In their book, "Lead Like Jesus", Blanchard and Hodges write, "Leadership is a process of influence. Anytime you seek to influence the thinking, behavior, or development of people toward accomplishing a goal in their personal or professional lives, you are taking on the role of a leader."

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 (NASB77) "Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? [7] Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. [8] Let us therefore celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

Every leader has a responsibility to set a good example for others. Something Tiger Woods understands. When Tiger was still playing as an amateur at the Masters, Jim Nantz of CBS Sports asked him "Do you think you have an obligation to be a role model for minority kids?" Tiger didn't hesitate a second before he answered, "No." Then he continued, "I have an obligation to be a role model for all kids."

—http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/flashback-nordlinger041502.asp Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Psalm 101:2 NLT "I will be careful to live a blameless life—when will you come to my aid? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home.

The capture of Saddam Hussein by American troops not only ended his brutal rule in Iraq, but also quashed his aspirations of becoming a great leader and hero to his people. Hussein had paid writers to portray him as a modern Saladin, a 12th century warrior who unified Muslim armies. One Iraqi stamp pictures Hussein and Saladin side by side, and a children's book refers to the Iraqi leader as Saladin II.

Historians say Hussein's real model in consolidating power and governing was Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Robert G. Rabil, manager of the Iraqi Research and Documentation Project in Washington says what Hussein built in Iraq "is a replica of what Stalin did in the Soviet Union." He surrounded himself with grateful relatives and complaint fellow tribesmen from Tikrit. Hussein followed the path Stalin took by taking control of security agencies and strictly controlling administrative tasks himself. Hussein collected books on Stalin and built his regime on a Stalinist model, using constant purges of his Baath party to eliminate rivals.

Phebe Marr, author of a history of Iraq, says Hussein “stopped a cycle of coups” in Iraq when he came to power. She notes that the leader promoted education and spread around wealth from oil sales. Marr says, “But he fastened to Iraq a totalitarian system the degree if which has never been seen before in the Middle East.” She adds, “There were no checks and balances on his judgment” which eventually proved to be Hussein's undoing.

—Baltimore Sun, December 15, 2003, Terror: In consolidating his hold on Iraq, Hussein followed the example of Josef Stalin. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

The example we choose to follow early in life, often determines where our lives finally end up.

Ephesians 5:1 NIV "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

The Tampa Bay Buccaneer's NFL play-off hopes ended January 12, 2002, with a 31-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The loss also closed a chapter in the life of the team's coach Tony Dungy. Despite several successful seasons, management fired the coach when their Championship hopes were dashed.

At a news conference, Dungy did not complain, he wasn't bitter, and he didn't use harsh words. Instead, he humbly said thanks for fond memories, saying, "We've enjoyed it here."

The grandson of a Baptist minister had quite an impact on the community of Tampa. Dungy was involved in various projects at his local church, including outreach groups and hosting traveling missionaries. The former coach and father of four actively supported the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and was active in a ministry that strengthens families by reinforcing the role of the father.

When Dungy wasn't busy on the football field, he found time to drive some kids to school in a neighborhood carpool. Mike Merrill, president of an organization Dungy served, told a local paper that he grieved the firing of Tony Dungy. He said, "Though it might sound a bit dramatic to some, there is really no way to express what Tony Dungy, the man, has meant to our community."

Tony Dungy may not have had the impact in professional football his team had hoped. Yet, he quietly and humbly served in his community where his impact will be felt for years to come.

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 NIV "Make it your business to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.".

(Tony's influence will continue in a new community because the Indianapolis Colts have hired him under a five year, $13 million dollar contract. That will make him one of the NFL's highest-paid coaches.)

—http://www.charisamanews.com/online, January 29, 2002, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

A new international study suggests one of the biggest factors in preventing teenage drug abuse may be a teen's homelife. The study conducted among 4,000 teens in England, Ireland, Italy Germany, and the Netherlands was published in the journal “Addiction.”

The study asked teens about their use of various drugs, and then asked them about their relationship with parents and grandparents. It also probed how well teens were supervised after school, and whether or not they were allowed to met friends at home.

Dr. Paul McArdle of Newcastle University led the study. He says, the structure of families and the quality of family relationships appear to have a significant influence on youth drug abuse. The study found that those living with both parents were less likely to suffer from alcohol and drug problems. The best deterrent found was a strong relationship between a teenage and their mother. If either of these factors were missing in a teen's life, the likelihood of using drugs doubled.

McArdle notes drug prevention campaigns in schools and on television warn teenagers the dangers of drugs and alcohol. He adds, "This study shows that the quality of family life, or rather the lack of it for many people, is at the core of drug problems in Western society."

—Reuters News Service, May 9, 2002. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Ephesians 6:1-3 NIV “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right - which is the first commandment with a promise— that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

Recently the website, Askmen.com asked readers to cast votes for the man they thought was the most influential of 2009, resulting in a list of 49 men. Each had several qualities that made them influential. In some cases, it was wealth, in others ability in sports, celebrity status or media ownership and savvy. The most surprising thing discovered in the vote was that a fictional character beat out well-known football quarterback Peyton Manning, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, and even President Barak Obama for the top spot.

Readers chose Don Draper from the television program “Mad Men” as the most influential Man of 2009. Draper is an iconic male, compelling and distinctive, with a commanding persona, and a manipulator of larger trends. Though he is the product of 11 writers, 8 directors, and an actor, those voting recognized Draper’s character as influential because on the program Draper values personal honor, respects chivalry, and values his role as a husband, father, and provider. The biggest factor Askmen’s readers noted was that Draper is real. He is realistic, complex, and even conflicted at times. Readers chose Draper even though he is fictional because he is an imperfect man with real feelings. Draper is above all realistic, which is why he is relatable, which might be his most important characteristic and what makes him so influential.

--AskMen’s 49 Most Influential Men of 2009, http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/a-line/askmens-49-most-influential-men-of-2009/281; October 6, 2009 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Psalm 118:8-9 (CEV) “It is better to trust the Lord for protection than to trust anyone else, (9) including strong leaders.”

A new study has found that self-control can be contagious. The study conducted in a laboratory setting, found that watching or even thinking about someone with good self-control makes others more likely to show the same restraint. The study also found the opposite to be true. A person with poor self-control can influence others to act negatively. The effect is so strong that flashing a picture of another person for only 10 milliseconds changed the behavior of study volunteers. People tend to mimic the behavior of those around them, and bad habits tend to spread through social networks. The study is the first to show self-control is contagious regardless of the behavior modeled.

. Lead author of the study, Michelle vanDellen from the University of Georgia said, “The take home message of this study is that picking social influences that are positive can improve your self-control. She added,” And by exhibiting self-control, you’re helping others around you to do the same.”

--Self-Control is Contagious, Study Finds, http://www.livescience.com/health/self-control-contagious-100115.html; January 15, 2010, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Galatians 5:22-23 (GW) “But the spiritual nature produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, and self-control. There are no laws against things like that.”

While some viewers felt the advertisement featuring Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mother Pam that ran during Super Bowl XLIV got lost in the shuffle during the broadcast, Focus on the Family says the ad achieved some positive results. In USA Today’s Ad Meter poll taken the day after the game ranked the ad 54th among the sixty-five ads that aired during the game. The results prompted one consumer anthropologist to suggest the ad did not stand out as a values message.

President and CEO of Focus on the Family, Jim Daly says the advertisement achieved the goal the organization planned. Focus had added server capacity because of the anticipated traffic to their website. The extra computing power proved necessary because after the ad, traffic at the site increased 40 times, generating 50,000 unique visitors and 500,000 hits. Focus also added 5,000 new subscribers to their magazine, “Thriving Family.” Daly said the publicity before the ad actually aired also helped because the ad featuring the Tebows captured the rating of “third most engaging,” trailing only commercials for Doritos and Anheuser-Bush. Daly added, “We won long before the ad ever ran.”

--Focus on the Family got Super Bowl buzz it wanted, http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/admeter/2010-02-09-focusfolo09_ST_N.htm; February 8, 2010, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

1 Corinthians 9:22-23 (NIV) “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. (23) I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”

A British researcher says many children are growing up believing marriages are not meant to last because so many high profile sports and pop stars set a bad example. Reg Bailey is preparing a report for the British Department of Education detailing the ways children learn about gender roles in life. He says sportsmen and women have a clear influence on a child’s behavior and which actions, they accept as normal. Bailey says the research examines the cultural signals children pick up from an early age and the influence role models have.

Bailey is concerned that recent headlines regarding infidelities by several international stars have been detrimental. He said,” I think there is a fair body of evidence out there that suggests that children are very influenced by certain individuals, particularly those in the public eye, a great deal, whether they be pop stars or sports people." Regarding his work Bailey added,” Actions have consequences and young people are growing up in a media-influenced culture where they perceive that having an affair is normal and a marriage that lasts is something which even many successful people can't aspire to."

--Soccer scandals "shaping kids' view of marriage", http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101230/od_nm/us_britain_divorce_odds, Dec 29, 2010, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Luke 17:1-2 (HCSB) “He said to His disciples, ‘Offenses will certainly come, but woe to the one they come through! (2) It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble.’”

Chinese artist Lui Bolin has made an art of blending into the scenery. Taking camouflage beyond putting on a set of specially marked clothes and standing by the bushes, Bolin uses assistants who help him paint himself head to toe and then fades into his surroundings. He has vanished in grocery stores, next to piles of coal, on staircase, and even the Great Wall of China.

The process of making himself invisible is very involved. Bolin spends hours perfecting his pose to make sure he meshes with his background. As he stands still, two assistants then paint the camouflage on his clothes, and he blends seamlessly into the backdrop. Bolin says his work looks cool, but has a deeper meaning. He says the “living sculptures” are “designed to show how we all can just disappear in today’s mass production world.”

The man who isn’t there, http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20110203/od_yblog_upshot/the-man-who-isnt-there; February 3, 2011, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Luke 11:33 (CEV) No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a clay pot. A lamp is put on a lampstand, so that everyone who comes into the house can see the light.

2014 marks 50 years since US Surgeon General; Dr. Luther Terry linked cancer to smoking. His efforts initiated a wave of change within the United States; resulting in the number of people smoking declining from 43% in 1964 to 18% in 2014. --Jim L. Wilson and Ron Williams

-- http://www.voanews.com/content/tobacco-report-from-fifty-years-ago-has-changed-the-world/1831124.html

In 50 years, his insight changed the destinies of 20% of Americans. Sometimes, we just need to do what we know is right to better ourselves and others.

James 3:8-12 (NRSV) but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (9) With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. (10) From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. (11) Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? (12) Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Do you remember Pig Pen, the character from the Peanuts comic strip that walked around with a cloud of dust surrounding him? Well it turns out; we all have such a cloud surrounding us. “Every human body is surrounded by an invisible cloud of millions of microbes that is as unique as our fingerprints.” After you leave a place, it is possible to identify you were there by the unique combinations of bacteria you leave behind.

Researchers believe that one day such a microbe cloud will help identify crime suspects.

As believers we are surrounded by the Christian characteristics that we carry with us everywhere we go. When we are present in a room our influence should be palpable. When we leave, everyone should know that a Christian has been here. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

Titus 2:7 (HCSB) in everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching.