"Lifelong Leadership" (MaryKate Morse)

TITLE: Lifelong Leadership: Woven Together through Mentoring Communities
AUTHOR: MaryKate Morse
PUBLISHER: Colorado Springs, CO: Tyndale, 2020, (240 pages).

Leadership is tough. It is a marathon. It is often lonely. As leaders minister to others, who ministers to them? Those who lead in the Name of Jesus, do they then claim that their strength comes from above? Theologically, that is true, but practically, God has placed people among us to be His avenue of support. Enters the notion of mentoring. In recent years, mentoring has become popular. There was a time in which people learn from famous leaders who are experts in their specialty fields. Going to conferences and seminars, leaders and trainees would lap it all up all the knowledge and experience they could gain from these top leaders. When they return back to the grind, they start to yearn for the next shot of spiritual adrenaline. What if leaders could do more than just depending on gurus and inspirational talks? What if they could be freed from the expectations of leadership molds that are beyond them? What if they could be truly themselves without having to carry around a facade of invincibility? Wouldn't that be liberating? Wouldn't that be comforting? What if the thing leaders need most is not knowledge nor the inspirational stories other leaders tell, but a special place of safety and encouragement that could help them grow? Enters this book that teaches the importance of mentoring communities. Author MaryKate Morse defines a mentoring community as:

"a yearly, three-to-five-day gathering of a mature leader mentor and five to ten younger leader participants who step away from work and daily life and come together to rest, listen, and pray for each other."

Written with multiplication in mind as well as a need for personal development of one's unique gifts, this book gives us a framework to practice "lifelong leadership." Part One begins with the description of the concept of "mentoring communities."  This addresses the two basic needs: For developing leaders to serve the community; and for the community to build up leaders. This need is urgent because the demand far exceeds supply. At the same time, we cannot presume that the supply will remain constant. Too many leaders have fallen by the wayside due to temptation or other character deficiencies that were not picked up by anyone. With spiritual mentoring, there is not only a safety net for leaders but also a way forward to help them walk the right path. Morse writes about spiritual mentoring and the importance of vertical connection with God and horizontal relationship with people.

Part Two brings about some important personal disciplines that need to be routinely practiced. It is hard to learn solitude on one's own. With a mentor as an accountability partner, we can practice solitude, silence, and listening to the voices that are often drowned out in our busy lives. Prayer and Bible reflection provides the anchors for any spirituality of leadership. With intentional Bible reading and prayer over the mentoring community gatherings, we get a real sense of how this practice is done. In listening, we do not just read Scripture for what it says. We let Scripture speak to us and the way to do it is to listen. We can then respond by "worship, repentance, or a required action." Then there is the process of waiting, one of the toughest things to do in our modern life. It is also the opportunity to ask "Spirit-led questions" and to wait for God's response. Such a discipline prepares us for the practice of discernment, something Morse calls "hearing God in the everyday." She then connects us back to the ancient practices of Lectio Divina and the Examen. With these, Morse homes in on the most important aspect of mentoring communities: "Group Listening Prayer."

Part Three helps us plan for the long haul, and not to let any good practices go dull due to lack of sustained exercise. By establishing a rhythm that becomes second nature, it is hoped that mentoring communities will not only learn to go through the framework of exercises together, we would learn to look forward to the annual meeting of minds and souls.

My Thoughts
Let me offer three thoughts on this book. First, the book is uniquely personal as well as communal. Most leadership training and seminars may dazzle the mass audiences with stories and powerful tips for leading people. However, they are blunt tools intended more for general audiences. That is one reason why after attending such training, leaders may come back high for a while before retreating back to the same old mode of activities and energy-sapping routines. It also becomes harder for such leaders to "pass on" their learning to their immediate colleagues who might not have attended the same events. This book on mentoring cum leadership development helps us to learn, to practice, and to inculcate a regular rhythm of mentorship to help us run the distance.

Second, the book brings up to date the ancient practices of the examen and the lectio divina, using modern terminology. Sometimes, ancient words can become a reminder of dull and archaic practices in the past that are looking for modern applications. By bringing forth the essence and advantages of these practices, readers would not become distracted by ancient words but to see the timeless principles embedded within these ancient practices. The author does a good job in integrating the spiritual practices of old with the challenging needs of the modern world.

Finally, leaders are hard to find. Even when it is not easy to find any, perhaps, it is beneficial in the midst of the search, to improve our current set of leaders. This book can help us do just that. If we cannot find enough new leaders, at least, keep training and encouraging the leaders that are already among us. Who knows. What we fail to do, they could very well find more leaders!

Overall, I like the idea of a community-led leadership development strategy. As the saying goes, if we want to go fast, go alone; if we want to travel far, go together. The topic of lifelong leadership is essentially about teamwork, cooperation, and open accountability.

MaryKate Morse (PhD, Gonzaga University) is Professor of Leadership and Spiritual Formation at Portland Seminary in Oregon. She is also dean and lead mentor for the Leadership and Spiritual Formation DMin track. As lead mentor, she designs the content for all four semesters, leads the four Face-to-Face Retreats, and facilitates the online learning experiences.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Tyndale, NavPress and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.