I'm still unpacking some thoughts about leadership that are in seminal form.
We all know that leadership is influence and that biblical leadership is based one hundred percent on servanthood. We also know that leadership in churches is easily transformed into manipulation and used to serve self-seeking ambitions (both conscious and unconscious). Yet, we recognize that it's not possible to throw out leadership; it always exists whether recognized or not. Someone will always surface, within a group, to point in a direction or at least suggest a direction. The Holy Spirit does lead His people intentionally through people... not necessarily through an assigned person... but He does lead and people who are listening become, at least for the moment, leaders.
Furthermore, the Holy Spirit does seem to be intentional about leading His people forward in certain key areas: building community, being missional, and becoming more like Christ. Therefore, it seems to me that "leadership" (the people of God) who are listening to the Spirit will also be intentional about pointing in directions that move the Body of Christ toward community, being missional, and becoming more like Christ.
As I said, I am still thinking this area through, but I would like to suggest two quotes that bring some definition to leadership that is intentional in the three areas that I have mentioned. The first quote is from Alan Roxburgh:
Leadership is not a person with a plan or vision for the future, a leader is one who forms environments in which the people of God, among whom the Spirit resides, can get in dialogue with others and narratives of Scripture.
It seems to me that this definition of leadership relates to the Spirit's desire for us to be intentional about developing community and becoming more like Christ.
The second quote, from MissionThink, defines what leadership is that is intentionally missional. Here are his thoughts:
Missional Leaders? I've noticed that most talk about missional leadership points out what missional leadership IS NOT, instead of what it is--it's not hierarchical, its not pyramid-shaped, it rejects a clergy/laity distinction, etc. I'd like to put forth what I think missional leadership IS (keep in mind, that these are generalizations, and sometimes there can be exceptions):Missional Leadership:
* is a steward of the vision, not its creator nor its master
* leads by giving a tangible example of missional living
* focuses on fostering networks of relationships more than on building infrastructure
* recognizes and mobilizes the spiritually gifted, rather than delegating
* helps the community in spirit-led decision making, rather than making decisions for the community
* is plural rather than singular
* is based in function rather than office
* helps people to engage people where they are at, rather than focusing on leading a meeting to draw people from where they are at
* invests in who the Spirit tells them to, not just "top tier" people
* puts ethos development before systems development
* doesn't equate vision with control
* helps to shape ministry around people, rather than placing people in ministries
I think I would add (or modify) this list to say that missional leadership is about helping others to uncover their missional vision. When talking about vision, I believe it's important to make sure that we do not see vision coming from, or even being stewarded by one person, rather vision is the collective of what God has put on the hearts of every believer and leadership is about helping to uncover and serve that collective vision.
Perhaps, as I mull this over, I would simplify all of this by simply suggesting that leadership is about serving (really serving) the work that God is doing in and through others.
