Micro-Sabbaticals

A recent post by Michael Hyatt, one of my favorite bloggers (and perhaps the most prolific), suggested six ways to take a "mini-sabbatical." Here are his suggestions:

Here are six micro-sabbatical ideas that can serve you well, without costing you your job.

Take a day off. How about an entire day just for You-Time! And, really, who’s stopping you? Most of our vacation days get sucked up with family-time or household errands. Instead, plan out a day of nothing but fun. Indulge in your creative hobby, or dabble in something new that you’ve always wondered about. It might circuitously lead to your next great idea at work.

Schedule time for nothing. Wouldn’t it be great if you saw that your next appointment was a “Chill Sesh?” Blocking out time to let your mind wander may ironically lead you to connecting some dots that were missed in the harried activity of the day. You are more likely to have that moment of clarity when your brain is off the hook from meetings, emails and telephone calls. Use the time to take a walk, slip on the i-pod headphones, or just shut your eyes for a few minutes.

Start a practice of daily meditation. You will become much more productive when you start your day with a sense of focused calm. Spending 30 minutes in the quiet of mindful thought can ease your anxiety, reduce stress, and open the mental windows to higher spiritual thoughts. Don’t expect meditation to be easy. It’s a discipline that requires practice, patience and silence. But the lift you receive may turn out to be the daily sabbatical space that you can not live without.

Retreat to nature. A few days secluded in the wilderness can provide the ideal escape from the grind to reflect on life in a completely relaxed, unstructured setting. For many, the wide open space of mountains, forest or sea can bring a much-needed respite from the clash and clang of suburban life, providing a fresh perspective that is impossible to capture in the office. Bring some inspirational books, and write in your journal. I dare you to go all by yourself, and see what happens.

Get physical. The circulation of your blood and muscles might be just the thing to get your mind disengaged, in order to re-engage. Some of my best ideas have come while on the treadmill in the middle of the work day. Why? Because the intense physical workout takes the focus off of work,and puts me into another rhythm altogether. Brisk exercise is a great way to break up the pace of the day and trick your mind into problem-solving mode.

Take in a seminar. Although many companies are cutting back on “non-essential” travel expenses such as professional education, there are still plenty of opportunities to get out of the office and learn something new. There are excellent seminars offered right in your back yard through local chapters of national organizations. I have even found some for free. Don’t underestimate the value of getting out from the familiar setting to network with some new folks and hear an enlightening speaker. And while you’re sitting there, don’t be afraid to daydream. It may turn out to be the smartest thing you’ve done all year.

Early in my ministry, I considered it praiseworthy to not take a day off each week. It meant I was a hard worker, devoted, diligent, etc. But it was stupid. I quickly learned how crucial a day off was, and these days don't know how I would survive without it. In between days off, though, a busy pastor (a phrase which Eugene Peterson claims should be counted an insult; I agree) should still find ways to breathe and re-charge. It's about survival. About effectiveness. About trust in God (no pastor is indispensable....and we become MUCH MORE dispensable if we think we are!). So leave God in charge for a short time, at least, and see how he dies while you take care of the temple that is your body.

I Cannot Be All the Things You Want Me to Be

The Work of a Great Preacher

Obscurity is one of the fatal enemies of the pulpit. And it is here, I am persuaded, that not a little of modern preaching falls short. The man in the pew derives no benefit from it--not because he doesn't believe it but because he can't understand it. This may be due to the fact that the sermon is dealing with some obscure theme beyond the range of his interest or intelligence. Or it may be due to the fact that the sermon is couched in high-sounding theological jargon which makes no more sense to him than would Hindustani. There are preachers who indulge in a pseudo-intellectuality and appear to take a special delight in bewildering their hearers by a display of verbal gymnastics. It is a sorry sort of business. To make easy things hard, it has been observed, is any man's job; but to make hard things easy is the work of a great preacher.

(Anglican pastor Frank Colquhoun, writing in 1965)

Seven Preachers for the Price of One

Broderick Price. Loved his impressions of Fred Price, Rod Parsley, Bishop Eddie Long, Joel Osteen, T. D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, and Marvin Winans (though he did Osteen without blinking repeatedly....what's that about?). If this doesn't make you smile, there's something wrong with your smiler.

Are Women Better Leaders?

I liked this article on Jonathan Brink's blog asking questions that deserve to be asked.

What if the evidence suggest women are actually better at leading than men?

Many of you know I’m a huge proponent of women’s leadership. I’ve led the Call To Men to lead the way in lifting up women. I’ve called out injustice and oppression. My primary reason for lifting up women is based in the idea that humanity can only see the whole image of God in BOTH the man and the woman. Adam was originally both expressions. So in order to see the God image in ourselves (I’m speaking from a man’s perspective) we need women fully integrated into the decision making process, leading the way.

But recently I came across an interesting article that kind of caught my attention in a new way. What if the historical evidence suggests women are just better leaders than men? The Pew Forum study on religion revealed a startling piece of evidence. Women just stay with God better and in more numbers than men. It’s just a fact. And as the study suggests, women have been doing this for long periods of time.

I have a Masters in Organization Leadership and I can tell you that the evidence of leadership is based in modeling the defined response, not just talking about it. The capacity to influence is rooted in integrity to an idea, not just the capacity to speak about it. This idea was deeply explored in Robert Greenleaf's Servant Leadership. A true leader is the servant of all. Even Jesus suggested this with his own words.

Mark 9:35 – Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

And to press the evidence, women have been doing this even in the face of injustice and oppression towards women. Women have remained faithful even in spite of the injustice. The article calls out the injustice.

Not a single major faith is led by members of its female flock, and the more deeply adherent a religious group becomes, the less freedom it offers its women, not to mention power. It’s hard not to compare women sticking with faith to wives confined to bad marriages: They’re so committed to the institution that they’ll willingly shrink under mistreatment just to maintain their own status quo.

In other words, history reveals that women just get it better than men. They reveal stronger faith. And if we’re going to be honest about who we’re really going to follow, wouldn’t it then be more honest to admit that women are better leaders?

What better way to explore the Adventurous Life than to begin being honest with ourselves. The real winner is all of us. To begin including women into the idea of leadership means we can begin to see the whole image of God in our midst. We can begin to see the beautiful voice that has been missing in the conversation for so long.

I come from a tradition which strongly believed in female ministry and mostly in female leadership. I also happen to believe the Bible's teaching is strongly egalitarian, contrary to long-accepted and long-taken-for-granted belief in many churches and denominations. I have also found in my studies over the past thirty-plus years that egalitarian scholarship has gotten better and better over the years, while the arguments of my heirarchical and complementarian brothers and sisters have gotten more and more strained.

The most important consideration, of course, is what the Bible says, not what other evidence indicates. But in my judgment, the Biblical and sociological evidence seem to be in accord.

(The picture above is of Teresa of Avila)

So Says the Prince

Pastor, you might want to remember this the next time you try to plant or church or make a change or try something new:

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them (Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince)

That would be discouraging...if we didn't have an almighty, overcoming God on our side.