What drives a man to be a pastor or priest? A lot of it has to do with ego gratification, the need to be loved and adored by somebody other than oneself or family. A lot of it has to do with the need for power over others, for self aggrandizement, to be a leader of others. Motives can and are mixed and varied. Many priests, on the other hand, genuinely desire to serve others.

Leadership then clearly matters. Leadership is ubiquitous. It surrounds us. It is to us what water is to fish or air is to birds. It envelopes and permeates every fabric of our society. Good leadership builds up; bad leadership can destroy. Leadership impacts global economics, shifting politics - it is of concern for the whole human race.

Tony Baron thinks that the model of leadership in the church has precepts of the sword and the shield, yet when he read the pages of Scripture, in particular the life of Jesus Christ and his followers, he found the actual leadership strategies are based upon the cross and the sword, not the sword and the shield.

Jesus' style of leadership should be liberating and self-giving. More often than not, the Church's style of leadership seems eerily like business or political models, jazzed up with religious jargon added for positional leverage, says Baron.

This made Baron feel inadequate because he never had a megachurch, a radio ministry, or even a book that millions would say had changed their lives. So he worked hard trying to impress God in ministry to "the greatest calling in life."

Baron identifies three areas of concern. The first is a leadership crisis within our churches with struggles over the predicament of power. Basically, this has to do with doing worthless things and justifying them in the name of God.

He identifies the attributes of the Sword and the Shield as: Positional power; For the sake of self; Followers follow out of fear; Ends justifies the means; Insiders and outsiders; Kingdoms of this world; Leaders who serve; and Entitlement. The Cross and the Towel, by contrast, reflects Personhood power; For the sake of others; Followers follow out of love; Means are important as the end; Love neighbor as yourself, Kingdom of God, Servants who lead; and Humility.

Both, says Baron, have power, purpose and followers. One will liberate life; the other will limit life.

"The cross and the towel will provide to the world a gentle revolution of the present status quo of leadership. The cross and the towel will assist us in living on earth as it is in heaven." The cross and the towel will transform us into better church leaders. The cross and the towel will allow the church to be the Church and not simply an institution of religious education and social reformation. The cross and the towel are what the world is asking for in the Church. The cross and the towel are the answer to their prayers."

Baron is critical of the professional status attained by clergy. "We have turned the succession of the apostolic ministry, including the process of ordination, into a professional society filled with academic exams, psychological testing, and background checks. I know why we do it, and I am not suggesting we shouldn't do it. But passing exams, getting the 'okay' from psychologists, and avoiding significant crimes does not guarantee someone is called by God."

Baron, an Anglican priest, says a calling involves appropriate preparation in scripture, spiritual disciplines, and social awareness of contemporary issues. "Years may pass before the calling is fully recognized by the Body of Christ. After all, the call of God must be tested and confirmed."

Because the Church and its leaders have adopted the secular symbols of leadership to define success, believers within the Church have suffered. In psychological terms, they have suffered from "learned helplessness," says Baron. We are called to be witnesses to Jesus, not to be custodians who maintain the institutional church. "The results have lead to unhealthy spiritual exhaustion and spiritual deprivation."

Reflecting on the sexual quagmire that has overtaken many church leaders, Baron says that because of pedophilia and infidelity within the clergy ranks, the church has been scarred by its leadership. As a result, it has suffered greatly in its witness to the world.

"But sexual impropriety doesn't even compare in numbers to the thousands of cases of spiritual abuse heard around the country. From mainline denominations to independent charismatics, from television preachers to parachurch organizations, power-hungry priests and pastors are spiritually misusing or abusing their congregants, participants or viewers for their own personal gain. This abuse comes in various forms - theological dogmatism, rigid rules, coercive behavior, or guilt-inducing strategies-all designed to create a punitive parish atmosphere. Add some motives of self-promotion, unhealthy competition, or even unreasonable expectations, as well as a steady does of bashing other faith communities, and you can barely tell the difference between these unchristian behaviors and a legitimate dangerous cult."

In a chapter on "The power outage in the church", Baron said the blackout is not due to overgrown trees, but to disbelieving Christian leaders in the power of the Holy Spirit. "It is not that the leaders within orthodox Christianity deny the existence of the Holy Spirit or even the influence of the Holy Spirit; they simply are willing to settle for so little of the power in order to achieve their own personal agendas. Unfortunately for many in Christian leadership, ministry success is all about size, skill and speed." Baron says that in his Anglican world, the institutions we have developed through the centuries present barriers that have hindered personal incarnational formation through the Spirit of God. "It is not that we should not have archbishops, bishops, priests and deacons as servant leaders within the Church; it is that we have allowed the institution's spiritually insignificant outgrowth to be unchecked. This has caused significant parts of the Anglican Church to be a monument instead of a movement and to be more focused on maintenance than mission.

"The Church is now defined as a building, a denomination, canons (church law), or even a location (Rome, Canterbury). This is contrary to what the ancient fathers of the Church taught us, that we are the Church because the Spirit of God indwells every follower of Jesus Christ, who is the head of the Church."

Part of the problem among clergy in the church is a personality disorder within the church. "In the clinical world, a personality disorder is an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that is pervasive and inflexible and leads to relational and personal impairment in how many think, feel and see...the problem is so pervasive that some are leaving the church in order to save their faith."

Baron sees the remedy lying in the Jesus way to develop servant leaders, of moving from success to significance, of moving from self to saint. "The two gifts for all church leaders seeking that unitive experience with our heavenly Father are prayer and scripture. Both gifts are designed by God to provide an ongoing conversation between divinity and humanity."

Baron calls upon clergy and other leaders to relinquish and liberate the soul from the attachments associated with money, sex and power and to accept the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience or simplicity, fidelity and service to Christ.

This book is a must read for wannabe leaders and those who are already leaders in the church. Each chapter in the book comes with its own Table Talk for discussion and action.

Tony Baron has touched several nerve endings in this slim but readable volume. His second book "The Art of Servant Leadership" provides a prophetic voice in overcoming the craziness within the business world applying his principles of servant leadership.

For more specific information about the Servant Leadership Institute call (760) 597-3796. Their website is: www.forthesakeofothers.com