I mentioned a while ago that I had received a couple free books as a result of my involvement in Reneé Altson’s virtual book tour. One was Brian McLaren’s A Generous Orthodoxy. While I enjoyed it – and, in fact, I find ideas presented in it coming to mind on many occasions – I had few comments to make. McLaren has a way of making me think. He has never failed to poke a stick into the hornet’s nest of my mind. It takes time for the (sometimes) angry, searching thoughts and ideas to find their way home, and when they do they usually step in quietly. So, I rarely have an immediate

response to his books. Instead, I find that somewhere, down the road, I have been changed.

The other book was Leadership Wisdom from Unlikely Voices by Dave Fleming, and I finally finished it. To be fair, I am a slow reader, and I didn’t start the book until March. I read the first half intensely, and I found myself thinking the book to be only so-so. Much of this I attributed to health (It’s been a long winter of colds and bronchitis for all of us.) and life-season. At the moment, I’m on a sort of leadership hiatus. Much of his talk about teams, for example, just doesn’t apply to me right now, so I found it hard to connect. Again, I don’t think you can blame Fleming for this.

Nevertheless, I wanted to get thru the book, so about half way thru I started skimming. When I did, a funny thing happened: The book grew on me. I found it easier to consider what Fleming was saying in the context of my family. Perhaps my situation began to change a little as well. Regardless, I came away appreciating the time I had spent with the book, and looking forward to a return visit sometime down the road.

The best parts are the Unlikely Voices that Fleming introduces. Culling text from personal journals and biographies, these Unlikely Voices, speak in fresh tones. Only Neo, the fictional character from McLaren’s A New Kind of Christian series, was a bit contrived. Being fictional, he lacks the impact and authority of the others. Regardless, these Unlikely Voices, from the Desert Fathers to Mother Teresa, were wonderful to hear from.

One last comment. Fleming begins the book with a fire metaphor, comparing the art of leadership to the art of tending a flame. There is much worthwhile here, but I only want to talk about the ephemeral nature fire. It is process, not matter, and that fact alone should alter the way many of us approach leadership and community, for these, too, are process. We cannot wrestle and mold them into the shape we desire with brute force. Instead we must tease and tend, stoke and surrender, directing while never making the mistake to think that we are in control.

Leadership Wisdom from Unlikely Voices by Dave Fleming is a worthwhile addition to your library.