Leading from Below, Part II
(These are some additional reflections that led me to write this resource.)
April 15, 2025
Crucial to my understanding of leadership is described in the terms, “leading from below.” It follows the contours of the “downward path of the cross.” It contrasts sharply with the dominant view of secular leadership and seen in too many evangelical circles. “Leadership from above,” tends to emphasize strong personal initiative, individualism, central authority, and metrics that lead to measurable results. Almost all Christians and many seculars will speak of servant leadership, yet too few allow it to become a prime driver.
All leaders, even top-down ones, must learn from leading from below, making significant changes in their style to serve more commendably and collegially. This requires listening, assuring there are viable and periodic mechanisms of feedback where the leader truly pays attention and heeds the feedback from the rest of the team or the board. This kind of leader is willing to change course without losing integrity and is not defensive or self-protecting…
My audience will be a diverse set of leaders. I write for missionaries from everywhere to everywhere. All of you will be leaders in some sense of the word. I write for tested (and wounded—whether by others or self-inflicted) servants of my generation and younger. You have experienced some of this “stuff ” and have learned your own lessons. You have your unique scars. I speak also to those in the earlier stages of leadership or about to enter new arenas of influence and direction. I see another group of leaders who may be in that transitional leadership topography where you are about to move into a new space with new responsibilities. You both need and must ask the Spirit’s presence and wisdom. There are also former leaders who were unable to transition into another uncertain future, or who withdrew from leadership, or perhaps did not finish as well as desired.
I have in mind local church mission leaders, especially those who determine the fates and finances of their field partners. I am also keenly interested in that cluster of readers who have not been in recognized leadership and who wonder “Why did that person get the position?” Perhaps you are one who was wounded by leadership. I know what that’s like. While I do not write for the academic or leadership specialist or theoretician, I do write for students of leadership in both formal and nonformal academic worlds. Finally, I write for the leader in the last laps of life, perhaps en route to becoming a tested person of maturity and wisdom.
Whatever the category of leader, I write for all, with colleagues and friends in every set. I have found myself in different categories throughout my life, as do many others. Instead of exploring leadership theories, this book invites readers into personal stories of family and service, transitions and change, wounds and laughter, mistakes and maturity, all drawn from my long decades in cross-cultural service.
The photographs. 1. My first home, Turrialba, Costa Rica, next door to Evangelical Chapel my father pastored. 2. Little Billy, circa age 7 (?) with his big Bible; home in Guadalupe de San José, Costa Rica
