Redeeming Communities

Lately I was privaledged enough to sit in on a couple of talks/lectures by Dr. Scot McKnight (professor of Religious Studies – North Park University, Chicago) as part of a Young Life training experience.  Dr. McKnight challenged us on two questions facing anyone interested in following the ways of Jesus.

1.  What is spiritual developement and how would Jesus define it?

2.  Why did Jesus come and what does Jesus say about why He came?

According to Dr. McKnight we have for too long considered spiritual development to be analogous with the functioning of a light buld.  The light buld analogy says that those who are maturing in their faith and developing in their spiritual growth are those that have a “glow” about them.  The closer we (as individuals) come to God, the more we (as individuals) “connect” with Christ and the more we are developed in a spiritual sense.  In this definition of spiritual development that has long been popular within the evangelical circles of Christianity we see strong evidence of our western, individualized culture and mind-set.  Spiritual developement is about us and our proximity (usually emotionally speaking) to God.  Furthermore, spritiual development in this understanding is about how much “like” Jesus we have become.  However, our understanding of who Jesus is usually strangly mirrors who we are.  Each of us tend to create a view of Jesus that is frighteningly similar to our views of ourselves.  If we tend to be strong and abbrasive in our leadership then we interpret Jesus to be stong and abbrasive in His leadership.  If we tend to be meek and compassionate toward others then we interpret Jesus to be meek and compassionate toward others.

However, Dr. McKnight offers an alternative view of spiritual developement.  One that is perhaps closer to Jesus’ understaning of spiritual developement.  Jesus was in fact very dissimilar to us.  Jesus was a 1st century Jew and therefore understood spritiual developement within the context of 1st century Judiasm.  In reading Mark 12:28-31, Matt. 10:40-42 and Matt. 25:34-36 we are given a clear glimpse of Jesus’ understaning of spiritual development.  For Jesus the question was not “do you glow from the inside like a light bulb?”, but instead “how well do you love others?”.

The consideration of Jesus’ understanding of spiritual development leads naturally to His reason for living in the form of man and sharing life with human kind.  Why did Jesus come?  How would Jesus answer this question?  According to Scot McKnight (and I whole heartedly agree by the way) Jesus did not come to “just” make us like “light bulds” and to save our personal souls.  While Jesus’ life, death and resurrection did indeed accomplish these things it accomplished them for a specific reason.  Jesus came to accomplish the redemption of all things.  Jeusus came to call those that choose to follow Him (those “glowing light bulbs”) into the experience of redeeming the world and loving the marginalized, oppressed, poor and sick.  This understanding of Jesus’ presence in life and death with human kind stands in contrast to our western, individualistic understaning of Jesus dying for ”me” .  Instead when we read Luke 1:46-56, 1:67-80, 3:10-18, 4:14-21, 6:20-26, 7:18-23, 9:18-24, Acts 1:14, 2:42-47 we see that Jesus came for much more than “just” me, or you, He came to save “us” so that we can participate with Him in the redemption of “all things”.

I am still processing what this means for my life and ministry.  However, I have a strong feeling that this is big.  I am convinced that people, especially young people, are drawn to thos things that are much bigger than they are.  They long to be swept up into an experience they cannot only “feel” but they can “see”.  I look forward to the journey of creating experiences where communities are redeemed or where we, as a community, are allowed to participate in the redemption of the larger community.  This is why Jesus came and through these experiences I hope we can be “spiritual developed”.

Creating/Defining the Cutlure Young Life Leadership

In the Young Life world we refer to our ministry as team–based ministry.  The success of each club is dependent on the work of the leadership “team” surrounding that club in pursuing kids for Christ-centered relationships. 

I have thought long and hard about what our “culture” should be as Young Life leaders.  What are we calling each other to as Young Life leaders?  What are we calling potential new Young Life leaders to as they consider serving as volunteer Young Life leader? 

Essentially I believe we are calling people to be a part of our Young Life leadership “Team”. 

As part of a “team” we are not only building a community of Christ followers who love Christ, love each other, love kids and love Young Life.  These aspects of our team are important but they lone are not the “culture” we are working to create.  The culture of “team” points to a collaborative (community) effort toward a goal or desired out come. 

Team defined by Merriam Webster is as follows….

¹team

Noun 1 a: two or more draft animals harnessed to the same vehicle or implement ; also : these with their harness and attached vehicle

b: a draft animal often with harness and vehicle

a group of animals: as a: a brood especially of young pigs or ducks

b: a matched group of animals for

exhibition 4: a number of persons associated together in work or activity: as a: a group on one side (as in football or a debate)

 

³team

transitive verb 1: to yoke or join in a team ; also : to put together in a coordinated ensemble2: to convey or haul with a team

intransitive verb1: to drive a team or motortruck2: to form a team or association

²team

adjective : of or performed by a team <a team effort> ; also : marked by devotion to teamwork rather than individual achievement <a team player>

 

Each definition suggests work towards a common goal.  The ministry of Young Life is only effective in so much as we are working toward the common goal of pursuing disinterested high school and junior high school students with the intent to introduce them to Jesus Christ through authentic relationships.  Our ministry teams are active in this goal over and above being active in the goal of building community, although, this will inevitably happen through the process of team work.

 

In recruiting and training potential Young Life leaders we must be clear in that they are being recruited to be a working contributor to a team.  In considering others for potentially serving as volunteer leaders we much consider if they will be active in working as a contributor to the team.  Therefore, it is of little interest to us to recruit solely for the purpose of building up the recruit.  Rarely, do we find teams that recruit participants who would benefit more, as individuals, from their involvement on the team than the team would as whole.  Are we interested in building up our leaders, encouraging them and ministering to them?  Yes!  Are we interested in this alone and therefore not paying attention to the goal to which the team of Young Life has been called?  No!   We are a community with a cause, a team with a goal, and we will work to both build the team and accomplish the goal.

 

The culture of Young Life leadership – loving teams working toward a lofty goal!

Community vs. Cause

Life is most beautiful when lived among tension.  Sounds wierd I know but I believe it’s true.  There is the tension of finding balance between family and work, work and play, speaking and being silent, choosing to live out your faith in the work place and/or home or choosing to coast, and the list goes on.  Life is most challenging, rewarding and… beautiful… when these tensions are recognized.  We’ve all seen what it feels like to “coast”, to go through life as someone watching from the sidlines, and it isn’t nearly as fun or adventureous or…. beautiful.

So, what does this mean for us in ministry or leadership or both.  I recently heard a local pastor define the tension we often feel in ministry known as “Community vs. Cause”.  In ministry, wether it be the church or para-church organizations (like say… Young Life) there exists the tension of living between the desire to experience “community” and the call to a specific “cause”.  Perhaps no where is this tension more clear than when we read about the “cause” of Christ in Matt. 28:19-20 and the “community” of the early church in Acts 2:42-47.  For hundreds of years since the establishment of the early church, the church (meaning the people of God) has wrestled with fostering “Acts 2 community” while also living out the “the cause of the Great Commission”.  This wrestling match is indeed a tension and I believe it is beautful (although sometimes painful) to be a part of the people of God in this journey….

So, you may be saying to yourself, “self, what does this have to do with Leadership, Ministry or Other Things that Matter?”.  I’ll tell you, Young Life and its leadership lives within the tension of “Community vs. Cause” as well.  However, we also have the luxury of seeing clearly what we are called to as leaders.  We in leadership with Young Life will always lean toward the side of “Cause”.  We take very seriously Christ’s commission of us to “go and make disciples of all nations,”.  Through pursuing jr. high and high school students we are GOING, and we prayerfully building realationships where God is honored and disciples are created.  This is what we are called to! 

Do we love each other as leaders and fellow laborers in this “cause”?  Yes!  Do we desire “community” as experienced in the early church?  Yes!  Do we focus on building this kind of “community” experience?  Somewhat.  Mostly though, we look to the local church to be our community, to be our place where we can be loved, cared for, and supported as we live out our calling to Christ’s “cause”.

So, we look forward to not standing on the sidlines, but instead engaging in the tension of living life and doing ministry within the tension of “community vs. cause”.

Leading By Serving

There is so much written on the topic of “Leadership” today that you can get lost in the Leadership section of Barnes and Noble.  It seems anyone who has ever led anything, from toddlers in a country church VBS to a Fortune 500 Company, now is an expert on leadership.  While I do believe there are great leaders all across this earth serving in both humble contexts and high profile contexts I do not believe just anyone who has led is automatically equipped to be an expert on the subject.

Let the above statements serve as the disclaimer for myself.  I do lead but I am not an expert – far from it actually.  However, I do enjoy learning from those who have displayed proficiency in the area of leadership or have at least studied the topic at great length.

Two men who fit the discription of both leader and learner are John Maxwell and Jim Collins.  John Maxwell has written dozens of books on the topic of leadership and has proven his own leadership skills throughout a life-time of service leading within the church.  Jim Collins has grown in fame during the past decade due to his research and writting (Built To Last, Good To Great) on the topic of business performance and leadership startegies within the business world. 

During a recent conversation with friends on the topic of leadrship and the work of Collins and Maxwell I found it interesting that their findings are similar in ways but different as well.

In his book, Developing the Leader Within You, Maxwell identifies the Five Levels of Leadership as being Position, Permission, Production, People Developement, and Personhood.  The People Developement Level (level 4) is described as “reproduction” when people follow you as a leader because of what you have done for them.  The Personhood Level (level 5) is described as “respect” as people follow you as a leader because of who you are and what you represent.  Maxwell claims that level 5 leadership is reserved for leaders who have spent years growing people and organizations with very few ever making it to this level.

Interestingly, Jim Collins also identifies the importanct of a Level 5 Leader in his book Good to Great.  Collins uses the term Level 5 Executive and describes this leader as someone who builds “enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.”

In some ways I agree with both Maxwell and Collins.  Like Maxwell, I also believe that respect of character is perhaps the most important trait of a Level 5 leader.  However, my fear is that Maxwell’s description of the Level 5 leader is lacking in humility.  While usually someone’s character is not respected if they do not pocess some level of humility we have all witnessed respect given to leaders only because of their longevity and what they represent as a “pillar” of consistancy within the organization.  I guess my main issue is the lack of mention of humility and service.  Maxwell’s Level 4 leader I feel fits more closely with Collins’ findings.

I appreciate Collins’ findings summed up in his equation…

HUMILIY + WILL = LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP

This equation can of course be best observed in the person and leadership skill of Jesus Christ.  We must not confuse humility with weakness.  Jesus led with humility, He served those He loved and led and through His service displayed the traits of His “updsidedown Kingdom”.  Jesus was not weak, He was (and is) confident in His role as the Son of the most high God and the Saviour sent to our sorry world.  The early followers of Jesus no doubt followed Him because they discovered who He was and what He represented.  However, few discovered who Jesus was and what He represented apart from His service.  As Jesus served by healing, listening to, washing, praying for His people they discovered who He was and what He represented.

Maxwell and Collins would no doubt agree that Level 5 Leadership is both repsect and service, character and humility.  I believe we can only serve as leaders when we know who we are and who we represent…

Leadership – Not Rocket Science

Althougth the title suggests that Leadership is not rocket science sometimes it feels like being an effective leader is just about as difficult as constructing a rocket and blasting myself into space.  That’s difficult, believe me, I’ve tried it….

I am amazed though as I read in scripture the accounts of Jesus and how He led His followers to life transformation and the accomplishment of great things. 

I remember standing at Young Life camp years ago, watching as leaders and high school kids interacted with one another, played with one another, shared joy and life with one another.  I remember marveling at the fact that these kids were here with us in Colorado for no other reason than a Young Life leader had entered their world, their school, their life and asked those students to “follow them”, promising they would see and discover great things.  That is pretty profound really, that a high school student today would be attracted and would follow, but then again, its not rocket science.

When I read in Matthew 4:18-22 or Mark 1:16-20 or Luke 5:1-11, 27-32 or John 1:43-51, I see Jesus simply walking from village to village, encountering people, entering their lives, inviting them into His life and calling them to follow Him.  The amazing thing is that the people Jesus encountered responded, they gave up their lives and they followed Him.  No doubt they followed partly because Jesus promised they would “see greater things than that”, the important thing though is that they followed.

I suppose the lesson here is obedience.  To be a leader we must be obedient to enter the lives of others and invite them to enter ours.  We must be obedient to God’s calling on our lives to pursue Him above all else.  We must be obedient and confident enought to call others to follow us as we follow Jesus.  The Apostle Paul displayed this obidience and confidence eloquently in Philippians 3:17 when he encouraged others to follow his example and live as he lived.  A scary thing sometimes, to think of calling others to follow us as we follow Jesus, but that is the model we are given and I can’t help but think that in so doing we will certainly see “greater things than these.”…

Some Good Reads

Built To Last – by Jim Collins

Good To Great – by Jim Collins

Courageous Leadership – by Bill Hybels

Hurt - by Chap Clark

Searching For God Knows What – by Donald Miller

Blue Like Jazz – by Donald Miller

The God Bearing Life

Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture – by Walt Meuller

Go, Discover Your Strengths – by Marcus Buckingham

Now, Put Your Strengths to Work – by Marcus Buckingham

Life Together – by Deitrich Bonehoffer

A New Kind of Christian – by Brian McLaren