Barnabas File

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...

A friend got very upset with me once when I said, “I don’t treat all of my children the same way.”     He thought this was very unfair, but I tried to explain that my desire was to relate to them in a way that was appropriate to them as individuals.     I am sure that I did not always succeed, but I realized that each of them was unique--the needs of one were very different from the needs of another.    I loved, and still love, all of them but the important thing was that I attempted to provide what I thought each one needed.   So here is my secret:  I don’t coach all of my coaching clients in the same way!  Why?  Because they are individuals with different needs, experiences, and capacities.  Each person has their own particular way of processing experiences, learning, and acting.  If I fail to take that into account, our coaching relationship will not be effective.   For example, one client may k...

Amidst the bills and circulars, good news sometimes comes to my snail mailbox.     This week I received a church newsletter of something unexpected and positive that has come of the COVID-19 crisis.     This church usually had 500 to 700 in multiple Sunday services prior to the pandemic.     They continued and upgraded their livestream service after the shutdown.     Although they have resumed one service with social distancing and other precautions and have 300 in the sanctuary every week, they also have over 5000 watching or listening through an online presence!     As a result, they have upgraded their production capability with additional cameras, improved lighting, and updated control systems.    They are investing for the future.   To put this in context, this is a church near a large military facility, so they have former members scattered across the nation and world, so they already had an audience prepared to conn...

For years, many of us have struggled with ways to describe how we go about being Baptists.     Very often, we have defined ourselves in contrast to another group and resorted to comments like, “We are not THAT kind of Baptists.”    In a recent conversation, I suggested that Baptists that I identify with might call ourselves “gracious Baptists.”  You can look up the definition of that word for yourself but, for me, it suggests several things.   First, being a gracious Baptist means embracing the power of God’s grace.  As a former pastor said, “God has not called us to judge but to love.”  Our God is a gracious God, showing patient forbearance while offering forgiveness and hope.  As God’s people, we should reflect and exhibit that same grace.  The message we bear is the one that God exemplifies.   Second, being a gracious Baptist calls upon us to welcome the stranger and marginalized persons into our midst....