Trevin Wax examines quotes wrongfully associated with various Christians.
I hadn’t heard of a couple of these quotes, but was familiar with most.
Given how often you read some of them, i.e. “You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body” often attributed to C.S. Lewis, or the phrase attributed to Francis of Assisi, “Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words”, it is helpful to know what is true and what is not.
Read the post at Waxs’ blog at the Gospel Coalition.
Sam Allberry writes that culture on either side of the Atlantic Ocean contributes to two different strands of authoritarian leadership taking root in the church.
In concluding, his point is not that the antidote to bad leadership is not no leadership, but servant leadership – a leadership that leads by example. And that example comes not from an individual, but a team.
It is common in American churches to borrow leadership wisdom from the business world. The pastor is the CEO. His role is to bring success, often and especially measured in numerical terms: The church needs to grow in membership and giving. In the UK, it’s slightly different. The church tends toward a military model. The pastor is the three-star general who directs everyone to do the right things.
There is obviously much to be learned from both successful CEOs and also great generals, but both models can quickly become toxic. When either becomes the primary model for Christian leadership, is it any wonder that domineering pastors result? The pastor-as-CEO approach might foster entrepreneurialism and risk-taking, but it easily becomes results-oriented. The pastor-as-general approach might foster perseverance and grit, but it easily becomes task-oriented. One produces swagger: Their word is law because they’re economically indispensable to the church. The other produces presumption: Orders must be followed because the general “knows” what is best for every person. In each case we either tolerate or fail to see traits of bullying, because ministry ends justify ministry means.
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The antidote to being domineering, then, is to lead by example rather than by coercion: “Not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock” (1 Pet. 5:3).
The flock is to be led, yes, but not by force of personality. The flock is to be led by beauty of example. Being domineering is bad leadership; and the answer to bad leadership is not no leadership but the right kind of leadership.Read the whole post at the Gospel Coalition (USA).
Tod Bolsinger sums up the Church as a body that functions relationally and purposefully. Sometimes the relationships can subvert the purpose, sometimes the purpose can overwhelm the relationships.
Pastors can focus on maintaining relationships at the cost of mission, or focus on outreach at the cost of caring for those who are already there.
If this problem or the solution was obvious or easy for leaders to negotiate churches would be a lot healthier than they are.
Bolsinger points out that pastors have to do both, lead with outward purpose and inward empathy:
We are called to take the hill – with Grandma
Christian work is a “family” and a “business” at the same time. To be a Christian is to find identity and mutual commitment in relationships constituted by God that make us into brothers and sisters, these relationships are inherently and intrinsically important. And at the same time we are a business with a mission to fulfill, services to offer, constituencies to support and regulations, demands, and obligations required of us. The organisation that has inherently valuable relationships also has an instrumentally critical purpose. And holding that tension, leading a Christian organization that is faithful to both mission and family, is indeed the challenge for most of us.Tod Bolsinger, Canoeing The Mountains IVP Books, 2015, pg 221.
Funko Pop! figures are a bit of phenomenon. Having watched toys and action figures for a few decades now, for something new to come and become a pervasive presence in both the general toy buying public and the collecting fanbase across a number of genres is very unusual. How long will it last?
Here’a couple of background videos.
One from Forbes. (a bit of sign that this is mainstream business)
And one from SYFY Wire.
