Leader of the Pack and Other Fables
Rev. Dr. Gaye Ortiz
Unitarian Universalist Church of Augusta
February 2, 2014
Introduction
I was conscious when I was writing this
sermon that this was the week of the State of the Union address.
President
Obama said during his speech that as the country’s executive he will lead by
example. I was reminded that sometimes for ministers, leading by example is a
pretty high bar to set for ourselves.
The Reverend Billy Graham
tells of a time early in his ministry when he arrived in a small town to preach
a sermon. He wanted to mail a letter, and so he asked a young boy where the
post office was. When the boy had told him, Dr. Graham thanked him and said,
"If you'll come to the Church this evening, you can hear me telling everyone
how to get to Heaven."
The boy said. ""I
don't think I'll be there, you don't even know your way to the post
office."
So it is my contention
this morning that we are all leaders. Do you think that is so? Well,
here’s how we’re going to find out:
THE QUIZ
The following short quiz consists of 4 questions
and tells whether you are qualified to be a “leader.” The questions are not
that difficult.
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
The correct answer is: Open the
refrigerator, put in the giraffe and close the door.
--This question tests whether you overthink –
that is, tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.
2. How do you put an elephant into a
refrigerator?
Wrong Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the
elephant and close the refrigerator.
Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the
giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door.
--This tests your ability to think through the
repercussions of your actions.
3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference,
all the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?
Correct Answer: The Elephant. The Elephant is in
the refrigerator.
--This tests your memory.
Okay, even if you did not answer the first three
questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your abilities.
4. There is a river you must cross. But it is
inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it?
Correct Answer: You swim across. All the Crocodiles
are attending the Animal Conference!
--This tests whether you learn quickly from your
mistakes.
According to Andersen
Consulting World wide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all
questions wrong. http://www.rare-leadership.org/humor_on_work-business-leadership-success.html
Leadership Models
Leadership Models
But there is no magic
set of questions that can tell us who would make a good leader. So how do we
know what a good leader is? We most likely rely on the images or stereotypes
that we are most familiar with in our culture; many of them come from the
stories or fables we know from childhood that we have never really critically
examined.
There are several types of leaders that we
find in our fables of leadership, all involving the dynamic of leader-follower:
Leader of the Pack – I know you’re thinking I
am really too young to remember the original song by the Shangri-las but the
story is a tragic one, about a girl who falls for the leader of the motorcycle
pack: think Marlon Brando in The Wild One:
leathers, testosterone, perched on a Triumph Thunderbird with a cigarette
hanging from his lips. This is the kind of leader who defends his status, and
who seeks to defeat the enemy with the help of a loyal band: Peter Pan has his
own pack, lovable but ready to defend him to the death, like TinkerBelle,
before she is saved by the chorus of voices of those who believe. Robin Hood is
another noble leader of the pack, whose roguish behavior is virtuous because he
robs the rich to give to the poor. His followers swear allegiance to him and
fight on his behalf against the men of the sheriff of Nottingham.
Me Tarzan, You Jane – this image drips with
machismo: remember Johnny Weismuller and Maureen O’Sulivan in the old black and
white Tarzan movies? It is odd how a perfectly capable, independent western
woman comes under the spell of the ‘ape-man’ who lives with the great apes of
Africa, and becomes his feisty but loyal mate.
Snow White and Cinderella suffer from the
“Some day my prince will come” complex of helplessness, in which they are
rescued from oppression and even for Snow White, death, by the prince of their
dreams. And the creepy tale of Beauty and the Beast – a monster who holds a
young woman against her will, resulting in a Stockhold syndrome plot twist when
she falls in love with her captor. This model is so bound up with our deeply
ingrained cultural notions of gender, we could be here all day discussing it…
Father Knows Best – this is a model of
leadership originating in a patronizing, yet benevolent, patriarchal dictatorship.
We can recall Biblical patriarchs, such as Noah, who in the face of ridicule
and disbelief builds an ark because God tells him to; Abraham, who is within
inches of sacrificing his young son Isaac because God tells him to; even some
secular dictatorships, like that of Stalin, portray the leader as a
father-figure who is doing what is best for his subjects (even if it means the
deaths of millions).
Now, all of these models rely on leaders and
followers; even a couple of culturally inappropriate terms for leadership, like
‘low man on the totem pole’ and ‘too many chiefs and not enough Indians’ are
predicated on the subordination of some to the authority of others.
Leadership as Service
Leadership as Service
If we look in the Gospels at the
story of Jesus and the 12 Disciples, it starts basically the same way as the
other fables of leadership: one man who calls others to be in his band of
followers. It is implied that belonging to this group, however, is a step up
from their current occupations – instead of being fishermen, which most were,
they would become ‘fishers of men.’ And then Jesus proceeds to confound the
disciples’ ideas of what it means to follow him. One example is the famous
washing of the feet that is the climax of the final Passover meal he shares
with them, found in the 13th chapter of the Gospel of John; this is
the story as told in The Voice translation of the Bible:
[Jesus] stood up from dinner and removed His
outer garments. He then wrapped Himself in a towel, 5 poured water in
a basin, and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with His
towel.
Simon Peter (as Jesus approaches):
6 Lord, are You
going to wash my feet?
Jesus: 7 Peter, you don’t realize what I am
doing, but you will understand later.
Peter: 8 You will not wash my feet, now or
ever!
Jesus: If I don’t wash you, you will have
nothing to do with Me.
Peter: 9 Then wash me but don’t stop with my
feet. Cleanse my hands and head as well.
“After Jesus finishes washing their feet, he puts
his outer garment back on and returns to his place, asking, Do you
understand what I have done for you? (v. 12).” It seems that the disciples
“can at least grasp his act as an example of humility. Jesus' understanding of
the characteristics of a teacher and a [leader] are quite different from those
of the disciples and their culture.
One Bible commentary says that “While they are
reeling from this embarrassing event, Jesus spells out the implications for
their own lives of what he has done: Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have
washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an
example that you should do as I have done for you (vv. 14-15). What does
Jesus have in mind? The community
Jesus has brought into being is to manifest the love of God that he has
revealed through serving one another with no vestige of pride or position.
There will be recognized positions of leadership within the new community, but
the exercise of leadership is to follow this model of servanthood.” http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/John/Jesus-Washes-Disciples-Feet
Jesus then says: 15 I am your
example; keep doing what I do.
And he concludes: 17 If you know these things, and if you put them
into practice, you will find happiness.
So in making the disciples ‘fishers of men,’
Jesus passes on to them the meaning of their calling; and that meaning is
service. No jockeying for position or status – when that does occur between the
disciples, he stops it and draws them back again to the mission he has set for
them: whatever you did to the least of my brothers and sisters, so you did
to Me.
Democracy depends on those same concepts of
being called and being of service. John Buehrens writes, “Blessed are you who
know that the work of the church is transformation of society, who have a
vision of Beloved Community transcending the present, and who do not shrink
from controversy, sacrifice, or change. Blessed are you indeed.” (O-T, IX)
In November I was at the Ministers’ retreat
at The Mountain with the theologian Matthew Fox, who spoke to us about the
training of prophets. Prophets are called and many times they resist, because
they know that answering the call might lead them out of a safe place and into
the unknown. But Fox said the way to discern your calling is to ask yourself
honestly: What brings you alive? What breaks your heart? What do you want to
do? What keeps you from doing it?
When we answer those questions truthfully
then we find, perhaps surprisingly, what leads us to be of service to the
greater good. Tom Owen-Towle says that “each of our chosen congregations is a
potentially mighty group, full of power and purpose” (Growing a
Beloved Community: Twelve Hallmarks of a Healthy Congregation, Apr 2004, 24). We are
surprised just as the disciples were, to find out that using that power and
purpose turns us all into leaders of one sort or another.
And we go back to the question, how do we know what a good leader is? When we are identifying our
gifts, which ones stand out as being qualities we need in the leadership of
this congregation?
Well, there is a story about the abolitionist
preacher Henry Ward Beecher – one day a person went to him and said, “Mr.
Beecher, I have a good horse to sell. He’s a good family horse, works double or
alone, is gentle, intelligent, not easily frightened, will stand without hitching
and is thoroughly sound and reliable.” Mr. Beecher replied, “ I can’t buy your
horse, sir, but I’d like to have it as a member of my congregation.”
(Owen-Towle 75)
The Generosity of Leadership
The Generosity of Leadership
I would say that the quality most needed from
leaders is generosity; just as Jesus made the extravagant gesture of washing
feet, so generous that it embarrassed the disciples, a leader who can give of
oneself to others is of most benefit.
And this makes sense, although it might not
be the quality you were thinking of; without generosity, love can’t be given
fully; justice is acted out only according to law and not compassion; and how
can a leader give much in the way of her time and talent without generosity?
The little artist in our story this morning (Dot, Peter H. Reynolds) creates a dot; that’s all she thinks
she can do, but it becomes a masterpiece. And through her encouragement and
generous spirit, others discover their talents.
Generosity means an open heart, and it also
means flexibility, which is what we need in navigating the tensions of
leadership … “like surfing on a wave, we always
need to be reading the conditions of these tensions and adjusting our
leadership to try to achieve the perfect balance” ("7 leadership tensions in growing churches,” Rich Birch, unSeminary blog, January 2014):
One of these
tensions is balancing an inward focus on the people who are already connected
to our church with being outwardly focused on who we haven’t reached yet.
Another is the
tension between relationships vs system; as much as we love each other and feel
like a family we realize that families and churches and all organizations
function as systems.
It is interesting
to read the Book of Acts in the New Testament because we see the ancient Christian church dealing with the dawning
reality that someone had to develop a system for serving people. In this church
we all take a lead in this through our covenant, in which we spell out how we
intend to be together. And we have a system of a board of trustees and
committees that spreads the work among us.
The modern church
is made up of a core of paid and volunteer leadership. The “professionals”
amongst us in the church can’t do everything, but at the same time … paid staff
help the ministry move forward in a way that totally volunteer driven
organizations just can’t do.
Another tension for
leaders arises from the fact that we’re called human ‘beings’ … not human
‘doings’. As leaders we are called to “do” even when we don’t feel like it – as
the song says, You gotta do when the Spirit says ‘do’ – sometimes that means
doing things that will lead to internal transformation in us that will then
allow us to lead others there. Some times we have to act before we become. That
is why our leadership workshop is so important: if you don’t feel like you are
a leader yet, you can do some soulwork in order to become one.
And finally, the
energy and activity that is happening in our church is a good thing … but we
need to worry about how we’re reaching the people who aren’t here yet. We need
to be content on the inside with what we’ve done while, at the same time, feel
the pull to look beyond where we are today.
Stepping Up to Leadership
Our opening hymn
is what was known as a ‘map song’, back during the days of slavery and the
underground railroad. It was announcing an attempt to escape and an invitation
to join. What was it we sang: I asked my brothers to come and go with me, I
asked my sisters to come and go with me, If they say no I’ll go anyhow…
Unitarian
Universalists have led in the struggle for civil rights and equal rights; many
other faith communities have been reluctant to join us but we’ve gone anyhow.
And this determination to lead into the future can be seen on a small scale too
– in fact, this is what the leaders of UUCA are doing with the focus on
technology this year, because we know that many of our visitors are not walking
in blindly not knowing anything about us; they’ve already checked us out on our
website. Keeping up that website, which is our map for those seeking a new
religious home, is vital. Leaders have to make decisions about things that they
might not necessarily need themselves, but recognize that in order to engage
new or potential members – including the children of this congregation – we
need to step up our technological know-how.
Leaders in this church are busy and inspired,
and the Board executive committee wants to meet with you at 12:30 to tell you
about the work they’ve been doing. Specifically, the board has been working
with me on our developmental goals – and leadership development is the primary
one.
The workshop next Saturday could go a long
way towards helping us reach that goal, but only if our members turn out to
support it. You don’t even have to pay to come! But it is important to inspire
the members of this congregation to step up as new leaders. We all admire the
long-term leaders who we have grown to trust and to rely on – but the flipside
of that is burnout, people who are relied upon for too long simply need a
break; and in a democratic organization everyone steps up to take a turn. The Unitarian
preacher Theodore Parker says - ours is a faith of the people, by the people,
for the people – that was such a meaningful phrase that Abraham Lincoln
borrowed it.
The 19th-century Danish theologian
Soren Kierkegaard said that “most parishioners think that God is the director
of this play called ‘Life’; that the minister is a lead actor, and that the
congregation is the audience.” But in his own analysis: “the congregation are
the actors, God is the audience, and ministers are the prompters, supplying
forgotten lines.”
Owen-Towle concludes that “the job of a
minister is to lift up the duties and destinies – the lines – that a church
tends to forget or lose sight of.” (24) That description is especially
appropriate for my role as developmental minister; it is the congregation
through the board who have set these goals, and I am here to help you keep
sight of them.
One thing we can do right now is to realize
the vision of our interim minister from a few years ago, Rev. Roy Reynolds. He
asked us to revamp our Nominating Committee so that it would become the
Leadership Development Committee. In doing that we will make it easier to
create a culture of service and leadership. The job of identifying leaders for
the next church year will begin soon: and we need your help. So please take a
copy of a short questionnaire as you go out, fill it in over coffee and then
return it to the basket on the front table before you leave today. This
congregation needs all hands on deck; let it never be said of you what one minister
declared in the course of delivering a long tribute at a memorial service:
pointing to the casket, he said solemnly, “ladies and gentlemen, this member
was a corpse in our church for 20 years!” (O-T, 30)
To those who have recently begun attending, and
to those who have been with us a while longer but who have never gotten around
to joining the church: Pathway to membership is a way you can begin to think
about how you can contribute to the mission of this church.
We take our mission seriously – we read it
this morning and it’s always printed on the back of the order of service. Next
Sunday is the first Pathway to Membership class, UU Heritage, followed on Mar.
2nd by Community and Connection.
Ours is a faith tradition that should make us
proud to be of service to it, and Unitarian Universalism has produced many
notable leaders in this history of this country. The insert section of the
Order of Service mentions just 3 of these: the Sharps and Adlai Stevenson were
shining stars during a dark period of history, the 2nd World War.
They put their UU values to work to preserve freedom and democracy. The first
verse of the closing hymn we will sing this morning could have been written
about them:
With heart and mind and
voice and hand
may we this time and place
transcend
to make our purpose
understood:
a mortal search for mortal
good,
a firm commitment to the
goal
of justice, freedom, peace
for all.
Two more notable UU leaders
from a more recent period of history, the civil rights struggle, the Rev. James
Reeb and Viola Liuzzo, gave their lives while working to build the Beloved
Community, answering the call from Dr. Martin Luther King to come to Selma.
Listen to the second verse that we will sing, and think of them:
A mind that’s free to seek
the truth;
a mind that’s free in age
and youth
to choose a path no threat
impedes,
wherever light of
conscience leads.
Our martyrs died so we
could be
a church where every mind
is free.
And for me, the third and
final verse is talking about – us, each and every one of us, where each of our
gifts are spirit-filled and can be used to open the door to all those who need
us, who need our free liberal religion.
A heart that’s kind, a
heart whose search
makes Love the spirit of
our church,
where we can grow and each
one’s gift
is sanctified, and spirits
lift,
where every door is open
wide
for all who choose to step inside.
(With Heart and Mind,
#300 in Singing the Living Tradition)
We are all called; we are all called to serve; and we are
all called to lead. That is what I
believe.
May we be the ones who make it so, blessed be, Amen.
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