For the first few weeks of living in a village house along the coast of Kenya we did not have any curtains on our windows. We were like fish in a fishbowl with everyone looking in. Though we always had an audience watching us, not having curtains allowed for the breeze to provide a little relief in the unbearable heat and humidity. It didn\u2019t take too long for our family to adjust to people watching us at our windows all day (and probably night). It was as if we were the new play in town and everyone wanted to come see what was on stage and then write their own reviews. In a sense, we were entertainment.<\/p>\n
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In this week\u2019s reading, Simon Walker writes about leadership styles and personas. He compares the undefended versus the defended leader. In making the comparison he uses the terminology of a stage, in which the audience only sees what is presented on the frontstage, but they can\u2019t see what is backstage. Another interesting point of his book is the different leadership Ego\u2019s which I am going to put aside at this moment. Instead, I want to focus on the drama of the stage.<\/p>\n
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As leaders, we perform on stage, portraying to the audience the best view of ourselves from frontstage. We try to minimize the clutter in the backstage. Walker writes, “Each of us develops a routine that we perform every day and tries to get the attention of the audience we want, who will give us the kind of reception we seek, affirming our sense of identity.”[1]<\/a> This continues as we go about our work because as Walker lectured, \u201cThe audience requires our performance. So therefore, we perform.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some questions come to mind. Who are we performing for? What about the backstage? Is it truly possible to divide the stage, front and back?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In a theology book called Faith Speaking Understanding <\/em>by Kevin Vanhoozer he uses a theatrical model to help the Christian learn his place in the cosmic script. “The theatrical model encourages us to think of the triune God as simultaneously playwright, actor, and director of the drama of human history.”[3]<\/a> Furthermore he adds, “The ultimate goal of the actor is not simply to play a role but to project the main idea of the play.”[4]<\/a> Well, the play is not ours. We are not the scriptwriters nor are we the director. We are simply a part of the cosmic drama that God himself has written. This limits my role while standing on frontstage.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n My role is to point to Jesus as the one to get the adoration of the audience. It seems that my role as an undefended leader isn\u2019t to worry about my stage presence but rather to invite others to participate in the play with me. The stage is not meant to be lonely but rather it is more like community theatre, inviting others to play the roles God has for them. Obviously, this might allow fellow actors to wonder around back-stage but Walker writes, \u201cThe secret of effective leadership is the freedom to live the undefended life.”[5]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Vanhoozer and Walker both articulate theatrical roles. Vanhoozer encourages the Christian to participate fully in the drama of God and Walker encourages the leader to embrace \u201cour full humanity, discovering what it is to be fully human, to participate fully in the world.”[6]<\/a> For Vanhoozer, our participation in the drama is how we become fully human.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When we lived in a fishbowl, we learned there is no distinction between the frontstage and the backstage when people can peer into your windows and see everything. I began learning how to live my life on a bigger stage where I am truly performing for the only one who understands my performance, our Lord Jesus. The drama I am in always has room for others to step out of the audience and join me on stage. The Lord will give him his own role to perform. However, most audience members aren\u2019t willing to step up onto the frontstage unless they have peered into the backstage.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Therefore, I took the curtain down and try to live my life as honest and open as possible in an undefended way.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n _______________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Simon Walker, Leading Out of Who You Are<\/em>, The Undefended Leader Trilogy 1 (Carlisle, UK: Piquant Editions Ltd., 2007), 24.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Simon Walker, \u201cLeading Out of Who You Are\u201d (Lecture, Oxford, September 25, 2023).<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Faith Speaking Understanding<\/em> (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2014), 29.<\/p>\n