Three Postures for Living Leadership

What should we do?

It’s an interesting question, and one I’ve been pondering during my first few months in post as the new Chief Executive of Living Leadership. The question comes from a poem by Roger McGough, whose work I loved as a child. His poem ‘The Leader’ (look it up) is written in the voice of a wannabe leader who, when finally appointed, asks the immortal question,

‘OK, what should we do?’

With typical insight and brevity, McGough is making a clever point about leadership, and the way leaders depend on those they lead. His question caused me to wonder if this poem I knew as a child had shaped my philosophy of leadership more than I realised. I have always preferred a collaborative approach to leadership rather than an authoritarian top-down approach.

As a Christian, I would argue that this is the more biblical pattern. Leadership in the Bible is always delegated (we serve under the authority of Christ) and is designed (in the church at least) to be plural. Such plurality is a helpful reminder of our mutual dependence. But secondly, and perhaps more importantly, leadership in the Bible is always servant leadership. This means, therefore, that considering the needs of those we lead is critical in shaping the way we lead.

Graham Miller, CEO of London City Mission, has always described his role as that of Chief Servant, and I aspire to follow his example in that regard.

As I start out in my new role, my heart for Living Leadership is that we serve men and women in ministry around the UK by encouraging them to serve joyfully and faithfully. To that end, I’d like to draw out three postures of heart which I am trying to model as a leader. I hope they’ll be a blessing and a source of encouragement for you.

A POSTURE OF THANKFULNESS

In the Bible, there are countless calls to be thankful; as Christians, we have more to be thankful about than anyone else, due to the overflowing grace of our Lord Jesus (1 Tim 1.14).

In my new role, I often find thankfulness to be first in my thoughts.

I consider it an enormous privilege to lead an organisation like Living Leadership. I passionately believe in the importance of spiritual health for those in ministry, and the longer I go on in life and ministry, the more I see the desperate needs that exist. I’m thankful for this great privilege to devote my time to this work of spiritual encouragement and vitality.

I’m thankful, too, for those who have gone before: for Marcus Honeysett, whose initial vision and wonderful gifts have helped us reach this point in our history. By God’s grace, I inherit an organisation in good shape and with a clear DNA; I see my role, then, as stewarding that DNA, even as we seek to move forward. I’m also grateful for the work of Paul Coulter, my former colleague, who worked so effectively to build sustainable structures, develop our Associate Network, and whose work was so pivotal in overseeing our transition to a CIO.

In addition, I’m thankful for our wonderful staff team, trustees, and network of Associates. Three weeks into my new role, we held our annual Gathering of this wonderful bunch of people, which was tremendously encouraging. Our team really does seek to embody the values we talk about as a ministry, and I’m thankful for the way God has gifted and provided each one.

Having extolled the benefits of thankfulness, I’m also acutely conscious that there are times in life and ministry when this posture is harder to come by. In our own family life, we are facing significant challenges which threaten to destroy our thankfulness. However, in good times and bad, the Bible encourages us to lift our eyes to our Saviour, and to ponder his great work and promises. Therefore, together let us pursue thankfulness each day with unrelenting determination.

This is for our own good, for the blessing of those we serve, and for God’s glory.

A POSTURE OF PRAYERFUL DEPENDENCE

In God’s kindness, I’ve spent the past twenty years or so serving in churches. During that time, I’ve developed fairly settled rhythms and patterns of ministry. Now, however, I have entered a new season; I have taken on a role, which has new rhythms, and makes different demands of me.

As a result, it’s been an adjustment not just for me but for my whole family. In the last few months, I’ve been travelling all over the country for a variety of meetings, which have been encouraging but wearying. It’s a long time since regular travel was part of my job!

As we all adapt to the changes, and as I seek to ‘flex some muscles’ that I’ve not used before (or not for a long time), there are many times when I feel weak and inadequate. In these moments, I’m encouraged by the consistent message in Scripture that strength is found in weakness. It is precisely as we come to terms with our own inadequacy that we throw ourselves upon our totally sufficient Saviour. By coming to the end of our own resources, we see that his will never run dry. As the apostle Paul writes, ‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”’ (2 Cor 12.9a).

I would be foolish to try to lead this ministry relying on my own adequacy or gifts, so prayerful dependence is an essential practice. As an organisation, we can look back over twenty years and see God’s faithfulness even when the path ahead seemed hard or non-existent. For this reason, we can now look forward in the same manner—trusting that he will continue to provide for us, that he will lead and guide us, as we seek to encourage others with the message of his sufficient grace.

As each of us at Living Leadership encourages others to prioritise time with the Lord as a practice that is central to their own fruitfulness, so it is also a vital discipline for me in my leadership of this ministry.

When you next see me, ask how I’m doing!

A POSTURE OF FAITHFUL PLODDING WITH JOY

As I started out in my new role, I viewed some of the challenges ahead as giant optimisation problems. My goal, therefore, was to get all the pieces in the right place so that we could move forward. Surely that would produce wonderful results.

That mindset didn’t last long. Thankfully.

As I began to listen to my colleagues and think more deeply, it became increasingly obvious that there was no silver bullet; there was no easy solution that would get us to where we needed to be. Furthermore, it would be futile and foolish to try and find it. The effort would simply paralyse me. Instead, I discovered that a better way forward would involve chipping away at some of the low hanging fruit (if you’ll allow me to mix my metaphors). By taking little steps forward, we would change and grow to become an organisation that is much closer to the one that we aspire to be. It might not be so dramatic or exciting, but this is how authentic, faithful ministry works best.

It reminds me of one of my favourite prayers in the Bible. I have often used it when coming alongside other ministers.

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

Col 1.9-12

The second half is particularly wonderful. Paul is praying that the strengthening with God’s power according to his glorious might be given to these believers. Why? For what magnificent and lofty goal? For great endurance and patience. That’s one of the most accurate depictions of the normal Christian life, of normal Christian ministry—patient endurance. But notice that endurance is combined with great joy—giving thanks to the Father for his saving work.

This is a great model for how I am endeavouring to lead. I seek God’s strength to enable me to plod on with patient endurance. And I do so with joy and thankfulness for all Jesus is and all he has done for me.

Wherever you find yourself as you read these words, I pray that you too would be strengthened with all power according to God’s glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience as you serve him with joy and thankfulness.

Please pray for me and the whole Living Leadership team as we seek to do the same.