Friday, April 15, 2011
Reclaiming the Mission: We're Asking for a Differnent Kind of Leadership
The author here speaks of 7 qualities that he feels a “missional leader” ought to have in the confines within the church to nurture a community of mission. The qualities seem to reflect a a combination of servant-leadership as well as charismatic leadership. Here the leader is seen to work well with others and able to communicate well with others, be lead by the spirit and open to other peoples input. The first quality this article speaks of is a leader who puts forth ideas, vision by I saying “This is where/how I see God working. This is where I hear God calling us” and then ALWAYS submits that to the other person(s) asking – what are you seeing? Where are you going? As one incorporates this approach, they must be careful as to not be engaging in “spiritual abuse.” By this I mean attributing their own desires etc to what God wants and using that to get their agenda across. I do however; find it value in taking in other peoples thoughts and valuing their input as opposed to trying to have everything their own way. This is not to say that they use every person’s suggestion but at least a good leader should at least GENUINELY hear other people’s ideas and put them to consideration with other people. Overall, this list seems to employ a lot of leadership qualities that reflect the leadership qualities of Christ and one that is more based on “kingdom power” than motives and agendas that are powered by the wants of the individual leader.
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I really enjoyed David Fitch’s article on what a leaders should be. My favorite point that he made was when he said “We need a leader who puts forth ideas, vision by I saying “This is where/how I see God working. This is where I hear God calling us” and then ALWAYS submits that to the other person(s) asking – what are you seeing?” As leaders, we are called not only to cast a vision for our people and organization/group, but also to create platforms in which people feel free to share their own ideas and input. In the world of leadership today, I feel like people tend to gravitate towards two poles. Leaders are either extremely visionary, often running ahead of the group, dictating “how it’s going to be,” or leaders are sensitive to the opinions of others to a fault, never offering their direction and taking charge as a true leader should. As leaders we are called to live in that tension, offering prophetic vision and direction for our group, while also recognizing that the group as a whole has a lot to offer and show us about what God wants to do in our community.
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