John Wesley: The Character Of A Missional Leader

“Wesley was referred to as “the soul that over England flamed” (Tuttle, 187) . For fifty years, he rode over England, averaging 4,000 miles annually, and preaches more than 40,000 sermons. Yet, the real genius of his work was in his ability to enlist, organize, and develop the spiritual talents of others, both men and women”.

After completing the readings from Leadership on the Line, by Heifitz and Linsky, I was reminded o the above quote from one of my books on John Wesley. Talk about being an engaged and active leader! He enlisted many of the techniques that Heifitz mentions in chapter 4. Granted, he was working in a different context, but the numbers don’t lie as to his effectiveness.

The themes that stood out for me were threefold.

First, no man/woman is an island. Do not attempt to implement change or a new strategy on your own. It needs to be a communal effort. By bringing up others to shine in their gifting’s, it becomes a win-win for all involved.
Second, you keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Sounds dramatic, but it makes sense if you are trying to win and influence people. The old adage, ‘not everyone will like or agree with you’ has been a painful lesson for me being a people pleaser at the core. I have always said, why can’t we all get along? Sadly, there shall always be at least one who will push back. At my last church site, it happened consistently. It became ugly at times, but so as to not become redundant or overly negative, I will refer to my current site a little bit later.
Third, take accountability when you have errored. I think I do a good job of this, yet, can go to the other extreme and sometimes apologize too much. As women, I believe we have been indoctrinated to apologize for owning or speaking our truth. Thankfully, being older and wiser, I also don’t care as much about what people think anymore and excessive repentance is no more.
Another one of my favorite reads is The Missional Leader by Roxburgh and Romanuk.

There organic, upbeat style really resonates with me. The chapter that stood out for me was chapter 7, The Character of a Missional Leader. I was inspired by the story of Vera.” Vera is an amazing leader working with a growing number of younger leaders in emergent church planting experiments in the eastern United States. By understanding the inside dynamics that drive her, she has become aware of when her work is directed toward shaping them as leaders in a situation when there are no easy or ready answers to the questions of engaging young adults who come from far outside the church world. She is able to point them in a direction, suggest experiments, and walk with them without having to control their decisions or provide some plan for their lives. In her clam and steady maturity, they have found the resources to trust one another, take risks, and experiment”. (Roxburgh and Romanuk, 133)

There have been times when I thought I was too old to be pursuing ministry...again. But when I read about others like Vera who are actively invested later in their life, that gives me hope. Similarly, in my current internship site, there is a huge opportunity to do cross-generational ministry. Due to healthy leadership, I am encouraged to experiment and not feel limited by my

audience.
Lastly, Juana Bordas’ Salsa, Sol and Spirit, is an important, passionate and mosaic view of the importance of diversity in leadership. Traditionally, with the church being controlled and built by white males, Juana provides some wonderful tenants on how the global church is a gift AND a great communal opportunity. Is that not what we see at Pentecost in the books Acts? All people coming together, speaking in different languages and having different cultural understandings; all to be part of the kingdom.
This is so pertinent at our current time in history.

As research, will show, the new church is growing more so in an *evangelical (*loaded word these days) non-denominational, and abroad, culturally diverse setting. Fortunately, I see an attempt, particularly in the Methodist church to change that up a bit and address the reality of those diverse communities aht surround us and to be deliberate about including “the other”.

“This generation has also grown up with a global mind-set. Half the people in the world are currently under thirty, and through technology have always been connected to other cultures, nations and world events”. (Bordas, 146) As Bordas points out, it is the millennials who are bringing not only renewed faith, but stewardship/activism in the forefront. For the community as well as the earth.

Living Spirit is one of those little gems that albeit, it is made up of two former congregations, new life had been injected into the space due to that very idea of cultural diversity being a strength! There is also a “new” school of thought that we need to jeep our young people connected to our elders. Millennials in some ways have become a bit insular. But when asked how to stay engaged many will say they are inspired and motivated by those elders who have come before. (This is a very important piece within cultures outside the West. Example: in Japan that are no formal nursing homes as the extended family is required to assume care for the aging parent or

relative).
What a wonderful opportunity to reengage those who feel shut out or abandoned due to ageism and their vanishing congregation. Thus, when we add diversity to the mix, sky is the limit.