New York- Community to the Max

The last several days of sabbatical were spent in Manhattan, Philadelphia and Brooklyn helping Josh move. It was a great time to be with Josh, see New York City and to learn about community to the max. We started with a visit to my niece, Sarah. We experienced the wonderful ethnically diverse community of Astoria, Queens. Here were are eating in a Greek restaurant. Luckily I love Greek food. On Friday, while Josh was working, I spent the day in Manhattan. I saw the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden, Times Square, the United Nations Building and Broadway. But the most amazing thing I saw was the throng of people. Even on a day when it was raining, there were people everywhere, from every nation, speaking every langauge, gawking at the tall building and Times Square just like I was. Times Square was like being inside a video game. Every building had a sign with moveable images. After lunch I just sat in the middle of Times Square and soaked in the atmosphere. As busy as the city was, Josh and I discovered that being a calm presence in the midst of the chaos was our best strategy for finding and sharing a sense of peace. When we were renting a u-haul, negociating an apartment lease, trying to wind our way through the Lincoln Tunnel, we found that responding with patience and calm was the best strategy. It's a good strategy in the busyness of Manhattan, New York and it is a good strategy for Wichita. Kansas, As I was driving back to Wichita at the end of the sabbatical, I was listening to Ekhart Tolle's book "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose". In it he talks about being a non-anxious presence in response to life situations. He talked about living in the present as opposed to always worrying about the future as a way to become spiritually alert and alive. It was a good reminder as I headed back to work after my sabbatical not to get caught up worrying about all the things I have to do, but instead to focus on the present, enjoy getting back in touch with people and to listen to the still small voice of God. As I pulled into my driveway, I was listening to Michael Card's song "Know You in the Now". I was a good way to end a wonderful sabbatical,

A Story of Faith in Astoria

I got into New York, Laguardia Airport to see the welcoming face of Joshua greet me. When all is said and done, I am a midwestern boy and very intimidated by the big city. New York is like a foreign country to me so I was glad to have my guide, Joshua to show me the way and to have my nieces apartment in Astoria, Queens to stay at while we were getting Josh moved into his apartment in Brooklyn. They were both gracious hosts.As they both headed off to work, Sarah wondered what Uncle Rob would do. Josh assured her that I would find something. She told me where the Starbucks was, so after they left I headed out on my own to explore Astoria. Along the way I saw the Astoria Presbyterian Church which was obviously abandon. I am always saddened when I see an abandon church in the heart of the city because it seems like such a rich mission field. I took a picture and was heartened to see that they had moved to a new location on Broadway about ten blocks away. I was intrigued so I abandoned the Starbucks quest and set off in search of the hopefully reborn Presbyterian Church at a new location. I found the church at 2335 Broadway in what used to be an old doctors office. The door was unlocked. The sanctuary was right off the lobby. I noticed the PCUSA blue hymnal so I was hopeful that it was a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation. As I approached the last office on the left, I heard the voice of the pastor, Dr. Don Olinger who waved me in.
After I introduced myself as a fellow Presbyerian pastor, he started to share the story of Astoria Presbyterian's journey from being an old established Presbyerian Church with too much building to heat and care for to seeing itself as a mission outpost in a growing and changing part of Queens, Astoria. There is an article on the PCUSA website, http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2009/09363.htm that tells the story better than I can. Don is legally blind and yet he and his congregation have an incredible vision for ministry in Astoria. The location they are currently at is temporary. The land that the old church is on is going to be developed into affordable housing for senior citizens and the church will inhabit a part of that building as worship space and offices. In forty years the land will revert back to the church's ownership. The ministry is being transformed as the congregation is attentive to the need for ministry in the area and the gifts they have to offer. They are truly living our Buechners definition of calling: "When the worlds great need and your great desire meet." Their worship is blended and their congregation includes folks from at least six different national origins. Their current worship space is adaptable and yet the order of worship was definitely Presbyterian and Reformed. The art on each side of the front of the sanctuary depicts the season of the church year (on the left) and the season of Christ's life (on the right). They share their current worship space with a Thai congregation. They are doing some inovative things with their Sunday School using computers and music.
So you never know where God might take you when you go for a walk in Astoria. You might meet a brother in faith that you didn't yet know. You might be moved from sadness to inspiration as you hear what the Holy Spirit is doing in this little church in Astoria. You might have an opportunity to pray for a sister congregation that is stepping out in faith. You might discover a story of faith in Astoria.

Baptized in the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit

On Sunday I had the privilege of witnessing my grandson, Evans' baptism into a community in which he is loved and cared for and nurtured in faith. It was wonderful on my sabbatical where I have studied and reflected and written on the Trinity to hear those words "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" and to know that the love that is lived out in the Trinity is indeed reflected in the faith community where my son and daughter-in-law worship and live out their faith.
I saw that love lived out in the tearful sharing of the pastor as she spoke the words of baptism. I saw that unconditional love reflected as the pastor put her hand in the water of the baptismal font to pronounce a blessing on the water and Ethan followed suit and it was ok. I saw the love lived out as people came up to Megan and Stuart and the whole family and shared how much they enjoyed and loved the family.
Of course it was a bitter sweet moment for the congregation because even as they were baptizing and celebrating Evan's welcome into the body of Christ, they were also aware that Stuart and Megan had received orders to be transfered to Germany in the fall. So as the congregation was welcoming the newest member of Christ's family, they were also starting to say goodbye to this family who had grown up in their midst. The pastor and educator (in the children's message) both helped us realize that even as this local congregation was speaking vows to nurture and raise this child in a Christian community, that they were in fact speaking and vowing on behalf of the whole Christian community, even as far away as Germany.
As I have been studying and reflecting on the Trinity this summer, I have been struck by the love that is within the Trinity- love of the Father for the Son and the Son for the Father through the Holy Spirit. Dan Migliore, who spoke at Covenant last fall, made the same point when he said, "We are called to reflect God's life in communion, called to become a real if always fragmentary and incomplete witness to and participant in the life of the Triune God, who is Love". I think I witnessed that fragmentary and incomplete, yet wonderful reflection of the God's triune love last Sunday.

Koinonia at Community Presbyterian Church

"I have to admit before God and everyone that I am pridefully Presbyterian." I heard Marge Carpenter use those words once and I must echo the sentiment in my own life. I love ecumenical dialogue and even interfaith dialogue. I love being in conversation with other denominations and other faiths and I believe that we can indeed learn from each other. I believe that it is only when we get all the Christian denominations together that we are fully representative of the whole body of Christ alive and at work in the work. And yet I do all this from the perspective of a Presbyterian pastor who finds the Presbyterian Church USA, Reformed Theology and Worship as the place that my soul is at rest and in communion with the triune God. So after a week living and growing with the Catholic community at Little Portion Monastery and a weekend retreat with Michael Card and the Evangelical Community at the Retreat Center, I called my friends Dennis and Phyllis Winzenried to see if I could come and worship with them last Sunday. When I pulled up to their house at Forsythe and saw this big PCUSA symbol at their front door, I knew that I was home.
The view fron Dennis and Phyllis's porch is a wonderful reminder each morning and evening of the wonder of God's creation. It is beautiful. It was my first time to be in the Branson area and I now know what everyone is talking about with the natural beauty of the wooded hills and vast lakes. And the warm welcome I receieved was the embodiment of Presbyterian hospitality at its best. It is nice to be part of an extended denominational family so that where ever we go we have family in the area. This coming Sunday, as my grandson Evan is baptised, we will be welcoming extended family to Little Rock, and yet Stuart and Megan and their family already have some extended family here in the community of their church, Westover Hills Presbyterian. It is good to be part of an extended faith family.
Sunday morning I went to Community Presbyterian Church in Forsythe with Dennis. Dennis has pastored there for 7 years and the congregation and pastor are obviously confortable with each other. I had the opportunity to sit in on a video theology study called "Questions of Faith". The topic for the week was "What's Being Good Good For?" In it we heard from writers and religious leaders who challenged us to think deeply about the question of goodness. If we believe in God's grace revealed in Jesus Christ and don't think that we can earn our salvation by good work, then what's the use of being good? If we acknowledge that sin is pervasive and "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are therefore justified by God's grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ"(Romans 3:23,24), where does goodness come in? If even Jesus says "Why do you call me good, no one is good but the Father" then what hope do we have? And yet through the discussion, we discovered that we are called by Jesus to "be perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect". And we are challenged by the prophet Micah "He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8) Perhaps, just perhaps, the opportunity to do good is not our way to be rewarded but in fact is a part of our reward. I had heard the week before from the pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Harrison, Chip Andrus, that "eternal life starts NOW." And I believe in my own heart and my own life that to walk with the triune God right here and right now in the person of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit is the greatest comfort and joy we can have in life and in death. It is good!
Of course my favorite part of the santuary at Community Presbyterian Church was the picture of the "laughing Jesus" that was prominently displayed on the communion table. I wondered if the congregation would reflect that joy in their worship and their community. It was indeed a joy to listen to the offering of prayer concerns at Community Presbyterian. There was a sense that you were sitting in around an extended family dinner table catching up with the events of the week. There was laughter, concern, care and an overwhelming sense of joy as this community engaged with God and with each other in worship. It was like being home at Covenant Presbyterian Church. As I walked out of worship, I truly felt like I had been in the midst of a community of faith that took seriously (but not somberly) the words of the Shorter Catechism "What is the chief end of humanity?...to glorify God and enjoy God forever." Amen

Hesed- A Portrait of God

While I was tending the garden at Little Portions Monastery, I heard a voice from above. I expected that the voice might say, "Robert...Robert" but instead the voice said "What was your name again?" No, it wasn't God but John Michael Talbot showing Christian singer/songwriter Michael Card around the construction of the new monastery. Once John Michael had been prompted to recall my name, he told me I should go to the retreat that Michael Card was leading at the Little Portion Retreat Center on the other side of the mountain. Michael Card and John Michael Talbot had met several years ago and recorded an album "Brother to Brother". Since that time, Michael Card has been doing retreats at the Little Portion Retreat center. I heard that there was good food. Friday was fast day at the Monastery. And I had heard a voice from above. So I went to the retreat.
The topic was "Hesed- A Portrait of God" and it was a combination of Michael Cards singing and teaching. I was hooked on the first night and stayed at the retreat till Saturday afternoon. Michael Card's premise is the Hebrew word that is used to describe God throughout the Old Testament, 'Hesed', testifies to the same gracious God revealed in Jesus Christ in the New Testament. 'Hesed' literally means "Steadfast love". It is that unmerited, undeserved, un-earnable love that we call grace. It is "hesed" that allows God to continue to be in relationship with us through the covenant even when we continually break the covenant. It is "hesed" that allows Jacob to return and be reconciled with his brother Esau. It is 'hesed' that the psalmist is speaking of when he says "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love (hesed), according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgression." (Psalm 51:1) Michael Card defined 'hesed' as "when the person from whom I have the right to expect nothing gives me everything.
Michael Card then took the idea of 'hesed' in the Old Testament and traced it through to the New Testament in the Gospel of Luke. The Greek word 'eleos' which is most often translated as 'mercy' is the most frequent translation for the Hebrew word 'hesed'. 'Charis' which means 'grace' is also a Greek rendering of the Hebrew word 'hesed'. So the stories about the Good Samaritan and the Loving Father/Prodigal Son are really stories of God's 'hesed', undeserved yet steadfast love. Michael Card then argued that it is not only a word that describes God's action with regard to us but also describes the very person of God.
It got me thinking that if 'hesed' describes the very person of God as Father and Son, then it must also be an accurate way to describe God the Holy Spirit. To the Corinthins, Paul writes, "Now there are a variety of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are a variety of services, but the same Lord; and there are a variety of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." (1 Cor. 12:4-7) Indeed the triune God who shows steadfast love (hesed) to us in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, is in God's very person the embodiment of that love.

Remembering My Father-in Law: A Real Renaissance Man

This is the eightieth birthday of my father-in-law. Jack Sharp who died several years ago but not before making an indelible mark on my life and the lives of my sons (his grandsons). I remember Jack as a brother in the faith journey that we are all on. He and I were both interested in the Men's Movement in the eighties and early nineties as men searched for a new way to understand and celebrate masculinity. As the father of three sons (and now three grandsons) I am always exploring ways to discover how to live fully and faithfully as a man and how to help my sons in their journey as well. How does one encourage young men to not only embrace sports but also intellectual pursuits, music, spiritual fulfillment, social outreach, relational integrity, personal health and emotional wellbeing?
Jack and I attended several men's conferences together and read everything we could from Jungian books like Robert Bly's "Iron John" and Sam Keene's "Fire in the Belly" to the more Christian focused books, Patrick Arnold's "Wildmen, Warriors and Kings" and Moore and Gillette's "King, Warrior, Magician and Lover". These books challenged us to see and claim the depth and breadth of what it is be fully a man in this world and to embrace the physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual dimensions of manhood. With Jack, I have tried then to live out this model for and with my sons and grandsons. I would say that Jack as a Husband to Almira, Father, Grandfather, Air Force Colonel, Counselor, Athlete, Recorder player, Writer and Faithful Seeker was truly a Renaissance Man. My hope is that my sons, grandsons and I can walk in these footsteps as we remember Jack. As we were growing up (yes, dad's actually grow up with their children) we enjoyed Knights and Kings and Jesters and Scribes. We even developed a men's club where we would dream and plan trips. But my real hope was that these games would allow us to embrace the many dimensions of being a man in the world and not just the singular dimension portrayed in the media. As our sons grew to be men we (so far) have a medieval family with one son a warrior (Air Force), one a churchman (Youth Minister) and one a business person (music industry). But within each one there is a wonderful spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual depth and diversity that they share with their grandfather.
Finally, I want to thank Jack for blessing my marriage to his daughter, Joan, twenty-five years ago. She has been and is my soul mate and she encourages me everyday to be the man God created and called me to be. I see so much of my father-in-law in his Renaissance daughter Joan. During my sabbatical with Joan this summer, I have tried to nurture the physical (golf, tennis and hiking), emotional (spending time with family at the graduation of Josh and Miles and the birth of Evan), intellectual (reading, writing and learning at the pastor's school) and spiritual side (devotions and worship and retreats). Joan has been both partner and coach through this time. I miss Jack on the eightieth anniversary of his birth but I am thankful for the journeys we took together and the legacy we share in Stuart, Adam, Joshua, Ashton, Ethan and Evan.

Presbymergent

The Emerging Church is a part of the ecclesial landscape now and if you believe Phyllis Tickle, it is part of a major movement within the culture as well. Dan Kimball is one of the faces of the emerging church. In "The Emerging Church" he wrote "worship is not just singing"; "guard the content of what we sing"; "times of silence are a way for people to worship"; "communion is beautifully designed for experiential participation"; "reciting creeds is a valuable way to involve people". If you are thinking that the emerging church is simply embracing the things that the traditional church is already doing you are partially right. Even Kimball raises the issue, "The new cutting edge or simply back to basics". It depends where you are in the ecclesial landscape. Compared to the contemporary worship/seeker sensitive churches which previously stripped their sanctuaries of religious symbols and traditional language to be more accessible to unchurched people, it is a return to basics. Kimball calls this "vintage Christianity". If you are tuning in from a more traditional venue, it is still not business as usual. The emerging churches are experiential, community focussed, mission driven, integration of action and beliefs. They are not business as usual but they are integrating the ancient and the modern in a unique way.
I had a chance to experience emerging worship in the Presbyterian tradition last Sunday (August 9) at First Presbyterian Church in Harrison, Arkansas. The music was a blend of contemporary, taize and hymns played on instruments ranging from guitar and drums to saxaphone and penny whistle. The congregations was seated in four quadrants facing the communion table in the middle with the band on a stage but not in the center of worship. Communion is celebrated each week and the baptismal font is also front and center and filled with water weekly during the prayer of confession. The order of service was classic Presbyterian but each part was ceative, passionate and participatory. You could see the pastor's enthusiasm rise as he approached the communion service. You could feel the congregation's connection with the pastor as he preached with passion and joy and humor. The congregation even completed the pastor's phrase when he said: "Don't come to church...BE THE CHURCH." And the fascinating demographic was that the congregation in this emerging worship service at 8:30 in the morning included about half over 60 years, one quarter baby boomers (many in the band) and one quarter under 30 with many children in worship for the whole 70 minutes. You can check out the website at www.fpcharrison.org. And if you were surfing the web last week on the www.pcusa.org website did you notice that our church, Covenant Presbyterian Church was featured. You can also check out the Presbyterian expression of the emerging church at www.presbymergent.org.

Spending Time in the Garden

I had just finished reading N. Graham Standish book "Becoming a Blessed Church" and the chapter on gardens. Standish suggests that just as there are many different gardens: an old English garden; a cottage garden; a vegetable garden; an herb garden; a wilderness garden; there are also many different and distinct churches. And each church needs to discover what type of garden they are intended to be and be true to that purpose. When I arrived at Little Portion Monastery on Monday afternoon, I didn't at first realize that it would be a hands-on workshop on gardens. The Little Portions Monastery was founded over 25 years ago by Christian singer songwriter, John Michael Talbot. I had decided to go to Little Portions Monastery in part because I was a long time fan of John Michael Talbot's music. But when I got to the monastery, I discovered that it was more that a place that packaged John Michael's music. It was a working farm, a spiritual community, a beautiful setting and a place of refreshment and renewal.
Each day started at 6:00 am in my cabin and then to chapel at 6:45 am for morning prayer. The liturgy was beautiful and the singing was heavenly. After a brief meal in the common room, we met in the prayer garden to plan the days work. I was assigned to work with Sister Mary Catherine in the vegetable garden. She was a fine mentor to someone who is not much of a farmer or gardener. She showed me chickens, goats and the general layout. We picked tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, and collected eggs from the chicken coop. It was a great connection with nature and when we gathered for a common lunch which usually included home grown chicken, and tomatoes and beans from the garden.
While I was at the retreat I read "John Calvin on Prayer: Coversation with God" and Michael Talbot's book, "The Lessons of St. Francis: How to Bring Simplicity and Spirituality into your Daily Life". It was interesting to be in conversation with two giants of the faith. While the vegetable garden was a good place to work, the prayer garden was a great place to read, reflect and pray. There were humming birds, squirrels, and it reminded my that the monastery was founded in the spirit of St. Francis. The people and animals seemed to get along in this unique setting.
I enjoyed getting to know that community of sisters, brothers and families that were part of the Little Portion Monastery. With each day, I felt more and more welcomed. I was sad that Catholic polity doesn't allow Catholics and Presbyterians to take communion together but in every other way I felt fully welcomed into the community. On Wednesday, I did get a chance to meet John Michael Talbot when he was leading a community Bible study on Gifts of the Spirit in Corinthians. I will remember the friendships I established, the experiences I shared and the beauty of the Little Portion Monastery.

Make it so, Number One!

I finished reading N. Graham Standish's book "Humble Leaadership: Being Radically Open to God's Guidance and Grace" and would whole heartedly recommend it to leaders in the church. Just the titles of the chapters give a good summary of the key points of his book: 1. Humble leadership; 2. Self-Aware Leadership; 3. Prayerful Leadership; 4. Unifying Leadership; 5. Spirit-Led Leadership; 6. Humbly Effective Leadership. And if I wasn't already sold on the book, in the final chapter Standish invokes "Star Trek- The Next Generation" as a model for leadership.

Standish makes the point that when producers came up with the "Next Generation" they had to come up with a captain who was radically different than the individualistic, charismatic style of Captain Kirk in Star Trek. They came up with Captain Jean-Luc Picard who instead modeled a uniquely democratic leadership style. Standish make the point that Picards leadership style was so unique that it spawned a leadership book, "Make It So: Leadership Lessons from Star Trek- The Next Generation".
I remember when Jean-Luc was faced with a problem he would ask for responses from all the members of his senior staff. After he had the input, then he would either choose one of the options or come up with something that integreted the different insights that members of the senior officers, all gifted leaders in their own right, had offered. As I read Standish's discussion of Picard's leadership style, I couldn't help but think that Picard in many ways reflected a post-modern leadership style compared to Captain Kirk's command and control leadership style. Standish asks the question "How do we lead others in a process that allows for full participation and at the same time offers decisive leadership?" He suggests that in the church, a democratic style "recognizes that the Holy Spirit speaks through many people in the decision-making process" and our job is sometimes to discern the Spirit's voice, no matter who the Holy Spirit is speaking through.

I knew there was a reason that I liked "Star Trek: The Next Generation" even better than the original. Of course when we say: "Make it so, Number One" we are talking about the One in Three triune God who is with us in all our adventures in faith no matter what galaxy it takes us to.

Lesson from a hike in the Woods

Today I had a great opportunity to have my morning devotion in Pinnacle Mountain State Park. I finished reading Graham Standish book "Humble Leadership: Being Radically Open to God's Guidance and Grace". (I'll talk about the conclusions of the book in another blog.) Today I was struck by the lessons of leadership in the hike itself.
As I was walking, I was aware that I had to pay attention to three perspectives at the same time. I had to watch the ground and my feet to make sure that I didn't trip and fall. That is also one dimension of leadership, to keep our eyes to the ground to ensure that everyone is safe and well. I also discovered that it is when you are paying attention to the path itself and where your feet are going that you notice the littlest creatures in the forest- like frogs, snakes, turtles, ground squirrel and the lizard in this picture.
At the same time I had to look up see the markers to make sure that I was on the right trail. Of course sometimes the signs were just little marks on the tree and other times they were big easy to spot signs. In leadership, we also have to keep our eyes looking forward to see the signs that God put in front of us to make sure that we are going in the right direction. Sometimes God reveals our direction with clear easy to understand guidance but other times we have to look for markings that are more like the subtle tree markings I discovered on the path. And of course we have to keep our head up to see the beauty and wonder of God's creation. Unless we look up we miss all the beauty and wonder of God at work in the world. This picture is looking toward Pinnacle Mountain with a little bit of the Arkansas River in the foreground. It is a beautiful picture of God's creation and a reminder to me that God did all this without me. Sometimes, we discover Humble Leadership on a hike as well as in a book. Likewise in leadership, we need to look up to see the wonders that God has for us and to realize that God is the creator of all things. Our role, like Adam and Eve, is to care for that creation and for all the wonderful works God is still creating in our world. It was a good morning of looking, walking and learning from the creator.

You had me at Jedi Knights

My oldest son Stuart is introducing his sons to Star Wars this summer while I've been on sabbatical. As long as I have known Stuart (since he was 7) he has been a Star Wars devotee. The first movie we saw together was Star Wars. And so this is a near spiritual experience of sharing from father to sons. I even got to seen "Clone Wars" with the kids last weekend while I was baby sitting.
I have also been a fan of science fiction even before I met Stuart. Star Trek in all its many pertubations was my favorite.
But I was also a fan of the Star Wars Trilogies (both of them) and have even come to believe over the years that Reformed Theologians, like the Jedi Knights, are almost a dying breed trying desperately to preserve the radical message of God's grace revealed in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, as the Jedi Knights strive to preserve "The Force". I have even gone so far as to imagine that the monthly group I meet with to study Karl Barths "Church Dogmatics" are the 21st century incarnation of such modern day Jedi Knights. So you can imagine my delight when I was reading Graham Standish's "Humble Leadership: Being Radically Open to God's Guidance and Grace" and he invoked both a worm hole analogy and a Star Wars analogy in his chapter on Spirit-Led Leadership. His worm hole analogy (borrowed from Bill Easum's "Leadership on the Other Side") was trying to capture the point that Mainline Churches trying to reach out to post-Christian culture is sort of like the Star Trek space ships trying to reach another universe. Unless they discover the "worm hole" it will take them forever. The good news is that we can get there, we just need to find the "wormhole" that connects the two galaxies.
The Star Wars analogy refers to N. Graham Standish's assertion that Humble Spirit-Led Leaders will have to use not only intelligence and emotional intelligence to lead the church in the 21st century but also mystical intelligence. Standish uses the image of Yoda teaching Luke Skywalker to raise his spaceship with the force and Young Skywalker being unable to do it because it's impossible. When Yoda is able to raise the space ship, Luke comments "I don't...I don't believe it." To which Yoda replies "That's why you fail." The mega point that Standish is trying to make here is that we need more than our own power to lead the church when God want's us to lead the church. We need not only intelligence and emotional inteligence but also mystical intelligence. Standish defines mystical intelligence as being aware of God's purpose and God's power and God's presence. For a guy who is reading and writing on Trinitarian Leadership, I must admit that he had me with Jedi Knight.

Humble Leadership is a Unifying Leadership

It has been a good weekend. We had a chance to worship with a small Presbyterian Church Alpine Presbyterian on Sunday. The text was from Mark 8, the story of the disciples wondering where the next meal would be after they had just witnessed the feeding of the 4000. Jesus asks "Do you not yet understand?" The preacher challenged us to hear those words as words spoken to us. And he used several grandchildren stories to illustrate that sometimes a child's faith can be the most profound faith: "Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." (Mark 11:15) Then of course we went to Stuart and Megan's house to eat and hangout with the grandchildren. It was a good day.
Of course, it set the scene for my readings on Monday and Tuesday from N. Graham Standish's book "Humble Leadership: Being Radically Open to God's Guidance and Grace". As I am starting to write about Trinitarian leadership as leadership that seek unity in the midst of diversity, his chapter on "Unifying Leadership" was particularly insightful. Standish talked about the divisiveness of the culture in which we live. And he is right, whether you are talking religion, politics, generations or sports. His book is particularly tough on us Baby Boomers who he characterizes as "an individualist generation". He challenges us to think communally about what is good for the whole. "Humble leadership is unifying leadership. Unifying leaders lead people to seek a common good that is rooted in God's good. They are called to put aside their own desires for power, control and dominance and to seek what is good for everyone." (p. 92) He also talks about how we have to embrace 1 Corinthians 12 description of the diversity of the body of Christ in our leadership. "This is a profound statement, because it emphasizes that everyone, even one with whom we completely disagree, has a part in the life of the church. It also suggests that healthy leaders unify that body, finding a way to help all body parts work together." (p. 107-108)
Standish does not suggest that we can do the work of unifying the body of Christ by sheer will or force of personality. Instead he challenges humble, unifying leaders to rely on the Holy Spirit to find this unity. "To grow the member of the church, we leaders have to help the members remember that we are to seek unity in the Spirit. It isn't enough to be unified; we need to form a sort of divine union with each other and with God through the power of the Holy Spirit." Standish is restating what theologican Jurgen Moltmann says in "The Trinity and the Kingdom" when he challenges us to know that our unity, real unity cannot rest in us but is always a unity that is build around Christ by the Holy Spirit. Standish summarizes the principles of unifing leadership as: calling to live out our faith; grounding in God, relationships and humility; and binding to God and each other.

The Great Emergence- A great opportunity to rediscover and share Trinitarian/Incarnational Theology

I just finished reading "The Great Emergence" by Phyllis Tickle and I would commend it to anyone who is trying to get a handle on the most recent changes in the various expressions of the Christian faith in such congregations as Jacobs Well (Kansas City), A Simple Way (Philadelphia) and other Emerging congregations around the country AND the world. She lifts it up as the next reformation of the Christian church and she suggests that this happens every 500 years or so. A short video summary can be seen at thegreatemergence.com presented by the author. She says "The Great Emergence, like the Great Reformation or the Great Schism (between Eastern and Western Christianity) or the time of the Great Gregory or the Great Transformation, is generalized social/political/economic/intellectual/cultural shift." (p. 120) She talks about the variety and diversity of the Emerging Church movement and yet she also states that "All however, share one shining characteristic, they are incarnational. Not only does Jesus of Nazareth incarnate God, but Christian worship must be incarnate as well. It must involve the body in all its senses and take place among people, all of whom are embraced equally and as children of God." (p. 135) Tickle says that the emerging churches are radically Jesus centered, communal, connected electronically to each other on a real time basis, non exclusive and searching ancient Christianity for ancient symbols to reflect this emerging reality.

And even though Tickle talks about this movement as "post-denominational" she is not negative about the life and vitality of denominations as a result of this "great" movement. In fact she spends a good part of her last chapter exploring how this phenomenon fits into the current denominations world that she characterizes as having roughly four quadrants:

Liturgicals (Catholics,Epis)-Social Justice Christians (Presby, Meth)

Renewalists (Pentecostals)-Conservative (Baptists, Evangelicals)

Of course Tickle acknowledges that within denominations there is variety and that no one denomination fits neatly into a box and so there is overlap between these somewhat artificial groupings. She then positions the Emerging Church movement at the center of this denominational landscape suggesting that they are picking and choosing from the various traditions. She also suggests that each of the denominations will in turn learn from the Emerging movement (just as the Catholic Church learned and grew out of the Reformation) and that in response to the the Emerging movement, that the Christian church will in fact grow in size and vitality.

So what does this all have to do with Trinitarian leadership (since that is the current focus of this blog)? I believe that Trinitarian leadership is something that us "Old Reformers" can offer to these new reformers. As I read and reflect and teach on the Emerging Church movement, I also see the incarnational theology shine through but I also see a strong Trinitarian theology as embedded in the leadership of the movement. When Tickle describes the emerging church as "relational, nonhierarchical, a-democratized form of Christianity...moving toward a system of ecclesial authority that waits upon the Spirit and rests upon the interlacing lives of Bible- listening, Bible-honoring believers" I believe that she is talking about ecclesial leadership after the model of the triune God. Characteristics of Trinitarian leadership that I am developing based on Jurgen Moltmann's discussion of the Trinity in his book "The Trinity and the Kingdom" and Miroslav Volf's "After Our Likeness" are:

-1-Unity built on open and inviting communication that integrates the many distinct parts;
-2-Diversity which allows uniqueness and self-differentiation while still works toward a common purpose;
-3-Integrity among the leaders in the leadership community and integrity in what the community says and how it operates;
-4-Mutual Concern and Care which implies an intimate relationship through the Holy Spirit. This allows us to know each other and hold each other even and especially in pain;
-5-Equality of Shared Power and integrated power in place of a hierarchy of held power; and
-6-Mutual Encouragement in which each part of the leadership community builds up and encourages the others.

I do agree with Phyllis Tickle that we can be in conversation with these new and evolving expressions of the Christian witness not as one team competing with another for a market share but rather as a community also formed around Jesus of Nazareth with a rich heritage to share and a thing or two that we might learn together.

Trinitarian Leadership: A Community of Leaders in Christ

What can I do to create a leadership team if I'm not in a big church with a large staff? I still don't really know enough about the Trinity to understand what it has to do with leadership? How can I bring my elders and deacons on board with this idea? What if I'm not too crazy about the whole idea of team to describe ministry groups since teams imply competition?

These are some of the questions that I have heard as I have been exploring, researching and starting to write about Trinitarian leadership during my sabbatical. I have discovered a wonderful collection of academic and theological books on the Trinity and I could read Jurgen Moltmann and Miroslav Volf, Dan Migliore and Shirley Guthrie forever. (And besides that I just love to say their names.) I have also uncovered a number of books that I didn't know about like George Cladis' book "Leading a Team-Based Ministry: How Pastors and Church Staffs Can Grow Together into a Powerful Fellowship of Leaders" and Wayne Cordeiro's "Doing Church as Team". Cladis actually does a very good job of lifting up the Trinity as a model for team building in large church staffs and he describes the whole idea of "perichoretic community" so that readers can understand this technical term that describes how the Father and Son and Holy Spirit interact with each other "in constant movement in a circle that implies intimacy, equality, unity yet distinction and love." (Cladis, p. 4) Cordeiro's book is also a very accessible book to help create a team culture in a church. However both these books and most of the literature seems geared to large churches and their church staffs.

My project will focus instead on creating and nurturing leadership communities in the small to medium sized churches after the model of the Triune God. Notice that I am trying to steer away from the term "team" because in our culture it does imply a competitive group and the whole thrust of this project it to move away from a competitive, authoritarian and individualistic image of leadership to a cooperative, eqalitarian and communal way of leading the church. And I will be focussing on how we can build leadership communities within the church- pastors, elders, deacons and trustees and beyond the church as churches and presbyteries and colleges get together to lead. Our shared worship service with Brotherhood and Wichita State University is an example of Trinitarian leadership model that extends beyond the church walls to encompass several unique communities who share leadership in Christ.

So far I have discovered six Trinitarian characteristics that would allow us to build a leadership community in Christ. They are: Unity built on open and inviting communication that integrates the many distinct parts; Diversity which allows uniqueness and self-differentiation while still works toward a common purpose; Integrity among the leaders in the leadership comminity and integrity in what the community says and how it operates; Mutual concern and care which implies an intimate relationship through the Holy Spirit which allows us to know each other and hold each other even and especially in pain; Equality of shared power in place of a hierarchy of held power; and Mutual Encourage in which each part of the leadership community builds up and encourages the others. These all aspects of the Trinity that Jurgen Moltmann describes in more theological language in his book "The Trinity and the Kingdom".

Let me know what you think. I am hopeful that this book, "Trinitarian Leadership: A Community of Leaders in Christ", might reflect that same kind of collegiality in its writing that it will hopefully reflect in its content. In the next several days I will explore each of these ideas on the blog and will look forward to your feedback. Thanks for your help and your participation in the faith community that lives and worships in the name of the Triune God revealed in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Leading a Team- Based Church

As I have been researching Trinitarian Leadership, Joan introduced me to a book that explores and describes Trinitarian leadership in much the same way that I have been evolving over the past several years. The book "Leading a Team- Based Church: How Pastors and Church Staff Can Grow Together into a Powerful Fellowship of Leaders" was written by a Presbyterian pastor, George Cladis. Cladis after aknowledging the theological contributions to Trinitarian understanding from such theological greats as Shirley Guthrie, Miroslav Volf and Jurgen Moltmann writes "My contribution as a pastor has been to look at ways to live out this theology practically in churches seeking to relate to the postmodern world." His purpose sentence could easily describe my sabbatical study and his book is an outstanding introduction to Trinitarian leadership.

Cladis focusses on the "perichoretic model of God that calls into question the traditional hierarchies of power, control and domination that have formed the basis for church leadership in the past." (p.5) By "perichoretic" Cladis is talking about the Triune God who is in constant communion and conversation with Godself in a movement of intimacy and love and equality and unity and community with real distinctiveness. His book then takes this understanding of God and relates it to leadership in the postmodern world. He identifies seven attributes that contribute to a healthy ministry team: a shared covenant, articulated vision, a life giving culture, collaboration, trust, an empowering spirit and a learning attitute. It is an outstanding book and a must read for pastors who seek a more egalitarian leadership style after the model of the Triune God. Cladis provides a nice blend of practical ministry insights grounded in solid reformed understanding of the Triune God at work in the world.

Conversation Partners in Trinitarian Leadership

As I headed back from the Pastor's School at Hastings, I stopped to visit Jacob's Well in Kansas City. Jacob's Well is an emerging congregation started by Pastor Timothy Keel, who wrote the book "Intuitive Leadership". Our session had studied his book last summer and I was anxious to meet Timothy and to share a conversation around Trinitarian Leadership with him. Well it turned out the he was busy and I was referred instead to Executive Pastor, Deth (pronounced Date) Im. I was initially a little disappointed not to be meeting with the "head pastor" (sorry Deth) until I met Deth and we started to talk. Deth shared a passion and commitment to Trinitarian leadership (even though we're just in the midst of defining what it means)and a wonderful and perceptive insight into what it might mean as it gets lived out in the church. And after all, Trinitarian leadership is not about one person but rather the shared leadership of several persons who articulate, live and grow together in the mystery and ministry of the Triune God.
As I pulled up to Jacob's Well, I was surprised to see a very traditional looking church building, nestled in a quaint Kansas City neighborhood. Deth shared that Jacob's Well had started as shared office space for Timothy in Roanoke Presbyterian Church. It grew to include fellowship space upstairs as Jacob's Well started to worship. Gradually Roanoke Presbyterian let Jacob's Well use the Sanctuary on Sunday afternoons and finally, when Roanoke Church closed in the mid-nineties, they encouraged the Presbytery to sell the building to Jacob's Well. As Deth and I sat in the sanctuary, I felt very much at home in this space which had once housed a Presbyterian Congregation and as Deth and I talked I became more aware that our visions for ministry and Trinitarian leadership were more alike than different. I was excited to see Calvin's "Institutes" in his library along with Miroslav Volf's "Exclusion and Embrace" right next to his Wesleyan theolgians. I noticed Leonard Sweet's "Postmodern Pilgrims" and McClaren's "A New Kind of Christian" and Tony Jones' "The New Christian". In a sense, what my Trinitarian Leadership project is trying to do is to connect these two shelves on Deth's bookcase. Letty Russell's "Church in the Round" was another point of connection for us.
I was fascinated to hear that the planning group I would call the "worship committee" was called the "Kairos Team" at Jacob's Well because it is the group that sets apart a "time of being in worship". I was even more intrigued that the "mission committee" is called the "Koinonia team" to reflect how our participation in the mission of the Triune God shapes and molds us into communities in Christ. Wow! As we talked about how leadership teams can become intimate communities formed around Christ, Deth shared a recent opportunity at Jacob's Well for staff memebers to meet three times a week for prayer and Bible study (lectio divina, centering prayer, praying the offices). We talked about how that activity, could potentially be expanded to include the elder leadership in the faith community. It was a great meeting and a great opportunity to share how we can learn from each other in the broader Christian community and learn and grow together in Christ through this process.