Historic Inspirational Leaders

Martin Luther King Jr.
Born January 15th 1929. To me Martin Luther King Jr. is the closest thing we have had in modern times to an Old Testament type prophet, a Moses if you will. King inspires me because he was a reluctant leader who bridged, as if a delineator did not exist, the secular and the sacred. He was a fire starter the ignited a cultural revolution, not for personal power or glory, but for and on behalf of others. He utilized the spoken word, the written word, and the new media of his time, T.V. His “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” is, what I believe, a prophetic manifesto of his revolution. It was written in response to an advertisement that was taken out in the newspaper after a Birmingham rally where King was arrested. The advertisement was taken out by eight fellow clergymen from King’s home state criticizing the demonstrations as extremism. King had no paper to compose his letter on, so he began the letter in his cell in the margins of the very advertisement that was invoking the response. He continued the letter on scraps of paper supplied by a friend, then later finished on a pad that was allowed to be supplied by his attorney. He wrote this letter with only the resource of his heart to draw from and nothing else. He drew from the deep waters of his soul and showed a visible manifestation of the investment and sacrifice that he had made prior to that moment. One cannot call upon something that is within himself that is not there. He was a man who fulfilled his call wholly. He did not play it safe. He did not try to protect his reputation or preserve his power. He put others first. He is the only civilian with a bust in the Capitol Building. King’s footprint forever made a mark on the way this world is because he loved God, loved people and did something about it.
Ernesto “Che” Guevara
Born June 14th 1928. Died October 9th 1967. Died April 4th 1968. Che had an upper middle class upbringing and went to college to become a doctor. Right around graduation Che went, with a friend, on a motorcycle trip around South America. What he saw on that trip forever changed the coarse of his life and that of countless others. He saw “his people”, a revolutionary thought as South Americans saw themselves in the light of their own individual countrymen, suffering from over bearing dictators or capitalist occupiers. Upon completion of his motorcycle tour he could not go back to his comfortable life that he had been building. He wanted to help unify “his people” to throw off oppression. He joined Fidel Castro in his revolution to oust the U.S. puppet president of his nation, Cuba. The Cuban revolution was one of the only revolutions that worked. Albeit it was the wrong answer, at least it was an answer and action to a problem. What inspires me about Che is that he was moved with compassion, an idealist to the end, he couldn’t go back to his life after seeing others suffering. Unfortunately his answer was Communism instead of God. After the Cuban revolution and occupying the number two spot in that government he saw the suffering of others and left to help revolutions in the Congo and others in South America, where he died in the field fighting for other’s countries, his was Argentina. His vision in the end was to start thirteen different “Vietnam Wars” in South America to overthrow oppression and unite the continent.

day three...

the three leaders i chose are donny johnson, creator of the non-profit gallery "art/not terminal" in downtown seattle, the group who started the all-ages venue/art center "vera project", and pastor phil pringle. out of these three leaders relevant to my field, i picked pastor phil pringle as the leader who most inspired me. his vision is to build a growing church and a movement of churches that are relevant to today's world, through bringing salvation to lost people and teaching people how to be disciples of Christ. pastor phil pringle inspired pastor judah smith to start painting seriously. he has inspired a generation of Christians in australia to embrace the arts. their artistic efforts are inspiring a world of Christians. i want to be a leader like that.

pastor phil pringle attended the ilam school of fine art in christchurch, new zealand, in the seventies. he has painted for over 30 years, and actively exhibited in the past eight years. his art is consistently in demand in australia and overseas. currently, paintings by phil pringle are held in collections in australia, usa, china, singapore, new zealand, papua new guinea, saudi arabia, philippines, europe, and the uk. he speaks at a varitey of conferences and churches around the world, mostly on:

• faith
• leadership
• the ministry of the Holy Spirit
• church building

he has authored 10 books, including:

• you the leader
• leadership files
• faith
• financial excellence
• leadership excellence

the Christian church at oxford falls, which he started, runs several colleges:

• school of ministry
• school of creative arts (including dance, drama, music, song writing, singing, visual arts, film, video)
• school of pastoral care management

pastor phil pringle co-hosts the weekly 'cctv' program with his wife. it airs worldwide, being one of very few australian produced Christian programs to air on public television. in 2000 the government of australia awarded him the order of australia medal for services to the community. he has earned a doctorate in Biblical philosophy.

The Pink Princess

Pink Princess is a half hour animation pilot designed for the ages of three to five that aligns perfectly with a art based curriculum featuring numerous colors and textures and of course an amazing adventure. Here's a little snippet from the pink universe.

Lily is the only person in her family that is pink. Tormented by her four older brothers she goes on a quest to find the Silver Knight who grants whatever you request. On her journey she comes face to face with an evil Candy Peddler who has a habit of finding strays turning them into slaves and putting them to work in the candy mines. Rescued by a colorful crew, Lily joins Tye, the Tye-Dye prince, Dottie, the Polka Dot princess and Tad, the Plaid prince on many adventures.

Jeff's Painting

Day Three: Earth

A leader that embodies a part of my vision is Millard Fuller "I see life as both a gift and a responsibility. My responsibility is to use what God has given me to help His people in need."

A Life Changed by God
From humble beginnings in Alabama, Millard Fuller rose to become a young, self-made millionaire. A graduate of Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., and the University of Alabama Law School at Tuscaloosa, he and a college friend began a marketing firm while still in school. Fuller’s business expertise and entrepreneurial drive made him a millionaire at age 29. But as the business prospered, his health, integrity and marriage suffered.

These crises prompted Fuller to re-evaluate his values and direction. One weekend his friend took him and his family to Koinonia Farm, a Christian community located near Americus, Ga., where people were looking for practical ways to apply Christ’s teachings. His soul-searching led to reconciliation with his wife and to a renewal of his Christian commitment. The Fullers then took a drastic step: They decided to sell all of their possessions, give the money to the poor and begin searching for a new focus for their lives.

The Seed is Planted
Working from a passage in the Bible that says someone lending money to the poor should not act as a creditor and should not charge interest (Exodus 22:25)

With Koinonia founder Clarence Jordan and a few others, the Fullers initiated several partnership enterprises, including a ministry in housing. They built modest houses on a no-profit, no-interest basis, thus making homes affordable to families with low incomes. Homeowner families were expected to invest their own labor into the building of their home and the houses of other families. This reduced the cost of the house, increased the pride of ownership and fostered the development of positive relationships. Money for building was placed into a revolving fund, enabling the building of even more homes.

Testing the Model
In 1973, Fuller moved to Africa with his wife and four children to test their housing model. As missionaries with Disciples of Christ, their housing project, which they began in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), was a success in that developing nation. Fuller became convinced that this model could be expanded and applied all over the world.

Upon his return to the United States in 1976, he met with a group of close associates. Started off as Partnership Housing they expanded into a larger scale housing ministry called Habitat for Humanity International.

My other two leaders are Apostle Paul and Mother Teresa. I chose these 3 leaders because they all gave of themselves for the betterment of others.