Thought Processes and Leadership in the Kingdom of God [A Fragment of an Uncompleted Article]

[A few months ago, a seminary friend asked me to write an article for his blog. I wrote the following, but, even after four separate attempts, I couldn't come up with a satisfactory conclusion. I ended up writing something else but in a similar vein. However, I think there are some good nuggets in here despite its fragmentary form.]

"One thing I learned from my father is to try to think as the people around you think." - Michael Corleone, The Godfather II

"He puts himself in the man's place, having first gauged his intelligence. Then he imagines how he himself would have proceeded in similar circumstances." - Dr. John Watson, The Musgrave Ritual (Granada - 1986), explaining Sherlock Holmes' method

I love both of these two quotes because I think they encapsulate something fundamental about practical life.

Certainly, I think every individual is more than the sum of his or her parts. As Reinhold Niebuhr noted, the human being is finite but is conscious of the limits and contours of his/her finiteness. Because of this knowledge, he/she can aspire beyond that finiteness, though never reaching beyond it. But because of this aspiration to infinity, humans have the ability to explore their finiteness in a way beyond the capability of other species. We can diverge from our predetermined paths. We can rise above our base instincts. We can self-examine ourselves and our lives. We can know that we know. We can actually pull ourselves out of our context (at least partially) and grasp the eternal truth in which our context must ultimately submit.

However, such an ability can only be exercised through submission, humbleness, wisdom through fear, knowing we know nothing, and the recognition of our own finiteness in the face of infinity. And that takes willful purpose. That involves the realization and recognition of the culture, context, and patterns of our existence, the analyzing of culture etc., and the choice to deviate. Unfortunately, most people never realize there is anything beyond their context. Therefore, people nevertheless tend to follow regular patterns of thought and behavior because it is the most natural thing for them to do.

So ... if you can work out a person's pattern, their personality, background, worldview, belief system, character, major life experiences, influences, etc., then you can begin to ascertain how someone thinks and then how that person behaves in different situations. Once you've gauged the person's thought processes, their behaviors, and even  their modus operandi, then you can make predictions about how they will think and react to a given circumstance.

For the Christian, the importance of knowing thought processes is how to positively engage an individual for the strategic purposes of the Kingdom of God.