Future Leader - Foreword
Leadership! - what an audacious thought! How can anyone aspire to lead into the
future? With the high speed of change brought about by rapid developments in technology
and connectivity, the future looks blurred. Too much is happening too fast. Which
future, which direction does the leader pursue? And who is being led? The boundary
between leader and follower is hard to identify. Leaders may or may not have more
information or expertise than those for whom they are responsible. And the expectations
of multiple constituencies with varying levels of competence and commitment pulls
or pushes the leader simultaneously in diverse directions. To whom is the leader
accountable? The board? The shareholders? The staff? The clients/customers? The
church? The professional or monitoring agency? The broader society? The government?
To some extent the leader is accountable to them all, and that is part of the problem.
How can one possibly succeed in leadership? Even the measures of ‘success’ in leadership
are ambiguous. It is a prophetic service. The events and outcomes of tomorrow will
determine the ‘success’ of leadership today. And that judgement will reflect the
wisdom or perspective of that person at that time with a particular set of expectations.
In the middle of this swirling cauldron of change and ambiguity stand the leaders,
painfully aware of personal frailty and vulnerability, the words of the great leader
of the Exodus echoing in their mind: ‘Who am I?’
That is where Viv Thomas has it right! ‘Who am I?’ is the wrong question. The only
appropriate question with which to begin the service of leadership is: ‘Who is God?’
Biblical leadership starts first and foremost with a person’s relationship with
God.
Leadership from a biblical perspective is much more about following than about leading.
It starts first with the leader’s dependence upon God. Only when the reign of God
is truly acknowledged, only when ‘leaders’ recognize themselves as ‘followers’ of
the one who is king, can we look for biblical leadership. Leadership begins in a
relationship between a person and God.
Grounded in that relationship, biblical leadership finds expression in the character
of the leader, what Viv Thomas calls ‘inscape’. Finding oneself in the hand of God,
seeing oneself in the spotlight of God’s forgiving love, shapes that mixture of
confidence and humility, love and justice that lives out the fruit of the spirit
of God in every organizational relationship of service.
And that is precisely what leadership is: a relationship of service - a relationship
between leaders and followers in which leaders invest themselves in the well-being,
growth and contribution of those for whom they are responsible within the organization.
Leadership is about relationships - a relationship with God that defines all of
our relationships with those around us and shapes our vision for the future.
The future demands vision from its leaders. But not as much a vision of where we
are going, as a vision of whose path we are following. Tomorrow may offer exciting
alternatives and wondrous opportunities, but we may not see them until we stumble
over them. Visionary leadership from a biblical perspective is about prayer - listening
to God, about obedience - joining in what God is doing, and about integrity - following
faithfully with humility and vulnerability.
Viv Thomas writes as an experienced leader trying to make sense of the service to
which God has called him as he ponders the leaders of biblical history and reflects
on those who have led him. He leads us to the only appropriate posture for kingdom
leadership in the 21st century: not sitting in the office of chief executive, but
kneeling in a community of prayer as an obedient follower of Jesus Christ. May this
book give you the courage to let God lead through you.
WALTER WRIGHT
President of Regents College, Vancouver
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