From Friday, October 28th...Generations...from Lavi to Arbel
If you are reading this for the first time in a bit, I want to share with you that I am on a journey in which we are walking from Nazareth to Galilee. There are four of us and we span the ages; literally! I'm 44, my roommate is 53, and the gentlemen are respectively 72 and 82. These are men and women with whom I deeply love and respect in more ways that I can begin to speak.
Today we were walking from Lavi to Arbel.
The sky is blue; haze fills the air daring it to drop even an ounce of rain.
The sun shining through the clouds touching the ground ever so gently.
The ground is brown (or golden as they would say), dotted with the green of olive trees, waste high bushes.
The panoramic view leads the eye from one hill to the next, each one shooting out of the ground as if to shout hello, you are welcomed here!
Boulders encase us within the valley.
We are headed up to the Horns of Hattin, across the valley and back up to the Arbel.
The view was stunning. From standing atop of the Horns of Hattin looking down into the Sea of Galilee to walking in the valley with the boulders incasing us and the mountains rising around us the view was simply breathtaking. There truly are no words for what we experienced today (if you want to see more; check out my pictures on facebook).
In each step that I took today I was thinking about the power of generations and the strength of leadership. Today's hike was not a walk in the park, it was climbing up and over boulders and descending steep, slippery boulders. Most of the time I was walking alongside or just behind our guide. I was in front of the pack as you might say. After we had all safely descended (even to the point of having to climb down backwards) I started laughing out loud and said to the crew, "you guys are going to go home and talk about your crazy pastor that takes you on these really hard journeys and to dangerous places". To which they all responded "yes we will!"
The sun quickly made its way out from behind the haze and glare of the clouds into the bright, full sky, bearing down upon us as we walked.
Our path found us not walking in groups but spread out in single file for a good portion of the day.
The more I pondered and thought about the connection between leadership and generations the more I was in awe. These people really did trust where we were going. We could not always see the fullness of the destination but they trusted that I was not going to lead them astray. At times I needed to be in the lead and up front today but at other times I needed to walk at a more gentle pace that would give me the pleasure of walking alongside my more mature members of the group.
They had to trust, I had to walk slower than normal.
In the traveling together this is what I gleaned. If we are going to call ourselves leaders of a congregation, we must be willing to go to ask people to come along with us on a journey that is scary, risky, full of love and compassion. If we are to be leaders, we must lead in small group, be responsible for a few; pour our energy into relationship building, equipping, giving directions and sometimes walk ahead of them. We also must be willing to know our people well enough and deep enough that we take the steps to slow down because they simply might not be at our pace but that does not mean that they are unwilling to come alongside us.
The generations before us are filled with wisdom that they want to impart upon us but sometimes we are walking too far ahead to hear what they are saying. Sometimes we are walking ahead of them and haven't taken the time to ask them what frightens them and how we can help move them through those barriers. Sometimes as leaders we are too focused on our destination to stop and walk alongside those who are behind us.
Where are you walking too far ahead of others to hear them, see them and acknowledge their fears?
Where do you need to slow down and help someone up and over the boulder that they are facing?
Today we were walking from Lavi to Arbel.
The sky is blue; haze fills the air daring it to drop even an ounce of rain.
The sun shining through the clouds touching the ground ever so gently.
The ground is brown (or golden as they would say), dotted with the green of olive trees, waste high bushes.
The panoramic view leads the eye from one hill to the next, each one shooting out of the ground as if to shout hello, you are welcomed here!
Boulders encase us within the valley.
We are headed up to the Horns of Hattin, across the valley and back up to the Arbel.
The view was stunning. From standing atop of the Horns of Hattin looking down into the Sea of Galilee to walking in the valley with the boulders incasing us and the mountains rising around us the view was simply breathtaking. There truly are no words for what we experienced today (if you want to see more; check out my pictures on facebook).
In each step that I took today I was thinking about the power of generations and the strength of leadership. Today's hike was not a walk in the park, it was climbing up and over boulders and descending steep, slippery boulders. Most of the time I was walking alongside or just behind our guide. I was in front of the pack as you might say. After we had all safely descended (even to the point of having to climb down backwards) I started laughing out loud and said to the crew, "you guys are going to go home and talk about your crazy pastor that takes you on these really hard journeys and to dangerous places". To which they all responded "yes we will!"
The sun quickly made its way out from behind the haze and glare of the clouds into the bright, full sky, bearing down upon us as we walked.
Our path found us not walking in groups but spread out in single file for a good portion of the day.
The more I pondered and thought about the connection between leadership and generations the more I was in awe. These people really did trust where we were going. We could not always see the fullness of the destination but they trusted that I was not going to lead them astray. At times I needed to be in the lead and up front today but at other times I needed to walk at a more gentle pace that would give me the pleasure of walking alongside my more mature members of the group.
They had to trust, I had to walk slower than normal.
In the traveling together this is what I gleaned. If we are going to call ourselves leaders of a congregation, we must be willing to go to ask people to come along with us on a journey that is scary, risky, full of love and compassion. If we are to be leaders, we must lead in small group, be responsible for a few; pour our energy into relationship building, equipping, giving directions and sometimes walk ahead of them. We also must be willing to know our people well enough and deep enough that we take the steps to slow down because they simply might not be at our pace but that does not mean that they are unwilling to come alongside us.
The generations before us are filled with wisdom that they want to impart upon us but sometimes we are walking too far ahead to hear what they are saying. Sometimes we are walking ahead of them and haven't taken the time to ask them what frightens them and how we can help move them through those barriers. Sometimes as leaders we are too focused on our destination to stop and walk alongside those who are behind us.
Where are you walking too far ahead of others to hear them, see them and acknowledge their fears?
Where do you need to slow down and help someone up and over the boulder that they are facing?
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