All posts by Bryce Ashlin-Mayo

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It’s been way too long…

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I thought I would begin my reentry into the blogosphere with an update on my life over the last few weeks:

  1. I’ve begun full-time studies at Taylor Seminary and so far so good…but ask me in November when all my paper/presentation due dates converge.
  2. I took a week-long extensive class at Briercrest a couple weeks ago in Saskatchewan and survived. The class was good but it was lonely. Briercrest is literally in the middle of nowhere with one choice for food (Subway) besides the high school cafeteria (I stood in line for about 30 second and came to my senses). Consequently, I ate at Subway every night for supper. I’ve had my fill of subs for a while.
  3. I met a guy from my youth group back in Regina for lunch while I was at Briercrest…it was great to hear what God was doing in his life and his passion for ministry and missions.
  4. I finished at the church and survived the roast at my farewell…it was very encouraging and affirming. Laurie and I both feel commissioned into this next chapter of our lives.
  5. I am finishing my resume and will be getting ready to engage the long process of looking for another ministry.
  6. I found this great website with a daily cartoon on the church. This guy has a unique way of putting on screen what people write entire books about. Brilliant, provocative and timely are some of the many words you could use to describe it.
  7. I was introduced to this great software (Mindjet) which has changed the way I organize papers, do my to-do list, etc.
  8. I am doing some detailed study on Martin Luther for an independent study class I am taking. I’ve found it to be very interesting. I am actually in the process of writing a major paper on antisemitism in the writings and Sermons of Luther and it’s effects on the nation of German, leading to Nazism and then its contemporary response on behalf of Evangelicals today. I will try writing a blog post on some of that soon.
  9. Our twins are in Kindergarten and our oldest is in grade two…time goes so fast!
  10. TV has begun and I am excited about getting back into some mindless TV entertainment.
  11. I’ve seen some good movies lately on DVD & in theaters. If you haven’t seen “King of Kong” yet, you need to get a copy of it.
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When Two Worlds Collide

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Due to the fact that these last couple weeks have been crazy and the next few weeks look even more insane, my blogging life has to take a bit of a hiatus. I will still try and post some (I have a tendency to come up with great ideas when I am procrastinating) but with finishing at the church, starting up at school and traveling to Briercrest (Saskatchewan) Seminary next week for a class, things have and will be pretty hairy.

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A Call For A New Kind of Leadership Book

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I hope you will allow me a few moments for a bit of a rant and then a plea.

The Rant
I have done a lot of reading on leadership over the last year and specifically the last two weeks for a pastoral leadership course I am taking. I am not a huge fan of leadership books because instead of feeling encouraged and inspired, I usually end up feeling depressed and beaten down. Maybe you have experienced something similar and without getting into detailed critiques of modern leadership books (I will post some reviews of the books I read soon), I want to express something that I feel is lacking on the subject. There is a saturation of material written (more than you ever need to read) on the success stories of leaders, who in mythical and legendary fashion are portrayed as impenetrable to lapses in judgment, bad decisions and mistakes. In many cases, they are gloried in leadership literature to the place where they are no longer even real. Maybe that is the nature of history, when we either forget someone’s flaws because they did great things or we forget the good because of a mistake they made.

The problem is that whenever we view leaders (anyone for that matter) like this, they end up losing their humanity and thus their reality. We then begin to compare the worst of our leadership with the best of someone’s falsely perceived leadership prowess. Consequently, it leads to everyday leaders ending up feeling like failures. Instead, why can’t we read and understand leadership realistically and truthfully and as a result with hope, inspiration and honesty.

The Plea
Therefore, I plea…I beg…someone to write a book about the real, unpolished and non-airbrushed view of leadership in a way that is honest and hopeful. To write stories like Moody, who was told at the beginning of his ministry not to preach because his public speaking skills were so bad. Or, stories like Billy Graham who was told by Bob Jones of Bob Jones University that he would never amount to anything. These stories for me don’t make Moody or Graham any less of a leader. In fact, these stories and perspectives allow me to actually engage them and their lives on a deeper level because they become more real…more honest…more human. In many ways, it provides me hope and the ability to see my ministry with new perspective. This doesn’t mean I think we need to avoid the great parts of these amazing leaders but in the pursuit of understanding what makes them tick, we can’t avoid or ignore their flaws.

Like the new DOVE commercials and their campaign for “Real Beauty” that celebrates real women instead of the plastic surgery altered and digitally “enhanced” women that have created a false ideal, I would argue we need a similar movement with pastoral leadership. We need a new perspective for “Real Leadership” that, to use the DOVE phrase: “Loves the [leadership] skin we are in.”

Thus, I am asking someone to write one of the following books:

  • Real Leadership
  • The Human Face of Leadership
  • Leaders Unmasked
  • Leaders Demythologized
  • A Realistic and Honest Look at Great Leaders

The Response
If you agree or disagree with me, let me know. If you feel you would appreciate a new kind of leadership book please join your voice with mine in calling for a new kind of leadership conversation.