Leaders..

[MehGuy]

How important do you think religious/spiritual leaders are?

 

[awitch]

How important do you think religious/spiritual leaders are?

In my corner of the religious world we have different kinds of leaders. Some hosted, organized, and conducted rituals and get-togethers while others fought in the courts at great expense to secure rights for the rest of us.

But our leaders are not gateways to the gods. They don't tell us what to believe, who to vote for, or who we can and can't accept. Nor do they collect donations and decide what to spend them on.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

How important do you think religious/spiritual leaders are?

They'd be just as important as any leaders of any corporation or organisation that required leadership to function. Not everyone can be a law to themselves. Many function quite happily under good leadership. You wouldn't be seeing me getting on a large airliner if there was no pilot at the controls!

Reminds me of two caterpillars sitting on a leaf, seeing a butterfly go past. One caterpillar said to the other, "You're not going to get me up in one of those things!"

 

[Robban]

How important do you think religious/spiritual leaders are?

Important, but not in the sense that they on top of a pyramid.

Rather lay the pyramid shape down like a >shape,

In Judaism Jews wax and wain like the moon

But at a time when there may be just an ember a leader is sent to blow life into the ember.

They are extra special.

Would say.

 

[HTacianas]

How important do you think religious/spiritual leaders are?

I think they are extremely important. The apostles were the leaders of the early Church, and the Church would not exist without their leadership. They passed their authority down to the bishops and the bishops have led the Church for centuries now.

 

[com7fy8]

Hi @MehGuy I think the most important leader is the one who is a good example who you know personally.

The Bible says, to church leaders >

"nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." (1 Peter 3:4)

And in 1 Peter 3:1-4 we see how Christian wives can "without a word" help any husband who is not obeying how God really means for us to live and love.

So, yes, a lady of no reputation can do more and deeper good than someone making a show in public politics and religion. Powerful and influential and educated people can effect money, materials, military, men, mothers, medicine, and machines; but personal example can help you find out how to love.

And ones say the one who rocks the cradle rules the nation or the world, something like this.

And ones have given such attention and mention to our Apostles Paul and Peter, but you might read what Paul and Silvanus and Timothy say about how they related with the Thessalonians >

"But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children." (1 Thessalonians 2:7)

I can see that these great leaders were inspired by how a nursing mother cares for her children. Nursing mothers helped these great men to learn how to relate in our Heavenly Father's caring and sharing family love. And they are not ashamed to point this out, how nursing mommies helped them find out how to love.

So, yes a lady can teach a man something and then he can become great in the most worthwhile kind of influence.

 

[PloverWing]

How important do you think religious/spiritual leaders are?

I think it's useful to learn from those with expertise in religious/spiritual matters -- those who have studied theology/philosophy, or who have extensive life experience in religious matters, or both. It saves me from having to discover everything on my own from scratch. (It's similar to how I benefit from having studied mathematics in school. Technically, I could deduce the entirety of mathematics from first principles if I was smart enough, but I'm not smart enough to do that. It's helpful to know what Descartes and Leibniz and Galois did, and build on that.)

That's about as far as I go with religious/spiritual leaders, though. I consider them wise guides who have walked the path before me, but I'm not sure I look to follow leaders, exactly; maybe, as with the mathematicians, I look to build on the discoveries of the religious leaders of the past.

 

[sunshineforJesus]

really important as its our leaders who teach us the ways of God.

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

How important do you think religious/spiritual leaders are?

As organisational managers who help large groups of people to pull together under a single banner and work together productively: probably somewhat important (although flat hierarchies and other alternatives are preferable).
As figureheads and symbols: apparently pretty darn important. Just look at the way the Dalai Lama embodies a vision of an independent Tibet.

 

[Paidiske]

I guess you have to ask, how important for what?

For an individual's personal self-actualisation; possibly relatively unimportant. For a community's ability to achieve its goals (fulfil its mission, in Christian terms, but other religions might express it differently) I'd say good leadership is highly important.

Note that I say good leadership. There are different ways to structure leadership and some which invest relatively little power and authority in particular individuals can work quite well. But ultimately, if nobody makes suggestions, takes initiative to act, evaluates results, or plans (all leadership activities) very little is going to get done.

 

[Robban]

How important do you think religious/spiritual leaders are?

A Rabbi answers questions.
A Rebbe answers people.

 

[dlamberth]

How important do you think religious/spiritual leaders are?

Leaders in my spiritual world represent, organize, teach, lead practices in group and personal settings and set a sort of pole or center if you will for the rest of the group. We empathize personal revelation so what bubbles up is that no one is a "follower" of a leader.

 

[juvenissun]

How important do you think religious/spiritual leaders are?

You will find the answer when you get ride of them.

 

[Zoness]

How important do you think religious/spiritual leaders are?

Organizationally they're probably useful but I've seen through my own experience and others that many of them have done, and continue to do a lot of damage. There's probably some good at out there but I remain skeptical at large.

My religious tradition does not require teachers in any fashion, though some people may adopt them for certain paths.

 

[MehGuy]

You will find the answer when you get ride of them.

I don't really have the personality to follow any leaders. I just don't understand why some give them so much weight.

 

[ananda]

How important do you think religious/spiritual leaders are?

We are all important insofar as we model our beliefs and we demonstrate (at least a degree of) fulfillment of our beliefs.

 

[juvenissun]

I don't really have the personality to follow any leaders. I just don't understand why some give them so much weight.

That is because 1. you have not experienced any group crisis yet. Or 2. You ARE one who would lead.

However, your question has some points. It would be a better question if it read: Why does human society tend to have leaders? It is a very profound Biblical question.

 

[AskTheFamily]

All leaders not appointed by God must be seen as leaders who call to the fire.
All leaders appointed by God must be relied on to gain insights and be the center of attention.

The elaboration, is the one has clear proofs, the other does not. The other you can vest so much time into them and end up realizing later way too much conjecture, while God guides to the truth and in ways we don't know until we gain those insights from his book(s) and the guides who compliment it.

 

[Arthra]

How important do you think religious/spiritual leaders are?

Among Baha'is our administrative order is regularly elected and partially appointed with limits as to their function. On the elective side it is the majority or plurality that elect our Local Assemblies and delegates that decide "leadership". But even those elected serve as representatives of governing bodies and not for themselves... They are also governed by our Constitution:
The Constitution of the Universal House of Justice