Southern Florida has been experiencing some unusually cool weather this winter. (Of course this is the winter that we choose to be in the state for our sabbatical leave, but that is a bit off topic!). For a period of ten days, the temperature was hovering around the freezing point during the nights. This is a major concern especially for the strawberry farmers. I was intrigued to learn that in order to protect their massive fields of strawberries from freezing to death, the farmers sprayed cold water on the berries so they would be covered with a light sheet of ice as a protection from the cold weather. This gentle freeze protected the crop from the deep freeze that would mean their destruction!
I could not help but compare this with God’s care of his children. There are surely times when He puts us through the uncomfortable gentle freeze so that we might not freeze to death! Hebrews chapter twelve verse five says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Facing something uncomfortable today? God is protecting us through this from an even greater harm.

Jesus Christ by virtue of His headship over the church, His example for the church and His challenge to the church, calls His people to cross-carrying commitment to His cause. This means a lifestyle of ‘losing one’s life in order to find it.’ This becomes a struggle when a congregation is formed out of a society that sets a high premium on leisure and self-fulfillment. It has been said of North Americans that we tend to ‘worship our work, work at our play and play at our worship.’ Our congregations are assemblies of volunteers whom we desire to serve Christ. “I always want more people, from more diverse functions and places” is not just the cry of those outside the church says Margaret Wheatley. Working with volunteers has dynamics that are different than working with those who are paid to perform. Moving volunteers from being only consumers to also being contributors is a basic challenge of congregational leadership today. Rolf Jensen suggests a key to volunteer engagement when he says “people adopt or retain an idea because they have some motive for doing it.”
Introducing believers to increasingly sacrificial lifestyles is further complicated by the complexity of people’s needs and wants. Congregations are made up of both families and individuals who are often very demanding because of needs that have arisen within their home environments and work stations. Beyond the needs of a somewhat broken society, there are the ‘wants’ of people who have affluence and leisure time that was known only to a few in past generations. It seems that the solution to transitioning people from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness is to assist them in tracking healthy spiritual development together, within the context of Christian community. Again quoting Margaret Wheatley, a “fundamental work of this time (is) to discover new ways of being together.” Most believers desire to make progress along their Christian journey and therefore may be taught to live disciplined interconnected lives that include a sense of fulfillment. Rolf Jensen, author of ‘The Dream Society’ book, writes “love and togetherness (are) two pivotal marketing definitions in the dream society.”
It is also a challenge to bring correction to bear on wayward members of congregations who resent being told to amend their ways in order to maintain a wholesome testimony for the Christ they claim to know. At times, consumerism and impending correction means that there is an increase of church-hoppers. There are those who take flight instead of get right! Mary Beth O’Neill in her book “Executive Coaching with Backbone and Heart” muses that “individual responses (include) fight, flight, save the day, placate – the list is endless.” Leaders need to assess how to identify a congregational ‘ethos’ in which the back door is much narrower than the front door of the church. Ownership is a key to retaining persons. “Ownership describes personal connections to the organization, the powerful emotions of belonging that inspire people to contribute” writes Margaret Wheatley in her book entitled “Leadership and the New Science.”

Challenge One is the building of a leadership team that enjoys cohesiveness and exudes creativity. There has been a generational shift in the predominant style of congregational leadership. The recent past witnessed dominant and sometimes dictatorial leaders who wielded control over congregations who had a limited grasp of information beyond their immediate context. The task today is much more the development of teams of leaders called of God to guide congregations. There is a powerful synergy within a well-functioning team of leaders. Executive Coach Mary Beth O’Neill reminds us that “building relationships and facilitating interactions” is essential. . Furthermore, there is no more strategic investment of a leader’s time than the intentional formation of teams to carry out profitable ministry. The challenge of team building involves the enjoyment of cohesiveness where each is respected for their uniqueness, what Mary Beth O’Neil calls “signature presence.” Just as a signature is unique, so each person’s contribution is unique. All team members are encouraged to achieve increasingly significant ministry impact. It seems that in a friendly team environment, creativity finds solutions to life’s changing situations. Margaret Wheatley, wrestling with a fast-paced world, states “in a quantum world, relationship is the key determiner of everything.” “To have a sense of fun is crucial for visionary leadership” suggests Rolf Jensen. Within a caring and maturing circle of leaders, the ugly specter of leader burnout is less likely to occur. It is also necessary to redefine roles periodically in a changing church environment. This means that the element of flexibility is a valuable commodity within the leadership teams of today.

Effective leadership has always been a reality that is never easily definable. Leaders throughout church history have had diverse traits and at times unplanned influence. Many times the best of leaders are those who were the least desirous of leading. There is a somewhat mysterious quality to leadership yet we may discern some essential components active in an environment that is enjoying healthy momentum. Few would debate the need for competent leadership. It is apparent also that we are living in changing times. Robert Dale says, “The times are always changing, and so must we, if we hope to be pacesetters in congregations…our church needs leaders precisely because our world is changing so radically and so swiftly.” Leadership in the twenty-first century has some unique challenges that were unknown to other generations. In just over a century most societies have been caught in the swiftly flowing currents beyond the agricultural into the industrial, technological and informational rivers of life. We have probably entered a new stream which Rolf Jensen defines as the “dream society” where imagination is the major reality that influences people and progress.
The church universal and the locally assembled congregations are very much affected by the times in which we live. Today is the day of population explosion (something like a billion added per decade), globalization, information overload and constant change. Whether churches will be given to fight, flight or faithfulness and fruitfulness will be dependent to a large degree upon the nature of the leadership each congregation is experiencing. In some coming blogs I will draw our attention to six basic challenges I perceive as present realities in leading congregations of believers.

One effective means of helping others as they work through difficult times or difficult decisions is to align with them. What am I suggesting? Alignment carries the idea of resetting one’s course. Alignment means something is going in an undesired direction and needs to be redirected. Alignment is seeing from another’s perspective. Hundreds of times in counseling sessions, I have purposefully aligned myself with one who is facing a real challenge in life. If I am approached by someone who is clearly distraught, I genuinely attempt to enter into their emotional state. Their feelings are real and I need to appreciate that. The feelings may be of despair, fear, hurt, anger or whatever. The first minutes of our exchange are rooted in feelings. We align ourselves.
Another may approach me in a much more cognitive way. They are thinking deeply and have questions or are trying to figure something out mentally. I think with them, attempting some logical solution. We align ourselves.
Another person may in the first few minutes of our exchange, sometimes in an animated way with raised voice, say what they are presently doing about a situation. They are the doers of life and are action-oriented. I enter into the actions they are taking. We align ourselves.
Even if I think that their initial responses to life’s situations may not be the most appropriate, I set my thoughts momentarily aside and see as they see, feel as they feel or think as they think. I have heard that we all respond to life out of one of three modalities: some think first; some feel first and others act first. The key to alignment is to have the wisdom to know how I as a counselor first respond to life yet, when need be, align with the one I am trying to help, setting aside my natural inclinations. Once we emphasize, the atmosphere is much more conducive to bringing about a suitable solution to whatever the person is facing. Alignment is a key to helping others. Learn to align yourself with the other even if they will need to be realigned at a later time.

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Proverbs 17:17
I was privileged to have been born into a larger family. All my siblings are brothers, no sisters. My seven brothers have proven, through the years, the reality of this biblical saying that “a brother is born for adversity.” It seems to me the phrase has a two-fold meaning. First, siblings are those who know us quite intimately and therefore through straightforward talk, yet an understanding heart, are able to prepare us for the challenges of life. In my slang, “brothers have toughened me up!” Do not despise the rather “in your face” interaction of family. They may be preparing you for the volatility of life. Second, “a brother born for adversity” carries the meaning that when things seem to be going in reverse, a brother will be there to help carry the load. Like the song says, “he’s not heavy, he’s my brother!” Often a family member walks in when others walk out. My question is not “do I have a sibling like that” but rather “am I a sibling like that?” Am I there for them, even when the “there” is costly and uncomfortable?

“Papa, did you have fun at church today?” These were the words of Bethany, my three-year old granddaughter when I arrived home from “church” recently. I thought, “How wonderful!” When she thinks of “church”, she thinks of “fun”! Isn’t it great when the young generation see the things of God as a delight and not simply as a duty? When I think about it: the many friends and families and memories and opportunities of serving Christ, the Head of the big “C” church, I chuckle to myself and say, “Yes dear, papa had fun at church today!”

Soloist Vera Lynn, in an interview I watched recently, was pleased and somewhat amazed that the song she sang sixty five years ago is at the top of the charts now in 2009. This famous song, White Cliffs of Dover, seems to capture the longing of every generation: the longing for peace, not only peace on earth but peace within. There is something promising in the lyrics “There’ll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover, tomorrow, just you wait and see. There’ll be love and laughter and peace ever after, when the world is free.” Could it be that peace and freedom go hand in hand?
Gideon, a ruler in Israel, discovered peace when Jehovah-Shalom, “the LORD our Peace”, met him at a time of uncertainty both within Gideon’s nation and within Gideon’s heart. Israel was being harassed by enemies because of Israel’s forsaking of the Lord. Gideon’s foreboding disappeared when the LORD said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid.”
I have been told that God says about 365 times in the Bible, “Fear not!” Shalom, the Hebrew word for “peace,” is sometimes used as a word of greeting “hello” or a word of parting “good-bye.” However it is more often used to depict a life that enjoys the kind of peace that results from wholeness of life when there is peace with God, with oneself and with others. Invest some time in the Bible: Judges 6 and Philippians 4 in light of knowing actual peace in our lives. Shalom!

Wordsmiths – those who are masters of choosing the proper words and phrases to get a message across know the value of language. Remember the old adage, “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never hurt you!” Well, I think we are now old enough to know that there is something severely lacking in that saying. Words have the capacity to hurt and more importantly words can bring healing and hope. Is there a word that captures who you are or who you desire to be? Is there a word that energizes you? My favorite English word is “enthusiasm.” To me “enthusiasm” conveys energy, engagement and fun. “Enthusiasm” is a compilation of two Greek words, “en” which means “to be filled with” and “theos” which means “God’. Isn’t that interesting? “Enthusiasm” means to be “filled with God.” Great word – greater daily practice.

Remember to circle the calendar date: Sunday, October 25 Grand Opening New Facilities of StoneRidge Fellowship Church, Exit 4C (4 Church), Highway 102, Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia.

The Family Fall Festival, Sunday, October 25th is going to be one of those events that you will not want to miss. StoneRidge Fellowship is celebrating the Grand Opening of its new facilities at 85 Temple Terrace in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. This historic event begins and ends with Keltic-flavoured celebration services at 10:30 am and 3:30 pm (identical services – choose which one you wish to attend). The family events between these services will be memorable and fun for every member of your family. So circle that date, invite family and friends and I look forward to meeting you on the new site just off Highway 102, Exit 4C (4 Church!).  Click on the following link for a recent newspaper article.  http://www.halifaxnewsnet.ca/index.cfm?sid=287108&sc=608