This post is something that has come to my attention lately. Again it addresses leadership.
Currently there is only one “full-time” party leader in Canadian Politics. Three of the four traditional parties represented in the House of Commons are currently under the direction of “interim leaders”. So it’s sort of interesting to see how these parties are beginning to ramp up their leadership campaigns and the list of folks who have stepped forward or are rumoured to be stepping forward.
Except it’s really boring. None of these people are really well known, some even largely unknown even in their own parties.
What we are seeing are the effects of a lack of proper leadership.
My definition of a leader is someone who not only helps direct the organization in which he or she leads, but someone who also empowers people within the organization to step up and help in this function.
In Canadian politics it’s all about the leader, and anyone who is seen as a threat to the leadership is “taken care of.”
Let’s look at the Liberal Party of Canada. In the last 10 years they have had 4 different leaders. The last two almost appeared to be elected leaders out of desperation. “We need somebody! Quick!”
The NDP party, and their success in the last 5 years has been all about their leader, and no one else. And with his unexpected death last summer, there is no one who can step in and fill those charming, charismatic shoes.
I can predict fairly confidently that when our current Prime Minister steps down, the Conservative Party of Canada will experience the same leadership hole. Like the other parties, anyone who has shown any ability to lead has been silenced.
The circle will be unbroken.
And now what can the church learn from this? We can learn the importance of having someone to pass the torch to. We can learn it is critical that we identify new leaders in our midst to be nurtured, mentored and educated on what it means to lead. This process will also give our upcoming, younger leaders a strong voice in how things are being run.
Our political leaders are ignoring this important role in our society at federal, provincial and municipal levels, and we are paying for it in the state of our communities.
Our churches are also beginning to face this same reality. In fact, many have, and the rest of us are starting to see it as well. There are too few young leaders in our church who are grounded in Christ Jesus and who are able to be leaders in our communities of faith. Why? Because they just aren’t here in our churches.
Do you have young people in your church (under 50)? If you do, what are you doing to help them grow in faith in Jesus Christ so they can be the spiritual leaders of the next generation?
There have been times where I hear wedding stories from fellow clergy and really want to tear up my license to marry and send it back to the government. (note: of course all weddings I have done have been very lovely and special)
It was 2 years ago this weekend when I, myself, was covenanted with the good people of Carman United Church in Sydney Mines. A service that marked the end of a long journey that began 7 years before, when I was moved by the Holy Spirit to respond to the call of God to pursue ordained ministry. An undeniable call which changed my life drastically 9 years and 3 days ago.
We’re going to deal with some difficult scripture readings from the life of Jesus over the next few weeks. Namely, we’re going to look at miracles. Miracle stories in the Bible can be tough for us to read at times. These are stories of healing, stories of control over nature, stories of demon possession. Stories which challenge how we look at the world, especially when miracles change the outcome of things we normally expect.