Thursday, July 20, 2006
Have I Struck A Bit Of A Nerve?
Based on comments and links, this post from early last week and this one from yesterday seem to have hit on a little something. What the posts have in common is, if I can sum it up succinctly, that when it comes to things Christian we have too many Chiefs, too many ill-qualified or ill-prepared Chiefs, no one willing to be Indians anymore, and that blogging may be the ultimate expression of that phenomena.
There have been some great posts about the value of linkers. I know that I have sometimes thought, "Linkers are Indians - I want to be a Chief," but think about - it is that really true? As Joe Carter says:
The difference is that it is servant leadership. There has been a lot written about that concept over the years, so I am going to lay out what I think it is - it is the kind of leadership exercised by Christ who lead by dying.
Have you ever thought about the fact that Christ does not resemble in any way the kinds of people we think of when we think of leaders these days? He was accessible - oh sure the disciples tried to set themselves up as His gatekeepers, but every time I read about it, He was shoving them out of the way get to the people. Christ did not establish a church, or an institution of any sort. He did not write - He did not seek out the "media" of the day. In fact, if you call Christ a leader, you have to ask what it was He lead.
I would argue, based on these observations that in one sense, being an Indian is a form of leadership. But most importantly, this says it is not about us - it's about the other.
Effective institutional leaders usually view the institution as an extension of themselves - a way to get something done that they want done. But the approach described here would have the institution serve the other and the leader work to make that happen, regardless of the leader's desire.
Linking is certainly one form of blogging servant leadership, but the question is what are others? How do we blog in ways to serve? If we are to follow the example of Christ the purpose of our blogs should most assuredly be NOT attracting attention to ourselves, yet that seems to define the medium.
Godblogging needs, in my opinion, a new paradigm. What is it and how to we get there?
Related Tags: Godblogging, servant leadership, humility, service, media
There have been some great posts about the value of linkers. I know that I have sometimes thought, "Linkers are Indians - I want to be a Chief," but think about - it is that really true? As Joe Carter says:
Talented linkers, however, do more than merely guide readers to new material. They provide the value-added services of sifting through dozens or even hundred of blog posts, news updates, and magazine articles and sharing the handful that are worthy of attention. Like the tower operator's in Chappe's France, linkers provide the link between information and the reader.That's a form of leadership, deciding what people should read, and having people follow that advice is very much leadership.
The difference is that it is servant leadership. There has been a lot written about that concept over the years, so I am going to lay out what I think it is - it is the kind of leadership exercised by Christ who lead by dying.
Have you ever thought about the fact that Christ does not resemble in any way the kinds of people we think of when we think of leaders these days? He was accessible - oh sure the disciples tried to set themselves up as His gatekeepers, but every time I read about it, He was shoving them out of the way get to the people. Christ did not establish a church, or an institution of any sort. He did not write - He did not seek out the "media" of the day. In fact, if you call Christ a leader, you have to ask what it was He lead.
I would argue, based on these observations that in one sense, being an Indian is a form of leadership. But most importantly, this says it is not about us - it's about the other.
Effective institutional leaders usually view the institution as an extension of themselves - a way to get something done that they want done. But the approach described here would have the institution serve the other and the leader work to make that happen, regardless of the leader's desire.
Linking is certainly one form of blogging servant leadership, but the question is what are others? How do we blog in ways to serve? If we are to follow the example of Christ the purpose of our blogs should most assuredly be NOT attracting attention to ourselves, yet that seems to define the medium.
Godblogging needs, in my opinion, a new paradigm. What is it and how to we get there?
Related Tags: Godblogging, servant leadership, humility, service, media
