March 5, 2010

3-5-10 Friday, 6:17 am Grayrock, 33 degrees, dawn.

A week from Sunday we “spring ahead” and set clocks forward to daylight savings time. I am noticing longer days and earlier sunrises as the earth daily makes its journey around the sun. Last evening I worked in the garden a little, observed some new nesting material in the bluebird house, and went for a short motorcycle ride at dusk. This morning I am filled with awe at the immensity of creation, my small part of it, and God’s wonderful design.

Mark 11:27- 12:17

“Again they entered Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking through the temple area …” The 21 pilgrims from Wesley are in Israel this week. I can just imagine their daily experiences touring and learning. Maybe next year I will lead a pilgrimage there.

Chapter 12 – Jesus tells the parable of the vineyard developer who leases his vineyard to tenant farmers. They beat up and kill successive servants who come to collect the owner’s portion, until he just has his son left, whom they kill. The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus because they realized they were the object of this story, but they did not because they feared the crowd who endorsed Jesus.

In the light of the “One Month to Live” emphasis, this parable highlights the selfishness of people who are put in charge of that which they did not create or build. The religious leaders of 30 AD, just like religious leaders of 2010 are stewards of the community and structure established by God for His purposes. It is so short-sighted to get possessive and to resist “the owner” as we work in His vineyard. John Wesley struggled with this as the Church of England leaders pushed back on his initiatives. What is God doing today that religious leaders are rejecting? What movement of God might I miss if I do not pay careful attention to His word and work, and keep careful awareness of the reality of my role, resisting any aggrandizement that tempts every leader?

One discipline for me would be to search out the emerging wisdom from developing countries where God is at work building the church. How could I locate the journals of pastors and leaders in Central and South America, Africa and Asia? Guide me Lord as I keep my ear attentive to the word and will of the owner of the Vineyard.

I am reading TransforMissional Coaching and resonating with authors Ogne and Roehl who contend that the next generation of pastors and leaders will best be equipped not by lecture from a seminary, or techniques from a seminar, but from coaching as they work in the vineyard and learn concurrent with their ministry. They propose that the internet can be the source of theological content, and best practices can be studied, but the application of ministry is so unique and the culture rapidly changing that the most effective cultivation of pastoral leaders will be through coaching. If I had “one month to live” how would I invest in pastors who will carry the baton in the next lap?