Kelly, Jack

Parsons, Jim

English

University of Calgary Journal Hosting

The Alberta Journal of Educational Research Vol. XLVIII, No. 1, Spring 2002,91-93 Book Review The World Leadership Opportunity: Resolved Christianity and One Education System. D o u g l a s }. Thorn . L o n d o n : M i n g - A i Institute, 2001,144 pages. Reviewed by: Jack Kelly and Jim Parsons University of Alberta We are two of many Christian academics in Canada. Like other Christian academics, we often feel as if we must tread softly. O n one hand, we believe our o w n belief system helps us explain and live efficaciously i n our world—espe-cially the w o r l d of education that, when you are a teacher of children and young adults, calls for constant episodes of grace i n action. A n d with humili ty and when confronted wi th others of our colleagues with greater insight into areas where we have little understanding, we realize how tolerant we must honestly be. Stil l , wi th the cacophony of cosmologies that bubble around us, we constantly hope to be able to applaud apologetics for our o w n faith. W i t h this in m i n d , we want to like this book. Alas , we do not. It is not that Thorn's book fails to present a number of ideas worthy of discussion. It is more that the narrowness of the discussion does little to extend the topics discussed. Fortunately, the ideas Thorn grapples wi th can be found more rigorously addressed i n other sources, thus saving readers the time and effort required to go through this book. Sadly, we simply do not recommend Thorn's book as a worthwhile addition to the debate. For the purposes of this review, we look at the pertinent issues first, offer alternative sources a reader may investigate, and then briefly critique the tone, content, and format of Thorn's work. We w ou ld spend more time on discussing the book itself, except that we are left wi th the impression that Thorn's work is little more than an anthology of his past work combined with an introduction to some weighty topics worthy of their o w n study. Perhaps the aftermath of September 11 leaves each of us, formally or infor-mally, engaged i n our first postmodern war. Like any scholar, Christian religious educators grapple w i t h the issues of war, culture, belief, and identity. Most prominent among these are issues of leadership, the role of religious education, and the construction of a caring, just, and faith-filled society: what Christians call bui ld ing the K i n g d o m of G o d . The events of these last months have not changed the topic of discussion; sti l l , they have suddenly expanded the discussion into the wider field of our society. It is painfully evident that we are a people in desperate need of leadership. We can, of course, plaintively bemoan the failures of our elected political leaders, our sports leaders, our entertainment leaders, and our church leaders. Jack Kelly is a doctoral candidate in Christian religious education in the Department of Secondary Education. Jim Parsons is a professor in the Department of Secondary Education. 91 }. Kelly and }. Parsons This misses the point completely. The criticism must begin each time we look in the mirror. What am I (are we) doing to provide the leadership needed in these times? For many this challenge means digging deeply into our o w n faith roots. A r e we l iv ing true to the essential components of Christianity? A s Christians do we try to live the promises of our o w n baptism to be priests, prophets, and pastors to others? From a faith perspective, leadership is a difficult challenge in our contem-porary, secular society. It is difficult to express your beliefs openly in many areas of our society, much less to disclose that your actions actually flow from the values and beliefs of Christian conviction. Self-preservation seems to force perplexed Christian leaders to retreat into denominational "hives." This di lem-ma is far from new, and an attractive alternative for such retreat is found in Donna Markham's book Spiritlinking Leadership (1991). Markham describes h o w to work through resistance to facilitate organizational change. Al though the book deals wi th secular issues and examples, the trajectory of Markham's thoughts is clear. She states, "It is crucial to keep i n mind that resistance always occurs when organizations face a powerful invitation to transform themselves to respond w i t h greater fidelity to their mission" (p. 30). So too is the case with each indiv idual person of faith and each religious educator. Once the stance on leadership has been solidified, an individual religious educator can begin to look at ministry in a new light. H o w should the message of faith, hope, and love be presented in a way that is both true to the historical tradition of Christianity and applicable to the experiences and needs of stu-dents? A n y experienced religious educator knows how easy it is to stand in front of a class and flap one's jaws and how equally discouraging it is to face what seems to be the constant blank stares of students. It does not have to be that way. Thomas Groome's recent book Educating for Life (1998) offers practical solutions. Groome's personal vignettes, historical reflections, and practical advice deliver a message of hope for Christian educa-tors. Once you decide to assume the leadership role, there is a way to make a difference in religious education that is both practical and meaningful for teacher and student. We continually encounter students distant from every aspect of our efforts. H o w can we teach, care for, love alienated students? More than anything, these alienated students are individual humans painfully devoid of community. They struggle in the most basic areas of human relationships and personal identity: W h o am I? W h o are you? H o w should we relate? If we are going to become spirit- l inking leaders who educate for life, we need to bui ld institutions that are communities. Loughlan Sofield (1998) lays out a comprehensive blueprint in his book Building Community: Christian, Caring, Vital. H e reminds religious educators that " G o d calls us to community. Through community we can be helped to discover our truest and deepest selves. Relationships in community help us to discover the fullness of who we are" (p. 17). The three resources recommended here are scholarly, readable, and practi-cal books. Together they provide religious educators wi th a sense of hope in their ministry. They are wel l written and edited. A n d in their simplicity of standards, they stand in stark contrast to the book by Thorn that is (ostensibly) under review here. In contrast, Thorn's work seems to be a personal journal of 92 Book Review his o w n discovered knowledge published quickly for a small, already ap-preciative, and uncritical audience. If one tends to be suspicious of authors who seem to cite only their o w n past works and provide extensive lists of their o w n previous publications, con-ference presentations, and professional activities and then name newly dis-covered theories and ideas after themselves, one w o u l d be highly suspicious of Thorn's The World Leadership Opportunity. Thorn does al l of the above abun-dantly. In addition to what we see as these notable failures, his work rambles through a variety of subjects from Christian apologia to educational adminis-tration to social criticism: all in 64 pages of text! However, Thorn claims wel l i n his introduction that "knowledge is not necessarily w i s d o m " (p. xiii). We agree. If you care about this topic, especially from a faith perspective, skip Thorn's book and read the other three. Reference Groome, T. (1998). Educating for life. Allen, TX: Thomas More. Markham, D. (1991). Spiritlinkingleadership. New York: Paulist Press. Sofield, L. (1998). Building community: Christian, caring, vital. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press. 93 

The World Leadership Opportunity: Resolved Christianity and One Education System by Douglas J. Thom

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The World Leadership Opportunity: Resolved Christianity and One Education System by Douglas J. Thom

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