1 Peter 5:1-6
5Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you 2to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it—not for sordid gain but eagerly. 3Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. 4And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away. 5In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for‘ God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time.
Dear Fellow Followers of the Way:
Leadership has been in the spotlight in recent weeks. Whether it is the Presidential campaigns which are heating up or the leadership seen in light of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, we have seen leaders in a variety of areas of life. Our own denominational publications are not different. This month Presbyterians Today and The Presbyterian Outlook have both published journals whose lead stories are about leaders in the church.
Hundreds of books have been written on leadership with titles such as Who Moved My Cheese?, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader , and Leadership Without Easy Answers, written by the likes of Spencer Johnson, John Maxwell, and Ronald Heifetz. The articles printed in Presbyterians Today and The Presbyterian Outlook speaks to the need for leaders to improvise like jazz musicians and for “Dangerous elders to be alive in their faith and fully empowered to be spiritual leaders in their church.”
Regardless of the leaders we see on television, I am drawn back to an assignment from the leadership class I took while in seminary. We were given a list of biblical figures that were seen as leaders, Moses, Joseph, Deborah, David, Esther, and my personal favorite Peter.
They all had gifts that were needed and they were all called by God, but Peter is my favorite as we can see a change in him as we move through the New Testament. In the gospels we see a younger, brasher Peter. The one who in one breath says “You are the Christ,” and in the next is rebuking Jesus only to hear “Get behind me Satan!” Peter with faith to get out of the boat, but not enough to stay dry. Peter who denies Christ three times, but is asked three times to feed Christ’s sheep. This is the man who is one of the great leaders of the early church.
Peter is one of my favorites because he is so very human. Faithful and loyal but full of fear. Peter needed to be reassured and needed help as he learned from his mistakes. As his ministry draws to a close we find the text quoted above. We are invited to lead willingly as God would have us do, to humble ourselves before God.
I invite you to read the articles “Like Jazz Musicians Effective Church Leaders have the ability to Improvise,” and “Dangerous Elders, Dynamic Deacons.” I also invite you to spend time getting to know Simon Peter in the Gospels, Acts and the Epistles of Peter. If his leadership style doesn’t match yours look at Moses, Deborah, David, Esther, Paul or find another leadership style in the Bible. Then look at where and how you might use your leadership skills. Where is God calling you to step out in faith and lead?
Grace, Mercy, and Peace,
Karen
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Monday, September 01, 2008
Weekly Word..
About once a month I am charged with writing the "Weekly Word" in the weekly email newsletter for Westminster Presbyterian Church. I have decided to start posting them here as well.
Dear Fellow Followers of the Way,
Every night when I get home, I open up my laptop and spend several hours online. Yes, I will admit it, I am a tech geek. I am one of the thousands who are addicted to text messaging, email, and Facebook. For those of you not familiar with Facebook, it is a online social network that has around 80 million users. It is one of several social networking sites that have been created for people to connect to online communities.
I am fascinated with this new phenomenon of online communities. What has happened in society? What happened to the days of talking to neighbors over the back fence (and yes, I remember talking with neighbors over the fence)? Where are the days when the church was the center of community life? When was the last time you picked up the phone and called a friend? The back fence and the local church have been replaced by high speed internet and cyber community. Telephone conversation has been supplanted by text messages and email.
What I find so fascinating is that we long for community, so we are more physically accessible than ever. Laptops, cell phones with more memory than the laptops of 5 years ago, and blue tooth headsets make us accessible at all times, but do they help foster community? We may be connected, but is that what makes community? I would argue no. Community is about relationship; it is about something that ties us together at a deeper level. Community is about being open and vulnerable to others and being a part of one another’s lives.
As Christians we are called to live in community. Jesus called the disciples to follow him. He invited them to be a part of a community. They shared meals together, they traveled together, they sat at Jesus’ feet to learn together. There were a part of each other’s lives. The invitation to follow Jesus is an invitation to not only be in community one with another, but it is an invitation into the very life of God.
We worship the Triune God who is the very essence of community. Theologian Elizabeth Johnson in She Who Is describes the Trinity as a triple helix, individual strands not connected but intertwined and inseparable. She also borrows the image of the divine round dance where the Godhead spirals inward, outward and forward out of freely given love; love that overflows in the freely given love in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ draws us into the very life of God; we are invited into the divine dance. We are invited to be in community, to be intertwined and inseparable parts of one another’s lives. So how intertwined are you in the life of the community that is Westminster Presbyterian Church? To become intertwined means to participate in the lives of one another; to participate in the life of the church. As we approach Rally Day and the All Church retreat, where will you plug into the life of the church? Will you sit on the sideline or will you enter the divine dance?
In Christ’s love
Karen
Dear Fellow Followers of the Way,
Every night when I get home, I open up my laptop and spend several hours online. Yes, I will admit it, I am a tech geek. I am one of the thousands who are addicted to text messaging, email, and Facebook. For those of you not familiar with Facebook, it is a online social network that has around 80 million users. It is one of several social networking sites that have been created for people to connect to online communities.
I am fascinated with this new phenomenon of online communities. What has happened in society? What happened to the days of talking to neighbors over the back fence (and yes, I remember talking with neighbors over the fence)? Where are the days when the church was the center of community life? When was the last time you picked up the phone and called a friend? The back fence and the local church have been replaced by high speed internet and cyber community. Telephone conversation has been supplanted by text messages and email.
What I find so fascinating is that we long for community, so we are more physically accessible than ever. Laptops, cell phones with more memory than the laptops of 5 years ago, and blue tooth headsets make us accessible at all times, but do they help foster community? We may be connected, but is that what makes community? I would argue no. Community is about relationship; it is about something that ties us together at a deeper level. Community is about being open and vulnerable to others and being a part of one another’s lives.
As Christians we are called to live in community. Jesus called the disciples to follow him. He invited them to be a part of a community. They shared meals together, they traveled together, they sat at Jesus’ feet to learn together. There were a part of each other’s lives. The invitation to follow Jesus is an invitation to not only be in community one with another, but it is an invitation into the very life of God.
We worship the Triune God who is the very essence of community. Theologian Elizabeth Johnson in She Who Is describes the Trinity as a triple helix, individual strands not connected but intertwined and inseparable. She also borrows the image of the divine round dance where the Godhead spirals inward, outward and forward out of freely given love; love that overflows in the freely given love in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ draws us into the very life of God; we are invited into the divine dance. We are invited to be in community, to be intertwined and inseparable parts of one another’s lives. So how intertwined are you in the life of the community that is Westminster Presbyterian Church? To become intertwined means to participate in the lives of one another; to participate in the life of the church. As we approach Rally Day and the All Church retreat, where will you plug into the life of the church? Will you sit on the sideline or will you enter the divine dance?
In Christ’s love
Karen
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