This Spoken Word piece was written for Baptist Youth Ministries Youth Pastor's & Emerging Leaders Conference, 2019.
So we come as we come from many places we come some of us feeling undone but each of us together, we are being restrung You cannot expect the instrument you are trying to play to sound the same as it did on the day it was made unless you are willing to take it out of the case and be retuned and renewed by the tools of the trade Are you neglecting it by leaving it hidden from site or do you abuse it by using it day after day and night after night without ever pausing to let things rest and be made right? If your leadership is an instrument what kind of song are you playing? What kind of sound do you leave in the ears of those listening? Who are you teaching how to play this song? Who are you learning how to play it from? Now pause. Leadership can be: buzzword. hashtag. Trending topic. But easy to forget the words of the rabbi: ‘In this world, leaders lord it over the people but not so with you' Ironically the Lord of all doesn’t lord it at all He inverses it flips it and reverses it You want to be a great leader? Then learn to be a great servant Techniques, life hacks, programs, podcasts I love ‘em, I use ‘em but you learn pretty quickly, you can’t outsource or fast track the fruit of just being with the one who says ‘be with me’ And so, here let me shift it No techniques to take note of and implement Let these words just be a song from instrument to instrument A reminder A blessing A song for fellow pilgrims let us be orchestral whether you are from Wagga Wagga Toowoomba, Narara or Thornleigh whether you reach hundreds of young people or just 2 or 3 We play the same song We follow the same conductor We are filled with the same power that conquered the grave Now that Sometimes is hard to believe But breathe... Every day new mercies come Breath, a reminder of spirit in lungs Taste the grace on your tongue with every mouthful of oxygen every beat of the drum every movement, the strum of your heart being strung together into one with the cosmic son Do not miss the reminders of the miracle of resurrection Occurring even in your cells right now, the progression of new life bursting forth from yesterday’s graveyards Yes, today’s hard But you are a vessel waiting to bloom with power in weakness when you are feeling defeated you are closer to Jesus than in your moments of strength where you feel you don’t need him Somewhat ironic. A whole lot liberating. You don’t need to be amazing. You can let go, let grace in. Power begins in powerlessness, in the moment you acknowledge you are not at the centre you are not holding things together you are animated by forces beyond your control are you pushing against them or embracing the role of an instrument a conduit a river a branch in the vine meeting place of the dust and divine May you and I be water turned into wine May we lead like water turned into wine May we serve like water turned into wine
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