There are rain forests who have given their lives to produce millions of books on leadership, and while many are significant, informative, and deeply instructive, none of them can compensate for a person or community lacking integrity. I have often been willing to follow leaders whose skills may not be Forbes 500 material, yet whose personal integrity compelled my commitment.

I think that is what made Jesus gripping for so many, and perhaps what also frightened so many (I have regularly been in both camps): when people listened to him, engaged him, they smelled the real deal. They knew his words and actions were coming from a deep core. I think this also why Jesus found himself moved by people like the Canaanite woman, the widow who gave her mite, Nathaniel, and the beloved disciple; in them he too sensed and encountered an integrity of soul. In them he too found himself engaging with something that ultimately could not be purchased off a shelf. In them he found spirits who had committed themselves to the disciplines of a life of integrity.

In his recent Bishop’s Weekly Reflection, Porter Taylor quotes Ron Heifetz and Martin Linsky from their book, Leadership on the Line. From the last chapter of the book discussing the importance of maintaining a ‘sacred heart’: “The virtue of a sacred heart lies in the courage to maintain your innocence and wonder, your doubt and curiosity, and your compassion and love even through your darkest, most difficult moments.” Bishop Taylor adds, ‘Without a sacred heart, innocence becomes cynicism; curiosity becomes arrogance; and compassion becomes callousness. It reminds me that leadership is primarily about who you are and secondarily about what you do.”

It is about integrity, and that is a sacred thing.

Todd Donatelli