Len Hjalmarson refers to Doug Pagitt’s analogy of leadership as organic gardening.

Doug Pagitt once proposed we ditch the word “leadership” with all its military implications, and find new language for talking about those who tend to communities. His preferred analogy was an organic gardener.

take crap and use it to nourish things
it isn’t “dirt,” it is soil, and the preparation and maintenance of the soil is really important
things that are garbage are used to grow the garden
vigilance is important
be willing to take smaller fruit in order for it to be truly healthy
gardening requires a systems understanding
gardens die every winter and require replanting
things can only grow in certain climates
hybrids don’t reproduce
if you use miracle grow to start, you have to keep boosting the amount
what you plant next to what is important
you have very little to do with the success of the gardern, photosynthesis is still a mystery, you can’t make it grow, it is a miracle
backs and knees are sore because you are down in the dirt, you don’t stand above the garden
we need to protect the garden from bunnies. Worms are good, bunnies are bad.
organic fruit doesn’t all look like the stuff in the market. Quality is over beauty, and there is no uniformity.. you share from the excess.

Notes from the above book are now online.

To prepare us for communion, I’m telling a story this Sunday as part of the joint assembly. The story is based on the accusation levelled against the early church regarding cannibalism. Her neighbors didn’t know what to make of Christians eating the body and drinking the blood of someone. My story is about a guy who hears the rumor and decides to investigate by attending an early Christian assembly. What he finds there obviously isn’t cannibalism, but it is disturbing and perplexing nonetheless.

We’ve got a big Sunday coming up. We’re doing a joint fun day with Believers Church, a great church that uses our building on Friday nights for one of their services. We’ll start with a joint worship assembly at 10 AM. Then we’ll go outside and eat and play together. I’m honored to be part of a church where such a thing can happen. I see this as being some of the fruit from the study our leadership team has been doing about the Kingdom of God.

Psalm 133
1 How wonderful it is, how pleasant,
when brothers live together in harmony!
2 For harmony is as precious as the fragrant anointing oil
that was poured over Aarons head,
that ran down his beard
and onto the border of his robe.
3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon
that falls on the mountains of Zion.
And the Lord has pronounced his blessing,
even life forevermore.

Heather and I have started reading the latest Harry Potter book. We got hooked on Potter a couple of years ago, just before the first movie came out. It’s great reading a story with someone else. It’s a mad dash to see who can get in bed first and grab the book. Right now I’m a couple of chapters ahead of her, which is just how I like it. I don’t want to run the risk of her accidently revealing plot points–something she has done before, although I doubt the accidental nature of her revelations. Right now she’s at home and the boys are napping. Uh Oh.