{"id":37327,"date":"2024-04-09T19:04:31","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T02:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=37327"},"modified":"2024-04-09T19:04:31","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T02:04:31","slug":"ditch-the-ring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/ditch-the-ring\/","title":{"rendered":"Ditch the Ring"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWill we become a scandal to those who look to us as leaders, or will we choose to imitate the scandalous way of Christ?\u00a0 If Christian leadership is primarily about being Christ-like examples, it is imperative that we understand how the Powers seek to undermine us as leaders, as well as examine the lives and theology of our primary interlocutors.\u201d [1]<\/span><\/p>\n

As I sat with the stakeholder, I took a deep breath and listened intently, but my heart ached.\u00a0 In year one of my doctoral journey, while trying to develop a greater understanding of the rate of deconstruction and abandonment in the church among young adults, I interviewed a young adult, who happened to be a lawyer.\u00a0 When asked about her faith and the practice of her faith, she shared that she has left the church.\u00a0 She named the reason for her exodus from the Catholic Church. . . the very scandals that are mentioned in our course reading for this week.\u00a0 She named religious leaders who had \u201cfallen\u201d and she made the decision that she didn\u2019t need to be in church, but that she found church in the flowers, trees, grass, and nature.\u00a0 She stated that she didn\u2019t need church people, pastors, or priests to be a Christian.\u00a0 To a certain degree she is accurate. . . a person can have faith without pastors and church people, but if we as Christians and followers of Jesus are to imitate Christ, we too, gather with others for the reading of scripture, prayer, communion, and fellowship.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a tension that leaders experience between the realities of being a leader, being held in high regard by those who follow, and a desire to be authentic.\u00a0 According to J.R. Woodward in the book <\/span>The Scandal of Leadership, <\/span><\/i>one of the goals of developing an imitation-based framework is to help leaders, become aware of their desires, the way that the Powers seek to distort them, and how fully imitating Christ through embodied practices can reshape the <\/span>telos<\/span><\/i> of the desires toward God, His kingdom, and His righteousness.\u00a0 [2]\u00a0 Woodward defines the Powers as the satan, the Demonic and the principalities, and Powers mentioned in scripture. He advises readers to develop a theology of the Powers in order to bring about deeper transformation for both leaders and the culture of leadership in the church. [3]<\/span><\/p>\n

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Woodward illustrates the deadly lure of domineering power in the church.\u00a0 J.R.R. Tolkien uses an imagery of the One Ring from his series, \u201cThe Lord of the Rings\u201d.\u00a0 Woodward correlates the one ring to the reality of the church comparing the falling of leaders as similar to the lure of domineering power. Like those who encounter the ring in Tolkien\u2019s story, the author notes that leaders often succumb to the temptation and too willingly place the ring on their finger. [4] <\/span>Leadership is often associated with power, control, and authority. After reading Simon Walker\u2019s book <\/span>Leading With Nothing to Lose,<\/span><\/i> questions about the characteristics and exercising of leadership emerged. . . what if true leadership emerged not from holding onto power, but from letting go of it? What if leadership looked more like putting others first, turning the other cheek, washing the feet of the individuals on the team, being last, or laying down one\u2019s life for the team?\u00a0 Upside-down kingdom. . . Upside-down leadership?\u00a0 Walker offered a perspective of undefended leadership, challenging traditional notions of power and influence. [5] I see similarities betwe<\/span>en the missional leadership framework that Woodward is proposing and Simon Walker\u2019s writings regarding the exercising of authority.<\/span><\/p>\n

I must be aware of the Powers that seek to discourage, disintegrate, and deform me as a leader so that I am better able to bring glory to the Father through the gifts and abilities that He has developed in me.\u00a0 Jules Glanzer reminds me that \u201cleaders must lead from a divine center with a heart in tune with the heart of God, forming a holy partnership that results in fulfilling the purposes of God on earth.\u201d [6]\u00a0 To be leaders worthy of imitation, Woodward proposes that we engage with the path of spiritual maturity defined by the apostle John:<\/span><\/p>\n