Insights into African Leadership

If there is any cry that I have heard loud and clear from the continent of Africa, it is the need for leadership development. And it seems that despite the plethora of courses, curricula, and consultants pouring into the African continent from the US and other nations, it never seems to quench the thirst for more help in training and preparing Christians leaders. That is why the results of the recent African Leadership Study (ALS) sponsored by the Tyndale House Foundation is such a timely resource for getting a better grasp on the dynamics of African Christian leaders.

Recently, I was sent an advanced copy of the study results packaged in the book, African Christian Leadership and its accompanying pamphlet 17 Insights into Leadership in Africa. Right away, I got a sense of the significant effort that was expended over several years to accomplish this research—a clear tribute to academic rigor. I also loved how the leadership team for the project involved 32 experienced participants, a majority of which were African themselves.

The study involved gathering input from 8000 Africans in three countries via a 93-question survey to inquire about the types of leaders and leadership qualities that have the greatest impact in the African context. Most significant to me was that the planners choose their target countries so that they represented all three major language groups of Africa: English, French, and Portuguese. Since my experience is that Anglophone regions of Africa always get the predominance of attention from the West, it was very encouraging to see this attention to better balance.

Sharing about ALS at a leadership workshop in Senegal

During my last trip to West Africa, I had the chance to share about the ALS with leader friends in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. Needless to say, there was immediate enthusiasm and interest in learning more about the study results. And, fortunately, the project is creating an interactive website in all three languages that will provide for that sort of on-going learning and dialog to happen. You can check it out yourself at: http://www.africaleadershipstudy.org/

As you might expect, however, I also heard some healthy criticism as some leaders questioned how broad conclusions about African leaders could be made from just surveying three countries. As one friend put it, “Do you think I would fully understand America if I interviewed a few people only in Maryland, Kansas, and Oregon?”  Nevertheless, my sense is that the ALS has produced a valiant effort that certainly opens the door for more discussion and learning. I believe this initiative deserves as much exposure as possible and will be a welcome addition in the continued effort to encourage the healthy development and training of the emerging generation of African Christian leaders.

Repurposing Retired Tires

It's not every day you find an indigenous African project that is dedicated to cleaning up the environment. But that's just what I found today here in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Walking across the compound of the church center where I'll be giving a leadership workshop tomorrow, I ran into Iolanda and her youth group project. She has inspired her teenage kids to repaint old tires and, with the help of three metal posts, turn them into recycling receptacles. She showed me how the tires, stacked in the colorful symbol of the national flag, can then support a large plastic bag that can then collect spent water bottles, pop cans, etc. "We've already gotten permission from the city authorities to place them around Bissau," she explained. "And they were so enthusiastic that the regular city trash collectors have agreed to empty them out on a regular basis." Sure enough, on the way to lunch, I spotted several of the eye-catching containers even on the prominent city round-point in front of the main government house.

Trash-free streets is not one of Africa's assets, especially in really poor and developing countries like Guinea-Bissau. Old habits of throwing a banana peel on the ground were fine when most folks lived

in the forest. But today in towns and crowded cities, that has translated into people freely tossing their bottles, cans, and plastic bags anywhere. Piles of trash have become one of Africa's greatest social plights, in some places becoming breeding grounds for disease.

That's why I have been making environmental care one of the key topics the past couple years in my workshops on being a Faithful Steward. It's challenging enough for many African friends to think about applying stewardship theology to their ministries and marriages, but stewardship of the environment is often a concept they have never considered at all. Until now, I haven't have any good illustrations in an African context of what that sort of stewardship could look like. Thanks to Iolanda and her "juventude evangelica" of Guinea-Bissau, I can start showing what can happen when a little creativity connects with a passion to care for the Creation God has given us!