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2011 Challenge

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Alignment and Illumination…being and doing…both are necessary, but there is a vast difference in the outcomes depending on which flows from which…

When doing comes first, ego is inflated and legalism is born. Your God experience is based on "shoulds" and the net result is a religous organizational experience that is lacking spiritual power.

When our doing flows from our purposeful decision to "be" with God, the result is a faith-empowered God-infused organic journey with Trinity that is fresh, alive, and allows the light or presence of God within us to illuminate out of us…Christ is still incarnating in His people as we spend time with Him.

So, we align our hearts, minds and bodies with God through His Word, and through time with Him…this is the being side of things…Now, we have so much more to offer than merely ourselves or our good intentions, we have Christ infused into all that we are and all that we do…this turns every moment into a sacred moment and illumination for ourselves and those around us happens…this is the doing side of things.

There are two parts to the 2011 challenge, a being part and a doing part.

Being:

Spend 20 minutes of "God-talk" time every day at 11:00. It can be 11:00 a.m, or p.m, whatever works for you. When 11:00 rolls around, stop what you are doing, and spend some time just "being" with God…talk to Him, pray for others, ask Him to reveal more and more of who He is to you…allow Him to refresh and renew your tired soul…or simply slow down, center your thoughts on God and practice being with Him…with no agenda, no asks…Just breathe His presence into your present moment and know that He is God. Before long, 20 minutes will be gone, but the peace of His presence will linger in your soul drawing you back for more.

Doing:

Do 20 positive acts on the 11th day of each month. It can be positive words to a friend or family member…a random act of kindness towards a stranger…an encouraging Facebook post or note…or an action that has positive consequences for our world or community like picking up trash without being asked, doing something to lower your carbon footprint or even volunteering for a shift at our clothing bank the Gift of Apparel! You will find that it will get easier and easier to do 20 positive acts, and before long that will begin to morph into other days as your whole disposition begins to transform into a channel of God's positive grace!

I will post some ideas here on the blog and or on my Facebook page! If you have some ideas of positive acts PLEASE add them in the comments areas for others to see and try!

So here's to a 2011 that balances our being and doing so that God has the opportunity to flow through us all like grace filled rain!

Dei Gratia,

Monty

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mirror, mirror on the wall…

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I remember those lines. They were delivered with such a drippingly powerful intensity that you actually felt sorry for the mirror!

"mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all."

The wicked queen was not gazing into the mirror for truth, but for vanity and ego appeasement. When we look into a mirror we have the choice to look inward and grow, or deflect what we see and live in the land of denial which ultimately shrivels the soul, and diminishes the truth about God.

A person who leads or teaches has the capacity to enlarge their soul in greater proportions than those she/he leads. A great leader or teacher is not one who simply regurgitates data to an audience, but one who dances in and out of the truth, sweating through the unknown in order to create an atmosphere of epiphany and understanding.

In my own world, most often as I wrestle with the things that I am to teach in the realm of spiritual formation or leadership, I am faced with my own inadequacies, brokenness, and desperate need of God.

One of my leadership life commandments has been that: "I won't be like a travel agent who sells people on a destination that he himself has never been." That means that I have had to lay my soul on the altar over and over again.

Education has a cost. It is the cost of integrity forming in us what we have learned. If we do not allow what we have be enlightened with or to, to transform us, we have chosen to leave the gift unopened.

I have found that it is easier to regurgitate information, or prepare a great and enthusiastic speech about places we have never been than it is to set the ego aside, admit our self-focus as well as our self-hatred at times, and allow God to move through us. But the results of the latter far outweigh the former.

In Parker Palmer's great book, "The Courage To Teach" he notes:

"Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one's inwardness,
for
better or worse. As I teach I project the condition of my soul onto my
students,
my subject, and our way of being together. The entanglements I
experience in the
classroom are often no more or less than the convolutions of my inner
life.
Viewed from this angle, teaching holds a mirror to the soul. If I am
willing to
look in that mirror and not run from what I see, I have a chance to gain
self-knowledge–and knowing myself is as crucial to good teaching as
knowing my
students and my subject." 

When we don't like what we see in the mirror of enlightenment, we have a divine choice…we can either move toward what frightens us, and grow, or back away reducing our depth and self-understanding to information distribution.

The condition of our soul enters into everything we do as humans. The way we relate or don't relate. The way we choose to respond or thoughtlessly react. The way we communicate through a discussion or evade one altogether. The way we dialog through conflict or deny their is conflict.

Teaching/leading has created an atmosphere in my life where I have to continually look in the mirror and do something about what I see. Though it's never easy, and often painful, it is also a great blessing. The more I deal with and heal the image of myself in the mirror, the more I heal the man-made image of God I also carry in my soul.

When we look in the mirror, we often see a Pandora's box of paradox, In the book "The Ragamuffin' Gospel" Brennan Manning noted the following as he honestly assessed his heart:

"When I get honest, I admit
I am a bundle
of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love
and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not
feeling
guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play
games.
Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an
incredible
capacity for beer."

Brennan has a great way with words! Often when we see the paradoxes that dwell within they scare us and we stop looking. We are afraid of being accepted by God and others due to what we see that we don't like. So we live a life of cover-up or performance hoping -that- will make up for the deficiencies we see in our lives. But this simply creates a new religion for you to live out…Christ came to free you from that trap. I like how Manning re-centers us on the Gospel of God's grace:

God's love is based on
nothing,
and the fact that it is based on nothing makes us secure. Were it based
on anything we do, and that "anything" were to collapse, then God's love
would crumble as well. But with the God of Jesus no such thing can
possibly
happen. People who realize this can live freely and to the fullest.
Remember
Atlas, who carries the whole world? We have Christian Atlases who
mistakenly
carry the burden of trying to deserve God's love. Even the mere watching
of this lifestyle is depressing. I'd like to say to Atlas: 'Put that
globe
down and dance on it. That's why God made it.' And to the weary
Christian
Atlases: "Lay down your load and build your life on God's love." We
don't
have to earn this love; neither do we have to support it. It is a free
gift. Jesus calls out: "Come to me, all you Atlases who are weary and
find
life burdensome, and I will refresh you."

If you have never stepped out in leadership, or decided to teach someone else, let me encourage you to look for an opportunity. It will cause you to look at who you truly are. It will create an awareness of who your really are. It will force you to consider some of your held beliefs about God that are more than likely false. This will bring you to a new and truer awareness of who you are and who God is…and that is where real growth happens.

Mirror, mirror on the wall…who's the fairest of them all? Now the mirror can honestly respond, "Jesus is, and do you know what? He thinks your incredible."

Dei Gratia,

Monty


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The Similar Worlds of Leadership and Conducting

Check out the new leadership article over on Planet Changer, "The Similar Worlds of Leadership and Conducting"  go to http://www.planetchanger.com  and click on the link on the front page, or use the navigation tabs and go to Planet Blog.

MC

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Leadership And The Tao

Taoimage For the person who would dare to step out front and lead, he/she should know that they have just entered a journey of growth on every level of life. Leaders know all too well that there are many people who seemingly live to attack their leadership filling the air with complaints and accusations that would make your momma blush.

There are decisions to make that are guaranteed to please some and anger others. There are relational concerns, emotional drains and physical tasks that demand far more than they repay.

Good leaders are always looking at the areas that they need to grow in, whether it is emotional, spiritual, intellectual or physical. That is one of the main reasons that every great leader that I know is a man or woman who is also a great reader.

They tear into authors old and new to stretch their brain, broaden their vision and equip their teams for the future.

One leader who lived thousands of years ago captured the ancient teaching of the Tao into a document, and in it, there are some truisms that leaders can grab onto, even as we have learned from another ancient leader, Sun Tzu's,  militaristic work, The Art of War.

The Tao has been around for a long time. A compilation of proverbs, so to speak, that instruct the listener on how to live a healthy, happy and balanced life. According to legend Lao Tzu ( a contemporary of Confucius) was keeper of the archives at the imperial court.
When he was eighty years old he set out for the western border of China,
toward what is now Tibet, saddened and disillusioned that men were
unwilling to follow the path to natural goodness. At the border (Hank Pass), a
guard, Yin Xi (Yin Hsi), asked Lao Tsu to record his teachings before he left.
He then composed in 5,000 characters (or 81 proverbs) the Tao Te Ching (The Way and Its
Power).

You may have encountered some of the teachings of the Tao but not have known it was the Tao! For example, one famous saying is, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Ah, yes, now you remember!  The 17th entry of the Tao Te Ching has some great insight for leaders:
______________________

The best leaders are those the people hardly know exist.
The next best is a leader who is loved and praised.
Next comes the one who is feared.
The worst one is the leader that is despised.

If you don't trust the people,
they will become untrustworthy.

The best leaders value their words, and use them sparingly.
When she has accomplished her task,
the people say, "Amazing:
we did it, all by ourselves!"

________________________

Lao Tzu reveals four levels  or types of leadership.

Leaders that are pleasers…Leaders that get results through threats…Leaders who are so self-interested that no one likes them. You can probably think of one or more leaders that you have had the pleasure of being around that fit one of those three descriptions! I am also betting that you would never want to emulate or become like them. You might even have a nauseous feeling in your stomach right now simply remembering what it was like to work for a person who used threats, intimidation, or was always taking the credit for a job well done even when it was not his or hers to take.

For Lao Tzu the best leader is the one who empowers and lifts up others. This leader does not need to place his face on every promotional item, nor does every good thing have to point towards her, rather when the mission is accomplished, the people say, "Look at what WE did!"

If you are to become a world-class leader there are a few things to remember:

1. Ego is the greatest killer to empowering those around you to become the best that they can become.

2. When you focus on raising the elevation of your team, you too, will be elevated.

3. You will limit the success of your team or organization based upon your need to promote yourself and receive the strokes of accomplishment.

4. When you lead from a spirit of humility, you will accomplish more, live in relational health, empower others, create friends, and find that you don't need accolades from outside to make you feel good about who you are, or to give you a sense of worth.

This week, think about ways that you can empower those around you…share the credit for a job well done…thank someone you work with for their energy and effort on your behalf…resist the temptation to make it all about you.

You will notice at first that this is uncomfortable, perhaps even a bit unnatural. It is. We live in a culture that celebrates the celebrity…where we shout for the home-run hitter far more than the RBI hitter! But remember our God dwells in paradox, and sometimes our best wisdom causes that cosmic eyebrow to raise 🙂

Yet…their is a joy that awaits you if you would transition towards this different kind of leadership. John the Baptist said it this way:

"He must increase and I must decrease."

Jesus put it in another way:

"Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."

Choose today to become an Incarnational leader, a man or woman who allows God to flow through them creating a preferred reality for everyone around them!

Dei Gratia,

Monty