Leave Taking

On December 23, 1783 General George Washington appeared before Congress. There were many who thought, some hopefully, that he would claim dictatorship or kingship over the nation. Instead he simply handed a letter to the president of the Congress and resigned his commission. He laid down his sword and picked up the plow.

As a result of this gracious leave taking Washington came to be known as the American Cincinnatus. This image drew on the memory (mythological?) of the great Roman general of the 5th century B.C. Pressed into service to save Rome Cincinnatus came off his farm to lead the legions to victory then quietly returned to civilian life. Washington's exit was not what was expected. It led even his former enemy King George III to remark that Washington was “the greatest character of his age.”

Jon Stewart is certainly no George Washington. But he has been an important figure in our national conversation during the 17 years of his time at The Daily Show. His work created an entire genre of satirical/serious news coverage that has multiplied into many different shows. As the court jester he could poke and prod. Asking questions and holding up the light of truth in ways that other mainstream news agencies couldn't, or wouldn't, for fear of losing their privilege.

Stewart no doubt could have stayed on for a long time and no one would question him. But last night he figuratively laid down his sword. He is taking leave of his job at The Daily Show to do other things. While he enjoyed the people and the position he recognized it was time to move on. "It is time" he said "for someone else to have this opportunity."

Interestingly the response I have seen from Facebook and Twitter to this decision has been largely one of grief and fear. "Who will take his place?" "Where will I get my 'news'?" "Without Jon Stewart how will I keep sane?" This is understandable and betrays a regular reaction of followers to a leader's decision to step away. The fear of the loss of what the follower knows. The fear if the unknown. This leads us to uphold the status quo and so often to keep the same people in place time and again.

Leaders, generals or satirists, have a right and in fact a duty to step aside. If for no other reason than for them to have their own lives. Stewart jokingly noted that this decision would enable him to have "dinner, on a school night, with his family...Who, sources tell him, are lovely people." In that way he did resonate with Washington's pledge to Martha that, for the first time in a decade, he would be home in time to "pour the Christmas cordial in her glass."

Stewart deserves our praise for deciding that after 17 years it was time to take leave. He joked that this was, by 16 years, the longest he has ever held a single job and his audience didn't deserve a "restless host." As a fellow member of Gen X (Stewart was born in 1962), I can understand that sentiment. We have been raised in a world of uncertainty and continual change. This is our reality but it isn't necessarily a bad thing. And as we look to the future it is also imperative that those who have held positions be willing to allow others to come along and have their opportunity to lead.

No one can replace Stewart. However, that is not the goal of leadership. Leadership should be about multiplication not replication. Good leaders do not create clones of themselves but encourage others to follow their lead and use their talents to take them in new directions. Good leaders give others the opportunity to step forward. This is why we have term limits on Presidents. It forces the country to look for new leadership and gives new opportunity to those who follow. Washington knew this instinctively. I hope other leaders will also begin to see this need as well.

One Big Thing

Every year around this time I make end of the year goal-setting and personal evaluation a part of my new years eve festivities. (for last year see 2013). These are 3-4 goals I set for myself, family, education, and my organization each year and then look at them at the end of the year to see how I have done. Some of these goals I can achieve on my own (exercise, study, prayer) but others require the cooperation and involvement of others. Honestly, I rarely achieve fully more than 50% of these goals. But that has always been ok with me.

2014 was a different story. Again I set goals for myself, family, education, and organization. But in 2014 I achieved very few of them, less than 20%. Personally, I didn't blog as much as I would like and my exercise regime stayed good but weight loss and metric improvements in performance weren't achieved. Trinity didn't grow to 200 in worship as I had hoped and our small group ministry replicated itself but did not multiply.

This honesty is important. It also doesn't mean I was incompetent. I do exercise regularly and maintained my fitness levels (which is becoming more difficult as I am in my "late" 30's). Our family life was good and we had wonderful trips together and with extended family. Some important lessons were learned as well about emotional distance and space. In my call. Trinity experienced another year of growth although not what I had dreamed of. We celebrated 50 years of our children's center with wonderful events and a new playground. We moved confirmation back to Wednesday nights increasing youth involvement and activity. God has blessed us with abundant resources of time and talent as well as financial gifts. We have achieved our 3 year goal in our capital campaign and will celebrate retiring that debt this January.

But the fact remains that the 10-12 total goals I set in these 3-4 areas were not largely achieved for 2014. So what of it? Do I look at 2014 as largely a failure of improvement? On reflection one could say so. However, I have realized a truth about goals. One that no doubt others have discovered but I had to find for myself.

This truth is that if you are desiring to achieve something big in a given set of time. That BIG thing (or BHAG in Jim Collin's terminology) is going to dominate everything. In 2014 I had a BHAG that I would pass all three sections of my comprehensive exams for the PhD in Leadership Studies I am pursuing at Dallas Baptist University. Those exams were at the end of August and their study dominated the first 8 months of this year and recovery from those exams as well as writing a dissertation prospectus dominated the final 4 months. That was the BHAG for 2014. I achieved it. But as a result, not a lot of other goals got reached.

I remember as a newly ordained pastor sitting in a synod assembly listening to my new Bishop recite the priorities for the synod. When he got to priority number 11 I had this sinking feeling in my gut. Right away I knew this was not a focused community clear on their mission and purpose but a loose confederation of competing ideas and priorities. Achieving anything large and meaningful together would be, and proved to be, quite hopeless. Many small things got done. Lots of good work happened. But there was no overriding sense of purpose or unity.

This is the lesson for me of 2014. If you are trying to achieve a once in a lifetime thing: a BHAG. Everything else is going to have to take a back seat. You still must do your job, be a parent, a spouse, a child. But you must also be realistic about what else you can achieve.

So for 2015. I have one big thing: write chapters for my dissertation.

Happy New Year!

Help vs. Hype

Last week a lot of hype was going around the internet that a 90-year old man had been arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for feeding homeless individuals on the streets. First off, he had NOT been arrested. However, this feeding program that he was organizing used public spaces such as parks or beaches in violation of an city ordinance and he had been cited for his actions. Much of the news around this has been sensationalized with misleading headlines (such as the huffpost article linked above). Unfortunately only on rare occasions has there been much substance to the conversation.

Cities around the country face a significant challenge in caring for and working with our homeless communities. In Fort Worth we have anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 individuals who are homeless at any given time. Of this number 400-500 are listed as being "chronically" homeless (homeless for over a year or with 4 or more episodes of homelessness in the past 3 years). Many of these homeless are children, victims of domestic abuse, or suffer from a mental illness. Again, in contrast to the hype, a small percentage of them have a debilitating substance abuse problem. 10% of our homeless also tend to be veterans of the U.S. armed services.

When you actually engage the homeless community these statistics come very clear. As the pastor of a church in the heart of the city I have had the opportunity to get to know our homeless neighbors. Several times a week, especially in colder months, I have the opportunity to speak with and engage homeless neighbors who seek shelter in our courtyard or come asking for food assistance.

Through the generosity of Trinity members and the fees I earn doing non-member weddings my pastoral discretionary account allows me to buy these individuals a meal at McDonald's or help them with a tank of gas if they are passing through. I encourage them to seek assistance with the programs we support. However, the vast majority of these individuals are the small percentage (less than 10%) of our homeless community who are homeless largely due to substance abuse problems.

Rather than seek shelter, treatment, or solutions to get off the streets, their addiction has trapped them. Rarely does a day go by I don't pick up several empty cans of high alcohol beer from the church property. We have had to warn our yard volunteers when picking up leaves to wear gloves and watch for sharp objects. These are the realities of being a church in the city and we embrace those realities because this is where our church is planted.

Then there is the experience I have every second Tuesday of the month when Trinity hosts game night at the main shelter and the women & children's shelter at the Presbyterian Night Shelter. The PNS is the largest provider of services to homeless people in our community. That evening members of Trinity serve hot chocolate (lemonade in summer) and provide cookies, conversation, game partners, and prayer partners. Each evening we serve 200 or so individuals in the main shelter and 20-30 children and their mothers. These are a mixture of folks who are homeless for a variety of reasons. Many temporarily homeless due to job loss, illness, or domestic violence. Some came to Texas for the winter or to seek work in our "booming" economy. PNS and other programs like them provides them a place to land, to prepare paperwork to receive benefits they might be due (especially for Veterans), and hopefully being a journey home.

All of these individuals are human beings deserving of being treated with dignity and respect. And at Trinity and in the shelter programs in our city I believe they receive that respect. In addition to shelter programs our city has an organized program to assist those who are willing to make the journey from homelessness to home. Shelter is available to individuals willing to conform to simple rules and only a couple hundred a night choose to do otherwise. Although hunger and food insecurity is a problem, often for our school children (80% of students at my daughter's school qualify for free breakfast and lunch) more than adults, there is no wide-spread starvation on the streets of Fort Worth.

Despite this positive work we do have significant problems in Fort Worth. We have ghettoized the homeless programs largely into the East Lancaster area away from the tourist areas of downtown. Directions Home has been underfunded by local and state government. More could be done for the spiritual and emotional well being of homeless men, women, and children. We spend hundreds of millions on new arenas and development projects. Yet the windfalls from those projects directly benefit only a small percentage of the Fort Worth population. Directions Home struggles to make its commitments due to budget cuts.

We have challenges in our city as does every city. However, the hype and sensationalized coverage of the events in Fort Lauderdale do little to truly help our homeless sisters and brothers. During the holidays many will have the desire to go to a "soup kitchen" and serve or donate one of their spare coats to a clothes closet. That is a noble gesture and one to be encouraged. However, if you truly desire to serve those in our community who are homeless please get involved with organizations that have the ability to do more than provide a meal and a photo-op. Make service more than just a holiday thing but a regular part of your life, the life of your church, and your family's life.

I have no doubt Mr. Abbot is sincerely trying to bring attention to and move conversation forward about the root causes of homelessness in our communities. As a 90 year old man he sets a challenging example to any who might say they are to old or too young to serve (follow Paul's admonition to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4).

However, to help people, to accompany our sisters and brothers in need, requires much more than setting up a table with some food in a park. It takes engagement, relationships, case-management, knowledge, and connections to services and spiritual care. There is work to be done year round. So I applaud Mr. Abbot's desire and take a challenge from him. If a 90 year old can do it, so can you. Let go of the hype and get to work with help.

Ruling at 53%

Elections come and elections go. However, with the advent of Facebook in recent years every time the first Tuesday in November rolls around there is a rush for folks to post their "I voted" pictures and wax poetic (largely) about the democratic process in our country.

However, a funny thing seems to happen about 9pm or so that evening. A change occurs in the posts. Lamentation and depression begin to fill one group while further cheers about the joys of living in a free democracy come from another. And there is silence as the Libertarians and Greens once again realize they have no legitimate chance of winning state-wide or national elections of any real scale.

This year those of my friends who support the Republican party were the one's who were able to cheer and celebrate while my Democratic party friends lamented. This should come as no surprise, the six year itch always seems to hit the party of the President (Teddy Roosevelt and Bill Clinton are the exceptions). This year should have been no surprise given the intense response to President Obama from the first day he took office.

The trouble however comes now. No party really has a mandate from the American people (rarely do they ever). The electorate is firmly divided nationally and even locally. How can one claim to be the will of the people when you hold an advantage of only two or three votes (as the Republicans do in the Senate now) and no ability to enact cloture (without invoking the so-called "nuclear option"). And without the ability to override a Presidential veto.

The late Tip O'Neill was right all along when he stated "All politics is local." The trouble with him being right however is that American people have an incredible ability to assume their local context is the national reality. I have been a resident of 3 states in my life (Texas, Massachusetts, Wisconsin) and lived a significant amount of time in two others (Pennsylvania, Washington). These are diverse and dramatically different places.

Yet the one thing I have found in common in those places is a tendency of the residents there to normalize their existence to the nation. Their reality is somehow the global reality. This is especially a challenge because we continue in this nation to segregate along economic, racial, political, and linguistic lines. Rarely do individuals by choice come in contact with "the other." We tend to sit in rooms in which 8 or more of the people look, talk, live, and think like us. Otherwise we become uncomfortable and we drive out those whose opinions are different from ours.

The challenge then is leading when you only gained 53% of the electorate. I use 53% because in Fort Worth the State Senate seat was won by that number. 53% is hardly a mandate. Theoretically if you put together 10 random people from your district in a given room 5 would agree with you, and well over 4 disagree. How do you lead that room? History, at least the last couple/three decades of history, tells us there won't be much leading but much more power. Certainly there has not been Transformational leadership. There will be Transactional exchanges and exercises of power utilizing the 53% who put you in office. The leader will be desperate to keep that number happy. Because when you win with 53% if only 3-4% were to shift, you would be out.

Unfortunately what this means is that the rooms our leaders tend to spend their time in aren't reflective of the electorate as a whole. They, as do we, live in echo-chambers that repeat what they want to hear, that reinforce the normalizing instinct.

Our churches can and often have been like this as well. In 1973 a slim 55% majority radically shifted the future of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. This slim majority impacted the future of that denomination and, as James Burkee has well argued, led it to become increasingly marginal in the national religious landscape.

But this also happened to those on the other side of that convention. While the leaders of the Seminex movement and later the AELC felt they had a strong base of support, they did not have much of the rank and file in the pews and pulpits. Their own echo chambers failed to take into account the majority of individuals want three things from their church: worship, sunday school, and bathrooms.

If history is our teacher, the control achieved today will no doubt be held for 2-4 years, and then relinquished again. A mandate will be proclaimed by the winning party and transactional leadership will go on until the swing back occurs. This is both part of the genius of the American democratic system (that keeps things from going too fast and too far too quickly) and one of the great failures as well. A failure that can only be righted by the American people stepping out of their own personal echo-chambers, gated communities, neighborhoods, facebook groups, preferred news outlets, and engaging "the other" in their midst.

But that is hard work. Work that cannot be done without leadership that goes beyond power wielding and grasping. I see this most hopefully at the local level. Neighborhood councils, city government, PTA's, and congregational leaders. Mayors who actually speak to their people from many different walks of life and work together to find solutions to the local problems.

We need Leadership that challenges our normal assumptions, that moves us to a higher moral plane, transformational leadership. This can and does happen locally everyday. Let's take the focus off the macro and look at the micro. This should be good new for those helpless Libertarians and Greens as well. Lift that leadership up and celebrate that hope, go meet a neighbor who doesn't look like you, speak your language, earn your same level of income, or eat the foods you eat. And if you don't have such a neighbor, ask why?

Yes, I am afraid

Ebola frightens me. It frightens me because it kills its victims in a horrific way. It frightens me because I have a wife and little children and their health and well-being are so very important to me. It frightens me as a pastor of health care workers, day-care providers, children and the aged. It frightens me because it has come to the Metroplex where I live. It is no longer far off in West Africa. It isn't in New York or LA. It is here, just across 360.

I am afraid because of how disappointed I am in the obvious lack of communication when the first patient arrived at the hospital in Dallas. And even further how insufficient protocols at the hospital were for dealing with the patient and staff.

Ebola is a real disease that has been with us for many years. However, we have been able to ignore it largely because it has been isolated in Africa. A place and people most Americans know little and care even less about. But now Ebola is on our shores.

Make no mistake, hospital workers and staff, law enforcement, ambulance crews and clean up crews are all in danger from this disease. As they are from many other diseases and dangers. I am afraid for their health and for their family's health but I am also afraid of something more.

Most of all Ebola frightens me because of what I am already seeing happening in my community and around the United States. The things I see from "friends" on Facebook. What I read on the news. The fear and sensationalizing. The misinformation, stereotyping, and the profiling of West Africans. The xenophobia from the usual cranks as well as people I have considered friends.

This is my fear. That we will succumb to the fear that not only kills the body, but also kills the soul. Jesus knew about this fear. He had sent the 12 into mission in Matthew 10. They were sent to "Proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons."

They go with a mission to be part of the missio dei. God's saving work in world. In doing so they would face adversaries and adversity. Jesus encourages them to be strong. But also warns them about the dangers of this mission and who they should really fear. "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (gehenna)"

I am afraid because I worry that the fear of Ebola, not Ebola itself, is going to destroy not only bodies but also souls. That getting just a taste of the anxiety of this disease our sisters and brothers in Africa are flooded with will show our true captivity to sin and that captivity will win. That we will fall into that fear that destroys rather than take the opportunity to confront this disease and our fears.

I am afraid we won't take this opportunity to build up our society and and make us stronger. To learn from our earlier mistakes. To recognize that what happens in west Africa does matter to us. To take seriously that those ancient words about being the body of Christ in the world and that when one part of the body suffers we all suffer, aren't just words.

This is very real for us here in the Metroplex. But I have a feeling it will be increasingly real for people around this country and ultimately around the world. It is easy to close ourselves off. To spread rumor and fear. To blame and to stereotype. It is harder, much harder, to have courage. To insist that hospitals quickly establish protocols for healthcare workers. To give generously to help stop the spread of this disease where it is most devastating. To recognize that thousands die in this country each year from diseases like the flu or from inadequate access to general health care.

I am afraid. Afraid that instead of mobilizing the massive resources and potential of our great nation to combat this crises here and abroad we will turn inward. "Let them descend into chaos and death" we will say. That the mission to proclaim good news will fall short. That we will lock our gates to our homes, neighborhoods, and ultimately our nation. That even in the church the mission of God in the world will be forgotten in our fear. That the one who can destroy both body and soul will win.

I am afraid and I want to end with hope. But right now, I am afraid.

Foundation Laying

One thing I love about being in the heart of the arts district of Fort Worth is being able to walk just blocks to some of the finest museums in the world. One of those museums, the Kimball, just created a new addition to their facility. Designed by famed archited Renzo Piano it added additional gallery and performance space as well as reoriented the Kimball's land usage back to its original configuration.

They just released this video. A time lapse sequence of the construction over two years of the new Renzo Piano Pavilion. What impressed me as I watched this little video was not just the completed project, which is lovely, but the time it took to prepare for the construction. About 80% of this video shows nothing that would resemble the finished product. It is not until all the ground preparation has been completed and the foundation has been laid that we see the building take shape.

So many of us reach for glory. We want that last 20% of the work to come right now. To finish the marathon without the training. To speak another language without the study. To have success in our relationships without the work of daily life together. I see this in the church all the time. People want to be up front, they want to lead the bible study, they want to contribute their thoughts. But how many are willing to mow the grass or wash the windows? To sit in the nursery so other parents can go to worship? To sing in the choir to support the congregational song, not to be a soloist?

Jesus spent a lot of time with his disciples laying the ground work. He was with them day after day. Coaching, challenging, empowering, and pushing them. And a lot of that work seemed to be failure, especially when they all deserted him at the end. However, without that work would the early church had any leaders?

Most of what we do everyday is foundation laying and preparation. It isn't glamorous and sometimes it looks like we aren't making progress. But this is where the work gets done that makes that last 20% possible.

Are you the white rabbit?

Currently GG wants to read her "Alice" book everyday on the way to school. So much so that by now she has the thing memorized. She knows the name of all the cats in the story (Dinah, Cheshire) and she also knows what the white rabbit says. "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!"

With the start of school I had several Facebook friends who lamented the return of school zones as part of their commute. The inevitable slow downs or pedestrian (20 mph or less) speeds they were expected to drive. The need to put down their cell phone or risk a ticket. Some of these are folks without kids largely. So I kinda understand. They don't get yet how important it is to be aware and watch for children and adults who are busy carrying supplies and backpacks. How challenging it can be to get everyone wrangled and how quickly a child can step just 2 feet into the street.

I see this also on my commute from the school to church. Largely I drive on surface streets, many of which are residential. Yet people, often those who even live in the neighborhood, drive these as if they were superhighways. Annoyed by the speed bumps the city had to install to keep speeds somewhat reasonable. Obviously we are all late for important dates.

So I get that, a lack of understanding. Yet the last couple mornings I have noticed a distinct phenomenon both at my kids elementary school and also at our pre-school. When parents have their kids in their car, when they are waiting in line to drop off or to park, they are often deliberate and slow in their driving.

However, the minute the kid is out of the car or they get back in from dropping off, they accelerate quickly and take off. Often times failing to notice others who are getting out of vehicles or dropping off their children. They behave just like many others on the road. Unaware and seemingly unconcerned with others.

Why is this? Well, frankly I go theological of course. It is sin. Sin that focuses us on our family and our needs when it is in front of us. But once that responsibility is done we fail to notice the needs of those around us. We are entrapped by our own desires and fail to think about the neighbor around us.

This happens in many and various ways in our society. It is what Luther referred to in his lectures on Romans as the "Incurvatus in se." The life lived for self rather than God. We focus on our children and our schedule. We fail to notice or pay attention and live a life for God. And this happens to parents as well as non-parents. The moment our children are safely in their school, we become just as unaware as so many others. This is not living our lives for God.

How do we live a life for God? By serving our neighbor. By thinking of their needs first. And an easy way to start this is by driving carefully. Slowing down not just in school zones but on neighborhood streets and even on the highways (the speed limit in town is often 55 or 60, not 80!).

So be aware. I know you are late for a very important date. But please. Slow down.