intuitive leadership

Tim Keel – intuitive leadership

I've been using this phrase about certain peopIe I observe for a while, so when I saw the title, I had to buy the book. I like the guy who wrote it. I’ve never met Tim Keel, but I wouldn’t mind sitting down and having a chat over some decent coffee because I just get the idea I’d learn more from who he is than what he shares in this book. That’s not to say there’s not a lot of extremely helpful stuff here – certainly for me. He tells his own story in such a way many, many pastors will resonate with. What comes across is the importance of being wiling to listen and enter into the stories and questions shaping his own life and a real encourage to do the same. There’s stuff here about post-Christendom and our missional context within it, which will have a familiar feel for many who’ve found their way around a growing body of books, but it comes across in a refreshing way. You don’t get that sense Tim Keel has it in for the church as you might with some.

Baptists will like his emphasis on no one else being the expert (oh how that sounds good to our independent ears). However, be warned if you’re one my tribe, you wont be able to lean back and relax in a pool of smugness. ‘We must seek to get away from looking for others to tell us what everything means and what the implications are. Instead we must learn what it means to engage.’ He means really engage though – not just tell your regional minister that’s what you’re doing! Engage with God, engage with your community (Church) and engage with the world beyond.

I loved his language of postures – he mentions nine and I’d like to think I’ll blog on each one – at least for my own good if no one elses! But in case I don’t get around to  that here they are because the titles are worth some reflection themselves:

 

A posture of Learning: From answers to questions.

A posture of vulnerability: From the head to the heart.

A posture of availability: From spoken words to living words.

A posture of stillness: from preparation to meditation.

A posture of surrender: from control to chaos.

A posture of cultivation: from programmer to environmentalist.

A posture of trust: from defensiveness to creativity.

A posture of joy: from work to play.

A posture of dependence: from resolution to tension – and back again.