Back on the issue of what seems to have taken center stage in the Christian ministry world. By way of recap, there seems to be an inordinate amount of leadership gatherings, webinars, seminars, blog posts, etc., especially when compared to what's out there dealing with the area of living the life of a servant.
Sadly we live in a culture that has pretty much infiltrated the church, hence the allure to position, posture and stature. Of course every organization needs great leadership, but what seems to be happening is that we have developed a mentality within the Christian organizational world that says, if you're not a leader then your pretty much not anything at all.
It's kind of like freshman playing high school football - every kid wants to be the quarterback. The sad truth is, if 50 kids go out for the team there might be two or three that have the aptitude to play that particular position. But, quarterback is the glory position so everyone thinks that that's the position to play. Not unlike the church - most people see the person who speaks from the platform as the "key" person in the church, so many of the incoming staff have that position in their sights - everyone thinks that is the place to play.
All the while, any emphasis on promoting the important role of servant, is pretty much left on the sidelines. So what do we do if we continue down this path of glorifying leadership and ignoring the role of servant?
Hopefully I'll have more on this tomorrow - but for now, keep serving and keep bringing the Kingdom to the least of these.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Leadership or Servanthood . . . What's More Important
Trying to answer the question of whether leadership or servanthood is more important is a little like trying to decide which sense is most important, your ability to hear or your ability to see.
This nearly impossible to answer question started swirling around in my head when I began to take notice of all the emails I was receiving inviting me to take part in this "leadership" conference or that "leadership" webinar; and that was not all . . . then there were all the books on leadership, and the podcasts dedicated to building more effective leadership skills, especially in those who are leaders within the church. It seemed as if leadership were the clarion call and that anyone not participating was more or less the class nerd. Worst of all a class nerd with absolutely no leadership skills to speak of!
All of a sudden it seemed that no matter where I turned or tuned, there was someone or some organization selling the benefits of their leadership deal - Each group would roll out their "star" line-up of leaders; groups of people who most of us have heard of and sort of feel like we know. All of this effort in an attempt to capture our attention and our commitment to attend.
After what seemed like months rolling into years of being beckoned into the realm of would be leaders, I began to wonder whatever happened to the value that we once placed on living the life of the servant.
Now that I've set the stage . . . I will do my best to provide a daily contribution to this question of leadership or servanthood - where do we go from here.
This nearly impossible to answer question started swirling around in my head when I began to take notice of all the emails I was receiving inviting me to take part in this "leadership" conference or that "leadership" webinar; and that was not all . . . then there were all the books on leadership, and the podcasts dedicated to building more effective leadership skills, especially in those who are leaders within the church. It seemed as if leadership were the clarion call and that anyone not participating was more or less the class nerd. Worst of all a class nerd with absolutely no leadership skills to speak of!
All of a sudden it seemed that no matter where I turned or tuned, there was someone or some organization selling the benefits of their leadership deal - Each group would roll out their "star" line-up of leaders; groups of people who most of us have heard of and sort of feel like we know. All of this effort in an attempt to capture our attention and our commitment to attend.
After what seemed like months rolling into years of being beckoned into the realm of would be leaders, I began to wonder whatever happened to the value that we once placed on living the life of the servant.
Now that I've set the stage . . . I will do my best to provide a daily contribution to this question of leadership or servanthood - where do we go from here.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Miramar Theatre
Char and I had the chance to spend the afternoon with friends yesterday (Sunday), they are pastoring a relatively new church on the east-side of Milwaukee.
The church is meeting in the old Miramar theater. It's a perfect location for the younger crowd that is calling this new church "home." I really loved being part of the gathering that was already underway by the time we arrived. The honest, raw energy was great.
Michael is the pastor of the church and he brings an authenticity and challenge to his teaching that has largely been lost due to most churches being caught up in a desperate effort to be hip.
No frills at the Miramar theatre - but you don't really care. Seeing a room full of college students excited about their faith and the journey that lies ahead, is far better than a cushy environment brimming with multi-media overload.
The church is meeting in the old Miramar theater. It's a perfect location for the younger crowd that is calling this new church "home." I really loved being part of the gathering that was already underway by the time we arrived. The honest, raw energy was great.
Michael is the pastor of the church and he brings an authenticity and challenge to his teaching that has largely been lost due to most churches being caught up in a desperate effort to be hip.
No frills at the Miramar theatre - but you don't really care. Seeing a room full of college students excited about their faith and the journey that lies ahead, is far better than a cushy environment brimming with multi-media overload.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Don Miller
I was fortunate tonight to have checked my Twitter account right at the time Don Miller was doing a little interactive web event. I so appreciate Don's genuine personality and how he answers questions in a way that convinces the listener that he is saying what he believes rather that what he thinks you might want to hear.
Don is like a breath of fresh air - if you haven't had a chance to read one of Don's wonderful books, go to Amazon and have a look at his offerings, they are all very good.
Don is like a breath of fresh air - if you haven't had a chance to read one of Don's wonderful books, go to Amazon and have a look at his offerings, they are all very good.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Worlds Worst Blogger
Without a doubt I am one of the world's worst bloggers - not necessarily from a content point of view but from a consistency standpoint. I love to write, but as much as I love to write I love to have first-person human interest stories to write about.
One exciting piece of news that came my way this week was that I found out "for sure" that our ministry, Pastors Retreat Network, was confirmed as an exhibitor at the upcoming Catalyst conference in Atlanta this October. If you are unfamiliar with Catalyst and all that they have going on here is a link to their site.
From now on I will do my best to keep up with my responsibility as a blogger. I will try to post something meaningful everyday - let's see how I do! Peace and Blessings to All
Monday, August 10, 2009
Headlines
Do you ever read USA Today, the online version specifically? I have USA Today set as my homepage in my Safari browser. I like to get my day started by taking a quick look at the headlines as they relate to news, both national and international, what's going on in the world of finance, sports and all the other major areas covered within USA Today online.
One of my favorite stops is the news subsection covering religion. I this section because it deals with a broad range of issues that are important to the church, or should be important to the church.
Today one of the articles dealt with the "hot" topic of homosexuality. In the work that I do I have the great privilege of talking with people who might be considered "professional" Christians. In other words they get paid to work for the church or para-church ministries.
Within these groups of professional Christians, there are as many opinions as there are people when it comes to topics like homosexuality. Because the church has made homosexuality one of their "acid test" issues, I thought there might be interest in reading what some psychologists are saying about how best to deal with the issue of homosexuality within the confines of the counseling area.
Here is the link to that article
One of my favorite stops is the news subsection covering religion. I this section because it deals with a broad range of issues that are important to the church, or should be important to the church.
Today one of the articles dealt with the "hot" topic of homosexuality. In the work that I do I have the great privilege of talking with people who might be considered "professional" Christians. In other words they get paid to work for the church or para-church ministries.
Within these groups of professional Christians, there are as many opinions as there are people when it comes to topics like homosexuality. Because the church has made homosexuality one of their "acid test" issues, I thought there might be interest in reading what some psychologists are saying about how best to deal with the issue of homosexuality within the confines of the counseling area.
Here is the link to that article
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