Generic Leadership?
I've been listening to these CD's from Willow Creek Community Church by Bill Hybles on the topic of church leadership. He's an evangelical pastor and has some really sound practical advice for church leaders. One of his suggestions is that pastors become "learning junkies" when it comes to reading books on leadership. So I took his advice and bought a book titled "The Leadership Challenge." I have just started the book, and I have some questions.
The book is not written from a Christian perspective at all. It's a generic book on leadership and teaches that leadership is a qualitity that is not specific to any field of application. That rubs me the wrong way. It seems to me that there must be something unique about Christian leadership. I have a hard time believing that leadership need not be Christian to be effective. Actually, I suppose being effective isn't necessarily being good. Even so, Christian leadership should be distinct not only in it's goal but also in it's means. Isn't there something inherent in the Christian understanding of leadership that would conflict with a secular understanding? Am I trying to make the world too black and white or am I just defensive about Christians offering somethign better than what the world can come up with apart from Christ.
Was Jesus a good leader? That's the question I"m going to be asking as I read this secular book. Would they consider Jesus a good leader according to their standards? We'll see...
The book is not written from a Christian perspective at all. It's a generic book on leadership and teaches that leadership is a qualitity that is not specific to any field of application. That rubs me the wrong way. It seems to me that there must be something unique about Christian leadership. I have a hard time believing that leadership need not be Christian to be effective. Actually, I suppose being effective isn't necessarily being good. Even so, Christian leadership should be distinct not only in it's goal but also in it's means. Isn't there something inherent in the Christian understanding of leadership that would conflict with a secular understanding? Am I trying to make the world too black and white or am I just defensive about Christians offering somethign better than what the world can come up with apart from Christ.
Was Jesus a good leader? That's the question I"m going to be asking as I read this secular book. Would they consider Jesus a good leader according to their standards? We'll see...
posted by Travis at 4:19 PM
2 Comments:
I know wonderful leaders who are not Christian or would not categorize themselves as such. Perhaps it isn't religion that makes a good leader but character and the combination of character and ideals that set leaders apart and define them. Religion provides a framework for a good leader to follow. Therefore, perhaps, a Christian leader would be set apart by his standards and beliefs but not necessarily by skills.
Have you finished? Do you have any answers to your questions?
When I first arrived at my parish just over two years ago, the neighboring Lutheran pastor took me out to lunch and gave me two books on leadership. He would have bought into the "leadership learning junkie" mentality that your CDs expound. He thought they would help me immeasurably.
I never read them because, quite frankly, I never found time to read anything like that. To be cynically frank, I think I'm too busy leading a congregation to have time to read about leading a congregation.
Last week, in cleaning out my bookshelf, I decided to toss the books in the trash. I felt a little guilty about it--perhaps they would have truly made me a better leader. But in the long run, I needed to make space for more books on Scripture and preaching and theology.
Which makes me think: did the great leaders of the church (Augustine, Ambrose, Luther, Francis of Assisi, Muhlenburg, Bonhoeffer, etc...) devote so much time reading leadership theories? Or did they concentrate more on trying to imitate Christ and embody the Gospel virtues?
Post a Comment
<< Home