Jumping into the Pool- Living in Grace

Remember Cynthia Rigby. She was the energetic theologian from Austin Seminary where Meghan (Hawthorne) Ludwig will be going to school next year. Cynthia spoke at our Wichita International Trinity Conference last year and also at Westover Hills Presbyterian Church(where my son and daughter-in-law are elders) this year. As I have been driving around Little Rock this summer I have been listening to her teaching on grace from a CD of her Little Rock presentation. One image- grace as a pool of water- has really stayed with me. Dr. Rigby suggests that one way to think about grace is as a pool of water that is there, it is refreshing, it is a community pool, it is good, it is free but we are afraid to jump into in. We might get our hair messed up. It might be cold for a moment. We will get wet. WE MIGHT DROWN. (After all the whole symbolism of baptism is drowning to an old way of life and being born into a new life in Christ.) We might put our toe into it. We might encourage our children to wade into the shallow end (with a warning) but for some reason we are reluctant to personally jump into the grace of God just as we might be reluctant to jump into a swimming pool. It's a fascinating image as I explore ways to think about- The love of God, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the communion of the Holy Spirit- the Trinity.

Last Sunday after church I had the analogy come alive for me as we invited our grandkids to come over to the pool to swim. We had bought lots of pool toys to entertain the kids. Ashton, our oldest grandson enjoyed diving for the pool toys as they were designed and playing catch with the soft football. He played well within the rules we had set up with the toys we had brought for our little group. He reminded me of me. Ethan on the other hand approached the pool as an adventure in grace. He would jump in wherever he was, knowing that one of us would grab hold of him and bring him out of the water. When he was underwater, he was in no hurry to get up. He seemed to like being immersed. The toys we had brought were fine but he was not constained by our toys and before I knew it, he had made friends with another young adult in the pool and she offered him her floating device. Before the afternoon was over he knew just about everyone in the pool, he hadn't drowned (not for lack of trying) and we all had a great time. He approached the pool as grace, full of confidence that he was safe, fully engaged in the community, wanting to stay forever and anxious to come back soon and often. I think this was Cynthia Rigby's notion of grace as a swimming pool. We were more comfortable playing with the toys we brought, with the group we were familiar with and yet we were drawn by the youngest in our group and his unbridled enthusiasm, to encounter the whole pool, the whole community and to share everything we had with each other. Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me and hinder them not; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.' I am amazed how much Ashton and Ethan teach me about myself and God's kingdom.

Translating the Trinity to the Church and to Leadership

As I start week 5 of the sabbatical. I'm thankful for Joan's theological partnership in person and your theological partnership via e-mail. (Usually it's the other way around.) Joan recommended my newest devotional guide and I would recommend it to anyone who is a leader in the church: "Leading a Life with God: The Practice of Spiritual Leadership." In the first devotion Rev. Daniel Wolfpert (Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Crookston, Minnesota) urges us as leaders in the church to take time to listen to God. By being silent he says we free ourselves of our need to control everything and open ourselves to actually listen to God instead of ourselves. He says that, in our silence the first person we encounter is surprisingly "our fallen selves". In other words we have to face up to our temptations in the wilderness before we can be about the business of God. He goes further to say that the business of God is a life of prayer: "Prayer is not just another program to be undertaken by a strange few but it is the program, the one activity that undergirds all activities." (p. 21) What a great insight and it is totally consistent with the other book we have been studying together in Sunday School classes in the church "Unbinding the Church".

My academic reading this week is equally challenging and particularly helpful in my project "Trinitarian Leadership." Miroslav Volf, a theologian who wrote "After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity" explored how we can find any correspondence between the Trinity and the Church since God is God and we are not. This is crucial for a project that is trying to develop a way of Christian leadership that is modeled after the triune life of God. Miroslav starts with the statement that "In a strict sense, there can be no correspondences to the interiority of the divine persons on the human level." (p. 210) He is talking about the fact that the persons of the Trinity mutually permeate each other- that each person of the Trinity is at the same time subject and object (Jesus says "I am in the Father and the Father is in me" (John 10:38). Of course we as human being can never be that close in any human relationship, even marriage. And yet Miroslav says because the Holy Spirit dwells in us (remember "We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord") then by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we can be made by God into a "communion corresponding to the Trinity; a communion in which personhood and sociality are equiprimal." (p.13) In other words we can never know each other as intimately and completely as the Father knows the Son and the Son knows the Holy Spirit. And yet in the church, as we are mutually known by God, we begin to know each other. We begin to understand each other "even as we have been understood" (1 Cor. 13) It is fascinating when my academic reading and devotional readings come together (as they often do) and this is one of those places where theologian Miroslav Volf and pastor Daniel Wolpert are essentially saying the same thing- our unity and community does not come from ourselves but rather from the Christ by the Holy Spirit. Both writers challenge us as Christian leaders to invest time becoming a community together in Christ before we dare to lead anyone in a shared Christian journey. (Food for thought; Manna in the wilderness: bread and fish to feed the five thousand!) Let me know what you think....

Starting to Write- Trinitarian Leadership

As I start writing on Trinitarian Leadership, I want to share some of the preliminary, very rough drafts to get feedback. Let me know what you think.

Trinitarian Leadership
Introduction

The Trinity as a model for Leadership in the Church: An Ancient Model for a postmodern world”

This project grew out of 23 years of ministry from 1986 to 2009 as the church was moving from understanding itself in mechanical, linear, causal language to a more organic, systemic, integrated understanding of the church. Peter Steinke (Healthy Congregations) and William Easum (Sacred Cows make Gourmet Burgers) have described this evolved understanding of the church and have suggested that old ways of understanding the church and leading the church no longer work. They have rediscovered the writings of the Apostle Paul describing the church using body language, with a diversity of parts and a singular purpose. A number of writers such as Leonard Sweet (Soul Tsunamai), Brian McClaren (A New Kind of Christian) have described the modern church as post modern. Other writers such as Darrel Guder (Missional Church) and Alan Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk (The Missional Leader) have called this the Missional Church. Either way, the old ways of leading the church of the 50’s and 60’s are no longer effective. And yet a quick look at popular literature on church leadership reveals that the old models are still alive and well and being marketed with Biblical grounding. Lead Like Jesus (Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges), Jesus as CEO, The Book on Leadership (John MacArthur) each present models of leadership as a charismatic individual in the image of Jesus or the Apostle Paul. Even Leonard Sweet’s book, Summoned to Lead presents the polar cap explorer, Shackelford, as a model for leadership.

For the past four years I have taught a master’s level class at Friends University on leadership and discipleship and have been disappointed with the models of church leadership are available in the literature. The Purpose Driven Church (Rick Warren) and The Willow Creek Model (Bill Hybels) are the most popular models that are available. However at the same time as the mainstream church has been looking for new leadership models, an alternative expression of church has emerged under the broad and reluctantly acknowledged umbrella of the “emerging church”. Dan Kimball (The Emerging Church) and Shane Claiborne (Irresistible Revolution) are just two spokespeople of a movement that claims not to be a movement and not to speak with one voice. And yet others have called this movement within the Christian faith, the next Reformation. Tim Keel (Intuitive Leadership: Embracing a Paradigm of Narrative, Metaphor & Chaos), Pastor of Jacob’s Well, cautions us from taking the “emerging church” as a new model for being and leading the church. Rather he challenges us:

“God is alive and at work in you, your community, and your context. Our world is filled with possibility because of who God is and what he is doing in creation. God longs for our participation with him, and at the same time God is on the move. Jesus said ‘Follow me’ and he meant it. He is going somewhere, and if we are to keep pace, we must follow. This means we must move. I can’t give you any answers. All I can do is propose some postures- ways of positioning ourselves that allow us a greater chance of catching God at work among us” (Keel, Intuitive Leadership, 2007. Pg. 223)

This movement that claims no single denomination anchor has an overtly Trinitarian and Incarnational theological focus. In the compilation of articles, An Emergent Manifesto of Hope (edited by Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones) an intentionally diverse group of leaders within the emergent umbrella have explored the theological landscape, mining for ways in which to explain, explore and excite this movement of God that is already underway. Tim Keel’s article, Leading from the Margins, expresses the challenge of leadership in such an emerging church environment:

“Leaders today must be masters of creativity and intuition. Increasingly, and perhaps more important they must be able to create, nurture and sustain environments where those capacities can be birthed, fed and empowered among the people of God.” (Pagitt and Jones, 2007, pg. 231)

This language for the challenge of Christian leaders today is Trinitarian language that is most completely expressed in the way the triune God deals with humanity: creates, nurtures, sustains, births, feeds and empowers.
When we look to models of leadership to describe how we would lead this living, breathing, changing church of the 21st century we need only look to the triune God who has led us throughout all of time with the assurance of God the Father, the compassion of God the Son and the vitality of God the Holy Spirit. The ancient expression of God as Trinity provides leaders of the church today with a model of leadership that celebrates the distinctiveness we each bring to ministry while challenging us to speak with one voice and act with a unity that builds up each person of the leadership team even as we walk with and build up the church. This is Trinitarian leadership.

Back to the Books

I am getting back into the routine of reading, reflecting and writing after a little break for graduations, birthdays and anniversaries. I was reflecting on the various books I have read this summer and thought that you might be interested in checking out a few. Some of the very accessible, practical books that have touched me so far are: "Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership" (2008) by Ruth Haley Burton; "Zenobia- The Curious Book of Business: A Tale of Triumph Over Yes-Men, Cynics, Hedgers and Other Corporate Killjoys" (2008) A Parable written by the Drexel graduation speaker, Matthew Emmens about creativity and innovation in business; "Trinity: A New Living Spirituality" by Joseph Girzone and "When Better Isn't Enough" a book about shared staff goals and evaluation in the church by Jill Hudson.
Some academic books that are shapng my study are: "The Trinity and the Kingdom" (1993) by Jurgen Moltmann; "God's Life in Trinity" (2006) a complilation of articles editted by Miroslav Volf and Michael Welker; "Persons in Communion: Trinitarian Description and Human Participation" by Alan Torrance; "After Our Likeness: The Church in the Image of the Trinity" by Miroslav Volf; "The Tripersonal God" (1999) by Gerald O'Collins; and "God for Us: The Trinity and Christian Life" (1973) by Catherine Mowry LaCugna.
And some fun reading for the summer: "Three Cups of Tea" (2006) a story of a mountain climber/nurse who ends up building school in Pakistan by Craig Mortenson and David Relin; "A Post-American World" (2009) a look at the changing economic and social dynamics of the world by Fareed Zakaria; "The Choice" (2007) by Nicholas Sparks; and "Hot, Flat and Crowded" Thomas Friedman's most recent book about the economic, environmental, cultural and technical changes in the world. (I think "The World Is Flat" was better) We listened to Jimmy Carters Bible study of the Gospel of Mark on our way out to Philly and appreciated his grappling with the Gospel of Mark as the U.S. was headed into the Iraq War.
I would be interested in you comments on any of these books. It has been amazing to me how they all speak to a common theme of how we can be community in light of the rich differences and diversity among us. What we believe about God and how we live are integrally connected. What we do is more a function of who we are than what we say. What do you think?

Anniversary

On June 23rd we celebrated our 25th anniversary by driving back to Little Rock. We had lunch at an Irish Pub to celebrate our meeting in England, over 40 years ago. We had dinner with Stuart's family to celebrate with them before the new grandbaby arrives. It was a joyous day and we got to spend it together. That was the best part. Of course we had a chance to celebrate with our whole family and church family in April for our Renewal of Vows. We still remember that occassion fondly and thank all the church folks for sharing that time with us.
We were sad to learn that one of our church family, Hal Porter, died this past week. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bobbie and the Porter family during this very difficult time. I thank God for the opportunity to get to know Hal and for the passion and faith he brought to Covenant. I was reading Jurgen Moltman's "The Trinity and the Kingdom" and I was struck by Moltman's way of articulating the God who loves us and who suffers with us. "If a person once feels the infinite passion of God's love which finds expression here, then he understands the mystery of the triune God. God suffers with us- God suffers from us- God suffers for us: it is the experience of God that reverals the triune God." I know that the triune God is with Bobbie and her family right how and that God is welcoming Hal into the kingdom right now. Blessings in Christ.

Long Journey Home

Our journey back was long but it was a time to continue learning. We went past the Arch in St. Louis even as we were listening to Craig Mortenson's book, "Three Cups of Tea". It is a must read for anyone interested in cross cultural dialogue. The protagonist, Craig Mortenson is a mountain climber/nurse who falls in love with the Pakistani people who nurse him back to health after a mishap climbing K2 Mountain. He decides to build a school for the people who helped him and the one school project grows into many. It is a great book about a person with a dream learning to adjust and adapt his dream to the culture and people and needs around him and discovering that as he does, that the dream is bigger and more wonderful than he could have imagined. It sounds a lot like ministry to me! He also learns to interact with another culture and to slow down and appreciate the people more than the task or project. Sounds like a good lesson for me as well. As we are listening to this book on tape, I continued reading Miroslav Volf's compilation of articles, "God's Life in Trinity". The article I read by Ronald Thiemann, "Beyond Exclusivism and Absolutism" talked about how we can be firmly rooted in the Christ centered, trinitarian understanding of the Christian faith and still not enter into the kind of religious paranoia and exclusivism that seems to start wars and fuel fear. He challenges us to read the gospels with eye open to the "other" (ie. the Canaanite woman, Samaritan worman, Roman centurion, the Magi, Gerasene demoniac) who are outside the tradition and still seem to have an understanding of who this Jesus is. He challenges us not only, not to fear other traditions but also to learn from other traditions. I was reminded of the story of the Canaanite women who asked Jesus for the bread crumbs that fell under the table and how Jesus, even Jesus, graciously accepted her contribution to his teaching. If Jesus can learn and grow from another, then I am sure that I should be able to. It's fascianting, in "Three Cups of Tea", Mortenson (a child of missionaries) is the "Infidel" and yet several of the Muslims he encounters learn from him even as he learns from them. We can all learn from each other if we can get past the fear and arrogance that get in the way.

Last Day in Philly/ Remembering the Graduation

So the graduations are over for Josh and his cousin Miles. The party and the games are also done. Today we spent loading furniture from Joan's Mom's house to take back to Kansas. One piece is an end table that Joan's dad made and will remind us of him on Father's Day. Another is a four post bed that Joan's parents got in England that reminds us of our time in England. And lastly, I got a book at the Drexel bookstore that was written by the graduation speaker Matthew Emmens, "Zenobia-The Curious Book of Business: A Tale of Triumph Over Yes-Men, Cynics, Hedgers, and Other Corporate Killjoys". As you an tell from the title, it is not serious book. It is a parable about business. It is a challenge to be creative, imaginative and daring in business. It is a cautionary tale about what happens when a business becomes too serious, stuck in its ways and fearful of failure. It is a fascinating book and only 100 pages long. Yet it sets out a profound truth in a playful way. I am hopeful that when I finally get around to writing that my book might be as interesting and accessible.

Day at the Shore after Josh's Graduation

We went down the Ocean City on Monday after graduation to remember the traditions of our "childhood" and to introduce Brooke to the Atlantic Ocean. We ate at the Chatterbox, built sand castles, romped in the waves, played football, walked the board walk, bought souvenirs, and played Skee Ball and X-Men video games, ate funnel cake and seafood. We packed a weekend worth of activities into 7 hours and survived without sunburn or sports injury. A good time was had by all.
On the reading front, I did get a new book from Joshua for Father's Day, "A Post American World" by Fareed Zakaria. It describes the world moving from an American driven economy to a world economy where the U.S. is just one of many econmic and technolgy and military powers in play. It is a positive book that takes a serious look at the economic and military struggles of the current day and the shift in economic power without despair or disillusion. It's a good, thought provoking book.

Graduation

We celebrated Josh's graduation on June 13th in the middle of a rainstorm. It was a good day. Six of us were able to see the graduation live and the rest of the family was able to see it on a video screen from Drexel. We enjoyed meeting Josh's friends from the Media, Art and Design Program. We celebrated Josh's graduation from college and his cousin, Miles' graduation from high school on the following Sunday with a party. The weather was great, food was terrific and we played a whole lot of badminton. Nephew Doug and I were the badminton champs! We went to the shore to Ocean City the next day and relived some of our growing up traditions with Adam and Josh and their grandmother- skee ball, board walk, funnel cake, sand castle building, but that's another blog.
My niece Margaret taught me how to add pictures to my blog sight so it should be more fun and more interesting.

Discerning together in the City of Brotherly Love

We finally made it to Philly! We had a great trip through Washington D.C. and visited an old buddy from the energy consulting days who curiously is also a pastor now. She is pastor of the United Methodist Church right over a gas station in Rosslyn, Virginia about two blocks from where I worked when I was an energy consultant. I guess we both decided that we could make a bigger and better impact in the world working for God's kingdom rather that for either one of the administrations in Washington D.C. We got into Philly and went to the book store where Josh works and bought two audio books from him: Friedman's, "Hot, Flat and Overcrowded" and "Three Cups of Tea" by Mortensen and Relin. We will have plenty to listen to on the trip back.

While I've been here I have reconnected with a great book "Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership" by Ruth Haley Barton. This morning I read her chapter on discernment entitled "Finding God's Will Together". It is an apporpriate book since we are gathering the family from all parts of the U.S. to celebrate together but no one person has the gathering figured out. We are celebrating both Josh and nephew Miles' graduations from College and High School, respectively. We are discerning as we go along what we want to do together. No one voice dominates. Nobody gets to dictate. We discover and discern togeher what to do in this time of celebration. Our goal is to build up the whole community as we celebrate Josh and Miles.
It is a good model for the church. Barton in her book on spiritual leadership makes the point that discernment is "selecting an option that seems consistent with what God is doing among you". She makes the point that we have to let our own desires die to be open to what God want's and what is best for the whole community. I am hopeful that we can do some of this communal discernemnt with our church and with our Presbytery. Hope you are having a good June. Blessings in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

From Isolation to Leadership Community

I am writing this blog as Joan drives along Highway 64 to Charlottesville, Virginia on route to Washington D.C. and ultimately Phladelphia for Josh's graduation. I am writing partially because I am so amazed that I can be in a car and on the internet at the same time but also because I discovered in my reading this morning an incredible gem written by Ruth Haley Barton, "Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership". In chapter 11 she writes "From Isolation to Leadership Community". She uses the model of Moses to describe how leaders who are so busy trying to mold and shape and create community often feel isolated from the very communities that they are trying to create for others. This is an idea I am exploring in my work on "Trinitarian Leadership". As leaders in the church it is not enough to create comunity but we must be part of a leadership community. And this community is not simply a task community but a spiritual community formed around Jesus Christ. Barton shares a Bonhoeffer quote that I will also share with you from Life Together: "Christian community is founded solely on Jesus Christ, and in fact, it already exists in Christ. It is not an ideal we must realize, it is rather a reality created by God in Christ; in which we may participate. It is a spiritual and not a psychic reality in that it is created by the Holy Spirit." WOW! I will want to include that in my discussion on "Trinitarian leadership" and explore ways in which leadership teams can become leadership communities around Christ, created by God in the power of the Holy Spirit. Barton (Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership) even gives some good advice about how to maintain the distinction of human verses God when try to model our leadership after the TRINITY. She urges us to remember our limitations. Only God is limitless. We are limited, created beings. However, within that limitedness we can participate in a community that is none other that the Triune Community of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Well we are approaching the nation's capital, Washington D. C. Talk about Trinitarian leadership- Executive branch, Legislative Branch, and Judicial Branch. Wouldn't it be great if they could be a leadership community that demonstrated the attributes that Barton writes about: community, spiritual transformation, discernment, truth telling, celebration, kindness, acknowledging brokeness, listening to our fears, transforming conflict. But that's really the role of church leadership isn't it? Talk to you soon.

Second week of sabbatical- Encountering God

Sunday was different this week. Instead of preparing for worship and preaching, I was getting up at 5:45 am with my grandkids to watch their father, my son run a Triathalon. We had a great time but I must admit thinking that I was sad to miss church, especially on Trinity Sunday, since I am researching and writing on the Trinity in my sabbatical. Lucky for me, Joan had an ordination service to attend at 3 pm so I got a chance to worship in the afternoon. I heard a great sermon on Proverbs 31:1-9 entitled "Be a voice for those who have no voice". It was a good ordination sermon and a good sermon for me to hear as I thought about the outreach and advocacy ministry we do at Covenant. It was also a good sermon to remind me of the advocacy of Jesus for us in our lives even as he calls us to advocate for each other. I must admit my mind shifted to "Trinitarian Leadership" as I thought about the role of Christian leaders- first of all encountering the God who stands as advocate for us and then becoming an advocate for each other. I read Joseph Girzone's book "Trinity" as was impressed by a similar line of thought that he offered in the we must encounter the Triune God, be in community with God and each other, before we can presume to lead anyone else into community with God.
On a lighter side, I have a movie recommendation, "The Soloist", for anyone who is interested in "abiding witness". "The Soloist" is the story of a newspaper reporter who befriends a homeless virtuoso in an effort to write an article and raise awareness of the homeless situation in Los Angeles. he htinks he is doing the homeless person a favor and that he might be able to "fix" him. In the end (spoiler alert***don't read any further if you don't want the ending spoiled) it is the reporter who is changed and grows as a result of his encounter with the homeless man. He discovers that all people, including and especially the homeless, are children of God. He discovers that grace is messy and sometimes ambiguous.

We Are the World but we still need God

Yesterday's reading in "God's Life in Trinity" was an article on the Triune God in creation by David Kelsey: "The plot of Christian canonical stories of God's relating to reconcile estranged humankind is moved by a brokeness only God can heal and a problem only God can solve." Kelsey is saying that we can do as much as we can but in the end we are still broken. We need the reconciling presence of the Triune God in Jesus Christ to effect any real difference. This is not a case for despair but hope.
After I finished my reading and reflection for the day, I went to the grand opening of Heifer International Education Center and was excited by the efforts of Heiffer International to provide livestock for hungry people all over the world and for their effort right in Little Rock to build an office building that was energy efficient and environmentally friendly. I was also excited to see that the grand opening was begun with prayer by a group of international, interfaith youth from four different traditions. It was good to see that even a do-gooder organization like Heiffer International understood this dependance on God.
Later in the afternoon I started reading a book by Catherine Lowry LaCugna, "God for Us". She makes the point in her introduction that there is a unity in the person and the work of the Triune God. God's activity in the world is evidence of and consistent with God's loving, communal nature. The church bears witness to this Triune God who is for us.
I was inspired by my reading and reflection that I went back to the Heiffer Opening on Saturday and was impressed with the joy of the gathering as children from different cultures gathered and sang and danced together. On a day when I was celebrating my middle son, Adam's birthday, it was good to see just a glimpse of the Garden of Eden and the community of the Triune God alive and well.

Friends in Theological Conversation

One of the foundational books for me in my sabbatical time has been "God's Life in Trinity" editted by Miroslav Volf & Michael Welker. Today I read an article from the book entitled, "Speak, 'Friend' and Enter" by Nancy Bedford in which she lifted up the value of conversation among friends as a crucial part of our theological enterprise: "I propose to probe the matter of conversation in friendship as an intergral part of a theological method born out of faith in the triune God." (page 34)
I realized as I was reading this that two of my many theological conversation partners were meeting today in Wichita without me- the Men's prayer breakfast (Studying Genesis) and the John Calvin Study group (reading the Institutes together). When I had lunch today with my lifetime theological conversation partner, Joan, she could tell by my endless talking that I was missing my other theological partners. Nancy Bedford noted in her article that when we engage in theological conversation with each other out of a shared friendship in Christ, that we are able to probe more deeply and broadly than we might explore alone. We don't always agree but in the diversity and discussion we discover a deeper and more abiding truth than if we had simply read or wondered by ourselves.
I have many theological partners in the writings of Miroslav Volf, Shirley Guthrie, Timothy Keel, Ray Anderson, Nancy Bedford, Alan Torrance, Shane Claiborne and others during my sabbatical but I am missing my normal theological conversation partners.
I am trying to become more web conversant during the time away so feel free to write me on facebook or the blog. Your friend in Christ, Rob

First Days of Sabbatical

Where to start a Sabbatical on Trinitarian Leadership?
In the vein of the author who claimed he learned everything about life in Kindergarten, I started my sabbatical time seeing the graduation of my grandson from Kindergarten. It was exciting to hear the Principal exclaim that this group would be the class of 2021. And it was great to connect with family.
In addition to kindergarteners, I have also been reading Miroslav Volf's book "God's Life in Trinity", Shirley Guthrie's "Always Being Reformed" and Alan Torrance's "Persons in Communion". I have even started to put some ideas into the computer. Some key ideas about leadership that are emerging are integrity, community, and unity.
Also, check out the new Presbyterian leadership web resource- The Presbyterian Leader.com.
In the continuing spirit of family and Trinity, I will be going to see my son run a Triathalon on Sunday.