I recently got back from a 6 day trip to Houston, Texas.  The group I was with represented ministry leaders from the United States, South Korea, Nepal, Japan, Estonia, Mauritius (I dare you to find that country on the map), Singapore, Liberia, Romania, Columbia, and Zambia!  That alone was worth the price of admission!  During our time, we visited 12 churches and had the opportunity to worship with 5 of those congregations.  Have you ever worshiped in five separate settings, under five different leaders, in five unique worship styles, in less than 24 hours? Quite a weekend! Contemplative and quiet, loud and choreographed, raw and energetic, soft and reflective, and including an AA meeting with a preacher and a band. That summarizes our trip to Houston in a nut shell.

However, one of the more moving experiences for me happened on the Friday night of our trip when we joined the people of Houston Street Reach and Youth with a Mission (YWAM). For years those two ministries have been faithfully building relationships with teens and adults who live in the darkness of the inner city of Houston. From 8 pm until after midnight, we joined the ministry teams by walking the streets, sharing water and snacks with a transvestite community and also with folks who are homeless. I can promise you this, there was no shortage of people to encounter!  It was a powerful experience for me as I had heartbreaking conversations with a wide variety of people that evening.  I wanted to rescue every one of them from their situation.  For more information on their ministry, check out www.joewilliamsministries.org and www.ywamhouston.org.

In addition to these experiences, we spent time with missional guru Jim Herrington www.harborchurch.com or www.faithwalking.com and Chris Seay of Ecclesia www.ecclesiahouston.org.  Ecclesia is located in the artistic community of Houston and in order to reach their community, the church has invited people to join them in getting a series of body art tattoos that will create a Stations of the Cross Exhibit for Lent! Not a bad idea as I think about Grand Rapids becoming more focused on art…I think we should start this ministry by asking Pastor Brad to get a large crucifix tatoo on his back for Art Prize next year…lol.

For those of you who heard me speak at Christmas, you may be asking the big question, did I beat Joel Osteen from Lakewood Church in a smile off?  Well, he was unable to meet with us due to his book signing that day.  Personally, I think it was just an excuse because he knew he would lose .  I did meet his mom and had a chance to hear more of the background story of their ministry.  I look forward to sharing that with you when I return.

Christine and I leave for China and South Korea in a month (March 13-27).   We appreciate your prayers as we will be meeting with the underground church in China. I will be writing more about this before we leave and of course much more upon our return.

I thank you for your prayers and continue to pray for you daily.

Ken

Unless something unusual happens, I won’t be blogging until after I see you at Christmas.  I hope you are able to come out to the 11:15 worship service on Christmas Day (which is the only service of the day).  I will be preaching and would love a chance to see you.

Thanks for reading this blog during these first 6 months and for the many comments and facebook messages throughout.  You have been more encouraging and helpful as a church family than you may ever know.

In January our cohort is headed to Houston for a week (which judging from the itinerary is going to be another intense trip)…and then in March we will be headed to China and to South Korea to visit the largest church in the world.  During the in-between, I will be writing the dissertation and finishing up other class assignments (I am so tired of the written word…uggh!)  I look forward to blogging about those experiences upon my return.

Hope to see you at Christmas!
Ken

When I entered this intensive program, I was hoping for new experiences and very uncomfortable situations.  What in the world was I thinking?  Needless to say, this has been my favorite class to date!

Back to my purpose for writing this blog.  Dr. West has asked us to write our Command Philosophy.  A Command Philosophy is your personal leadership declaration.  It is what your leadership teams can expect from you.  Upon our return home, we are expected to share this with our various teams, so they can know exactly what to expect from us.  AND more importantly, so they can hold us accountable when we don’t follow through with these declarations.  Most teams fall apart at the communication and expectation level.  Therefore, this circumvents that problem by being proactive versus reactive.

You may want to consider writing out a Command Philosophy for yourself.  I have copied mine below as an example.  I would also encourage you to share it with your leadership teams at work, with your family and/or with your ministry teams at church.  It will likely take your relationships to a new level as it will open up some very honest and frank conversations.

Nash Command Philosophy

            Pastoral ministry is a dynamic and multi-faceted calling with several layers of expectation often occurring at any given moment.  When my leadership is required, my
supervisors, peers and subordinates can expect the following from me:

1) Faith.  My calling is understood through the lens of being an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), and that makes it clear that Christ is the head of the church; therefore, I will face any challenge Christ calls me and the church into by faith.

2) Courage.  All leaders experience fear.  Bill Hybels emphasized a season of stagnation as he admitted that fear had sabotaged his leadership (Hybels 171).  When this emotion occurs within me, my team can expect me to muster the courage from the One who “is greater than he who is in this world” (1 John 4:4).  I will continue to face the intense challenges of this world directly and courageously.

3) Servanthood. The rulers of this world attempt to “lord it over others” (Matt. 20:25); however, in learning from the leadership model of Christ, I will lead with a servant’s heart.

4) Collaboration.  My team can count on my loyalty and full participation.  To the very best of my ability, I will not treat any of my teammates as an “object”
simply to help me attain my objectives (Arbinger 43).  I will expect the same respect and effort put forth from those whom I serve beside.  If I sense a lack of effort or some emotional problem, they can expect me to inquire.  I will delegate responsibility and where training and counsel are needed, I will provide them in whatever form is
necessary.

5) Decisiveness.  Just as Jethro collaboratively and decisively guided Moses in Exodus 18 by instructing him on how to order the Hebrew people, so too, my team can expect me to look at a situation and be decisive in my actions.

6) Energy.  I will be present and fully engaged when working in ministry.

7) Wise Judgment.  While I have extensive classroom experience and am well-read, I consider myself to be a life-long learner.  Everyone can teach me something, even if (s)he is teaching me how not to do it.  Through the years, I have gained much experience through success and especially through failure.  As decisions are needed, I will draw my wisdom from experience, reason, Scripture and the Holy Spirit in order to make sound decisions.

8 ) Flexibility.  I understand that I will need to fill various roles in different situations.  I have proven that I can assimilate into the leadership role needed at the time.  In the absence of leadership, I will become the type of leader needed in that situation.  In reference to Joiner and Joseph’s language, if a “heroic” role is needed, I will lead with that definitiveness; however I will most often default to a “post-heroic” style (Joiner 9).

9) Honesty.  I will publicly defend my team with integrity and honesty and will be forthright with them in private.  Trust is a trait that must be earned.

10) Evaluation.  In learning from Argyris’ discoveries, I will allow my direct reports to offer me critical evaluation and will address them in a similar honest and respectful manner (Argyris 13). 

11)  Approachability.  While I am responsible for being a part of leading a large congregation, my primary concern is for my direct reports.  They will always have the greatest access to my life.

12) Endurance. I will not quit.  Having finished a dozen long distances races, including a marathon and a 200 mile 6 person relay race, my team can count on
me to, likewise, finish the task regardless of the pain being experienced.  Contextualizing the Army Ranger creed, I will leave no soul behind.

Works Cited

Arbinger Institute.  Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2000.

Argyris, Chris.  “Teaching Smart People How to Learn.”  Harvard Business Review May-June 1991: 6-15. Print.

Hybels, Bill. Courageous Leadership. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 2002.

Joiner, Bill, and Stephen Josephs. Leadership Agility: Five Levels of Mastery for Anticipating and Initiating Change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007.

Tonight we had Totok (pictured left–from Indonesia) and Upal (on right–from Sri Lanka) over for dinner.  As you know, I like to ask questions.  Often times I can anticipate the answer; however, not on this night!

Upal is a pastor in Sri Lanka.  That is an island country off the SE coast of India and is predominantly Buddhist.  In recent years, they have been experiencing a revival in the Christian Churches.  Because of that, many of the Buddhist Temples have been losing members.  So I asked how the Buddhists have been responding.  His response still has me confused.  He said, “Murder!”  I said, “Let me get this straight.  The harmony-seeking, legs-crossing, meditative-humming, inner peace Buddhist monks are killing Christians?”  “Of course!  Because the monks don’t want to lose the money and the power in our country,” he admitted.  He went on to say that the police are trying to protect the Christians, but the network of persecution is far too extensive.

So I kept inquiring, “Do you think you are going to be killed for preaching about Jesus?”  Without fear or hesitation he said, “Yes.”  Then he proceded, “I have prayed about the possibility of my dying as a Martyr for Christ.   It is fine with me, because that is what Jesus already did for me.”  What a man of faith.  He went on to say that several of his friends have already been beaten and three of them have died from their injuries–all because they were converting people to Christ.  (Please note:  I believe what Upal is experiencing is a radical sect within Buddhism and is not representative of the whole.  It just illustrates how Christians can be persecuted from any direction).

I read one study that said more people died for Christ in the past 100 years than in the previous 1900 combined.  In fact, one of the Chinese students in another international cohort actually said that he had a seminary class that taught him how to jump out of 2 story windows without breaking his legs.  Think about that, I am trained how to debate Calvinist and Catholic Theologians, etc.,  while they are learning how to break free from prison for illegally preaching about Christ!  If you would like to study further on modern-day Martyrdom, then google “Voice of the Martyrs,” or go to Persecution.com.   Please pray for Upal and his family and for all of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being persecuted for their faith.

Abrupt Subject Change–October has been…in a word…Nuts!  Three intense classes and 50 plus pages of writing (while also surviving the California chaos–see that post).  Good news!  I have now completed the first chapter of my dissertation.  I’d rather not post it on the internet.  But if you are interested in skimming through my initial thoughts, feel free to e-mail me (kenneth.nash@asburyseminary.edu) and I will attach a copy for you.  Just don’t go publishing it or using it to get your doctorate before I do .

Thanks for the continued comments, encouragement, and prayers.  They are carrying me more than you know!

For the first 11 days of October our cohort of 7 joined with 8 international students (they are going through this doctorate program over a five-year period–so they only come to the states once a year for 6 intense weeks each year) in an adventure throughout southern California.

While our trip involved visits to Skyline Wesleyan Church to meet Jim Garlow, The Rock to meet Miles McPhearson,  and Mosaic (that meets at the Mayan night club) to meet Erwin McManus, that was not the purpose of our trip.  Incidentally, all of those visits happened on our first day in California.  The rest of the time was spent in an advanced leadership class.  And let me tell you, it was an experience like nothing I had been through before!!!

Our professor, Dr. Russell West, believes in a concept called Reflexive Leadership.  “What is that?” you may be asking.  I’m glad you asked.  He believes that you don’t really know what a person is made of until they are put into an extremely intense situation.  What comes out of that person in those times reveals their natural leadership reflex.  For example, let’s say you are working on your assignment for the day and a text comes in that says you need to be in LA in 75 minutes and the first one to arrive gets bonus points for the day.  However, there is one problem…you are 80 miles away and have to fight traffic…what do you do?  Panic?  Curse the day the professor was born?  Crawl into the fetal position and cry out to Jesus?  Well, that was just one of our many adrenaline inducing moments.

With that leadership concept in mind, Dr. West put us into 4 teams (mine is pictured below…Aiha from Sierra Leone, Hatoko from Japan, Rao from India) and had us compete with each other throughout the week…Amazing Race style!  We were each given a rental car, a GPS, a video camera and were told to obey the many random texts that would come in throughout the day.  Our ultimate task was to discover where the Lord is at work in Southern California.  So we were told we needed to interview people on the street, in businesses, at churches or wherever.  Then we were to produce a 22 minute video of our work at the end of the week.  I can’t remember a class in my life that exhausted me and exhilarated me more at the same time!

One of the great leadership lessons for me during this “Amazing Race” was when our 4 teams came together and figured out a way to collaborate and to learn from one another while yet keeping the healthy tension of competition.  As Christ followers, it is so critical to remember that we are always competing against culture in order to win people to the Lord; thus, we need to remain wise as serpents and to keep challenging ourselves to grow in wisdom and maturity all the while remembering that we are in this together and have the Body of Christ to lean on!

This video below gives you a bit of an idea of where our hotel was with respect to the Pacific Ocean (several mornings I enjoyed a run on the beach…I sure could get used to that life).  You will also briefly meet my roommate.  His name is Endala.  He is from Ethiopia.  I spent hours talking to him each night throughout our trip.  I look forward to sharing many of his thoughts with you one day.

BTW–many of you are wondering if I got to meet Rick Warren.  Well, after a week of wonderful help from our very own Cornerstoners Laura Rogers and Tom Dean (both who have very close connections to Saddleback), I was able to get our team some time with Rick’s right hand man (which was worth a lot of points in our game ).  He invited us to return the next day to sit in on a staff meeting and to get a chance to spend some time with Rick.  So the next day, with Bobblehead Brad in hand, we all showed up for the staff meeting…only to find out that 15 minutes before the meeting, Rick cancelled it.  I think he heard that I had some very tough questions to ask!  So…needless to say…Bill Hybels is now my favorite mega-church pastor…lol.

In case you are still wondering…that first picture above was taken in Burbank on the set of “Friends,” and that was the location we were to be at in 75 minutes while yet 80 miles away…you’ll be glad to know…I didn’t swear, curse my prof., or go into the fetal position…welll…ummm….at least not for very long.  So I had a fairly good reflex!

Oh yeah…and one more thing.  Our team did win the Amazing Race.  While the others were collaborating, we kept racking up the points. 

Prayer request.  We are currently in the midst of our dissertation writing class.  It is 6 days of class and each day runs from 8 am until 10 pm with writing before and after it.   Our goal is to have the first 25 to 30 pages written by the end the class on Wednesday.  Ugh!   The fetal position actually sounds quite comforting right now.

However, in the midst of our intense academic study, we have been encouraged to write a “Rule of Life.”   The Dean of this Program said that if we don’t leave here more in love with Christ and with his church, then they have failed us.  Therefore, one of our personal assignments outside of class has been to write a “Rule of Life.”  This is intended to guide our decision-making and life pattern as a whole.  Some of you may remember this outline from when I first arrived on staff at Cornerstone.  It’s my hope as you read it that you will be inspired to write your own “Rule of Life.”

Click here to read:
DM880–Rule of Life for Ken Nash

If you are like me, I know that some of you won’t click the above link.
So here are the cliff-notes:

My Rule of Life: to C.L.I.M.B. in my faith daily!

Rule 1: Connect with Christ.
Rule 1a:  Spend time listening to the voice of God.     
Rule 1b:  Spend time in family prayer daily.
Rule 1c:  Read God’s Word devotionally not just academically and professionally.
Rule 1d:  Confess my sin in a weekly men’s accountability group. 
Rule 1e:  Fast one or two meals per week.
Rule 1f:  Internet fast one day per week. 
Rule 1g: Give generously. 

Rule 2:  Learn Something New.
Rule 2a:  Learn from the Holy Spirit.  
Rule 2b:  Always be in the midst of learning from a book.
Rule 2c:  Learn from others in conversation.
Rule 2d:  Learn from failure.       
Rule 2e:  Learn about myself.  

Rule 3:  Invest in Key Relationships.
Rule 3a:  Nuclear family first.
Rule 3b:  Connect with my extended family weekly.
Rule 3c:  Forgive those who have wronged me.
Rule 3d:  Spend time with my friends every week.
Rule 3e:  Pray for the needs in my church family.  
Rule 3f:  Care for those in my midst.
Rule 3g:  Serve where opportunity presents itself.

Rule 4: Move Toward the Vision.
Rule 4a:  Remember Jesus is the Head of the Church.
Rule 4b:  Continue evaluating and clarifying my vision.
Rule 4c:  Receive preaching and leadership evaluation.

Rule 5:  Better my Physical Health.
Rule 5a:  Eat more raw than processed foods.
Rule 5b:  Flee the temptation of gluttony.
Rule 5c:  Be aware of damaging emotions.
Rule 5d:  Vigorously exercise at least four times per week.
Rule 5e:  Sleep at least seven hours a day and honor the Sabbath.

On another note, we are headed to California in a couple of days.  We will be there for 11 days.  I’m sure I will have some fun experiences to share with you when I get back.  I appreciate your prayers for safe travel and that I don’t say anything stupid when meeting Rick Warren…lol.

Last week, I had lunch with Aihia (pronounced A-I…He is pictured just in front of my left shoulder in the second row).  He is a pastor in Sierra Leone which is a country on the west edge of Africa.  Sierra Leone was in a Civil War from 1991-2002.  According to Aihia, an unstable government and the desire to capitalize on the many diamond mines led to an 11 year war that left over 50,000 men, women and children dead.

Aihia was a pastor during that Civil War and is still very emotional talking about the evil he had to witness.  The rebels (those trying to overthrow the government) were brutal in their recruitment.  They would knock the doors down of individual’s homes in the middle of the night and would place a gun in the hands of the boys (aged 8-18).  The boys were then told to kill their fathers.  If they didn’t, then they were killed.  The women and girls were either shot or stolen and used for ungodly purposes.  The boys who survived (through pulling the trigger) were then brainwashed into believing that their families were the true enemies.  Aihia had many families in his congregation who were victims to this tragedy and he was often the one called on to identify the bodies.  (I can’t even imagine what his eyes have seen.)  Since the Civil War has ended, he has spent the past 10 years attempting to minister to these broken young men and trying to help his community put the pieces back together.

You may be thinking, why in the world would I post this?  Two reasons:  1)  I want us to live in Reality.   Until we are made aware of what others around the globe are experiencing, we will remain selfishly locked away in our safe bubble, all the while missing an opportunity to pray for them and in some cases to possibly get involved with a solution.  2)  I want us to have proper Perspective.  Regardless of what you are facing today, you are not alone in your suffering (see 1 Peter 5:9)!    There are brothers and sisters of the faith who are suffering in far greater ways than most of us are.  One of the best ways I know to defeat my own self-pity is to get my eyes off from myself and to begin praying for the needs of others.

Aihia has one of the most contagious laughs I have ever heard.  After having spent the past 20 years living in the midst of such unspeakable tragedy and witnessing things no human should ever have to face, one would think that the pain would have crushed his spirit.  On the contrary, he simply quotes 1 Corinthians 15:55, “Where o death is thy sting?  For I claim the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!”  In the midst of your pain and suffering, never forget…you are part of a bigger story than just your own.  Keep looking beyond yourself and remember your victory in Christ in the face of whatever enemy is attempting to defeat you!

This video is a greeting from Stoner Creek (quite ironic that I am now serving as a Cornerstoner as well…the more things change the more they stay the same).

Sorry about my goofy looking face!

For 4 days and 3 nights over Labor Day weekend, our cohort (which for the next 6 weeks includes additional international students from Germany, Ireland, Kenya, Ethiopia, India and S. Korea) visited the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, KY.   We were living in and among 40+ men who have taken the vows of celibacy, silence, solitude, and stability (meaning they plan to stay for many years—in fact one monk has been here since he was 15, he is now 85).

This picture was at all of our cafeteria tables.  The only time we were allowed to talk (unless we were off the monastery grounds) was when we sang during worship.

Our schedule included worshipping God 7 times a day:

This tradition started in 515 AD by St. Benedict as he was attempting to obey Psalm 119:164 which says, “Seven times a day I will praise you.”

We were called together through the ringing of the large church bell 33 times  (one chime for every year Christ was physically on this earth.  Through this they were reminding each other that Christ is in our midst).

3:15 am –Vigil/Matins Service  (which means, “a new day with God”) –45 minute service with lots of sitting and standing (it helped wake me up).

5:45 am –Lauds “First Light of Praise” –25 minute worship service

7:30 am Terce “Little hour” which was a 10  minute service.

12:15 pm Sext – I think he said it meant “reflection.”  I  wasn’t comfortable googling that word…LOL. 10 minute service.

2:15 pm Noone—“The day does not last  forever” 10 minute service.

5:30 pm Vespers—“Light the Lamps—peace of heart” 25 minute service.  This one was my favorite.  They sing each Psalm back and forth to each other.

7:30 pm Compline— “Completion of the Day” 15 minutes.  Then Bed.

During these services they sing the Psalms in a very monotone hypnotic rhythm.  Every  2 weeks they complete the singing of all 150 Psalms.  Most of the monks have every word memorized by now so they don’t even use a book.

We did get yelled at one time.  Since the monks couldn’t talk to us, they left this note outside of our hallway after the first day.

And that is why I don’t attempt to lead worship at Cornerstone.

Father Damien was our host and answered questions as he no longer takes the vow of silence.  The  question I was asking and you may have wondered is, “Isn’t it a waste to have all of these godly men hidden away from society?  Shouldn’t they be leading a church or helping people who are hurting in the world?”

Father Damien’s answer was this, “Do you believe in the power of prayer?  We do.  We believe that we are joining together with Christ in holding this world together.  That is why we rise at 3:00 each morning to stand guard in prayer for those who are sleeping.”

He  then referenced Genesis 18, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abraham asked God not to destroy these cities. And God finally said if you can find 10 righteous men, I will not  destroy it.  These monks truly believe they are holding this world together through their righteousness in Christ.  Father Damien went on to say, “My life is
useless if it is not used for others.  The monastic life is used as a prayer for the entire world.  There is a spiritual bond that goes on with those of us tucked away in this building and the entire world that cannot be explained with words.”

Imagine that, 7 times a day, every day since 515 A.D. there have been Benedictine men (and now women in other locations) who have been praying on our behalf.  7 times a day every day!  We truly are a part of something much bigger than we even realize as Christ followers!