Forgoing the Hired Gun

For a while I have thought a sign of a healthy church is when it raises up its own leadership to address the needs and issues it has.  The value of hiring from within cannot be underestimated, when it comes to transformation, integration and valuation.  I have seen it work and the benefits it can produce.

However, when recently faced with a transition my beliefs where put to the test for the following reasons:

• There is a really good chance what the community needs the most will be what the internal hire needs or lacks as well.  You can’t think a person who is part of the community, a product of the community, will not likewise lack what the community lacks. Their deficiencies will most likely be the same, unless the internal hire is a change agent, not content with things being the way they currently are.  This will take maturity and experience that comes from some source outside their present environment in order for it to be compared and contrasted with their current community.

•  Don’t just hire a person from within because they are part of the community.  There has to be intentional, proactive planning in place before the need arises in order to get the maximum impact and benefit from an internal hire. Hiring a person from within is most desirable and effective when the intent and effort has been built into the internal hire. If the hard work and effort has been invested in a person then the transition is easy and natural.  If not, the community will only grow or change has fast as the internal hire does.  Leadership is about being far enough ahead of the community to out point the way, but not too far as to leave them behind. There has to be some basis for leadership other than a title or history.

With this being said, I still value the DNA and ethos of an internal hire, who has been shaped and molded by the community (for good or bad) more than I do the relative ease of hiring out.  I would rather work to over come any potential short falls of a internal hire, then work to acculturate the external hire and the community to each other (even though the latter describes myself ). This is not about the skill level, personality or passion  of either (the internal or the external), but it is about making value driven decision that are best for the community, even if it means more work. There is just something about being and acting indigenous to your own values, culture and perspective that is beautiful and responsible.

In the end, if a church community is not making disciples (or nor even willing to make disciples) who can fill leadership voids, one has to wonder if their discipleship process is holistic, deep and intentional.

An Easy Target (journal entry 11-12-10)

It's easy to speak passionately about Jesus Christ.

• you can't ever over state his worth.
• you can't ever over state his position.
• you can't over state his power.
• you can't ever build the hype too high.
• you can't over promise and under deliver.
• you can't push his message too far.
• you can't ever say too much about him.
• you can't exaggerate his love.
• you can't give him too much credit.
• you are not limited in superlatives.
• you can't make him sound too good, too powerful or too loving.
• you can't over emphasis is impact.
• you can over play his glory.
• you can't over use the story of his resurrection.
• you can 't tells stories about him that are too over the top, that push the envelope too far or that sound too amazing.
• you can't honor him enough. 
• you can't exhaust his teachings, character or wisdom.

You can never make too much of Jesus.

The Context of Content pt: 2

5. If a book is a religious book quoting the Bible, look at the copyright information to find what version of the Bible the author is using.  If there are a lot of versions used it may be an indication the author has an agenda and is using one version over another because it sounds more like what they want to say than another.

6. When was the book written?  Check the copyright date. A book on the Middle East from 15 years ago may be out of date.  An old medical book may not be informed of the latest research.  Then again, a book on World War I written in 1920 could prove very insightful.

7. Check the authors information in the Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication (LCCP) section below the copyright, you might find some interesting information.  Professor, philosopher and author J.P. Moreland writes in the area of philosophy and Christian apologetics.  Ever wonder what J.P. stands for?  James Porter. I found this in the LCCP.  Ever wonder what N.T. stands for in N.T. Wright? New Testament? Look it up.

8. Who is the publisher? You can have certain exceptions about a book on God from Zondervan, Thomas Nelson or Westminster/John Knox, but expect something totally different from Prometheus Books. Was the book self published or did it come come from a large publishing house like HarperCollins?

9. What edition is the book? First editions may end up being worth more.  If the book is an early edition, there may newer and updated editions which have more current or additional content.

10. Also, check the LCCP for the authors birthday. Sometimes its listed and some times its not.  I went to check this to see how old a writer was because I thought he was about my age.  I found his year of birth listed as 1956. That makes him 54!!! This is either a typo or Shane Hipps is really old.

I hope these are helpful and assist you in figuring out the context of your next book!

The Dark Side of American Politics and Religion

Interesting article...

"We must improve US religious literacy. Most Americans are broadly religiously illiterate, as religion has too often become an excuse for discrimination, bigotry and hate crimes,..."


Full post here.

The Context of Content pt: 1

If has to be understood that not only does the content of a book have a context, but books themselves do too.  Here are some tips for exposing that context.

1. Who is the author?  It is always good to look up a author you don't know to see what you can learn about them.  What else have they written?  Where do they will live?  Are they married or have a family?  You would expect those who write on marriage or parenting to be mar;ried or have kids, but not always. If the author has alphabet soup after their name (PhD. ThD. D.Phil, PsyD. LL.D.) what do these letter mean? Most likely they will tell you about the person education.  But what do other letters or titles mean (OFM, Rt. Rev., Prioress,)? 
2. Notice how many pages are in a book.  Notice too how many chapters.  Do the math and you can figure out about how many pages are in each chapter. This will help you schedule out a reading plan for the book.  Short chapters makes the book more flexible since you can start and stop in only a few minutes.  Longer chapters will require you to spend more time reading in a single setting if you are wanting to not break up a chapter flow.
3. Does a book have a forward, introduction or prologue? Read these.  What about a conclusion or epilogue? Read these too!  They are part of the book.  If they weren't the author would not have written them or included them in the book.
4. Dedications. Who is the book dedicated to and why? 
5. Does the book have footnotes or endnotes?   They are both ways for the author to include tangential information they think is useful, but maybe not essential enough to included in the text itself.  I am geek, so I read footnotes and endnotes. What about an index or bibliography?  Again, information that you may find useful while reading the book.

More next time.

Listening to Two Voices Part 2: Philemon 6

Here is the updated change to the new NIV (2011) concerning Philemon 6. The accompanying explaining is from the document "Updating the New International Version of the Bible: Notes from the Committee on Bible Translation."


1984: ‟I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding
of every good thing we have in Christ.”


Updated NIV: ‟I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening
your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.”

"Paul loves to praise his addressees for qualities that he describes with a pair of nouns, the second being a subjective genitive. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 offers a classic example, in which ‟your work of faith, labor of love and endurance of hope” means ‟your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope.” That is probably what Paul is doing here, too, as he praises Philemon’s ‟fellowship [koinōnia] of faith.” In a little letter in which Paul is the one who has evangelized Onesimus (v. 10) but Philemon is known for refreshing the hearts of the Lord’s people (v.7), it is much more likely that Paul is praying for this spirit of concern to enable Philemon to welcome Onesimus back home and not punish him, rather than praying for Philemon to become an outgoing evangelist."

Listening to Two Voices

Translators often make important choices for us.  And sometimes they confuse us.

Check out Philemon 6. Is this verse about evangelism or fellowship?

New International Version
"I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ."

New American Standard
"and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake."

English Standard Version (Greek/English Interlinear) and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become • • • ὅπως1 ἡ2 κοινωνία3 ►4 σου6 τῆς4 πίστεώς5 → γένηται8 hopōs hē koinōnia sou tēs pisteōs genētai effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is ἐνεργὴς7 ἐν9 → → ἐπιγνώσει10 ►12 παντὸς11 ἀγαθοῦ12 ← τοῦ13 ← energēs en epignōsei pantos agathou tou in us for the sake of Christ ἐν14 ἡμῖν15 εἰς16 ← ← ← Χριστόν17 en hēmin eis Christon