36 Ducere Est Servire: THE LEADERSHIP JOURNAL OF DALLAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY Character Forged in Adversity: Martin Niemöller's Leadership Development, 1933-1947 Jon Dooley, Ph.D. Dr. Jon Dooley (Leadership Studies, '24) serves as Assistant Vice President for International Affairs and Global Studies at Dallas Baptist University. Introduction Global Christian leaders must be prepared to encounter a crisis and not only survive but also lead in ways that glorify God. Enduring social and political crises have long been a part of the Christian experience. The Bible is filled with examples of men and women who imperfectly endured significant challenges and were deemed faithful.1 Don Howell suggests that these biblical stories reveal God’s use of crises as a means of developing character in leaders.2 From those ancient days to the present, the history of the universal Christian Church is filled with stories of individuals whose lives were marked by difficulty, mistakes, and obedience. Affirming God’s continued use of adversity in the character development of a leader, Jeff Iorg argues, “[God] has placed us in our unique settings because those circumstances are uniquely suited to shaping our character.”3 No Christian leader is immune to the need for further character development due to their sin nature, which can still influence poor decision-making.4 Similarly, Henry Blackaby and Richard Blackaby warn that situations of adversity can “either crush an aspiring leader or develop the character and resolve within emerging leaders that enable them to reach greater heights in the future.”5 Thus, adversity remains an ever-present factor for Christian leaders, and developing godly character to support survival is crucial. However, recent scholarship reveals concerns related to the personal character of modern Christian leaders. Reflecting on the condition of religion in the U.S., Stephen Carter declares Americans to be “morally lazy.” He pleads with religious leaders to protect their prophetic witness by drawing closer to God and resisting temptations that destroy influence.6 Similarly, James Hunter argues
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