Joseph Pieper (1904-1997), German philosopher and theologian, wrote Happiness and Contemplation in 1958. In this short work, he summarizes much of the theology of Thomas Aquinas.  If you are willing to read slowly and thoughtfully, you will encounter rich, life-transforming spiritual food on these pages. The following are a few of the quotes I noted in my journal:

• Every human being, without exception, is called to eternal contemplative happiness with God.
• The human craving for happiness may be distracted by a 1000 small gratifications but “one sweet fruit is sought” (Dante).
• The ultimate satiation of man’s deepest thirst takes place in contemplation.
• Many joys in the course of everyday life come to us. They are a foretaste and beginning of perfect joy. The whole good cannot be quenched by anything less than God!  It cannot be found in realm of created things.  What then is the drink known as happiness that can ultimately suffice this thirst of the whole human being? GOD.  – Eternal life, eternal banquet, glory, salvation.
• When you taste God, there is nothing else to wish for. A surpassingly happy person has everything he/she wants. Everything is “in him” and nothing can happen to him… he lacks nothing.  He cannot even be disturbed. – For Christian martyrs, not even torture could tear from them the happiness of contemplation.

G.K. Chesterton, considering his life in retrospect, said he had always the mystical conviction of the miracle in all that exists and of the rapture dwelling essentially within all experience.

There are three separate assertions here:

1. That everything holds and conceals at bottom a mark of its divine origin;

2. That one who catches a glimpse of it “sees” that this and all things are “good” beyond human comprehension;

3.That seeing this, he is happy. Here in sum is the whole doctrine of the contemplation of earthly creation.

It is the requisite for the good of the human community that there should be persons who devote themselves to the life of contemplation. It is “useless” and the yardstick. Contemplation keeps the true end in sight, giving meaning to every practical act of life! For man here on earth, there is nothing more meaningful than the love of God.

The greatest menace for capacity for contemplation – busy! Dry, empty stimuli that kill the receptivity of the soul. If we have not escaped from harried rush, mad pursuit, from unrest and from the necessity of care, we are not happy. Its’ very premise is freedom from the fetters of workaday busyness!

The happiness of contemplation is not a comfortable happiness  – Teresa of Avila asserted that more courage is required to lead a life of contemplation than to elect martyrdom.

How different do you find this from the kind of Christian sermons/messages we hear  today?

Leadership is intense –both inside and outside the church.  The pressure, conflicts, and resistances we encounter touch “raw material” and powerful dynamics deep beneath the iceberg of our lives.

We go to seminars and conferences on how to do better strategic planning, cast vision, delegate, better manage conflicts, and hire to our weaknesses. We read books on leadership and listen to podcasts on how to grow and expand our impact. That is good and commendable. I do those things myself.  It is simply not enough.

Our executive leadership team at New Life recently had two half-day meetings around a recent difficult event that we experienced together. We resolved the leadership/organizational issue well, but I was painfully aware profound “hot buttons” deep within our icebergs had been touched (i.e. issues coming out of our own early family histories). I knew God wanted me, and us, to stop and listen to Him. These “triggers” needed to be explored.

We dedicated two half-days together around two questions:

1) What painful issues from our own histories got touched and;

2) What could each of us have done differently?

I brought in a former professor mine who taught in my Doctor of Ministry program in marriage and family for one of those days. The process was fabulous. God came to each of us individually and as a team.

Leadership offers a wonderful opportunity to mature into our true selves in Christ. That is good news. The bad news is that looking at our insecurities and vulnerabilities from our past can be terrifying – especially when it is triggered in present relationships. It is easier to simply blame and project my own shame, destructive automatic thoughts, and wounds onto others. I was surely tempted to do so in this most recent challenge we faced as a staff.

I was reminded of a concept out of the therapy field called introjects. This referes to millions of film footage we take in growing up the first 10-15 years; we then organize ourselves around certain key themes. For example, it may be:

• rejection
• abandonment
• constantly put down/criticized,
• feeling invisible
• incompetent/dumb
• impotent

These emotions and thoughts become part of the self-concept and the “lens” through which we see life. We unconsciously look to create and repeat these negative experiences, especially in more intimate relationships like marriage and the church. It leads to all kinds of gross misinterpretations and assumptions.

The grace and love of Jesus Christ offers us safety and freedom.  But it is only in taking the counter-intuitive journey of letting down my defenses before others, as I did the last couple of weeks, that I realize my immense need to saturate myself in the gospel. I also realized afresh how much more remains within my own iceberg and my need for His mercy.

What do you think might be the long-term benefits of looking at our process of leadership this way? What are the difficulties in doing this?

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love (John 15:9).

I  have just concluded an active season, more active than I would have liked. I am sobered how easily, through one or two new commitments, the pace of my life quickened. Rushing increased.  My anxiety level heightened. I struggled to remain thoughtful.

Contemplative Leadership of ourselves, out of which we lead others, is challenging. I have to remind myself of the following four guidelines that are indispensable if I am “to remain in His love.” 

1. Do One Thing At A Time– For me this means being present in every meeting, whether it is in worship, a one-on-one mentoring time, answering an e-mail, or watching my daughter’s track meet. This means limiting e-mail to fixed times during the day and not trying to squeeze more into the day than God intends.

2. Honor Transitions- Taking time between meetings at church is very difficult but key for me. This past week, for example, I went from a meeting with a staff person, to a stimulating meeting with architectural drawings, to an elder meeting  — without a pause. They went well, but I could sense the adrenalin in my body. Pausing before I walk in the door at home after a day at New Life is another key moment. Gathering my thoughts together along with a brief Office (i.e. prayer) transforms my day.

3. Reflect -As this very active season came to a close, I set aside an additional day alone with God. Yes, Sabbath keeping and Daily Offices are indispensable.  But leadership is particularly intense, especially as issues around our own insecurities and vulnerablities get touched by people and new situations. This happened to me last month. I found myself reactive and grossly misinterpreting a situation.  I needed time, along with a wise mentor, to help me calm down, reflect and ask: “What nerves got touched deep beneath my iceberg?”   It soon became clear God was coming to me, eager to grow and mature me in new areas.  

4. Read Widely and Continue Growing — It is easy to become stagnant, especially when we are busy. I like to have my hands in 5-6 books at a time, often on a variety of topics. I love going to my local library on Sabbath and taking out a few books. Again, this takes space and time, a currency in short supply in our culture.

Remember: We lead out of who we are and the most important person we lead each day is ourselves. Everything flows out of that.

Thoughts? Additions you might make?

A number of people have asked me about where God is amidst the devastation of the recent earthquake in Haiti. What do we tell our children, our young people, our church, and seekers? Last Sunday I preached a summary of the Book of Isaiah to our church as we concluded a recent teaching series. We distributed two weeks of a Daily Office based on Isaiah that you are welcome to download. It can be found at: http://newlifefellowship.org/resources/sermons   

 Why does God allow evil like the earthquake in Haiti? The answer is: “I don’t know.” Nobody does.

 The Jews went through repeated tumultuous, confusing, often disastrous, events during the time of Isaiah. The country was shaken to the core after King Uzziah died. He had provided 52 years of stability and relatively good leadership. They were invaded by the Assyrians and later conquered by the Babylonians. They lost everything and were carried into exile 500-700 miles from their homes. Isaiah had a Word for them; he has a Word for us:

 1.  Remember: God is on the Throne

God reveals Himself as “the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted (Isaiah 6). He is sitting, relaxed and not anxious. He is the Lord Almighty and in control over all historical events! God is beyond us. We can’t figure Him out. The nations are a drop in the bucket and we can never wrap our arms around His massiveness.  He works through and in the stumps (Isaiah 6:13, 11:1) — that is the small, ugly, seemingly dead things in life. The kingdom is a mustard seed and we can trust that our God, who sits on the throne, is good. He suffers with the people of Haiti today. It is a stump. He will bring seeds of His kingdom, somehow, in this tragedy.

2.  Waiting Patiently for God is the Foundation of the Spiritual Life

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: 

       “In repentance and rest is your salvation,
       in quietness and trust is your strength,
       but you would have none of it.” (Isaiah 30:15)     

Waiting on God patiently is not something we do once in a while. It truly is the foundation of a solid, mature life in Christ. There is no other way to develop a genuine spirituality. God offers us His strength and salvation amidst the confusion and difficulties of life.  The people of Isaiah’s day would not wait on the Lord, but insisted on rushing headlong to disaster. It is painful to watch the footage on Haiti. God invites us to pray, wait, trust and hope in Him alone during these difficult hours.

3. God Invites You to Join Him in Transforming the World (61:4)

They will rebuild the ancient ruins

And restore the places long devastated;

They will renew the ruined cities, that have been devastated for generations 

God is in the process of renewing and transforming the world. He invites us to join Him in that renewal process, using our time, gifts, talents, and energy on behalf of this renewal He is doing. We are the ones to rebuild the ancient ruins that exist in our broken world (Isaiah 61:4). Let’s do all we can to contribute to the recovery effort in Haiti.

4.  Loving Your Enemy is at the Core of the Christian Life (Isaiah 58:3-4)

The most recent enemy to come out of the news the last few days has been about Pat Robertson. He apparently said that Haiti deserved this earthquake for making a pact with the devil, that it was sent from God as a form of judgment. When I first heard this, I was indignant and joined the conversation around me (at least in my heart) in murdering him. Watch his remarks on video and see what you think. It seems to me some words were put in his mouth. I did not sense a vindictive spirit from him. Yet even if he did utter such remark, we are to love him and hide his faults, not expose them. I do not agree with everything he says. The issue is the condition of my heart. Is it now hard? I have said many, many foolish things in my life!  God have mercy on me, a sinner.   Christians, and others, who drive us crazy are not interruptions to us. They are the place where God happens!

 So where is God? He is in Haiti. Let us join Him there as God enables.

How can this be true?

The answer is simple: If I pray and spend large amounts of time and energy meditating on Scripture, fasting, silence, solitude, along with other spiritual disciplines, but do not love my enemies, it is not worth much. I think I am finally connecting the dots that the degree to which I love my enemies really does indicate the measure of my spiritual maturity. I have some growth to do!

I attempted to summarize my learnings on this in my sermon last Sunday on Isaiah 58 called “Love Your Enemies, the ‘Saint Makers.”   I began by asking: “Who is your enemy today (someone who drives you crazy, irritates you, you avoid or resent, or simply have a hard time loving)?

The following are a few of the themes I continue to meditate on this week as I ask God to help me connect what I so often disconnect:

1. Nothing is more important than learning not to despise others, i.e. harden our hearts against people, deciding they are not worthy of love.  (Note: “despise” is a synonym for “judge.”)

2. The whole of the Christian life can be summarized as the refusal to judge and despise others.

3. A spiritual person hides the faults of others rather than expose them. “Interior freedom is not yet possessed by anyone who cannot close his eyes to the fault of a friend, whether real or apparent” (Maximus the Confessor, theologian 600’s).

4. A person can be so right they are wrong (i.e., if it comes out of a hard, despising heart).

5. Nothing is more important than learning that your enemy is a ’saint-maker.’ The place to get connected to God is with your “enemy.” They are not interruptions but gifts sent from Him.

6. The more we draw close to God in love, the more we are united to our neighbor in love. Our solitude with God is meant to connect us to people, not separate us from them (Dorotheus of Gaza, 6th century).  The place to get connected to your “enemy” is with God. Thus we so desperately need silence and solitude with Him.

7.  When you despise someone, you despise Christ. When you harden your heart to someone, you harden your heart to Christ . As Jesus said, “Whatever you did to the least of them, you did to me” (Matt. 25).

And why do  you think it is so easy for us to have such a wide and deep disconnect between our love for God and our love for our enemy?

It is ironic that Christmas is often the time we as pastors find ourselves least centered on Jesus. With the emergence of social media and new technologies, this problem has reached proportions.

The following is an adaption of my top 10 lessons for leadership applied to this Advent season.

1. Be yourself.

You and I are uniquely crafted by God to lead. That means we cannot do what others can. You may be able to do more or less. The great challenge of leadership is to calmly differentiate your “true self” from the demands and voices around you. Discern the desires, vision, pace, and mission the Father has given as you lead. Take off Saul’s armor. How much activity can you sustain without losing your soul? And remember, “to live unfaithfully to yourself is to cause others great damage” (Rumi).

2. Your first work is to be contemplative before God (to be with him).

Our goal during this season is to lead people to Jesus and help them center on him. But you cannot bring people where you have not gone in God. We are not CEOs or even preachers first. We are called to be contemplatives first (Psalm 27:4). Above all else, cultivate a pure heart before God, loving him.   

Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, in her book, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform us (IVP), introduces a creative, unique spiritual practice called slowing. This includes things like: intentionally driving in the slow lane, choosing the longest line at the store, sitting longer over a meal, or taking a longer shower. “Slowing,” she writes, “is a way to counter our culture’s mandate to tend to the bottom line, to move it or lose it, to constantly be on the go. It is a way we honor our limits and the fact that God is found in the present moment.”  

3. Practice Sabbath.

Take a 24-hour period each week to Sabbath – to stop, rest, and contemplate God. You are not God. This essential spiritual formation practice is not something to drop during the celebration of Christ’s coming. I take from 6:00 p.m. Friday to 6:00 p.m. Saturday at a minimum. Large spiritual issues are at stake, especially with regard to trusting God to be in control. Relinquish the ministry to Jesus.

4. Embrace the gift of your limits.

Remember that “a man can receive only what is given him from heaven” (John 3:27). You will be present to your spouse and children in proportion to what you’ve received from being in God’s presence. It takes time and effort to think through thoughtful gifts with meaning for your family and key leaders. I encourage you to make sure you have the margin in your life to do that. 

5.      Wait on the Lord.

This is your life. You will finish the end of your days waiting on the Lord.  This is the most important work there is if you are to allow your soul to grow up and be what God wants you to be. Be sure to carve out time for this.

6.  Don’t neglect ministry to yourself.

“Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). Investing in your development is your first ministry. This includes monthly and quarterly retreats, utilizing the gift of therapy along the way, finding a good spiritual director, and seeking mentors at different stages of the journey. It is the most loving gift you can give your church. What does this mean for Christmas? Take a few moments now to ask God what you need to remain connected to him over the next few weeks.

7. Lead out of your vow of marriage.

Scripture is clear about marriage between one male and one female as a taste of Christ’s free love for his bride, the church. And central to this marriage vision is the sexual relationship. It is essential, not peripheral, to your spiritual formation and discipleship as a Christ-follower.

8. Live what you preach.

Good sermons take a lot of time to gestate. If the sermons aren’t changing you, they will not transform anyone else. This is both a joy and an agony if fresh revelation from Scripture is going to come through the unique prism of your life. This never changes, whether you have been preaching for six months or 30 years.

9. All the work of pastoring is holy and sacred.

It took me 19 years to learn this hard lesson, and I am still learning it. Preparing budgets and job descriptions, hiring, firing, planning a good meeting, handing in reports, confronting conflicts, etc. is every part as holy as prayer and Bible study. Be sure to fight against the sacred/secular split first in your own life and then in the life of the church. Recover a biblical theology of work and spirituality.

10.  Things are not as they appear.

So often what looks like a blessing is not. What looks terrible in the short run is, very often, a rich gift. When you think you are going forward, you may be actually going backwards. What appears as success, oftentimes ends up being a failure and setback. Failures will teach you much more than success every time.

The pressures of Christmas can distract us from what’s most important. I hope these 10 lessons will help you focus on Christ and enjoy this holiday season.

A friend of mine from Singapore was visiting NYC recently. He is well-respected Christian leader in that part of the world. Over lunch I asked him his view of the American church and evangelicals in particular. He was reluctant to answer, but after some prodding on my part used the following words to describe us- reductionistic, black and white (resistant to nuances and mystery), and more of a civil religion tied closely to culture, than biblical.  I wanted to explore more but our lunch table with family had other more fun topics to talk about.    

David Wells was one of my professors I had at Gordon-Conwell in the mid1980’s. In his book, The Courage to Be Protestant, he recommends we abandon the term evangelical because it has outlived its usefulness, arguing that it is now sagging and disintegrating.  He writes:

“There have been just too many instances of obnoxious empire-building going on, too much in evangelicalism that is partisan and small, too much pandering to seekers, and too much adaptation of the Christian message until little remains.  Too many of its leaders have been disgraced.  There have been too many venal television preachers.  There are too many of the born-again who show no signs of regenerate life.  For many people, the word “evangelical” has become a synonym for what is trite, superficial, and moneygrubbing, a byword for what has gone wrong with Protestantism.  Those who still think of themselves as being in the tradition of historic Christian faith, as I do, may therefore want to consider whether the term “evangelical” has not outlived its usefulness.  Despite its honorable pedigree, despite its many outstanding leaders both past and some in the present, and despite the many genuine and upright believers who still think of themselves as evangelical, it may now have to be abandoned. If not evangelical, what?…If the word “evangelical” has outlived its usefulness, what is the alternative?  Here, I am flummoxed.  My own labels are too ponderous to be used widely.  I am reaching out for help…  I am nevertheless going to think of myself as a biblical Christian first and foremost, as in continuity with Christians across the ages who have believed the same truth and followed the same Lord” (p. 18-20).

For a evangelical theologican of the stature of Dr. Wells to make these statements is, at the very least, quite shocking. I think he may right.  I like the label “biblical Christian in continuity with Christians across the ages” and will continue to ponder that for a while.

What are your thoughts?

Perhaps the most significant thing that emerged from me out of my four days with the Trappists revolved around the theme of “THE DIFFICULT LOVE OF LOVING OUR ENEMIES” This was the theme of Father Dominic’s conferences. His basic thesis was that if silence and solitude with God does not lead to greater love for our enemies, then it is not worth much. UGH!

I have been serving as a leader seeking to build Christian community for over 22 years at New Life. I am under no illusions around the suffering involved in modeling the love of Christ as a church. When I discovered the monastic tradition over 7 years ago, what came alive in me was contemplation with God – apart from other people. While I love our people, the connection to a greater love for people has not been a major part of this 7+ year journey. Geri, more than once, has suggested to me that my judgementalism has worsened, not improved over these years!

Father Dominic basically argued against the impossibility of thinking about contemplation or “spiritual life” in abstraction from the actual business of living in the body of Christ, that is, living in concrete community. He quoted and expounded on the following sayings of the Desert Fathers:  “Our life and our death is with our neighbor.  If we win our brother, we win God.  If we cause our brother to stumble, we have sinned against Christ.”

 Moses the Black, a converted Ethiopian highwayman who was a bigger-than-life personality, wrote:“The monk must die to his neighbor and never judge*him at all in any way whatever.”
Father Dominic noted:  ”By judging” I don’t mean realistically discerning what is good and evil, right and wrong, appropriate and inappropriate.  I mean, deciding whether someone else, as a person, is worthy of love, or in some sense is to be “written off” (“condemned”).  A good synonym for “judging” in this sense is “despising.”  Being “judgmental” of persons, hardening our hearts against them, is the problem; not judging the rightness or wrongness of their behavior or choices.”

He then quoted John Climacus from the 7th century: “The failures of beginners result almost always from greed. In those who are making progress, the failures come also from too high an opinion of themselves.  In those nearing perfection, they come solely from judging their neighbor.”

I will close with the wise words of Abba Theodore of Pherme said, “There is no other virtue than that of not despising anyone.”

Why do you think it is so easy to separate our relationship with God from loving our “enemies”?

While I am a high extrovert who gathers energy from being with people, I love silence.  So the highlight, up till now on my yearly visits to the Trappists has been the rhythms of the Daily Office, especially Vigils at 3:30 in the morning! And when the chants conclude at about 4:10 am, I generally go back to my “cell” and try to follow them in meditation and prayer until Lauds (the 2nd office of the day) at 6 am. I love their emphasis on the ordinary, the obscure and simplicity of work.

This year, however, God met me very powerfully in a new way – through my spiritual direction and conferences with Father Dominic, the prior of the monastery.  The prior would be like the COO or executive pastor of a large church. Formerly a professor at Georgetown University and a Dominican priest, he joined the Trappists 26 years ago to focus on his calling to prayer. Since his arrival, however, he has been a leader in one form or another.  Now he carries pressure-filled responsibilities not unlike that of any church pastor juggling finance, buildings, people with pastoral needs, crisis and strategic planning concerns for the future.  On top of all that he is responsible for leading the business of their Trappist preserves which generates some of the money for their community.  He too has to fight daily for silence, for prayer and for time to meditate on Scripture throughout the day.

What did I learn from him? The following is my list from my journal:

1. Love of my neighbor is more important than prayer!
2. Compassion is birthed in solitude. It is there that I become connected to people.
3. Spiritual life and death is at stake in my relations with others.
4. God’s invitation is that I hide the sins of others, not judge them.
5. Empathy of the “irreducible” of a human person cannot be learned in a seminar. It is birthed by the Holy Spirit.
6. Leadership of a community cannot be separated from the crucifixion, and later, resurrection.

A part of me loves monastic silence and life because it gets me away from people and problems. Father Dominic’s word was that our neighbor is my connection to God. The local church, our local community with all her idiosyncrasies and messes, is the place of profound spirituality. It is the place I learn to work out a genuine, contemplative spirituality.

Why do you think it is so easy for people, like me, to separate our love relationship with Jesus with our love for difficult people and  our “enemies?”

Last Monday I arrived at the  St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer Massachusetts for my annual weekly retreat with the 70+ monks living there. It was probably my most significant retreat of the last seven years.

St. Joseph's Abbey, home to the Cistercian (Trappist) Monks. Spencer, MA.

The following journal entries from my first day (that is until vigils at 3:30 am Tuesday morning) will give you a glimpse into my time: 

“The goal of this retreat is to keep company with You Lord, to be with You detached from all else, to get rid of all baggage and be cleansed of the world, and, most importantly, to listen.  I am holding the following questions Lord”:

The overall theme of my retreat emerged early out of my meditations on Athansius’ Life of Antony.  I had read summaries of Antony’s  life in the desert for many years, but never the actual history itself. The Prior, Father Dominic, suggested that I look at Antony’s rhythm’s of moving deeper into the desert during his life to be in solitude with God as His public ministry expanded.  He suggested I might find in this a model or some insights around God direction for me. He was right.

Antony began as an anchorite outside his village living in solitude for years before retreating to the desert to live in the tombs for 20 years! After emerging transformed by God, the crowds sought him out and God used him mightily. Later on, however, he retreated deeper to an “inner mountain” in the wilderness where he lived alone for the rest of his life.  People met with him only on his “outer mountain.” Meditating on his journey and struggle greatly encouraged me over the week as I made some decisions around my own priorities.

 I prayed that I, like St. Antony,  might have a “soul free from confusion, a purity of soul, a stability of character, outer senses that are undisturbed,a  joy from my soul that causes my face to be cheerful and untroubled, a calm spirit, a mind joyous, and be extremely wise.”   

So much happened in my four days there that I couldn’t imagine staying there much longer! I’ll continue this blog around the experience later in a Part 2.

Do you agree, or not, that there is much to be learned from people like Antony, the first monastic desert hermit, that applies to our serving of Christ and leadership in the West?