re: " 'For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority-a loving God'...What is important is not how you define this higher power, but simply that you acknowledge It."
This may seem at first a barrier for non-believers. I consider myself an agnostic. Where do I fit?
For me the "ultimate authority" is sublime values, such as goodness, truth, and compassion.
So the servant leaders of a twelve step group could never overrule these values for its agnostic, atheist, or non-believing members.
The group purpose must be within those values. The leaders serve the membership with those highest values as their ultimate authority.
Absolutely. I'm unabashedly a follower of the person Jesus and I would still have no problem facilitating your growth in the group without demanding that you move to my worldview to do it.
I think our Author here is doing a great job illustrating the role of leadership through the 12 steps...
Chris,
You definately fit in. I will get more into this when I get to the third tradition, which basically says the only requirement for membership is a desire to belong.
I think your values of goodness,
truth, and compassion are in line with any organization that is really about servant leadership.
One of the things I like about Greenleaf's writings on this topic is his openendedness when it comes to the topic of spirituality.
Greenleaf writes in the essay 'The Individual as Leader' "There is in my theology, a mystery before which I simply stand in awe. At the threshold of the mystery, I ask no questions and seek no explanations. [...]. I don't know what it is, even though occasionally I get intimations about it, but I do have a belief about what it does. When a leaders has it, it builds trust; it builds trust not only between a leaders and a follower but also between followers."
My take on this is that Greenleaf was unknowing in what that ultimate reality was, but he knew it when he saw it in action.
Pete,
Thanks for sharing your comments. Inclusivity is a key to being an effective servant-leader, but one of the biggest challenges as well.
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