{"id":39165,"date":"2024-10-28T16:18:05","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T23:18:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=39165"},"modified":"2024-10-28T16:18:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T23:18:05","slug":"leadership-flinch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/leadership-flinch\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership Flinch"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mark Sayer’s book, A Non-Anxious Presence, [1]<\/a> is simply brilliant. Has there ever been a more applicable book that speaks to the zeitgeist of a time? 1 Chronicles 12:32 speaks of the men of Issachar who understood the times and knew what to do. Sayers would fit well into the description of those men. Sayers is an Australian author, speaker, and pastor known for his work in Christian leadership, cultural analysis, and the intersection of faith and contemporary society. As the senior leader of Red Church in Melbourne, His pastoral approach to leadership and global cultural shifts and how Christian leaders can navigate complex and anxious times with resilience is both caring and insightful. Sayers’s style of authorship, with helpful summaries at the end of each chapter, was captivating and compelling.\u00a0Any thought leader must make this book compulsory text. I recommend it everywhere I go.<\/p>\n

The author’s liberal use of Edwin Friedman brings credibility to Sayers’s writings, and while sceptics of the book may cite an over-reliance on Friedman, there is no doubt that the overly liberal use of Friedman underscores the depth of research that has gone into the topic, at the very least by Friedman himself.<\/p>\n

The simple but not simplistic clarity behind the gray zone brings an articulation of words that enable thought leaders to describe the times in which we live. The elaboration of how strongholds are created during the gray zone brings wonderful clarity as to why the gray zone is complex. Sayers writes, \u201cStrongholds form when humans seek out or build a protective structure to find security, safety, and prosperity in a threatening, chaotic, and unpredictable environment.\u201d[2]<\/a> He adds strongholds are humanity’s oldest antidote to anxiety.\u201d[3]<\/a> In suggesting that \u201cAn era is a period in which a stronghold in the form of a state, kingdom, corporation, or organisation maintains dominance over a system, projecting its power and control outward,\u201d[4]<\/a> I wonder if this describes why great church movements come and go?\u00a0 Sadly, the world has seen the demise of some very high-profile churches and ministries over recent years. The inability to navigate the gray zones effectively, coupled with Sayers\u2019 defining thought that \u201cThe fundamental structure in the world is no longer central institutions but networks\u201d[5]<\/a> suggests that denominational hierarchical ecclesia is being replaced with more fluid church networks. As the author further elaborates, alluding to times when \u201cCentralization is replaced by Decentralization\u201d[6]<\/a> in history, there truly is \u201cnothing new under the sun\u201d (Ecclesiastes 1:9).<\/p>\n

That \u201cthere are no side-lines in the culture war\u201d[7]<\/a> may suggest why Friedmans\u2019 \u201cherd instinct\u201d[8]<\/a> occurs during the gray zone. Whether it be the rise of \u201cMe too\u201d, \u201cBLM\u201d, or \u201cFrom the river to the sea\u201d, the complexity associated with herd instinct and viral anxiety is a major problem for leaders. Sayers admits that \u201cThose preaching and communicating can find themselves outmanoeuvred by one or many competing factions,\u201d[9]<\/a> which undoubtedly has led to global anxiety among church leaders. Historically, leaders\u2019 anxiety has been limited to geographical areas. Uprisings and social and ideological clashes have been limited to specific areas of the planet. The 20th century saw moments of global anxiety, whether world wars or escalation of the threat of world powers and nuclear weapons. Now, however, the anxiety is indeed global, largely because of media, specifically social media, and it is unrelenting.<\/p>\n

Personally, the most accurate description of the gray zone is identified in the book through Friedman\u2019s words. He says, \u201cIn a chronically anxious system\u2026the more aggressive members are in a perpetually argumentative stance, and the more passive are in a state of flinch.\u201d[10]<\/a> The term \u201cflinch\u201d stands out as a perfect descriptor of leadership in the gray zone. However, while Friedman appears to restrict that terminology to the more passive leader, I would argue that flinch appears to become the natural default to many leaders facing the inevitable challenges associated with leadership. Emails, texts, and phone calls can illicit an internal flinch. A readiness to defend, parry and even thrust. Sayers accurately describes this by stating, \u201cConflict and retreat become nearly impossible to gain any distance from an issue; reaction, hurt, and high emotions replace contemplation and thoughtfulness. Reflection is replaced by reactivity.\u201d[11]<\/a> So what should a leader do to stay sane in the gray zone, one earmarked with flinch?<\/p>\n

In many ways, \u201cA Non-Anxious Presence\u201d is an interlude in the middle of Friedman\u2019s book, \u201cA Failure of Nerve,\u201d in which Friedman articulates how leaders can push through backlash, sabotage, betrayal from friends and colleagues, criticism and emotional pain, and keep growing towards the higher vision in a non-anxious way.<\/p>\n

However, a summary of Sayer\u2019s thoughts is helpful. He suggests:<\/p>\n