Posted by
dgree3 on Monday, November 24, 2008 10:38:25 PM
Leader Study
This study consists of in person discussions with various church leaders who graciously complied with my request for an interview. They were all asked the same questions and the distinction between these leader lay not in their answers to the questions but the things left un-said. Each ones countenance, combined with what they didn’t say or emphasize, said as much about Christian leadership as answers given to questions tendered. That is why the talks were in person, so that an opportunity to see the whole being was available.
They all shared one trait in common. Each had an eagerness to share their stories. One could sense an unburdening as they told their stories in answer to my queries. You got the sense these people had a story they didn’t often share but felt it was important to relate. A sense of uncommon paths taken that needed to be marked for those who followed was wistfully evident.
With some, an underlying sense of sadness colored the interviews. It was as if the burdens they carried and spiritual battles fought had taken a deep toll on their souls. It was not despair or hopelessness, but rather impressions of soldiers who had battled long and hard in the hottest part of a fight. Each had a version of the 1000 yard stare overlain by a guarded look in their eyes. Perhaps they had seen too much and didn’t want any of that to spill out on people around them who weren’t prepared to deal with the wounds these battles inflicted.
For others, the ministry was like a life-line that led them to places they might never have gone if their field of endeavor had been anything else. They were not marked in the same ways as the afore-mentioned pastors. These leaders were being fed differently. The source was the same, but the flavor of their manna was not imbued with bitter herbs and seem to lighten their burdens rather than deepen them.
Some of my subjects were pastors, some previous pastors and some held other positions of leadership in the church. Most worked in local churches but one had pastored in Japan for 14 years. One was even female and her perspective set every thing on its ear. None of my pre-suppositions or theories were valid past the next interview from the first session to the last. This is the single most striking fact of all the sessions and led to this summation.
No path makes itself conducive to a cookie cutter approach of understanding leadership qualities or applying them to one’s own possible leadership role in a church. There really is no formulae to follow that will lead to a place called Christian leadership. It is a calling that shapes the person more than the person shapes the role. God calls those whom he calls and takes what they bring to the table to use for His purposes beyond man’s designs. All persons are clay in His hands and grist for the heavenly mills. We can emulate those we perceive to be good Christian leaders and set out on a path to leadership but the best beginning a man can have is to know himself. Seeing ourselves as we truly are bent and accepting that truth with the humility inherent in honest self knowledge is a beginning with great promise. Know thyself, and be willing to be made willing. God will take it from there.