Posts Mentioning RSS Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Mark 11:38 am on April 10, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags:   

    Our Leader is Instinct 

    When I think about church leadership, I like the concept of parents. It remains very relational and organic…and it reminds me of the language in the New Testament (God = Father) (Paul describes himself as a “mother” to his churches).

    However, I’ve been wondering about power and leadership and how it becomes consolidated over time. We all know parents who abuse their power, (hopefully not as many as there are parents who love and nurture their kids).

    Lately, I’ve been thinking about rotating leadership. Much like a V-Formation (sometimes called “skein”) in migratory birds – the front bird gets assaulted with major turbulence, and must rotate out with another bird every so often to fly faster and longer than they could alone!

    What I love about this image is that EVERY bird knows which direction they need to go.

    There is leadership…but no permanent leader…except the “instinct” in all of them to fly north. When one gets tired, the others know exactly what to do and where to go, and help him out of the most dangerous position to find a place of rest in the back of the flock.

    My own push-backs on the metaphor…

    Is this irresponsible to the “youngest” in the family? How can a family “rotate” parenthood? …and wouldn’t we as a church have to be GOING somewhere? (as in, some churches are sitting on their duffs!)

    From Wikipedia’s “V-Formation” entry:

    The V formation greatly boosts the efficiency and range of flying birds, particularly over long migratory routes. All the birds except the first fly in the upwash from the wingtip vortices of the bird ahead. The upwash assists each bird in supporting its own weight in flight, in the same way a glider can climb or maintain height indefinitely in rising air. In a V formation of 25 members, each bird can achieve a reduction of induced drag by up to 65% and as a result increase their range by 71%. The birds flying at the tips and at the front are rotated in a timely cyclical fashion to spread flight fatigue equally among the flock members. The formation also makes communication easier and allows the birds to maintain visual contact with each other.

    • Share/Bookmark
     
    • Jesse Cox 1:57 pm on April 10, 2010 Permalink

      I think this metaphor misses it in many ways. We are not a flock of birds, alone in our journey, with only our instinct to guide us. Instinct, I think, has little to do with church leadership. We have almost 2k years of the Church, thousands (tens, hundreds of thousands?) of saints, the writings of the church, and of course the Scriptures to guide us. Instinct, if we indeed have anything like it, usually takes us away from God. When we do see “instinct” in someone that leads them towards God, it is a finely honed, disciplined, practiced walk with God, rather than something we all as Christians possess.

      Another way this misses the mark is that not all of us want to be leaders, at least not in the perhaps worldly way that we tend to think of leadership. I have some experience with that: in our church in Seattle we attempted a very democratic way of organizing our Sunday liturgy -EVERYBODY was expected to take a turn at planning it. Unfortunately, not everyone was good at it and some that were were not interested in doing it. It just didn’t work out.

      Where this metaphor is valid though is when we put leadership in its proper context: the “leader” as we tend to think of him/her should be perhaps the least important person in the church. In this way everyone “gets their turn”: the children lead, the humble lead, the weak lead, the skilled lead, the “leader” leads, but everyone serves. Everyone must submit to each other. The church is not just a spiritual body – it is also a physical body and even worldly, in a way of thinking. However, we shouldn’t be fooled into thinking that this worldly face is worth anything, that “leadership” is worth anything, or that it is actually the whole of the church. If we ignore the leadership of the humble the church will be an empty shell, no matter if it looks like it is going somewhere or not.

    • Mark 9:26 am on April 14, 2010 Permalink

      Jesse,

      It took a few days for me to get back to this comment, just because I think it raises an important point.

      Yes, birds fly with instinct, but the metaphor translates to the church when “instinct” becomes the Holy Spirit – filtered through the whole counsel of God. I agree that history, hagiography, theology, philosophy… “communities of informed judgment” as I’ve called them elsewhere in this blog – are brought to bear their very best wisdom and gifts to the community.

      Much like 1 Cor 14:26 – “When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell a special revelation… etc” this is what I’m thinking of when I say “shared” leadership.

      And not just leadership in our gathering for worship – I think our church VISION should come from a collaboration of folks in the community.

      This is not the same as a “democracy” we are in a theocracy – a King who is God is our leader – the rest of us are just a few steps behind…and no one is ever the sole-proprietor of God’s voice or instructions for where to go next.

      Keep pushing on this with me if ya like – I love this kind of learning…

    • Nathan 7:15 pm on April 17, 2010 Permalink

      Mark, I like this a lot. The idea that there is a rotation works really well if leadership is understood to be among peers. Leadership in the home is different because its symbiotic. I and my wife were part of the birthing process for God to bring our child into the world and are responsible thus to provide an environment that treats parenting as a stewardship of our relationship to our child, not a leadership position. Parenting requires leadership like a house requires walls. So parenting isn’t leadership, it just requires leadership to be done and there is no use comparing or separating them. What parenting doesn’t require but actually should be – is stewardship. Parents don’t have to think like or be stewards to be parent their children but they do have to be leaders, its inherent to the process. So stewardship is the challenge.

      The connection for me is that new birth requires leadership. The kind of leadership that you are talking about is leadership shared among peers who, generally speaking, are at very similar levels of competence, maturity and communicated investment. I love the idea of a 12 year old leading a Bible study, as long as they understand that they are doing so with encouragement and “leadership” from a group of people who represent the flock of birds responsible for rotating the front lead. Over exposure to leadership responsibilities for those not ready or seasoned can lead to immense damage or debilitating pride.

      So it seems that it is better to have a group of leaders sharing the front who represent different ilks of influence, gifting and personality. They all can provide an environment where those that are birthed and/or are maturing can grow in praxis and conviction. At the end of the day it does take a group of people to determine who is growing, how they can help them grow and at what stage of growth or need for birth they are at. Whoever ends up doing this will be by default – the leaders. They should represent a variety of influences and giftings and experiences as much as possible. Regardless, whomever ends up evaluating those that are growing and providing the environment for growth and maturity to take place – they are the leaders and the others aren’t.

      The point though for leaders is to not be leaders from a desire for power but from a desire to ultimately empower others through their self designed disempowerment as they transfer power and decision making to increasingly competent and maturing individual and communities. (This is all very ideal – but that is the nature of theory)

      I think what you’re getting at, is that at whatever point a community is at in that process different members of the leading community need to be the “point person” and take the helm. After they’ve taken the helm for whatever project or period of time that they were needed, they then give up the “point person” positioning as a reflection of how they need to be growing in health and encouraging the community to grow in health. this is done by leaders making space for other leaders to lead and by “making sheep into shepherds” as they mature. The leaders are ultimately supposed to work themselves out of a job continuously in order to reflect health, accountability,.proper pedagogy and continual community transformation. Leadership is then a paradox – Leaders are people who work themselves out of leadership continuously in order to empower others, thereby solidly establishing their identity as leaders and hence their leadership.

      I like your idea as well, because the birds are from Canada.

    • Mark 10:23 am on April 18, 2010 Permalink

      You know Nathan, this reminds me of a parent helping a child learn how to tie his shoe. The truth is, if the parent wanted complete control of the child, the parent would never teach the kid how to tie the shoe, thus keeping the child dependent on the parent forever. And truth be told, its easier just to tie the dang shoe, than to take the time to stop, take about two weeks of intense training, laying one lace over the other making a bow, etc…

      But any parent will tell you that a chunk of time invested in teaching a child to tie his own shoe will save the parent many countless hours later on in life. The control must be passed from the parent to the child. If leadership remains in the hands of one leader, then the shoe metaphor says that the family will never walk farther than the leader will let them go. Control and power must be passed around – because one day, when the parent is weak and paralyzed with old age, the child will be tying the shoes of the parent.

    • Nathan Smith 1:21 am on April 19, 2010 Permalink

      Cool continuation Mark! Teaching a man how to fish starts when he’s a child. What would you say to the idea empowering leaders who are in the same age bracket and life experience as you but because of circumstances or historical hardships have been held back in their ability to mature in certain areas of life, practice or propriety?

      I’m thinking of post-colonialism – the leadership (albeit that it sucked and was imperialistic) of the colonial era was static until it was removed. The removal was so swift and many times so pervasive that the leadership vacuum in many of these countries was more like a leadership black hole that swallowed them up. Only now are some of these countries pulling themselves out of the ruin, civil unrest and tragedy of post colonial vacancies and tragedies. Many were expected to operate within systems created by the Western imperialists immediately upon the exiting of the Western colonialists which left them in a state of shock. The same thing was true after slavery was outlawed here in the US. Those transitions were so upending that they essentially forced a global “revolution” upon each of the countries that they left behind. We bemoan other “revolutions” that took place but colonialism created violent “revolutions” all over the world in less than 20 years by just leaving countries behind to figure things out on their own without little to no transition time.

      Just wondered what your thoughts were on that stuff. In your opinion, how should leaders be empowered who are in this frame of mind? The reason I ask, is that when an older individual finds Christ, though they are a new birth spiritually, their age allows them to perceive their faith from a somewhat “spiritual post-colonialism” especially if they are the same age as us or older. The organic process is much more straight forward when the spiritual growth can somewhat match the natural humanistic growth of the individual. I’ve often wondered how to work with those who are older when they come to faith and it seems that their process mirrors more of the post-colonial mind-scape. Thoughts?

    • Chad 12:28 am on May 6, 2010 Permalink

      The flying v may be better metaphor (instinct, etc), but your reflection also made me think of drafting in cycling, sharing the burden, increasing overall speed, etc. The peleton has many interesting dynamics…I’ll leave thAt for another time when not on a cell phone. Fly on. Blessings

    • Mark 7:31 am on May 6, 2010 Permalink

      Fly on yourself Chad! Hope things are going well for you brother! What’s the latest? Send me an email when you’re not on your cell phone. :)

  • Mark 6:21 pm on February 1, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Alan Hirsch,   

    Layers of Christian Community: Meso 

    This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series The Layers of Christ-Centered Community

    The layer of Christian Community found at the “Meso” level is named such because of its “middle” level in all the layers. It is the center both in terms of size and importance.  It is the turning point for the rest of the layers.  “Meso” is phonetically connected to the word “messy” and there is no doubt that this level is the messiest – where passions, expectations, and personalities rear their heads most overtly.  But it is in the messiness that profound transformation and growth can occur if it is allowed to.  In fact, it is the crucible where salvation (on a personal, communal, and societal level) is experienced.

    What is the Meso Layer anyway?

    We see the Meso layer as the centerpiece to the organic church network, the “Onion” we’re exploring (peeling?) in this series.  In our network it is the “simple church” the “house church family” – a gathering of about 8-25 people.  For Jesus it was his 12 disciples.  This was Jesus’ daily expression of Church – and what he referred to in the few times he used the word.  For Jesus it was his spiritual family – his “brothers, sisters, and mothers” all in hot pursuit of the Way.

    Today however, so often when we think of a church – we think of an organization with qualified leaders, impressive architecture, regular practices and recited doctrines.  But what is missing?

    JESUS!

    Why make the one who is Head of the Church anything but the central picture of what a church is? 

    Simply put – Church is Jesus followed.

    In other words: the Church is:

    “The presence of Jesus among His people called out as a spiritual family to pursue His mission on this planet.” — CMA

    Let that sink in for a moment.  What does that mean for a crew of 12 followers of Jesus in our world today who choose to join together as a simple church?

    1) It means you belong to a Family.

    Similar to the African proverb, we believe “It takes a Church to raise a Christian.” We may come to faith as individuals, but we grow in community.

    The Church is God’s tangible ANSWER to everything that sin created on earth, and the Meso Layer, the vibrant family of Jesus, is the primary expression of the Church.  No government program, no hierarchical structure, can ever force us to love our enemies or take care of our poor and sick; only a church family can do that.  And your personal transformation toward Christ-likeness is stunted if you try to do it on your own – you need a family.   The world needs this Layer of the Church to shine!

    Think of the Meso Layer as the family that you can belong to.  Cheers: “Where everybody knows your name.”  The “household” – the “oikos” or group of friends that meet regularly (preferably at least once a week) sharing life, serving their mission field, and listening to God together.

    Just because you are family together doesn’t mean there won’t be conflict.  In fact, one of the watermarks of following Jesus is unity in diversity.  Learning to love the “other.”  It wasn’t long before the earliest Jewish Christians realized that Christ’s message was for the world, and then came the difficult work of overcoming stereotypes, personal vices, and inviting those incorrigible Gentiles into your household.  What they no doubt discovered in the process was that it was not their household to begin with, it was God’s.  Jewish Christians weren’t bringing Gentiles into God’s family, they were all together joining a brand new Family made up of very different people.  Suddenly the Jewish Christians’ high theological platitudes of the Church being for the whole world suddenly found its expression sitting in the living room through a smelly guy who loves a good pork sandwich.  And they realized:

    “Brotherhood doesn’t come in a package. It is not a commodity to be taken down from the shelf with one hand — it is an accomplishment of soul-searching, prayer and perseverance.” — Oveta Culp Hobby

    and

    “He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

    Its only in recent days and among Western societies that the notion of “When it comes to spirituality, I do my own thing,” has popped up.  Maybe a development from the fierce American individualism alongside its distrust of submission and authority.  But when will we see that first, we are communal beings? Our spirituality cannot flourish in isolation.

    “Let him who cannot be alone beware of community, and let him who cannot be in community beware of being alone.” – Bonhoeffer.

    2) It means you have a Purpose.

    Imagine a strand of DNA.  Two twisting rails with a series of ascending rungs holding it all together.  In this simple structure holds the design of a person’s very essence.  It is the instructions and in someways the destiny of the organism it references.  Church may find its essence and destiny in its DNA.

    That DNA is Divine Truth, Nurturing Relationships, and Apostolic Mission.

    Our aim is to see the DNA express itself overtly in all levels of the Onion, and its clear that if the Meso Layer doesn’t express the DNA of the Church, no other layer will either.

    We find the Church’s DNA wrapped up in its genome, the Bible, most clearly seen in the Great Commandment (“Love God…” (Divine Truth), and “Love your Neighbor…” (Nurturing Relationships)), and the Great Commission (“Go into all the world, making disciples,” Apostolic Mission).

    — D —

    A consistent connecting to God through worship, Bible study, and listening to God’s voice in prayer are what keep the N and the A moving in the right direction.  It is the seed that is planted in the soil of a community.  It is the incarnation of God’s Divine Word in a frail human community sharing God himself through the simplest of gifts; bread, wine, song, Scripture, prayer…

    The more a Meso level community is able to cross-pollinate spiritual resources and Divine Truth to its own members, the healthier it will be. (Rom 12:6-8)  Each member of the community is granted a ministry to the other members of the community; from rich to poor, young to old.

    When a simple church gathers together, its aim is to share what its members collected during their time apart, sharing stories, songs, Scriptures, and meals.  Essentially, they are gathering the scattered fragments of the Kingdom. They are creating a “spiritual potluck” or an “open mic” where each person brings what God gave them. (1 Cor 14:26)  No one comes empty-handed, and they leave with abundance in order to offer the world a portion of the sacred bounty!

    — N —

    There is no doubt: WE NEED COMMUNITY – but what is the purpose of a church?

    Through the “N in the DNA,” a nurturing church family at the Meso Layer is all about “equipping” the saints.  But what does “equip” mean?  Essentially the word means to “put a bone in right relationship with the rest of the body.”

    The Meso Layer of church is the primary place for nurturing the Christian in the context of a spiritual family.  It is where we engage as healed sinners in the Kingdom-community.

    Here are a few functions through which a church family may equip its members: common Love and Compassion (unity in diversity, Eph 4:1-7), common Identity and Purpose (faith, hope, love // Being of the same mind – Phil 2:1-2 ), common Nurture and Service (the “one anothers” of Scripture, Spiritual Parenting and Counsel, and  Inner-Healing Prayer), common Discernment (SASHET/ VIRKLER, communal discernment and spiritual direction), common Forgiveness and Reconciliation (through elements like shared meals, Baptism, and Communion), common Authority and Submission (sharing possessions, accepting the wisdom of others), and finally, common Worship and Prayer.

    — A —

    In addition, the Meso Layer of the Church is the primary catalyst for world transformation and presenting Christ to the world.  The purpose of the church is not itself.  The Church does not exist for our sake.  We ARE the Church, for the sake of the world – and to the glory of our groom, Christ.

    The Church does not have a mission.  The Mission has a Church.

    Merely holding a family together is not a big enough story for the role we have to play in this world.  While pastors would rather keep the sheep in the pen, the purpose of a healthy family is to present to the world the dynamic, unique and redeemed life of Jesus in a contextual way.  In fact, a deeper level of community (communitas) is forged in a church when it strikes out on a mission together.  Dream big dreams – make no small plans.

    A broad summary of the New Testament mission and most Jesus-led missional movements throughout the ages included the work of God and the partnership of God’s Church family – specifically at the Meso Level.  The church has always had the virus of apostolic mission – God calling, preparing and sending communities as little capsules of the Kingdom.

    This is the underlying current beneath every missional church.  From the church that met in Aquilla and Priscilla’s house in the 1st Century, to St. Patrick’s edgy “barbarian missions” in the 4th Century to the church in America today.

    The Church is an Organism

    At the Meso Level, we see the fluid nature of the church at its best.  It is essentially the crossroads of the Onion – it is where 3 or 4 Micro level communities (like LTG’s) make the the MesoLevel group of 12 people, and a Macro Level worship event is a collective of several different Meso groups.  We should never underestimate the power of these small groups – these simple churches – these “vibrant families of Jesus.”

    “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead

    Because we believe in the power of the Meso Layer addressing and solving the ills of society and the brokenness in each individual, we have made the planting of these communities our central missions focus:

    “Our mission is to see a vibrant family of Jesus Christ in close reach, culturally and geographically, of every person in Chicago.”

    Organic things grow, and reproduce in time.  Organic churches follow God’s call to “be fruitful and multiply.”  Overtime, this creates a a grassroots network of faith families!  There is no true beginning or end to this liquid network of organic churches, connecting to Christians in every church, denomination and region on earth.  Yes, there may be names of church fellowships in cities and regions, but truly the Church – the network – of Christ goes on forever, both in time and space – one unified Body of Christ on earth!

    • Share/Bookmark
     
  • Mark 7:09 pm on December 2, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Diversity, glenn beck, Kenny-G, matthew raley,   

    The Diversity Culture 

    Stop for just a moment and think.  Clear your mind and take a breath.  Consider your worldview – your perspectives, points of view, political leanings, religious beliefs…the very lens through which you see your world.  Now, think carefully – who is the person that represents the most complete opposite end of the spectrum?  Generally, humans reserve trust and friendship with people they believe are most like them – and tend to demonize and stereotype those most different from them.

    For many in America today, conservative Christians and the liberal secularists are on opposite ends of the spectrum.  One tends to hang out on Sunday mornings, the other on Saturday nights.  One votes for the Democrat, the other votes for the Republican.   The worst evil for one is social deviance, whereas the other shuns bigotry.  One is urban, one is suburban.  One wears suits, the other has dreadlocks.    One is PC one is Mac.  You get the picture.

    Both live in worlds in which the other has no place.  Both exist in tight bubbles that exclude others.  In these secluded tribes, they can lob ideological grenades at other tribes and receive comfort from their peers.  All the while the chasm between people and Truth grows wider.

    I had never heard of Matthew Raley when I picked up The Diversity Culture: Creating Conversations of Faith with Buddhist Baristas, Agnostic Students, Aging Hippies, Political Activists, and Everyone in Between. He speaks to this reality of ideological tribalism with humility and truth.  He draws on the story of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the well, [youversion]John 4:1-26[/youversion], as a prime example of how Jesus engaged the “other” not as a propped-up caricature, but as a unique individual.  Samaritans and Jews distrusted each other politically, religiously, and even the other tribe’s very right to exist. Sounds familiar even today, doesn’t it?

    Jesus sat down next to the well, and began to cross barriers – claiming that mistakes had been made in both Jewish and Samaritan tribes in the identity of the other – both groups had inherited from their tribesmen lies about the other group.  When she showed signs that she was willing to take people (and life) case by case (rather than broad brushing stereotypes) he was able to work with her – and introduce her to the Living Water.

    But herein lies the rub – do people make life-changing decisions about faith and worldview as a group, or as individuals?  Raley says its about “crowbar-ing people away from their groupthink” (whether Christian or secular or whatever) and asking them to think critically about what they personally believe to be true.  It is at this point that I think I differ from Raley.

    I agree that to really help someone think critically about an issue, sometimes you have to remove their normal filters and lenses their culture gives them and let them try their best to think for themselves.  Other times there’s just not enough will-power in the person to do that, and if done properly, “salvation can come to the whole household,” as it does all over Acts.  Sometimes people come to Christ as individuals, extricated from their culture (Ethiopian eunuch, Samaritan woman at the well), and sometimes its through their community (Philippian jailer’s family, Cornelius’ household, etc.).

    He admits that most people in the “Diversity Culture” as he coins it, grow up with a “street postmodernism” – and are not really sure why they hold such pluralistic views – they know perfectly well that right and wrong exist, but “what they don’t necessarily know is how to integrate unchanging principles into lives that are full of change.” (Raley, 50) Christians too believe things without knowing exactly why – and they still are distrustful of those with different views.  What ends up happening is a world full of people who hate each other for reasons they can’t explain.  Back to stereotypes.

    Remember that archetypal person who you distrust the most, and put an actual face on them – someone you know at work, etc.  Find their uniqueness – something that shatters the stereotype you have of them.  Maybe its a hipster who listens to Kenny-G, or a liberal who secretly watches reruns of Glenn Beck.  You might just find yourself like the Samaritan woman at the well did, face to face with a the most important relationship of your life that you never saw coming.

    • Share/Bookmark
     
    • Agent B 12:27 am on December 5, 2009 Permalink

      I don’t think any real human listens to Kenny G

    • Guy Muse 11:35 am on December 6, 2009 Permalink

      A lot to chew on in this post. For me it is a good way to define who the “Samaritans” are amongst us. Often we can identify our Jerusalem, Judea, and have a good idea about who the “ends of the earth” are, but few of us can clearly put a face to the Samaritans in our midst.

    • Sean Landolt 6:48 pm on December 12, 2009 Permalink

      This is a good post and I’m interested in where you find the resources and what drew you to them. Why does inter-religious conversation catch your eye?

      Up in Canada I’m finding that people are very closed off from any religious conversation. Its not even a deeply personal issue its just a social taboo to talk about it. You can’t open up about it until you have developed a close friendship where you are each sharing your opinions openly. This is terribly frustrating becuase it means I have to put a lot into a person before I find out where they stand with God (on a side note though this does force you to learn how to love poeple for you they are rather than trying to change them). I’m doing a little looking around for inter-religious conversation, but I haven’t found anything yet. I think the culture up here in general is more interested in moving up in social status than in spirituality. This is probably why the culture has been seperated from Christianity sence the sixties. Once Christianity no longer held social statues people quite going to church. But I’m pritty new to the area, and people are like unions up here. Thanks for the post you got me thinkin’. And seriously how are you finding these books?

    • Mark 7:15 pm on December 12, 2009 Permalink

      Yo Sean! I’m with the Ooze Viral Bloggers, an online Magazine that does among other things book reviews. They send me a free book as long as I do a review of it (good or bad).

      Hey – ya otta check out Meetup.com – its a great way to link up with people in your area. Each time a new “spirituality” meetup group starts in my neighborhood, Meetup.com sends me an email notifying me of it. Pretty cool! Some groups are wacko, others are legit. That’s how we linked up with these guys – a great resource.

c
compose new post
j
next post/next comment
k
previous post/previous comment
r
reply
e
edit
o
show/hide comments
t
go to top
l
go to login
h
show/hide help
esc
cancel