{"id":15094,"date":"2017-11-09T06:39:05","date_gmt":"2017-11-09T14:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=15094"},"modified":"2017-11-09T06:53:07","modified_gmt":"2017-11-09T14:53:07","slug":"set-me-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/set-me-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Set Me Free"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cMy fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.\u201d1<\/sup><\/a> <\/span>Is <\/span>leadership<\/span> simply pretending to do what other<\/span>s<\/span> expect us to do? <\/span>H<\/span>ow often <\/span>d<\/span>o we as christian leader<\/span>s<\/span> fake it, pretend to know what we are doing. <\/span>The line between inspiring the greatness in others<\/span> and hypocrisy<\/span>,<\/span> can be very narrow. The Bible says, \u201c<\/span>If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.\u201d2<\/sup><\/a> <\/span>The tension between becoming the leader that God created and being who <\/span>the <\/span>world expects us to be, has created a gulf of uncertainty and self doubt that makes some flee from any appearance of leadership. <\/span> When we are all set free to be, do and go where God is leading, then we <\/span>are <\/span>free <\/span>to <\/span>live a life walking in His presence. <\/span><\/p>\n

Lowney’s <\/span>Heroic Leadership: <\/i><\/span>Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World,<\/i><\/span> defines<\/span> it<\/span> u<\/span>sing historical and <\/span>J<\/span>esuit theological techniques. <\/span> H<\/span>is examples of effective leadership did not always \"\"<\/a>produce mass followers nor <\/span>have <\/span>high returns on the time and investment given. This was seen specifically in his account of Benedetto de Goes’s 3000 mile journey that ended in death; what many would see as failure. How many leaders through the centuries have not been remembered because their actions didn’t produce desired results or achieve top-down given goals? <\/span><\/p>\n

Lowney has receive<\/span>d<\/span> some <\/span>unwarranted <\/span>criticism. \u201cThe<\/span> p<\/span>roblem with his approach is that he has not clearly defined his audience. He is trying to tap into that huge market eager for more books on leadership, but I doubt this group will appreciate his long historical accounts.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>3<\/sup><\/a> Boers sees this book as another way to make money. He is especially critical of Lowney for trying to separate these Jesuit leadership principles from their faith and devotion to God. \u201cLowney’s attempts to secularize the Jesuits i<\/span>s<\/span> troubl<\/span>ing<\/span>[<\/span>…<\/span>]<\/span>Y<\/span>et how one lives and works reflects ones values and is intrinsic to spirituality.\u201d4<\/sup><\/a> <\/span>In my opinion, t<\/span>he Jesuit approach to leadership <\/span>is<\/span> inseparable from their walk with God. <\/span>Their philosophy teaches that t<\/span>hey are leading all the time <\/span>and believe<\/span> that <\/span>leading comes from within. <\/span>For them, i<\/span>t is a way of living and an ongoing process.<\/span>5<\/sup><\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLowney does not convince me that the Jesuit leadership pillars can be motivated by anything but deep Christian convictions[…] The amazing achievements of Jesuits can not be separated from faith; their motivations belie much that drives the corporate world.\u201d6<\/sup><\/a> Boer’s criticisms have merit only if Lowney is trying to separate faith and leadership. I believe the examples that Lowney uses shows the opposite of this. Jesuits of the past persevered because of their faith to accomplish what they knew God had called them to. I don’t believe each example Lowney provided could have accomplished their goals without faith, prayer, or the help of God’s leadership. He might be writing to a mostly secular audience but has in my opinion creatively incorporated true leadership principles based on leaders dedicated and devoted to serve God. \u201cJesuits trained every recruit to lead, convinced that all leadership begins with self-leadership.\u201d7<\/sup><\/a> Even if I am reading faith-based leadership into this book, it still allows me to see how ea\"\"<\/a>ch member should be trained as a leader. Each attender to our churches, each person that comes to faith, each child in Sunday school should be considered on the track of leadership development. In my research, studying the obstacles and techniques to develop leaders in a Chinese context, I have found that the groups that are growing are the ones that are teaching leadership from even before a prayer of belief happens. <\/span><\/p>\n

Jesuits are portrayed as \u201cforging seamless multinational teams, motivating performance and being open to change and staying adaptable.\u201d8<\/sup><\/a> If I have a criticism for this book, it is that I felt as if we did receive a little of the white washed version of the story. Matteo Ricci challenged the way European missioners approached a foreign land by learning the language and adapting his techniques and philosophy to the people he wanted to reach. This was revolutionary and radical for its time. Lowney doesn’t talk about the obvious obstacles within his own organization to new approaches that could be seen as contrary to the direction of the company. Goes, Ignatius, Ricci, and Clavius were not leaders that desired to keep the peace, but rather they saw something greater and pursued it even at the cost to disruption within the institution.<\/span><\/p>\n

When leaders are all encouraged to follow what God has placed in their lives and released into the world to love and serve in His name, then we find fulfillment as a leader. Jesuits are a group portrayed as \u201cliving with one foot raised\u2014 always ready to respond to emerging opportunities.\u201d9<\/sup><\/a> Jesus invites his disciples to follow him, not to come lead in his name. The world is preoccupied with leadership methods and we do not need to blindly follow. Like the Jesuits, our faith and call to develop leaders comes not from ourselves rather from a deep and committed longing to be who Christ modeled.<\/span><\/p>\n

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1<\/a>Boss, Jeff. 7 Funny Quotes With Serious Leadership Lessons. 2014. https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/article\/236547<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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2<\/a>Luke 6:39<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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3<\/a>Boers, Arthur. “Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World \/ God’s Soldiers: Adventure, Politics, Intrigue, and Power-A History of the Jesuits.” The Christian Century 121, no. 21 (2004): 62-64<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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4<\/a>Ibid<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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5<\/a>Lowney, Chris. Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-year-old Company That Changed the World. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2003.15<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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6<\/a>Boers, Arthur. “Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World \/ God’s Soldiers: Adventure, Politics, Intrigue, and Power-A History of the Jesuits.” The Christian Century 121, no. 21 (2004): 62-64.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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7<\/a>Lowney, Chris. Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-year-old Company That Changed the World. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2003. 9<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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8<\/a>Riess, Jana. “Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World.” Publishers Weekly 250, no. 21 (2003): 65.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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9<\/a>Lowney, Chris. Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-year-old Company That Changed the World. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2003.29<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cMy fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them.\u201d1 Is leadership simply pretending to do what others expect us to do? How often do we as christian leaders fake it, pretend to know what we are doing. The line between inspiring the greatness in others and hypocrisy, can be very narrow. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[933],"class_list":["post-15094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-lowney","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15094"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15101,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15094\/revisions\/15101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}