I Left My Heart in SanFrancisco

You know the song and most of us can probably remember Tony Bennett singing it.

Last week I spent 5 days at an Advanced Leadership workshop put on by the Klemmer and Associates staff. Heeding their admonition to take what is useful and leave the rest, I began the week with 32 other leaders and a staff of 7, two were volunteers and one came on his own dime from Tulsa!

This was one of those workshops for which I had no prior leadership responsibility. That and the fact that I knew absolutely no one put me into a very humble place that I never got to leave throughout the event.

I know how much I dislike it when others tell me this, but, I won't describe in any detail what we did or said. It would not matter anyway because each one gets what and as much from the experience as they choose.

By the third day, I was ready to go home with more than my money's worth. On that day, the foggy lenses through which I have viewed my entire life and ministry were allowed to slip off and I saw myself and my relationships, as well as my commitments to Christ in sharper relief.

Fortunately, I stayed with the process because there was so much more to come.

Colleagues, it is no accident that God put this opportunity in my path at this juncture. We are about to engage in missional life together with new and familiar partners and at a level of investment unparalleled in the history of this area. Between all of us, we now have more access to tools and more reasons to commit to excellence than ever before. There is also a catch.

We can do no credible mission work, preach no credible message of saving grace, emerge as a trusted leader - worthy to be followed if we will not confront the inner demons that continually sabotage us and keep us at arm's length from success. Self-doubt, laziness, ineffectiveness, judgement, blame, shame, and pride have a life of their own when they are tolerated and neglected. The shadow side of us demands parity with the side bathed in Christ's light. Sadly, we have helped to grow a church culture with so much emotional distance between us that we often affirm or excuse the very character traits and behaviors that undermine mission.

I discovered that I was actually holding us back every bit as much as I thought that I was being supportive. That's a long story and one I don't need to air on a blog. I do want to thank you, though, for your implied or explicit support for me. I could not do this level of personal mastery work without your help.

I am in the process of trying to raise the nearly $5000 I will need to take the next level workshop in February. I have no idea how that will happen - only that I need to understand it well enough to know how to make this opportunity available to more clergy. The kind of progress our workshop participants made in just 5 short days was on a par with a couple of years of seminary. It was that useful.

Klemmer has designed an event - exclusively for Christians - called the Quikening. I am working to arrange for a Quickening Preview event in the area. To see a preview of what a Quickening might offer, go to: http://www.klemmer.com/quickening. The event in which I participated was at the next level up and is called the Advanced Leadership workshop. I'd be happy to explore both opportunities with you.

I would welcome an opportunity to share with congregations and their leaders.


With respect and a desire to support you more effectively than ever,
Bill R-H