When I was a pastor/parish priest I was a lousy leader. There are many reasons for that. I'll admit that I'm still sorting that out.
These days, of course, I'm no longer a pastor. I work in a super market as a manger of what's called the Front End, i.e., the cashiers and baggers and cart handlers (at least, as it's organized at the store that employs me).
When I was invited to join the management team at the store, the person who held the interview revealed that the primary reason I was selected was my "leadership." I always thought of myself as hardworking but only average on the job. It seems that I was perceived as leading even as a store employee.
That remark has stuck in my mind because I never had an intention of leading in any way. I simply, moment by moment, projected how Jesus would behave and I attempted to be that and to do that to the best of my ability. Apparently, that Jesus-ness was seen as leadership.
Go figure.
Now, as a member of the leadership team of this business, perhaps interestingly, I actually am intentional in not attempting to lead.
From the first day I held the title of manager, I spoke openly in the language of a servant, using the verbs of servanthood.
In the way our front end operates, a manager's job consists significantly of dealing with problems cashiers have.
When a cashier calls my name, my most common reply is, "How may I serve you?" By now, I've probably said those words more than a thousand times. And, then, I'm always careful to conduct myself as a servant would in the presence of a master.
When I'm working and the only higher ranking manager is also present, I always greet him saying, "What can I do to serve the interests of the team?" And, no matter how menial or unpleasant the task may be, I always do it cheerfully.
These, I thought, were small things and I did them, more than anything, to remind myself that Jesus teaches that to be greatest in the Kingdom is to be slave of all.
As it turns out, these little servanthood memos to self are not a small thing.
More and more, I hear others using my little slogans.
The lowest ranking of the five managers and I often work together and lately he's taken to approaching me saying, "As you say, how can I serve the team?"
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What I'm learning is that servanthood is contagious.
In my parish priest life, I was never very good at getting people to follow when I tried to be a leader.
In this life, living as a servant, I don't try to get people to follow me ... And they do!
Could it be that Jesus was actually right: To be great is to be a servant.
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It seems to me that, in churches and denominations, the more people with authority teach and talk leadership, the less following takes place.
What would happen if those people dropped the leadership lingo and talked...and lived...as servants?
My guess is that following would just happen. At the very least, it would happen more than it is now.
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Update on my Posting on the CONTAGIOUS Blog
Michael Martin, moderator of the blog, not only published my comment to his Acting/Being post but he actually REPLIED to my comment.
This is a first, if I'm correct, for the blog. A member of General Conference staff created a post which generated a comment, and then, participated in a conversation about it on the blog.
I hope you've already seen Michael's reply. It was cordial and constructive. And, it took the opportunity of my reply to extend the thought he set forth in his initial post.
I was questioning Michael, if not challenging him, on his understanding of what salvation is and how a person becomes saved.
And, he replied by describing his, well, doctrine of salvation in greater detail.
The question, as I see it, is the relationship between faith and works.
The issue is crucial because what we, in the CGGC, do will inevitably in the near future will be fruit of what we believe about how faith and righteousness are connected.
This is a conversation that has been going on since the ministry of Jesus and it was picked up by Paul in Ephesians 2:8-10 and by James in James 2.
The Reformation was, in effect, a church split over the question Michael and I are discussing.
And, you can read it on the CONTAGIOUS blog.
A few moments ago, I submitted, for moderation, a reply to Michael's second comment.
As you will see, if and when it passes moderation, I take a position that connects faith and works much more intimately than does Michael.
I cite teachings of Jesus and Paul and James. I also refer to the lifestyle of Jesus and His early followers.
And, I appeal to the early days of the Church of God, when it was a dynamic and blessed movement.
I welcome your comments on the CONTAGIOUS Blog, here or off the blog.
This is a first, if I'm correct, for the blog. A member of General Conference staff created a post which generated a comment, and then, participated in a conversation about it on the blog.
I hope you've already seen Michael's reply. It was cordial and constructive. And, it took the opportunity of my reply to extend the thought he set forth in his initial post.
I was questioning Michael, if not challenging him, on his understanding of what salvation is and how a person becomes saved.
And, he replied by describing his, well, doctrine of salvation in greater detail.
The question, as I see it, is the relationship between faith and works.
The issue is crucial because what we, in the CGGC, do will inevitably in the near future will be fruit of what we believe about how faith and righteousness are connected.
This is a conversation that has been going on since the ministry of Jesus and it was picked up by Paul in Ephesians 2:8-10 and by James in James 2.
The Reformation was, in effect, a church split over the question Michael and I are discussing.
And, you can read it on the CONTAGIOUS blog.
A few moments ago, I submitted, for moderation, a reply to Michael's second comment.
As you will see, if and when it passes moderation, I take a position that connects faith and works much more intimately than does Michael.
I cite teachings of Jesus and Paul and James. I also refer to the lifestyle of Jesus and His early followers.
And, I appeal to the early days of the Church of God, when it was a dynamic and blessed movement.
I welcome your comments on the CONTAGIOUS Blog, here or off the blog.
Forecast Affected Retail Transaction Syndrome
It amazes me how people around here behave when the weather person on TV or radio says the word, "snow."
Working in a super market, it directly impacts my life.
It seems to me that many people go crazy.
Among the front end employees at the store, we, well, most, but not exclusively, I, call it Forecast Affected Retail Transaction Syndrome. Or, F.A.R.T.S..
As a follower of Jesus, it's difficult for me to be patient and loving to people who are behaving thoughtlessly, giving into some sort of demented and depraved hoarding instinct. It takes a ton of self-denial.
Clearly, this trait, so common in human behavior, is proof of our fallen, sinful nature.
"Honey, Joe Calhoun on Channel 8 is saying we may get 1-3 inches of snow tomorrow. I'm gonna run down to the store and pick up some milk and bread and, while I'm there, $200 worth of other stuff,...just in case."
And, like zombies, they come in droves!
This past week, Joe was predicting a small snow Thursday night and and mixture of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain for Saturday into early Sunday.
At the store, F.A.R.T.S. started on Tuesday afternoon and continued into Saturday. Saturday morning it was Category 5!
FIVE CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF F.A.R.T.S!
Every customer in the store was blank-eyed. And, half of them were complaining that everyone ELSE thinks they need to rush out to the store as soon as snow is in the forecast.
Crazy, man, crazy!
Exhausting.
Working in a super market, it directly impacts my life.
It seems to me that many people go crazy.
Among the front end employees at the store, we, well, most, but not exclusively, I, call it Forecast Affected Retail Transaction Syndrome. Or, F.A.R.T.S..
As a follower of Jesus, it's difficult for me to be patient and loving to people who are behaving thoughtlessly, giving into some sort of demented and depraved hoarding instinct. It takes a ton of self-denial.
Clearly, this trait, so common in human behavior, is proof of our fallen, sinful nature.
"Honey, Joe Calhoun on Channel 8 is saying we may get 1-3 inches of snow tomorrow. I'm gonna run down to the store and pick up some milk and bread and, while I'm there, $200 worth of other stuff,...just in case."
And, like zombies, they come in droves!
This past week, Joe was predicting a small snow Thursday night and and mixture of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain for Saturday into early Sunday.
At the store, F.A.R.T.S. started on Tuesday afternoon and continued into Saturday. Saturday morning it was Category 5!
FIVE CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF F.A.R.T.S!
Every customer in the store was blank-eyed. And, half of them were complaining that everyone ELSE thinks they need to rush out to the store as soon as snow is in the forecast.
Crazy, man, crazy!
Exhausting.
Enrolling in Medicare
There have been some moments in my life that have resulted in my suddenly feeling old.
Curiously, the birthday that hit me hardest wasn't one you'd expect: 30, 40, 60. It was 26. Quite out of the blue, I became depressed, if only briefly.
Today, I enrolled for Medicare on line.
Recently, I received an update on Social Security stuff that instructed me that I must enroll in Medicare three months before turning age 65, even if I don't plan to receive benefits, or there might be problems with coverage later on. So, I did.
And, upon completing the process, I felt old.
Feeling it now doesn't surprise me as it did when I turned 26. But, I feel old...
...an AM old.
Curiously, the birthday that hit me hardest wasn't one you'd expect: 30, 40, 60. It was 26. Quite out of the blue, I became depressed, if only briefly.
Today, I enrolled for Medicare on line.
Recently, I received an update on Social Security stuff that instructed me that I must enroll in Medicare three months before turning age 65, even if I don't plan to receive benefits, or there might be problems with coverage later on. So, I did.
And, upon completing the process, I felt old.
Feeling it now doesn't surprise me as it did when I turned 26. But, I feel old...
...an AM old.
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Why I Registered as "Dr. bill Sloat" on the CONTAGIOUS Blog
As I said earlier, there was a time I tried to register in the past. The program administering CONTAGIOUS said I'd receive an email confirming my registration and it never came. Perhaps, in some way, I failed to complete the process properly. I don't know.
I tried again to register to comment on Michael Martin's post, "Broken in Acting Instead of Being," and gave my name, as I do, as "bill Sloat."
The site responded saying that I had used illegal characters. Just to be certain that there wasn't an error I couldn't see, I tried the same thing again and got the same response.
So, I figured that, perhaps, the site didn't like the small case in bill, so I tried "Bill Sloat." And, I got the same message.
Frankly, I was already wondering at that point, if it was my name, period, that was what was illegal as far as the CONTAGIOUS blog is concerned.
Next, I tried putting something in front of "bill" to see if that was legal. The first thing that came to my mind was, "Dr.."
I tried it with "bill Sloat" EXACTLY as I spelled it two times earlier when that spelling of my name was illegal. With the letters in front, it was legal and I was permitted to register.
So, I couldn't register as bill Sloat but with a prefix to those words, the words, "bill Sloat" were legal.
That is a truthful account of how I've come to be registered on the CONTAGIOUS blog in the way I am and not, simply, by my name.
Of course, Michael did publish my comment, which he didn't have to do.
Then, again, I promised to detail what the comment was if it didn't appear on the blog. And, the comment certainly wasn't offensive and, I think, was actually constructive. Ifc anyone cared, I believe it would have been difficult to justify censoring it.
You can draw your own conclusions.
I tried again to register to comment on Michael Martin's post, "Broken in Acting Instead of Being," and gave my name, as I do, as "bill Sloat."
The site responded saying that I had used illegal characters. Just to be certain that there wasn't an error I couldn't see, I tried the same thing again and got the same response.
So, I figured that, perhaps, the site didn't like the small case in bill, so I tried "Bill Sloat." And, I got the same message.
Frankly, I was already wondering at that point, if it was my name, period, that was what was illegal as far as the CONTAGIOUS blog is concerned.
Next, I tried putting something in front of "bill" to see if that was legal. The first thing that came to my mind was, "Dr.."
I tried it with "bill Sloat" EXACTLY as I spelled it two times earlier when that spelling of my name was illegal. With the letters in front, it was legal and I was permitted to register.
So, I couldn't register as bill Sloat but with a prefix to those words, the words, "bill Sloat" were legal.
That is a truthful account of how I've come to be registered on the CONTAGIOUS blog in the way I am and not, simply, by my name.
Of course, Michael did publish my comment, which he didn't have to do.
Then, again, I promised to detail what the comment was if it didn't appear on the blog. And, the comment certainly wasn't offensive and, I think, was actually constructive. Ifc anyone cared, I believe it would have been difficult to justify censoring it.
You can draw your own conclusions.
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Michael Martin Walking CGGC Talk on the CONTAGIOUS Blog
On January 9, Michael Martin published an article he had written in the Repentance category of the CGGC CONTAGIOUS blog, entitled, "Broken in Acting Instead of Being." It's a thoughtful, well-crafted article.
And, what's more, it reflects CGGC talk: It reflects our talked-about commitment to the Bible as our "only rule of faith and practice."
The article is heavily reliant only biblical teaching. It contains insightful references to a number of Bible verses/passages, mostly from the Old Testament. It demonstrates the unity of Old Testament and New Testament truth.
As it concludes, it focuses on Jesus' warning, very near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, that not everyone who calls Him, Lord, will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Mike points out that Jesus warns that people who had done "some pretty incredible spiritual stuff" are the focus of this warning. (People who prophesied, cast out demons and performed miracles in the Name of Jesus.)
Mike notes that these people, nevertheless, in the end, didn't do the will of God.
For all I can say in praise of Mike's article, I actually disagree, to an extent, at least, with Mike's ultimate point.
And, after going to great lengths to get myself registered to participate on the blog, I submitted a comment suggesting, in the form of a question, a mild tweaking of Mike's argument.
Perhaps, at some future time, I'll describe the great lengths I had to endure to register as a blog participant. And, if neccessary, I may summarize, here, the concepts I raised about Mike's conclusion.
I assure you that my comment was as constructive and respectful as is this blog article.
And, I will suggest that the comment I entered, which is still awaiting moderation, serves as a test of the subtitle of the CONTAGIOUS blog, i.e., Collaborating for Kingdom Impact.
In the past, I've noted my concern that there is no conversation, no dialog, on the blog. What little exchange of ideas there was in the early days of the blog has fizzled. There have been no comments...at least comments that have survived moderation...in a month.
I've blamed the CGGC body for that in part.
But, I believe, if we are going to become a people who engage in meaningful and edifying dialog about Bible truth and important issues, the people whom the CGGC has placed in positions of leadership will have to allow themselves to become vulnerable and participate with us in the process of collaboration.
They will have to take the lead in conversing if there's any possibility that the body will follow and join in.
As I noted, the point I made in my blog comment raised a question.
I have two questions about the question itself:
1. Will Mike publish it?
2. Will he respond to it?
Mike, in my opinion, took one important step in realizing the CGGC walk by publishing this excellent Bible-focused article. Will he, now, empower collaboration in the body's walk, which we claim is ruled by submission to the authority of the Bible, by collaborating in a search for understanding of Bible truth? Will he, a member of the General Conference staff, submit to questioning and collaborate with a member of the body in a mutual quest for truth?
And, what's more, it reflects CGGC talk: It reflects our talked-about commitment to the Bible as our "only rule of faith and practice."
The article is heavily reliant only biblical teaching. It contains insightful references to a number of Bible verses/passages, mostly from the Old Testament. It demonstrates the unity of Old Testament and New Testament truth.
As it concludes, it focuses on Jesus' warning, very near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, that not everyone who calls Him, Lord, will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Mike points out that Jesus warns that people who had done "some pretty incredible spiritual stuff" are the focus of this warning. (People who prophesied, cast out demons and performed miracles in the Name of Jesus.)
Mike notes that these people, nevertheless, in the end, didn't do the will of God.
For all I can say in praise of Mike's article, I actually disagree, to an extent, at least, with Mike's ultimate point.
And, after going to great lengths to get myself registered to participate on the blog, I submitted a comment suggesting, in the form of a question, a mild tweaking of Mike's argument.
Perhaps, at some future time, I'll describe the great lengths I had to endure to register as a blog participant. And, if neccessary, I may summarize, here, the concepts I raised about Mike's conclusion.
I assure you that my comment was as constructive and respectful as is this blog article.
And, I will suggest that the comment I entered, which is still awaiting moderation, serves as a test of the subtitle of the CONTAGIOUS blog, i.e., Collaborating for Kingdom Impact.
In the past, I've noted my concern that there is no conversation, no dialog, on the blog. What little exchange of ideas there was in the early days of the blog has fizzled. There have been no comments...at least comments that have survived moderation...in a month.
I've blamed the CGGC body for that in part.
But, I believe, if we are going to become a people who engage in meaningful and edifying dialog about Bible truth and important issues, the people whom the CGGC has placed in positions of leadership will have to allow themselves to become vulnerable and participate with us in the process of collaboration.
They will have to take the lead in conversing if there's any possibility that the body will follow and join in.
As I noted, the point I made in my blog comment raised a question.
I have two questions about the question itself:
1. Will Mike publish it?
2. Will he respond to it?
Mike, in my opinion, took one important step in realizing the CGGC walk by publishing this excellent Bible-focused article. Will he, now, empower collaboration in the body's walk, which we claim is ruled by submission to the authority of the Bible, by collaborating in a search for understanding of Bible truth? Will he, a member of the General Conference staff, submit to questioning and collaborate with a member of the body in a mutual quest for truth?
Update on Evie Nearly Five Months After Surgery
The story's not over just yet. She has an appointment with a surgeon who works on electrical irregularities of the heart in about a week and a half to determine if there's anything he can do to help her.
And, we'll see what comes out of that.
But, for now, things are going well.
Evie takes a boatload of medications every day, something I didn't anticipate before the surgery. Without them, I suspect, she'd be living but without much quality to her life.
But, they are working.
The insurance I have through my employer pays enough of the cost for the medications to allow us to still survive financially, though I can't begin to imagine what we'd do if we had to pay the retail price for this stuff.
And, they work so well that the cardiologist is saying that the surgery to correct the electrical problems almost certainly not worth its risk.
Anyway,...
Evie's back at her part-time job. She visits mom regularly, though mom's sick now and, in her dementia, she doesn't always want to be visited.
And, she walks Laddie, often between 2 and 3 hours a day.
And, she's doing cardiac therapy, which exhausts her but is building up her stamina.
We're content, all things considered.
And, very thankful for your prayers and support and for God's mercy and grace.
And, we'll see what comes out of that.
But, for now, things are going well.
Evie takes a boatload of medications every day, something I didn't anticipate before the surgery. Without them, I suspect, she'd be living but without much quality to her life.
But, they are working.
The insurance I have through my employer pays enough of the cost for the medications to allow us to still survive financially, though I can't begin to imagine what we'd do if we had to pay the retail price for this stuff.
And, they work so well that the cardiologist is saying that the surgery to correct the electrical problems almost certainly not worth its risk.
Anyway,...
Evie's back at her part-time job. She visits mom regularly, though mom's sick now and, in her dementia, she doesn't always want to be visited.
And, she walks Laddie, often between 2 and 3 hours a day.
And, she's doing cardiac therapy, which exhausts her but is building up her stamina.
We're content, all things considered.
And, very thankful for your prayers and support and for God's mercy and grace.
Thursday, January 10, 2019
226-0
I don't know how health insurance works for parish priests these days. It seemed to be getting more complicated as Obama Care changed things but I never had to worry about purchasing health insurance as a parish priest by that time.
I am able to participate in a plan through my current employer, and, I guess, its not bad.
New coverage for us begins January 1. The company changed carriers and the transition was complicated. We haven't actually received our new cards, but were able to get digital copies through our HR guy. In the interim, I needed to refill my prescription for generic Crestor.
The pharmacy sent me a voice mail saying that it needed my updated insurance information and then sent a second message saying that my new 30 day refill would cost $226.90.
Evie took the insurance information to the pharmacy the next day and, bottom line, the cost was nothing. Zero.
I don't pretend to understand this. But, I'm happy for the coverage.
But, if I didn't have it?!?????!!!!!!
I am able to participate in a plan through my current employer, and, I guess, its not bad.
New coverage for us begins January 1. The company changed carriers and the transition was complicated. We haven't actually received our new cards, but were able to get digital copies through our HR guy. In the interim, I needed to refill my prescription for generic Crestor.
The pharmacy sent me a voice mail saying that it needed my updated insurance information and then sent a second message saying that my new 30 day refill would cost $226.90.
Evie took the insurance information to the pharmacy the next day and, bottom line, the cost was nothing. Zero.
I don't pretend to understand this. But, I'm happy for the coverage.
But, if I didn't have it?!?????!!!!!!
Lance on "YOU ARE HERE"
In the January 4, 2019 eNews, Lance mentioned that at the upcoming General Conference sessions, attention is going to be on the future and how we're going to move forward in a world where "no maps exist."
The word I'm hearing on the CGGC street is that setting attention on the future means the hierarchs will be unveiling a first-ever General Conference Strategic Plan.
As part of the process of preparing us for General Conference, Lance promises, in future articles of the eNews, to describe, for us, a picture of where we are now, noting that if you are going to move forward, you have to understand where you currently are.
Nine thoughts about this came to me very quickly based on Lance's article:
1. Describing where we are must be done. Lance is right. We need to move forward. And, to move forward, one absolutely has to understand where s/he is as the journey begins. We have not been honest with ourselves about where we are since Wayne Boyer retired as General Conference Executive Director. We absolutely must come to grips with the reality of where we really are.
2. Focusing on where God's people are is God's way. It has always been God's way. Lance is being very biblical is setting the stage for a focus on the future by zeroing in on the present. Throughout history, the Lord has repeatedly called His people to understand, as Lance says it, "You are here."
3. God's way of bringing understanding of the present place and state of His people has always been to speak that truth and show that reality through men and women God has called, gifted and empowered to speak for Him...His prophets. A large part of the Old Testament contains the words of prophets. Jesus promised the coming of prophets in the New Covenant and taught His disciples how to distinguish between true and false prophets. The Book of Acts is amply peppered with accounts of the ministry of prophets. Paul says that the foundation of God's household is the apostles and the prophets. And, as Lance and Brandon have been reminding us, Paul also says that Jesus gave the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. Key to the role of prophets is to speak for the Lord, telling His people, as Lance has it, "You are here."
------------------
These facts lead me to consider several questions about Lance himself.
4. Is Lance able to help the people of the CGGC know where it is? Certainly, of course, he's an intelligent and articulate guy. Humanly speaking, if a man can be able to tell us, in the CGGC, where we are spiritually, Lance could certainly be our guy. However, the ability to speak truth about where God's people are, doesn't come from human ability. It's a spiritual empowerment. It's possessing the gift of prophecy. Does Lance possess that gift and calling? As far as I know, Lance has never claimed that gift. And, I see no fruit of it in him.
5. Does Lance have the guts to tell a group of people who are in the midst of generations of numerical decline and spiritual decay where they are? If he does have that courage, I'll be surprised. Lance is a very, very nice guy who, I believe, likes being liked. People who've told God's people, "You are here," when God's people have been in decay and decline are not remembered as being nice people. Elijah. Isaiah. John the Baptist. We'll have to see a Lance far different than the one we've known, if he's going to tell us where we are. We're going to have to see a Lance willing to be despised and rejected.
6. Is Lance honest enough to be accurate in telling us where we are. Not all that is spoken falsely is spoken with evil in mind. Prophets are remarkable, among God's people, for their uncompromising love for truth and righteousness. John the Baptist told people who traveled great distances into the wilderness, "Produce fruit in keeping with righteousness." They were offended. Said in the way John said it, it was offensive. Yet, who's going to say that John sinned in using that tone with those people? Is Lance too tenderhearted to tell our people, so steeped in their ways, "Produce fruit in keeping with righteousness!" To do so will take an ability to be honest when to be honest means to be brutally honest, as John the Baptist was. Can Lance set aside his niceness and be brutally honest.
7. Can, and will, Lance personally repent for his past leadership sins and shortcomings? In his early eNews articles, Lance talked about the CGGC's numerical decline and spiritual decay. He described the need for repentance in the CGGC body. But, he hasn't done that recently...at least regularly. Lance has been CGGC Executive Director long enough now to be seen to be a crucial part of the problem. By now, Lance is part of the problem. Will he openly confess his own responsibility for our numerical decline and spiritual decay under his watch? Will he repent and turn from past ways or will he do what's been done for most of the past 80 plus years: Attempt to tweak old ways?
------------------
8. Lance's notion that we must know where we are is critical if the CGGC is to reverse course. One constant theme of this blog is that repentance is, itself, fruit of brokenness. Jesus said that it is the poor in spirit, those who mourn, are meek and who hunger and thirst for righteousness who are blessed. Paul instructs that disciples work out their salvation with fear and trembling. He says that godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation. No one I know denies that the CGGC is in the midst of numerical decline and spiritual decay. We know that the Lord of all authority and power and blessing isn't blessing us. We must face those realities. We must allow ourselves to be crushed by them. If Lance is to describe where we are in a way that matches the way it was done in the Word, it will be in a way that produces, in us, grief. Lance is, by nature, a man who brings comfort, not one who causes grief.
-------
9. My fear is that nothing will come of what Lance is about to attempt for many reasons but the most essential is that Lance seems to plan to be doing the one thing that, for 80 years plus, has driven our decline and decay: He's trying to institutionalize repentance and change. The Lord doesn't move through religious institutions. He empowers His own people, usually voices crying in the wilderness (think of John Winebrenner), and almost never from atop an institutional hierarchy. He empowers them to define what change needs to take place, and how it must happen. Lance is a very nice man but, by attempting this as an institutional hierarch, he's attempting to re-invent a wheel the Lord's been using since He first called a people to be His own.
The word I'm hearing on the CGGC street is that setting attention on the future means the hierarchs will be unveiling a first-ever General Conference Strategic Plan.
As part of the process of preparing us for General Conference, Lance promises, in future articles of the eNews, to describe, for us, a picture of where we are now, noting that if you are going to move forward, you have to understand where you currently are.
Nine thoughts about this came to me very quickly based on Lance's article:
1. Describing where we are must be done. Lance is right. We need to move forward. And, to move forward, one absolutely has to understand where s/he is as the journey begins. We have not been honest with ourselves about where we are since Wayne Boyer retired as General Conference Executive Director. We absolutely must come to grips with the reality of where we really are.
2. Focusing on where God's people are is God's way. It has always been God's way. Lance is being very biblical is setting the stage for a focus on the future by zeroing in on the present. Throughout history, the Lord has repeatedly called His people to understand, as Lance says it, "You are here."
3. God's way of bringing understanding of the present place and state of His people has always been to speak that truth and show that reality through men and women God has called, gifted and empowered to speak for Him...His prophets. A large part of the Old Testament contains the words of prophets. Jesus promised the coming of prophets in the New Covenant and taught His disciples how to distinguish between true and false prophets. The Book of Acts is amply peppered with accounts of the ministry of prophets. Paul says that the foundation of God's household is the apostles and the prophets. And, as Lance and Brandon have been reminding us, Paul also says that Jesus gave the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. Key to the role of prophets is to speak for the Lord, telling His people, as Lance has it, "You are here."
------------------
These facts lead me to consider several questions about Lance himself.
4. Is Lance able to help the people of the CGGC know where it is? Certainly, of course, he's an intelligent and articulate guy. Humanly speaking, if a man can be able to tell us, in the CGGC, where we are spiritually, Lance could certainly be our guy. However, the ability to speak truth about where God's people are, doesn't come from human ability. It's a spiritual empowerment. It's possessing the gift of prophecy. Does Lance possess that gift and calling? As far as I know, Lance has never claimed that gift. And, I see no fruit of it in him.
5. Does Lance have the guts to tell a group of people who are in the midst of generations of numerical decline and spiritual decay where they are? If he does have that courage, I'll be surprised. Lance is a very, very nice guy who, I believe, likes being liked. People who've told God's people, "You are here," when God's people have been in decay and decline are not remembered as being nice people. Elijah. Isaiah. John the Baptist. We'll have to see a Lance far different than the one we've known, if he's going to tell us where we are. We're going to have to see a Lance willing to be despised and rejected.
6. Is Lance honest enough to be accurate in telling us where we are. Not all that is spoken falsely is spoken with evil in mind. Prophets are remarkable, among God's people, for their uncompromising love for truth and righteousness. John the Baptist told people who traveled great distances into the wilderness, "Produce fruit in keeping with righteousness." They were offended. Said in the way John said it, it was offensive. Yet, who's going to say that John sinned in using that tone with those people? Is Lance too tenderhearted to tell our people, so steeped in their ways, "Produce fruit in keeping with righteousness!" To do so will take an ability to be honest when to be honest means to be brutally honest, as John the Baptist was. Can Lance set aside his niceness and be brutally honest.
7. Can, and will, Lance personally repent for his past leadership sins and shortcomings? In his early eNews articles, Lance talked about the CGGC's numerical decline and spiritual decay. He described the need for repentance in the CGGC body. But, he hasn't done that recently...at least regularly. Lance has been CGGC Executive Director long enough now to be seen to be a crucial part of the problem. By now, Lance is part of the problem. Will he openly confess his own responsibility for our numerical decline and spiritual decay under his watch? Will he repent and turn from past ways or will he do what's been done for most of the past 80 plus years: Attempt to tweak old ways?
------------------
8. Lance's notion that we must know where we are is critical if the CGGC is to reverse course. One constant theme of this blog is that repentance is, itself, fruit of brokenness. Jesus said that it is the poor in spirit, those who mourn, are meek and who hunger and thirst for righteousness who are blessed. Paul instructs that disciples work out their salvation with fear and trembling. He says that godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation. No one I know denies that the CGGC is in the midst of numerical decline and spiritual decay. We know that the Lord of all authority and power and blessing isn't blessing us. We must face those realities. We must allow ourselves to be crushed by them. If Lance is to describe where we are in a way that matches the way it was done in the Word, it will be in a way that produces, in us, grief. Lance is, by nature, a man who brings comfort, not one who causes grief.
-------
9. My fear is that nothing will come of what Lance is about to attempt for many reasons but the most essential is that Lance seems to plan to be doing the one thing that, for 80 years plus, has driven our decline and decay: He's trying to institutionalize repentance and change. The Lord doesn't move through religious institutions. He empowers His own people, usually voices crying in the wilderness (think of John Winebrenner), and almost never from atop an institutional hierarchy. He empowers them to define what change needs to take place, and how it must happen. Lance is a very nice man but, by attempting this as an institutional hierarch, he's attempting to re-invent a wheel the Lord's been using since He first called a people to be His own.
Sunday, January 6, 2019
The CONTAGIOUS Blog Ain't. But, Why?
I'm convinced that no one in the CGGC cares more about what the people in our headquarters say...and the little, of course, that they actually do.
I pay close attention to the "CONTAGIOUS: Collaborating for Kingdom Impact" blog. And, I would read it regularly...if there were regular contributions.
The fact is that the last contribution to the blog by someone who doesn't sit behind a desk on Melrose Avenue in Findlay was published 25 days ago from today. It was a good post by Dan Masshardt. In that post, Dan calls for repentance from the CGGC's "One Size Fits all Ministry Gifting Focus." In doing so, Dan argues that we must empower all of the ministry gifts provided by the Holy Spirit and that we are suffering from our fixation on the gift of shepherding.
Dan's post drew a comment, something that rarely happens on the blog, which is subtitled, Collaborating for Kingdom Impact. It drew a brief word of praise from General Conference staffer Ben Tobias.
However, when Dan asked Ben to join in the spirit of the blog and collaborate by extending the conversation, Ben became mute.
Since Dan's post, with its ignored invitation to Ben to engage in actual collaboration, the only contributions to the blog have been eNews articles and "Hands and Feet" articles, which are, essentially, news releases submitted by Michael Martin, the General Conference staffer who moderates the blog. (These articles usually highlight activities undertaken by CGGC congregations which are of a what used to be called "missional" nature...before the word missional fell out of fashion.)
None of the blog posts since Dan's has generated even one comment though some of the eNews articles are very worthy of comment, in my opinion.
------------------
What I've done in this post so far is to relate fact. The only opinion I've expressed is that Dan Masshardt's post 25 days ago was, "good."
And, as I continue, I'll attempt, as much as possible to avoid opionizing, other than to say this:
The CONTAGIOUS blog reveals that there are problems in the CGGC.
The blog's first post makes it clear that the blog itself is an invitation to conversation.
For me, the invitation to conversation raises two questions.
1. Why don't General Conference staff people engage in conversation on the blog THEY CREATED, THEY SAY, TO BEGIN A CONVERSATION?
I've given the example of Ben Tobias ignoring Dan Masshardt's generous invitation to extend the conversation his post was intended to begin.
But, Dan's post itself was an attempt to expand the conversation begun by Brandon Kelly in his eNews articles on APEST. I'm certain that Dan hoped, probably expected, Brandon to collaborate and join in the very sort of conversation CGGC staffers claim the blog was created to empower.
So, again, why don't General Conference staff people engage in conversation on the blog that they created to begin a conversation?
What does it say about General Conference staffers that they don't participate on the very blog they created for the purpose of engaging the body in conversation?
I won't express an opinion about that, but I'd love to hear yours, if even off the blog, in private.
2. What does it say about the people of the CGGC that the blog has fizzled?
Very few of us have engaged in the conversation. Some of what's been posted has been on important topics.
Dan Masshardt has contributed several posts which did generate comment, but, even then, it was minimal comment and, really, no actually conversation.
A few others not on CGGC staff have written and received a comment or two but, again, really, no conversation.
And, as I said, some of what's been in the eNews lately, has been good stuff.
Leslie Draper, from Urban Light in Muncie, Indiana, guest wrote an excellent, provocative article shortly before Christmas. And, Lance's last article, certainly peaked my interest.
What does it say about us...or the culture of the body as a whole...that we don't engage?
Could it be that participating is so difficult? I'll admit that I attempted to register to leave comments and I thought I had registered. The site told me that registration confirmation would be emailed to me and it wasn't. I don't know if that means that the moderator rejected me or if I did something wrong in the process. If I did, maybe you did, too.
I, of course, can make comments here.
But, the truth is that the people of the CGGC are not conversing with each other or CGGC staff, even though they asked us to.
Why?
What truths about them and us does that reveal?
I pay close attention to the "CONTAGIOUS: Collaborating for Kingdom Impact" blog. And, I would read it regularly...if there were regular contributions.
The fact is that the last contribution to the blog by someone who doesn't sit behind a desk on Melrose Avenue in Findlay was published 25 days ago from today. It was a good post by Dan Masshardt. In that post, Dan calls for repentance from the CGGC's "One Size Fits all Ministry Gifting Focus." In doing so, Dan argues that we must empower all of the ministry gifts provided by the Holy Spirit and that we are suffering from our fixation on the gift of shepherding.
Dan's post drew a comment, something that rarely happens on the blog, which is subtitled, Collaborating for Kingdom Impact. It drew a brief word of praise from General Conference staffer Ben Tobias.
However, when Dan asked Ben to join in the spirit of the blog and collaborate by extending the conversation, Ben became mute.
Since Dan's post, with its ignored invitation to Ben to engage in actual collaboration, the only contributions to the blog have been eNews articles and "Hands and Feet" articles, which are, essentially, news releases submitted by Michael Martin, the General Conference staffer who moderates the blog. (These articles usually highlight activities undertaken by CGGC congregations which are of a what used to be called "missional" nature...before the word missional fell out of fashion.)
None of the blog posts since Dan's has generated even one comment though some of the eNews articles are very worthy of comment, in my opinion.
------------------
What I've done in this post so far is to relate fact. The only opinion I've expressed is that Dan Masshardt's post 25 days ago was, "good."
And, as I continue, I'll attempt, as much as possible to avoid opionizing, other than to say this:
The CONTAGIOUS blog reveals that there are problems in the CGGC.
The blog's first post makes it clear that the blog itself is an invitation to conversation.
For me, the invitation to conversation raises two questions.
1. Why don't General Conference staff people engage in conversation on the blog THEY CREATED, THEY SAY, TO BEGIN A CONVERSATION?
I've given the example of Ben Tobias ignoring Dan Masshardt's generous invitation to extend the conversation his post was intended to begin.
But, Dan's post itself was an attempt to expand the conversation begun by Brandon Kelly in his eNews articles on APEST. I'm certain that Dan hoped, probably expected, Brandon to collaborate and join in the very sort of conversation CGGC staffers claim the blog was created to empower.
So, again, why don't General Conference staff people engage in conversation on the blog that they created to begin a conversation?
What does it say about General Conference staffers that they don't participate on the very blog they created for the purpose of engaging the body in conversation?
I won't express an opinion about that, but I'd love to hear yours, if even off the blog, in private.
2. What does it say about the people of the CGGC that the blog has fizzled?
Very few of us have engaged in the conversation. Some of what's been posted has been on important topics.
Dan Masshardt has contributed several posts which did generate comment, but, even then, it was minimal comment and, really, no actually conversation.
A few others not on CGGC staff have written and received a comment or two but, again, really, no conversation.
And, as I said, some of what's been in the eNews lately, has been good stuff.
Leslie Draper, from Urban Light in Muncie, Indiana, guest wrote an excellent, provocative article shortly before Christmas. And, Lance's last article, certainly peaked my interest.
What does it say about us...or the culture of the body as a whole...that we don't engage?
Could it be that participating is so difficult? I'll admit that I attempted to register to leave comments and I thought I had registered. The site told me that registration confirmation would be emailed to me and it wasn't. I don't know if that means that the moderator rejected me or if I did something wrong in the process. If I did, maybe you did, too.
I, of course, can make comments here.
But, the truth is that the people of the CGGC are not conversing with each other or CGGC staff, even though they asked us to.
Why?
What truths about them and us does that reveal?
Thursday, January 3, 2019
CGGC Talk-ism in the Finley Era
Relatively early in the development of my Characteristics of the CGGC Brand , I described "To Talk is to Walk-ism."
Prophets are obsessed, ultimately, with what people actually do. And, at the time, it became clear to me that one reality that describes our entire body that there is a stark and raving disconnect between what we say and what we do.
In fact, we've done nothing noteworthy in more than ten years.
But, at the time I first described Talk-ism in the CGGC, we were talking as big as the Church of God talked in its movement days, when it was doing the big things that matched its talk.
I first described Talk-ism when Ed Rosenberry was CGGC Executive Director.
Talk-ism in that day had a very distinct quality. It seems to me, to this day, that, during that time, we believed that talk is walk.
Our General Conference Administration Council unanimously approved a Mission Statement saying that we commit ourselves to "establishing churches on the New Testament plan." The General Conference in session approved that Mission Statement without objection.
And, that, apparently, in the mind of CGGC leaders, was job done.
We'd said it.
And, just as the Lord spoke the universe into existence by His word, so, it seems, we had churches functioning as New Testament churches, simply because we said so.
Not one thing was actually done to define, in community, what the New Testament church is in the 21st century. Nothing was done to change anything in our churches.
Why was nothing done to align talk with walk? I'm convinced that, in the Rosenberry Era, we believed that talk is walk.
All we ever did was talk. And, we talked AMAZING talk!
Yet, other than the talk, nothing changed...including the increase in the rate of our numerical decline and spiritual decay...and the fact that the Lord of all authority and power and blessing wasn't honoring our walk-less talk. If anything, He was cursing it.
------------------
It was my hope that, when Ed resigned and Lance became the CGGC E.D., that Lance would use his authority to translate our truly excellent talk into action.
Sadly, he's not done that.
It's been three and a half years now since Lance set up shop in the corner office on Melrose Avenue in Findlay.
Ask yourself: What has the CGGC actually done in Lance's time?!
The most read post on this blog last year, in 2018, was on why Brent Sleasman's call, in some CGGC eNews articles, for CGGC people to engage people who don't follow Jesus in important conversations will "come to nothing."
What Brent wrote, as wise and articulate as it was, has, precisely as I predicted, come exactly to what I predicted it would.
NOTHING.
Everything comes to nothing these days from CGGC leadership.
Why?
Because CGGC leadership never does anything.
What did Lance do to follow up Brent's articles? How did he provide the people of the CGGC with helpful and practical strategies intended to assist them in doing something new and different, something that certainly would be worthwhile but certainly is difficult, particularly when it's first attempted?
Nothing.
This is a precise real-life depiction of Talk-ism in the Finley era.
I used to joke that Ed talked as if he believed that what early disciples accomplished, by the power of the Spirit, in the first chapters of the Book of Acts, couldn't hold a candle to what was happening in the CGGC under his leadership.
Talk-ism today works in a different way.
Lance is the man with a billion brainstorms.
And, I'm convinced that many of his ideas are good. However, there is never, EVER follow through.
This year long APEST push? Typical. Lots of ideas. But, nothing practical, beyond the ideas in the articles, for discipling the body into implementing the ideas.
More tragically, there's no reason to think that Lance and Brandon believe their own ideas enough to put them into practice in their own ministry.
------------------
If you read this blog regularly, you know that I am normally careful to make a practical suggestion to implement changes that I see as being necessary...
...even if it's always the same suggestion: We must repent.
That's precisely where Jesus and the apostles began. "Repent and believe..."
One other specific practical suggestion in this context:
Encourage Lance by letting him know that you think an idea is a good one and then demand that he either help you implement the idea or put you in touch with others who can.
These days, we have too much talk. Way too many ideas...good ideas. But, even the best idea, if it is not carried out, comesto nothing.
But, and this is where my heart breaks for the CGGC, and all of Western Christianity, it is righteousness that is the fruit of a living faith that saves a person and makes him/her a disciple of Jesus.
We are producing lots of talk but little, or no, righteousness.
We must repent.
Prophets are obsessed, ultimately, with what people actually do. And, at the time, it became clear to me that one reality that describes our entire body that there is a stark and raving disconnect between what we say and what we do.
In fact, we've done nothing noteworthy in more than ten years.
But, at the time I first described Talk-ism in the CGGC, we were talking as big as the Church of God talked in its movement days, when it was doing the big things that matched its talk.
I first described Talk-ism when Ed Rosenberry was CGGC Executive Director.
Talk-ism in that day had a very distinct quality. It seems to me, to this day, that, during that time, we believed that talk is walk.
Our General Conference Administration Council unanimously approved a Mission Statement saying that we commit ourselves to "establishing churches on the New Testament plan." The General Conference in session approved that Mission Statement without objection.
And, that, apparently, in the mind of CGGC leaders, was job done.
We'd said it.
And, just as the Lord spoke the universe into existence by His word, so, it seems, we had churches functioning as New Testament churches, simply because we said so.
Not one thing was actually done to define, in community, what the New Testament church is in the 21st century. Nothing was done to change anything in our churches.
Why was nothing done to align talk with walk? I'm convinced that, in the Rosenberry Era, we believed that talk is walk.
All we ever did was talk. And, we talked AMAZING talk!
Yet, other than the talk, nothing changed...including the increase in the rate of our numerical decline and spiritual decay...and the fact that the Lord of all authority and power and blessing wasn't honoring our walk-less talk. If anything, He was cursing it.
------------------
It was my hope that, when Ed resigned and Lance became the CGGC E.D., that Lance would use his authority to translate our truly excellent talk into action.
Sadly, he's not done that.
It's been three and a half years now since Lance set up shop in the corner office on Melrose Avenue in Findlay.
Ask yourself: What has the CGGC actually done in Lance's time?!
The most read post on this blog last year, in 2018, was on why Brent Sleasman's call, in some CGGC eNews articles, for CGGC people to engage people who don't follow Jesus in important conversations will "come to nothing."
What Brent wrote, as wise and articulate as it was, has, precisely as I predicted, come exactly to what I predicted it would.
NOTHING.
Everything comes to nothing these days from CGGC leadership.
Why?
Because CGGC leadership never does anything.
What did Lance do to follow up Brent's articles? How did he provide the people of the CGGC with helpful and practical strategies intended to assist them in doing something new and different, something that certainly would be worthwhile but certainly is difficult, particularly when it's first attempted?
Nothing.
This is a precise real-life depiction of Talk-ism in the Finley era.
I used to joke that Ed talked as if he believed that what early disciples accomplished, by the power of the Spirit, in the first chapters of the Book of Acts, couldn't hold a candle to what was happening in the CGGC under his leadership.
Talk-ism today works in a different way.
Lance is the man with a billion brainstorms.
And, I'm convinced that many of his ideas are good. However, there is never, EVER follow through.
This year long APEST push? Typical. Lots of ideas. But, nothing practical, beyond the ideas in the articles, for discipling the body into implementing the ideas.
More tragically, there's no reason to think that Lance and Brandon believe their own ideas enough to put them into practice in their own ministry.
------------------
If you read this blog regularly, you know that I am normally careful to make a practical suggestion to implement changes that I see as being necessary...
...even if it's always the same suggestion: We must repent.
That's precisely where Jesus and the apostles began. "Repent and believe..."
One other specific practical suggestion in this context:
Encourage Lance by letting him know that you think an idea is a good one and then demand that he either help you implement the idea or put you in touch with others who can.
These days, we have too much talk. Way too many ideas...good ideas. But, even the best idea, if it is not carried out, comesto nothing.
But, and this is where my heart breaks for the CGGC, and all of Western Christianity, it is righteousness that is the fruit of a living faith that saves a person and makes him/her a disciple of Jesus.
We are producing lots of talk but little, or no, righteousness.
We must repent.
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