Full disclosure: I’ve not read Warren’s fabulously successful Purpose Driven Live. There is a copy of it in our home as my wife was required to read it as part of a staff development team-building activity at the church where she works. So, perhaps I’ll get to it at some point.

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I recently read a post at Learnings at Leadership Network, by Warren Bird, Ph.D., Research Director at Leadership Network, and co-author of 19 books on various aspects of church health and innovation. This was posted on May 16, 2008 in Church Visits.

Warren wrote, “Unfortunately, too many churches exist where the senior pastor is a tremendous leader but an even bigger bottleneck. In such churches nothing of importance can happen unless the senior pastor is at the hub of it. Neither long-term volunteers, nor senior staff, feel empowered to take initiative on anything major. They feel underutilized – and they are.

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Every once and again I am reminded that I live in a different world than that of my father—and am amazed at the accelerated pace of change that has taken place from one generation to the next. During my formative years when my father went to work he toiled, returning home with grease and grime under his fingernails and embedded in the deep crevices of his rough workman’s hands. During my own children’s formative years “going to work” for their dad meant, more often than not, going downstairs to the study in the den, risking (at best a long shot at that) a blister on the finger from furious tying on a keyboard or a paper cut.

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Although I no longer serve as pastor of a congregation, invitations to preach come my way from time to time.  The latest instance was yesterday when I helped a Presbyterian congregation surprise their pastor with the opportunity to worship among them, free of leadership responsibility.  The occasion was the thirtieth anniversary of her ordination and the tenth anniversary of her ministry in that place.  Not knowing what the lectionary for the day was, I was pleased to learn that they were accustomed to hearing their pastor preach from it.  I love the tussle with scripture that pushes me to stay grounded in its teaching while saying something useful about its bearing on our lives today. 

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I continue to be fascinated with how people are enamored with the idea of mentoring. It seems to have a romantic hold on people’s imagination. I recently received an e-mail from a friend who is a college program director. She was asking some questions about a program for college students being created at her college. The program design looked pretty good, though it included a “mentoring” component. I sighed and cautioned my friend about the tendency to misapply “mentoring.” Much of what people do under the rubric of “mentoring” isn’t appropriate to their goals, aren’t applicable to their audience, ignores the significance of context, and isn’t designed to be mentoring at all.

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An aspiring artist friend and I enjoy occasional conversations about art and aesthetics. One on-going philosophical conversation has to do with “what is art?” This, in the context of how current and emerging technologies are changing the practices, if not the nature, of the work of the artist. For example, a couple of days after moving into our new home I met the neighbor. When I asked him what he did for a living he replied, “I’m a graphic artist.”

I asked, “Oh, what medium do you usually use?”

He looked at me like I had a third eye growing out of my forehead before replying, “Computer.”

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One of the courses I teach at the seminary goes by the clumsy title of “Developing Lay Leadership in the Congregation.” I think it’s one of the most important courses I teach, though I’m frustrated that I’ve not found the best way to teach this one. I think it’s important because the future of the viability of the congregation as church lies with reclaiming a “theology of the laity,” to use Findley Edge’s term from the Church Renewal movement.

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It is my privilege to serve on the Development Team of Cross Over Ministry, a non-denominational, Christian-based organization that serves the needs of the uninsured in the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan area. The mission of Cross Over Ministry is “To provide health care, promote wellness and connect the talents and resources of the community with those in need in the name of Jesus Christ.”

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I recently got an e-mail from a former student who was in the middle of an interview process with a congregation for a pastoral staff position. She’d gotten news from the church that the senior pastor, who’d been involved in the search process conversations, had just announced his resignation (he was moving on to another congregation). The congregation plans on hiring an “intentional interim” but also wants to go ahead with the search process for the staff position. My former student is in the midst of a dilemma. Does she accept the call and the risk or does she pull out of the interview process?

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Let’s begin with a confession: All I ever wanted to be was a Sunday School teacher.  Not that my earliest experiences with Sunday School were positive ones.  Actually, I can’t remember a single teacher from those early years when my family’s interactions with churches were - - well, inconsistent. 

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