Issues in Leadership

Revelation 21 looks forward to a day when there will be no more tears, and no more reasons for tears. Until that day Christian living and Christian leadership always involves tears. The final book of the Bible offers a rich agenda for thinking about issues in Christian leadership. For this module we will focus on diversity, complexity, chaos and change and the connections between them, as we look forward to the day when finally there will be no more tears among God's people. We'll learn from different subject specialists for each of the three issues.

Diversity - seven times Revelation describes the variegated character of the people who are being gathered before the throne. If that's where the story lands, how shall we listen and learn from each other, what shall we expect from each other and share with each other as the heavenly city comes nearer by the day?

Complexity - imagine an elders meeting in any of the seven churches, a week after receiving a personal letter from the Risen Jesus. What complexity does their particular letter generate for the leadership team in each of the seven churches? What additional complexities do the other six letters add for each church?

Chaos and Change - there is a throne, and a plan, and someone to deliver the plan, in spite of the appearance of anarchy. But the seals, trumpets and bowls, and the horsemen, picture God's sovereignty in ways that include chaos and change as inescapable ingredients of every day everywhere.

A wedding supper - Revelation pictures a wedding supper at the end of the story. What foretaste of that final supper does Revelation offer? What form of spirituality for Christian leadership will Revelation cultivate? What are the hallmarks of a sanctified imagination, saturated through sustained immersion in Revelation, among ordinary Christian communities and Christian leaders?