{"id":28109,"date":"2022-01-27T10:58:08","date_gmt":"2022-01-27T18:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=28109"},"modified":"2022-01-27T10:58:08","modified_gmt":"2022-01-27T18:58:08","slug":"leadership-for-such-a-time-as-this","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/leadership-for-such-a-time-as-this\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership for Such a Time as This"},"content":{"rendered":"

In re-reading Friedman\u2019s book, A Failure of Nerve,<\/em> my attention became directed on chapter two. The title is, A Society in Regression<\/em> and it discusses at length how our American culture is unraveling. \u201cA society cannot evolve, no matter how much freedom is guaranteed, when the citizenry is more focused on one another than on their own beliefs\u201d (p. 57). This is an accurate statement of our present-day state of affairs and he does an insightful job of developing the idea. He compares at length the similarities and differences between modern-day America and medieval Europe.<\/p>\n

He discusses the breakdown of institutions in both periods. The rule of law, politic stability, business patterns, the Church\u2014all of these were under attack in the medieval period. To counter this regression, leadership needs to stand up and fight. Differentiated leadership that is capable, informed and pushes against the tides of regression is the difference between a society that continues to crumble and one that gets back on track. And this leadership must come from an individual first and foremost: and individual that can lead a group to influence its culture for the good. It comes at a cost, as all things do, but the leadership that Friedman describes is the prescription for success.<\/p>\n

Both time periods also have rapidly changing power shifts and alliances. Certainly, this plays out in our headlines on a daily basis today, but it was just as true in the medieval time period. This makes for fast-changing rules and expectations in a society where leaders need to keep up and be prepared for the unexpected. Leaders need to act proactively in this case and not just reactively. The best defense is a strong offense.<\/p>\n

Each age was also characterized by large populations moving into urban centers. This dynamic pushes a rise in \u201cpolitical correctness.\u201d In the right measure this is a good thing: it helps solidify cultural norms and tolerance. But when this force grows too strong, it can have the opposite effect. People feel enslaved to say and do the right thing, even when it goes against their own belief. Personal conviction, freedom of thought and speech and artistic expression all become muffled. This is another area where differentiated leadership is needed to battle against this over-reach. In today\u2019s society we see political correctness run amok and every time a leader tries to stand up against it, they are mocked, or torn down. But the fight must be fought and it takes strong leadership to do so.<\/p>\n

Friedman says, \u201cthe climate of contemporary America has become so chronically anxious that our society has gone into an emotional regression.\u201d This is the current state of affairs and leaders in all segments of society need to take note of this reality. And for us in this cohort and people who are engaged in ministry how we lead in this culture is under especial scrutiny. We must be able to read the cultural shifts happening and navigate them skillfully. Underlying all of this is of course our faith that provides each of us courage and direction from God. We cannot be guilty of not being able to read the signs in our society. In Matthew 16:3, Jesus scolds the Pharisees and Sadducees when he says, \u201cYou know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.\u201d We should take not of this warning and practice the differentiated leadership that Friedman so wisely describes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In re-reading Friedman\u2019s book, A Failure of Nerve, my attention became directed on chapter two. The title is, A Society in Regression and it discusses at length how our American culture is unraveling. \u201cA society cannot evolve, no matter how much freedom is guaranteed, when the citizenry is more focused on one another than on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150,"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":[236],"class_list":["post-28109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-friedman","cohort-lgp11"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28109","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\/150"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28109"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28110,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28109\/revisions\/28110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}