Today was Orientation for the entering students at the seminary. A great bunch of folks. I was intrigued by the diversity in the group, including the span in ages and life experiences. The group served to confirm the reality that the term “non-traditional student” hardly means anything in theological education any more. God is at work calling people from all walks and stages of life for the Kingdom. And it is humbling to witness that people are responding. And more humbling still, the realization that for some of us, the calling is to prepare those who’ve answered the higher calling.

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Scottish mystic Henry Scougal (1650-1678), author of the spiritual classic The Life God in the Soul of Man included the following prayer in that work:

“Good God! What a mighty felicity this is to which we are called! How graciously hast thou joined our duty and happiness together, and prescribed that for our work the performance whereof is a great reward!”

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I recently received a surprise call from a former professor of mine. He was gracious and kind to call me to congratulate me on the new job. A former dean himself I accepted the condolences. It was one of those tender conversations of a teacher expressing gratification (if not relief) for a former student’s success. And it was an opportunity for a former student to express gratitude to a mentor and teacher who opened up future possibilities. Those are tender moments, and they happen too infrequently.

At one point in our conversation my former teacher, long retired now, asked, “So, what are seminarians like these days?”

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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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