Pomo church leadership

You may recall my posting about a FutureChurch article on church leadership taxonomy. Well, the follow up on the leaders of the future has been posted. As I consider my own calling with my wife looking to be ordained in June, I found interesting things in this which seem to imply that part of the difficulty is that I'm actually a future Church leader, rather than an inherited church leader. Problem is that they don't pay the former very often!

The new man or woman of God is. . . .
"An Otherworldly Visitor" Though totally normal, he explores the edges of normalcy. Though normally intuitive, he challenges the frontiers of the counter-intuitive. ... He lives a life bold, yet humble--confident, yet self-effacing--powerful, yet subtle--singleminded, yet open....

"A Maverick" Though willing to work within an institution, he is--at heart--a free spirit, a nonconformist. ... he's interested in the epic countercultural moves of a "moving" Lord of History. He's interested in spiritual integrities that embrace a new--yet, far more profound--orthodoxy. And, he's interested in quality rather than quantity--the promises of a distant, yet greater, harvest....

"A Nobody" A radically selfless leader, he actually believes the hard sayings of Jesus. He actually accepts failure, crisis, and hardship as the secret of his success. He ... has given up a pastor-centered ministry for a lay-centered ministry. He has ... forfeited turf-protection for mentoring and networking. He has forfeited personal ownership for empowering others. And, he has forfeited quick "notches on his salvation gun-belt" for caring and lasting relationships.

"A Risk-Taker" ... they will even risk chaos. For they've learned that the miraculous transitions of unwelcome chaos are far more empowering than the comfortable retreats of a preferred peace. In fact, sometimes they deliberately allow discomfort, risking a disharmony that provides the only possible resolution to a higher harmony.

"A Foreign Language Fanatic" This man of God always speaks an "other" language, an intentionally ambiguous and obscure parlance. ... He knows "straight" language. Yet, he also knows "God writes straight with crooked lines."(6)

"An Artist" In a life of endless role changes, he has shifted from a dry theologian to an inspired artist--from a manager to a poet--from piety to prophecy. For he's totally convinced he was created in the image of a Creative God. ... births the precious within the worthless. He gives form to the Word within the flesh. And, he midwifes Divine power within the powerless.

"A Pathfinder" This sensitive explorer ... may temporarily suspend his analytical mind, yet his awareness reaches an even higher alertness. He never loses the integrity of his mind, yet he is led by the even greater integrity of his spirit. ... both proactive and reactive--creating and submitting, active and passive, doing and being, speaking and listening, answering and asking.

Actually, I don't think I score big as a risk taker; I'm fairly risk averse. Thought having said that, only when it's other people's money or resources. So perhaps being paid would crimp my style...
Post Modern Christianity: The Future of the Church and Post Modern Ministry in the 21st Century:
Filed in: Christian, leadership, future