August 13, 2007 · 12:26 pm

Spiritual health of Christian leaders


Well, my vacation was wonderful but now over. I ended it with a routine trip to the dentist for a cleaning (torture). It helps (I’m kidding) cement the reality that the fun is done.

While away I read a book, Restoring the Fallen: A Team Approach to Caring, Confronting, & Reconciling (IVP, 1997). Authors: Earl and Sandy Wilson, Paul and Virginia Friesen, and Larry and Nancy Paulson. It tells the story of Earl Wilson’s infidelity with a client (he is a psychologist) and the interventions his spiritual formation team enacted to help him over a multi year period of time. In between the story, they detail the best ways for a spiritual formation team to work through the process of repentance and restoration.

Very helpful. Over the next month, I’m going to blog a few of the chapters here given that it is so close to the kind of work I have done and am doing. They have put into words some things that I have done but not written about.

But, here’s my thought. This book suggests a spiritual formation team process for after the “fall.” Why not have one of these teams before a  fall? Why not have it as required care for the Christian leader, whether pastor, elder, missionary, counselor?

Here’s what they said they did as a team. They committed to:

1. Be in regular communication with both husband and wife.
2. Pray regularly (daily?).
3. Meet as a team regularly.
4. To consult with others who had experience in particular areas
5. To hold the leader accountable for specific promises made.

The team worked toward the following ends:

1. Spiritual health (interested in ferreting out the spiritual roots of problems, and to help the person become grou8nded anew in a relationship with God)
2. Body life (the team provides spiritual gifts such as discernment, intercession, admonishment, encouragement, mercy, etc.)
3. Accountability and sensitivity (the team acts as advocate for the spouse and family members as well as holding the leader accountable)
4. Penetrating denial and clarifying reality
5. Synergy (combined wisdom and consensus of the group led by the Spirit)
6. Intercession (“Restoration ministry is divine in nature and is characterized above all by grace. It cannot be driven by anything apart from consistent intercession.” (p. 37).

Obviously, this book is focused on the restoration of an offender. However, each of these goals and purposes ought to be part of a spiritual care team for any christian leader.  I wonder how many pastors, professors, counselors, missionaries have such a team?

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Filed under Christianity: Leaders and Leadership, pastoral renewal, Repentance, self-deception

August 9, 2007 · 5:51 pm

Why 2 weeks of vacation ought to be mandated


I realized today that I’m more relaxed than I’ve been in some time. 1.5 weeks into our vacation. And that even though I just finished driving up and down the auto road to the top of Mt. Washington. 6288 feet. Hairpin turns, 12% grade, no guard rails, above treeline. Yikes. But a glorious day on top. No wind, 55 degrees, sunny, views for miles and miles.  

Also, just finished Steven Carter’s The Emperor of Ocean Park. If you like depressing stories, that one will do for you. Well written.

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August 1, 2007 · 10:22 am

Perfect evening on a sandbar


Our friends, The Papanicolaous, took us on their boat last night to a sand bar off of Crane beach, Ipswich, MA. Crane beach, for those who like toilets, is named after Mr. Crane, who invented the flush toilet. Anyhow, we had a beautiful warm evening on sandbar. We anchored in about 3 feet of water and walked to a sand bar with our food, chairs, even a low table. Had a wonderful meal with their friends and walked around this very large sand bar. The kids found a couple of dead skates. Looking east we saw the wide Atlantic and the small waves criss-crossing just before the sandbar. Looking west we saw the setting sun. What was especially nice was the breeze that kept the “greenheads” away. Greenheads are biting flies that live for about 1 month and were biting quite nicely at the beach we were at earlier in the day. 

As our friends say, this kind of quiet, warm evening when the tide is low doesn’t happen very often so we were glad to have the experience. Reminds me of the days when my parents lived on the coast of Maine and we did similar trips to deserted islands in order to cook and eat lobsters we had just bought at the dock.  

Just as the sun set,  we packed up for the return trip up the Rowley river where they moor their boat. Around 9 pm we finished off a great day by going to the “cow” or White Farms of Ipswich (it has a cow on the roof), an ice cream shop that makes their own ice cream.

These kinds of nights remind me why I love New England so much. While the water is warmer in NJ, it lacks the appeal of the hills and varying coastline of New England.

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August 1, 2007 · 5:25 am

Springfield, Vt on the map!


My hometown has had its 15 minutes of fame. It hosted the first premier of the Simpsons movie after winning an on-line vote for the best Springfield video. The town of less than 10,000 that has been dying slowly since the loss of the tool and die factories in the 80s.  I was surprised that its movie theatre still exists in the center of town. It used to be (may still for all I know) owned by a family that went to our church.

On my way back from Northern NH I’m going to pass through to see what has changed since I was there some 10 years ago.

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July 31, 2007 · 10:25 am

The Problem of Self Sabotage


Last night my wife and I were discussing the problems of the Middle East and specifically the Muslim on Muslim attacks in Pakistan and Iraq. If the Islamic world would like to see the world turn completely to Islam, aren’t the Sunni/Shia conflicts a form of self-sabotage? A getting caught up in a smaller goal (supremacy of a sect or tribe)?

Then I thought of the boys I worked for in a juvenile jail. They would have only 3 months to serve but instead of toeing the line for the 90 days, they often fought and stayed for 2 years because they couldn’t give up paying another back for a misdeed.

This isn’t just a problem of the Middle East. We all settle for lesser things that actually work against our larger goals. We want to do well in school but we watch TV instead of studying. We want to lose weight but eat a bunch of cookies. We want to save for a house but buy lunch out and a Starbucks every day and wonder where our money goes. Of course, self sabotage is a part of every addiction.

Why do we fail to maintain our focus on the greater goals? We lose focus? We don’t really want the greater goal? The immediate goal gives us what we want now while the greater goal doesn’t pay in the now?

—–

Plum Island Beach today as we are with friends in the Newbury area of Massachusetts. Tomorrow we’ll be in Maine and I’ll have the kayak in the lake if the weather is good.  

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Filed under conflicts, cultural apologetics

July 26, 2007 · 5:34 pm

Snitching and self-preservation


Philadelphia is on track to have over 400 homicides this year. Gun violence is out of control. Recently, a murder happened at a crowded bar but there are no witnesses. This is a re-occurring problem. Why? Simply, intimidation and a sense of despair that you can’t really do anything about it.

Yesterday on our local public radio station, Marty Moss-Coane talked with a couple of folks about this problem. Check here for the mp3. While anti-snitching efforts abound (posters, tee-shirts, even a website dedicated to reveal those who turn state’s evidence), you might think that people would come forward to tell on murders because they want to get them off the street.

No. On the radio program the guests pointed out that (1) you don’t trust the police because blow in and blow out and are suspicious of everyone, (2) you don’t know how long it is going to take to get the person off the street as it may take up to 2 years for trial, (3) you might get shot in a random drive-by, but if you become a witness, your chances of getting killed go way up.

I can’t imagine this is much different than the situation in Iraq. There are many non-violent folks who would like peace but their fear of reprisal is greater than their love for change. Its hard to gather large groups of fearful people to rally against those with guns because it requires a willingness to die.

As a suburbanite, I know nothing of this need to protect myself. So, I find it hard to know what to suggest to stop the violence or to give counsel to the average joe on the street.

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Filed under Anxiety, Cultural Anthropology, News and politics, Uncategorized

July 25, 2007 · 4:43 pm

Vacation! 1 Year of blogging


The family and I are leaving for 2 weeks of vacation to good ole New England. Stops in CT, MA, ME, and NH. Alas, only driving through VT (my hometown got to premiere the new Simpson’s movie. Probably the best thing that has happened there is awhile) but missing RI completely. Will spend it with family and friends. May put up an entry should the time and interest arise.

And just about this time last year, I started this blog. Its been fun, sometimes a struggle, but well worth it from my end. Hope you’ve found something of value here from time to time.

See you in August.

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July 25, 2007 · 5:02 am

Ethics update from APA


The 2006 annual report from the APA contains a report from the Ethics committee.  Here’s the skinny on complaints:

1. In 2006 282 inquiries were received; 82 complaint forms were received. If you count how many complaints were received (including nonmembers), a total of 672 new matters were brought before the committee.
2. Complaints were filed against .09% of the membership (91,000 strong)
3.  What is the most frequent complaint processed? Loss of licensure. This means members lost their license due to some alleged misbehavior and so APA then took up the case to determine whether they should also be censured by the APA. So, it seems State boards are quite active right now. Unfortunately, these boards are often not accountable to anyone.

15 of the loss of licensure cases also heard by APA were due to sexual misconduct, 3 were related to child custody cases.
7 were due to a felony conviction.

4. Of the cases opened in 2006, 28% had to due with insurance and fee problems; 24% had to do with sexual misconduct.

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July 24, 2007 · 9:38 pm

Blackberries and the fall


Needed a mind-clearer so I took youngest son and went to the cemetary to pick some perfectly ripe blackberries. Is it wrong to pick cemetary berries? No, they aren’t growing in enriched soil next to plots. Anyway, the berries were quite ripe and juicy. The bushes were loaded and in just a few minutes I filled my container.

Problem? Just the sharp thorns that jabbed me as I reached into the bushes to get that best berry. There is always a pain for every pleasure. Still, it was worth it. I had dominion over the thorns.

Tonight, ice cream and berries with a hint of real maple syrup over the top.

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July 24, 2007 · 5:46 am

Getting the real news about conflicts


In our world of 24 hours news, we really do not know what is happening in the world. What we get is simplistic summaries (who is good, who is bad) with little substance. I was reminded of this fact over the weekend while listening to some stories from a survivor of the Rwandan genocide and subsequent struggles. This young man (who was in his teens during the 90s) told of what happened to him while running for his life. He also gave us insight into how America and the UN is viewed in that part of Africa. 

He is part Hutu and part Tutsi. I won’t repeat his stories but this is one of his points: The massacre of 800,000 Tutsis is well known to most. The number of Hutu killed subsequently by President Paul Kagame’s government is rarely told.

Most of us are well aware that in the space of 100 days in 1994, 800,000 plus Tutsis were massacred. It was a response in the making after the then President Habyarimana was assassinated. His murder was the spark to years of hatred and distrust between the two groups. A very short synopsis can be found at this BBC site: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1288230.stm

But this site makes my friend’s point. There is no mention as to what happened after the massacre. His story is that he was hunted down by the RPF with Kagame’s, UN’s, and the US permission and had no place to seek shelter. He survived by God’s grace alone. He was thrown on a pile of bodies, believing that he was dead. He was about to be set afire only to be saved by a Congolese police officer thinking he was Congolese. He sought refuge at a church, but was rejected. The stories are horrific. His point is many more Hutus were murdered after the genocide but these stories do not get press.

He lent me a book (Surviving the Slaughter, by Marie Umutesi) that tells about life on the run in the forest and jungle: http://www.wisc.edu/wisconsinpress/books/3918.htm 

On a similar note, I am reading about the formation of Hamas. In the book, the author details how Israel forced Palestinians to be informers. Some were made to reveal secrets about Hamas leadership while others were enticed to bring weapons to a checkpoint and then were shot on site and reported as attacking Israeli soldiers. My point is this: be wary of the good guys/bad guys stories. Conflicts are rarely simple and unless we are well versed in the conflict, expect that both sides will attempt to make themselves look like victims.

Its not unlike my youngest son who came in the house crying that his brother had called him a name, “for no reason.” As we discussed the situation, a “reason” emerged that the “victim” had indeed pushed his older brother first after a wrongly perceived offense. So, whether little boys or entire cultures, we love to simplify stories in to the good guys (us) and the bad guys (them).

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Filed under conflicts, News and politics