When his classmates elected him President of his seventh-grade class, Ken Blanchard's father taught him the importance of servant leadership. He said, "Son, it is great that you have been elected president. But now that you have that position, don't ever use it as a way of getting others to do what you want. The best use of power is not to have to use it at all. People follow great leaders because they respect them, not because they have power."

1 Corinthians 10:24 (ESV) "Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor."

After fifteen years, an elderly Florida woman finally has electric power restored in her house. The power to the woman's house was lost when Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida August 24, 1992. For fifteen years, she had no heat during the colder winter months, and no air conditioning when the Florida heat and humidity set in each summer. Without power for the electric water heater, she took cold showers every morning, and ran extension cords to neighbors to power a small refrigerator, and cook top.

The woman only wanted to be identified as Norena, because she was embarrassed by her situation. After Andrew hit South Florida in 1992, Norena got a settlement, but the money ran out before the contractor finished the work. Instead of bring her house up to code to allow an electrical connection, the contractor ran out, leaving her home half-repaired and without electricity. Somehow her situation fell through the cracks. Neighbors never noticed Norena's pioneer lifestyle, or offered to help finish the work on her home.

A tip got Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez involved. A quick visit from an electrical contractor and an inspection got the power restored. Norena was overjoyed by the simple pleasure of flicking a wall switch. She said, "It's hard to describe having it come on, to switch on. It's overwhelming."

http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_048002512.html; Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Ephesians 3:20 (GW) "Glory belongs to God, whose power is at work in us. By this power he can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine."

In the movie "Schindler's List", after a party ends, Oskar Schindler and a German Military Officer are discussing the meaning of power. The officer says power is expressed in control. Schindler disagrees with him by defining the difference between justice and power. He says, "A man commits a crime and he should know better. We have him killed and we feel pretty good about it. That's not power that is justice. That's different than power." Then Schindler touches the real definition of power. Schindler says, "Power is when we have every justification to kill and we don't."

Schindler explains by telling the story of a man guilty of stealing something who is brought before the emperor. Though deserving of death, the man throws himself down on the ground and begs for mercy. Schindler says, "He knows he is going to die, and the Emperor pardons him. This worthless man, he lets him go.... Now that's power."

—Schindler's List" Scene 21 1:44:20-1:45:28. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

Romans 5:10 (HCSB) "For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, [then how] much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life!"

Most employees would agree there are times when their bosses do not seem to listen to them. Whether it involves spending money when an employee suggest it is unwise, or pursuing an action when a knowledge employee advises against it. Kelly See, Assistant Professor of management and organization at New York University, was curious about these workplace scenarios and put together an in-depth study to look into the extent to which people in power take advice from knowledgeable colleagues. See’s project conducted over 2 years included 1,500 participants, concluded, “the more power managers have, the less likely they are to take advice.”

See explained that people in powerful positions tend to be more confident in their decisions. While this is generally positive, sometimes the tendency of the powerful to disregard advice has dramatic consequences. See says the 1986 Challenger disaster, which killed seven astronauts and shocked the nation is a good example. The tragedy occurred after a complex decision-making process, and See says her team has looked into why decision makers discounted suggestions that the launch was not safe that morning. She says, “One of the reasons was the power dynamics between the people giving the information and the people who were in charge of the situation.” In her conclusions, See suggests possible solutions. “It’s important to surround yourself with people who are going to disagree with you and to remind you that you’re not always right. We wanted to raise awareness of the inflated confidence of powerful individuals.”

--Bosses Don’t Listen: Now there’s Proof, http://news.yahoo.com/bosses-dont-listen-now-theres-proof-211753472.html; August 24, 2011, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Proverbs 16:32 (HCSB) Patience is better than power, and controlling one’s temper, than capturing a city.

Researchers have found that certain types of behavior may be contagious. In an article published in the Harvard Business review, researchers found that when a supervisor is unkind at work, employees have a strong tendency to act the same way. The research encourages business leaders to be as positive as possible at work because that behavior is also apt to be picked up by other employees. They said acting in rude and unkind ways at work can cause more harm that people realize. Paul Harvey, an associate professor of organizational behavior at the University of New Hampshire said, “When vicarious abusive supervision is present, employees realize that the organization is allowing this negative treatment to exist, even if they are not experiencing it directly.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Acting like a jerk at work is contagious, New research finds when a boss is rude, so are the employees, http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/Acting-like-a-jerk-at-work-is-contagious/-/1719418/19066528/-/7qw383/-/
index.html?treets=det&tid=2651079460813&tml=det_7am&tmi=det_7am_1_06000102252013&ts=H, Accessed February 25, 2013.

1 Corinthians 15:33 (ESV) Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Physicists in Switzerland have announced that they have discovered a sub atomic particle that could change our understanding of the universe. Scientists using the large Hadron Collider say they have isolated the particle known as the Higgs Boson. The particle could explain why other particles have mass and offer clues into how particles interact. They say if their calculations are correct, the discovery of the particle will help them understand the intricate details of space and time. They also point out that the particle might also be responsible for rendering the universe unstable and could lead to its destruction. In simpler terms, the long-sought after particle may help explain how particles come together to from stars, planets, and even life. They claim that without the Higgs Boson, the universe would have remained without form as particles sped around randomly at the speed of light. Joseph Lykken, a theoretical physicist at the Fermi National Accelerator in Illinois says understanding this particle is very important. He added, “This calculation tells you that many tens of billions of years from now there’ll be a catastrophe.”—Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

Higgs Boson Found: What Particle's Discovery Means for Future of the Universe, By Myles Collier, http://global.christianpost.com/news/higgs-boson-found-what-particles-discovery-means-for-future-of-the-universe-91878/, Accessed March 14, 2013

Colossians 1:17 (ESV) And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Canadian Man Ronald Stan, Missing For 37 Years, Found In Oklahoma, by Simon McCormack, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/26/ronald-stan-missing_n_5718535.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news&ir=Weird%20News, Accessed August 27, 2014.

Psalm 139:7-10 (HCSB) Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? (8) If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. (9) If I live at the eastern horizon ?or? settle at the western limits, (10) even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will hold on to me.

Japan and China are exploring a new source of fuel hidden in the world’s oceans that supply enough power to meet global demand for hundreds of years. The fuel, known as “combustible ice,” is technically called methane hydrate, a frozen mixture of water and concentrated natural gas. The Chinese news agency has been successfully mined by a drilling rig in the South China Sea. Though commercially viability could be years away, several countries are exploring possibilities of developing capturing the energy in methane hydrate. Tim Collett, a scientist with the US Geological Survey said the consensus is that commercial development may not happen before 2030. He added, “The path to understanding when or if gas hydrates will be commercially produced will need many similar and more extended testing efforts.” —Jim L. Wilson & Jim Sandell

http://www.klove.com/news/2017/05/19/China-Japan-Extract-Combustible-Ice-From-Seafloor , Accessed May 19, 2017

Isaiah 40:29 (CSB) “He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless.”

After Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, the Island suffered from major power outages. One report said “The Electric Power Authority said it dispatched crews to investigate why a key 230-kilovolt line that connects the Island's northern and southern regions had failed for the second time in a week. The failure caused the U.S. territory's power generation to drop to 22 percent…”—Jim L. Wilson and David (DJ) Jenkins

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/world/article/Blackout-hits-Puerto-Rico-as-power-company-12359505.php

Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

A 26-year-old man from North Dakota signed up to run a half-marathon. Mike Kohler was groggy from his early wake-up call and got in with the wrong group of runners at the Sanford Fargo Marathon. He missed the instructions and the directions he received were for the full marathon. He said he realized his mistake by mile 8 but decided to keep going. “I’m just going to go for it, because why not? I’m already here, I’m already running, I’m already tired. Might as well try to finish it,” Kohler said. He did finish, with a time of 5:54:26. “This just kind of proves you can do a lot more than what you think you can sometimes.”

We know that God does more than we can imagine, he also gives us the strength to do more than we can imagine. —Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

In Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek writes, “In physics, the definition of power is the transfer of energy. We measure the power of a lightbulb in watts. The higher the wattage, the more electricity is transferred into light and heat and the more powerful the bulb. Organizations and their leaders operate exactly the same way. The more energy is transferred from the top of the organization to those who are actually doing the job, those who know more about what’s going on on a daily basis, the more powerful the organization and the more powerful the leader.”