"Be willing to make decisions. That's the most important quality in a good leader. Don't fall victim to what I call the 'ready aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome.' You must be willing to fire."

Business guru Tom Peters tells about a businessman whom he admires whose motto is 'anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.' "The logic is impeccable," says Peters. He points out that the plane the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk was nothing to write home about. Alexander Graham Bell's first telephone was not exactly up to Bell Lab standards. Yet if Bell hadn't foisted that piece of junk on the world, and if Orville and Wilbur hadn't gone for lift-off with that bucket of bolts down at Kitty Hawk, we wouldn't have 747's and a vast communication network that can instantly link anyone on this planet.

Tom Peters goes on to say, "I emphasize the point because the number one failing that I see in small and large organizations is the failure to do stuff... In an environment where we know nothing for sure, the only antidote is, to quote my old man, 'Don't just stand there. Do Something!'"

There are three reasons why even a suspect system like casting lots was better for the disciples then standing around doing nothing. First of all, Christ had given them a world to save. They needed to get at it. So often in life we fuss and fume over decisions that are important, but from all available evidence, are nearly equal in merits. We might as well go ahead and make a decision and get on with the work God has in store for us.

Ron Newhouse