Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity: Servant Leadership as a Way of Life

by Shann Ray Ferch

In a fresh rendering of the role of leaders as healers, Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity considers love and power in the midst of personal, political, and social upheaval. Unexpected atrocity coexists alongside the quiet subtleties of mercy, and people and nations currently encounter a world in which not even the certainties of existence remain even as grace can sometimes arise under the most difficult circumstances. Ultimately, Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity is a book about the alienation and intimacy at war within us all. Ferch speaks to categorical human transgressions in the hope that readers will be compelled to examine their own prejudices and engage the moral responsibility to evoke in their own personal life, work life, and larger national communities a more humane and life-giving coexistence. In addition to a primary focus on servant leadership, the book addresses three interwoven aspects of social 1) the nature of personal responsibility 2) the nature of privilege and the conscious and unconscious violence against humanity often harbored in a blindly privileged stance, and 3) the encounter with forgiveness and forgiveness-asking grounded in a personal and collective obligation to the well-being of humanity. Modernist and postmodernist notions of the will to meaning are considered against the philosophical notion of the will to power. The book examines the everyday existence of human values in a time when we inhabit a world filled as much with unwarranted cruelty as with the disarming nature of authentic and life-affirming love. The book asks the Can ultimate forgiveness change the heart of violence? In Forgiveness and Power, people are challenged not only by the work of profound thought leaders such as Mandela, Tutu, but also Simone Weil, Vaclav Havel, Emerson, Mary Oliver, Martin Luther King, Paulo Freire, bell hooks, and Robert Greenleaf. The hope of the book is that people of all ages and creeds come to a deeper understanding and of personal and collective responsibility for leadership that helps heal the heart of the world.

Genres: Self Help

246 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Beth Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Allow me to begin by saying that I am not one to hand out 5-star ratings easily. Know this is a powerful and profound book, one that, like a good steak, requires time to chew. Allow yourself time to sit with the ideas Shann presents. Better yet, start to live into them and see the profound impact this will have on your life and the lives of those around you.

[Katy Rysemus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, this book is fantastic. I've read it twice now as part of two different classes I've had the privilege of taking with Dr. Ferch at Gonzaga, during my MA and PhD journeys. Shann's writing is poetic, thought provoking, and a testimony to his life dedicated to love and servant leadership. The concept of forgiveness in the face of atrocity is challenging but Shann presents the arguments well and in a way that helps instill hope in a world of divisiveness and hardship.

My only critique is the presentation of religious guidance being life giving, full of love, and the path to moral and ethical righteousness vs. Atheism/atheists as bad actors that drive wanton negativity because they lack a belief in anything divine. While Freud, Nietzsche, and Marx all definitely have their issues, he presents the case against atheism using them and others (including Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot) as examples of how disbelief in God leads to destruction. He even uses one source that says atheists have evil in them because they do not believe in God. As another reviewer points out, the rest of the book is well researched and cited but most of the two call outs against atheism lack the same rigorous research and seem to come from more personal views. I take issue with this because I believe in secular ethics, that belief in a deity and adherence to religion are not synonymous with being a good person and as such, this area of the book could cause some readers to turn away from the other valuable thoughts presented.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fruitful book that delves into Servant Leadership especially in the face of the current atrocities that are occurring in our societies. I thought that the spots on forgiveness came later in the book and could have been broader and deeper. I appreciate the writing style of Shann Ferch as he has a descriptive and poetic style.

In the church world, servant leadership gets talked about a lot. "Be like Jesus," they say. For women, that often means that we are the ones expected to do the serving. Shann Ferch went a long ways toward rehabilitating the term servant leadership for me. I'm not all the way there, but much further down the road!

[Susan Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book needs to be read by all of us.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this expansive analysis of servant leadership, Shann Ray Ferch examines a humanist model of leadership, and some of its models in the modern political landscape. The author finds in servant leadership a paradigm for both personal development and an attitude toward leadership that is both humble and empowering, yet capable of great strength. Using the work of Robert Greenleaf as a foundation, Ferch lays out essential characteristics of servant leadership, which flows naturally from the belief in the dignity of individuals. As he puts it, "...the power of servant leaders emerges from their devotion to being transparent with regard to their own faults and humble in their approach to self, others, and leadership. ... In servant leadership...humbleness of spirit leads to strength of relationship, whether the relationship be personal, familial, organizational, or global." Further, "Servant leadership calls people toward a communal effort with others that both invigorates the individual person and draws the community toward moral clarity; therefore, it requires a sustained effort at both personal and spiritual formation, the contemplative and active will to understand the inner life."

This leads quite naturally to an analysis of precepts of servant leadership as exemplified by Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Vaclav Havel, and others. Ferch quotes from Vaclav Havel: " ...the salvation of this human world lies nowhere else than in the human heart, in the power to reflect, in human meekness and in human responsibility." Both Tutu and Havel's roles in fostering national forgiveness and reconciliation are models of servant leadership, and their work is seen as a model for future endeavors. "Many people have begun to follow Desmond Tutu's resolute call to the nations: 'The most effective wat to build a new world community is for the perpetrators or their descendants to acknowledge the awfulness of what happened and the descendants of the victims to respond by granting forgiveness.' Tutu states unequivocally that there is no future without forgiveness."

Although Ferch does not discuss the Middle East, it is clear that, among others, the Israelis and Palestinians are both awaiting leaders who embrace the humility and dignity of servant leadership. "For people who hold tight to an intense need to declare right and wrong, forgiveness is an empty vessel, but for those willing to live in the paradoxical tension of forgiving on one hand while not depleting personal power on the other, the center of life calls forth the best of our humanity." We can only hope that such leadership is manifest before further political disasters engulf that region.

This is a powerful book, full of Shann Ray Ferch's own personal experience, enlightenment, and grace. Parents, community leaders, politicians, and businessmen can all benefit from a full understanding of the attitude and practice of servant leadership, and this book provides a rich examination of how these principles have played out in different parts of the world.

--a review copy was provided by the author.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a year to read this book because I would read a few pages or a chapter and stop to let it sink in. A view of servant leadership as practiced by the author with references throughout to great leaders like Mandela and MLK. I look forward to reading this book again at some point and would not hesitate to recommend it. I'm left inspired and with much still to ponder.

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read.

[Anna B · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read for a class on corporate justice in America.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting book with some fascinating ideas about servant leadership, human nature and the conflict between good and evil, and forgiveness. A lot of wisdom and true principles.