Gang,
I pulled this off of CGGC.org this morning. As Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would say, "The game is afoot."
Read it over. I'd appreciate comments here or off the blog.
Two, I believe, crucial theological questions to bring to the denomination's "next chapter:"
1. What APEST gifting(s) do the powers that be have in mind?
2. Who, among the great men and women of God in the Bible, resembles this description?
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DESIRED ATTRIBUTES FOR THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The next Executive Director should possess a combination of personal and spiritual character and professional experience that will enable him/her to lead the denomination to its next chapter of influence in the Kingdom of God. A deep commitment to Christ as Lord, personal character and integrity, proven and effective leadership skills, passion and enthusiasm, and a strong work ethic will be necessary to guide the Churches of God, General Conference. Beyond this, other specific attributes will be important. The next Executive Director will be:
• A forward-thinking visionary who is strategic in thinking, planning and action;
• A strong communicator, gifted listener and inspiring influence;
• A person who is committed to local and global multiplication of disciples and faith communities;
• A person with proven leadership skills who is able to inspire trust, build consensus and lead appropriate teams;
• A person who holds the core values of the denomination deeply and intuitively;
• A person who can articulate to current and emerging generations that the Kingdom of God matters;
• A visible leader who is able to move comfortably among congregations of various size and cultures of various diversity.
Based on the ATTRIBUTES Document, the Word that is Now, Apparently, Politically Incorrect in the CGGC
ReplyDeleteDo you know what is unique about this one sentence in the ATTRIBUTES document?
"A deep commitment to Christ as Lord, personal character and integrity, proven and effective leadership skills, passion and enthusiasm, and a strong work ethic will be necessary to guide the Churches of God, General Conference."
That sentence is the only place in the entire document that includes any form of the word "church" and, in this sentence, the word is used merely to state the name of the body.
When this first occurred to me, I was amazed. And, I am still baffled.
The framers of the document have stepped out a routine worthy of DANCING WITH THE STARS in order not to use the word church.
I'm not certain what this well-planned routine suggests. But, I am, in equal parts, amused and annoyed.
This sort of careful use of language has a long history among the dons of the CGGC Shepherd Mafia.
It is crucial to the way CGGC leaders have carried out the To Talk is to Walk-ism characteristic of the CGGC Brand.
It also suggests to me not only that nothing is changing but that the people on the mountaintop are more set than ever in old and decaying ways shepherd-dominated and institutional ways and that they are intent on conducting business as usual as they write the first paragraph in the next CGGC chapter.
Note, in the document, how they talk church without saying the word:
They do it twice in,
"• A person who is committed to local and global multiplication of disciples and faith communities"
What is the "local" multiplication of disciples as it takes place in the CGGC today?
What are the "faith communities" to which they refer?
And, they do it again in,
"• A visible leader who is able to move comfortably among congregations of various size and cultures of various diversity."
Congregations? Right. A rose by any other name, eh?
Still, it means something that, in this document, the word church, at least--the word that drove the Rosenberry regime's leadership--seems to have become a four letter word. We can still talk about church. However, we can't do it openly.
For a people who, only a year ago, reaffirmed the Bible is our "only" "rule," the word church is an important word. It appears many times in the New Testament as well in the LXX (i.e., Greek translation) of the Old Testament. The term, "faith community, ain't there anywhere, as far as I know.
We can't pretend away the reality that we have grossly perverted the biblical meaning of the word church by simply finding other words and terms to talk about the damage we have done to the biblical meaning of church.
Let's require that our Search Committee and Ad Council be honest with us. Because I think, in the document, they are being dishonest and attempting to be clever.
Please, let's don't let them get away with another exercise in to talk-ism at this critical moment in the life our body.
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By the way, I see other glaring and serious problems with the document. They deeply disturb me. They suggest that the Shepherd Mafia is more in control than ever.
I hope to blog about them soon.
If you are a person of repentance, please don't be silent! If you are, be strong and courageous.
Blessings.
One Thing Missing from DESIRED ATTRIBUTES FOR THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Servanthood
ReplyDeleteJesus:
“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” -- Mark 10:42-45
The ATTRIBUTES Document:
"A deep commitment to Christ as Lord, personal character and integrity, proven and effective leadership skills, passion and enthusiasm, and a strong work ethic will be necessary to guide the Churches of God, General Conference."
"• A person with proven leadership skills who is able to inspire trust, build consensus and lead appropriate teams."
It stuns me how brazenly CGGC leadership replaces the life Jesus modeled and the truths He taught with its own values and wisdom.
Jesus began His ministry announcing the coming of the Kingdom of God. The truths He taught and life He modeled are characterized in His saying quoted by Mark near the end of chapter 10.
How could Jesus' teaching have been more clear? How many meanings can be taken from His words? To be great among the community of disciples you must be a servant. The crucial "ATTRIBUTE" of anyone who would be first in that community is that s/he must be the slave of all.
How could Jesus' example be more obvious? As He described it, He didn't come to be served. He came to serve. His notion of service? He came into the world with a mission, with a purpose: "To give His life as a ransom for many."
And, He did just that on a cross.
It is clear from the New Testament that the people He discipled took that to heart. The Book of Acts tells stories of martyrdom and willingness to be martyred. It also details the reality that those who possessed leadership (Acts 1:20, the only occurrence of the word in the New Testament) served the community of disciples and suffered for it.
One of the hottest fads in American Evangelicalism since the appearance of Leadership Journal about 35 years ago has been "Leadership Development."
The CGGC, always slow to jump on bandwagons, has been characteristically slow to jump on this one but, as the search for the next ED shows, we are on board now.
We are looking for a leader. Jesus discipled servants who, if they excelled, behaved as slaves.
We don't need to find a leader. We need to find a culture of servants striving to serve so radically that one of them will become the slave of all.
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It is ironic to me that in the past half dozen years or so, those at the top of the CGGC pyramid actually bears a striking resemblance to the "those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles" Jesus mentions.
They have often lorded it over the CGGC body, defying authorities that they themselves have created over themselves and us.
Jesus demands that if we are going to set one person to be above the whole community, that person should not possess qualities of leadership. S/He must be our slave.
Please join in this call for repentance.