diffusionOFregeneration

Here is the Erwin McManus article I had promised in my previous post. I would have provided a link, but this is an old article that I had saved and I couldn’t find it posted anywhere on the internet.

Article:

Alexander Hamilton was 19 years old when George Washington appointed him as an aid. Impressive enough, except when compared to the fact that at 14, Hamilton set the rules for the sea‑faring captains who traded with his employers on St. Croix Island.

In 1381, Richard 11 walked onto a field and faced off against Wat Tyler and his mob. Later that same day, after fourteen year old Richard II had Wat Tyler beheaded, the young king addressed the mob of peasants with enough sensibility to calm the crowd and end Wat Tyler’s Peasant Rebellion.

Few of us are aware of the way history and culture - not to mention our personal age - influence our feelings about youthfulness and leadership. In order to create an ethos conducive to including emerging leaders, we’ll need to ask ourselves the question. “At what age does someone have capacity to lead?”

Recently I spoke on a University campus and was startled at the youthfulness of the student body. This happens to me every year. In truth, the students are the same age undergraduates have always been, I’m just one year older. Every year, as our church leaders age, the young look younger. The corresponding danger is that we may overlook many of our ablest leaders.

History is sprinkled with tales of the exploits, achievements and leadership of young adults, even teenagers. Columbus and all the explorers of the new world relied on hard working teens to man their crews. Think about this: middle school age children setting off on adventures that many adults would lack the courage to undertake. In times past, teenagers could lead armies in battle and young pages could be made knights as early as age 12.

Contrast this to the head deacon who said of his new “young” pastor, “We’re letting him stretch his wings a little”. Emerging leaders will not stretch their wings within a cage of past accomplishments and existing institutions. Emerging leadership will go where it can fly. One question we must ask ourselves is, do we really want young leaders? Or are we only looking for someone to serve in and manage a program we’ve created.

End Article

Yikes! This was written by a Southern Baptist, how many quality leaders has the United Methodist church lost for this very reason? I can think of several, some who are leaders of the most innovative and fastest growing churches in America. I am sure you can as well. Has anyone out there ever read “Good to Great?“. I think this book has some very important things to say about having the right people on the bus as being the top priority of any organization.

I’ll end this line of thought with a quote ascribed to Thomas Jefferson:

“Every generation needs a new revolution”