Reading: Chapter 9: Leadership

 

Chapter 9

LEADERSHIP

 

WHERE POTENTIAL AND HOPE IGNITE

 

So far we have explored three of the four concepts foundational to a transformational discipleship ministry:

1. Mission. Mission is more than an activity; it describes the nature and purpose of the church. Just as they were in Paul’s day, cities are centers of missional activity that is carried out by God’s people as they engage society. That engagement includes the world of urban youth—a segment of society that is both deeply loved by God and dangerously marginalized and vulnerable.
2. Growing Up Urban. At the heart of the adolescent journey is a search for identity. Urban youth take this journey under the pressure of an environment saturated by violence, crime, instability and fear. As youth are forced to adapt to the code of the street, their search for identity becomes altered and is often corrupted. Urban realities force the “Who am I and why am I here?” quest to be overridden by the more immediate: “How do I survive?” In the process, a new identity emerges—one often marked by hopelessness and (for many) a resignation to thuggery and street life.
3. Divine Imprint. Deep within each person lies a divine imprint—a set of qualities that uniquely reflect the nature of God in him or her. Because all human beings are created in God’s image, creation provides the key to personal motivation. For the adolescent in search of identity, becoming to the person he or she was created to be and grow- ing into that awareness is a powerful motivator. So the key to motivating youth is awakening and nurturing their divine imprint. The missional task among urban adolescents is to help them discover what they are already wired to seek: their God-endowed uniqueness and identity.

These foundational concepts inform the purpose and nature of youth ministry:

•  The tendency is to engage in youth ministry because of the needs of parents, churches and/or communities. Youth programming provides healthy activities for kids and keeps them out of trouble, which for parents and adults is a good thing. Focusing on the pillars of transformational discipleship, however, creates a different motivation: The primary drive for ministry becomes the felt needs of youth themselves.
• The concepts of mission and growing up urban make ministry among inner-city youth a kingdom of God imperative. From a strategic standpoint, youth will soon be adults and play significant roles in society’s future. The growth of gang violence and civil unrest in cities all over the world provides a glimpse into that future. It is not a pretty sight. Yet, as a friend and mentor once said, “What a tremendous opportunity!” While the world wrestles with a socio-political response, the church has been empowered to foster transformative change.
• Felt need shapes ministry strategy. If adolescence as a phase in human development is by God’s design, responding to the primary need of adolescents is key to effective ministry.

What is that need? Returning to the words of tennis pro Andre Agassi: “Image. . . is everything.” The need for identity discovery should influence the purpose of youth ministry. That purpose becomes to create an environment in which youth can discover who they are in Christ.

The final concept takes the first three and moves them from theory to practice. Youth become engaged in missional activity. Growing up urban shifts from an inescapable oppression to an experience to be studied, understood and conquered. The divine imprint comes alive in the human experience.

All of this takes place in the life of the adolescent through the fourth concept of transformational discipleship: leadership.

Leading and Learning

When I was in seminary, a fellow student once looked me in the eye and said, “You are a natural leader.” At first his comment struck me as strange. But as I continued to think about it, I realized he might be right. Throughout grade school, my field of interest was music. I played the trombone and sang. I immersed myself in a variety of musical activities: band, choir, orchestras, small singing and instrumental ensembles, competitions, and the yearly school musical. In many of these contexts, I played a leadership role. In college there was not much time to lead, but I did direct a small jazz ensemble (affectionately known as “Tiny” Band).

My leadership experience only increased after I became a Christian. In my first year, I assisted in leading a high school youth club. I co-taught and later taught the high school Sunday School class. Two years later, I was a student at Denver Seminary. While there I served as a church choir director and youth pastor. I led teams in and out of Eastern Europe during a summer missions trip. I was in my fourth year at seminary when I founded Neighborhood Ministries.

So my classmate was right: Leading seemed to come naturally to me. But my first experience as a Christian leader taught me an unexpected lesson—one that later fueled my interest in transformational discipleship. This lesson involved the relationship between leading and learning.

I was three months into my new life, still basking in the joy of being a Christian, when a college student from the chapel approached me. She and another female college student had established a program for kids attending the chapel and the local English-language school. About half of the group’s members were boys, which forced the leaders to seek out male helpers. They recruited me and another guy from the chapel to join their leadership team.

Leading this group of kids created a strange and unexpected dynamic. I was 21 years old—barely four years older than the youth I was leading. And I was a new Christian—newer than most of them! Immersed in my newfound faith, I grew quickly. Soon I became keenly aware that, in terms of growth, I was but one step ahead of them.

The high school students saw this as well. From their perspec- tive, my being the same age spiritually, yet growing at a faster pace, motivated them to take their faith seriously. This was the dynamic: Leadership of young people by a young person stimulated all of us to grow in our relationship with Christ. It was a moment of great excitement—one many of us look back on with great joy to this day.

This dynamic is recreated in the transformational discipleship experience. High school students lead the elementary program throughout the school year. During that time, the children may not view their young leaders as anything curious. But when summer comes, and those same high school students are leading the camp, the implications begin to seep in: “These leaders are only a few years older than me. They are not gang leaders or drug pushers or dropouts; they are strong leaders. Could this experience be in my future?”

A similar dynamic takes place in the high school leaders. During the school year, they take turns leading the elementary pro- gram. They may find this interesting and different and fun. But when the summer day camp starts, they begin to feel the weight of leadership. Children open up to them in ways they did not expect. Discussions at staff meetings move beyond curriculum or activity plans or discipline problems to issues of relationships and coun- seling and ethics. Suddenly leadership begins to matter. Character matters. The youth leaders have younger lives in their hands. They begin to take that seriously.

Potential and hope ignite when children see—modeled in youth from their neighborhood—possibilities for their own lives. This is the fruit of youth leadership.

Misconceptions

Misconceptions regarding leadership abound. We’ve already mentioned a few of them:

• Leaders are born and not made. True leaders, like cream, will rise to the top on their own.
• Adolescents lack the maturity to lead. Their greater need is for biblical knowledge imparted in love. Instruction and love are enough.
• Youth experience leadership development by fulfilling assigned responsibilities. Completing tasks with a positive attitude is a sign of leadership potential that can blossom later in life.

Young people have their own misconceptions about leadership. Few view themselves as leaders. They tend to place leadership mantles on those holding special positions, such as quarterback or head cheerleader or president of the chess club. Unless you have a title, you are not a leader.

Many divide the world into two groups: leaders and followers. “Where are you going, and who’s following you?” “If you are going someplace and no one is following you, you’re just out for a walk.” These statements accentuate the “command and control” side of leadership. It is an important dimension. Inherent in leadership is the ability to command.

But this does not mean that one label defines us: leader or follower. A low-level manager leads the people within his/her division while reporting to those higher on the organizational chart. A parent may work for someone else on the job, but must still provide guidance and direction at home. An otherwise timid child might bring kids on the block together for a game of stickball.

The leader/follower dichotomy is too simplistic. It can create one-way communication and a false sense of superiority/inferi- ority. A more comprehensive view of leadership is needed. John Maxwell defines leadership in this way: “Leadership is influence: nothing more, nothing less.” Bobb Biehl defines leadership as knowing what to do next, knowing why that is important, and knowing how to bring appropriate resources to bear on the need at hand. Everyone—to some degree, at different times, within various dimensions of life—leads.

Most church leaders believe in transformation. Yet few press this important value into the internal workings of their ministries. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about spiritual gifts. Discovering and utilizing one’s gifts is transforming, both to the individual and in the contribution made to the vitality of the Christian community. Yet more often than not, neither transformation nor the interplay of gifts finds its way into the life of leadership teams.

In his book My Way or the Highway: The Micromanagement Survival Guide, performance improvement specialist Harry Cham- bers describes the core ethic of the micromanager, which I would summarize with these three phrases:

I’m the boss.

I own you.

You owe me.

Sadly, this philosophy of leadership is far too prevalent among Christian organizations today. It is a major barrier to transformational discipleship.

Youth Leaders

There is a difference between transactional and transfor- mational leadership. Transactional leadership is product- and reward-oriented. The subordinate is rewarded for following directives and producing a desired product. In this sense, being a leader means to “do”: to make decisions and instruct others.

But leadership is more than transactions. Leadership is visionary. It inspires. It triggers internal motivations and rallies people around a common cause. John F. Kennedy engendered this kind of leadership when he said, “Some look at things as they are and ask, ‘Why?’ I dream of things that could be and ask, ‘Why not?’” The transformational leader lifts his/her sights beyond self-interest to the needs of others. In this sense, leadership means to “be”: to focus on the development of others, helping individuals maximize their leadership potential.

The dimension most critical to effective leadership devel- opment among youth is transformation. Education specialists Josephine van Linden and Carl Fertman highlight this point in their book Youth Leadership: A Guide to Understanding Leadership Development in Adolescents. They characterize leadership in this way:

For our purpose, we define leaders as individuals (both adults and adolescents) who think for themselves, communicate their thoughts and feelings to others, and help others understand and act on their own beliefs; they influence others in an ethical and socially responsible way. For many, leadership is best described as a physical sensation: a need to share ideas, energy, and creativity, and not let personal insecurities be an obstacle. Being a leader means trusting one’s instincts, both when doing leadership tasks and being a leader.¹

Note the action phrases: “think for themselves,” “communicate their thoughts and feelings,” “help others understand and act,” “influence others,” “share ideas, energy, and creativity,” and “trusting one’s instincts.” Transformational leaders reach beyond the completion of tasks to the enriching of lives.

This places several important priorities on the youth leader- ship experience:

• Tasks must be significant. Montessori discovered this in her work with children. “The essential thing is for the task to arouse such an interest that it engages the child’s whole personality.”² Remember the illustration of the construction foreman who asked workers what they were doing? All three deemed their work as im- portant, but only one (“I’m building a cathedral”) was driven by a vision that went beyond necessity to significance: the difference made over a lifetime. For tasks to be transformational, they must be significant to the ones performing them.
• Vision must be shared. Transactional leadership focuses on the task that is of importance to the leader. Transformational leadership focuses on tasks tied to a vision that is shared by everyone involved. Leaders and those they are leading are on a shared adventure. Tasks are significant as part of a bigger plan and greater purpose.
• Divine imprints must be explored. Tasks become transformational when they provide glimpses into youths’ individual strengths, inclinations and capacities. The task is important partly because in pursuing it, young leaders discover important truths about themselves.

Leadership in the Bible

Leaders and leadership fill the pages of Scripture. There are lead- ers of tribes, families and nations. Many are chosen or appointed. Apart from Abijah’s reference to God as a leader (see 2 Chronicles 13:12), the term “leader” is used to describe people. New Testament writers refer to the head of the synagogue as “the synagogue leader” (Matthew 9:18; Luke 13:14; Acts 18:8,17).

Every style of leadership is found in the Scriptures. There are those who favored an autocratic style (for example, Saul and Nebu- chadnezzar) and those who were more participative (such as Moses, at the advice of his father-in-law, Jethro). Many leaders mentioned in the book of Judges were laissez-faire, in contrast to Nehemiah and Peter, who both exercised strong functional and transactional leadership qualities. Arguably, examples of transformational lead- ership would be King David and the apostle Paul.

There are passages that speak to leadership character (see Jeremiah 3:15; 1 Peter 5:3; Philippians 2:3; 2 Corinthians 10:12-18; Romans 12:3), as well as those that describe leadership tasks (see 2 Timothy 4:5; Galatians 6:1; Romans 13:7; Titus 2:15) and motivations (see 1 Peter 5:2; Romans 12:8). There are also passages encouraging proper attitudes towards church leaders (see Hebrews 13:17; 1 Timothy 5:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).

A focus on the positive leaders (though there are certainly plenty of negative ones) in the Scriptures reveals a number of common characteristics:

• The focus of their leadership is a God-given task upon which they bring their skills and leadership traits to bear.
• There is a burden or need that must be met.
• Their burden drives them to utilize existing skills, develop necessary ones, and/or recruit others who possess the skills needed.
• They act out of God-shaped character; it is the com- bination of godly character, commitment, knowledge and skills that commands authority and respect from others.
• They approach tasks with a sense of responsibility— almost destiny. They know that this (whatever it is) is something they must do.

 

What seems less significant is the scope or magnitude of the leadership task. Some led vast numbers of people, while others counseled individual family members (as Mordecai did with Esther) or acted on behalf of sick friends (see Luke 5:18- 19). Another relatively insignificant issue is age. While elders in Scripture seemed to be the oldest and wisest men of the village, there are many examples of the mantle of leadership falling on younger individuals—such as Joshua, David, Esther, Jeremiah, Josiah and Timothy.

One cannot embrace discipleship without leading in some way, shape or form. And, as Paul’s letters to Timothy reveal, it is while engaged in the process of leading (Timothy was “on the job” when he received Paul’s instruction) that learning and growth take place. Paul’s epistles may be instructional in nature, yet his approach to discipleship and leadership development went beyond instruction to dialogue, shared experiences and role modeling.

Leadership Dimensions

There are three dimensions of leadership that are crucial to the transformational discipleship process:

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42-45).

Jesus reminded His disciples what the conventions of leadership were in their day. It essentially amounted to tyranny. Greatness was defined as power—coercive power. Jesus categorically rejected this style of leadership. He made three statements that grew in intensity: (1) to be great one must serve; (2) to be first one must be slave to all; and (3) this leadership philosophy is exemplified in me. In the kingdom of God, greatness is not achieved by the assertion of rank but through humble service.

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” To be great, one must serve; to be first, one must be slave to all. How is that possible in today’s world? How can the CEO or president of a modern-day organization function as a servant leader—one who serves and is “slave” to all?

I believe the answer lies in the nature of authority. Jesus said the high priests “exercised authority” over others. This expression comes from a single Greek term that means “to domineer.” Matthew uses a different word to describe Jesus’ leadership:

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law (Matthew 7:28-29, emphasis added).

The term Matthew uses refers to power, ability or faculty. Within “authority” is the word “author,” or creator. To speak with authority is to speak either as the author or by knowledgably presenting the ideas of the author. And it means doing so clearly, with integrity.

I recently had a kidney transplant. The surgery was done roboti- cally—which sounds scary, but they say it is the safest way to perform transplants. The surgical team had performed this procedure more than 900 times! I do not know if the chief surgeon authored the method, but his extensive knowledge and experience made him an authority on the procedure.

One reason I am committed to expository preaching is that true exposition forces the preacher to find the central idea of a given passage and apply it to life. Someone once said, If you know what the biblical writer is saying and what the biblical listener is hearing, you can know what God is saying. When we rightly represent the ideas of the biblical author, our teaching and preaching come across with authority.

Far too many leaders confuse authority with power. Power can come with authority, but servant leaders do not lead with power. They lead with authority, and they do so in order to serve others.

Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers (1 Timothy 4:11-16).

Paul is writing to Timothy, his “true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2). Timothy is instructed and encouraged to command and teach the church regarding conduct in keeping with faith in Christ. Effectiveness in leadership required dual attentiveness to personal piety and to the quality, behaviors and operations of church leadership (see 1 Timothy 1:18-20; 4:11).

In the passage quoted above, Paul focuses on exhorting Timothy toward godliness. Here the commands require more personal than group application. Of note is how Timothy is instructed to respond to his detractors, for whom his age was an issue. His response was to be demonstrative in nature: leading an exemplary Christian life. In essence, his authority—in keeping with young leaders throughout biblical history—was contingent upon his character, not his age.

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12).

Leadership as heroic—this is how Chris Lowney describes the Je- suit view of leadership in his book Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company that Changed the World.

Ignatius of Loyola established an order within the Catholic Church that pressed a unique set of leadership values into a strat- egy that transformed cultures around the world. Those values are the following:

Every person has (often untapped) leadership potential. The Jesuit model rejects the “one great man” model of leadership for a simple reason: Everyone has influence, and everyone projectsinfluence—good or bad, large or small—all the time.

The tendency among leadership gurus is to high- light those whose leadership intersected with great mo- ments in history—like Winston Churchill and World War II, or Mandela during apartheid in South Africa. Leaders may rise during such times, but they do not wait for world-changing, defining-moment opportunities to come to them. Leaders seize all available opportunities to influence and make an impact. Leadership is defined not by the scale of the opportunity but by the quality of one’s response.

A leader’s most compelling asset is who he or she is: a person anchored by core beliefs, values and purpose, and who therefore faces the world with clarity and vision. This vision is more than clever words fashioned into a mission statement. It is intensely personal—the hard- won product of self-reflection: Who am I? What do I care about? What do I want? How do I fit into the world?

Conventional wisdom ties leadership to tasks—think- ing of it as something to be turned on or off depending on the context. But leadership is not a task or a job. Leadership is real life. The early Jesuits talked about nuestro modo de proceder: “our way of proceeding.” Their actions flowed from a worldview and priorities shared by all members of the Jesuit team. Leadership was their compass for living.

The “steps to becoming a leader” messages so prevalent today are misleading. Steps may enlighten, but they do not produce a leader. Strong leaders are avid learners. Leadership development is a never-ending work-in- progress, in need of continual maturing and growth. These leadership principles led Jesuits to foster certain competencies:

• Self-awareness. They were challenged “to order one’s life.” Jesuits equipped recruits to succeed by molding them into leaders who under- stood personal strengths, weaknesses, values and worldview.
• Ingenuity. Jesuits equipped recruits to succeed by molding them into leaders who confidently innovated and adapted to embrace a changing world. Loyola described the ideal Jesuit as “liv- ing with one foot raised”—always ready to re- spond to emerging opportunities.
• Love. Jesuits equipped recruits to succeed by molding them into leaders who engaged others with a positive, loving attitude. Loving leaders face the world with a confident, healthy sense of themselves as endowed with talent, dignity and value. They passionately commit to honoring and unlocking potential found in themselves and others. Loving leaders create loving environments, bound and energized by loyalty, affection and mutual support.
• Heroism. Jesuits equipped recruits to succeed by molding them into leaders who energized themselves and others from heroic ambitions. Loyola encouraged Jesuits to “endeavor to con- ceive great resolves and elicit equally great de- sires.” As with athletes, musicians or managers who focus unrelentingly on ambitious goals, heroic leaders imagine an inspiring future and strive to shape it rather than passively watching the future happen around them. Jesuits “elicit great desires” by envisioning heroic objectives.³

What could be more heroic than to see leadership potential come alive in the urban adolescent? If adolescents became an influ- ence for good in children’s lives, would that not be a legacy worth leaving? That would truly be heroic!

Making a Difference

Servanthood. Credibility. Heroism. These are qualities cultivated within the transformational discipleship ministry model. They are fostered both within adults who lead the ministry and in adolescents who lead the children. Over time, they shape the character and fruit- fulness of the emerging leader. Consider these reflections from a few alums of our transformational discipleship ministry:

• Taking kids outside their element [on service trips to Honduras], showing them that there is something bigger outside their neighborhood that’s beyond them . . . I think the experience of taking kids from what’s considered a poor neighborhood to a more impoverished neighborhood is huge. That really helps kids/teenagers/young people see that they don’t have to be viewed as victims, that I as a young person can learn something from someone else out there who has even less than I. And I can help and I can be a leader inthis situation. (Raquel)
• What was being on staff like? Revealing. I was shy; I didn’t talk much because I stuttered. Coming through school, kids made fun of me when I stuttered. I discovered I can talk I learned I was good with people—that I was kind of a friendly guy, big into relationships. One of the greatest things I learned was that I had a heart for kids who were growing up like me. I learned that I was able to connect.(Jimmy)
• I was walking with a friend after school and she was cussing. I looked up and saw one of my club kids. I told my friend, “You need to stop. This kid coming towards us is in my club program. Hanging out with you while you’re cussing hurts my leadership. Stop or I’ll have to leave.” (Skye)
• I think that experience [Honduras] was huge, huge for them (and me) . . . being on those trips with the kids and seeing them grow . . . being put in very uncomfortable situations, and just seeing them struggle with it. “How am I going to get through this experience: to calm myself down because my luggage is lost, or I’ve never been on a plane before, or I’m in a third-world country and there are people walking around with machine guns. . . how do I deal with that?” To see that life is bigger than them, and see God working outside their neighborhood? Huge. (Raquel)

I am reminded again of Skye’s description of the difference between the leadership programs at her high school and the lead- ership experience at Neighborhood Ministries: “There they talk about leadership. Here you do it.”

It is through leading that clarity of purpose and identity come to life. Leadership takes discipleship values and embeds them into the life and psyche of the leader. Leadership turns ideas into real-life experiences. Head knowledge becomes street knowledge; verbal assent gives way to transformative action.

Leadership pulls mission, growing up urban, and the divine imprint together into a powerful adventure of growth, discovery and influence within the adolescent experience. Armed with the knowl- edge of who they are in Christ, young leaders can move confidently beyond high school into the God-shaped future awaiting them.

 

 

Notes

1. Josephine A. van Linden and Carl I. Fertman, Youth Leadership: A Guide to Understanding Leadership in Adolescents (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1998), p. 17.
2. Maria Montessori, as quoted in History of Education: Selected Moments of the 20th Century, Daniel Schugurensky, ed., http://schugurensky.faculty.asu.edu/mo- ments/1907montessori.html, accessed November 2009.
3. Chris Lowney, Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-year-old Company that Changed the World (Chicago, IL: Loyola Press, 2003).

 

Questions for Thought

1. What assumptions do you have about leadership that hinder your ability or desire to pursue a youth leadership compo- nent in your ministry?
2. How would you describe your leadership style? Autocratic? Participative? Laissez-faire? Transactional? Transformational?
3. Do you lead with power or authority? What changes need to be made in order for you to lead with authority?
4. Are you a credible leader? How does your example match up to Paul’s list in 1 Timothy 4:12?
5. Is your leadership heroic? Does it “elicit great desires”? What is heroic about your ministry?
6. “There they talk about leadership. Here you do it.” Can any of your youth say this? Would you like them to?