Living Between the Tides

I grew up along the coast and knew much of the low and high tides. The type, time and flow of the tides spoke to us of the potential for success…catching fish, shrimp, crab and harvesting oysters. During some seasons it was the high tide you wanted to journey with and during other seasons it was the low tide.

Every journey our Convention leadership has set out upon has yielded fruit. No journey was in vain. Every wave of leadership throughout our history traveled down currents that were appropriate for the time. So like my predecessors, I began to set us toward continued forward movement through a process called the Journey of 180.

The events of our last Dream Team meeting halted the forward movement process by asking the question “How can we really and authentically move forward and enact change when we sense a lack of community, understanding, identity and mission between our member congregations?” At that point, we were at a stand-still.

It was not until I started agonizing over this exit from fast-paced forward movement that I remembered my Granddaddy Wood teaching me about the stand-stills or Stillwater. The stand-still is a moment between the journeying tides. It is a moment when the water stops its movement, when the ecological system pauses to embrace a directional change and the biological community prepares for any cultural shifts that may occur with the change of direction. Without a stand-still between the tides, the sudden shift in the movement of water would be so traumatic that it would damage the ecosystem.

So I started to study this phenomenon in more detail and what I uncovered blew me away! Intertidal ecology is the study of intertidal ecosystems, where organisms live between the low and high water lines. At low tide, the intertidal is exposed whereas at high tide the intertidal is underwater.

Intertidal organisms experience a highly variable and often hostile environment and have adapted to cope with and even exploit these conditions and produce what is called the Edge Effect.

During low tide, places become dry with puddles, it is where fish have laid eggs, fiddler crabs surface from their mud-homes and all sort of edge creatures move around. Birds come to feed and leave droppings.

During high tide, this once dry place is now covered with water, fish are swimming over what used to be dry and is now rich with the garbage low tide life left behind.

There is much life that moves with the movement of the tide over the changing bottom which is wet for a time and then dry. This community that lives on the edge, scientists say is the most intense place in the world. This is the edge and edges are the most abundant places for life.

Water and land edges are the richest as opposed to forest and prairie edges and the sea edge is the richest of all because of the tides.

Now I wonder is it questionable why Jesus called us to be fishers, is it any wonder he modeled a life that was lived on the edge. Is it any wonder that our greatest thinkers, theologians and changers of the world were men and women who camped on the edge?

Maybe the journey thus far was to be just that…to discover that the destination is not as near as important as the journey itself. Perhaps our calling to community is to learn how to slow down and embrace the Edge Effect…to exploit our diversity, to adapt to the ebb and flow of the currents around us, create spaces for many things to happen in many different places and to embrace life in Jesus Christ.

Writing A Future Story

I believe that a solid organizational strategic plan requires more than a Chief Executive Officer. For an organization to center its envisioned future in the hands of one leader is short-sighted, temporal and detrimental to organizational success. CEO’s come and go but institutions that have a long history stay afloat, regardless of their viability and vitality and management of resources rule the day. More important than the leadership of the CEO is the formal and informal leadership pool of the organization. In my world, the Church hasn’t adopted these philosophical thoughts on leadership well.

Too often, communities of faith and faith-based nonprofits center their strategic focus on the directives of a single person or small group of leaders who are centered on the pastor’s or CEO’s strategic desires and dreams. Understanding sound leadership principles would assist churches and faith-based organizations in creating solid pathways for organizational viability, vitality and value.

Since January, the D.C. Baptist Convention has been involved in a strategic initiative called The Journey of 180. This initiative involved 60 days of discernment, 60 days of dialogue and 60 days of dreaming— all with the end product being an envisioned future story. All throughout this journey, the questions I am most often asked are, “Where do you want the Convention to go? What do you think we should be doing? What is our future story?”

While those questions feed my ego and temptation to answer, I have sought to refrain and reframe the questions. It not about me but an organization that has been the collective witness of the Kingdom of God here in the national capital region and throughout the nation for over 130 years. It’s not about my direction but God’s direction. It’s not about my story but about God’s story.  A great mentor of mine in Alabama once told me, “Ricky, you are called to a job. The job is a job, not your life. Your life is much bigger than your job. So, when you consult as a strategist, lead people to see beyond themselves and see God. People come and go. Leaders leave and leaders die but the vision of an organization must live on. It will die if it is centered on you, so do everything in your power to lead people to connect their future with God.”

Discerning the will of God for an organization is hard. It’s a whole lot easier just to have someone dream for us and tell us where to go and what to do. A leader that has succeeded is a leader who has connected the future story with God so that when the leader is gone, the story continues to be written.

In October, the envisioned future of D.C. Baptist Convention will be unveiled to the delegates to decide if indeed what has been revealed during The Journey of 180 is their future story. It will be a story that has been envisioned through prayer, discussions with member churches, community leaders and leaders and dreamers within our Convention family. It will be a story that is not centered on a person but on God and His discerned pathway. Will it be an easy decision? No. Will it be an easy path to walk? No. Will it be like the convention of yesteryear? No.

The envisioned future will be God-sized and written only if we are willing to write the story as He leads. If we are not willing to faithfully follow God without knowing all the details and relying on our own strengths, then it becomes just another example of functional atheism. Believing and supporting things we can see, hear, feel, touch and accomplish without a god.

I have faith in God. I have faith in the D.C. Baptist Convention. I have faith that they will indeed embrace and write their future story.

MissionServeDC

They came from Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Missouri and Maryland to enhance the work and ministry of D.C. Baptist Convention's churches by helping eliminate substandard housing.

This past Saturday, 350 teenagers and their chaperones pulled up to their new week-long home, Washington Christian Academy, to kick-off a pilot project that had been in the making for a year. As they pulled up, they realized that they, like another half a million residences across the capital region, had no power. Did they complain? No. They came to be an extension of DC churches and they were sold out to their commitment.

Without power and little sleep, most trekked-off to worship with their host church Sunday morning but sixty of the volunteers could not because their host churches had lost power and cancelled services. So what did they do for worship? Serve! Accompanying the group were several disaster relief volunteers who had been trained in chainsaw operation and with a quick orientation to debris removal, this group took the D.C. Baptist Convention's Chainsaw and Debris Removal Unit on its maiden voyage to respond to down trees in the City of Takoma Park.

On Monday, the teams were given a big send-off from the school and they began a week-long project of renovating 25 homes in the City of Takoma Park and conduct ministry events in cooperation with City Gate Ministries, another partner of the D.C. Baptist Convention. Even amid the sweltering heat, these volunteers could not be hampered. As of this writing, all projects are ahead of schedule.

I have the opportunity of visiting the sites each day, talk to the homeowners, host the media in the telling of this story and see our countless DCBC churches providing lunches and building relationships. It is a blessing to witness young women and men serving others, especially strangers. It is refreshing to see Christians from other parts of our nation come to be an extension of a local church they have never met or been in contact prior to their arrival. It's comforting to see our churches embrace their week-long missionaries and make them a part of the local faith family. It is proof that faith-based organizations can work hand in hand with local municipalities to address issues that affect humanity without either having to compromise their mission and purpose.

Partnerships like this transforms relationships, individuals and communities. Partnerships between DCBC, Serve Management and the City of Takoma Park takes Community Development Block Grants to purchase building materials needed to renovate the home and the free labor provided by the volunteers lessens the cost. When the costs are lessened, the municipality can renovate more homes. Therefore, the municipality wins.

The residents win because they get immediate results. Their home is renovated within four days! But the real reward comes in getting to know the volunteer team and local church that is assigned to their home for the week. On Friday, there will be many tears shed by those who came as strangers leaving now as friends.

The volunteers win because they get to see the fruit of their labor, make new friends, worship with another part of God's Kingdom and hopefully, leave with being challenged to put serving others as a daily part of their walk with the Lord.

DCBC churches win because they get "missionaries" working on their behalf for a week. Get to enlarge their faith family tent by getting to know their missionaries and develop a relationship with a homeowner that perhaps may lead to involvement in their community of faith.

Service is a large part of our walk with the Lord. I wonder, "What would happen if every church took on as part of its mission the goal of eliminating substandard housing in the communities they are located?" Transformed lives, transformed communities and transformed churches!

Thanks to the churches of DC that served as hosts: Alafia, Southern Bethany, Chevy Chase, Clifton Park, Covenant Community, DaySpring Community, FBC Georgetown, FBC Hyattsville, Holy Comforter, Metropolitan Outreach Ministries, Montgomery Hills, Mount Jezreel, Mt. Carmel, Mt. Gilead, Nations United, New Creation, Olive Branch, Pennsylvania Avenue, River City, Streams of Hope, Takoma Park and West Hyattsville.

ObamaCare and the Church

Twitter is overloaded. Facebook posts are going wild. Many celebrating, many shaking their heads, many say "victory", many say "wait 'til the election", others say this is "right" and others say this is not "USA anymore."

I didn't weigh in my thoughts on the Trayvon Martin case, the scandal at Penn State, Amendment 1 of NC, or any others however, this healthcare issue hits a little too close to the Church so here are some thoughts: We, who profess to be Christians or people of faith, must be careful of our witness and the manner in which we conduct ourselves...personally and in the media (Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, TV Interviews, etc) because there is much more at stake than our individual feelings, interpretations and theological beliefs. We are Ambassadors for a Kingdom that has only been given to us by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ but unfortunately many us talk and act as if we are the keepers of the Kingdom keys and hold the pattern of the clothes of righteousness. I got news folk....you neither have the keys nor the pattern!

The Gospel of Mark tells a story of when the opponents of Jesus were trying to trip him up by finding some issue, some doctrine, some law or some political heresy that he could be accused of that would lead to his arrest and death. So they asked him a question about the role of government in relation to being a follower of God. They wanted to know if it was lawful for them as Pharisees and Herodians to pay taxes to Caesar? But he knew it was a trap so he worded his answer wisely, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." They left his presence marveled.

Perhaps today our focus should not be so much on Obamacare but on us as a community of faith. What led us to this day? Have we, as a Church done all we could do to avoid such government involvement in the lives of our people?

When is the last time you healed the sick? Start a free health clinic in your church.

When is the last time you fed someone that was hungry? Don't debate their work ethic, just feed them. Start a food closet, share garden crops, become a partner with your local food bank, start a summer feeding program for children, or start a Backpack Buddies program during the school year.

Immigration reform? When is the last time you welcomed the stranger in your midst? Do you really know the story they left behind and why they gave all to come to the USA?

Prison reform? When is the last time you talked with an offender or ex-offender? Do you have a prison ministry?

What about victims of crime? Do you know there is a tremendous need for someone to help crime victims recover from their trauma?

Many of the issues that government is having to face today was once the responsibility of the Church and somewhere along the way we gave our Great Commandment away. I say it is time to take it back by not focusing on those around us in what they do or don't do but by focusing on what we, as His Church are suppose to be doing. Until that time, we will be forever stuck in the dungeon of debate while those around us in need will perish.

The Journey of 180: Part II

As you read this, the Journey of 180 is in the second phase, 60 Days of Dialogue. In my last Blog, I explained that for the last year I have regularly used words such as journey, paradigm, rebirth, geopolitan, and community stakeholder. In part one, I discussed the meanings for the particular use of the words journey, paradigm and rebirth. In this BLOG, I will address the concept of “geopolitan” and offer some thoughts about the importance of community stakeholders.

Geopolitan is a word and concept of the future. I was given this word by Dr. Bob Dale, who has discussed the meaning and implications of such a word at length with his son, Cass. Since you will not be able to find a definition of the word—not even using Google—let me offer one. Geo- is a prefix taken from the Greek word γη or γαια meaning “earth.” Politan- is a term taken from the Greek root word polis (pɒlɨs) or πόλις meaning “city.” Combined the literal translation gives us the term “earth city.” Driving through the D.C. metropolitan area, it is easy to see how this term “earth city” or “geopolitan” could describe our unique setting, especially since we are the home to someone from nearly every nation and culture in the world. While our geographic location defines us as the nation’s capital, we also know that our region is where the world comes to meet. It is the place where every action has worldwide impact, like a pebble hitting the proverbial global waters. No less should be the mindset and attitude of D.C. Baptists. Everything we do impacts the world and everything the world does impacts us because the world resides here in our backyard.

Unlike most conventions across the nation, our region is far from homogenous. As a result of being an “earth city,” people who migrate here bring their culture, language, beliefs and mores with them. Our member churches often help to meet the needs of the people who move here and we must continue to equip them to effectively minister to all who walk into our churches. In addition, we must work to build deeper relationships with international leaders and embassy personnel to further support our churches as well as to advance God’s kingdom in our area. As D.C. Baptists journey these 180 days, we are mindful of the fact that the traditional geographical boundaries that once existed no longer do. We are beginning to discern, dialogue and dream about how our future story might be impacted as we explore what it would mean to become an "earth city" convention with an international focus.

As you probably know, a community stakeholder is a generic term for a person or an entity that takes a legitimate interest in the well-being of a community as a whole and those who live there. Community stakeholders are also concerned about the issues that affect the community it serves. We know that the community of D.C. Baptists is large and complex. Our community includes: the Baptist community, the Christian community, the religious community, the national capital region and its sub-communities, the local governmental community, the federal government, human service providers and the distant global community. The interests we have are of freedom, faith and life dignity for all humankind.

All of our community relationships are important and provide an opportunity for us to become a geopolitan convention, one whose boundaries are nonexistent.  Partnerships help us to leverage our diversity, collaborate on issues of mutual concern and share resources to address the issues that haunt our communities both locally as well as on an international level. By breaking through a traditional mindset of “convention work,” we will be able to propel D.C. Baptists into a world arena of involvement among groups that are making a difference in the daily lives of people around the globe. The challenge for D.C. Baptists as we continue to dream about our future is to go beyond the trappings of what we “should” do as a Convention to keep an institution and denomination alive into a mindset that partners our convention with the communities that we serve—including the global community. We must not fear sitting at the table with those who are not Baptist, not of like faith or not of faith at all.

The Journey of 180 holds a lot of promise for the D.C. Baptist Convention and the only question left to be answered is “Will we join the emerging work of God that we discover and travel to the new land of mission that He has prepared?”

The Journey of 180: Part I

For the last year, I have been speaking in the language of journey as I seek to lead the DC Baptist Convention to a new land. As you read this, the long talked about and anticipated Journey of 180 has begun. I have been a minister for over 29 years and have used a lot of words…probably more than I should have. Some of my language has been blunt, bottomed-lined, filled with grammatical errors but nonetheless just raw honesty. Then there are those times when I use a language to convey a meaning larger than me, whose scope is outside of myself and only can be realized by a people united in heart through the divine power of God. The language of journey is one of those times.

If you have been keeping up with my writings, blog, Facebook page, reports to Convention leadership or public presentations you have come across words like journey, paradigm, rebirth, geopolitan, community stakeholder, and service (these are not all, but a few key ones). Permit me a moment to simply flesh-out the use of these words in my journey language in my next several Blogs.

Journey: defined as ―an act or instance of traveling from one place to another. Beginning with my very first conversation with the Search Committee, the Committee wanted to know about my vision for DCBC and where I thought the next destination for Baptist Conventions would lead. My answer was very simple; I do not know the future story or destination of DCBC or any other Convention. If DCBC were to hire an Executive Director/Minister based on his or her vision/destination then failure would surely follow. The future of DCBC or any organization rests in the hands, hearts and minds of the stakeholders. The stakeholders for DCBC are the elected leadership, clergy, congregational leaders AND community. In order to get from our present reality to our envisioned future we have to be willing to take a journey…to travel from one place to another, travelling in caravan (together) and travelling forward. We also have to be willing to embark knowing that some will not go on this journey, others will get tired and sit along the way, others will take an exit and the committed will eventually reach the destination. It is in journeying together that we learn more about ourselves and where God is calling us. So as we travel…we continue to expand our capacity to create the results we truly desire, we find that new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, we see collective aspiration set free, and witness individuals begin to see the preferred destination as a whole.

Paradigm: I think Albert Einstein said it best; No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it. Thus, conventional formulations and solutions based on the current environment are inadequate to deal with future change. Although most organizational leaders recognize this to be an issue, few have a paradigm that would assist them with organizational transformation. The template we have for being and doing as a Baptist convention is based largely on a paradigm developed in the 1950s and guess what? It isn‘t working anymore—for us or any other Baptist convention. 

Our present structure (staff, bylaws, programs, services) also needs to be updated. And, DCBC‘s presence as a corporate body in the community at-large is virtually non-existent. Yet, the responsibilities of Convention staff and elected leadership have increased! Why? Because we are stuck in a paradigm that causes us to keep doing what we have been doing for years with less staff and less financial support. A new movement, a new way must develop or we will continue to focus on keeping an institution on life support until someone decides to pull the plug. Through the Journey of 180 we will spend time discerning and dialoguing about the emerging possible paradigms. 

Rebirth: basic and bottom-lined…the day is over for re-tweaking, re-organizing, re-arranging, re-shuffling and resurrecting. The Convention has experienced the re‘s for 135 years and they have served us well. However, the environment, culture, needs and expectations have reached a point that now calls for something totally and drastically new. The journey calls for a rebirth.

Our future is not found in past successes but in future realizations of concepts and direction conceived during the Journey of 180. We have to ask the right questions, not the easy ones, and seek solutions, not responses that sound politically correct. My questions are: If you had the opportunity to create a cooperative organization of Baptists uniting in mission and service, what would the organization look like, be doing and be focused upon? What Baptists would be invited to the partnership table? Would we partner with non-Baptists? What core values will guide the Mission and Vision of the rebirth?

I am blessed to be with the District of Columbia Baptist Convention during this most important time of their history. My primary objective when I accepted the call to be the Executive Director/Minister was to facilitate this journey. What will be the end result, the final destination? I have no idea but I am looking forward to getting there with DC Baptists and finding that place together! Part II and Part III to follow soon.

Emotional Intelligence of Nonprofit Leaders

Years ago, emotional intelligence was considered an intangible "soft skill" in discussions about leadership. "Soft skills" seemed secondary to the mastery of professional skills and academic or technical knowledge. Today, research shows that leaders who have emotional intelligence are more effective in building and motivating boards and leading management teams. 

As nonprofits become more complex, grow in size, expand nationally and globally, and interact with different communities and cultures, leaders need to draw from beyond their grasp of technical skills on how to solve a problem. In the article summation below, Anna Saporio writes in Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal (October 2009), that without emotional intelligence "a person can have the best training in the world, an incisive analytical mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, but he still won't make a great leader." 

The five aspects of emotional intelligence are: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, sympathy, and social skills.

Self-Awareness is the capacity to identify one’s own strengths and weakness, and to behave at the workplace in ways that capitalize on the former and minimize the latter. All too often in organization’s we acknowledge individual strengths and say “great, but now let us focus on your weaknesses” to the detriment of the individual and organization. As individuals, we have allowed others to make their “imprint” upon our self-awareness rather than being responsible for self-evaluation and self-honesty leading one to being comfortable with who we are and what we bring to the table which ultimately morphs into being okay with oneself. Candor about areas of weakness, comfort with oneself and a strong and positive sense of self-worth characterize people who are self-aware.

Self-Regulation is related to self-awareness, but describes more specifically the ability to control emotions, whether negative or positive, in order to maintain a demeanor best suited for professional practice and activity. People who are self-regulated have an ability to create an organizational culture of trust, fair, open, transparent and authentic. Conflict is reduced, bad moods less frequent and a propensity for reflection and thoughtfulness wins out.

Motivation represents the will to achieve – eagerness, drive, ambition – regardless of obstacles. These leaders are forever raising the performance bar and competiveness with self and others. If unchecked can be harmful to the organization but when balanced with the other four aspects becomes a characteristic that propels the leader forward and thus the organization. These leaders see opportunities to exploit where other do not.

Empathy describes the leader’s intuitive understanding of staff’s non-technical needs and the ability to communicate that understanding effectively. Here the organizational leader is not adopting the staff emotions as his/hers or is trying to please everybody but exhibits a heart of respect and ability to hear what the staff is saying. Creating a culture of effectively affirming one another, offering an atmosphere of honesty and a willingness to listen to all can go a long way in developing strong teams that get things done.

Social Skill is the ability to leverage relationships toward the ideas and ideals a leader wants to promote, through likability, trust and respect. This ability is all about relationships. Having an organizational leader strapped to a desk is the worst thing any organization can do. If you really want to create a winning organization that will continue to be valuable, vital and viable in the years to come, make sure you give your leader the flexibility to be “out and about” building and finessing relationships.

Do you have the right leader for your organization? Have you released your leader to live fully into these five aspects of emotional intelligence? Are these areas which are valued in your organization or are part of your leaderships' evaluations? What next steps do you need to take to maximize your leadership?

Lessons from Soldiers

In the 2002 movie, We Were Soldiers, a commanding officer portrayed by actor Mel Gibson, addressed his men about the upcoming mission:

Look around you in the 7th Cavalry. We’ve got a captain from the Ukraine, another from Puerto Rico. We’ve got Japanese, Chinese, Blacks, Hispanics, Cherokee Indians, Jews, and Gentiles—all American soldiers.

Now here in the States, some men here in this unit may experience discrimination because of race or creed, but for you and me now all that is gone. We’re moving into the Valley of the Shadow of Death, where you’ll watch the back of the man next to you as he will watch yours. And you won’t care what color he is or by what name he calls God. They say we’re leaving home—we’re going to what home was always supposed to be.

So let us understand the situation. We’re going into battle against a tough and determined enemy. I can’t promise you I’ll bring you all home alive, but this I swear before you—before the Almighty God—that when we go into battle I will be the first to set foot on the field and last to step off and I will leave no one behind—dead or alive. We will all come home together!

It is interesting that in this movie, it would be on foreign soil that a family of soldiers would find unity, trust, faith, camaraderie and a chance to live as we were designed by our Creator. While their mission was military in nature and ours is to change the world I think the commanding officer's words has application.  

All throughout biblical history, religion has been a divisive factor among people, faith groups and even countries. Men and women have fought over religion, religious leaders have been martyred and innocent bystanders have been caught in the fray and always the victor claimed, "We won because God was on our side." 

As we look deeper into each stream of world religions we find that even within a singular theological stream of thought, divisiveness continues to exist thus separating and causing debate within the body. Christians against Christians, Muslims against Muslims, Buddhists against Buddhists....all centering on the divisive issues surrounding the smallest theological differences or interpretations. In my opinion, the minutiae of these differences are negligible and exists only to divide and cause dissension.

In the name of religion, masses of people have been slaughtered, imprisoned, sentenced to a life of slavery in one form or another, used to support discrimination/prejudice and exclusiveness, and further used to foster a sense of superiority. Even today, in perhaps the smartest, most intellect and spiritually enlightened era, religion still divides, even within the same body.

Look at the issues that seek to divide us today: 

(1) Some prominent religious leaders have accused the President of the United States of not being a Christian, despite his acknowledgement that he is a Christian (Now we are judging who is and is not a follower?). 

(2) Political opponents are taking their lead from religious leaders by attacking the theology and the "correct or incorrect" exegesis of others (What happened to freedom of scripture interpretation and priesthood of the believer?). 

(3) Christians are debating on who to vote for based on a candidate's faith or perceived lack of rather than ability to lead and govern appropriately (Do we really want a theocracy? Is the Church wanting to give its responsibility to the government?). 

(4) Denominational leaders continue to argue over the role of females in Pastoral leadership (Who are we to question one's acknowledgement of God's call? Proof-texting is the foundation for such a belief but they employ that methodology inconsistently.)  

(5) One denomination recently questioned rather or not a name change would be in order to create a more positive witness (I really don't think the world cares about one's name, especially the folks that the Church should be reaching. A name does not carry a positive or negative view, one's actions defines who you are and how you are perceived.) 

(6) Meetings are held in secret to determine if one's leadership style or continuing leadership is still wanted. (The disturbers of today's church culture, those who are trying to shake things up and run against the streams of political correctness and institutionalism, are eyed with suspicion because institutional leadership want the ways of the past to rule the ways of the future.)

Maybe, perhaps the earlier analogy of military operations is valid. Our common enemy seems not to be the evils of the world but the issues within us and our families of faith.

As a Christian, I believe the only purest to walk on this earth was Jesus Christ. It was his ministry and teachings that set the bar for the emerging Church. The movement brought about by Jesus Christ was not a movement that began in the Church, within a political leader or established government. The Jesus movement was a movement of common and often outcast people of his day.

Jesus, the Messiah, didn't look to the Church because they were too busy trying to keep an institution alive, the laws enforced and leverage their position with ruling governmental authorities. Jesus didn't turn to the political leaders or government because it was a movement that couldn't be legislated, forced or institutionalized. So Jesus looked to the folk who needed a miracle in their own life, folk who could be taught a new way to do "church" and a folk who could let the baggage of the past go.

I wonder what would happen if during the next four years, whether than look to an institution, elected political leader or a governmental entity to change the world, we look within ourselves and our local community of faith to assume the role of a world changer? Changing how we relate one to another by setting aside our judgmental attitudes of who's right and who's wrong, who's in and who's out, who's called and who's not, and who's fit to lead and who's not might just put us back on the path that Jesus intended us to journey from the beginning.

Just think what could happen if we began to focus on cooperative efforts to eradicate hunger, poverty, abuse, lawlessness, disease, alienation, and the unending list of human struggles through a literal “cup of cold water” and the gift of the “Living Water” that is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. This mission would require cooperation, trust, respect, and diversity with faith in Jesus Christ as the unifying foundation, not the theological minutia, in order for this to be successful. We would have to be willing to rise above our self, and see beyond our differences, color, gender, theology, and political views.

The only way to really change the world is to realize that as a people of God, we have to change first and then move out—out of the sanctuary walls, off the church campus, and into the world—to places where the Good News of Jesus Christ was meant to be preached and lived in spite of our differences, so that at the end of the day We will all come home together!