Is 'Leadership' a useful sociological tool in the increasing professionalisation of the Church's ministry and mission, or a dangerous threat, akin to a heresy?
Every human endeavour, from a primary school to the government, needs leadership. The Church believes itself to have a clear understanding of what constitutes Christian leadership, but advocates of leadership have been unable to give a clear, concise and universally accepted definition of the term.
Justin Lewis-Anthony argues that our understanding of both secular ('managerial') and religious ('missional') leadership has been fatally compromised by the unconscious functioning of 'mythic' leadership, presented through the medium of the dominant culture of our own day, popular Hollywood film.
We describe our leaders as if they should be collaborative, enabling, saints and/or expect them to show our enemies who is boss. We search for the 'great man' who will rescue us from all our problems through redemptive violence - within the Church, we talk about Jesus Christ but we expect John Wayne.
This book shows how leadership is, at best, a 'contested concept' and at worst a dangerous, violent and totalitarian heresy.
Autorentext
Justin Lewis-Anthony is Rector of St Stephen's Church, Canterbury, and Associate Lecturer in the European Cultures and Languages Section of the University of Kent at Canterbury. Formerly Precentor of Christ Church, Oxford, he has lectured, and led retreats, on film, popular culture and theology, and pastoralia in Canterbury, Oxford, Salisbury, London, Exeter, Chelmsford, St Albans, St Deiniol's Library, and North America. He is the author of Circles of Thorns and If You Meet George Herbert on the Road, Kill Him (both published by Continuum).
Zusammenfassung
Every human endeavour, from a primary school to the government, needs leadership. The Church believes itself to have a clear understanding of what constitutes Christian leadership, but advocates of leadership have been unable to give a clear, concise and universally accepted definition of the term. Justin Lewis-Anthony argues that our understanding of both secular ('managerial') and religious ('missional') leadership has been fatally compromised by the unconscious functioning of 'mythic' leadership, presented through the medium of the dominant culture of our own day, popular Hollywood film. We describe our leaders as if they should be collaborative, enabling, saints and/or expect them to show our enemies who is boss. We search for the 'great man' who will rescue us from all our problems through redemptive violence - within the Church, we talk about Jesus Christ but we expect John Wayne.This book shows how leadership is, at best, a 'contested concept' and at worst a dangerous, violent and totalitarian heresy.
Inhalt
Foreword by Professor Stanley Hauerwas
Introduction
Section 1: The 'Problem' of Leadership
1 Jesus, MBA
2 The panacea of leadership
3 The myths of the mighty
Section 2: The Myths
4 The leadership principle (leadership affirmed)
5 Splitters!: Leaders 'repudiated'
6 Citizen soldiers: Leadership redux
7 The Duke of deception
Section 3: Domination and discipleship
8 Leading and leaving the dead
9 Mythos and anti-mythos
Acknowledgements
A Select Bibliography
Index