FTE "On Call" Blog

Dr. Sharon Watson Fluker

Former FTE Vice President for Doctoral Programs and Administration

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January 12, 2009

Leadership and Hope in 2009

What’s going on?

I had many conversations over the past several weeks---with family around the dinner table, with friends at holiday house parties, with familiar people in my neighborhood grocery store check-out line, and with random strangers in department store parking lots as we all rushed to place our purchases in the trunks of our cars. Everyone had plenty to talk about: the economy, politics, high food prices, job lay-offs, terrorism, the war in Iraq, the education of our children and on and on and on. Some level of anxiety seemed to permeate many of these conversations. There just weren’t too many folks feeling optimistic about very much. On one occasion, I found myself asking, “What do you think we need to get out of this mess?” Some said, “We need good leadership!” Others suggested, “Trouble don’t last always!” In many respects these responses were on target. It seems to me --- good leadership and hope may very well go hand in hand during times like these.

King, Obama and Leadership

 As we approach this upcoming weekend---there is something special in the air. First, we will celebrate the national holiday commemorating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 19 (King’s birthday is actually January 15). King, an African American Baptist minister is considered the architect of the civil rights movement in the l950s and 1960s articulating so eloquently in his speeches and sermons the demands for social justice for African Americans, the poor, and others disenfranchised by the legal and political system. His efforts, along with many women and men from diverse backgrounds led to significant change in our society. His non violent strategies won him the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. King was known for his intellect and leadership skill. At the Fund for Theological Education we are also concerned with education and leadership. We seek to identify and support the next generation of leaders for the church and academy by encouraging young people to consider ministry and teaching as their vocations. We should note that King’s philosophy of non violent social change was shaped no doubt by his training at Crozer Theological Seminary where he received his divinity degree and his Ph.D. studies at Boston University. Another event in the upcoming weeks will have a special place in history---on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, we will inaugurate the first African American president, Mr. Barak H. Obama as the 44th president of the United States. We watched this past 2008 presidential race almost non-stop---and we were all glad when it was finally over. But this inauguration just might signal that things are not as bad as we think. At most rallies and speeches, Mr. Obama reiterated the campaign’s theme, “yes we can,”---a “hopeful” three words to a nation that needed to hear them. I realize that his election won’t guarantee anything, but it does seem that all the folks I spoke with over the last few weeks know that too---nonetheless they are looking for signs of good leadership and a little hope---the soon to be inaugurated President Obama represents that.