You Are Blessed Among All!

It happened at a youth gathering for middle high folks 20 years ago.  Two kids were selected to act out the account in Luke (chapter 1) when Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel – often referred to as the Annunciation. 

Jackie played the part of Mary.  She was an 8^th grader.  The daughter of a solid home, she was a prominent leader at her school.

She had rebel flair.  She was a natural leader with an outspoken voice.  She could hold her own easily with any of her peers in the large youth group.  Even many of the older high school folks respected her flair and nerve.

Gabe played the part of Gabriel.  A better foil of Jackie’s personality could not be imagined, much less found among the Middle High Youth Fellowship in the large suburban Presbyterian Church of 3000 members.

Gabe was anything but affluent.  His academic prowess was uncertain, and his general personality was a mystery.

His social group was far from the prominent and privileged.  He was a skateboarder trying hard to pass himself off as a skinhead.  It was also clear that he lacked the violent nature and racist extremes of the skinhead movement.  He just liked the look – the shaven head with a well worn military field jacket decorated with dozens of patches to advertise all sorts of a vaunt guard punk and heavy metal bands.

His was quick to clarify the differences between run-of-the-mill pretender metal bands that play thrasher style and the real deal who play speed metal.  For a seminary student mostly unaware of heavy metal music and the specific differences between thrasher and speed metal styles, I found Gabe to be an astute critique.  I actually began to appreciate the musical talent of bands I had never considered before.

Gabe’s and Jackie’s re-enactment the scene of the Annunciation turned out to be a fantastic revelation of God’s love for them and the youth group.

I think the only reason Gabe consented to play the role was because of the way Jackie had made him feel at home in youth group so different from his usual friends.  He showed up at her invitation to attend the Wednesday after school program.  They were already great friends and Gabe really appreciated her kindness.

Imagine the scene:

·        The skinhead, punk rocker appearing at the home of privileged debutant as God’s messenger!

·        Which would have been more shocking: the message or the messenger?!

·        Consider the recipient of the message: the 8^th grade girl closer to the actual age of Mary than most nativity pictures demonstrate; a person with the world by the tale and a universe of possibilities for her future.  How easy it would be for someone like her to dismiss the very thought of pregnancy. 

·        Consider the impact of the news on her parents: what would this mean for their well-established reputation?  How would the neighbors react?  Would they be immediately detested and made the target of malicious gossip?

 

Gabe seemed to be the one most fascinated by this experiment.  He seemed to get deeply into the skin of his character.  A real sense of empathy for Jackie took hold of him.  He couldn’t separate the biblical story from the reality of her life.  Mary lived back in the days of the ancient Palestine, but Jackie was here in real life.  Suddenly the issues any young, unmarried daughter who was found to be pregnant facing her family with the news became completely relevant to Gabe.

In his limited experience of life he could not imagine the outcome of such a story being a good one.  Getting kicked out, forced into giving the baby up (one way or another), or worse, seemed far more likely than being cared for and protected by a “Joseph” figure.

As he played the part of Gabriel, he switched to being a counselor or chaplain – which was made altogether fascinating given his shaven head and field jacket covered with patches of heavy metal bands.  Everyone began to look past his outward appearance to the real love that shown through his words as he went off script.

Suddenly the group of kids who served as the audience began to see Gabe’s true colors.  Many of them already knew him to be a good person, but his persona as a caring messenger was more revealing about his nature than any thing his hair style or coat portrayed.

The following year, as I continued to work as an intern in the large congregation, I was charged with starting a new group for 9^th graders.  It served as a support group for folks making the transition to high school.  Gabe and Jackie became key facilitators of the fledgling group. 

Gabe really became a messenger as many of his friends joined the Wednesday after school group.  Just like him, their parents were not part of church life.  Just like him most were skaters who loved heavy metal music.  And most would normally avoid darkening a church door – not to mention one so affluent.

Jackie was an ambassador to all.  Somehow she managed to build bridges between all who came to the group.  Never shy to endorse deep discipleship, she was a door way for others to get involved in the ministry opportunities the congregation provided to many youth.

Who could have imagined such impossibility? 

The story of Jackie and Gabe still reminds me that impossibility is a self-imposed box we create.  God cannot fit into anyone’s box or preconceptions, doctrines, words, and expectations.  The quicker we turn the God who does not fit into a convenient box, the quicker we begin to embrace God’s effort to transform the world – the way God used Jackie and Gabe to change the youth group.

As we embrace this God who cannot be contained, God’s possibilities begin to unfold at a much higher level.

Mary said: “Here I am.”

By doing so she chose a box-less life, open to God but completely counter-cultural.

Jackie reminded all of us of the real doorway Mary became by saying “yes” to God.  Jackie reminded us, also, that each day each of us can choose to continue to be a doorway for God’s love to continue to break in.

In his book, “The Ultimate Life”, Jim Stovall reminds us that we can’t have love in one area of our lives without having love in all areas of your lives. The truth is that we cannot love anybody until we have each received the gift of love directly from somebody.

The case can always be made that none of us deserved this gift.  None of us can ever deserve love.  We can just treasure it and give it away.

        That is what Jackie and Gabe personified.  They loved freely and their peers began to catch on to that love and give it away to others.  Like a giant snow ball rolling down hill, the blessing of God moved through them to many.  God’s desire is always to do the same through you and me!

A Challenge to Put Hope First

Who could have predicted the mess we are seeing in our national financial economy or that it would impact our social systems so deeply?

Since fuel prices reached new highs this summer ministers, charity directors, congregational leaders, and non-profit institutions (NPOs) have been feeling a radically painful pinch in resources.  Many folks assumed things would get better once the elections were over.  Few anticipated the down turn the economy has taken.

As this holiday season arrives, more than a million people have lost their jobs (25% of which occurred in October alone).  It is possible that another million jobs will be lost by February 2009.

Students in a class at Wake Forest University Divinity School decided a forum was in order.  Their goal: to bring together congregational leaders and NPOs for a public discussion on the crisis.  Although the idea for the event arose around the same time as the national election, no one suspected that the financial aspects of the crisis would deepen to historic proportions prior to Thanksgiving and the beginning of the holiday season.

            The gathering was held on November 18 and features a panel discussion, break out session, and worship service.  The panel championed a resounding alarm for churches and NPOs to rise to the challenge of this hour.  Speakers reminded the audience of clergy and lay leaders to remember that the Bible addresses financial ethics more than 300 times – more than any other single issue.  It was a key focus in the teachings of Jesus – especially how we treat the poor and hopeless.

            While this message was striking, it was not particularly new.  What was new was the bold pronouncement to uphold the message of hope we find in God.

            The break session, which provided a more focused dialogue, welcomed local church leaders to one room and NPOs to another.  The dialogue provided a huge magnifying glass for the importance of hope.  It began with a challenge to remember how churches survived and thrived during the Great Depression of the 20^th century.  One Moravian pastor shared the story of how his congregation was at the end of building a new facility in 1929.  The shock of the financial crash forced the congregation to resort to extraordinary fundraisers using creative meals.  These meals also fed many hungry neighbors – especially children.  Leaders had the foresight to start the first Boy Scout Troop to offer positive activity to the many boys attracted to the congregation’s heightened activity.  The Great Depression with all of its financial hardship turned out to be a gold era of the congregation because it embraced the hope of God found in our tradition.

            Several African American pastors reminded the audience how ongoing financial strain and crisis has remained a significant issue in their congregation throughout time since the Great Depression.  Congregations have learned through perseverance that offering simple optimism and positive thinking has little to do with the real appeal of the Gospel.  Far more important is bringing to life the hope it promises all who choose to move forward in faith.

            A lay Elder, who serves as a financial attorney in the community, reminded the audience the origin of the word “economy”.  It is not restricted to money alone.  It attempts to describe something for which there is a scarcity.  Economy describes a response to the scarcity.  He challenged everyone to consider the importance of engaging the present financial economic crisis by providing a critical demonstration of hope.  When churches form a common strategy to assist the people most deeply victimized by fear, while offering tangible examples of hope, the whole society receives a needed corrective that provides the most critical opportunity to recover a more humane vision of life for all.

            The dialogue concluded with a reminder of how utterly important the testimony of older adults is for the members of each congregation who are too young to know the lesson the Great Depression provided the church.  These stories are crucial points of hope that help younger members understand the importance of cooperation and collaboration.  These stories point the way forward as people seek new ways to bring hope to life in the current crisis.

            The event concluded with a moving experience of worship.  Heavy with music, prayer, and scripture, it moved worshipers to visible and audible reactions of praise and thanksgiving to God.  I was fortunate to have a good friend from my church attending with me.  As we made our 10 minute walk back to our cars in frigid winds, we both found ourselves strangely warmed with thanksgiving we could not contain.  My friend repeated said: “Thank you very much for inviting me today; I really needed this.”  I echoed his affirmation. 

            I week later, I find myself still warmed by the vision of hope the forum challenged us all to reclaim for the story of Jesus and our witness of our respective church families.  As frustrated as I feel for the utter greed that has leveled many parts of financial institutions at the cost of countless jobs, I feel hope-full.

            I am hope-full because I am blessed by a loving faith community with many stories that can carry us forward.

            I am hope-full because there is a potential to forge many new bridges of cooperation and collaboration with other congregations and faith communities to address the larger social issues that have been impacted by this crisis.

            I am hope-full because the challenge of this hour offers a clarion call for help for which the Gospel itself offers real focus and vision.

            No doubt the task of bringing this hope to bear on lives of people in my world is no simple thing.  In fact it is a task so large it will be impossible to achieve without everyone getting on board.  But that is exactly the formula that brought about the Golden Era of almost every congregation I have been apart which can trace its history back to the early 20^th century.  The time has arrived to live the truth of all this hope-full-ness!

A Parable of Leadership

November 13^th marks a special day for celebration and recommitment each year for the Moravian Church (also known as the Unitas Fratrum).

It goes back to the year 1741.  In September of that year, Leonard Dober called together key leaders of the Moravian Church in London.  As the principle leader and decision maker he was close to resignation.  Fatigue had overwhelmed him.  The mission enterprises of the Moravian movement had been underway for nine years, sending more than 600 missionaries to five continents.  Finances had become very strained.  Tension with other Protestant denominations were intensifying and placing Moravian communities under significant scrutiny.

Settlement communities of Moravians had sprung up in Europe.  They served as bases for training missionaries, while providing education, employment and spiritual nurture to a wide range of people devoted to the Moravian vision of world missions.  The commerce produced by these settlement communities were intended to produce a financial engine to fund the mission work.  But mission efforts had grown faster than financial progress.  By 1741, oversight of these many efforts and concerns left Dober, the Chief Elder, drained.

From Felt Needs to Potential Abundance

The gathering in London quickly changed direction.  Similar to Luther Snow and Asset Mapping, the leaders heard the needs expressed by Dober as an opportunity.  A brainstorming session bathed in prayer and discernment ensued. 

A new vision of leadership was born.  The decision was made to move away from a hierarchical structure with a single leader at the helm.  The idea of a conference of Elders was born.  Moravians refer to this as conferential government – since the Elders Conference uses a method of consensus building to make decisions. 

Each region or province of the church has its own Provincial Elders Conference.  Each conference still elects a president to carry out the deliberations of the given PEC.  The worldwide church is under the guidance of the Unity Conference.

Jesus Is Declared as the Chief ELder

This decision included officially naming Jesus as the Chief Elder of the Moravian Church.  This decision occurred on September 16, 1741.  It represented the philosophy of the Unity Conference moving forward, as well as the future PECs in each region.  Each group of leaders would be expected to function as a spiritual discernment team to seek the direct guidance of the Chief Elder in all matters.  This decision was officially recognized by the congregations of the church on November 13 (several months later).  Subsequently clergy gather in each of the 19 provinces on September 16 to renew their covenant of ordination annually, while congregations observe communion on November 13 each year (or the closest Sunday).

The Gospel text customarily used for the November 13^th observance is John 10:1-10.  It captures a very significant focus for clergy and lay ministry in the Moravian Church as it presents the importance of modeling the Shepherd nature of Christ.

What does this really mean?

John 10:1-10 is a story about leadership.

Jesus tells the audience about his role as the gate of sheepfold.

In the characteristic style of John, which theologizes the identity of Jesus, the passage shows Jesus making two profound statements about himself.

These statements include a challenge to the style of leadership that John felt the Pharisees had become guilty of – mostly in the time when the Gospel of John began to be circulated in the wider world following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (late first century).[1]

Although there has long been a debate on the historical basis of this statement of John, it seems reasonable to assume it was the model of leadership the Johanine community adopted.  And it was a style they directly attributed to Jesus.

It says that true leadership approaches the sheep (people of God) through Jesus (following his model), while false leadership goes about approaching the sheep through some other means for some other motive.  Because unconditional love and compassion is not the way these leaders choose, their motive is judged as selfish and outright robbery.

The point that John seems to mark is that Jesus is the model of what leadership should always be.  Furthermore, presenting some other source of salvation apart from authentic compassion leads to a corrupting influence.

But is the problem salvation itself, or trying to present it through some other model than Jesus?

What Kind of Jesus Do You Follow?

We should not be too quick to assume that there is one, uniform presentation of Jesus.  The fact is there are many images of Jesus reflected through the many expressions and traditions within Christianity.  It seems this has been an issue from the start. 

The problem is not the many images, but the assumption they can be reduced to one. So it is not easy to talk about Jesus, much less base your life on his example, if there are many competing voices of what being a follower of Jesus means.  Especially voices claiming to be the only true expression.

Brian McLaren[2] notes that the problem with churches today is the assumption that there is one easily identifiable model of Jesus.  From his own life he writes about the struggles and benefits of discovering no less than seven different Jesus models as he grew up and engaged a spiritual quest in America.[3]

1. The Conservative Protestant Jesus
2. The Pentecostal/Charismatic Jesus
3. The Roman Catholic Jesus
4. The Eastern Orthodox Jesus
5. The Liberal Protestant Jesus
6. The Anabaptist Jesus
7. The Jesus of the Oppressed

McLaren affirms that all seven images have a place in the church, but no one image should eclipse all the other expressions.  Furthermore, we would do well to remember that an over dogmatized view of Jesus often breeds contempt, not to mention a picture of Jesus far removed from the unconditional compassion of his witness and message.

Moravians Choose “Shepherd” as a Key

This year the clergy of the Southern Province of America received a unique challenge from our bishops.  They put together a special devotional with readings and reflections for each day between August 13 and September 16.  The clergy were challenged to read and journal through this resource each day before attending the recommitment service on September 16 for the Southern Province region (VA, NC, GA, and FL).

It made for a wonderful and meaningful time together.

The resource itself served as a timely reminder of what Moravians have held dear as a model of leadership, especially for clergy but not exclusive to clergy. 

The image of shepherd in John 10:1-10 more than adequately captures this ideal.  Leaders should be deeply connected to the model of Jesus and the manner in which he lived for others.  The goal is always the care of the sheep (people God loves), and not the ambition or advancement of the shepherd.  Caring for others is hard and often thankless work.

Have you ever come across a real sheep herder? 

Their shoes are always encrusted with manure from walking through the pastures to gather the strays and guide the flock to food and water and shelter.  The sheep, especially the young ones, have a terrible propensity to wonder off.  They just start eating and never look up until they are full.  Often this means getting separated from the flock.  Worse yet, if something startles the flock, the sheep will blindly run in the direction of the stampeding flock.  If the ones in the front run off a cliff or into a dangerous area, the rest will follow.  They are perpetually dependent on the care of the shepherd.

The shepherd never catches a break.  He or she has to stay on top of things all the time.  It requires a large, devoted heart that loves the flock more than the frequent frustrations that come along.

Sheep may on the surface seem pretty low on the aptitude scale for animals.  Their brain functions low when it comes to logic.  However, they are keenly aware when it comes to recognizing a shepherd they can trust from one that is careless or indifferent.

A good shepherd’s reward is a loyal flock.

There Is Only One Shepherd

Leonard Sweet once offered an important notation when it comes to the image of the Shepherd in John 10.  He said that clergy and lay leaders should never mistake the role of Jesus as the only Shepherd of the church.  To be clear, he went on to say no pastor or lay leader should ever try to put him or herself on this pedestal.  To do so includes the arrogant assumption that we are no longer sheep ourselves, or that we have somehow attained the wisdom only the Shepherd has.

He offered an important image for leaders.  We are the sheep dogs.

I have personally owned two corgis over the course of two decades.  These sheep dogs are extremely loyal and smart.  The first one, Ollie, was so smart she had a vocabulary of several dozen words which all began with “b”.

If you asked her to get the bunny, or bone, blue ball, or yellow ball she knew exactly which object to fetch. 

She also loved popcorn.  One night while watching the Bill Cosby Show, she noticed he was eating popcorn.  He dropped a piece.  She darted to the TV set and began searching under it to see if the piece fell out on the floor.

Another time she was found watching TV by herself.  I had left the room for a while after watching Sports Center on ESPN.  When I returned, a hunting show was on featuring dogs retrieving all sorts of fowl.  She had carefully and with great stealth moved through the apartment to gather all her favorite toys and bones.  She made a nest of them and sat over them patiently while she waited to see if the suspicious retrievers might come out of the TV.

When our first child was born, I marveled at Ollie’s propensity to warn us when he got into stuff.  She also stood vigil over him.

After Ollie’s untimely death, Anna came into our lives.  A large Cardigan Corgi, she became devoted to our son, and two additional boys born into our family in the following years.  For 16 years she played with them and watched over them.  She had distinctive barks that warned us when the play of the boys crossed the line of appropriate behavior.

I witnessed Leonard Sweet’s analogy of leadership. 

We would do well, clergy and lay leaders alike, to be like a loyal sheep dog.  They lead, nurture, stand watch, play, and protect the flock.  But they never bite or hurt the flock.

It is hard to believe Ollie and Anna never once bit our three boys, when they did plenty of things that might justify a sharp response.  Ollie and Anna never once bit a guest, either.  But on a few occasions Anna took a defensive posture that sent a guest away afraid in fear of being bit.  Upon investigation it always turned out that somebody was being mean or about to do something hurtful to someone else.  Her warnings were fierce enough to get the point across without ever crossing the line.

One time I even saw her break up a pick-up basketball game in our back yard.  Older boys from the neighborhood gathered to play.  The youngest boy, too small to be playing with the older boys tried to get involved.  Fearful they would hurt him, Anna intervened and shut the game down until parents arrived to see what was going on.

To say Anna had the trust and affection of our whole family is a gross understatement.  Her death and burial was a major event of grief, mourning, and love that none of us will ever forget!

Get to the Point, Please…

These are strong parables of leadership (the story of September 16, 1741; John 10:1-10; and sheep dog behavior).

Regardless of what we hold onto in following Jesus, engaging the life of followership is indelibly linked to the work of the Shepherd partnering with sheep dogs to love and care for the flock.

Today there are many adventures being discovered as people join together to engage this truth.

In honor of November 13^th, Moravians invite each other to commit anew to these images.  It is far more about the experiencing of partnering with such a loving Shepherd and earning the love and loyalty of the flock we know. 

What if a new movement of sheep dog folks unfolded? 

Perhaps the struggle many churches and denominations face today is not about lost attendances and resources, but people searching elsewhere for nurture and support.  Maybe it’s about recruiting and developing good sheep dogs leaders, too!

I heard a lot of funny puns through years from dog lovers.  Perhaps the best known is d-o-g is God spelled backwards.  Whether that is true or not, Ollie and Anna taught me a ton about compassion and love.

I can be sad and cynical that too few in the church today reflect such a witness.  I can be even more cynical and melancholy that many more who are outside the church choose to stay disconnected for all its shortcomings.  But such cynicism never leads to anything good. 

The good part about the corgis I’ve known, and the cocker spaniel that blesses our home now, is the fact not one time did they give in to cynicism or act out of judgmentalism.  I wish I could be so consistent.  In fact, what a dream worth dreaming and bringing to life today!  A church community filled with people anxious to reach out to others in the manner of Ollie, Anna, and now Reggie!

In the end, Jesus warns us like he did the Pharisees in John 10 that any effort to lead apart from his example amounts to something hurtful.  Any effort that does not result in unconditional love and compassion is not his model.  But to lead in partnership with him is tap into the life of true abundance that he promised in John 10:10!

---

[1] Many scholars contend that the argument between Jesus and the Pharisees, which is present in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, presents an anachronism – it was a debate that did not fully develop until after the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD/CE.  See Bart Ehrman (The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to Early Christian Writings, Oxford Press) on “Pharisees”.  He states that Pharisees were not numerous in the days of Jesus.  They were not influential in the politics of Palestine in the time of Jesus.  They did become influential near the end of the first century.  Once the Temple was destroyed by the Romans (70 AD/CE) they rose to be the most influential group when Christianity separated from Judaism.  Some scholars contend that the Pharisees became legalistic only in the later period, but were actually similar to Jesus during his ministry. 

It is likely there was conflict between the particular Christian communities of the given gospel writers and the Pharisees in their given regions.  The scenes of Jesus tangling with Pharisees therefore are understood as more reflective of real conflict that occurred between Christians and Jewish Pharisees a full generation after the death of Jesus.  They also demonstrate the rigidity that many Pharisees apparently adopted after the Second Temple Period.

[2] Brian McLaren is a leading figure in a movement called the Emergent Church.  It has made substantial developments in North America, Europe and Australia in recent decades.  The principles of this movement are many and diverse.  Most significant appear to counter efforts to 5-Point Calvinism, which focuses on TULIP: T=total depravity; U=unconditional election; L=unlimited atonement; I=irresistible grace; P=perseverance of the saints.  McLaren and company propose a radically new TULIP.  (See A Generous Orthodoxy, Zondervan: 2004, p. 218-220).

T=Triune Love: God is a community of Creator, Redeemer, and Spirit.  The very nature and substance of the Godhead is a community of love that has existed before time and reaches beyond the time in which we presently exist.

U=Unselfish Election: We are all chosen, not for privilege but for missional responsibility.  To be chosen means you are blessed to be a blessing to others.

L=Limitless Reconciliation: Our atonement in Christ does not give us the privilege of sitting in judgment on others.  It offers us a limitless source of reconciliation to God’s love.  Repeatedly the gospels tell us that atonement grants us a new capacity to “forgive as we have been forgiven” and to “love God and neighbor.”  It never allows “to contract the scope of love” to the people we like or prefer.  God’s heart moved God to come to us in Christ, therefore is moves us to “become peace ambassadors of Christ to ALL.”

I=Inspiring Grace: God’s grace is a “passionate, powerful, personal desire” to shower us with “healing and joy and every good thing.”  It is not a mechanistic force we cannot resist (as 5-Point Calvinism contends).  However, this grace does inspire us to freely extend it to others through acts of goodwill.

P=Passionate, Persistent Saints: We are unwavering and ever-vigilant to live and share the gospel of God’s unconditional love – “resilient after failure, persevering in adversity, persistent over the centuries and across generations.”  This includes adopting an “unquenchable hope” and a passion to “join god in expressing the saving love for our world until every promise comes true.”

[3] Brian D. McLaren.  A Generous Orthodoxy.  Zondervan: 2004.  “The Seven Jesuses I Have Known”, pp. 49-76.

What Happen to Empathy?

Joe Ehrman (MenandWomenforOthers.org) is a fascinating soul.

 

I recently became aware of his story a few months ago through the little league where I volunteer as a baseball coach.  The league recognized a year ago the need to teach coaches techniques for coaching.  Through a partnership with Wake Forest University, a new enterprise began as coaches expressed a greater interest to learn and to find things to coach – more compelling than just winning. 

 

Coaches began to link with coaches of many other sports and ideas began to cross germinate.  A few coaches heard about Jo Ehrman, the former standout of the Baltimore Colts in the 60s and 70s.  Ehrman became a minister after his football days and returned to the Baltimore area.  His story has been captured by his friend, Jerry Marx, The Season of Life (currently in negotiation for movie production). 

 

For more than two decades, Ehrman has been serving as a pastor to a church in Baltimore, a the Defensive Coordinator for the Gilman Academy Football Team, and the organizer of the Men and Women for Others Organization – which gives him an outlet to travel the country to teach coaches of all levels the power of using coaching as a means to introduce to youth the value of living for others.

 

In the last year, a few local coaches became introduced to Ehrman through one of his seminars.  As a result local coaches have started their own expression of Ehrman’s concept with coaches across the Piedmont Triad.

 

Athletes for Others (AthletesforOthers.org) formed at the beginning of 2008 in Forsyth County to link volunteer coaches together around shared goals of using sports to affect the lives of children to bring about a broad societal change.

 

Already Jerry Moore (ASU Football Coach) and Ron Wellman (AD at WFU) are part of the Board of Directors.

 

Joe Ehrman was invited to lead the first Athletes for Others seminary in Winston-Salem on October 12, 2008.  Coaches from all over the Piedmont working with rec leagues, the YMCA, and little league sports attended.  Ehrman was convincing in his presentation about the need for a massive societal effort to teach youth the significance of empathy and living for a cause greater than themselves.

 

It is not enough to have pity or sympathy – feeling sorry for the pain and suffering of others.  It is far more important to have compassion to the point you know what it is to stand in the shoes of the one who is suffering.  That is empathy.

 

For more than 20 years Ehrman and his partner at Gilman have embraced a style of coaching that uses positive messages instead of the stereotype of yelling, demeaning, and shaming players into performance.  Ehrman attempts to teach players to see the power of living for others as a stronger engine for performance than success or personal achievement.  Annually Gilman has one of the best teams in Maryland, which has been ranked among the top 15 in the nation twice the last decade.  This is not a Pollyanna or soft hearted approach to coach.  It is a dynamic approach that helps players engage truth.

 

Ehrman noted that more than 40 million youth are currently engaged in some level of sports across America.  His research indicates that this massive audience is far more likely to respond to the prompts of coaches rather than parents, teachers, or preachers.  The desire to play and perform compels athletes to pay attention to the coach.  At the same time, too many coaches use the messages of domination and greed, while objectifying opponents or diminishing others without thought of character or values.

 

Ehrman believes that coaches can be the most powerful tool in turning the tide of greed, self-absorption, and violence in our society.  They alone have the most powerful pedestal from which to teach the deeper truth of empathy, leadership and justice.

 

Counting parents and athletes it is estimated that nearly 100 million people are actively involved as players, coaches and supporters of sports.  Ehrman challenges his audiences to recognize that sports represent the biggest secular religion in America.  Consider how charities, religious communities, and non-profit enterprises are presently languishing for volunteers and the gifts of time, talent, and financial support.  Yet the average family is dedicating more money to sports fees, equipment, and season tickets for their favorite college and pro teams.

 

Ehrman contends that for many athletes and their families, involvement in sports is a search for the deeper values of community and belonging that used to be identified with church and synagogue.  Instead of railing against the success of sports, he is seeking a way to help coaches see sports as a vast opportunity.  It is through positive coaching that kids learn more than the sport.  His specific approach teaches the truth about empathy, leadership and justice while challenging kids to reverse the trends of racism, sexism and violence.  His players discover the way the world could be by being a team for each other.  The ripple effect is now touching thousands of coaches across the country and tens of thousands of kids and youth.

 

I am more motivated and excited than ever to coach baseball.  I look forward to the potential of addressing social change through the vehicle of sports.  I also long for the church to discover a similarly inspiring new outlook.  Unfortunately the audience is different.  It is more concerned about self-preservation and confused about being a community for others due to the extreme challenge of low attendance and low stewardship support.  Maybe this new kind of coaching will help ministers like me to reconnect and reform the vision of being the Body of Christ today.  Maybe it will help the church see beyond what it needs to what it could be if it commits anew to being a community of empathy built to live for others.

 

Empathy is still a part of the church.  We are still good at helping our own folks in a time of loss or need.  But Ehrman has set a whole new bar for what it means to engage the world with the message of empathy.  It seems to be compelling enough to get many in the church past the concerns of self-preservation and tradition.  I guess we will see.