LeadershipConneXtions

The World is not Moved by . . .

 

 Well - by a lot of stuff!

In the vast majority of cases, the world is not moved or inspired, motivated or energized by mildly interesting Christianity.

I mean really - are you inspired by anything that is mediocre, lukewarm, or lackluster? For me personally, it is getting harder and harder for someone to get my attention and even more, for me to sit up, take notice and say - hmmm... now that's interesting!

I can't imagine non-Christians being remotely interested when a lot of Christianity comes across that way. I was surfing the channels the other day and I stopped to watch some religious programming. Mainly, because I was fascinated at how poorly done it was and wondered - who do you think is watching this?

Half-hearted, cautious, be safe, don't stir things up, stay in the middle of the road, be very average (or just below) Christianity is a yawner.

On the other hand . . .

The world doesn't like fanaticism either. Christian crazy isn't catchy.  

Actually, the world doesn't like truth either. Some people walked away from Truth when the Truth became hard to swallow (John  6:60-66;  8:31-59;  ). And eventuallly the world crucifed Truth. 

Evangelistically, apologetically, missionally and strategically Truth has to be strongly flavored with Love and Integrity for it to be received by post-modern skeptics. Even then it is hard to digest. 

I do think a full out, passionate, creative, persistent and sacrificial engagement by Christ-followers for the sake of others will be appealing to the world. It was in the early expansion of the church. 

Our culture is cynical and tired.
It has been around the block several times.
It has been there and done that.
It is jaded and satiated.

A lot of Christianity has been experienced as toxic and a turn-off. We don't always have the best reputations.

It is going to take a lot of persistance to follow Christ in such a way that it moves the world. For me, once more, it comes back to leadership. 

May God raise up the kind of leaders who can empower this kind of community that can offer that kind of witness. May God start with us.

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

Missional Thinking for Tomorrow's Leaders

 

Seminary prepared me to do ministry
using models that no longer worked
in a church that was no longer relevant
for a world that no longer existed. 

I first heard a version of that quote almost ten years ago, from a good friend and former colleague, John Stringer. I use that quote every time I begin the course I am about to teach.

In just a few weeks, I will be teaching one of the Core Courses we provide for our friends in Latin America, through REG's masters program in church leadership. That course is: 

Emerging Paradigms of Leadership
in a Post-Modern World.

It is one of my favorite courses and it ranges over a wide terrain of territory. While I do constant reading on this subject, I ramp up my reading of new books every time I prepare to teach the course.

Two of the books I am reading are by Alan Roxburgh of the Missional Network. He is an important voice in this conversation. He is not always a pleasant voice, and in fact, he is often an irritating one. I find I disagree with him on numerous points, but deeply appreciate him on others.

Brief Detour: Just two of the points of disagreement I have:

(1)  I think he fundamentally misreads the nature of spirituality that is both biblical and of great interest to postmoderns. His misreading is mainly one of being inadequate, lacking both breadth and depth of understanding. But that is not his interest. He is a missiologist and church planting specialist. 

(2)  I also think he is too modern is his thinking and falls in to the either/or thinking of modernity. And when it comes to his model, he is very either/or. His model is the only way in to the future. All the other ways of doing church are wrong. I believe Phyllis Tickle and her Great Emergent approach is better. She sees a multiplicity of models that will be viable.

I finished reading Missional: Joining God in the Neighborhood, which is the easier of the two and most accessible for most readers who are interested in the state of the North American church and "whither the future?"

I am almost finished reading Missional Map-Making: Skills for Leading in Times of Transition, which is a more challenging read, and I think mainly suitable for leaders. But it is very worthwhile. If you have read his two previous books written for leades, it is sufficiently different to warrant a reading.

His audience is a North American and European one. Here is a basic premise underlying both books, and for that matter, all the books which Roxburgh writes.

The times in which we (see above) are living are a fundamental time of change and transition. We are truly Post-Christendom. But, the church is still stuck in a Christendom model. That model no longer works. It can't be tweaked or morphed or salvaged. It is time to let go of it and move in to a new way of being and doing church.

Whether you agree or disagree with him, he throws down a necessary gauntlet of provocative stories, statistics and perspective (mapping a way forward).

 

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

The Future of the Global Church

A week or so ago I was having a morning cup of coffee with a misisonal friend who thinks a lot about the world, the mission, the church, the educational institutions that serve both... it was a great conversation.

He mentioned to me a book that he highly recommended. I got it. More expensive than I wish - $40.00, but it is a TREASURE TROVE of insights about the world. It is:

 

The Future of the Global Church: History, Trends and Possibilities by Patrick Jonstone.

For anyone who is seriously interested in global Christianity, what has happened, what is happening, and what might happen - this is MUST READING.

It is loaded with maps, charts, diagrams and well written briefs. 

As I work through it, I feel deeply connected with missional friends who are serving around the world for the sake of Christ, His  Gospel and the world He loves.

Get a copy.

Work through it slowly and prayerfully.

Soak in it, absorb its lessons, sense the emerging world around us, discern what God is up to and respond as you believe He calls you.

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

The Transitional Time in Which We Live

This past Sunday I spoke on The New Thing God is Doing. We spent time talking about the dangerous, serious, "here be dragons," inbetween the times of transition, "Kansas is going bye-bye" times in which we live.

Here is a chart that is out of one of Alan Roxburgh's books... I forget which one. I think it is from, The Sky is Falling.

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

 

 

 

Presence...

Allow me to muse for a minute and not be practical at all in this post.

Allow me to ramble for a post and not be too organized.

This one is kind of a "idea dump."
 

ONE:
When we are present to another, than we experience presence and they experience presence with us.

God's Presence is with me, but I am not always aware of or attuned to His Presence. Part of the Christian journey is to have a growing ability to be present to and with God, attuned to His Presence.

 

TWO:

The word PRESENT has a dual meaning.

To be PRESENT means to show up, to be there, to be on site, to be with.

A PRESENT is a gift.

Here is the word play. To be PRESENT, i.e.  show up, to be there, to be with another is a PRESENT/gift to that person.

So God's PRESENCE is the greatest PRESENT He gives to us.

  

THREE:

The more fully I live in His Presence, the more fully I am able to be present with others and allow His Presence to flow through me.  And that becomes a present to the world.

In the language of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, to practice the Presence of God is the way to have a corresponding Presence/Present to the world.

Here is the mystery. The Practice of God's Presence (the mystical encounter with God) is the way to Practice being Present to, with, in and for the world (the missional encounter with the world).

It is the way of mystic missionality or being a missional mystic.

It is the Ignatian Way of Proceeding.

It is the way of Brother Lawrence.
 

Give the gift of your presence today and as you do, you are giving the gift of God's Presence to those around you.
 

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

Culture: Our Context and Our Conversation Partner

We are always rooted, located and formed in a cultural context. 

We always live out our faith (follow Jesus) in a cultural context.

We always read the Bible, theologize, practice our spirituality and experience Jesus in a cultural context.

Fundamentalism was that Christian approach (and it is found in other religions as well, especially Islam) that believed the cultural context was unimportant, if not evil. Fundamentalism preferred separation from culture and went the route of isolation. 

Carry this to an extreme and you begin to look, sound and act like an Amish person who takes this approach to its extreme. Ironically, the Amish are finding ways to be a part of culture when it suits their purposes.

Fundamentalism was naive and just wrong in thinking they were above being influenced by culture.  (That is another post sometime.) Nevertheless, their approach made them pretty irrelevant when it came to mission and transformation (not to mention the arts, academics, etc.).

It is pretty obvious that our culture influences us and that we are called to influence the culture. The way to do this is to admit we are all situated in a context and that context has an influence on us. And to engage in a conversation with that culture.

Sometimes, our culture will set the agenda for our theology. By this, I mean our culture will raise the questions, put forward the issues, provide the situations and experiences . . . and we will have to address this.

Right now, for example:

(1)  Our economic times are a situation that should lead us to meaningful consideration of issues of wealth and poverty, what is enough, why are we always wanting more than what we need and can afford, and so on.

(2)  With the incredible rise in social networking (think FACEBOOK), what does this say to us about community, friendship and how should we respond as the people of God to this?

(3)  The church is in slow decline in North America. Evangelism as it use to be practiced is rarely fruitful today. How do we function missionally as God's people? 

And this list could go on.

The best theology and the best spirituality is not practiced in an ivory tower of academia, nor in a ghetto/fortress of religiosity. They are done in the challenging but necessary context of our culture.

Two conclusions:

(1)  Engage your culture, keep your Eyes Wide Open and observe, pay attention, notice and understand the signs of our times.

(2)  Have conversations with the culture. Speak and listen. Raise questions, offer tentative answers. Keep the conversation going.

Brian Rice

Leadership ConneXtions International

A Millennial's Guide to Millennial Guides

I just read this article and thought you may find it of interest.

It's short.

Here is a Fast Company article on the millenials and some books about them.

Brian Rice

Leadership ConneXtions International

Witnesses

My friend and colleague at LWCC, Rob Tucker, recently spoke to our staff team about being witnesses. Rob led us through a nice process of thinking about past and current models of "witnessing" and then into some considerations of emerging approaches.

He talked about what worked . . . what isn't working as well . . . and what might work in the days ahead.  (I'm pretty sure that wearing this t-shirt  pictured is not going be that effective.)

Rob talked about the Nike - Lebron James - NBA campaign that uses the slogan . . .

We Are All Witnesses

. . . which is a reference to witnessing the spectactular play of Lebron James and then telling others how good Lebron is. It was a powerful illustration.

I've been thinking about this word WITNESS a lot more in the days since that meeting.

At first it sounds pretty old fashioned, but the more I think about it - I like it.

It's a good word.

It's a biblical word that was, above all, used in reference to Jesus.

And I think it is a good metaphor for leadership. The leader as WITNESS.

Of course, how one chooses to be a witness will make all the difference. I think that the leader as witness is the leader who knows her or his story, who knows the story of God in Christ and who is able to weave those two stories together into the Story of Us.

What have you born witness to so far today?

Brian Rice

Every Monday Matters

Hey, I want to clue you in to a really, REALLY, REALLY cool idea!

There is a new book out called:  Every Monday Matters: 52 Ways to Make a  Difference.

There is a website devoted to this and you can access it at:

www.EveryMondayMatters.com (just click on this link).

It is an idea that we can make a difference. We can make a difference in lots of little ways. Lots of little touches, day after day, week after week, have a BIG cumulative impact.

This idea is about living a life of service to others.

This idea is about living a life of encouragement of others.

This idea is about living a life of vitality, generosity, and gratitude.

This idea is about living a life of influence.

You wont' find Scripture verses or doctrinal statements in this book. That's not what it is about. What this book is about is giving practical ways to serve the world in the name of Christ.

You won't even find distinctively religious or biblical or Christian suggestions. It is simpler than that. it is about being a decent and good human being.

Which I think Christians ought to excel at so we can earn the right and gain the trust to bring Jesus into the discussion.

Get a copy. Start doing something good and new every single week. Pass the word. Start a movement. Be blessed and be a blessing in Jesus' name.

Brian Rice

Cultural Creatives and the New Realists

Michael Frost (in Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture) describes a growing group of people known as the cultural creatives or the new realists.

These people cross political lines, and they are viewing the world differently from the mainstream. They may be as many as 26% of the U.S. population. Here are five things that characterize this group:

1. Ecologically sustainable products and services and concern for the whole planet.
2. An insistence on authenticity, personally, at work, in business and politics.
3. Bringing women's issues into public life.
4. Reporting the news differently, to see the big picture, and first-person stories, and good news too.
5. Bringing spirituality into American life.

Leaders who want to influence this group will have to address these issues in meaningful ways.

Click here for more on Michael Frost and his organization.

Brian Rice

Communitas (Missional Communities)

I had mixed reactions reading Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture by Michael Frost. Overall, I liked much of what he said. At the same time, I found some things rather lacking. At times, I actually thought his book was a bit too "modernistic" in its feel. Too many lists and too many rather superficial judgments on matters that are not his area of expertise.

For example, I think he is at his weakest when he addresses spirituality.  But when he addresses issues of mission and culture, he is at his best.  And he is provocative when he talks about how the church engages with mission and culture.

For me - one chapter alone was worth the price of the book and that is Chapter Five - The Exile's Esprit de Corps: The Promise That We Will Serve a Cause Greater Than Ourselves.  His insights on communitas and liminal experiences are just profound. 

Authentic Christian community occurs when a group of believers commit themselves to a grand purpose of missional involvement in the world around them.

I can't begin to do it justice. Get a copy and read that chapter.

Brian Rice