Len has come up with a cool working definition of Leadership.

“Leadership is the communal process of discerning

the surprising newness of God for His people

and then forming the vehicle,

cultivating the imagination,

and selecting the practices

to take them from where they are into God’s good future.”

I like where he’s going with this definition because it emphasizes the process and community rather than a specific personality. I also like the way his definition focuses on a more organic development rather than an organizational approach. It strikes a much-needed balance between the leaders’ responsibilities in the overall life of the community and the community members’ responsibilities to actually follow Christ. In other words, if I understand the definition correctly, the leaders are facilitating from within the community’s discovery of life in Christ and enabling the whole community to embrace and live it both corporately and personally.

It’s a great definition and worth pondering and unpacking.