Christian Community

Every day brings to the Christian many hours in which he will be alone in an unchristian environment. These are the times of testing. This is the test of true meditation and true Christian community. Has the fellowship served to make the individual free, strong, and mature, or has it made him weak and dependent? Has it taken him by the hand for a while in order that he may learn again to walk by himself, or has it made him uneasy and unsure? This is one of the most searching and critical questions that can be put to any Christian fellowship.
--Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

What kind of community are you building? - Ed

Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a
battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two
"wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret,
greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false
pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility,
kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather:
"Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

I don't know the source of this story, but it seemed not inappropriate at Christmas. - Ed

Leadership Intuition

If you try to lead by everything you’ve been taught about leadership, you will likely fail. At all times we must be open to the possibility that what we thought we knew is wrong. Instead, trust your gut. Intuition must be a component of decision making, especially in complex or chaotic situations, where it may be more accurate and reliable than rationalization based on past experience.
-- Leonard Sweet, Summoned to Lead

This works best when your "gut" is solidly grounded in the faith. (Sorry about the mixed metaphor.)- Ed

Saying "Yes"

Moses spends forty years answering the Voice that spoke out of the bush…Nowhere does the Bible romanticize mystery or exalt religious experience for its own sake. What remains central in each instance is the response of the person to what beckons through the mystery. And the essence of faithful response is the willingness to be drawn forth completely by what calls from the heart of the mystery. What matters supremely is the “yes,” the letting go, the yielding to a whole new way.
--Steve Doughty, To Walk in Integrity

Vision Without Guilt

The pastor needs to believe that God’s Spirit is at work in the lives of congregational members. This means the pastor is always seeing the congregation in its best light, hoping for the best, and telling stories of those who are doing things well. Individual and congregational confrontations will come when systemic change is attempted. However, vision never takes root in people when it is communicated through guilt, or acts of warfare. Vision is always cast in a positive light.
--Paul D. Borden, Direct Hit

Good leadership and Vision

A congregation is desperate for leaders who are filled with passion, have already demonstrated courage, see flexibility as a virtue, are missional because of their passion, are wise, really believe God expects them to win with a whole groups of saints who feel the same, and who take bottom-line responsibility for what God will do through them.

Vision does not necessarily start with the pastor. However, most pastors who arrive to lead congregations that lack vision, hope, and morale will find that if they do not generate vision, no one else will. Committees, vision communities, or people exploring vision as a short-term project do not generate visions that produce systemic change.
--Paul D. Borden, Direct Hit

Vision and a Warning

Vision is derived from the passion of a leader who has a prophetic fire burning within the soul to accomplish something significant for God. Groups may take this vision, help produce congregational ownership, and delineate its implementation, but, without prophetic fire to begin with, there are no images of preferred futures that produce systemic change. If pastors are not clear about either their role or that of the Church, most congregations will remain dormant, irrelevant to life change, and in decline.
--Paul D. Borden, Direct Hit