On the loss of Maya Angelou – And a Generation of Leaders
(Author’s note: I originally wrote this piece two years ago on the morning after Maya Angelou died. I had thought to post it in honor of her birthday on April 4 or to mark the anniversary of her death on May 28. As I reread it this week, though, I decided it was a message that needed to be out there now, for a time such as this.)
Maya Angelou died this morning. Whether you knew who she was or actually met her and had no clue (as a friend of mine did), she was an important character in our national story. She lived at the center of a defining decade and struggle from which we still have not extricated ourselves fully.
I will make a confession. What I know of Maya Angelou is largely through others experiences of her. I have seen her on TV reading her work and playing the occasional guest spot on Touched By An Angel or some other show. I have read bits and pieces of her poems. I respected her work and I respected her presence. I have never read a single one of her books. (I still haven’t…must remedy that!)
But I am sad today at her passing. And when I probe the depths of that sadness, I think the reason is that hers is but the next in an ongoing list of leaders whose time is fading. I was born at the end of the 1960’s. Indeed, much of the turmoil of that era was winding down by the time I arrived. However, the aftermath of that season of history shaped my childhood in the sense that it had a profound impact on how I experienced the world.
From my earliest memories, I had friends who were black. In Junior High and High School, some of my best friends were hispanic. Now, as an adult living in a major metropolitan region of the Southeast, I am proud to work, play, and worship alongside many people of many different nationalities. My children were both born to parents of other races and do not look like me or my wife.
Out of that season of unrest and violence and change in the 1960’s, there were many, many voices that spoke out. There were some whom I believe were raised up by God to speak peace into the confusion. Not an empty, emotional peace. But a true peace born of understanding and allowing for differences. Not a peace at the cost of silencing those with whom we do not agree. But a peace that passes understanding that can only come from the presence of God through Jesus Christ.
These are true leaders who do not push a political or social agenda, but call us to a higher level of life. Maya Angelou is one such leader. To me, Billy Graham is another. Mother Theresa. Brennan Manning. Martin Luther King, Jr. And there are many others.
What makes me sad is the leadership landscape in our world today. The passing of this great generation leaves a powerful void. I do not hear or see from any on the public stage today the kind of calm, peaceful, reasoned, and hopeful leadership that the world is so desperately crying out for. Everywhere we turn, there are extreme opposites screaming for attention, clamoring for votes, forcing their opinion.
It is no secret that I am a Southern born and raised, White, Conservative, Evangelical Christian man. My upbringing and my faith have influenced my political and social positions just as yours has been influenced by your experience. I hold to many so-called traditional views on things like work, education, marriage and the like. However, above and beyond anything I might think or any opinion I may have is this one thing – God is love.
God is love. God created man in His image. Male and Female, He created them. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Did you catch that? Whoever. There is no limitation. There is no exclusion. Anyone and everyone.
My point is this, we live in perilous and difficult times. There are huge problems to face and to solve. We live in a world at war. Not just politically or militarily, but spiritually. Life itself is under attack. Freedom itself is under attack.
We need strong leaders who can speak peace into the confusion. And I, for one, do not see them. Do you?
That is why I mourn at the passing of Maya Angelou and others of her generation.
The mission of Look Deeper Coaching is to help myself and others to #lookdeeper. I will persist in that mission. And maybe, just maybe, the voice of peace and love from the Prince of Peace will be heard once again.
After Thought
It is interesting to me that I wrote this nearly two years ago given the political season we find ourselves in as a county in the United States. My observation still stands. If anything, we can likely all agree that it has gotten more pronounced, this leadership void. Those of us who are people of faith, people of God, followers of Jesus must humble ourselves and pray. (See 2 Chronicles 7:13-14) Speak when we must, yes, but pray without ceasing.
Look Deeper Solutions 