LeadershipConneXtions

Mentoring and Developing Leaders

 

. . . in Brazil

A few weeks ago, I was at the South American Theological Seminary (or F.A.T.S.) in Londrina, Brazil for my third visit to teach at their outstanding seminary.  

Each time I go there, I am impressed with the great leadership team they have. Their vision and the strategy for training pastors in Brazil and other Portuguese speaking countries is wonderful. The quality of students they have is as good as anyplace else I have found in the world.

This time I taught on Mentoring and Developing Leaders. While LCI has an older version of a handbook for this course, I am in the process of re-writing it and giving it a major upgrade.

 

It was a privilege to be in partnership with this great educational endeavor and to be blessed by their generous offer to be in friendship with them in their mission.

Here are a few pictures from that trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Odd Couple (Mennonite Ministry in Paraguay)

 

Maybe you don't naturally think of Mennonites (German and Russian origins) and Latin America. And yet - if you go to Paraguay, there is a Mennonite presence there.

For political and economic reasons, there have been immigrations of Mennonites to the Latin American country of Paraguay. Many of these Mennonites are in the agriculture business and live in "colonies" throughout Paraguay. Some of the regions (especially the Chaco region in the upper north) where they live are very challenging (desert climate and terrain) and it is a struggle to "eke" a livlihood in these places.

If you are not familiar with the Mennonites, they are a part of the Anabaptist tradition of the Reformation. They were a counter-culture group then. They had different bibilical interpretations about the role of the Christian as they participated in the requirements of citizenship.

On the overly simple side, the  Anabaptist groups believed that the radical teaching of Christ were often at extreme odds with the requirements that "states" (princes, kings, i.e. political leadership) had for their citizens. The Anabaptists would choose the pathway of witness  against, resistance to and withdraw from the "state" when they felt their faith compelled them to do this.

On a historical note - the Mennonites were often persecuted for this. To make a very long story short, there were migrations of Mennonites to Paraguay, looking for political freedom and safety to follow their beliefs and also a place where they could be economically secure.

Yet here is where the Mennonites in Paraguay (seem to me) take somewhat of a different direction. These Mennonites are very involved in cultural transformation. That is what I normally expect to find in the more Calvinist inclined groups.

In Paraguay, the Mennonites are doing a lot of social service work for the poor and under-privileged. I visited a Mennonite Leprosy Hospital that also offers general medical care for the people of their region, along with basic surgical procedures. This hospital is getting involved in AIDS work as well. As I walked the grounds of this place, I felt a great sense of peace and love.  

(The bamboo was near one of the leprosy wards. My friend Paul is standing in front of a "clump" of bamboo. There were gardens everywhere on the grounds of the hospital.)

One of the parts of the hospital I toured was their shoe production facility. They make specially designed shoes for each different patient. 

There is also a large ranching and milking production associated with the hospital. They have thousands of acres of land for this.

Pictures below are:  shoe shop, tailored shoes for one patient, what the ranch fields look like, and the hospital chaplains.

 

There are many very successful businessmen running good companies in Paraguay. These leaders are highly intentional about what it means to have a Christian business and what the implications are for those whom they employ. My friend Paul is a senior leader in a Mennonite based ministry that provides chaplain/pastoral care for the workers at the different Mennonite businesses. They have a very well developed ministry for this. Quite inspiring as I hear what they are doing.

The Mennonites are seeking to train and develop Christian businessmen to make a difference in the culture.

They are (both in the past and continuing in to the future) developing a wide variety of ministries to meet the needs of Paraguayans. I visited a missions festival at a  German Mennonite church and saw the many ministries that want to bless those in need.

It was very encouraging to see what one Fellowship of God's People (the German and Russian Mennonites) are doing in their corner of the world to make a difference.

LCI is able to provide some resources to those who are involved in developing and spiritually forming leaders for this work. We are grateful to be a small part in this.

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

 

Back From Paraguay

 

 

I returned from Asuncion, Paraguay on Saturday. I was there for a week for two main things. 

First, to teach Spiritual Leadership (The Counter-Cultural Way of Leadership) which is the same course I taught in Chile in April.

Second, to spend time with two friends (Paul and Hildi) whom I have known for many years and with whom I've had the privilege of providing leadership and spiritual formation resources. Paul and Hildi have long decades of experience in a variety of ministries and both have been developing leaders for many years. They see this work of leadership development as central to their ministry.

They have been my hosts for three trips, they have done translation work for the courses I teach (which is how I met them originally) and we have sensed a common spirit and calling where friends are also partners in the ministry.

This was my fourth visit to Paraguay, but the last time I was in Paraguay was in 2008! So it was great to be back and see some old familiar faces and to meet new ones.

I'll use some experiencs and reflections from the trip for the rest of the week's posts.

Here I just want to mention one thing.

In this program, they take four courses a year.  Each course is a one week module. They do reading before and after the course. They write papers on their reading and then they write a major paper assigned by the course instructor. 

One of the ministries of LCI is to resource Omar Gava and REG as they provide graduate education for pastors and missionaries. As you the readers of this blog know, the focus of LCI is leadership development and the spiritual formation of leaders.

As I talked with the participants in this course, they were telling me about previous instructors (over the last year). As they were doing this, they didn't realize that each of these instructors were friends and partners with LCI. I had a great joy as I heard about the impact of each of these instructors.

John Hillard taught a course on Mentoring (Developing and Multiplying Leaders).

Mervin Charles taught on Decision Making.

Roger Oliver taught on Organizational Leadership.

And then I taught on Spiritual Leadership.

I realized once more, they are getting a nice, well rounded graduate course on leadership. It is making a difference for how they lead. And I was grateful that LCI is able to partner with people like John, Mervin and Roger to equip these dedicated leaders.

Thanks for your prayers and interest in LCI..

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

 

Broken, Broken, Everything's Broken (About Leadership)

 

Not Being Pessimistic
Just Realistic! 

 

Bob Dylan's song Everything Is Broken needs to be applied to leadership.

Sin broke everything.

Where (the sources) to which we turn for our power and authority - BROKEN sources. 

How we use power and authority is BROKEN (we call is misuse or abuse).

Why we use power and authority - that is BROKEN also.

What happens when we misuse and abuse poewr and authority - that leads to more BROKENNESS.

There are two quotes we use in an early lesson

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Lord Acton

(T)he most improper job of any manis bossing other men. Not one in a mission is fit for it, and least of all, those who seek the opportunity. Tolkien

 

The theme of the all powerful ring and its tempting power runs throughout Tolkien's magnificent trilogy. This power is so corrupting that even those powerful leaders who are good (Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond) must refuse the ring. It will corrupt them. The only people who can be trusted with the ring are the most lowly, humble peoples of Middle Earth - the Hobbits.  But even they, in the end are corrupted. Frodo loses the battle and the ring corrupts him in Mt. Doom.

The church is no stranger to the temptation and the corruption of power and authority.

One of the most powerful (although it is very slow moving) scenes that shows what power and authority have done to the church is a scene in Brother Sun, Sister Moon . This is the story of St. Francis and Clare.

The scene is when Francis goes before the Pope and the entire Vatican hierarchy, to ask permission to start a new order - the Franciscans. He and his few companions come in to the magnificent, wealthy, powerful, gaudy, ostentacious, imposing presence of the church leadership.  The contrast is utter and profound.

He begins to plea to the pope using the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. I won't tell you how the story unfolds, but there is a scene of about 15 minutes that is one of the most powerful depictions of the church's corruption and fall.... of what sin has done to power and authority.

If you want a modern example (and secular) of broken leadership, watch - The Devil Wears Prada, where Meryl Streep plays an abuse leader in the fashion industry. She is ugly, evil and broken in her use of power and authority. 

 The Bible is not even slightly interested in covering up the sins and failures of the leaders. They all fail. The Book of Genesis is a story of one failure after the next. Of the abuse of power.

No longer is power and authority for the purpose of building, creating, growing, empowering...

No longer is power flavored with love, gift and service...

No longer is power for the sake of the well-being of the other, for their peace, their justice, their well-being, for them to be blessed by the leader...

Now power has become self-serving. It is destructive in endless forms. Those who have power and authority use both for their own benefit and others suffer because of the abuse and misuse of power and authority.

Everything is broken.

80% of the Kings of Israel - "did evil in the sight of the Lord." Think about it. God's chosen people who were to be the light to the world, the example of peace and justice for the sake of the nations - their highest leaders failed and failed and failed.

In particular - Money, Sex, Power and Pride are the constant sins of leadership everywhere and at all times. 

Sin, evil, wrongness, brokenness - is found everywhere. Political leadershp, economic leadership, educational leadership, religious leadership (in EVERY religion), in the home and family...

Everything is broken!

In our course, we spent a day wrestling through key biblical passages that describe the brokenness of leadership. Even King David and Solomon were broken. Ezekiel talks about the evil shepherds. Jesus denounces the ugly pharisees. Peter warns against the false teachers who lead peope astray.

What's gone wrong with leadership?
Everything is broken!
What can be done?

God has a redmemptive plan for everything that is wrong and all that is broken. And God will start with the redeeming of leadership. He will start with the redeeming, forgiving, renewing of our own hearts... so we may become leaders with a heart like HIS.

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

The Bible on Leadership (Utterly Different, Enormously Difficult)

 

The Call to Deny Oneself,
Take Up a Cross and Follow Jesus
Applies to How We Do Leadership!

 

THE COURSE ITSELF:
This course is a new one (or maybe better, an old one that is massively upgraded) that we teach for R.E.G.'s master's in church leadership program.

Sometimes we call it:  Spiritual Leadership (not to be reductionistic, but to point to the fact that it is a way of leadership that will happen only as a profound spiritual transformation is taking place in us.

Other times I use the longer title:  The Counter-Cultural Way of Leadership (meaning it runs against prevailing models of leadership that are found in almost all the cultures of the world).

Occasionally I describe it as:  The Jesus Way of Leadership (although it is found all throughout the Scripture).

 

IMPORTANT BOOKS:
If you are looking for simple, very accessible, but also profoundly insightful books on this theme, check out any of the following. You will benefit from any of them.  (Skip over this indented section if you aren't interested in seeing about the books I use for this course.)

In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen (a short study of the temptation of Christ in the wilderness).

Leading With a Limp by Dan Allender (longer, but extremely important to get at the upside down nature of Christian leadership).

The Servant Leader by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges (very short and loaded with nuggets of devotional insight about this well known but little practiced way of leadership).

Leadership Divided: What Emerging Leaders Need and What You Might be Missing by Ron Carucci (which I often use in the Emerging Paradigms course, but which is really mapping out a new way of leading in our post-modern world that is so on track with the biblical worldview).

Leadership Reconsidered by Ruth Tucker (which is a very nice counter-cultural look and challenge, from a woman's perspective).

Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton (which is not so much on the counter-cultural model as much as it is on the spiritual formation ways to become the kind of leader who can actually lead this way).

The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways that Jesus is the Way by Eugene Peterson (this one is probably the more challenging, but there is almost nothing like it. It is a Jeremiad (almost) and is one of the most important books there is for biblical theology and spirituality on this subject).
 

THE BIG PICTURE
The curriculum I use is material I have in The Exercises Volume Five: They Had Been With Jesus. It is a study of leadership in light of a Creation - Fall - Redemption model. 
 

LCI partner, Mike Johnson taught this material in Argentina this past year and I just did it in Chile and will be it in Paraguay in May.

We look at the nature of power and authority (which is what leadership is), the source of power and  authority and the intended purpose (plus desires results) of the use of all power and authority.

We look at what power and authority were ORIGINALLY LIKE before the fall.

We then see what sin has done to power and authority.

We then see God's plan to redeem and renew power and authority.

First, through Old Testament Israel (who failed miserably and became just like all the other nations, especially in the terms of bad leadership)...

Second, through Jesus Christ who would be the servant of the Lord who leads in the spirit and power of Yahweh and always for the purposes of shalom and mishpat (peace and justice/righteousnes)...

Third, through the church of Christ as we are changed by Christ and as we imitate the way of Christ and are sent out by Christ...

Fourth, through the use of key biblical metaphors that flesh out what counter-cultural leadership looks like...

 

FINAL THOUGHTS
It is a great course and the reflection and conversation generated are pretty profound. Even though I wrote the material, have been through the material myself several times, and have taught this material at different times - God always speaks to me about what's gone wrong in my own leadership ways and he invites me to a closer patterning of my leadership after the Way of Christ.

There were ten of us (including myself) who were in this course (two are missing in the photo).

Rene (far right) was one of the amigos
who took me to the soccer game.

Jamie, who is immediately to my right was my translator. I have worked with Jamie many times in the past and she is simply wonderful as a translator. She and her husband Carlos are two of the leaders in the movement in Chile. Everyone who was in the course I knew except for one new student who had this as his first course. Several of the participants have also been through the LCI Exercises/Retreats we have done and are actively implementing this model throughout their movement in Chile.

I was deeply moved by how the participants in this module engaged with the material. Day after day I had a sense that God was with us, that he was changing our desires and framing a deeper, more authentic way to understand his call to leadership. This is what we want. We came away with a much better understanding of why it is so vital, how hard it is, and how much transforming grace we need to become leaders in the way of Jesus.

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

 

 

A Week in Santiago

 

LEAVING ARGENTINA

After I was done teaching in Buenos Aires, I get a ride to the airport with one of the Christian businessmen (also a pastor) to the airport. We were accompanied by his university student daughter who translated for us during the ride and lunch. A delightful time with them. We stopped for lunch at McDonalds.

(By the way, here is an image that refers to the McDonaldization of the world, and how this kind of globalized culture is destructive of local indigenous cultures. I still enjoyed the food.)

I checked in and two hours later, Air Canada was winging its way across Argentina, over the Andes (this is always impressive for me) and into Santiago, Chile. I think I was one of the first to get through immigration and customs...my luggage was there waiting for me. And I was out in the terminal and waited about fifteen minutes for my ride to show up (my fastest time through the process yet).
 

NOW I AM IN SANTIAGO, CHILE.

I love Santiago.

I mainly love it because I love the people there. I have so many friends that I have made over the years as I have worked with different organizations in Santiago. I think this was my 7th or 8th trip to Santiago (maybe more??).

I love the heart of my friends there. Serious about following Christ, impacting their corner of the world, thinking about new ways to do church, and the same for missions. We had a profound week of leadership conversations about the counter-cultural way of Christ. I'll tell you more about that tomorrow.

And I stayed at the house of some friends who were away on travel. I had a nice spot where I was about to do some writing almost every day.  (These days I just travel with my iPad and an external keyboard.)
 

But I had two firsts on this trip.

I had my first earthquake in Santiago. Southern Chile is one of the most unstable geographical regions in the world and earthquakes are common. Yet, for all my trips to Santiago, I never was in an earthquake. This trip would be different. 

It is 12:30 a.m. and something wakes me up. It is the house shaking. It is a noise of rumbling, a very loud and close train (that isn't a train). I wake up. I lie there in bed and I realize, we are having an earthquake. It lasted about a minute (pretty long) and was 6.7 (or 6.4 depending on who I talked  to) with the epicenter not that far away (in Valpariso). But since nothing was falling off the walls and breaking, I figured it wasn't that bad. So I stayed in bed until it was done.

I cant' imagine what it must have been like for those who were there for the BIG ONE in 2010 (8.8)!!! And it lasted 3 and 1/2 minutes!  

 

My other first was attending an international, professional soccer game. The University of Chile team (by the way, not university students, but professionals) played against a top team from Columbia. Now, I've been to a number of NFL games and the fans there are "mild" by comparison. We are talking rowdy, loud, and passionate. Oh yes, a week earlier laws were passed prohibiting fireworks, drums, etc. from being brought in to the stadium. So this was one of the first games under the new rules. Apparently it seemed kind of tame to my friends. I thought there was a constant earthquake going on as the fans never stopped jumping up and down. Their calf muscles must be impressive!

 

This picture is before the law went in to effect.

One of the great privileges I have about traveling is repeat visits that develop partnerships and friendships. I am greatly blessed by the relationships God has formed for me in Santiago. Sitting around in late night conversations, having good food and Chilean wine, were just the icing on the cake of a great week of ministry.

Some thoughts on the counter-cultural way of Jesus as he used power and authority are coming up in the next few days. That was the theme of the week long course in Santiago.

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

Buenos Aires and Emerging Paradigms of Leadership

 

A New City, A New Group of Leaders and a Favorite Leadership Course Taught Once More

 

The first week of my trip to Latin America was in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I taught a course in the master's program on leadership that is sponsored by Recursos Estrategicos Globales.

The course was one of my favorites - Emerging Paradigms of Leadership. It is a broad look at the changes taking place in our post-modern world and then specifically - what changes are taking place in the work of leadership.

You will find more than you need to know about Argentina at this site. Buenos Aires is the second largest city in Latin America and has a population of about 13 million people (city proper and the surrounding areas). Buenos Aires exemplifies the great need for leadership in our rapidly changing world. Like every great city in the world, it has both issues of regional and local significance as well as all the dynamics of global culture that shape it.
 

 

There were ten leaders (pastors, businessmen and missional leaders) who were a part of the class. We had a great time as we looked at the challenges and the opportunities facing the Latin American church. (Buenos Aires pictured.)
 

A local church is the host site for the master's program. They have a little guest house that is on the second floor of the church. I stayed there with a friend from Chile who was in to take the class for the week. It was quite comfortable and very convenient for us. 

The class was taught in the evenings from 6:00 - 10:30 and then all day on Saturday. During the days we went out and explored the city or worked on projects we had with us.

There are a few core Scriptures that shape the work we do in this course.

Isaiah 43:18-19 where God says he is doing a new thing and His people are to "forget what is past" so they can focus on what is to come.

Jeremiah 6:16 which is the famous "stand at the crossroads" passage and begin to see what is happening and make good choices about moving in to the future.

1 Chronicles 12:32 & 38 which is about the sons of Issachar who knew how to discern the times around them and know what God was doing.

Those three passages map out the nature of the work we would do for the rest of the week.

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

 

 

Finishing Up a Two Week Trip in Latin America

 

I was in Buenos Aires, Argentina for a week, teaching a grad course on leadership for my friend Omar Gava and the REG master's program. (Emerging Paradigms of Leadership in a Post-Modern World)

I then flew over to Santiago, Chile and spent a second week teaching another course in the same degree program. (The Leadership Way of Christ)

(Ignore the flight lines on this map. I flew from Atlanta down to Buenos Aires, and then over to Santiago, and fly back from there to Atlanta.)

I had the opportunity to be with a number of good leaders. And some of them are people I have worked with for several years. Others were "first time" encounters.

I'll have some stories and pictures for you next week, and some observations on what God is doing in that part of the world and how LCI is working together with several really good missional organizations.

Wrapping up and getting ready to fly home.

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

Missions Travel: Panama Consultation

In a hotel… in Panama City… I was sitting in a windowless room listening to about forty Latin American leaders dream some big dreams.

Big dreams… but lots of obstacles… hard hurdles… financial pitfalls… but the greatest visions involve that.

 

I left my house on Wednesday morning, driving down I-83 headed to Baltimore-Washington Airport. Suddenly a blue car is weaving in and out of traffic. My guess is he is driving at 90 mph. He flies up behind me, swings to the other lane, darts into a space barely more than the size of his car RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.. and off he is "flying."  (I of course am being a good Christian and praying for him...however, my prayers were something like the Imprecatory Curses of the Old Testament!)

A minute later a police car comes hurling down the highway in pursuit. Ten miles later, there the blue car is… three police cars… and the driver is out handcuffed… I found myself appreciating the justice of God and the diligence of the state police (and my Imprecation turns to Doxology).

 

Later, I am winding my way around Baltimore and my attention finally is drawn to an urgent light on my dashboard. It is the warning light for an empty gas tank. I was so caught up in last minute preparation for this trip that I forget to fill up before I left York. A detour off I-695 to find a gas station and I am on my way again.

 

To a most pleasant surprise…. upgraded to First Class for both flights! I found myself thanking God for his surprising gifts. Well, we didn't have this, we just had the "lower class" first class with regular seats!

I met up with my friend John Bernard (United World Mission) in Atlanta… he was upgraded to First Class also, and we talked non-stop to Panama. It was great to have that kind of time with him.

 

We arrived at the Hotel Avila where the COMIBAM consultation on missionary training was being held.

The event was organized by my good friend and missional partner, Omar Gava and his organization REG (check them out here).

Thursday mooring was fun seeing some old friends and familiar faces and meeting new people - all who are committed to the mobilizing and equipping of a Latin American missional movement, going to the unreached peoples of the world.

(I typed this post a few days ago) as we had just finished a great session on how to identify, collate and coordinate the resources of Latin America for this purpose. A HUGE challenge, but one that is full of possibilities. 

Leadership ConneXtions is just one little piece of this vast endeavor. One thing that has been reinforced over and over (at least for me) is the scarcity of resources to do really authentic spiritual formation of missional leaders. Which is, what LCI exists to provide. 

I met up with one leader, who, several years ago had attended one of the master's courses LCI does on Spiritual Formation for Leaders. His first words were how much that course has meant to his ongoing journey and work of leadership. 

A small piece… one leader at a time… pass on the DNA of LCI… then, trusting God who works in the secret places of the human heart for transformation.

These leaders have such an enormous work ahead of them. Mobilizing the Latin American world for global missions, especially to unreached peoples.

As you remember this week - Petition God on their behalf.

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

 

 

 

Paraguay April 2010 Report (Tim Adour)

The little country of Paraguay is a place LCI loves to visit. We've done quit a bit of work there, usually doing graduate courses for REG/SATS. On a teaching trip last year, Tim Adour made good contacts there and he returned a few weeks ago, only this time going to a Training Center for pastors and missionaries. Here are a few comments from Tim about his trip.   -bkr-
 

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

 

 

  

Having just returned home from a week in Paraguay, I would like to highlight a couple of things from the trip. 

 

I spent most of the week teaching young bible school students.  I have taught pastors, community and business leaders; however, investing in the leadership of the next generation brings a great deal of personal satisfaction.  If we can help them avoid some of the mistakes we made, how much more effective will they be?  

From there I went a border city of Paraguay and Argentina.  I taught that evening, but the most thrilling part of the day was a 15 secular radio station interview.  Through business contacts of one of the local pastors, I was interviewed by the morning show celebrity.  We discussed the difference between Transformational and Transactional Leadership.  

Soon after our discussion began this celebrity’s staff stopped working, came to the booth window and listen to the interview.  Immediately after we cut to a commercial the staff burst into the booth and started telling the host how he was a combination of both types of leader and how he needed to hear what I said.  It was funny and interesting at the same time. 

One of the lessons I had reinforced was to allow the Holy Spirit to have His way when I travel.  I taught almost nothing I had intended.  God has other ideas and as the week unfolded it was a blessing to see His hand at work.  
 

Tim Adour  
Church of the Revelation  
The Bronx, New York

Tim Adour Off to Paraguay to Teach at a Missionary Training Center

My good friend Tim Adour is heroic. 

He was willing to take off, right after a busy Easter weekend, to go to Paraguay to teach and train pastors, evangelists and missionaries at a training center located several hours outside of Asuncion.

Tim has a lot of travel ahead of him and several connections to make before he arrives at the training center. He will be down in the southeast corner of the country.Pray for his connections, for his health, for his teaching and for a real gifting from God to equip all those who are at the center.

 

 

Tim is going to be teaching the students who are at the center... he'll be doing a pastor's conference... and most likely some preaching at local churches as well.

When Tim goes on these trips, he basically tells the hosts - "work me hard, I am here to serve you." And they do and Tim does.

LCI has been privileged to be in Paraguay numerous times and we enjoy some longstanding relationships with leaders there.

Tim will give an update when he is back.

Please be in prayer for his time there.

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

Mentoring Leaders in Puebla, Mexico (John Hilliard)

I returned last week from a training session on mentoring in Puebla, Mexico. This was my second trip to this part of the world and it was another enriching experience.  Each time I am able to share in Latin America I have a better appreciate for the beauty of the culture, the strength of their relationships and the hard work they are doing there, sharing the gospel of Jesus in a world that has a form of godliness but denies the power thereof.  

This was the fourth time I have taught this material in the Latino world.  In one sense I am more comfortable in facilitating this material but in another sense I am continually challenged to bring it to the students in their culture.  In many ways they are far more engaged in relationships than we are in North America.  They already have the relationship part down and they do it well.  Where we spend the greatest amount of time relates to things like accountability, spiritual formation, and sponsorship.  These areas don't seem to come as easily and we have great discussions exploring how that might look in the Latin American culture.  

A new feature that was added this sessions was a recommendation from my host and translator Roger Oliver.  The Pixar movie Ratatouille is entertaining in itself but there are some additional features which I had not seen. If you are interested in a practical example of mentoring I would highly suggested that you check out the extra interview with the film producer Brad Lewis, and the head chef Thomas Keller of the French Laundry restaurant where they modeled the movie.  It is all about mentoring and has some excellent insights.  It had Spanish subtitles so worked well with these students.  

In addition to the movie clips we also explored 8 significant biblical mentors from Moses, to Paul, to Jesus. It set the stage for some excellent discussions about the role of a mentor in the life of the church and the transcendent purpose furthering God's kingdom.

John Hilliard  
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

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 

HueHue, Guatemala and Spiritual Formation for Leaders (Deb Bell)

My friend, Dr. Deb Bell is headed to Huehuetenago, Guatemala to work at a missions training center for the week. One of the significant missional movements of the last decade is the growing missions movement that is growing in Latin America and which mobilizes Latino missionaries for the 10-40 window. 

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Our friend and partner, Omar Gava (REG) resources these training centers that are found at different places in Latin America and he connected Leadership ConneXtions with the HueHue training center that is led by Jesuel Alves.

Deb wears many hats vocationally and in ministry. Her "day job" (i.e. a lonnnggg day) is she works as a family physician. Her other vocation is leadership training in a holistic way that gives great focus and attention to spiritual formation. (That makes for loonnngggg evenings.)

Deb has been a core part of the leadership/training team for the Leading Edge ministry at LWCC and does work in spiritual direction as well. Deb has also been on many missions trips of a wide variety over the years.

For this course, Deb says, "I will be teaching on the priority of continuing focus on personal spiritual development in leadership. Specifically, I will be covering the Jesus Model of Leadership which involves building an ongoing connection to Christ by Learning from Jesus, Being with Jesus, Becoming like Jesus, and Doing the Work of Jesus."

Deb ask for prayer for the following things:  

• Safe travels
  
• Staying healthy 
  
• Clarity of speech, mind and communication of concepts as I teach and train (for both myself and the translator)
  
• A receptivity and engaged participation on the part of those attending.
  
• For the Spirit of God to lead all the participants (and myself) in an ongoing transformation process.
  
• Building relationships with the participants.
• Being used by God as one more step in their preparation process for their future calling to serve the global purposes of God in the world.

In addition to the HueHue center students, area pastors will be attending the day training. Deb will also have the opportunity to teach and train in some local churches in the evenings.


  

Finally, Deb will be spending time with some good friends who live and work in Guatemala, doing some truly remarkable leadership development (the McCombs) who will be traveling with her and helping with some of the cultural orientation and contextualization of the materials.

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

  

  

 

Earthquake Near Santiago, Chile

Update:  The earthquake was about 200 miles away from Santiago... but still had impact there... and was about 450 miles away from Conception, Chile.  I am sure all our friends are okay in Santiago... but they have long memories of the devastating earthquake that hit Santiago many years ago....  Continue praying... Thank-you.   Brian

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There has been a terrible earthquake (8.8 magnitude) outside of Santiago, Chile, with aftershocks above 7.0. This earthquake is more than 500 times powerful than the one that recently hit Haiti.

We have dear friends in Santiago working in the ministry and so far, no word from them. LCI has been working with these friends and LWCC is supporting these friends.

Do a google search and you'll find videos and reports.

Please pray.

Brian

How Am I Using My Time? (Roger Oliver)

Roger Oliver (in the yellow shirt) is a friend, a leader and a trainer of leaders I met when John Hilliard and I first went to Puebla Biblical Seminary to teach on leadership. I won't go into all the background that would give you the context to know Roger a bit more, but he is a highly intentional follower of Jesus, he loves the church and mission, and he is passionate about raising up a new generation of leaders for Latin America. One of his many roles is the current president of Puebla Biblical Seminary.

Plus, Roger reads and thinks a lot. Here are some insights he has gained into his own Life, Priority and Time management. I think you'll appreciate both the model and how Roger illustrates it with his own situation.

And as a bonus, I added a video of Puebla Biblical Seminary at the end that will give you a flavor of the place where Roger works and the people he empowers. 

Thanks Roger for blogging for us some of your insights and experiences. And Feliz Navidad to you and the family and community at Puebla.  -bkr-

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 How Am I Using my Time

David Allan teaches a great exercise in Getting Things Done to help focus your efforts. Using the metaphor of altitude when flying, it helps us see what it is we are doing. The idea is to review what you are doing to see if it is coherent with what you say are your projects, responsibilities, long and short term goals as well as your lifetime calling.

• 50,000 ft, your calling or mission in life
• 40,000 ft, where you want to be in 3 to 5 years
• 30,000 ft, what you hope to accomplish in the next 1 to 3 years
• 20,000 ft, areas of focus and responsibility
• 10,000 ft, projects on the burner
• Landing, what you have in front of you to do day-to-day

 You start at the bottom because if you don’t get your day-to-day under control you will tend to be too distracted to think about the higher levels. I use the Getting Things Done (GTD) system to get a handle on all of my tasks and projects. The key idea is to get everything out of your head into a system that you trust. That way you can focus on one thing at a time, the key to relaxed productivity.

In the GTD system tasks are very discrete steps called next actions like call Fred and ask for an insurance quote. Anything that requires more than one step is a project. It is really hard to do a project in one step so it is really hard to get started on a project that you have mistakenly called a task or next action. They key to success with a project is to define the outcome and one next action you can take to move the project forward.

It is a whole-life system. Everything goes into the system from buying eggs and milk on the way home to reviewing the masters program at the seminary. The key to trusting the system is the weekly review. You have to review the system regularly to remind yourself what is on your plate and what you need to do to move things forward.

 Once you have the minutia of actions and projects under control you can confidently stop thinking about them long enough to consider the higher levels of your life.

The hardest level for me is 20,000 ft. I have identified the following areas of focus with a list of attendant responsibilities for each, not in order of priority necessarily.

• The seminary
• My personal (non-professional) life (family, me and God, friends, personal development)
• The mission (CAM International)
• The church (Familia de Paz, the new church plant)

For each of these areas of responsibility I have identified key responsibilities. I use an outlining program to write down what I think belongs at each level. For example, I defined my responsibilities in the seminary as follows:

• Spiritual life of the seminary family
• Peacemaking/reconciliation
• Promotion
• Fund raising
• Student Recruiting
• Board development
• Personnel Mgt/staff development
• Financial management
• Administration oversight
• Academic programs oversight
• Planning/organizational development
• Counseling
• Serve the churches
• Conferences and preaching
• Short Term Mission support
• Write for ObreroFiel and other publications

 I have a task in Outlook to review the 20,000 foot level every 3 months. I take a look at my landing level (next actions) and 10,000 feet (projects) and try to evaluate whether or not the next actions and projects are contributing to my 20,000 foot areas of focus and responsibilities. Often they are not. It is OK as long as it was a conscious decision based on what God has placed in front of me to do. I also check to see if my activities are in balance. Am I spending too much time at the seminary and not enough with my family?

I try to set aside a day or so every year to review all the levels, landing to 50,000 feet. Are my activities coherent with what I say are my areas of focus and responsibility? Are they moving me towards my 30,000 foot 1 to 3 year goals? Are the moving me towards where I think I should be in 3 to 5 years? Are my activities, areas of focus and responsibility, 30,000 foot goals and 40,000 foot dreams in alignment with what I believe God has called me to do with my life? If they are not, time to review and make changes.

 Recently I thought through my 20,000 foot level areas of focus and responsibilities and discovered some disconnects. There is too much there to do. They are each too discrete and separate. There is not enough of me to keep up with all of that. Something has to change. I am not God.

Looking at these levels helps me to soberly consider my life and to do so regularly not just when a crisis forces me to. It is a very enlightening exercise very similar to an instrument check. I pick up warning signs that I am headed for a crash in time to change course and make appropriate adjustments.

Of course I am very, very human and often do not pay attention to the warning lights. God has a wonderful way of letting me trip over my shoelaces when I do. When you land flat on your back there is nowhere to look but up.

GTD has been a great help in redeeming the time because the days are evil. I recommend it. I’ll end with a humbling quote from David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done.

“You can’t manage time. Time just is. Time management is really managing what we do during time. But it’s easier to say that time is what needs to be managed rather than ourselves. It’s easier to make time the enemy and parade our worthiness (I have so many big, important things to get done) rather than say, ‘I don’t keep my agreements.’”

Roger Oliver
Puebla Biblical Seminary 
www.seminariobiblicodepuebla.org

Some Thoughts on Mentoring in Latin America

John Hilliard is a partner with LCI, one of the elders at Living Word Community Church, a gifted leader who is currently providing leadership for the Men's Ministry of LWCC, and one of the guys in our spiritual friendship group. 
 

John has been going through some significant spiritual experiences in recent months and I really appreciate and respect the integrity with which he approaches all of life. I also deeply respect the time and energy John puts into mentoring others and in constantly learning more about mentoring.
 

Here are a few of his reflections about mentoring, after he returned from his recent trip to Paraguay.

Thanks John...  -bkr-

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 I have had the opportunity to teach the mentoring module for R.E.G. twice this year in Latin America.  I has been a blessing and a privilege to interact with ministry and church leaders in Argentina and Paraguay. They are engaged in the topic and bring new insights into the material which are both wise and transformational.  

An initial disadvantage in presenting the material is that there are no words in Spanish for either 'mentoring' or 'accountability'.  This gap in vocabulary points to some of the differences in culture voiced by Skye Stephenson in Understanding Spanish Speaking South Americans.  Our orientations are different in many ways neither better than the other, just different.  As a result I spend a significant amount of time describing the terms using other concepts.  For example mentoring comprises spiritual direction, teaching, coaching, disciplining, counseling, training, and sponsoring. When they understand that mentoring is an umbrella concept which incorporates all of the other tools it brings more clarity to the training.  

The trip to Paraguay brought out a couple of insights that were new to me about the mentoring process: 

1)   To be an effective mentor you need to have a clear view of why you are mentoring this specific person.  What is your purpose? What does your mentoree need that this engagement will bring?  Is there a purpose for the mentor like empowering a Timothy to be the pastor God called him to be? The clearer the purpose the more effective the mentoring will be.  If the mentor and mentoree and unclear about that purpose the engagement will tend to drift and deteriorate over time, 

2)   We were studying the book of Joshua as he received the mantle from Moses.  One of the students asked why didn't Joshua have any mentorees?  It was a good question and as we studied the book of Joshua one of the students found an amazing verse, Joshua 24:31. 

 Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.

 
Wow.  Joshua didn't have a mentoree who was specifically mentioned in scripture but all of the leaders under Joshua appeared to have finished well, they served the Lord through their entire lifetimes even after Joshua was gone.  It wasn't until they were all gone that Israel turned away from God.  What a great insight into the power of a level 5 leader as Jim Collins would put it. 

My desire is to continue to mentor others individually, as a group, and to listen to God and stay away from mentoring in my own strength but be open to what God is doing and join him in the process.  Thanks to my brothers and sisters in Argentina and Paraguay, they mentored me well as I mentored them.

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

The image came from Mad Mentors.com

Report on Asuncion Paraguay Trip and the Power of Mentoring

John is back from Asuncion, Paraguay. Asuncion is one of those places that it just takes awhile to get there. You can't fly directly into Asuncion from the USA, so you inevitably have a layover somewhere. John was in transit for about two days coming back to the States. He told me that one of the participants spent three days traveling from Bolivia, by bus, to get to the class. When we have participants like that, we want to give them the very best life transforming ideas and leadership shaping training we can. 

And that is what John did with the Mentoring Course. Here is one of John's reflections at the end of the course.  -bkr-
 

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“New Insights into the subject of Mentoring”

Being able to journey with another leader, especially cross-culturally is a marvelous experience.  I find myself pretty entrenched in our English Speaking North American context which is very individualistic and in many cases narcissistic and egocentric.  It is when I can visit another culture that these negative aspects of our culture become more obvious. 

In my recent trip to Asuncion, Paraguay I was privileged to work with ten top-level pastors and missionaries from South America.  The topic was mentoring which, in one sense is done quite frequently in the Latino culture but often more haphazard and without accountability.  Interestingly enough neither, ‘mentoring’ nor ‘accountability’, have equivalents in Spanish.  So we spend a good part of the class unpacking what those terms mean and how to apply them to the Latino culture.  Their engagement in the discussion was very enriching for all of us.  As they struggle with the day to day activities of ministry they were able to see how their lives parallel Moses example in Exodus 18:1-27. 

We focused on the purpose of mentoring and why it is so important as a multiplication factor for leaders and will help them to avoid burnout.  It is an activity that requires the four mindsets of a leader.  With all of the other demands of ministry the mentor must be strategic, intentional, self aware and surrendered.  Short of those disciplines the mentoring effort will just be another activity added to a long list of things to be done, like Jethro pointed out to Moses.

If it is done well the rewards are great encouragement in Joshua 24:31 “Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel”.  Moses mentored Joshua and Joshua mentored the elders leading to multiple generations of leaders who served Israel well.  I want to be part of that legacy and it appears that through mentoring it is possible. Thanks to all the participants in Asuncion for the blessing of sharing their lives with me.

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

 

Update from John Hilliard in Asuncion, Paraguay

Here is an update from John Hilliard about his time teaching on mentoring in Asuncion.  -bkr-

The lessons are going well. Each of the students are engaged at high levels and the material is being well received. They can see the value in mentoring and how it could make a difference in their ministries. I was able to demonstrate a mentoring session with one of the students yesterday and will do the same today.

Thanks for the prayers, God is ever present

In His service

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

John Hilliard Teaching in Asuncion, Paraguay

John Hilliard will be doing the mentoring course for Leadership ConneXtions and REG in Asuncion, Paraguay. This is the same course John has taught before in Argentina. Here are a few thoughts and prayer requests from John about his upcoming trip.

You are reading this on the first day that John begins teaching in Asuncion.  

Blessings my friend.  Brian

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I appreciate the opportunity to meet with the group of leaders from Paraguay this next week.  A couple of things that stand out most significantly: the Latinos are very comfortable with relationships, it is a strength of the culture that I am learning more about each time I minister there.  What I hope to share with them is to be more intentional in those relationships. There is no word in Spanish that accurately defines ‘mentoring’.  We will spend time understanding that mentoring is more than just being a teacher but also includes things like coach, discipler, counselor, encourager, and  trainer.  I have learned so much from the previous sessions I have facilitated and hope that I can connect with everyone at the session in Asunción. 

My prayer requests for this trip would involve health, safe travels, sensing God’s leading in each session, connecting with the participants in spite of the language barrier and that God would use me in the process at a transformational level.

Looking forward to reporting on where God was present…

John Hilliard  
Leadership ConneXtions International

update from Cordoba, Argentina (October 16)

Class is just about ready to get started for the last day. It has been a very good week working on two different topics with a great group of leaders.

It is a privilege to be a part of their training process.

We went to a great restaurant last night... ate waaay too much food.

Well, we are getting ready to start.

Thanks for your prayers for this last day with them.

Brian

Update from Cordoba, Argentina (October 15)

It is early Thursday morning. In about 45 minutes we will leave Carlos Paz where we did three days of training in facilitative learning and go to Cordoba for two days of looking at Emerging Paradigms of Leadership. 

We finished last night by watching the Argentine national soccer team qualify for the World Cup in their Zone. 

Soccer is REAL BIG here.

Here are a few photos.

Thanks for your continued prayers.

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

Update from Cordoba, Argentina (October 13)

We had a great day today.

First, I am super impressed with the quality of leaders who are in this program. My good friend and colleague, Omar Gava, (in the red shirt) has been working for years to train leaders, and especially missional leaders... and it is so obvious that his labors are bearing much fruit.

We did a devotional this morning and one of the verses that we pondered was 1 Corinthians 15:10.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace of  God that was with me.

This verse perfectly describes the heart, the humility and the hard work of Omar. He is one of the hardest workers I know and he is the first to declare it is all by the grace of God.  It is no wonder that top shelf leaders are attracted to Omar. They respect who he is and they value the resources Omar brings to their lives.

 

 

Second, the first three days are focused on training methodologies. They are working through a new (and much needed) paradigm to become Course Designers who can develop leadership training modules, write curriculum, prepare lessons and then use facilitative methodologies that lead to transformation. This is intense stuff.

This is hard work to move into a new paradigm when you have spent a life time working in an older one. And, they are having to get all of this through an interpreter! They are so patient with this learning process and so full of great questions.  There are going to be some great leadership development trainers that will come out of this group. Maybe every single one of them.
 
Third... dedication, commitment, devotion, discipline...  They are willing to pay the price to move up in their capacity and competency. I don't have to do much to motivate this group. They have it. It is a joy to work with them.

Finally, LCI partner John Hilliard was in Argentina sometime back and he did the graduate course on mentoring and then he taught on mentoring at the training center. One of the students that John had told me that what John taught him about mentoring, has fundamentally shaped how he is now working with leaders. Wow... great stuff.  

Thank you for your prayers. They are felt, they are appreciated, they are making a difference. One more day on the Training Methodologies and then we begin the course on Emerging Paradigms of Leadership.

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

Update from Cordoba, Argentina (October 12)

Today was the first day of the module on training processes that REG and Omar are offering to their facilitators network.

Leadership ConneXtions has been working with REG and Omar Gava  and the South American Theological Seminary in Londrina, Brazil, to provide a master's degree in leadership at sites throughout Latin America. We have been doing this for over three years. People have graduated from the program and others are getting closer to graduating.

At the heart of our (REG/LCI) vision for this is to develop leaders who develop other leaders. We want to train the trainers, mentor the mentors, equip the developmental minded leader who will turn around and do more of the same in a 2 Timothy 2:2 model. 

Our focus today was on the model that LCI uses (Content, Process, Relationships, Outcomes) and how they can use a similar model in their situations. We spent about half of oru day talking about the leadership development model that Jesus used:

Invited people to be WITH Him
So they could LEARN FROM Him
and BECOME LIKE Him
and then go out to DO THE WORK OF JESUS IN THE WAY OF JESUS.

But it all begins with designing processes that help people be with Christ in transformative learning.

We finished the day with them working on an assignment as to how they can apply these "concepts" in a practical way in their context. 

We will have supper together about 9:00 p.m. The culture in both Argentina and Chile is a late night culture and people eat late. The other night we went out to a restaurant about 9:00 for supper and we were the only ones there. About half an hour later, the place started filling up with people. 

The weather is simply beautiful. Low humidity. Warm during the day. Blue skies. At night it gets cool.

Thanks for your prayers.

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