Barnabas File

In an interview with Faith and Leadership, Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, the Episcopal Bishop of Texas, made this comment: “So as judicatory heads or diocesan ministers, we have to cast a vision for the things that we think are needed for the future clergy, which is a capacity to fail and pick themselves up and do the work, the ability to be adaptive in circumstances, the ability to preach, to talk to and captivate people.” He also said, “We need vision people; we need people who can communicate well; we need people who are using social media and are digital immigrants at the very least, and are digital natives at the very best.” These are interesting comments that reflect the reality of contemporary parish leadership.  I would insist, however, that these are skills not just for future clergy but for those who are presently in congregational leadership.  I believe that anyone can learn these skills. First, leaders can learn how to cast a vision based upon the ad...

The Apostle James was not one to mince words.   In the book attributed to him, we read:   “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.   Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.”   ( James 3:9-10, NIV) In a first century society built on oral communication, the one who proclaimed this message (probably orally before it was written down) knew how powerful words can be.   Contrary to the old adage--“Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me”—words do hurt.   Hurtful and malicious words degrade and demean people made in God’s image.   Words break the heart and the spirit.   They also can inflame passions that lead to violence. Words matter. Although spoken words have great power, we have added another dimension in the 21 st century—the words conveyed by social media.   Many of...

Newsweek, the venerable weekly news magazine, has announced that it will cease print publication with its December 31 issue.   Plans are to continue in a digital subscription format. I don’t know when I first starting reading Newsweek, but I do remember reading the thin-paper, black and white Newsweek International edition when I was stationed in Vietnam in the late 1960’s.  I was a subscriber for a number of years but cancelled (actually, I chose not to renew) when Jon Meacham left as editor and Tina Brown came on board.  I fully expected the print version to go under at some point. There are a number of reasons why a printed publication like Newsweek (and U.S. News and World Report which “bit the dust” earlier) has difficulty surviving in the digital age. Digital accessibility drives a 24/7 news cycle that provides all types of information—of various quality—instantaneously.  The weekly news magazines once argued that they could provide more in-depth c...

At some point I heard the observation, “Every strength carried to the extreme becomes a weakness.” I was reminded of that statement in my relationships with technology today. Our digital connectedness can be a blessing, but we shouldn’t “put all our eggs in that basket.” To do so is to limit ourselves. This morning, I used a telephone bridge line to facilitate a peer group made up of pastors from six states. We are discussing Will Mancini’s book, Church Unique. We miss a lot in not being able to look each other in the face, but their observations and insights always inspire me. We meet every other week, and I always look forward to it. I then spent an hour working on two classes I am teaching this semester for Central Seminary. One is an online class with monthly telephone conference calls and a weekly online forum. The other is a class I teach in Murfreesboro, but there is an online component with weekly online discussion. The Moodle platform is very robust with a lot of options...

In a recent issue of The Christian Century , columnist M. Craig Barnes recounted the story of a Presbyterian minister who had left a well-paying job as an accountant and relocated her family to Pittsburgh so that she could complete her degree in preparation for ordained minster. Now a year out of seminary, she has yet to find a place of ministry and is questioning her calling. Barnes uses this story to discuss the call to ministry and the process of discerning God’s will. I believe that he is misusing this woman’s story. Her experience is not about calling but about preparation for ministry. She has been asked to “jump through hoops” in order to fulfillment the church’s requirements to serve as an ordained minister. This has nothing to do with discernment or calling. This gifted woman—a talented lay person, committed wife, and loving mother—was probably already serving a vital role in her church when she perceived the call to ministry. When she expressed a desire to serve, she wa...

Last Friday evening, I was watching Eureka on the SyFy Channel (a guilty pleasure). Due to some wormhole phenomena, a scientist from 1947 had been transported to 2010. As he looked around the town, he commented, “I am a little disappointed that there are no flying cars.” The lesson—innovation is tough and predicting the future is a gamble. As we think about the future and try to plan for it, the future seems to have a mind of its own and is rarely cooperative. Therefore, we end up with computers on every desk when no one ever thought that was needed, telephones that play music and videos, GPS devices in our cars that seek to rule our lives, and the Internet! These common aspects of our daily lives were not on anyone’s list of future innovations thirty years ago. Thinking about the future is just plain hard. Being an innovative leader who tries to prepare his or her organization for the future is like banging one’s head against a wall. Economist Otto Scharmer said in an interview: ...

The HBO series 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon tells the story of the Apollo program, the program that landed six spacecraft on the moon. The series does not fail to point out the sacrifices—human lives, marriages, careers—that contributed to that success. As a result of the Apollo mission, twelve men walked on the surface of the moon, returning valuable knowledge about its structure and possible origins. At the same time, these astronauts only touched a small part of a globe with the land mass of Africa. Only toward the end was a geologist included on a crew. What if more scientists could spend time there? What about artists and other creative people? The series is particularly poignant since 12 years after this series was produced and 38 years after the last human walked on the moon, our President indicates that the moon is “old hat” and it is time to move on to new challenges. We still know very little about our nearest planetary neighbor. When the United States was ...

Dr. Rosell leading workshop on ethical issues New tools expand our abilities but those also bring their own challenges. During Central Seminary’s “The Church in a Virtual Age” Conference last week, Professor Terry Rosell offered an excellent workshop on ethical uses of technology in the church. The official title was “Why Take Up an Offering When We Can Donate Online?” but the session covered several other topics of concern and possibility. Rosell’s basic premises were that technology itself is morally neutral but its use is morally significant. He also pointed out that technocrats (those makers who become rulers) in the church are dangerous and that technocracy in the church can become a state of idolatry. His final premise was that “use of technology in the church need not lead us into sin . . . but take heed lest you fall.” After presenting ten principles that inform our use of technology in the church (such as “protect people’s privacy” and “use God’s resources wisely”), R...

“Never too old to learn!” I would love to have someone say that about me when I depart this earthly home. I attended the memorial service today for my friend Frances McGlocklin. Frances was 94 when she succumbed to cancer. She retired at age 70 and spent the ensuing years traveling, gardening, and learning. She learned how to quilt. She also became rather proficient in the use of the Internet. Although learning how to function in the digital realm frustrated her at times, she was not deterred. Frances kept up with the times. Not everyone does. That is certainly their choice. I think it is unfortunate, however, when we have new tools at our disposal but do not take advantage of them. We can curse the Internet or attempt to tame it for our own use. Technology is neither good nor bad; its value depends on how we use it. The church is missing a great opportunity when it does not attempt to understand and function in the digital realm. On April 11-12, Central Baptist Theological Semina...

In one week recently, I did not leave the house for four days, but I was connected with people in multiple ways. I led a coaching group composed of people in three states. I taught an online class with students in Tennessee and Missouri. I participated in a seminary faculty meeting with colleagues in Shawnee, Kansas, by video link while wearing my sweats. I coached three individuals by telephone. I listened in on an online conference of church leaders from across the nation. I accessed any number of websites, downloaded music from the iTunes Store, and watched a couple of TV shows on Hulu.com. And, of course, I answered e-mail daily, checked in with friends on Facebook, and posted three blogs. Quite honestly, I am the target audience for Peggy Kendall’s new book, Reboot: Refreshing Your Faith in a High-Tech World. I can spend a busy and productive week without leaving the house and only spending face time with family members, but are there drawbacks to that kind of life? Kendall would ...

I was reading along in Reggie McNeal’s Missional Renaissance when I suddenly stopped and said, “I recognize this!” McNeal was writing about Kingdom-based leadership and the need to shift from a “train and deploy” approach to a “deploy and debrief” approach. He wrote, “Movement leaders can and must still be prepared this way. Let’s start with the seminary clergy-training level. Eventually, the strangulating hold of accreditation will further relax to allow training regimens to be offered alongside deployment, employing delivery systems that permit people to stay put in their communities of relationship and leadership influence. Those wanting theological education to prepare for church leadership roles will no longer have to disrupt their families, move and live as transients for three to five years to secure their academic prize, and then have to try to reestablish life and relationships in some new place. Online technology is already creating nonresidential alternatives to the typical...