She waits for me
In the silence, in the still

Her pale face behind a veil
Unveiled, she's luminescent

She whispers with the wind
My song echoes across the landscape

How long must we be apart?
How many more seasons?

Her black dress glimmers as she spins
Diamonds adorn her elegant attire

She transits my land without sound
Graceful, strong and true

Her beauty ebbs and flows, brilliant
Captivating, she entices my soul

How many more days will divide our love?
How long until we meet again?

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

 
I'm a martial artist and an assitant martial arts instructor. This year, I'll earn my Black Belt in the Jhoon Rhee Tae Kwon Do system and I'm grateful for my instructors and classmates who have been encouraging me, challenging me and training me.
 
Tonight, as I was training with my classmates in self-defense, I was partnered up with a man at least 6" taller than me. He's a gentle giant and probably 25 years my elder.
 
I love his attitude. You can tell he's there for fun, fitness and self-defense and that he enjoys himself too. He and I both share a commonality as well-- we leave a lot of "progress" on the floor when we train (yeah, I'm referring to sweat).
 
Anyway, tonight I had a moment half-way though mastering our self-defense moves that he and I represent EXACTLY what Martin Luther King, Jr. had hoped for when he became a leading voice in the conversation about "all men being equal."
 
My partner is African-American and I'm WASP (you know, White Anglo-Saxon Protestant). And there we were on MLK day laughing, training, sweating together. No inkling of awkwardness. No judging. Just two men having fun and learning together.
 
It was a beautiful moment when I realized that THIS is what Martin Luther King, Jr. had hoped to see. We represented his dream.
 
Then, as I sat with it a bit longer, I saw that this was not only his dream. Martin Luther King, Jr. in all his eloquence and passion was a brilliant reflection of God's dream. Under Jesus' Kingship, Scripture tells us that "In Christ you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:26-28, NIV
 
And THAT'S what made me pause with awe and wonder, I was getting a glimpse of God's dream for humanity on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as an African-American man and an Anglo man were sweating, training and having fun together as brothers.
 
I look forward to one day having long conversations with a man that deeply radiated Jesus' presence in this life and I'm truly grateful for God's voice present in Martin Luther King, Jr's message of compassion... in the name of love.

In recent years, I've found myself attending several Christian conferences for pastors, Christian leaders, etc. Many times, I find that I've taken copious notes on whatever subject the speaker is conveying to the listeners. It's been helpful and beneficial for me.

Some speakers resonate.
Some, not so much.

A trend that I've noticed in conference circles like this is to make it "deeply challenging" for the audience... which I believe is Christian code-speak for chastising and demeaning your listeners with Scripture. Don't get me wrong, I love a good challenge! And I love when someone "brings it" for my benefit and growth. However, more often than not, what seems to be communicated (though it may be unintended) is that whatever you're doing right now as a Christian pastor, leader, influencer... well, it's wrong. You've somehow screwed the whole thing up and you're missing the point.

Man, I wish it were as easy as "missing the point."  I wish that somehow those pastors and leaders were simply looking in the wrong places and now this speaker can point them in the correct direction.

But I think there is a broader implication here.

The message isn't really about the message.
It isn't about Scripture.
It isn't about process, strategy, mission.

The underlying issue is intimacy. And even the speaker-- with his best selling book(s), hip church, rockin' band, innovative style, successful organization, spiritual impact-- is somehow caught up in the same spiral of performance-based approval as his audience.

The neck-breaking speed and lifestyle of most Christian leaders today is unbearably unsustainable and often lacks a real intimacy for the God they have chosen to serve professionally.

I would love to attend a conference where a speaker begins with who the pastors and leaders are becoming in their OWN faith. How are they investing in themselves? How are they learning to say, "No"? What rhythms have they set up for themselves for refereshment and renewal? How are they investing in their own hearts?

Here's the thing: no pastor or leader can effectively influence change that they aren't experiencing themselves. Want your church or organization unleashed? Great!  How are you being unleashed?  How are you creating a culture that values and fosters intimacy with God?  Who are you becoming?

It is as if Lee Iacocca was right when he said, "The speed of the boss [leader or pastor] is the speed of the team." I believe this is a cultural statement not a productivity statement. Your church or organization becomes what you are not what you hope it to be no matter how inspiring or well thought out.  We replicate and produce what we are, not what we do or say.

So, what if as pastors and leaders we did ruthlessly care for our own hearts? Who would we become? How would that impact our church or organization? What must we do today to take bold action toward cultivating intimacy with our Father? What would be the result?

Maybe this would be a better conference to have: a conference where instead of chastising the bride for being worn out and bedraggled, we wooed her back to intimacy with her Groom, Christ.

Photo by Dave Hackbarth for Illuminate Photography. Used with Permission.