Want Leadership? Develop Followership.

By Lonnie Valentine

I do not see the problem of leadership as one of finding people willing and able to lead.

I see the problem as one of "followership." Those who see themselves or are seen as followers are thought of as less worthy than leaders. So, everyone wants to be a leader and no one wants to follow. If so, then any talk of leadership needs to talk about followership. How do we be good followers?

Of course, this is not a new problem. Paul talks about these issues, and it is clear he and the congregations he started struggled with this question of who is to lead and who is to follow. However, I did find some of what Paul says to be worth thinking about now:

"There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good...For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ." (1 Corinthians 12: 4-7, 12)

Playing off of Paul's image, I would think that, first, anyone who leads ought not think of themselves as inherently superior to those who follow, and those who follow ought not think of themselves as inferior in their following. Second, a leader in some situations had better be able to show they can follow in other situations. A leader needs to model following at times. As Paul notes, not all have the same gifts, and so the gifts of others need to be recognized and brought into the lead at certain times. Third, I think there is need for some person or few persons that have a responsibility for paying attention to how the whole body of the group is functioning.

This form of leadership, usually thought of in relation to the role of administrators, is most critical in helping all the other sub-groups and persons of the organization to see what the overall mission and health of the body is. This does not mean they seek to be "the decider" and make all decisions or have all power, but rather they have a gift for holding the various roles and ideas of all those who are members of the body so as to communicate to all what is going on in the body, and seeking to promote the mission or heal the hurts of the entire group by seeing and calling forth the talents of those in the body.

One final word. Last Spring, John Dominic Crossan lectured at ESR on the vision of the Kingdom of God held by Jesus and Paul. He argued that their vision of such a Kingdom was a direct challenge to the Kingdom of Caesar. Caesar's kingdom was top down, with Caesar as the divine Son of God who ruled as a dictator, using coercion and violence to maintain control. Unfortunately, such a model has many attractions, during the time of Jesus and Paul and in our own time, including within the Church. Such a quest for power led to Empire making which destroyed others and finally was self-destructive.

As Crossan puts it, ancient Greece learned it could have participatory democracy or Empire, but not both; Rome learned is could have a republic or Empire, but not both. Insofar as any body, whether it be Church or State--or educational institution, sees itself as building an Empire, then the health of the body is endangered. The Church or any organization is to be of service to others, not to accrue power and privilege for itself or for some of its "leaders."

Lonnie Valentine has served as professor of Peace and Justice Studies at Earlham School of Religion since 1989. Originally from California, he lives in Richmond, Indiana.

A Quaker Monk?

By John Fitch

I'm a Quaker pastor from Richmond, Indiana and I'm working on a doctorate in Neo-Monastic studies. The new monastic moment is not really all that new. Bonhoeffer coined the term Neo-Monasticism in 1945 and lot of people have been experimenting with the idea of divesting and moving in with the poor to pray with them and serve them as an equal. The idea really comes from the Gospel following Jesus' example of living amongst the poor and outcast and being totally dependent on God for he and his disciples needs.

For me it happened spontaneously. I became a starving student again in 2000 when I chose a mid-life career change from Social Work to ministry and started at the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana. By necessity I moved into the poorest neighborhood in Richmond and I decided to do my ministry internship at the Episcopal church one block away from my house. During my internship I got to know my neighbors who didn't feel right about going to the Episcopal Church because they didn't dress like the Episcopalians who drove in from the suburbs - and some of them didn't smell so good, which was a problem. The neighborhood people did feel comfortable at my little condo and it became a hub for social gatherings, prayer services and meals together. My table was made for six people and when the thirteenth person came I knew we would need a bigger place. I found the right place around the corner form my condo. It was a huge 100 year old house built for entertaining with two gigantic dining rooms and five bedrooms upstairs. I knew right away I was supposed to buy it and start my ministry there.

The only problem was I only had $312.00 in my checking account. The realtor convinced me I could get 100% financing so I put in an offer. It turned out I would need a $10,000.00 down payment and I said to myself, "there's no way." Then the miracles started to happen. Two days later another relator knocked on my door and said she sold a condo in my building and has two other buyers who missed out and wanted to know I would sell mine for $7,500.00 more than I paid for it. I went back to the bank to see if they would take that for the down payment and I got a resounding, “No, you need $10,000.00, or no loan”. As I left the parking lot I paused for moment with both hands on the steering wheel. I said, “God I think you want me to do this, but your going to have to help me out by finding me another $2,500.00”. Thirty seconds later I got hit by a car. Nobody was seriously hurt and because it was not my fault I got a settlement from the insurance company for $2,500.00. I bought the house and with the help of friends from ESR we named it Renaissance House. We hung our shingle out on the porch and the ministry took off like a shot.

I've had a lot of careers. My first one was trade school when I was teenager. I learned home improvement and repairs and made good living with my hands while I took classes in junior college at night. After competing my general education course work, I transferred to San Diego State and majored in Social Work so I could work as a drug counselor for troubled youth and mentally ill people. My spiritual journey took me to Nicaragua to do peace work during the Contra war and after that I relocated with my wife and kids to Missouri where became a dog trainer. My last job was teaching in Puerto Rico with Catholic nuns who inspired me to be a minister.

I'm now using all the skills I've learned along the way. I use my handyman skills to renovate the houses and I hire out some to help support us which also give the younger guys some work as I often need a helper. I help Spanish speaking people with translations especially when they go to court. I lead the prayer services and help cook and clean. I'm the neighborhood chaplain. I do weddings and funerals, and I visit people when they are in jail. I provide a safe haven for people being beaten or abused everyone knows if they are in trouble they can run to my house and nobody will follow them in.

The rooms in my house are filled with mentally ill men - couples and women live in the apartments next door. We are sponsored by the Quaker and Episcopal churches and attend services at both. We get some funding for utilities from the Quakers but are primarily self-supporting through the rent payments of those who have and income, as well as some money I raise doing handy work. We do dog training and everyone is given a dog to care for while they are at the house, just like in the New Skete monastic community. We also have morning prayer services and breakfast for everyone as well as a mid week Common Meal and worship.

I am currently spending a year living at the New Skete community, to learn about dog training, but especially about how to be a monk. I want to take the monastic way of being back into the world and be a Quaker monk. People say to me all the time. “I didn't know Quakers have monks”. To which I say, “They do now”.

John Fitch is the founder of the Renaissance House community and is an alumnus of ESR. He is currently studying in the Doctor of Ministry program at Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology and is participating in a one year internship with the monks of New Skete training dogs and learning about traditional monasticism. In his spare time he enjoys photography.

White Christians, Racism and Quakers

by Diane Reynolds
At Thursday’s weekly Peace Forum, held at ESR, Bethany Seminary alumnus Dean J. Johnson discussed religious narratives among white Christians that uphold white power and privilege. Johnson, now an assistant professor of religious studies at Defiance College in Ohio, interviewed 20 Christians across 12 faith traditions in Fort Wayne, Ind., to discover how being white impacted their theology.
Johnson found that most whites unwittingly aid oppression by misunderstanding how privilege works, perceiving themselves foremost as individuals rather than as part of a powerful group. This perception leads to a cultural narrative of merit, in which many whites believe they have succeeded based solely on their own skills and efforts.
Other attitudes that uphold oppression include an unwillingness to accept racial equality when it comes with a loss of white privilege, and perceiving white cultural norms as “common sense,” thus denigrating the perceptions of other races. Many whites also maintain that our society is colorblind or post-racial while at the same time expressing an acute personal awareness of race. One woman, for example, claimed that she was racially colorblind but then opined that her daughter probably dated black men because she felt she was not pretty enough to attract white men.
White cultural narratives seep into the white Christian narrative. Some white churches communicate a narrative of just deserts, in which God rewards the deserving (ie, whites), a story reinforced in many churches by the absence of any conversation about the larger social issues that might impede minority achievement. Many whites emphasize accepting Christian salvation rather than living a Christ-like life: they assent to a Christian narrative or creed rather than changing how they live. Many then conflate good feelings towards other races with enlightened racial behavior: If my racial intentions are good, my behavior can do no harm.  Churches, as well, reinforce white paternalism by expecting non-whites to assimilate to their cultural norms, often with little interest in learning about the patterns and behaviors of other groups.
Blacks, in contrast, are likely to see race or larger social forces as significant influences on their achievement and to be distrustful of white efforts to reach out to them as driven by white needs and agendas. Blacks tend to focus on the outcomes of white behavior - are whites acting in non-racist ways? - rather than on white “feelings” about other races that might be contradicted by actions.
As the 2008 book Fit for Freedom, not for Friendship shows, Quakers are not immune to the insidious racism that plagues other predominately white religious groups. For all our good work on abolition, we white Quakers, along with the rest of white society, have been slow to embrace blacks as equals. We wish to worship with blacks, but on our terms. We want to “help” blacks, but this desires often carries with it the assumption that “they” will assimilate to white cultural norms. We are often blind to our own racist assumptions, embracing the narrative that good intentions absolve of us of the ability to do harm.
Johnson offered a list of suggestions for white people and congregations wishing to revise their racial worldviews.  For individuals, Johnson advises that whites become more conscious of their own privilege; learn the history of the US and Europe from the vantage point of the oppressed; refuse to let guilt lead to inaction; listen; raise concerns about oppression; and confront white cultural and religious narratives. Further, individuals can use religious language to express how racially sensitive narratives align with Christ-like beliefs.
For congregations, Johnson suggests the following five practices: becoming intentionally and radically inclusive by examining who is absent from the faith community and being willing to change to become more hospitable; developing real and lasting, rather than superficial, relationships with groups facing oppression; visiting other faith traditions to enhance understanding of their cultures; bringing in speakers from other traditions; and developing and posting statements of inclusion that reassure people outside the white community that they are welcome.
Now that some of the furor over Fit for Freedom has died down, to what extent do you find Quaker meetings and churches are examining their racial composition and practices? Given the largely white composition of most North American Quaker meetings and churches, how can we become more welcoming?  Is it more important to maintain the Eurocentric roots of our tradition than to become inclusive? Or is our tradition an attachment that impedes our ability to be a light to the world?  Do we display arrogance or are our traditional practices valuable enough for us to resist change?
Are there ways we can hold on to core practices and yet become genuinely open to people of other races and classes? I am trying to sidestep the issue of Christ as I recognize that not all North American Quakers are Christian, but to me the question comes down to this: Do our practices reflect a fundamental expression of Christianity or the values of Christ that we should not compromise? If so, what practices are important to maintain, and how do we do so while at the same time extending a Christ-like welcome to all people?

Diane Reynolds is a student in Earlham School of Religion’s Master of Divinity program. She maintains a personal blog, Emerging Quaker.

Re-examining Friends’ Testimony of Plain Speech in Whittier, California

By Abbey Pratt-Harrington

The weekend of February 5-6 I (along with a few others) went to visit the Quakers in Whittier, California. I think it’s safe to say that we all had a lovely time (and not only because we got a short reprieve from the winter weather). We spent most of our time visiting with people (mostly over meals) and enjoying our surroundings.

One of the most interesting conversations I had while there was with a man of Hispanic descent. He approached me after I led the adult education and we talked about his journey to Quakerism, which he had recently found. What made his story stand out to me was that I had never heard a story like it before. Most convinced Friends seem to come to Quakerism for peace issues. This man had found Quakers while studying languages. In Spanish there still is a formal and informal way to address people and (from my limited understanding) it has to do with social class. This gentleman did not like this distinction and wondered why it existed, so he started to study languages/the history of languages.

Somehow, he ran across the story of the Quakers who refused to follow this distinction in English. This got him interested in who the Quakers were and eventually brought him to this community in Whittier. I found this whole experience interesting because, while I love the story of Friends addressing everyone with thee and thou, I never thought about that principle still being applicable in today’s world. I suppose this just goes to show you that you can learn something new every day.

Abbey Pratt-Harrington is a member of Athens Friends Meeting, Lake Erie Yearly Meeting. She is a graduate of Wilmington College and is currently a residential student in Earlham School of Religion’s Master of Divinity program.

Being Patterns and Examples in Indianapolis

By Karla Moran

In starting a church we face many challenges, but we know that we are not alone in this struggle. Jesus promised us that he would not leave us orphans (John 14:15-26). With this promise in mind, we continue with the mission work, obeying Jesus' command in Matthew 28:19, to go and make disciples of all nations. But Jesus also gave us another, perhaps even more difficult charge: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). When Jesus spoke the words in Matthew 28:19, his intention was for us to love one another so that the world would know that we are his followers. We believe this is the core of Jesus' ministry and this is what we are trying to do among the Hispanic community in Indianapolis.

Because the Hispanic community is an immigrant community, there are many opportunities for us to offer a helping hand and at the same time share the good news with them. Our desire for the Hispanic community is to live the Kingdom here and now, not only to have hope for the future. We want them to know and feel in their hearts that even though they have many worries and face many challenges they can still live in the peaceable kingdom because Jesus reigns in our hearts (Luke 17:21).

We don’t have specific programs in the church but we respond to the immediate problems that Latinos in the community might have. For example we go to the hospitals if anyone has an appointment and needs interpreting. We also assist young single mothers and their children; many of these single mothers recently came out of abusive relationships. We have provided our own home to the homeless mothers. There are also many teenagers who are confused and do not know what to do with their lives. Their homes are destroyed and many of them are maintained by single mothers who escaped abusive relationships. Many of them would like to go on to college but are not legal residents in this country and don’t see any solution other then drugs and alcohol. I asked a sixteen year old why she wanted to drop out of high school and she responded “what is the point of me doing good in high school if at the end of it I will have nowhere to go? I might as well start working now”. We see a lot of pain in the people that we minister to; and we feel it ourselves, because we try to get as involved with the community as possible.

Most of the Hispanic community is made up of Mexicans who come from a Catholic background, but many of them are turning to the cult of worshiping “la Santa Muerte” (holy death). It is very noticeable; just by walking into Mexican store you can see prayer candles dedicated to la Santa Muerte. This cult is rapidly growing among the Mexican community, not only in Indianapolis but in Mexico and cities with big Hispanic population such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and many others. It is a big concern because the cult appears to be closely associated with crime, criminals, and those whose lives are directly affected by crime. Criminals seem to identify with Santa Muerte and call upon the saint for protection and power, even when committing crimes. They will adorn themselves with her paraphernalia and render her respect that they do not give to other spiritual entities. This is very surprising for me personally because before living in Indianapolis I did not know of this type of worship.

We are located on the West side of Indianapolis, where eighty percent of the community is Hispanic. We have meeting for worship in the building of Second Friends Meeting, which is part of Western Yearly Meeting, and we have a great relationship with them. Second Friends Meeting has struggled for years to reach out to the Hispanic community in their area with no success. One of the Second Friends members testified to having a dream about them worshiping in silence when he heard a spontaneous worship song in another language; this dream happened the week before we visited their Meeting. Other than Second Friends Meeting we are also being supported by Indiana Yearly Meeting and Western Yearly Meeting. These yearly meetings have harmoniously united to in the effort to begin an Hispanic ministry.

Our vision is to see a true Quaker church that resembles Jesus' teachings. We know that Jesus came to give freedom (Luke 4:18) and life (John 10:10). We want to be light among darkness and to let the Hispanic community on the West side of Indianapolis know that the Quakers are truly children of the light. Only Jesus can provide hope to this community that does not see any solution to the problems that face them. Historically, Quakers have always been an example of helping the people in most need, and we want to continue George Fox’s advice:

“Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations wherever you come; that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them; then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone; whereby in them you may be a blessing, and make the witness of God in them to bless you.”

Karla Moran is a member of Second Friends Meeting in Indianapolis. Born in Guatemala, she grew up as an Evangelical Friend in the United States. She brings her experience in serving God in cross-cultural and bilingual settings to her work among Friends, in the United States and beyond. She was a member of the planning committee for the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering in Wichita, Kansas. She presently serves as a full-time church organizer and pastoral caregiver in Indianapolis.

Quakers and the Postmodern Condition: “The Spirit Of Truth Among Friends”

Could it be that we Quakers are behind the times in how we understand truth?
Jeff Dudiak, Quaker and Associate Professors of Philosophy at King’s College in Edmonton, asked that question when he spoke last Thursday at ESR about Quakerism and the postmodern condition.
According to Dudiak, we Quakers suffer our current bitter divisions because we misconceive what truth is. Our problem, as in the wider culture, is adherence to a “withering modernism.”
Quakers of whatever stripe, be it evangelical or liberal, Dudiak says, view the world through an Enlightenment lens, believing that we can stand back and “detach” from the world, observe it and draw conclusions that will lead to truth.  The individual is the knowing subject. The world is her object. This subject/object split is at the heart of the Enlightenment thinking that grips our society. Each of us thus erects a “buffered self” that observes the world from on high, as if we are not part of the world. It’s characteristic of our age, Dudiak says, that we stand back and view the world “as a picture.”
Two strands emerge from this Enlightenment worldview. Orthodox Friends believe they extract truth objectively or empirically, through Scripture and other historic witness or revelation. Liberal Friends, following the Romantic strain of modern thinking, believe they can find the truth within, through subjective personal experience or feeling. The commonality that links both groups is the belief in the power of the individual to reason or feel his or her way to truth.
Dudiak illustrates how each group understands George Fox’s revelation that “there is one, Jesus Christ who can speak to my condition.” The Orthodox  Quaker relies on the objective truth “out there” of Jesus Christ as validating Fox’s vision. Jesus Christ spoke to Fox’s condition because Jesus Christ is Truth. The Liberals, however, focus on the “my” condition in Fox’s statement, the subjective experience of truth that the individual can possess and that does not need to be verified because it is “true for her.”
Postmodernism questions this Enlightenment way of understanding. It’s impossible for a human being living in the world to stand objectively or subjectively “outside” that world as a neutral observer. Quaker truth, says Dudiak, is richer and thicker than what the Enlightenment has led us to believe.
Dudiak  speaks to a larger “spiritual” truth that is, in the Hebrew sense of the word Spirit, the breath that  brings life to nature and nature to life. This Spirit or Truth is nothing in itself but is that which animates every living thing. This truth has little to do with either facts or feelings. To be aligned with this Spirit (Truth) is to be truly alive and alight.
Thus, to live in Quaker truth is not to engage in the impossible project of discerning the objective reality about religion or to live in the realm of “what I personally believe” but to participate in an on-going objective process of creation that both precedes us and will follow us. 
Dudiak finds it heartbreaking that Quakers parrot the larger culture in their understanding of truth. He paints an alternative picture of truth as dynamic and relational. Truth means developing a conception of God that leads not to static fact but to life. Truth is troth—Quakers agreeing to be faithful one to another. Quakers can find unity around troth, which transcends the need for agreement. Dudiak sees marriage as the model for this Quaker unity. Partners in a marriage don’t expect to always agree, but do pledge to stay faithful and to love one another despite their disagreements. “In marriage,” he says, “the test of unity is not agreement, but hanging in there.”
Should Quaker unity be based on the ability to live in loving community with others, not ignoring disagreement but at the same time not making agreement the ground of unity? Dudiak also noted that Convergent Friends may be on this postmodern path already, choosing to ignore the disagreements that are ripping through Quakerism. Do you agree with this?

Diane Reynolds is a student in Earlham School of Religion’s Master of Divinity program. She maintains a personal blog, Emerging Quaker.

What does leadership mean to you?

“Leadership” is a concept heavy-laden with experiences of mentors, meetings, pastors, employers, and others who have gone awry. In the Religious Society of Friends, with its theology of egalitarian relations, “leadership” is a concept that is often downplayed and reduced to its least intrusive, least offensive manifestations. To me, leadership is a calling in and of itself; a field of study, requiring a hard look at oneself and a penchant for discerning how groups of people and organizations function together. It is a life-long process of paying attention to not only where the Spirit is leading this group or the other, but also paying attention to the direction the Spirit is not leading.

Many times, I have encountered comments and opinions in experiences of group cohesion and group conflict that reduces the groups’ behavior to simplistic psychological explanations for this phenomenon or that. Examples of this include: ¨S/he is just speaking out of fear¨and ¨That is just an angry person with issues¨. Groups, in and of themselves possess their own sense of personality, mission and calling that goes beyond simply that of the individuals of which the group is comprised.

Leadership involves the inclination, proclivity and desire to see beyond the bounds of what the group is discerning in efforts to guide the group beyond its current limitations. It entails the ability to see the group´s personality and tenor as more that the emotions or thoughts of any one individual. This involves being willing to stick one’s neck out, state the obvious, push and pull, gauge what impetus would work and which would not, fall, and yes, be pushed down. It involves surrounding oneself with mentors and friends that can brush one off and help one to stand again.

Much has been written about the integrity and consistency necessary to leadership, but I see these attributes as being necessary of any one involved in the work of God, and as Friends, each of us is about the work of God. Being a leader involves being trustworthy enough for those who feel vulnerable to follow one out onto thin ice anyway. Think about the leaders that surround you in your life. Who would you follow? Who knows the group well and pays attention to the group as a whole and not just smaller constituencies or individuals? Who would stay to pick you up if the plan is a bust and not flee, refusing to leave you behind, refusing to blame you for the bust? Who would celebrate with you or grieve with you? And then who would ask you to do it all over again? And to whom would you say, “Yes, I’ll give it a try again”? Those are the leaders.

April Vanlonden is a recorded minister in Western Yearly Meeting, and has served as a pastor in Indiana Yearly Meeting. With over twenty-five years of experience serving in the non-profit sector in a variety of leadership positions, she presently serves as Director of Academic Services at Earlham School of Religion and Bethany Theological Seminary.