I watched the recent Trump speech in Detroit. Not very many people today are old
enough to remember what the Motor City was like in the 1950s & early 60s. It
was the envy of the country & the world. A whole host of factors
contributed to its decline. For many years I have referred to it as the “former
Auto Capitol of the World.” But I was reminded about a vital aspect of
leadership from how the President talked about Detroit in his speech:
“We’re here not simply to honor the past, but to devote
ourselves to a new future of American automotive leadership. We want to be the
car capitol of the world again. We will be, & it won’t be long.”
One thing that I regularly remind spiritual leaders here,
& those who aspire to spiritual leadership, is that the leader must be able
to see beyond what others can see. If we are limited to the level of perception
that is common to those around us, we will never have anywhere to go or to help
them go. In a sense, leaders like this are the blind leading the blind.
I have done that with my view of Detroit. While remembering
its former greatness, it never really occurred to me that it could rise up
& be great again. Too much corruption, too much hatred, too much decline. But
one of the characteristics of a great leader whether secular or spiritual, is
the ability to open others’ eyes to what can’t be seen with the physical eye.
I thank God for leaders who can do that, & who can inspire
me to see what I might not otherwise have seen.
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