I am presently on a ranch in Arizona, which has a veritable cornucopia of personalities. The animals here, are reflective of the owner's interests: a peacock, two goats, two turkeys, four chickens, one rooster, a donkey, three horses, six dogs, and a miniature pony. The atmosphere is rollicking with entertaining antics.
But the alpha male of the ranch is a miniature shnauzer, named Pio. He, by far, is the smallest of the animals. Even the dobermans are subject to the authority of Pio. He struts around, inspecting, barking instructions, and wielding a spectacular amount of power in his tiny frame. And everyone listens and responds to him.
He is, what you call, an alpha male.
His leadership is not based upon his powerful size or his incredible strength. What makes it so amusing is that he is a tiny little dog, without any real force to back up his commands. Rather, his authority seems to be based upon his awareness of the miserable plight of most of the animals. Pio knows that every other animal is stupid, and requires his help and his guidance. The animals are helpless and dependent upon the humans for everything. Pio seems to sense that things could get into disorder mighty fast if he does not step up and give clear guidelines.
He barks, and everybody listens, and to everyone's surprise, everybody obeys.
I have been thinking about this, as someone sent me Fr. Longenecker's mushy, gushy post on the St. Patrick's day parade in New York City from September 9th, “What Would Jesus Do”(I don't think it necessary to increase the boost of Patheticos, I disagree with its editorial policy.
The following link will not drive up their stats I don't subscribe to Father's position, and I will restrain myself from commenting on the actual decision made by the prelate in question. I'd rather contradict Fr. Longenecker's limited picture of Jesus and propose a more perfect view of Christian leadership.
Longenecker takes examples of Our Blessed Lord from the gospels and believes that his winning way was what converted people. He offers us a picture of the loving conviviality of Jesus of Nazareth as a model for the conversion of sinners. It is the same story as Elizabeth Scalia. He tells us that Jesus did not forcefully accuse, nor demonstrate any harsh pronouncements. Thus, we should never correct, never reprove, or never contradict the sinner. This, Fr. Longenecker believes is the model for Christian leadership.
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