Christian Leadership
Another stolen post from Todd Hunter
This is what I think is the right question regarding spiritual leadership: “What does it mean to lead a group of people who are supposed to be following someone else (God)?”
My answer: it means to coordinate, empower, bless, care-for and guide the sovereignly given activities of the Holy Spirit.
A few months back someone (sorry, can’t remember who) in our conversation passed on the following story. I think it is a great metaphor to get someone started down the road to effective, ethical spiritual leadership. It is from The book of Great Music by Isaac Stern in China.
"The conductor is not a powerful person. It appears so, but is not so. On the surface it seems that the music is produced by the power of the conductor to tell everyone what to do and when to it. He may have to do that, but it is not what makes the music. If he does too much conducting, the real music will not be heard, but only his idea of it.
A good conductor does not merely tell everyone what to do; rather he helps everyone to hear what is so. For this he is not primarily a telling but a listening individual: even while the orchestra is performing loudly he is listening inwardly to silent music. He is not so much commanding, as he is obedient.
The conductor conducts by being conducted. He first hears, feels, loses himself in the silent music; then when he knows what it is, he finds a way to help others hear it too. He knows that music is not made by people playing instruments, but rather by music playing people.”
I realize every metaphor breaks down at some point, but I thought this might be a good way to reshape our imaginations a little bit and shape our hearts a bit to hear the voice of God—follow him—in a way the liberates the God-calling and gifts of others.
This is what I think is the right question regarding spiritual leadership: “What does it mean to lead a group of people who are supposed to be following someone else (God)?”
My answer: it means to coordinate, empower, bless, care-for and guide the sovereignly given activities of the Holy Spirit.
A few months back someone (sorry, can’t remember who) in our conversation passed on the following story. I think it is a great metaphor to get someone started down the road to effective, ethical spiritual leadership. It is from The book of Great Music by Isaac Stern in China.
"The conductor is not a powerful person. It appears so, but is not so. On the surface it seems that the music is produced by the power of the conductor to tell everyone what to do and when to it. He may have to do that, but it is not what makes the music. If he does too much conducting, the real music will not be heard, but only his idea of it.
A good conductor does not merely tell everyone what to do; rather he helps everyone to hear what is so. For this he is not primarily a telling but a listening individual: even while the orchestra is performing loudly he is listening inwardly to silent music. He is not so much commanding, as he is obedient.
The conductor conducts by being conducted. He first hears, feels, loses himself in the silent music; then when he knows what it is, he finds a way to help others hear it too. He knows that music is not made by people playing instruments, but rather by music playing people.”
I realize every metaphor breaks down at some point, but I thought this might be a good way to reshape our imaginations a little bit and shape our hearts a bit to hear the voice of God—follow him—in a way the liberates the God-calling and gifts of others.
posted by nai at 10:06 AM
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