Rethink Leading - Good to Great

Another good Sunday and another RETHINK Church discussion. This week we focused on RETHINK Leading, a discussion centered around what kind of leaders do our churches need and how do we either find them or develop them. I thought the discussion this week was very fruitful and almost everyone got involved in discussions of issues like "what is leadership" and "what is the difference between leadership and management". I meant to ask a question and forgot..."do we need leadership or just good management at St. Paul's"? As a vehicle to discuss these issues, I used a book by Jim Collins entitled "Good to Great" which discusses the growth of 11 companies from the Fortune 500 that Collins and his researchers identified as being head and shoulders above the other "industry leaders". There were many interesting pieces of information in the book, but its focus was really on the type of leader they found in each of these 11 companies. The "Level 5 Leader" as Collins termed them were an amazing amalgamation of humility and overwhelming drive for their organization to be successful. Avoiding the celebrity status of Lee Iacocca or Jack Welch, these leaders were more "plow horse than show horse" and focused solely on the success of their organization. The amazing information that comes from Collins' research shows that the celebrity CEO hires from outside the company rarely had lasting power, but these humble leaders who were more worried about their organization than their own compensation package had lasting impacts that propelled their organizations into long term gains well beyond the market average performance. While we are not a profit organization, the idea of a humble leader who is focused on their organization and the people in it sounds like our kind of Christian leader. After the session someone looked at me and asked if I thought Jesus was a Level 5 Leader...before I could answer his wife informed him that obviously he was as he was ultimately humble and dedicated his life to the growth of his Church. I love it when all of you do my job better than I can. Have a wonderful week and this weekend we'll look into RETHINK Church once again.

Joshua

On Sunday, September 6, 2009, we discussed some elements from the book Joshua, by Joseph Girzone, and compared them to our church. We were trying to "Rethink Relationships". The current topic of conversation around town was the new fellow in the old cottage at the edge of town. No one knew much about him except that his name was Joshua and he was a plain man. He kept pretty much to himself, which piqued everyone’s curiosity. It was a small town. Because relationships were so tightly knit in the village, a stranger had little hope of ever becoming a part of it. People were not considered from there until they had lived in the town for at least 15 years.

Do we have "small town" mentality at St. Paul's?

Joshua had a very close relationship with God. "Going to bed was a ritual. He would kneel at his bedside for the longest time talking to God, sometimes silently, sometimes out loud. When he prayed like this it would frequently last far into the night. His position rarely changed. Most of the time his hand would rest on the bed relaxed, one hand resting on top of the other, his face peaceful, his open eyes looking into the dark as if seeing something no one else could see." "To him God was not just a phantom humans concoct to fix their imaginations on, but a real being present before him who responded to every thought and plea.It was as if he was enjoying a dialogue with a dear friend, with someone he loved intensely, and someone who was intimately involved in his life, who controlled circumstances, made decisions, even decisions with which Joshua sometimes strongly disagreed. It was almost as if he and God planned the next day in every detail."

Do you see the face of God when you pray? Is God your best friend? The one you cannot wait to tell really good news or the one you really need to talk to when things are not going so well.

Joshua taught that it is important for people to realize that "God's prime concern is people, not religious structures. They exist merely to channel God’s word to people. But it is people that God cares about. He wants them to understand their lives and to find happiness. He wants nothing from them except that they allow themselves to grow. God’s law is not a code arbitrarily imposed on people to restrict their freedom unreasonably. It was intended as a guide to happiness. Over the centuries religious leaders have twisted the law into a code that is irrelevant to man’s nature and thereby restricts the natural freedom people should enjoy. This is what makes religion seem like a burden to people rather than something in which they should find joy and comfort. The word religion means to “bind up”, that is not what God wants to do. God created people to be free and to enjoy the existence he gave them. All that God wants is that we love him and love one another and in doing that, find happiness.”

Have you heard the message of Love?
Do you share the message of Love?
Do you live the message of Love?

Joseph Girzone has written several books. Please check out his website http://www.randomhouse.com/features/girzone/index.html.

Church was meant to bring people closer to God...Is it working?

Books

We added a new element to the blog. There is a bookshelf on the right column at the bottom. Currently, it it displaying several books that deal with the topic of privilege, power, and race. I highly recommend any of these books if you are interested in reading more about this topic.

Rethink Boundaries

On Sunday, August 31, 2009, we discussed "White Privilege". Power and privilege are prevalent in the social systems of the United States. Our history supports the structures that are in place today. In the United States Senate, there are 7 women, 2 Hispanics, and 1 Black. There have only been 6 Black male senators in the entire history of the U.S. Senate. Three of the Black senators came from one state...Illinois. Although the representation in the House of Representatives is much better, it is still telling that old, white men still control the decisions made in this country. However, the idea here is not to point fingers, but to help people understand how their power and privilege are freely bestowed upon them just because of their gender, status in life, and color of skin. That does not mean that all white men have an easy time in life. They do not! However, the social systems give people privilege as they are perceived by others as belonging to privileged groups or social categories. It is only those in the privileged category who can assist others in the non-privileged category. Just this week in a workshop where I was the presenter, I, a white female, was ignored and a white male directed a question to a white male in the room. The good thing was that others saw the action. That is the first step, awareness,...to see the privilege and power at work in our lives. I challenge you to sit and watch who responds first in meetings or dinner groups, who talks over who, and who is completely ignored. Yes, we live in a wonderful country with many freedoms, but we also have a responsibility to make it better. Remember Henry Louis Gates, listen to his interview on Black American Web.com.
What will you do with your PRIVILEGE to help those who are disadvantaged today?