Reluctant Leadership Is a Good Thing — The Jazz Man
I have been a student of leadership for the majority of my life. From our presidents, both past and present, to leaders across the world such as, Gold Meier, and Winston Churchill, as well as religious leaders…and of course University managers and administrators. The concept of how a person has either the natural skills or […]
The Music Corner
A musical blog, from Jonathon Brooks!
Music greatly enriches my life. I’ve been spending a lot of time in my basement recently listening to CD’s and vinyl records on my Crosley Rochester music machine. It’s been a wonderful time.
What I most connect with in music is the lyrics the singer-songwriters pen. I love experiencing their stories. Often I will read the lyrics as I listen to the songs. This helps me enjoy the music more and I also believe it helps me to be a better listener. Our world is in need of more good listeners. Many of us know how to tell our story. But how many of us truly know how to always listen to the stories of others?
Lately I’ve been listening to the music of Sam Cooke, The Beach Boys, Vampire Weekend, Dixie Chicks, Run Kid Run, The Insyderz, Cat Stevens, Louis Armstrong, The Ataris, MXPX, The Chieftains, Hawk Nelson, The…
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The Gift of Good Pastoral Leadership
It is Tuesday, May 19 in the saga of our 2020 pandemic. It is another cool and cloudy day. Life marches on for each of us….So separated…yet…inexorably connected. I have been reading the increasing criticisms of our Illinois Governor regarding his stay-at-home orders and the reopening of businesses, guided by the science of the spread of COVID-19. Sadly, the preponderance of the criticisms revolve around political affiliations. The Coronavirus does not have political loyalties. We are in the midst of attempting to save lives. Nothing else should be in the picture when it comes to the precious lives of your family! I have voted for republicans and I have voted for democrats…neither of them will be siting by my bedside when I draw my last breath.
However, today, I have been thinking about what a gift that good pastoral leadership is. Having been a christian for 51 years, I have experienced several pastors. All of them had strengths and weaknesses. But, what is fundamental to a good pastor. I think that the job requires, in the words of the old holiness people, someone who has a calling on their life. I am always seeking someone that the job of pastor is more than a paycheck. In my early history with the church…I aspired to be a pastor. I have served as an elder or a trustee or a deacon…in every church that I have been affliliated with. I have known some of my pastors, very well. I have had a front row seat into what motivated them. They have disclosed to me what their inner thoughts and fears and hopes were for the congregation that we were a part of. During the past over half century…a few attributes of a good pastor…have stood out.
A good pastor has the ability to connect with each member of the congregation. They posses empathy. They have the rare quality of humility. A called pastor does not take their self to seriously!
A quality christian leader has the ability to bring the diverse members of a congregation…together. I was gob-smacked when I witnessed the coming together of our congregation during a play that our pastor, Kerry, wrote. His expertise as a play write translated into a heaing and unity that I had not witnessed…in some time!
A good pastor should have the ability to telegraph to each member of the church that they are vital to the mission of the institution. Inherent in this message is that the pastor values you as a person that God has called to be an important member of the group.
A pastor will sit by your bedside when you or your family are ill. This person will call you and pray for you…and get involved in the down-and-dirty business of your life…and they will assist you in bearing your burden!
A good pastor will sit by your bed-side when you are about to make your last bow on the stage of life. They will care enough to become invested in your suffering and your grief…and your loss.
I remember every pastor that cared about me. I see every pastor that was willing to help me or members of my family…when it seemed that no one cared. In the darkest of life days…a good pastor…will share in your sufferings and weep when you weep…and laugh with you…when your are joyous!
Ministry is not for the fainthearted. The requirements cannot all be written in a job description! Ministry comes from the heart…and the Holy Spirit…and a commitment to the emotional baggage of a group of people…
‘Enjoy Each Day-It Is Not Coming Back Again’ — The Jazz Man
I saw more deer today. They watched me…and I watched them. They were peaceful and so was I. I considered that our mutual interest and acceptance of each other, was a good lesson for life in the human family. My mom told me, on numerous occasions, that everything that happens…has a reason. When she told […]
via ‘Enjoy Each Day-It Is Not Coming Back Again’ — The Jazz Man
Paris, Revisited…Or Being a Human is a Team Sport
In 2012 we had the pleasure of visiting; The City of Lights. We were having a holiday with our good friends, Margo and Jeff, in Redhill, Surrey, near London. I had been retired about a year and one half, and it was our second trip to Europe. While pursuing London we visited the Churchill War Rooms and took in a performance of the play, Billy Elliot. So, we decided to take the Chunnel train to Paris. I had never been on such a fast train. The landscape and houses whisked by so rapidly…they were a blur. It was somewhat disconcerting, but I soon became accustomed to it. We were soon in Paris. The city is divided into 20 arrondissements. We stayed, somewhere in the upper teens. I had just watched the, Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris, and I thought about it at every turn. MJ and I had retired at the end of 2010 and we were in the mood to travel. During our 2011 Mediterranean cruise, we had stopped in Niece, France and enjoyed a lovely lunch with Margo. We knew then that we must return to Europe and were quite happy to come back in 2012 for a cruise around the United Kingdom, and a rough seas ride it was, and then to visit with our friends. One of our fondest experiences was being able to renew our nearly 50 year friendship with Jeff and Margo.
Photo by Flo Dahm on Pexels.com
So, Paris was everything that I had dreamed that it would be…and more. On our first, of three day, stay in the land of Gertrude Stein, we visited the Eiffel Tower. Before we left for the Tower we noticed that there was very little toilet tissue in the flat. There were two rest rooms but a separate toilet…in a small closet. That is right…one toilet for five people…and my knees rested on the door. Therefore we stopped by a grocer to purchase our necessity…where a fellow american heard me speaking to Jeff and subsequently remarked that he knew that I was from Alabama… MJ volunteered to carry the tissue in her backpack, and we proceeded to the iconic structure. MJ’s backpack was checked on three separate occasions as we wormed our way through security..and each time the guards greeted what they found in the container with wide smiles and laughs!
Photo by Alex Azabache on Pexels.com
Dinner, after the Tower, was at a quaint restaurant. The food was delicious and the waiter understood what a martini was. He was the only waiter or waitress that brought me, a dry martini, although I requested a dirty martini, at every stop. Most of the restaurants served me a type of wine…
Photo by Daria Shevtsova on Pexels.com
The next morning we arose and walked to a croissant shop that was just down the street. I ordered, what I believed that our group had requested, and the baker smiled at me and gestured with her hands and uttered, ‘Voila,’ and I answered, ‘Voila!’ When MJ entered she placed several more items on our order and I remarked, that I guess it was not…Voila…and she no longer smiled. Every french man and woman greeted us with either a smile and nod or a Bonjour. I was struck with the number of elderly folks that were out and about in the pretty park that was near our flat. Some were walking with the aid of canes or walkers, and many had small dogs with them.
I remember how I felt as we visited with our friends. The warm conversations that were based on many old memories. Hearing about Jeff’s business and recalling our first meeting…so long ago…and yet it seemed like yesterday.
When we arrived back at the flat, I stood out on the little balcony, that was off the kitchen, and marveled at the brilliant lights of the Eiffel Tower. It was comforting and special…and I felt like pinching myself when I considered where I was. I then looked across from the balcony and noticed that most of the windows, that are opened by shutter, were indeed open…with the lights on. I thought of the Alfred Hitchcock movie, Rear Window, where the character played by the actor, Jimmy Stewart, plays a photographer who has a broken leg…and thus occupies his time by watching the members of the apartment complex that he resides in, with is telephoto lens. As I noticed the tableau of life playing out before my eyes..I saw a lady step out of her shower and proceed to dry off. I averted my eyes and felt that I had seen something that I was, obviously not supposed to see. When I told Jeff about it…he laughed and said that he had witnessed that the French did not suffer from the taboos regrading nudity…that we americans possess from our puritan heritage.
The next day we took a walking tour of Paris. Margo and Jeff knew the city so well…they were our guides. I remember the, what seemed like one thousand, steps up to Montmartre. This is the largest hill in Paris and it is known for its artistic history. On its summit is the Basilica of the Sacre-Coeur. ‘During the Belle Epoque, many artists lived in, had studios, or worked in or around Montmartre, including Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Suzanne Valadon, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro, and Vincent van Gogh.’ Wikipedia
MJ almost purchased a painting in Montmartre, as there were painters busily at work and lining the streets of the historic hill. However she found one later that day on the left bank of the Seine…just across from the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
What I felt in Paris was an appreciation for humanity. I noticed a kinship and familial bond with all that I met.
It has been said that you never miss the water until the well runs dry. I think that statement applies to us during our 2020 pandemic. We have been accustomed to going where we want to go and staying until we want to come home. We board a jet plane as the generations that proceeded us, boarded a bus. I heard a person remark that, being human is a team sport.’ We will travel again and enjoy the company of our fellow travelers…but we will appreciate it more…
Listen
I read the headline, today, with encouragement, ‘We are optimistic’: SIU Preparing to welcome students back to campuses this fall.’ New president Daniel Mahony, was quoted as saying in reference to the goal of SIU, ‘to have students back on campus and to offer face-to-face, on-the-ground education this fall, and we are optimistic that we will be able to do so.’ President Mahony believes that the University will reach phase 4 of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s plan by August. ‘Phase 4 allows schools and universities to provide on-the-ground education with approved safety guidance.’ Southern Illinoisan
Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale is of paramount importance to our students and to the people of our region. It is the economic engine that propels Little Egypt. Creative thinking is needed now more than ever. For the present, social distancing and face masks and hand washing…are the best preventatives that are available. Our finest virologist and epidemiologist and scientist…are on the case! I would ask, when you are scheduled to have surgery…do you bring along your, trusted minister, to perform the procedure? Or, if you’re, or my, life hangs in the balance…will we seek our favorite politician to diagnose our illness? In our society of extremes…is it a good thing that we stay home bound until a vaccine is produced, even if it takes a few years? Or, is it something to rejoice over when a state Supreme Court overturns a governor’s stay at home order…and the bars immediately open their doors and become packed from wall-to-wall?
The 1918 Spanish flu had much the same guidance given by the medical professionals of that day…masks and social distancing…were they being political and inflating the danger of the pandemic…over 50 million people died?
If there ever was a more inappropriate or untoward time to point fingers at others or to recriminate or castigate members of our human family in regard to how they are dealing with our 2020 pandemic…I do not know when it was. Each of us entered these uncharted waters with our own sets of problems and worries and sleepless nights…and now we need the comfort and understanding of others…as we ride out this earth shattering storm. This is not the time to yell fire in a crowded theatre…and it is not the time to ensure that we violate every medical and scientific suggestion that has been given us for our survival…
Over many challenges I have learned that the way through any trial or tribulation is a cool head and an honest heart. Empathy has brought me peace in troubled times. The ability to place yourself in the shoes of someone that you disagree with, and to understand why they feel the way that they do.
Listening is a gift. I have not know a plethora of gifted listeners in my life. I have had the pleasure of knowing some. We are all seeking someone who will listen to us. Someone who has the time, and who cares enough, to hear our fears and hopes and dreams. Someone who is not listening to respond with their solution for our problems…but someone who loves us…for who we are…
Note: Photos are colorized from the Spanish flu and courtesy of Google Search.
Where the Poor and the Rich…Break Bread Together — The Jazz Man
Jesus was a progressive. It is chilly in Southern Illinois. An intermittent rain is falling and the sky is overcast. I think that the weather probably reflects the way in which a lot of us feels with the knowledge that we are in our 2020 pandemic for the long haul, as Pastor Kerry reminds us. […]
via Where the Poor and the Rich…Break Bread Together — The Jazz Man
Oh…Deer!
I had the semi-unique experience today of photographing a deer, close up! Now mind you…I have been walking the campus of Southern Illinois University for 42 years, and in that time I have but a handful of opportunities to witness the noble grace of a deer…and subsequently have the chance to snap photos. They are somewhat nervous creatures, at times. However, deer are plentiful in my, Southern Illinois, neck of the woods.
I can recall, when I was a boy, that if you saw a deer, you told everyone that you met! It was almost a life changing experience! But, I must admit that the witnessing of this deer…made my day.
We need a good dose of nature in our lives, and especially during our shared pandemic experience. While we sit isolated in our homes, and social distanced from our family and friends…the deer…wondered what I was looking at…
There is always an abundance of wildlife on campus…but they are bolder than previously. When they see me, they seem to be thinking…where have your been…and could you kindly return to your den…
Have you ever listened to squirrels chitter? If you stand quietly and listen…they carry on a robust conversation…
We will make it to the other side of this terrible virus. And, we will realize that the earth is our shared home. There are many living creatures that are waiting for us…and playing while they wait…and enjoying the cleaner air and clear water.
Emotions…Can Be Deceiving — The Jazz Man
The popular singer and actor, Frank Sinatra, sang ‘I did it my way!’ I have conducted much of my life according to Frank’s advice. It feels good to be the captain of your own ship! I have found that when I agree with a leader’s admonishments for my wellbeing, I think…what a smart woman or […]
Mother’s Day
‘Hit the deck…you rubberneck!’ This was the commandment that my mom woke me with each morning, before school. I thought that all mom’s must utter a similar, colorful, alarm to their children. The first time my buddy, Steve, stayed overnight with us…he was amazed at the wake-up call! Mom was the most compassionate person that I knew…and she had a hot burning temper…if ignited! We had a party-line telephone, and at times we we were either interrupted by other members of the party…or we would hear the phone, click, and know that our colleagues were enjoying a cheap form of entertainment by listening to our conversation. At times, another line member would pick up the phone and ask how long we were planing on talking, as they had a need for the phone. So, one day our telephone rang and mom answered it. We had been experiencing issues with our phone access…and she uttered, ‘Speak ass…mouth won’t!’ Needless to say, I was speechless…and mom felt that she had given them what they deserved!
I mentioned to mom that my second grade teacher had shook me when she became upset with my poor arithmetic skills. She responded that she would visit her for a talk, tomorrow. The next day, after school, mom visited with my instructor. When I asked her what had been said, she responded that she had told my teacher, if she ever laid a hand on me again, that she would, ‘ have her to answer to!’ After that, I did all right in the second grade.
Mom loved to go to the ‘Honky Tonk’…now and then. She enjoyed dancing and her favorite drink was a ‘sloe gin fizz.’ She had been a switchboard operator at the Conrad Hilton Hotel in Chicago. Mom worshipped her mother, Grace, who was a life-long christian. When mom became a christian…she gave it her entire heart and soul. She did to speak much about her faith…she lived it. If she knew of one of her friends or neighbors that was in need…she was there to help. Two of her best friends in Eldorado were women that the town had forgotten. They were not only marginalized…they were made fun of…by many. One of the friends was named, Rosie, and the other was called, One-Eye. I never knew One-Eyes name. She had lost an eye in her youth and was impoverished. She was the kind of person that mom was proud to associate with and to be seen with…and to break bread with. Rosie was a woman who lived alone and had no friends…and she loved our former president, JFK. She was a woman of some physical substance and her constant apparel was what was called a moo moo. She wore bobby socks and had the misfortune of some missing teeth…and a unique laugh. She had no automobile and did not know how to drive, and mom took her to the grocery store and to doctor’s appointments and she had dinner at our home…on a regular basis. She did the same for her friend, One-Eye. While others forgot these ladies…mom loved them and included them in her life. When mom would witness someone who was a loner or disenfranchised due to being somewhat different from, what was considered the norm, she would say, “Poor kid,’ and seek ways to let that person know that they were loved.
I just got out of Zoom Church. Pastor Kerry preached a wonderful sermon. Jonathon commented that he enjoyed what Kerry had to say. When I inquired what part…he responded that when he preached that he believed that God had it all worked out…in that there were many ways to God…not just one! I said that I enjoyed that very much…and have believed the same…since I became a christian…
Mom passed away from Alzheimers Disease…and even when she was almost non-verbal…she could sing every word of Amazing Grace…
The Happy Traveler 