The Core of Leadership - Hope

This week I began reading a new book on leadership. It's written by Nancy Ortberg and is entitled, "Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands: Lessons in Non-Linear Leadership." I have been a fan of Nancy's since her days as a teacher and leader at Willow Creek. Since she and her husband John left Willow in 2004, Nancy has been working as a leadership consultant with her company Teamworx2, along with teaching at both Menlo Park Church and conferences around the globe.

This is a different kind of book on leadership. First off, it is written by a woman. Honestly, how many books on leadership on your shelf have been authored by a female? (If you have read some good ones, please make some recommendations). Second, it takes a non-linear approach to leadership. What does that mean? Well first off, the chapters are not numbered. That might give you a clue. As well, Ortberg emphasizes culture over systems and believes that good leaders must attend to creating cultures that help people flourish.

In one of the early chapters (remember no chapter numbers-only titles), Ortberg suggests that the core of leadership is hope. She writes, “Leadership is the hope that we can change things that need to be changed and create what we cannot now imagine. Hope gives us the courage to move forward, the power to forgive, and the grace to keep the promises we have made.” As I read her words about hope, three leaders from the African America community came quickly to mind. Martin Luther King Jr. writings and sermons have been gathered into a collection entitled “A Testament of Hope.” Jesse Jackson’s mantra to this day has been “keep hope alive.” And Barack Obama inspires people with “the audacity of hope.” Ortberg compares hope to a bone marrow transplant. Hope invades and permeates; it releases from cynicism and doubt. It is stronger than the fear that can hold people captive. Hope changes everything.

What do you think about Nancy's assertion and thesis? What do you think is at the core of leadership?

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Happy Birthday Mandela!

Last year during my visit to Ethiopia I had the amazing honor and wonderful privilege of meeting Mandela, an twelve year old boy living in the Guraghe region of Ethiopia along with his father. Mandela is our family's World Vision sponsored child and over the past nine months we have exchanged letters, pictures, and prayers. Well, today is a very special day - today is Mandela's thirteenth birthday. Happy birthday Mandela!

Our sponsorship of Mandela is part of World Vision's Hope Child Initiative. The AIDS pandemic is the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time. This fact does not imply that the developmental issues are unimportant; it simply recognizes that AIDS makes everything else worse. AIDS endangers a family's health, a child's future, and a community's efforts to have a reliable food source, clean water, education, and economic development. As people become sick and die, there are fewer teachers, workers, and community leaders available. This pandemic impacts the entire community but is especially devastating for the children. Each month our $35 sponsorship helps bring real change for Mandela, his family, and the people of his community. Access to clean water, education, food security, health care, and real help and hope for people living with the reality of HIV and AIDS. (You can learn more about our partnership by visiting Venti Africa).

Recently, in honor of Mandela's 13th birthday my son Sam made a special gift of $135. Through this gift World Vision was able to bless both Mandela and his community. Mandela received a sports uniform, plastic shoes and rubber boots and best of all - a goat! As well his school received building supplies that will help them provide a quality education to the boys and girls of his community.

Last evening I read these convicting words from Mother Theresa, "You may not be able to feed 100 children, but you can feed one."

Would you consider sponsoring a Hope Child in Guraghe? You can learn more about it on the World Vision site. Or drop me a comment and I would be glad to help you make the connection. And if you already are a sponsor, make a special gift to your child and his or her community. Together we can create a better future for the children of Guraghe.

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It's a Rollin' Gospel Revival!

On Saturday August 2 the Church Basement Road Show will be rollin into Pittsburgh. A biodiesel fueled RV loaded with three of the most outspoken emergent church leaders and authors will crisscross the country this summer in “The Church Basement Roadshow: A Rollin’ Gospel Revival.” The tour featuring Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt and Mark Scandrette will hit thirty-two cities across the U.S., with a message that combines old time revival flair with a 21st century gospel. They’ll preach, sing and sell healing balm in church basements from San Diego to New York.

Jones, author of The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier; Pagitt, author of A Christianity Worth Believing; and Scandrette, author of Soul Graffiti: Making a Life in the Way of Jesus, are part of the emergent movement, a decade-old phenomenon of pastors, missionaries, artists, theologians, authors and “regular people” who are rethinking church and Christianity for a globalized world. Controversial for their “nothing is too sacred to be questioned” doctrine, Jones, Pagitt, and Scandrette have acquired many fans and critics based on their writings.

“This summer will be a defining time,” says Pagitt, “As we take our invitation of hope and good news to people around the country. We’re preaching a fresh way of life and faith – one that is in rhythm with the life of God.”

Taking a page out of the Billy Sunday playbook, the authors will spread the emergent message of a generous, hope-filled Christian faith in the style and cadence of the tent revival preachers of a hundred years ago. They plan to have fun with it, wearing frock suits and selling “healing balm,” but the goal is, as in the revivals of yore, to preach the good news.

“This will be unlike any book tour people have seen,” said Jones. “We’ll be barnstorming the country, shaking the rafters with our ancient-future message of hope.”

“People will laugh and sing,” Scandrette added, “But they’ll also be challenged to join the Jesus Revolution.”

The Church Basement Roadshow will make its stop in Pittsburgh at the Hot Metal Faith Community (27th and Jane in the Southside). It all begins at 7 PM. There is a $10 donation and plenty of healing balm to go around.



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Grace

Marla at Coffee Shop Journal turned me on to Wordle. Wordle describes itself as a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends.

This Sunday in our worship series, "What Do You Love About Jesus?" we will be focusing upon the idea of grace. One of the most significant texts on grace in the New Testament is found in Ephesians 2:8-10:

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. "

These are familar words to many in the church and I know that at times I can become too familar with certain texts of Scripture - too familar in the sense that I miss the power, beauty, mystery, majesty and well, grace that they contain. I wordled (is that a word) Ephesians 2:8-10 and the image in this post is what Wordle generated (click here for a larger view).

It has been interesting to see how this simple tool has captured my attention today and helped me "see" God's word in a new light. perhaps you will see something fresh as well.

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Outcomes for Africa - The 2008 G8 Summit

From the ONE Blog.

African development was again the subject of G8 discussions as world leaders gathered in Toyako, Hokkaido in northern Japan from July 7-9 for the 2008 G8 Summit. While the G8 was confronted with multiple global challenges, including climate change and a weakening global economy, the 2008 Hokkaido Summit marked an important “mid point” moment in the fight against poverty. The Hokkaido Summit came at the critical halfway point to both the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the G8 Gleneagles promises to Africa. The G8 are dangerously behind on their landmark commitments to the region, having delivered only $3 billion of the promised $25 billion in additional assistance to Africa by 2010, according to the 2008 DATA Report.

After difficult negotiations, the G8 summit yielded small gains for the poorest. The bulk of G8 agreements on development and Africa and food security reiterated previous pledges rather than outlining new measures to get the group back on track. The G8 did announce plans for a new effort to tackle the global food crisis, though more details are needed to ensure its effectiveness and delivery. They highlighted the UN High-level meeting on the MDGs in September as an important opportunity to review progress and identify actions needed to overcome remaining challenges.

At a time when G8 credibility is at risk due to slow progress in delivering on commitments, there was a strong call for greater accountability in the G8 Communique. The G8 agreed to track progress against previous commitments in health, education, water and agriculture, as well as its compliance with anti-corruption measures.

Overall, the US, UK and Germany provided strong leadership in negotiations and have significantly increased their funding for Africa in recent years.

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A Simple Request to the G8

Aid for Africa — and whether enough was coming from the world’s major economic powers — was in the spotlight Monday as the Group of Eight nations met with seven African leaders at its annual summit.

African aid was the centerpiece of the G-8 summit three years ago in Gleneagles, Scotland, where leaders pledged to increase foreign aid by $50 billion a year by 2010 — with half of that going directly to Africa — and to cancel the debt of the most heavily indebted poor nations.

Collectively, the G-8 has delivered just $3 billion of the $25 billion in additional aid pledged to Africa in 2005, according to DATA, which stands for Debt, AIDS and Trade in Africa, a group founded by U2 singer Bono and music producer Bob Geldof, both of whom are active in campaigns for Africa. Germany, the U.S. and Britain were following through on commitments, while progress from Japan, France, Italy and Canada was either unclear or weak, DATA said.

2008 is a landmark year in the fight against poverty and disease. The world is halfway to 2015 when the Millennium Goals must be achieved, but Africa is perilously off track. 2008 is also the halfway point between 2005 and 2010 when many G8 promises to Africa must be met such as the commitment to provide an additional $25 billion in effective aid for Africa. The G8 are dangerously behind on these landmark commitments.

In 2008, G8 leaders have the opportunity -- and responsibility -- to put weight behind their words. THE ONE Campaign is making one simple request to the G8 leadership and is inviting others to join in this request. The petition to the G8 leadership reads:

“We call upon you to build on recent success in fighting extreme poverty by delivering your commitments on healthcare, agriculture and education and by helping citizens in developing countries in their efforts to improve governance and fight corruption.”

You can add your voice and make this simple request to the G8 leaders by clicking here.

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Where the Light Is

I am not a big fireworks kind of guy - in fact I usually skip them and find some alternative activity to engage in. How many times can watch fireworks? The same thing over and over again; I just don't get it. Thousands of dollars exploding in the sky - I can think of a ton of better ways to expend the money. I know this is blasphemous - especially in Pittsburgh, but I just don't get it.

This year on July 4th, I think I will engage in some musical fireworks. I'm planning on watching "Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live in Los Angeles."

The movie presents, as Mayer puts it, "the three incarnations of John Mayer:" an acoustic set, a set from the John Mayer Trio, and a set with his full band. 22 songs from "Neon" to "Belief" and a whole lot in between.

My daughter Hannah turned me on to John Mayer a number of years ago - she saw him in a small club here in Pittsburgh long before he was a popstar. She ought to be in the music industry as she has an uncanny ability to recoginze musical talent and star power long before the mainstream population.

I know Mayer gets ripped on an awful lot. But I enjoy his stuff - he knows how to write a great hook, he can make the guitar sing and he has surrounded himself with some amazing musicians.

So what will you be doing this fourth of July? What kind of fireworks will be happening in your life?

Just keep me where the light is....