Gentle Leadership

"Once in a while we meet a gentle person. Gentleness is a virtue hard to find in a society that admires toughness and roughness. We are encouraged to get things done and to get them done fast, even when people get hurt in the process. Success, accomplishment, and productivity count. But the cost is high. There is no place for gentleness in such a milieu.

"Gentle is the one who does "not break the crushed reed, or snuff the faltering wick" (Matthew 12:20). Gentle is the one who is attentive to the strengths and weaknesses of the other and enjoys being together more than accomplishing something. A gentle person treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. A gentle person knows that true growth requires nurture, not force. Let's dress ourselves with gentleness. In our tough and often unbending world our gentleness can be a vivid reminder of the presence of God among us."

~Henri Nouwen

Leadership Wisdom from Unlikely Voices

I am rereading Dave Fleming's book, "Leadership Wisdom from Unlikely Voices." It is excellent and practical exploration of the leadership wisdom that the leaders from Church History offer us. Fleming surveys leaders such as Francis of Assisi, Augustine, Hildagard of Bingen and Mother Teresa of Calcutta. It is a worthwhile read.

Here is a link to Fleming's website: www.davefleming.org

And his blog: http://davefleming.typepad.com/

The Privilege of Focus

“Keep a clear eye toward life’s end.

Do not forget your purpose and destiny as God’s creature.

What you are in His sight is what you are and nothing more.

Remember that when you leave this earth,

you can take with you nothing that you have received

– fading symbols of honor, trappings of power

– but only what you have given:

a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.”

– Francis of Assisi (1182-1226 AD)

New Book by David Miller on the Theology of Work

There is a great new book out by David Miller of the Yale Center of Faith and Culture on the theology of work. The book is enitled " God at work". Here are a few reviews on the book:

"The most thoughtful attempt so far to take both religion and business seriously as partners."--Harvard Business Review"As both a theologian and a business person, David Miller provides a unique perspective on the faith/work movement. This book contains a scholarly review of its roots, a careful and thorough description of its current momentum, and a thoughtful critique of its future. It is a must read for the person who wants to understand how God and worship relate to the reality of the workplace." -- C. William Pollard, Chairman Emeritus, ServiceMaster

"Rather than celebrate late life atonement to compensate for careers of corruption, David Miller shows a long, proud tradition of leaders who reach for purpose in their work and compassion in their workplace. This richly textured, historically accurate and spiritually uplifting book should be read not only by those who need it the least and will love it, but also by those who badly need it and don't know it." --Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Senior Associate Dean, Yale School of Management and co-author of Leadership and Governance from the Inside Out

"God at Work, by David W. Miller, is an important contribution to the discussion of the growing role of religion in business life. It ought to find its way into MBA courses on human relations, business ethics, and marketing, among others." --Robert W. Fogel, Charles R. Walgreen Professor of American Institutions, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, and 1993 Nobel Prize Winner in Economics

"David Miller explores the next major chapter that most companies are wrestling with on the Diversity and Inclusion journey --- religion in the workplace. He provides excellent insights. " --Steve Reinemund, Chairman, PepsiCo

"God at Work draws on Miller's background in corporate management, theological training, and extensive research to provide an insightful analysis of recent efforts to bring religious faith into more active engagement with the complex decisions of the contemporary workplace. At a time when corporate scandals have rocked the nation, this inside look at the ethical challenges facing top executives is sorely needed. Miller shows that local congregations have seldom provided guidance for members with managerial responsibilities and academia has rarely provided a hospitable environment for discussions of faith and ethics in the business world, either. Still, there are some hopeful signs that this neglect is changing. Miller's engaging discussion helps chart the course." --Robert Wuthnow, author of The Crisis in the Churches: Spiritual Malaise, Fiscal Woe

Interview: Bruce E. Winston, PhD at Online Degrees Online

There is a great interview with my dean and mentor, Dr. Bruce Winston at Online Degrees Online: http://www.online-degrees-today.com/blog/2007/08/30/interview-bruce-e-winston-regent-university/

Working with Dr. Winston has been one of the most transformational events in my life. I am deeply grateful. The following is one of those deeply inspiring Winstonian sayings on leadership:

"A leader is one who can clearly communicate a vision and motivate others to action...one who discovers and maintains a lifelong pursuit of God's truths to positively impact individuals and the world."

Anima Christi

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me

Blood of Christ, inebriate me (refresh me)
Water from Christ's side, wash me

Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Your wounds hide me

Suffer me not to be separated from You
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto You
That I may praise Your with Your saints
and with Your angels
Forever and ever
Amen

14th Century Christian Prayer

Bridging Sunday and Monday: Making Faith Really Matter in Business: Seattle Pacific University

This is from an online brochure of the Christian Business Faculty Association:

Over the past two decades the Christian community has seen an explosion of activity around the subject of the “ministry of our daily work.” The growing number of books on this subject is one piece of evidence. Pete Hammond (with Paul Stevens and Todd Svanoe) published an Annotated Bibliography in 2002, and maintains an exploding database of books and other publications on the subject. The Marketplace Ministry report from the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism conference in 2004 demonstrates the international nature of this activity. Marketplace ministries have “sprung up” in cities around the world. It appears that God is truly at work stirring passions and insight regarding the wholeness of the gospel and the destruction of the “sacred/secular” divide. Theology of Work is even finding its way into a few seminaries.
From this foundation, we seek to go deeper. If God cares about our daily work, does he also care about its institutions: government, education, the medical field, and business? And if so, what do the Scriptures have to say about how this work should be conducted? And if Christians can grasp what the Bible is saying about this work, does this insight translate to a secular world where the authority of the Scriptures is not recognized?

For those of us in business, the development of faith and work integration provides the foundation for developing a biblical view of business. At the School of Business and Economics at Seattle Pacific University, we started this discussion in earnest in 2002. The result was a paper published in 2004 on our view of the biblical purpose of business, [Van Duzer, et. al.].
Using biblical language, the paper demonstrated that God cares about the institution of business and has called people to that field to carry out his work in this world. The fundamental conclusion of that paper was that the purpose of business is to serve. Two vital ways that businesses serve are to distribute goods and services that are needed in the world, and to provide meaningful work enabling people to respond to God’s call for them to work. This is a vastly different conclusion than Milton Friedman drew, and many people accept today, that the purpose of business is to maximize the shareholder value subject to the constraints of the law and ethical norms.

We also believe that when something is true, it is true even for those who don’t recognize biblical authority. We have found that our conclusion about the purpose of business can be discussed using different arguments for audiences who don’t look to biblical authority for answers, such as Rotary, universities, and general business groups. Since most ethical problems in business over the past decade have come from greed rooted in the bottom line, these ideas on purpose offer hope through another way of thinking about business.

Now the question is this: can we go another step deeper? If biblical insight can help us understand the purpose of business, can it also help us understand the practice of business? Can we look at areas of business such as leadership, organizational culture, marketing, finance, human resources, and corporate social responsibility and gain biblical insight about them? And if the answer is yes, can we take this insight another step further to develop business theories that can be communicated in a secular language, offering insight to business leaders for all sizes of businesses, from all cultures, and all types of industry.

That is what the conference “Bridging Sunday and Monday” is all about. We put out a Call for
Papers and selected responses from 14 universities (both general universities and those that call themselves Christian) with research ideas in these areas. We had numerous responses from faith-based practitioners in business who have found insightful ways to carry out their work in honor to God. We organized sessions for the presentation and discussion of these ideas on October 4, 2007 in Seattle.

Our goal for the conference is to bridge two gaps. The first is between Sunday and Monday. Can we create a strong link between biblical faith and the practice of business? Of course this means acting ethically, and finding ways to demonstrate our commitment to Christ. But it means more than this, in demonstrating the missional value of business as more than a means to some other end.

The second gap we sought to bridge was between those in business and those in the academy. Many academics have not had to deal with the day to day challenges of being in business, while many people in business have not sought to ground what they do in solid theory. So sometimes these groups talk past each other, or don’t talk at all. By having strong representation from both communities at this conference, in each session, and in the presentations, we looked to create a dialogue.

Ultimately, however, Jesus calls us to be stewards of the resources he has given us, and to be accountable for our work in the world. While we believe that business is a worthy calling, some recent activity in business has been far from worthy. The identification of new and better practices for business can bring healing and help to a hurting world, with the end, that “they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven,” Matthew 5:16.
A one day conference, October 4, 2007 7:00 am—4:30 pm (includes breakfast and lunch)Seattle Pacific University. For more information click on this link or any of the links below.

Program
I. Introduction, why the importance of the subject, what else has been done

II. The Purpose of Business—Jeff Van Duzer

III. From the Viewpoint of a Person of Christian Faith in Business

A. Don Flow—CEO and Owner, Flow Automotive Customer Service

B. Jack Van Hartesvelt—Executive Vice President, Kennedy Associates Negotiations

C. Sherron Watkins, former Vice President of finance, Enron Dealing with Crises

IV. Business Leadership

A. Gerard Beenen, Carnegie Mellon University, and David Miller, YaleUniversity “Do Biblically Consistent Models of Leadership Work?”

B. Corne J. Bekker, Regent University “Sharing the Incarnation: Towards a Model of Christological Leadership”

C. Carter Crockett, Westmont College “In Search of a New Language and Model for Business”

D. Kristi Nelson, Seattle Pacific University “Using Power for the Greater Good”

E. Rick Franklin, Biola University and Regent University“ Authentic Leadership from the Image of God”

V. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

A. Dan Lawson, Ashland University “Applying Christian Values to CSR and Workplace Ethics”

B. George S. Babbes, Azusa Pacific University “In Search of a Sustainable CSR Business Model”

C. Samuel Seaman, Pepperdine University “A Personal Ethic to Sustain Virtuous Business”

D. Faith Wambura Ngunjiri, Yale Center for Faith and Culture “A Case Study of Cascade Engineering Company”

VI. Human Resources Practices

A. Mark Russell, Asbury Theological School, and Jeff Russell, YaleUniversity “A Theological Foundation for Off-Shoring Practices”

B. Jay Gary, Regent University“ Does Forgiveness Fit in the Workplace?”

C. Oneita Burton, Abeline Christian University “Faith-Based Approach to Organizational Communications Research”

D. Sean McHugh, Vice President, Block Imaging International “Designing and Leading Company-Wide Spiritual Development Programs”

VII. Organizational Values

A. Robert Eames, Calvin College; Stacy Jackson, Todd Steen, andSteven VanderVeen, Hope College “Making Values Matter in Organizations”

B. Tom Buckles, Biola University “Teaching Values in a Christian Business School”

C. John Kilroy, Emerging Concepts LLC “Values from the Beatitudes”

VIII. Marketing

A. Gary Karns, Seattle Pacific University“ A Theological Reflection on Exchange and Marketing”

B. Steve Strombeck, Azusa Pacific University “Corporate Integrity and Communication Strategies”

C. Marketing Business Leader—not yet finalized

IX. Finance

A. Tom Cottrell, University of Calgary “Resolving the Scriptures and Corporate Financial Markets”

B. Grant Learned and Herb Kierluff, Seattle Pacific University “Sources and Uses of Wealth from a Christian Perspective”

C. Finance Business Leader—not yet finalized

X. Conclusions and Panel Discussion: Denise Daniels, Chair; Don Flow, Jack VanHartesvelt, and Sherron Watkins

How to Register - Through the CBFA conference site http://www.spu.edu/sbe/cbfa/index.htm

Immersed in the River of God

"But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14, NIV)

"[A] mature contemplative is far more simple than any child or any novice, because theirs is a more or less negative simplicity-the simplicity of those in whom potential complications have not yet had a chance to develop. But in the contemplative, all complexities have begun to straighten themselves out and dissolve into unity and emptiness and interior peace.

The contemplative, nourished by emptiness, endowed by poverty and liberated from all sorrow by simple obedience, drinks fortitude and joy from the will of God in all things.Without any need for complicated reasoning or mental efforts or special acts, the contemplative's life is a prolonged immersion in the rivers of tranquility that flow from God into the whole universe and draw all things back to God.

For God's love is like a river springing up in the depth of the Divine Substance and flowing endlessly through His creation, filling all things with life and goodness and strength.All things, except our own sins, are carried and come to us in the waters of this pure and irresistible stream."

Thomas Merton. New Seeds of Contemplation. New York: New Directions Press, 1961: 266.

Photograph by Thomas Merton.

John Michael Talbot - Psalm 42 - Live

Psalm 42
1 As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
3 My tears have been my food
day and night,
while men say to me all day long,
"Where is your God?"
4 These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go with the multitude,
leading the procession to the house of God,
with shouts of joy and thanksgiving
among the festive throng.
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and 6 my God.
My soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.
8 By day the LORD directs his love,
at night his song is with me—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God my Rock,
"Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?"
10 My bones suffer mortal agony
as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
"Where is your God?"
11 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

Forecasting Patterns of Change

My good friend and colleague, Jay Gary (http://www.jaygary.com/) is hosting a one day foresight seminar on September 20, 2007. Graham Molitor will be the main speaker.

Mr. Graham Molitor is a foremost authority on forecasting government policy, is president of Public Policy Forecasting, and former vice president/legal counsel of the World Future Society. He headed lobbying staffs at General Mills and Nabisco, chaired a legislative Commission on the Future, directed research for the White House Conference on the Industrial World Ahead, served on the White House Social Indicators Committee, and served in elective, appointive or advisory capacities in each government branch -- executive, legislative, judicial, and independent regulatory. Graham is the editor of the Encyclopedia of the Future (1996) and author of over 100 journal articles and essays on social and technological forecasting. Molitor will be offering seven 30-minute lectures on September 20th to a Doctoral residency, in a video-taping format.

The seminar topics will include:

• Scanning the Environment
• Framing the Issues
• Advancing the Issues
• Resolving the Issues
• Cyclical Patterns
• Bellweather Jurisdictions
• Next Five Economic Eras

Here is a link to the seminar's web page: http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/conferences/foresight/home.shtml

Mentoring vs. Discipling Followers

Leadership Talks feature a new recording done by Dr. Bruce Winston and myself: http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/leadershiptalks/home.htm

The write-up for the recording is as follows:

As a leader, mentoring or discipling followers is vital to the future of your organization. But, is either one better than the other? What are the differences between mentoring and discipling? How do each of these relate to succession planning? Join Dr. Bruce Winston and Dr. Corné Bekker as they address these questions and more in their discussion regarding the biblical and present day use of mentoring and discipling followers.

Adventus Redemptoris (The Coming of the Saviour)

I will complete a course with a few Ph.D. students this month, on the leadership of the historical Jesus in the Gospels.

What does the coming of the Jesus (pre- and post-Easter) means to our understanding of leadership?

This short video is of John Michael Talbot's "Advent Suite." It is his contemplation of what it means that the Messiah has come. What does the coming of Jesus means for you today?

Leading in Chaos

I have the privilege this year to work with Jeff Hale on his dissertation in our Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership. Jeff and his family have faithfully served years in West Africa as transformational leaders in the work of God there and their example has been deeply inspiring to me and many others. Jeff is proposing a fascinating study and the working title at present is: "What does it mean to organize and lead in chaotic times? Interpreting the Apocalypse through hermeneutic phenomenology."

Here are a few beginning thoughts from Jeff on his research proposal:
"The chaotic times of the 21st century make the traditional forms of organizing and leading obsolete because the ontological and epistemological assumptions of these forms are undermined. Consequently, the fundamental problem for 21st century organizations and their leaders is the rediscovery of meaning. Faced with this crisis of meaning, scholars and practitioners turn to symbolic interpretive and postmodern ontology and epistemology, as reflected in Chaos Theory and theories of spirituality, to make sense of their world. Unfortunately, there is not a philosophical framework for leading in chaos to guide scholars and practitioners in appraising and developing theory and practice. This study proposes one way of defining a philosophic framework in relation to the research question.

'What does it mean to organize and lead in chaotic – even apocalyptic –times?' This research question confronts the Revelation to John, also known as the Apocalypse, through hermeneutic phenomenology as developed by Paul Ricoeur. Ricoeur’s work is well suited as a methodological framework for this study. His emphasis on metaphor, narrative, and understanding of hermeneutics as 'the art of deciphering indirect meaning' works well with the literary nature of the Apocalypse. Ricoeur’s four characteristics of text and social action offer the possibility of discovering spirituality in the text that is not dependent on The Apocalypse’s status as a religious text. Ample examples of Ricoeur’s application of hermeneutic phenomenology to biblical texts serve as guides in the research process. Significantly, this methodology offers a way to link, within the hermeneutic process, the meaning of the text with the meaning of social actions of organizing and leading. "

Here is a link to Jeff's blog: http://goforthtodie.blogspot.com/

Admonitions on Christ-like Leadership

One of our current Ph.D. students, Louis Morgan, is working on an elective course with me on the leadership principles in the medieval document of the "Admonitions of Francis of Assisi." Here is a link to Louis' blog: http://morganonmission.blogspot.com/ Louis is not only a deep thinker but someone who deeply desires to emulate Christ in his own leadership.

The following is a small excerpt from Francis' admonitions on the importance of walking in the Spirit, resisting the sin of envy and call to love:

Chapter VII. That good work should follow knowledge
The Apostle says: "The letter kills, the spirit, however, vivifies" (2 Cor 3:6). · Those have died by the letter who desire to know only the words, 17 so as to be held as wiser among others and be able to acquire great riches to be given to relatives and friends. · And those religious have died by the letter, who do not want to follow the spirit of the Divine Letter, 18 but rather desire only to know words and to explain them to others. · And those have been vivified by the Divine Letter, who do not attribute every letter, which they know and desire to know, to the body, 19 but in word and example render them to the Most High Lord God, of whom is every good.

Chapter VIII. On avoiding the sin of envy
The Apostle said: "No one can say, 'Lord Jesus,' except in the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor 12:3); · and "There is no one who does good, not even one" (Rm 3:12). · Whoever therefore envies his own brother because of the good, which the Lord says and works in him, 20 tends towards the sin of blasphemy, because he envies the Most High Himself (cf. Mt 20:15), who says and works every good.

Chapter IX. On love
The Lord says: "Love your enemies; [do good to those who hate you, and pray on behalf of those who are persecuting and calumniating you]" (Mt 5:44). · For he truly loves his enemy, who does not grieve because of the injury, which he did to him, · but, concerning the sin against his own soul, burns for the sake of the love (amor) of God. 21 · And he shows love (dilectio) for him from (his) works.

The Turn to Spirituality and Downshifting

I wrote a chapter for a new book coming out on the subject of downshifting (simple living/ simplicity). The book will be published in October of this year by ICFAI University Press and is entitled: "Downshifting: a theoretical and practical approach to living a simplified life." My contribution deals with the world-wide turn to spirituality and its implications for the emerging trend of downshifting by examining examples of spiritualities that support and facilitate voluntary simplicity.

Here is a small part of my concluding statements in the chapter:

The current and broad turn to spirituality finds echoes in the rising phenomena of downshifting. A cursory overview of spiritualities that support and facilitate downshifting shows that these spiritualities all consider simplicity, voluntary poverty, solidarity with the poor, frugality and mutuality as core, “inner” and spiritual values. These “inner“ values operate as motivating and facilitating agents in these spiritualities to effect personal and communal transformation. In some established school of spiritualities, downshifting is viewed as an ascetical discipline that facilitates moral development/holiness (as in Fourth century Egyptian monasticism), in other schools downshifting is seen as a mode of mystical and kenotic union with God (as in Clare of Assisi) that allows for radical solidarity with the poor. The Southern-African social philosophy of ubuntu, as an example of a primordial spirituality, makes use of downshifting stances to express the values of mutuality and social respect. The Puritan and Quaker calls to simple living, frugality and downshifting are counter-cultural calls to authentic spiritual and human witness.

Downshifting as a spiritual phenomenon is part of the on-going quest for the “ultimate meaning of life”. It is part of ancient, spiritual wisdom that facilitates mystical union with God, moral development, the formation of authentic witness, and mutuality and solidarity with all of humanity. It is a call to balance and fullness of life.

"Two things I ask of you, O LORD;

do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;

give me neither poverty nor riches,

but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you

and say, 'Who is the LORD '

or I may become poor and steal,

and so dishonor the name of my God.”
(Proverbs 30:7-9, NIV)

Servant Leadership Research Roundtable

The annual Servant Leadership Research Roundtable is around the corner. I will be presenting a new paper on Robert Greenleaf's Spirituality of Service. The following notes comes from my colleague, Dr. Kathleen Patterson, who is hosting the roundtable:

Greetings,

I am writing to personally invite you to attend the 5th Annual Servant Leadership Research Roundtable at Regent University, August 10-11, 2007. We will begin at noon on Friday and will conclude Saturday evening.

We are thrilled to build upon last year's roundtable to provide you with additional opportunities to meet with notable scholars in the field of servant leadership. You will participate in discussions with presenters and work together to explore, discuss and test new and existing servant leadership concepts.

If you have not participated in this roundtable previously, I encourage you to not only consider attending this event, but to invite a colleague as well. While we engage top scholars from around the world in scholarly debate and discussion, we welcome both seasoned and novice researchers who are interested in the growing field of servant leadership.

Registration is already in progress, so I encourage you to reserve your place by registering today! Should you need hotel accommodations, I encourage you to stay at the beautiful Founders Inn & Spa and request the special Regent University rate.

I look forward to receiving your registration form should you decide to attend. If not, please consider attending next year's roundtable, which will be held in May 2008.

All the best,

Kathleen

Bridging Sunday and Monday

There will be a one-day conference hosted by The Center for Integrity in Business at Seattle Pacific University on October4, 2007. The conferences is named: "Bridging Sunday and Monday: Making Faith Really Matter in Business." My paper entitled: "Sharing the Incarnation: Towards a Model of Mimetic Christological Leadership", has been accepted for the conference and as a chapter for an upcoming book on this topic.

Here is a short, preliminary description of the paper:

"This paper proposes a practical model of 'Incarnational' Leadership that communicates the values and behaviors inherent in the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation for those leading in the market place.

The paper starts with the presentation of an early mimetic Christological model of Christian Leadership in Roman Philippi by exploring the judicial, rhetorical structure and the social function of the Pauline Philippians hymn (2:5-11) as a cursus pudorum (course of ignominies) that stood in opposition to the prevalent cursus honorum, the formalized sequence of public offices in first-century Roman cities.

The Philippians hymn challenged the notions and principles of the prevalent shame/honor social matrix of Roman societies by offering an alternative set of behaviors and values that stood in stark contrast with those of the dominant culture. The hymn makes use of a cursus pudorum in which the voluntary abasement, humility and obedience of Christ becomes an exemplum that offers a critique of the tyrannies of the timocratic leadership style of Roman Philippi and offers an alternative vision of service oriented leadership rooted in humility and common mutuality.

This proposed mimetic Christological model of Christian Leadership is further compared and contrasted with other “values-based” approaches to leadership, including Servant and Transformational Leadership theories. It is argued that although this Christo-centric model shares similar values with other “values-based” approaches in leadership, it goes beyond these leadership approaches in that it is ultimately rooted in a mimetic re-enactment of the self-emptying/kenotic Christ."

Here is a link to the conference: http://www.spu.edu/sbe/cib/Call_for_Papers-Bridging_Sunday_and_Monday.asp

Meaning beyond Absurdity

I recently read a small tract by Robert Greenleaf (the "father" of the Servant Leadership Movement) in the Quaker Though and Life Today Magazine on the work and writings of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. Greenleaf reports that Heschel gave the following message to young people in an interview before his death in 1972:

"I would say: Let them remember that there is meaning beyond absurdity. Let them be sure that every little deed counts, that every word has power, and that we can - every one -do our share to redeem the world in spite of all absurdities and all frustrations and all disappointments. And above all, remember that the meaning of life is to build a life as if it were a work of art."

May our quest for authentic Christian Leadership seek to embody the greatest meaning of all: worship unto our God.

Nouwen on Forgiving the Church

When we have been wounded by the Church, our temptation is to reject it. But when we reject the Church it becomes very hard for us to keep in touch with the living Christ. When we say, "I love Jesus, but I hate the Church," we end up losing not only the Church but Jesus too.

The challenge is to forgive the Church. This challenge is especially great because the Church seldom asks us for forgiveness, at least not officially. But the Church as an often fallible human organization needs our forgiveness, while the Church as the living Christ among us continues to offer us forgiveness.

It is important to think about the Church not as "over there" but as a community of struggling, weak people of whom we are part and in whom we meet our Lord and Redeemer."

"Jesus is for Losers" - Steve Taylor

If I was driven
Driven ahead by some noble ideal
Who took the wheel?

If I was given
Given a glimpse of some glorious road
When was it sold?

So caught up in the chase
I keep forgetting my place

Just as I am
I am stiff-necked and proud
Jesus is for losers
Why do I still play to the crowd?

Just as I am
Pass the compass, please
Jesus is for losers
I'm off about a hundred degrees

If I was groping
Groping around for some ladder to fame
I am ashamed

If I was hoping
Hoping respect would make a sturdy footstool
I am a fool

Bone-weary every climb
Blindsided every time

Just as I am
I am needy and dry
Jesus is for losers
The self-made need not apply

Just as I am
In a desert crawl
Lord, I'm so thirsty
Take me to the waterfall

And if you're certain
Certain your life is some cosmic mistake
Why do you shake?

And if you're certain
Certain that faith is some know-nothing mask
Why do you still ask?

They don't grade here on the curve
We both know what we deserve

Just as you are
Just a wretch like me
Jesus is for losers
Grace from the blood of a tree

Just as we are
At a total loss
Jesus is for losers
Broken at the foot of the cross

Just as I am
Pass the compass, please
Jesus is for losers
I'm off about a hundred degrees

Just as I am
In a desert crawl
Lord, I'm so thirsty
Take me to the waterfall

Psalm 62 "Only in God" - John Michael Talbot

Psalm 62:1-2
"My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."

Asceticism, Discipline and Leadership Formation

Early Egyptian Monasticism, in reaction to the growing secularism and materialism of the Christian Church of the fourth century, stressed the need for personal and communal transformation through ascetic disciplines, with a high regard for moral development and experiential holiness. An ascetic form of discipleship was presented by these Desert Fathers and Mothers as a mode of moral development and spiritual transformation. Asceticism, from the Greek “askēsis”, which means “discipline” or “training”, was seen as a way of personal and communal self-effacement that opened the way for personal and communal transformation into holiness. To the twenty-first century ear these calls to asceticism might sound extreme, but for the Desert Fathers and Mothers of the Fourth Century, it was a way to experience true life to it fullest. The fourth century prayer of the Desert Father, Serapion of Thmuis summarizes this cry for experiential fullness of life: “Make us truly alive!”

These early Egyptian monks sought through voluntary simplicity, a leaving of their previous privileged lives and a commitment to simple labor, an inner stillness (hesychia) that came from progressive victories in Christ of over their “passions” (apatheia). The inner logic of these schools of asceticism, as it relates to the practice of Christian discipline was a simple one: - disciplines of simple housing, devotional living, controlling of the appetites, voluntary simplicity and absolute obedience to Scripture created the necessary spiritual and emotional “space” for devotion and contemplation that defeated the “passions” of pride, envy and gluttony. This is rich ground for the exploration of the context in which authentic Christian Leadership is formed.

Worship and Leadership

Many come to leadership in the Church for the right reasons and stay for the wrong ones. Ecclessial Leaders often fall in love with the trappings and accolades of the position: the clerical apparel, titles, applause and positions of honor. The Old Testament prophet Malachi offers a stern indictment to us all: "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands. My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty. " (Malachi 1:10-11, NIV).

Leadership should not be our prime focus - our even our first calling - worship is. Leadership should be seen as a means to worship and revere the Name of God. I do like John Piper's statement on the primacy of worship: "Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever."

Worship should be our primary call and function. Leadership in obedience is simply a means to worship Him.

Source:

Piper, John. Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1993.

Clare of Assisi and Kenotic Leadership

I had the privilege of spending some time in Italy this last month with a group of fellow seekers studying the leadership of Paul, Francis and Clare of Assisi (thus the picture here taken at the Hermitage of the Prisons on Mount Subasio in Assisi). I am the richer for knowing these precious Christians better. With a lot of laughter, prayer and reflection; we were all recaptured by a clearer vision of the possibilities of a leadership modelled after Jesus.

I was deeply moved once again by the spirituality of Clare of Assisi, whilst spending time in Assisi. Clare’s absolute commitment to simplicity, her refusal to accept the markings and privileges of the religious temporal powers of her time and her vocation of service, place her within the domain of kenotic (self-emptying) leader. But different to other Monastic Movements, Clare’s commitment to radical simplicity (poverty in her own words) is not primarily focused on moral development, but rather her desire for mystical union with the Divine that leads to union with others and radical solidarity with the poorest of the poor. Clare illustrates how mystical union with Jesus through the imitation of His poverty leads to service and a purer vision of authentic leadership, as she writes in her first letter to Agnes of Prague (1LAg 13), the daughter of the King of Bohemia:
“Be strengthened in the holy service which you have undertaken out of an ardent desire for the Poor Crucified.”

In her third letter to the same Agnes of Prague, Clare continues on to show how her primary vision is one of mystical union with Jesus through a process of mimesis, which in Clare’s praxis is an identification with the simplicity (poverty) of the Incarnated one (3 LAg 12-14):
“Place your mind in the mirror of eternity;
Place your soul in the splendor of glory;
Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance;
And, through contemplation, transform your entire being
Into the image of the Divine One himself,
So that you, yourself, may also experience what his friends experience
When they taste the hidden sweetness
That God alone has kept from the beginning
For those who love him.”

Prayer and Personal Freedom

"Prayer is the truest guarantee of personal freedom. We are most truly free in the free encounter of our hearts with God in His word and in receiving His Spirit which is the Spirit of truth and freedom. The Truth that makes us free is not merely a matter of information about God but the presence in us of a divine person by love and grace, bringing us into the intimate personal life of God as His Sons [and Daughters] by adoption. This is the basis of all prayer and all prayer should be oriented to this mystery of adoption in which the Spirit in us recognizes the Father. The cry of the Spirit in us, the cry of recognition that we are Sons [and Daughters] in the Son, is the heart of our prayer and the great motive of prayer. Hence recollection is not the exclusion of material things but attentiveness to the Spirit in our inmost heart. The contemplative life should not be regarded as the exclusive prerogative of those who dwell within monastic walls. All can seek and find this intimate awareness and awakening which is a gift of love and a vivifying touch of creative and redemptive power, that power which raised Christ from the dead and which cleanses us from dead works to serve the living God. It should certainly be emphasized today that prayer is a real source of personal freedom in the midst of a world in which we are dominated by massive organizations and rigid institutions which seek only to exploit us for money and power. Far from being the cause of alienation, true religion in spirit is a liberating force that helps us to find ourselves in God."

Thomas Merton. The Hidden Ground of Love. Letters, Volume 1. William H. Shannon. editor. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1985: 159.