Alan Fadling's Blog, page 63

Podcast 128: Sustainable Leadership (Alan Briggs)

How do we live in a way that doesn’t leave us drained and weary? How do we lead from places of refreshment and vitality instead?  

Alan recently enjoyed a great conversation about “sustainable leadership” with Alan Briggs from Stay Forth Designs. Briggs work intersects at many points with what Gem and Alan have been doing for a while now. So sustainable leadership is what we’ll be talking about today.

As we continue to navigate the practical changes that COVID-19 has made to our way of working, communicating and living, we need wisdom to know how to see the opportunities within these changes and not become overwhelmed by them. One lense through which to view this challenge is through a vision of “sustainable leadership.”

Briggs loves helping hungry leaders GET HEALTHY and HAVE MORE IMPACT. He and the team at Stay Forth Designs do this through coaching leaders, consulting with teams, hosting leadership experiences and creating practical content. He co-hosts the Right Side up Leadership Podcast where he has strategic conversations about healthy leadership. He has been a pastor, a church planting catalyst and an entrepreneur. He is dad to four amazing kids and one amazing wife. He is author of Staying is the New Going, Guardrails, and Everyone’s a Genius.  

Connect with Alan Briggs on Social Media:
Facebook @alan.briggs.940
Instagram @alanbriggs
Twitter @AlanBriggs

A Change in Taste

Over the last six months, I’ve taken some fairly drastic steps related to my eating and exercise. Mainly, I’ve cut out a lot of my usual high sugar and high carbohydrate preferences. It was quite hard at first. My cravings would arise and I would feel a compulsion to eat my usual snacks. 

 

Over time, though, I actually found that my tastes changed. What had tasted boring to me in the past now had a fresh appeal to me. The sweetness of a carrot surprised me. The crisp freshness of a simple salad delighted me. It made me think of a line in the longest of all the Psalms: 

 

How sweet are your words to my taste, 

sweeter than honey to my mouth! 

Psalm 119:103

 

Sometimes, when I’ve read this line, I’ve felt the truth of it in my experience. At other times, it hasn’t tasted as sweet to read about judgment or suffering or some other hard topic the Scriptures talk about. 

 

I’m tempted to think, “Well, maybe in some theoretical or optimal perspective, I should believe that what God says is sweeter than the taste of honey when I eat it.” I’m tempted to believe, though, that my favorite foods are actually sweeter (or tastier) than what God says to me. 

 

But that’s not how Jesus feels about what his Father says. After fasting for 40 days (which says he’s very hungry at this point physically), he’s tempted with simple bread and, at that very moment, says, “Actually, what truly nourishes and satisfies me is what I hear from my Father.” (This is an obvious paraphrase, but I believe this is in keeping with the spirit of his words). He prefers the sweetness of conversation with his Father.

 

Once, when the disciples go into town to do some food shopping (John 4:8), they return and find Jesus talking with the woman at the well (John 4:27). When that conversation concluded, the disciples urged him to eat some of the food they had brought back. 

 

Though undoubtedly hungry in body (which they suspected), Jesus answers, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about (v. 32).” They make the mistake of thinking someone else must have brought him some food, but Jesus was saying something very much like what he experienced in the wilderness when his ministry began: What most nourishes him is communion with the Father—hearing his voice, seeing his face, doing his will.

 

Jesus is describing reality, not just morality. He is trying to help his followers realize that though they need physical food for their physical needs of energy, they much more need the nourishment of soul that comes from communion with his Father. They haven’t learned that yet. They are still learning how sweet it is to enjoy God. 

 

Have I? The way I have eaten and the amount I have eaten in the past says that I am still learning, too. I have too often assumed that my reality is eating whatever I want, whenever I want, is the answer to my deep needs for comfort, joy, or delight—for life. But food can’t give me any of these things in any real or lasting way. 

 

Only God can give these things to me. The language of Jesus in his upper room prayer speaks to me: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (Jn 17:3).” Real life, lasting life, true life comes in relational knowledge of God through his son, Jesus the Christ. This is life. It’s not just a spirituality or a morality. It’s a reality. 

 

For Reflection: 

What has been your experience of Scripture lately? Does it taste sweet to you? Have you had experiences of Scripture, and how others have talked about it, that tasted sour instead? Talk with Jesus about his perspective and how you might learn from him.

 

Photo by Peter Wendt on Unsplash

Podcast 127: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory (Canoeing the Mountains by Tod Bolsinger)

No one is going to argue that we have entered uncharted territory with the ongoing dynamics of COVID-19, and then with the painful wounds of injustice that are being rightly protested. It’s a season when we’ve perhaps never needed good leadership more, and when the complications of how leadership will adapt to the needs of this season may never have been higher. 

When I talk about unhurried leadership, I’m not talking about being slow to respond to real needs. I’m talking about slowing down enough to recognize what the real needs are so that you can be quick to listen and quick to respond.  This is the topic Tod Bolsinger and I  discuss in detail during this podcast. 

Tod Bolsinger is the vice president and chief of leadership formation and associate professor of leadership formation at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author of Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory, It Takes a Church to Raise a Christian: How the Community of God Transforms Lives, and Show Time: Living Down Hypocrisy by Living Out the Faith. A frequent speaker, consultant, and blogger, he serves as an executive coach for corporate, nonprofit, educational, and church organizations in transformational leadership. Tod and his wife, Beth, have two children. 

Follow him on social at:
Twitter @todbol
 

Download the first chapter of Tod's book, "Canoeing the Mountains" as a free git, here. 

To access Tod’s free content related to Canoeing the Mountains, text “uncharted” to 66866. 

Lean into the Light

I have been trying to write this email for the last two weeks. And every time I try to put words down, it just feels like I’m saying blah…blah…blah…

 

My heart is heavy. There’s a lump in my throat. And what I think doesn’t matter. I don’t presume for one moment that I know what to say that will encourage or help you in these days following the death of George Floyd.

 

My friend, Morgan Harper Nichols, has graciously given me permission to share a poem that she composed and shared on her Instagram feed. I offer it to you today as a prayer. I trust Morgan. She is a deep soul and an authentic voice. You would do well to follow her at @morganharpernichols

 

 

A Poem by Morgan Harper Nichols
Reprinted with permission

 Engage in the long, faithful work.
Surrender the need of striving
to be the best or always right
and focus instead on leaning into Light,
that reveals all things.
All that is good
and all that stands to be corrected,
and redirected.

 

And as you lean into Light,
be gentle with the word “darkness.”
For more than it merely means wrong or bad,
it is also the color of a full, starless night sky,
and actual bodies
of human beings
who have been overlooked
too many times.

 

Many, many words
hold more than one meaning.

 

Language on “light” and “dark” may have its place,
and this is also true,
this very language has been used to say,
“You are a threat. I am not. I am worth more than you.”
It takes kindness to understand this, for
even though kindness is a beautiful word.
it does not mean that nothing gets disrupted.
Sometimes a way of thinking must be interrupted
in order for kindness to truly thrive.

 

For as sure as kindness
leans into what is good,
it also speaks about what isn’t right.
It is compassionate and gentle
when long histories are pulled from mourning into morning.

 

Engage in the long, faithful work
of awakening
with your heart and mind open to the possibility
that things are more complex than they once seemed.

 

And as hard as it is to hold all of this,
you are still free to dream:
you do not have to be who you used to be.
You do not have to think the way you used to think.
You are free to take hopeful, thoughtful action
in pursuit of better things.

 

So here’s to new beginnings,
knowing it is impossible to ignore the long history,
opening up to the mystery
that grace still finds you here.

 

And grace is unmerited favor
but it might not always look the way you want it to.
It will invite you out in the open
and it will also reveal what has been broken.
You might have to unlearn the way you thought things would be.
You might find that being undone
is the best way to move on, humbly, mindfully, wholly.

 

For how liberating it is
to pursue wholeness over perfection,
finding that grace is more than a beautiful word,
but a daily act of being undone, an awakening, a direction.

Podcast 126: Being with God... Together (Diana Shiflett)

Many of our listeners are leaders and it can be easy for any of us to fall into the groove of teaching or leading for mere information or knowledge…and not into the deeper levels of formation and change. Of course, knowledge is important and we must begin there. But transformation must be right on its heels or the process is incomplete.

Our guest today, Diana Shiflett, has written a very practical and hands-on book entitled Spiritual Practices in Community. And it gets at what I said earlier about moving from knowledge to formation. Diana lists a multitude of ways we can encounter God together…not just to learn about God…but to experience God in community.

About Diana: She is the pastor of spiritual formation at Naperville Covenant Church in Naperville, IL. She is an adjunct professor of youth ministry at North Park University and a spiritual director.

 

Download the first chapter of Diana's book, Spiritual Practices in Community, HERE as a free resource.  

Prayer as Productive Soil

Early in my ministry, I thought of prayer as something mostly personal and disconnected from the practical work of ministry. Later, I came to believe that prayer was important preparation for the work of ministry. Over time, I’ve come to more deeply believe that prayer is the organic engine of fruitful ministry.

 

A passage in which I see this reality in action is David’s prayer related to his plans for his son, Solomon, to build a temple. What strikes me is that this is a prayer that is just as foundational as the stones that would be laid as temple construction actually began.

 

I’m including the extended prayer and highlighting the phrases in which I see God’s grace at work. They show how David envisioned this temple as a work that was impossible apart from the guiding and empowering presence of God with him and Solomon in it. Listen to the wisdom of David’s prayer, and notice especially the phrases I’ve bolded:

 

10David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

 “Praise be to you, Lord,

            the God of our father Israel,

            from everlasting to everlasting.

11Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power

            and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,

            for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;

            you are exalted as head over all.

12Wealth and honor come from you;

            you are the ruler of all things.

In your hands are strength and power

            to exalt and give strength to all.

13Now, our God, we give you thanks,

            and praise your glorious name.

 

14“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. 19And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”

 

1 Chronicles 29:10-19 NIV

 Here’s what I find helpful and encouraging here:

 My work really is more about stewardship than it is about ownership. David reminds himself that everything in heaven and on earth belongs to God. This isn’t a “should” but an “is.” Wealth comes from God. Honor comes from God. Authority comes from God. Strength and power come from God. They are not our own, but entrusted to us as we enter our work as collaborators with God.

Maybe this sounds humbling, but humbling is actually freeing. Imagining myself as owner actually becomes a more worrisome burden than remembering myself to be a steward of what Another owns.

 

Generosity is a gift to the giver even as it is a gift to the receiver. David prays, “Who am I (and who are we) that we should be able to give as generously as we’re able to do?” This is again about stewardship. I am being generous with someone else’s resources. Everything I generously give is only giving to another what we’ve first been given by our Father in heaven. This is an important perspective to guard within us.

 

Again, David reminds himself in prayer that all of the abundance that is coming together as they prepare to build a temple in God’s name came from God in the first place. In our own work, all of the creativity, the wisdom, the vision, the energy, and the strength with which we do our work came not from ourselves but from our God.

 

What makes generosity most joyful is when it is the expression of a willing heart. Generosity doesn’t work as forced labor. Generosity is born in the soil of freedom and willingness. Generosity is a freedom we desperately need in a culture that defines us mostly by possessing things rather than sharing things. Lord, have mercy. And our work can be an expression of that kind of generosity. We don’t work because we have to. Work is actually a gift in itself.

 

For Reflection 

Think of your own work these days--your job, your work to serve your family or friends. How does the reality of stewardship show up in that work?
What resources does God make available to you so that you can be generous in the work you do?

 

Photo by paul mocan on Unsplash

Podcast 125: When Narcissism Comes to Church (Chuck DeGroat)

We’ve seen the news stories and heard the rumors. Maybe we ourselves have been hurt by a narcissistic church leader. It’s easy to throw the term around and diagnose others from afar—but what is narcissism, really? And how does it infiltrate the church? 

 

Chuck DeGroat has been counseling pastors with narcissistic personality disorder, as well as those wounded by narcissistic leaders and systems, for over twenty years. He knows firsthand the devastation narcissism leaves in its wake and how insidious and painful it is. In When Narcissism Comes to Church, DeGroat takes a close look at narcissism not only in ministry leaders but also in church systems. He offers compassion and hope for those looking to heal from its systemic effects He also offers hope for narcissists themselves—not by any shortcut, but by the long, slow road of genuine recovery. 

 

Chuck DeGroat is professor of pastoral care and Christian spirituality at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, and senior fellow at Newbigin House of Studies in San Francisco. He served as a pastor at churches in Orlando and San Francisco and founded two church-based counseling centers. He is a licensed therapist, spiritual director, and the author of Toughest People to Love and Wholeheartedness. 

 

Follow Chuck on social media at:
Instagram @chuckdegroat
Facebook @chuckdegroat
Twitter@chuckdegroat

Are You a Ticket Holder

One of the joys of my life before COVID was traveling. I love visiting other countries, each with its own diverse culture and beautiful people.

 

Last year, prior to our anniversary trip to Europe, Alan and I crafted a detailed plan of all of the sites we would visit. We researched, made reserverations, and printed out tickets with confirmation numbers on them.

 

Everywhere we went we had guaranteed entrance. Our tickets proved that we had paid the price and could enter the site.

 

At one point, as I was looking down at one of the tickets I wondered about the dynamics of being a ticket holder to not just the site…but to my own life.

 

Wherever I go, do I act as though I should be there or am I shackled by self-doubt? Do I enter with holy confidence or am I hamstrung by fear? Do I engage with assured presence or am I pressed down by anxiety?

 

What if an “I am a beloved child of God” ticket was in my hand and I could use it at will. Like an eternal park hopper pass at Disneyland. Or like a never-ending entrance to the Cathedral in Florence.

 

Of course, I don’t need to wonder—because I am a beloved child of God. Jesus assures me of this. This isn’t in question.

 

How about this: the next time you stand on the threshold of a new opportunity, and fear raises its ugly head, look down into your hand and see your “I am a beloved child of God” ticket. Then proceed to enter in like any ticket holder would.

 

The next time you need to set a healthy boundary, look down into your hand, see your ticket, remember you are loved, and then continue to make your way.

 

The next time you want to enter more deeply into an unhurried way of life, and anxiety about your value-apart-from-production pops up, notice the ticket in your hand, and move forward.

 

Confidence in my belovedness can be at least as sure as when I hold a ticket to a concert and I know I’ll get in the door.

 

If this is a struggle for you, you are not alone. Our belovedness takes a beating in many possible ways: family dynamics, culture, or even our own negative thoughts can make this difficult.

 

AND…you can make headway, one small, simple and gracious step at a time. What will that look like for you today?

 

There’s a ticket in your hand…what will you do with it?

 

Photo by Elijah Chen on Unsplash

Jesus: The Master of Life

I love to soak in a story about Jesus in one of the gospels. A while back, I spent quite time reflecting on an early encounter of Jesus and one of his first followers, Peter. As you read this story, see if you can imagine the scene:

 

1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

                  4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

                  5Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

                  6When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

                  8When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

            Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Luke 5:1-11 NIV

 

Jesus uses the everyday stuff of our lives to accomplish his purposes. Peter’s boat becomes a platform for him to speak on behalf of God. Our lives can become the channel through which Jesus speaks and works.

 

Jesus is not just an expert on spiritual life or religious life. He is the master of life itself. When he gives Peter fishing advice, Peter isn’t too keen on trusting the wisdom of a rabbi about his chosen profession. He figures rabbis know synagogue business, but not the fishing business. He’s wrong.

 

And Jesus understands our lives and our work better than we do. He is a source of practical wisdom and insight about every facet of our lives. Is there some part of your life where you wonder how Jesus could mentor, counsel, or even coach you? Every bit of wisdom you could hope for is in him.

 

So when Peter follows Jesus’ advice to try again after an empty night of fishing, Peter is reluctant but responsive. There are going to be times when we don’t feel we’ve accomplished much when Jesus just might invite us to “try again.” Persistence is key to fruitfulness. So is responsiveness to the encouraging counsel of Jesus.

 

The invitation of Jesus to Peter and his friends was offered in the language of their profession. From now on, they would fish for people instead of, well, for fish. How might that sound today in the language of other professions?

 

Construction workers: “I’ll show you how to build into the lives of people.”
Politicians: "I’ll show you how to have greater and more lasting influence than votes could ever bring you.
Bankers: "I’ll show you how to make eternal investments."
Pastors: "I’ll guide and care for you so you know how to shepherd those I entrust to you."
Lawyers: "I’ll show you how to argue for the most important case there is."
Parents: "I’ll help you know my Father in heaven better so you know how to be a parent to your own children."
Professors: "I’ll give you the best message to share with students."
Waiters: "I’ll show you how to serve a real meal."

 

You get the idea. How about your job? What would the invitation of Jesus sound like if he framed it in terms of your actual work?

 

Jesus is not just a master of religious or spiritual life, but of all life, every part of our life, our whole life.

 

Reflection:

Are there parts of your life, for example your work life, where it’s hard to envision Jesus being deeply involved?
What if Jesus is more than a spiritual presence, but a profoundly engaged mentor and coach in your actual work?

 

Photo by Joshua Ness on Unsplash

Podcast 124: To Hell with the Hustle (Jefferson Bethke)

Alan loved getting the opportunity to talk with a fellow author about the challenge of hurry in our world today. Today, we're sharing his recent conversation with Jeff Bethke, author of To Hell With the Hustle. In today’s episode, you’ll gain insight into how we can reclaim our lives in an overwhelmed, overspent, and overconnected world. 

Jeff is the New York Times bestselling author of Jesus > Religion and It’s Not What You Think. He and his wife, Alyssa, host The Real Life Podcast and run FamilyTeams.com, an online initiative equipping families to live as a multigenerational team on mission. They live in Maui with their daughters, Kinsley and Lucy, and son, Kannon. You can learn more about his work at jeffandalyssa.com.

Connect socially with Jefferson on:

Twitter @jeffersonbethke
Instagram @jeffersonbethke
YouTube @https://www.youtube.com/user/bball1989