grove books have been a really good resource for the church. they are usually about 5000 words in lengthy and come in themed series – youth ministry, biblical studies, spirituality etc…

well a new series has just been launched on leadership and graham cray opens it up with a booklet on discerning leadership: co-operating with the go between god. it's a wonderful little book inspired by or with a big nod in the direction of john taylor and his amazing book the go between god. the argument goes that the world has changed so much that old models and ways of being a leader simply don't make sense or work any more. john taylor is famously attributed (along with others) for saying that mission is discerning what god is doing and joining in. the central act of leadership is then discernment. this chimes in with kirsteen kim's thesis in joining in with the spirit which i raved about here – maybe what we are seeing here is a new openness to the work of the spirit in mission which is an exciting thought.

what i like about graham's thoughts is that he is trying to carve out something a little bit different to where emphases have been before in leadership. he encourages the idea that discernment is a communal act and not the preserve of the leader. if anything the leader(s) role is environmental – i.e to create the environment in which the missional imagination of the community can flourish. this is a leadership that lets go of control and trusts the spirit and the community. that discernment is about a triple listening – to god, the church and the wider community/culture. in a culture in flux, nothing's fixed or certain so it requires a flexibility and an openness to respond and adapt creatively in the spirit. i have heard andrew jones talk or blog a few times about pattern recognition and with a nod to william gibson's sci fi novel of that name graham picks up on this idea here. i think that's a very helpful kind of language around discernment.

i have been asked to write a grove booklet for this series which probably won't be out for a year – it will be called leadership in the new environment and i hope will build nicely on graham's work…