Cultural Leaders
A cultural leader sees himself – and is seen as – a vanguard shaping the views and actions of an entire class of individuals over a wide spectrum of life. His words cause others to think in a new and different direction, to act in a different way. A business executive who decides where and how employees will work is a leader. A magazine editor who has the power to persuade where and how readers will spend their time when they are free to spend it as they choose is a cultural leader. An actor who sets a new clothing style is a leader. An actor who re-orients the way people think about clothing is a cultural leader. A music instructor who leads his students to a greater appreciation for and more adept performance of a musical instrument is a leader. A pop musician whose rhythm and lyrics and public comments create a new view of ethics is a cultural leader. A TV news anchor who reports to millions a gripping story of the ravages of war is a leader. A TV news commentator who transforms that story into a rationale for an antiwar movement is a cultural leader. A college professor who introduces his class to the heritage of the West is a leader. A scholar who alters fellow college professors’ views of how reality would be perceived is a cultural leader. A scholar who alters fellow college professors’ views of how reality should be perceived is a cultural leader. A pastor who shepherds his flock in the Faith is a leader. A pastor who is a recognized spokesman for an entire local community is a cultural leader. A theologian who introduces the rudiments of systematic theology is a leader. A theologian who creates a new paradigm for perceiving and practicing the Faith is a cultural leader. Leaders inculcate the ground rules. Cultural leaders re-think and re-frame the ground rules, and deftly communicate these new ways of thinking to the wide population. Cultural leaders create and communicate. If they create but do not communicate, they may be geniuses, but they are not cultural leaders.

P. Andrew Sandlin
We Must Create A New Kind of Christian