Someone Has To Step Up And Lead
One person can live on a desert island without leadership. Two people, if they're totally compatible, could probably get along and even progress. If there are three or more, someone has to take the lead. Otherwise, chaos erupts.
Warren Bennis, The Making of a Leader
Leaders step up. They may not have all the answers (they usually don't), but they have the courage to face an ambivalent future, to act, and to take responsibility for their actions.
Lyndon Johnson's response immediately following the assassination of John F. Kennedy illustrates the both the necessity and importance of "taking the lead," especially in the midst of uncertainty.
Everything was in chaos. We were all spinning around and around, trying to come to grips with what had happened, but the more we tried to understand it, the more confused we got. We were like a bunch of cattle caught in the swamp, unable to move in either direction, simply circling 'round and 'round. I understood that; I knew what had to be done. There is but one way to get the cattle out of the swamp. And that is for the man on the horse to take the lead, to assume command, to provide direction. In the period of confusion after the assassination, I was that man. Lyndon B. Johnson, quoted in The Passage of Power by Robert Caro, page 353.
Christian leaders don't show up with an "S" emblazoned on their chests. They don't pretend to be a superman or superwoman. But like Gideon of old they hear God's promise, "I will be with you" (Judges 6:16) and they act in light of that. Like Isaiah, they rest in God who says, "I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).