Why Mt. Rushmore Matters for Missions: Unpacking our Leadership Scripts
by Alan Howell
Director of Church Relations
Why do we lead the way we do? How does that impact ministry and missions?
I was recently in another country and it was interesting to ask people there about stories of leadership and how even ordinary people are shaped by those examples. For Christian leaders to connect well with a complicated world, we’ll need to think critically and carefully not only about other’s systems and shaping forces, but also about our own leadership frameworks and operating scripts. To do that, it can be useful to consider the cultural symbols that shape our understandings of power and influence. By pulling back the curtain on the symbols that shape us, we may gain new insight on how we work with others and ways that we can lead more effectively that will lead to kingdom impact.
Erwin McManus reminds us that, “Cultures sing their own songs, tell their own stories, and carry their own aromas. A culture is a beautiful art piece that uses people as its canvas… In every culture you’ll find essential metaphors that define and shape its ethos. Your symbols hold your secret stories. The metaphor causes an eruption of images, ideas, dreams, beliefs, and convictions all at one time. The story of an entire people can be contained in one symbol. A culture often has two or three symbols that are fundamental to the identity of the people.” (An Unstoppable Force, 112-113)
When I think about cultural symbols that shape the American ideals of leadership, Mt. Rushmore looms large. The faces of these ideal Presidents were carved in stone on the side of a mountain – a good indicator of how much we value and honor their example! A few years back, I completed a goal of reading biographies about each of the Mt. Rushmore Presidents to help me better understand how they shape the American image of ideal leadership. While I’m certainly not a historian and certainly have more learning to do (and the history of the land where that project was created is certainly complicated), I’d like to share an admittedly half-baked hunch to see if unpacking this symbol can help us lead more effectively at home and abroad. Reading about these four President’s leadership styles, it seems that each of them hold a symbolic place in the American imagination as an ideal leader in a particular way – I'm not necessarily saying that each of these completely and historically fit these categories but that these are the mythic categories we put them in when painting with a broad brush: Washington has been idealized as having the proper heart; Lincoln is the soul of America; Jefferson’s intellect and his role as the architect of the Declaration of Independence are the standard for the mind of a President; while Roosevelt embodies something of the strength we value most in a leader. The U.S.A. has carved her greatest political leaders in stone, the ones who model for her people what leading out of heart, soul, mind and strength are all about.
Now… is my simplistic interpretation of how Mt. Rushmore matters for our cultural perceptions of leadership influenced by the categories Jesus names in his teaching about the greatest commands in Mark 12:28-31? Certainly. Could this viewing of that national symbol potentially aid us in choosing good leaders – helping us evaluate our candidates based on how well they lead out of heart, soul, mind and strength? I would hope so. But, more important than that, is my conviction that churches should take their leadership cues from the one who lived out a life that best honored God with heart, soul, mind, and strength. A King who knew that there would be no crown without the cross. A King who made disciple-making the crux of his work. A King whose leadership focused on empowering those he discipled, entrusting them to take his Kingdom project to the ends of the earth (crossing all national boundaries).
By unpacking the influence of national symbols, like the stone images of Mt. Rushmore, on our conceptions of leadership, we may begin to see how Christ, the living stone (1 Peter 2), calls us to put serving others at the center of our leadership strategy. If a symbol like Mt. Rushmore matters for the shaping our leadership ideals, how could we lift our eyes to our Savior, who offers an even better leadership framework, and let that guide our own identity and influence? Being aware of the power of our cultural symbols can help us put them in their proper place.
Now, what makes Mt. Rushmore matter for Americans who live outside the U.S.A.? And what does it mean for churches who partner with kingdom workers in nations that have their own founding stories, flags, and famous leaders?
It means that we need to pay attention to the way our cultural backgrounds have shaped both our leadership expectations and theirs in surprising and often unspoken ways. What if that Asian church leader is acting in a way that puzzles you? What if an African church leader seems to, in stressful situations, act in ways that seem different than their normal character? Could it be that the leadership scripts they are following are ones they picked up from their own national and local leaders? Do we know those stories and histories enough to be able to ask about those connections? Deepening awareness of our own culturally informed leadership tendencies (both good and bad) can help us have space for asking questions about the influences on how our global partners lead as well.
No matter what our role in missions is, whether we are those who send or those who are being sent, a deeper awareness of our cultural leadership scripts can help us serve more effectively.
If you are serving cross-culturally or your church is connected with global partners and you would like some help in unpacking different leadership scripts more effectively, we’d love to support you. Feel free to reach out to Alan Howell at Alan.howell@mrnet.org.
For a previous version of my thinking on these ideas, click here!