{"id":28291,"date":"2022-02-27T18:15:58","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T02:15:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=28291"},"modified":"2022-02-27T18:15:58","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T02:15:58","slug":"mapping-spiritual-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/mapping-spiritual-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Mapping spiritual leadership."},"content":{"rendered":"

The Map that Changed the World<\/em> is, among other things, a powerful reminder of the fact that success is possible regardless of constraints. In other words, if God calls someone to a certain task and that individual does their best to fulfil this calling, there is no telling what significant outcomes could result – even if the person involved has remarkable handicaps. Real or perceived handicaps have compromised what otherwise could have been life-changing contributions from several people within my ministry context. For example, last week I was privileged to be one of the facilitators for a mental health workshop for some 15 government employees in my city. Practically all the participants complained about the constraint of having superiors that undermined the possibility of having a fulfilling workplace. I tried as diplomatically as possible to \u201cpush back,\u201d urging my audience to focus instead on what they can do regardless of the constraints. That is why The Map that Changed the World <\/em>is so encouraging. Winchester describes William Smith as a \u201chalf-educated<\/em> Oxfordshire yeoman, working alone<\/em>, with compass and notebook and clinometer;\u201d yet, despite these handicaps, Smith was one who \u201ccould surmise with accuracy<\/em> what a thousand surveyors<\/em> succeeded in confirming [emphasis added].\u201d[1]<\/a> A poor education, lack of staff, and a shortage of equipment did not deter him. In addition to penury, Smith also struggled with \u201cplagiarism[2]<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joseph Campbell points out in The Hero with a Thousand Faces<\/em>, that Smith is not unique in the need to function in face of handicaps. Indeed, in every culture, heroes must confront significant handicaps in a phase of their life\u2019s journey that Campbell describes as the \u201cBelly of the Whale[3]<\/a>.\u201d Presumably inspired by the Biblical story of Jonah, the term Belly<\/em> of the Whale, highlights how heroes seldom complete their life\u2019s mission without a notable threat. Adding to this, Jim Collins argues that to lead their circle of influence \u201cfrom good to great within the constraints\u201d of any sector, it is imperative for leaders to exercise significant discipline in their choices and actions[4]<\/a>. Perhaps few Biblical characters have suffered constraints like Joseph. Rejected by his siblings and sold into slavery in Egypt, Joseph became the victim of false accusation and ended up in jail. Yet, faithfully working within the constraints of his situation with a discipline that made him consistently reject sin[5]<\/a>, he ended up becoming a global leader managing a project that preserved life in every nation on earth[6]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Winchester observes that the task of completing what might be the first map of a modern nation required patience, stoicism, strength, and stamina[7]<\/a>. Similarly, the task of effectively communicating the gospel to all people groups, and developing indigenous leaders who are Bible-based and globally-minded will take patience, wisdom and strength, rooted in relying on the Holy Spirit. Perhaps, inspired by Smith\u2019s experience, we too can devote our lives to prayerfully and patiently mapping out the key features of the landscape of identifying, training and deploying indigenous Christian leaders within every culture of our time.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Winchester, Simon. The Map that Changed the World.<\/em> (London: Penguin Books, 2002) Kindle edition, location 2105.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Winchester, The Map. Kindle edition, location 2109.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces<\/em>. (Princeton University Press: Princeton, 2004), 83.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Collins, Jim, Good to Great in the Social Sectors<\/em>. (HarperCollins: New York, 2005), 19.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Genesis 39:6-12<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Genesis 41:57<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Winchester, The Map. Kindle edition, location 2706.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Map that Changed the World is, among other things, a powerful reminder of the fact that success is possible regardless of constraints. In other words, if God calls someone to a certain task and that individual does their best to fulfil this calling, there is no telling what significant outcomes could result – even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143,"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":[2222,2221],"class_list":["post-28291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-the-map-that-changed-the-world","tag-winchester","cohort-lgp11"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28291","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\/143"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28291"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28292,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28291\/revisions\/28292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}