How do we know what God wants?

I recently read two articles in the Summer 2008 issue of Leadership which offer help here. Gordon Macdonald tackled the issue of a leader’s intuition and Ruth Haley Barton wrote about discernment. Barton said that “our most important leadership role is hearing and obeying God’s voice – together”. She broke it down into three concepts:

1. Recognize God’s presence
2. Respond to God’s presence by following
3. Both are done in the context of spiritual community

The whole process succeeds in a climate of God directed discernment/intuition. Unlike Moses, we don’t get to talk with God face to face or listen to his voice thundering on the mountain. We must listen deeply and rely on the often subtle affirmations of the Holy Spirit. It’s not automatic and rarely easy. This leads us to the importance of #3, the involvement of trusted Christians in the process, and, to what MacDonald writes about: recognition that some leaders are more inclined to intuition than others by virtue of their temperament. Yet he believes even non-intuitives can hone these leadership instincts. Both would value spiritual disciplines/practices to make this climate/culture happen: reading scripture, reflection, silence, self-examination, prayer.

Leadership’s Most Difficult Word

Kenneth Gangel wrote his book So You Want to Be A Leader! 35 years ago, but his title of chapter 12 will always remain relevant: “How to Change Things (and live to tell about it).”

He says “it is without a doubt the responsibility of the leader to initiate improvement, and that necessitates innovation.” Of course the challenge, the difficulty, the repercussions, the casualties – they all come because of
• Poor vision communication
• Unwillingness to pay the cost of change
• Choosing the comfort of the familiar instead of the challenge of uncertainty

Here are some things to focus on when we are asked to participate in change:
• Faith – God will not abandon us; God leads us;
• Jesus challenged for change in the spheres of religious practice, views on social relationships, entrenched theology
• Most of us have successfully embraced electricity, automobiles, air travel, large flat screen TV’s, cell phones, computers, internet and texting … so why does the church continue to live in a different century and yet expect to influence people living in this century?
• The Bible places a lot of emphasis on “new”

The Ambiguity of the Church

John Stott, the great 20th century Anglican preacher and writer from England, wrote the 2002 Inter Varsity Press book Basic Christian Leadership. He points out that the Corinthian Church had leadership limitations, doctrinal difficulties, communal contradictions and practical problems. Yet Paul still gave thanks for the church and emphasized its giftedness (1 Corinthians 1:4-9). He also emphasized the unity of the church (1 Corinthians 1:10-17). A good leader will acknowledge and address imperfections while at the same time affirm strengths. Motivating an organization and its people to higher levels requires a balance of praise and ‘push’, a combination of commendation and correction. In fact the risen Jesus does this so well in his messages to the seven Asian churches in Revelation chapters 2 & 3.

Think about it:
• As a leader, do you dwell on the positive or the negative? What are the dangers of weighing in on one side to the exclusion of the other?
• Do you lead into defeatism (“we are not perfect, never will be, so let’s not even worry about imperfections!”) or do you lead as a perfectionist (“you are not getting it right, so shape up now!”)
• Does one aim too low? … too high?
• What has been your experience? Is there a best way to lead?

Is Christian leadership distinct?

According to John Stott in his 2002 Inter Varsity Press book Basic Christian Leadership, the answer is an obvious ‘yes’. Leadership is a word shared by Christians and non-Christians alike, but this does not mean that their concept of it is the same. Jesus noted this in Mark 10:42-44 where he introduced the surprising & distinctive element of “servant hood” as opposed to the arrogant, ‘bossy’ authority of the world.

Paul calls himself a servant in 1 Corinthians 3:5 & 4:1. He uses two different Greek words though.
• 1st = diakonos = servants used as instruments by God to bring the Corinthians to Christian faith = used by a higher power to accomplish a noble task through the servant’s willingness to surrender his/her will
• 2nd = huperetes = underlings, subordinates (original root meaning = the lowest rowing platform of a three-tiered warship)

The Lesson? The Apostle accomplished much for God’s Kingdom. We can too. It will require regarding (see 4:1) ourselves, our church, our office and calling in terms of submission and humility. Are you willing to stoop low and give up your claim to fame?

A leadership Vacuum?

This is a question Leighton Ford raises early in his 1991 book Transforming Leadership. A gap that is about to create a leadership catastrophe in many organizations and institutions could have been avoided if …

1. vision and energy had been transferred effectively. The leaders who emerged post World War II were movers and shakers, people of large dreams, who confidently built to success. A reluctance to ‘trust the treasure’ to new emerging leaders ended up creating a team of professional managers, who, by nature and position, are unable to see in the distance and alter the course as needed. When the leader dies, so does the vision. It may also be that those at the helm saw their crew as competitors instead of companions.

2. a climate of fear and reluctance had not infiltrated the ranks. Somehow everyone in the organization must buy into the call to courage and mission. This latter kind of culture nurtures and welcomes those who sense a call and embrace a passion to improve, expand, and excel. Emerging leaders are cultivated and affirmed. Grand causes that regularly remember the reasons for aiming at a high target birth courageous leaders who will also be remembered – remembered as leaders who build movements not monuments.

So the Questions are: What kind of leader will you be? How will you be remembered? How would you describe the ‘Emerging Leadership Culture’ in your church or organization?

STAYING ON MISSION

It happens in most organizations and institutions. It is a cycle that must be broken. Missions become movements, movements evolve into machines, and machines become monuments. Leaders must provide not only a legacy but lessons on maintaining momentum. Momentum is sustained by keeping the mission in front, highly visible. So quickly the purpose is lost in the everyday demands and mazes of management bureaucracy. It is the vision and mission that amazes people and compels them to commit.

Leighton Ford quotes an unknown source: “the last act of a dying organization is to produce a new edition of the rule book.” He goes on to suggest that “no doubt Jesus’ followers wished he had given them a detailed road map instead of Go into all the world and preach the gospel.” Direction was more important than detail. This was brilliant strategy that turned the world upside down. What direction are we going? What direction are you going?