When a culture is in the midst of bedrock-shifting change, as ours currently is, it’s easy to grow confused about what still stands (in terms of eternal truisms) and what doesn’t. During these transition stages, everything can seem to be moving beneath our feet. And as such, one often wonders what about the terrain is going to be familiar, if anything, when the ground settles.

It seems to me that in times like these, for those who would call themselves Christian leaders, self-awareness is essential. Perhaps even more than usual.

Why? Well, because there are that many more delicious abstractions circulating about- abstractions that can easily distract us from realizations about ourselves- realizations that are key to our holistic, spiritual growth. Growing in self-awareness has always been a challenging endeavor. And when everything around you is a blur, it’s just that much more difficult.

In such times, when “the shake is on”, its all the more important that we turn to others, asking for their gauging of the situation, in order to avoid surrendering to our own, sometimes very tilted perspective. The fog of deception and even full-on-delusion – especially about ourselves - can easily come upon us in such seasons. So we should ask others for their perspective. We should ask many, and we should ask often.

It can be especially challenging when new developments enable us to disregard the opinions of those others that we perceive as being beholden to the former (modern) paradigm. When these people offer critique, its easy (perhaps too easy) to dismiss their concerns as simply old-world and irrelevant- conclusions drawn from outdated conceptions.

So how do we avoid this trap of ignoring the true state of things- especially about ourselves? Well, I think we surround ourselves with people who we trust as wise and seasoned. And if they “get” the new paradigm- then all the better. That makes it difficult for us to dismiss their feedback. This is why I think the seasoned generation- the generation(s) including people such as Brian McLaren, Dallas Willard, and Tom Wright is so vital. These people have the life experience to filter out truth from delusion, spin from substance.

The truth of the matter is that young leaders have always needed more seasoned leaders to help them grow in self-awareness. And this truism is simply compounded – perhaps several fold – during a “shakedown season” such as now, as we shift from a modern to a postmodern world.

Those of us engaging in the emerging conversation have rejected certain modern conceptions of leadership- especially those involving the CEO’ing of church leaders. We are also very resolved to move beyond the “celebrification” of Christian leadership. These revelations have been good and helpful- and surely move us back to a more grounded, historically-informed view of what Christian leadership should look like.

However, it’s very important (in fact I would argue that it is essential) that we not let this reorienting of our conception of leadership slide into the “throwing out the baby with the bathwater” syndrome. Because some aspects of leadership that were true in the modern era are still true today. And yet, at times, it can be awfully tempting to assume otherwise. Especially when such truisms are in relation to ourselves. Again- the self-awareness piece- is key.

Let me get even more specific. In the past, Christian leadership tended to take on one of several, rather easily identifiable forms. One such form is the charismatic individual. People followed such a leader because they just sounded so gosh darn sure of themselves- and so darn exciting!

Now, with this kind of leader there is a fine line between what I would call “authority” and mere celebrity. We would be making an over-generaliztion to say that charismatic leaders are always going about the task of shooring up their leadership by way of sheer charisma- with a heavy dose of slick that’s skimpy on substance.

Sometimes such people work well as leaders, not just because they have a magnetic personality, but because they have the spiritual authority to lead. When I speak of spiritual authority I am referring to the hard-to-pin-down quality that involves character, anointing (yes, I still believe that God anoints people for certain purposes), personality, and life experience.

What I’m trying to say is that, yes, we want to do away with the way of leadership that centers on celebrity. But no, we do not want to do away with the understanding that leadership necessitates spiritual authority. And believe me, in times such as this, it’s easy to confuse these two.

Yes, in the emerging church we believe strongly in the implications of the priesthood of all believers. But I would argue that we also need to orient ourselves to the truth that certain God-given roles still exist within that Kingdom matrix.

If this seems self-evident to you, I apologize. But, believe me, in the circles I’ve revolved in over the last several years, I too often see these blind spots congealing into full-on blinders.

Let me get more specific. As I was saying to a friend recently, from my perspective, leadership ability involves a mix of calling, character, and learned skills. Now, can one grow in character? Absolutely- no problem there. Provided we are committed to the process of feedback and growing in self-awareness. And clearly the very title “learned skills” suggests that one can grow in this category as well. That leaves us with calling. Now this category, in my mind, is different than the other two. Here one is either suited - by way of anointing - for a particular role, or not. Personally I do not see this is something one can “grow into”.

Now, I quickly want to add the qualification here that I am a firm believer in a team leadership model. I believe the old adage that a rope made of several cords is immensely stronger and more effective than a singular strand. And I think each of us can find a role within the rope. In other words, we all have a calling to be effective in leadership- as part of a team. But not everyone is called to be the team leader. And yes, I still tend to think that a team leader is a necessary and natural part of the equation.

The problem, it seems to me, is when people lose truisms about leadership in the fog of paradigm shift. Now, will leaders lead differently in the new era? Absolutely. But the very fabric of leadership is not going to change. Postmodern-era leaders will use their strength to promote the interests of others, to deflect attention from themselves, to use their calling as a means to serving others. But they will still do all of this from within their calling as a strong team leader.

This should not be disappointing to us. If it is, then perhaps we have not yet fully bought into the idea that we’re all equal in the Kingdom of God. That the least among us is (in an upside down but paradoxically right-side-up world) exalted as the greatest.

Of course, sometimes all of this can seem easier said than done. I do feel for young leaders (being in my mid-thirties I see myself as somewhere in the middle of the pack) who do not have these more mature, yet savvy people in their lives to aid them in the process of self-awareness. And it’s unfortunate that some older leaders, who do not see the heart of the emerging shift, use younger leaders’ age as a means to discredit them and their emerging aspirations altogether. This is not the way it should be. This is not the way of the Kingdom.

But likewise, nor should young leaders go about dismissing the feedback of others- especially in regards to themselves- merely because these others just “don’t get” the bigger picture.

Again, I speak of the importance of the older generation of emerging leaders. More than ever, seasoned experience, mixed in with a knowledge of the issues pertinent to the emerging conversation, is essential. If you are a young leader, do what you can to seek these seasoned leaders out. That might mean traveling, or even moving. More often than not it probably means that relationships are forged online- and nurtured over long distances. Though this can sometimes be misleading because of the fact that truly knowing someone (strengths and weaknesses both) necessitates proximity.

But in these shifting times one has to do what one has to do. I think we should take comfort in the fact that if it is the Spirit of God that is leading this emergence, He will find ways to connect us with the people who can help us grow in self-awareness.

Interestingly enough, in the past, while self-awareness was vital- it was not always perceived as such- by leader and follower alike. But in this emerging postmodern day and age people no longer want stoic, aloof leaders. They want to know their leaders. But of course, such knowledge requires that, first and foremost, the leader truly knows him/herself.