This weekly Gospel reflection is a ministry of the Center for Spiritual Formation in partnership with Church of the Saviour.
Contemplative Leadership
Ann Dean, Dayspring Church
At the end of a seminar on contemplative spiritual leadership, one person said what I was feeling: How special it is to be with not just one, but a whole group of people who value this kind of leadership. There was a palpable sense of kinship around leading from within. Not controlling, top-down leadership, but collaborative, creative and compassionate leadership. It was relational, rooted in prayerful attentiveness and open to the overflowing energies of the Loving Presence.
Jesus demonstrated that contemplative leadership becomes social artistry: imaginative, free, and illuminating. In teaching with parables, he embodied a countercultural paradigm shift which chose enlightened compassion over self-centered or socially conditioned power. This shift from dominating, controlling power to the power of love acknowledged the ultimate Author of life. Coming from within and beyond at the same time, he was collaborating with the very Source of love.
