2 Samuel 15:1-18
In
today's passage we're given a picture of what it looks like to lead
with the fuel of defiance. Absalom, who was granted access back to
Jerusalem after finding asylum in Geshur, is now trying to sabotage the
role of King David. He's planting himself at the city gate every
morning, waiting for each person with a case to bring before the king.
Absalom tells the people that the king won't hear their cases, and says
that he'd be glad to settle accounts with them fair and square.
Eventually, he steals the hearts of everyone in Israel through his secret conspiracy. He sends messengers all throughout the different tribes with this message: "When you hear the sound of the ram's horn trumpet, shout: Absalom is the judge of Israel!"
Evidently David has a better idea about Absalom's motives than anyone else. He commands his servants to get out of Jerusalem as fast as they can because Absalom's about to bring down the city. David and his family escape on foot, and as they're sneaking out of the city, the same army that once marched with him is marching past him with allegiance to Absalom.
There are two kinds of fuel for leadership. One type of fuel is defiance. This is where a person doesn't like what they see, and they secretly find a way to steal the hearts of the people and revolt against the powers that be.
The other type of fuel is creativity. This is where a person doesn't like what they see, and finds a way to rally the people and create ways to restore.
The first way is about revolt. The second way is about restoration.
When we don't like something we see, it's our responsibility (if we become passionate enough about it) to start creating ways to restore it. If all we do is complain about the way things are being done with the expectation that the same people are going to fix it, then we're not taking responsibility for restoring what is broken. So, assuming that we are taking our first steps in trying to restore something that's broken, we have two options - revolt or create.
If you're someone who is good at rallying people together for a cause, what is fueling it? Revolution or restoration?
I have to say that most of the times I want to see something be restored, I lean more towards stirring people up than bringing people together. However, I've learned that it doesn't work. When the aim of leadership is to destroy what is in place, something has to die in the process. Something has to be replaced. That is revolution. It's toppling something and replacing it with something else.
I believe that when it comes to the Church, the only workable option one has as a leader is to restore. If the agenda is to topple the bureacratic systems that are in place, and replace it with something different, people get hurt. Although I'd love to be able to say that a system is an object, it's not. It involves people and families.
Using the Church as an example, I have complained way more than actually doing the hard work of creating ways to restore what I consider broken. I've sent long ass emails about how people aren't doing it right. I've filled out comment cards, expecting the same thinking that created the problem to fix the problem. Sometimes, I do get the feeling that the Church just needs to start over. It's got to hit a rock bottom and just start over. But, I believe there's something to be said about the history of the Church. It's been around for a hell of a long time, so something has worked. Unlike governments, businesses, and educational systems, there is something that keeps the Church churning.
Don't get me wrong. The Church is definitely a sight for sore eyes. But, it also has a history of finding redemption, and being the light of the world that it was created to be.
So, if there is something in the Church happening that think is wrong or could be better, it's our responsibility to create ways to restore the broken pieces. The elders, pastors, deacons, and popes can't do this. If we don't like how money is spent in the church, we have the opportunity to create ways to use money differently - starting with ourselves. If we don't like what the church's view on homosexuality is, we have the opportunity to create spaces of harmony with the LGBT community.
Our two natural instincts are to fight or flee. I say we have a third instinct, and it's to create. There's something to be said about the otherness that rises up inside us when we feel that something just isn't right. We all have the ability to take what's broken and help restore it. It starts with ourselves, and if we're serious about it, starts rubbing off on other people.
To revolt is to antagonize. To restore is to harmonize. Which one will we choose?
Today's Action: What's one thing in our lives or the world around us that seems broken? Are we creating ways to help restore it? Or we merely complaining about it? Or, are we trying to revolt against it? Put the pen to the paper and see.
Eventually, he steals the hearts of everyone in Israel through his secret conspiracy. He sends messengers all throughout the different tribes with this message: "When you hear the sound of the ram's horn trumpet, shout: Absalom is the judge of Israel!"
Evidently David has a better idea about Absalom's motives than anyone else. He commands his servants to get out of Jerusalem as fast as they can because Absalom's about to bring down the city. David and his family escape on foot, and as they're sneaking out of the city, the same army that once marched with him is marching past him with allegiance to Absalom.
There are two kinds of fuel for leadership. One type of fuel is defiance. This is where a person doesn't like what they see, and they secretly find a way to steal the hearts of the people and revolt against the powers that be.
The other type of fuel is creativity. This is where a person doesn't like what they see, and finds a way to rally the people and create ways to restore.
The first way is about revolt. The second way is about restoration.
When we don't like something we see, it's our responsibility (if we become passionate enough about it) to start creating ways to restore it. If all we do is complain about the way things are being done with the expectation that the same people are going to fix it, then we're not taking responsibility for restoring what is broken. So, assuming that we are taking our first steps in trying to restore something that's broken, we have two options - revolt or create.
If you're someone who is good at rallying people together for a cause, what is fueling it? Revolution or restoration?
I have to say that most of the times I want to see something be restored, I lean more towards stirring people up than bringing people together. However, I've learned that it doesn't work. When the aim of leadership is to destroy what is in place, something has to die in the process. Something has to be replaced. That is revolution. It's toppling something and replacing it with something else.
I believe that when it comes to the Church, the only workable option one has as a leader is to restore. If the agenda is to topple the bureacratic systems that are in place, and replace it with something different, people get hurt. Although I'd love to be able to say that a system is an object, it's not. It involves people and families.
Using the Church as an example, I have complained way more than actually doing the hard work of creating ways to restore what I consider broken. I've sent long ass emails about how people aren't doing it right. I've filled out comment cards, expecting the same thinking that created the problem to fix the problem. Sometimes, I do get the feeling that the Church just needs to start over. It's got to hit a rock bottom and just start over. But, I believe there's something to be said about the history of the Church. It's been around for a hell of a long time, so something has worked. Unlike governments, businesses, and educational systems, there is something that keeps the Church churning.
Don't get me wrong. The Church is definitely a sight for sore eyes. But, it also has a history of finding redemption, and being the light of the world that it was created to be.
So, if there is something in the Church happening that think is wrong or could be better, it's our responsibility to create ways to restore the broken pieces. The elders, pastors, deacons, and popes can't do this. If we don't like how money is spent in the church, we have the opportunity to create ways to use money differently - starting with ourselves. If we don't like what the church's view on homosexuality is, we have the opportunity to create spaces of harmony with the LGBT community.
Our two natural instincts are to fight or flee. I say we have a third instinct, and it's to create. There's something to be said about the otherness that rises up inside us when we feel that something just isn't right. We all have the ability to take what's broken and help restore it. It starts with ourselves, and if we're serious about it, starts rubbing off on other people.
To revolt is to antagonize. To restore is to harmonize. Which one will we choose?
Today's Action: What's one thing in our lives or the world around us that seems broken? Are we creating ways to help restore it? Or we merely complaining about it? Or, are we trying to revolt against it? Put the pen to the paper and see.
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