So what difference can I really make in the chaos that is Washington D.C. today, Jeff?
Anyone who has been alive over the last several decades has certainly run into friends, family members or associates who, almost with a tone of despair in their voices, throw up their hands and exclaim, “There’s nothing that I (or we) can do to change the dysfunction that is American politics.” And, to a certain extent, I agree with them. It is significantly difficult for one person to influence the behavior, choices, or direction of an entire political system albeit liberal or conservative. And, in a way, that is one of the subtle points that Hunter is making in his book, To Change the World. In essence, change leadership (or leadership that matters) happens organically in families, places of worship, communities and among peers. “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” was a movie; change that matters happens much, much differently.
To illustrate this point, Hunter invokes the prophet Jeremiah (29:4-7) and Jeremiah’s advice to the people in exile: “…But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” Hunter calls this kind of organic change a “…theology of faithful presence.” According to Hunter, God was calling the exiled people “…to something different—not to be defensive against, isolated from, or absorbed in the dominant culture, but to be faithfully present within it.” In other words, “[t]he people of Israel were being called to enter the culture in which they were placed as God’s people—reflecting in their daily practices their distinct identity as those chosen by called. “[Jeremiah] was challenging them to maintain their distinctiveness as a community but in ways that served the common good” (278).
This notion of faithful presence takes many shapes and many forms. As a practicing Christian, being faithfully present means that I’m engaged in the dominant culture around me seeking the welfare of all of those around me through work in food pantries, shelters, mentoring youth, visiting the infirmed, greeting a stranger, or having a cup of coffee with a friend. As Hunter notes, “In God’s eyes, it is faithful presence that matters…it is the enactment of Shalom (God’s peace)” that, I argue, actually begins to change the world, albeit one relationship, one meaningful encounter at a time. But those moments do matter.
I personally observed one of those moments a little less than a year ago near the end of my University’s first round defeat in the Division III NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Our guys had a great season and learned to love each other as teammates. They drew the defending national champions in the first round of the tournament and put up a very competitive fight until about the last five minutes of the game. Near the end of the game, I happened to look down at our bench where about fifteen young men sat with their heads in their hands. And then, slowly, off to the left, I noticed our head coach work his way down the row, stopping in front of each player as he placed his hands atop their heads without uttering a word. It was a powerful moment of affection and meaning.
Many months later, I had the opportunity to ask our coach what was behind his gesture. “I simply wanted them to know that I was proud of them and that I loved them,” he said. “They had nothing to be ashamed of.”
Authentic leadership that changes lives most often happens during the moments when very few people are looking or listening. It’s seeking the welfare of the city…or the team…or the division…or the department…or the neighbors wherever they might be and in whatever condition we might find them. It’s a new paradigm and, truthfully, though it might not ever change the likes of places like Washington, D.C., it will change us as we help to usher in God’s Shalom. And, at the end of the day, that’s what matters most.
