The Importance of Christian Leadership

 

Note to Reader: I started this entry in March 2023. The significance of the timing is revealing to those who know

  The leadership roles in the organization of a church goes beyond finding people to fill seats or finding willing bodies. It rises above who has done it for the last 50 years or how much they tithe.  Those serving in those roles should be highly motivated Christians that have a passion for fulfilling the mission, vision and values of that church. Just to refresh our memories of what those are:

A mission statement is a concise explanation of the organization's reason for existence. It describes the organization's purpose and its overall intention.

A vision statement looks forward and creates a mental image of the ideal state that the organization wishes to achieve.

A values statement lists the core principles that guide and direct the organization and its culture. In a values-led organization, the values create a moral compass for the organization.

 

A mission (intention) without vision (ideal state), is like a seed without sunshine, it may sprout and grow for a bit, but will not reach it's full potential. If the vision (ideal state) is to keep everything the same, the church will not grow. People are drawn to organizations and Christian Communities that grow. One of the worst scenarios is a Mission with Vision but no values (moral compass), as it will become corrupt.

The Bible states clearly what good leadership characteristics are. 

The Old Testament has many good examples and Jesus taught the disciples how to lead the church forward. Paul modeled and taught Christian Leadership Characteristics as he mentored new leaders. In modern times, most denominations will have guidelines for leading the church. In the UMC it's called the Book of Discipline. It starts with the foundation of the denominations statements of faith and beliefs. The BOD contains guidelines for the Church at the International level down to the Local Church level. It defines how Bishops are selected, Clergy are Ordained and the role of Laity in the Church. The Local Church organization is described in detail with definitions and actions of the Administration Committee, Finance Committee, Trustees and Church Council that guide the direction of the Local Church. It even defines the ministries within the church. Now this is a very condensed list of the contents, there is much much more including the Judicial component that sees to resolving issues in the church, but for the purposes of this blog I will focus on Leadership Characteristics.

 

In a blog by Larry Chamberlain of Indiana Wesleyan University, he describes Effective Leadership Characteristic from the Apostle Paul, with supporting scripture. He wrote:

An Effective Leader . . . .

Seeks to Appreciate the Diversity of Giftedness

Ephesians 4:8, 12, 15, 16: He gave gifts . . . for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ . . . being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Seeks Unity in the Context of Diversity

I Corinthians 1:10: I exhort you . . . that you all agree [speak the same thing], and there be no divisions [schisms] among you, but you be made complete [united] in the same mind and in the same judgment

Seeks a High Level of Moral Maturity

I Corinthians 3:16, 17: Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? . . . . The temple of God is holy, and that is what you are . . . and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to you.

Seeks the Wisdom and Empowerment of God

Ephesians 1:17, 18: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him . . . that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened

Seeks Conciliation Instead of Conflict

Ephesians 1:17, 18: Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other

Seeks Fair and Respectable Compensation and Recognition

I Timothy 5:17, 18: Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor . . . . The laborer is worthy of his wage

Seeks a Servant’s Heart and Subjection to God

I Corinthians 9:19, 20: For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more . . . . I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some

Seeks to Mentor and Train the Next Generation

II Timothy 2:2 The things which you have heard from me . . . . entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also

Seeks to Guide and Correct with Patience and Gentleness

II Timothy 2:24, 25: And the Lord’s bond-servant must be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness, correcting those who are in opposition. 

 

 May we root ourselves in the word as we discern the Leaders we need to be, so our work is to the Glory of God and bares witness to the Christ-like Christians he calls us to be.

 

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  Leadership is not a role to obtain and hold on to for the purpose of power and control, as that type of mindset can not be utilizing the Mission, Vision and Values of the organization. It is a role to fulfill while constantly looking for and grooming an appropriate replacement from a younger generation that can continue the legacy of the church. In a church environment the focus should mirror the church Christ calls us to be.

One of the reasons I love being a United Methodist is it's devotion to mission work, relief, restoration and building up of those less fortunate that us. Not to just "give to the poor" but to help them rise up to be all they can be which lends to confidence and sustainability. All the while showing them the love of God and giving them the knowledge of salvation, a gift of grace.

Value the best in people, forgive the least in people and love as Christ calls us to love. I struggle everyday loving people who's hatred simmers in their heart while they continue to look for ways to hurt others. As hard as it is to wrap my head around this, I refuse to excuse it and pray they will eventually look into their own heart and discover the darkness that lies within that needs the light of the Holy Spirit to restore them. Am I being judgemental, if so I pray forgiveness.

Even when Paul was in prison, he wrote to the churches to point out their errors and correct their thinking and ways so the church could go on to be successful in sharing the good news of salvation through the grace of Jesus Christ.

In a time when "DISCERNMENT" seems to be the soup of the day, spend some time in the presence of God, nourish yourself in his word and make better plans and choices according to his will. In HIS time, In HIS wisdom he will reveal HIS will. It is up to you to then ABIDE IN HIM AS HE ABIDES IN YOU.

 

Credits:

https://www.indwes.edu/adult-graduate/ng-blog/stories/characteristics-of-effective-leadership

The Rewards of a Promise Kept

I promised her a forever home when I rescued her from an animal shelter. Nobody knew exactly the circumstances that led to her being found on the streets, scared, starving and injured from a pack of dogs while she was in heat, but I will forever be thankful for Hernando County SPCA   

She had the saddest eyes I had ever seen. They had spay her and were training her to be a nursing home companion. She was gentle and submissive, ..... that is unless there was a squirrel in the yard. She would chase them and sit under the tree for hours.

She lived & traveled with us from Florida, to Mississippi. That is when she expanded her prey hunts from squirrels to racoons and successfully took on a whole family of them. .............. Annie won. She loved the wildlife that living on the bayou brought, but was never fond of water. She became friends with the cocker spaniel next door and watching them play was hysterical.


From Mississippi, we moved out of the country to Belize. She knew something big was happening and it was unsettling. Furniture was disappearing, things were being put in containers. She stayed very close, never letting us out of her sight. Then early one morning she got in the truck with us that was pulling a sailboat, packed to the brim and off we went. She settled quickly on her bed behind our seats and had not a care in the world. She knew she was ours and we were hers.

For days we traveled and on one occasion there was a matter of sneaking her into the hotel room as they didn't allow pets but we didn't know that until too late. Her quiet demeanor and well behaved nature, well lets just say, they never knew she was there. When we got to the border of US/Mexico they insisted we have an escort ride with us to assure customs we would not sell anything we were carrying, since we did not pay customs on it. His name was Jorge (Hor-hay). he looked at the dog in the cab of the truck and said, "I can ride in the boat". After 10-15 miles of bouncing around back there his green pallor said, "I think we better make room for him next to Annie" He and Annie became fast friends and somewhere there is a picture of them sleeping her head on his shoulder.

When we finally stopped traveling Annie got out of the truck into her own fenced yard and "all the stuff" entered the house. She knew she was home. For home was anywhere we were all together. Life in Belize was wonderful. we lived in town, then on the beach of the Caribbean Sea, then on the Corozal Bay and finally on the Chetumal Bay (same Bay just two different countries). In all those places on the beach of the Caribbean Sea was her favorite. There she befriended a woman named Reva and as time went on Reva would even babysit her when Charles or I had to go off for a weekend. 

It was in Corozal that we discovered the actual breed Annie was. To think we had to go all te way to Belize to discover she was a Black mouthed Cur. Here's how that happened: We were renting a guest wing of a house on the bay owned by the Voris's. Every Friday afternoon they would host "Happy Hour". A chance to socialize with each other and new comers would be invited to meet new people. It was on one such occassion that a couple from Florida were in country "checking things out" to decide if living there was for them. When the gentleman saw Annie, he said, "Oh my you have a Black mouthed Cur". I said, "I WHAT??" He repeated himself and went on to say they are a breed originating in Florida,  bred to hunt wild boar. I couldn't believe it, all this time I thought she was a boxer/pit bull mix. Of course I had to look that up and sure enough there she was. Black Mouth Cur . So the whole squirrel, raccoon & chicken thing made sense. The chicken thing, you say? Well yes and here's that story:

It was in Hopkins that we discovered there as a hunter spirit in Annie, as evident by her chasing down and killing a chicken. Now in this part pf the world, chickens are a high commodity. They supply the family with eggs and maybe eventually meat, but often they are money makers as the eggs can be sold. So if your dog kills a chicken it can cost you up to 50 US Dollars to compensate the loss of income for the lifetime of the chicken. Fortunately we only had to experience that once with Annie.

Annie was terrified of storms and loud "Bangs" such as fireworks as many dogs are, but I suspect the extreme fear in her stemmed from having lived through a hurricane while being a stray. Whether thats when she was abandoned or got lost, misplaced it led to a horrible existence for her. When we rescued her the vet said that she must have been "gang raped" by a pack of dogs as her backside was ripped and torn. Infected when she arrived they had to do surgery to fix it and remove a partially formed litter of puppies. There was no way to save them as she would never be able to deliver them. Although she was timid and shy she made for a great companion dog, still having capacity for love.  

Her final home was in Calderitas, Mx. A small fishing village on the Chetumal Bay. When age had it's way and her body just wore out, we showed the last kindness we could and let her cross the rainbow bridge. It was so hard and I grieved for a long time but I kept my promise and the reward I received was a loyal and loving companion like no other before or after, ....... til Dixie, but I am not ready to write about Dixie.

React or Act, That is the question

 I don't know about you but many people I know have been imparted "DAD ISMS", those brief messages of wisdom from Dad, sometimes MOM, which would be Momisms. Typically, you apply them through life and often pass on to your own children. One such Dadism for me was " do ACT, don't REACT". I had come to him with a situation in my corporate job world and was not sure what to do. That's when he said those 4 words. I asked "whats the difference?" His eyes lit up like I had just given him a Christmas present. In reality he delighted in sharing life lessons. 

He explained that to react is to respond quickly without thought and often resulting in misunderstandings or worse, conveying anger or disapproval when a lesson learned could be achieved. Action takes thought and is usually a more productive resolve. My dad being a Firefighter all his life, responded quickly all the time, so of course I asked, "What about your emergency response at work"? He smiled that knowing smile and said, "Oh honey THAT is instinctive action derived from education & extensive training for those events. From time to time, as I am human, I failed to heed his wisdom and it often comes back to haunt me. So I confess it and press on, hoping to do better the next time. 

There is nothing wrong with using the phrase, "Let me get back to you". It allows time to gather more info or put needed thought into the best action to take. In

some instances action can be taken in a short amount of time other instances might take a day or longer. It is also a good time to pray, when the situation needs divine guidance. When emotions play a big role in the issue, calm needs to be achieved first. People come to understanding differently when emotions are high, so although the message is the same there can be varied understandings or perceptions based on the energy in the room.
Immediate answers to questions, when the answer is known due to policy, or a previously resolved question is a lot like the firefighters response. A result of education and training. These situations result in "Instinctive action". The question here can be "where are the recipients in knowledge level of the subject?."

There is a phrase, "they don't know what they don't know". I know I have been there, but admitting that's where you are is another thing. Again, it's ok to admit,

"I don't have the answer but I will find it." It's also ok to say, "I'm going to need to pray about that."  Go to God's word, the answers are there. My brother Les told me, "B I B L E" stands for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth and he's right.  Our eyes, hearts and minds should be focused on getting to our Heavenly Home. This messy world is but a weigh station. 

That is not to say that we lie idle while we are here, no. Jesus taught and left clear instructions, "GO, make disciples of men for the transformation of the world". And why is that important? Because through transformation of ourselves and others we become more like Jesus and draw closer to our Heavenly Father. And of course who else is best to guide our path, comfort and yes spark a fire in us than the spirit of the living God. Is this path easy, ......... oh far from it. All kinds of obstacles can impede our progress. But each can be overcome. If God calls us to it, he will equip us, support us and guide us through it. 

Interacting with others can bring it's own challenges. We are all uniquely made, with gifts, skills, talents and personalities. BUT ALL are made in the image of God for his purpose. He knows that purpose, we may not or understand others purpose, but with prayer & meditation we can discern our own purpose.

I have come around to Solomon's way of thinking. If I can ask God for anything it would be wisdom. So much more can be done with a good dose of wisdom. James 3:17-18 says  "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.  Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness."

So, go out there, Be a Blessing to someone, I promise, in turn you will yourself Be Blessed.

 

Food for Thought

I often look in from time to time, thanks to social media, on groups I have belong to or Churches I was a member just to see what they are now doing. Sometimes its to glimpse the face of an old friend and say hi. One of the most memorable
events I was honored to be a part of was called Winterfest. It's purpose was to be an outreach to the community. In the early years it started as providing a day of

fun including a man made snow hill that kids could fly down on plastic saucers. Some of the kids in that town had never experienced snow. It wasn't really snow, it was pounds and pounds of chipped ice, but it was VERY COOL! To go with it, the event offered other "Wintery things" like snowcones, photo ops with snow scenes, a chili cook off contest, drinks, hot dogs, face painting, bouncy houses, one year even a rock climbing wall. Every year it grew and grew. The community came by the thousands and for many of these families it was a dream come true because everything was FREE! Absolutely FREE! 

It was a lot of work and took LOTS of donations, volunteers and a few sponsors, but at the end of the day we all experienced that phenomenon of being blessed because it was such a blessing to others. There were many occasions I experienced that touched my heart like over hearing a child say, "daddy daddy can we get a hotdog?" in which the dad replied, "no honey daddy doesn't have any money". I stepped over and told him everything was free. The look of disbelief took me back, I continued, "seriously its all free, see the banner over the road, it says FREE." A bit misty eyed he sad, "well kids I guess this is our lucky day!" Although he felt that way, there was no luck about it. It was an intentional act of love extended to the community and God made sure this family was there to enjoy it. 

A bit later I saw them again and handed him a church brochure, telling him, "we have a really great free afternoon program for kids on Weds". A month or so later he signed them up for Wonderful Wednesday. Many families came to this church because they were first introduced via community outreach.  In 2021 Winterfest did not happen. Many community events didn't happen due to Covid, but I noticed they did have a 2022 Winterfest Community Outreach in a different format.

Having no budget the committee sought donations and received roughly $14,500. What they did with it warmed my heart so much. Here is what was reported during their worship service:

At a local Family Dollar Store & Gas station, 180 families received $25 gift cards, they paid for 123 breakfasts at a local deli, they paid the laundry fees for 15 families, they paid the water company $4,250 to help pay family water bills in the red, they gave $500 to the local Library for overdue book fees, they gave the town's Park & Rec dept $2,000, so they could offer scholarships to kids that wanted to play sports but didn't have the money and they took 104 pizzas & 1,600 cookies to the Elementary school and fed 830 children and school staff. Now that was a divine inspired community outreach. At a time folks are struggling to make ends meet, feed their families and pay their bills, Winterfest came through for them.

During that same service one of the Pastors described meeting people that day and hearing story after story of how the programs at this same church shaped the lives of these people now in their 20's. Never underestimate the effect of the things you do today.

Be a Blessing and Be Blessed! 

Tradition & Revitalizing the Mission

 My religious affiliation is Methodism. I am a member of the United Methodist Church. I was raised in the Methodist Church and at the age of 64 am still an active, serving member of my church. The last few years have been very very difficult. We have lived through a virus that closed schools, churches and work places. Even as re-openings are occurring we are noticing a change in the atmosphere. Some people are not returning for a variety of reasons but even those returning are often hesitant to resume the fellowship known before. Is this a response to fear, is it apathy/complacency or a combination of both.

A recent podcast I listened to revealed 5 Reasons Why You Have an Apathetic Church Congregation. (https://youtu.be/yWKvnOwSi7s) It was very insightful. Monotony was listed as one of the 5 reasons. Now, understand part of being Methodist is being methodical. For the most part tradition is a main stay, but has it become just words. I was thinking about The Apostles Creed which in the service is followed by The Gloria Patri. Broken down The Apostles Creed is a statement of what we believe. It speaks to the core of our worship and teachings. We memorize this as children and if people are being honest (I am guilty) sometimes when it is being recited, thoughts might be on other things. As well The Gloria Patri- "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end, Amen, Amen." This an expression in music to dedicate our beliefs, and our prayers to be a Glory to the Trinity as it was in the beginning and shall remain to the end.

After the Offering there is the Doxology, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow." Which originally written by Thomas Ken in 1674 as the ending to Morning, Evening and Midnight Prayers. We use it today to dedicate our offerings to the church as an expression of knowing all we have and all we give are blessings that flow from God. So next time you are in worship ponder on the words you recite and sing as this is part of how we can worship God.

OK back to tradition and contemporary worship. Yes there are many Methodist Churches that have embraced Contemporary Services with modern praise music, etc. Some exclusively, but many tend to also maintain the Traditional Service. The combination of both of those Worship Services can and do build large churches. 

It is important to grow the church and Methodism is defined by it's mission to make disciples. "The mission of the United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The further mission of First United Methodist Church is to create and build inclusive Christian community through INVITING, FORMING and SENDING FORTH faithful, active disciples of Jesus Christ."

It begs the question, "Are we doing that?" Is that a priority in our church and if so how are we accomplishing that? The podcast refers to another reason for apathy as "Lack of Fellowship Engagement".  Some of that may be a result of Covid 19, but more than that have we lost that component of relationship building between our members? Do we have opportunities to have meaningful discussions about the sermon and what it was about? Do we have Bible Studies that generate conversations? Are these discussions and conversations building connections? Do they build relationships with other members that could then be defined as a community? What do people do with the information they receive in church? 

Another area in this podcast discussed "Reluctance to serve" Yes as they mention it should be a core value, but do we communicate which areas need people to serve and do we train people for that service? Do we make the "on-boarding" too hard? An area that has seen a drastic change in process for serving is the Vulnerable Adult, Youth and Children's Ministries and often these areas need the most help. Is it really a hardship to comply with screening processes,  meant to keep these populations, the volunteers who serve and yes the church itself safe? I guess it depends on what you believe the risk is and what message you want the world to know. Frankly, I view church and all inside it as my extended family. There is not much I would not do to protect my family. I am happy to stand in front of a tall wall to say "if you want inside this gate, we have a non negotiable process". And if I am wanting to enter that gate I would be thrilled knowing these safe guards are in place because I bring my children and grandchildren there.

 How do we revitalize our Church Community, our Church Family our passion and vision for the future? Ask the questions, "If this were my first Sunday, would what I see, hear and experience make me to want to come back? Am I a consumer only or would I find fulfillment and blessings in serving in this church? Is my personal mission in keeping with the mission God calls me to?"

 

The Hidden Gift

 

It’s Christmas morning and since there are no children in the house this year (they arrive in a few days), I have some quiet time. This quiet time is perfect for writing a Christmas story from Christmas past.

Madelyn Louise Darley Manser is my mothers name. My niece has her middle name and our number 3 grand daughter has her first name. All 3 have deep loving hearts. My mom died in May of 2005 and I have missed her everyday since. In 2001 my husband retired from the Navy and we had decided a year before that we would build a house next door to my parents on a lot they gifted us.

My dad had purchased 3 adjoining lots (their house on the middle lot) when he retired so that one day one or more of us children would come home and roost. As he got older that plan became paramount to him as he wanted one of us close to be there for mom should anything happen to him. That “something” turned out to be a diagnosis of cancer in 2003. By then we had already been there for a couple years.

Living next door to your parents has its ups and downs but for the most part it was really nice. After years of military life and living in so many places (all of which were far from my parents), it was nice to be close. I learned a lot about my parents I never knew before and they about me. My mom for instance, I always knew she was a deep loving soul. She took very special consideration when it came to gift giving. Her joy came knowing her gifts were “just what you wanted”.

Our children were all grown by the time we moved there so our house and the contents reflected a lifestyle particular to us. Having lived all over the world our house displayed art from various Asia-pacific countries. My husbands vast shell collection was displayed in custom made teak cabinets purchased in Malaysia. I had a love of music boxes and at Christmas they all came out. My mom started giving me music figurines for birthdays and Christmas, each one being more elaborate and delicate. It was apparent from her face as I opened them she received much joy in the giving. She learned I had a love for decorating for Christmas, one of my favorites was setting up the Christmas Village my husband and children gave me.

Christmas was especially festive during those years. My dad loved Christmas and it showed in the care he took to decorate. He and I developed a tradition of shopping at midnight on Christmas Eve much to my mothers objections. Mom had been organist, pianist and choir director of every church in every location they lived. Those years she had reduced her activities to organist and pianist but Christmas was still very busy preparing for all the services and events at church. I sang in the choir so we shared in that.

Christmas of 2004 would be the last cantata she would play the organ. Following the news that dad was in remission, mom was diagnosed with cancer. She never complained and was determined to not be a burden. She told me “when I can not get up and make my own coffee, I’ll be ready to go”. There was a couple at church that were going to celebrate their 50th anniversary and asked mom to play and me to sing. That was in April of 2005. Three weeks later mom died. On Friday afternoon she couldn’t get up to make her own coffee and on Monday morning she went to heaven.

Dad couldn’t live without his beloved wife and three months later he went to join her in Heaven. Two funerals in 3 months and an estate to settle, personally for several months I couldn’t bear to see anything moved in the house. Eventually it had to be done. Clothes and furniture that were left were donated. I kept all moms figurines. In particular she had a ceramic pair of praying hands that are among my prized possessions.

I also kept several containers of their Christmas decorations. I pulled a few out that first year, but it wasn’t until 2009 when we were preparing to downsize and retire in Belize that I relocated a big trunk

of decorations to our daughters house for safe keeping. In 2010 I went to our daughters house for Christmas. We decided to break out some decorations from my parents collection. Buried in there was a square box and written on it was “For Cathy”. I had not seen it before. I figured it was part of the long standing joke that I had my name written on items I wanted when they passed.

As my daughter and I opened it we realized it was a gift. A gift that was probably ordered just after Christmas 2004, or at least within the first few months of 2005. Dad knew it was in there because it was his handwriting but never thought to tell me before he died in August. It would be 5 years before I would find it. It was a ceramic Christmas wreath. With in the wreath was a miniature Christmas village, that lit up under battery power and played Christmas music. I completely melted on the spot. At no time in my life have I ever been affected by a gift in that way. In part because it was the perfect gift, a combination of all the things I liked collecting, but mostly because I realized she never got to watch me open it and see the immense surprise and joy.

As in all good Christmas story endings, I have resolved this in my heart by the belief she saw it from heaven and probably said, “finally, I was beginning to think you would never find it” and turning to my dad probably said” why didn’t you tell her, no matter she’s found it now”.

Merry Christmas!