“Few leaders know what it is to step onto a national stage to shape and sustain public opinion and action for a better democracy. Preston Manning has done that, not once but twice, through his leadership in creating political parties, which gave him voice as leader of the Official Opposition to the government of Canada. This book contains Preston Manning’s true-north wisdom and is essential reading for reflective leadership.”
—Lorna Dueck
CEO, Crossroads Global Media Group
“Preston Manning once again challenges people to wrestle with some big questions—this time, the linkage between faith, leadership, and politics—while making those questions and answers personal to each reader.”
—Dr. Colin Harbinson
International Director, StoneWorks Global Arts Initiative
“The worlds of religion and politics are going through a uniquely turbulent time ... or maybe not. Manning’s compelling insights from the Bible and his own experience will change your perspective.”
—Kevin Jenkins
President and CEO, World Vision International
“Preston’s use of storytelling keeps this potentially complex issue interesting and practical. A must-read for those who love politics or faith and want to understand how the two can work together seamlessly.”
—The Honourable Chuck Strahl, PC
Former Cabinet Minister and Member of the Parliament of Canada
“Manning’s new book connects Jesus to contemporary issues twenty centuries later. It also indicates why a native of Nazareth has a nominal following today of over a billion persons after a public career of only 36 months.”
—The Honourable David Kilgour, PC
Former Cabinet Minister and Member of the Parliament of Canada
“This book is replete with wise biblical insight into the most acute challenges of contemporary leadership. It offers a veritable feast to those many believers seeking to follow Christ in the public marketplace and searching for substantial practical help. Preston Manning skillfully narrates a delightfully human and insightful dialogue between his own substantial experience and the rich biblical stories of leaders like David, Moses, Daniel, Esther, and, of course, Jesus himself. He pulls off a marvellous blend of theological insight and practical application that would put most preachers to shame.
I have disagreed sharply with Preston Manning when he told me he was not a theologian. I answered that if anyone could do theology in the world of public leadership, it was him. This book provides all the evidence I need to win that argument!”
—Dr. Paul Williams
CEO, British and Foreign Bible Society
Faith, Leadership and Public Life: Leadership Lessons from Moses to Jesus
Copyright ©2017 Preston Manning
All rights reserved
Printed in Canada
ISBN 978-1-927355-91-6 soft cover
ISBN 978-1-927355-92-3 EPUB
Published by: Castle Quay Books
Tel: (416) 573-3249
E-mail: [email protected] | www.castlequaybooks.com
Edited by Marina Hofman Willard
Cover and book interior by Burst Impressions
Printed at Essence Printing, Belleville, Ontario
All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form without prior written permission of the publishers.
Unless otherwise marked, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scriptures marked (KJV) are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, which is in the public domain.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Manning, Preston, 1942-, author
Faith, leadership and public life : leadership lessons
from Moses to Jesus / Preston Manning.
Includes bibliographical references
ISBN 978-1-927355-91-6 (softcover)
1. Christian leadership. 2. Leadership--Religious aspects--
Christianity. I. Title.
BV652.1.M36 2017 253’.2 C2017-904501-6
PREface
The purpose of this book is to examine lessons in leadership from the interface of faith and public life, especially the political dimension of public life.1 But why write or read a book about navigating the interface of faith and public life, especially the interface between the Christian faith and politics? Does not most of the Western world subscribe to the separation of church and state, frown upon expressions of faith in the public sphere, and—if expressions of faith must be tolerated—confine them to the private and personal sphere?
As both a former member of the Canadian Parliament and a practicing Christian, I, too, believe in the merits of keeping the institutions of the state separate from the institutions of religion. But I also believe that in the long run the attempt to keep the subjects and expressions of faith and public life in separate watertight compartments is undesirable and untenable because real people in open societies with religious traditions and convictions simply do not do so.
The challenge for us, therefore, is twofold. For the secular decision maker, it is desirable to respect and understand the nature and implications of the religious traditions and convictions of citizens who hold them since, whether one agrees with them or not, they are legitimate and important components of the body politic. For people of faith, the challenge is to learn to live and conduct ourselves responsibly at the interface of faith and public life so that we are seen by others as non-coercive and credible contributors to public discourse and so that we are a credit, not a discredit, to our own faith and faith communities. It is hoped that some of the experiences and insights related in the following pages will be helpful in meeting these challenges.
But why focus on lessons about navigating the interface of faith and public life from the Judeo-Christian perspective—in particular, from the public life of Jesus, the Israelite leaders he most often referenced, such as Moses and David, and Jewish exiles such as Daniel and Esther, who lived in political systems hostile to their faith?
First, because at least in much of the Western world, this is the most prevalent religious tradition and the one that has impacted most heavily our politics and governance. As a Canadian, it is the tradition and interface with which I am personally most familiar and experienced from both a religious and a political standpoint.
Second, because a better understanding of the lessons from the interface of the Judeo-Christian faith and politics should be of considerable assistance to those wrestling to understand and handle the forceful intrusion of Islam into the global political arena. If we don’t thoroughly grasp the lessons to be learned from the faith-political interactions within our own religious and political traditions and culture, it’s unlikely that we will be adequately equipped to handle public and political interactions with other faith traditions.
Third, and most important, the lives and experiences of prominent biblical characters who lived and operated at the interface of faith and public life during their lifetimes are highly