Page 5 - Presbyterian Connection Newspaper

presbyterian.ca spring 2018 Connection
lEaDERShiP
leadership in Times of Change
By John-Peter Smit, Regional Minister for Congregational Health, Synod
of Central Northeastern Ontario & Bermuda
We don’t have to look farther than the latest headlines to see that the world is in the midst of a massive crisis of leadership. It is hard to know where to start to tabulate the failings and flaws and quirks and foibles of leaders at almost every level of life. At the same time we face a crisis of followship. Social media is only one reflection of the reality that uncriti- cal loyalty and following the leader for the good of the greater body is a thing of the past.
While we find ourselves at an un- precedented moment in history, at the same time there truly is nothing new under the sun. Moses complains to God, “Why have you treated your servant so badly? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? I am not able to carry all this people alone, for they are too heavy for me. If this is the way you are go- ing to treat me, put me to death at once” (Numbers 11: 11,14,15a). At the same time, the people are grum- bling against Moses saying: “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’?” (Exodus
14:11, 12a).
Leadership is difficult. Followship
may be even more difficult.
None of this would matter if all was
going well in our churches. It isn’t. Many of us remain nostalgic for a time when it genuinely was simpler and easier for many in this land. Those days are gone and the strate- gies and objectives of that era, for the most part, are no longer viable.
So, what to do?
1. Choose wisely. Not all leaders
are worth following. We live in an age where, even in the church, discernment is lacking. Not every plan makes sense and not every plan matches our context. As we consider our leaders it is worth remembering that character matters and fruits matter, especially the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23). We often get so caught up in plans and schemes that we fail to consider the significance of habits of faith.
2. Follow carefully, but follow.
Too often we ask for change, while reserving the right not to change. The simple truth is this: we may not know anything about the Promised Land, but we can’t stay in Egypt. There are many maxims and princi- ples around this, let me just state a couple:
• If you always do what you al- ways did, you will always get what you always got.
• You can’t have growth with- out change and you can’t have change without conflict.
No one (except God) knows what the future will bring; no one (except God) can tell you with authority what the church will look like in even five years. However, with certainty, I can tell you that it will not be what it was and it will not be what it is now. Fol- lowing means stepping out in faith, knowing that while we may not fully know where we will end up, we only need to travel one step at a time.
3. Remember that it is God’s church. On the day after Pente-
cost, not one disciple, not one follower of Jesus had the faint- est notion of what was com- ing for this group of believers who as of yet couldn’t even call themselves a church. What God had in mind was so much greater than anyone could im- agine. This has not changed. As we face a future that is simul- taneously uncertain, yet fully in God’s hands, perhaps our greatest challenge is to remem- ber that our first calling is to live for the praise and worship of God. As we accomplish this, by prayer, by immersing ourselves in God’s word, by experiencing and sharing God’s work in our lives and by worship, we can’t help but remember who we are and who is truly leading us!
Leadership author Barbara Kel- lerman says in her blog that time of stress either make us smarter or more stupid. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes: “Now to him
who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for- ever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20–21). In these times of change and uncertainty may we be smarter to remember that what God has in mind for us truly is more than we could ever ask for or imagine!
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Meet the Moderator Nominees
Come and celebrate! 174th CONVOCATION
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Convocation Hall, 7:30 p.m. University of Toronto
Convocation address by
Dr. Frank M. Yamada
Executive Director of the Association of Theological Schools
Reception to follow at the College. All are welcome!
knox.utoronto.ca/convocation
The Rev. Daniel Cho
The Rev. Peter S. han
The Rev. mark R. mclennan
Three names appear on this year’s ballot for moderator of the 2018 General Assembly: the Rev. Daniel Cho, the Rev. Peter S. Han and the Rev. Mark R. McLennan. Read their bios and an interview with each nominee at presbyterian.ca/moderator-nominees-2018. The Committee to Advise the Moderator will count the ballots on April 3, 2018. The 2018 General Assembly will convene Sunday evening, June 3, 2018, in Waterloo, Ontario.
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