Quotes from November

“Of course money buys happiness. We just say 'money can't buy happiness' to the poor so they don’t riot.” Gabriella Solis, Desperate Housewives

"In the Gospels, there are 130 references to Jesus interacting with people. Of these, only 10 were in “church” (the temple or synagogue). The remaining 120 were out in the community, where Jesus spent his time modeling to his disciples how to interact with people of all kinds. I am thankful this Thanksgiving that Jesus did not simply stay in the temple or synagogue. Instead, he lived a life of grace and truth in the midst of people outside the doors of the established faith community." Rob Hardman

"A functioning democracy not only acknowledges that conflicts without end are woven into the fabric of human society and accommodates them but attempts to turn them to vital and progressive purpose. Antagonistic groups, or classes, oppose one another, accept defeat, and return to fight again for their values or interests in another election on another day. The test of a democracy is the acceptance of majority rule and minority rights. The majority's right to govern is matched and validated by the minority's right to oppose and struggle to replace it." Transforming Leadership, James, McGregor Burns, p. 122

"Where does leadership begin? Where change begins. Where does change begin? In my view, with the burgeoning in humans of powerful physical and psychological wants. Leadership is so intertwined with fundamental change, and change with the dynamics of wants and needs, as to make rather arbitrary any locating of origins in what is really a seamless web." Transforming Leadership, p. 140

"At its simplest, creative leadership begins when a person imagines a state of affairs not presently existing. this initial creative insight or spark is elaborated into a broader vision of change, possible ways of accomplishing it are conceived, and--in a fateful act of leadership--the vision is communicated to others. Because most ideas of significant change make some persons followers and others opponents, conflict arises. It is such conflicts that supply powerful motivation for transforming leadership and followership, fusing them into a dynamic force in pursuit of change." Transforming Leadership, p. 153

“When the reformation shattered the ancient unity of the western church, each of the fragments into which it was no divided was obliged to define itself over against all other fragments…The reformational descriptions of the church thus ended up accentuating differences rather than similarities. Christians were taught to look divisively at other Christians. Eventually, Lutherans divided from Lutherans, Reformed separated from Reformed, each group justifying its actions by appealing to marks of the true church… The church of pure doctrine was a church without a mission” David Bosch, Transforming Mission P. 249

"It is exceedingly strange that any followers of Jesus Christ should ever have needed to ask whether social involvement was their concern, and that controversy should have blown up over the relationship between evangelism and social responsibility."
-John Stott

“A pastor is like a third sex. He has the body of a man but the emotions of a woman.” Sam Williams speaking in Wellington, NZ, October 27, 2005

“Historians of ideas have long noted the elements of simultaneity in the advent of theories and concepts. Thinkers taking different paths converge at almost the same moment on a problem and even on its solution.” Transforming Leadership, James MacGregor Burns p. 24.

“How do we respond to the people who are not persuaded by our message? We are responsible to make their lives better. Genesis 12 tells us that we are supposed to be a blessing to the world, even if they don’t respond. Maybe even especially if they don’t respond. We are responsible to help them, to serve them, to provide a community and a society and a culture that they can live in.” Ted Haggard—President, NAE, CT Nov 2005 p. 45 (Note to my Campus Crusade friends: Ted came to faith at Explo '72)

“As you know, the minimum wage under this administration has been frozen at $5.15. Since it was frozen the Congress have increased their own salaries by $30,000 a year. We have one of the lowest minimum wages in the whole world in the developed parts of the world.” Jimmy Carter on Larry king Live, November 2, 2005

“Poverty, at its very core is a mindset. It’s the cruel message whispered by Satan himself: ‘You don’t matter. Nobody cares about you. Give up!’ More than anything else, the poor feel overwhelmed. Without money, shelter, food, education, justice, or skills to address their plight, they succumb to a downward spiral that leads to despair, then apathy, and ultimately to fatalism.” Wess Stafford, President, Compassion Int’l. Christianity Today (CT) Nov 2005 p. 90

“Remember when, not long ago, CEOs would ask their assistants to print out their emails for them, and they’d dictate responses to be typewritten and sent via snail mail? Where are those leaders now?... In ten years, most of us will communicate directly with customers, employees, and the broader business community through blogs. For executives, having a blog is not going to be a matter of choice, any more than using email is today. If you’re not part of the conversation, others will speak on your behalf…Blogging lets you participate in communities you want to cultivate.” Jonathan Schwartz (www.blogs.sun.com/jonathan). “If You Want to Lead, Blog” in HBR, Nov 2005, p. 30

“The poets job is to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth in such a beautiful way that people cannot live without it; to put into words those feeling we all have that are so deep, so important, and yet so difficult to name. the poet’s job is to find a name for everything, to be a fearless finder of the names of things, to be an advocate for the beauty of language, the subtleties of language.” Jane Kenyon, A Hundred White Daffodils, CT Nov 2005, p. 87