LeadershipConneXtions

The "S" Word: Submission to Those in Authority Over You

Thomas Merton had an interesting experience. 

How do you submit to superiors who are less intelligent and less spiritual than you are?
 

For Merton was wiser, more perceptive, more innovative, more creative, more daring and more spiritual than those who were in authority over him.  Merton was one of the most substantial, profound writers on spirituality in the past century. 
 

And he differed from his superiors on many issues. He caused problems for them. He was in a monastic order where he had vows of obedience. He was in a religious system that required commitment to its theological tenets (which were often hindrances). So he was silenced and forbidden to publish certain articles on some issues.
 

I have heard, so many times, observations from people, that lead me to believe they are in a similar work experience. They feel limited, confined, misunderstood, restricted, held back... There are so many "bad bosses" that can make life hard for those who work "under them." One of the main reasons people leaves places of employment is due to "bad bosses."
 

How do you deal with a bad boss, especially if that boss is less competent than you are? 
 

Here are a few thoughts...
 

ONE:  Be who you are. If your supervisor, boss, etc. is threatened by you, you can't reduce who you are to accommodate their dysfunction. That is the pathway to slow death.

TWO:  Be harmless as a dove and wise as a serpent. This is a strategy for enduring in a hard situation. 

THREE:  Guard your ego and humble your self (one that Merton struggled with... but he continued to struggle rather than give up on it).  See this as the situation and time for God to do a deeper work in your life.

FOUR:  Submit when you need to. Choose your battles. Not every position is worth dying for. Give and take (and sometimes you have to do a lot more of the giving than the taking).

FIVE:  If it becomes unbearable, you can always leave.

Through his experiences, Merton learned the value of submission. He learned that all those who would be leaders must learn how to be followers. He learned the value of waiting and trusting.
 

May we have the same experiences and the same growth.

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com 

Christian faith: Calvinism is back / The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com

America's Christian faith is experiencing a comeback of Calvinism and its God-first immersion in Scripture. Catherine Snow prays during an event at the Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., intended to introduce new people to its Calvinist theology.

via www.csmonitor.com

Here is an article on the resurgence of Calvinism. Thought you might enjoy this. It is just reporting and not advocating for it.

As our Ancient-Future Faith mid-size community just finished studying Ephesians, we had a Reformed tendency as we read through and interpreted this Pauline letter.

Brian

Dan Heath on Writing Good Mission Statements

 Here is a great, short video clip by Dan Heath (Made to Stick) about how to write a good mission statement and what happens to make a good statement bad.

He uses a bit of language that some of you may not appreciate, but it isn't vulgar... 

I was not able to put the actual clip on this site, so I provided the link to the Fast Company page where you can find it.

How to Write a Mission Statement That Doesn't Suck

Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

Do No Harm

First, Do No Harm

This is the Hippocratic Oath
See the full text here.

Not the Hypocrite's Oath (that is something very different)!

The Hippocratic Oath is/was used by physicians as their guide, their aim, their ethos, their essence, their motivation for the practice of medicine.

One of the core statements in the Hippocratic Oath is to do nothing that would cause harm to the patient.

I think this should be a profoundly guiding principle not only for the practice of medicine, but for the practice of leadership, no matter what your sphere of influence and calling.

Leaders:  First of all - make sure you DO NO HARM to those who follow you. 

To state it positively, First of all - DO THE GREATEST GOOD for as many as possible at all times.

This is just another way of stating the Second Greatest Commandment - to love others.

I think we forget why we are called to leadership. At some point, every leader forgets why they are called to lead. At some point, EVERY LEADER begins to think it is about them. Their vision, their needs, their goals, their strategies, their well-being, their success, and on it goes.

Such a leader gives lip service that it is about others. But it is obvious to most, that it is really, all about the leader.

You know this is happening when the leader rarely makes a sacrifice, is rarely inconvenienced, rarely suffers for others and their well being.

Love means I do no harm to others…

Love means I do much good for others...

Love means I am inconvenienced, I suffer and I sacrifice for others…

This is the leadership way of Christ. 

I am currently working my way through the Passion of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew and the sacrificial leadership of Christ is painfully obvious.

This is worth praying through in this Season of Lent.

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions International 
www.lci.typepad.com

Self-Care (Your Physical Health)

How you are doing emotionally, spiritually and relationally is certainly tied to how physically healthy you are?

Physical Health has (at least) the following aspects.

Strength training.

The fact is muscle diminishes as you get older. You get weaker unless you work to keep your strength. 

Cardiovascular training.

Getting the heart rate up, giving the heart and lungs a workout.  There are many ways to do this. Even vigorous walking is a great way to do this.  Do a minimum of 30 minutes a day.  Run, swim, "dance," bike… lots of options.

Flexibility.

You should stretch every day. Flexibility will reduce the number of aches and pains, it will also reduce the number of accidents due to injury.  You can do a good stretching routine in ten minutes. Yoga is a great way to do this and have fun. Yoga not only improves flexibility, but it also improves balance and coordination.

Rest and Recovery.

Your body needs time to recuperate and repair itself after exercise. The idea of rhythm is what is in play here. You can overdo exercise. It is hard to give a rule for this since every one is different. You will find your rhythm as you begin to do it more frequently.

Nutrition.

This one is THE MOST IMPORTANT and is the fuel for all the others. And this is the hardest one for me. Give your body the right energy source and everything else mentioned above will be enhanced. Mess up with your diet and nutrition, and everything else gets harder.

I'll use the Four Mindsets on this.

Self-Awareness means you know your "body" and its needs, limits, and preferences when it comes to physical health.

Intentionality means you are committed to doing it and you are committed to keep doing it.

Strategic means you know what works for you and you have achieved a good balance of all that I mentioned above. 

Surrendered means you make the hard choices when you want to "regress," "give up," and "backslide."

If you are out of shape, it is going to take a long time to get in to good shape. I spent ten years getting out of shape. I have been spending about a year, working pretty hard at getting back in shape. I am not there yet. I think I have another six months to get to where I want to be. Then I can figure out how to move in to a maintenance mode.

You will get discouraged on this and give up… unless you have a plan. 

Your plan may mean you need a trainer, you need to join a gym, go to Weight-Watchers, you need to have a workout partner for accountability, you need to find ways for it to be "fun" (to a degree).  It may mean many of these things, none of the, some of them, and others.

Your health is too important to neglect this.

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions International 
www.lci.typepad.com

Self-Care

Are you taking good care of yourself?

The older you get, the harder it is to do good Self-Care and the more important it is to do it consistently.

How is your health?

How much do you weigh?

I recently heard a statistic that said, 2/3rds of Americans are overweight

How often do you exercise?

Only a small percentage of the American population exercises! 

How are your stress levels?

How often do you have meaningful R & R?

Are you spending frequent time with family and friends?

What do you do to unplug and to re-energize your depleted batteries?

When was the last time you did this?

How fresh is your connection with Christ?

Leaders, here is the brute fact.

No one is going to do  Self-Care for you.

People will rarely give you the space to do Self-Care.

You have to make hard choices to make the time for this.

I have spent long years not doing Self-Care, or doing it sporadically. In the last year I have finally become more aware of my poor health, more intentional about attending to it, learning how to be strategic (and comprehensive) about this, and surrendering (because it is hard, rarely fun and regression is easy and fast).

Don't blow through this post and on to your day.

Give it the time and energy it needs.

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions International 
www.lci.typepad.com

Simplicity and Downward Mobility (Part Five): Brian and Miriam

Here is a final post (for now) on our theme of Simplicity and  Downsizing.

First is a scripture reflection (from me).

Then Miriam Phillips provides a few more resources and reflections for those who want to think about these issues in greater depth and live more fully into them.

Here is the Scripture Reflection:

In Luke 12;15, Jesus says, "Beware. Guard yourself against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own."

On the subject of Simplicity and Downsizing, I do think that every follower of Christ needs to wrestle with these matters.

I also believe that we cannot approach this as a science of rules and policies; it is more the art of the heart praying and considering what Christ wants you to do.

On the other hand, I don' want to soften what is strong medicine from Jesus. His words are concise, clear, maybe a little blunt, certainly direct.

BEWARE. GUARD YOURSELF…

We do this in the face of an enemy, in light of a threat.

EVER KIND OF GREED…

The threat/enemy is greed. The spirit that wants more. The spirit that is not satisfied with what is possessed. The spirit of accumulation and acquisition.  This attitude, mindset, perspective, way of life is the enemy/threat.

LIVE IS NOT MEASURED BY HOW MUCH YOU OWN…

This is why greed is a threat. It gives us fundamentally wrong metrics we use to calibrate the quality of life. It sets us on the wrong path, a dangerous one with implications, not only for the greedy person, but for others who are affected by our greed.

Tim Keller says he has rarely met a Christian in North America who thinks they have a problem with greed. Yet, it is a problem for most of us. And we don't see it. We rationalize it by comparing ourselves, always with those who we see as having more than we do.

Okay, this devotional is turning sermonic... so I'll stop and hope it is...just an encouragement for reflection and prayer.

Brian

And now from Miriam . . .

More Books stimulating Thinking about Simpler Living

Economy of “Enough”

Hope in Troubled Times by Bob Goudwaard (a well-respected Dutch Christian economist who was speaking biblical wisdom about economics even before the current financial crisis), with co-authors Mark Vander Vennen, and David Van Heemst, is a brilliant analysis of the economic symptoms of the idolatry of our time, bringing hope and calling us to an "economy of enough".

Already around 1995 I found an article in which wrote that economic prognosticators are calculating from “equations that have put all their eggs in the basket of a progressively expanding economy and a rising standard of living. But these calculations no longer appear to add up.” (http://gvanv.com/compass/arch/v1405/goudzwrd.html)

Reviews about Hope in Troubled Times:

http://www.freewebs.com/goudzwaard/
 

Buying only What Increases the Quality of Life

Many years ago Doris Janzen Longacre in Living More with Less challenged us to ask before making a purchase whether this acquisition would truly increase the quality of our lives—and the quality of the lives of others.  Over the years that has led us to buy musical instruments and books, in addition to basics of life, but has helped us be happy with second-hand instruments, books and many other things we use.

And if you are looking for a bargain, for books that are out of print or if you want to participate in recycling books, you might want to try www.abebooks.com for connection to hundreds of secondhand bookstores in various countries. 

We live richer than most of the people of the world and more modestly than some.  But the ‘economy of enough’ idea and “only buying what adds value” principle continues to challenge us. 

Miriam Phillips  
The Netherlands

Simplicity and Downward Mobility (Part Four): Lisa Amspacher

I have been friends with Lisa Amspacher for many years. In recent years, Lisa has been on a deepening journey into the heart of God and in to the world of leadership development. Lisa is a part of the Leading Edge team at LWCC, a part of our monthly Leadership Community and a good friend. This is her first post for the LCI blogsite.  Many thanks Lisa.  -bkr-

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Simplify...Simplify...Simplify...

Those words are from Thoreau.   I find they are becoming part of my life daily.  As I have been taking time to explore the things to which God is inviting me, I realize that I must prepare for these new things.  

I was reminded of this recently when my youngest daughter and I were having one of our many discussions about "cleaning her room".   You see, I usually adopt the approach of "close the door," however,  because of the scent of dirty gym clothes and dirty socks,  I had to modify my policy.   So I  made suggestions,   and gave her  a list to help her navigate the room, but   the job just seemed so big to her.   Finally, one day we agreed to do the task together.  

We started in the corner of the room and sorted dirty laundry in the basket, another container for donations, another for garbage, and another for keeping.   I found it was easy for me to look at her "stuff" and decide what went where.  She did too UNTIL we came to one of her "projects." 

You see my daughter is very artistic and loves to create things.   She has many knitting projects and crocheting projects, and beading projects, and painting projects, ....you get the idea.   When I suggested we start sorting those into the various categories, she became very protective of them.  She struggled giving them up.  As we moved around the room the process became a bit more fluid for her.   Except those projects.   She really struggled, she just could not see that by keeping all of them she would not be able to have her room in order.  

I then had an idea to help her move through this.  I suggested to my daughter that maybe this was so difficult to keep clean and make the decisions because we have never really "decorated" the room since we moved to our new home.   I shared with her the ideas of painting the room, getting a new quilt, refinishing her hand-me-down dressers.  We could create the style of room she has always wanted, but we needed to sort through all the stuff in order to have the room prepared for the "make-over".     She was struggling, she wanted the "room make-over" but she didn't want to "give up" some of her stuff.   She said it (the stuff) made her feel comfortable and it was part of "who she was". 

That was when it occurred to me that my daughter's room was much like the "stuff" in my life. 

I have said yes to so many things that I can do (projects).   I am kind of a techie, so I find myself doing tech projects for people.   I am love gadgets (especially for the kitchen) and I have collected too many.  I could list so many things that are currently in my life.   They really aren't all bad but are they really helping me to accomplish the desire of my heart?  Are they helping me to accomplish the purpose I feel I have in life?   The last few years have been a time where God has been helping me "clean my room".   We have worked on getting rid of the "dirty laundry",   sorting through the "keep" and the "give away" projects of my life in preparation for some life changes.

Recently some of those life changes have become more clear.   I know for certain I want to work as an executive director of a non-profit organization that empowers people.   While this is still a bit vague, there is a definite direction to it.   One of the things I know I need to do is to get my "house in order" so that I can make a career change such as that.   I have decided not to apply for some positions which seem to be logical career decisions.   It is difficult sometimes.  There is a lot of prestige in the positions, but they do not lead me to the place I believe God is asking me to go. 

While I certainly live in a modest house by most standards, I want to have my finances in order so that I can make a career move which will likely also include a financial change.  As I am moving in this direction I am discovering some dissonance in my response to simplifying life. 

Sometimes I find I hear myself saying, "I deserve these nice things," or "This is not nearly as extravagant as ____________(insert your nearby "Jones' house").   Other times I am able to make the adjustment rather naturally.   What I have discovered is that it sounds a lot more glamorous than it really is.  Making the little decisions (like not buying a Coke Zero from the machine after lunch or not getting the latest gadget to make really good coffee in my kitchen)  are really difficult.   I find myself much like my daughter....wanting the "life makeover" but struggling with giving up my stuff.   

Lisa Amspacher
York, PA

Simplicity and Downward Mobility (Part Three): Mike Johnson

Mike Johnson (Walking) shares a part of his journey into simplicity and the Mindsets that help him walk that way.     -bkr-
 

Mindsets for Simplicity

In my office, near my desk, is a copy of Thoreau’s Walden, perhaps the quintessential treatise on living a simple life.   The book spoke to me and has been fodder for lots of day dreaming over the years.  Even though I had thought about a simple life, I lived one far from simple or even remotely resembling Thoreau’s great experiment.  (Thoreau's Cabin)

I had moments where a decision or two were altered by the concept, but generally, I have lived a life of small margins, compulsive consumerism and wasted time and energies.  Over the last few years, and more specifically through this last year of my Walk for Grace, simplicity is working into my life, my convictions, and my actions due to a few key mind sets that I am working on implementing as my filters for thinking. 

Simply put, simplified living can be accomplished by becoming aware of what is most important in your life, and eliminating everything else.  Though simple, the journey to simplicity for many of us, including myself, is a true struggle.   

We need a model that provides structure for the journey that filters out those things that would distract us from our goals.  The model that has shaped my thinking for the last five years are the key mind sets of leadership:   

1) being self aware, 

2) highly intentional, 

3) wisely strategic,

4) deeply surrendered. 

If we are to become aware of what is most important to us, we must journey into our self, becoming aware of how we are wired, what stirs our passions, what motivates us, what our personality traits are, what is the baggage we carry, what are our strengths and weaknesses, what gives us purpose, what is the orientation of our hearts??  

This discovery process is perhaps the greatest gift we can both give to ourselves and receive from God.  Out of this process, we can identify our values and goals and even create a life vision and/or mission statement.  That mission statement is the beacon, our true north, or our centered focus for our life.  It is the filter through which our decision process passes.  

After becoming self aware, we then can focus on being highly intentional and wisely strategic to accomplishing our vision.  Does buying the latest …. (You fill in the blank) fit into your purpose, vision, mission statement?  If not, then you can be wisely strategic and say no to the urge.  Does this subscription, book, sweater, or time spent watching tv, twittering, IMing, emailing, texting, web surfing etc, bring you closer to vision or does it serve to distract, delay or take you further away from it?   

Use your vision as a filter, being highly intentional on decisions, wisely strategic on when to say yes or no, we can make great strides along the path to simplifying our life for the purpose that we each have before us. 

In my Walk for Grace, I have encountered many who live on the margins of existence, with little to their name, living lives that most of us can’t even imagine.  The more I walk among them, talk to them, share with them, and speak of the message of God’s love for them, the more I am drawn to living with less so that I might live more.  

I have said many times, the more I walk, the more comfortable I become with just my staff.  I am becoming deeply surrendered to the vision and to my God’s work he has put before me.  May you each find your vision and focus and may you become wisely strategic, highly intentional and deeply surrendered to it for the glory and praise to God.  

Blessings.

Mike Johnson 
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com

Thoreau's Walden Pond and an Urban World


  
 

  

Simplicity and Downward Mobility (Part Two)

My Friend John Hilliard and his wife have made some significant decisions over the years for simplifying their lives... and this continues. I am always inspired as I listen to John's reflections about his personal journey on this matter.  -bkr-

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Wendell Berry, in the anthology 'Fidelity', presents the world of the early 20th century agrarian United States.  People live in community bereft of the technology we have now they support each other, care of each other's needs and live a life that builds each other up and provides a foundation for living well. It is a world long since gone but looking back shows the price we are paying for what we call 'progress'.

For most of my life I have been a good disciple of the school of getting everything out of life that it has to offer. ' Work hard',' pull yourself up by the bootstraps',' keep your nose to the grindstone' (whatever that means),  'if it's meant to be, it's up to me' and a host of other trite sayings which lead us to more and more stuff, titles, accomplishments, and toys.  Much of the goal setting experiences were around temporal things that usually rust, rot or deteriorate.  

As I sail into the autumn of my life I am finding that many of these goals I have achieved have filled my life with lots of stuff.  The problem I am finding now with the stuff is that it takes a tremendous amount of time, money and energy to sustain all of these things. Where do I put it all? If I haven't used it in the past 2 years or it is in the same box it has been in for the past 15 years does that make any sense?

It also goes into the realm of time.  If I have cable, cell phone, internet, and social networking where do I have time to have a one on one conversation with someone else without the intrusion of some other distraction? What is the ultimate price for all of these distractions in terms of intimacy in relationships, sensing a person's emotional state because I can look in their eyes and see the pain.   

I have decided to be intentional about simplicity by giving up cable and it's 100 options to distract my time. We are now going through the menagerie of our stuff and giving much of it away. In a unique perspective a friend of mine is teaching his children the concept by having them donate 3 older toys for every new toy they purchase. What a great way to teach the concept of simplicity early in life. 
 

(By the way, this is not John's "menagerie of stuff"... just an illustration of what it looks like for many of us."

  

John Hilliard 
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

Simplicity and Downward Mobility (Part One)

I have asked a number of friends and LCI partners to provide some of their thoughts about simplicity. A number of us wrestle with questions of consumption, how much do we need?, how can we simplify our lives and what does "downsizing" look like in a culture of accumulation?
 

This image can be found here.

These are not questions that are easy to answer. None of us claim to be doing GREAT on these matters. But we all think about them, try to be faithful (i.e. resistant to the cultural ethos, and maybe a little subversive as well), and we know we have a lot of work to do. 

I also want to say that since most of us struggle with this, we will certainly have some feelings of guilt and initial tendencies to strongly argue against this. I recently told my spiritual friends group that in some ways I feel my wife and I do "pretty well" on this issue, but....what is my standard of assessment for this.

There will be some critical assessment of our culture's direction and of our "captivity" to that culture, but ultimately, this is just an issue worth the time for personal reflection.

Some of these posts will be the story of a person's journey. In my case, I want to give you a little bit of my reflections on the theme. Originally this post was written for my other blogsite: Evangelicals on the Ignatian Way. So it has that language about it. I take a few short sentences to set the context and then I move in to my reflections about simplicity... and critique the Prosperity gospel. I also illustrate the way of Jesus as our model. Finally, there are a few resources for you to check out.  -bkr-

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From time to time I talk about Ignatian spirituality as something different from Jesuit spirituality.

Ignatian spirituality is the spiritual methods and content that is generally contained in the Spiritual Exercises. These methods and this content provide one of the most substantial spiritually formative approaches ever developed. And they are capable of being used by a wide variety of people who come from diverse backgrounds.

Jesuit spirituality presupposes Ignatian spirituality, but to that, adds many other dimensions of spirituality that together, define the Jesuit way of proceeding.

One can practice the Spiritual Exercises and ignore many of the Jesuit distinctive. However, I have found many of these Jesuit distinctive to be very moving and deepening of one's spiritual journey. And, these distinctive are at least, hinted at, if not openly prescribed in the Spiritual Exercises.

One such theme is the Jesuit theme of simplicity and downward mobility. In a culture that is relentlessly consumeristic and pursuing of upward mobility, this Jesuit theme has much to teach us.

I believe it is a fair question to ask - can we truly say we are about the Imitation of Christ (Ephesians 5:1 and 1 Thessalonians 1:6) - if we are not intentional about the practice of simplicity and the downward mobility we need to embrace simplicity?

This question is almost "anathema" in our culture. For one of our most ingrained values is that of prosperity, getting ahead, getting more, moving up the ladder of success, status, financial well-being, possessing, accumulating, acquiring… all of this is just "the American Way."

And to suggest that is is NOT the way of Jesus, is to say the least, troubling. Our main strategy is to simply ignore it.  

The strategy of the Prosperity Gospel (a pretty strong element within conservative Christianity) is to reverse this biblical teaching and say that Jesus wants you to be wealthy, to be upwardly mobile, to have and possess more and more, to live with as much comfort and blessing as you need and want.  

Can I take just a moment and say - the Prosperity Gospel is not the Gospel and in fact, it is the anti-Gospel. And it is a testimony to our spiritual blindness that we don't see this immediately.  And it is a testimony to the hardness of our hearts that we don't WANT to see it.  (Okay, I worked a one paragraph Rant and Rave into this post! Now back to our regularly scheduled thoughts...)

Most of us are adherents of that Prosperity Gospel, whether as full fledged devotees, or just culturally conditioned followers of the American Way.

Jesus shows us the way of Downward Mobility in the Incarnation and the Cross. If you haven't read this recently, read the magnificently disturbing passage of Philippians 21-11.

Jesus shows us the way of Simplicity in Matthew 8:18-20 where he describes himself as a homeless, wandering itinerant who does not even know where he will sleep that evening.

Jesus shows us the way of living and serving with minimal encumbrances when he gives missional instructions to the twelve in Matthew 10:5-10, which we usually just ignore as a culturally limited way of witness, appropriate only for that time.

Jesus warms about the dangers of wealth and the spirit of accumulation and possessiveness in story after story, teaching after teaching (to see just a few, read Matthew 6:19-24;  6:25-34;  19:16-30).

Jesuit spirituality understands that this is a HUGE spiritual issue, and they make clear choices on behalf of simplicity and downward mobility. I believe that spiritual formation must at least bring these themes to our attention and that we must wrestle with whether we will listen or not.  

Challenging matters indeed!

I want to recommend three very good resources for you. These are evangelical resources and not from the Jesuit world. This is so important that it is worth some serious study and equally serious reflection on this issue.

Rich Christian in an Age of Hunger by Ron Sider. This classic is MUST reading. It is a comprehensive study of the themes of wealth and poverty and justice and shalom through the entire Bible.

The Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster. This is not one of him more famous books, as you can imagine (nuff' said), but it is extraordinarily insightful in thoughtful explanation and devotional reflection.

And finally, Tim Keller's excellent exploration of our contemporary culture's idols and the idols of our heart, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex and Power and the Only Hope That Matters. Keller pastors a large church in one of the most affluent and upwardly mobile city on earth - New York City and he interprets well, both the culture and our heart.

Now, these studies will inform your mind and begin to touch your heart. 

The Way of the Ignatian Exercises will help take these lessons deeper into your heart and help you as you make choices. As I am contracting my own version of the Exercises, I am giving some additional place for these themes.

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions International 
www.lci.typepad.com

Bobby McFerrin and the Pentatonic Scale

Here is a video clip that my friend Miriam Phillips of Holland sent me. I really liked it and I think you will to.

Enjoy

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

Santiago, Chile (March 2010 Trip)

I will be in Santiago, Chile for a few days. This has nothing to do with the recent earthquake. This trip was planned sometime back for me to work with a team of missional leaders, helping them think strategically about their work of mobilization and to talk about leadership development processes in their organization.

The earthquake, of course, has changed things for that team and our original plans have morphed.

Pray that I'll have good connect time with the team there.

Thanks,

Brian

Poor Listening

I think I hit this topic within the last two months, but it deserves another mention.

Johnson and Ridley (The Elements of Mentoring) say, "poor listening is epidemic in western culture." To which I would only add, I've been in enough non-western cultures to know it is pretty bad there as well. I suspect that some flaws run deeper than cultural conditioning… they go down to spiritual DNA, to harmartiologic levels of genetic coding.

(By the way, the word that appears made up - is - but it is derived from a genuine word. Do a Google search on harmartiology and see what it means.)

How many times (this week) were you in a conversation, you were speaking, and you were interrupted?

How many times (this week) were you in a conversation, the other person was speaking, and you interrupted them?

How many times (this week) were you in a conversation but your mind was elsewhere… whether on another planet entirely or in your own mind as you rehearsed your rebuttal argument?

How many times (this week) have you heard the words but missed the essence, the heart, the plea, the deep meaning of what was being unsaid?  The words were only hinting at deeper realities.

Active listening is very hard work.

Giving full attention to another, full engagement is almost Herculean in its demand.

Seeking first to understand and only then to be understood is not our common practice (unless you are a Highly Effective Leader).

The best leaders listen well before they speak.  Brother James has some common sense wisdom about being quick to listen and slow to speak (1:19)

Proverbs 18:13 tells us, "He who answers before listening, that is his folly and his shame."

So have at it and give good listening your strong efforts.
And in conclusion . . .


  

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions International 
www.lci.typepad.com

I Want to Know Who You Are (a Gift That Few of Us Give or Receive)

I go in waves on the themes on which I blog. It hit me the other day that quite a few recent posts have been on the theme of "people leadership." How do we lead people? How do we lead people well? How do we love and bless the people we lead? 

For leadership is all about being on a journey with others, walking together. 

So, here is one more . . .
  

The really good leaders know their people, especially the people who are on the core teams.

Really good leaders are students of people. You watch, observe, assess, consider, ask, explore, discover and interpret "people."

Their dreams and desires.

Vision and passion.

Their strengths and gifts.

Their experiences and "learnings."

Their motives.

Their fears, doubts, anxieties, insecurities.

Their dark side tendencies.

Their potential.

This is not a once and done "thing." It is an ongoing journey. Walking together, closely with, alongside of people.

Especially if you are in conflict and tension with someone - it is worth asking - how well do I know this person? What is going on in their life? How do I understand them right now? 

People are not static, fixed in place entities. We are always growing, developing, evolving. Don't keep people frozen in the past when they are different today.

A great way to know people is to ask really good questions that start and sustain the ongoing conversations.

And as you do this, you are giving a great gift... for most of us want someone to know us deeply and truly. It is rare to find those who will give this gift and take the time to truly do it. 

So - who do you need to know better?

When are you going to start the conversation?

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions International 
www.lci.typepad.com

Story Tellers of Growth and Progress

I forget where I first heard this idea… but it is a good one.

I have found that too many people do not possess enough self-awareness or personal perspective to rightly assess and appreciate their own growth, development and progress. We also have some distorted ideas of "false modesty" that hold us back on this. 

Some of the best leadership work you will do for others is to tell their own story to them. Narrate their own growth in words of appreciation and affirmation. Encourage them by speaking of their own "pilgrim's progress."

NOTE: Some of the best leaders have risen this narrating of growth to a fine art and lead large organizations by constantly telling and re-telling the story of growth and change and progress.

 

This is something that I enjoy and do often.

I believe in encouraging the heart (Kouzes and Posner).

I believe in resonant leadership (Goleman).

I believe in generative leadership (McDonald).

Reflecting for another, their forward movement is a gift you give to them. And when you can help them understand and narrate their own story, you have given a greater gift still. 

On a recent trip, as I facilitated a learning experience for a group of wonderful leaders, as the week wove on, I began to narrate their stories to them. I began to describe the enlightenment they were discovering as they worked hard. And I was moved by how much they appreciated my story telling.

So, right now, THINK.

Whose story needs narrating to them?

Which pilgrim around you needs to be reminded of their own hard-won progress?

Tell the story.

Do it today. Do it well. 

And then do it again tomorrow with another.

Brian K. Rice  Leadership ConneXtions International  www.lci.typepad.com

Celtic Woman: Songs From the Heart

Becky, Matt, my mother and I went last night to hear Celtic Woman: Songs From the Heart at the Giant Stadium at Hershey.

It was a wonderful evening.

I have seen them many times on public TV and loved their many shows... but seeing, hearing and experiencing them live was outstanding.

Their songs took us through a variety of emotions.  From the melancholy yearning to the wistful playfulness to the zesty exuberance of life . . . they wove us into their story, they took us on their journey, they invited us into their heart.

A special nod to their drummer and percussionist. They were simply outstanding.  A rhythmic explosion. 

Another special nod to their violinist/fiddle player. She was a bundle of joyful energy.

And of course the vocal feast we were treated to was beyond words.

So many good songs.  Perhaps the best rendition of Amazing Grace I have ever heard. Harmonies like I have never heard them. Nuances of emotion in the song I never imagined before. 

Danny Boy...
You Lift Me Up...
Theme From Tarzan (sorry, I don't know if that is the exact title)...
These were a few of my favorites from the evening.

 

Brian Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

The Benefit of the Doubt

QUICK QUESTIONS:  
Do you think people are basically good or basically bad?
Do you assume you can trust people or not?

Hmmm!
I really was quite unsure what to think in this one...

I was in a conversation where I was hearing the explanation for why the person did not come through for me in a commitment they had made. Of course I was frustrated they had fallen short in this. I wasn't in the mood for explanations. But I got one anyway.

Now - what was I to think about their excuse... their story... their explanation...? I found myself in the role of the skeptic from Missouri who needed quite a bit to be convinced.

  

In giving some preparatory guidance to those who would be spiritual directors taking others through his Spiritual Exercises, in Note 22, Ignatius of Loyola says:

It is necessary to suppose that every good Christian is more ready to put a good interpretation on another's statement than to condemn it as false.

In other words, Ignatius counsels us to . . .

Give them the benefit of the doubt.

Give them the grace of starting in the plus column.

Have the posture of the positive and not the negative as you listen to them.

Assume good things about them.

This is admittedly hard. Many factors make it so.

You want to be realistic and not naive.

You have a good theology of original (not to mention continuing) sin.

You know the heart is deceitful, that people can be dishonest, and that "spin doctoring" is human nature.

Your good intentions have "been taken advantage of" and you've been burned.  "Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." And you are not planning on being anyone's fool today.

You are "wired" to look for hidden motives... to read between the lines.

You assume guilt and wait for innocence to be proved.

You describe yourself as "justifiably suspicious."

  
And yet . . . none of this will lead to resonant leadership on your part. None of this is the raw material of emotionally healthy relationships, teams or organizations.

Nor is that how you want to be treated by others. Even the Golden Rule, in its simplicity, tells us how to act. Treat others in the way we would like to be treated. In other words, give them the benefit of the doubt, be willing to give a good interpretation to what they say. Because that is what we want from others.

If you work closely with someone and you are just VERY HARD PRESSED to engage with them in this way, then you need to have a very important conversation very soon.  For that relationship is lacking the fundamental TRUST that is needed for it to survive, much less survive.

By the way, The Benefit of a Doubt image is from a band and this is their album cover.  

And if you want to read another blog on Trust, read what Judith E. Glaser has to say about Trust.  

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions Interntional 
www.lci.typepad.com

Reflections on My Trip to Uganda (A Hodge of Podge and Bits of Tid)

This is kind of a Podge of Hodge and Bits of Tid reflection on Uganda. It has been some time since I did oe of those monthly updates of miscellaneous things of the month. I am doing that approach with this trip.  And I am including a number of pictures to give you a flavor of my time there. (Our bungalow where we stayed.) 

ONE:  Africa is the continent with which I am least familiar and least traveled.
This was only my third trip to Africa. The first being South Africa, the second Ethiopia and now Uganda. I am amazed at my ignorance of this vast continent, its peoples, its history, its tragedies, its beauty, its titanic needs.

Below is the chapel on the grounds of the Ugandan Christian University.

TWO:  Suffering!
This word is doing to repeated often throughout this post.  For if there was a unifying theme to all my musing and experiences, it was "suffering." This theme is on the front burner of my journey right now, because of the work I am doing in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius. 

One of the books I read on this trip was, Seek God Everywhere, by Anthony de Mello, a Jesuit who lived and worked in India. de Mello had profound insights about suffering, the suffering of Christ and then inviting his listeners/readers to consider what the imitation of Christ has to say about our own suffering. What does it mean to take up our cross, deny our self, and follow Christ on the road to Calvary? What does this mean as a daily experience?

I found myself being "resistant" to this theme. Well, actually, resistant to the experience!

THREE:  Lost luggage!
How wonderfully comic! How deliciously ironic! How trivial a thing... God has a sense of humor. The incompetency of British Airways was used by God as a little object lesson.

I travel a lot and this is the first time I have ever had my luggage lost going to a location. I have had it lost on the way home... but never going. And on the last few trips, my carry on is a computer bag and a briefcase. At the last minute I threw an extra shirt and pair of socks in my computer bag.

And there I was, the last person of our group waiting, waiting, waiting for the carousel to bring out my luggage. And I waited in vain. I was irritated (at first). The next day merely frustrated. The day after that I realized that I wasn't bothered at all. The day after that, the same. 

The fourth day into the trip, the luggage arrived at the airport. We had a four hour trip back and forth to get it. I taught all afternoon. And that evening, after supper, I opened my suitcase.  And as I looked at it, happy to have it, I also realized that most of the "stuff" I had brought along was pretty superfluous. 

I am so typically North American. So much stuff crammed into one suitcase. And I was forced into a downsizing and simplifying. I survived nicely for five days with nothing except for the one set of clothes I had.  (My team members may have had a different view of the matter!)

Here was a little object lesson. Even a teeny, tiny bit of suffering called "lost luggage" was an unwelcome gift! How ill-prepared I am for following the suffering, servant Messiah.

FOUR:  Suffering as a Way of Life in Uganda
I had a group of 23 students. All of them leaders. More than half of them working in the world of NGOs, working in the areas of relief and development. The others - pastors of churches. 

One of their requirements for the course was to write an abbreviated Spiritual Autobiography. EVERY SINGLE STUDENT wrote about experiences of deprivation and suffering that are FAR BEYOND my experiences.

I am not saying this as a guilt producing statement, but the reality is that our North American experience is so far removed from most of the world's experience... and certainly, light years removed from the experiences of much of central Africa. 

As a North American, my cultural ethos is to eliminate as much suffering as possible (which is a good thing)... but we/I are suffering avoidant.  And when it comes our way, we/I are ill-equipped to deal with it.  And if Jesus asks us to embrace His Way of Sacrificial Suffering... we just don't know what to do with that.

FIVE:  DAI (Development Associates International)
This was the organization I worked with and for on this trip. They have developed a very high quality graduate education program in Organizational Leadership which has hundreds of students throughout Asia and Africa enrolled. And beyond that, they do even more work in non-formal leadership development, reaching thousands and thousands of leaders.

I was grateful for the invitation to be one of their course facilitators and to have more of a first hand experience of how they work.

I was one of eight facilitators (this picture and the one above), teaching eight courses for a week of intensives. We came from England, Uganda, Egypt and the USA. It was a lot of fun being a part of that team, having stimulating conversations... It was also fun being with a group of people who all have quite a bit of missional experience and a shared commitment to developing leaders.  Good iron sharpening iron times. I could tell you stories about each person, but I won't.  Just that they are good stories.

SIX:  RELATIONAL SPIRITUALITY and the Love of God.
The course I taught was on spiritual formation for Christian leaders. When I teach this, I cover themes like, relational spirituality, the heart of spirituality, the below the water line paradigm, the four mindsets of spiritual formation, transforming friendship with Christ, the incarnational model of Jesus, Lectio Divina, the Daily Examen, spiritual friendship, finding the Presence, Work and Word of Christ, Dallas Willard's V.I.M. paradigm for spirituality, the Wall, the Wilderness experience, and more.

But everything is built around one core premise and that is RELATIONAL SPIRITUALITY. We are created for intimate friendship with God. And we don't have it. So we settle for much less. This course was on "getting back to the heart of Christian spirituality." And the students were fully tracking and the ideas were fully resonating with them. Many of them said this course was transformative of their lives and what they have been looking for, for a long time.

SEVEN: STORIES.
I wish I could tell you some stories of a few people, but I want to safeguard their privacy and their ministry. All week long I heard stories, some amazing stories, some beautiful stories, some stories of deep pain and suffering, and stories of hope. I wish I could tell you a few... but I can't. But they shaped me... these people and their stories... both students and facilitators.. they shaped me.

 

*************

So, that's it for now...
Thanks for listening, reading, caring, praying...

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com

Because I Said So (Tim Adour)

Hey, read this post by my friend Tim Adour - because I said so!   -bkr-

****************

I have 2 grown kids.  One is married; the other is in graduate school.  The phrase “because I said so” is long gone from my quiver of parental expressions.    In fact, I’m sitting here with a smile on my face trying to imagine the response if I were to try to resurrect that term.  My son is 6’ 2” and has muscles I don’t.  My daughter is just like her old man.  She would respond the same way I would if someone said this to me.  Bottom line…I’d be wasting my breath.  

Why would my kids reject being spoken to that way?  Obviously, they’re adults, living their own lives, and have moved past the stage where I can dictate their actions.  I am sure I used that phrase far more than I should have with my kids, but am absolutely sure it is used inappropriately by leaders in organizations, and I think I know why.  

In my opinion, the leader’s insecurity is one of the reasons for a dictatorial attitude and expressions of dominance.  We are asked “why” and instead of answering the question we view the question as an affront to our authority and fire back some form of “because I said so.”  And here’s the really interesting part…we can’t figure out why we’re constantly dealing with resistance.  We will chide those who report to us for insubordination, but fail to look at the way we talk to them.  We will lament the lack of initiative by our followers, but don’t realize our words and tone subvert initiation.   

We could list plenty of psychological and scriptural principles that speak to treating our followers properly, but I’m kind of a no nonsense type of guy.  So, here is what I say to myself.  Hey stupid, you’re talking to adults.  Stop treating them like children because even children don’t like being told “because I said so.”  

We (well, at least I) can use the reminder (from time to time) that respect and goodwill get more done than demanding and intimidation.  

Pastor Tim Adour
Church of the Revelation,
The Bronx, NY 

Puebla, Mexico Mentoring Course (John Hilliard)

I have the opportunity to travel to Puebla, Mexico to teach the Mentoring Module to a group of graduate students at The Puebla Bible Seminary. This will be my fourth opportunity in the past year to teach this course in Latin America.  The participants have great insights into the relevance and applicability of mentoring.   In addition to teaching this course I will also have the opportunity to spend time with my friends Roger and Marcy Oliver who give leadership to the seminary and who have a heart to develop and mobilize leaders.  (skyline for Puebla with volcano in the background)

I have been challenged and encouraged each time I present this material.  This course is designed to prepare the participants to be mentors in a ministry leadership environment.  The term mentor does not have a comparable word in Spanish so a good part of the introduction is devoted to a practical definition of what mentoring is about.  We use a number of biblical examples to show how important it is in the church context.  For us to have the right kind of leaders in the future it is critical for mentors to guide and direct younger leaders.  This includes six different aspects: spiritual formation, counseling, coaching, training, discipleship, and sponsorship.  When it is done well there can be a long lasting impact in the life of the mentee.

As I travel, I would appreciate God's favor in the travel portion, that all of my connections would go as planned without aircraft or weather delays.  Also pray that I would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's guidance and discernment in bringing the topic in a way that the fits into the cultural context of the students who attend.  I also pray that the translation will connect the principles well.

John Hilliard  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com 

Speaking Truth in Love

It is a GIVEN that we will all fall into error. We will all be wrong. We will all make mistakes. We will all fall short, go astray, miss the mark and . . . I'm sure you get the picture.

Sometimes it will be minor and other times it will be catastrophic. 

Sometimes we will realize what has happened, other times we remain blissfully, dangerously blind.

We all need Truth Speakers who love us enough that they speak Truth into our lives at times like these. The Apostle Paul describes this need when he says . . .

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ. Ephesians 4:15

There have been more than a few times when I needed (and had) truth spoken into my life by a friend… and I needed to hear it. I didn't want to hear it. I resisted hearing it. But I needed hearing it.

The Bible itself is the Truth Speaker that engages us in our time of need (which is all the time, by the way).

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the (follower) of God may be thoroughly equip for every good work.  2 Timothy 3:16-17

One of the great benefits of learning how to do Lectio Divina engagement with the Scriptures, is that through this methodology, God speaks to us much more personally and brings an "apt" word into our life. We are accustomed to hearing the Bible in terms of general principles which we affirm, but not nearly as much in the way of a direct, up-to-date, immediately relevant word I need NOW.

And . . . there are times when we must be the Truth Speakers who use the Word of Truth when others fall into error. This is part of the Work of Leadership. It is a challenging work, a painful work. There are often consequences. Many times we do not do this Truth Speaking work very well.

Some of us are conflict avoidant, pain-avoidant and it is one of our worst nightmares to engage in Truth Speaking because of the resulting conflict and pain.

But we can grow in our competency to be Truth Speakers. If we speak the truth in love, if we have no agenda but love, if we have worked to build trust, if we are humble Truth Speakers and if we are most interested in a conversation that arrives at the truth and less in a monologue that batters the other person - then the work of Truth Speaking is not so painful.  Not so painful… still painful… but not quite as much!

And Christ blesses the ministry of Truth Speaking. 

May He bless it for you today.

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions International 
www.lci.typepad.com

Surprise (Journal Entry)

Surprise.

A scene of unexpected beauty.

A full moon

rising.

  

Dusk

waves of color

pale reds flaming to orange above

misty blue below.

The pale orb hangs in the sky even with my sight

not above but

across, beside.

It was there for a long moment...
glorious
lingering
summoning
waiting!
Gift. 

I almost missed it, but
a gentle whisper
from behind,
look. 

  

Then

dusk turned dark night

the pale orb brightened white

rose, ascended

above the blackness

lifting my gaze

higher.

And on we flew

over Africa, vast

greater the expanse of sky

and greater still the Presence that holds and sustains all things.

Journal entry

Sunday 28 February 2010

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com 

Addicted to Mediocrity or Passionate for "Mas"?

Okay, the title for this post is not original.

Franky (back when he went by that name) Schaeffer used it to describe the way the evangelical world approached the artistic endeavors. He wrote a book, Addicted to Mediocrity. In his assessment, it was pretty mediocre.  (We'll get to the second half of the title in a minute.)

You know what is real interesting, not to mention quite sad? There is just so much that is so mediocre.

And we are use to it. Why we are use to it is the theme of another post (sometime).

But instead of thinking about the other folks who do what is mediocre let's look at ourselves.

• What are the top five things you have to do? 
• Jot them down.
• Now, rate yourself on each one.
• How hard did you prepare for each one the most recent time you had to do it.
• How well did you do it?
• What kind of results did you get from it?

Now, maybe you ought to ask someone else to evaluate how your own assessment.

Here is what is intriguing to me. Unless you are really focused and highly intentional, passionate and hungry… you will eventually coast and when you begin to coast, decline has set in… mediocrity is now inevitable.

Other people notice your mediocrity long before you do. (In fact, some of us are always in denial of our mediocrity and never admit it!)

So what keeps you going, growing, improving, developing and giving more than what is needed to produce mediocre?  What keeps you creative, innovative, front line, cutting edge, original or at least a few steps ahead of the crowd? 

One of the themes of Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits, is captured in the word:  "mas" or "more." Ignatius always wanted "mas" for God. "Mas" for the glory of God. "Mas" for the well being of the people God loved. "Mas" for the world that was loved so passionately that God did not settle for mediocre.

God did not send an angel. God did not send a memo. God did not send a formula. God did not send a program. God sent Himself. God the Son was God's "mas" for the world. Love required "mas."  

God the Son, continued when He gave us His "mas." When He gave us His life. Not just a helping hand, not merely a positive word, not only a few minutes of His time, not simply the benefit of a wise word or two . . . but Himself, His life, His death... fully, totally, completely, utterly, finally.  That is "mas."

And God continues to give us "mas" every day.  

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  
(Romans 8:32)  

Jesus said this in John 20:21, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

I understand this to mean that Jesus asks us to give our "mas" and not merely what is mediocre.

May today be a good step in the long obedience of giving "mas."

Brian K. Rice  
Leadership ConneXtions International  
www.lci.typepad.com   

On Having a Confessor

"Everyone needs someone who will ask him (or her) to give an account of himself, so that he can face into his life and confess who he really is."  The Search for Silence, page 34

I really like this.

Normally we think of confession as admitting to what is wrong in our lives. But here the word is used positively.

We need those to whom we can Confess (or) Profess who we are, what we believe, why we exist, and what we are about.

In this sense, our Confession is similar to the use of the word in the old 'Confessions" of the church.

This is what I believe and here is where I stand.

It reminds me of Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms, standing before the Roman Catholic authorities who had the power to excommunicate and imprison him. Facing such horrible realities, after a night of prayer, Luther made his confession and concluded,  "Here I stand, I can do no other, God help me. Amen."

There is great power in doing this.

In one sense the post on LCI and Counter Cultural Leadership was a Confession about some of what we believe. 

So, have you made your Confession lately and who did you Confess to?
 


  

Brian K. Rice 
Leadership ConneXtions International 
www.lci.typepad.com