Review of Just Leadership

 

Moving forward to a brighter future means moving forward to a more just future. That is why I am including this review on this blog

Review of Just Leadership: Putting Integrity and Justice at the Heart of How you Lead by Simon Barrington and Justin Humphreys, SPCK

In reviewing this book I need to first locate myself so the reader can understand the lenses through which I was viewing it. I am a cis, queer, white, monogamous, woman who would describe themselves as a progressive Christian and is married to a white, disabled, trans man who is bi, monogamous and a Methodist Minister. A quarter of a century ago I was a member of the same evangelical church as one of the authors.

This is relevant because this book is accompanied by a series on TBNUK and is coming from a clearly evangelical perspective. Thus when near the beginning it talks of the book attempting to give a leadership framework which is “Bible-centred, Jesus-centred and justice-centred" one understands that the term “bible-centred” is coming from a certain place and so the understanding of “justice-centred” may be as well. This is not to say one should keep clear of the book, rather it is to say that this sentence together with the fact one of the writers was an Executive Director of Samaritan’s Purse may make some potential readers feel unsettled and left wondering if this will be a “safe” book to read.

My advice would be to give the book a go, whilst you may notice clear absences which will be choices made on the basis of more than space it is a useful guide and also shows the journey which many evangelicals are travelling. It also sets a useful set of principals which are useful in understanding how the omissions might be discussed in fruitful ways.

Part one lays out the thinking behind the book in some ways, giving a mixture of autobiographical, biblical and psychological material. The part where Justin tells his story shows why safeguarding and the inclusion of a discussion around victims and survivors is central to the book. Simon is clear to locate his own privilege in a way which is refreshing as in part this book is exploring and unpacking the privilege that many leaders have and is looking at how to turn it into something more healthy. In doing this the work of various liberation theologians is used, in a way the authors acknowledge differs to the evangelicalism of the 70’s and 80’s where such theology was viewed as dangerous.

Part two links to prophecy and hearing other voices, Page 61 and it’s stuff on listening to dissenting voices is particularly important and is something I would signpost people to. Yet, coming from the position of privilege it does what it does not include is anything on how to do this safely, when the different theological position (for example) has been used to systematically exclude and oppress the person. Thus, whilst the place of power in listening and relationships is touched upon I think it something the book could have expanded more upon here, although it is dealt with in depth later on, particularly in chapter 10.

Chapter 6 by Justin Humphreys on “Sitting with victims and survivors” is particularly strong and does address questions of power. It also gives a nuanced examination of the difference between victims and survivors.

The end of page 97 and beginning of 98 is to my mind, one of the most important in the book for people to understand. It talks about the place of storyline and how autobiography may bring problems when it comes to people’s ability to understand and engage on issues of injustice. In this chapter Simon Barrington gives the example how one strand of the historic, evangelical position on women in leadership prevented him from accepting and celebrating their gifts. He talks of how it took time for him to go change on this issue and move from a negative to very positive position. For me the discussions around women referred to are similar to those around LGBT+ inclusion and it is important to understand the place of storyline, and how to use the approach advocated in this book to encourage change, rather than just brand people as homophobic or transphobic, (but not denying the behaviour of some does come into this category and as such is abusive, even if dressed up in religious language). Again, the theme of privilege is picked up in this section together with a discussion on power. As the book says, even if we have big differences to some groups we can find areas of common concern to work for. For me, this is the strength of groups like Citizen’s UK.

A core strength of the book coming through again in chapter 10 is that these are two privileged, cis, het, white, middle aged men and they are looking to explore what that means in the context of looking at justice. They admit that it is uncomfortable but it is what makes this book useful, it has been written in a period where #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo have been dominant and those with hegemonic power have either had to go on the defensive or seek to explore what their own identity means in this context. This book does the latter well.

Chapter 12 is another strong chapter, which looks at how you have the difficult discussions and tackle the difficult stuff. How you have difficult conversations and engage in conflict well.

P164 discusses why NDA’s in safeguarding are dangerous and wrong. This is one example of a small part of this book which is refreshingly radical for a book coming from the place it is positioned. There are pockets of these throughout.

The final part moves on to how we can achieve a more just world. Chapter 17 with its discussion, by both authors, on charity is another interesting discussion, coming out of their personal experience and wrestling with the issues involved.

Each chapter also contains a set of reflection questions, which is useful.

So would I recommend the book, definitely. It is a good read and tackles some difficult material. However, I would say if you come from certain groups be sensitive to the authors storyline and where they are located. They are clearly on a journey….