Yesterday, I was in a conversation with some friends and local pastors that I have been journeying with for the past year and I realized something new about myself.
In the last few weeks, there are two books that I have found myself frequently carrying around with me. The first is a book called The Practice of Adaptive Leadership by Ronald Heifetz, Marty Linsky, and Alexander Grashow.
The second is a book that the leadership of our church will be reading together during the last part of 2009 called Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation by Robert 
Mulholland.
In one hand a business book about "the practice of mobilizing people to tackle tough challenges and thrive." And in the other hand a book about our spiritual journey with God and how God transforms us to his image of his Son Jesus in order that we would lay down our lives for others. My question is, how can anybody in their right mind carry around these two books and be reading them at the same time?
Mulholland.In one hand a business book about "the practice of mobilizing people to tackle tough challenges and thrive." And in the other hand a book about our spiritual journey with God and how God transforms us to his image of his Son Jesus in order that we would lay down our lives for others. My question is, how can anybody in their right mind carry around these two books and be reading them at the same time?
My genius answer, "Me." I love this stuff and more and more so see how a business book and a spiritual journey book relate to one another in God's Kingdom or God's Economy. When we see and hear the world with the perspective of God's Kingdom, we begin to realize that "everything is spiritual" as Rob Bell says. We begin to see how God wants to make all things new, whole and right; a place and experience of the world that is centered in God and is encompassed by God.
As I read and reflect more on these two books, there are surprising similarities because as I have discovered leadership comes from the core of who we are. As God transforms my identity so that I lay down my life for others, leading people through difficult challenges becomes more natural to who I am and more rooted in my inward life that no one else sees on the outside.
So, I guess I can walk around proudly with both books, set them on my table in Starbuck's, pick up my coffee and not wonder what the person across from me is thinking as they see the jacket covers of my two intriguing books.
1 comment:
reading a little on spiritual formation are you??? i cannot wait to study this stuff! i'm quite fond of thomas merton myself. hope that you are doing well josh... you should blog more :) and hopefully work isn't stealing all of your time.
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