Not Again: Next week I’m helping facilitate a conference in Portland. (Well, it was going to be in Portland. Now it will reside in Zoomland – AKA my home office.) Disappointment aside, my pre-conference training session opened with a one question survey: Pumpkin or Pecan Pie? The vote was 51/49. Wow, we really are a divided nation. (BTW, I am rethinking my attendance at the conference. I cannot imagine I’ve anything to learn from the idiots who voted for pecan pie.)
Without Comment: 1) According to a recent report from the Federal Reserve: the top 1% of the wealthy own 31% of the wealth; the next 9% own 39%; those between 50% and 90% own 29%; and the bottom 50% own 2%. 2) A cyclone headed to Somalia is predicted to drop two years of rain in two days. 3) 1 in 5 Americans will struggle with some type of mental illness in their lifetime, 90% of those who end their life have a mental illness, 25% of people living in shelters are mentally ill, and 1/3 of all alcohol abusers and 1/2 of all drug abusers have a mental illness.
Sorry in Advance: This piece by David Brooks should have been in your hands yesterday. (At least, that’s the case if you flouted CDC guidelines and celebrated T-Day with others.) I plan to send it your way earlier next year.
Quotes Worth Requoting: “Scripture calls us to give thanks in all circumstances. It does not say, we must feel thankful. The holiday is Thanksgiving, not Thanksfeeling.” Jim Denison
Nov. 22, 1963: Fifty-seven years ago last Sunday, three remarkable men died: John F. Kennedy (the 35th POTUS), Aldous Huxley (the seven time Pulitzer Prize nominee) and C.S. Lewis (a Christian apologist). The prominence of the first two overshadowed the passing of the third, although in Peter Kreeft’s book – Between Heaven and Hell, which imagines that the three of them meet immediately after death to debate what will come next – Lewis (as a Christian theist) bests Kennedy (as a humanist) and Huxley (as a mystic). I suspect it was the anniversary that prompted the Wall Street Journal to run this piece about Lewis.
Reconsidered: Adam Bryant believes servant leadership has lost its punch. I kept reading his tweet, expecting to disagree – not so much because I thought Robert Greenleaf’s essay The Servant Leader was so good, but because of Christ’s example. But Bryant won me over. It turns out he was doubling down on Christ’s example by noting that sometimes servant leadership is way too much about the servant. The real goal is selfless leadership. Or, as Lewis noted – the goal isn’t to think less of ourselves; it is to think of ourselves less.
The Preacher: While summarizing his doctoral work in communication, a friend noted that preachers sort themselves into four categories: 1) Life Coach (e.g. Rick Warren); 2) Story Teller (e.g. Max Lucado); 3) Artist (e.g. TD Jakes) or 4) Professor (e.g. Tim Keller). As I was thinking about these divisions, someone else made an even more astute observation. After agreeing with the four-fold approach, he said, “Perhaps, but at this moment churches do not need preachers as much as they need pastors.”
A Pastor in Action: Speaking of pastors, this 2 minute video is a great example of pastoral ministry in action.
What Would Gottman Say? John Gottman, a global leader in marital counseling and the founder of the Gottman Institute, is famous for watching a couple interact for ten minutes and then predicting (with 90+% accuracy) whether they will divorce. How does he do it? Gottman says that among the things he looks for is contempt. According to his research, a relationship can survive just about anything else. Hmm. After listening to talk radio, I wonder how long Gottman thinks the US can hold things together.
Closing Prayer: I thank thee that many of my prayers have been refused — I have asked amiss and do not have; I have prayed from lusts and been rejected; I have longed for Egypt and been given a wilderness. Go on with thy patient work, answering ‘no’ to my wrongful prayers, and fitting me to accept it. Amen.