from leading to being led
September 15, 2006
From Henri Nouwen’s In the Name of Jesus:
…Jesus has a different vision of maturity: It is the ability and willingness to be led where you would rather not go. Immediately after Peter has been commissioned to be a leader of his sheep, Jesus confronts him with the hard truth that the servant-leader is the leader who is being led to unknown, undesirable, and painful places. The way of the Christian leader is not the way of upward mobility in which our world has invested so much, but the way of downward mobility ending on the cross. This might sound morbid and moschistic, but for those who have heard the voice of the first love and said yes to it, the downward-moving way of Jesus is the way to the joy and the peace of God, a joy and peace that is not of this world. (81-82)
Downard mobility. Not “Don’t look to climb the ladder.” I thought that was noble and “holy” enough. But aim to go downward.
Here we touch the most important quality of Christian leadership in the future. It is not a leadership of power and control, but a leadership of powerlessness and humility in which the suffering servant of God, Jesus Christ, is made manifest…I am speaking of a leadership in which power is constantly abandoned in favor of love. (82)
I don’t think I aim downward nearly enough as I should.
almostallaboutjason 
That’s an acute insight and piece of discernment there, Jason. Your post leads me to realize that “Don’t look to climb the ladder” can be underscored by a false humility that obscures the motivation to “stay at a reasonably and respectably ‘high’ place.” Good thinking.But what would living in downwards mobility look like? Can you give a example?
[…] The title of this post comes from an earlier post of mine reflecting on a passage by Nouwen in his book, In the Name of Jesus. […]