Veterans Cheer Us On, Serving Peace

Veteran’s Day 2013

Service to country, and more.

Veteran’s Day 2013

My Dad was a veteran. He was very proud of his service to his country, and rightly so. This is the very best way to love (Jesus said). Put your life on the line for your friends (John 13:15, The Message). My dad joined the Navy at age 18. At his memorial service, after a full life of 86 years, the family was presented an American flag at his graveside, “From a grateful country, for his service.”

Service of Communication

What was that service commemorated by that flag? The four years of active duty alone? Dad was fortunate enough to come home, but many friends and family did not make it back safe and sound. His service is more than the four years in a war. It can also be described as the way he chose to live his life of service after his return home. What mattered most to me about his being a veteran was not in glorifying war, but serving peace. He volunteered with community organizations, church, and as an attorney he helped people facing difficult and challenging circumstances. He found many ways to love and serve the family, and the world, in his own way. Veteran’s Day is about every individual’s service to work for peace, justice, and hope for all. Each time we express gratitude for the sacrifices of others, living and dead, we celebrate the gifts of their whole lives.

What are you the possibility of today? Your giftedness, history, experiences, passions, place, your meaningful work and the various roles you fulfill in your life, all these attributes and many others besides, constitute yourservice in response to God’s love. What possibilities will emerge as you put your life on the line in a multitude of ways so that others are blessed through you?

Jesus never lost sight of the future as he lived his life with Intentionality, Humility, and Authenticity. His integration of his past, mindfulness of his present, and focus on his future expressed his service, laying down his life so that others might truly live in peace and wholeness.

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it… Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God… go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! (Excerpts Hebrews 12:1–3 The Message).

Veteran’s Day is a time to remember. It is a time to take responsibility for our history, good and bad. It is a time to mourn, and to also express gratitude individually and as a family, organization, community, and country. Not gratitude for war, or glorifying war’s achievements, but to become the possibilities for peace, justice, and hope for every individual.

Take time today to thank a vet. You may want to consider volunteering at you local veteran’s hospital, or donating to an organization that serves peace and wholeness to our veteran’s:

The Fisher House Foundation provides homes and enables family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful time - during the hospitalization for a combat injury, illness or disease.

The DAV is dedicated to a single purpose: Empowering veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity.

My dad was a veteran, not just of World War II, but a veteran of the greater community of faith, seen and unseen, and he continues to cheer me on in service to peace, following the Prince of Peace in showing God’s love for the world.

This flag represented more than four years of active duty. It represented a life in service of peace for all.

Is Your Mission Missing Something?

Is your mission missing something?

I work with the Presbyterian Church (USA) both as a regional leader and on their national board. I think a lot about the church's job to be done. Another way to think about your mission is to ask, What does your community hire your church to do? Or consider, what could families in your community hire  your church to do for them? To answer this question, you need to be in an authentic relationship with your community.

In this conversation, I use the word "church" generically to refer to an organized faith community; an inclusive term referring to individuals who gather as a volunteer association to practice their faith. I resonate with how our Moderator, the Rev. Dr. Neal Presa (@nealpresa), has described worshipping and witnessing communities to capture both the gathering and sending components of mission.

In my experience, faith communities have been utilizing the same framework for their work for more than 100 years. Like other volunteer groups that value incumbency more than innovation, fewer and fewer people continue to try their best but only manage to offer less and less. This model does not produce energy and it leaves practitioners unsatisfied in their experience. Is it any wonder that more than 1,700 pastors leave the ministry every month (referenced by http://www.churchleaders.com).

We keep delivering our ministry as we always have out of habit or convenience, expecting people to line up at the door, but for what? And why?

I have resonated with the development and practice of the Job-To-Be-Done (JTBD) framework. Clay Christiansen's insightful work, and the excellent Re-Wired Group podcast and website with Bob Moesta have profoundly helped deepen my understanding of the nature of the church's job to be done, i.e., the mission of those called and sent as followers of Jesus. 

I wonder what might be missing in your mission? Who is missing in your mission?

what would happen if we looked at the church from the perspective of our neighbors, those "outside the church," flipping the focus from church to the community. This shift is revolutionary because it realigns the resources, processes, and priorities to achieve the mission instead of preserving the illusion of the mission. 

Increasingly, I have been asking pastoral leaders to explore:
What is the use-case for your church? (Think deeply about your assumptions, not only assumptions about the community at large, but also the assumptions held by the community of faith, as well.) 
Are you committed to grow and change, adapt and learn, by discovering what the community is actually looking to "use" your ministry for?
What are your neighbors looking for that's currently and urgently missing from their lives? 
What are the forces at play when a person chooses to visit any church? 
What are the forces at play when a person chooses "your" church? 
What spiritual needs do they express? How are they getting these needs met? 
What schedules, budgets, priorities, etc. do your neighbors manage that your ministry could address? 

Exploring responses to these and similar questions within an adapted JTBD framework has provoked many leaders to think more critically of the self-preserving, incumbent, ministry models. When a worshipping and witnessing community stops focusing on themselves and instead, considers their neighbor's jobs-to-be-done, innovation can fuel new ministry.

What is the Church's Job To Be Done? Be honest. When you gather, I'm pretty sure you talk about Jesus. But in what ways do you walk about Jesus in the community?

Is something missing in your mission? 

Thank you for sharing your responses.

What Do You Stand For? (Whatever it is, that’s what people will remember about you.)

Why do you do this every, single, day?

My Post-It® note starred right back at me. I’ve seen it a hundred times before. The ubiquitous sticky note was the marvelous invention of a Presbyterian church choir member named Arthur Fry who needed something to mark pages in his hymnal. Happily for the world, he was a scientist at 3M and in 1970, they turned his adhesive invention into what was to become a billion-dollar business. Nice work, Art. Thank you! My Post-It note has a digital counterpart on my computer that pops-up on my calendar, but last Friday, it was different. My Post-It note reads, “Why do you do this every, single, day?”

Your faith in God has become known everywhere (1Thessalonians 1.8 The Message).

On Friday, September 17, 2010, I travelled to Canton, New York. I knew I was in a small town because I would have to drive all the way to Canada, but only 90 minutes away, to find the nearest Starbucks. It turns out that my visit there was the ideal place to ponder my day’s Post-It note message without the ordinary distractions. Canton is the “Mayberry-RFD” of the northeast. That weekend’s quaint Hope Festival welcomed people of every age with music, cider, and tables brimming with handmade crafts and home-grown produce, cakes, and honey.

Canton was where the Rev. Clinton A. McCoy Jr., made his home and it was the place where he would have his final home-going. Clint, 62, died suddenly on Sunday, September 12, 2010. Everyone knew what Clint stood for.

Clint was known by many across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as the Synod of the Northeast’s Executive for Partnerships. In that role, Clint effectively helped guide and resource the Synod and its twenty-three presbyteries. To many presbytery leaders like me, he was a listening leader, a wise coach, and I regarded him as my pastor. He is still deeply missed.

Walking from Clint’s home, past the Hope Festival, on the way to the funeral home for services, my Post-It note message replayed in my mind: Why do you do this every, single, day?

I thought about how Clint would have responded to that message’s question. Why do you do the things that you do? The family stories I had just heard hinted at the answer, but I could’t quite decipher it.

I arrived early enough that Friday in Canton to offer love and support to Clint’s family, to his wife Barbara, and his grown children. I also had the honor of extending gratitude for Clint’s ministry on behalf of Newark Presbytery, the New Jersey presbytery leaders, and the Synod’s executive collegium.

Clint enjoying one of his signature activities, fishing.

I enjoyed the stories, (mostly fishing stories, Clint’s signature activity), being tearfully recounted as shared photos were passed around in tribute to a man who added so much joy to so many people.

Clint got up every day, I imagined, as I did. Gratefully embracing the gift of life from a gracious God who, in Jesus Christ, sends us out into the world to be a blessing. Check-in with family and with God. Read the news. Write and think. Review the calendar, tasks, and priorities. Miles to go before I sleep. Get moving! (Repeat daily.)

Why do you do this every, single, day?, I asked myself.

Arriving at the funeral home early, I thoughtfully gazed in solitude at the myriad photos of Clint on easels and images dissolving into one another up on the big screen. (Why do you do this every, single, day?)

I was with Clint less than a week before he passed at the New Jersey Presbytery Partnership Group meeting at our West Orange Presbyterian Center. He looked great and more rested than he appeared at July’s General Assembly in Minneapolis. We spoke about the fading summer and calendared several meetings ahead for African-American ministry, college chaplaincy, and middle governing body challenges to be discussed soon in Louisville. Clint offered the same great insight and nurturing guidance we all expected of him. (Why do you do this every, single, day?)

Recreation of Clint's refrigerator door.

As I stood there alone in the funeral parlor just ahead of the hundreds of others that would soon be arriving, I looked again at the photos and the “recreation” of the McCoy refrigerator-door gallery. Finally, as in solving a riddle, it became glaringly obvious to me; There were no photos depicting Clint’s work. No photos from his long pastoral ministry, no photos of his Synod connections, no photos from the scores of Presbyterian meetings he attended. None at all. (Why do you do this every, single, day?)

Well, one thing’s for sure— “work” as I typically regarded it, was not what got Clint up in the morning. Clint was real. He stood for something that mattered.

What you truly stand for is what people will remember about you if you were to move away. What did people remember about Clint? Whether on the lake, online, or in worship and work, Clint expressed his “gift” of life rooted in family and expressed with intentionality, humility, and authenticity. Christ-in-Clint was visible in abundant faith and love, perfectly captured by the gathered stories and photos. Now that I have thought more about it, that’s what Clint made me feel like— his family. The work he did was important because others were important to Clint. His life’s work was fundamentally about family, the family of faith, and the world. (Why do you do this every, single, day?)

What does your church stand for? What you truly stand for will be how people will remember you. What would the neighbor’s say? What would they remember about your ministry? What would your “refrigerator-door gallery” look like?

The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere (1Thessalonians 1.8 The Message).

To effectively contribute to the change we want to see in our families, our work, the community, and in the world, we must begin by understanding, appreciating, and respecting each other, and those around us. Let's invest our gifts in what matters.

We rarely have time for everything we want in this life, so we must make choices. Clint made his choices. We were all blessed. Hopefully, our choices and those of our churches will come from a deep sense of who we really are. It’s never too late to begin living our lives with intentionality, humility, and authenticity. Christ-in-us visible in abundant faith and love will be expressed through tangible and coherent actions.

I will always be grateful for Clint, and other great leaders like him. You can have a hope festival in your town, and life. 

Now you know what was was on Clint’s refrigerator door. What’s on your's?

Take These Steps that Count For Transformation

The statisticians' scorecard, but it's  all misdirection. Make sure reliable and evidence-based data informs your decisions.

Chart 1- Reliable data tells a compelling story. Compare the church vs: membership data over time. What does it suggest? Learn something new?

 Chart 2- Don't blame the Presbyterians! Or the Methodists, etc. The USA has a community engagement problem and a smart church will solve that problem by reconnecting to their community.

Steps that Count For Transformation

Measure Progress and Act Transformationallly
Numbers are amazing. Counting is an incredible human ability. Fundamentally, counting and measuring is a transformational act. Our powers of observation and pattern recognition enable us to denote change as numerical symbols. We perceive the gap between what was or is, and what could be. We notice what’s different, added, or missing in our context.

Developmentally, one-year olds soon begin to count, and by age three, count up to five, then ten. I have a great deal of fun with my four-year old grandson Liam, who when asked how old he is, playfully affirms “Five!” pushing ahead to bigger and older. He understands change, and the desirability of growth. Numbers help us quantify change and measure our progress. For example, our capacity to compare our past and current age, things, or experiences, to an emerging future that’s better, describes our growth. As we mature, we develop the capacities to intentionally seek positive change, starting with our present, to achieve more desirable future outcomes. We become transformed. Numbers can help tell this story.

We understand the importance of numbers from the first pages of the Pentateuch as God’s creative work is counted as days. The Bible book that begins and ends with the counting is aptly titled Numbers. Counting what changes can be a good proxy for the transformation that is experienced. The New Testament contains many references to measurement including Jesus’ early years growing in wisdom and stature, to the expansion of the church in Acts by the thousands, mission journeys that traversed the world, and the final fulfillment of redemption through Christ described in the book of Revelation.

Avoid the Dissonance of Misdirection
Consider a story from John 4. The Pharisees presumably tracked of the baptisms of John the Baptist, and Jesus, reporting the results as in modern day election returns. They acted as observers, statisticians. Imagine a scoreboard in the Pharisees’ war room with the results- John: 40 | Jesus: 67.

Something didn’t sound right. Curiously, the Gospel writer reveals that the data was flawed. We come to understand that Jesus did not actually perform any baptisms himself, and instead, the disciples did the actual baptizing. That observation alone rendered the data irrelevant. The Pharisees manipulated the findings to fabricate drama. They were suffering from their own impairments, thirst for power, and the consequences of their unjust actions. Most thinking people saw right through their charade. Some Pharisees posited a rivalry between John the Baptist and Jesus so they could appear to look like winners.

Jesus couldn’t be bothered with misdirection. Any counted baptisms correlated to a changed life. Instead of everyone celebrating Good News, some objected. Determined to reach Galilee, Jesus traveled through an area he knew the Pharisees would not dare to follow. (He was escaping to complete several missions at once.) During this journey, Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well who became Jesus’ disciple-evangelist, his new friend on Facebook. An entire region was transformed through her messaging.

Understand Your Context
Newark Presbytery’s incredible journey (with various other substitute adjectives including words like: awesome, cool, scary, painful, dramatic, and difficult- preceding journey) took a new form in 2006 when a flattened mission design was rolled out. God’s Spirit, however, was evident among us long before that.

The Spirit’s work among our Presbyterian Tribe began in 1666 when followers of Jesus moved from Connecticut with a land grant from King George to establish a new church. Data from this period document thousands of changed lives, with dozens of new communities of faith sent from our spiritual birthplace, namely: Old First Presbyterian Church in Newark. On June 22, 1870 the Synod of New Jersey established the Presbytery of Newark including the city of Newark with the townships of Woodside, Belleville, Bloomfield, Montclair, Clinton, and Caldwell. The data documents growth as people worked and fought hard for justice, peace, and freedom ensuring that civic, commercial, and educational institutions flourished.

Newark Presbytery today represents a spiritual lineage of world-changing spiritual vitality in the Reformed tradition. As part of the Vine, we bear fruit as God brings the increase of gifts and voices from every congregation, and the sessions that measure their progress. (Remember that elders are now called ruling elders, referring to their responsibility to measure as with a ruler, the faithful progress and growth of God’s people in worship and witness as they embrace the world with the arms of God’s love.)

Consider the data plotted in Chart 1, showing membership (green), and congregations (blue). In 1900, our thirty-six (36) churches and 11,796 members experienced steady growth with a slight dip in the late 50’s. When The Presbytery of Morris and Orange was dissolved in 1964, its eighteen (18) churches within Essex County became part of our presbytery, increasing the number of our churches by 38%, and our membership by 50%, to an all-time high of 33,065 members. The expanded presbytery held its first meeting at the Old First Presbyterian Church on June 7, 1964. The abundant organizational capacity achieved through this acquisition was profound, but was not sustainable. Newark Presbytery, just like all other volunteer organizations in North America, fell victim to large-scale sociological shifts hinted at by the Pharisee’s ancient question, “Who is my neighbor?”

Our history must be understood in its social context so that our future choices remain authentic, effective, and relevant. Negativity and defensiveness sometimes accompanies initial conversations about our local or national church membership which can be turned around with mindful, evidence-based, analysis fueling transformative action. It takes honesty and courage.

Learn to Act Differently in Your Communities
In Chart 2, our denomination’s membership from 1900 (orange), is essentially identical to the membership trends in all other volunteer organizations. (Go ahead, look at the data. What is your reaction?) Since the decline is not a unique Presbyterian experience, the remedy is best understood in a broad, sociological framework. We don’t have a Presbyterian problem, (We don’t have a Methodist, Lutheran, or United Church of Christ, or Roman Catholic, problem. Its bigger than us.)

Since the 1960‘s, people have been increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, and social structures. All groups including the PTA, recreation and service clubs, political parties, and churches reported a consistent loss of membership because people no longer chose to join groups. Groups did not add much value to a person’s whole life experience, so why go? Social interactions became increasingly fragmented. Mental health professionals now report a frequent diagnosis of feelings of isolation, despair, and the inability to cope. The church has reflected this fragmentation, rarely building individual and community integration on a large enough scale to effect hopeful systemic change. The Pharisees did not comprehend the spiritual and social implications of the Gospel heralded by Jesus who at every turn was releasing God’s power to save the lost and transform the world.

Count on Community Transformation
What can we do? The sky’s the limit! Why can’t the next 100 years be as life-giving and world-changing as earlier years? It can, if we act differently. How will the next 100 years be life-giving? Only if we act differently. Our choices that promote health and vitality will have an enormous influence on the future.

We can immediately and radically change how we deploy our Resources, adapt our Processes, and realign our Priorities to fit the real world. Thought: Can we recapture the vision and express it in a way that makes sense to young people in a multicultural context? Can we convey our heart and mind in Christ through community engagement and social media networking? I think we can!

As your leadership team keeps listening and responding to God’s unique call, be prepared for change. Seek the resources you need to accomplish your current and future mission, and stop allocating resources and techniques that target needs and opportunities of the past. Collaborate with community and comity of faith resources and be prepared to resource and promote your congregation’s mission and change the world.

How could your team develop a new, innovative, and sustainable ministry proposition? In other words, fill in the formula for your Mission Plan:

Resources + Processes + Priorities = Mission Impact

(See Assessing Your Organization’s Capabilities: Resources, Processes, and Priorities by Clayton M. Christensen and Stephen P. Kaufman.) Read more at Harvard Business School publications.

What are your Resources, including staff, assets, physical plant, history, vision, community relationships, etc.? What Processes are in place to make decisions? What Priorities inform your choices?Experimentation and risk are required, even recommended, but when your mission is clear, new models, starting new faith communities, and revitalized ministries are outcomes to expect.

In the words of the old hymn:

Like the woman at the well I was seeking For things that could not satisfy;
And then I heard my Savior speaking:
“Draw from my well that never shall run dry”.
Bread of Heaven, fill me till I want no more,
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!

Steps that Count For Transformation: 1. Measure Progress and Act Transformationally. 2. Avoid the Dissonance of Misdirection. 3. Understand Your Context. 4. Learn to Act Differently in Your Communities. 5. Count on Community Transformation.

Drinking at the well with you,

Kevin Yoho

All For One, One For All: How Independent Review, Incrementalism, and Disruption Helps The Whole Organization Be Healthier

Independent review, incremental improvement, and disruptive innovation ensures the elevator works according to its design. These disciplines can ensure your mission works, too.

Thankfully, pushing the elevator button repeatedly won't speed the elevator up! 

If you want to go from the lobby in your hotel to the 12th floor quickly, pressing the elevator button repeatedly will not make the elevator doors open faster. The elevator (thankfully) moves at a perfect, predetermined rate. (Imagine if it didn’t and you were inside when an impatient guest kept pressing that button. Yikes!) A lot of smart engineers make sure elevators are convenient, safe, and get the job done.

If you want to cool your hot room to 68 degrees quickly, setting the thermostat to 50 degrees isn’t going to make it cool any faster. It blows “one temperature” of cold air until it hits the number set on the thermostat, then it stops. There’s no “instant” change. Can you imagine what would happen if the temperature actually went from 95 degrees, to, say, 50 degrees, instantly. Whoa. How would you body react? Great teams of people design modern air-conditioners to adjust the air temperature following physics and laws and human use-cases to get the job done right.

In the same way God, the Original Engineer and Designer, created humans to be partners, neighbors, and to be socially connected. To take care of creation, to make things, to produce things, to help people, to heal sickness, and to invest energy in relationships and systems on the earth to God’s glory. Getting in God’s flow of interconnected possibilities is the way we embrace Gods emerging future… together.

Jesus called twelve disciples to be together, as well, as learners and leaders. They were called to be with him, then to be sent out to preach, teach, and heal the world in his name.

Following Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, leaders of “the Way” frequently convened in groups to make decisions and to support each other in mission. To get the right jobs done, to bless the world, councils were formed. The New Testament speaks of leadership in the congregations as the shared work of spiritually graced women and men-who are part of the body of Christ. Examples abound of teams sent to express love, concern, and offer servant and spiritual leadership to others.

Presbyterians as a group of disciples of Jesus Christ organize together to promote their mission, and have established self-governing rules which were not created in a vacuum. In the stream of governance, Presbyterian polity has biblical and confessional foundations. As one means of ordering a particular community of believers, it has evolved over three centuries based on life experiences of real men and women of faith. Our Presbyterian form of government expresses an important engineering and design duality: the importance of the local congregation with its members, and the importance of gathered congregations (as a council), and gatherings of councils we call a General Assembly, to understand we are part of the whole as Christ’s Church.

A presbytery is greater than the sum of its parts. The presbytery as a whole is responsible for the ministry of the parts. The presbytery sets the vision and mission of the whole, to build up, nurture, discipline, and guide. Independent review helps the system be authentic. Administrative commissions, installation commissions, special administrative reviews, committees, teams, and staff, are all spiritual tools, resources, in God’s hands to build the whole in Jesus Christ as the whole pays attention to the parts. It is the presbytery (council) that moves us out in mission, together. Its hard work, but the impact can be dramatic as evidence-based discernment, transparent communication, authentic behaviors, and mutual learning and growth can impact the whole and the parts.

Whatever your role or function, thank you for investing your time and energy in organizational governance. The whole is blessed by the gifts you represent that serve the whole, the ministers and sessions and congregations in our presbytery, councils, and general assemblies. Together we continue to provide resources that promote the health and vitality of our congregations and ministers. Each time we gather together, we reflect and continue the historic tradition within the Church that we all need to learn, grow, and change together.

Gifted individuals are called in faith, love, and common mission, guided by the Holy Spirit to accomplish much more than any one individual, or one church, or one minister could alone. We honor and glorify God optimally when we build upon the Design and Engineering of the Creator as the body of Christ. We gather in celebration of Jesus’ life in our midst, and we gather for worshipful discernment to ensure that every congregation has the resources it needs to fulfill God’s unique call to them to demonstrate God’s love in the world.

You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything… as we are possibilities of grace, gifts to each other.

We may wish that our system was sleeker, smoother, or faster. (I do!)

Many of us are working on important, but, incremental improvements (for example: better rules, logo and rebranding, new hymnal, assessment tools, and strategic realignments.)

I’m most interested in working with those exploring disruptive innovations (for example: 1001 new worshipping communities, New Possibilities Associates, my published article on disruption, Reciprocal Revolution, and Mission Convergence, and thought leaders like Clayton Christensen’s Disruptive Innovation).

We cannot incrementally achieve authentic and effective impact alone. We must have the courage to engage in courageous testing, hypothesis formation, measurement and assessment, deep thinking and disciplined action as together we choose God’s preferred emerging future through disruptive innovation.

We prayerfully expect our work together to have positive impact on our Whole (council) as it serves all the Parts (churches) to serve the world in the name of Jesus Christ. We are loving the parts, to serve the whole. Wow, that’s a pretty good reason to be together. Thank you for taking responsibility for your part. God bless us, our ministries, and the especially the communities we serve.

The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance. You are Christ’s body—that’s who you are! You must never forget this. Only as you accept your part of that body does your “part” mean anything (1 Cor 12:25–27) The Message.

To God be the glory, to the earth be peace, to the people be courage, and to our communities be hope.

Creating a new future. Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman could have been neighbors.

George Zimmerman, photo courtesy of the Washington Post. Trayvon Martin, photo courtesy of the Trayvon Martin Foundation.

I wonder about the different possibilities that could have emerged that February 26, 2012 night in Sanford, Florida when George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin. The outcomes might have been different if Mr. Zimmerman and Mr. Martin had felt respected and valued by the larger community, and by each other. They might have been neighbors, real neighbors, behaving neighborly toward each other; each seeking to honor the welfare of the other; each expressing their uniqueness in how they lived.

That night might have ended differently if American history was not blemished with egregious and systemic racial injustice of the dominant white class toward non-whites. It would have been different if mass incarceration didn't have a racial dimension in this country. According to Michelle Alexander, "No other country in the world imprisons so many of its racial and ethnic minorities. " That night might have ended differently if the nation's benchmark civil rights legislation and expansion of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was not repeatedly weakened (most recently when the Supreme Court struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by a 5-to-4 vote, allowing nine mostly Southern states, to change their election laws without advance federal approval). That February 26th night might have ended differently if our neighbors did not only represent a racial constituency, but a human constituency.

Each of us is created in God's image to be recognized and respected for the differentness of our skin color, and for the sameness of our spirit (and other important distinctives like place of origin, residence, religious preference, ethnicity, employment, gender, sexual orientation, and marital status, etc.). Justice is not automatic, it must be sacrificed for, intentionally worked for, so that just behaviors characterize good citizens (see model described in Isaiah 58:6-12). Though the possibilities were numerous that night, an unfortunate set of cascading choices, spanning hundreds of years, ended with a 17-year-old black American dead at the hands of a 28-year-old Hispanic with a gun. America grieves. Every American grieves.

President Barak Obama shared a very personal story on Friday, July 19th, when he invited a nation to look through the lens that many black Americans view the murder, and the process that led to Mr. Zimmerman's acquittal by jury on Saturday, July 13th. Benjamin Todd Jealous, the president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, called the President's July 19th remarks a powerful moment. Mr. Obama said, "There are very few African-American men who haven't had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happens to me—at least before I was a senator." There is a great deal of resonant pain internalized by our neighbors who represent racially and ethnically diverse groups across the United States including Latino, American Indian, and African American, to name a few.

It is difficult for white Americans to understand this pain, but it is unacceptable for white Americans to ignore it. Through intentional and attentive conversations across the community, bridging diverse groups, both inside and outside the church, we can do better than align along racial, partisan, or generational affinities, as suggested in a recent Pew Research Center study. For the church to ignore the pain is a travesty.

Mr. Obama questioned whether Florida's "stand your ground" law, which allow individuals to use reasonable force to defend themselves, are contributing to the peace and security communities want. I wonder that, too. I wonder how churches contribute to the communities' jobs to be done including peace and hope.

What can you do? Would you share your ideas and comment? I have been deeply listening to the anxiety, angst, and fear many Americans are feeling. I spoke with African American colleagues who shared their concerns and pain. I spoke with a Presbyterian leader serving congregations in Central Florida, where Sanford is located, to express my concern, offer my prayers, and listen to the pain not only within the communities of faith, but within communities at large. I petitioned the Justice Department to initiate a civil rights inquiry on behalf of Trayvon Martin. I offer my thoughts and prayers to the family of Trayvon Martin in this unimaginable situation. We all can pray. We can choose to act better. It's a start. It's not enough.

Each of us, and every church, have an opportunity to pay attention to all our neighbors, especially those that experience pain. This includes the deep pain related to the murder and trial leaving a trail of sadness and grief, and communities reeling with distrust and injustice, or worse, apathy.

It is important to seek, and understand, the facts. As Mr. Obama said, "there are going to be a lot of arguments about the legal issues in the case. I’ll let all the legal analysts and talking heads address those issues." The jury has spoken. As important as the facts are, it could be even more important to pay attention to how others experience the facts. Pain and suffering is also deeply felt by those who are unemployed, or underemployed, by seniors trying to fill their medications, and single heads of households looking for affordable shelter and care for their kids. We recognize the pain of those suffering abuse, illness, and addiction. Communities grieve for the want of peace, justice, and economic and civic hope. America needs a blessing.

To God be the glory,
to the earth be peace,
to the people be courage, and
to the cities be hope.

I wonder about the different possibilities that could have emerged that February 26, 2012 night in Sanford, Florida when George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin. I wonder if America, our congregations and communities, will grow, learn, and choose a new, and better, future; a future in which Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman could have been neighbors.

Motor City Needs A Blessing.

Detroit, Michigan skyline.

I read the front page of the Wall Street Journal this morning and felt sad and concerned for the citizens of Detroit. They face incredible challenges as the city declared bankruptcy this week. We stand with the citizens of Detroit as their city faces an uncertain future. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Presbytery of Detroit, its congregations, and hundreds of other faith-based organizations all across the city, are praying and working to improve the city's health and restore financial vitality. According to Ecumenical News, "Christians, individually and through their churches, are mobilizing to revitalize the once prominent city of Detroit, Michigan...." AEPS, the Association of Executive Presbyters, a learning community for mid council leadership, is proud to hold our October annual event in Detroit. We hope that our presence, at least in a small way, offers not only economic blessings, but also offers a much needed social, emotional, and spiritual support.

What is the responsibility of a faith-based organization, a congregation, mosque, or synagogue, to support the economic health of the city it is located in?

In September 2012, the Mayor and council in Racine, Wisconsin, sent a letter to its faith communities, asking for a donation to reduce the town's looming budget deficit. According to the Journal Times, Mayor John Dickert's office sent out 182 letters to local nonprofits, "including churches, asking the tax-exempt organizations if they would consider paying a portion of the property tax the city would normally charge them if their properties were taxed."

In the letter, Mayor Dickert said the Racine Fair Share program was based on similar initiatives in cities like Boston and Milwaukee, according to the Journal Times.

While state law grants tax-exempt status to properties owned and used by not-for-profits, a city still is expected to provide services to these properties. The Mayor reasoned that though churches did not owe property tax, they had an obligation to support the town facing financial crisis, like that now experienced by Detroit.

The principle Mayor Dickert was alluding to is referred to as Reciprocity. The Bible records numerous examples of reciprocity. God’s exiled people were to demonstrate reciprocity with the exhortation to, “Make yourselves at home there and work for the country’s welfare;” and to “Pray for Babylon’s well-being. If things go well for Babylon, things will go well for you” (Jer. 29:7). The Gospels also encourage reciprocity: “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31). “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A person reaps what they sow” (Gal. 6:7).

Our communities are social networks built on principles of reciprocity to operate optimally. This shared value within a community is referred to as “social capital,” measured as bonding social capital (inward looking activities like churches and other volunteer associations), or measured as bridging social capital (outward looking activities of groups such as political parties, civil rights movements, youth service groups, and ecumenical associations). See my Living Pulpit article (accessed with a free subscription login), or on my Reciprocal Revolution blog.

Churches don't have an obligation, they have a mission opportunity. They have an opportunity to extend the blessings a congregation of worshippers enjoys on the inside the sanctuary, to those who are outside in the community.

In Racine, not one church responded to the Mayor's September request for assistance. According to the Journal Times, "On Nov. 2 City Administrator Tom Friedel told aldermen that the city has yet to collect any money through the program, ... Two weeks later, on Friday, the mayor’s office received a check from the congregation at Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church." $1,500 collected by free-will gifts of parishioners.

Of the 182 organizations that were asked for assistance, only one came forward. One.

What would your church have done if the Mayor asked for financial assistance for your town? What is your congregation doing now to demonstrate God's love for the world, and honor the reciprocal relationship between the town and the church? As MissionInsite's Michael Regele aptly wrote, "The church's inward focus is a grave illness" Death of the Church. Outward focusing congregations bless their community!

Every city depends on its citizens, especially citizens aligning with faith-based organizations. Let's take responsibility for our mission and generously contribute to the social, economic, political, and spiritual welfare of our city; and for every town, village, and rural hamlet.

Motor City needs a blessing. Will you join with me in praying for the city of Detroit and its citizens? Its business and political leaders are counting on it. Remember. God loved the world so much that God gave...." Our response to that gift would be the best expression of reciprocity I know.

What's Your Story?

What's your story? Is it worth telling?

Mission Storytelling: How Your Story Can Become the Community's Story

Tell me a story. I love to hear that from my grandkids. Story time is not just for kids, though. I participated in the first Airshow: The Workshop with Horace Dediu where I learned to apply analysis, presentation, and technology and disciplines of peer review to improve my storytelling skills. It was very engaging. I blended the storytelling principles from Horace with my own work.

The Apostle Paul excitedly proclaimed the power of the story when he wrote, But how can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That’s why Scripture exclaims, 'A sight to take your breath away! Grand processions of people telling all the good things of God!'" (Rom. 10:11-15 The Message).

Storytelling is as old as language. I imagine you can recall stories from your earliest memories. We know how wonderful it is to tell stories. Songs, poems, and rhymes are delightful ways to share stories with our children. In the beginning, created in the image of God, we had our voice. God sent us on a mission so important, that images, symbols, music, and later, sophisticated writing, then tools, were all employed to help us tell God's story; our stories. Stories of hope, joy, and triumph. Stories of pain, sorrow, and death. Stories conveyed life, growth, and framed the emerging future.

God's story of life and purpose became a story incarnate in Jesus Christ. The logos of God became human. The story was visible, audible and transferable. Shared with the Twelve, the Seventy, and the thousands, Jesus' story became the empowered story built on the cascading events of Jesus' death, resurrection, appearances, ascension, and promised return. The Spirit's indwelling at Pentecost ensured that empowered storytellers would keep the story going.

We intuitively recognize the power of the story. Now, science is helping us understand why storytelling is effective. Dr. Keith Oatley, Professor of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Toronto, found that stories can produce a simulation of reality that runs analogous to simulation on computers. We know how the performing arts including theater, dance, and music can engage the audience. Visual arts like cinema, and digital gaming and social media can be so completely immersive that the messages conveyed in the stories have persistent stickiness. Effective storytelling engages people so completely that behaviors change, emotions change, and futures can change.

Jesus' story (like so many other stories int he biblical narratives) became the apostle Paul's story because it was transformative. It was conveyed to Paul on the road to Damascus through blinding light, dramatic voice, and immersive experience resulting in redirection. Paul was changed, and his story became the Roman's story, too. Paul persuaded the Roman's to keep the story going. Jesus' message of good news constituted a lifesaving relationship that changed lives. It was a story of impact, drama, and engagement. It was a story worth telling in every way possible.

The story is for everyone. The story must be deeply heard to be trusted. The story must be credibly told to be heard. The story must be clearly sent through a storyteller.

Our Presbyterian story had tremendous impact on the world because Reformation leaders harnessed the new technology of Gutenburg's printing press, for example, to tell their story on an incredible scale. Today, digital communication, social media, and mobile devices continue to be available to the church to increase the clarity, reach, and impact of the story God created us to tell. The Apostle Paul's vision is still being realized when he wrote of a, "sight to take your breath away! Grand processions of people telling all the good things of God!"

Storytelling is the task of the church. How can your story be more effectively conveyed to achieve measurable impact? How can your unique story become the story of your community, and the story of individuals and families across the street, and around the world?

Storytelling in Three Acts

When individuals gather as a congregation, the story of unique individuals becomes the church's story, too. How can we pay better attention to that story? Your church's story is more than theological or liturgical. It includes the story told through our building and grounds outside, and the feeling people get when they are welcomed inside. It is the story of satisfaction in ministry, energized to make the world different. To have life-changing impact, God's story cab resonate deeply through your story using three components of persuasive storytelling: Empathy (Greek: pathos ), Credibility (Greek: ethos ), and Logic (Greek: logos).

Act One: Empathy

Empathy is rooted deep within the DNA of your church, but it can be developed, and improved, through learning. Understanding and clarifying your church's values and priorities, and also understanding others values and priorities is essential to effective storytelling; storytelling that can transform lives. When the story is all about the storyteller, little empathy is expressed, and impact on others is marginal. Self-referential storytelling is rarely interesting and usually ineffective. However, when the storyteller pays attention to others, and captures the experiences, emotions, and context of the hearers within the story, empathy rises which empowers life-changing behaviors.

"Don't talk to their minds, talk to their hearts." -Nelson Mandela

Congregational Empathy in Practice: What is going on in your community? What do you see, and hear? What are young people concerned about? What are business leaders concerned about? Gaining understanding, seeking answers to these kinds of questions, can increase the empathy expressed in your ministry. From the perspective of others, what one change or improvement would offer the greatest benefit that your church's ministry could be engaged with?

Act Two: Credibility

Credibility is mostly learned and acquired, but is connected to the church's experience. Some churches have credibility accrued from their historical community relationship. More than a few congregations are depicted on a town's official seal, or represented on physical and digital community marques. Though historical integrity is critical, it raises the bar of expectation. If a congregation's recent credibility is not congruent with its reputation, significant challenges must be addressed.

Credibility refers to the church's character. Character is what we do when no one is looking. It is the story that is told when we aren't trying to intentionally tell a story. Credibility expresses itself in-between the lines of our mission narratives. Obtaining credibility is one thing. Projecting it authentically is another. A church's credibility speaks louder than words.

"Preach the good news. If you must, use words." -St. Francis of Assisi

Congregational Credibility in Practice. How would you describe the internal pulse of your church? What is the level of satisfaction experienced by those individuals who are gathered and sent every week? What is the energy level of your leaders? What are the forces that motivates your behaviors, informs your decisions, and is reflected in your worship and mission? In thinking deeply about your responses to these kinds of questions, consider how your internal assessment matches the perception of others. How is your inner life conveyed to those outside? Learning from the continuities and discontinuities in your character story can improve your church's credibility in its mission.

Act Three: Logos

The Greeks highly valued logic, but their word Logos was much more than connecting the dots and completing a thought. It represented the essence of one's identity that pointed to a future destination, result, or outcome. The logos of a church represents its purpose and gives evidence of its direction. Understanding is important, and credibility is essential, but when a church demonstrates logos, it has a meaningful, aspirational, relevant, direction it is heading towards. Your church's logos addresses the Why? for your church. In the incarnation, God's logos, essence of intention, was incarnated (enfleshed, embodied) into our neighborhood for a particular purpose. God's story took up residence to accomplish something, in fact, many things. The incarnation was not a travel destination to our planet, but a relevant destination to redeem our planet.

"We should try to be the parents of our future rather than the offspring of our past." -Miguel de Unamuno

Congregational Logos in Practice. Why do you go to church? It may seem like an odd question to ask, but when you consider the energy invested into your ministry, and its outcomes, its important to connect the dots, and not just passively observe where they may be leading, but intentionally connecting and reconnecting dots so that your ministry achieves its unique purpose. Why do you serve in ministry? Why is your building on the corner? What does your budget reveal about what matters to you? Considering your responses to logos questions can help you connect the dots pointing to your preferred future. Understanding your church's purpose and the relevance of your ministry can inform your allocation of resources, align your priorities, and promote courageous storytelling.

There are many resources available to develop empathy, earning credibility through character, and ensuring that your story is relevant, aligned to God's Story, the greatest story ever told.

I am grateful to Horace for the inspiration and skills training to use analysis, cinema, and technology to tell compelling stories. Check out Perspective in the AppStore, the live storytelling tool I learned to use. Keep practicing your storytelling. Your message is worth it.

Kevin