The nature of the leadership and authority required for the ministry and mission of the Church.

  Within our temporal journey of life, our actions are governed by the placement of our investment of love. Individuals may invest their love within atoms, placing their priority for gathering material items or the protection of an item above the emotional stability of others. When organisations, being a collection of like-minded individuals, invest their collective emotions into profits, control or ideological supremacy above the importance of the greater collective of people or the environment, conflict is bound and harmony is lost. In this age of modernity we are taught that we can invest our emotions into a host of things and ideas forsaking relationships with our family and neighbours. The pedagogy of self-interest comes in many forms today with the advent of multi-media, combined with universities and schooling, also norms of behaviour and truth are practiced with peers (Newbigin, 1989, p. 222 & 228). Thus an individualistic society is driven by fractured goals, the self becomes all important, to have a beautiful body, the best clothing, a fast car, the best house, a big television, the best computer, and the list goes on, dividing society into many subgroups competing against each other[1]. When investigating what nature of leadership and authority that is required for the ministry and mission of the Church, the direction of emotional investment is a tacit property throughout the various descriptions of requirements within the texts. I will illustrate that investing ones emotions into anything other than the servant-hood for the community and God, is a perversion on the meaning of Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection, promoting self-interest. When individuals live for them-selves and their own interest, the community is neglected and suffers in the process. Unfortunately the ambitions are expressed in every walk of life, no matter the arena. The individualistic mind set is not Church ethos. Individualism is destructive to the community, with hidden agendas with the potential abusive power to influence others (Newbigin, 226). Newbigin (226-229) openly talks against the use of the Church as a medium for profit making through the media and the use of "truth" as a means for propaganda. It thus is a contradiction to live in the light of Christ in one's private life and to neglect or ignore the grace of God in one's public life. Ministry and Mission of the Church Jesus charged His disciples with a noble mission, being the teacher of all teachers, He sent forth His disciples to make disciples of all nations, to teach, as He had commanded[2], to preach the Gospel[3], to preach repentance and forgiveness[4], and be His witness[5] (Lorenzen, 1995, p. 302). This, His mission is far more important than identity maintenance, structure, or political aspiration of the Church (Lorenzen, 1995, p. 296). The mission of the Church is a fellowship in the faith in Christ, to be communal, and collective, binding the society together, demonstrating that collective relationships are more important than individualistic endeavours (Lorenzen, 1995, pp. 296-297). Jesus' mission statement was not intended to start a new religion, Jesus told us, and showed us in His documented actions how we may serve God by serving each other (Lorenzen, 1995, pp. 298-301; Newbigin, 1989, p. 225). The universal Lordship of Christ is in holding the teachings of Jesus Christ as the norm for all Christians, within a society of conflicting norms. The universality of Jesus the Lord must remain flexible in the delivery of His mission taking into account the local social needs of the people and the environment that they live (Lorenzen, 1995, pp. 303-305). In this age of modernity the insidious powers of self-interest separates peoples through the fracturing of society with oppression, militarism and dehumanisation, while the pain of the populous is being self-medicated with consumerism (Lorenzen, 1995, p. 303).  The mission of Christ is to stand in solidarity with others, to "drink the poison of identifying with" those that are not liberated and living under the oppressions of modern society (Lorenzen, 1995, p. 304). Thus it is here argued that to have Christ as the integrating centre of people's lives, is to have Christ's mission as the central principal of life, to build the interrelationships of the community, and invest one's emotions in the wellbeing of the others, and not in self-interest.   Authority and Leadership Soon after the crucifixion of Jesus the Twelve apostles and other apostles along with prophets understood their role to continue Jesus' proclamation of the coming kingdom of God (Schillebeeckx, 1985, p. 77). This apostolicity foundation to the early communities thus continued the proclamation emulating the Apostles (ibid). The leaders of this early community were chosen cautiously and tested by fellow leaders such as Paul sending Timothy to investigate on his behalf[6], who had the same authority as Paul did (Schillebeeckx, 1985, pp. 78,80). Paul also clearly recognised that individuals were seeking leadership positions in the community for "their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ"[7]. Paul describes that God appoints individuals to their specific role for different forms of leadership and authority to assist each other, "first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues"[8] (Schillebeeckx, 1985, p. 79). Yet not all individuals are intended to purely be leaders, healers, or translators[9]. Thus the calling of individuals through the Holy Spirit expressed to act with social ambitions for the benefit of society is evident in modernity (Kaye, 1996, p. 4) as it was recognised in history. Lorenzen (1995, p. 304) describes that the mission of Christ has been perverted over time into an institution to "save souls" through coercion by an imperialistic and colonialist manner. The religious elitism that upholds the authority and leadership of the Church appears to stem from Paul's call to the mission, to keep the Law of the Torah and to introduce it to the gentiles (Lorenzen, 1995, p. 305). Likewise for Paul, it was not enough for Gentiles to keep the Law of the Torah, Gentiles must proclaim Jesus as Messiah, and anything less was considered blasphemy and heresy (Lorenzen, 1995, p. 305). Apostolic claim to authority of leadership differ slightly between Luke and Paul. Luke asserts that to be an Apostle one must have "known and accompanied the historical Jesus", where as Paul recognises those that "experienced an encounter with the risen Lord"[10] (Lorenzen, 1995, p. 308). The succession of leadership within the Church[11] follows Paul's argument defining an Apostle, granting spiritual authority to the leaders of the Church, which include females (Lorenzen, 1995, p. 309). By taking the higher ground in morality and public truth brings its own challenges against the pre-established fractured norms in society not only in the days of Jesus and the Apostles but also now in modernity (Newbigin, 1989, pp. 222-223).The leaders of the church are required to mirror the mind of Christ, which impact on their actions by being like Jesus in His life, serving the people in the body of Christ, serving Christ (Lorenzen, 1995, pp. 314-315). With the attitude on morality and claim to truth comes the temptation of displaying a morally superior attitude, enforcing conformity, forsaking the people's freedom to come to Christ (Newbigin, 1989, pp. 223-224). Modern day fanatical religious people thrive on the fractured society threatening the freedom of democracy with growing mindless violence, vandalism, and the perceived decline in social morality of society, to their own detriment and to the detriment of others (Newbigin, 1989, p. 225). Newbigin (1989, pp. 228-229) asserts that the Christian community is not just to live for itself but to be deeply involved in the community with concerns for their neighbourhood, letting the gratitude of Christ to spill over into the greater community, bringing the concept of servant-hood in action to all peoples. Teaching the concept that Jesus taught, in saying "if I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet"[12]. Paul's churches are thus not  religious clubs for the self-interest of the religious elite, but servant churches working for the dignity of all humans, (Lorenzen, 1995, p. 305 & 311; Newbigin, 1989, p. 225) acting in the fellowship of Christ with a particular purpose of witnessing, whilst being a serving agency (Gilliland, 1983, pp. 184, 191). The collectivist view of Paul's metaphor for the church as a body is significant for the mission. The metaphor illustrates several points, as the body and church must function properly, must be mobile, be an instrument for available use, and not be an institution of vanity becoming an end in itself (Gilliland, 1983, p. 191). To identify God's aim, mission, and requirements to be followed by the followers of Christ, we turn to Acts. Acts is the missionary profile, job description, and evaluation instrument for the followers of Jesus (Achtemeier, Green, & Thompson, 2001, p. 251). The authority of the church stems from the mantel of authority taken up by the new generations that followed from the Apostles, to carry on the mission (Schillebeeckx, 1985, pp. 81-82). Over time the centralisation of power and authority for the leaders cemented into the Roman Catholic Church, with a hierarchical structure with the Pope at the summit, claiming an unquestionable authority, because the Church is sharing the authority of God (Schillebeeckx, 1990, p. 203). Although the wheels of change turn slowly within any bureaucratic organisation, the church is not spared, addressing issues from the French Revolution a century and a half later, than the secular society (Schillebeeckx, 1990, p. 206). The self-preservation of the church against the resistance to modernity and enlightenment beliefs, has been transformed into ministers being there for the service to the people, and that the Spirit is inclusive with all believers in their participation in the decisions of the church government (Schillebeeckx, 1990, pp. 200-202, 207, 209; Bosch, 1991, p. 519). It becomes apparent that when church leaders come together, conflict may occur based on the prioritising of issues which may be important in one community but not in others. The conflict that occurs in a meeting of leaders may seem to be of self-interest on the surface to others, but may in-fact be a real concern within that leader's specific community. For the Church to point out the universal salvific love of God for all peoples through Christ with the power of the Holy Spirit (Boff, 1981, p. 6) priorities on forms of deliverance are divided from region to region. Thus Paul's response to issues in specific churches hold true, that these issues can be handled by those communities without being dictated to by the wider community, but to stand in solidarity to promote happiness[13] (Gilliland, 1983, p. 276). In conclusion the nature of the leadership and authority required for the ministry and mission of the Church is that of empting one's self[14] of self-importance while working for self-interest for the individual or the church, but to invest one's emotions into the wellbeing of the community.    

References

  Achtemeier, P. J., Green, J. B., & Thompson, M. M. (2001). Introducing the New Testament: Its literature and theology. Cambridge: Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing Company. Boff, L. (1981). Church charism & power: Liberation theology and the institutional church. Great Britain, London: SCM Press Ltd. Bosch, D. j. (1991). Transforming mission: Paradigm shift in theology of mission. New York: Orbis Books. Encyclopædia Britannica 2002 Standard Edition CD-ROM. (2002). Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Gilliland, D. S. (1983). Pauline Theology & Mission practice. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books House. Goleman, D. (1996). Emotional intelligence. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. Kaye, B. (1996). The forgotten Calling? Theology and the vocation of the Laity. St Mark's Review , Spring, 3-12. Lorenzen, T. (1995). The Church and its Mission. In Resurrection and Discipleship: Interpretive models, Biblical reflections, Theological consequences (pp. 296-318). Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books. Newbigin, L. (1989). The congregation as hermeneutic of the Gospel. In The Gospel in a pluralist society (pp. 222-233). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans. Schillebeeckx, E. (1985). Ministry in the early communities of Christian believers. In The church with a human face: A new expanded theology of ministry (pp. 74-123). London: SCM. Schillebeeckx, E. (1990). The So-Called 'Classical' Face of the Church and the Other Face. In Church: The human story of God (pp. 198-228). New York: Crossroad.      

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[1] Some of the information in this paragraph is expressed in Goleman's (1996) book of Emotional intelligence.

[2] Matthew 28:19

[3] Mark 16:15

[4] Luke 24:46-49 and John 20:21

[5] Acts 1:8

[6] Phil 2:19-24

[7] Phil 2:21

[8] I Cor. 12:28

[9] I Cor. 12:29-30

[10] Acts 9:4-14

[11] (Encyclopædia Britannica 2002 Standard Edition CD-ROM, 2002) "Apostolic"

[12] John 13:14

[13] II Cor. 1:24, 2:10

[14] Philippians 2:5-8

Respecting others: Love and Fear in Obedience – Charming the Snake

I find that respect in others has its routes in the emotions that the powerful instil in the subordinate. The powerful demand respect, respect can be given back or not. It is the motivation of the given respect that dictates the core emotion, of either respect in fear or in love. Respect is the quality of attention, regard, or esteem one gives to another. This quality does not need to be balanced in power or quality of esteem. For instance a person that has the power to alter one's life at their whim may not deserve esteem, because that person has position power and abuses it to gain self-esteem. Thus the subordinate needs to give respect out of fear. When in doubt of the power or where you stand with that other person, logic would dictate that respect is given immediately, just as one would give respect to a snake, give it room and try to know whether there is danger or if understanding can be gained. We, humans know that the greatest threat to us in this age on modernity is not other creatures. The dangers lie in other humans, because we know that our motivations guide our actions, but we do not know the motivations of others. This is the respect out of fear. I consecrate here more on fear because that is where the world is acting out its control. This is the most practiced form of control over the longest amount of time. Used by religious groups of all types, political movements, and almost anyone that seeks riches through power. Money is a way of getting freedom, but the obsession with money creates slavery, and here in this slavery, fear of loss of all your possessions brings about a protection reflex. This fear of loss makes you instil fear in others so you can keep those possessions. When a person is in fear, they wish escape from the fear, though fear may also alter the behaviour to bring appeasement in the focus of fear. So the subordinate will to bring joy to the powerful so to avoid the negative hostile manifestation of that power. Avoidant behaviour is a way of controlling the self to control the feedback of others. Religion has used this fear in the population to instil fear of the Cop in the sky and the Hell below to have you control your behaviour to avoid the nasty consequences. Law is the same, we obey the rules of law so that we do not get incarcerated and shamed in society. Thus avoidant behaviour is a form of manipulation to charm the snake in your midst or the unknown person that you feel you need to appease. I the drug and alcohol field that I currently work in I see the affects of this prolonged stress of charming the snake. The addiction that a person has is a form of escape, most commonly seen in females that smoke cannabis or drink so they can put up with an abusive relationship. This also happens in males as well but not talked about, because the male is supposed to be always seen as the perpetrator.  Being in a relationship or working with the snake that needs charming is stressful and that stress needs to be released or subdued with drugs. The release of this stress is when the stress is taken home from work and let out on the people in the family. Or if it is a home it commonly comes out through addiction, otherwise it will come to work with you to manifest in controlling others and instilling fear in others at work. Charming the snake for a long time, the snake charmer gets to know the snake every well and can charm the snake with ease. There is an elution of friendship, and respect, but in reality the charmer knows the snake so well that the charmer can get the snake to do anything, but is always aware that the snake can bite and kill at any moment. Also the charmer watches every move of the snake so that the charmer does not get hurt. Psychologists call this; over sensitised, hyper-vigilant, or hyper-sensitised to another person. By demanding respect through fear will only exist when that focus of fear is present, and as the old saying goes, when the cat is away the mice will play. Thus when the partner, boss or co-worker is out of eye or ear shot, respect is gone. The emotional response to this fear is that there is no loyalty to the relationship or work place and the fearful will only go the extra mile if it is trough fear. Seeing fear in action looks like aggression and irritation, but what is wanted is to get out of the situation. Whereas respect out of love has it all, loyalty, obedience, going the extra mile and positive regard are present. This does not mean that the respectful person is doing these things out of duress or doing things that they do not wish do whatever. They do it because they want to, furthermore the esteemed one will not ask the respectful to do anything that the respectful does not wish to do. This is very much like the final speech in Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew", where the Shrew states that a hand should be placed under the husbands feet, this is because she knows that he will never ask it for respect through love. If a person loves society, the laws will be respected and obeyed because they know that breaking the law would cause harm to the self or others. Likewise a person in love with God, does not need any threat of hell, but will live with love to all beings because they know that they are all God's children or aspects of God incarnate just as you are.

Life Coaching: a way of looking at training.

At work, organisations would employ productivity analysts' to analyse the work done and then implement new practises to gain better productivity by the workers. This can take the form of redesigning the system and bringing new technology into the work place to speed up procedures, or retraining the staff to become better at their duties. Through out this a person or team of people come and coach the management and staff to become better at what they do.   Likewise, in the sporting profession we can list all the ways analysis' are utilised to improve the techniques, and game plans of the players to become the best at what they do. Analysts employ computer motion capturing to help adjust the minute movements of the player to increase performance. Likewise professional bike riders are placed in an air tunnel on their bikes to analyse the riding position, thus increasing performance. The smallest minutia of a player's actions are examined and honed to be as perfect as possible to increase performance.   Organisations spend loads of money to increase the productivity in their workers and performance in their sporting professionals, yet we spend nothing on our personal life to become better at being parents, partners, or carers. I know there are TV shows that do this on a small scale with a sample of people and then air it on TV as entertainment. Though I would like to have them show some of the skills they teach these participants on TV so that the wider community may also learn to live a happier life. On these self-help shows only a fraction is shown on how people can help them-selves, which is a shame.   I know the term "Life Coach" has a funny Americanised, a new age California type feel about it, which does not have a palatable feel about the terminology for some people. But when a person has not got the knowledge or skill to improve their life, the most common outcome which follows is depression. For people to become happier in their life at times only needs a small change in their activities, while others may need many small changes to reach a happier life style. Yet some people shun and this idea that help is not needed because "this is how it has always been and I'm ok Jack", but actively participate in improving their performance on the work site or golf course through teachers of one sort or another.   In this age of modernity, with advanced civilisation, and with our social wisdom, we no longer live in a home with three generations under the same roof. Thus the way things are instead is that both parents work while the child is at home alone, looking after them-self doing what they want till the parents comes home from work. Communication in the family is almost nonexistent because at best these are people sharing the same address. So the parents expect the schools to teach the children the values and skills that have always been in the hands of the family. The families that are lucky enough to have a third generation in the house to help with the upbringing of the children, the family values will be passed on through modelling. The best song that illustrates how children learn is "Cats in the Cradle". Thus if you wish to see how your children will grow up, just look at your own behaviour and you will see your children, and if you are not around, look at the people that are bring your child up. I read in a book about child rearing that many people spend about 30 years recovering from what happened to them in the first 5 years of their life. This is where a Life Coach comes in to help the person learning all the skill that they missed out on as a child.   In conclusion, professionals will hone all the small minutia of their actions to become the best at their game and to be number one so they can bring in the big dollars, yet may live an unhappy life because they do not employ the same professionalism to their privet life. So please refer to the previous posting to read about how important happiness is in your life.  

Actions in life: Motivations to what to do.

I have often been thinking of the idea of life. The question comes to mind, what is this all about? I listen and read subject matter about these issues and they all come up with the idea that life has no meaning. Some state that life is a school or training ground for what ever comes next, others say that only God has the meaning. But the most respected people say that it has no reason but to be, in the being of life is the only meaning. So if life has no other meaning other than to be, what is the best way to be? But then if we ask the same question in the other ideas about life we may still come to the same answer. So let's just state these questions out.  

• What is the best way to be?
• What is the best way to learn?
• What is the best way to get into God's kingdom?
• What is the best way to reach nirvana?
• What is the best way to live in Christ?
• What is the best way to reach enlightenment?

  I like question, because a good questions can lead you to a good answer, and the simple question gives the best answers. So how can we answer all these questions at the same time.   I can tell you how to be that is best for our bodies. There is only one emotion that puts the body in it's most optimal state, where the immune system is at its highest effectiveness, the body repairs it self the fastest, and puts the least amount of stress on the heart and the other mussels' in the body. The connection with others in happiness and love, bringing into actions the empathy with all of life, sharing in the joys of being, heightens every aspect of the body to function at its best. Being at this state of love with all of life and being in positive connections with others is the physiological answer to each of these questions, it is almost as if God created us, or designed us to be in this state for our best advantage to reach the goals in the questions through our body.   Now the body is at this state, next is the brain. The brain working in the same state of happiness, joy, and love with life and the connection with others, works to help the body and helps its self. In this state of being, the brain concentrates with longer duration and the information is retained in long term memory faster. Though with the subject of memory, any heightened emotional state will embed information into memory fast. Only happiness will enhance information storage that is taught to you by intentional teaching by another into long term memory. Also in this state the connection with nature and your environment become more intense, as the wonders of nature brings further joy.   Now that we come this far, it is through the state of happiness, joy, and love of life you begin to see the folly of man in their states of fears, frustrations, manipulations, and intimidations of other and towards nature it self. It is with and through this connection with everything around you, and then you will find the connection with God, without any manmade intervention. Just like any other emotion, the emotion of happiness, joy and love spreads like a virus to those around you, and so it spreads as a ripple affect in society.   Now what does this look like in a person's behaviour? This person can do anything they want to do, but what they want to do is to increase the feelings of happiness, joy and love within others, so that they also receive the same in the response. Thus the definition of doing anything they want is contingent in what they what to receive from others.   In reality, with what we live with now in society, the translation of what we love is corrupted by our language and thus by our short term view of what love and happiness or joy is. So here we have a love of money, because it supplies us joy and happiness, though this is only short term. As soon the item desired is acquired the joy and happiness will only last a few days or weeks. What we neglect in this is the connection with others, instead fear, jealousy, envy, frustration, etc, is created in others because they have the item and others do not.   Likewise, love is misplaced to the point that the liberties of others become limited through the control over them, with the assumption that it is an act of love. Now this works well for children when they do not see the dangers that may surround them, but when this limitation of liberty on adults is conducted, an emotional response become imminent. You may stop a child from mountain climbing, but instead foster the enthusiasm by finding an instructor for the child to build a skill. Though this is a different matter when you try to do the same thing to an adult. Whereas Love placed appropriately gives advice, and guidance to an adult, with the ability to let go when resistance surfaces, thus giving liberty with information of consequences.   This is where we work with love, with the understanding that life is love and that God is love. It is when we act to limit the freedom or liberties of others without love, we create fear, frustration, and manipulation in other. In these reactionary responses in others we receive the behaviour that we initiate in them. Thus we receive the anger, abuse, or violence from our attempt to control others without a well reasoned motivation for their well-being. Because when the client or recipient of your control asks why this control over them is use, it is with an explanation the client or recipient will understand and comply with your control or negotiate another cause of action.  

MAP of Rehabs

The information I have on this website about Rehabs in Australia is not complete, so I hope you can assist me by emailing me about other Rehabs you know of.   This Map will be constantly updated as information is gathered.