sojourn stories...

on leadership...

Caroline Ramsey has been blogging about leadership...a fantastic and interesting discussion that has spilled over into other blogs...

in her latest post, Wes posed the following question about presence:

"Having lunch today with one of the young emerging business leaders of our community, what you wrote was part of the topic of our conversation. "Presence" is a significant missing element in the development of many relationships...especially, it seems...among many leaders. My friend today asked, since were on the topic even before reading your blog, "Can 'presence' be taught...or only modeled, experienced, and thus taught?" What would your answer be if you had been in on the conversation?"

and I responded with the following comment:

"imho, i think presence mus be modeled... that is the Hebraic way as talked about in Deuteronomy, "as you sit, as you walk by the way" as well as the way that Jesus, the Hebrew, taught and led his disciples and followers during his time on earth. I think that "presence," our truly being aware and engaged in the moment with another's life, story, journey, thoughts, ideas, struggles, etc is the fundamental part of leadership that makes mankind essentially not a machine! Presence is the offering of the soul, of the senses and what causes people to want to follow and to share..."

How would you answer Wes' question? 

I wonder about the church today, if we can really make the shift from the top down hierarchical structure that has become familiar and accepted, even "ordained"  as inspired, divine, and thus right. 

Can we shift from this to something that honors the reality that the Divine indwells each of us and that the Body is interdependent, without any part that does not need to follow at some point in time?  Interdependence assumes a fluidity to leadership, an ebb and flow that fits each circumstance.  Will we be able to meet the changes that are already shifting the sands of time and culture and restructure our churches to minister, to be salt and light in the midst of the changes rather than resist them in fear of the unknown and the untried?

As I read the gospels, I see Jesus often doing the unconventional, challenging the "way we have always done it" but not getting bogged down with doing it only one way.  For example, once He said to the blind man, "Be healed!"  And the blind man was healed.  So does this mean that each and every time there is a blind man, that healing comes according to this formula, quick someone write this down!  ;)

Except, another time, when a blind man was brought to Jesus , he bent down and spit in the dirt, (yes, Jesus spit, my son loved this verse as a kid;)  and then Jesus made a paste of mud and spit and put it on the man's eyes... Then he told the blind man to go to the water and wash it off...(i am assuming that the friends who brought the blind man to Jesus took him to the water, if they were hoping for the quick two word healing they were surely disappointed).

Here we have a three step process for healing the blind:  1) spit on the ground & make a mud paste 2) smear mud paste on blind eyes  3) send blind man to wash off paste... Which method goes in the healing manual? If we include both, how do we know when to use which method?

I love that throughout the Gospels there are many stories where Jesus was confronted with similar situations, that he often did not handle in the same way.  imho this is so that we could not come up with a formula for How to: ____  and forget that we need to be present to the moment, to the person who we are engaged with, and most of all forget to be involved in a relationship with Jesus, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, so that we might know how to best serve in any given situation. 

I know that the term "servant leadership"  has become popular, and i hope it does not become so overused that it loses its profound meaning... that in laying aside our rights, our position, our rightful place, we can be present to another and begin to really hear, see, discern their needs and by the grace of G-d, we can serve them... this is leadership after the way of Jesus and it requires a profound ability to be present in body, mind and soul...

Following after the way of Jesus..."Dear Sudan, Love..." a grassroots effort to support humanitarian efforts in Sudan

I know that i have posted a number of times on the crisis in Darfur, Sudan and it is not because i have nothing else to post about... it is because the Genocide and other atroicities are real and tragic... and i cannot believe that it is happening in our lifetime, in our world! GENOCIDE...systematic, ethnic cleansing, rape used as a form of terror and warfare, government sponsored militias attacking villages and refugee camps, killing an entire generation of children, raping women and young girls, murdering the men and boys.  This artwork is done by children of Darfur.

After the Holocaust, the world said, "Never Again!"  And then after Cambodia, it said "Never Again"  and after Bosnia & Rwanda the world paused briefly and said "Never Again!"  Now Genocide is occuring AGAIN and will the world say, "Never Again, Again!?" 

Growing up, i wondered "How America could remain silent during the Holocaust?" "How could we stand by and do nothing?!" "How could we not know?"  i wondered aloud in history class... and yet, here i am, in America, and the same thing is happening again, and we are remaining silent, doing nothing, and we remain in the dark, again.  How much media time was spent covering Michael Jackson's trial?  Or Tom Cruise's new romance?  verses the killing that has been taking place in Southern Sudan over the past two years, and even more recently, the Genocide of 400,000 lives in Darfur, Sudan?  As I have looked around the news, i have found coverage only on the BBC, as the American News Media is consumed with other "more important" things.   

I have only just recently woken up to the realities of the world and begun to look far beyond my own life, my own concerns and gain a bit of understanding of the call for Christians to be concerned and involved in issues of justice.  I am learning in deeper ways how Jesus was always concerned with the marginalized, the excluded, the forgotten, the untouchables... the poor and needy and in these moments He spoke of the Kingdom of God being at Hand.  This has new meaning for me as i am trying to understand more of what i am called to do and be as i seek to follow after the way of Jesus. 

in that vein...

"Dear Sudan", is an interfaith campaign to support  humanitarian relief in Sudan.  Originating in Petaluma, CA the program, "Dear Sudan, Love Petaluma" purposed to raise enough money to feed 55,000 refuges in Sudan for one day- the population of Petaluma- Each Sudanese refugee requires only 16 cents per day for food provided through a program run by Church World Service. Their goal was $8,800 and they raised over $10,000.

Now the campaign has expanded to "Dear Sudan, Love..." and a new blog was launched today!  They are hoping that many cities and towns will participate in this same type of effort...Imagine, only 16 cents per day for food!  I am interested in this project, but need to put together a committee of folks who would be willing to spearhead this effort with me.  If you are so inclined, please email me @ [email protected] and we will see if an interfaith-multi-church team can be put together in order to undertake such an endeavor.  Read the story.

The Dear Sudan blog launch features the above painting, entitled "My Duty," by Beverly Collins, from her "The Invisible Women of Darfur" collection.  Her text for this painting reads as follows:  "My duty to God and my children is to bring forth the will to continue in the face of my oppression."

Peace Vigil for Darfur, @ Crossroads UMC, Ashburn, VA

sunday's worship in the spirit of justice...a call to your conscience...praying in front of the White House

Sunday was the final Worship in the Spirit of Justice, at LaFayette Park, just in front of the White House.  It was a profound service as people of many different faiths joined together to raise their voices and call our leaders to action to stop the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.  It was extremely hot, sweat poured down most of our faces.  I thought of the women driven into the Sahara as I sat for two hours in the sweltering sun before returning to my air conditioned life.  I was humbled by my privilege and the luxuries i take for granted. 

A  Muslim man spoke  with eloquence about the brotherhood & sisterhood of all people, having been created by the One God, and proclaimed us all responsible to address and answer for the suffering of one another.  As spontaneous applause broke out, tears came to my eyes, for standing on or by the podium, participating in the service were Christians, Jews & Muslims, setting aside all differences, and joining together for the greater purpose of caring for the "least of these," as they challenged all of us to look at who our neighbor truly is and to love our neighbor.

Sitting in grass, we prayer for our neighbors in Darfur...for the genocide to stop, for the media to take notice, we wrote letters to the President, calling him to act, we sang and affirmed our collective unity in being human and our desire to be come more humane... to do what little we could to make a difference in the lives of the people of Darfur, and not to be silent. 

It is hearbreaking and sobering that after the Holocaust, the world cried "never again"  when the slaughter of the Jews was revealed.  And yet, it happened again, the genocide and ethnic cleansing, the methodical and violent killing of women and children...it happened in Bosnia, in Croatia, in Rwanda...and now in Darfur!  and we have an opportunity to say, No!  this must end, for this is my brother,my sister, my child who is being killed ...and the genocide must end.  This was the cry for Justice from those who gathered, as we humbly acknowledged our shortcomings and complicity through inaction, and we began by taking an action, to do something to make a difference. 

The service ended, and the crowd solemnly walked to the front of the White House in order to pray for the people of Darfur, for our President and for world leaders to take action to stop the genocide, for the world to take notice and seek justice.  I was toward the front of the group and I turned to watch the other worshippers coming. The solemn silence was powerful as the mass of people began kneeling along 16th street, heads bowed, voices raised in quiet song, and then in silent prayer...

When the leader closed in prayer, it was clear that this was only a beginning, but it was something that made a statement in  the face of an overwhelming need that threatens to paralyze us in its magnitude.  We can each raise our voices, our hands and lives in prayer and in action.  Natala has a terrific post on the service, and the small steps that we can each take to do something.   and Matt, as a ton of photos, besides the ones you see here.   

bono on forgiving our debtors

Today's Daily Dig from Bruderhof

As We Forgive Our Debtors

Bono

"Now, for all its failings and its perversions over the last 2,000 years—and as much as every exponent of this faith has attempted to dodge this idea—it is unarguably the central tenet of Christianity: that everybody is equal in God's eyes. So you cannot, as a Christian, walk away from Africa. America will be judged by God if, in its plenty, it crosses the road from 23 million people suffering from HIV, the leprosy of the day."

"What's up on trial here is Christianity itself. You cannot walk away from this and call yourself a Christian and sit in power. Distance does not decide who is your brother and who is not. The church is going to have to become the conscience of the free market if it's to have any meaning in this world—and stop being its apologist." 

***Read this companion article from Bruderhof: "A Time to Forgive Debts, the Bible's Radical Solution to Injustice"

The One Campaign/Make Poverty History and the G8 Summit, July 6-8, 2005...

WHAT IS THE G8 AND WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

The G8, or the ‘Group of Eight’ Summit is an annual gathering of leaders from the world’s eight wealthiest and most powerful countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States). This summer, these leaders will gather in Scotland to decide the fate of an entire generation living on less than ONE dollar a day. On July 6th - 8th, President Bush and other G8 leaders will discuss the major social, political and economic conditions that leave nearly ONE billion people living in extreme poverty – nearly half of whom live in Sub-Saharan Africa.  With your support and voice, President Bush and other world leaders will know just how important these issues are, and together as ONE, we can Make Poverty History this July. read more...

Issues  addressed include:  AIDS pandemic, Extreme Poverty, Education, Lack of accessible clean Water, Corruption, Hunger, Orphans, Trade, and Debt Cancellation.

Jimmy at Culture driven life has a great post, on the G8 meeting regarding the Make Poverty History & One Campaign. 

As I prepared this post, i thought about all that i do, consume, take for granted, and waste that costs around $1.00 per day, and i am humbled and convicted....a cup of coffee, a bottle of water, the Sunday Washington Post, another bottle of water, a pack of gum, McDonald's fries, half a gallon of gas, a power bar, a pen or mechanical pencil...all these things that pass through my hands... unnecessary items, luxuries in reality that cost as much as or more than what an entire generation of people live off  each day!  What has happened to make this such an upside-down and sideways world?  How have i been part of making it so?  Oh Lord, forgive me.  And how can I be part of changing it, even in the smallest ways...Lord, help me. 

Please G-d, help me to remember this $1.00 truth, and in remembering to change the way that i live...help me to see the myriad of ways that i fail to love my neighbor as i consume and destroy the resources of this planet.  Forgive me for how easily i forget that a child on this same earth, has no food, no water, and no home, when i am battling for my children's 'rights', or ordering yet another book from amazon.com...help me remember the faces of the other, these my brothers and sisters, and in my remembering, help me to become a different person in the way i live out my faith...i humbly pray, amen.

hospitality, open doors, places at the table and other unique things about Jesus...

this speaks to me today...

Hospitality

   “Shared life is a way of being present to another person so that another person can be present to you. It's a quality of being, of living. A sharing attitude makes room inside of you so that others can crawl in and you can crawl out into them. You become touched and touchable, supporting and supportable. A Christian home is one with the doors open, and a Christian community of any form has doors open and swinging both ways. There's life moving in and life moving out. I could summarize Jesus' most radical teaching as a call to "universal table fellowship" (see with whom he eats, whom he invites to the banquet, and then you will know why they killed him!). Don't tell people to come to our church or to come to hear Father preach. Ask them to come over for supper. That's more real and natural. Talk to them over the back fence. We hope our life is good news. When our neighbors see our unity and our good news, maybe then they'll say, I'd like to come celebrate and worship with you.”

Richard Rohr, The Spiritual Family and the Natural Family

subversive practice of faith...

great post and comments on natala's blog...i think the only response is subversive ways to practice our faith...

Africa: Sudan, Darfur, Congo...Worship Together in the Spirit of Justice, DC- june & july

 

Cedar Ridge Community Church is inviting "willing Christians to gather for five Sundays of public worship in Washington DC around the themes of justice and peace in Africa, and especially Darfur, Sudan." The outdoor services entitled, Worship in the Spirit of Justice will be held at various locations between June 12 and July 10, 2005.  Details are available at this website, as well this same link: CRCC:Worship in the Spirit of Justice will remain under the "do justice, love kindness" box on the right column of this blog for easy access.

This is a great opportunity to join together as human beings and raise our voice against the atrocities enacted against and suffered by our fellow human beings, on this same planet, sharing the same sun, and viewing the same stars as we do, each night.

Those who are suffering, are our brothers and our sisters...unlike us, they do not have the luxury of dreaming and planning for their children's futures; no, they are uncertain whether or not they or their children will live to see another day.  They need our voices raised on their behalf, our sacrificial labor in many forms, and our fervent prayers. 

The hardest part of writing this post, is the knowledge of my complicity in remaining blind to the problems, or being too caught up in the next thing, or problem at hand, even  if it is an important issue...i am profoundly aware that to remain silent, uneducated and/or inactive about the atrocities in Africa and other parts of the world is to be part of the system that allows them to continue.

I look back on Nazi Germany and the murder of millions of Jews and remember that during the year, I learned that terrible story of history, I wondered, how did 'they' let that happen?  until one day i realized that I was part of the 'they...'  and that now I am part of the 'we,' who are allowing the same thing to happen in the world today.

On that day, I decided that I did not want to be complicit, I did not want to contribute to the problem, but I wanted to be part of the solution.  Though the need is so great, that it threatens to overwhelm me, I remember that I can give something, speak up somewhere, offer a cup of cold water, just get involved and try to make a difference.  And yet I slip into denial and the ease of my life so quickly.  I confess that as I write this post. 

I will be out of  town on some of the scheduled Sundays, but if I am home in the DC area, I will be at the worship service.  I will invite others, and I will speak on behalf of my brothers and sisters.  please join me. email me and tell me you are coming and we can worship together.  If you need a place to crash, we have a big suburban house with lots of room;)  email me if you are interested and we can talk dates.

FYI:  my other posts about Rwanda, the darfur pledge, darfur: through the eyes of children there are outside links within these posts, and as i come upon more i will add them.  but now i am weary...goodnight.

Incarnational Business Practices

Fast Company has an online article about and ever increasing blurring of the line between product and customer.  The article begins with the following quote:

"The boundary between where a product ends and where a customer begins is changing."  John J. Sviokla, Vice Chairman Diamond Clusters International, Inc.

The article discusses the growing reality that an increasing number of products have built in sensors to monitor customer usage habits and preferences in order to provide better service as well as data for future product development.  It is inevitable that humans will become increasingly comfortable with sensors in products, appliances eventually leading to significant changes in health care  products as well.  For example, our cars have sensors that determine when service is needed, why wouldn't the same technology, an internal monitor, be available to a diabetic?  Business is realizing the need to enter into the culture and lives of the customer.

Isn't this the idea of incarnational ministry...to enter into the culture and life of another?  To cross a boundary that may have been previously unthinkable of crossing?  I mean, who would have thought a mechanical pacemaker could cross the boundary of organic tissue?  In similar fashion, we must cross the boundaries of age, race, socio-economic, gender, and cultural differences that so often keep us from entering into the life of others.

This is The Incarnation. This is the way of Jesus.  This is the way of incarnational ministry... To enter into...to pitch our tent and dwell among, to get to know, to blur the lines...to surprise by inclusion and embrace...not with an agenda to bring others to our way of thinking, but to begin to hear and understand their way of thinking, of living, of being...and to engage and love them...giving and receiving in the way of Jesus.