A HANDBOOK FOR CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP EXCELLENCE

BOOK REVIEW: J. Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership.

This is a volume worth the time of every current and aspiring Christian leader. Sanders’ work – written in the ‘60's but updated and containing principles which are essentially timeless – sets a high bar for spiritual leadership while recognizing the humanness of every leader.

The first five chapters examine the general characteristics of leaders and then provides a reflective pause in the work for what is essentially a self-test on one’s own aptitude and/or readiness to assume leadership. Then follow two chapters examining leadership in the lives of two men, both apostles but very different in temperament and skills: Paul and Peter. After reviewing some essential qualities of a leader, specific applications follow (time, reading, cost, responsibilities). The final chapter on Nehemiah uses a Biblical model to illustrate key principles; before that, however, two chapters deal with the critical issues of succession and multiplication (replacing and reproducing).

I went through this book in connection with a men’s small group; however, I understand that it is required reading in some theological programs. Well it should be: it’s a good choice. Both for its strong expectations and setting out of the cost so one can count it in preparation for service, it is almost a must-read.

Excellent for pastors, professors, executives who are Christians, and all who have responsibility to be examples and develop people.

Highly recommended.


Sanders, J. Oswald. Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer. Chicago: Moody, 1967, 2007. 208 pp. with indexes and study guide.


Memphis Tennessee (MEM)

“In Accordance with the Prophecy”

THE GOD WHO KNOWS US INTIMATELY (1 Timothy 1:18)

This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare ....


My son John is in possession of a full set of whisical expressions you can add to your normal everyday conversations to get a rise out of someone ... a raised eyebrow at a minimum, and maybe the conviction in someone’s mind that you really are certifiable. One is, “... but not with your duck”, as in: “You know, you could go home and curl up with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate tonight – but not with your duck.” Another one, more effective at making you sound card-carrying kooky I think, is: “... in accordance with the prophecy”. As in: “I think I’m going to go grocery shopping this afternoon and pick up some bathroom tissue – in accordance with the prophecy.”

Likely response (while backing away slowly): “Sure. You do that.”

But – what if? What if it weren’t just whimsy? In fact, what if it were true?

That’s the message in this verse, which is much more than just Paul’s kindly, admonitory transition to get to the next topic.

Timothy, along with Titus, Sylvanus, and a few others known to us (and probably many others whose names are lost or barely known such as Thecla), was one of Paul’s most trusted lieutenants, a protégé entrusted with critical aspects of the larger ministry and in particular, exercising leadership. This didn’t come about by chance, or simply because the Apostle is a gifted talent scout. It was part of God’s larger plan for the work of spreading the Gospel message, planting church communities, the ministry of apostleship ... and also the plan for Timothy’s life.

Picture it: a meeting, perhaps in secret, maybe in a home or outside in a glade or the back of a shop. There is tension in the room, but also excitement. Songs are sung in worship; the great truths of the Scripture are remembered and recited. Prayers go up for the brethren, and for those who don’t know the Lord yet. There is confession, and earnestness. There is praise. And there is a young man moved to offer himself for whatever service the Lord has for him. Even knowing it will mean hardship, poverty, and very likely cost him his very life.

Arms reach to embrace him. He lifts up his hands toward Heaven, and other hands are laid on him. As prayers are said, and tears stream down his face, the sisters and brothers bring forth words of knowledge and prophecy from God. The Holy Spirit knows Timothy, and has chosen him. With his history and his devotion. With his gifts and his faults. With his mistakes and his successes. With his relationships and his yearnings. God knows him intimately. Has a plan for him. Picked him for this work. Timothy’s contribution to this is a motion of will: he says, “yes”.

It is a sacred moment. In one sense, the climax of a journey to this point. In another, deeper sense, the launching moment of what is to come.

God knows each of us. His Spirit has gifted us with a matrix of gifts, talents, personality, experiences, temperament, relationships, and more ... all for the purpose God has chosen for us.

How easy it must have been when the challenge came, the heartbreaks, the promising disciples who walked away and the false brethren who betrayed, to want to throw in the towel, to say it was all a mistake, to dismiss the work of Christ as a noble but ultimately impractical dream.

That’s where the intimacy of God comes in.

When what the world calls “reality” strikes, when we are sorely tempted to give it all up as a bad game, it is the work of God in our lives, the knowledge that the Father of lights knows me, even me, with a clarity and intimacy that I can never attain for myself, that calls me back again. Amid the little “realities” with which we struggle and against which we often find ourselves fighting, it is the deeper Reality of God in Christ that has known and claimed us, and can hold us.

There’s no frustration, no persecution, no shortage of funds or matériel, no lack of fellowship or loneliness, that can trump that.

“In accordance with the prophecy”. From before all worlds, God knows me. My life, and every life I have ever met, is in His hands. What greater consolation can there be?


Lord, all praise to you. Thank you for knowing me ... and in knowing me, loving me ... and in loving me, making me ... and in making me, calling me for that purpose that You have determined. Keep me steady and focused and above all, living for You. In the Name of Jesus Your Son, our Lord. Amen.


Memphis, Tennessee (Christ United Methodist Church)

“To the King of Ages”

A LOVING DOXOLOGY: 1 Timothy 1:17

To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Paul closes his reflections on sin, life, and grace with a spontaneous burst of praise. As a deeply observant Jew, such an expression of glorification would come as naturally as breathing. Yet for Paul, there is something extra; it is the joyful fireworks of a soul which has known at first hand the blessing of unmerited redemption.

In the Middle Ages, such expressions would become the basis of a way of doing theology called “apophatic”, i.e., theologizing-by-taking-away, or the “negative way” (via negativa). The name most frequently connected with this is that of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, an otherwise unknown monastic philosopher-theologian who was mistakenly identified with the Dionysius who was converted by Paul at Athens on Mars Hill (the Areopagus). The general idea is that, when we follow an apophatic method, we are more likely to avoid errors in what we say about God. For Ps.-Dionyius and others, it was more than just a method for pursuing rigorous spiritual thought, it was a form of spiritual discipline and prayer in itself, a contemplation of the mysteries of God.

Thus also the hymn based on this passage:

Immortal, invisible, God only wise
In light inaccessible hid from our eye
Most blessed, most glorious, the ancient of days
Almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise!

Paul has brought us to the junction of understanding and mystery, of recollection and amazed wonder, of intellectual rigor and ecstatic praise.


Great and incomparable God, bring me again to the wonder-filled contemplation of Your Majesty, and to joys both deep and explosive in Your Presence. Let my life be as a fountain of glorification to You. Amen.


Lusby, Maryland

WORAUS DIE WIRKLICHE FREIHEIT? (Whence True Freedom?)

FILM REVIEW: Barbara (2012)

Last week, I had the happy occasion to visit the Avalon in uptown Washington to see Christian Petzold’s new film Barbara. The work is a visual and dramatic feast which raises trenchant questions about the purpose of life and work, our human responsibility for one another, the meaning of happiness, and above all the nature of freedom – really, liberty not so much as a possession but as a vector, one which can be not only won but bestowed.

The title character (played by Nina Hoss) is a young doctor in East Germany; we pick up her story in 1980 on her first day of work at a provincial hospital after having been exiled to a rural district for the “offense” of having put in for an exit permit or Ausreisentrag to leave the GDR. Embittered, defiant and trusting no one, her standoffish persona and prestigious work history at the Charité Hospital in East Berlin combine to create in her the impression of the stuckup urban snob from the capital. Seeking to befriend her – partly because he is an informant for the Stasi (secret police) – is a handsome young doctor, André Reiser (Ronald Zehrfeld).

Brilliant in her work as a doctor, the periphery of Barbara’s life is a hell of surveillance, a rotten apartment with a Teutonic shrew of a landlady, strip- and cavity-searches by the Stasi, strained relations with her fellow staff, and highly furtive efforts to lay the groundwork for an eventual escape to the West. The drama is heightened by the winds and storm clouds along the Baltic coast and the pervasive darkness which haunts her movements. The one bright spot in all of this – other than her work – is her relationship with her boyfriend Jörg, who lives in West Germany. We share in two of their assignations: one in a remote wood, and the other at an Inter-Hotel (special hotel for foreign guests) in an unnamed city.

The plot thickens the day that Stella, a young woman in a detention camp, shows up at the hospital. Manhandled by the Volkspolizei (the so-called “People’s Police” who were an arm of the repressive state) and regarded as a malingerer by Dr. Reiser, she finds compassion and care – and the correct diagnosis of meningitis – from Barbara only. Stella becomes, in fact, the recipient of Barbara’s focused humanity and care, as the doctor reads to her from Twain’s Huckleberry Finn (auf Deutsch, of course!). When Stella – who is pregnant and understands clearly that her child stands no chance for a real future in the GDR – is forcibly returned to the labor camp (which Stella refers to as an “extermination camp - a socialist one”), she looks for an opportunity to escape and makes her way to Barbara’s flat, just as the doctor is about to make her daring escape across to Denmark. This sets the stage for the conflict which will resolve in Barbara’s decision about what to do with the precious gift of freedom, itself the product of her long and defiant struggle for freedom.

Leaving aside the fact that Cold War movies are one of my very favorite genres, I find Barbara to be a masterpiece of psychological depth, cinematography, plot pacing and development, and the framing of philosophical questions (such as: “is it possible to have genuine relationship where it is tacitly acknowledged that trust is absent or at least attenuated?”). In a sense, the story unfolds almost as a kind of prison-literature, set as it is in the repressive East German state. As such, it challenges the trendy and often facile Western, especially American notions, which link freedom to prosperity, happy outcomes, and ethical certainty. Though not a religious work in any sense, it fits more in the tradition of classical Christian understandings of the meaning and purpose of true liberty.


Lusby, Maryland

Praising Christ’s Perfect Patience

THE PARADOX OF GRACE: 1 Timothy 1:16

But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.


Having touched on the paradox of conviction, Paul now turns to a second paradox: that of grace. He understands the clemency shown to him in Christ to be exemplifying, not the perfect righteous person, but that of the foremost sinner. In other words, if Christ can forgive and make a saint of God out of Saul of Tarsus (Paul), then a fortiori Christ can for you and me also.

But Paul is also touching on another issue here to which we current Christians should pay attention: that of my redemption as serving a larger purpose for others’ redemption. The apostle knows it’s not just about “me and Jesus”, his private deal with God. It’s about a larger purpose that involves the redemption of others.

Gloria Steinem is quoted as having made a comment to the effect that successful or wealthy people plan for generations to come; the poor, for Saturday night. As elitist and classist as that statement comes off, there’s a grain of truth in it. The spiritual “wealth” in our discipleship is tied, at least in part, to how we fit into a larger work of God that affects many lives beyond our own.


Lord Jesus Christ: forgive me for those times when I have wanted to see my spiritual welfare as a private affair. Help me to have a broader vision, in line with yours which claims all of humanity, and the breadth of creation. For truly, you are the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” Amen.


Lusby, Maryland

TO ROME WITH LOVE

ON THE ELECTION OF A SUCCESSOR TO HIS HOLINESS, BENEDICT XVI

To Their Eminences, the College of Cardinals in Holy Conclave:

Brothers and fathers in Christ,

You will not read this blog post. First, because you are not able when sequestered in conclave, and secondly because I'm neither important enough nor in the right circles of orbit to have an opinion which registers as mattering on anyone's radar. Yet I have some thoughts upon the subject, and so will opine.

I am startled to find that the election of a successor to the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, matters more to me as a Protestant Christian than I would have thought possible. Perhaps this is because the Bishop of Rome, at his best, is a leader of stature across all Christian traditions and connections. Perhaps it is because among all the world leaders of Christianity, he is the most visible. Or perhaps it is because I dare to believe that the future of the influence of the Roman communion can be, on a geopolitical level, better than it too often has been in the past. Because we must be able to communicate well with those of other, even antithetical, religious traditions. Because I know too many American Catholics who are frustrated with their church for a variety of reasons, yet continue to seek solace from her as a mother. Or maybe it's because I also am foolish enough to possess the temerity to think that maybe, just maybe, in a 100-year period that has already seen two popes of once-in-500-year stature (John XXIII and John Paul II), there might be a third.

In the end, I cannot say that I'm fully in touch with all the reasons that this election matters to me. But it does.

Pope Benedict's break with tradition, being the first pope in several hundred years to resign, seems to me to be a hopeful thing, and not a cause for distress. He saves himself, the church, and the world the spectacle of a doddering, kindly but inept, pontiff hanging on until the last while everyone keeps watch for his demise and potential successors jockey for position. The surprise resignation creates a sudden vacuum where there is something of a small crisis, and some creativity is called for and there's a moment of freedom without precommitments, at least one hopes. (Incidentally, the media is wrong about this being the first time there will be two living popes at the same time. This happened from time to time in the Middle Ages and early modern period during the Avignon papacy or "Babylonian captivity of the Church". Sometimes there were even three: an Avignese, a Roman, and a Pisan pope. The difference will be that both will be recognized in some fashion as pope by the whole church.)

I hope fervently that the new pontiff will be from the Third World. It is a global connection, the Roman Church; and it is growing most rapidly and apparently healthfully in Africa and Latin America. While it would be gratifying for me as an American to see a North American installed, and proud as a United States-er to see one from my country (i.e., Sean Patrick O'Malley of Boston, Timothy Dolan of New York, or even Marc Ouellet of Quebec), I think there are too many reasons not to select someone from this continent. There is too much power concentrated here already for it to be good for a major communion's supreme leader to be picked from here. And there would be pressure for certain kinds of "progressive" policies to be made, which may not be in the pastoral interest of large portions of the world.

But a pontiff from a land where there is much more poverty and powerlessness would speak volumes about the work and mission of the Church. And a person of color would add icing to that cake. Odilo Pedro Scherer of Sao Paolo (he even has the right name, "Peter"), Leonardo Sandri of Buenos Aires, Robert Sarah of Conakry, Luis Tagle of Manila (at 55 very young for a candidate), Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa (from the second-poorest country in this hemisphere), or Albert Don of Colombo (from one of the poorest in the world), would be wonderful picks, just to name a few of the possibilities. And these, from more conservative archdioceses, could as needed make the case for reform with greater persuasiveness where appropriate, than a European and definitely than an American. And Laurent Pasinya (D.R. Congo) has credentials as a peacemaker which are impressive. (At 73, he is one of the older candidates; yet the elevation of the aging Bishop Angelo Roncalli as John XXIII should give us pause about dismissing him out of hand.)

I would also hope that the new pontiff might do something substantive to help heal the rift between East and West which has essentially prevailed since 1054, as well as the western rift with Protestantism. This would be huge.

There are irreconcilable differences between some religious traditions, based on beliefs if not ethics. However, it is imperative in any age -- and especially in ours -- that global religious leaders be humanitarians who have a basic love for all of God's human children. John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II all embodied this. My hope would be that the next pontiff will do the same.

To borrow from the old Anthony Quinn movie, he stands "in the shoes of the fisherman". May Peter's next successor have something of the first Peter's dash and daring, to do the Lord's work is risky and creative ways. The world needs that. Whether one is Roman Catholic, Protestant, or something altogether other.

(Prince Frederick, Maryland)

COMMITTING (TO) VANGELISM

This article also appeared in the UM Connection and on the Baltimore-Washington Conference website.

During his opening conversations with our conference, Bishop Matthews offered an encouragement and a challenge: that each United Methodist bring one other person to Christ. In a normal universe, this goal would be terribly modest. Instead for many, it’s just terrifying. For lots of folks in our pews, ministries, and small groups, evangelism has become “the ‘e’ word” – a subject we’d prefer to avoid, and for heaven’s sakes if you find yourself doing it be sure to wash your hands after and don’t bring it up in polite company. I tried fixing the “e” word by dropping the “e” (see the title) but ended up with “vangelism”, and that sounds like “vandalism”, which is another way we seem to look at it: something inflicted by Christians on unsuspecting pagans and seekers, rabbit-punching them with the Bible or a tract when they’re off-guard.

Once I heard someone say, and with no sense of irony, “We’re just not an evangelistic church.” That’s like saying, “It’s not a leafing tree”, “these salmon don’t spawn”, “our army never shoots”, or “in this league, we don’t actually swing the bat”. (Or to use Jesus’ example: “tasteless salt”.) It’s a contradiction – but to the extent it’s true, defeat and death are the result. Or maybe, just maybe, the problem isn’t the word, but what we’ve made of it (perhaps let other people make of it) in our heads?

What is it, then? Well, maybe evangelism is like ...

A Hot Tip. There’s an old saying that evangelism is one beggar showing another where to find bread. That’s true – but it’s more persuasive if you are hungry and love bread yourself. Stale saltines will provide needed calories, but I’d much rather be offered a sticky bear claw, still warm from the baker’s oven. The difference is between information and inspiration. A few years back, my personal time-management system was collapsing under the load it had to bear. Then I found a system that actually worked – and I was so excited I couldn’t stop talking about it. (I should have been on commission: I know I sold a bunch of books for that author!) Then I realized, “Omigosh, this is what our witness as Christians is supposed to be like.” When you move into a new town, you search for the best garage and doctor; but we have the greatest Life-Mechanic and Physician of souls to refer to people! This is called “contact evangelism”, and a wonderful resource is still Becky Pippert’s Out of the Saltshaker and Into the World.

A Pair of Tix. The Orioles. Maryland football. The National Symphony Orchestra. The Bolshoi Ballet. The National Prayer Breakfast. The Naval Academy Choir. These are all examples of things I might never have gotten into on my own, but someone gave me tickets, or made them available to buy when scarce. And when I’ve got great, hard-to-get seats I can’t use, I don’t waste them if I can get someone to use them. We have the hottest news ever, the best admission in the universe – and we don’t lose our place when we give it away to someone else! A good resource is Becoming a Contagious Christian.

A Last-minute Sitter. If you’re a parent, you know that cold grip of panic which seizes you on the night of a long-planned commitment with your spouse when the sitter calls, saying, “I have an exam / sick aunt / pink eye and just can’t make it tonight.” And what a gift it is when a dear soul covers so you can still go out. People all around us live lives filled with needs, each of which is an opportunity to connect out of love for Christ. Some needs are everyday, like the wallpaper of life; others are acute. All are occasions for grace to work ... but we have to know what and how, that’s our job. Robert Pierson’s terrific little book, Needs-Based Evangelism can get you started here.

A Drink at the Bar. Yes, yes, I know: we Methodist types don’t do that. (Puh-lease.) But here’s the deal: at the bar (so they tell me) you can be yourself with your troubles and issues, and say what you like and need to, just so long as you don’t start a fight. Evangelism is about letting people be exactly who they are, and loving them into the Kingdom. This is one reason why the Alpha Course has been so successful (if you don’t know about it, find out!): invite people over, feed them, share a message, then let them respond however they need to with no preconditions or judgments. It’s powerful ... and mostly impossible to find in our world. On top of this, the Church should be like the watering hole in the old sitcom Cheers: “where everyone knows your name”. All of us are misfits in some way: the Church should be where we don’t have to be made to fit, because God says we already do.

First Down. In the runup to Christmas, I had the chance to do some seasonal work for a Christian-based company. It was a great opportunity! This store encourages child sponsorships through a major mission; but not everyone is able to do that, so it offers an easier alternative that will also support the organization’s goal of helping the world’s neediest. If a customer can’t afford $35/month, they might spring $5 one time. There’s a lesson here. In football, each play may not yield a goal, but moving the ball gradually downfield will get the team there. In the life of a person, we may love her or him just one significant step – or just one tiny nudge -- closer to Christ, but that’s okay. Each step, each nudge, is important.

Inking the Deal. In sales, they say, “ABC”: “Always Be Closing”. The prospect may love the vacuum cleaner (encyclopedias, pots and pans ... fill in the blank) but until the deal is closed and the sale executed, they remain prospects and not customers. A salesperson would be fired who was always pointing people to the showroom, praising all the features of the car, and rhapsodizing about the beauty of touring in an automobile ... but never actually sells one. I’ve found that when a person is really ready to give their life to Christ, they drop like ripe fruit into God’s basket – but they need someone to show them the way, to give that gentle tug. (You may end up saying with surprise, as I have, “You do? You mean it?! You’re serious — you want to become a Christian?! Wow!”) But without the invitation, they may never actually cross the threshhold.

A Warm Puppy. OK, well maybe that’s pushing it. But maybe not: I’ve noticed that when my friend’s shih-tzu climbs in my lap, all warm and loving, I don’t want to disturb her by getting up – and she doesn’t want to move, either. I’ve also noticed that when I’m lifting up people who need to meet Jesus, the punch-list quality that can creep into my prayers goes away, and I am stilled and content and dwell longer in the Lord’s lap (so to speak). Prayer is the first step to witnessing the Gospel, and the middle, and the last, too. And it will deepen your own connection to God. A great preacher was said to have had a list of 100 people he was praying to meet Christ. By the time he died, 96 had; the other 4 did at his funeral. A Russian pastor told me before her young people’s camp that 5 of the 40 children were believers; by the time my group visited three weeks later, 38 were. It’s prayer that turns this key.

You may have noticed that I haven’t said anything at all about two things in particular: converting people, and church growth. That’s because it’s the Holy Spirit who changes hearts (converts), not us. And (I know this is heresy) growing churches, like growing corn or cows, is something that Christ makes happen. Our job is to love people into Christ’s presence, introduce them to the Lord, and make sure we’re tilling the soil and setting the stage so that growth isn’t hindered. But the disciple’s call is to give himself / herself away for love of Jesus Christ.

Let’s take up our bishop’s challenge and “each one bring one to Christ” ... let’s commit (to) ‘vangelism!


Charles L. Harrell


Prince Frederick, Maryland (Providence)
22 Jan 2013
S.D.G.