Moral Leadership for a Divided Age

October 15, 2018

Gushee (director, Ctr. for Theology and Public Life, Mercer Univ.; Still Christian) and writer and strategist Holtz provide no definition of great moral leadership, favoring a more expansive approach that examines the lives and contributions of 14 individuals who rallied others around a significant moral or social cause, from English reformer William Wilberforce to Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai. Delving into the histories of each subject, the issue that galvanized them, and how they met the challenges of their day, the authors emerge with a few themes: leadership has many personalities and backgrounds; and it's impossible to predict who will become a moral leader. Moreover, the causes these individuals pursue at times place them in ethically ambiguous situations (e.g., the pacifist Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the plot to assassinate Hitler), but those with moral imagination will persevere. VERDICT Gushee and Holtz provide a rich mosaic of personalities, any of which readers may wish to follow or aspire to become.--James Wetherbee, Wingate Univ. Libs., NC

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