Leaders as described by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Jordan Ballor over at the Acton Institute PowerBlog (which I highly recommend be on your Blog reading list) recently e-mailed me and pointed out a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It comes from a radio address that Bonhoeffer gave in 1933 only two days after Hitler came to power. While the address was interrupted, Bonhoeffer went on to use the text publicly in the days and weeks that followed. Despite using only the masculine language that was common in those times, it is an amazing servant-leader quote that quite obviously raised his anti-Nazi profile:

The Leader must lead his followers towards a responsibility to the orders of life, a responsibility to father, teacher, judge, state. He must radically refuse to become the appeal, the idol, i.e. the ultimate authority of those whom he leads......

the Leader must know that he is most deeply committed to his followers, most heavily laden with responsibility towards the orders of life, in fact quite simply a servant.......

Leaders or offices which set themselves up as gods mock God and the individual who stands alone before him, and must perish. Only the Leader who himself serves the penultimate and the ultimate authority can find faithfulness...

For those interested in learning more about Bonhoeffer, please go here.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention Jordan...and keep up the great work over at the Acton PowerBlog!