some thots on leadership from Henri Nouwen's In the Name of Jesus
I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self...
Feeling irrelevant is a much more general experience than we might think when we look at our seemingly self-confident society. Medical technology and the tragic increase in abortions may radically diminish the number of mentally handicapped people in our society, but it is already becoming apparent that more and more people are suffering from profound moral and spiritual handicaps without having any idea of where to look for healing.
It is here that the need for a new Christian leadership becomes clear. The leaders of the future will be those who dare to claim their irrelevance in the contemporary world as a divine vocation that allows them to enter into deep solidarity with the anguish underlying all the glitter of success, and to bring the light of Jesus there.
Hey Dan,
I am wondering how churches who still want the leader/pastor to do everything will respond to leaders who have come to where Nouwen arrived... nothing to offer but our vulnerable self? I think this is going to be more important in the very near future as churches try to figure out why they don't bear the right fruit.
Posted by: Rusty | June 24, 2009 at 09:58 PM
My experience in the field of people with disabilities indicates that there is a rise in the number of intellectually delayed (ID) individuals, rather that a decrease. Better neonatal health care is one of the reasons. Another is the rise of FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - the number one cause of ID)
I suggest that 'entering into solidarity' should include opening our homes and caring for the 'least of these'. That's how Larche started, and as you know, that's what Nouwen did when he joined Daybreak.
Posted by: Jeff Nault | June 25, 2009 at 04:27 PM