Our vision of leadership seems most informed by the common
urge to win. A good leader is defined as someone who leads to victory and
growth. However to limit ourselves to this as the only description of good
leadership might be to misunderstand our very character as followers of Jesus
Christ.
The church is God's representation of the sacrificial love
displayed in Christ. It is correct to declare the redemptive power of Jesus.
Lives can be transformed. But could it be that the transforming power of Jesus is
best revealed from a place of brokenness?
The biblical account of God’s
redemptive strategy seems to suggest this. The incarnation initiated the
redemptive strategy from a place of
vulnerability rather than strength: an infant. The pronouncement is to the
politically weak rather to those of influence: shepherds. The birth is in
a stable rather than a palace.
Jesus is raised in Nazareth rather than Jerusalem. His
following is secured with common folk fisherman rather than the religious
establishment. The triumphant entry is on the back of a common donkey. And as
we know the defining moment of secured victory is the cross: death and
suffering.
There is a lesson here in leadership that we must not
ignore. For Jesus, death is the new
beginning; failure is the victory.
Yet as followers of Jesus Christ we resist weakness. We
despise failure.
Even in our history the church is strongest when it is weak.
The church seems to grow strongest when driven into hiding by persecution. This
has been evidenced in many examples: China, Ethiopia, to name just two.
I don't think that God rejects strength. But I do think the
most effective way to relate to a broken world is from a place of brokenness.
It is where we most clearly display the
passionate and radical love of God.
Maybe the church is strongest when it is weak because that
is when it is easiest for us to break and take on the brokenness of our
Saviour. As Mennonite Anabaptists we recognize that the church is the broken
body of Christ for the world. As followers of Jesus
Christ, we can be comfortable with
embracing vulnerability and brokenness. We are most effective when we feel the
weakest.
