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About the Book
In "Leadership, The Power Of A Creative Life" by Rick Joyner, the author explores the concept of creative leadership and discusses how creativity can enhance a person's ability to lead effectively. Joyner emphasizes the importance of embracing creativity and imagination in order to inspire others and bring about positive change in a variety of contexts. The book offers practical advice and guidance for individuals looking to develop their creative leadership skills and make a lasting impact in their personal and professional lives.
Hannah More
Beyond any doubt, Hannah More was the most influential female member of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the African Slave Trade. She was educated at Bristol, an important slave-trading town, and began to publish her writing in the 1760s, while she was still a teenager. Her first play, The Inflexible Captive, was staged at Bath in 1775. Later in the 1770s, and for much of the 1780s, she spent time in London and made the acquaintance of many important political and society figures, including Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke, and Elizabeth Montagu. Her play Percy was produced by David Garrick in 1777, and Fatal Falsehood was staged in 1779, but she came to regard the theatre as morally wrong, especially after the death of her mentors; Garrick and Johnson. She turned to religious writing, beginning with her Sacred Dramas in 1782. In 1784-5, she 'discovered' Ann Yearsley, the so-called 'poetical milkmaid of Bristol', whose poems More helped to publish, although the two later fell out.
In the 1780s, More widened her circle to include religious and philanthropic figures, including John Newton, Beilby Porteus and William Wilberforce. In the summer of 1786, she spent time with Sir Charles and Lady Margaret Middleton at the their home in Teston in Kent. Among their guests were the local vicar James Ramsay and a young Thomas Clarkson, both of whom were central to the early abolition campaign. More and Clarkson met again in Bristol in 1787, while he was on his fact-finding mission to the city, but they did not become close. However, in the same year More met Wilberforce, and their friendship was to become a deep and lasting one. More contributed much to the running of the newly-founded Abolition Society including, in February 1788, her publication of Slavery, a Poem which has been recognised as one of the more important slavery poems of the abolition period. Her relationship with members of the society, especially Wilberforce, was close. For example, she spent the summer of 1789 holidaying with Wilberforce in the Peak District - planning for the abolition campaign, at that time at its height, formed a great deal of their conversation.
By the mid-1790s, More had become closely involved with the 'Clapham Sect' of evangelical Christians, many of whom were involved in the abolition campaign. The group centred on Henry Thornton's home in Clapham and included Wilberforce, James Stephen, and Zachary Macaulay, among others. Throughout the 1790s, she wrote a number of religious tracts, known as the Cheap Repository Tracts, that eventually led to the formation of the Religious Tracts Society. Several of the Tracts oppose slavery and the slave trade, in particular, the poem The Sorrows of Yamba; or, The Negro Woman's Lamentation, which appeared in November 1795 and which was co-authored with Eaglesfield Smith. However, the tracts have also been noted for their encouragement of social quietism in an age of revolution. She continued to oppose slavery throughout her life, but at the time of the Abolition Bill of 1807, her health did not permit her to take as active a role in the movement as she had done in the late 1780s, although she maintained a correspondence with Wilberforce and others. In her later life, she dedicated much time to religious writing. Nevertheless, her most popular work was a novel, Coelebs in Search of a Wife, which appeared in two volumes in 1809 (and which ran to nine editions in 1809 alone). In the 1820s she grew gradually less well, and decreased - but did not entirely halt - the amount of writing she produced. On her death in 1833, she left more than £30,000 to charities and religious societies (equivalent to about £2,000,000 or $3,000,000 in 2004).
© Brycchan Carey 2004
Godly Ambition vs Earthy Ambition
I wrote in my prayer journal recently: “I have had an epiphany: Earthly ambition is the nemesis of Godly anointing. I find that in accepting Jesus' invitation to lay down ‘my’ ambition there is a peace that floods my heart where there was none. I now discover a renewed desire to serve. To paraphrase John Gray, ‘...to serve others as if it were my last day upon this earth, and my only purpose is to squeeze the very last drop of the fragrance of Jesus from within me.’ I guess this must be Godly ambition. I pray it lasts. I like it so much better than the other variety. ‘What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him.’ (Philippians 3: 8-9a).” On reflection, perhaps this should have been more obvious to me. Earthly ambition is sinful. “Do not act out of selfish ambition or conceit, but with humility think of others as being better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3) Any incursion into sin is going to obscure the clarity of the work of the Holy Spirit within us: the outpouring of His love, the assuredness of God’s mercy, our new identity in Jesus and our calling. All of this, and more, becomes obscured and twisted when we let earthly ambition have free reign in us. But what about Godly ambition? In considering this I was led back to a great theological hero of mine. The late John Stott was the longtime Rector of All Souls Church, Langham Place in London and the author of over 50 books translated into 65 languages. In 2005, Time magazine named him as one of the “100 most influential people” in the world. Despite his influence and the recognition he received during his life, Stott is remembered for his humbleness and dedication in serving the Lord. Rev. Dr. Mark Labberton, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary in California, has said, “The greatest gifts in John’s life were not his talents, it was actually his character.” Tim Keller, commenting on John Stott’s life, believes that we should all be inspired and challenged by Stott’s Kingdom vision and zeal for God’s Kingdom. Although Stott was considered one of the greatest evangelists of his generation, he was far from satisfied with his ministerial success. Keller concludes, “Here is my point. Most of the rest of us would be very happy being told you are the best. You are the best preacher, you’re the best of this or that. But he didn’t care about that. He wanted to change the world for Christ. I looked at his motives, I looked at his labors, how he spent himself, and how he gave himself. Why wasn’t he ever satisfied? It really was not worldly ambition. He really wanted to really change the world for Christ. We should be convicted by that.” Stott was also remarkably humble. The Rev. Dr. Christopher Wright, who considered Stott to be a mentor, has shared, “I found John to be a man of genuine humility, not just fake humility, but genuine, through and through humility. He was able to mix with what we might call the ‘rich and famous’ on one hand, or with the ‘poorest of poor’ in other parts of the world, and do so with equal integrity and simply be himself.” We know that Biblical ambition always puts others before ourselves and will make sacrifices for others. “Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4) I would like to give the last word to Reverend Dr. John Stott. In his book Godly Ambition, he wrote with compelling clarity: "In the end, just as there are only two kinds of piety, the self-centered and the God-centered, so there are only two kinds of ambition: one can be ambitious for oneself or for God. There is no third alternative. Ambitions for self may be quite modest (enough to eat, to drink, and to wear, as in the Sermon [on the Mount]) or they may be grandiose (a bigger house, a faster car, a higher salary, a wider reputation, more power). But whether modest or immodest, these are ambitions for myself — my comfort, my wealth, my status, my power. Ambitions for God, however, if they are to be worthy, can never be modest. There is something inherently inappropriate about cherishing small ambition for God. How can we ever be content that He should acquire just a little more honor in the world? No! Once we are clear that God is King, then we long to see Him crowned with glory and honor, according to His true place. We become ambitious for the spread of this kingdom and righteousness everywhere. When this is genuinely our dominant ambition, then not only will all these things…be yours as well (i.e. our material needs will be provided), but there will be no harm in having secondary ambitions, since these will be subservient to our primary ambition and not in competition with it. Indeed, it is then that secondary ambitions become healthy. Christians should be eager to develop their gifts, widen their opportunities, extend their influence and be given promotion in their work — not now to boost their own ego or build their own empire, but rather through everything they do to bring glory to God." Drew Williams trinitychurch.life
