Kia ora e te whanau
Lynne and I had a couple of nights away in our caravan. Just to be together and to recalibrate. We returned home Monday morning. I parked the car and van facing the ‘wrong’ way outside our property. We live on the main street of Lincoln. Backing the caravan into the property takes timing and a certain willingness to hold up traffic for a little. The spaces are tight and awkward. It’s a stressful endeavour. As I was moving vehicles to make room (we have a small fleet), a neighbour came to inspect the way that our illegally parked vehicles were minimally blocking access to a couple of the recycling bins on the footparth awaiting the council truck’s ministrations to empty them. He was loitering at the entranceway to our property as he was seeking to find who owned the mis-parked vehicles. Having just reparked one of our other vehicles, I came up and asked if I could help him.
“Do you own these?” he demanded, pointing to the car and caravan.
“I do,” I said.
“They’re blocking truck access to these bins!” he complained.
“I’ll be moving them in the next couple of minutes”, I replied.
“The truck could come in the next couple of minutes” he fired back.
The conversation went seriously downhill from this point on. I did not cover myself in glory. I could have been more gracious. I wanted to follow him down the adjoining lane and seek to make repair to a relationship we didn’t have. Lynne said there was no point. He was clearly just an angry man.
I was deeply bothered by what had happened. I was stressed in the moment, and the better version of myself did not show up and respond as I might have to this man. I have no idea what is going on in his life – yet I know that God loves him as much as me.
This has taken me longer to get past than it should. It leads very well into the first article
Leadership & Personal Development Resources
Transform your Inner Critic from a Car Alarm into a GPS
What has really struck me about this Smart Brief article is how closely it tracks with my experience of God, as I have dealt with the issue referred to above, and so many other personal challenges in life, and the less than helpful ways in which I have responded to them. I’ve found the grace of God so much more forgiving than I am, more future oriented than I am, willing me to make a fresh start with the learnings I’m accumulating along the way, rather that wallowing in self-pity. This easily accessed article can be engaged with here: https://dougthorpe.com/when-the-voice-in-your-head-becomes-the-toughest-boss-youve-ever-had/
Dogs display many traits of great leaders − here are 5 breeds that can be your leadership role models
Now, for something completely different. Findlay Macdonald, Kiwi editor of ‘the Conversation’, has written a book about dogs and leadership. Who’d have thought? While I’ve never been a particular dog lover (we’ve had two, or more accurately Lynne has had two), my Father-in-law, a sheep farmer, was particularly good with dogs – I seen dogs do things, on a simple word or whistle, that almost imply human level intelligence. Anyway, the article can be engaged with here: https://theconversation.com/dogs-display-many-traits-of-great-leaders-here-are-5-breeds-that-can-be-your-leadership-role-models-266121
Homilies and Preaching Resources
My response to the lectionary Gospel for the 24th of May – based on John 20 vs 19-23, covers a number of areas, hence it’s longer than usual, and titled ‘Pentecost, The Great Omission, Wesley Day’ . The text returns us to the Upper Room on that Resurrection evening, as Jesus makes his first appearance to the team of disciples. The sermon can be engaged with here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWrPEUcK6QE
Gospel Conversations – out of the Dunedin Anglican Diocese. They host a conversation of 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, they are generally focusing on other parts of the Lectionary. For this coming Sunday the 24th of May (Whitsunday / Pentecost) they consider both Acts 2 vs 1-21, and the Gospel text of John 20 vs 19-23. It can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL68APlMTTY
Rev Darryn Hickling (Methodist colleague leading the Rolleston Project) has posted a brief reflection on Instagram – focussing on Acts 2 vs 1-21, and titled ‘Mind Your Language’. It can be accessed here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYeJZgBBH30/?igsh=aTNyOHhrZG0yZGdz