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Could lead codices prove 'the major discovery of Christian history'? By Chris Lehmann Share retweet EmailPrint..By Chris Lehmann chris Lehmann - Wed Mar 30, 11:36 am ET British archaeologists are seeking to authenticate what could be a landmark discovery in the documentation of early Christianity: a trove of 70 lead codices that appear to date from the 1st century CE, which may include key clues to the last days of Jesus' life. As UK Daily Mail reporter Fiona Macrae writes, some researchers are suggesting this could be the most significant find in Christian archeology since the Dead Sea scrolls in 1947. The codices turned up five years ago in a remote cave in eastern Jordan-a region where early Christian believers may have fled after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. The codices are made up of wirebound individual pages, each roughly the size of a credit card. They contain a number of images and textual allusions to the Messiah, as well as some possible references to the crucifixion and resurrection. Some of the codices were sealed, prompting yet more breathless speculation that they could include the sealed book, shown only to the Messiah, mentioned in the Book of Revelation. One of the few sentences translated thus far from the texts, according to the BBC, reads, "I shall walk uprightly"--a phrase that also appears in Revelation. "While it could be simply a sentiment common in Judaism," BBC writer Robert Pigott notes, "it could here be designed to refer to the resurrection." But the field of biblical archaeology is also prey to plenty of hoaxes and enterprising fraudsters, so investigators are proceeding with due empirical caution. Initial metallurgical research indicates that the codices are about 2,000 years old--based on the manner of corrosion they have undergone, which, as Macrae writes, "experts believe would be impossible to achieve artificially." Beyond the initial dating tests, however, little is confirmed a

One can learn and appreciate leadership by reading the actual writings of a leader. "The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan: Literature and Leadership in Eighteenth-Century Native America" is a compilation of twenty sermons and diary entries of transactions written by Occum, a Native American leader and Presbyterian minister in the late 1700s. Such writings provide readers with insights into the actual life of a leader instead of and in contrast to the accounts written by others who purport to know what such a leader's burdens, struggles, and motives are.

A cartoon illustrating a reality of Utah leadership. This makes me think about how our (as a culture) perception of leadership has changed over the years. Makes me wonder about how a leader is being portrayed and how our perceptions of what visions (or lack of visions) a leader has can reinforce contemporary feelings of nostalgia, complacency, and helplessness.

Shawn, interesting contrast. Cartoonists have lampooned leaders since Thomas Nast (1840-1902). But, as you point out, cartoonists are also people who are watching trends and pointing toward changes and shifts in popular opinion.

A gesture of friendship for my Christian (especially Methodist) friends in Leadership, but also I think this is a good leadership model of using new media and technology to send out a very old message, and also of adding a substantial level of communication by signing as well as speaking the message. And as a bishop, of course, we are looking at a religious leader in action. Happy Easter, all.

I think the ongoing situation in Libya provides an interesting illustration of leadership and what happens when there is no clear leadership or at least a process for leadership. Qaddafi seems to have provided a form of leadership for decades - somewhat along the lines of Northouse's narcissistic leader type. Understandably, Northouse does not provide an analysis of the use of violence in acquiring and retaining a position of leadership/power. Yet it seems to me that one reason Qaddafi has been able to retain power when others have fallen is his ability to lead, even if brute force is used to enforce his position. What is the difference between Mubarak and Qaddafi? Why did Mubarak lose the support of his inner circle where Qaddafi has not? Further, a lack of clear leadership seems to be hobbling NATO and the rebels. Those who oppose Qaddafi seem to agree only on the fact of their oppositional sentiment; they seem unable to agree on what should be done to effectively express that opposition.

I found this article to be an interesting capsulization of a modern business leader or any leader for that matter, but mostly pertaining to business leaders. Dr Jim Taylor summarizes the top 10 qualities that he finds "without exception, woven into the fabric of a successful leader". They are identity, vision, passion, ownership, determination, the grind, inspiried by failure, respond with challenge, crisis mastery and process focus. Dr. Taylor's 10 Qualities of a Primal Leader describes leadership in action, not the nature or personality of a leader. Taylor's only slightly taps into the nature of a leader when he talks about passion, but quickly goes on to explain that having passion is what inspires the people a Primal Leader works with every day. I liked the "feel" of this article as being action oriented with a lot of energy. It's interesting with a little salesmanship thrown in for good measure.

Mike Krzyzewksi is a consistent winner. "Coach K" has led (as of the end of the season 2010) the Duke men's basketball team to four national championships, ten Final Fours, and a host of other achievements. He has also led the U.S. Men's Olympic team to a gold medal. Though Leading with the Heart follows Coach K's leadership through a basketball season, it focuses on leadership principles that have been the hallmark of his "compassionate, focused, highly flexible leadership" and on the five fundamental qualities that Coach K has used to form consistently successful teams on and off the court.

"Our Iceberg is Melting" by John Kotter, St. Martins Press 2005, uses the age old tool of a parable/story to demonstrate how a crisis becomes an opportunity for a group of penguins that are facing change. Both of my book choices forcus on animal behavior as a powerful expample of human behavior and how this directly connects to organizational issues.

To Act Justly, Love Tenderly, Walk Humbly, an Agenda for Ministers by Walter Brueggemann, Sharon Parks, and Thomas H. Groome (Pub 1986).  Three theologians meditating how to deal with today's justice issues and how to maintain love and humility as leaders doing so.  A biblical consideration of leadership.  This book calls for a deep personal consideration of who God is for each of us before we set out to teach others and lead people in paths of trust.

Winning in a small field is much less exciting than feeling like a loser among a bunch of superstars.

To me, this is an example of transformational leadership in the UMC. Northouse defines this as connections that raise the level of motivation and morality of a leader and follower. The call to action report inspires me to greater motivation and willingness to sacrifice on the behalf of others...

A leadership book from the business world, focusing on the ways of leading to greatness, based on sociological research on top performing companies from the last third of the twentieth century. Collins insists that great leaders start by getting other great leaders to work with them, then they attack the task. This is the greatest value of the book, I think. Important for anyone who wants to lead an organization that will transcend the barriers of goodness and more fully accomplish its mission.

Offers 12 essays on a theology of pastoral ministry that isn't rooted in therapy and production of ministry. Instead, Snow reflects on the willingness to take risks and lead others to take risks, finding the blessings of the Spirit in the risk-taking. This book will be helpful to those who want to take on and lead others in the adventure of following Christ.

Article highlights some of the neuroscience behind leadership. Essentially, the way a leader delivers a message is more important than the message itself, and science proves it. The effects of activating neural circuitry in followers' brains can be very powerful. In a recent study, researchers observed two groups: One received negative performance feedback accompanied by positive emotional signals-namely, nods and smiles; the other was given positive feedback that was delivered critically, with frowns and narrowed eyes. In subsequent interviews conducted to compare the emotional states of the two groups, the people who had received positive feedback accompanied by negative emotional signals reported feeling worse about their performance than did the participants who had received good-natured negative feedback. In effect, the delivery was more important than the message itself. And everybody knows that when people feel better, they perform better. So, if leaders hope to get the best out of their people, they should continue to be demanding but in ways that foster a positive mood in their teams. The old carrot-and-stick approach alone doesn't make neural sense; traditional incentive systems are simply not enough to get the best performance from followers. Here's an example of what does work. It turns out that there's a subset of mirror neurons whose only job is to detect other people's smiles and laughter, prompting smiles and laughter in return. A boss who is self-controlled and humorless will rarely engage those neurons in his team members, but a boss who laughs and sets an easygoing tone puts those neurons to work, triggering spontaneous laughter and knitting his team together in the process. A bonded group is one that performs well.

"More than 25 percent of inmates in Maricopa County Jail admit to being diagnosed with mental illness, so Sheriff Joe Arpaio stood a good chance of offending mental-health advocates when the Sheriff's Office recently launched a new online contest asking website visitors to vote for their favorite inmate-booking photos." For those of you not familiar with Maricopa County's Sheriff Joe, well this article will give you just a hint of what we have been enduring for years now. However, I believe Joe has hit an all time low with this stunt. Photographs of inmates on the internet. Come one, come all. Vote for your favorite "mug shot". Let's not mention that we are making fun of people, some who have a major mental illness. In fact, 25% of inmates in the Maricopa County jail system have a mental illness. Some believe this is percentage is low because it is only by self-report. Some people don't want to mention they have mental illness, it's enough to be under arrest. This infuriates me. Even if I didn't work in the public mental health system, since when is it socially acceptable to make fun of those with a disability or who are different? Or, has it really just gone underground... Thanks Joe, for bringing discrimination into the sunshine and letting the whole world know it is alive and well in Maricopa County.

I just wanted to demonstrate the bookmarking features of Diigo. You'll see that I tagged the page ("definitions"), highlighted a section that I found useful ("The following sections...", which comes right from the Wikipedia page), and have added my own note (what you're reading right now).

"The wisdom of the Bees" by Michael O'Malley, Penguin Group 2010 "What the hive can teach buisness about leadership effeciency and growth" is where the author takes the reader through a 25 step process utilizing the skills of bees and bee colonies to inform and guide organizations in identifying their strengths and weaknesses to create purposeful, effective and successful group norms and outcomes. It's fascinating and my choice for a review along with my second one

Hi folks....somehow this did not make it into the group blog on books to read but instead sat in my own Diigo library. It is worth taking a gander at and I am loving reading it. Galen

I loved the wisdom of bees too! This is a very good book and is inviting to a wide variety of folks. I liked that when I used it for a leadership class that I had positive feedback from both young and old, male and female and it has great insights regardless of where you are in life or business.