The Scandal of Leadership
Will we become a scandal to those who look to us as leaders, or will we choose to imitate the scandalous way of Christ?
The fall of high-profile leaders has sadly become an epidemic, and although books and podcasts have sought to uncover the problem, they often fail to identify the root cause. In The Scandal of Leadership, JR Woodward offers a deeper diagnosis, outlining a more comprehensive understanding of power abuses in the church and the critical role of imitation. Drawing from Scripture and the scholarship of Walter Wink, René Girard, and William Stringfellow, as well as from positive examples of leaders such as Óscar Romero, this book offers a robust theology of the Powers–of Satan, the demonic, and the principalities and powers explored in the Bible. By unmasking the Powers of domination, Woodward seeks to help missional leaders practice a self-emptying spirituality that reshapes their desires and forms them into Christlike servants who join God’s mission in the world.
ENDORSEMENTS
“Finally! An academically robust and comprehensive missiological study into why so many pastors and church leaders have fallen to scandal.This isn’t a book of anecdotes or pithy leadership one-liners. This is a deep analysis of how we’ve come to the place we’re at and what role the powers have played and continue to play in our lives.
DANIEL IM, lead pastor, Beulah Alliance Church; podcaster; author, You Are What You Do
“If unseen Powers are most powerful when we don’t talk about them, then this book will seriously unsettle those Powers. In this timely and rigorous examination of why leadership so often corrupts good leaders, JR Woodward invites us to discern who we’re imitating. Such a deep,spiritual investigation will disrupt the forces of domineering leadership and help us name our temptations, trans- forming us from the inside outand restoring integrity to individuals and systems and to our mission.”
MANDY SMITH, pastor; author, The Vulnerable Pastor and Unfettered
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