Plenary, 13 Sep 2000
Meeting date: Wednesday, September 13, 2000
Official Report
336KB pdf
Time for Reflection
I welcome to lead our time for reflection today the Right Rev Ian Murray, Bishop of Argyll and the Isles.
Right Rev Ian Murray (Bishop of Argyll and the Isles):
Everyone who is called to the service of leadership in public or private enterprise, whether in the state, the Church or the community at large, is faced with what is almost a contradiction. How is it possible to be both servant and leader? One might be forgiven for thinking that the servant obeys and the leader commands. You are servants of those who elected you to office, yet they expect you literally to lay down the law for them and to lead them. They confer upon you power over many aspects of their everyday life. That does not sound like the job description of a servant.
Yet the leader offers a real and valuable service to others. The gospel tells us that when Jesus
"saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd."
A people without a leader can easily become a people without a purpose. One function of leadership is to create and maintain cohesion within the group, while another is to give guidance and direction, to set objectives and to establish structures.
However, the leader must never lose contact with those who follow. The leader is also part of the group: he or she is one member among many, although with a distinctive role and a particular responsibility. If the leader is too far ahead of the way that the majority thinks or acts, he or she becomes isolated from people and detached from reality. It is important to remain part of the people, sensitive to their needs and responsive to their demands. It is imperative to share the experiences, hopes and anxieties of our fellow men and women.
In the gospel of Matthew, a Roman centurion approaches Jesus and asks him to cure his servant who is ill. He says:
"Just give the word and my servant will be cured. For I am a man under authority myself, and have soldiers under me; I say to one man: Go, and he goes; to another: Come here, and he comes".
The centurion knew how to lead because he knew how to obey. He could demand obedience because he gave obedience. He exercised authority because he also submitted to authority. That obedience and submission must be a feature of all rightly exercised leadership.
The service of leadership will take different forms according to different situations. The problem arises in relation to which form of leadership is appropriate to each individual situation. Sometimes, the leadership structure will take the form of a pyramid, where leadership is exercised from the top down. On other occasions, the leader will be at the centre of activity, like the hub of a wheel that permits movement on the perimeter while preventing the operation from going off in all directions. At other times, leadership may mean being part of a circle, facilitating co-operation, consultation and equality in order to discern the way forward. Identifying the appropriate model is the task of leadership.
Perhaps the chief characteristic of the great leader is humility: the ability to recognise not only our gifts but our weaknesses and to live with both.