Visual [chap 1]

Quantum Servanthood: Visual

[Relating to, or used in vision; attained or maintained
by sight; producing mental images; done or
executed by sight only; relating to, or employing
visual aids]

I have to admit, I am a total visual person, I think in picture. Image, imagination, visual, pictures are the language I speak best. For me, thinking in picture seems more natural, freer and less reactivate; I am able to connect with the world around me in image and imagination. I love sitting in the park, or mall, and watching the people; heck, I love sitting in any crowded setting and watching people. When I watch people I see so many different stories, so many different truths, and so many different realities. I love getting a “visual” of who they may be, and when we meet to see if my “picture” meets the reality. I have often wondered why I think so clearly in picture, and in dimensions; I see things others miss, and even when I view a 2D picture, I can see it in 3D [neck, sometimes I think I am seeing things in 6D]. It was hard figuring out that mess [i] because I am dyslexic [ii]. For me, seeing something is far more important the hearing something.

When I was a child in school the counselors and teachers told my mother that I had this “handicap,” this “disorder,” that would limit my ability for higher education and profession; I thank God my mother never listened to the advise given by the experts. Some years back I started to do some reading on dyslexia[iii] and what it means, to get a better understanding of this gift in my life. After all, why was I the way I was and why did I think the way I did. As I read, I was given the biggest surprise in my life when I found out that those who have this gift think very different then others. We think in pictures and dimensions, we grasp things better visually and we are able to translate that image into story, what we see can be “spoken” in layers of the story. Over the past few years I have had the opportunity to meet some very cool people who also pastor postmodern/emerging church, and while I would not say that all “visual” pastors are dyslexic, those I have spoken with over time have admitted to having this wonderful gift.  For me, visual is powerful and meaningful. I love watching God move in his people. To see what so many in my past told me was a “disorder” or a “handicap” turn into one of the greatest gifts God could give a pastor today.

While those of us with the gift of dyslexia think, live and breath visually, it has been said that 95% of what people learn generally is visual, “regular” people learn best when they connect the words with picture [and even other senses], to place words and actions together. Even those without this gift think in terms or picture. Think back on your High School math class. I am sure it was much easier to understand what a rhombus [iv] was with a picture. Basically, everyone gets a better connection on things when we think in terms of picture. Given that we are a visual people, and a “servant” in the 21C thinks in terms of visual – why do we still insist on “writing” our “vision” statement? Why do we place into words, a vision given by God? Why nor connect that “vision” with being visual?

In our expression of image we need to take “vision” and add the “visual.” Being “visual” is being able to place imagination into worlds with pictures, sounds, smells, tastes and more. Have you ever smelled a smell and a picture pop into your mind?  That’s because we are visual. Have you ever tasted a taste and a picture pop into your mind? That’s because we are visual. When we express in images, visual, we express in terms people can remember.

To be honest with you, I think we have spent too much time on “church vision statements;” after all, what do they truly mean? Most of the time, they are empty, hollow words with no action connected. I have found that for most people, a “vision statement” has been used to control others and not empower them. I know of Pastors who use the “God gave me a vision for this church” over the heads of people and subject them to their will. I think every church I have ever consulted for, visited, spoke at, walked past or saw in a phone book has some kind of vision statement. Yet, I would venture to say that 99% of the people in the church have no idea what that vision statement even is, and if they do they have no idea what it means or how to put it into action. Why?

Over the past few years that I have been interested in emerging “servanthood” I have been fascinated by the fact that Jesus never had a vision statement; yet every book I have ever read on modern church leadership sell the importance of a vision statement. Still, over time, the people caught on to his ministry, why? What did he do that was so different from what we do today? Simple, Jesus was visual, and not interested in a vision statement, he was interested in living a visual life. “Come and you will see?” are the words Jesus shares, not “read my vision statement, see what God has called me to do and if you can buy the vision you are welcomed to come along.” Jesus just said, “Come and see.” When I was a kid my Father use to say, “do as I say, not as I do.” Being a visual learner this drove me crazy, because it just did not connect in the brain cells. In fact, I still did many of the things he did – no matter what he said, because I am a visual person – I will do as you do, not as you say. Visual “servants” keep this in mind. They know that people will do what they do, and act the way they act. Our words must equal our actions. For those of us who think in visual terms, “casting” vision simply means sharing, in story, the visual of the ministry. Brining to life that which God places in our hearts and giving voice to picture.

But the question still remains, how do we move from Modern Vision Casting to a Postmodern Visual Casting approach? I believe the answer is found when we look deeply at who we are, what we say, how we say it and what we truly mean by it all. We need to change the operating system of the church to allow people to express themselves in open and dynamic ways. We need to remove any and all traces of the Institution that forms our views and center directly on the image of Jesus Christ. Billy Graham once said, “I do not love Christianity, I love Jesus Christ” and we must develop the same idea. The institutional Church needs to redefine what it means to share story and image. Those who are servants need to know that “leadership” in the 21C requires visual images and compete imagination to express the love of Christ and the movement of the Spirit to render the church useful in the 21C.

Elements of being Visual.
What I would like to do is explain what the elements of “visual” are and how they work to give those in service the edge they need to truly reach a people who think in image. Each one of the sections needs to be expresses with an open, loving heart. It is what I call “being transparent.” Be ready to express your humanity, accept your flaws and the flaws of others. We are a people who desire to “become” and not live in “one is.” We desire growth and learning, not dogma and doctrine. Transparence means that there are no secretes in the Postmodern world. Everything is open and expressed. We do not judge others for there faults; we confess our sins and not the sins of others. It needs to be expressed at this point, that for some visual is not just pictures, it is also the art of using words to spin a tail, a story that excites the mind and stirs the imagination. 

Visual is creative:
Visual is a creative reality, art, graphics, paintings, style need to be used express the visual of the community of faith. In servantship one must be more poet then CEOs, more painter the CFOs, more artist then manager, more servant then supervisors. Visual people are creative people; it is in their DNA. They create, because they have a need to create. If they do not, they feel like they will explode. I have found that most visual people are also very optimistic in their creativity. Where some would see an obstacle, they see an opportunity; where others see a problem, they see a possibility. I remember once interviewing with a church planting organization in Arizona. In our “interview” I was asked by the one of the “leaders” of the group (he pastored one of the larger churches in the Phoenix area) what I felt were some of the “problems” facing the church today? When I answered that I did not see them as problems, but rather as possibilities he lost his cool and started to tell me how silly I was and how “out of touch with reality” I was. Needless to say, I did not get the planting position, but I did learn a valuable lesson that day. Never tell a pessimist that the day looks great.

Servantship means being a “story tellers” (or as I like to think “narrators” and an “illustrator”) of life – story is words expressed with a mind towards the visual, as you speak images flash on the screen and your words are made stronger by the images. Visual does not drive the image, just the imagery. One of the most moving expressions I have ever been part of was when for ten minutes, images of the poor, war torn, hurting, homeless and sick were flashed over head as a group of people read passages of scripture – no sermon, not “lesson” spoken. But the power of the images and words together caused hearts to open and lives to change. It is in that ability to paint with words, images, ideas and expressions that reach people today. People need to “see” the church in action and not just hear the words of action. A servant is one who models what a follower is (not perfect, but forgiven) – it’s “do as I do, because I do as I say.” If all you do is preach how we need to feed the homeless, and you have no “visual” ministry (a “do” ministry) than all you have are empty words. Creativity and visual are both “do” – and not “talk.”

When we think in terms of “doing” – creating, being a visual creator – we think in terms of God. God creates [v]; God creates because he loves us and wants us to enjoy our lives [vi]. Not because He wants us to live like gray zombies, but because his nature is to create that which is visual to us. When we visualize the creation account we see a picture that is much more then the simple words “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” We get a picture that is of a wondrous event.

“In the vast expanse of nothingness comes a voice, a word that creates; a voice that speaks of love and unity; a voice of authority and grace, judgment and forgiveness; a voice that creates. From this nothingness this voice gives the expression of all and with a word, a single, pointed, meaningful word, the voice creates all that you see, all you feel, all you know, all you sense, you do not see, and all you question. With one word, this voice, God’s voice, a vision of creation is formed.

God simply speaks a word, "Light!" and throughout the universes light shines and the warmth of the day begins. Then, God saw that the light he had spoken into was good, so He separated the light and the dark, creating day and nigh, evening and morning and He called it “day one.” What we need to remember is that to a first century mind, the words became images in their minds – they “saw” what was being spoken to them. The more “creative” the narrative, the better the pictures.

Visual is empowering:
Being visual is very empowering, for all parties concerned. People see the visual reality of what it is about and they run with it. It is not organizational or institutional, it is people based and person driven – it is shared and not controlled, visual empowerment is very organic; I remember when I first started in ministry, I found that people would share their faith with others, if I did; they came to study groups, if I did; they worked in community ministries, if I did – my visual empowered them to ministry. It also empowered me, because others started to get involved in different ministries, and my time became free – and freedom is empowering.

When people are empowered to do ministry, a great explosion in ministry will happen. I know of many different churches that claim, “we empower our people to get involved” – but the problem is “we” do not empower – we example and God empowers – empowerment is not “giving permission” to be in ministry. Empowerment is you doing ministry and others seeing you do what you say is important, then they will do as well. I know of many pastors who talk about fellowship, but seldom join in fellowship activities; many who say, “make honest friendships with non-believers” yet all their friends are believers; others who speak about feeding the poor, but only show-up to “make an appearance” at a feeding event. Keep in mind, people do not need permission, they need a visual.

Visual is process:
Never expect visual to happen over night. Because it is “see and touch” it could take longer, but a servant knows that and allows the process to take hold. The modern idea of “saved and service” seems a bit out of place today, service takes time and people need to see the visual before they get hooked into the action. Servantship takes time and it is an investment in time and people. And it is a reality; when we deal with people (organic) things take a while, when we deal with program (mechanic) things can be faster. When we understand that we are dealing with people and not a program we come to the realization that this will take time.

Jesus worked with his disciples on a regular basis, and worked to correct them on a regular basis. Look at how Jesus interacted with his Disciples, at some level it’s like a Three Stooges movie, they just did not seem to get it, but Jesus kept working with them – even when you can tell he was tired of their missing the boat. Servantship today requires that we be willing to truly invest in the people God sends our way. It is not what we teach them, it is what they learn in the process. To truly get to the visual of a person one needs to truly love them, and show that they truly care. Keeping in mind that words must equal actions. If people only see you as “talking a good game” they will not want to play. Take the time to truly get to know the people in your life – those who are striving in the process. Remember it is not a numbers game. If you live in process with people, numbers will come – but never count the people, count the time you spend with each person.

All of the postmodern/emerging pastors I know spend a great deal of time with the people around them. While I would never suggest you make it a mechanical thing, keep track of the time you spend with people – not at church, meetings, or other church things – but truly with people – at home, watching TV, playing video games, walking, riding bikes. Don’t create a program around the idea of getting to know people – just get to know them.

Visual is personal (micro) and tribal (macro):
Seeing the big picture in relationship to the smaller picture is central to visual. The “smaller” picture is how we as individuals act, while the “bigger” picture is how we all interact together. Many of the modern books on “leadership” suggest that you take one or the other, while in the emerging visual is a “both/and” reality.

This modern system does not take into account that there can never be enough available information to make a “right decision.” If the “right decision” is based on meeting future goals, you automatically limit the possibilities because the decision is based on a desired outcome, and not what is currently happening. Since modern leadership is motivated by meeting goals based on an uncertain future, we must admit that it is impossible to meet the plan because we are moving to an uncertain future. There are several problems with a modern leadership concept: being zero flexibility, failure blamed on one-person (usually the Pastor, after all it is his vision, and never the Board – I call this “failure motivation”) outcome is usually measured on hard numbers and not human involvement. We can see this system as a “modern-planning” system, but we need to understand that long range planning that excludes the organic is dead? The idea that the “macro” (the big picture) is more important then the “micro” (the little picture) is not a central idea in a postmodern/emerging reality. In servantship the idea that people count and that helping people is far more important then budgets, is a very important reality.

With visual being both personal and tribal it is highly collective in nature and function – the servant needs to be “empathic” at a core level, and listen to the hearts of the people; it is a very spiritual connection. The narrative of the visual is not a concrete plan with rules designed to get us to a place we may not desire to be; but rather an organic collective of ideas and conversations that bring us to where God desires us to be. When we think in terms of the organic, we think in terms of the reality of people and we strive to see the people in everything we do.

Visual is flowing:
Because of it’s tribal nature, the idea that visual must changes on a regular base to truly be valid is a driving force – it “goes with the flow,” if you will; personal and tribal requires an organic look at life and not a stagnant mechanical look. Flowing, or “going with the flow” means we are able to change directions as the flow changes direction. It is also an understanding that the personal needs to the tribe are best supplied by meeting the personal needs of the individual. For example, a local neighborhood Italian Food Store, noticing a change in the neighborhood, starts to add other items to meet the changing needs of the new people in the area. If they did not understand the flow of visual they could become a “great Italian food store” and close to the competition in the area. But they get it, and they add different items to increase sales. When we see the narrative of visual we see a different way of sharing the gospel, we can repeat the story – we can even add to the story – but the bottom line is this – we share the story, and we share our story. Our visual is to share the gospel, with everyone we know and meet – not just the select few we believe fit the image of our church, or the numbers of our goals.

Visual is Clarity:
Visual is clarity vision can get blurry. While I will never say that visual is concrete, it is not quicksand either. Being visual allows for clarity of mind, sprit and life. If the visual gets blurry, it is you and not the picture. For example, you are looking at a picture. If the picture gets blurry, it is your eye – your vision – that is getting blurry, the picture stays clear. Visual stays clear vision gets blurry. The picture is clear, not overly fuzzy (it can have fuzzy edges). But just because groups of people do not see the “big picture” does not make it unclear. It could mean they are in need of a good set of glasses to correct their vision. What I have found is that when modern minds strive to see a postmodern picture, it is always blurry. Not everyone will see where you are going, and that’s all right; not everyone needs to get it. I remember talking with an individual who came to me and said, “I have been coming here for about three weeks and I have to tell you I feel out of place. Everyone seems to know where we are going but me, I just don’t see the vision of this ministry.” After a somewhat long conversation, it was determined that the ministry was not where he needed to be – so we helped him find another community of faith were he can “get it.” To this day, if I see him around town he is thankful for his experience with us and thankful that we found him a place where he fit.

Closing:
Being visual is one of the key areas for “quantum servanthood” in the 21C. It allows for people to connect, and express, with others who they are and how God is using them. Being visual means that you will need to place much more on people and less time on program. It also means that people will have to be the first and foremost in all ministry areas – over budget and over building. Modern churches will have a hard time with this thought because they still believe that money drives the ministry. The central concept of modern leadership is to dictate from the top down what the church will and will not do. While it “allows” some to suggest certain ministries the “approval” is still “at the top.” Being visual requires that those “at the top” be truly at the bottom for it to work. It requires that you take a chance and move past the comfort of “being the boss” to the exciting and meaningful role of getting down and dirty.

notes:
[i] http://www.dyslexia-teacher.com/t16.html - It is suggested that many learners with dyslexia have right-brained dominance. They find that the range of subjects and the style of teaching in school do not play to their strengths and can leave them with a sense of frustration and failure.
[ii] http://www.dyslexia-parent.com/correction.html Dyslexia is estimated to occur in about 4-8% of the population
[iii] http://www.dyslexia.com - Dyslexic people are visual, multi-dimensional thinkers. We are intuitive and highly creative, and excel at hands-on learning. Because we think in pictures, it is sometimes hard for us to understand letters, numbers, symbols, and written words.
[iv] http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Rhombus.html  A quadrilateral with both pairs of opposite sides parallel and all sides the same length, i.e., an equilateral parallelogram. The word rhomb is sometimes used instead of rhombus, and a rhombus is sometimes also called a diamond.
[v] Genesis 1:1 – it all starts with creation.[vi] Philippians 4:11-13: “Actually, I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”

there is a need [intro]

i have been toying with this idea for a blog for a while, and i truly feel the time has come to get it out and get it going.

the idea behind this blog is simple - to teach what it means to be a servant - and not to be a leader. leaders are killing our churches. even if they are paid, or not paid, people who think they are leaders in a community of faith are killing churches. it is my personal conviction that jesus never calls anyone into leadership, but he does call us into servanthood - and to show you how this is so going against christian culture, and general culture, the word "servanthood" comes up as a misspelling in all spell checks - and that is sad.

let me start my republishing an article i wrote some time back, and then over time i will post idea on each topic.

Quantum Servanthood:knowing how to lead in chaos
by John O’Keefe  
 
“It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.” REM

Introduction:
Whether we like it or not we have moved from “Ozzie to Ozzy;” we have moved from the Nelsons to the Osbournes; from Harriet to Sharon, from Ricky to Kelly. We have moved from the modern to the postmodern/emerging; from the linier/absolute to the non-linier/subjective; from science/evidence to spirit/feelings; from intellect/truth to experience/real; from order/dictated to chaos/reality. You need to keep in mind that it is not that we are in the process of a shift; we have shifted; the changes are not coming, they are here, now, today. Because of this shift, it stands to reason that what worked in the 20C just won’t work in the 21C. Why you ask? The answer is simple, we think differently, we act differently, and we view the world differently, mainly because we are different. In a postmodern/emerging conversation we process information much differently, and because of that we respond to situations differently. This is because in much of our lives we have a different starting point; this not right or wrong, good or bad, it simply is. Please keep in mind that we are not “anti-modern” as some claim; it is that we are just not modern. So, it is not that we are “against,” we are just “not.” It truly does not matter what you call this shift in thinking, postmodern, emerging, hyper-modern, or anything else – the reality is a shift happened, and now as a church we need to learn to minister, outreach and “lead” in it.

Some could spend years telling us that this view is wrong, but it will fall upon deaf ears; we desire conversation, not dictation; do not give us directions, give us a map and let us plan the route we need to take. The heart, mind and soul of a postmodern/emerging person are just different, very different from that of a modern person. To reach us for Christ, you need to know the operating system postmodern/emerging people operate under. Keep in mind, we are emerging from the cocoon of the modern world to explore this new postmodern world with wings; we have become “the butterfly effect.” 

“Leadership” in the 21st century
I believe current leadership skills will not do much for the emerging church in the 21C. Now that I have totally alienated the entire “modern church leadership crowd,” here is why I believe current leadership skills are obsolete. Current leadership (“modern” leadership, if you will) tends to [and are based on] the military/industrial model. Most, if not all, of what is believed to make a “good leader” is based on industry, capitalism and profit motives; success of a modern leader is measured in numbers, market share, profit, size and structure of the organization. Modern leadership is very mechanical, “in charge,” rigid and “sharp.” Many in the church strive to give modern leadership principles a “Christian edge” by searching for scripture to “back-up” their point of view. Yet, in reality, is this is impossible. Modern leadership principles do not start in scripture (though they do strive to “make” scripture fit), they start in the world of business and in American culture. To be honest, I find that this starting point does not serve the church well; in fact it does not “serve” the church at all.

Without going into great detail and sounding negative about leadership in the current church, let me point out several major areas where I believe current “leadership” fails; my desire over the coming months is not to dwell on the “negative” but rather to focus on the “positives” on a new, emerging leadership style that is developing in emerging churches.

First, it encourages people to play with the data to accomplish the desired results. When success is based on “numbers” then numbers must be “high” for success to be achieved. For example, I personally know of a church that proclaimed “we are growing with 90% new Christians.” Cool, but what does that mean? The church believes that you must be “baptized by immersion as an adult confessed believer” to be a “true Christian” anyone coming from a tradition that baptized him or her as a infant is seen as a “new Christian,” no matter how long that person has been going to church, and believes in their heart that Jesus is Lord. Because we desire to play the number game, we need to find a way to “count” people who come from other traditions as “new members.” By leaving certain info in, and other info out, you bias any decision in favor of your point, 'what do you want it to be?' Playing with statistics can prove we do not have a homeless problem, a housing problem, or an environmental problem but in reality we know we have these problems.

Second, it does not account for the most important variable, people. Being “passive aggressive” means that people do not truly count, other things count more; cash, building, capital equipment, image, programs and “things” mean more then the person seeking to be served. The hardest variable in any decision is people. Built into the matrix of a modern leadership is the idea that when you are looking at a decision to be made, economic realities take the lead, and people take the end. Many times, churches have decided not to “do a ministry” because the “cost” would be too much, never mind the importance of helping people. the current church sees “cash over cause.”

Third, it centers on the unknowable bottom line. This is related closely to the first and second point in that “numbers matter” and “the bottom-line” is important – an in this point the “numbers” center on the almighty dollar. Many churches define it, as being “good stewards of God’s money,” but is it? Current church leadership focuses on the bottom line, not in the real sense of “making money” but being so tight that they refuse to spend a single penny – in many cases it is not “making” money that modern church leaders spend time on, but and “keeping” as much of it as possible. In a postmodern/emerging matrix “money” is not a driving force. I am not suggesting that postmodern leaders are not concerned with how they spend the money given, I am saying that they do not see this as a major point – causing major headaches for ministries – because they place people above money – the cost of something is seldom an issue if it can help a person heal or have a better life in Christ.

Fourth, “programs” become the driving force in ministry. Given the fact that “numbers” are important, “programs” become a needed reality for the current church because they are a way to “create numbers.” I remember once having an idea about building relationships in the church. The idea was to tell people, “we will be meeting in the park at this time, join us if you can.” The idea was simple – let people know when and were we would meet. Soon, the leaders of the church caught wind and thought it was a great idea also – they instructed me (love that, a key point in modern leadership is to tell others what to do) to “develop the program.” When I explained there was no “program” and that I was uncomfortable with making it a “program” I was removed from the responsibility and another person was place in charge of the “event.” What was supposed to be a simple little gathering in the park (a project), soon turned into a huge program designed from start to finish with logo and all; it even had a cool “planned outcome;” increase membership, increase the Sunday offering.

Fifth, church “leaders” have moved beyond serving and see themselves as “self-important” and in need of others to serve them. This last problem I see in the current church is one that I desire to focus on, and that is the idea of “servant-leader.” I have to admit that I am not a big fan of the idea of “servant-leader” because with all the pastors I know who tout it as “the leadership style of the church” I know of none that are servants first and “leaders” last.

I remember once sitting in my office when a woman came in, sat in a chair, looked me dead in the eye, and started crying. You should have seen the frenzy in the office; people running all over the place to find out what happened and what they could do to help her. When we finally got her settled down, she said, “I just walked in your office – right past the secretaries, right past the other pastors, right past your assistant and right into your office. They all said “hi” but no one stopped me from walking in. In my old church that would have never happened; I could have never seen the Senior Pastor, never mind just walking in without an appointment.” This disconnection to the people they serve keeps them at a distance from those they need to be on par with. They believe, for whatever reason, that their time is of great value, of more value then a woman who needs their help because her husband is beating her, or of a teen who is being abused and hurt and is about to end his life because of the pain in his life. What modern church leaders do not realizes is that there is a shift in the role of a pastor in the church. Modern church leaders miss the understanding of being connected, assessable, relational, family and community.

“Quantum Servanthood” in the 21C
Well, with all that being said, and its one thing to point out the flaws of the current system of “leadership, “ that’s easy. We need to ask, what makes a “postmodern/emerging” system different? What is the foundation of “postmodern/emerging” servanthood? Why do I see servanthood and being defined as “quantum servanthood?”

To start with, let me say that I believe a “leader” in the 21C needs to be more servants, poets, artists, creative thinkers and far less “boss leader” to truly reach the postmodern/emerging mind for Christ. I love the paradox of the term “quantum.” In general, quantum means “a share or portion; a large quantity or bulk.” And yet in physics it means, “the smallest quantity of radiant energy.” It is, at both times, the smallest and the largest, I love that. What “quantum servanthood” says to me is, being a servant is both something we do on a personal level and on a community level; that we serve Christ and each other. I love the idea that in a “quantum” reality we can be, when we are in true service to others, a small quantity of the “radiant energy” that is Christ in us all. I work under the belief that Jesus never called anyone to “leadership.” Jesus called us to servanthood; “So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, "You've observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It's not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave.” (Matthew 20:25-27); also, “And don't let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life-Leader for you and them--Christ. "Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty. (Matthew 23:10-12).

Here is a little fun thing to do, type the words “servanthood” or “servantship” into a word document, it will come-up “redlined” because in USAmerica there is no such thing as “servanthood” or “servantship” because we do not see being a servant as being anything of value, but for Christ service is where all value is placed. The idea behind true servanthood is a heart that is willing to go last, a theology that says “I am not as important as the people God gave me to watch over” and a heart that is willing to trust that God will bless a “good and faithful servant.” What I believe as being a servant in the 21C, is very different then the modern church leader. I believe that a postmodern/emerging servants is:  

Visual:  “Come and you will see” are the words Jesus shares. Attractors:  Andrew went and got his brother Simon Peter to bring to Jesus.
Connective:  Jesus knew the lives of his disciples.
Chaotic: They do not know the absolute results, but they go anyway.
A Catalyst: A catalyst transforms things, without being changed in the process.
Be a Multiplier:  Addition is not the way, and subtraction is unacceptable.
A Guide: They walk along side, and not push from behind
A Story Teller:  They know the story, and they know the community
A Solver:  conflict breeds conflict.
 
All this has one very important underlying factor – all leadership in the 21C is organic. Over time I would like to explore these areas as being an idea of “quantum leadership” in the emerging church. Keep in mind that I have no desire in making them the “definitive” set of qualities but rather a starting point for discussion. Over the next few months my desire it to expand upon these and then offer them as a collection to be downloaded and printed. My original thought was to “write a book” but finding a publisher that would be willing to take a book that discounts current leadership models is very hard (if you know of one, let me know).