In the very beginning of Seekers
we wrote the call.
I have trusted that call to be
a combination of guideline, energizer, and focus.
Because I trusted the call and people's response to it,
specifics would come about not because of something I would say or do
but by inviting people into the call.
With call as a framework, visions would come from within.
I have wanted to know what mattered to each person,
what they were looking for.
Then I would describe what we had and
encourage them to say what they would like to see in addition.
I would try to help initiate something,
encourage them to take an action, or
possibly offer to be a partner in creating what they described.
Almost always when a person says something that matters
or something they want in the life of the church,
we can come up together with a way
to give that a place,
create an opportunity.
Another piece of leadership is having an overview of the
whole.
This has to do with knowing people and
being true to the original call.
I have some gifts of perception to
sense the significance of certain things for the whole,
name them, and make connections with them.
I'm pretty good at juggling.
Part of leadership is juggling different tasks
but also giving space for different understandings, approaches and needs
and recognizing that sometimes the different things are conflictual,
sometimes one should have preeminence over another
so that the conflict will not be destructive.
Being in Celebration Circle,
whose purpose is to create and grow in our worship life,
gives me the chance to help shape this central part of our community.
A role I play is to maintain the tension of the old and the new
so that there is solidity and freshness at the same time.
This has had an impact on the life of the whole church.
I have had a commitment
to having a theological framework to what we do,
to naming the doing of theology when it was happening,
and to encouraging people to put that framework around their thoughts and
activities.
I valued the root, the Biblical basis,
for the community's life,
but also have used other kinds of nourishment for my spirit
and was willing to be accountable for that.
An example was the women's theological group which met for so long.
Four of us were interested.
I encouraged us to meet to start working and reflecting.
That ferment mobilized many other things,
not because we set out to do this,
but here was a combination of folks whose energy grew
and who created an influential stream in our life.
Because accountability has always been important to me,
I have kept that concept in our midst
both collectively and individually.
Even though it may not always work,
it is a significant understanding.
When I meet a new person who wants to explore life with us,
I am an interpreter of the breadth of what accountability is
and how it gives energy to things
and has transformative qualities.
My mission group life has been an expression of faithfulness
to the two calls that have been central to me -
to worship and to the city and justice as expressed through Hope and Home.
These two have been ways to hold in our midst
the inward/outward combination
my own life has been about.
Leadership among people whose gifts are so much beyond mine -
if I got hooked into that I could be overwhelmed or feel inferior.
There are people with greater theological training, intellect, and preaching
skills -
numbers of things.
Claiming my place has allowed me to be in a role
and be appreciated for that
and most of the time not feel competitive.
The servant part of leadership that is important to me
involves
trusting in the calls and gifts of others,
not having to be the focal point
or seeking a "following" in order to feel authenticated,
allowing others to take up space and be the initiator or creator,
not having to be involved in everything,
not thinking my insight or energy is always crucial to the ongoing life.