Left Hand Rotation via Compfight
So I curate a Leadership Blog at a graduate school…
This means sometimes I write for it myself, and sometimes I find great guest writers who write for us or allow us to repost previously posted articles.
I scope out the inter webs for insightful and practical articles for anyone in a leadership position…from a small group leader, to a parent, to an influential thinker and writer, to a minister, to a business owner. Anyone who influences someone else is in a position of leadership.
[BTW-send me your links of leadership articles or pitch me your ideas. I’d love to have new voices posted at the Deeper Leader blog!]
There’s a lot of information out there, but there’s a big blind spot too.
I’ve noticed something. Not too many male leaders list women authors, leaders, and thinkers in their blogrolls or refer to them in posts. You don’t see that women influence them. What about Christian male leaders? It seems twice as bad.
Michael Hyatt’s “Intentional Leadership” blog is a favorite of mine. I LOVE it. But have you noticed that not one video on his homepage sidebar features a female leader? Does he even realize the omission? Should he maybe be more intentional on this part….I think yes!
(and so should I! I need to question who I read and why. I have a blind spot too.)
Let’s mind the gap.
As I prepare articles to begin announcing our 1st annual Women in Ministry: Conversations with Leaderships forum (June 12) I realize the glut. It’s massive.
So, what’s up?
• Is it that men don’t give it much thought? (an innocent blind spot that is likely borne of “male privilege“?)
• Is there a hidden bias or disregard for female leaders, and even among female leaders themselves?
and do men feel less manly if they read women authors? Any of that going on?
• Do men think, “Sure, I support women, but women leaders speak mainly to women and not to me”?
Let’s ask some hard and honest questions while at the same time not blaming, dividing and separating from each other. Let’s move the conversation forward!
I, for one, am going to assume the best from my male writers and friends. I’m going to put my trust and hope in the idea that if we bring the imbalance to greater attention and awareness maybe we can chip away at the disparity and both genders will be richer for it!
• What about you?
Are the top ten blogs or books you read written by a balance of men and women? If, so why or why not?
Are you taking the time to learn from someone else’s purview?
• How do we do better at offering others the chance to hear insights from the whole breath of the human species?
• What can we do about the blind spot?
LINK UP & Join Forces?
If you’d like to participate in the conversation, write an article and leave the link in the comments section. I’ll put the word out about your post too!
Andi Cumbo is tackling this and a few others. Will update soon!
Chris Morton got my attention with his summary insights from the recent Missio Alliance conference.
He made 8 key observations, but this one really struck me.
6. Anabaptists
Many of those at Missio fall into what I once heard referred to as “the Hauerwas mafia.” That is, those inspired by the writing of Hauerwas, Yoder and others, to think of themselves as neo-Anabaptist. Historically, anabaptists have either been persecuted by other churches, or have disengaged from the world (Amish).However, Anabaptism has one key tennent which is suddenly very valuable: it has never excepted the claims of Christendom, Christendom (culturally and governmentally enforced Christianity) and thinks of the church as a local, incarnational, counter society. As Christendom crumbles around North America and Western Europe, the Anabaptist tradition offers a posture for understanding the church’s place in the world.
(emphasis mine)
Loyalties
If Anabaptists have sort of weathered the storm that is Christian enmeshment in the over-influencial cultural siren of political involvement–and I think they have–we have a lot to learn from them moving forward. The Anabaptist tradition challenges us, in a most important way, to question some of our misplaced loyalties.
Issues of social justice come to the fore as well in this outlook because we begin to identify with and reach out to the people that Jesus did: the underdogs, the powerless, and those without a voice in the power games.
Is the shift obvious yet?
The U.S. cultural climate has changed drastically in the last 10 years. Is this reality evading us? It is.
Especially in Bible Belt areas that primary operate in a Christian biosphere. “Christian Land” happens in the places of profitable enterprises, power, influence, and a whole world dedicated to a kind of Christian sub-culture that, sadly, makes too little impact on the non-churched population.
Nashville comes to mind, for one. But there are plenty of less obvious locations that don’t have the sheen of Nash-Vagas. It’s the insular world (sometimes accompanied with chic hairdos and great pedicures) were folks really think their sorts of movies like Courageous deserve an Academy Award….and maybe woulda gotten one if it weren’t for them Hollywood liberals!
Yet, in most places in the U.S. the post-Christian era is here. Fully. To the unchurched, in many areas of the country, Christians and their silly churchy ways are impotent charicatures suitable for mocking. To those outside the bubble, they aren’t making a difference too much in the world, and not making progress in the spiritual depth of their own cliché either.
This means a reevaluation of what it means to be Christian and living a Kingdom life is crucial.
We need to once again ask, as we must in every generation:
• “What are our core values and mission as Kingdom people?”
• “Are our ways the upside down Kingdom ways?”
• If not, what should we learn? What is most meaningful moving forward?
The sifting begins!
Want my best guess? Millenials are the key to traction for the Kingdom now.
You can read Chris’ 7 other insights here.
I’m reading Leonard Sweet’s book “I am a Follower”.
It turns leadership on its head, which feels a bit ironical to have it as a textbook this 9 weeks in my Master of Arts in Christian Leadership course. But, then again, I didn’t expect to learn leadership ordinarily. We’re working from the ground up here. We aren’t learning to be bosses, we’re learning to be like Jesus, and influence others in the fashion of God’s Kingdom, not man’s (courtesy of the Sermon on the Mount, I might add)
It’s a challenging message for us.
Here are some noteworthy bits I’ve gleaned:
1. Jesus wasn’t looking for leaders…he was looking for followers. Instead of worrying about finding and keeping followers, we follow him.
2. The seduction to apply a secular business model has infected churches but has been a remarkable failure. Spiritual depth doesn’t come from this model. (Willow Creek’s self-assessment is an honest but damning example.)
3. God’s strength is made perfect in human weakness, and this will be illogical in a worldly model. God’s power is how we do well.
4. God will prune us, for our own good, so we may be more fruitful and glorify him more.
5. Strategy and planning common in many church models today can superseded the focus on the work of the Holy Spirit.
6. There is a going myth the technology and innovation are answers to our leadership and church problems.
7. God calls us to do something bigger than ourselves.
8. The Church’s obsession with leadership reflects our cultures values which usually center in ego and self-interest.
I will follow up with more from this intriguing and entertaining book. The man does not shy away from plays on word.
(Sign up in the sidebar to get the followup to this post.)
Glenn Halog via Compfight
Tisha asks…
“I’ve noticed that my tweets don’t get passed on (“re-tweeted”). It’s frustrating because I want to share what I’m doing, but I can’t get the word out. What’s the best thing to do?”
Thanks Tisha. There are a few things you can do to get retweeted, but it’s important to remember how a lot of people view social media. Many users don’t like being “sold to”…That means continually putting out commercials about what you’re doing. Plenty of people build ongoing relationships through social media, and just like when a person goes to a party and then irritatingly only talks about himself, social media bulletins that are only announcements and promotions can get tiring too.
So, Vary what you post. and….
• Give good advice.
• Follow up with others who might be having a hard time.
• Offer to help
• or refer your followers to good information, pertinent news, and resources.
• And best of all retweet good stuff from others.
Don’t think because your aren’t always getting retweeted that you’ve failed. Add some humanity to your social media endeavors and hang in there for the long haul.
In truth, Retweeting isn’t as popular as when Twitter first began. Now, people are a bit more selective in what they pass on.
Jonathan asks…
“With the election climate heating up, I’m noticing a lot of people expressing their political views. Some are really heavy-handed. Rude, even hateful. I know who I want to win the election in November, and sometimes I see something I want to pass on, but I’m afraid of alienating my online friends or contacts…the relationships I’ve been building might get hurt by what I send out there. Where’s a good place to draw the line with politics and social media?”
Hi Jonathan.
I know exactly what you’re talking about. Last Presidential election I actually de-friended a few obnoxious political junkies who insist on spewing all their opinions while shutting down dialogue. They were just too thoughtless, and I felt like I had to do it for some peace. When Social Media turns into a shouting match it’s a big bummer.
Politics is one of those issues that get people all hot and bothered. Their deepest values and concerns may be wrapped up in the issues of the latest political topic, so it’s easy to understand why things get so hyped up. It’s tricky ground to be sure.
Contrary to popular notion, rhetoric doesn’t work to change minds.
Your opinion won’t mean much of anything outside of a relationship context that’s been developed properly in regular life.
Consider refraining especially if your audience is larger, and may not know you and your intent intimately. They come from different backgrounds and they’ve likely had differing experiences than you. What might seem normal to you can be foreign to them. Off-putting.
Instead of posting something off-putting in the heat of the election cycle, hold back and be judicious. Save your opinions for smaller or more private circles, unless the advantage is hugely in your favor to do otherwise. (And I can’t right now imagine what that circumstance would be.)
Thanks for the questions!
Hey readers…do you agree with my advice?
Share your hard-earned wisdom or any thoughts on the subject.
Click to read PART 1 of “Answers to your Social Media Questions“
