When he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ He said to them, ‘This kind can come out only through prayer and fasting.’”
(Mark 9:28-29)
Discussion questions:
- How have you seen people leading in your context?
- What stands out to you as you consider Jesus’s leadership and his practices of leadership development? Use Mark 9:2-29 as a basis for your reflection.
- What are you doing to develop other leaders? How can your church develop leaders intentionally and faithfully?
Leadership matters. Our news feeds are filled with outrages of various sorts about the use and misuse of power and the failure of leadership to serve the common good. What is going on? We rightly wonder. And where are the leaders we need at this time?
These concerns are mirrored in our local contexts, but they take on a different and deeper meaning in our congregations where there is concern about raising up leaders. I share these concerns, especially with many communities that cannot rely on paid staff to serve as leaders. As one engaged in Christian ministry, and in reflecting on how to strengthen leaders, there are two lessons I learned from organizers (community, labor, political) that I treasure the most. The first is that the most important thing a leader does is develop other leaders. The second is that a leader is someone that others follow.
In congregational life, I found the second easier to apply than the first. When looking at the congregation, if I didn’t get distracted by who spoke the most, or well, or who had good ideas, and instead looked at the folks whom others respected, turned to for help or advice, or those who could invite and gather folks to do something, then I was able to identify the true leaders in the community. These leaders exercised their influence in different ways and in different areas of our common life, and when they asked folks to join them, people did. They were not always the most formally educated people in the congregation, they were humble, and part of their attraction was their love for God and their dedication to the well-being of the community and its various members. They were leaders because people followed them.
I found the first lesson harder to apply. In congregations a lot of importance is given to accomplishing concrete things, making busyness central and not taking the time to work to strengthen leaders in their call. At this time of high anxiety in all communal systems widespread entropy feels chaotic, triggering reactive responses and fueling polarization. Mature spiritual leaders are critical, grounding faith communities in God, supporting members in their various ministries, each witnessing to their new way of life in Christ and bearing the life-giving fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). We must make the time for formation of all disciples, especially leaders.
What would Jesus do? The Transfiguration and what happens immediately after it, when read in all three synoptic gospels, provides a snapshot of the dynamic between Jesus and those called to lead “the Way” movement. Reflecting on the practices Jesus engages to develop the leadership capacity of the disciples challenges us to take on these practices as leaders called to nurture leaders.
The story begins as Jesus takes a couple of disciples on a retreat. In various places in the gospels, we see Jesus in this practice of taking time apart for prayer and quiet, sometimes after ministering to the crowds, and at other times departing amid demands. Time alone with leaders, with 1-2, not always with the whole group, is important. It allows for intimate and particular experiences and conversations that strengthen relationships, and models relationship building for those who are supporting the discipleship of those they lead. Retreat time can simply be for rest and restoration that often leads to clarity. Leaders can integrate realizations and “Ah-Ha” moments, making them life lessons that resource the next leg of the journey.
Seeing God’s transforming power and hearing God’s voice, as the disciples did on the mountaintop, can be terrifying, especially when it tells us to listen and follow Jesus’ teachings and actions. These frightening lessons can tempt us to expect retreat experiences to characterize our faith life, or we react like Peter, saying what comes to mind, although fear limits our understanding of the experience. Seeing this fear in new leaders, we, like Jesus, can respond compassionately, encouraging and supporting them to stand and not be afraid (Matt. 17:6-7). Sharing our own experiences of fear while accompanying new leaders as they take on new risks can strengthen their resolve to respond to God’s call to action.
Jesus takes time to listen and respond to the disciples’ questions. Processing prayer experiences and experiences of bold action are critical to formation. Simply providing the opportunity for folks to do something new is not sufficient. As they share what they felt, or saw, or wondered about, we invite their theological reflection. What does this say about God? What might God be doing? Does this challenge our understanding of faith? It is important to welcome a variety of perspectives while encouraging folks to see things in light of the church’s call to a ministry of justice and reconciliation (Micah 6:8; 2 Cor. 5: 17-18).
Jesus, Peter, John and James return from their time away and are immediately faced with a difficult challenge the other disciples who had been preaching the good news and curing diseases everywhere could not handle (Mark 9:14-29). I confess, Jesus’ reaction is a bit comforting. Returning from a wonderful, spirit-filled time to a difficult situation that was not handled, is frustrating! Maybe the disciples could not deal with the challenge because they were too caught up in arguing about their position, power, and prestige. Or maybe it is simply a learning moment, allowing the disciples to learn about the power of faith, prayer, and fasting. Whatever the case, Jesus is annoyed but turns to the task of healing a very troubled child. In the process he teaches the disciples and shows the crowd God’s power to act and relieve human suffering, and the child’s parent comes to understand his own need to grow in faith, “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). The disciples, although rebuked, return to ask Jesus how to work with this kind of difficult challenge. They have another opportunity to process and learn from their experiences, increasing their capacity as leaders. Jesus’ answer acknowledges the difficulty of the challenge they faced and calls them to center themselves in the One who has the power to free humanity from oppression. Praying and fasting equips and strengthens leaders, grounding them in God, deeply rooting their faith, in what God is doing with those they seek to serve. In God’s power even the most exploitive powers can be challenged and changed.
Today we face incredible challenges. Climate change and extreme weather events are destroying eco-systems, communities, and livelihoods. Health pandemics are causing profound global disruption and loss on personal, social, and economic levels. Violent conflicts and wars destroy lives, leaving grief, rage, and large waves of migration in their wake. These destructive forces exacerbate poverty, so that in the U.S. alone, one of the richest nations in the world, millions need housing, food, health services, and work to stabilize their living conditions. It is imperative that we equip our faith communities to respond in powerful, healing, and life sustaining ways to these systemic evils. “[F]or our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).
This will not be easy, especially not for a church that instinctively identifies with powerful people and institutions. It is a call for a spiritual renewal that leads us to center those who have been marginalized, as Jesus did in his ministry on earth. Many of our members have beliefs and understandings that have been shaped not by the scriptures or prophetic traditions within our tradition. Their reasoning is often grounded in worldly structures and customs, centering practicality, ease, and comfort, believing in the status quo. If we are not “wise as serpents and gentle as doves” we risk joining those denouncing empathy and compassion, insisting on every man for himself, contrary to Jesus’ call to love and serve one another.
Congregational leaders that support the discipleship of their siblings in Christ are key to a church capable of faithfully witnessing against inhumane practices with the truths and values of the gospel. Gathering in small groups to reflect on the issues folks are passionate about can be a starting point for meaningful action and is a way of processing the experience, learning from it, and growing through these faithful spiritual practices. I would suggest a variation of the classic Pastoral Cycle of theological reflection, often summarized as the See, Judge, Act model of theological reflection.[1] Here is a useful handout of the model and some additional resources prepared by St. Oswald’s Episcopal Church, Maybole, UK.
Prayerfully sharing curiosity about social ills, neighborhood conditions, or local government policies can surface what people care about enough to engage as disciples who believe in change and transformation. Naming the context, observing carefully and describing what they see, and listing the questions they need to explore to inform what action to take, begins an intentional, prayerful process of faithful action. Having gone out to explore, to research, to interview, to participate with their neighbors in serving those who are marginalized and oppressed, they can return to again share what happened and reflect on it with the resources of scripture and tradition, while thoughtfully considering their next faithful steps. This is what Jesus did with his disciples. It’s what we need to do in our churches.
The church needs to foster leaders who are praying reading studying reflecting, sharing together, supporting each other’s growth, becoming stronger and more capable of responding in difficult times. The difficulties could be about change in their congregation, their communities, or in the world. The capacity to respond as Christians will strengthen their call and their witness in a world in need of the good news.
[1] Abigail Johnson, Reflecting with God: Connecting Faith and Daily Life in Small Groups, Alban, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004.