Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Be a Hero; Lose the Cape

Hello, and welcome to the Chronicles of Super Drew!
I'll start my chronicles with my philosophy "Be a hero; Lose the cape". I know it seems a bit odd for a local super hero (with a cape) to come up with such a thing, but I feel it explains a bit about myself.
In life, we tend to seek out men (and women) to whom we can look for leadership, to get us out of the messes we can't handle on our own. Heroes, if you will. I'm sure you can think of at least one such person you either know of or know personally. In the Spiritual Gifts/Personality Styles class I'm taking through church we discussed leaders (or facilitators) as having two types: willing and hesitant. The willing leader wants to be in charge, and rightfully so. He's good at what he does, and he knows it. Leaders thrive in being needed to guide others. Willing leaders need this high that they get so much that they will almost force people to listen to what they have to say.
Hesitant leaders have the same gift for working with people, but without the ego problem. They don't want to be put in charge, or at least won't say anything about it, will take the lead if they have to. But, have you ever noticed that the best leaders seem to belong to this group? People like George Washington, our nation's first, and possibly the best, president, falls under this category.
As a facilitator myself, I'm often having to remind myself to "lose the cape" (figuratively speaking. I had that cape hand tailored). God has given me a gift, so I need to remember to use it to honor Him. I like to think I'm a reluctant leader, but I know I'm not always.
My point? We live in a world that says to live for yourself, but I don't agree with the world (OK, so my cape is for me, but my life doesn't revolve around it). I believe you will have a far more meaningful life if you live for something greater than yourself. When I joined the Air Force, I didn't do it for the free school or the health plan. I joined because I know that I owe it to those who died so I can even say it was my choice to enlist. I was GIVEN the gift of freedom, and I will pass that gift on to generations to come. Granted, the service isn't for every one, but it's one of the best ways I know to live for something greater than myself.

4 comments:

Qtpies7 said...

I wouldn't say you are a hesitant leader, but I wouldn't say you force others, either.
Maybe we can get "Movers4life" to come over and comment about you losing your cape at Districts. I heard all about it, lol.
We are definately proud of for joining the military, even if it wasn't the Army. You are leading by example for your brothers. I hope they follow in your footsteps.

michelle said...

I love this piece...especially the reminder to "be a hero but lose the cape." How true that is, and it can apply to each and every one of us. We all have things that we can do to make a difference in the lives of others. I wish you all the best.

Carina said...

I've known leaders of both types, and you're right, it's often the second who achieve the most. ie Moses

Unknown said...

Wow, this is a neat entry. And bless you for joining the military...you truly are a hero!