September 2016
   
Harris Coaching and Consulting            
Thoughts for Leadership and Life
    
In This Issue
Politics and Powerful Questions
Resource - Grounded

FAQ'S about Coaching?

Join Our Mailing List

Friends and Colleagues,

 

In this particularly nasty election season, I offer my thoughts on how you can address issues from a Biblical/theological perspective by asking powerful questions.  We don't have to let ourselves be caught in a dilemma, either actively promoting one candidate or simply ignoring the important issues and preaching about personal morality or heaven.

 

This month's resource features Diana Butler Bass's newest book, Grounded.  It's a great resource for reaching those turned off by traditional theologies.

 

If you know someone who might benefit from my thoughts here, please use the "Forward to a Friend" button in the newsletter (that way you'll avoid problems with spam filters) 

 

Here's to clarity about how God is leading us!  

Peace,      
Bob  


Politics and Powerful Questions

We Presbyterians have a peculiar term: "neutral pulpit."  So that a selection committee can hear the top three or so candidates for a new pastoral call preach, they preach in a church other than their own congregation and not in the prospective congregation - hence: "neutral pulpit."
 
But should the pulpit be "neutral?"  Should pastors/preachers "stay out of politics" as is the norm in many communities?
 
And more to the point, in this particular election season, can a preacher in good conscience refrain from speaking to the demagoguery poisoning our democracy?  By now you are likely guessing that I think preachers must say something.  And also accurately  suspecting that I think Donald Trump is downright dangerous.
 
However, I have never told parishioners from the pulpit how I think they should vote. Since there isn't opportunity for dialogue (in most churches),  I think that expressing my direct opinion from the pulpit isn't productive. 
 
So what to do?  Use a coaching approach.  Ask powerful questions and reframe issues from a biblical/theological perspective.  And also provide safe opportunities for dialogue about issues.
 
Here are some questions I would ask if I were preaching this fall:
 
Jesus declared that the most important commandments are to love God with heart, soul, and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves.  How do the candidates demonstrate their love for God?  Are there little gods (e.g. wealth, power, ego, adoration, a particular political party) which are more important than the God of Jesus Christ?  How do the candidates demonstrate their love for people, especially those who are hurting?
 
Amos, Micah, and other prophets called for justice for all.  They excoriated the wealthy for their greed and disregard for justice.  How do the candidates seek justice for all?  What do they propose to redress injustices in income?  (Amos declared that the wealthy "sell the poor for a pair of shoes."  I noticed some elegant boots at Nordstrom's for over $300.  That's about what a McDonald's worker makes in a week!)
 
Micah declares that we are to walk humbly with our God.  To what extent do the candidates demonstrate humility?
 
The Ten Commandments aren't the Ten Suggestions.  How does the behavior of each candidate stack up against these commandments?   I think especially of the commandments prohibiting false witness, lying, committing adultery, keeping the Sabbath day, and coveting others' possessions.
 
Recognizing that every person breaks commandments, there are many scriptures that call us to repent and seek to live in God's way.  To what extent do the candidates genuinely repent i.e.  confess they have done wrong, turn from sinful ways, and more faithfully follow the Lord?
 
In Genesis, the Lord calls on humans to care for creation.  I think this means to not ravage the creation.  How do the candidates demonstrate care for creation and seek to reverse global warming and other degradation?
 
Jesus said "Blessed are the peacemakers."  To what extent are the candidates peacemakers and to what extent do they sow seeds of division?
 
The prophet Isaiah envisions a holy mountain of peace.  How do the candidates work towards a more peaceful world?
 
God calls us to give generously to do the work of Christ through our churches and other charities.  To what extent do the candidates demonstrate their love for God through their giving?
 
Jesus tells his followers 'don't be afraid!"  To what extent does one candidate or the other prey on anxiety and fear? 
 
There are many faithful Christians who are "Pro-life", i.e. who believe that aborting a fetus is killing and thus breaks the sixth commandment.  Can a Christian both support a woman who decides to terminate a pregnancy and call her - and her sexual partner - to repentance and responsible behavior?  I wonder sometimes if the single issue voters - either "pro-life" or "pro-choice" have made their positions idols. 
 
I could rant on but suggest you make your list.  Review this fall's lectionary readings and ask what issues they raise to which the Lord speaks.  I see the scriptures addressing money, peace, idolatry, hope in dangerous times, fear and loss of power. 
 
A book that's great for framing questions is Godviews by Jack Haberer.  He identifies five ways of seeing God and church that are all consistent with scripture.   I have found his categories very helpful in framing discussion.
 
Another helpful book, In Defense of Civility, by John Calvin Davis, was reviewed in my January 2015  newsletter.  
 
My bottom line: God speaks to us through scripture and our job as preachers is to help people hear.  While we cannot ever say our understanding is perfect, we can say "what I hear God saying to me - and to us - is this...  God challenges our love of wealth, our fear, our jealousy.  God judges our callousness towards the poor, the systemic injustices in our society.  I can't imagine God putting up with our excuses of impotence.  How will we respond to Christ's call to us in this particular time?"
 
It's a nasty election season.  Both candidates are flawed but, in my opinion, one is a lot more flawed than the other.

If you would like some coaching about how you might address these issues or others, please get in touch with me.
 
If you would like some help to grow as a leader, I encourage you to consider coaching, either one on one or in a group.  Most of my coaching is done by phone in order to minimize commuting but I make exceptions.  Further, phone coaching makes it possible for me to have clients who live many miles away. 

If you find this article helpful and think it might be helpful to a friend, please forward my newsletter to that friend using the "Forward to a Friend" button.  


Resources - books and other resources that have been helpful 

Grounded: Finding God in the World - A Spiritual Revolution by Diana Butler Bass

I suspect that each of you reading this newsletter knows people who are either "nones" or "dones" when it comes to organized religion.  You might think of some young adults who have never have been part of a church and who simply see no need to be part of one.  Or you likely think of those who at one point in their lives were very active in a congregation, perhaps holding a leadership position.  I have heard both nones and dones decry the awful things that some church leaders have said or done.  They hear bigoted declarations that wall off whole segments of humanity from God's love.  Some have been personally hurt.  And they are turned off by what seems like a preoccupation with the great beyond and old doctrines and little interest in the huge issues facing our world.  Or they are turned off by churches that are so focused on contemporary issues that they become little more than one more club dedicated to saving the whales or other worthy cause.
 
In Grounded, Diana Butler Bass addresses the destructive theology and spirituality which seeks to relegate God to some far off universe.
 
"People believe, but they believe differently than they once did. The theological ground is moving; a spiritual revolution is afoot. And there is a gap between that revolution and the institutions of religious faith.
 
"Why is this happening? The answer may be simpler than some suggest. At the same moment when massive global institutions seem to rule the world, there is an equally strong countermovement among regular people to claim personal agency in our own lives. We grow food in backyards. We brew beer. We weave cloth and knit blankets. We shop local. We create our own playlists. We tailor delivery of news and entertainment. In every arena, we customize and personalize our lives, creating material environments to make meaning, express a sense of uniqueness, and engage causes that matter to us and the world.
 
"It makes perfect sense that we are making our spiritual lives as well, crafting a new theology. And that God is far more personal and close at hand than once imagined."(p. 21).
 
Drawing from Celtic Spirituality and other resources, Bass declares that:
" God is the ground, the grounding, that which grounds us. We experience this when we understand that soil is holy, water gives life, the sky opens the imagination, our roots matter, home is a divine place, and our lives are linked with our neighbors' and with those around the globe. This world, not heaven, is the sacred stage of our times." (p. 26)
 
She divides her book into two sections:
 
1.  The Natural Habitat - in which she explores dirt, water, and sky, drawing from these ancient symbols of the divine presence, and discussing how humans have so degraded our natural environment.  And at the same time, declaring that God reveals self in the wonder of creation, she invites her readers to be acutely aware of God's presence in the fertility of the soil, the healing nourishment of water, and sky, with the surrounding air and outward beckoning to wonder at the stars and the universe. 
 
"Air is an intimate element," wrote Catholic priest John O'Donohue. "It gets right into you through your breathing and your blood, into the heart of your life. . . . God [is] breath and tenderness." In human experience, our understanding of atmosphere is both a spiritual and scientific reality, a concern of the soul and biology. In both cases, we are speaking of what animates life. From the perspective of faith, God creates through God's breath, and we humans breathe the very spirit of God."  (pp 111-112)
 
2.  Human Geography is the other major section.  Bass explores our need for roots, home, neighborhood, and a sense of the commons - where all can be gathered in shalom.
 
"Spirituality is about personal experience- the deep realization that dirt is good, water is holy, the sky holds wonder; that we are part of a great web of life, our home is in God, and our moral life is entwined with that of our neighbor. But none of this is for the sake of feeling good, individual prosperity, or guaranteeing a blessed afterlife. It is about tracing the threads of the interconnected universe, about finding God in nature and in community- and, in finding God, discovering that we really are one. The spiritual revolution is a protest movement against forms of religion that have lost the binding vision of peace, wisdom, and equanimity here on earth. But for a spiritual revolution to make any real difference, it must reclaim the primal sense of religion- the "we"- the power that binds us to one another, to God, and to the world. To encounter God here, we must walk out of buildings and discover the life of the commons. "(p. 238)
 
A pastor friend organized a summer sermon series around this book and found that both old-timers and young newer residents of the high rise apartments near the church building responded to what Diana Butler Bass says in this book. 
 
I encourage you to read it and let what she says both connect you more closely with the God who is as near as your breath and lead those who are turned off by older theological constructs to discover the joy of finding God already present in their lives.

I commend this book to you and other leaders in your congregation.



------------ 


What books or resources have you found
 helpful?  I'd be glad (with available space) to share your reviews and/or suggestions.  
Future Issues (bi-monthly)

November 2016 - Describe Reality As You See It
         

Services I Offer
  • Leadership Coaching - normally one-on-one over the phone in 45 minute sessions.  Asking powerful questions, framing challenges from fresh perspectives, and providing salient resources, I enjoy helping pastors raise their game.  Call me to get a free demonstration coaching session.
  • Consulting or retreat leadership - I have led numerous church boards and other leaders in clarifying their mission and vision, build trust, and generate specific action plans for change.  This might involve my coming to a meeting or perhaps a retreat for a half or full day or perhaps an overnight.  My charges vary by the time required. 
  • Workshops for pastors new to their church.  I have led some exciting overnight retreats in this area for such pastors, be they experienced or newly ordained.
  • Retirement Coaching and Workshops - to what extent are you prepared to retire?  What might your retirement look like?  I've found retirement to be a process, ever changing.  I base my coaching on What Color is Your Parachute for Retirement by Boles and Nelson.  
 
Email me for more information and/or if you'd be interested in my leading such an event in your area.

 

I hope you have found this newsletter informative and helpful.  Please subscribe to continue receiving it (or unsubscribe to stop).  If you'd like to explore coaching, please email or call me.

If you have found it helpful, please forward it to friends who you think would appreciate it. (And please use the forward button on the newsletter itself.



Bob
Robert Harris, Professional Certified Coach
Harris Coaching and Consulting

Author: Entering Wonderland: A Toolkit for Pastors New to a Church

703-470-9841