Rabbis & Influencers

“The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher." (Jesus in Luke 6:40)

“Imitation is the fundamental mechanism of human behavior.” (Rene Girard)

Our shower handle broke last week. One of the things I loved about our house when we bought it was the newly renovated Master Bathroom. The shower is simply amazing. It’s one of those that has a bench along one wall and two different shower heads. But one of those amazing shower heads is currently (alas!) out of commission. I’ll surely get around to fixing it at some point, but for now, I’m grateful that our shower has a ready-to-go replacement.

In trying to figure out how to repair or replace this handle, I spent a considerable amount of time online. This may (or may not) surprise you, but I ended up on a YouTube channel of a guy who does a lot of home repairs. The video was marginally helpful and I came to realize that this individual is something of a home repair influencer. Who knew that was a thing?!

In 2019, I had the opportunity to go on a three week study tour of Israel with Ray Vanderlaan. It was one of those things that sort of…just fell into my lap. I hadn’t sought it out and didn’t have any idea what to expect. It turns out, those three weeks were deeply transformational for me personally and professionally.

One of the things Ray talked a lot about was what it meant to learn in the ancient Jewish context. He explained the value of Rabbis and rabbinic methodology. One of the common misconceptions we have in the 21st century is that the primary thing a Rabbi would teach is religious doctrine. After all, this is how most of our religious institutions function today. But one of the things Ray emphasized was that a Rabbi primarily taught their students how to live.

Of course, that included what we might call “religious instruction” but that teaching was never divorced from ordinary life (and all of life). Students were to be so intent on following their Rabbis example that they would be “covered in the dust of their Rabbi.”

To anticipate an obvious question…what does a broken shower handle have to do with the Rabbinic methods of ancient Judaism?

For a variety of reasons, I started to think about it in my own life…who has (honestly) taught me how to live? This random YouTuber was surely one influence. But there’s countless others online (and offline). As John Ortberg said, “Influencers are the rabbis of the modern day.”

All of this had me thinking about this Newsletter, the work I do, and the privilege to be able to help so many people grow in their own life and leadership. To be a leader (in any capacity) is to be an influencer. And that influence extends far beyond the scope of your job or any sense of professional work. Inevitably, that influence will extend into the very fabric of normal, daily life.

As General George Patton put it, “You are always on parade.” Like it or not, people around you are looking at you, watching the way that you live, and looking at their own lives to see if they can learn anything. One of the great questions to ask as a Leader is, “Am I living a life worthy of imitation?” Don’t approach this from a spirit of grandiosity or egocentrism, but from humble realism. Am I leading others to a life of goodness, joy, peace, and love?

Follow to lead AND lead to follow…don’t forget they’re two sides of the same coin…essential postures for a life of transformational leadership.

That’s all for today - know that I’m praying for you wherever you may be. If there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Make a great day,

Steve

PS - I’m seeing a ton of growth in interest in 1:1 coaching right now. If you’d like a no cost, no obligation session to get a taste of what difference coaching can make, reach out and we’ll set something up.