Lead

So, go get yourself a nice big Americano, with an extra shot of espresso and take a stroll through the “Leadership” section at your local Borders, Barnes & Noble, or Mom ‘n Pop (does anybody still have those?).

Take a look at what you’ll find: lots. Lots and lots.

There are a bunch of books on “getting groups of people to do what you want them to.”

Oh, I mean, “leadership.”

There are books on “how to get ahead in your company so that you land on top,” though usually a little more tactfully named, but always written by folks who have worked through their companies and landed on top.

There are reams of paper devoted to the nebulous and grainy concept of “vision.”

How does a person, a business, a church, decide the direction that it will go, or the desired future that it seeks to create?

Many times, churches have followed the world’s lead on the process of “vision.” We study, research, theorize and deduce. In the end, the pastor says “let’s do this,” or the leaders say, “this is the way,” and the job of vision selling begins.

Right now, I’m reading my way through three of those books on leadership and vision. I’m taking a course through the North Georgia Conference called, “The Academy for the Practice of Christian Ministry,” and this pre-course reading has been pretty enlightening.

In their book Spiritual Leadership, Henry and Richard Blackaby put forward a concept that should be the plain as the nose holding up the glasses on this pastor’s face.

Christian vision…Church Vision…comes from God, not us.

It’s really not a vision at all. It’s a revelation.

Nope, don’t get excited, I’m not talking about that last book of the Bible (Revelations, with an “s” if you grew up in the deep South like I did).

I mean revelation…God’s process of revealing himself to the world. What we know of God, we know because God has shown us. Scripture is the primary revelation source, which means it really is that “lamp to our feet” that it claims to be.

Of course, that’s a faith proposition, isn’t it?

Exactly.

God gives a vision to the people, consistent with scripture, and directs our way in the world.

Jesus said the last will be first, and vice-versa. In his world, real leaders have got to first become followers.

This week, SOTH had an open meeting with a pastor from our conference who works at the task of helping congregations listen. “It’s a powerful thing,” he said, “when someone says, I want to hear what you have to say.” In listening to each other, and seeking the voice of God, it’s just possible that the right path will be revealed.

Truly, that kind of leadership is powerful. That kind of ministry is always relevant. Even God likes to be heard.

At SOTH, we’re beginning a process of listening, and of “visioning,” but not in a traditional, worldly way. We believe that God will give the vision and the grace, and the tools and the strength to bring the vision into reality.

What a wonderful place for the work of leadership to begin. And a wonderful prayer to begin it with: “Reveal yourself, O Lord.”

Grace & Peace,

Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:

Envisioning Meeting Follow-Up: Thanks to all who attended Tuesday night’s “Envisioning” meeting with Rev. Jim Hollis of Proactive Evangelism Ministries. Jim led us through a great devotional and time of sharing about our hopes and dreams for SOTH. Church Council will evaluate the ministries offered by PEM and we may continue our process with them this fall through a “Discovery and Reflection” weekend. Keep this process in your prayers as SOTH seeks God’s will for its future.

Our summer lunch ministry to community kids in need of a helping hand has been a huge success! Thanks to MUST Ministries for its partnership, and to the many, many people of SOTH, St. Theresa and Trinity Anglican who have made this great work possible. We’ll continue the lunch route through the end of the first week of August when school gets back in session.

We’re currently collecting school supplies to fill backpacks for the school age kids of these neighborhoods to get them started back to school this year. Donations of supplies can be left at the church this Sunday and next.

Kids’ Day at SOTH was a huge success this week with over 20 kids taking part in arts and crafts. Next Wednesday, August 1^st, we’ll have our final Kids’ Day of the summer. It’s water day, so come out with your little ones and plan to get wet, 10 AM until Noon. Contact Kathryn@sothumc.net with any questions.

Our middle school youth trip to Lake Junaluska leaves this weekend. Thanks to Cindi Bartlett for making one more trip with the kids before her “retirement.”

Wednesday Night Suppers will begin again in August. Make sure to put Wed. night the 15^th on your calendar for a great night of food and friendship.

“The Staff,” SOTH’s newsletter, will come out early next week. We e-mail the letter to the congregation, but we’re glad to “snail mail” to any who prefer a paper copy. If you’d like to be added to either list, let Sandi know in our office, sothumc@bellsouth.net

Drought

This morning, I met God in my backyard.

It’s possible that you didn’t know that’s where he spends his free time.

I know, it’s a little surprising to me, too.

There’s a lot going on in the world, after all, for “I AM” to be hanging around enjoying a dewy summer morning in the backyard of a Douglasville, Georgia, subdivision, right?

All I can say is that the whole experience just seemed a little “Genesis” if you ask me.

I mean, I am “Adam,” after all, so wouldn’t it make sense for me to walk with God in a garden?

But until the last couple of days, the garden has not looked too much like Eden.

What we’ve had is a bona fide drought. No rain. Not even any “fake” rain of late, from faithful garden hoses attached to outdoor nozzles. Illegal.

Genesis 2:4-5

“…When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth…”

Mercifully, God started sending that rain this weekend.

The rain came down, and came down some more, and kept coming yesterday. It’s supposed to come on down some more again today.

Where there’s rain, there’s life…

Genesis 2:6-7

“…and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

…and life…is good. God said so himself.

As my toes slipped their way through the morning-wet grass of my backyard, I was amazed to see example upon example of deep-green life re-emerging from the drought of summer.

There was a temptation…a temptation to say, “wow, look what we did!”

After all, my wife, my children and I have done all the hard work, right? Perhaps we have endured my namesake’s curse:

Genesis 3:17

"Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.

It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return."

When we bought our house two years ago, it included a scenic expanse of rock-hard, grade-A, deep-red, Georgia clay. There’s not a single, living, photosynthesizing being in our whole backyard that we didn‘t plant with our own two hands.

Since our arrival, we have done one thing with true passion…we have played in the dirt, and we have planted. The sweat of our brows (and the brows of our wonderful friends who helped us lay every piece of sod, stand of irises, new crape myrtles…) has surely dripped into that old clay.

I think my neighbor once said it best: “We all bought 1/3 acre lots, but Adam thinks his is a 100 acre farm.”

Well…any hard-working-hundred-acre-farmer would be the first to tell you the real truth. Down deep in their bellies they know that they don’t have a whole lot to do with the crop.

The Creator does.

Genesis 2:15

“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

“Caretaker of the Garden” is our first and oldest job description. There’s no way Adam ever stood in Eden and thought he built that garden himself.

Or did he?

Yeah, I guess he did.

The good news is that God redeems the “curse” into a wonderful dance of creation.

The seeds my sons planted with their beautiful little hands have now grown into sunflowers, taller than the very boys who planted them. As I peered into the forming seedheads this morning, I knew that God was there.

The tomatoes we hoped for in spring are now becoming a reality. Yellow blooms cover them up and down, and the first dozen red beauties of summer sit on our kitchen table. Every day, there are more to pick than we can eat.

The seeds of last year’s Halloween pumpkins found their way back into the ground this spring. Dark green vines are now spiked by huge orange-yellow blooms, and already the smallest and youngest of this year’s crop have appeared.

Even the baked-brown Bermuda grass is teasing us with signs of healthy, green life. For now, there is rain…and life…and growth.

I know…the drought will surely come again. But so will the rain. For this day, it’s enough to be thankful…I think we should even dare to be hopeful. We are wonderfully dependent on the one who has made us, who sustains us, who never changes and will never leave us.

Take a walk in the garden first chance you get…God is there.

Grace & Peace,

Adam

LIFE AT SOTH:

A new two-part worship series begins this week as we start rounding out summer (is that possible?). July 15 --- “Let Go,” the story of the Good Samaritan, and July 22 --- “Let God,” the story of Mary and Martha with Jesus. We’ll see you in worship at 9:00 or 11:00 each Sunday morning.

Don’t forget Sunday School. SOTH’s primary offering of children’s ministry happens at 10:15 each Sunday morning. Stay a few minutes after early worship or come out early for the late service and make sure that your kids are learning all that they need to know about the Bible, Jesus and God’s love. 2 Adult classes and a youth class meet at “The Ranch” at that time, and Adam teaches a “talkback” lesson, building on his sermon, in the sanctuary at the very same time.

Many thanks to Cindi Bartlett for her 6+ great years of service in leadership of SOTH’s youth program. We had a wonderful roast honoring Cindi after 11:00 worship this past week. A big thank you to Andrea Vantrees, Amber Bartlett, Troy and Trevor Edwards and to everybody who had a hand in making that event happen.

SOTH is now accepting resumes for your Youth Director position. We will begin interviews in a few weeks and hope to have a new youth director on board at SOTH by Labor Day.