Thursday, September 06, 2007

quoting the quoted

In order to be able to assume the responsibility for other people’s growth, leaders must themselves have grown to true maturity and inner freedom. They must not be locked up in a prison of illusion or selfishness, and they must have allowed others to guide them...

We can only command if we know how to obey. We can only be a leader if we know how to be a servant. We can only be a mother—or a father—figure if we are conscious of ourselves as a daughter or a son. Jesus is the Lamb before the He is the Shepherd. His authority comes from the Father; He is the beloved Son of the Father.


Jean Vanier, Community and Growth, 1989 - quoted on Out of Ur.

2 comments:

David R Kirk said...

R. Thanks for this - good to share wisdom. But I was wondering about the Lamb-before-Shepherd bit...that might be Barthian. Good stuff though.

minternational said...

I have to say that left me pondering a little too (which ain't a bad thing, I guess). Do you think that a reference to Heb. 5:8,9 might have been a more helpful way of expressing the same thing?