Barnabas File

My friend Ben Curtis introduced me to this poem by Bill Collins titled “Introduction to Poetry” : I ask them to take a poem    and hold it up to the light    like a color slide or press an ear against its hive. I say drop a mouse into a poem    and watch him probe his way out, or walk inside the poem’s room    and feel the walls for a light switch. I want them to waterski    across the surface of a poem waving at the author’s name on the shore. But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope    and torture a confession out of it. They begin beating it with a hose    to find out what it really means. As I listened to and then read this poem about the perspective necessary to appreciate poetry, I was convicted of the fact that this is often the way that I have treated the Bible.   Too often I have approached a pas...

Consultant Eddie Hammett recently published an article entitled “Traditional Churches Responding to Busy Lives: Discipling Busy Adults” in which he acknowledges the busyness of the 24/7 connected world in which we live and challenges the church to respond to this opportunity in new and creative ways.   One of the lessons he notes is, “Meeting people where they are rather than where we would like for them to be is a Biblical model that is tough to practice for many in their church culture.” Hammett is calling us to do that which is uncomfortable but necessary.   Where do we need to meet people today in order to get a hearing for Christ and encourage them in their growth as disciples? First, we need to meet people where they are spiritually.   “One size does not fit all” when it comes to spiritual formation.   We must be discerning about where people are in their spiritual development.   This means not only comprehending what they know but what they ...

I was recently invited to lead a session with our church’s Deacon Body on “The Deacon as Servant Leader.”   The time was limited, but I tried to deal with the concept from three perspectives—biblical, historical, and contemporary—before turning to the “servant leader” aspect. From the biblical perspective, the main idea we take away from the New Testament is that the role of the deacon or “servant of the church” (Philippians 1:1, 1 Timothy 3:8-13; Romans 16:10) was to do just that—serve the church.   The passage that we usually turn to as the earliest expression of the role (Acts 16:1-6) does not use the term, but the Seven were appointed to “serve tables” or “wait on tables.” I reminded the group that Paul and other leaders of the early church did not operate out of a church manual with detailed job descriptions.   They were more concerned that the function of service be carried out.   Those selected as deacons were not people who exercised authority but ...

On more than one occasion, I have talked with individuals who were asked to be part of “listening sessions” that turned out to be something else entirely.   As stakeholders in an organization, they were invited to give their opinions about how effective the organization was in achieving its goals and to make suggestions for the future.   Instead, they found their comments discounted and the facilitator of the “listening session” seeking to justify the prior actions and present practices of the organization. The definition of “listen” is “to pay close attention to; to give heed to.”   There are two aspects to this definition.   First, one is attentive to the words that the speaker is saying.   Second, the words of the speaker lead the listener to take action.   (And I assume that action should be other than to defend oneself.) Let me suggest some guidelines for those conducting “listening” sessions. First, listen.   In The 7 Habits of Hig...

In a recent issue of The Baptist Times , editor Mark Woods addressed the motivations that will bring young adults to church participation.   Although I understand that church participation does not necessarily equal discipleship, bringing people into the faith community is certainly a first step in that direction. Woods provides the following warnings as we present the case for Christianity to young adults:   If we portray the benefits of faith as being all in the future, it is no wonder if younger people choose to live in the present. If we portray faith as all demand and no blessing, it is no wonder if the attractions of the present trump the call to conversion.   If we cannot give young people a cause they believe is worth living for now, it is no wonder if they dismiss us as irrelevant to their lives today: we are. In order to present a faith that is beneficial, relevant, and challenging, we will have to engage young adults (and all people in t...

The Insights into Religion web site recently shared an article entitled “Contemporary Worship A Boon to Churches.”    The writer of the article reported that “64 percent of churches with contemporary worship reported a 2 percent or more increase in attendance [between 2005 and 2008]. By contrast, only 44 percent of churches that kept traditional worship styles reported a 2 percent or more increase in attendance. ” Mark Chaves , a sociologist of religion at Duke University, attributes the rise of contemporary worship to a culture that has grown more informal. “People don’t dress for work in suits and ties anymore, and they no longer address one another with formal titles.” In addition, he pointed out, society has lost faith in institutions.   “The more formal kinds of religion needed denominations to keep them going,” Chaves says. “As institutions weaken, you’ll get more informality.” Whatever the reason for the rise of so-called contemporary worship, the article...

Candles, art, textures, prayer, scripture—all are ways to experience God.   As part of our church’s Lenten observance this year, members have the opportunity to participate in twelve “experiential prayer stations” that utilize all of these.   Tucked away on a quiet upper floor of an educational building, the stations provide the chance for individuals to take a few minutes to reflect, pray, and experience the presence of God in the midst of the busyness of life.    Many of the experiences are rooted in ancient disciplines of the Christian faith. As I participated in several of the prayer stations on Sunday morning, I was struck most of all by the process.   Although I had the opportunity to “pull away” for a time, the experiences not only connected me with God but reminded me of the value that God has placed on this world.   I came away with a new appreciation of how God has embraced humankind through Jesus Christ. This look to the past is also a...

In a coaching context, encouragement plays an important part, but it must be done authentically in a way that the person can both receive it and use it for further growth.  Insincere or “canned” encouragement does little good and can, in fact, harm the client’s progress.  There are several ways that a coach can do this. First, affirm who they are.  In the coaching relationship, the coach will often pick up something that is an innate part of the client’s personhood.  This may well be a reflection of the person’s core values whether he or she recognizes it as a core value.  When the coach has such an insight, there is the opportunity to affirm the client’s “human being” rather than “human doing.”  The coach is affirming the personhood of the individual rather than something they have done.  An example might be, “Bill, you have a wonderful ability to identify with people going through times of loss.” Second, affirm their capabilities.  Ra...

Over the weekend, author Jim Rasenberger was interviewed by NPR's Noah Adams on his book The Brilliant Disaster.     The new book deals with Bay of Pigs debacle 50 years ago when anti-Castro revolutionaries failed in their invasion of their homeland.   Rasenberger believes that the most important legacy of the Bay of Pigs may be to remember Murphy's Law:   "Things are going to go wrong." President Kennedy was proud that his administration was composed of “the best and the brightest.”   Rasenberger suggests, “It would be wise for presidents to have a few people in their administration more acquainted with things not going well." Perhaps this is something to think about when we pull together a team.   We always want to “get the right people on the bus” (as Jim Collins says), but the right people may include some who have tried, failed, and learned from their experiences.   We all will fail but the important thing is to learn from our failures. ...

After I led a recent group training based on the Peoplemap Communication System, a participant expressed his appreciation.   This was the second time he had taken the profile.   He went on to say, “The last time I took this, and my supervisor held it against me.”   When I asked for clarification, he explained that the last time he had completed the Peoplemap in a group setting that included his supervisor and another person on the staff.   In subsequent conversations, the supervisor evidently used the results as a “club” to point out that my friend was deficit in certain areas, was too often blinded by his strengths or natural tendencies, and was unable to change his actions or behaviors. This is not the first time that I have heard someone say that their results on a profile have been turned against them.    I have also heard of people who used their results on a personality profile to excuse their behavior with the comment, “That’s just the way I a...

The Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship held its General Assembly at Monte Vista Baptist Church in Maryville this past Saturday.   This was the first meeting since Terry Maples became Field Coordinator of the organization and reflected well the priorities that he and the Coordinating Council have adopted to ensure the future of this organization:   faith formation, mission opportunities, next generations and networking. Rob Nash, Global Missions Coordinator for CBF, spoke at the closing worship service.   Nash is an articulate and visionary leader.   I first learned of him when I read his book   An 8-Track Church in a CD World   (I think it is time for a sequel— A CD Church in an MP3 World ).   Nash pointed out that this is a time of rapid change in missions and church life but he shared his optimism about the church’s ability to adapt. He appropriately cited Albert Einstein’s statement that “The kind of thinking that will solve the wo...

Photo from The Daily News Journal CNN has been broadcasting a “news” special entitled “Unwelcome:  The Muslims Next Door” this past week.   With Soledad O’Brien as reporter, the program recounts the negative response on the part of some citizens to the building of a new Islamic Center (mosque) in my town of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.   I am not a native of Murfreesboro, but I have lived here for thirty-seven years as a matter of choice not chance. In commenting on this program, I have to point out that this is not really a news program or a documentary.   This is the way that it is done in the national (and sometimes local) media.   Although I am a fan of Ms. O’Brien, she and her producers have attempted to distill a very complex event into a “story” with clearly defined protagonists and a predetermined point of view.   Unfortunately, events in Murfreesboro provide all the ingredients—colorful players (on both sides), elevated emotions, demonstratio...