{"id":29192,"date":"2022-10-21T10:33:09","date_gmt":"2022-10-21T17:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=29192"},"modified":"2022-10-21T10:33:43","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T17:33:43","slug":"ego-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/ego-jesus\/","title":{"rendered":"Ego < Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leading out of Who You Are<\/em> by Simon Walker\u00a0provides many different perspectives that depending on past characteristics and learned behavior is most likely how their leadership styles will reflect in their organizations. Often we wear or present a mask to people in public and behind what the public sees, often in wearing these masks, we are completely two different people. With completely two different leadership styles.<\/p>\n

Walker came under some criticism that he combined two different theories. The first theory is from Erving Goffman’s theory on Organizational Behavior.[1] The second theory comes from Kim’s Bartholomew and Leonard M Horowitz’s theory on different shapes of ego.[2] Walker comes under some criticism for not expanding on these theories, but rather used these theories to help support his main point on what makes us defensive in our leadership practice and breaking down those barriers.<\/p>\n

Walker helps bring leadership focus to being more authentic. Often we focus on methods or systems rather than having an active healthy relationship with those we are leading. In many organizations, even the church, we look for great organizational leaders or administrators. Often, the needs of the people in that organization or church our ignored. In the church, pastoral ministry and being authentic with people is so needed. However there is a cost of time and money that goes with this. We have to ask, have we become so much about the success of an organization, have we become just like the Pharisees in the gospels and forgotten to minister to the needs of the people?<\/p>\n

Walker explains that the primary task of leadership is to enable people to take responsibility.[3] To empower our following by giving them power, trust, and responsibility. We see that great leaders take on too much responsibility in their organizations, especially to protect inexperienced leaders. This is where Walker encourages growth of that leader through adversity. As the book of Ephesians focuses on the body of Christ functioning together, Walker takes another biblical perspective and turns it into a leadership handbook. Almost like the Apostle Paul with Timothy in the Pastoral Epistles.<\/p>\n

In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus gives his disciples the command and authority of the Great Commission. Because many organizations, even churches can be driven by ego, rather than the teachings of Christ, we see discipleship not happening.\u00a0 Many organizations and churches become all about the success of the leader and not about the success of the team or people they are leading. Walker brings fourth another biblical practice into this book.<\/p>\n

Walker introduces psychologist Erving Goffman’s theory in which self-performance is where we\u00a0 attempt to attract attention to affirm our self-identity. In the Western Culture we celebrate performance, the better the athlete, the more they are celebrated. The more successful a leader, ministry, event often the leader is celebrated or even rewarded.<\/p>\n

When I came to Portland Seminary, I have had many questions why there was so much strife between organizations, churches, ministries, even pastors. It seems that competition drives people, rather than to glorify Jesus. In my own life, having a food ministry in a pandemic seemed to bring out the worse in people. In all of my struggle in this undertaking, what I really needed was support, a friend, a prayer, a teammate. In preparing for year two in our doctoral program, I began reading the assigned text’s for the program, a lot of my “why” questions started to be answered.<\/p>\n

Year two of this program, reminds me a little of my previous mentor. Before planting our church in Lake Stevens, I was in a very wealthy area of Seattle in an area of Queen Anne. This is where a great deal of the doctors lived who worked in the local hospitals and UW. It is nicknamed ‘little Europe.” I was tasked with creating a young adult ministry. In time, the young adult ministry went from four people, to over 50 people. As I celebrated this success internally, my head pastor came and had a meeting with me.<\/p>\n

In this meeting, he told me that “he was not really impressed by me.” I was shocked, a little taken by surprise, I did not know how to respond. Coming from a prior ministry as a youth pastor, I had to maintain a 100+ youth in our ministry or I would be replaced by someone who could (performance ministry). What I failed to understand by my new head pastor and soon to spiritual father, he was removing the need for performance ministry, and attacking my egocentric identity in me. Worse, he challenged me. He said “that if you have one spiritual son by the time your training period ends here, I will help you plant a church. But, if you have 200 people in this ministry, and no disciples, I do not want to have anything to do with you or your ministry.”<\/p>\n

I sat their dumbfounded. For the next couple months I meditated and prayed on this. Through this challenge, I fell in love with Jesus and the gospels. I went from focusing on filling seats, to filling peoples hearts with Jesus. I focused on having a church that attracted Jesus and His Holy Spirit, rather that attracting people to come.<\/p>\n

I believe Simon P. Walker in\u00a0 <\/span>Leading out of Who You Are\u00a0<\/span><\/i>is inviting us into a new way of leading. Leading that is not based on our ego’s or own need for performance being met. But we can truly be ourselves, vulnerable, and transparent with others. We can empower others around us without feeling threatened. We can finally take off the masks and show people who we really are without being scarred, worried, or having anxiety by what others may or may not think of us.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]Erving Goffman theory on Organizational Behavior<\/span><\/p>\n

[2] Kim’s Bartholomew and Leonard M Horowitz theory on different shapes of ego<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] Walker, Simon P. <\/span>Leading out of Who You Are<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leading out of Who You Are by Simon Walker\u00a0provides many different perspectives that depending on past characteristics and learned behavior is most likely how their leadership styles will reflect in their organizations. Often we wear or present a mask to people in public and behind what the public sees, often in wearing these masks, we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":162,"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":[2347,1718],"class_list":["post-29192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp01","tag-walker","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29192","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\/162"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29192"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29194,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29192\/revisions\/29194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}