the course. To explain, I’ll need to tell you a story.”

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I had started out the door of the church office headed for the parking lot. This was my day for making the rounds of hospitals in New Orleans, calling on church members who were patients. The kindergartners were just coming back from the playground and all fifteen stretched out along the sidewalk to the classroom door which their teacher was holding open. I recognized the very last child in line and spoke to her.

“Hi, Lauren.” The five-year-old looked up at me in all seriousness and said, “I’m the leader.”

I laughed. “But you’re at the end of the line.”

She said, “But I’m still the leader.”

The teacher who was overhearing this called out, “We put a leader at each end.”

I said, “Yeah, I’ve pastored churches like that. I’m trying to lead one way and someone at the rear is pulling them another way.”

Driving toward the hospital, I re-thought that little conversation and realized the Lord had just sent me an important lesson about leadership: We need someone at the rear to help us lead from the front.

In cowboy lingo, someone has to ride drag. When the ranch hands were moving a herd to the railhead–I’m very current on all my old western movies–someone was designated to bring up the rear and make sure the herd moved along and that no stragglers were lost. It was a hot, dusty job, one no one wanted, and thus it usually went to the newest hand or the youngest.

A television program on the Grand Canyon spoke of the tours provided for visitors to this scenic wonder. The tourists ride mules down the trail, trusting their welfare into the hands of two guides. Ahead of them, one guide leads the way, while another brings up the rear. The job of the “rear guide” is to make sure no one is in trouble and that no one is left behind.

Watch the elongated, double-jointed fire truck make its way through the city on an emergency call. A driver in front steers the engine around corners and down streets. Because the truck is so long, with its ladder and equipment, the rear section of the vehicle also has a driver to maneuver around those same corners and through traffic.

In the church, no group fulfills this function better than the deacons. The pastor leads from the front, while the church’s helpers, the diakonoi, lead from the rear.

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Chuck Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, said recently, “If we were to get up a trip to Paris and really push it, we might get a half dozen students to go with us. However, if we announced a mission trip to Afghanistan and told the students they had to buy their own flak jackets, we’d have to turn some away. Today’s students respond to a great challenge.”

Abraham Lincoln attended church with a friend in Springfield. Afterwards, the friend asked the future president what he thought of the message. “It was all right,” he said, “but it was not a great sermon.” Asked what made him say that, Lincoln said, “The pastor said many fine things, but he did not ask us to do a great thing.”

Joe Brown, long-time pastor of Charlotte’s Hickory Grove Baptist Church, returned from a mission trip to a difficult area of the world and shared this experience with his congregation.

“At ‘The Edge’ they have an underground church…. They meet on different nights, and when they reach the number of 10 or 12, they split the church because it causes too much attention.”

“They have a man…. He’s not the pastor. He’s not a teacher. He’s an usher. He volunteers to go down into the center of the city, and he stands there. The members of his church will ride down there and he’ll tell them where they’re meeting and when they’re meeting, because the telephone lines are monitored…. There was such a man in this city, and the government found out about him. They arrested him. He lost his job. When he lost his job, he lost his housing. He lost his medical benefits. He lost everything he had. He was beaten and put into prison.”

“Another man stepped forward and took the job. And he was turned in, and he was beaten and put into prison and lost everything he had.”

“Someone traveling with us looked at the house-church pastor and said, ‘I suppose you have great difficulty in filling that job.'”

“He said, ‘Oh no, we don’t have difficulty in filling that job. We have a waiting list.'”

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(I promised to end at 50 lessons, but these ideas just keep insisting on horning their way onto the list.)

One of the worst policies ever to afflict our judicial system is the one that grants leniency to first-offenders. This was his first time to beat his wife, so he gets sent home with only a warning. Pity the poor wife! The kid who broke into the candy store gets assigned to his parents’ care and threatened with jail in the future because, after all, he’s never been in trouble before. He congratulates himself on a successful prank.

What are we doing! We might as well hand out “get out of jail free” cards. Everyone gets one free pass, no matter what we do (almost), because, “This is his first time in trouble.”

I want to scream when I read that line buried in the newspaper account of some law-breaker, “Hey! Now is the time to get across to him the enormity of what he has done.”

No wonder we have such a problem with crime in America today. We’re practically encouraging young law-breakers.

If we hope to teach them the error of their ways, it’s far better to deal swiftly and strongly with first-offenders.

Now, take that same principle and apply it at work, whether “work” for you means the church or a business office or a crew at the plant. If you are the person in charge and a member of your team breaks a “law”–he or she goes against an accepted practice put there for the welfare of the group–if you intend to maintain your leadership role, you must deal with it quickly.

First, get the facts.

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