Archive for January, 2008

Change your life – God’s kingdom is here

27 January 2008 at 2:06 pm · Filed under Sunday readings, The Bible

When Jesus got word that John had been arrested, he returned to Galilee. He moved from his hometown, Nazareth, to the lakeside village Capernaum, nestled at the base of the Zebulun and Naphtali hills. This move completed Isaiah’s sermon:

Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
road to the sea, over Jordan,
Galilee, crossroads for the nations.
People sitting out their lives in the dark
saw a huge light;
Sitting in that dark, dark country of death,
they watched the sun come up.

This Isaiah-prophesied sermon came to life in Galilee the moment Jesus started preaching. He picked up where John left off: “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.”

Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” They didn’t ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.

A short distance down the beach they came upon another pair of brothers, James and John, Zebedee’s sons. These two were sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their fishnets. Jesus made the same offer to them, and they were just as quick to follow, abandoning boat and father.

From there he went all over Galilee. He used synagogues for meeting places and taught people the truth of God. God’s kingdom was his theme—that beginning right now they were under God’s government, a good government! He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their bad lives. Word got around the entire Roman province of Syria. People brought anybody with an ailment, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them, one and all. More and more people came, the momentum gathering. Besides those from Galilee, crowds came from the “Ten Towns” across the lake, others up from Jerusalem and Judea, still others from across the Jordan. (Matthew 4:12-25, The Message)

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Who, or what, are you listening to?

27 January 2008 at 1:46 pm · Filed under Spirituality ·Tagged ,

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Dear Blog,

In many Native American cultures, this story is told to the young adults just before they leave for their vision quest. Between the ages of 13 and 22, young men and women of the tribe decide that they are ready to become adults. They go on a vision quest for three days and three nights, fasting from food and drink and sleep, and wait for a vision. They are given a vision and a gift – what they are to be for the community in the future. And often, when they return they are given a name as well. They are now adult members of the tribe, they belong, and they know that they are called to live on behalf of the community, using all that the Great Spirit has given them for others. This is the story many of them hear just before they set off on their vision quest.

Once upon a time, there was an eagle. She soared and hunted and built her nest high on a mountain fastness and then settled down to sit on her three eggs until they hatched. But a storm approached and she was hungry. Off she went to find food and, while she was gone, the storm hit, her nest was thrown off the side of the mountain and two of her eggs destroyed. But by some miracle, one fell unharmed to the ground, safely landing in tumbleweed but unseen by the mother eagle. She returned, mourning her children.

On the ground a prairie chicken was returning from hunting. The storm had overturned her nest, too, scattering her eggs everywhere. She rolled them all back in, stumbling over a very large egg. Being rather stupid, she figured it was also hers and rolled the eagle egg into her nest. She returned to sitting on the nest and, one by one, the prairie chickens hatched, except for the big egg. She sat and sat and finally the biggest, ugliest prairie chicken she’d ever seen came forth. It was ungainly, with huge wings that dragged on the ground. And it was incredibly hungry all the time. The other prairie chickens pecked about in the dirt, found seeds and insects, and flew around about three feet off the ground. This one, however, couldn’t fly, couldn’t talk, and couldn’t do anything like the others. It was pecked at and pushed around, and it was sickly and felt awful all the time. It took to going off by itself and being miserable alone, dragging its wings along behind it.

One day, out in the canyon it saw a great shadow on the ground and, as it looked up, it saw the most magnificent bird flying above it. It swooped and soared, great and graceful. Then it swooped down and grabbed on of the prairie chicken brothers, breaking its neck and eating it as it flew off. The eagle that thought it was a prairie chicken watched all this in fascination. It wanted to fly like that, hunt like that and eat like that! But then it remembered that it had been told always to eat only bugs and seeds – that was the way of prairie chickens. Immediately, it went to tell everyone about this. Most of the chickens ignored it, accusing the eagle of making up the story. One of the grandfather prairie chickens said, “No, listen to the strange one – it has seen an eagle, a great bird of the sky, one closest to the Great Spirit. Whenever you see that great shadow on the ground, run for your lives, for the eagle likes to eat prairie chickens.” But the eagle that thought it was a prairie chicken did not obey. It went back often to the canyon and waited for the eagle to come. It watched it fly and wanted toimitate it. It dreamed of such gracefulness and freedom and power.

Then one day it climbed to the highest part of the mesa, dragging its heavy wings slowly behind, in pain. It stood just on the edge of the cliff and thought, “If I just fall off into the air, I’ll fly. Even if I fall to the canyon floor and die, at least for a while I will know what it’s like to be free and fly gracefully. It was just about to fall over the edge when it remembered all the things its parents and family and older ones had spoken. You’re just a prairie chicken and that’s all you’ll ever be. Don’t try to be something you’re not. Just be the best prairie chicken you can be. He hesitated, then slowly came down from the mesa. But sometimes he’d climb back up, think about flying, and then remember that prairie chickens couldn’t fly. As days and weeks passed, it became more and more painful for the eagle to even think about flying. Growing weaker and weaker, one day the eagle that thought it was a prairie chicken died.

It died, an earth-bound unhappy prairie chicken because it listened to the wrong wisdom. (Author unknown, public domain)

What wisdom are you listening to? Is it real wisdom, or just some invented fad? Does it really speak to your heart, or just appeal to your mind or vanity? Does The Secret really feed your soul?

C

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Do you want a fresh start?

19 January 2008 at 2:55 pm · Filed under Spirituality, Sunday readings, The Bible ·Tagged , , ,

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Dear Blog

Tomorrow is the Second Sunday after the Epiphany We’re not far from the start of the church’s year, and in the readings from the Gospel we’re seeing the start of Jesus’ public ministry.

The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I’ve been talking about, ‘the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.’ I knew nothing about who he was—only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God.”

John clinched his witness with this: “I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ That’s exactly what I saw happen, and I’m telling you, there’s no question about it: This is the Son of God.”

The next day John was back at his post with two disciples, who were watching. He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby, and said, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb.”

The two disciples heard him and went after Jesus. Jesus looked over his shoulder and said to them, “What are you after?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

He replied, “Come along and see for yourself.”

They came, saw where he was living, and ended up staying with him for the day. It was late afternoon when this happened.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s witness and followed Jesus. The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, “We’ve found the Messiah” (that is, “Christ”). He immediately led him to Jesus.

Jesus took one look up and said, “You’re John’s son, Simon? From now on your name is Cephas” (or Peter, which means “Rock”). (John 1:29-42, The Message)

This passage has two parts – the first, about the baptism of Jesus, is there to put the ministry of John in context, and to provide information about who Jesus was. John’s ministry has it’s culmination, purpose and point in Jesus’ arrival. The second part of the reading is about Jesus’ call to his first disciples, Simon-Peter’s recognition of Jesus as the Messiah, and Jesus’ recognition of Simon-Peter. It is important to note that two of John’s disciples, on discovering who Jesus was, and why he was important, immediately followed Jesus. John had prepared the way to Jesus, who is The Way.

Perhaps the best point I can draw out of the reading, however, is this one:

That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God.

One of the fantastic things about relationship with God is God’s willingness to forgive us, unconditionally. No-one else in our life is like this, only God. When the sins are forgiven, then we can have a fresh start. The forgiveness is not a once-only promise, but a continuing undertaking to forgive, as long as we’re sorry. The important link we often forget is between God’s action in forgiving us, and the new start, which calls us to change our lives, our behaviour, the way we are towards God and towards oneanother. We can’t be mired in the past anymore, and we have the opportunity to grow, change and live a better life, in closer touch with God.

C

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Beneath the Surface

19 January 2008 at 2:20 pm · Filed under Doctor Who ·Tagged , , , , ,

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Dear Blog,

Being the Doctor Who tragic that I am, I’m excitedly watching the three stories from the Beneath the Surface box-set. Included are: Doctor Who and the Silurians, the Sea Devils, and Warriors of the Deep. Like much of the material from the 1960s and 1970s era of Doctor Who, Silurians and Sea Devils both needed quite a lot of work from the wonderful Restoration Team (read this article on the restoration process, if you get a chance). I reckon they both stand up as good stories – particularly Silurians. Warriors of the Deep, from the 1980s, is often known in fan circles as “Warriors on the Cheap”, and it shows a little. Not a classic!

The Restoration Team had the technically challenging task of restoring the colour to Silurians. They did this in 1992, which resulted in a VHS release. Digital technology has moved on, and the process was revised. The result is much clearer and cleaner.

Well worth a watch!

C


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Servant leadership

19 January 2008 at 1:42 pm · Filed under About Me, Ramblings ·Tagged , , , , , ,

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Hey Blog,

I’ve started my new job. I’m tired, because I’m unused to the hours, the travelling, and the need to concentrate for all that time. However, I can see it will be a good thing.

One thing I’ve been thinking about is the sort of leader I am. Truth be told, I’m not actually a natural leader. I can do it, but I think I’m a better facilitator, mentor, coach and companion. I like to lead by presenting a vision, then recruiting the enthusiasm of those involved. I need to be a leader in this job, both of people I manage directly, but also of the organisation more generally.

I encountered the concept of servant leadership some time ago. Robert Greenleaf coined the phrase in about 1970, in an essay entitled The Servant as Leader:

“The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”

“The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?”

There seem to be some characteristics of servant leaders (from an article by Larry Spears):

  1. Listening. Leaders have traditionally been valued for their communication and decision-making skills. While these are also important skills for the servant-leader, they need to be reinforced by a deep commitment to listening intently to others. The servant-leader seeks to identify the will of a group and helps clarify that will. He or she seeks to listen receptively to what is being said. Listening, coupled with regular periods of reflection, is essential to the growth of the servant-leader.
  2. Empathy. The servant-leader strives to understand and empathize with others. People need to be accepted and recognized for their special and unique spirits. One assumes the good intentions of coworkers and does not reject them as people, even if one finds it necessary to refuse to accept their behavior or performance.
  3. Healing. One of the great strengths of servant-leadership is the potential for healing one’s self and others. Many people have broken spirits and have suffered from a variety of emotional hurts. Although this is part of being human, servant-leaders recognize that they also have an opportunity to “help make whole” those with whom they come in contact. In “The Servant as Leader” Greenleaf writes: “There is something subtle communicated to one who is being served and led if implicit in the compact between servant-leader and led is the understanding that the search for wholeness is something they share.”
  4. Awareness. General awareness, and especially self-awareness, strengthens the servant-leader. Awareness also aids one in understanding issues involving ethics and values. It lends itself to being able to view most situations from a more integrated, holistic position. As Greenleaf observed: “Awareness is not a giver of solace–it is just the opposite. It is a disturber and an awakener. Able leaders are usually sharply awake and reasonably disturbed. They are not seekers after solace. They have their own inner serenity.”
  5. Persuasion. Another characteristic of servant-leaders is a primary reliance on persuasion rather than positional authority in making decisions within an organization. The servant-leader seeks to convince others rather than coerce compliance. This particular element offers one of the clearest distinctions between the traditional authoritarian model and that of servant-leadership. The servant-leader is effective at building consensus within groups.
  6. Conceptualization. Servant-leaders seek to nurture their abilities to “dream great dreams.” The ability to look at a problem (or an organization) from a conceptualizing perspective means that one must think beyond day-to-day realities. For many managers this is a characteristic that requires discipline and practice. Servant-leaders are called to seek a delicate balance between conceptual thinking and a day-to-day focused approach.
  7. Foresight. Foresight is a characteristic that enables the servant-leader to understand the lessons from the past, the realities of the present, and the likely consequence of a decision for the future. It is also deeply rooted within the intuitive mind. Foresight remains a largely unexplored area in leadership studies, but one most deserving of careful attention.
  8. Stewardship. Peter Block has defined stewardship as “holding something in trust for another.” Robert Greenleaf ’s view of all institutions was one in which CEOs, staffs, and trustees all played significant roles in holding their institutions in trust for the greater good of society. Servant-leadership, like stewardship, assumes first and foremost a commitment to serving the needs of others. It also emphasizes the use of openness and persuasion rather than control.
  9. Commitment to the growth of people. Servant-leaders believe that people have an intrinsic value beyond their tangible contributions as workers.As a result, the servant-leader is deeply committed to the growth of each and every individual within the institution. The servant-leader recognizes the tremendous responsibility to do everything possible to nurture the growth of employees.
  10. Building community. The servant-leader senses that much has been lost in recent human history as a result of the shift from local communities to large institutions as the primary shaper of human lives. This awareness causes the servant-leader to seek to identify some means for building community among those who work within a given institution. Servant-leadership suggests that true community can be created among those who work in businesses and other institutions. Greenleaf said: “All that is needed to rebuild community as a viable life form for large numbers of people is for enough servant-leaders to show the way, not by mass movements, but by each servant-leader demonstrating his own unlimited liability for a quite specific community-related group.”

I see my primary calling as being to serve – I have always felt that my vocation was to the diaconate, being a servant of others. I think the challenge for me at the moment is to see how I can serve and lead. St Benedict’s model of leadership in the monastery is for the abbot to be the servant-leader of the community – the abbot leads in order to assist the growth of the community (corporately and individually) into God.

My workplace is loud, busy, focussed on results – how can I be who God calls me to be in this place? How can I be a monk there? How can I serve and lead? How can I love God there?

Challenges.

C

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