Hung Parliament?

A queue at the polling station. In one of the safest Tory seats in the country, I don't expect my vote to swing the election.  But too many people around the world don't get the chance to vote, so I think it both a privilege and a responsibility to participate.

Don't think I've ever had such a long wait to vote. Is that a sign of high turnout? Bumped into our former/future(?) MP while there. He was wearing a moderate sized blue rosette: see the rules.

Interesting how the parties use words. Notice how the Lib-Dems refer to a House of Commons with no overall majority as a 'Balanced' Parliament, while Labour and Conservative parties refer to a 'Hung' Parliament. Of course, after the revelations of the past couple of years, 'hung' also refers to what many voters would rather see happen to the politicians, not the parliament!

The Making of a Leader

For couple of years a borrowed biography has sat on my bedside bookshelf.  I was lent it soon after my (much) better half started working for a new organisation, as the history of it was tied up in the founder.  But having briefly opened it, I decided to search out and read volume one prior to attacking the enticing second volume.  I'll confess that the searching was a bit passive, but when I saw it on sale at the bookshop in our January sale I purchased the copy and started reading.

So last week I finished reading the first volume of Timothy Dudley-Smith's biography of John Stott CBE.  Entitled John Stott - The Making of a Leader it tracks the childhood, studies and first 25 years of his London based leadership, with a taster of the global influence that was to come over the next 3 decades.

I find many biographies fascinating for their historical element as much as the lives that are portrayed.  This one no less so.  It covered elements of 20th century history with which I was less familiar.  It introduced me to the background of someone I first heard speak in the 1970s, but with whose speaking and books I have become more familiar in the past 20 years.  I have a recording of his last public speaking engagement (July 2007) and have read extracts from his last and recently published book, The Radical Disciple (also available from our Bookshop (see above).

But surely from biographies of great people there must also be lessons to learn.  My current reflections are:

• the the strategic investment that 'Bash' chose to make in the lives of young leaders reaped rewards beyond measure
• John Stott has great natural gifts but excercised great disipline to make the most of them
• the decisions he made in young adulthood involved great personal cost
• As the 'job' grew, regular reviews and a supportive team enabled him to focus on the strategic

I think that there's a great deal more than that.  But these lessons have tended to stick as they are currently 'scratch' in areas I'm thinking about.

Waders for the men

During January 1994 heavy and prolonged rain on the south downs caused the River Lavant, which for much of the year trickles through Chichester, to become a torrent that could no longer pass in the culvert under the city centre.  Diversion of the river led to the the main coast road, the A27 being flooded.  The army was called in and in short order constructed a Bailey bridge over a flooded roundabout and restored east-west traffic.  The Army Benevolent Fund was the beneficiary as grateful motorists passing slowly over the temporary structure willingly filled collection buckets held by the bridge builders.

An article appeared in the Independent

John Adair in one of his books mentions one young officer at Sandhurst on whose annual report was written “Smith is not a born leader yet.”  What are the qualities the army was looking to inculcate within their officer ranks?  Seven years later I was delivering some training at an engineering company in the Midlands.  One of the delegates was a Project Manager who I discovered had been the Major in charge of the company of Royal Engineers building the A27 bridge.  As we reminisced I discovered that a number - but insufficent number - of pairs of waders had been obtained for the troops who were standing in thigh deep running water as they worked on the bridge.  "So the officers got the waders" I quipped.  Only to be corrected in a way that left me in no doubt that the officers put their men first.  Good leadership?

I was reading a blog which raised the variance between leader and manager.  It provoked me to thought as to how I balance the mix of roles that I have.  My job title includes the word 'manager' and certainly that's part of what I do.  But if it's all I do, then opportunities might be missed, strategic vision parked in a safe place, and business growth will only happen if its thrown in our direction.  On the other hand, I'm not a Richard Branson...

As a trainer by instinct and profession I love imparting information. Sometimes the skill or knowledge transfer requires me to behave as I'm not. I might make a consious decision to be more dramatic than I naturally am. On occasion I convince myself we're going to have a succesful outcome to a course when my instinct tells me otherwise. (Believe me, it can make a real difference to the outcome for the students.)


A few years ago in a discussion over Belbin's Team Roles Theory an experienced management consultant suggested to me that it was possible to train yourself to overcome one's natural roles to fill almost every role within a team, slotting in whereever there were vacancies.  He had reached a point of filling all but one team role as required.  So on the 'not a born leader yet' principle, is it possible that not only we can be become better leaders, but we can discipline ourselves to behave as a leader, projecting ourself into a necessary role and (perhaps by using other characteristics as well) provide the vision that others catch and and join in realising.

So what changes do I need to make to produce that result...?

Published!

Does another career beckon? I've had a photograph published in the Times Newspaper.
View the article here

It was all a bit of a rush.  I had a phone call about midday Friday 15th from the Manager of our bookshop saying that the Times had interviewed us for an article in the Saturday edition, but needed some photos by 13:00. As I'd been the one taking photos I rapidly went through what I had, made a couple of edits, and emailed the best of them to the newspaper. I had a very pleasant reply shortly afterwards.

I heard someone say that 'photography is very hard to make a living from.' I've no illusions of grandeur. It remains a hobby.

But I have found some great quotes about photography here

On being a hoarder

I'll confess to being a bit of a hoarder - especially when it comes to books and papers.  This characteristic has pros and cons (although only fellow hoarders will agree with the pros).

But inevitably the need for some clear flat space (the floor, the desk) brings me to the point of clearing out.  In recent years while not wholeheartedly endorsing the principle, I have moved closer to the idea that if I haven't used/opened/looked at something for a decade, I'm unlikely to ever do so, so dispose of it.

So it was in this spirit that I did some serious clearing out after Christmas, but not without some associated emotion.  Take, for example, a set of teaching transparencies for use with an overhead projector.  I know we moved to PowerPoint ten years ago and I haven't used them since.  I acknowledge that all the notes I had so carefully written on the frames surrounding the slides I have used so many times that they are committed to memory.  I know that it is unlikely I will ever use an overhead projector again (thankfully).  But still there was the emotional tugging of history.  The people who attended some of those early seminars, the places I went, the lives that were helped...

Which led me to thinking about what God has to say on the subject.  I'm not talking about 'treasures on earth' but more of the balance between past and future.  Paul writes of 'Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead... [Philippians 3:13, NIV].  But in balance we know too that God 'will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.' [Hebrews 6:10, NIV]. And the Bible frequently tells God's followers to use a tangible item as a memory jogger to recall his goodness in the past.  So I've thrown out the slides, and a whole host of other stuff, but kept a handful of other items so that when I do look at them - this year, next year or in a decade's time, I might be reminded of God's work in various ways.

New Year's Day Tradition

For several years our Homegroup has met for a New Year's Day walk around East Head and BBQ brunch at West Wittering car park.  (If you've done it for a second year it must be a tradition, and three years or more, a firmly established tradition.)

This year conicided with a spring tide High Water on the back of the 13th full moon of 2009.  I wondered if the 'Hinge' - the piece of land joining Wittering to East Head - might be flooded, but although we couldn't enjoy all of the normal coastal path on the east side of East Head, we had no trouble getting on to the spit.

The walk seems to go more quickly each year.  Perhaps it's something to do with the children getting older and walking more quickly.  It was cold, but nowhere near as bitter as last year.  We had sunshine this year, and the wind was much lighter.  Quite a number (but not from our group) were enjoying a swim in the sea.  Brrrrrrr.

Once back at the fairly crowded car park, warm mulled wine was followed by sausages & bacon rolls, with onions, tea, coffee, choclate biscuits, and toasted marshmallows.  By the time we'd got through all of that the heat was disappearing, we were getting progressively more cold, and it was time to head home to warm and soporific houses.

The Real Reason for Participating?

St Olav

Blogging time this week as been directed at establishing a new web site for our new bookstore.  The chain that ran a Christian bookstore in town had got into difficulties and was closed down by the charity commission in August.    Some people in the city formed a new trust to open and run an independent Christian Bookstore and resource centre, and I agreed to become a trustee.

The bookstore is in an old church building - the oldest building in the city - and has been let to us at a peppercorn rent by the diocese.  We've got a cross section of trustees from churches in the area, and are looking to provide a range of literature to suit a variety of styles.

Yesterday we opened and had a good day of sales - a promising start.  There is quite a bit of excitment that there is a shop back in town!

Now the 'website', which is another  blog, needs some redesigning to make it in to a proper website.  A new adventure for my (limited) technical skills...

http://www.stolavchristianbookshop.org/

Just for the sunrise

This is the sun rising over Inner Froward Point and the Mew Stone as we left Dartmouth (UK) on Deo Volente, a Nicholson 476, 26 June 2008.  We'd been 'stuck' in Dartmouth for 3 days (a most beautiful harbour in which to sojourn) because of strong winds, and identified a 5 hour weather window to make a short hop down to Salcombe.  The forecast was correct - by 11 am the wind was rising and we settled down in Salcombe for 3 more very windy days...

The trip was enlivened as we were motoring into a west-south-westerly breeze and a good swell about 200 metres off the cliffs of Prawle Point when our engine died.  (We later found out that it was a fuel blockage in the tank.)  Even now, looking back, I'm impressed with just how quickly we unfurled the sails.  A lee shore is a great motivator! 

We entered Salcombe under sail (not normally encouraged) and used the tender, a 10' RIB alongside, as the driving force to round smartly upwind and drop the anchor just off the beach at Mill Bay.  The Salcombe harbour staff couldn't have been more helpful, and later towed us to a mooring protected from the increasing wind.

No greater joy

This weekend our youngest turned 21.  About 50 friends and family came together for a celebration and some very nice things were said about him (being his father I can objectively say that they were all true!)

More years ago I than I care to remember I wrote a study on the words of an ancient writer, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.*"  Like the author, I've experienced the same many times with a number of 'children' - people who I've been privileged to assist in a spiritual birth & growth process, and who years later continue on that same journey. 

But in this situation, one's flesh and blood, there is added poignancy.  Like his older brother, when he was very young we had a service of dedication for him.  The dedication was ours, not his.  We thanked God for his arrival, and acknowledged that not only had God given him to us, but that we gave him back to God, committing ourselves to bring him up by example and teaching to follow God so that he might in time make his own informed choice to follow Jesus.  Well, despite my frequent mistakes and inconsistent parenting skills, by God's good grace he (like his older brother) did make that decision and continues to make Jesus a priority in his lifestyle choices and example.

As a parent one is influenced by all kinds of wishes for one's children.  Among them are happiness, health, wealth etc, etc.  But I remind myself that that which really matters is that they walk in the truth.  And I'm thankful to God for an amazing wife, Christian friends and a great church who have all lived out love and forgiveness, and taught our sons why the decision to follow Jesus is the key decision to make.

* The Bible, 3 John verse 4

Scott of the Antarctic

The Scott Polar Research Institue in Cambridge is publishing day by day the diary of Captain Scott during his tragic expedition to the South Pole.  They are doing it in the form of a blog - something we're familiar with - to help readers capture the spirit of the expedition, and the difficulties they went through.

You'll find it here: Scott's diary. As one old enought to be brought up with him on the list of 'British heroes' I confess to knowing relatively little about the expedition.  It's interesting reading - respect to them for their dedication to the cause through difficult circumstances, but also slightly morbid because we know what the result is going to be come March next year.  These are real people, not fictional characters.

What's in a name?

Last year I spent a week sailing with friends.  Well, that was the intention.  Thanks to the weather we only managed two short and one long (12 hour) trip.  The forecast as we set off from Lymington on the Saturday afternoon was for south westerly gales all day Sunday. So rather than heading out into Lyme Bay and thence to Devon, we settled for crossing Christchurch Bay and anchoring in Studland Bay, sheltered from the prevailing and forecast winds by the hills and cliffs of the Isle of Purbeck.

All day Sunday we rode to the wind and rain.  We ate, read, slept and relaxed, protected from the worst effect of the weather because we were in the lee of the land.  Only once the wind had dropped did we venture out, catching a favourable tide at 2:00am on Monday and arriving in Dartmouth mid afternoon.  (The picture shows Old Harry, the rock at the south eastern end of the bay.)

In conditions beyond your capability it's great to be sheltered in the lee of something bigger and more robust than you.  Thirty eight years ago I came to realise that facing the storms of life required something bigger than me.  So I chose to place my trust in a man from Nazareth, sent from heaven 2000 years ago with the express purpose of dying.  This death was not to be a normal death, but an undeserved and substitutionary 'in my place' death the Roman way, crucified on a wooden cross.

This decision continue to be a life changer for me.  It demands a radical commitment to following the teaching and model of Jesus.  It has delivered forgiveness from God and an ongoing confidence that life is not just about the here and now, but has the guarantee of forever with him in a place dominated by his awesome presence.

So I've placed my life in the shelter  - or lee -of the cross of Jesus.  And coincidentally, the blog name is also a wordplay on my name.

When authority is the problem

I've been reading 1 Samuel this past week, and have been reminded that David, whose life was threatened by Saul for a number of years, was given 2 opportunities to kill Saul. Once, in the cave, urged on by his men, Saul was at his mercy, but David chose just to cut off a portion of Saul's robe. On another occasion David crept past Saul's guards into his camp at night, taking Saul's spear and water jug to demonstrate that he had been close enough to Saul to kill him.

Why didn't he kill him? After all, life would have been so much easier with Saul out of the way. And you would be hard pressed to argue that Saul didn't deserve it.

The key is that David knew that God had placed Saul in that position (Saul was God's anointed king) and therefore it wasn't David's responsibility to remove Saul to enable David's own protection or promotion. If God wanted David to move from being king-in-waiting to being king, then God would have to do it.

Sometimes, like David must have wished, I'd like to accelerate my progress in one walk of life, or another. Sometimes I know of friends who are working for a supervisor or boss whose influence is disruptive or damaging. Other times there is that job you'd really like but it's "dead men's shoes", in other words you can't get that position until another person moves on.

David is a great lesson for us. Whereas some people might be tempted to betray a boss, indulge in a bit of character assassination, or in another way actively participate in their removal, our response should be, with God's help, to do the best we can in the circumstances, and trust Him to take care of the problem.

Romans 13, verses 1 & 2:
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. (NIV)

For David to have slaughtered Saul would have been presumptuous. Like saying, "God, I know best." Often God will do more in our lives helping us work through difficulty that by us short-cutting that difficulty and removing someone in authority over us.

And when God is ready, the door will be opened for you.

Guarding against idolatry

This week the challenge from Exodus 21-24 was "no other gods... no idols".

The two questions that have got me thinking are:
"What do you think about when your mind in in neutral?"
"What do you do during your idle moments?" (No pun intended?)

An objective observer of my own life over the past week would conclude that ______ is my god.

I'm still thinking about this. What about you?

Sovereignty

Reading in Genesis this week. Was reminded of the planning and control of God. Through all of his circumstances God was preparing Joseph for the role of saving his family. Not a bad reminder that even in the difficult circumstances there is a God at work.