"Making a Difference in Leadership and Life"

I just finished a book of essays on two great religious and political leaders, Bonhoeffer and King (Fortress Press, 2010). Both Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) were pastors who lived shortened lives of thirty-nine plus years, but they made their lives count. They were not perfect. As Willis Jenkins writes in his concluding essay: “King had numerous affairs and plagiarized his dissertation Bonhoeffer showed shades of antisemitism and more than once let personal ambition keep him from helping others.” But the recognized their sins and confessed them and did not let those imperfections stop them from contributing to the lives of others. Perhaps their valuing others, the larger community, more than they valued themselves, is the legacy that they left us.

When we consider who we are as leaders, we often let ourselves and our egos get in the way of our contribution. We begin to want to meet our own needs first, and our contribution to our families, community, and world comes far down in our priorities. We forget the lessons learned during the pandemic lockdown that human beings are social animals who need community. Or, perhaps unlike Bonhoeffer and King we deny our shortcomings and sins and are not willing to admit we are not perfect. Consequently, the communities of which we are a part do not value from the talents and resources that we can bring. Even though we might live twice as long as Bonhoeffer and King, or we might have positions of power that externally look to be greater than theirs, our contribution to the lives of others around us remains paltry. The outcome of our lives is that he/she was a good person but failed to reach their full potential.

As a newly retired pastoral leader, I commend to you still leading groups/institutions to consider the example of these two great, but flawed leaders. Ask yourselves questions like these: (1) “Who in my circle or sphere of influence is a person of principle, but lacks the resources I can give them? (2) “How can I influence my community for good?” (3) “What is holding me back from valuing others around me over my own personal welfare? (4) “How can I make my time here, as long as it might be, count?”

One of the most fascinating parts of the overlay of the lives of Bonhoeffer and King was the German pastor and professor’s valuing of the black church in Harlem during his nine-month study at Union Seminary in New York in 1930-1931. He had already written his initial doctoral dissertation, was set in his principles, but discovered in that church a salve for his religious and emotional well-being. This might well lead each and every leader to ask the question, “what can I learn from those most different from myself? How can I grow to be a complete human being? Who in my community needs to be heard?” May we all be humble enough to realize that we don’t know it all and have all the answers. That’s why we have human community.