LeadershipConneXtions

The Pursuit of Happiness

Here are some profound words by Rabbi Kushner. They are from his book, When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough.

You don't become happy by pursuing happiness. You become happy by living a life that means something. The happiest people you know are probably not the richest or most famous, probably not the ones who work hardest at being happy by reading the articles and buying the books and latching on to the latest fads.

I suspect that the happiest pepole you know are the ones who work at being kind, helpful, and reliable, and happiness sneaks into their lives while they are busy doing those things. You don't become happy by pursuing hapiness. It is always a by-product, never a primary goal.

Happiness is a butterfuly - the more you chase it, the more it flies away from you and hides.  But stop chasing it, put away your net and busy yourself with other, more productive things than the pursuit of personal happiness, and it will sneak up on you from behind and perch on your shoulder.

These are counter-cultural words and counter-intuitive words in a culture that values the pursuit of happiness so much that it is embedded in the founding documents of our country.

Yet, with all our endless pursuits of happiness and commitments to entertainment and diversion, we are not a happy people. Make happiness the primary goal and it eludes you. Make God's will and the rennovation of your life the primary goal and happiness perches on your shoulder.

So - how happy are you these days?

Brian Rice

Streams of Living Water and a Diversity of Spiritual Traditions

John Hilliard and I will be teaching the LCI course,  Spiritual Leadership  at Seminario Biblico de Puebla (Puebla  Biblical Seminary) in Puebla, Mexico.

Even though I have taught parts of this material at a variety of places in Latin  America, this is the first time to teach it as an integrated unit.

I've been doing some re-reading of old favorites to refresh my thinking on spirituality. Richard Foster's book - Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith is one of them. I first read this book many years ago and it instantly become one of the paradigms that shaped my thinking about spirituality.

If you have never read this book, I highly recommend it. Now, it is NOT a book to be used for spiritual formation itself, but rather, a book that will teach you about the spiritual traditions, each which has its own spiritual formation approaches. Foster has also provided additional resources that will help you become a practitioner in these different traditions.

I highly recommend his two books:

• Spiritual Classics (and)
• Devotional Classics

Check out Foster at http://www.renovare.org/index.asp.

I have also been dipping into Conformed to His Image: Biblical and Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation by Kenneth Boa. I can only describe this book as a warm and thoughtful manual/encyclopedia of the  Christian life.  Please don't let either of those words - manual / encyclopedia - be turn offs.

For those of us who stand in the post-modern, emergent streams, sometimes there is an over-reaction to the organization of ideas. Yet, such organizations and guides were being produced long before modernity. The Rule of Benedict is one such example and it was the guide for spiritual life in the Benedictine monasteries.

I would make a case that the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola are another such example.

Anyway . . . I'm doing a lot of thinking about the spiritual formation of leaders (and followers) this summer.

Brian Rice

Spirituality is Like Art

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.    Ephesians 2:10

Here is a thoughtful observation from Len Sweet on spirituality.

A great spirituality is like great art. For there to be truly original art, there must be submission to discipline, a mastery of the basics, close brushwork acomplishments, a tutoring in the traditions and texts of the faith...

We are God's masterpieces. Our very existence is God's artwork. You are not only a work of art, but truly an orginal work of art. And you are an original work that is being created collaboratively (God and you working in tandem).

1. You need submission to discipline.
2. You need a mastery of the basics.
3. Close brushwork accomplishments (attention to detail).
4. And tutoring in the traditions and texts of the spiritual faith you imbibe.

Without those four things, you will not have great art or great spirituality.

Brian Rice

Franciscan Blessing

Pastor Steve Almquist chose this benediction for the close of the Living Word church service this past Sunday.  It is a Franciscan blessing and I (along with many others) were deeply moved by its creative tensions.

THE BENEDICTION

May God bless you with discomfort: At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships; so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger: At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people; so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears: To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war; so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness: To believe that you can make a difference in the world; so that you can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

And all God's people said:  A-men.

If you want to see this on a website go here.  The author of that blogsite says that Brian McLaren is using this benediction on his Everything Must Change Tour.

Brian Rice

Prayer Partner

Here is a real simple question for all you leaders. Well, it is one simple question asked in a few forms.

Who is praying for you?  I mean really praying?  Praying for you often . . . maybe even daily?  Who believes God has called them to be an intercessor for your well being?  Who loves you so much that they will not stop praying for you?

Even Jesus needed people to pray for him. That is why he asked the disciples to "watch" with him while he was in the garden.

Okay, that is one simple question. Was it easy to answer?  (or)  Was it easy to answer yes to this question?

Here are a few more questions:

• Do you think you need a prayer partner who prays for you in this way?
• What would be the benefit of having this?
• Are there are repercussions if you don't have this kind of prayer support?

Now - really - what do you think about the bulleted questions?

For any of us (and I include myself in this category) of driven, self-sufficient, indepent-minded leaders who are used to working hard to get results -- we need to be pretty ruthless about these questions and say what we really think.

We live in a supernatural world where life is far more than what we see and do with our own hands. The presence of God is a supernatural reality and prayer is the language of that realm.

We need to pray and we need prayed for.

Final question:  If you don't have that kind of person in your life - is there anyone who you could invite into that role?

Brian Rice

God Moments

There is the power of the human intellect which can be simply amazing.

There is the power of catalytic collaboration when teams profuce something where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

There is the power of intuitive leaps of insight that take a leader, a team or an organization to a new level.

But sometimes, something even greater than all this happens. And that is when God, sovereignly shows up and does something that is beautiful and wonderful. it may be impressively big or subtly small.  Either way - it is God's doing and it is unexpected.

The lead team of Living  Word Community Church (of which I am a part) had one of those "God-moments" recently where something really wonderful happened. I won't go into details about specifics.

But it was a truly wonderful session and we all sat around with the sense that God was in this place and what had been produced was more than what we could have done.

Brian Rice

The Leader as Mystic (Ruthless Trust)

Here is a short paragraph from Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning.

It is one of my favorite quotes. I have read it (and thought about it) dozens of times.

Ruthless Trust is an unerring sense, way deep down, that beneath the surface agitation, boredom, and insecurity of life, it's gonna be all right. Ill winds may blow, more character defects may surface, sickness may visit, and friends will surely die, but a stubborn, irrefutable certainty persists that God is with us and loves us in our struggle to be faithful.

A non-rational, absolutely true intuition perdures that there is something unfathomably big in the universe (kabod/glory), something that points to Someone who is filled with peace and power, love and undreamed of creativity -- Someone who will reconcile all things in himself.   (pp. 180)

When leaders have Ruthless Trust like this, they become vehicles and avenues through whom the All-Creative God works to reconcile all things to Himself in and through Jesus.

The work of spiritual formation, often through seasons of suffering, the dark night of the soul and the wilderness experience is the way of building Ruthless Trust into our lives and leadership.

It is the mystical encounter with God that does not exclude rationality, but often goes beyone it. Manning quotes Rahner who prophetically said, "In the end you will be a mystic or you will be nothing." (I am paraphrasing that from memory, so it is close but not exact.)

Brian Rice

Leaders Need A Theology of Spirituality

Here is a paragraph by Bobby Clinton that, when I first read it, I had an "AHA" moment. Here are his words, which I've broken up into several paragraphs for easier reading.

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Plateaued leadership and leadership which is set aside (disciplined by God) usually can be traced back to problems in spirituality. While there are, of course, some leaders who fail in leadership due to lack of ministry skills, it is probably more true that the majority of failures in leadership come due to failure in the area of spirituality.

Every leader should have an explicit theology of spirituality (emphasis mine) which guides him/her as development proceeds along the three major goals of spiritual formation, ministerial formation, and strategic formation.

As Dallas Willard (pictured to the right) has so aptly pointed out, your thoughtless and heretofore unorganized theology of spirituality guides your life with just as much force as a thoughtful and informed one. (Again, the emphasis is mine.) Kingdom leadership demands spiritual leadership. An informed theology of spirituality is vital to this kind of leadership . . .

Ministry essentially flows out of beingness. You must continually assess your spirituality and maintain it if you are to give spiritual leadership in the kingdom.

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Okay, in those few short thoughts is a world worth exploring at length and in depth.

When I came face to face with this paragraph, my AHA moment was realizing that I had a deficient theology of spirituality which inevitably led to an inadequate practice of spirituality. The last 10 years have been, in part, the exploring of and developing of a thoughful, informed, robust, holistic, biblically based and church history informed theology of spirituality.

To say it another way, I have been pursuing a spirituality that is characterized by relationship, intimacy and transformation. My previoius spirituality, which was unknown to me at the time (i.e. thoughtless and unorganized), was mainly rationalistic, pragmatic and behavioristic. (By the way, two of the categories in my theology of spirituality are that of mystery and messiness. But I am thoughtful about the messy side of the spiritual life!)

My week in India, working with the graduates of ACCS is developed around this theme. With 30 sessions and 30 different themes, I want to help them develop a theology of spirituality that will sustain them for a lifetime of fruitful ministry, the platform to finish well, and to have a legacy worth leaving.

Brian Rice

Iona: A Place of Retreat and Encounter

Iona is one of my favorite Christian bands / worship artists. I have most of their CD's and have truly enjoyed many listenings of each one.

Iona is also the name of the island/site of a monastery. Here is a nice story by John Bloom on his visit to the monastery. I think you'll enjoy it.  (The picture is found in Bloom's article.)

As a leader, I am always trying to figure out how to find space and silence for retreat and renewal, for rest and recovery through uninuterrupted time with God.

One of my "dreams" would be to visit this place for several days of retreat at some point.

Click here for the Iona Website if you want to learn more about this incredible music.

Click here to learn more about the monastery of Iona.

Brian Rice

Sacred Space (Labyrinth)

This is the 5th year that Living Word has done a Sacred Space experience in conjuction with Lent.

In 2004 we did our first one, as I helped a team of artists plan to do a sacred space "exhibition" of art that choose nine of the stations of the cross. We emptied out a room and turned it into a truly sacred space.

After that - we were off and running. The next year we did a labyrinth, only it wasn't a labyrinth, it was much more. Instead of just having lines marked out on the floor to guide a walker, we took a different approach.  We morphed together ideas of labyrinth, journey, maze and sacred space to create a somewhat unique experience.

We turned a room into a place of spiritual pilgrimage as walkers would follow one path with high walls on either side. As they moved on through the pathway, they would come to small rooms that each had a theme. In addition, I wrote a spiritual devotional for people to use for reflection, prayer and journaling in each room.

We had 1000+ people go through these sacred space experiences in the years that followed.

We just opened our latest Sacred Space. We had two new team leaders (Dee who coordinated the artistic creation and Deb who developed the spiritual experience) who designed this year's Sacred Space. They had a team of builders and artists who worked together, prayed together and the result . . . I had an initial walk-through and it took my breath away. It is a truly sacred space . . . A place of beauty and discovery.

They did something new with this Sacred Space. They used the Stations of the Cross idea, wrote a devotional and designed a journey with nine rooms. All I can say is - it is powerful. I am looking forward to my first lengthy time to go through.

I really encourage you to make it a priority to spend some time encountering God in this year's Sacred Space.

Brian Rice

p.s.  I couldn't use any of the really good pictures I took of the Sacred Space because we don't want to give too much away. You want to experience it fresh.

p.p.s.  Awesome job of leadership, artistry and spiritual formation.  Thank you Deb and Dee and team.

Brian Rice

Pascal on Truth

"Truth is so obscured nowadays and lies so well established that unless we love the truth we shall never recognize it." Pascal, Pensees #739

Perhaps Pascal was reflecting on this passage: This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness instead of light, because their deeds were evil (John 3:19).

Or perhaps Paul's words in Ephesians 4:17-18. So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignornace that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

Pascal was one of those brilliant, creative, passionate thinkers, who wrote just one book. But it is a great one. It is Pensees and is available in a nice, contemporary translation.

Leaders are those responsible for being "truth-telling," for encouraging "truth-seeking," and for promoting "truth-living."

We certainly need to be innovative and creative and maximize our use of story as the way to engage in our calling about the truth. I have found Peter Kreeft's, Christianity for Modern Pagans (his very powerful engagement with Pascal's Pensees) to be innovative and insightful.

Yet, what Pascal said about the truth almost 400 years ago is just as true (or even more so) today. We must first love the truth.

Brian Rice

Lenten WebDevotional

A friend sent me this link and I am passing it on to you.

If you would like to do a daily devotional during the Lenten Season, this is a very nice resource.

The link will also be added to the web/blog sites on the left column.

Click here to go to the Lenten WebDevotional Site.

Brian Rice

A Transforming Presence (Spurgeon and Willard)

"The grand point is not to wear the gospel, nor use the verbage of religion, but to possess the life of God within, and feel and think as Jesus would have done because of the inner life. Small is the value of external religion unless it is the outcome of a life within." Charles Haddon Spurgeon

These words of Spurgeon resonate within me. For the deepest reality of the Christian life is much more than having a set of rational beliefs (even ones that are biblically based) or a collection of moral behaviors (even ones that are prescribed in the Bible). In its essence, Christianity is the invasion of the human life by the Holy God who then recreates the now possessed life by the indwelling Spirit of grace and truth.

God is a transforming Presence. The Christian life must be the daily experience of that transforming Presence.

Dallas Willard asks, "What has become of the ongoing walk with Jesus Christ and the integrity of soul that permits one to worship the Father in Spirit and truth. The sad truth is that you can be an evangelical in excellent standing without these experiences . . . We haven't figured out what the spiritual life is really like, inside and out. We haven't dealt successfully with the challenge of transforming our characters into Christ-likeness . . . We haven't learned how to live in God's power in every aspect of our lives."

Leaders have to pay attention to this. First, in their own life. Then, in the life of those whom they seek to lead.

Brian Rice

Benedictine Spirituality: Staying Not Running

I am very interested in several of the Roman Catholic orders. The Jesuits, the Franciscans, and the Benedictines all have things to teach us. Many years ago I read the Rule of St. Benedict for how life was to be ordered in their monasteries. I was moved by many things in it. Benedict sought to create a rule of prayer, work, study and rest. Balance in these matters was very important for Benedict. You see this at the top of the illustration.

On the trip to Chile, I read a book by one of the professors of Azusa Pacific University, Dennis Okholm, on the spirituality of the Benedictines. The book's title is - Monk Habits For Everyday People: Benedictine Spirituality for Protestants.

Okholm had some very insightful things on the issues of humility, listening, obedience, poverty, hospitality, stability and balance. I highly recommend this little book.

In the chapter on stabilty he talked about our tendency to run when things get hard. We run from relationships, from marriage, from jobs, from conflict - and this running hurts us. In that chapter, he had a quote from Michael Casey that I spent some time pondering. I add it here for you.

"When God sets about purifying a human being, the process is accomplished in large measure by human agents. This is because the components of our being which block our receptivity to grace are the very blemishes which other people find ugly. The negative reactions of others serve as a mirror in which we can see reflected those deformations of character against which we need to struggle . . . Of course, one who refuses to acquiesce in the truth of others' reactions becomes more deeply entrenched in bitterness and recrimination and further away from love and God." (Michael Casey)

Do you find yourself wanting to run from something right now? If so - you may be running from the very season or relationship or opportunity which God wants to use for your transformation and His glory.

Brian Rice

Hobbits: It's a Dangerous Business . . . Adventures - Nasty, Disturbing, Uncomfortable Things

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door: You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."  These are the words said by Bilbo Baggins to his nephew Frodo, anticipating the long journey of the fellowship of the ring.

Bilbo, of course, is speaking from his own experience and maybe even recalling his own first conversations with Gandalf. Gandalf tells Bilbo - "I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging and it's very difficult to find anyone."

"I should think so - in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anyone sees in them," said our Mr Baggins . . ."

I truly love Tolkien's magnificent trilogy (The Lord of the Rings) and its delightful prequel (The Hobbit). In many ways, the adventures of Bilbo and Frodo are a metaphor for the Christian journey.

Jesus is looking for adventurous leaders who are willing to undertake the dangerous business of leadership. Far from our Christianity being for the purpose of making life comfortable, predictable, safe (and boring), Christianity is uncomfortable, unpredictable, risky and exciting. At least it is when lived in the way of Jesus and not our tired, anemic cultural versions of faith.

Taking up and daily carrying crosses will tend to make you late for dinner!

Brian Rice