76 Ducere Est Servire: THE LEADERSHIP JOURNAL OF DALLAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY Applying Bonhoeffer’s Practice of Prophetic Leadership Bonhoeffer’s prophetic leadership is a fascinating example of why prophetic leadership is still necessary in the modern world. Prophetic leadership is committed to YHWH as the ultimate authority, first and foremost. Thus, any situational dilemma that may arise during a leader’s tenure should be viewed first through the lens of obedience to God. Second, the prophetic leader is concerned with developing and nurturing a counter-cultural community of followers based upon biblical standards. This could mean putting followers’ health and well-being above shareholders’ interests, or it could mean investing in followers in a way that does not immediately affect the bottom-line. In this fashion, prophetic leadership has much overlap with servant leadership. Robert Greenleaf noted, “the servant leader is servant first . . . . It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then the conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.”37 With this in mind, prophetic leadership and servant leadership are not strictly utilitarian by nature, but are concerned with moral integrity, viewing followers as valuable and worthy of development, encouragement, and protection. Prophetic leadership is also willing to stand up against authority that is immoral, amoral, or errant. Thus, the prophetic leader goes beyond nurturing a counter-cultural community within their own influence, stepping into the abusive leader’s sphere of influence. Prophetic leaders have much overlap with whistleblowers within organizations that sound the alarm when immoral activities occur, even at their own expense, often losing their position.38 But, a prophetic leader is more than a whistleblower, as they are guided by, and obedient to, the God of the Bible. Their moral paradigm is shaped by biblical authority, and they understand this action to be their responsibility. Leading a group of followers is not just a job, but a divine calling; it is not transactional, but relational and spiritual. Prophetic leaders need not always be looking for opportunities to confront authority. In fact, the first priority is toward the first two characteristics: obedience to God and developing the counter-cultural community. The third characteristic is only leveraged when all other options to obey God and protect the community have been exhausted. Prophetic leaders recognize that God has created authority structures and willing-
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