FROM THE PRESIDENT:
WHAT KIND OF LEADERS DO WE NEED?

Dear Friends:

Training leaders has been the primary task of seminaries since our beginning. ABSW has sought to train leaders for the church since 1871. In each generation the question of what kind of leaders are needed has been both asked and answered. Today is no different. There is quite a spirited conversation in the seminaries and in the churches about what a leader is and how leaders get trained.

The contemporary conversation focuses on leaders as "casters of visions." Leaders are pictured as strong individuals who exercise the gift of vision on behalf of the church community. Operating like the CEO of a corporation, the leader is granted freedom to lead and to direct people in new ways and new directions. In this understanding of leadership, one who leads is relieved of the tasks of service so that change can take place.

The emphasis is on expansion of the church rather than on service to either members or the larger community. A leader is one who has a proven track record of growing churches, according to this perspective. Pastors who spend most of their time in servant activities like pastoral care or staffing church committees are, the thinking goes, caught up in perpetuating the illness of the church rather than the health of the church.

Where is ABSW in this conversation? I would like to ask whether this hierarchical view of leadership is consonant with the biblical witness. Is the miracle of the New Testament the birth of the church or the daring-do of a few heroic individuals? It seems to me that the creation of inclusive communities gathered around the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is at the heart of the witness of the New Testament. If Jesus is Lord, then leaders are servants of this Lordship in service of the development of the radically new community of men and women who are equal in Jesus the Christ. The church is that new humanity made possible by Jesus' life, death and resurrection, a new humanity that exists to witness and work for the inbreaking of the reign of God.

Rather than "vision casters," a better metaphor for church leaders is "community builders." Our task as leaders is to build up the Body of Christ so that it more faithfully represents the power of love, forgiveness, mercy, and justice. God has already cast the vision. The leader's task is to be servant of that radically new vision of humanity expressed in the best possibilities of the church.

We are attempting to help our students understand what it means to be a servant leader. We are servants of the church in witness to the reign of God. Personally, I am not so interested in casting a vision as I am in working with the membership of the church to understand God's vision, which will lead and sustain the church. Finally the church will succeed not so much by the heroics of its leaders as it will by the vitality and depth of its own community. The effectiveness of the church is not measured by the preaching of the pastor but by the preaching of the church. Whether there is a "living word" rests upon the life, witness and behavior of the congregation. Leaders are servants to that possibility in the life of the church. As a leader I am a servant of the vision of the church and must nurture, encourage, and serve that vision which is always emerging in and through the people. I cannot substitute my vision, however exciting it may be, for the vision born anew in the people as they seek to love and serve the Lord.

A large measure of that servant leadership must focus on teaching. Leaders must be teachers of Bible, theology, and history so that the community is equipped to offer faithful witness in our current age. A major problem that faces contemporary congregations is growing biblical and theological illiteracy brought on by a lack of attention to substance by our current leaders. We do not need to be entertained. We need to be instructed for the sake of the new humanity.

If nothing else, servant leaders need to teach people how to think and ask questions. How do we understand the nature of our world in light of the Bible and our understanding of God's action and presence? People in our churches are hungering for a richer diet of biblical study and theological reflection. The radically new will not break through if we as leaders deprive our people of access to the material for biblical and theological reflection. We need leaders who will teach the whole church about God's vision for humanity.

For that reason, I hope you will continue to help us train preachers and teachers who are servant leaders.

Faithfully yours,

Keith A. Russell
President