Overview
While the Exodus dates back thousands of years, the imprint of the pyramids - and the coercive power they represent - continues to influence us all these generations later. Leadership models built in the image of the empire - with organizational charts shaped like the ancient pyramids - reflect capitalist cultural traditions more than our deepest theological convictions. They encourage the consolidation of power at the top at the expense of the freedom of those below. They facilitate institutional burnout, abuses of power, and missional malpractice.
In Picking Up the Pieces, McShane and Babchuck propose a more generous model of leadership for today’s religious leaders. A model where power is shared out rather than shored up, and where every person can stretch toward the fulness of their God-given gifts regardless of where they land on an organizational chart.
Through an innovative exploration of Moses’ biblical narrative, the authors suggest that Moses struggled mightily with shedding the empire’s model of leadership, having been raised inside of it. It is only in his later years - after decades of stumbles and course-corrections - that he begins to understand what liberation looks like. Picking Up the Pieces pairs Moses’s journey with stories of contemporary innovators and changemakers who have adopted a more generous model of leadership, and whose communities are thriving as a result.
This book is a provocation to religious leaders who seek out a more expansive path forward - for themselves and for their organizations. It will speak to leaders who are longing to shift from leadership habits that demand over-functioning, and instead lead with the faith that power shared is power multiplied.