Empowering Leadership
April 9, 2006

There are several reasons for today’s sermon on empowered and empowering leadership. First off, one of you asked me to do it, since she felt there were pesky Summit issues of miscommunication and burnout, as in every religious community. No surprise.

Plus, as your interim minister I recognize that right now, in your evolving history, is a crucial time for a few leaders to take a well-deserved sabbatical and numerous other folks to step forward. This is a high season of need for quality, committed leaders at every level of Summit’s life, if you’re going to enjoy a successful settlement in Santee.

You’ve worked hard to stock the Board as well as the critical ministerial Search Committee. And thanks to sage planning, the entire Facilities workload is being distributed nicely; but there still remain ample leadership needs. And I hope this sermon will inspire some of you to become more active stakeholders in Summit’s future by offering either one of your tested or one of your emergent talents.

The stew that comprises the leadership of Summit Fellowship needs an incredible diversity of delicacies and seasonings. We’re a participatory democracy from top to bottom, and we covet your special leadership gifts…more than ever, in order to forge a vital future that will transform our own souls while reforming our corner of East County.

My basic point today is that every one of us is born with leadership potential. We’re gifted with our own singular beauty, power, and authenticity the very day we arrive on earth. Furthermore, recognized or not, every one in this sanctuary leads, in some way, every day of our lives–whether at home, in the community, in the work world, or at play.

Leadership is a craft. And the word craft, as you may know, comes from the German word kraft, meaning power or strength. So, power is resident in every one of us; yet when unreleased or untapped, it dissipates and human beings wither. Power is the application of intelligence and courage to force. A river may be a terrific force, but it develops power only when directed through a turbine.

To actualize our god-given power, then, is the basic charge delivered to us upon birth. As Emerson said: "Do the thing and you shall have the power. But they who do not the thing have not the power." Consequently, the gravest human tragedy is not that we die, but that we fail to employ our full selves while we’re alive. We’re too frightened to unleash the power each of us possesses. That goes for institutions as well as for individuals.

Now, you and I produce all sorts of reasons for not using our power: we’re cursed by reluctant genes or a dysfunctional upbringing or bedeviled by an avalanche of adult crises. But honest explanations don’t make sufficient excuses. The fact is that there are those sisters and brothers among us who’ve suffered wide and deep gashes, who still display an indomitable will to live as empowered and empowering human beings.

Like crabgrass these valiant folks keep growing. Stone walls are no match for them. They defy poison and surgery. Oh, we’d all prefer to think of ourselves as luscious plants and flowering tress, but truly, the most persistent and tenacious among our species are more like dandelions, weeds, and crabgrass. They persevere and sprout up when least expected and against all odds. They keep coming back.

Why, think of the young boy who, at the age of seven, had his family forced out of their home on a legal technicality, and this lad had to work to help support his clan. At age nine, his mother died. At twenty-two he lost his job as a store clerk. He wanted to go to law school, but his education wasn’t good enough. At twenty-three, this young adult went into debt to become a partner in a small store.

At twenty-six, his business partners died, leaving him a huge debt that took years to repay. At twenty-eight, after courting a woman for four years, he asked her to marry him. She said no. At thirty-seven, on his third try, he was elected to Congress, but two years later, this same person failed to be re-elected. At forty-one, his four year-old son died. At forty-five, he ran for the Senate and lost. At forty-seven, he failed as the vice-presidential candidate. At forty-nine, he ran for the Senate again and lost. At fifty-one, he was elected president of the United States.

His name, if you haven’t guessed by now, was Abraham Lincoln, an individual considered by many to be one of this country’s finest leaders. Some people get all the breaks, don’t they?

I truly believe that Summit is a community where we can help one another locate and sustain self-empowerment. Yes, we’re a refuge from the storm; yes, we’re a house of enlightenment and embrace; but fundamentally we’re a place of empowerment.

As spiritual sisters and brothers we boldly say to one another: "Come on, in this our religious household, you can open your heart to love; you can allow your soul to mourn; you can expand your mind to new thoughts; you can treat your body as a temple; and your conscience will be awakened around here. Yes, you count, you matter, you are a powerful being." Unitarian Universalism is a life-affirming, positive religion that teaches our children to internalize the IALAC mantra: namely, "I am lovable and capable."

And yes, you, as an adult now, are a lovable and capable human being. You are powerful! And here, at Summit, you can employ your power in pursuit of the good, the true, and the beautiful. Here in this parish you can be who you truly are…growing toward whom you desire to become. At Summit you can speak with authority and act with integrity, you can become your very best self!

Already, in my mere seven months among you, I’ve experienced countless examples of empowered and empowering leadership. I’ve seen lovable and capable people at work. I’ve seen you collectively move this institution into shapes beyond imagining, indeed, move your entire clan miles eastward, lock stock and barrel. I know that Unitarian Universalism, more than a denomination, is considered a movement, but you’ve taken our concept of movement to the nth degree!

In addition to voting to secure, and then pay, for your first church home, you’ve forged a superb 10-year comprehensive plan. That would be enough action for one year, but not at Summit. You’re also mounting your first ever capital campaign. And more than that, you’re accomplishing all this during an interim year with a new kid (me) on the block.

Wow, the number of powerful choices you’ve already made, and we’ve only just begun. More tough choices lie ahead. And I ask you, all of you: given what’s going on now, the excitement and importance thereof, who could possibly want to be a spectator rather than a participant around here, simply a taker rather than a giver? Who wouldn’t choose to do their fair share of heavy lifting as a full-fledged Summitarian?

This single congregation is mustering enough power to perform marvelous works indeed: to transform your own individual souls, as well as reform the world in which you’re planted. Can’t do better than that in the name of religion!

So today, let me hold up a mirror, so as to remind you who you are and who you’re becoming as empowering leaders!

First off, you keep the gift of power moving around the room. You don’t draw focus upon yourselves or drain strength from others, as an autocrat does, but rather you enliven all whom you touch. An empowering leader has vision, always sees that there’s yet another move to make in your life. You don’t merely believe in the future, you behave the future in.

Second, an empowering leader, while keeping us hopeful and awake, is willing to take charge, be assertive, and stand accountable when called upon to do so. That’s why you possess an elected Board, who’s literally entrusted with the overall operations of Summit. We all have a voice and vote, but our chosen leaders must make the policies and render the daily decisions in concert with your paid staff.

Robert Frost has a poem with a long title called: "How hard it is to keep from being King when it’s in you and in the situation." Think about that; there are times, aren’t there, when you’ve been appointed or chosen to be queen or king? You know, and everyone else knows, that being the leader is in you and in the situation. And you turn such leadership down only at great cost to your spirit and to the welfare of your beloved community.

You are called, and you must answer affirmatively! The empowering person is one who willingly steps forward and fulfills the leadership task, flourishing in the role. Henry Ford put it bluntly: "The question, who ought to take charge, is alike asking ‘Who ought to be the tenor in the quartet?’ Obviously, the person who can sing tenor!"

Naturally, throughout the sweep of human history there’s been a demand for various forms of strong leaders. Different occasions summon different responses. And empowering leaders are willing to make the necessary adjustments. The crisis of mere subsistence on a life raft calls for one type of leader. Democratic stability and compromise for another. Revolutionary activity for still a third.

The compromise and flexibility of Abraham Lincoln were appropriate for his challenges. But even in Lincoln’s own time other leaders had to be quite different in their methods. General Grant couldn’t really sound out his military constituents. William Lloyd Garrison couldn’t wait for consensus when leading the abolitionist movement. Harriet Tubman, organizing raids to rescue slaves in the South, couldn’t lead via circle discussions. Yet Lincoln, Grant, Garrison, and Tubman were all consummate leaders.

Another quality of empowering leadership that’s evident around Summit is this: mature leaders don’t horde power. You eagerly share it.

You know when to delegate responsibility. In truth, delegation is a religious act, for it pushes us off our high horse. It divests us of control we never held anyway. None of us owns this congregation, yet we all have it currently on loan! Delegating is simply a humbling reminder that while you and I may be irreplaceable, we aren’t indispensable; no one is.

Frankly, I see delegation as a sacred warm-up for the time when we surrender whatever power we still possess at the time of death. Delegating is necessary practice for ultimately releasing all our life-outcomes into the loving grasp of the creative unknown.

And strong leaders know when to collaborate too. A thoughtful leader is neither jealous nor frightened to divide burdens and multiple the glory. They create institutions that resemble the jazz combo as a harmonious, mutually supportive, creative alliance of soloists. Sounds like what Summit UU Fellowship is at its finest, right? A harmonious, mutually supportive, creative alliance of soloists.

A girl and her mother were walking along the road when they came across a large stone. The girl said to her mother, "Do you think if I use all my strength, Mom, I can move this rock?" The mother answered, "Yes dear, if you use all your power, I’m sure you can do it."

The girl began to push the rock. Exerting herself as much as she could, the youngster pushed and pushed. The rock didn’t move. Discouraged, she said to her Mother, "You were wrong, I can’t do it." Her mom placed an arm around her daughter’s shoulder and tearfully said, "No, my daughter. You didn’t use all your strength–you didn’t ask me to help!"
Empowering leaders unfailingly call in others, whether laboring locally or globally.

So, an empowering leader knows when to step forward and lead, step alongside and collaborate, as well as step behind and follow. Truly, the unthreatened leader is one who’s willing to reside under the power and authority of others rather than always holding sway at the top of the mountain. The good leader can be a good follower.

I get a kick out of the quote attributed to Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881): "Hey, I must follow the people, for I am their leader!" Isn’t it startling, if not disturbing, to recognize that there’ve been thousands of books written on leadership and none on the art of followership? I’ve heard, and I bet you have too, plenty of college Presidents tell their students that schools are meant to train leaders. But I’ve never heard anyone profess to train followers.

Alas, too few of the leaders in our modern world know how to be humble and responsive followers, yet the empowering leader is balanced, knowing when to be out front, when to take up the rear, and when to walk side by side. In short, the empowering leader is a servant of the Beloved Community.

They get their hands dirty, bearing the marks of toil and struggle. Servant leaders have bruised hearts and skinned knees, because they haven’t been leading from a distance but are enmeshed in the daily fracases of building a vital religion. I’ve always been impressed by the fact that Emperor Hirohito could often be found, during the late afternoons, cleaning the restrooms of his headquarters. Nothing was below this leader who was purportedly above his populous.

In Herman Hesse’s story Journey to the East, we see a band of people on a mythical journey, probably Hesse’s own spiritual quest. The central figure of the story is Leo who accompanies the party as the servant who does their menial chores, but who also sustains them with his spirit and song. He’s a person of extraordinary presence. All goes well until Leo disappears. Then the group falls into disarray, and the journey is abandoned. They simply can’t make it without the servant Leo.

The Narrator, one of the party, after some years of wandering, finds Leo and is taken into the Order that had sponsored the journey. There he discovers that Leo, whom he’d known first as a servant, was in fact the head of the order, its guiding spirit, and a great and noble leader. Now there’s a classic example of empowering leader as servant.

And remember the message of another servant-leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who offered these words in his closing sermon:

If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk long. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize. That isn’t important. I’d like someone to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to love somebody.

I want you to be able to say that day that I tried to feed the hungry. I want you to say that I tried in my life to cloth the naked. I want you to say that I tried to visit those who were in prison. I simply want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.

Yes, trying to love and serve humanity, wouldn’t any of us take that for our final epitaph?

Tom Owen-Towle
April 9, 2006