Overview

It would seem that every culture on earth has a propensity towards controlling and authoritarian leadership - at its very core, the human condition has a desire for control and self-determination. In this book, Julyan Lidstone uses his decades of experience in western and central Asia and, most importantly, the authoritative teaching of the Bible, to shed light on issues of authoritarian leadership in honour-shame cultures. Gifted young leaders are gathering new believers in Jesus all over the world but the prevailing culture of domineering leadership is the single greatest obstacle to the healthy growth and firm establishment of these new churches. Lidstone winsomely and accurately applies the servant leadership modelled by Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul, as revealed by Scripture, as the cross-centred antidote to the pain, damage and disillusionment caused by leadership that does not reflect the Christlikeness of the kingdom of God.

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9781783686810

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Reviews

Few books on leadership dare to address the dark sides of leadership and speak about the pathological symptoms evident in leaders whose leadership styles are shaped more by their culture than by biblical principles of servanthood and Christlikeness. Healthy and mature churches are led by healthy and mature leaders, and in one sense, leadership growth is more important than church growth. Give Up the Purple highlights the issues that unconsciously motivate many leaders to act in such a way that would damage the church and tries to address issues in the mission field that are rarely discussed. Reflecting on issues raised by this book will have a great impact on the future of Christianity in many regions which are experiencing phenomenal church growth. Rev Robert Aserian Iranian Pastor Head of Leadership Development, Pars Theological Centre I have thought long and hard about challenges facing leaders in the Majority World. To my knowledge no one has addressed my concerns and presented biblically grounded solutions to them as well as Julyan Lidstone has in this book. Not only does he challenge unbiblical aspects of leadership seen among Christians today, he also shows how our collectivist culture can harmonize beautifully with the Bible to forge healthy and dynamic leadership styles which are both biblically faithful and culturally appropriate. Ajith Fernando Teaching Director, Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka Author, Discipling in a Multicultural World An excellent read! Julyan Lidstone has woven together years of cross-cultural experience, deep biblical insights, and practical applications. Julyan challenges and instructs the emerging church across the Muslim world to renounce patterns of worldly leadership and embrace the counter-cultural example of Jesus who pioneered and perfected the servant leadership model. David Garrison Missionary Author, A Wind in the House of Islam Executive Director, Global Gates This book is indispensable for anyone who wants to develop biblical leaders. With clarity and insight, Lidstone presents a biblical perspective on leadership in patron-client cultures. Christians have long misunderstood the concept of patronage leadership. Give Up the Purple offers not only a clear assessment of the issue, but practical steps for developing biblical leaders in Majority World cultures. Jayson Georges Author, The 3D Gospel Editor, HonorShame.com This book is required reading for anyone who has received the call of God to serve. Whether in the church or in the field, spiritual leadership is crucial to ministry. The author's quiet but piercing insight offers many salient lessons to Christian leaders of patriarchal cultural backgrounds. Anyone today who dreams of becoming a leader should read it, reflect upon themselves, and ask for the grace of God. Rev Johnny Jaiheung Song Executive Director of Mission, Korea Evangelical Holiness Church I believe that Give Up the Purple will be an immense help to the global church in navigating some of these complexities. The excellent work done on issues such as power, privilege and patronage add significant depth to the debate. I want to encourage leaders in all parts of the world to read and discuss this book with their leadership teams, as I think it will contribute greatly towards the acceleration of the gospel in some of the most difficult places. Peter Tarantal Advisor, Movement for African National Initiatives Leadership Team Chair, Majority World Christian Leaders Conversation and World Evangelical Alliance Mission Commission

Few books on leadership dare to address the dark sides of leadership and speak about the pathological symptoms evident in leaders whose leadership styles are shaped more by their culture than by biblical principles of servanthood and Christlikeness. Healthy and mature churches are led by healthy and mature leaders, and in one sense, leadership growth is more important than church growth. Give Up the Purple highlights the issues that unconsciously motivate many leaders to act in such a way that would damage the church and tries to address issues in the mission field that are rarely discussed. Reflecting on issues raised by this book will have a great impact on the future of Christianity in many regions which are experiencing phenomenal church growth. Rev Robert Aserian Iranian Pastor Head of Leadership Development, Pars Theological Centre I have thought long and hard about challenges facing leaders in the Majority World. To my knowledge no one has addressed my concerns and presented biblically grounded solutions to them as well as Julyan Lidstone has in this book. Not only does he challenge unbiblical aspects of leadership seen among Christians today, he also shows how our collectivist culture can harmonize beautifully with the Bible to forge healthy and dynamic leadership styles which are both biblically faithful and culturally appropriate. Ajith Fernando Teaching Director, Youth for Christ, Sri Lanka Author, Discipling in a Multicultural World An excellent read! Julyan Lidstone has woven together years of cross-cultural experience, deep biblical insights, and practical applications. Julyan challenges and instructs the emerging church across the Muslim world to renounce patterns of worldly leadership and embrace the counter-cultural example of Jesus who pioneered and perfected the servant leadership model. David Garrison Missionary Author, A Wind in the House of Islam Executive Director, Global Gates This book is indispensable for anyone who wants to develop biblical leaders. With clarity and insight, Lidstone presents a biblical perspective on leadership in patron-client cultures. Christians have long misunderstood the concept of patronage leadership. Give Up the Purple offers not only a clear assessment of the issue, but practical steps for developing biblical leaders in Majority World cultures. Jayson Georges Author, The 3D Gospel Editor, HonorShame.com This book is required reading for anyone who has received the call of God to serve. Whether in the church or in the field, spiritual leadership is crucial to ministry. The author's quiet but piercing insight offers many salient lessons to Christian leaders of patriarchal cultural backgrounds. Anyone today who dreams of becoming a leader should read it, reflect upon themselves, and ask for the grace of God. Rev Johnny Jaiheung Song Executive Director of Mission, Korea Evangelical Holiness Church I believe that Give Up the Purple will be an immense help to the global church in navigating some of these complexities. The excellent work done on issues such as power, privilege and patronage add significant depth to the debate. I want to encourage leaders in all parts of the world to read and discuss this book with their leadership teams, as I think it will contribute greatly towards the acceleration of the gospel in some of the most difficult places. Peter Tarantal Advisor, Movement for African National Initiatives Leadership Team Chair, Majority World Christian Leaders Conversation and World Evangelical Alliance Mission Commission

Author Information

JULYAN LIDSTONE has led a colourful life of faithful missionary service to Jesus Christ and people groups from across Asia. After becoming a Christian as a student in Manchester he spent four years doing evangelism in India with Operation Mobilisation (OM). Julyan also spent fifteen years church planting in Turkey, has experience of pastoral ministry in the UK, including evangelism amongst asylum seekers from Muslim backgrounds, and has been involved in international leadership in OM for nearly twenty years. He has an MTh in Biblical Interpretation from the University of Aberdeen, UK, and also helped found Operation Mercy following the Gulf War in 1991 and the wave of Kurdish refugees entering Turkey at the time.

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