Servant Leadership? Trinitarian Leadership? Christian Leadership? Leadership for the Church in the World? Re-Inventing Christian Leadership?

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1 Servant Leadership? Trinitarian Leadership? Christian Leadership? Leadership for the Church in the World? Re-Inventing Christian Leadership? The Ministry of Leadership Dana Benson April 17, 2009 LEAD510: Leadership Development Peter Dickens Tyndale Seminary Some might say that the problem of Christian leadership is that there is none. In a world that seems to be marked by a decided lack of leadership in the global sphere as well as in local areas, many Christians find themselves losing faith in both our secular and our religious leaders. As a result, over the last 30 years, countless efforts, both scholarly and those more familiar, have been made to explore the nature of leadership and what it must look like in contemporary times. More recently, Christian scholars have recognized that we are living in a time in the history of the Church when many are sensing an acute need to recover a sense of the basis of Christian leadership, in order for the church to fulfill its apostolic mission. 1 But despite this leadership movement, the question arises as to whether there is a dearth of Christian leadership because there is simply no such thing as Christian leadership, or if this absence is due to the fact that Christians have failed to understand the nature of leadership 1 Christopher A. Beeley and Joseph H. Britton, Introduction: Toward a Theology of Leadership, Anglican Theological Review. Vol.91 Issue 1 (Winter 2009): 3. 1

2 that is truly Christian. Given the endless studies that have attempted to explain leadership (most without adequate definition of the subject matter), workshops, seminars, and readily accessible books, one would think that we would be well informed on the matter and that it would be an easy task indeed to come up with some kind of working model of leadership. One might also think that distilling a theology of leadership within an atmosphere rich with resources would not be a task at all but would be something that would naturally flow out of the nature of the Christian life. However, it may be suggested that the recent works on leadership, especially the ones calling themselves Christian, have complicated the issue unnecessarily and have overlooked much of the point. As a result we are left with multiple definitions and practices of leadership none of which are adequate for the Church. It is difficult to move past contextualized ideas of leadership. Joseph Rost discusses the history of various models of leadership that have always been agenda-ed models, contextual models, rather than one over-arching model. As a result we have business leadership, industrial leadership, social leadership, educational leadership. 2 Sensing that there is something more than contextual models to leadership, Rost and others have suggested that leadership is rooted in relationship, and as such re-contextualizes the historical contexts for leadership. 3 While Rost may have picked up on something that his Christian colleagues have also identified, we are left with yet another contextual model relational leadership, rather than a meta-context for leadership. Even within the Christian context, servant leadership and Trinitarian leadership are simply ways of perpetuating the contextualized problem of leadership definitions and practice. And sadly, many of these efforts have reduced Holy Scripture to a resource book of principles rather than the self-revelation of our Lord, have failed to understand 2 Joseph C. Rost, Leadership for the Twenty-First Century, (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers) 1991, 1. 3 Ibid., 5. 2

3 the true nature of leadership, and have turned many Christians who lead in various capacities into professionals with skill sets rather than into disciples who are gifted by the Spirit of Christ for the glory of the Father. We recognize that when attempting to focus on a theology of leadership, we must at least acknowledge that there are many different contexts. However, we will also boldly state that all leadership, if it is to bear faithful witness to the reconciling and redeeming work of Christ in our midst, must first be understood as an aspect of ministry. Further, if leadership is an aspect of ministry then it must meet the criteria for what ministry is. Moreover, ministry is not something we do but something we participate in: it is participation in the ongoing ministry of Christ to the Father and the world through, in, and by the Holy Spirit. Many scholars have claimed a Trinitarian reality as the foundation of Christian leadership but unfortunately have failed to find the essence of leadership within the life of God and have instead used the Trinity as a model which informs our leadership principles. The difference between these two approaches is subtle but recognizing the differences and acting upon them is of utmost importance when looking at a theology of leadership. The two most prevalent labels assigned to Christian leadership these days are servant leadership and Trinitarian leadership. The concept of servant leadership has been around for quite some time, but a more recent renewal of interest in Trinitarian theology has become something of a trend in the church these days, and those involved in leadership have jumped on the Trinitarian bandwagon along with their counterparts in other Christian specialties. These approaches to leadership wisely focus on the biblical mandate to serve one another as Christ serves the church, and attempt to root their foundations in the Trinitarian model of Father, Son, and Spirit. These approaches look to the relational example of the Trinity as the model which 3

4 Christian leadership should follow. So, just as the Father, Son, and Spirit enjoy a relationship of mutually indwelling love and submission, so should leaders seek to engender relationships of love and mutual submission within their leadership contexts. And just as the Father, Son, and Spirit have diverse roles within the unity of the Godhead, so we acknowledge that within every leadership context there is unity within diversity. Unfortunately, this approach renders the Trinity as a model to be followed and an example to be applied and imitated, rather than actually approaching the Godhead as a living reality into which we have been invited. In addition, much of leadership within Christian contexts (and in some secular contexts) also recognizes the importance of what we might call servanthood or servant leadership. Taking Philippians 2 as our key text, we follow the example of Christ who humbled himself and became a servant to all, even to the point of dying on the cross. We also follow the models of servanthood which Jesus portrayed throughout his ministry: foot washing, serving the needs of the people, healing, providing food, and praying for others. 4 Thus, much of Christian leadership rightly looks to Christ as the head (Eph. 1:22-23), and to the Holy Spirit who gifts believers in various leadership roles (Eph. 4) and who also gives power and authority to Christian leadership (Acts 1:8; 10:38; 1 Cor 2:4; Eph 3:16; 2 Tim 1:7;). The model of servanthood for God s people cannot be disputed throughout Scripture. 5 And to be sure, indeed we are called to imitate Christ as He is our model and our Head (1 Cor 11:1; 1 Pet 2:21). However, these are not necessarily signs of good leadership or leadership that is particularly Christian. They are elements of ministry: ministry that is a part of the reconciling and redeeming work of God in the world. 4 There are countless resources now available which discuss Servant Leadership. In particular, see Robert Greenleaf, Henry Hildebrand, Robert Banks, Lawrence Richards, Clyde Hoeldtke, Stacy Rinehart, et al. 5 See the life of Moses and David: In addition, see: Isaiah 52, 53; Zechariah. 3; John 6:26-30; Rom. 1:1; James 1:1; 1 Peter 5:3-5; Jude 1:1 4

5 It is not our intention to disparage the attempts of many to follow Jesus example, to humble themselves and serve others, or even to find in their contexts of leadership a Trinitarian foundation for their work. But we must conclude that neither what we have come to call servant leadership, nor Trinitarian leadership really touch the heart of Christian ministry, of which leadership is a part. They look to biblical principles to imitate and to follow rather than actually sharing in the Divine Nature (Eph, 2:6; 2 Peter 1:4), and participating in the life of Father, Son, and Spirit. Andrew Purves offers a helpful voice in this matter. He says that the problem with imitating Christ or looking to Christ as a model is that it overlooks the ways in which the church s ministry shares in Christ s ministry and continuing person. It is built on a reductionist Christology that limits Jesus to a moral influence because it finds no place for a complete understanding of his person and work, and in particular for his vicarious humanity and continuing priesthood. 6 When we fail to work from the centre of Christ s vicarious humanity and continuing priesthood, we find ourselves in the very crisis of leadership and of ministry that plagues the Church today, and we find that we have lost both God and Christ as well. 7 Jesus humanity isn t only to be imitated, it is to be lived: we do not live in the fullness of our humanity unless we live in union with Christ. It follows that any ministry or leadership attempt that is not born from this centre will overlook our own humanity and will ultimately lead to the dehumanization of others. What I would like to propose is a subtle shift in theological thinking. I would like to suggest that what makes leadership a worthy aspect of ministry, what makes leadership something that can be called Christian, and what makes leadership something that is transformative for the Church and the Kingdom to which it bears witness, is that it participates in 6 Andrew Purves, Reconstructing Pastoral Theology, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press) 2004, xxx. 7 Ibid. 5

6 the ministry of Christ to the Father, which is to offer up redeemed humanity in worship, and also in the Father s ministry to the world in Christ through the Holy Spirit, to redeem and reconcile all creation and to make his kingdom reign effective throughout the world. With this in mind, we are forced to reshape our understanding of both servant and Trinitarian leadership as leadership that arises not primarily from biblical principles, but from the mutual indwelling of Father, Son, and Spirit, and our participation in that indwelling and the Divine Life. We participate in the missio dei not by following principles and developing character, but by being found by the Father to dwell in Christ by his Spirit. Ministry (and therefore leadership) isn t about asking Christ to bless us in our leadership endeavors, but is about joining with him and with what he is already doing throughout his kingdom. 8 What then, does ministry (and therefore leadership) look like in the context of participation in the mutually indwelling reality of Father, Son, and Spirit? First and foremost, we recognize that in our struggle to understand leadership, we are dealing with a living Christ. 9 Sadly, when looking at various situations in leadership, we often find ourselves looking for a model to follow and asking the question, What would Jesus do?? This question implies that Jesus is not present, that Jesus is not our head, and that the ministry of Jesus does not continue in the world through his very own Spirit. To be sure, this approach to discerning a theology of Christian leadership will probably result in leadership that is marked by servanthood. But it asks the wrong question, and so overlooks the missio dei. The better question is to ask, What is Jesus doing and how can I get in on it? Henri Nouwen reminds us that the leader who calls herself a Christian must be rooted in the permanent, intimate relationship with the incarnate 8 Stephen Seamands, Ministry in the Image of God, (Downer s Grove, IL: IVP): Lawrence O. Richard and Clyde Hoeldtke. A Theology of Church Leadership, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan)

7 Word, Jesus, and they need to find there the source for their words, advice, and guidance. 10 Nouwen points us beyond a model of leadership into a living relationship with a living Christ (who lives himself with the Father and the Spirit). And for Nouwen, this living relationship can only be found as one inhabits the life of God in and through contemplative prayer. A word about power, ministry, and leadership. It has been said that Martin Luther referred to the cross as the left-handed power of God. Robert Farrar Capon picks up on this image and offers the idea of left-handed power as the most appropriate use of power in the Kingdom of God. Right-handed power is power that is straight-line, direct, and intervening. It s the kind of power that gets things done. And indeed it has its uses and it often works to accomplish the task at hand. 11 It is the kind of power God used when he destroyed the earth by the flood. And it is the kind of power God swore he would never use again against humankind. Capon reminds us that the problem with right-handed power is that while it may get things done, it becomes useless when you take the view that one of the chief objects in life is to remain in loving relationship with others. 12 Left-handed power, on the other hand, is paradoxical power. It is the kind of power that lays down its life. It is the kind of power that doesn t draw attention to itself. It is the kind of power that dies. God died forgiving. And so, it looks to all the world like weakness, but it is power, says Capon, so much power in fact that it is the only thing in the world that evil can t touch. This is the kind of power to which Paul adhered when he refused to approach his listeners with lofty words of wisdom or in mighty deeds, but rather with a kind of power that offered up 10 Henri Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus, (NY: Crossroad) Robert Farrar Capon, Parables of the Kingdom, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans & Zondervan) 1985, Ibid. 7

8 the Gospel as something to be incarnated, shared, and given away. 13 Any power that we have for ministry and leadership is given by the Holy Spirit and is therefore not our own, but remains the power of Christ. Jennifer Strawbridge reminds us that the extent to which the leader has power is only because of a relationship with Christ to fulfill the mission of the church. 14 Unfortunately, the most common use of power in our world, and Christian contexts are no exception, is that power is used to manipulate and coerce rather than to give away for the sake of God s mission within his kingdom. Often when we think of how we use and embody power in the world, we may find that power appears to be sacrificial and may appear to edify and build up others. Even power that attempts to look like left-handed power is often right-handed power in disguise. Its chief end is to get people on our side so that we can accomplish the task at hand. And while in the process people may feel encouraged and edified and valued, ultimately they are still enslaved to our purposes for them, rather than freed for living within the kingdom presence of God. If we are to take this view of power in ministry and leadership, then perhaps we should re-define servant leadership as steward leadership. Since all power is Christ s to begin with and remains with Christ, then not only are we servants to Christ s power, but we are stewards of Christ s grace and gifts. As stewards, all ministers of the gospel, whether in positions of leadership or not, bear the responsibility to be faithful stewards of something which is not our own, of who God has created us and others to be. Not only this, but we are also called to be faithful stewards of a mission which is not our own: a mission which is to be visible witnesses and participants in God s work of reconciling humanity to himself and to others. As stewards, leaders attend to the gifts in themselves and in others, not primarily for the purposes of an 13 Jennifer Strawbridge, The Word of the Cross: Mission, Power and the Theology of Leadership, Anglican Theological Review, Vol.91 Issue 1 (Winter 2009) Ibid., 66. 8

9 organization, but because they are the gifts which bear witness to the living and ongoing presence of Christ s Spirit among us, in order that the Father is glorified. One aspect of leadership is the presence and fulfillment of a vision. For Christian leaders, this vision must always and everywhere be God s vision for his people, which can only be discerned within the context of an intimate relationship with God and revealed by the Holy Spirit. After laying the groundwork for an indwelling and participatory ministry of leadership, Ray Anderson finally arrives at the particulars of servant leadership. He states that effective leadership means reading the signs of God s promise in the context of present events and translating these signs into goals; this is preparing the way of the Lord. 15 Anderson further reconceptualizes servant leaders as stewards and states that the servant leader is a steward of the resources needed to attain the vision. And the power to carry out this stewardship is a delegated power. What the author of the book of Hebrews said of the one who serves as the priest is also true of the leader: And one does not presume to take this honour, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was (Heb. 5:4). 16 In this way, left-handed power is used in service of God s vision and issues in a strategy that unites the wisdom of God with the work of God in order that the will of God will finally be accomplished. 17 Finally, if we understand that Christ s ministry was to redeem, reconcile and re-create humanity and that is his ministry still, then we must understand that participation in that ongoing ministry through his Spirit will also be a ministry which redeems, reconciles, and re-creates humanity. In many ways, this ministry has to do with freedom from bondage of all kinds. In a ministry of leadership it means particularly freeing people from a coercive and manipulative 15 Ray Anderson, The Soul of Ministry: Forming Leaders for God s People, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press) 1997, Ibid, Ibid. 9

10 power, freeing others to become more and more fully human, freeing the self and others to embody the gifts of Christ s body for the sake of Christ s body. In this way, we are responsible to recognize that the Word of God [is] incarnate in [our] midst and acting so as to reveal God s ultimate purpose, which is to liberate persons from the law of sin and death and to free them to recover their humanity as God intended. 18 Moses leadership was a ministry of liberation from slavery: not just freeing the people from enslavement under Egyptian rule, but also from enslavement to their own ways. Under Moses leadership, which was given life and breath and breadth by the vision and power and presence of God, the Israelites were freed to become a people, a holy nation, God s own chosen children. The Older Testament is filled with examples of ministries of leadership (or stewardship leadership) which called the people away from the exterior forces that enslaved them, and out from the inner forces which bound them, and into the reconciling and redeeming gracious work of God in their midst. Jesus himself embodied this freedom in its fullest sense as his vicarious humanity accomplished freedom for humanity for all time. His ministry was not just to bring freedom for humanity, but to enable humanity to be free for the purposes of God in the world. When we look to Jesus not simply as a model or an example, we find ourselves alive with and in Christ by his Spirit, we find that we are free from all forces of bondage, and free for the mission of God. In this way, every ministry of leadership is an act of liberation, it is an act of participating in God s creative grace to render us ever more and more human, and to re-create in us the reality of redeemed humanity found in the vicarious humanity of Jesus the Son. Any practice of leadership which does otherwise, regardless of context, isn t leadership at all, but an abuse of giftedness and therefore an exercise in futility, sinfulness, and enslavement. This kind of leadership is the antithesis of a ministry of leadership and the participation in the mission of God. 18 Anderson, 8. 10

11 At this end of our discussion, we might find ourselves disappointed that no concrete outline of Christian leadership has been formed. No skills have been suggested for the development of effective leadership. No leadership characteristics have been recommended. No strategy for transforming Christian leadership has been offered. No catchy phrases have been presented which will help leaders stay on track. In fact, much of our discussion has been focused around the failure of much of Christian leadership. Most of what we call servant leadership or Trinitarian leadership appears to have a solid structure, rooted in biblical examples, models, and principles. Unfortunately its structure is fragile since it fails to find its rootedness in the living, active, and ministering presence of our ascended Lord, in whose life of worship and mission we share fully and completely. We are not merely imitators of Christ s power, authority, and leadership, we are the inheritors of it, we are the inhabitors of it, and from it comes our very being as humans who engage in the ongoing ministry of Jesus on behalf of his Father, through the Holy Spirit. This reality is what makes the ministry of leadership Trinitarian, not a superficial or simplistic rendering of the relationality of the Trinity as something to be imitated. Christian leaders are left only with the living Christ, working out the Father s purposes in the world in, with, and by the Holy Spirit. This is where our theological foundation for leadership begins and where it ends. This is the well at which Christian ministry, especially the ministry of leadership must find its source of living water. This is where all leadership which is so bold as to call itself Christian must be re-created so as to bear witness to the ongoing selfrevelation of God in Christ and to participate in God s ministry in the world for the sake of the glory of the Father. 11

12 Bibliography Anderson, Ray S., The Soul of Ministry: Forming Leaders for God s People, (Louisville KY: Westminster John Knox Press) Banks, Robert, and Powell, Kimberly, eds., Faith in Leadership (San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass) Beeley, Christopher, Theology and Pastoral Leadership, Anglican Theological Review. Vol.91 Issue 1 (Winter 2009): Beeley, Christopher A. and Britton Joseph H., Introduction: Toward a Theology of Leadership, Anglican Theological Review. Vol.91 Issue 1 (Winter 2009): Capon, Robert Farrar, The Parables of the Kingdom, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans) DeMaris, Richard E., Stewards, Prophets, Keepers of the Word: Leadership in the Early Church, review of book of same title by Williams, Ritva., Interpretation: A Journal of Bible & Theology;(Jul2008, Vol. 62 Issue 3), p Hildebrand, Henry P., The Model of Servant Leadership, (Burlington, ON: Welch Publishing Company) Nouwen, Henri, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership, (NY: Crossroad) Purves, Andrew, Reconstructing Pastoral Theology: A Christological Foundation, (Louisville, London: Westminster John Knox Press) Purves, Andrew, Pastoral Theology in the Classical Tradition. (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press) Richards, Lawrence O., and Hoeldtke, Clyde, A Theology of Church Leadership, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan) Rinehart, Stacy T., Upside Down: the Paradox of Servant Leadership. (Colorado Springs, CO: Navpress) Rost, Joseph C., Leadership for the Twenty-First Century, (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers) Seamands, Stephen, Ministry in the Ministry of God, (Downer s Grove, IL: IVP) Strawbridge, Jennifer, The Word of the Cross: Mission, Power, and the Theology of Leadership, Anglican Theological Review. Vol.91 Issue 1 (Winter 2009):