{"id":2605,"date":"2014-07-15T17:23:23","date_gmt":"2014-07-15T23:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/?p=2605"},"modified":"2014-07-15T17:23:23","modified_gmt":"2014-07-15T23:23:23","slug":"pagan-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2014\/07\/pagan-leadership.html","title":{"rendered":"Pagan Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>If you think leadership means telling people what to do you\u2019ve missed the point in a very bad way.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been a lot of talk lately around the idea of Pagan leadership.\u00a0 I wrote on my definition of priesthood<\/a> and on the idea of paying Pagan clergy<\/a>.\u00a0 Yeshe Rabbit has this very good essay<\/a> on her work as a priestess, and Thorn Coyle detailed her work<\/a> as a full-time Pagan leader and how much money she makes through it.\u00a0 Perhaps the closest to my own thoughts is this piece by Yvonne Aburrow<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But although priests and priestesses are almost always leaders, leadership is not their primary mission \u2013 that mission is serving the Gods, mediating for the Gods, and serving their communities.\u00a0 Having said what I wanted to say about priesthood, it\u2019s now time to talk about leadership.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve studied leadership in school, I\u2019ve trained for it in my paying job, and I\u2019ve practiced it myself.\u00a0 At times I\u2019ve rejected the title of leader, at times I\u2019ve accepted it reluctantly, and at times I\u2019ve come to the conclusion that I had to be a leader if I was going to do what I felt had to be done.<\/p>\n

Despite all that, I\u2019m no expert on leadership.\u00a0 This is what I do and why I do it.\u00a0 As with everything else I write, if you find it helpful, use it where you can.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t find it helpful, try something else.<\/p>\n

Small Group Leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m the Coordinating Officer of Denton CUUPS \u2013 that\u2019s an elected office that corresponds to president.\u00a0 My job, as the title implies, is to coordinate all our activities and our relations with other groups.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t make all the decisions.\u00a0 Actually, I make very few decisions in my role as Coordinating Officer.\u00a0 Our calendar is set by informal consensus in a sit-down meeting every Fall.\u00a0 Members volunteer to lead rituals as they\u2019re inspired.\u00a0 Classes and activities begin when someone has an idea of something they want to lead, or a request for something they want to learn.\u00a0 We have seven members who each have over 20 years experience in various Pagan traditions, plus some enthusiastic and capable newer folks \u2013 no one person has to carry all the load.<\/p>\n

With an arrangement like that, why do we even need a Coordinating Officer?\u00a0 I don\u2019t have to make all the decisions, but someone has to make sure all the decisions get made.\u00a0 Someone has to make sure the flyers get posted, the announcements get sent, and the website gets updated.\u00a0 Someone has to make sure we have candles for the altar and wine for the offerings.\u00a0 Someone has to work with the church administrator on building usage, and someone has to be a go-to person when the minister or board president has questions or suggestions.<\/p>\n

If I were to move to Oregon, would these things still get done?\u00a0 I\u2019m sure someone would step up and do the coordination work I do, but someone would have to do it.\u00a0 If everyone assumes someone else will take care of things, sooner or later something important falls through the cracks and doesn\u2019t get done.\u00a0 My job is to make sure everything that\u2019s supposed to get done actually does get done.<\/p>\n

Individual Leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I\u2019m serving as Coordinating Officer of Denton CUUPS I know what needs to be done:\u00a0 what we said we want to do and what our by-laws say we will do.\u00a0 But if you come to me for spiritual guidance, I don\u2019t know what you need.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know your religious history or your spiritual background.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if you\u2019re a polytheist, a pantheist, a panentheist, a non-theist or some combination thereof.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know what calls to you:\u00a0 Nature?\u00a0 The Gods?\u00a0 Magic?\u00a0 Social justice?\u00a0 Dreams of a better world?<\/p>\n

I can ask questions based on my experience, and if those questions happen to be meaningful to you I may be able to help you figure out who or what is calling you.\u00a0 Or not.\u00a0 But even if I can, I can\u2019t possibly tell you how to answer that call.\u00a0 For one thing, I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 And even if I have a pretty good idea, the only person who can take responsibility for your spiritual growth and development is you.<\/p>\n

If you decide your calling is Gardnerian Wicca, I can\u2019t help you \u2013 I\u2019m not a Gardnerian Wiccan.\u00a0 If you decide your calling is OBOD Druidry, all I can to is point you toward the OBOD website<\/a> and encourage you to sign up for the Bardic course \u2013 that\u2019s the way OBOD works.\u00a0 Even if you fall in love with my particular blend of polytheistic Druidry practiced largely in a UU setting (total worldwide followers:\u00a0 1 \u2013 me) , all I can tell you is \u201cthis is what worked for me.\u201d\u00a0 Maybe it will work for you and maybe it won\u2019t.<\/p>\n

I think of the elders I\u2019ve consulted and studied under over the years.\u00a0 Each one had something unique to teach and I learned something from all of them.\u00a0 But none of them \u201cfit\u201d perfectly.\u00a0 That\u2019s one of the most difficult questions I have to deal with \u2013 am I rejecting what a respected elder suggested because it just doesn\u2019t fit me, or am I rejecting it because it\u2019s hard and I don\u2019t want to do it?<\/p>\n

The only person who can take responsibility for my spiritual growth and development is me.<\/p>\n

My Living Room, My Soapbox<\/strong><\/p>\n

My small group leadership is one of service.\u00a0 My individual leadership is one of reflective guidance.\u00a0 But I practice a third form of leadership here on this blog, one of dialogue and advocacy.<\/p>\n

Near the center of my being lies an insatiable curiosity.\u00a0 I want to know<\/em>:\u00a0 what, how and why.\u00a0 That thirst for knowledge has led to a lifelong pursuit of reading, studying, listening, traveling, and experimenting.\u00a0 I\u2019m hardly unique in this regard, particularly in the Pagan community.<\/p>\n

And while knowing is important, it\u2019s not enough.\u00a0 What does it all mean, and what can I do with it?\u00a0 How do I turn data into information, information into knowledge, and knowledge into wisdom?\u00a0 So I think about what I\u2019ve learned, looking for patterns, similarities, and cause and effect.\u00a0 I ask \u201cwhat if?\u201d and try to project what might happen if this or that was changed, and whether the outcome would be helpful or harmful or irrelevant.<\/p>\n

Religious thinking is inherently uncertain \u2013 asking if my ideas are \u201cright\u201d is an impossible question.\u00a0 A more useful question is if my ideas as good as they can be.\u00a0 And I can\u2019t answer that question on my own \u2013 that question requires dialogue.<\/p>\n

One of the reasons I blog about matters of belief and practice is to give you a chance to tell me I\u2019m wrong.\u00a0 Mind you, I don\u2019t like being told I\u2019m wrong.\u00a0 But if some other belief or practice is more meaningful, more helpful, and more representative of reality as I understand it, then I want to re-evaluate my thoughts and make any necessary adjustments.<\/p>\n

This blog is my living room, which is part of the great living room of the Pagan internet.\u00a0 As the links I listed in the beginning of this post illustrate, once an idea starts moving, different people with different perspectives start weighing in.\u00a0 If we\u2019re reading and responding thoughtfully, we have a tremendous opportunity for learning and growth.<\/p>\n

This is one way we show up<\/a> to the debates on the issues that will define Paganism for future generations.<\/p>\n

This blog is more than a living room \u2013 it\u2019s also a soapbox.<\/p>\n

Paganism, polytheism, Druidry, Unitarian Universalism \u2013 it\u2019s all been very helpful to me.\u00a0 I just wish I had found it earlier in my life.\u00a0 I can\u2019t do anything about my past, but I can make it easier for future would-be Pagans to find the religions that call to them.<\/p>\n

I can do something to tell those who are suffering in oppressive religions that there are other alternatives.<\/p>\n

I can do something to make it easier for non-Pagans to learn something about who we really are and what we actually do.<\/p>\n

I can do something to promote good science and scholarship and to discourage confusing myth with history.<\/p>\n

What authority do I have to promote my ideas on these subjects?\u00a0 The strength of the evidence and the reasoning I present.\u00a0 That\u2019s all.\u00a0 My positions and my experience are reasons why you may want to listen to me, but they\u2019re no guarantee what I have to say is right.\u00a0 If you find my thoughts helpful, great.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t, welcome to my living room \u2013 have a seat and join the conversation.<\/p>\n

Definitions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Google \u201cleadership\u201d and you\u2019ll get a variety of definitions \u2013 and a lot of people offering to teach you how to be a leader, for a price that ranges from \u201chigh\u201d to \u201conly the 1% need apply.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019ve talked about the different ways I lead but I haven\u2019t defined leadership, other than to say it\u2019s not about telling people what to do.<\/p>\n

To me, leadership is encouraging people to make progress toward desired goals and equipping them to do so.\u00a0 It\u2019s part teaching, part cheerleading, and part hands-on work.<\/p>\n

The best leaders I have encountered are passionate about their work and knowledgeable about how to accomplish it.\u00a0 They have a strong ethical base \u2013 they understand the ends don\u2019t always justify the means.\u00a0 And they have compassion \u2013 they understand people aren\u2019t just \u201cresources,\u201d they\u2019re people with inherent dignity and worth and sovereignty of their own.<\/p>\n

Bad leaders manipulate people to achieve their goals.\u00a0 Good leaders understand that people who are informed and involved are more effective contributors toward their goals.\u00a0 Great leaders realize that helping people become who and what they\u2019re called to be makes them most effective, and also helps build the kind of world we all want to live in.<\/p>\n

Any movement will have leaders.\u00a0 As Pagans, let\u2019s call out the bad ones, support the good ones, and imitate the great ones.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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