10 Leadership Lessons From Ray Lewis “No Weapon” Postgame Speech
January 13, 2013 
7 Comments
There is no leader currently more inspirational that the Baltimore Ravens legendary middle linebacker Ray Lewis. The video above was shot immediately after the Ravens overtime victory against the Denver Broncos.
While it is certainly justifiable to be sucked into the emotion of Lewis, there are 10 very tangible leadership principles that you can take from the video that if applied will make you a better leader.
- Great Leaders Lead From A Biblical Foundation – The first words spoken by Lewis were when he quoted the prophet Isaiah “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.” (54:17)
- Great Leaders Respect Others – Lewis took time to stop his interview to acknowledge Peyton Manning and show him respect.
- Great Leaders Have Great Belief In What God Can Do – Lewis reminded us that God can do the impossible.
- Great Leaders Are Confident – This confidence flows from preparation and past performance.
- Great Leaders Find A Way To Succeed – Great leaders do not make excuses. They simply find a way to get it done.
- Great Leaders Bring People Together – Lewis’s passion has simply been the unifying force of the Ravens for over a decade.
- Great Leaders Are Well-Prepared – The Ravens defense studied film and found tendencies that resulted in an overtime interception that led the team to victory.
- Great Leaders Point Out Issues – The special teams gave up two touchdowns. I am very confident Lewis and others will address that in practice this week.
- Great Leaders Never Give Up – Lewis pointed out the team simply kept fighting until the end.
- Great Leaders Are Great Encouragers - This principle comes from watching the video below. Lewis reminded quarterback Joe Flacco that they have faced a similar situation before and the team prevailed.
Ray Lewis is simply one of the greatest leaders in the history of sports. What is one thing you learned from these 10 lessons that can improve your leadership TODAY?
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Frankly, I’m stunned at this post. Seriously. Yes, Ray Lewis is a tremendous athlete and competitor, and even an effective leader of a football team, but he is hardly someone who should be held up as any sort of role model for men, for Christians, for children, etc. The man was involved in a double murder (years ago in Florida)! He took no responsibility for his part in that and never has. He hid behind laws. He relied on his celebrity and his wealth to come to out-of-court and undisclosed settlements with the families of the young men who were murdered. Lewis protected his friends, who were together involved in the murders, for which no one has ever been convicted, partly because Lewis would not testify against them in court. … As Americans we worship football and football players; these men and this sport have become like gods. I am a sports fan, but even among Christians we place players on pedestals and they seem to have a higher place in our lives than Jesus. … My goodness. Lewis, in the quotes above, takes scripture completely out of context and uses it for his own purpose and glory. God doesn’t care who wins a football game! It’s ludicrous to imply that God can do the impossible (with the inference being that God helped the Ravens defeat the Broncos, as if God was for the Ravens and against the Broncos. Ridiculous! … Lewis has been a great and inspirational leader for his football team, but he is hardly someone who should be held up as role model for Christian leadership.
I do not have a problem with Ray Lewis overcoming the mistakes of his past. I certainly have no problem with Ray Lewis sharing his faith and giving glory to God. I can even get past his taking scripture completely out of context. I don’t think he applied it properly and I think anyone would be hard pressed to say that the verses he used apply to a game. Ray is not a Bible teacher or Pastor so he isn’t held to as high a standard as those who are. However, we as Christian leaders, Bible teachers and Pastors while encouraging Ray Lewis’ boldness need to be careful to properly apply the word. Celebrating it’s use out of context should not be seen as encouragement for others to take scripture out of context and apply whenever it seems cool to do so.
Shannon, I agree. The murders took place in Atlanta during the Super Bowl. Ray Lewis pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice to avoid a murder wrap. And you’re right, he never told what happened even though he knew. So instead of giving the families of the slain men a truthful accounting of what occurred he “settled” a monetary claim with them. What he did is not Leadership at all.
WOW! Ray Lewis an example of leadership….that’s why we are where we are today. No accountability of leadership. We see it in the White House, we see it in Hollywood, and sadly, we see it in churches. Let someone say “God” or quote some Scripture (no matter that it is out of context) and immediately they are leadership material…all of a sudden they are someone to be followed and emulated. Help us Lord!
Surprised you would post this, frankly. I wonder how the victims feel about Lewis’ “leadership.”
USA Today had a piece on the families and aftermath.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/01/10/ray-lewis-baltimore-ravens-atlanta-murder-2000/1566198/
Interesting comments. Ray seems to be in the same category as some other famous people, lets see…Moses (killed an Egyptian), David (Adultry and Murder), Paul(persecuter of Christians). While I certainly don’t condone the acts of Ray Lewis and my heart goes out those familes who lost loved ones, please let us not limit the mercy and grace of God. Let’s not forget about Peter who denied the Lord himself and in Just 50 days God used him to usher 3000 sould into the Kingdom.