I have been traveling in South Africa speaking and ministering at churches, ministries and University conferences and so have not been able to blog as regularly as I wish. This morning I presented a new paper on the use of the critical reflective competencies of theological reflection as a source for the construction of authentic Christian leadership at the “Leadership that Transforms” Conference at the University of Stellenbosch. Whilst presenting I was reminded of the words of Henri Nouwen on the importance of theological reflection in the formation and facilitation of true leadership:“Without solid theological reflection, future leaders will be little more than pseudo-psychologists, pseudo-sociologists, pseudo-social workers. . . . But that has little to do with Christian leadership because the Christian leader thinks, speaks, and acts in the name of Jesus, who came to free humanity form the power of death and open the way to eternal life. To be such a leader it is essential to be able to discern from moment to moment how God acts in human history and how the personal, communal, national, and international events that occur during our lives can make us more and more sensitive to the ways in which we are led to the cross and through the cross to the resurrection. The task of future Christian leaders is not to make a little contribution to the solution of the pains and tribulations of their time, but to identify and announce the ways in which Jesus is leading God’s people out of slavery, through the desert to a new land of freedom.”
I will be back home next week and will return to blogging regularly.
