Spectacle

Since before the writings of Shakespeare, authors, politicians, teachers, script-writers, and preachers have known that if you want people to hear what you have to say and keep talking about it long after the event, you must start with a spectacle. Shakespeare’s best-known example, the three weird sisters (or witches) at the introduction of Hamlet, was designed to capture and hold the attention of both commoners and royal family members. The Half-Time spectacle at Sunday’s Super Bowl, piloted by Katy Perry, was an attempt to do the very same thing; and people were talking about it after the spectacle had fizzled down to a few late sparkler-type fire-works. The producers of the show clearly had two audiences in mind. One audience was 72,200 University of Phoenix Stadium viewers and the other audience was the 114.5 million television viewers. This time both audiences were treated to the same spectacle, but I wonder how long it will be before someone gets the idea of delivering two different shows to the two distinct audiences.

The question that comes to my mind is this: how do the rest of us mere mortals hope to get anyone to listen to us? Very few have the budget that Super Bowl producers have to throw at a message. If I want to make an announcement at church, I may throw in a small joke to keep people alert and focused, but I have never considered riding a tiger puppet across the stage to make my point. Well, okay, I did consider it, but the finance team wouldn’t give me the budget.

And let’s compare the messages. Although coherent themes may be hard to find, the message of the Half-Time Show, and the Super Bowl in general, seems to be that, “You can do anything you want if you put your mind to it and do your best to roar.” “You can be a shooting star.” “You can beat the opposition with words and positive thinking before ‘the game breaks out.’”

In another place and another time, the message delivered in most churches on Sunday mornings is far more consistent. In simple terms, the message is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Love your neighbour as yourself.” Must we create a spectacle to get people to hear this? Or are we missing a whole other medium? Rather than competing with the spectacles, perhaps we could model a different message. Perhaps we could be the simple Simon and Garfunkel with a guitar and straightforward harmonies. (Not a bad idea for next year’s Half-Time Show.) Perhaps we could be Martin Luther King Junior with a message of non-violence and a life-style of non-violence to back it up. Perhaps we could be Jesus to the people of this overly entertained continent.

"But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” Romans 10:14 New Living Translation

Authenticity

"The ideal of authenticity is something like the ideal of perfection. All of us have some idea of what we are talking about without ever having had any direct personal experience of it."1 This is a revealing and reassuring statement from David Benner. For truly, none of us will ever achieve perfection, and neither will we ever experience complete authenticity. I know this from personal experience because I have seen how long it can take me to admit to someone that I have made a mistake.

True authenticity was lost in the Garden of Eden when Eve and Adam recognized that first fatal flaw. Their immediate reaction was to cover up both their sins and their bodies. It is the same with us. We cover and hide and think that we can act like things never happened as we damage our interior lives. This stanza from a song by Randy Stonehill illustrates this well.

I have a secret I can't tell
And I've learned to conceal it well
Ah, but this disturbing smell
Keeps coming from the floorboards
Under the rug.2

The goal of true authenticity, a goal which will never be completely achieved, is not to be completely sinless, something else that we will never achieve. Rather, the goal of authenticity is to be comfortable with our nakedness before God. We cannot hide from Him, and the more we try, the more we damage ourselves and our relationships with God and with others. So, as much as possible, and beyond our own capacities, we call upon God's supernatural strength to give us the courage to stand before Him while His holy x-rays strip away all concealment. That is the goal of authenticity.


Works Cited:
Benner, David G. The Gift of Being Yourself. Downers Grove: IVP Books, 2004.

1 (Benner 2004, 75)
2 "Under the Rug" written by Randy Stonehill, Dave Perkins, and Terry Scott Taylor; published on the album Lazarus Heart, 1994, Street Level Records.

7 Habits and 12 Things

I like succinct lists of behaviours that will help keep one on the right track. I have sometimes placed such lists on the wall in my office where they remind me to keep focussed. One of the most minimal of these is one I have seen as a screen-saver on a laptop: "Get-up, dress-up, show-up." Steven Covey has his seven habits (first published in 1989) and adds an eighth habit in his book published in 2005. I recently read a list of "12 Things Successful Women Do Differently" and thought how it could just as easily have been named "12 Things Successful People Do Differently." I appreciate that women need to hear from other women. I also did not find anything in the list that was only applicable to women and believe that men can learn from women in leadership. The fact is, many of them have had more obstacles to their success than their male counterparts and can teach us all how to get past the hurdles of life.

Of course lists are not enough. Motivational posters can motivate or demotivate for the moment; but they will not be enough to carry us through an entire life. Every book, list, and slogan has its strengths and weaknesses. I must be discerning as I apply someone else's list to my life; particularly because my first allegiance is given to the Lord of the Kingdom of God. I must watch out for lists which make me important at the expense of others. I must look for lists that emphasise service to others rather than finding ways to get others to believe in and serve my goals for the world.

Intentionality is key. Drifting with the winds of the world has never been a solid strategy for finding our way. Looking down the road and targeting a specific end point will serve better. Yet, one does not look for a road-map so much as a sea-chart. The wind and sea will pound our ship as we work toward a destination but the chart will help us keep that destination in focus. Certainly, we will want to be sure that the destination is a good one. It will not do to find that at the end of the race I have gone in the wrong direction. I do not want to find that all of the things I thought would be there at the finish line are either, not there, or not as valuable as I thought they would be. So, checking the chart and conferring with others about the best destination must certainly be part of my strategy. Being a life-long learner will serve me well in this regard. I have not yet reached the full depth of knowledge in any discipline and I may have to adjust some of the things I think I have already learned to fit in the new data that comes along. I must be willing to make course corrections. One way or another, 2014 will move me closer to an end. My prayer is that we might all find it leads us closer to the truth.

Leading from the Second Chair

I have been reading Leading from the Second Chair1 by Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson. The book is designed primarily for those who will lead in a church context as executive pastors; yet, the insights within the book are valuable for anyone who leads or serves in any organization. This post will not be a review of the book but rather a description of concepts which I have found helpful.

The main premise of the book is that second chair leaders live within three apparent paradoxes: subordinate-leader, deep-wide, and contentment-dreaming. They suggest that a great second chair leader will get good at both ends of each continuum and will live within the tension of the two extremes. They say that the greatest second chair leader of the Bible was Joseph, in Genesis 37-47, who rose to be second in command of all of Egypt by living within these paradoxes.

The essence of the task is that of servant-leadership. They compare it to waiting tables.

Leading from the second chair is like waiting tables. We must strive to give our senior leaders great service. Yet sometimes in haste, aggression, or inexperience, we run ahead of our first chair and become an annoyance – or worse. Instead of receiving excellent service, the first chair ends up washing dishes, so to speak, in some sort of damage control situation. As a subordinate, learn to take note of how your leader wants to be served. Strike the balance that allows you to excel in your service to your first chair and to the rest of the organization. Be the kind of waiter whose customers are delighted to reward with a large tip. Preston Mitchell said it well: "Every great leader has to have leaders supporting him or her. They can't do it alone." We must strive to be servant leaders, putting others' needs, wants, and desires ahead of our own.2

Bonem and Patterson quote J. Oswald Sanders who said, "The spiritual leader of today is the one who gladly works as an assistant and associate, humbly helping another achieve great things."3 That could be the goal of every coach, manager, and leader. We serve by helping others to become all that God is calling them to be.

The book emphasises that good leaders are good followers. "If a leader can't be a follower, he can't be an effective leader. . . [and] Great leaders are ultimately great followers."4 The authors make the point that great leaders create space for others to become leaders.5  As leaders, we must not feel threatened when others become greater and we become lesser.

They ask an important question that gets to the heart of our working relationships: "Would I rather have the right answer or the right relationship?"6 The answer to the question will not always be simple but it is always the right question to ask and the bias must always be toward relationship whenever possible.

Toward the end of the book they go on to speak of dreams. They ask a series of questions.

What are your dreams? In your heart of hearts, what do you long to see God do in and through your life? How has God challenged you to reach your fullest potential to accomplish those dreams? These questions lie at the heart of your leadership journey. They drive your sense of destiny and purpose in life.7

In coaching others, I have often queried my clients with the similar question, "What is it that God is calling you toward?" These questions are important questions to ask ourselves as we serve and lead others. Whether or not you take the time to read this book, I hope that you might at least pause to ask yourself a few of these questions so that your life of service may be in greater focus.


1 Bonem, Mike, and Roger Patterson. Leading from the Second Chair. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005.
2 (Bonem and Patterson 2005, 41)
3 (Bonem and Patterson 2005, 28)
4 (Bonem and Patterson 2005, 29)
5 (Bonem and Patterson 2005, 106)
6 (Bonem and Patterson 2005, 34)
7 (Bonem and Patterson 2005, 136)

Handmade

The words of the song "Handmade" by Jimmy Rankin say, "Everywhere I go everything's plastic." I understand these words. It is all too easy to find pretense and masque all around us. Authenticity is something for which we long. We long for it in the music industry, in business, in spirituality, and in our relationships with our neighbours. We long for authenticity in our families, in our marital relationships, and in our friendships. We long for authenticity in every aspect of life.

When my wife and I travelled on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia we saw a level of authenticity in music that is rare to find. Many cafes, pubs, and restaurants had live music. Often it was one person on fiddle and one person on a piano. The two would play music they loved and occasionally sing. Much ad lib, improvisation, and experimentation would occur. One got the impression that you were looking over the shoulders of a couple of friends who had just sat down around the family piano. Other times it might be one or two people with a guitar and other instruments and perhaps a bit of step dancing or highland dancing thrown in. The contrast to highly produced radio music coming out of Toronto and Los Angeles was stark. This East Coast music felt very authentic.

Music is simply one example of an area in which we desire to see a greater degree of authenticity. Most of us would be happy to see a much greater degree of genuineness in all aspects of life. Where does such authenticity start? Of course, it starts with me. If I desire for others to be genuine with me I must necessarily be genuine with them. Perhaps that also means that I must become more comfortable with the person I am. Can I even take off the masque and look in my own mirror? If I want the world to give me something real - something handmade - something I can taste - it must start with introspection and analysis of myself. Only when I understand who I am will I be able to reveal that to others around me. Only then will I encourage this in others.

Enjoy these great lyrics by a great singer songwriter. You can listen to the song here.

Handmade (Lyrics and music by Jimmy Rankin and Tim Thorney)

Everywhere I go everything's plastic
Everywhere I turn it's all the same
I'm makin' my way through the smoke and the ashes
It's out of the fire and into the flame

Give me something that is real
Give me something I can taste
Show me someone who can feel
I'm sick and tired of this place
But everybody must get paid
Give me something handmade
Handmade

Have we lost our style in the face of fashion?
Have we lost the need and the will to care?
Something's gone nobody's asking
Seems the more I look it's nowhere

Give me something that is real
Give me something I can taste
Show me someone who can feel
I'm sick and tired of this place
But everybody must get paid
Give me something handmade
Handmade

These are the days of concrete and steel
This is the circus with the dancing clown
Hear the thundering roar roll over the border
These are the days when it all comes down

Give me something that is real
Give me something I can taste
Show me someone who can feel
I'm sick and tired of this place
But everybody must get paid
Give me something handmade
Handmade
Give me something handmade
Handmade