Finding a sparing partner

With the recent selection by President-Elect Obama of Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural prayer of his presidency, controversy has abounded as to the political reasoning for his decision. Numerous people have written about it over the last two weeks (Frank Rich - New York Times)and even more has been written about what has been written (Peter Levine, Steve Waldeman,). I figure what would be one more level of commentary in the mix.

"Iron sharpeneth iron" Prov.27.17

"Surround Yourself With People Smarter Than You” - George Steinbrenner & others

The real question that has risen from the Obama-Warren debate is the fact that they don't agree on everything, or much at all on the social reform list. This challenge approach was key to Obama's campaign (setting aside any personal views of the election & Obama's views) and he has continued to use this approach for opportunities like this. This reflects another aspect of an effective community builder. Surrounding yourself with people who will challenge, strengthen and encourage you while doing it with heartfelt and genuine respect is something that many great leaders have done.

The ability to face would be "adversaries" and see past the "issues" and see them as God's creation. A commuity builder's toughest skill isn't in working and involving people that you can agree with all the time but with those who won't. Christ spent time with sinners and publicans, people very different from his sinless life. Paul was the missionary to the Gentiles, a people he despised for the early portion of his life. We cannot, however, ignore the principle of seeking godly council from other spiritual leaders because they help to keep you grounded in their faith (i.e. Paul & Barnabas/Silas).

When Paul wrote of the need for unity in the church, he didn't say it was needed because they all got along but because there were divisions. In Ephesians Paul repeatedly connects unity with a humble spirit - the only way to begin to achieve unity.

As we move forward as a country with the upcoming inaguration, we cannot dismiss the opportunity to continue the level of engagement that has occured. We must acknowledge our differences - no matter how fundamental, discover the areas we agree - surprisingly more often then we would think, and dialogue about the easily divisive issues.

Community Bulding - Genuiness is fundamental

With any community effort, genuineness and commitment has to be a central attribute. That complimentary, patient, caring, and empathetic approach is the only effective way to build a sustainable community. As community builders, we cannot come in as "fixers" or "solvers" we must be a "supporter, encourager, resource, and facilitator." We must realize that within any community, numerous resources exist (skills, talents, abilities, finances, and relationships) that often lay untapped in the members and attendees. This often happens because leaders are okay doing the work themselves or they prefer to follow their own vision and not a corporate vision for the community. We cannot assume that the vision or the passion we hold for a community is a reflection of the community. We must involve those who do not always agree with us and challenges us to do better than to simply go with those who always agree with us.

I was reminded of this fact when I read a video post by Nephos as I was studying to teach a class on Sunday. The video comes from pronounced atheist and comedic magician Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller). It describes an encounter he had with a man who gave him a Gideon Bible. Here is a great example of genuineness and made me wonder the impact of 10 genuine people. Also his comments on "how much hate do you have to have" really brings home the idea of commitment to your beliefs. Do you have anything "worth" believing in enough to give of yourself, your reputation, your life? Just as within a community, community builders get involved for their own self-interest, their own passion for a cause. Genuineness, commitment, empathy, and care are fundamental to community builders.

Check out the Penn testimonial video here.

Intentional Relationship Building in the Local Church

Community building can happen anywhere and it needs to be happening everywhere.

The concepts of intentional community building, building social capital, and increasing the level of neighborliness are all related and speak to the strengths and backgrounds of the builder-observer. The need for effective community building in every organizational culture is greater today than in the last 30 years. Research is beginning to show us that the level of face to face interaction between households has declined. Robert Putnam's "Bowling Alone" highlights this issue as a loss of social capital. See Social Capital's Blog on "UK Loneliness"

It happens in our local churches and worship centers as well. Many people come to places of worship to be connected, but avoid being overly committed. (going to the bowling alley but not joining the league, living in a neighborhood but not hosting a new neighbor, etc.)

I have even seen people come over the past few years and continue to come of their own volition, not because they agree what the beliefs of that group but they seem to want to feel connected. It seems that this is why many people come for entertainment/curiosity and leave immediately or keep their interaction to a minimum.

• Why are activities like Christmas programs so popular but the practical services throughout the year so sparsely attended?
• What happens between visits that draws them back?
• Why do some come if opposed to the standards and position of the church?

Spiritually speaking - we can tend to attribute it to a consciousness, a calling, a yearning. I think that these answers are too easy, putting the sole responsibility on the member/attendee and relinquishing the responsibility of the local organization. In fact, with an effective community building approach, churches could see this problem minimized in a short time. If the membership is motivated, engaged, and aware to intentionally engage visitors, then they will take ownership of the congregation. The congregation itself can routinely and consistently welcome, invite, and include "quick attendees" into the congregation faster than it they would be in a passive engagement approach.

I'll leave you with the thoughts for future posts.

• How intentional is the inclusion of visitors by your congregation?
• Who recruits volunteers? Is it always the leadership or the congregation itself?
• How aware is your congregation of the skills, abilities, and assets of the members?

Inaugural Post - Not an Easy Decision

As President-Elect Obama makes preparations for his inauguration next month, the anxiety of he and his speech writers must be high. This historic election will be viewed on an international stage amidst a backdrop of economic fear, ongoing war, and high social tensions. While he is a skilled orator, no amount of preparation can prepare him for this moment in his life.
I am not the President-Elect, not preparing to become the leader of one of the most powerful
countries in the world, and not sharing my vision for where the country should go in the next four years. This shouldn't be a surprise, but wanted to make it clear. Nevertheless, writing your "inaugural blog" is a daunting task. It sets the tone, the vision and expectation for what is to come. With that said, lets get into it...
Citizens, friends, and neighbors I ask you today to listen with me.

• Listen with me to others in our communities to find out our needs, hopes, dreams and aspirations.


• In listening, discover what they have to offer through their skills, time, ability, knowledge, and history.


• In discovering, share what you have in common, those connections that make us a society, a civilization, citizens of a nation.


• As you share, be moved to act to meet the needs of others by giving of the skills you have and the influence you have to create change.


• Through action, be mindful of others, acting not out of pride or self-gain but through service, humility and concern.


• As you are mindful of others be reminded to listen to ensure you heard what they said at the beginning.

Go. Make a difference, have faith, and build hope.