Extraordinarily Ordinary: Heroic Leadership
Who counts as a leader? How many lives must one influence to be considered a leader? (17) The Jesuit perspective finds leadership opportunities “not just at work but also in the ordinary activities of everyday life” (15). And the ones that lead? It’s not solely those with the leadership title (“what you do”), but those who identify their primary leadership tool to be themselves (“who you are”) (19).
Lowney reminds us that the Jesuit model of leadership is not usually a person “in charge,” or the possibility of producing immediate results or defining moments (92). Leadership is not even an act; it is a way of living (20). It is the ordinary life of ordinary people doing extraordinarily ordinary things for an extraordinary purpose. Perhaps we can call it quotidian worship. If I understand that purpose (personally, at least) to be assimilation into the Kingdom of God, then it is aligning myself to God’s mission and allowing the Holy Spirit to shape me into Christlikeness, with a view to compelling others to this posture as well. This is a fullness of worship. And this happens in the midst of real life, the daily, the ordinary. Lowney writes,
Leadership is not reserved for a few Pooh-Bahs sitting atop large companies, nor do leadership opportunities arise only “on stage” at work. We can be leaders in everything we do—in our work and in our daily lives, when teaching others or learning from others. And most of us do all those things in the course of any given day (5).
Even those marvelous moments of grabbing a second set of pants and jumping on a boat never to return to the homeland, those grand adventures of exploring the unknown jungles or steppes, stepping out into a new land, learning a new language and wearing funny clothes, placing lives on the line for voiceless slaves—all of that, as adventurous as it sounds, still boils down to the ordinary, real life. At some point, what may seem exciting—that 4-wheel drive, off road 3-hour trek to get home—ends up just being what you do to get home. At some point, that adrenaline rush of bandits arriving at your gate—ends up becoming a regular date for teatime, dancing and “checking your guns at the door.” At some point, meals still need to be made, laundry washed, and verbs in the new language conjugated. Quotidian worship is that place where the big picture of the Kingdom of God and our role in it, is laid over the risks, the excitement, the frustration, and the boredom of our daily events. That is faithfulness.
Perhaps that is also what Lowney calls heroic leadership:
Heroic leadership is not just teaching high school kids but looking past the flying spitballs to see that the well-being of the whole world depends on what you’re doing. Heroic leadership is motivating oneself to above-and-beyond performance by focusing on the richest potential of every moment. Jesuits characterized it more simply with their company motto, magis: the restless drive to look for something more in every opportunity and the confidence that one will find it. It’s not the job that’s heroic; it’s the attitude one brings to it. The Jesuits weren’t heroes because they were high school teachers; they were heroes because they brought a spirit of magis to their work (209).
Aligning our perspective to the eternal present (thanks Kierkegaard), allows us to see how our risk-taking, our creativity, and our daring matter in the Kingdom. It helps us recognize that we need not fear change. Pointing our compass to the Kingdom gives us courage to see the Holy Spirit at work in others, allowing us to trust, love and pour into them.
About the Author
Katy Drage Lines
In God’s good Kingdom, some minister like trees, long-standing, rooted in a community. They embody words of Wendell Berry, “stay years if you would know the genius of the place.” Others, however, are called to go. Katy is one of those pilgrims. A global nomad, Katy grew up as a fifth generation Colorado native, attended college & seminary and was ordained in Tennessee, married a guy from Pennsylvania, ministered for ten years in Kenya, worked as a children’s pastor in a small church in Kentucky, and served college students in a university library in Orange County, California. She recently moved to the heart of America, Indianapolis, and has joined the Englewood Christian Church community, serving with them as Pastor of Spiritual Formation. She & her husband Kip, have two delightful boys, a college junior and high school junior.12 responses to “Extraordinarily Ordinary: Heroic Leadership”
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Beautifully written as always Katy. I like your quotidian worship concept and the power of the ordinary. Everyday faithfulness. The power of plodding. Most of life consisting of turning up (Woody Allen?) Much of what seems spectacular to the outsider, or even to our naive self, takes place in the foggy lowlands of everyday life and leadership.
Wow Kathy “quotidian worship”. God’s presence in everything we do.
Leadership in God’s world was demonstrated greatly by His son, Jesus.
Thanks for a wonderful story about your mission experience.
For sure…what an adventurous, heroic life you have led. I think you would inspire Lowney.
Thanks, Jennifer. The reality is that most of my life has been very ordinary. Even the “adventurous” becomes routine, and potentially drudgery. The key for me, as Jim nicely points out in his post, is a focus on character, and transformation by the Holy Spirit, to identify one’s attitude and see God’s faithfulness in “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” Some days, that’s more possible than others.
To slow down and find the beauty and richness in every moment. This takes courage and is a heroic gesture to life. Such a great reminder Katy! It reminds me of the concept of “mindfulness” that is the big buzz word now and staying in the moment. Easier said than done. It is also so freeing to realize there is an inner leader within each of us and it is our personal responsibility to access it.
“focusing on the richest potential of every moment.”
This is more that a quip to “stop and smell the roses.”
Whenever we go to funerals, we are sometimes forced to evaluate the life of the deceased in less than an hours time.
So many people in this world have so much regret of days, months, or even years wasted.
This challenge to seek “potential” in every moment of every day is valuable.
What might today have in store for me?
So true, Stu.
I was challenged by Loyola’s examen, that “Loyola…made sure that the Exercises could also be used as a daily follow-up tool to maintain focus on newly embraced values. The Exercises were specifically designed for those immersed in a busy lifestyle in an ever-changing world. Every day “upon arising,” Jesuits are to remind themselves of key personal goals. And twice each day they make a short mental pit stop”(125).
I’ve set alarms on my phone throughout the day, to ask myself “How will I view others today?”, “Am I engaging my imagination?” and “Did I take risks today or settle for “good enough?” It’s been a good exercise to work through for these past few days.
Yes Katy quotidian worship allows for us to understand how we live our lives as heroic leaders everyday! Using quotidian worship makes room for Christ to be brought back into the Lowney leadership discussion. Spirit informed leadership vs. “inner self” motivated leadership. There is a freedom in living out our leadership as worship and allowing love to replace fear. Being obedient as a servant and trusting God for the outcome.
And allowing love to replace fear has to be a deliberate choice. Fear does not simply disappear. We must choose to step forward IN SPITE OF our fears.
Very beautiful, Katy. Your picture really warms my heart. Developing a sense of seeing beyond the immediate into the future – into the potential – into the possible – what a wonderful goal for life. And being able to do it daily is so like our Jesus!
“Aligning our perspective to the eternal present (thanks Kierkegaard), allows us to see how our risk-taking, our creativity, and our daring matter in the Kingdom.”
Eloquently put, Katy (and Soren, lol). For so long I saw my tendency toward daring and risk-taking as counter to the Kingdom because I was taught that unity and peace = never rocking the boat. The older I get the more I realize how untrue this is. The ultimate Kingdom may be more like that, but the eternal present calls us to be counter-culture wherever there is injustice or pain. That means we are called to rock the boat in these places with all the creativity and heroism of the Holy Spirit. Yes!
Love this concept of “quotidian worship.” If we can somehow live that way, I imagine we could escape our spirit/flesh dualism of needing to “recharge our spiritual batteries.” We might find that we don’t need to recharge because we are always plugged in.