Summary of the , The Integrity Factor by Kevin Mannoia (1996) - Book Report/Review Example

Summary of the Book, “The Integrity Factor” by Kevin Mannoia (1996) Kevin Mannoia’s book, “The Integrity Factor” provides valuable insights on leadership formation as it chronicles the various paths a Christian leader must go through in order to be successful as a servant of God. It describes five paths, envisioning a U-shaped journey towards successful leadership. The first path is the Downward Path, which involves the formation of a deeper character that is patterned after Jesus. This path may be unattractive and unpalatable to most people because it denies the individual of the use of his own will and instead, release it to God’s will. Most of the time people rationalize that what they do is in accordance to the will of God, however, they insert their own will and justify parts of it as what God wants from them and that they are doing the right thing. However, the downward path asks the leader to commit himself to the formation by completely releasing his own control of his will to God. This involves the release of his own personal possessions, glory and most importantly, identity. Now, someone else’s goals becomes more important than his own and he is totally emptied, becoming devoid of any ambition for himself that conflicts with what God wants. This path can be very painful as it is difficult to let go of one’s identity since it has always been emphasized as the center of one’s existence and now it needs to be let go. The downward path means emptying of our identity and becoming humble enough to surrender our will to God’s own. The Rugged Path continues on with the painful formation of a Christian leader. In this phase, the leader is besieged with temptations to regain control of his circumstances while being challenged by God to commit his way to Him and to trust Him to act in his behalf. The leader is reminded of the verse: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own insight” (Proverbs 3:5). In turn God gives him assurance: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). In this path, the processes of the Incarnation, Gethsemane and the Empty Tomb are described to compare the leader’s rugged path. The Incarnation is likened to the incarnation of Christ as the leader relives His sufferings from the cross to the tomb before he can be resurrected in glory. Gethsemane refers to the great temptation to succumb back to his own will such as Jesus experienced at the garden of Gethsemane. Had He given in to the temptation of backing out of his mission, then it would have aborted God’s purpose and impaired His will through Him since both of their wills as man and God cannot coexist. It brings one to focus on a choice to abandon one’s own will or God’s. Jesus chose God’s. Overcoming Gethsemane, one comes to Calvary where Jesus’ empty tomb lay after He was resurrected from death. Because one dies to his own self, he commends his spirit to God and God takes over and brings him triumph. Leadership formation does not only involve pain and suffering. In the Upward Path, the leader is led to God’s exaltation. His formation integrates identity and performance, being and doing, essence and activity. This means the Christian leader’s identity becomes fused to God. Resisting it with self-defense, self-justification and self-affirmation prevents God’s rewiring of the leader as His servant. However, God gives man free will, so it is still up to the leader to yield to God or to stay firm in keeping his identity. God respects him that much. The Broadening Path offers the leader more breadth and possibilities in his leadership. As the opposite path to self actualization, this path does not focus on the leader’s own actualization but rather on his service to others. Instead of the hierarchy of man’s needs, it focuses on the hierarchy of spiritual needs, namely: rebirth, reassurance body life, gifts, servant mind, and onto unlimited development as a Christian leader. Finally, the Outward path moves the leader from developing himself as a servant of God to actually coming out to serve others in ministry. The Christian leader comes full circle in ministering to the needs of people because it becomes an expression of his commitment to serve God. Personally, I am still at the stage of the Rugged Path of my own leadership formation. Although I am advanced in age, I still struggle to find wisdom in what God wants of me. Perhaps, it is more difficult for me because I have lived almost sixty years relying on my own will and being in control of my own life. Releasing it to God is truly challenging for me as I am already set in my patterns. My advanced nursing program is another challenge I face that keeps me in the rugged path. Although I have done much volunteer work for people in need, I want to make myself better in terms of serving them that is why I am taking up Nursing. I understand that this may be God’s will for me. Although it is very difficult, I accept the challenge and die to my own will of just relaxing and being with my family because I am aware that I am called for a higher purpose – that of serving others as a Nurse. 2. Answers to the Chapter “Hearing God’s Voice” from the book of Jacobsen & Sawatsky (2006) “Gracious Christianity” Have you ever felt a special call from God? Was it different from your usual spiritual experience? What does a call add to simply being a Christian? God has called me to be a healer. I know and feel that I have been imbued with the gift of healing ever since I suffered severe spinal injury and other related diseases. I became a licensed acupuncturist and now, am studying Nursing because I am responding to His call as a Christian who wants to follow His will. How do you distinguish between being properly confident and overly certain? Is it ever helpful to challenge someone’s certitude? Can we really be confident and humble at the same time? According to Jacobsen & Swatsky (2006), certainty has no room for doubts and forges on without restraint while confidence involves humility and cautiousness even if it is steadfast and determined. It acknowledges one’s own limits and God’s unwavering faithfulness that He will always be there for us. In this comparison, certainty can bring about arrogance while confidence in God brings about full reliance on His power. One can be confident that he will succeed because he believes that God will support him. One can also be certain that he will succeed by his own merit, however, this does not reflect humility but arrogance. How can we balance evangelism with respect for others? Can we disagree about our most deeply held beliefs and still respect one another? How much do we need to know about other religions? What have you learned from people of other faiths? Having been exposed to people from all walks of life, I have encountered several whose beliefs are vastly different from mine. I cannot help but disagree with theirs, but I maintained respect for their own beliefs because I understand that we come from different backgrounds. I came from an oriental culture where we were raised to believe in various traditional values which may also be strange to other cultures. These values have molded me to be who I am today and I have all the right to keep them and not be swayed by others just to please them. The same is true with religion. As a Christian, I know and believe that Jesus is the way to salvation, while others believe otherwise. I know they are not out to crush my own deeply held beliefs as I am not out to trample theirs, but I choose to believe all of us have faith in a higher being who guides and watches over us. For us Christians, it is God, and for other religions, they call Him another name, but I know they refer to the same God as mine. They only know Him differently but regard Him with the same love and adoration. That is why I respect them and embrace them as members of an ecumenical community of believers. What proofs of God’s existence make the most sense to you? To what degree is Christianity rational, and to what degree must Christianity be taken on faith alone? The fact that I exist together with millions of other human beings here on earth, the fact that we all enjoy His creations and derive satisfaction in the abundance of His blessings are enough proof of God’s existence, for who else can create such wonderful masterpieces? These, along with the explainable causes and effects of God’s goodness and mercy are rational evidences that there is indeed a God. However, there remain more unexplained things that science seeks to prove such as Jesus’ resurrection and other miracles that should be taken on faith alone. The bible presents so much wisdom as well as mysteries that awe Christ’s followers into belief. In which of Jesus’ parables can you most easily see yourself? Which parable surprises you the most or makes you most uncomfortable? The parable of the woman being stoned to death for her worldly sins is one I can relate to – not as the woman being stoned but as the men who pick up the stones to cast on her. There have been several incidences when I am quick to judge someone without even realizing that I have sinned even more. I have no right to judge others since I am guilty myself. The parable that makes me uncomfortable is the equal payment of the workers who worked the whole day with the workers who only worked for an hour. I found that unfair, however, the point is that it is the Master who has the power to decide how to distribute his graces, and I should just bow to His decision. Which sayings of Jesus seem the clearest? Which are hardest to understand? Which are the most upsetting to you? Love one another is the clearest message of Jesus. Love even your enemies is actually hard for me to understand as well as upsetting to me because they have done me wrong. It is human nature to be mad at them or even hate them. However, this message comes under the main one which is to love one another, enemies included, so as a Christian, I should obey His command. Have you ever experienced anything like what Frederica Matthewes-Green describes? Is everyone supposed to have this kind of dramatic experience? How might knowledge of God change us slowly? I have not had the good fortune of having such a transcendent experience as what Ms. Matthewes-Green has experienced. But that does not mean I cannot experience the same liberating experience of knowing God intimately. Serving others as my life’s purpose makes me know God more. Looking into their eyes is like looking into God’s as I help them. I remember Jesus’ message that in helping others, we help him. In doing so, we spread God’s love. How often to do you pray? What do you pray for? When has prayer been most meaningful to you? Have you ever prayed for your enemies? I always pray. It does not necessarily take place in church or while kneeling down in my room. I believe that talking to God in my thoughts is considered praying. I pray when I praise and thank God, when I apologize for my faults to Him and when I ask for things. I pray for a lot of people, circumstances and things. Prayer is most meaningful for me when I know He has answered it because that is when I feel He is there to listen and support me. I have prayed for my enemies too, that they be enlightened and reform their ways and that they do not hurt anyone else. Has there been a time in your life when God was silent? How did you cope with that experience? Was anyone especially important in helping you? Yes, God has tested me with His silence. I kept praying but there were times when I do not get a response and I felt He was not listening. However, I realized that He had His reasons and it was always the best for me. Sometimes, his non-response is His answer because it is either the timing is not yet right or it will not do me good to give me what I ask for. Some wise friends have helped me realize that God has the ultimate wisdom and trusting in Him leads me to the best things for me. That made me appreciate His silence more. I fully trust that He has my best interests at heart. References Jacobsen, D. & Sawatsky, R. (2006). Gracious Christianity, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. Mannoia, K. (1996). The Integrity Factor. 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