Show up.
Pay attention.
Tell the truth.
Leave the rest to God.

I spent part of last week at our annual clergy conference. Each year, the bishop, priests, and deacons across the diocese gather for a few days. We renew old friendships and make new ones, eat and drink and pray together, and spend time listening to and learning from an invited speaker.
This year was different. First, we were a much larger group, because we were joined by our neighbors next door: the clergy from the Diocese of Olympia. Theirs is a much larger diocese – more than twice our size – so the gathering was much fuller, with around 200 people present. It was great fun meeting a whole new set of colleagues, and renewing relationships with some people I had not seen in years.
Second, our guest speaker this year was the Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori. Bishop Katharine spoke and led discussions centered on Faithful Leadership in the 21st Century. We talked about changing dynamics, changes in the culture inside and outside the church, and the attributes and responses of godly leadership, lay and ordained.
At one point, Bishop Katharine offered a summary of needed basics – one that I’ve heard before, but that stuck with me this time. She attributed it to a Franciscan source that escapes me, but which I believe was adapted from the studies of cultural anthropologist and author Angeles Arrien:
Show up.
Pay attention.
Tell the truth.
Leave the results to God.

Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? And like most simple realities, challenging to live into; but I believe a key to healthy, spiritual leadership. It is, among other things, an excellent summary of Jesus’ approach to ministry.
Show up: choose to be present, to be fully in the moment.
Pay attention: notice what is significant, what has meaning.
Tell the truth: speak without blame or judgment, and with honesty and clarity.
Leave the results to God: be open to the outcome, without clinging or seeing it as a reflection of one’s own value or worth.
I think I will post this in my office, and continue to meditate on ways to put it into practice. I invite you to do likewise.

God’s peace,
Jane+

“O Lord, your compassions never fail, and your mercies are new every morning …” This is the way of Jesus Christ, the way that leads to life.