Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Wed, 27 Sep 2017Asa Keimig | LUCOM Marketing
Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) welcomed Lt. General Loren M. Reno, (USAF, Ret), senior advisor for the Office of the President at Cedarville University, to convocation on Wednesday, Sept. 20, at the Center for Medical and Health Sciences (CMHS).
“Lieutenant General Reno has been a faithful leader of men and women and has faithfully served the United States, at home and overseas,” said Kenneth J. Dormer, PhD, FAHA. “He is the perfect example of a great leader.” His message was titled, Long Before Jericho and he spoke to LUCOM faculty, administrative staff, and student-doctors about leadership. “There are a lot of leadership lessons in our text that I would like to point you to of Joshua the first time he appears in Scripture,” said Lt. General Reno. “They are leadership principles that will help you as you are right on the launching pad of becoming doctors and they will help you lead.”
He focused his message on Exodus 17:8-16
“Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So, Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.’ So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So, his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.’ And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, saying, ‘A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.’”
Lt. General Reno emphasized that leadership is an important and vital subject for future physicians in today’s society. “It’s [leadership] not something that is talked about that much in the classroom. However, it is important not only in this century, but in this nation, this culture, and in the practice of medicine.” Referencing the scripture selection, he said, “The key point of this message is that God is often doing something greater, even when we are doing our best.”
Lt. General Reno offered the following seven leadership principles:
- Communicate
- Delegate
- Expect conflict
- Find mentors
- Be ready to serve
- Know the difference between victory and defeat
- Speak for yourself, but also for others
Lt. General Reno was commissioned in 1974 from Officer Training School and then went on fly four missions in Saigon, South Vietnam. He has led air support for various military operations such as Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Before retiring from the United States Air Force, Lt. General Reno held the position of deputy chief of staff for Logistics, Installations and Mission Support in Washington, D.C., at the Air Force Headquarters.