October 5, 2006
Catalytic Conversations 2: Rednecks, sovereignty, natural selection, and injustice.
Leadership editor Marshall Shelley is in Atlanta this week for the Catalyst Conference, where almost 10,000 mostly younger leaders of churches are meeting to discuss ministry in today’s culture. Here’s his second report.
Today was the conference’s first full day, and in addition to a solid lineup of speakers (Andy Stanley, Marcus Buckingham, George Barna, John Maxwell, and Gary Haugen), the hit of the day, at least for me since my momma was raised in the hills of eastern Tennessee, was the surprise appearance of comedian Jeff Foxworthy (“If you put your TV that works on top of your TV that doesn’t work, you may be a redneck”).
Foxworthy had traveled to Kenya this past spring with Andy Stanley and some others to visit various ministries. He had fun with the audience pointing out that his definition of “redneck” is “a glorious absence of sophistication,” which applies to many of the key characters in the Bible:
Samson, who grew “the mother of all mullets” and who caught 300 foxes, tied them in pairs with tails tied to a burning torch, and set them loose to burn the fields of their despised neighbors, the Philistines? “Sounds like a redneck.”
How about David, who killed somebody with a slingshot, sneaked into a cave to play a trick on somebody who was going to the bathroom in there, and then spied over the fence on a naked neighbor. “That’s as redneck as it gets.”
Here are some other, less blue-collar, impressions from the day:
Andy Stanley retold the story of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar’s madness, and Belshazzar's feast, and had everyone repeat the refrain that’s repeated in Daniel 4 and 5: “The Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.” The main takeaways:
1. Leadership is a stewardship.
2. Leadership is temporary.
3. Leaders are accountable.
4. Therefore, be diligent, fearless, and humble.
This was a refreshing opening message at a conference that some of the people sitting around me had criticized in past years for its undercurrent of “If you do ministry the way Andy and John tell you to, your church will grow like theirs.” This clearly acknowledged God's sovereign and unpredictable way of putting unlikely people in leadership.
George Barna preached his message of Revolution, celebrating his impression that “some of the most committed Christ followers aren’t finding a meaningful connection to the local church, so they’re doing church apart from local congregations.” As interviewer Gabe Lyons suggested, Barna came across not as a researcher (even though Barna claims his conclusions are based on research), but as a prophet.
My understanding of the difference between a researcher and a prophet is that a researcher discloses the methodology used for coming to his conclusions. By this definition, Barna must be a prophet.
John Maxwell talked about “natural selection” (my term, not his), that is, the unavoidable inequalities of leadership. People's gifting for leadership isn't all the same. He claimed that anyone can go from a low level to a high level of spirituality because it’s a choice people make. (I'll pass on the theology embedded in that.) But not all people have the potential to be strong leaders, because it’s a gift and a skill. And if a person is a level 2 as a leader, they can work hard and reach a level 4 or 5, but they’ll never become a level 9. Only people who are born as a level 6 or 7 can ever hope to become a level 9.
The implication: if you want to develop strong leaders, don’t waste your time with people of low potential. Focus on those who can reach the higher levels. He cited the example of Jesus, who didn’t spend equal amounts of time with all people, nor even with all the disciples. He focused on the three, then the twelve, then everyone else.
While this may be true, it’s also true that Jesus made sure to spend significant “face time” and “touch time” with the lame, blind, and powerless. IMHO, this is an element often lacking among those who choose to spend their quality time only with those of great leadership potential.
Finally, Gary Haugen of the International Justice Mission brought the most moving presentation of the day, describing his work freeing slaves from captivity and forced labor in south Asia and young girls sold into the sex trade in other parts of the world. He pointed out the Bible’s cry against injustice, which is not some trivial “getting caught in the 10-items-or-less express line at the store behind someone with 13 items.” But injustice is “people with power taking something from people who lack power.” His combination of Christian passion, a former prosecuting attorney’s eye for evidence, and his legal expertise showed us we don’t need to “sink into the paralysis of despair” over the enormity of the problems, but by putting what we can offer into God’s hands, injustice can be broken.
He concluded with the story of a young girl, taken from her home and forced to work in a Southeast Asia brothel. After collecting the evidence and working with the right authorities, agents of the International Justice Mission were able to free her and return her to her family. On the wall of the room where she had been so unjustly used, the girl had scratched these verses from Psalm 27:
The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?
When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
I don't think I'll ever read those verses in the same way again.
Much to think about today, and much to live out.
Posted by Marshall Shelley on October 5, 2006
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Comments
So, I'm reading this update and I get to John Maxwell's "Darwinian model of leadership." (Okay, as a scientist and one who feels evolution is viable description of the process of developement G-d has used to bring us today, I get peev'd when people propose...e'oh...what are the words I want...weak comparisons to complex issues and thus dumb the conversation down to irrelavancy)
First off, the guy is a nut to even suggest such a model for people and leadership potential, and how this conference allowed him to reveal his thinking about it either speaks to their belief in free speech or their complete lack of comprehension of leadership developement in people.
Either way, M. Shelly, I got the same impression as you, and I fully support your counterpoint. Jesus works with whomever he gets, and the thing Jesus requires from us...mere obedience.
A pity Mr. Maxwell doesn't get that.
Posted by: Sheerahkahn at October 6, 2006
Haugen's story is heartbreaking . . .
It is so refreshing to continue to watch more and more churches turn their attention towards the plight of the poor, the sick, the outcasts, those “outside the camp.” But as we continue to witness the revival of the American Church’s embracing of social justice ministries, we will hear more stories like Haugen's.
While the story is unspeakably tragic, there is hope . . .We are reminded that God never leaves us; in the deepest moments of despair He is there . . . God is active and working through His Church in wonderful ways . . . He is advancing His Kingdom and will one day perfectly redeem the hurting, the damaged who call upon His name.
Posted by: Andy at October 6, 2006
Yeah, I'm not sure fisherman and sell-outs (and other misfits who made up the Twelve) would have made it into John Maxwell's "people with leadership potential."
On the other hand, I do see value in churches helping people understand their gifts and use them where they will build up and edify the church. I don't see why encouraging and mentoring those with "leadership" gifts is more important that those whose gifts are to joyfully perform necessary menial tasks.
In other words, its the implication that certain people deserve more attention that I disagree with.
Posted by: Nathan Woodward at October 7, 2006
I am encouraged to see some leaders in the Christian community are realizing committed Christians have a hard time connecting with the average church today and are going outside the traditional church to do ministry. Too many of those that need Jesus respond to Christians as the prostitute Philip Yancey described as feeling that the Church was the last place she would consider going. Those people would only make her feel worst.
Posted by: bobby n, hill at October 7, 2006
So a conference designed for next generation leaders in North America is loaded with a panel of all white speakers with one token black man? This during the time when the center of Christianity is not in the West, this during a time where the world is getting "flatter" (to use a Thomas Friendman's phrase)? I think there's a problem here...
Posted by: Yucan at October 9, 2006
Ah Ecclesiology! Truly the last frontier of Evangelical Protestant theology.
Posted by: Barnabas Powell at October 12, 2006
I've always liked and still like John Maxwell. I've read (okay scanned is probably a better word.) most of his books, attended his seminars, used his video material in our church, I even attended one of the first Catalyst conferences, and I thought at the time and still do that it was one of the best conferences I've ever been to.
Okay here's the but… there's more to ministry than just leadership. As one of my favorite teachers, Tony Cooke points out in his book In Search of Timothy, if leadership is everything then there were an awful lot of bad leaders in the Bible. Just one example:, at almost the end of his life and therefore his ministry the Apostle Paul had this to say :
Wow here's a guy with what I would say was a pretty successful ministry yet all forsook him. Was that a leadership failure or was that something else? Tony Cooke suggests that in this country we have a whole lot of follower-ship failures.
Everything doesn't rise and fall on your leadership. That's part of the equation but it's far from everything.
Posted by: Greg Marquez at October 12, 2006
I am troubled by John Maxwell's Darwinian model for choosing who to spend time with in leadership development; at the same time, I can sympathize to some extent with him and many others, because I know from past experience that we do have to choose who we'll invest time and effort in. Each one of us has only so many hours each day, and we can't possibly spend time with anybody and everybody, so we have to choose who we'll spend our time with in discipleship, evangelism, etc. The real question here is, how do we decide whom we'll spend time with in discipleship, evangelism, etc.?
Having served overseas, I can tell you that many missionaries typically decide to spend time with those who show an interest in the Gospel. If someone doesn't show much interest in the things of God, most missionaries usually won't spend time with that person, unless God intervenes and engineers their circumstances to where they're forced to spend significant amounts of time with such a person.
Posted by: Derek at October 12, 2006
If anyone is looking for statistical support for Christians who have not found 'a meaningful connection to the local church,' then please include me in the sample data. Hold, I am not quite sure about that 'most committed [of] Christ followers' bit..
Posted by: Daniel at October 13, 2006