Many will put their trust in him who went all the way, out of concern for just one of them. The remark, “He really cares for us” is often illustrated by stories which show that forgetting the many for the one is a sign of true leadership… Few listen to a sermon which is intended to be applicable to everyone, but most pay careful attention to words born out of concern for only a few. All this suggests that when one has the courage to enter where life is experienced as most unique and most private, one touches the soul of the community. (p. 73)
Christian leadership is a dead-end street when nothing new is expected, when everything sounds familiar and when ministry has regressed to the level of routine… But for a man with a deep-rooted faith in the value and meaning of life, every experience holds a new promise, every encounter carries a new insight, and every event brings a new message. But these promises, insights, and messages have to be discovered and made visible. A Christian leader is not a leader because he announces a new idea and tries to convince others of its worth; he is a leader because he faces the world with eyes full of expectation, with the expertise to take away the veil that covers its hidden potential. (p. 74-75)
Christian leadership is accomplished only through service. This service requires the willingness to enter into a situation, with all the human vulnerabilities a man has to share with his fellow man. This is a painful and self-denying experience, but an experience which can indeed lead man out of his prison of confusion and fear. Indeed, the paradox of Christian leadership is that the way out is the way in, that only by entering into communion with human suffering can relief be found. (p. 77)