Thinking about leadership in this new paradigm of life in the Kingdom has got me thinking about ways to describe it. Most words in the English language regarding leaders and the communities they lead only reinforce the old way of thinking about leadership models. Teaching, lecturing…even the word leading connotates a heirarchical structure which places one person closer to the truth than another. While this might be needed in some instances, especially when working with marginal members of the community, I believe many of these words represent a paradigm that can become destructive when leaders deal with other leaders. So how to describe this new paradigm? I had a good conversation with a friend and mentor the other day who brought up the perfect word: eduction.
e‧duce  /ɪˈdus, ɪˈdyus/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[i-doos, i-dyoos]
–verb (used with object), e‧duced, e‧duc‧ing.

To educe an insight, solution to a problem, or a gifting from the Lord out of another person is to step out of the way and watch them bloom. Eduction happens when a committed believer comes alongside another committed believer and begins to draw out from within the other what the Holy Spirit has already put there. From personal experience I have learned this can be an amazing switch from traditional styles of learning and teaching. Thinking of people as acorns, rather than buckets, we allow the DNA that God put in them naturally develop.

But the question comes: do we REALLY believe that the followers of Christ that we are working with actually have something latent or potential within them…even before we show up? God is already at work within them, we may be there to ask the right questions, or probe certain issues, but true eduction takes place when we see lives changing on their own, and continue to do so even after we are long gone.

Last 5 posts by Mark

• God is Wholly - October 2nd, 2008
• The Great Moderation - September 30th, 2008

This entry was posted on Monday, August 28th, 2006 at 9:30 pm and is filed under Coaching, Discipleship, Listening, Prevenience. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.