Leadership

What if my neighbour could be president?

October 28, 2020 0 Comments

What if my neighbour could be president?

I think I would like to vote for my neighbour.

Jesus commended being a neighbour. In fact Jesus seems to think more of being a neighbour than being a president, especially if one’s vision of greatness is lording it over other people.

I think my neighbour might be a good president, especially since she doesn’t want to be president. But, she acts like a president all the time; well if by that you mean she acts like a neighbour. She’s always organizing people to meet the needs of the day and when they can’t be organized or won’t be organized, she still finds a way to get it done. She’s quite the strategist too, thinking about the future, making adjustments so humans flourish. I would vote for her.

Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God and that the second (commandment) was like it: to love your neighbour as yourself. When asked about loving the neighbour, Jesus promoted being the neighbour who loves. Seems like we should be voting for neighbours.

One of the things I’ve noticed about great neighbours, is that they tend to love those closest to them even when they are far from home. Love starts at home, maybe leading does too.

I think my neighbour could be a good president. I’d vote for him because he’s pretty keyed up about making our community a place where you would never want to sacrifice your children in order to live here, or even survive here. He doesn’t have a lot of catchy sayings, but he does seem to tell the truth… thoughtfully. In fact, he’s always thinking about how to make this a place where the next generation could thrive.

I have another neighbour who could be president. Maybe I should vote for him. I could write him in. He has a good fence, but he’s always leaning over it to say hello. He would be appalled to condone death by drone. Over the years he’s built unlikely friendships by serving behind the scenes over and over and over. I’d vote for him in a heartbeat.

What’s wrong with voting for a neighbour? What if the most powerful elected official in the country was going to be your neighbour? That would make you pause wouldn’t it?

And then there’s my neighbour who cares about air, soil, and water — and by doing so she really cares for people. She would make an excellent president. She’s so glad for people to work and she knows the priceless value of habitats. Why can’t we have presidents who know the power of “and.” You and me. Me and you. You and me and the stuff of earth.

What if choosing leaders as if they were going to be my neighbour might actually help me vote?

I think I’d like to vote for my neighbour. What about you?

#voteforyourneighbour

Note: No neighbours have paid for this endorsement, nor have any candidates for the office of president reached out to me. Most of my neighbours are Canadian, so they can’t be president. But, I sure have enjoyed thinking about my neighbours being the president if I voted for them!

Leadership, Society

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Wait and Listen

May 14, 2020 0 Comments

What is your smaller world of interaction teaching you?

Some of you may have discovered a neglected discipline as your world has become smaller during the pandemic. Maybe you have cooked more, baked more, practiced an instrument more, gardened more, or perhaps you have rested. But my guess is that the discipline of waiting and listening for Jesus’ voice has not become “easier.” I pray that we would all be given grace to increase our capacity to listen to Jesus. If we don’t, we will miss out on so much joy.

John the Baptist’s life is full of so many discipleship lessons for the followers of Jesus. When his disciples are all stirred up by comparison and jealousy John responds with contentment, jubilation and joy.

His contentment had been nurtured through surrender and faithfulness.

He says, “A person can only receive what is given them from heaven.” Without this surrender and perseverance in relationship to God John would not have had joy.

John’s joy has been nurtured through clarity and conviction.

He is clear about who He is and what is about. His identity flows from His relationship with God and the unique time in which He has been situated in God’s plan. John richly describes his relationship with Jesus, with himself, and his relationships with people and the stuff of earth through the metaphor of the wedding party. John says,

“The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:29-30)

The Friend of the Groom

When you are part of the wedding part, the groom’s men or the bride’s maids you have certain responsibilities and roles to play. At the wedding the point of focus is not you; it’s the groom and bride. As the friend of the groom you are not trying to upstage him; you want to attend to his needs and to his purposes in loving, celebrating, and building up his bride.

John says he has been attending to Jesus, the Messiah. John has been waiting for Jesus. John has been listening for Jesus. And when Jesus speaks, John has joy. When the bride moves toward Jesus John celebrates and feels a sense of completion in his life.

Are you learning to wait on and listen for Jesus? Our joy is in hearing his voice and responding to Him in obedience.

Waiting and listening are not passive; they require attentive effort.

At at wedding celebration the friend of the groom may be seen sitting, walking, and standing. Sometimes he appears to be alone — but he may actually be on task for the groom. Sometimes he appears to be with the groom: sitting, walking, standing. Sometimes the friend of the groom may be attending to a need of the groom’s bride on the groom’s behalf. There is joy in all of it.

But all the activity has as its point of reference that the friend of the groom has been able to wait and to listen.

Even while active in mundane or once-in-a-lifetime tasks, the friend of the groom is mindful to listen for the groom’s voice.

This is John’s internal posture: attending to the voice of Jesus.

Is it yours?

You can nurture this kind of attention through:

daily surrender to Jesus.

daily openness to His Spirit filling you.

daily feeding on His Words and the stories of Jesus’ life.

daily mindfulness to His nudge drawing your attention to people so you can participate in what He is doing in their lives and yours.

celebrating the union of the Church with Jesus the Lamb of God!

Discipleship, Jesus, Leadership, Work

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How to save a city?

February 7, 2020 0 Comments

Do you know the parable of the poor wise man who saved a city?

I’m reading through the Bible again. I love the moments where the Word of God catches me by surprise. What I used to blaze through quickly I find myself pausing over, praying over, meditating over, and bringing deeper into the marrow of my existence.

This week the Teacher of Ecclesiastes caught me by surprise. Is there anything that could truly impress this person equipped with all the privilege required to sample life without fear of social consequence? And then there is. He is “impressed with a great example of wisdom.” It’s an account of a poor wise man who saved a city. I’m sure I blazed through it in my former readings.

13I also saw under the sun this example of wisdom that greatly impressed me: 14There was once a small city with only a few people in it. And a powerful king came against it, surrounded it and built huge siege works against it. 15Now there lived in that city a man poor but wise, and he saved the city by his wisdom. But nobody remembered that poor man. 16So I said, “Wisdom is better than strength.” But the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are no longer heeded.

17The quiet words of the wise are more
to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.

18Wisdom is better than weapons of war,
but one sinner destroys much good.

Ecclesiastes 9:13-18

When the church has a full-bodied vision of discipleship it will seek out men and women of Jesus who are full of wisdom and the Holy Spirit. These wise folk may not be on the platform. We will probably need to get off the public ramparts and poke around in the corners of our congregations to find them.

We won’t elevate the wise unless we are willing to share life with those who seem “poor.” Unfortunately we seem to be more inclined to elevate the people who are able to make a good show. So many folks are looking for a leader who will save the day; yet, they love the shouts of a ruler who gives them reasons to feel good about being bad. Such a leader is “a ruler of fools” says the teacher. This kind of leader is puffed up and full of the celebrated strengths of humanity, willing to be combative and rushing to implement the weapons of war. One leader like this “destroys much good.” For this leader everything is about competition, being the survivor whose existence at the top must mean they were right, and who reflexively treats another’s commitment to righteousness and integrity as “weakness.” This leader shouts and will gain more applause from his or her congregation of fools.

Unfortunately our visions of leadership and even of discipleship do not lean toward the wisdom of Jesus. We are being trumped by our desire for a show. 

For any who lead and for any who have the ambition to serve (to make a difference) by being the person who invites people to do what they would never do unless a leader was present, this parable will strike deep into the desire for applause and position. Am I willing to be the poor wise man who saves a city but may be forgotten, unnamed, and even despised?

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

Leadership, Society

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Catechism + Comment

July 16, 2019 0 Comments

I. O Mortal, what is required of thee?
To act justly.

When
the man at the top
refuses to be
the man at the bottom
he will not be
for the people.

II. O Mortal, what is required of thee?
To love mercy.

When
your counsellors have retired,
When
your news is on repeat,
When
your body has resigned,
do you sleep?

III. O Mortal, what is required of thee?
To walk humbly with my God.

When
the man at the bottom
refuses to be
the man at the top
he will not be
for himself alone.

Leadership, Poetry, Society

What I Wish Every Millennial Church Planter and Pastor Would Read

January 3, 2019 1 Comment

“A farmer went out to sow his seed.” Jesus, Mark 4:3

“We work with people—many of whom are included in this book—who care deeply about solving the problems that confound our American agriculture, diet, and food system. This anthology grew out of our concern for the next generation of American farmers, who are inheriting all the problems created over the past decades and yet on whom we are relying to feed us well into the future. We invited a range of talented and experienced farmers and confirmers alike to contribute a letter or essay to this collection. We asked them quite simple, “What would you say to young farmers who are setting out to farm now?” This book is the multifaceted deeply inspiring response to that question.” Jill Isenbarger, Executive Director, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Letters to A Young Farmer

With this title I feel like I’m entering a space where angels fear to tread. But I’m fifty so I’ll give myself permission today to pass on a book written for “millennials” and not for me. Truth is I think most millennials in ministry know a whole lot more than I do about their cohort and the challenges they swim in. But I’m not sure they know anymore than I do about how to make their way through those challenges without sinking in this city. We all need help.

Twenty five years ago my wife and I moved from Atlanta, Georgia to Vancouver and began serving the neighbourhood around Main Street and King Edward Avenue with a faith-full group of people that became known as Cityview. Full of hopes and dreams, the sparkle in our eyes did not always reveal the fears buried behind our confidence. I subscribed to the Big God Theory; although our congregation was small, our hope was firmly set in our Great Big God. He would not fail us. God does not despise the days of small beginnings and neither should we.

I had to give up a big bang theory.

I believe it: every congregation can have a global impact. I still subscribe to a “Big God Theory” but I don’t think congregations need to have a big bang in order to participate faithfully and fully in Jesus’ local and global mission. Abandoning the “big bang” expectation for ministry and mission in the city is really important. Apparently the millennial cohort has been cursed with a nagging impatience. This impatience invites dissatisfaction to seep deep into their work, life, and relationships. It takes a heavy toll on them, especially when the “big bang” never comes. When you put this condition of perpetual impatience next to hard work and low yields and hold up the shiny success stories of extraordinary pastors and communicators, the day in and day out life of ministry and mission is down-right depressing.

I know it. I didn’t have to be a millennial to experience it.

One of the many sources of wisdom framing my life as a missionary pastor has been Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom and the Apostle Paul’s instructions to Timothy. It’s the latter I’d like to lean on today. Paul instructed young Timothy to persevere in ministry even though he likely wanted to quit the difficult assignment he inherited from Paul. The small congregation in Ephesus had become a remnant group. They were trying to keep their heads above the water in the wake of a terrible leadership crisis.  Paul’s prescriptions for recovery are extreme. But in general he keeps directing Timothy back to basics of the ministry. Lean into Jesus, the Gospel for all, and discipleship.

But, don’t let Paul’s simplicity in these Letters to Timothy deceive us.

Ministry and mission is complex. Congregational leadership and service is demanding. The metaphors Paul draws for Timothy are revealing. After calling Timothy to be “strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus,” Paul instructs him to reflect on the lives of three kinds of people: soldiers, athletes, and farmers. Paul believes Jesus will help Timothy frame the ministry of developing reliable people as he meditates on these metaphors.

2And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. 3Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 5Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. 6The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. 2 Timothy 2:2-7, NIV

While I acknowledge with Neil Cole that the trajectory of Paul’s argument in 2 Timothy is for Timothy to consider the “outcomes” of Paul’s life and ultimately Jesus’ life as the supreme example of God-motivated sacrificial service, I have also made it my habit to choose one of these,


the soldier who aims to please his commanding officer,
the athlete who competes according to the rules, and 
the hard-working farmer who gets a share of the harvest

for deeper reflection and consideration. Each year I have loaded up on a few books that explore the people and practices from one of these arenas of work.

My favourite has been the hard-working farmer.

For many years I translated the “hard-working” farmer into the realms of the entrepreneurial business person. But for the past several years I have been more inclined to put the “hard-working farmer” back in the realm of the local subsistence farmer or market gardener. This shift has been most helpful for me as a pastor and church planter interested in the expansion of the Gospel through transformed lives in urban communities. 

Farmers work hard and take immense calculated risks. There is so much they are not in control of, particularly the weather. The market gardener has a “smaller” field and must be interested in the condition of the soil, the placement and organization of seeds within these fields, and the different movements required to respond “profitably” when the harvest comes. Some zones are perennial; some are annual. Some harvests come early, some come late. But in the end the farmer’s experience comes down to this: the harvest comes because someone planted something. And no matter whether the farmer works for herself or is a share-cropper, she knows that her life is directly connected to, but not in control of the harvest. So much patience required! So much faith required! So much cooperative labour is required!

So, Paul wants Timothy to learn from the hard-working farmer. And Jesus wanted His disciples to learn from the farmer (read Mark 4). And so, I want to learn from the hard-working farmer. All this to say, I wish every millennial church planter and pastor would read, Letters to a Young Farmer: On Food, Farming, and Our Future. It’s a beautiful book. It’s written for young famers in the Millennial generation who are considering farming as a life. Thirty-six writers gather from their experience and wisdom to counsel and encourage the young farmer.

Congregational leaders today mirror this age of farming.

The average farmer is in their fifties. The average congregational leader is in their fifties. In an age when “what is going to feed the world” is changing from mega, monocultural, industrial farming to a more positive view of smaller, more diverse, regenerative, market farms the desperate need for local, community-minded missionary pastors is also growing. There are lessons to be gleaned from the counsel of these thirty-six writers. I do not have the time, space, or inclination to make all the reflections for us that translate farming wisdom into leadership counsel for those serving the church and a community. But, just so you have an example consider these nuggets:

Create eclectic awareness in your life. Too many farmers become insult in their lives, reading only their own orthodox materials. If you’re a chemical farmer, read some nonchemical stuff; if you’re a greenie farmer, read some chemical stuff. It’s important to know what the enemy thinks. Read and visit widely.  Joel Salatin

Those individuals who desire to become farmers live very good, wholesome lives. Dedication, honesty, and the ability to be hardworking and long-suffering are just a few of the character traits necessary, along with the patience to deal with the weather, markets, labor, bankers, and government, which are just a few of the elements you will experience.  Ben Burkett

Build yourself into a healthy and intelligent farmer. Develop your skills in a way that can enable you to be a teacher to there farmers, your neighbours, your community, and beyond, because your work touches every level of human life. Know that they skill you already posses can be taught, but your work ethic, respect for land and people, and sense of responsibility are inherent traits, you must lead by example.  Nephi Craig

It never occurred to us that we had no idea how to farm: pests destroyed the entire crop; it was a disaster. Still, it was our own failed attempts and a maniacal commitment to taste that led us to the feet of our local organic farmers.  Alice Waters

Farming is a great lifestyle, but it is seriously hard work… Farming can be all-consuming, especially at certain times of the year, and without a plan to protect an acceptable level of personal balance, you may find the farm takes all. Farming will invariably define your family, your self-esteem, your financial choices, your self-image, your priorities, and your time. It will profoundly shape how you interpret life and death, weather, money, time, food, community, exercise, and faith. Make sure your spouse or partner and family are fully on board, and be willing to honestly evaluate whether everyone is defining balance in the same way. Accept that if you are the farmer and your spouse or partner is not, that does not make you intrinsically “righter” than they are.  Mary-Howell Martens

Dear Millennial Church Planter

Reading Letters to A Young Farmer will cultivate an appreciation for farming and farmers, the ground we share, and the necessity of the farmer for our lives. It’s a dangerous read. It will appeal to your most noble virtues. You may want to drop everything, get your hands in the dirt, and become a farmer. Hopefully you will want to go out and plant something. Hopefully you will develop the patience and faith of the hard-working farmer. Hopefully you will want to take up Wendell Berry’s last words in the book’s CODA:

Practice resurrection.

Career, Church, Leadership, Work

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