One interesting characteristic of Citizens' Organising is its understanding of leadership. In particular, the observation that good leaders are aware of their own mortality.
In June 1997, I spent a month touring the country visiting community economic development projects. One in Moss Side was particularly impressive. It was the only project I visited twice and I was shown around by a recently retired Anglican priest who had spent I think it was over 15 years immersed in the regeneration of that community.
One year later I was writing a paper about the visits and needed some more information about Moss Side, and phoned my contact. A woman answered and told me my contact had had a serious stroke. He could no longer communicate. He had made preparations for the time he would no longer be there. He had mentored the woman and left her as his stand-in. She knew who I was and was able to answer my questions.
To put it bluntly leaders die. A leader who is not mindful of this is invariably a bad leader. I have seen this many time in community groups and churches, where a leader is effectively immortal. They begin to personally identify with the organisation and lose the sense of where they end and the organisation begins. It is a type of possession.
I would go so far as to say that immortality is not a Christian concept. It comes from Greek Gods. The Christian God is not immortal but eternal as are those who know the power of Jesus, his power in weakness. It is our mortality that makes us human and helpful to others. It is closely linked with the idea of humility.
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