Deep down in our hearts, we all want to find and fulfil a purpose bigger than ourselves. Only such a larger purpose can inspire us to heights we know we could never reach on our own. For each of us, the real purpose is personal and passionate: to do what we are here to do, and why?
– Os Guinness
This paper reflects on the Christian academic’s role beyond the necessities of his job, the lectures, the publications, and exams. We often find the answer to the ‘what’ part of the above question in the choice of vocation, but ‘why’ may still be blurred. This paper pursues some answers and dares to suggest how Christian academics could strive to ameliorate purpose and passion in what they do.
The Intersect of Faith and Work
Christians need to constantly hone their understanding of how their faith impacts their work. Christians tend to draw safe circles around their work, allowing little or no intersection with their faith. Apart from avoiding industries stereotyped as evil, namely alcohol, tobacco, gambling, etc.,
most have not seen the evil in their industry. Their faith stands fully outside the matters of work. Since academia is founded on the noble principle of imparting knowledge, Christians may regard it as a noble vocation. However, it is not immune to the realities of business or political machinations and often corrupted by greed; neither is it free of social bias, prejudices, institutional lacunas, discrimination, poor employee relations, injustice, incompetent management, and governance issues. Even though some seek the haven of organization in Christian ministry, they may suffer equally malignant problems.
Work as Leadership for Change
Houghton [1] describes a leader as having a continual dissatisfaction with ‘things as they are’ and constantly desiring improvement in his involvements. They are driven by a strong sense of values and goals they may set for themselves. Nevertheless, looking at the ironic reality, George Bernard Shaw noted that ‘the ‘reasonable man’ adapts himself to the world. In contrast, the ‘unreasonable man’ persists in adapting the world to himself’ [2]. In that sense, the Christian Leader should become ‘unreasonable’ by walking the path less trodden. Thus, the Christian academic stops following others but aspire to become a leader that others follow. Brandstad and Lucier, however, remind us that ‘the leader should be more than a ‘change agent’ or a ‘revolutionary’ to overthrow what is there. He must create and deliver value for the common good’ [3]. A Christian academic should thus be envisioned as an agent of bringing forth benefits for the common good.
God as Initiator of Change
The God of the Bible takes the initiative. He initiated the creation and, with the counter initiative by Satan, initiated the plan of redemption where he called people, sent His Son, and even raised Him from the dead. He will initiate judgment and set up His Kingdom. This insight forms the core of our vocation, where work resides as a subset of faith and not the opposite. When we are called to follow God, follow Jesus, we cannot follow his love without following his initiative for redemption.
Towards a Theology of Leadership
‘The call to discipleship is to follow and lead at the same time. We are called to follow because God loves us and called to lead by our love for our neighbour.’
After the Fall, the partnership between God, Adam, and Eve regressed to a male-dominated leadership without God. It is illustrated by the term ‘Great Men’, conventionally, men of pedigree or military prowess. Even in the Old Testament, Abraham Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon were primarily such leaders, whom God worked through. However, Christ instituted a new covenant (Heb 8:13) that changed how God worked with people. Jesus’s teaching and example distinctly show conventional leadership itself to be redeemed to a partnership in the new covenant. The leadership model Jesus chose for his mission, a team of disciples, continues to transform lives across cultures over the centuries. The most embarrassing expropriations of the mission of Christ in church history has been when it was in the hands of influential individuals. The New Testament teaching is quite clear that the church is a partnership of the body of believers with God. The leadership of this body is also a partnership for service and corporate worship, a model worthy of replicating in academia.
Redeeming Academia
To decide to become an academic also brings the mandate to redeem academia if it does not reveal God and his purposes. Does it deliver common good and value to the people? Alternatively, have the stewards of knowledge institutionalized academia only to further themselves? While the idea may reside centrally in the mind of the Christian academic, is it what motivates the Christian to take leadership? The Bible offers three complementary mandates to inspire the Christian wishing to redeem his vocation.
The Leader as a Steward
The primaeval mandate given to man was to care for God’s creation (Gen 1:27) and develop it for humankind, referred to as stewardship, defined as ‘the task of supervising or taking care’. To redeem from the Fall, Jesus introduces a supplemental mandate for the Christian to be the ‘the salt of the earth’ and ‘light of the world’ (Mat 5:13-14). Given that Satan’s corrosive influence is progressive across all creation, stewardship includes reversing this or slowing this decay until God ushers ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ (Rev 21:1). This mandate shifts the Christian’s focus of stewardship from a passive manager to a progressive or reformist leader.
The Leader as a Servant
Jesus mandated the attitude of a servant as another leadership model for his followers (Mat 9:11-12, Mat 18: 1-5, Mat 20:25-28). The teaching and example of the early church leaders followed suit (I Thes. 2:6-11; II Tim 2:24; I Tim 3:17 and I Peter 5). Francis Bacon observed that “Men in great place are thrice servants: servants of the state, servants of fame, and servants of business.”[4] Christian academics are also thrice servants: servants of God, servants of academia and serving those who follow them. Greenleaf [5], who espoused Servant Leadership as a model for corporate leaders, deems that it can be held only by those who naturally desire to serve first rather than lead. While this is an optional model for the world, it is the Christians’ innate and mandated outlook. Leighton Ford stresses that ‘leadership is not what you do, but who you are’ [6], highlighting the necessity for personal integrity and character as fundamental to impart value and respect upon those we choose to serve. Jesus said it quite plainly that he would even ‘lay down his life’ for those he served (John 10:11).
The Leader as a Shepherd
The image of a shepherd as a model of leadership seems strange to us today. It would have been equally odd in the time of Jesus, the counter-cultural leader that he was, identified himself as the “good shepherd” (John 10:14). Jesus saw the crowds compassionately as ‘sheep without a shepherd’ (Mk 6:34). The concept of Christians’ call to lead as shepherds is the dominant leadership model mandated for the church (Acts 20:28) nevertheless valid for all situations, including work. Academics have the perfect opportunity for demonstrating this with their followers, the students, colleagues, and the public.
The Academic as a Leader
Leadership need to be distinctly set apart from management. The latter refers to managing resources and utilizing them to provide uninterrupted operations. Most academic positions are intended to manage institutions, in other words, to deliver degrees. Leadership is about setting goals to improve and achieve new frontiers, strategically influencing stakeholders towards resourcing and realizing them. But leadership is sadly misunderstood as being positional. As Christians, we need to be aware that we can also demonstrate it both situationally and morally as in positions of authority we may hold. The Christian academic can use all these as opportunities to initiate change for the common good, for which he needs to prepare and plan to exercise leadership – some reflections on which are shared below.
The academic develops a personal vision: A Christian academic strives to develop a holistic vision for his academic excellence built on academic competencies and a biblical foundation. I recall being impressed, as were others on a panel interviewing a graduate for a staff position on her vision to become the first female Dean and Vice-chancellor. Only now do I realize that this vision was to attain titles and positions. It had no concern for the university, the students or even for her self-development as an academic. I find that realistically I can only have a five-year vision for my work since I lack adequate foresight for anything prolonged. Vision is best explained as visibility when travelling in heavy mist. It begins to clear the way only if we move forward albeit cautiously. Such a vision includes the academic’s progressive development of knowledge and skills to introduce or improve courses study programs and research projects. One who fails to have a vision himself is unlikely to have a vision for anything outside of his imperative needs.
The academic develops passion: Leaders translate vision into reality. Sadly, many academics retire, nursing grand ideas that played within their minds. Other’s rue missed opportunities, ignored initiatives, the resources they lacked or the permission they were denied for implementing their ideas. Passion is an attribute in successful leaders that enables them to work tirelessly, often walking that extra mile to achieve specific goals. It keeps them awake at night, putting ideas into words, pursing new thoughts and nudging students to be sharper and give more attention to detail, ceaselessly extending the fruit of their work towards the common benefit. It is this passion that will enable the Christian academic to the vision for his career one goal at a time.
The academic serves: It is not difficult to separate academics between those for whom it is a means of personal advantage and those who seek to impart any such advantage for the benefit of those they serve. The latter is a counter-cultural concept that creates powerful impressions on students, coming naturally to Christians. Some years ago, when laying down ethics for a new academic department in management, I ventured to pen ‘students are our customers whose welfare is our primary objective’. The pushback I got from some staff was unequivocal- how dare I undermine the respect and authority they enjoyed as teachers. However, others help push ahead, creating a culture of welcome and care for students as individuals, not just as a ‘batch’. Academics also can serve outside of the university in meeting society’s many needs if they develop their knowledge and skills, considering such needs. The community provides many openings for academics to use their expertise and authority on specific subjects to serve and solve its many problems and pains. The Lords’ passion is pursuing a fallen world
through repeated disobedience and denial is a strong example that often makes my own contribution to even a ‘second mile’ relatively meagre.
The academic continues to flourish: Nehemiah, who took the initiative to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, ends up its Governor. We trace his rise as a leader in the face of continuing opposition, intimidation, and conspiracy in defending his work. He uses scripture, prayer, self-discipline, foresight, and strategy as means of maturing in leadership. Such will be our experience if we start taking the initiative to improve or fix the ‘small problems’ surrounding us. However, many academics are cautious in fixing real-world issues, especially what appears not sufficiently broken. The problem
is that it is we academics who deem it not to be broken and not the student or the society that receives that service. Being unable to fix ragging in my university lays heavy on my conscience. It is not for lack of trying- having even been once threatened with disciplinary action by a senior colleague for some radical approaches, but for not pursuing this resistance with adequate passion. The perceptive academic will notice what does not work very well in a curriculum, examinations, student formation, disciplinary system, thus denying students the quality education they deserve for which the academic is paid.
The academic attracts followers: Walter Isaacson notes ‘if a leader has achieved outstanding outcomes but has failed to be exemplary and as such has failed to have a positive influence on the people, culture, organization, and town— then from God’s perspective there is something seriously out of sync in their leadership, regardless of the outcomes’ [7]. Bernard Bess defines this as Transformational Leadership that “motivates and raises people’s consciousness about what they need to become”[8]. A mission is all about capturing people’s minds, beliefs, behaviours or whatever that attract people and then transform their lives for the better. However, transformation is often aggressively rejected, even if it provides healing, progress, and freedom. Nevertheless, this is what Jesus did with twelve rather ordinary men to begin a perpetual global ministry. The Christian academic could follow to draw to himself handfuls to follow him and develop a vision and passion for partnering what was initially his vision.
The academic leaves a legacy: It is not only individuals that need redemption. Organizations like people can fall short of what they can do or claim to do. Many academics hold forth on what the Dean or Vice-chancellor should or should not be doing. Christian scholars may aspire to whatever academic positions they feel competent to hold, to apply top-down changes by drawing followers who will partner the vision for the organisation. However, a Christian’s desire for organizational leadership may not be acceptable or welcome by most, as was the case with Christ. But it is easily the moral authority a Christian earns that will open doors for change even without being in positions of authority. Christian academics who strive to form a strong character of uncompromising values, holistic integrity, listen carefully, resist injustice and evil, are transparent, accountable, and just in all decisions stand to profit from being endowed with this moral and parallel authority. The greatest need in many academic institutions is generally not physical facilities but the educational environment’s poor processes and values, which can only be led by the motivation to serve with integrity, love, and respect.
Conclusion
The reasons why a Christian may seek an academic career may not be different to others. It is an opportunity to shape young lives and, in most cultures, an honoured career. Even if it pays poorly, an academic may enjoy teaching, research, etc., glorifying God by disseminating new knowledge he creates. Nevertheless, for Christians, it forms a part of redeeming society, including academia itself. Transformation and reform of individuals or institutions do not happen accidentally. Such a legacy usually follows an individual’s vision, a long-time effort, and passionate and steadfast work towards its realization. It requires forming personal values in the face of opposition and intimidation, growing in leadership, and attracting others to partner with your effort so that they may continue what you have started. It calls for a paradigm shift in the academic apply himself as a steward, servant, and shepherd to wholly profit from applying his faith to his environment.
Questions for Reflection
- Do we refrain from taking initiatives without a request or becoming institutionally empowered?
- Should we actively pursue attracting and ‘discipling’ both the Christian and non-Christians to follow and eventually partner achieving our own goals and objectives?
- Should the personal development of an academic always be telescoped into the broader vision to serve the common good?
- What space do we have to demonstrate moral authority?
- Is the concept of leaving a ‘legacy’ biblical?
References
[1] Houston, Jeffrey D., ‘Toward a Contingency Model of Leadership and Psychological Empowerment’’ Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, Vol. 11, No. 4, 2005.
[2] Shaw, George Bernard, ‘Man and Superman’, Penguin Classics, 1903.
[3] Branstad, P. and Lucier, C.,’ Zealots Rising: The Case for Practical Visionaries’, Strategy and Business, Issue 22, 1st Quarter, pp. 1–12, 2001.
[4] Bacon, Francis., (n.d.), in Greenleaf, Robert. The Servant as Leader.
[5] Greenleaf, Robert, ‘The Servant as Leader’, The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, 1977.
[6] Leighton Ford, Transforming Leadership, Intervarsity Press, 1991.
[7] Walter Isaacson, ‘Steve Jobs’, (New York: Simon & Schuster, pp 579, 2013.
[8] Bass, Bernard M., ‘Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations’. New York: Free Press, 1985.
The views expressed in this article are that of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or position of FOCUS, Sri Lanka.