Leading in a Strange Land

 This is beginning excerpt from a book I wrote about 5 years ago, sold few copies, but think has a lot to say. 

An ancient example for modern leadership.

On January 1, 2015, I began a temporary journey that I am still on. I was appointed the interim assistant vice president for Academic Affairs here. That’s the closest I ever came, or will, to having the word president in my job title. It sounds better and bigger than it was, but I look back on that job with good memories.

While the question of whether I was a leader is up for grabs, I do leadership roles on a daily basis. For guidance in leadership as for all matters in my life, I trust an ancient book, the Bible, and the teachings of Jesus Christ. One person in the Bible whose leadership fascinates me is Daniel. From Daniel we can learn the character of a leader, the consistency of a leader, and the concerns of a leader.

Please forgive me for sounding like a Baptist preacher. In public speaking the first rule is know your audience. Based on the fact we are in the Bible Belt, I will make the assumption that all of you have heard of Daniel in the background, and that he is known for: 

The reason I am fascinated by Daniel is that he was not a religious leader, at least not by profession. He was not a priest or rabbi. He was not a “professional” Prophet, if there is such a thing. He was a functionary in the court of a despotic ruler, Nebuchadnezzar II of  the Neo-Babylonian empire. His daily life was administrative, not pastoral. And talk about your tough boss! Nebuchadnezzar II of the Bible account is a merciless conqueror, not a guy you want to have to your house for dinner. Talk about ego: he made a sixty-foot statue of himself and demanded worship. Talk about impossible expectations! He wants his advisors to tell him the meaning of a dream without his telling them what it was. The Bible picture isn’t much different from the historical one. He ruled from 605 BC, the death of his father Nabopolassar to his own death in 562 BC—43 years. His legacy is as the builder king, a leader quote who restored a country that for a long time had been devastated by war, end quote according to historian Josette Elayi from 2018.

So, Daniel is a leader in  secular, political world. He has to negotiate a really tough boss, his religious traditions that butted heads with this new world, and his own fears. And he is just a teenager when he lands in Nebuchadnezzar’s court. Daniel himself is probably of royal background, but that means nothing if he doesn’t walk a fine line in this totally different culture.