On Monday and Tuesday, I conducted our Methodology class.  Here’s the links:

Session 1:  Kia Soul, Power Point, Sean Reynolds, Kenda Creasy-Dean (there is a charge for this one)

Session 2:  Power Point, Tom Groome,

Session 3:  Mike Horan, Power Point,

Session 4:  Scrubs

Seth Godin just posted this up.  Seth was part of this posting which talked about tribes.

Years back, at the turn of the millennium, there was a list developed of the most influential people in all of history.  The “scandal” of the list was that Jesus was not ranked first but was listed third.  The one perceived as having the greatest influence upon the history of the world was actually Paul of Tarsus.

In the video Seth posted, Jesus is the guy who started the dance.  It seems strange and out of place. Yes, another joins, but it still seems odd.  The real difference-maker was the third person in, the sorta big guy in the black t-shirt who appears on the scene just before the minute mark.  That was Paul.

Seth theorizes that it was this guy “who made it a movement. Initiators are rare indeed, but it’s scary to be the leader. (The third guy in, like Paul) is rare too, but it’s a lot less scary and just as important. Guy #49 is irrelevant. No bravery points for being part of the mob.”

It becomes a movement when #3 appears.  In what venues are you #3?  And do you appreciate the #3’s who have aligned themselves with your direction?

Last week, we held our second summit gathering; this one being the Archbishop’s Summit on Vocations.

Invitation is critical for encouraging vocations. He encouraged all Catholics to remember four letters to invite young men and women to consider the religious life – “ICNU,” short for “I see in you.” It’s something you can say to young people, I see in you the qualities that would make a good priest or religious. Look for young men and women who are generous, compassionate, kind and faithful. Read more here.

We’ll have video on-line soon.  Meanwhile, this blog’s chaplain Father Austin reports that we have something up our sleeves for the Year of the Priest. . . He’s right!

Yesterday, I lead a conversation with our catholic high school alumni coordinators regarding social networking and facebook. (yes, this presentation is completely in the face of any fears expressed back in February.)

It was based off a presentation downloaded from Whitney Shaw and included this video parable presenting Social Media in Plain English.

The slideshow starts out with the image of a stack of newspapers, a media quickly dying. Yesterday, Seth Godin predicted that they will soon be a thing of the past.

It was exiting to sit with a group yesterday open and willing to shift gears on their approaches and technologies to their missions. Good conversations yesterday!

What is soul?

Well, from watching this commercial in the theater over the weekend, Soul is an inexpensive car from KIA…  Who knew??

But, the marketing folks who put this together captured the “something more” of Soul.

Soul is the “ride” we experience when we are connected with that which is spiritual. “I’m shaking and I’m moving and it is all because of You.”

Soul makes the everyday mundane turning of the wheel into destination-determined travels. 

Renewing the Vision reminds us that “we must offer young people a spiritually challenging and world-shaping vision that meets their hunger for the chance to participate in a worthy adventure.”

And, check it, the hamsters in the car are sharing the journey, car-pooling via the Soul-driven vehicle known as Church towards eternity. Their prayer, found in the lyrics, are “C’mon, there this too much distance separating You and I.”  At a confirmation retreat yesterday, we affirmed that this is “how they roll.”  Together, this is how we roll.

Appeal to a teen’s soul this week.

I wrapped up our six week Seminar in Youth Ministry training last night in Bel Air, MD.   What a fine group of folks – -  many coming from one parish!

Last night, we covered the Adolescent Catechesis session.  In anticipation that we might be reformatting this training to include some on-line elements, I also set up the flip camera to capture video…  We’ll see how that went in a day or two.  If it looks decent, I’ll post it up. 

If you have been following along on this site, you’ll noted that I claim that the popes and World Youth Day, the GDC, Our Hearts are Burning Within Us, and Renewing the Vision are all pointing us in the same direction:  DISCIPLESHIP.  Further, I also believe that it is not just about head, heart, hands anymore but must also include home/feet.

The power-point can be downloaded from here

The Seminars in Youth Ministry cover Renewing the Vision, Adolescent Development, Youth Culture, Pastoral Care and Adolescent Catechesis.  Our staff of five covers the six sessions.  This season i drew the repeat visit schedule.

I covered Youth Culture – -  which we use primarily as an effort to get into the heads of young people.  We do spend some time with the National Study on Youth and Religion and other studies that examine where young people and the society that surrounds them “are at” with faith and spirituality.

The power-point can be downloaded from here

We are continuing to lift pieces of R. Scott Rodin’s reflection on leadership at the end of his five years in the presidency at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

I am a doer.  I have the reputation of going 100+mph always focused on accomplishing objectives, meeting time-lines and crossing things off my infamous ‘to-do’ lists.  I like results over process, action over deliberation, the tangible over the theoretical.  And I like to lead people to accomplish goals and realize vision.  What gets in my way are processes, people with ‘issues’, using time inefficiently, and undertaking work that seems irrelevant.  I am committed to transformation, as long as it can get done on schedule and show some real results.

The problem with this style of leadership is that is denies the truth of the gospel and our creation in the image of God.  If we are truly made in the imago Dei, then our perception of God will significantly influence our own self-understanding.  If we view God as a solitary Monad, an individual being known for his power and transcendence, then we will be leaders who reflect those characteristics.  We will be lone rangers, seeking power and focusing on doing.  We will see people as means to an end and value the product over the process.  We will see relationships as tools for our productivity and community as an asset only when it contributes to the bottom line.  This productivity model of leadership is the result of a conception of God as the sovereign, detached monarch.  In that image, we lead as monarchs.

If, however, we are true to our Trinitarian historical commitments, we see instead a God who in his very nature is defined by relationship.  We see Father, Son and Holy Spirit as distinct persons yet also interdependent in their perichoretic relationship.  The mutual indwelling of the three persons of the Godhead gives us a different understanding of what God values in us and desires from us.  Here we learn that relationship is what defines us.  We learn that to be God’s people we must focus on who we are as people in relationship.  We learn that leadership must be concerned with the whole person, and that God’s intent is for us to do the work of the kingdom within and through the community of believers. 

All of this we come to know from only one place, namely, in the person of Jesus Christ.  If our epistemological starting point is solely in the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then our focus as leaders must change drastically. For Jesus was concerned about people over product, relationship over output, and transformation over transaction.  And from beginning to end, Jesus was a servant. 

We are continuing to lift pieces of R. Scott Rodin’s reflection on leadership at the end of his five years in the presidency at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

Truly godly leaders empower their people, give away authority, value and involve others, seek the best in and from their people, and constantly seek to lift others up, push others into the limelight, and reward those they lead.  All so that God’s will might be done in a more powerful way.  They seek no glory for themselves, but find great joy in seeing others prosper.  They take no account of their reputation, but seek that Jesus’ face be seen in all they do.  Max De Pree’s famous definition is worth repeating, “The first responsibility of the leader is to define reality.  The last is to say thank you.  In between the leader is a servant.”

We are continuing to lift pieces of R. Scott Rodin’s reflection on leadership at the end of his five years in the presidency at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

When John the Baptist saw Jesus walking in his presence, he made the declaration, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  Most Christian leaders would say that in their hearts they would wish that Jesus would increase and they would decrease.  But it is hard to decrease in a leadership position.  There are natural trappings that distinguish those in leadership such as salary, title, prestige, priority, power, influence, honor and advancement.  And in each area there are tempting opportunities for increase. . .

Perhaps the hardest place to decrease is in the influence and the power we hold over people and decisions.  For this reason we find Christian leaders who are overly directive at best, and autocratic at worst.  And as a result we produce churches and ministries that are rife with ‘learned helplessness’.  By overestimating our own worth, we help our people depend on us for everything.  And that dependence feeds into our need to be needed, to be the “idea person” and visionary, and to be in control.  We tell ourselves that the more we lead in this way, the more our leadership is valued and our presence desired. 

Of course, this is not real leadership, but a counterfeit that gives us our increase and expands our kingdom.  It also, however, does a terrible disservice to our people, leaving them uninvolved and under-developed.  It wastes resources and limits our ministry, all under the guise of strong leadership and the use of our God-given talents for ‘getting things done.’  Robert Greenleaf reminds us that the difference between a true servant-leader who is servant first, and the leader-servant who seeks leadership first, lies in the growth of the people who serve under them.  The test question is, “do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?”[The Servant as Leader]

Last Saturday, Bob Rice came and offered a retreat for those who work with Catholic young people. It was a mellow, mellow day as the soundtrack of the video indicates.

Bob’s theme which he addressed was Calm in the Midst of the Storm.  A centerpiece of the day was when Bob shared an excerpt from his upcoming book, “The Carpenter and the Fisherman”.  The story is brilliant (There’s an early review, Bob!) as he fictionalizes the disciples, fleshing out their personalities and conflicts based on his research and study.

The question that Bob allowed to hang over the room that day was… If you were in the boat on stormy seas with your Lord and Messiah asleep, would you “tough it out” or wake the Lord up?  (and, think about it, what does you answer suggest about your vision of God?)

The day concluded in liturgy where we heard of Job’s woes, Paul’s reminder that you want woe, then “woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel,” and Jesus avoiding the crowds in order to preach the Gospels where he was not so readily acclaimed.

Fame? Glory? Woe? Worry? There is no better place where I rather be than with you.  Be Not Afraid. God is enough.