Quick, if you had to define leadership, what would you say?
What about “missional leadership,” would that elicit a different sort of response?
To try and get some conversation going on this topic, we invite you to leave a comment below answering any one (or more) of three questions…
- How has your understanding of leadership changed over time and what most contributed to that change?
- What, if anything, is unique about leadership from a biblical/theological perspective?
- Who/where/what has been most helpful to you in terms of equipping you as a Christian leader?
For those interested in this important topic, check out the workshop below, featuring MaryKate Morse (Professor of Leadership & Spiritual Formation at George Fox Evangelical Seminary) & Tim Keel (Senior Pastor of Jacob’s Well in Kansas City, MO) as presenters. Them offer some strong pushback to some popular thought on the issue of missional leadership and helpfully engage the questions and responses of participants. We’d love to hear the thoughts of those who attended the seminar who who listen to the download.
Workshop Description:
Responding to missional opportunities today is a rigorous leadership challenge that requires creativity, thoughtfulness, and organization. At the same time, there is a great deal of discussion regarding the ongoing role of leaders in the life of communities engaging in missional ministry. Are the previous ways we’ve understood leadership inadequate to the tasks of today? Or are there specific structures and roles that are critical for missional ministry? In this session, we will explore the dynamics of power, authority, structures, as well as more recent approaches like collaborative models in a frank discussion about leadership.
The audio download of this workshop is available HERE and is available for free all day today, 8/26/13 (discount automatically applied when you add the workshop to your cart).
If you find resources like this helpful, there are many more available here. You might even want to grab a bundle all at the same time.
Missio Alliance Comment Policy
The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.
Unfortunately, because of the relational distance introduced by online communication, “thoughtful engagement” and “comment sections” seldom go hand in hand. At the same time, censorship of comments by those who disagree with points made by authors, whose anger or limited perspective taints their words, or who simply feel the need to express their own opinion on a topic without any meaningful engagement with the article or comment in question can mask an important window into the true state of Christian discourse. As such, Missio Alliance sets forth the following suggestions for those who wish to engage in conversation around our writing:
1. Seek to understand the author’s intent.
If you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s why I disagree. _____________.
2. Seek to make your own voice heard.
We deeply desire and value the voice and perspective of our readers. However you may react to an article we publish or a fellow commenter, we encourage you to set forth that reaction is the most constructive way possible. Use your voice and perspective to move conversation forward rather than shut it down.
3. Share your story.
One of our favorite tenants is that “an enemy is someone whose story we haven’t heard.” Very often disagreements and rants are the result of people talking past rather than to one another. Everyone’s perspective is intimately bound up with their own stories – their contexts and experiences. We encourage you to couch your comments in whatever aspect of your own story might help others understand where you are coming from.
In view of those suggestions for shaping conversation on our site and in an effort to curate a hospitable space of open conversation, Missio Alliance may delete comments and/or ban users who show no regard for constructive engagement, especially those whose comments are easily construed as trolling, threatening, or abusive.