Urban Leadership Foundation
A hub for leadership training in cities and among the world's 1.4 billion slum-dwellers
In John 15:16 Jesus tells us that he has apponted us to go and bear fruit and that theat fruit should abide. Thus as we minister we find the seeds multiplying. If we plant good seed it keeps multiplying. If the seed is not good movements do not grow from it. Our first question is then to discover what is good seed?
As we get older, we thus find ourselves managing and leading many thousands of people, many ministries. How do we understand the dynamics of such leadership, its principles, its skills. What are the Biblical frameworks we can apply to such processes?
In this course we have utilised a theory of "leadership capital" (gifts, calling, training, capacity), against a background of a lifelong timeline (identifying turning points, theological development, resource structures, cultural engagement, leadership capital), and from this identified principles of leadership that emerge at different levels of societal leadership. Our particular millieu is movements (Stoll) among the urban poor.
Jesus is our model of an apostolic leader. He is our model of a revival movement leader. He is our model of an urban poor movement leader. The derivative effects of his teaching has transformed the social, economic, political world in movements of ideas. However, we understand more about a leader of societal reform by looking at Nehemiah or Moses, or Ghandi or Mandela or Kagawa. Diaconal leadership (NGO leadership) is best derived from the book of Acts and the epistles. Prophetic leadership best derived from an analysis of the prophets.
Thus by starting with models we tend to look at charisma, gifting, training, calling, capacity, spirituality (Sanders) with an emphasis on the personal characteristics of the leader. Biblically we can begin with the five leadership gifts of Eph 4:11, 12 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher) plus that of a deacon(ess) and multiple character qualities required of leaders in the scriptures. Anthropolgoically there are significant studies on charisma and authority, the nature of prophets (both Christian and non-Christian), and in busienss significant studies on management and entrepreneurial leadership. The beginning point is Jesus' teaching that the leader is a servant (See Greenleaf). We differentiate movement leadership and management.
This is not a course on management and organizational leadership (that follows), but about movement leaders. But is leadership about the person or about the impact of the person, the capacity to mobilise, to multiply ideas, people, spiritual power... Thus we need to define what a movement is (Berg and Pretiz; Freston) and what movement leadership is. Also how it changes over the life of a movement, over time. We utilise the stories of multiple leaders during the class and map these on timelines.
Other business literature in this domain identifies the Extraordinary Leader. Stephen Covey speaks of a season of finding your voice, beyond normal managerial leadership.
Within this framework of "leadership capital" developed over time, that causes groups of people to coalesce around a dream, there are miultiple principles that define leadership dynamics. These have different patterns according to the nature of the movement. Learning Outcome: At a masters level, one of the intentions is for students to be able to compare and contrast diverse theories.
It is helpful to examine existing movement leadership theories in the arenas of apostolic movements, social movements, the movement of ideas, missional structures - we can even learn principles from the art of war. There are also anthropological theories that inform such discussion: the ideas of insider-otsider roles, symbolic actions, the bridges of God, cultural interpretation...
Apart from principles there are specific skills at movement leadership levels that must be learned - different to early level leadership skills. Among them are ability to change styles, coalition building, networking, community organisation processes, and administrative capacity building.
The leaders role within the movement also defines the skill sets needed )See Lisa Engdahl on Categories of Leadership
Learning Outcomes: From this course each student will be guided through the grassroots churchplanters training course material on CD. They should be able to train a cluster of urban poor pastors with the grassroots churchplanting training materials, They will have been involved in setting up a story-tellng consultation.
Are leaders defined by who they are or by who their followers are? And does the context and culture of the time determine the leader? Thus we need to look at the stages of a leader's life, along with the tribal-urban- global contextual dynamics of their leadership.
Mclelland in his 1960's studies internaitonally identified characteristics and measurements of n-achievement across cultures. Out of this came studies on entrepreneurship. Chokhhar et al. identify nine cultural dimensions in analyzing leadership within cultural millieux.
Integrating from Diverse Disciplines: This course has developed from listening to the sories of well over a thousand leaders of mvements among the poor in over 23 cities, along with studying teh literature through the years on movement leadership. There is not yet a unified field of leadership studies on the emergence of urban poor movement leadership. The following all have insights that might contribute to such a theory. Each discipline tends to have patterns of leadership formation, but it is not clear what is generic from among the urban poor and what is imposed by the particular external discipline. (For example social movement theory imposes left wing patterns of bitterness that are evidenced in many feminist "critiques", Marxist "analyses", liberation theologies and in revolutionary movements. This is in contrast to an overlay of Biblical reconciliation processes, Biblical uplift of women through affirmation of marriage relationships, etc that are in fact evidenced as urban poor church movements develop. These are all overarching perspectives, rather than perspectives derived from among the poor. When are they valid? Which are valid?).
Church Growth Theories: The context is largely that of church growth theories (McGavran, Schwartz), development of apostolic and prophetic leadership (Hirsch, Grigg, Wagner); cell multiplication (Neighbour, DAWN); house church leadership (Lim); churchplanting movements (Garrison); web movements (Tippett), people movements (McGavran); revitalization (Wallace) and revival movements (Snyder, Grigg); patterns of urban poor church growth (Grigg)and Doug Hall's concept of The Quiet Revolution. These theories will be anchored in reality by listening to urban poor leader's case studies and reflecting on their processes of catalysing indigenous leadership and theologising styles.
Christian Social Justice Theology: Jim Wallis publisher of Sojourners has been a soical justice voice for evangelicals. here is a mature intgration of the Biblical themes with an intro to social movement theory. Faith birthed in revival is at the root of social movements (Grigg).
Theory of Citywide Networking: The CD contains a second complete course on citywide leadership. We will touch on this but not explore it extensively, particularly the formation of citywide leadership teams. Partnerships (Butler, Garvin) and networking in bringing about citywide spiritual and social change (Grigg), are examined in case studies of the latest developments in bringing about unity and prayer movements in global cities. Examination of theory and models from multiple cities of the mobilisation of citywide prayer and of ethnic reconciliation processes (Dawson). Spiritual leadership is in the context of cities and spiritual powers (Silvoso, Murphy).
Urban Poor Education: Paulo Freire developed in Brazil his Pedagogy of the Oppressed, theories of how poor people learn from contextual engagement. this has created a worldwide following among educators. There is a growing literature on oral learning syles.
Psychology of the Poor: Theories by Maslow, Kohlberg, Erikson and Fowler on psychological implications of hierarchies of needs can be applied to urban poor leadership emergence - these are foundational to understanding selection of leaders. Brian Hall in Values Shift, develops these psycho-sociological theories into an extensive values analysis which while not directly lnked to the urban poor provides an attempt at an overarching leadership theory. An analysis of the pain of oppression give clues to reactive responses among leaders in oppressed societies (Rodriguez).
Anthropological Theories: Paul Hiebertal in Incarnation Ministry analyses the cultural progressions from tribal to peasant to urban and urban poor societies. Within this, some themes as to the nature of effective leadership styles can be identified. Grigg's Analysis of Oscar Lewis' Culture of Poverty derives implications for leadership in Cry of the Urban Poor. He analyses the nature of middle class attempts to enter and give leadership among the poor in "Leadership for Multiplying Movements" in Companion to the Poor. Cultural roles and movements (Gerlach & Hine); multiple ethnic styles of leadership and decision-making, contrasting cultural styles between urban managerial styles and Lowland peasant/tribal consensus-based leadership styles (after Lynch). Web movements (Tippett), people movements (McGavran); revitalization movements (Wallace) all contribute.
Community Organization: Saul Alinsky founded a discipline of Community Organisation, an approach of uniting the poor to work against oppression. It reflects the Marxist and anarchist analyses of overthrowing power structures, but there are also many positive lessons for leadership styles. Bob Linthicum has interpreted these for evanaglicals. There is a whole literature of social movements as political responses to oppression and injustice (Morris, Nepstad, Piven & Cloward, Scott). There are extensions of this into theories of revolution in contexts of extreme rape of cultures by militatirstic forces. We shall touch on this, as at times this approach may be of signficance for the urban poor, but for most urban poor movement leaders it is outside of their leadership roles. it does however highlight an alternative set of theories and presuppositions. These lead to a critique of bitterness and reconciliaton as two opposing themes in leadership responses to oppression.
Sociology: Max Weber developed theories of Prophetic and Charismatic Leadership at the foundations of sociology. McLoughlin extends revival movement theory by analysing its social impacts over four generations in the US.
Theology: Abraham Heschel identifies themes in the OT prophets in their leadership in oppressive societies.
Business and Marketing: Diffusion of Innovations (Rodgers). The Leadership Circle (Bob Anderson) integratesfrom theories on the Aennegram, Authenticity, Emotional Intelligence, Adult Stages of Development and others.
Operations Management: Doug Hall's application of Systems Theory to Urban Ministry (to be added)
Networking Theory: Read the Encarnacao Alliance document and discuss the idea of Starfish communities and the nature of networking. What are its contribution to leadership development.
(See the course outline for specifics, as they vary class to class)
On Revitalization
Smith, John. Perils, Paradoxes and Principles of Revitalization. Paper presented to Revitalization Conference, Asbury Seminary, October 2009.
Wallace, A. F. C. (2003). Revitalizations & Mazeways: Essays on Culture Change, University of Nebraska Press.On
On Leadership Theory Based on Stages of Life
Hall, Brian P. (1995) Values Shift: How Individuals and Leaders Develop. Twin Lights Publishing. ISBN 1-885435-00-2