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I’m launching into what I hope will be a semi-consistent treatment of what I consider some of the myths of Christian leadership. This is on top of work, school, family and other writing obligations… so, for those of you who plan to follow this thread, give me a week or so to post.
While still a young adult by any standard, my experience has been rich and varied: I served as an associate pastor at a large suburban church for several years, then spent some time in a college town. I also spent around a year as the youngest lead pastor in my entire district of Northern California and Nevada, serving a small rural community and supplementing my income at UPS. Now I’m serving a mid-sized church in the ecclectic, beautiful and paradoxical city of Oakland, California — and re-thinking the fundamentals of Christian Leadership.
It’s not so much that I have set out to debunk a grand deception of any kind. Unlike Bill Maher, I really don’t think one exists. I do, however, believe that the problem in the church is the same as that outside the church: our systems are corrupt because they are staffed by corruptible human beings.
And that’s not to suggest I stand above the fog of human frailty! Hopefully, my unique vantage point on church leadership can bring something helpful and constructive to the larger conversation in the Body of Christ about who we are and where we stand in the world. As a friend and elder frequently says to me, “it’s important that we talk to each other about these things.” I agree: too often we find a camp of like-minded fellows and pitch our tent there. Birds of a feather may like to flock together, but a strange and beautiful family of different-colored birds we should strive to become.
Next: The Myth of Superiority. Stay glued…
I know, this blog has been feigning death for the last several weeks. Blogging is one of those things, at least for me, where I sometimes get tired of the sound of my own voice. And using platforms like wordpress for sharing stuff I find on the internet is not nearly as socially-networked as a site like facebook.
At any rate, there are some projects I’m lining up that I’m excited to tell the world about. One of them is a parenting class Serena and I will be leading in September on behalf of Sequoyah’s Family Ministry. It’s a well-packaged video/workbook small group curriculum called, “Parenting, The Early Years.” Here’s the preview:
If you’re in the East Bay Area and you’d like to participate in this six-week small group seminar, you can contact me via e-mail for more information.
We just returned a couple of hours ago from an extended trip away from home, and it feels good to let our own furniture bear our familiar weight. The first half of the week was spent at District Council for the
Northern California and Nevada district of the Assemblies of God. For those unfamiliar with our governance, it is basically an excuse to get a bunch of old friends together to do a little business and a lot of catching up, praying together, etc. A very good time this year, as we got to hear George O. Wood preach for two nights straight – he’s our General Superintendent (our pope, as Glen would say) and gave NorCal/Nev a great first impression of his leadership as one who is educated, humble, and really connected to Jesus in a profound way. Some other highlights from the trip:
Sorry the posting has been few and far-between as of late. Life for the last week or so has been very present-tense, and not really given to narration.
Next week I will be out of town at (takes deep breath) the Northern California/Nevada District Council of the Assemblies of God. I will try to post some canned thoughts up here during the week, and I will also be live microblogging at www.twitter.com/oharaville
Just one more thought before I go home to be with my wife and kid: would you want to know when your last day on earth is going to be? How would you live differently knowing that your days here are numbered? I don’t mean to be unnecessarily morbid, but our society here really works overtime to distract us from the grand reality of time’s passage. We color our hair. We hide old people in homes or retirement communities. We want to stay young and active as long as humanly possible and turn off the transmission after that line is finally crossed. I’m part of that world. But I’m also part of a world in which I saw my grandfather pass away in his hospital room last year. I’m also part of a world in which four people from my faith community have had funerals in the past year. I’m also part of a world in which death is a reality of life. How do I live in light of this reality? How does it help me to be present with the people I love, knowing that my time here is really a blink in the long gaze of eternity?
This morning was the Hoover Elementary Renewal Project, and it was a perfect day with great turnout. I’m tired and may tend toward embellishment, but to the best of my recollection here’s how the Hoover project went:
- We expected around 40 volunteers and received over 80.
- Parents, students, teachers and administrators worked alongside members of our faith community to clean, garden and beautify the Hoover Elementary campus.
- Flowers and plants were planted, benches were painted, walls were pressure-washed, faded playground paint stripes were re-painted, garbage was picked up, the play structure was washed, weeds were pulled and abated, and people had a great time.
- This is what the kingdom of God looks like.
- We’re coming back for more!
I’m joining my faith community in being God’s planting at Hoover Elementary School in Emeryville/W. Oakland this Saturday, April 5 from 9 a.m. to Noon. Everybody’s invited to love on the school in the Way of Jesus, through garbage pick-up, pressure washing, bubble gum scraping, painting and planting… and praying, always praying.
E-Mail me at john(at)sequoyahcommunity, or join up at the Facebook Event Page.
