Monday, May 15, 2006
Radical Leadership
Milt Stanley linked to it. Mark Daniels loved it. Blogger Jim Martin with a blog called A Place For The God-Hungry wrote an incredible post about church leadership.
See, lab work cannot be learned from a book, or taught in a classroom. Someone that knows what they are doing has to take you by the hand and show you physically how to do it. Then you, in that person's presence have to practice, usually getting it wrong and suffering correction many times. A little later I hired a tech from a trade school that had a program specifically to develop lab techs. In the lab, they guy was awesome. Did not have a clue what what the data meant, or why I was asking him to do certain tests, but by golly, he could get the tests done when I asked. He wasn't a chemist either. It takes both - book-learning and the practicum.
The same thing is true with our faith. Someone needs to take us by the hand and show us, not just tell us, how to do it.
There is one thing that Martin's great post does not mention, at least not explicitly. Showing someone how to do Christianity involves intimacy, and intimacy involves risk, and not just the risk of embarassment that Martin does mention. No, I am talking about the risk that God will really work in our lives. I wrote extensively about this long ago and far away.
Genuine Christian faith is an intimate thing. We are to be intimate with God and intimate with each other; the later primarily as an aid to the former. Today we seem to be building churches that are the opposite of intimate; we build churches that encourage anonimity, not intimacy. Can a mega-church be intimate in any sense?
This is a truly terrifying model of leadership. We don't get to hide behind our pulpits, lecturns or class notes. Writing a blog post is not enough. But this I know, 12 such leaders changed the world, and they did so in a way that the thousands we have today could never dream of.
Lord, make me such a leader.
Cross-posted on How To Be A Christian And Still Go To Church
Related Tags: discipleship, intimacy, faith, Christianity, leadership, risk
Many people ultimately change because they see in us something of Christ incarnate. They are experiencing "Christ-in-you." This happens as the Spirit of God pours out the very life of Jesus through you and me. People experience this as they are in relationship with us over a period of time and they witness who we really are.Discipleship is not learning and does not result purely from study. An example: There are chemists in this world, and then there are chemists. Years ago, I hired a young man in the upper divisions of his undergraduate studies to work for me as a lab technician. His grades were outstanding, he was smart and sharp as a tack. On paper, he was a chemist. Then I turned him loose in the lab. He was most successful at breaking glassware. The university he attended simply did not stress upper division lab work and the poor kid was hopeless in one. He could draw-up the correct apparatus for a Soxhlet extractor faster than I could, but for the life of him, he could not put one together. In reality, he was no chemist - at least not yet.
So often, Christian leaders just wear people out. We talk. We announce. We talk more. Sure, there is a time to talk. There is a time to announce. But--what is most important as a Christian leader or a Christ follower is to be a guy (or woman) who is living an authentic life before God. That is powerful. More importantly, that is real.
I want to be there--but I'm not yet. I want to follow Jesus--but some days I don't do this very well. Yet, I think to say this is not a liability. Imperfection does not mean that ones walk with Jesus is not authentic. In fact, it may communicate authenticity.
See, lab work cannot be learned from a book, or taught in a classroom. Someone that knows what they are doing has to take you by the hand and show you physically how to do it. Then you, in that person's presence have to practice, usually getting it wrong and suffering correction many times. A little later I hired a tech from a trade school that had a program specifically to develop lab techs. In the lab, they guy was awesome. Did not have a clue what what the data meant, or why I was asking him to do certain tests, but by golly, he could get the tests done when I asked. He wasn't a chemist either. It takes both - book-learning and the practicum.
The same thing is true with our faith. Someone needs to take us by the hand and show us, not just tell us, how to do it.
There is one thing that Martin's great post does not mention, at least not explicitly. Showing someone how to do Christianity involves intimacy, and intimacy involves risk, and not just the risk of embarassment that Martin does mention. No, I am talking about the risk that God will really work in our lives. I wrote extensively about this long ago and far away.
Genuine Christian faith is an intimate thing. We are to be intimate with God and intimate with each other; the later primarily as an aid to the former. Today we seem to be building churches that are the opposite of intimate; we build churches that encourage anonimity, not intimacy. Can a mega-church be intimate in any sense?
This is a truly terrifying model of leadership. We don't get to hide behind our pulpits, lecturns or class notes. Writing a blog post is not enough. But this I know, 12 such leaders changed the world, and they did so in a way that the thousands we have today could never dream of.
Lord, make me such a leader.
Cross-posted on How To Be A Christian And Still Go To Church
Related Tags: discipleship, intimacy, faith, Christianity, leadership, risk
