The Kenosis Covenant: Wesleyan Perspectives on Leadership Formation and Renewal

No passage of Scripture has more deeply informed and challenged my approach to teaching and leading as that which has come to be called Paul’s Kenotic Hymn in Philippians 2: 1-18. A colleague of mine at Regent University, Dr. Corne Bekker, and I began wrestling with the revolutionary impact on leadership of taking seriously the emptying (kenosis) of divine privilege by Jesus to accomplish our salvation and transformation…

Most of the effective leaders I know are individuals who develop and systematically practice an integrated approach to their callings. Kenotic leaders think deeply about the theories and theologies that inform their leadership callings… For those who believe that leadership is a God-given, spiritually enriched and sacred calling, they explore the theological implications of leading as communicated in and modeled by the major figures of the Scriptures. Kenotic leaders examine the character and motivations at the heart of leadership – the who and why of their leadership calling. They believe character counts as an essential foundation… A desire to “lead like Jesus” is informed by the kenosis motivation that willingly sets aside privileges and perks as described in Philippians 2 to focus more on the needs of the led than on the needs, preferences, agendas or predispositions of the leader… Kenotic leaders also master the skills and techniques relevant to their respective callings and contexts… Means as well as ends become the focus of their leadership practices and strategies. Finally, Kenotic leaders master the essential disciplines that guide their thinking, guard their hearts and continuously equip their hands for the leadership mission they have accepted.

Radical humility is at the heart of the kenosis “emptying.” In Wesleyan theological terms, this is only possible as I embrace the sanctifying presence of the Holy Spirit to make me wholly the Lord’s obedient, loving servant.

The Call to a New Leadership Covenant

The challenges and opportunities of today demand that we produce leaders with a compelling sense of Christ’s Great Commission challenge to “go into all the world”. These unprecedented times of polarization also require that we remain anchored to His Great Commandment mandate of loving God with our total being and our neighbor as ourselves. As intentional Christians, we are called to the demanding responsibility of providing leadership that is both relational and operational in its formulations and applications. Rising to such a complex calling requires that we develop an integrated view of our leadership opportunities and privileges that is anchored to the essential elements of Christ-centered and Scripture-anchored spiritual formation.

To that end, we need a model for spiritually formed and enlivened leadership that serves not only our own sense of mission but contributes to the larger purposes of God in and through His human creation. To succeed in this calling, we must embrace an integrated paradigm of learning, living and serving. At the very center of this paradigm is a commitment to becoming whole persons characterized by inquiring minds, loving hearts and outstretched hands known for noble, effective and sacrificial service. The finished fabric of effective leadership will move from the patchwork quilts of thought and practice that characterize much of contemporary leadership strategy to an interwoven tapestry of essential threads that bring competency and character, theory/theology and practice together into a new picture of what it means to lead as Jesus led.

The foundations of my thinking about such a leadership commitment are anchored to a process that began when I was an undergraduate college student. The initial lessons learned in that setting continue to fuel my passions and practices as I seek to contribute meaningfully to Christ’s ultimate mission of engaging, redeeming and changing the world.

This reflection describes my pilgrimage into the mission, message and meaning of such spiritually formed and integrated leadership. It is primarily a theological and conceptual rather than methodological journey – a process of transformation more than information. It is not my intent to present what follows as the ultimate answer for our important work. Neither is it the purpose to suggest that my thinking fully defines all the dimensions and implications of such a sacred task. Rather, my goal is to encourage, motivate and inspire others to take their distinctive understandings of the call to world-changing leadership to its highest levels. […]

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