So What?
What kind of leaders do we follow? Who
do we esteem, value or hold dear? Are our models competitive or serving? Whom
do we desire to be like, to aspire to? Who is it that captivates our attention?
Who do we find ourselves thinking about? When we answer these questions we
will have already answered the question “what kind of leader are we?”
The latter question is frequently the primary question asked in leadership
books. It should be, instead, the second question for when it is put first
the mimetic role of our own models (internal or external) is hidden from us.
Some sermon thoughts.
Lately, I have been called to model some
different forms of leadership within the preaching sphere. I have lost count
of the number of times that I have been told in preaching classes or preaching
texts (I've read a lot of them because I sometimes teach homiletics in our
local theological school.) that it is "inappropriate" for the preacher
to bring too much of herself or himself into the pulpit. It is inappropriate
for us as preachers to "draw attention to ourselves."
I think this plays into the very mimetic
trap into which we as "leaders" are constantly tempted to fall.
We are not to talk about ourselves because we are to be one of the group,
but one set apart in some ontological way (in other words, we are to become
a model worthy of rivalry).
I am convinced, as I try to work out
this understanding of violence and mimesis that I am called to break these
molds of ministry, to break some rules.
And it pays.
I have taken to "witnessing"
to the power of the Gospel in my own life, rather than resorting to cute or
moving anecdotes about other people.
I have shared my pain, my need for the
prayers and witness of my own congregation, and my trust than in them I will
find the same strength they seek from me. I don't do this every week, or even
every other week, but when the text and my own prayers call for it.
And it pays.
I can only say that there is in our congregation
a new excitement about the Gospel. People don't always understand what it
is I'm up to, but they like how church feels.
Try being the leader who isn't caught
in the mimetic web.
It pays.
Anthropological Reading
We have observed that the gospels elucidate
the phenomenon of mimesis, both negative mimesis and positive mimesis. The
Johannine text juxtaposes both nicely here in chapter 10 using the images
of the thief and the mugger (the pirate, the brigand) to illustrate the character
of negative mimetic leadership and that of the shepherd to demonstrate the
character of good mimetic leadership.
How do we get leadership from our text?
There are many indicators. The first, and most direct, is the use of the ‘ego
eimi’ in vs 7, both Wayne Meeks and T.F. Glasson have suggested that
the figure of Moses as the shepherd-leader of Israel illuminates our text.
The second concerns a potential background referent, Ezekiel 34 and the distinction
between good and evil shepherds (= leaders). The third is the use of shepherd
imagery in the New Testament for ecclesial leadership. Finally, the ‘mission’
or ‘purpose’ of the shepherd is made explicit (vs 10), agendas
are revealed, plans are exposed and character is made plain. This is the stuff
of leadership.
Literature on leadership abounds. In
both secular and religious spheres, books on leadership proliferate faster
than fruit flies. Bookstores have entire sections devoted to leadership and
management. But rare is that book which in the end explicates leadership that
is positively mimetic. Most leadership books assume competition to be a positive
element in leadership; a competitive spirit is seen as essential to climbing
the ladder of success. We confess (as semi-sports junkies) that there are
certain aspects of competition that we fall prey to, that we enjoy. However,
sports competition is just entertainment of that which permeates our culture,
our lives, our very existence. So called healthy competition, a mimetic desiring
to one-up by the rules grows alongside with and stems from the same origin
as unhealthy competition, a mimetic desiring that doesn’t give a damn
about the rules. You can see this in contemporary political rhetoric concerning
the importance of being a country under ‘the rule of law’, that
is regulating mimetic activity (into right and wrong, good and bad).
Yes, the mimetic mechanism is clear in
sports. The desire to be better than the person opposite you, rivalry, and
losers (scapegoats) are all evident. It is also clear in the democratic political
process. It is just as clear in boardrooms and bedrooms. School, church, home,
work, it really doesn’t matter, the competitive model is everywhere.
In America today we are experiencing
a crisis of leadership. Sports have become defiled and plagued with scandal;
politics is losing its luster and ethical lapses are devouring the politicians,
CEO’s who wreak financial havoc for personal gain are being admitted
to cozy surroundings in federal prisons. Our celebrities are featured on Page
1 especially when they ‘break the rules.’ All of our icons are
falling or have fallen. Why? Because negative mimesis will inevitably lead
to becoming a ‘thief and a robber.’ Both the one who sneaks in
by night, the cat burglar, and also the one who takes what they want by force,
both extremes are taken into account (the manipulator and the bully).
The good shepherd is not like either
of these. The good shepherd is described in ‘feminine’ nurturing
categories. Positive mimetic leadership is nurturing leadership. Positive
mimetic leaders are there to assist the other to be the best they can be.
They will not mind if the student becomes as they are or even greater (‘greater
things than these shall you do’). Real leadership is about tending to
the other, facilitating growth.
There are two tandem essays in the book
Violence Renounced that are important background for our discussions of positive
mimesis, Jim William’s ‘King as Servant, Sacrifice as Service:
Gospel Transformations” and Willard Swartley’s “Discipleship
and the Imitation of Jesus/Suffering Servant: The Mimesis of New Creation.”
These essays explore the real differences in mimetic leadership and what authentic
servant leadership would look like.
The good shepherd comes to bring life
in its fullest, richest and deepest senses. The good shepherd ‘exists
for the other’ (Bonhoeffer), and would even give their life for the
sake of the other. The good shepherd does not take life but nurtures it. We
have such a good shepherd who dwells with us and in us. Thanks be to God!
Historical Cultural
Dodd, following J.A.T. Robinson sees
in John 10:10-5 the fusion of two Synoptic like parables. We should not be
surprised for we have observed that the differences between the Synoptic and
the Johannine portraits of Jesus are a matter of form and not content. That
John should call this a paroimia, while the Synoptists prefer parabole, is
an indication that we are dealing with a mashal(im) of Jesus.
Sir Edwin Hoskyns, The Fourth Gospel,
is essential reading on this passage. “Through the life and death of
Jesus, Christians not only have life, but have it abundantly. This does not
mean that they have life more richly than other people. Their life is different
in kind; and it is abundant because it is life according to the will of God;
and, in being the consequence of [God’s] action, it is measureless and
unlimited.”
Either
this page has not yet been completed, or we have not found any significant textual
issues in the lectionary texts for this Sunday.
What's New: (Hover your mouse over to pause cycling)
Acts 2:42-47
Those who had been baptized devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Awe came upon everyone, because many
wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together
and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods
and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent
much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food
with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all
the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being
saved.
1 Peter 2:19-25
It is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering
unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is
that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God's
approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for
you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.
"He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth."
When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not
threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself
bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might
live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going
astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian
of your souls
John 10:1-10
Jesus said, "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold
by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one
who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens
the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by
name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead
of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not
follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the
voice of strangers." Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but
they did not understand what he was saying to them.
So again Jesus said to them, "Very
truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are
thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate.
Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have
life, and have it abundantly."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright
1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches
of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.
Occasional Articles
As with the Introductory Articles, we
will add other articles as time permits or as our readers request. If you
have a suggestion for anything, please let us know.
Michael Hardin
Is the Apocalypse Inevitable?: Native American Prophecy and the Mimetic Theory presented to the Colloquium on Violence and Religion 2008
Michael's Essay for a Celebration Volume honoring Rene Girard
Michael's Response to Willard Swartley's Covenent of Peace at the November Colloquium and Violence Meeting
Does
Peace Make A Difference? - Michael's essay in response to Rick
Warren's P.E.A.C.E. plan (which somehow never mentions peace).
An Analysis of Rick Warren - Michael's response to "The Purpose Driven Life."
"The
God of Pat Robertson" - a response to Pat Robertson's words
to the people of Dover, PA.
"A
response to Charles Stanley's "A Nation at War"
"Must
God be violent? A Diagnosis and Prescription for Modern Christianity"
The
Scapegoat: Christologies in Conflict - A Study in Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Biblical
Testaments as a Marriage of Convenience: Rene Girard and Biblical Interpretation
Finding
Our Way Home: A Brief Note On The Authority and Interpretation of Scripture
"Does
The Passion of the Christ Preach the Gospel?"
A
sermon for the holiday devoted to Dr. Martin Luther King. (requires
Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
GRASPING
GOD: Philippians 2: 1-11 in the Light of Mimetic Theory
Rene Girard and the Recovery of Early Christian Perspectives (Brethren Life and Thought)
The Dynamics of Violence and the Imitation of Christ in Maximus Confessor (St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly)
"EcoSpirituality"
Or What Happens When You Sit Down With A French Literary Critic
Jeff Krantz
Mighty
One or Crucified Messiah? Competing Christologies and the Chiastic
Structure of Mark's Gospel
There's
No Such Thing as the Rapture - A sermon preached at the Church
of the Advent, Westbury (requires Acrobat Reader)
Holy
Scripture and the Consecration of Gene Robinson - a response
to the request of the Windsor Report for a Scriptural rationale. (requires
Adobe's Acrobat Reader)
Worship - The Redemption of Desire by Jeff Krantz
Myth
and Film - a piece written for the City of Angels Film Festival
The Stations of the Cross - Rewritten by Jeff Krantz
A Dramatic Presentation of the Stations of the Cross for Youth by Barb Fabijan-Waddell
Escaping
the Power of "My" - A NonViolent Approach to Stewardship
Preaching
Peace in Hollywood: The Theologies of Terminator, Lord of the Rings, and the
Matrix
V
for Vendetta - The Name Says It All A review of the movie.
Essays, Sermons and Liturgical Pieces by Friends of Preaching Peace
"Jesus and the Gibeonites: Reading the Bible from the Perspective of the Hidden Victim" by James Warren.
Mark Heim's "No More of This" - A hymn on Nonviolent Atonement
Kate Layzer's "No More of This" - A hymn on Nonviolent Atonement (and inspiration for Mark Heim's hymn!)
Alan Cork, "Transformation" in L'Arche: A Mimetic Account presented to the Colloquium on Violence and Religion 2008
"The Wisdom of God's Peace" a sermon by Jim Amstutz, co-pastor of Michael's church.
Girard's Christology - Per Bjornar Grande
Violence, Anarchy and Scripture: Jacques Ellul and Rene Girard - Matthew Patillo
Comparing
Plato's Understanding of Mimesis to Girard's - Per Bjorner Grande
C. Frank Terhune, an Easter Sermon: "God's Big But" (no kidding!)
Gerald Biesecker-Mast's paper from Theologia Pacis on Pacifist Gospel Epstimology.
An essay by the Rev. John Hill on Mimetic Theory and Catechesis
