Monday Missional Discussion
One of the books that has generated the most comment that I have used in my church planting class is Douglas Hyde’s Dedication and Leadership. It is one of my favorite books of all time. Over the years, most of the comments have been overwhelmingly positive.
Douglass Hyde was for many years one of the upper echelon leaders in the Communist Party in England. After twenty years however, he was converted to Christ and joined the Roman Catholic Church. His book, Dedication and Leadership, chronicles not his conversion but his observation of communist cell tactics in developing leaders.
Among Hyde’s conclusions:
- The communist are better at developing leaders than the church.
- They are better because they expect more from their recruits.
- They are better because they utilize many of the methods Jesus used.
- They are better because they are completely dedicated to the cause.
Neil Cole, author of Organic Church, Organic Leadership and Search and Rescue has a slogan that I often quote:
“Lower the bar on what it means to be a church;
raise the bar on what it means to be a disciple.”
This is more than a cute slogan. It reflects a reading of the Scripture that looks at the simplicity of the gospel and the apparent lack of complexity to the early church as a movement. To me, it also seems completely consistent with Douglas Hyde’s observations of how the Communist Party around the world takes the same material that every other movement has to work with (sinful human flesh and blood) and turns them into dynamic leaders.
It goes without saying that I have no admiration for Communist Party vision, values or ethics. But I do admire the commitment of communist leaders to a cause.
Question: Pastors, Christian Leaders, Parents, how are you doing at developing the next generation of leaders?
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