"When we hate ambiguity, we often choose a solution that may seem right, but it may simply perpetuate the status quo. Also, if we demand that any new way of thinking reduces the 'work' of leading (simplifying), we will fail to enter the chaos and try to see through a new lens. When we pray simply for resolution, we cheat ourselves out of the opportunity to grow. Finding the grid that we need - if we hope to make the best decisions and move our organizations into the future - will necessarily invite us to enter the chaos and live with the uncertainty" (84).
Ugh. This echoes what I learned from In the Name of Jesus. Often in my DTs, I will look for a solution rather than dare to go deeper. Or if I do go deeper, I leave feeling discouraged because I feel so unstable and maybe even more confused than I started.
I'll be honest, I cried most of the way through chapters 3 and 4. I feel like Leading With A Limp is discipling me right now and I'm okay with it. Allender gets to the root of our temptations in leadership - cowardice, rigidity, narcissism, hiding and fatalism - as we respond to crises. I have or still am dealing with all of these to some degree, but I realize that a lot of it is/was because I believed that crisis and complexity were to be avoided, that that nagging I-have-no-idea-what-I'm-doing-am-I-missing-something?! feeling of uncertainty actually isn't bad, because our certainty and stability is in Christ and not our ability to answer hard questions and provide quick-fix resolutions. I listened to one sermon where Kris Vallotton illustrated a situation where a worship leader needed to be fired because of some issues, but the head of the worship team didn't have anyone to replace him so he was debating whether he should do it or not. He came to Kris, who made this brilliant point: that if the head of the worship team didn't have a vision for this man's life, he would only perpetuate the same issues.
I guess what I'm saying is, I want to start having a vision for my life and the people around me, instead of just being there to offer solutions. I realize that this solution-mentality (which admittedly has its place and isn't entirely wrong) is what got me in trouble in the first place - a subtle miss of the mark. May we not pursue comfortable answers, but His face and His truth only.
(Also - did anyone else feel ridiculous when he reveals the basis of Chapter 3? And did anyone else receive completely new perspective on the verses in Ecclesiastes at the beginning of Chapter 7? Blew my mind.)
-Autumn
Woah Aut, good post.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It is SO much more natural to operate out a solution based system in dealing with others; "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" is good advice in a lot of ways, but the implication there is that if it IS broke[n], then you NEED to fix it. So, when someone is going through a really hard time, if I care about that person, then I will actively work, in any way I can, to bring about the end of that hard season, whether by bringing them out of those circumstance, or through encouraging them in their circumstances.
Very seldomly do I look at my brother's hard situation and think, "The Lord knows what He's doing, I'm just going to sit with them through this season." It isn't because I don't trust the Lord, but rather it's because I am more fixated on "fixing" than I am truly bringing life into this person. Again, it's a lack of vision, and something the Lord has been talking to me the past few months to start walking away from, and into a greater vision and depth in ministry.
Well, the site is not letting me post on my own, so I'm gonna piggy-back on yours.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this book. I like what Allender had to say. But, the tone bothered me. It was an extremely weary tone. I wonder, seriously wonder, if after reading this, the extent to which Allender believes Jesus when He said that His “yoke is easy, and [His] burden is light” (Mt 11:30). Allender seems to have a tone somewhat reminiscent of Eeyore throughout the entire book. Quotes like, “Betrayal is inevitable…wondering, ‘Who will take my words and soak them in kerosene and attempt to burn down my reputation?” (31) Yes, the burden of leadership is great. But our burdens should never outweigh our joy. Yes, it does at times, but that is not because the circumstances are too severe, but rather because we are still immature and do not see beyond our circumstances. I believe that as we grow in maturity, we should grow in joy and peace, more and more; this seems to be a core component of Christian maturity. Yet, the tone the book takes seems to be more of a “as you grow in leadership, you realize what a tremendous and hellish burden it is, and then you lead from that place of weakness,” rather than what I feel is a more appropriate response: “leadership is difficult but extremely joyful, just as all things in Christ are joyful (ideally, not realistically for me…yet), I realize I can’t do it on my own, so I will lead in weakness and faith, and let His strength be mine.”