John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” - John 1:23

In a class at Luther we have been talking about leadership in the church and the idea of vision coming from the community instead of single leader/pastor.  It’s a good conversation and I believe the power of community “sensemaking” should not be overlooked. (“Sensemaking” is a term Dwight Zecheile uses when talking about “deep, relational conversation of listening and speaking” in “The Trinity, Leadership and Power”)

But here’s my question: how does visionary leadership from a single person fit in?  Certainly there have been many leaders who have abused and over focused power in their leadership positions (Eddie Long is the first name that comes to mind.).  My worry is that we are trying to overcorrect for these kind of abuses by totally ignoring the Holy Spirit’s work through individuals.

A question in my Reform of the Church class today struck me, “Would the Reformation have happened without Martin Luther?”  For me the answer is, “No…or…at least not in the same way.”  It’s likely some reforms would have come about because of the many voices and forces pushing for change.  Even so, the vastness and boldness of the reforms may have been tempered or even lost without Luther’s bold voice acting as a catalyst for the movement.

Visionary leaders inspire and challenge beyond what the community might be able to see.  I wonder how the people of Ginghamsburg Church in Ohio would have responded to the immense needs in Darfur if it wasn’t for Pastor Mike Slaughter challenging people.  Without his leadership would a congregation in one of the ten fastest dying cities in the country have been bold enough to risk investing more than half a million dollars in Sudan every year? (Sudan Project Video)

I don’t want to discount learning and engaging with the community but I also don’t want to forget how important the voice of one leader can be in shaping vision.  With all that said, I have yet to see a church engaged in mutual community vision casting that is producing world changing results.  What am I missing?

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Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/onigiri_chang/