Archive for April, 2009

In Need Of Leaders

About six months ago I had a conversation with a friend that I’ve had at least a thousand times.  He was intrigued by what we were doing in Thrive and wanted to participate.  But there was a wisdom in his thoughts that allowed him to realize he was not ready to lead a tribe, but he definitely wanted to participate in one.  He wanted to discover a place of restoration and wholeness but knew he needed to first follow.  He knew that he needed to find his own place of humility and learning before he could ever lead anyone else in the footsteps of Jesus.

I applauded my friend for his genuine honesty and humility.  Yet my heart broke for him.  I knew from the countless conversations that I have had with those looking for a more restorative approach to Christianity, that my friend was one in a very large crowd.  He just needed a leader to show him the way.

I also knew that somewhere out there are those who are ready to lead.  They’ve done the hard work of embracing the cross, of restoring their heart, and in practicing love and trust.  I knew there were people out there who get that it is about relationships and wholeness.  But I just didn’t know how to bridge the two.

So if you are a leader, I am inviting you to step up and lead.  If you have stood in the footsteps of Jesus and understand what love and trust look like in a restorative community, I am asking you to find those around you who are looking for that community too.  You’re own life will be made more whole in the process.  You will discover why Jesus said, “Now you go and make disciples.” And if that caustic voice inside you says, “That’s so vain,” I invite you to shout back, “But that is my calling.”

In this call to leadership Jesus was inviting those who knew to share that wealth.  And when we did, we became more whole in the process.

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Jonathan Brink is the Managing Director of Thrive Ministries.  He loves helping leaders follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

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Skye Jethani On Discipleship

Alan (Hirsch): “Are you hopeful that we can recover an authentic discipleship ethos in the church given our enculturation by consumerism?”

Skye: Yes, I am hopeful. I’m an apprentice of Jesus Christ—hope is what we bank on. As I outline in The Divine Commodity, I believe the church in North America is dreadfully imprisoned by the worldview of consumerism. But as the church continues to lose its privileged position in our culture, as outlined in the much talked about Newsweek article last week, I believe an opportunity for renewal is occurring. But this renewal will not come through massive upheaval or aggressive church initiative within the political, cultural, or commercial spheres. I believe the recovery of authentic discipleship will happen life-to-life, relationship-to-relationship, disciple-to-disciple.

From Shapevine

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