Date: Fri, 5 Aug 94 10:37 CDT Subject: Promise Keepers Lucie Johnson wrote: +gt; Overall,

Date:    Fri, 5 Aug 94 10:37 CDT
From:    au051@freenet.carleton.ca (Les Klassenhamm)
Subject: Promise Keepers

Lucie Johnson wrote:

> Overall, I think it is a good idea to foster
> masculine comraderie and accountability for men
                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I believe that one of the keys lies in that notion of 
accountability. Too many men have understood "taking their role as 
leader" to mean that they are the boss, with a few including that 
they are still accountable to some "higher" boss, ie God. In 
reality, many are accountable to no one for their actions (as the 
phrase "take their role as leaders even if their wives don't like 
it" implies). Even those who suggest that they are still 
accountable to God are missing part of the point. SERVANT leadership 
implies accountable leadership, which means that it confers, 
changes, listens, follows, guides, runs on ahead, lags behind, 
etc., as befits the context. That kind of accountable leadership 
should be practised by men, AND women, because it is not a 
hierarchical "who's on top?" kind of leadership (I think there's 
a joke in there somewhere, Ross?), but leadership focused on a 
mutual pursuit of a common goal - the leader is the one who is 
moving us toward Christ, whether that's in the context of the 
church or the home or the ?????. It can shift between people. I 
believe accountability for our actions (or lack thereof) lies at 
the heart of quite a few of today's "church problems", ie. 
improper clergy conduct, tolerance for violence in families, etc. 
Leadership without accountability is not leadership, leadership 
with accountability is a mutual task.

To (probably) misquote somebody famous: "Hark, there go the 
people, and I must chase after them, for I am their leader."


Les Klassenhamm                 
Wildwood Mennonite Church
Saskatoon, SK    Canada         
au051@freenet.carleton.ca