Great Leaders Knew Their Source

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Where does great leadership come from, and where has it gone?

Oh where have all our great leaders gone? Men and women who will stand up for what is right even if they have to stand alone. Leaders who will acutely understand that what is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular. Leaders who will once again shout from the senates and parliaments the virtues of God and His laws, and show us the moral compass to a rich and rewarding life. Heads of state who are not afraid to be "politically incorrect" and take a stand against the immoral cesspool and perilous times in which we live.

Where are the leaders who will echo the following sentiments of these great leaders from the past?

Thomas Jefferson: "And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever."

George Washington: "It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection, aid and favors."

Benjamin Franklin: "I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth...that God governs the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?"

James Madison: "We have staked the future upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to sustain ourselves, according to the Ten Commandments of God."

John Adams: "Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

William Penn: "We will either be governed by God or ruled by tyrants."

Andrew Jackson: "The Bible is true.... I have tried to conform to its spirit as near as possible. Upon that sacred volume I rest my hope for eternal salvation, through the merits and blood of our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."

Abraham Lincoln: "...We have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness."

These are voices from the past that remind us that "righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people" (Proverbs 14:34, NIV). We need leaders like these who are great leaders because they follow and rely on God. We need leaders who know that our long-term protection and prosperity depend on our moral conduct. We need leaders who point us to the Creator for His blessings in this life and the gift of eternal life.

Hector Earle

Hector M. Earle was born in Roddickton, Newfoundland/Labrador and completed his secondary education at AC Palmer Collegiate. In 1986, he completed a BA(Ed) degree from Memorial University at St. John's, NL in upper elementary education. In 1976, he was a teacher/principal at Ridgewood Academy at Stoneville, NL for 24 years.  In 1991, he received a Graduate Diploma in Educational Administration from Memorial and a subsequent Master of Education Degree in Educational Leadership in 1997. His thesis, School Based Decision Making, is in the education archived section of the research department at Memorial University Queen Elizabeth Library, in St. John’s, NL. Hector is a Justice of the Peace/Notary Public for the province of Newfoundland, Department of Justice and he is currently with the Northland School Division as a Special Education Coordinator in Janvier, Alberta.

Writing has been a part of Hector Earle’s life over the years and he has written numerous articles in many educational journals and Christian magazines across Canada and the United States. His educational articles have been reprinted in Educational Journals in British Columbia and Manitoba. He has been published in such magazines as The Good Tidings Magazine, The NLTA Bulletin, The Canadian Teacher Magazine and numerous articles for Virtual Christian Magazine. He enjoys sharing his Christian faith with United Church of God readers. He was converted in September 1975 after reading an issue of The Plain Truth magazine and subsequent literature in the mail from the former World Wide Church of God. 

He has just recently written a book entitled Death of a Race, a historical fiction novel about the demise of the Beothuck First Nations of Newfoundland and Labrador.  His work is intended to be a novel for Junior High Social Studies in the Schools in Canadian schools. The manuscript is currently being published by DRC publishing in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Hector is happily married to his lovely wife, Marilyn and currently resides in Chard, Alberta.  They have three beautiful daughters: Elaine, living in Calgary, Alberta; Rhonda, a RCMP officer in Bay Roberts, NL; and Wendy, a grade 12 graduate, currently working in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

 

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