The Sixth Sense

A new kind of leadership

I just came across this from Barack Obama’s new-media director Joe Rospars. He was talking about how the Obama camp has been able to build such a successful grassroots campaign, particularly in relation to raising funds.

“We’ve tried to bring two principles to this campaign, one is lowering the barriers to entry and making it as easy as possible for folks who come to our Web site. The other is raising the expectation of what it means to be a supporter. It’s not enough to have a bumper sticker. We want you to give five dollars, make some calls, host an event. If you look at the messages we send to people over time, there’s a presumption that they will organize.” (Emphasis mine)

Read the full article here.

This really resonated with me because it captured precisely some of what we’ve been trying to do with pioneering Mosaic here in Sheffield. 

Mosaic is a movement of dreamers and visionaries who are working together to try and create a world that works for everyone. At the heart of this movement, is a community of followers of Jesus Christ.

And, as a community, two of our expressed goals have been to:

• Lower the bar on what it means to be and do ‘church’
• Raise the bar on what it means to be a follower of Christ

People have had enough of being spectators. They want to be involved. For too long leadership has been about doing it yourself. Leadership should be about equipping and empowering others to be involved and engaged.

This is why Obama is on the brink of winning the Democratic nomination when he should never have been in with a shout. And this is the direction leaders of any kind of community need to go if they’re not going to get left behind in this new 21st century world.

What do you think?

Don’t forget to reply to the ‘Who Are You?’ post. Thanks!