Kia ora e te whanau
The end of this week finds me heading for Alexandra, to take the place of our Executive Officer for Sunday worship. In the meantime, he is in the far north of the South Island lending his grace and wisdom there.
Leadership & Personal Development Resources
These three articles can be seen to flow into one another
Why Smart People Are The Worst Communicators (Forbes)
For those of us in the ‘communication business’, this Forbes article is worth a read. It’s not that we’re all necessarily smart. We aren’t. But we do have an area of ‘expertise’, and it’s easy to unwittingly make a whole series of assumptions about what our audience can understand and keep up with. Our thread of thought may be clear in our own minds, but elusive to those condemned to listening to us. Even more usefully, the article gives some pointers on how we can offer our audience insight into where we’re going in what we’re sharing. It can be accessed here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/andymolinsky/2026/07/07/why-smart-people-are-the-worst-communicators/
The Surprising Reason Smart People Make Terrible Decisions
Yes, it appears that we’re picking on the geniuses among us today. The heart of the argument is the temptation we have to ‘motivated reasoning’ – we look for evidence to support the conclusion we’ve reached and are immune to counter arguments. This article demonstrates that the super-smart among us are no less susceptible to this trap – they may in fact be the most in danger of falling into it.
The solution that’s offered is to emulate Charlie Munger (Warren Buffett’s business partner) who had one simple operating rule: Invert your decision-making process. What does this look like in practice? To quote the article – ‘Cultivate the habit of actively trying to disprove your own favourite ideas. If you can’t find the flaws in your decision, you’re not looking hard enough.’
The article can be accessed here: https://www.fastcompany.com/91567328/smart-people-make-terrible-decisions-surprising-reason
Warren Buffett’s Advice on Failure
Having just mentioned Warren Buffett, it’s worth engaging with Marcel Schwantes on Buffett’s advice on dealing with failure. It’s more than just ‘picking yourself up, dusting yourself down, and having another go’, it’s about recognising that failure provides information.
I’ve been slowly chugging my way through a significant biography of Ulysses S. Grant – brought in late by Abraham Lincoln to be commanding Union general in the American Civil War. There were times when the public bayed for his blood – because of his perceived failures. Grant accepted failure – it told him which options (hopefully less costly in lives) would not work. While the total bloodshed was enormous (3/4 million dead through 4 awful years), his goal was to end the war as quickly as possible in order to keep the body count as low as possible. For Grant, the failures, even costly ones, were information – sometimes even used as distractions to mis-direct his opponents.
With failure we now know what doesn’t work, and so often alternative paths open themselves – which we may have been blind to, or were previously not available to us.
Facing up to mistakes, to quote the article: ‘is what separates healthy leadership from performative leadership. The performative leader says, “We learn from failure,” then quietly punishes the person who brings bad news. The healthy leader says, “Show me what happened, what we missed, and what we will do differently next time.”’ Schwantes then offers a useful series of questions to help with that learning. The article can be read here: https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/warren-buffett-advice-failure-leadership-ted-talk/91369567
Homilies and Preaching Resources
My response to the lectionary Gospel for the 19th of July, – based on Matthew 13 vs 24-30 + 36-43 (The Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat) is titled ‘Reading the Parables’ and considers the archetypal nature of these stories and the multiple ways they can be read. While this is longer than usual, it is, IMHO, worth following through to the end. It can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G24wXzFEl4
Gospel Conversations – out of the Dunedin Anglican Diocese. They host a conversation of (usually) 4 Theologians / Practitioners. The site with all its options can be accessed here: https://www.calledsouth.org.nz/gospel-conversations/. Led by Michael Godfrey, rather than the Gospel text, this year they are generally focusing on other parts of the Lectionary. For this coming Sunday they explore Wisdom of Solomon 12:13,16–19, along with the Gospel text – Matthew 13 vs 24-30 + 36-43 (The Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat). The ‘Conversation’ can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1oZ6vQtzrw
Rev Darryn Hickling (Methodist colleague leading the Rolleston Project) has posted an Instagram reflection titled ‘Is the Weed the Answer?’ in response to this week’s Gospel text. It can be accessed here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dauh4O7hwAa4u-6wHW9Y6HQfBs32yRwngz2ad80/?igsh=MWdlMDJoenpqZHVjOQ==
Rev Dr Trevor Hoggard has posted a second Matariki sermon acknowledging the season. To quote him in this sermon, Trevor considers the questions – ‘Are we alone in the universe? Why have we not made contact with any other civilisation in the cosmos? In this second sermon for the season of Matariki – a Māori festival which marks the turning of the year when the star cluster Pleiades becomes visible over the horizon again in the early morning – I explore some of these intriguing questions’. Trevor’s offering can be engaged with here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzs1AO-xcyg&t=4s
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A Reminder – UCANZ Biennial Forum 2027 – to be marked in your diaries!
Yes, while it does not meet universal approval, we used Kings Birthday for our last forum, and we’ll be doing the same next year. We recognise this is a much coveted long weekend for many. We need the extra time that the long weekend offers. We expect to receive the report of the Partner’s Review Commission into UCANZ, and will want to give some time for ‘next steps’. However, we’re also planning to make this a resourcing event, and are currently exploring themes around what it means for church to be ecumenical in our local settings.
What we’ve settled on
When: Opening – 7pm on Friday the 4th, and Closure with lunch on Monday 7th of June 2027
Where: St Marks / Wesley Uniting Church, 58 Woburn Road, Hutt City Uniting Parish, Wellington. This is handy to an extensive public transport system, so booking for accommodation leaves open a broader series of options.