Plan, Prepare, Pray

This is supposed to be Guideline #6 for my Manual for Servant Leaders Who Insanely Love to Serve God Despite Harassments and Frustrations. But for the moment it will be a theory or a tentative guideline at best. I need to observe where it goes before I declare this to be a solid principle.

Let me explain.

When I took up my Masters in Entrepreneurship we were taught that for a business strategy to be successful one has to make plans, set objectives, assess the resources (human and financial) needed and set targets. That’s in a nutshell of course (I have to clarify or my professors might take back my diploma if they think that’s all I learned).

In “Gatherings on Fire”, a seminar I attended given by Bro Arun Gogna, it was also stressed that planning and preparation are important. The first step he gave when preparing for a big event is to brainstorm. He advised that we “gather leaders or representatives from each ministry that will implement the Big Idea” twelve months before the date. A timetable is used to map specific tasks that have to be done before the big day.

Both of these sources of knowledge stress that we have to PLAN and PREPARE for any project to be effective. I included PRAY because as a people of faith who belong to a community, servant leaders must pray for even the tiniest task they have to undertake.

Something as innocuous as a Christmas party proves this guideline to be sound. I’m sure all the 4 teams in our community prayed for success. We all planned and prepared for the presentation and games. But the Blue Team won because they planned more and prepared more. They were ready with glittery name tags and labels; they had more props and costumes; they met more often; and they probably practiced more too.

These form the foundation of my theory. What throws me off is that there are events or activities that fall short on the planning and preparation side but can be rated as successful: the Holy Spirit visibly moves the attendees, things come together in the nick of time, servants are suddenly available on that date and many more happenings that obviously took place because of prayers.

So my dilemma for Guideline #6 is: do I state that “Servant leaders must plan, prepare and pray before undertaking big activities” or do I say “Servant leaders must pray before undertaking big activities and just throw proper planning and preparation to the wind hoping they will land on God’s lap (Bahala na si Lord)”?

I will hazard a guess that planning and preparation are still very important because when we are ready, more blessings will come. To use a story Bro Arun mentioned in his article in the Feast Alabang bulletin last Sunday in a different light, the man who brought a truck was able to get more food than the man who brought a sack. Both were blessed, but one got immensely more because he was better prepared.

Let me get back to you on this guideline after I find out without a doubt which statement God and time favored.

* Thanks to IC de Guzman for the Blue Team photos.

The Dehydrated Camel

Sub-title – Guideline # 5: A Servant Leader Seeks Spiritual Nourishment

There was once a camel named Abou. He was a diligent and caring fellow. The other camels looked up to him. The master was so happy with his show of leadership; he put Abou at the head of the caravan.

One day the caravan set out across the wide desert for the grandest city in all the land. All the camels were excited to set their hooves on streets that were said to be paved with gold.

The journey was long and hot. The master stopped at the oases that dotted the desert to cool off the caravan. In each oasis Abou ran around doing head camel things. “C’mon herd, drink up! Don’t mind the iguana.” “Master, Jamal’s harness is loose.” “Your load is slipping, my boy.”

He was so busy he only got a sip or two. In one oasis, he even totally forgot to drink. As the sun turned the desert into a furnace, Abou got weaker and weaker. He became so dehydrated, the master decided to leave him in a tiny run-down desert town lest he die along the way.

With tears in his eyes, he watched the caravan disappear into the distant sand dunes. He was too busy to drink from the nourishing waters when he had the chance. Now he will never lay eyes on that glowing city.

***

I wrote this cautionary tale to illustrate Guideline #5 for my Manual for Servant Leaders Who Insanely Love to Serve God Despite Harassments and Frustrations. (Thank you to my son, Buddy, for the cartoon.) It was inspired by something J Yogawin said during our Evangelism Pillar Pastoral Formation last week. J is our Associate Builder for the Wednesday Feast Alabang.

He exhorted us to be committed to our service. But he also said, “You should never be too busy that you miss the opportunity to sit still, listen and learn how to change your life.” We may be present at the Feast but our minds might be on something else.

That broad-sided us like a blow from a shepherd’s rod. It’s true that when we buzz around with this errand and that, we sometimes forget to heed the talks and take them to heart.

This lapse will become evident in the way we live and treat other people. It’s not an inspiring sight when servant leaders live in direct opposition to the teachings that flow abundantly at the Feast. When we do not seek spiritual nourishment our souls wither.

Abou, like Martha in the bible, had a heart for service but he forgot the one thing that will refresh him and bring him out of the desert.

But Martha was distracted with all her preparations… the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary...” – Luke 10:40-42

A Servant Leader’s Survival Kit

Sub-title – Guideline #3: A Servant Leader’s Heart is Humble.

I thank God the inspiration He sent for this blog was a gentle whisper of a thought instead of another jarring experience. He heard the prayer I uttered at the end of my last blog. But without a background story I was in danger of moralizing. I will then be the first to break this principle I am to write.

I became more hesitant when I read this passage in Companion during my prayer time last Monday, June 20, 2011:

“Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. “ – Matthew 7:1-2

Then I remembered the cheesy survival kits we used to assemble and sell in our now deceased gift shop (May it rest in peace). I decided to put one together instead for me, myself and Mirella. I need to check this periodically like the list used for car maintenance. So here are the things I need for MY leadership to survive the test of humility:

1. Shades – to shield my eyes from the blinding klieg lights when I serve onstage (literally and figuratively) and I take credit for far more than I deserve. To be able to “see the people in the audience”. (I must not forget those who have laid the foundation of commitment before me or who have labored to build the community/ministry with me.) To keep my eyes clearly focused on the only star of the show – Jesus.

2. Sharp pin – to prick my ego for those times I sinfully enjoy having my name bannered in big bold fonts. To deflate me and make me pliant enough to emulate a leader who once gave me the directive to feature another leader’s name instead of his when space is lacking.

3. Disposable cup – to remind me a servant leader is but God’s vessel. For times when I’m feeling on top of the heap and begin to think I’m the only useful person around. May I not forget that God can raise others to take my place when I no longer serve humbly. Maybe I’ll print a caricature of King Saul and David on the side just to drive home the point.

4. “My Way” CD – to crush/break/shatter when this song starts to be my national anthem, when I’m putting my interests above the good of the community and when I start throwing my weight around. I must remember many people have been killed over this song in our videoke-crazy country. I need to be vigilant so that my soul will not be included in the casualty count.

5. Baby leash – to wear when I start to put my nose in other people’s business because I’ve deluded myself into thinking I know better. I will ask Papa God to hold the reins so that He can pull me back when I’m straying to where I’m not supposed to go.

6. Correction fluid – to blot out memories of the time, treasure and talent I have given in service lest they become a source of pride.

This is a standard I’m setting for myself. Please bop me on the head with this hammer

when I forget to use the items in my kit. It will not hurt (as gentle reminders don’t) but it will certainly get my attention. Again, this is my measure but other servant leaders are welcome to use it for their humility check ;)

Focus on the Heart

My God is a sneaky one. There are times when I’m so pre-occupied with a million and one tasks I forget that one thing He has called me to do – write. You know what He does? He sends me experiences so moving that my insides will burst like popcorn if I don’t write about them. The incidents range from the spiritually sublime to the downright infuriating.

This week, He did it again. He prodded me to write Guideline #2 for my “Manual for Servant Leaders Who Insanely Love to Serve God Despite Harassments and Frustrations” (working title). I’m kidding. Scrap the word “prodded”. "Tasered" describes the experience better. The struggle to keep the peace and my cool, to continue loving my siblings in Christ and at the same time nurture those the Lord has given me to shepherd was so unnerving I couldn’t sleep for two nights.

Upon reflection, the Lord once again impressed on me that He allows these things to happen for a reason. The fruit of this experience was a rich harvest of lessons learned. And so I have Guideline #2: Focus on the heart of the servant. When a servant leader is faced with what he or she perceives to be imperfections – even in other ministry’s affairs – (be it a wrong color, sub-standard design, conflicting schedules, erroneous sentence construction, noise, mess, character flaws, etc., etc.) look to the heart of the servant. If there is goodness of intention, zeal and passion to serve present there then everything else becomes a minor, minor thing.

Yes, correction is needed if there is cause. From the book “The Way of the Shepherd”, a gift from a loving sister in my community, I read pain must sometimes be inflicted (perhaps in the form of “reprimands or poor performance reviews”). In Chapter 3, “Help Your Sheep Identify With You”, the story was told about a ewe whose ear had to be tagged to identify it as belonging to a flock. The shepherd had to hold the ewe tight to tag it. Later, the shepherd held the ewe again but this time to comfort it. Both times, the sheep was held close – the “first to cause pain” and the next “to offer encouragement”. The lesson given was “for great leaders, leadership isn’t just professional; it’s personal.”

Taking that lesson out of the corporate world and applying it to community service, I will rephrase that as: for servant leaders, leadership is less professional; it’s more personal. I remember this line from a mass song: “I will hold Your people in my heart.”

Another thought flashed in my head as I prayed about the situation: focus on the heart of the servant to keep it from being broken irreparably. Handle it carefully like fragile china. Undue criticism could after all dampen the spirit of a volunteer. Let me stress this vital point: community servants are volunteers. Their only compensation is love.

The calm slowly creeping inside me as I write this is proof positive that the Lord tasered me just to get this guideline recorded. And so I pray that the next guideline He sends will descend upon me from a serene cloud of wisdom. My servant leader’s heart is fragile too.

Delegate Work, Cascade Love

“Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.” – John 12:44-45

A degree in management, a corporate background and masters in business develop a certain mindset for running an organization or a team. It is structured and disciplined. The head gives the directives which the subordinate is mandated to follow. There are of course different management styles – autocratic, democratic, paternalistic and a couple of other “-atics”. But the underlying idea is “You don’t like the way we run things, you may apply with the company in the next building.”

So it becomes quite a shock to the system when a corporate person gets into running the Lord’s business. You are no longer the boss, you are a servant leader. The people under you can’t be fired when they don’t do the job. They must be loved and nurtured into service.

For two years now, I’ve been serving as Ministry Head for the Feast Alabang and I’m fascinated with the art of managing fellow servants. A distant star in my canopy of dreams is to write a manual about this topic. I’m taking my first step by writing down this reflection:

In the May 18, 2011 Companion, the intro to the First Reading said: “We see in the ministry of Paul that he works closely with a very limited number of collaborators…his key collaborators or missioners are few…Perhaps simplicity is essential to the successful proclamation of the Gospel.” In management, the collaborators would be assistants or deputies. I’m reminded of my Feast Alabang Media Ministry (or what my members and I lovingly call our FAMMily) and the team heads I’ve appointed. The message for me here is to keep that simple structure and delegate to the team heads.

But since we are missioners sent by Jesus to spread His word, work is not the only thing we have to pass on. His love must also be seen in the way we deal with our fellow servants. As one of my favorite lines go, “our lives may be the only Bible other people will read.” Love then is essential in this type of management style. Bonds must also be strengthened among the members so that work in the Lord’s vineyard will be a joy to do. It’s such a simple principle but many times in the stresses of service, it has been forgotten.

Guideline #1 for my manual is Delegate Work, Cascade Love. I’m looking for more. Insights are welcome :)