by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Nov 4, 2020
These days, Americans can’t agree on a common reality, let alone a common good or the leadership they need to achieve it. In my own community of 53,000 people, 20 people are struggling for their next breath, gasping in ICU beds, with thousands more sickened. At the same time, other people don’t even believe that coronavirus is a real threat.
Given the backdrop of the presidential election which highlights the alternate values and realities that each party represents, the question is real: Is it possible to lead ALL people, forward, together, when they perceive differing realities?
Principles of Effective Leadership
In this blog, I want to share three key principles of effective leadership you can use to move your people forward. Whether these principles are enacted in Washington or not, you still can. As a way of demonstrating this, I want to let you in on some of what we teach in Creating a Culture of Renewal®.
- Effective leaders speak to both the center and the margins. They understand they must bring together all the people they lead with a vision for the common good. Jesus came first to the Jews and then expanded his leadership and vision to include Gentiles.
- Effective leaders understand they embody the kind of behaviors they expect in their followers. President Lincoln showed that he must bring society together that was riven by civil war and competing values. Your followers will rise or shrink to the standards you set. In Creating a Culture of Renewal, we lift up the principle that your people can go no farther than you can lead them. Your behavior, your values, your words set the standard of what you expect of your followers. They will emulate the example you set.
- Effective leaders exercise high accountability and set high expectations. When they lead, they own everything that happened before them, and all the consequences of their own decisions and actions. In Creating a Culture of Renewal, we embrace the fact that high expectations bear a great amount of fruit.
Who will win the presidential election? We don’t know yet. No matter who wins or loses, we’ll need to process the results. What will it mean for the state of the union? What will it mean for the role of faith leaders and faith communities? How can we define a common good? Join me for a series of debriefs in a discussion series called “Democracy, Faith and the Common Good.”
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Oct 28, 2020
This election season is a very emotional time. The tension, the polarization, the worry, the uncertainty—all of it adds up to stress. So what is your role and your responsibility as a church leader? Is it to get out the vote? Push for justice? Lead the resistance? Introduce new ideas? To maintain calm and harmony?
The truth is that your people may pull you in different directions. Your spirit may call for actions that are at odds with what your congregation needs from you. Being clear about your role, and communicating it to the people around you, will help you and your congregation manage during this stressful time.
Let’s say you’re not sure about how to play it as a church leader. In that case, let me tell you the wisdom we share with our Creating a Culture of Renewal cohort participants: dare to lead with a bold, forward-looking, Kingdom-oriented vision of the future that expands assumptions about what is possible.
Your Role as a Leader
A vision like this is bigger than any particular candidate and calls people to a positive future no matter who wins or loses the election.
To lead with a vision like this, here are three steps you can take right now:
- Focus on creating pathways of listening and understanding that will survive Election Day. No matter how this presidential election goes, your faith community will have a better chance of having a positive vision of the future if communications are grounded. The vision must be grounded in Kingdom-oriented values including equity, love, forgiveness, inclusiveness, empathy, and love.
- Establish yourself as a non-anxious leader who is present for ALL the people you lead. Do this regardless of political affiliation, by resisting fear-mongering and divisive pronouncements.
- Do be courageous in lifting Kingdom values. You do this while recognizing that Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Undecideds, and the Politically Disengaged can all participate in God’s Kingdom vision.
Your Role in This Election
The pull for political polarization is so strong that it may take up residence in your psyche and spirit. To lead from polarization is to reinforce its imprint on your faith community. In the long run, that won’t serve you or the Gospel well. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and that sort of thing.
It’s a relief to remember that the Kingdom of God is bigger. It is bigger than an election and bigger than a president. It is bigger than an administration or a government. The Kingdom of God is a gift from God that can neither be mandated nor dismantled by an election. It’s a reality that first and foremost exists within.
At the same time, even faith leaders are participants in this democracy. That’s why I’m inviting you to join me for a series of post-election debriefs called Democracy, Faith and the Common Good. During these one-hour sessions, learn from others as we engage in post-election discussion, prayer, and planning.
In the meantime, don’t forget to vote.
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Jun 8, 2015
In the classic children’s book, “The Little Engine That Could,” a long train needs help being pulled up and over a steep grade. All the other engines, including a heavy-duty freight engine say no. They’ve all got excuses. But one little engine, against all odds, says yes. It’s mantra? “I think I can, I think I can.” It does. On the way down the other side of the grade, the little engine rejoices, “I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could!”
Perspective shapes reality. Truth is, perspective IS really. If you think you can, you will. If you think you can’t, you won’t even try. Or as Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t–you’re right.”
In John 14:12, Jesus tells his disciples that belief in him will enable them to do just the kinds of things he is doing. Not only that, they’ll be able to do even greater things! Seems like a tall order. But after all, we’ve seen it. Health practitioners of every sort heal, revive and bring people back from the dead.
Educators and therapists restore hope and dignity. Governments, NGO’s and active communities of faith feed, support and love people by the thousands.
So why do so many churches put more stock in their apparent limitations than in Jesus Christ? Why is their mantra “I think I can’t, I think I can’t?” It’s unnecessary, unfaithful, and unattractive. That’s why I’m eager to share 5 things you can do to begin to turn that mantra into “I think I can, I think can, I think I can!”
- Stop rehearsing complaints. Every church specializes in its own kind of complaint, for example: the pastor never comes to visit or young people don’t want to get involved or we never play any of the new music here. Complaints feel empowering, but they keep a church in victim stance. Rehearsing them paralyzes a church and drives people away. Instead of focusing on what you don’t like, shift your focus to what you do like. Hold a round robin meeting in which each person takes a turn stating what they like about the church. Go around the circle 5 times. This forces each person to dig deep and get playful with their responses.
- Substitute we can for we can’t. Here’s how. Listen for statements that sound like: We can’t _______ because we don’t have enough ______. For example: We can’t start a youth group because we don’t have enough youth. Or, We can’t start a community garden because we don’t have enough space. Or, We can’t do an outreach to the poor because we don’t have enough money. Just for fun, step out in faith. Practice saying, We can ______ because we have just enough ______. See if, in fact, your new statement is true!
- Play with perception. The wind blows almost nonstop in Rawlins Wyoming where I once pastored. It makes almost everything tougher there. People hate it. But Dave Throgmorton, Director of Higher Education, saw this perceived limitation as an opportunity. Some years ago, he created the annual “Festival of Wind.” Now kite construction and kite flying, panels on wind energy, and fun contests are an annual occurrence. What can you do with a congregation of 80-somethings, a Sunday School of 4, or a shrinking town of 62?
- Build your belief. Read the New Testament with an eye toward the great things the disciples did. Notice where they stepped out in faith, walked on water, healed the sick, did miracles, fed and cared for each other, welcomed strangers, shared good news, baptized others, and formed new ways of being community. Talk about these things…not the ways they missed the mark. An excessive focus on disciple goof-ups reinforces an “I think I can’t, I think I can’t” mentality.
- Above all, be playful. Playfulness cultivates creativity. Creativity leads to positivity. Positivity generates hope. And, hope, as the scriptures remind us, does not disappoint.
There is SO MUCH that churches can do. Even those that seem to have insurmountable limitations. It starts with belief. In Jesus. In yourself. What is there to lose?
by Rebekah Simon-Peter | Jan 8, 2014
As promised, here is the first of my top 5 or 6 tips for people of faith who are resolved to evolve this year! Here’s tip #1: Get Authentic.
When I pastored churches, I knew most of the people in the congregations I served–quite a few pretty well. We had conversations with some level of transparency on my part, and on theirs. Later, it surprised me to learn that all these folks I knew didn’t really know each other!
Never mind that some of them had been going to church together for decades.
They knew of each other, and about each other. But they didn’t really know each other. They weren’t genuinely friends.
Now that I work with churches in a variety of ways–leading retreats, teaching workshops, and coaching leaders–I can see that my congregations were not unique. Just because people worship together doesn’t mean they feel safe together.
That’s kinda strange, don’t you think?? We bring people together to study, worship and work. And even change the world. Without the kind of resilient bonds and relationships that make that do-able. Especially when conflict rolls around.
Would things change if your “community of faith” was truly acommunity? I mean, what if we truly knew each other–our weaknesses and our strengths? What if we were transparent with each other?
Jesus and his disciples hung out A LOT..they traveled together, ate together, debated together, fished together, partied together, fought together, learned together, made up together. They shared living space. Over time, they not only knew of and about each other, they were friends. That was a lot of time for transparency, authenticity. Tell me that didn’t have something to do with why they were so effective later on after Jesus died!
I listened to an interview recently about people who are spiritual but not religious. It pointed to another aspect of authenticity that religious people can learn from. It turns out those who identify as spiritual want, even more than those who are religious, to pose and savor good questions, to take on the status quo, and to freely express themselves in the process–without having to conform to pre-set norms. It’s in this process that they come alive, and experience the Divine.
My own belief, and my experience, is that as we are more truly ourselves–without trying to look good, follow the rules, or go along to get along–that God becomes most real. These epiphanies often happen in conversation with others.
So, for those who resolve to evolve in, here’s my suggestion: create the space and the permission where people can be authentically themselves. I’m thinking something like youth group for adults!
Why does Youth Group have the potential to be so transformative? And so hard? There’s no set agenda! You never know what students might bring up, or what personal problem or societal issue will become the topic of discussion. You never know who is going to cry. Nor who will shine. And how the group will bond, and come to experience God. But one thing you can count on: they will tell the truth, as they see it.
What if we set up those sorts of experiences for adults as well as youth? Experiences which let us truly get to know each other: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Here’s what I say: Let go of the pre-set agendas, and set the stage for transparency, tears, revelations, honesty. Kinda like Jesus did.
In his book Missional Renaissance, Reggie McNeal writes that for churches looking to go missional, people development must take priority over program development. Authenticity is a must for people development.
This year, as you resolve to evolve, resolve to get to know each other–at a whole new level. And do it more than just once a year. Plan a series of experiences that reward play, self-revelation, and self-awareness. In a word: authenticity. By all means, do it intergenerationally, whenever possible.
Some ideas:
- Go out to dinner together or have potlucks.
- Share your spiritual journeys.
- Do a project that groups or pairs people up and requires them to get to know each other.
If you’re looking for a retreat that builds a sense of the common good, and helps people truly get to know themselves and each other, click here to check out For the Common Good!
By the way, thanks to all those who answered last week’s fun question about Mr. Banks. We had a tie for the free book: congrats to winners GW Bill Warren and Deb Polanski!
Stay tuned for next week’s tip!