The Starfish and the Spider

I'm currently reading "The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations" and am enjoying every word of it. It's a leadership book, a genre I usually despise, but this one takes a look at things from such a fresh angle. It's not a "Christian" book (whatever that means), but I'm constantly left dreaming about how their thoughts could or would look in the Church.

The chapter I just finished reading, chapter three, was all about the benefits of decentralized organizations. It talked about things such as craigslist and wikipedia and about a festival in the Neveda desert called Burning Man. Each one of them is user driven, developed, and policed. Because of how they operate they end up giving the user more than a top down profit driven organization could ever give you. Here's a quote from the last paragraph of the chapter, "When you give people freedom, you get chaos, but you also get incredible creativity. Because everyone tries to contribute to the community, you get a great variety of expression."

As I read that I thought about Ben and Sarah who I'm a part of a church with. They are always dreaming about creative things they would like to do in the context of our lives together. This past fall they decided to have a harvest party. I think most of us who got invited thought it was a strange idea when we got invited and may have even made fun of the idea (I apologize). But when we showed up, in somewhat formal attire, for parlor games, old fashioned line dancing, and good food we all had a blast. Sarah even had a short, but profound, devotional about why we celebrate the harvest that I still think about months later.

What if church gave freedom for people to lead, create, and develop in this way. What if we all had the freedom to contribute in this way without having to go through a hiarchical structure first? A friend told me, "But Ben and Sarah are your friends, and friends always act in such a way." Exactly! What if as a church we adopted this for a model for how we lived life together? Where what Ben and Sarah did wasn't the exception, but the norm? Where it was understood that if no one is contributing then no one will receive anything? But this can't happen if the leader (me) expects everything to flow from him. This can only happen if everybody understands that everything flows from the leader (Jesus) who speaks to all, so all must be listened to and given the freedom to do new things.

A good friend once said, "Leadership in our context is someone taking the lead in a given area."

The role of the pastor

A friend this week wondered out loud in front of me if we have mistaken the call to preach with the call to run an organization (the church).

Myself and the church I am pastor of have been starting to ask similar questions. We are wondering and exploring if we need a full time paid pastor. We are contemplating me getting another job and no longer taking a salary, or at least a greatly reduced one. We are asking what church would look like then and if what it then looked like would be a good thing or not. It's not a question of how to save money or how to be a church the same way just without paying a pastor, but they are questions at the core of what it means for us to be a church and what it means for us to be the people of God in the West End of Mount Vernon. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Why I hate watching sports.

Actually, the reason I hate watching sports is because I love it so much. I just got finished watching the Browns game that ended, in my opinion, on a terrible call. The call, which was a judgment call, cost the Browns the game. If the right call was made the Browns would have won the game and would have been in great position to make the playoffs, now getting into the playoffs are going to take some work. The reason I hate watching sports in that I got really fired up about that final call. How can a stupid game make me so mad. The official didn't make the wrong call on pupose, but in my mind I ripped him a new one.

And what's the worst injustice that I fight against lately? College footballs refusal to go to a playoff system. Because of money college football won't go to a playoff system that would allow all teams a chance to win it all instead of who the voters think should be in the national title game. I say screw the bowls and let's have a 16 team playoff system in place as soon as possible. I love telling people about it and I get really frustrated that the powers that be are so in love with money that they refuse to give the college football fan what they really want and really deserve. The injustice of it all.

I got issues. Sports shouldn't have that place in my life. They shouldn't be allowed to control my emotions in such a way. They should be fun to watch and should be left on the field. I should care about the true injustices in the world. As I write this I am watching sixty minutes which just had a story about Christians in Iraq, well there's really not many Christians in Iraq anymore. Before the invasion there were over a million, but because of intense persecution most are either dead now or refugees in Syrian ghettos.

I'm not saying I shouldn't watch sports or that I should let every injustice in the world constantly depress me, I just need to keep things in perspective. I got to work on my issues.

Ron's Pizza

There's this pizza shop in town that has been around for over thirty years. A few months ago they were kicked out of their shop, so that it could be bull dozed and a strip mall could go where it once was. So for the last four months Mt. Vernon has had to go without Ron's Pizza while they converted an old gas station into their new shop. They finally opened again this week and the lines have been out the door. We just ordered a pizza tonight, but we're having to wait 2 hrs and 45 minutes for it and it'll be worth every minute.

New Parents Meeting

Mandy and I, along with the kids, went to this meeting the other night that is for parent's of kids with down syndrome under three. This is the second time we have gone, but the first time we had time to stay and interact with the other parents and children. I just loved being there. I loved how everyone was so kind to one another and how people shared their joys and struggles and how we were able to be happy with those who were happy and be sad with those who were sad. I love interacting with other children who have down syndrome, I can't explain it but I am just drawn to them. I felt in some way that I was at church while I was there, just that no one mentioned God.



By the way my new favorite number is 47. If 47 chromosomes gave me Lucy, then that has to be the best number in the world. I want to get XLVII (Roman numerals for 47) tattooed on my right bicep. I want it on my bicep because I want it to symbolize a strength not a weakness. I just need to find a cool desing of it first. I somehow want to incorporate Lucy's name into it, her name means bearer of light, doesn't that just fit her. I would really like to get it done on Miami Ink as a way to promote down syndrome awareness. If anybody out there is a good artist, why don't you draw me up a few sketches and send them my way.



Sorry it's been so long...

Father's Day

So Mandy heard me talking about wanting an old push mower. I think it was one of those things that I like to talk about, but never plan on doing. So she bought me one for Father's Day. And actually it's pretty cool. Not only do I help save the planet, but everybody wanted to talk to me when they saw me cutting the yard with it. The best part is I can stop to talk without turning my mower off and I don't have to worry if it will start again.

Pancake Breakfast

Some from my church are going to New Orleans this summer on a work trip to help with the rebuilding and we are having a pancake breakfast to raise some funds. Now I know a bunch of you out there in blog land have been looking for a good excuse to come back and visit good ole Mt. Vernon. It's Saturday May 26th from 8 to 11 in the morning at Riverside Park. If you want tickets let me know and I'll tell you where to send a check. Even if you don't want to come you can still send a check made out to "West Side Church of the Nazarene" with New Orleans in the subject line (I ain't too proud to beg). And we might possibly have a spot or two open if someone wants to join us. We're going June 30th through July 8th.

water4christmas

Some of you have heard this idea from already, but if not, some of us have had the idea of not buying or receiving gifts for Christmas this year and instead giving the money we would have spent on presents to organizations that provide sustainable clean drinking water where there is currently no clean water. Wells can be built in Africa for 1-15 grand depending on the soil and other such stuff according to one websight I found. The dream is to start a group of us who will encourage as many people as possible to join with us in doing this. If we get 500 people to do this we could raise upwards of $100,000 grand. We plan on spreading the word through a websight, emails, blogs, word of mouth, student groups on various college campuses, the Ellen DeGeneres show, and any other way we can figure out. We figure our overhead costs will only be about a hundred dollars (the cost of a good websight for one year).

I plan on this being a positive campaign, which means everything about this will be about how we can raise money to help people in a very basic need of life and not about attacking the consumerism of Christmas, thought this very well may do that indirectly.

If you want to be a part of the team that organizes this, we will be having our first meeting in the Prince Student Union on the campus of MVNU on Saturday March 10th at 10 AM. Feel free to invite others that you know might want to be a part of this.

The end goal is simply to provide sustainable clean drinking water for as many people as we can. To do this we will most likely work through faith based groups and secular groups (I say that upfront so that there are no misunderstandings later). If you are going to come, try to do a bit of research and brings some organizations info with you to the meeting.

If you have any questions email me at peterkevinson@yahoo.com or call me at 740 392 3197.

Out tentative name for everything is water4christmas.

Welcome to Italy

I can't believe I have another kid! It almost seemed a little bit too easy this time, as Mandy says speak for yourself. I think I really like Italy, though I have grown to like Holland.

feeling loved

Last night Mandy and I went out for dinner to celebrate my birthday and kind of a last date by ourselves before the new baby comes. I choose the Alcove which is a fancy but very reasonably priced restraunt in downtown Mount Vernon. While we were eating another Nazarene Pastor (hint: think of the biggest Nazarene church in town) and his wife came in to eat, I think they were on a date as well. He came over and said "Hi" and we chated for a second, but they sat on the other side of the resturaunt so we didn't think about them until our check arrived. Actually, our check never arrived because, in the words of our waitress, someone else had already picked it up. We left that night, after thanking them first, feeling so loved. They loved us last night and showed it to us in a very real way. I hope people feel that loved because of my actions.

Link

Read Lucy's post "Great Article" to see something I am very passionate about.

American Idol

Has American Idol gone over the top this season with how they bring people who seem to have real disabilities on to their show just to make fun of them?

Petra Rocks!!!

Mandy got me a two disk Petra greatest hits collection for Christmas. Definitely one of the best presents I’ve gotten in a long time. I’ve been a big Petra fan ever since I saw their Beyond Belief tour when I was a freshman in High School, which was such a great concert. I’m a not the biggest fan of much that came after, but albums such as This Means War, Beyond Belief, Fired Up, and Petra Phonics will always be some of my all time favorites. What’s cool about the CD’s Mandy gave me is that they have songs I don’t know I’ve ever heard before, so I’ve quickly fell in love with Grave Robber and God Gave Rock and Roll to You (I sing it every where I go and everybody’s getting sick of hearing it.)

Then this last week my good friend Dee brought by a record player, so I could listen to her Petra’s Beat the System live album. Lucy and I jammed too it all morning, though I’m not sure she’s a big fan yet.

Did I mention I met Louie Weaver (Petra’s drummer) in an elevator of a hotel I was staying in while I was in Phoenix after my senior year in High School? He didn’t talk much, I think I scared him.

REVOLUTION

I just read Revolution by Barna, totally inspired me. I need feedback, does anyone have any comments on the book. If you haven't read it yet, read it, and then give me so feedback.