When Lieutenant Jeremy Menteith* was commissioned as a Salvation Army officer he approached Major Max Sturge to mentor him during the first five years of his ministry. This is the second of their online correspondence.
Lieutenant Jeremy: Your thoughts on leadership really got me thinking. I must admit that my exposure to leadership has been shaped by the business world—mission statements, visioning and strategic planning, for example. I think much of the church growth movement has been infused by ideas from the business model. Though some of these ideas are definitely adaptable to the Church, I had not been looking at them through the concept of spiritual leadership. Having one's leadership principles and practices subjected to the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit and to revealed biblical truths makes sense.
In your previous response you asked me to reflect upon how I would react if I were the vice-president of operations in a bio-medical research company that was contemplating questionable accounting procedures to create a rosier financial picture than the facts merited. It seemed like a simple decision, but then it hit me that taking a stand against the rest of the board might jeopardize my job. I would stick with my position, though, and be prepared to suffer the consequences. It creates an ethical dilemma for any Christian, doesn't it?
The concept of spiritual leadership also helped me to think through your other question—how would my leadership as principal of an elementary school be different from a principal who is not connected to Jesus or the Bible? Quite a few things come to mind. I'll not list them, however, because in spite of all of your useful insights, you still didn't say exactly what leadership is! I understand the classic definition is probably the one attributed to Oswald Sanders: “Leadership is influence, the ability to influence others.” Do you agree?
Major Max: Yes, in its simplest and broadest terms leadership is influence. Let me illustrate. You are discovering in your first corps, I understand, that though your corps council is comfortable with a particular idea, you have gotten bogged down in implementing it because you have a few influential opponents in the corps. Other corps members agree with them. Because others are following them, they are demonstrating their leadership influence. You and your leadership team feel that their influence is negative because you believe it is hindering the advancement of the corps. If you do not address this issue you will likely find yourselves in an ongoing battle that you may not win, or, not win without serious battle scars. Since ours is a mentoring relationship, rather than providing you with my answers, I would be very interested in knowing how you would demonstrate spiritual leadership in this situation—apart from calling your divisional commander and yelling, “Help! Help!”
There are many definitions of leadership. As I said previously, spiritual leadership is not only for the Church but for every facet of life—business, politics, law, medicine, and education, for example. The difference is not between leading Christian organizations and leading secular ones, but between those who lead God's way and those who lead only with human wisdom and strength rather than also relying upon the Holy Spirit and timeless biblical truths. Henry and Richard Blackaby's definition of leadership is my favourite: “Leadership is moving people on to God's agenda” (Spiritual Leadership).
The critical element is discerning God's agenda. What kinds of dreams are you and your ministry team coming up with? Are they your dreams or God's? It's humbling to realize that the key to spiritual leadership is not our brilliant ideas or magnificent visions, but God's agenda and purposes. As you and your leadership team size up your ministry environment and prayerfully seek God's direction, you will probably begin to see more opportunities for advancing God's mission through the corps than you are capable of handling! Then it becomes a matter of prioritizing the ideas likely to be the most productive for the Kingdom with the people and resources that you have. Be patient. Trying to implement these initiatives will often be challenging.
The Blackabys stress that leaders must use persuasion and example to get their people to change their attitudes and behaviours. Since many people may not want to buy into God's plans, their next point is crucial—you must be totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit. Though ultimately only the Holy Spirit can produce spiritual change in people, God nevertheless uses us to effect change in people's lives and to move them onto God's agenda (Exodus 3:10). All Christian leaders should want to make a difference in their working environments and, with the help of the Holy Spirit and informed by biblical truths, they will do so. Exhilarating opportunities beckon you, Jeremy. Are you up to the challenge?
* Name changed
Major Max Sturge is associate editor of Salvationist magazine. An avid reader, he loves trouting and watching hockey, basketball and baseball on TV. Married to Doreen, they have three children and five grandchildren.
Lieutenant Jeremy: Your thoughts on leadership really got me thinking. I must admit that my exposure to leadership has been shaped by the business world—mission statements, visioning and strategic planning, for example. I think much of the church growth movement has been infused by ideas from the business model. Though some of these ideas are definitely adaptable to the Church, I had not been looking at them through the concept of spiritual leadership. Having one's leadership principles and practices subjected to the scrutiny of the Holy Spirit and to revealed biblical truths makes sense.
In your previous response you asked me to reflect upon how I would react if I were the vice-president of operations in a bio-medical research company that was contemplating questionable accounting procedures to create a rosier financial picture than the facts merited. It seemed like a simple decision, but then it hit me that taking a stand against the rest of the board might jeopardize my job. I would stick with my position, though, and be prepared to suffer the consequences. It creates an ethical dilemma for any Christian, doesn't it?
The concept of spiritual leadership also helped me to think through your other question—how would my leadership as principal of an elementary school be different from a principal who is not connected to Jesus or the Bible? Quite a few things come to mind. I'll not list them, however, because in spite of all of your useful insights, you still didn't say exactly what leadership is! I understand the classic definition is probably the one attributed to Oswald Sanders: “Leadership is influence, the ability to influence others.” Do you agree?
Major Max: Yes, in its simplest and broadest terms leadership is influence. Let me illustrate. You are discovering in your first corps, I understand, that though your corps council is comfortable with a particular idea, you have gotten bogged down in implementing it because you have a few influential opponents in the corps. Other corps members agree with them. Because others are following them, they are demonstrating their leadership influence. You and your leadership team feel that their influence is negative because you believe it is hindering the advancement of the corps. If you do not address this issue you will likely find yourselves in an ongoing battle that you may not win, or, not win without serious battle scars. Since ours is a mentoring relationship, rather than providing you with my answers, I would be very interested in knowing how you would demonstrate spiritual leadership in this situation—apart from calling your divisional commander and yelling, “Help! Help!”
There are many definitions of leadership. As I said previously, spiritual leadership is not only for the Church but for every facet of life—business, politics, law, medicine, and education, for example. The difference is not between leading Christian organizations and leading secular ones, but between those who lead God's way and those who lead only with human wisdom and strength rather than also relying upon the Holy Spirit and timeless biblical truths. Henry and Richard Blackaby's definition of leadership is my favourite: “Leadership is moving people on to God's agenda” (Spiritual Leadership).
The critical element is discerning God's agenda. What kinds of dreams are you and your ministry team coming up with? Are they your dreams or God's? It's humbling to realize that the key to spiritual leadership is not our brilliant ideas or magnificent visions, but God's agenda and purposes. As you and your leadership team size up your ministry environment and prayerfully seek God's direction, you will probably begin to see more opportunities for advancing God's mission through the corps than you are capable of handling! Then it becomes a matter of prioritizing the ideas likely to be the most productive for the Kingdom with the people and resources that you have. Be patient. Trying to implement these initiatives will often be challenging.
The Blackabys stress that leaders must use persuasion and example to get their people to change their attitudes and behaviours. Since many people may not want to buy into God's plans, their next point is crucial—you must be totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit. Though ultimately only the Holy Spirit can produce spiritual change in people, God nevertheless uses us to effect change in people's lives and to move them onto God's agenda (Exodus 3:10). All Christian leaders should want to make a difference in their working environments and, with the help of the Holy Spirit and informed by biblical truths, they will do so. Exhilarating opportunities beckon you, Jeremy. Are you up to the challenge?
* Name changed
Major Max Sturge is associate editor of Salvationist magazine. An avid reader, he loves trouting and watching hockey, basketball and baseball on TV. Married to Doreen, they have three children and five grandchildren.
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