Dream Awakener

Servant Leadership Part III

  feet washing 
  Originally uploaded by ღMøûñ†àíñwømãñღ

Continuing on the series John Ortberg brings up four tensions that we need to wrestle through as servant leaders.  I will mention two of them in this post and two in the next post.

1. Decisive Submissiveness – Leaders must make decisions, they have difficult calls to make, when leaders abdicate making decisions it can be disaster. That is one side. The danger is dominating people and making self-serving decisions.  Jesus made decisions but was submissive to his parents and His father in heaven.  He exercised decisive submissiveness.  He was not wishy-washy, nor did he had a defiant willfulness, but he had a decisive submissiveness.  Questions for you:  What people do you submit to?  Are you submissive to scripture?  Are you submissive to the Spirit?

2. Tough-minded Accountability and Tender-hearted Compassion – Leaders must give to the people that they serve what one guy who writes about leadership calls the gift of accountability. There is an aspect of fallen human nature that unless I have people in my life who challenge me and stretch me beyond myself and say, “Here’s the covenant that you agreed to live up to and your not doing it,” I’m not going to grow the way I could.  That is one side. The danger is if I’m always in the position of judging and evaluating other people, there’s the danger that I can become so obsessed with accomplishing tasks that people become a means to an end.  There just tools. There needs to be tender-hearted compassion as well, loving those on our staff, in our community.  Questions for you:  Would the people in your sphere of influence – your work, your home, your area of ministry – would they say that you love them?  Not just that you value them because they’re able to perform, but that you love them?

Top Posts and Top Cities from April

You can make a guess of what the picture represents on the left.  In today's post I am sharing the five most popular posts this past month, in case you missed one of them.  Also, I have found that some of you who follow this blog enjoy learning about the other people who visit this site, so I try to give a monthly report of the top 50 cities that have visited this blog in the past month.  So here are the top five posts and top 50 cities.

TOP FIVE POSTS IN APRIL
Is Conversion a Four-Letter Word? Series
Finding Truth in a Sound Bite Society
Why We're Not Emergent By Two Guys Who Should Be - Literary Review
Need Inspiration?
A Celtic Prayer

TOP 50 CITIES VISITING THIS BLOG IN APRIL
Richmond, VA
Los Angeles
Amsterdam
Herdon, VA
Vancouver, BC
New York
London
Atlanta
Dallas
Fayetteville, NC

Boston
Plano, TX
Chicago
Mt. Laurel, NJ
Ann Arbor, MI
San Francisco
Bronx, NY
Snohomish, WA
Irvine, CA
Grass Valley, CA

Blacksburg, VA
Bethpage, NY
Sydney, Australia
Tulsa, OK
Washington D.C.
Marysville, WA
Columbia, MO
Sanford, FL
San Jose, CA
Waterford, MI

Houston
Redmond, WA
Columbus, OH
Toronto, Canada
Austin
Portland
St. Louis
Seattle
West Palm Beach, FL
Phoenix

Roanoke, TX
Overland Park, KS
Media, PN
Minnipeg, Canada
Auckland, New Zealand
Singapore
Calgary, Canada
Bangkok, Thailand
Pasadena, CA
Miami, FL

Servant Leadership Part II

  feet washing 
  Originally uploaded by ღMøûñ†àíñwømãñღ

When it comes to understaning Servant Leadership, we can learn a lot from the One to whom we are call to imitate and follow. Here are some more thoughts from John Orberg.

“From the beginning of eternity to creation to the outworking of redemption after the Fall to the end of eternity, the end of time as we know it, the Father, Son and Spirit pour themselves out in humble service of each other and creation and even fallen creatures like you and me.

All who watch are amazed and filled with awe and wonder and bow their knees. Jesus is the greatest servant that ever lived for it is the nature of God to serve -- that's who God is. Paul says people can't see that without being awed and broken by it -- that God is a servant.

At the same time, Jesus had the strongest character of anyone who ever lived. He was never intimidated. He defied those who held immense power without batting an eye. He threw full-grown men out of the temple area with a whip. He is a servant, but he had impact and led like no one else who ever walked the earth.

He calls us, calls his followers to be people of impact to leadership that is a form of servanthood, to what a guy named Rob Banks suggests what we might call "leading servanthood." We've heard about the idea of servant leaders. Really, servanthood is what will go on forever and ever. One form of servanthood is leading in the right way.”

In the next post in this series, we will look at some of the tension points when it comes to servant leadership.

Servant Leadership Part I

  feet washing 
  Originally uploaded by ღMøûñ†àíñwømãñღ

There was a talk that John Ortberg gave on servant leadership that I thought was really helpful for those who serve in some leadership capacity.  So I thought I would pass on a few quotes and a summary this coming week.

It was Jesus who said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Mark 10:42b-45 TNIV

“Jesus says, "Not so with you." Now, because power and leadership can be abused and can be dark in the hands of fallen people -- because Jesus has warnings about it -- some people get distrustful about any form of leadership or the exercise of power. They don't initiate, they don't challenge, they don't stretch those who are around them.

They hold back from leading when they ought to lead, and they hold others back from leading. That is not a good thing. Their families, their churches, their organizations suffer because part of human nature in this world, unless there is leadership and people being envisioned and challenged and stretched to grow, people will suffer.

To lead is a good thing. At the very beginning, the Bible says that God created human beings to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it and have dominion. Jesus doesn't reject leadership or even the use of power or greatness for that matter, but he redefines it, he redeems it.

As he says here, Jesus himself is the ultimate example of redeemed leadership. He says, "I didn't come to be served," which is generally the measure of leadership in our world. How many people are underneath me serving me?

He says, "I came to serve." That's what servants do. Here's a real key point. In Jesus, to lead is to serve. In Jesus, leadership is simply one form of servanthood. In God, to lead is to serve those he leads.” - John Ortberg

In the next post on this series, we will take a look at how Jesus served, since we are called to imitate him.

Monday Morning Medicine

  The Boy at the Temple 
  Originally uploaded by Stuck in Customs

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."  Proverbs 17:22 NLT

So I was with a few new friends from India last night and one of the guys was just a fountain of humor.  I am going to have to email him for some of the different jokes he told me.  Here is one humorous story he mentioned, though I may not remember all the details exactly.

The story goes that when a boy gets to walking age or a bit older, the parents set three objects across the room.  A bottle of wine, some cash and a holy book.  The idea is this.  The boy is to walk over and pick up an item and that determines their future.

If the boy goes over and picks up a bottle of wine, that means that he will have a life of pleasure.  If he goes over and picks up the cash, then he will be a great business man.  If he picks up the holy book, then he will be a priest or holy man.

So this one boy walked across the room and he put a wine bottle under his left arm, the holy book under his right and carried the cash in his hands.  So I said, "What does that make him?"  He replied, "A politician."

My Favorite Flickr Photos

Click to Enlargen

Every now and again, I like to share the last couple of dozen photos I have added to my favorites on flickr.  Here is another installment of my favorite Flickr photos.

This Week with Henri Nouwen - Losing and Gaining our Lives

The great paradox of life is that those who lose their lives will gain them. This paradox becomes visible in very ordinary situations. If we cling to our friends, we may lose them, but when we are nonpossessive in our relationships, we will make many friends. When fame is what we seek and desire, it often vanishes as soon as we acquire it, but when we have no need to be known, we might be remembered long after our deaths. When we want to be in the center, we easily end up on the margins, but when we are free enough to be wherever we must be, we find ourselves often in the center.

Giving away our lives for others is the greatest of all human arts.  This will gain us our lives.

Fire in the Church by Kurt Fredrickson - A Literary Review

  sunset church 
  Originally uploaded by Alex !

I am doing a number of literary reviews these days for some research that I am undergoing. While you won't be able to check some of the pages I reference, I think you will gain much from the many quotes I mention.   Let me share with you how I go about my literary review.

LITERARY REVIEW
I basically start with my sense of the author's thesis, followed by a general overview of the book, and then I focus on themes that are pertinent to my research. With that said, here is my review of this most excellent paper.

THESIS
Kurt Fredrickson’s thesis for Fire in the Church: Organic Structures for the Missional Congregation is that structure matters.  If the church moves from an old mechanistic model to a living systems model, she will be able to create better environments necessary for the missional church to thrive.

GENERAL OVERVIEW
The question that Fredrickson is addressing is: How do church leaders foster proper environments so that the Spirit of God can set the church on fire anew (5)? He address this question by taking a look at our current postmodern context, especially as it relates to the shift from classic science to new systems science.  This shift is from a mechanical approach to life to an organic approach.  After explaining the nature of living systems science, he considers how to apply living systems theory to the church.  He insists, “Only as the church has an adequate understanding of its identity and its core practices, is the church able to move forward in new shapes” (55).  He then concludes by exploring how to nurture an atmosphere of missional imagination in light of new understandings of organizational theory.

THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER
This research paper is rich in content, with seven helpful figures that summarize important concepts (Pgs. 19,20, 41, 44, 45 and 52).  The following are some statements that seemed vital to remember.   In section one: “This new systems understanding sees the world more as decentralized than centralized, more networked than hierarchical, more organic than fixed.  It is not random and disorganized; it is rather organized through an understanding of complexity and emergence.  This new understanding of structures offers new possibilities for ecclesial organization.” (10)  “Because we think and behave differently in this information based networked society, we must rethink the way our organizations are structured.” (14)  “Structure affects function. Structure is not neutral. The challenge for the church is to imagine new forms and structures for church that will be able to more vitally carry the message of the gospel affecting transformation in people and societies” (21).  One way to do this is through reverse assumptions (21).

Statements from section two include:  In regard to relational principles in living systems theory: All living things have innate intelligence (30); Life is profoundly interconnected (30); Information brings change (32); Systems interact with their environment leading to adaptive challenges and emergence of new forms of organization (33); and living systems continue to multiply or reproduce (34).  “We do not create new structures as much as we create environments and the possibilities of relational connections so that new structures might emerge” (36). “Our ecclesial practices (new ecclesial structures) must emerge from primary Christological and ecclesiological understanding always mindful of the environment in which is the church is located” (37).

In sections three and four: “Structures that are not suitable are stifling and deadening.  Structures that are appropriate bring life and vitality” (43).  The mental framework transitions necessary in the church: “Radical individualism – wanderers to pilgrim; Aimlessness – busyness to vocation; Consumption – consumers to practioners; Fragmentation – individuals to community; Forgetfulness – amnesia to memory (64).

Church Planting - Models and Approaches

I am preparing for a church planting conference with the Ecclesia Network entitled Allelos, where I will be sharing on three topics.  The Equipping Church, Leadership Skills for the Journey and Models and Approaches to church planting. 

When it comes to models and approaches, I am wanting to get some feedback from you on this.  I have a lot of material that I want to share, including personal stories and such.  But I was wanting to make sure that I gave the "church planters to be" a good overview in what they should consider as they think through how they will approach the structure of the church, or the model.  Here is an overview of some of the things that I have thought about.  I would love it if you have any thoughts you would like to add.  I need to finish my preparation by Wednesday, though if you comment afterwards, I may still be able to use it.

FACTORS TO CONSIDER

The Context
Global/National/Metropolitan/Local/Neighborhood
Ethnic Context
Neighborhood Context
Educational Context
Political/Structural/Geographical Context
Life Style Patterns
Economic Context
Historical Context

The Team
Relational Assessment
    a. Mutual Trust
    b. Mutual Refreshment
    c. Mutual Enjoyment
    d. Mutual Commitment
    e. Unity of Spirit

Ministry Assessment
    a. Spiritual Gifts
    b. Passions
    c. Abilities
    d. Personality
    e. Enneagram
    f.  Experiences

Resource Assessment  (Ammerman)
    a.  People
    b.  Money
    c.  Space
    d.  Reputation
    e.  Spiritual Energies
    f.   Connections in Community
    g.  History

Process Assessment (Ammerman)
    a. Leadership
    b. Decision-making
    c. Problem-solving
    d. Conflict-management

The Theology of the Church
The Essence of the Church
The Metaphors of the Church
The Functions of the Church
The Marks of the Church
The Multiplication of the Church
The Definition of Success for the Church

CONTINUUM'S TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A MODEL
Solid/Liquid   (Structure and Change)
Hierarchy/Charisms   (Leadership)
Programmer/Environmentalist   (Leadership)
Center/Margins   (Leadership)
Vertical/Networked   (Communication)
Attractional/Incarnational   (Evangelism) 
Relevant/Resistant   (Culture) - HT Jason 
Anti-Pop Culture/Engaging Pop Culture   (Culture)
Formal [Attendance]/Informal [Relationships]   (Community)
Bounded Set/Centered Set   (Membership)
Monocultural/Multicultural   (Community)
Internal/External   (Focus)
Past/Future   (Orientation)

Would you add or take away one of these continuum's?

LEADING CONTEMPORARY ECCLESIOLOGIST (My overview of Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti work)
John Zizioulas an Eastern Orthodox bishop with a communion ecclesiology.  The Eucharist is the foundational act of the church.   The church is “instituted by Christ and constituted by the Spirit”

Hans Küng a catholic with a charismatic ecclesiology sees the church as the people of God, on a pilgrimage.  He favors a charismatic structure where each person is gifted to edify, serve and unify the body of Christ.

Wolfhart Pannenberg a Lutheran with a universal ecclesiology sees the church as anticipation “and a sign of the unity of all people under one God."  The church is a sign and tool of the coming kingdom for all humanity.

Jürgen Moltmann with a messianic, eschatological, charismatic, trinitarian ecclesiology views the church as a communion of equals that exists for the world.  He advocates a broader view of the Spirits work, in all of creation. 

Miroslav Volf a free church theologian with a trinitarian, participatory ecclesiology. He has an emphasis on the priesthood of all believers and sees the sacraments as necessary, but ordained ministers helpful but unnecessary.

James McClendon Jr. a Baptist theologian calls the church a narrative community that is future oriented, gift-created and a people of peoples.  He emphasizes the rule of God, centrality of Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit.

Lesslie Newbigin an Anglican with a missionary ecclesiology emphasizes the visible witness of the church - bearing and witnessing the truth.  The embodiment of the good news in the church and the missio Dei reflected in the Trinity are key.

MODELS TO EVALUATE
Missional Church
Emerging Church
Simple Church
Organic Church
New Monasticism  - HT Jason
Liquid Church
House Church
Liturgical Church
Neighborhood Church
Multi-site Church
Clusters - Mid-sized Missional Communities
Purpose-driven Church
Seeker-sensitive Church
Mega Church

I realize that some of these overlap but what would you add to this list? 

I would appreciate any feedback that you might have.  I realize that this post will probably only make sense to some people.  If it doesn't make any sense to you, don't worry.  Tomorrow is another day.

Need Inspiration?

It's Monday.  How are you doing? Are you facing some difficult circumstances in your life?  Do you need some inspiration?  Even if you don't need any inspiration, you really want to take a moment and check out this video.  It is amazing, uplifting and well, just watch it.  You won't be disappointed. 

 

I'm thankful to Sonja from Amsterdam for sending me the link to this video.

Monday Morning Medicine

  man with flowers 
  Originally uploaded by sharpeworld

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."  Proverbs 17:22 NLT

Gary Smalley in one of his books talks about a husband who had not done a loving thing for his wife in a real long time.  So he is finally convicted, and decides to do something nice for his wife.  He comes home.  She sees him step inside the door of their house and he’s got a box of candy in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other.

Well she just starts to sob, to cry.  He says, “What’s wrong Honey?”  She said, “I had a terrible day.  The school bus didn’t come.   I had to take the kids to school.  The washing machine broke down.  Billy twisted his ankle.  I had to take him to the emergency room.  And now, YOU come home drunk.”

So how are you doing in regard to serving and loving the people in your life?

A Celtic Prayer - Remember the Poor

  My Friends in Kenya 
  Originally uploaded by dream awakener

REMEMBERING THE POOR

Remember the poor when you look out on fields you own, on your plump cows grazing.

Remember the poor when you look into your barn, at the abundance of your harvest.

Remember the poor when you eat fine meat and drink fine ale, at your fine carved table.

The cows have grass to eat, the rabbits have borrows for shelter, the birds have warm nests.

But the poor have no food except what you feed them, no shelter except your house when you welcome them, no warmth except your glowing fire.

From Celtic Prayers by Robert Van De Weyer

Why Church Matters by Jonathan Wilson - A Literary Review

One of the differences between a literary review and a straight up book review is that literary reviews are written to help with future research. So I am writing with the idea that this will guide me to what I want to go back and study.  There are various approaches to literary reviews, but here will be mine.

LITERARY REVIEW
I basically start with my sense of the author's thesis, followed by a general overview of the book, and then I focus on themes that are pertinent to my research. With that said, here is my review.

THESIS    
Wilson in Why Church Matters contends that a healthy ecclesiology occurs when the church becomes a participant in God’s work (by God’s grace) by engaging in the practices that witness to the kingdom.

GENERAL OVERVIEW
Wilson begins his book with an explanation of the notion of practice, as developed by Alasdair MacIntyre, and in the three sections of the book, he explains how the body of Christ best embodies these practices.  In the first section of this book, Wilson describes what he considers the foundational practice of the church – faithful worship.  In the second section, he addresses practices that he judges to be in need of renovation today – witness as kingdom words and deeds and discipleship as human flourishing.  And in section three he talks about practices that build on the foundations and renovations and form the church toward the kingdom.  These practices include baptism, the Eucharist, foot washing, confessing the creeds and suffering as the Power of the kingdom.  In describing each of these practices, Wilson helps the church to live as a faithful witness to the kingdom of God.

THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER      
One of the more beneficial chapters of this book occurs when Wilson summarizes MacIntyre’s often quoted book, After Virtue.  After MacIntyre analyzes how our culture has been shaped by the Enlightenment project, in his assessment, our culture has abandoned “most convictions about the telos (the “good,” the created purpose) of human life and human activities.  This abandonment of telos drains our actions of any real meaning and significance” (14). Wilson then describes MacIntyre’s five ways of understanding of practice, but recasts them in light of Christian tradition, which I outline in the next paragraph.  This idea of practice is what Wilson uses to build the rest of his book on.

1. Practices embody a concept of the good. Wilson understands the Christian telos to be that the church is to witness to the kingdom by being and making disciples.
2. Practices constitute a community.  In other words, “the church does not have an identity rooted in something other than its practices” (18). 
3. Practices are oriented to internal goods.  God is not to be followed for some “external” good, like material prosperity or security, rather the good is that the gospel of Christ be made known to those who have yet to hear and believe. 
4. Practices extend our conceptions of the good. The idea here is that the community of disciples’ conception of the good is transformed by its practices (20). 
5. Practices enable us to participate in the good. He veers from MacIntrye here, for MacIntrye says practices enable us to achieve the good, but Wilson points out that grace makes us participants in the good, not achievers.  Wilson then says that “Practices cannot be sustained apart from institutional structures” (22) and that “the institutions of the church are to serve the practices of the church” (23).   Practicing for Wilson is not like basketball practice, but rather like practicing medicine or practicing law. 

After fleshing out this idea of practice, he takes each of the practices aforementioned, and looks at them in light of the telos.  For example, when he talks about worship, the big question is not “Did I like it?”  But rather “Does this worship reflect God’s character and will?”  “Is it a foretaste of the coming Kingdom?”

One more note, in the appendix Wilson assesses the ecclesiology of Francis Schaeffer, Chuck Colson, Rick Warren and Brian McLaren.  He finds Rick Warren wanting. 

This Week with Henri Nouwen - Ordering Our Desires

Desire is often talked about as something we ought to overcome. Still, being is desiring: our bodies, our minds, our hearts, and our souls are full of desires. Some are unruly, turbulent, and very distracting; some make us think deep thoughts and see great visions; some teach us how to love; and some keep us searching for God. Our desire for God is the desire that should guide all other desires. Otherwise our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls become one another's enemies and our inner lives become chaotic, leading us to despair and self-destruction.

Spiritual disciplines are not ways to eradicate all our desires but ways to order them so that they can serve one another and together serve God. - Henri Nouwen

The Cobalt Season - Thursday Night - April 24 at 7:30 p.m.

My pastor friend Ryan Bell and his congregation are hosting The Cobalt Season tomorrow night.  It is great music (Indie/Acoustic/Folk) and meaningful lyrics.  Check out their myspace.  Details below.