Extract from Peter M. Danilchick, Thy Will Be Done: Strategic Leadership, Planning, and Management for Christians, St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2016, pp. 71-73
Many secular systems exist for analyzing leadership characteristics, and some may be of interest to those who are trying to better understand their personal leadership styles.[1] These systems usually address outward aspects of behavior, however, and may not have the internally transformative power to enable the true leader to lead in every situation, whether favorable or unfavorable. The Christian understanding of leadership has as its foundation the person of Christ.
St Paul declares the newness of the person in Christ: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.”[2] To be in Christ, to have the root of our being in him, is a radical new beginning, a restart of our life, a cataclysmic change, a “transition, a great change . . . from sins and impieties . . . to a life of virtue.”[3] Our outward behavior is changed, but more importantly, we are intimately reconnected with God. We become like Adam in the garden, for, in the words of Alexander Bogolepov, “the ultimate goal of man’s re-creation is to lead him back to his original condition, ‘to restore the lost image of God.’”[4] It is to begin again, fresh and new, to see the glory of God present in his renewed creation, and to give thanks for it.[5] A radical and life-changing transformation takes place, relative to God, mankind, and the world. We see things completely differently from before, and we have the power to act accordingly.
In baptism, we clothe ourselves with Christ: “As many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.”[6] The “clothes” referred to here are not mere outward coverings, as though we were coat hangers or mannequins performing a masquerade. Rather, they incarnate and bring into reality a transformation of our personhood, in the new creation. Nicholas Cabasilas reminds us that St Paul “at one time . . . speaks of Christ being engraved and formed on Christians, at other times being wrapped around them like a garment.”[7] When putting on their vestments before celebrating the Divine Liturgy, the clergy of the Orthodox Church recite verses from the psalms and the prophets to remind them that their bodies are no longer their own, but members of Christ. As an example, when placing the cuffs on their wrists, they say: “Thy right hand, O Lord, is glorified in power…. Thy hands have made and fashioned me. Give me understanding that I may learn thy commandments.”[8] As we walk through each day, we must remind ourselves that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”[9]
The true foundation of Christian leadership is Christ. To be
a Christian leader
is, first, to be renewed in Christ, to strip away old baggage and clothe
oneself with him. The following sections of this chapter reflect upon six leadership goals, or building stones, that stem from this
foundational renewal in Christ. The cornerstone of one’s efforts is Christ and
his kingdom; nothing can be built
without that rock. A second and a third foundation stone is also needed: an
unflinching and brutally frank knowledge of oneself, and an unceasing and
intensely focused love for others. We need to connect
ourselves to others. Our
relationship bridge with others is built upon the final
three stones of humility, service, and steadfastness.
These qualities allow us to be transparent to Christ so that his humility,
service, and steadfast love, even to death on the cross,
shine through us to others. We will reflect on these six foundational
leadership goals in the rest of this chapter.
[1] See especially Douglas McGregor, The Human Side of Enterprise (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1960) and Daniel Goleman, “What Makes a Leader?” Harvard Business Review (November/ December 1998) and Emotional Intelligence (New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1997).
[2] 2 Cor 5.17.
[3] St John Chrysostom, Homily 11.4 on 2 Corinthians (NPNF1 12:583 [amended by the author]). Chrysostom is commenting on 2 Cor 5.17 (“Therefore if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away, behold, the new has come”).
[4] Alexander A. Bogolepov, Orthodox Hymns of Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter (New York, NY: Russian Orthodox Theological Fund, Inc., 1965), 16.
[5] See Alexander Schmemann, Of Water and the Spirit (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1974), 47.
[6] Gal 3.27.
[7] Nicholas Cabasilas, The Life in Christ (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1974), 67.
[8] Divine Liturgy, 8f; Ex 15.6, Ps 119.73
[9] Gal 2.20. c