Finding New Leadership Power in the Old Testament With Sandra Richter

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In this episode...

Finding New Leadership Power in the Old Testament With Sandra Richter

https://faithfulontheclock.captivate.fm/episode/finding-new-leadership-power-with-the-old-testament-with-sandra-richter

We don’t always associate the leaders of the Old Testament with excelling in our modern careers or businesses. But in Episode 116 of Faithful on the Clock, Old Testament scholar Sandra Richter makes the connection clear.

Timestamps:

[00:04] - Intro

[00:46] - Sandra Richter’s biography and welcome

[01:44] - What sparked Richter’s interest in the Old Testament

[04:54] - Rejecting “stuffy” and reclaiming the energy of the Old Testament

[12:36] - How Richter’s studies have influenced her view of the world, what we need, and what we’re going through

[17:00] - Richter’s biggest Old Testament leadership takeaways

[26:24] - How leaders should respond when they want to repent as David did but the cancel-culture world won’t let them

[33:53] - Richter’s recounting of the story of Deborah and why she is so significant as a leadership model

[43:53] - How to find Richter and her work

[45:05] - Prayer/Interview close

[46:09] - Outro/What’s coming up next

Key takeaways:

• Richter did not intend to study or get a degree in the Old Testament. But after encountering pushback within her denomination and taking advantage of academic opportunities, she fell in love with the first half of the Bible and decided to specialize in it.
• Richter describes the Old Testament as the “unfortunate preface” to the New Testament. But she gets people reenergized for it by comparing it to reading Harry Potter — if you start in book five, you won’t have any sense of the story. She notes that it is illogical to ignore two thirds of God’s self-revelation of character. But she also impresses on others that they are part of Israel’s epic story as heirs of Abraham.
• Acknowledging the state of the world, Richter recounts a story involving some of her former students and asserts that God’s people have always suffered. We should not be surprised by the wrongness in the world, and we should expect to have difficulties as Christ’s followers.
• One of the key places to study leadership in the Bible is 1 and 2 Samuel, which holds the story of Saul and David. Saul represents the paradigm of foolish leadership, while David represents Kingdom leadership. David’s three call narratives — Samuel anointing David as king, David serving as a musician and man of worship for Saul, and David and Goliath — all offer lessons in faith-oriented leadership. But the story of Bathsheba is also important, showing how foundational it is to simply repent — not rationalize — when you’ve sinned. The pathway to success is honest repentance.
• Psalmists communicated two main sources of suffering — physical suffering, such as disease or injury, and slander. In other words, what others have to say has always caused heartache. When a person has to step forward today and admit they failed, it’s going to result in a social feeding frenzy just as it did in Biblical times. But the Old Testament leaders who found success despite their difficulties are the ones who repeatedly chose integrity. David’s years in exile are a good example that we can thrive after trouble.
• Deborah stands as one of the key matriarchs of Israel, serving as both prophet and judge. In her early years, she can be likened to the modern, busy career woman juggling her job and a baby. In her seasoned years, she’s more like Margaret Thatcher. She exemplifies challenging the status quo, using her exceptional earned credibility to defend God and Israel against outrageous worldly odds. Like other key Biblical leaders, she was able to go into battle with courage because she did it for God’s honor rather than her own. Differentiating whether we’re working for ourselves or God is powerful.
• People can find Richter on Facebook and Instagram, as well as on Amazon.

• The Epic of Eden - Seedbed Resources
• Sandra L. Richter, Ph.D - HarperChristian Resources
• Deborah Epic of Eden Bible study by Dr. Sandy Richter | S1: Setting the Stage in Real Time & Space

CTAs:

• Choose at least one chapter from the Old Testament to read each day for at least a week.
• Select a well-known Old Testament story. Use Bible footnotes or other references to find where that story can connect to other scriptures, particularly scriptures in the New Testament.
• Reflect on an Old Testament story you’re not familiar with or don’t know very well.

What’s coming up next:

We’re often our biggest enemies, with our own negative thoughts cheating us out of our potential success. Episode 117 of Faithful on the Clock highlights some of the most common negative thoughts professionals fight and shows the Biblical counter-psychology for each.

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