Leadership in a Religious Context
February and March 2005

For four Thursdays in February and March, twenty Jewish and Christian leaders, men and women from all walks of life, met to discuss how the role of leadership is defined in the Jewish and Christian traditions. They came together as part of a ground-breaking partnership between the ICJS and the Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore that was funded by the Richman Family Foundation. Led by scholars Rosann Cata-lano, Lee Hendler, Chris Leighton, and Joel Zaiman -- with a guest appearance by Rabbi Steve Schwartz -- the Leadership Forum sessions were hosted by Michael and Patricia Batza, Nancy and George Roche, Arnold and Alison Richman, and Lee Hendler in their beautiful homes.

During the first meeting, Lee Hendler asked participants to think about the characteristics of leadership and to discuss how those qualities affect our actions in daily life, our busi-ness activities, and, yes, our political viewpoints. Small groups huddled together, making lists of the characteristics and the people they remembered as leaders. Some found the spiritual vision of Gandhi and the political activism of Eleanor Roosevelt to be remarkable hallmarks of leadership. Others chose Martin Luther King, Jr., James Rouse, and George Soros as examples of true leadership. Over and over again the words courage, patience, respect, fairness, and vision -- most of all vision -- came to the fore.

Having discussed the diversity of our reactions to leadership, our scholars presented four texts (Avot D'Rabbi Natan 11a and Babylonian Talmud, Ketubot 103b, Matthew 14:23-33, and John 13:2-17) as the center of our study. From the walk of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai with his disciple Rabbi Joshua, to Jesus' walk on the water, the texts examined relationships that tested attitudes toward leadership, providing few clear answers and many questions about how the ancients dealt with the complex issues facing them.

Four sessions of dynamic text study can't possibly raise or answer the universe of questions that occur at the intersec-tion of faith and politics. What the Leadership Forum was able to do was give twenty leaders a chance to pause from their busy schedules and to reflect on what our faith traditions have to offer us, how we interpret these offerings, and how we use this information in daily life. A few of our participants' reflections follow:

I feel fortunate to have been a part of the first Leadership Forum of the Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies and The Associated. I couldn't think of a better way to spend four Thursday evenings with friends, both old and new, learning, laughing and growing! The group's facilitators were engaging, insightful, and extremely knowledgeable. It was fascinating to study texts from both the Old and the New Testaments and examine the leadership lessons hidden within. I enjoyed ana-lyzing the leadership skills and qualities of the sages of my own heritage as well as other's. I know we all walked away with a much greater understanding of each other's religions and in-sightful lessons of what leadership really is.

Harriet Berg, Trustee, The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore

Bringing Jewish and Christian people together in the context of scripture helped us to accentuate the commonalities of our experiences rather than the differences. It helped to initially ground us, thus allowing for free-flowing thinking. By looking at text it became clear that many leaders are not born into their roles; rather they are compelled by circumstances to take courageous actions. It also reminded us that as dangerous as these times are, history is filled with such images. There is no better learning experience than teaching another about one's faith and this opportunity was afforded time and again.

Paul Corbin, Partner, Brown Advisory Group

Assumptions I made concerning each other's understanding of our faith traditions were wrong. We truly don't know enough about each other's core beliefs. The manner in which we interpreted the texts we studied was both stimulating and enlightening. In the end I found myself wanting more -- more interaction at a deeper level, a level at which growth in human relations changes one's life. Leadership in our so called "new world order" would benefit greatly from a deeper understanding of individual core beliefs. This program is a great beginning.

Charles Phlegar, Senior Associate and Vice President of De-velopment and Alumni Relations, The Johns Hopkins University

What a pleasure and a privilege it was to study sacred Jewish and Christian texts with a stimulating group of learners and thinkers! This was not your ordinary study session -- passions ran deep and opinions were strong in this articulate group. I often found myself thinking "you're right, and you're right!" From both Christian and Jewish participants I learned to appre-ciate different perspectives and fresh ways to approach the notions of faith, trust, risk-taking, and planning for the future that were imbedded in the ancient texts. Amidst playful but respectful sparring among our discussion leaders, we all grew to appreciate the point of view of the "other" in a comfortable setting where listening was as important and rewarding as speaking. In our increasingly diverse society, the lessons learned from these probing dialogues provide a model for future leaders; differences in faith traditions, while respected and validated, need not interfere with our shared values and aspirations for the common good and the advancement of all people. We have much to learn from one another, for we are stronger in our diversity. Not a bad lesson for Leadership 101.

Erika Schon, Executive Committee, Baltimore Hebrew Univer-sity