Missional Leadership that Reshapes the City: Top-Down or Bottom-Up?

By S. Crawley

Photo by Yu Siang Teo on Unsplash

How do you lead in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) environment like a city?

The Problem: Complexity is a Defining Feature of Our Cities

It is not easy to lead in complex urban environments.

Think about some of the things going on in our cities:

• Diverse cultural and religious dynamics creating a swirl of social and cultural expectations, making communication complex

• High density populations combined with the physical sprawl leading to community fragmentation.

• Voices and information overload coming at us from all directions

• Rapid technological change we need to continually adjust to

• Social change driven by the technological changes - different generations (4 years apart!) often communicate on different platforms

• Social and economic diversity and disadvantage

• Work-life pressures managing health relationships, responsibilities and expectations on us as individuals

What happens to your blood pressure as you read that list?

Just LIVING and staying emotionally and mentally healthy amidst this swirl of complexity is a huge challenge!

Leading & Serving in Urban Complexity

The challenge is even greater for those serving others through leadership.

We're serving our team members and seeking to see them thrive as individuals. We're ensuring the team faithfully achieves its mission. We're seeking to bring positive transformation to our organisation and our world.

All in the midst of complexity which increases and intensifies with the size of our teams.

If God has called us to serve those outside our team or organisation, the complexity multiplies exponentially! The burden on leaders is significant.

The Solution: A Biblical Leadership Model for a VUCA World

The good news is that there is a biblical solution.

There is an exceptionally capable leader. He has extensive experience operating effectively in complex environments. He is still doing it today, and He is available to all of us.

The Holy Spirit.

Contrasting Biblical Leadership Models

Let's explore this by zooming out and looking at two contrasting leadership models in Scripture.

1. The Priestly Model

In the Old Testament, we see the pattern of leadership exemplified by figures like Moses.

We can call this a priestly leadership model. God speaks to the leader, the leader tells God's people what He said, and they obey.

In the Priestly model, the leader's primary role is to listen to God and tell His people what He said.

Interlude: The Game-Changer

But then the Messiah came, announcing the Kingdom of God and inviting people to participate. Throughout His earthly ministry He is explaining what God's Kingdom looks like, and demonstrating it practically. His death and resurrection removed the barriers between people and God.

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out, making direct access to God possible for all people.

2. The Servant Model

After Pentecost, we see God's people able to live like the Messiah lived - in dynamic relationship with the Father.

We see the servant model exemplified by leaders like Paul, John and Peter. In this model, God speaks to everyone, and God's people follow God directly. The stories we have mostly feature 'the Apostles', but they clearly expected individuals and communities to be hearing and responding to God for themselves - not just through a priest/prophet figure (eg Jn 16:13, Rom 12:1-2, 1 Cor 2:12-3:3).

In the post-Pentecost Servant model, the leader's primary role is to empower God's people to listen to God and do what He says.

FAQs

Does the Servant Model invalidate leadership gifts?

Certainly not!

God clearly gives leadership gifts for the purpose of empowering and building up His people for ministry, for knowing God, for love and unity (Eph 4:11-16). Different kinds of leadership are necessary for initiating, coordinating, serving and loving. Each community is responsible for discerning and encouraging the leadership gifts that God has placed within it.

Does the Servant Model invalidate existing organisational structures?

No. God appoints and works through many different systems and arrangements.

Looking at the Bible, we see Paul instructing disciples to remain in the communities and contexts they were when God called them (1 Cor 7:17-24). Jesus' followers organised themselves in a variety of ways according to their context. These included following the existing patterns of Greco-Roman households and Jewish synagogues for members of existing communities. In other situations, newly formed communities of Jesus followers appear to have adopted new leadership structures (e.g. Acts 6:1-6, Titus 1:5-9).

Each community needs to discern how they should arrange themselves in light of their context, culture and call from God.

How does the Servant Model 'fit' with existing structures?

The Servant Model helps us lead our teams and organisations in a way that is consistent with God's desire for His sons and daughters. It prompts us to ask questions, which helps us calibrate our leadership:

- Are we empowering people to seek and respond to the Father?

- Are we encouraging people to engage directly and continually in their relationship with God?

- Are we leading in a way that focuses people on discerning God's will or discerning the leaders' will?

These questions are not always comfortable!

However, we can be confident that they align us with the will of our Father for His people. They also position us and our teams to better respond to His leadership for maximum impact amidst the complexity of our cities.

Solving the Problem: The Holy Spirit Equips Us to Navigate Complexity

We face significant challenges as we look at the complexity of our cities and the immensity of the task of serving the brokenness and lostness around us.

To do this well, we will need to be adaptive and respond to diversity. Individual human leaders have limited capacity to serve the complexity of their own team or community, much less the wider city.

The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, has limitless capacity.

He speaks for the Father, leading His people in bringing peace and health to the city in ways consistent with their own individual giftedness and passions.

As leaders, the key is empowering people to hear from God directly and step into the works He has prepared for them to do (Eph 2:10).

Getting Practical

As you reflect on leading in your context, consider:

1. What aspects of urban complexity most impact your leadership?

2. How are you empowering those you lead to hear directly from God?

3. Where might the Servant Leadership model help your community better serve your city?

4. How can you partner with the Holy Spirit's work in and through others to see your city transformed?

Discipling the Urban Harvest provides practical insights and encouragement to walk with God in multiplying discipleship in an increasingly urban world - growing as children of the Father, serving the communities He has called us to, and discipling those hungry to know Him.