sustain:if:able kiwi

the good old days: yeah right

I am working on some notes for my Leadership class tomorrow.

Much Protestant thinking about church leadership is based on the assumption of the “good old days.” All we need to do is re-find the vitality of the “good old days” and we will be right.

However, closer examination suggests that the early church might not be as “ideal” as reformers and revolutionaries tend to make out. The “early church” of Acts involved fraud (Acts 5:1-10), misuse of church finances (6:1-7) and racial segregation (Acts 10).

As John Drane helpfully notes;

[We assume] that the [early church] were always ‘successful’ in the sense of large numbers of people responding to their message. This was not the case, and by including stories of small response [Acts 17:34], as well as of persecution and hardship [Acts 13:50], Luke emphasized that occasions such as the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-41) were few and far between, and his readers could expect that evangelism would generally be hard work with average results. Do Christians Know How to be Spiritual?, London, DLT: 2005. Note 32, p. 179.

We need to be wise in how we apply the so-called “good old days” idealism to our understandings of church and leadership today.

women and apostolic leadership

For the last few months, at Digestion, our evening service, I’ve stumbled on a bit of a winner in terms of participation. Early in August, I did a sermon called my favourite Biblical hero is …

To my surprise, a number of people told me they had a different hero and could they share. So far 5 different people have shared and 2 more are waiting in the wings. There’s been something about the mixing of two stories; the preacher and the hero, that has been rich and interesting.

But it had become a bit male focused, men talking about male biblical heros. So to break things up a bit, on Sunday I talked a second time, about my favourite female Biblical hero. She also happens to be an apostle, and thus for me continued some of my thinking about gender and leadership. I drew heavily on Richard Bauckham’s book Gospel Women: Studies of the Named Women in the Gospels.

After the sermon all the women in the congregation were invited to stand, and two of our current women in leadership prayed for them. If you’re interested, here’s the sermon: my favourite female Bibical hero.

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gender and leadership

Venture Capitalist and author Guy Kawasaki wrote in the Art of the Start that a major problem of many start-ups is that they are dominated by men and that is a problem. Men are by nature too aggressive and want to defeat and kill things … In companies he funds, he makes them hire women if they don’t have any into senior leadership positions to help negate the testosterone and learn to build partnerships instead of trying to kill every wooly mammoth that we see walk down the street.

Link

the liberation of a missional leadership text

On Sunday I began a series on leadership (the sermon is available here, along with some discussion questions for study groups). I am concerned that leadership is often reduced to certain styles and personalities. So I find 1 Corinthians 3:5-4:21 liberating. Paul uses 6 different images to describe his leadership.

Paul has planted some house churches in Corinth (done the “apostolic” thing). Now there appears to be conflict over leadership. Paul continues the “apostolic” thing (perhaps working to protect the missional DNA of this early church plant?), by tackling understandings of leadership. He then offers 6 different images of leader; Servants; Workers; Builders; Resource managers; Cross carriers; Parents. To me this is wonderfully liberating and offers a whole new range of leading.

In honour of Al Hirsch, and in some good-natured Tasman-banter, I am calling this the “SWBRCP” model (not as easy to say as APEPT, and therefore unlikely to be as catchy, I know:)). A few weeks ago, when I wondered aloud about the APEPT model, Alan commented back:
“suspect many of you would not like to be part of genuine missional movements because of your reserve on so many things. How are we every going to change things if everyone is so touchy about basic biblical ministry?”

So in honour of being so “touchy” about being Biblical and missional, I offer the “SWBRCP” model; arising from the missional ministry of 1 Corinthians. For in the wonderful diversity of God, some are called to be apostolic leaders as servants; others as workers, others as builders; others as resource managers; others as cross carriers; others as parents.

Now I am not suggesting that this “SWBRCP” model should have books written about it. Heaven forbid. Rather, I wonder, if given that Paul can suggest both SWBRCP and APEPT, perhaps we are being offered uniquely creative leadership for every different context. I find this missionally liberating.

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gurus and mentors

This week has been a bit upheaving. This week one of my gurus asked me to speak with them at a conference. I’ve read the gurus books. I’ve listened to the guru speak. I’ve been profoundly challenged by their ideas. And now the guru wants me to share the mic. That’s quite destablising.

I’ve watched someone choose a mentor this week. They are an immensely talented person, and by a random set of co-incidences, they have chosen an immensely talented person. I can see them becoming a leader like the person they have named.

I wonder if I need to see guru’s and mentor’s in a new light. I’ve often seen them as people to aspire to. But I wonder rather, if guru’s and mentor’s call something out of us. Deep within ourselves our creativity resonnates with their creativity, our leadership with their leadership. The aspiration is not in fact us wanting to be like them, but our gift mix being called forth. I wonder if reflecting on the people who inspire us might actually help us name what God is doing in us as leaders.

pastoral leadership skills

Partnering in God’s new future requires spaces to listen. It resists programmes and models and hurries from impatience. It requires attentiveness to the unique contours of the cultural now in people’s lives. It plays with metaphor and possibilities. It lives within a narrative, not its own yet strangely familiar. It is birthed amid a personal attentiveness to my uniqueness, gift mix and personality.

on the plane again?

It looks like I will be back in Los Angeles, April 27-29, for a leadership consultation in relation to the emerging church. I am sick of travelling, but this looks worth easing my butt back into an airline seat again.

emerging leadership

leadership = i just want someone i can respect

passion
purpose
sensitivity

:: go a long way in leadership

leader as safe or good

Further to my reflection on pastor as chaos agent:

They asked of Aslan, the lion,
“Is he safe?”
Those who knew him replied,
“Safe! No, but he is good.”
– CS Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia.

PS The movie, due for release Christmas 05, is being filmed in New Zealand as I blog and you read.

pastor as chaos agent

I am working on a chaos theory of leadership:
the theory is that the role of a pastoral leader is to cause chaos.

this is based on a fear of domesticated religion
on a personal distaste of images of gentle Jesus meek and mild
on a concern that given time, most systems find an inertia of their own
and on my PhD musings that so often discontinuity is the space for growth.

so if the people of God are meant to be pilgrim,
and meant to be growing,
then should not the role of a pastoral leader be to promote chaos?

Leadership exercise

“Modern-day pastors work, whether we know it or not, out of a reservoir of received images of Christian leadership… long list of American leaders… Every time I enter a pulpit or a hospital room as a pastor, for good or ill, I bear memories of those who lived out this vocation before me. Knowledge of their sacrifices and achievements, their stumblings and mistakes, can help inspire and encourage me, correct and judge me in my ministerial work today.” – Willimon, Pastor.

So who are the ministry models that shaped you, for good or ill? How are they inspiring and encouraging you?

PS. This prompted excellent discussion and prayer at our Opawa team meeting today.

praying for all risktakers today

Recognise that it is far easier to criticise than to create – therefore expect criticism.

holding eggs

It was my 1st day at my new church (Opawa) today. I asked the 4 other paid staff to gather.

I gave them all an egg – fragile, yet hopeful. I talked about the church as the bride of Christ … beautiful … hopeful … yet fragile and nervous.

I said that I felt a bit nervous and fragile in this new role. I said I thought people at Opawa were probably a bit nervous and fragile about having a new young minister on board. I said I wondered if the staff were a bit nervous and fragile, wondering how they would fit with this new young minister.

And so we prayed for each other, that in our fragility new life would emerge.