Barnabas File

We are living in a time when innovation is no longer an option.     Whether you are involved in business, the service sector, or the church, you must learn to be innovative or accept the path of decline, irrelevancy, and death.       While I encourage leaders to get people with different personalities and perspectives together to come up with solutions, The Innovation Code takes this a step further.  Authors Jeff and Staney DeGraff argue, ”When it comes to any innovation initiative . . .  disharmony is crucial. The only way to create new hybrid solutions is to clash.”     If we are going to be innovative, we have to embrace difference and learn from it.  They challenge their readers to “do things that make you feel uncomfortable.  Talk to people with whom you have nothing in common. Remember that the ideal solutions to the most complicated problems will never involve just one mode of thinking.”   ...

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “Change is the only constant in life.     One’s ability to adapt to those changes will determine your success in life.” Few of us like change or, perhaps it is more accurate to say, “We don’t like being changed.”     I certainly don’t relish change, but I have found it to be a great motivator even if it is sometimes difficult to accept and endure.     First, change is painful.  It forces us to change our patterns of doing things, often getting outside of our comfort zone. Some of this is psychological--going against our personality type--but it can be emotional as well.  Losing a loved one or a job causes real pain.  Missing an opportunity hurts.  Seeing the failure of something in which you have invested time and energy is hard to take.   Second, change is normal.  The world is not static.  People are certainly not predictable.   As so...

The cry, “I didn’t learn that in seminary,” seems to be heard even more often these days.     Few of us had the opportunity to learn how to use technology, do virtual pastoral care, or deal with the widespread grief during a pandemic.    Even so, theological educators have realized for years that there is just so much that an institution can cram into a degree program for students with different interests, abilities, and experiences.   A couple of years ago, The Association of Theological Schools did research on the topic of what alumni wished that they had learned in seminary.  It is the basis of  a recent article  by Judith C.P. Lin and Deborah H. C. Gin which gives insights about the emerging learning needs that graduates express once they are in full-time ministry roles.  For example, Master of Divinity recipients serving congregations listed their top three “wish-learned” items as administration, leadership, and finance.  ...

Although Bible commentators suggest that Luke was probably writing his gospel for a Gentile audience, the first chapter of the gospel links directly with the Hebrew Bible and prophecy.  Zechariah and Elizabeth are a righteous couple from priestly lineage who represent the best of that tradition.  There is a bit of humor in Zechariah’s encounter with the Angel Gabriel, his voice being silenced due to his doubt, and an older couple finding themselves pregnant, but the task they receive is serious--they will give birth to and nurture the new Elijah, forerunner of the Messiah.   Elizabeth and her husband represent several things that we should take seriously as we consider the role of senior adults in the church today.   First, they represent communal memory.  They remind us from where we have come. Senior adults today provide link to the rich heritage of faith not only of the Hebrew tradition but now the 20 centuries of Christian faith and practice. ...

Leadership means different things to different people in the church.     In recent years, the model of strong pastoral leadership has taken root in churches of various denominations (or none).     This model emphasizes the role of a visionary leader who creates a church or comes to a church with his (although sometimes, her) vision of where God wants the church to go.     Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t.    Sometimes it works for a while and then everything falls apart when the pastor/leader leaves the scene.   When I was taking a class with Alan Roxburgh, a missional theologian, he said something to this effect:  “The Spirit of God is present among the people of God and will provide the way forward.”  This approach recognizes, first,  that the church is made of people with different gifts--including the pastor, the ministerial staff, and every single disciple in that church--who have something unique ...

As a good Baptist, I didn’t have anything to do with religious images growing up.  We had no images in our place of worship, not even a cross.  I think we were afraid that we might violate the “graven image” commandment (Exodus 20:4, KJV).     When I was a student at Southwestern Seminary, I had missions class in a large, ornate room next to  the Chapel.  During our time in Fort Worth, we would take visitors downtown to a storefront building to see a display of wax figures depicting DaVinci’s Last Supper.  Only later was I told that a wealthy benefactor had commissioned this as a gift to the seminary to be displayed in that large room adjacent to the Chapel.  It was meant to attract visitors to the seminary; however, the more conservative brethren in Texas objected to these “graven images” so they went into the exile downtown. (If this story is apocryphal, someone please correct me.)   I think Jesus and the ...

When I was studying missional theology several years ago, I was introduced to the term “discontinuous change.”  In an article in 1993, William Pullen described it in this way: “ Discontinuous change  occurs in response to an abrupt event in the environment - a strategic shock - for which there is no organizational precedent.  Discontinuous  means the event is not continuous with the past or current direction of the organization.”    The COVID-19 pandemic certainly illustrates such a paradigm shifting event, but many of the changes engendered by this event were already on the horizon.  Especially for the church, the pandemic is simply accelerating what was going to happen anyway.  We have jumped forward in time and been forced to deal with conditions that were already emerging,   This reality came up in a conversation with a pastor recently.  In his situation, he has seen that worship is no longer the “front door” to ...

“There is a time   for everything,   and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, . . . a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” -- Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 4, NIV   During these days of pandemic, much of what we consider normal and routine has changed.  We are no longer able or willing to pursue life in the ways we always have.  A heart-wrenching challenge for family members has been their separation from loved ones who have been hospitalized.  Many are denied physical access to those who are dying due to concern about the COVID-19 infection.     Mourning has also been a challenging in a time of social distancing and mask-wearing.  More families have opted for simple graveside services with family and close friends, giving up on a memorial service or hoping to have a fitting service later.   These are als...

What makes a coach--life coach, leadership coach, etc.--a “Christian” coach?  I have often said that it is not about the questions the coach asks of his or her client, but the worldview that the coach brings to his or her work. As Luther is reported to have said,  “The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”   On further reflection, I think that there is another dimension that the Christian coach brings to the coaching conversation:  the coach’s understanding about how God might be at work in the life of the person who is being coached.  If the Christian coach is to be faithful to his or her calling, the coach realizes that there are three persons involved in the conversation: the client, the coach, and the Spirit of God.   I try to remind myself of this is in a couple of ways.    First, before coaching sessions I try to...

32 However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. 33 And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert! 34 The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return. 35 You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. 36 Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. 37 I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him! --Mark 13:32-37 The people of Israel waited a long time for the coming of Messiah. He finally came into this world as a baby who grew into a dynamic figure and gave his life for our redemption. And now we await His return. The words that Jesus shar...

Coaching is a growth industry.  Coaching in various forms is increasing, so it is getting more attention.  This means that change is at hand.  In a recent blog ,  Edmée Schalkx  addressed “Trends in Coaching 2017-2022” and specifically noted what this means for users and coaches.   As one who believes both in the effectiveness of coaching and its usefulness in religious settings, I suggest what these changes in coaching means for those of us who work with churches.   First, faith communities will recognize that they need trained coaches.  Churches, judicatories, and other faith-based institutions will discover that coaching promotes retention, provides focus, and maximizes use of resources.  With less to work with, coaching will increase the impact of the work of faith-based organizations in all areas of ministry.   Second, seminaries will give more attention to teaching coaching skills and integrating coaching into t...

When I was a child, I often went with my Dad to the voting place in our neighborhood.     He would pick me up at school and we would go directly to the polling place so he could cast his ballot (my Mom always voted earlier in the day).   My parents’ example has stayed with me.  This is one of the most important ways that we exercise our citizenship. Even if I estimate that my candidate has little chance of winning, I know it is important to express my point of view.     We are three days away from a national election.  Early voting has been going on in many places for a couple of weeks.  I encourage you to cast your vote for the candidates of your choice.  I am not arguing that you vote for a particular candidate or party, but I do suggest that you ask yourself these questions about each candidate as you decide.   First, would you be willing to have this person as a guest in your home?  Is this a person...

“Leadership builds something new. Management organizes what's already built.” --Carey Nieuwhof   In training and writing about organizational development, a false dichotomy is often set up between a leader and a manager, sometimes inferring that being a leader is much more important than being a manager.  The reality is that both roles are needed. Leaders set the pace and nourish the vision; managers take care of the details that lead to the accomplishment of the vision.   Although every person has a tendency toward one set of skills rather than the other, both are needed in any effective organization.  A charismatic pastor often needs a supportive administrator who complements his or her gifts.  There are occasions where both sets of skills may be needed in the same person and an effort must be made to develop and employ some skills that may not come naturally to the individual.   Let me complicate the picture a bit by suggesting another set...