Responding to the Signs of the Times
In the book In Their Time, Anthony Mayo and Nitin Nohria profile some of the most successful business leaders of past generations. Those leaders worked in different eras, worked in different industries, and faced different challenges. But the authors found one common denominator among them – contextual intelligence.
Contextual intelligence is an acute sensitivity to the social, political, technological, and spiritual contexts that a person finds himself/herself in. And great leaders possess it. It was true of Franklin Roosevelt. It was true Walt Disney. It was true of Martin Luther King Jr. It was true of Oprah Winfrey. It was true of Steve Jobs.
Contextual intelligence is the ability to spot opportunities where others see nothing but obstacles. This is what sets these leaders apart and, according to many experts, is the best predictor of success in real-life performance situations.
Contextual intelligence is the ability to spot opportunities where others see nothing but obstacles.
Wards and Sears
Consider this example. In 1893, Congress established Rural Free Delivery. Until then Americans living in rural areas had to go to the nearest town to pick up their mail at the general store. RFD provided mail service to rural residents for the first time.
Two enterprising businessmen, Aaron Montgomery Ward and Richard Sears (Do those names sound familiar?) saw a distribution channel for their products. The catalogs they produced became the second most widely read books in the country after the Bible. That’s contextual intelligence.
Men of Issachar
Here’s a biblical example of it. “From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.” (I Chronicles 12:32 NLT)
The context of this verse is a listing of the warriors/soldiers from the various tribes who came to join David’s army. What’s interesting is the description of those who came from the tribe of Issachar. “All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.”
They didn’t just have a pulse on the times. They had a sense of strategy as to how to leverage those times. That’s contextual intelligence.
Kingdom Trendsetters
You might wonder how this might apply to our day. Here’s a thought. Notwithstanding all of the challenges that lie before church leaders today, where might there be opportunities? Could it be that there are ways of doing church that no one has thought of yet?
Mark Batterson, a pastor who is doing some remarkable work at National Community Church in Washington D.C. offers this compelling comment: “We shouldn’t just be trend spotters. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we should be trendsetters. If you want to reach people no one else is reaching, you might have to do something that no one else is doing.”
“We shouldn’t just be trend spotters. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we should be trendsetters. If you want to reach people no one else is reaching, you might have to do something that no one else is doing.” – Mark Batterson
All too often we limit our counsel to those who already share our conclusions. The result is that there are no new ideas. And, as the old adage puts it, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”
All too often we limit our counsel to those who already share our conclusions. The result is that there are no new ideas.
Let me offer you this suggestion. Regularly have a “men (and women) of Issachar” meeting. Invite those individuals who because of their age, experience, and insight might have a unique understanding of the times we live in. And then brainstorm with them what might be the best course of action to take to make the most of the times.
Who knows, in so doing, you might discover that the secret recipe for success is closer than you thought.
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