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In Bruce Feiler's new book, America's Prophet: Moses and the American Story, he says that the character Superman was partly modeled on Moses. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, both from Cleveland and both Jewish, used the Moses narrative as the backdrop for Superman. Just as baby Moses was put in a basket in the Nile River to escape being killed, baby Superman is launched into space in a rocket ship to avoid extinction. And just as Moses was reared in the foreign environment of Egyptian royalty before receiving the vocation of liberating the Jewish slaves, Superman is raised in an alien place before being called to help humanity.
Moses, of course, was the preeminent leader in the Hebrew Scriptures. You want a model for a great leader, study Moses. Churches these days are looking for effective leadership. There is a wide-spread myth that all a congregation needs is a great charismatic leader in order to grow and increase the tribe. But Christian churches skip over Moses and go straight to Superman. (There are a few churches that look for Wonder Woman, but most seek a macho man.)
Yes, if we just get the right kind of pastor, one who can leap tall buildings, stop bullets with his teeth, make everyone tithe, and attract scores of people (especially young people) to join the church, we'll be alright. This wonderful pastor will look like an ordinary man most of the time. He will always know when someone is in the hospital, even though they notified no one. He will be able to challenge people with the truth about themselves without offending anyone.
He will have the energy to play with children and run with teenagers, yet will also relate to old people with his great wisdom and experience. Reverend Superman will bring innovations to the church which will draw younger families into the fold, while keeping all customs and traditions which will make older people happy. In fact, Pastor Superperson will have the uncanny ability to make everyone happy, even if they don't want to be happy.
His cape is hidden under his robe. His big 'S' cannot be seen by the average person. He never gets angry. He is an expert in administration, planning, evaluations, finances, budgets, investments, custodial supplies, church music (he plays the guitar), counseling, conflict management, public relations, marketing, acoustics, public speaking, liturgy, systematic theology, ethics, church history, Biblical archeology, demonology, fortune telling, ESP, marital relationships, adolescent psychology, schmoozing, listening to old ladies, rituals, computer technology, negotiating, golf, hermeneutics, philosophy, telling jokes, exegesis, epistemology, NASCAR, angelology, copy machine repair, the New Testament canon, ecclesial polity, brief prayers, predicting the weather, memorizing names, reading body language, mingling, story-telling, fund-raising, writing, motivating people, and he gets lots of sleep.
Well, motivating people is one of the main things that Super Pastor has to do. After all, church leaders want the church to grow, but they don't want to do it themselves. They think they need a 'leader' to motivate everyone to do something that they don't want to do. A real leader can get people off their haunches and inspire them to evangelize and give more money and give hours and hours of volunteer service. The trick is to get people to do things they don't want to do. The Superman minister can do that.
Of course I suppose one could look to Jesus as a model leader. But then you get into all that suffering and crucifixion stuff. No, better stick with Superman. He'll save the day. He will swoop down just in time and rescue the church. Perhaps it would be good if we could find out which seminary Superman graduated from.
