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Power In Leadership Acts 4:5 – 12; John 10:11 – 18 Before Eleanor Roosevelt was 10 years old, she became an orphan. Her mother, brother and father all died within a span of two years. Before that difficulty, family life had held no luster for Eleanor. Born as seemingly more wrinkled than most babies, Eleanor received disdain and ridicule – even from her mother – throughout her young life. Only her father seemed to adore her and be able to see beyond her physical unattractiveness. However, his excessive drinking banned him from the family when Eleanor was quite young. At 15 Eleanor’s maternal grandmother, who had taken over her rearing, told her she would be going to boarding school in England. Sailing across the Atlantic, she hardly left her cabin. When she walked ashore it was ‘as if emerging from a cocoon, shaky and unsure of her first steps.‘ She remembers feeling absolutely lost and lonely. Then she met the headmistress of the school – Mlle. Souvestre – who not only delighted in Eleanor, praised her constantly, but also became a lifelong mentor. Souvestre became Eleanor’s daily guide, one to encourage and challenge her, and the reason that Eleanor sought to be a mentor of other women throughout her life. (R. Gerber. Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way. New York: Prentice Hall Press. 2002. Pp 23-25.) Psychologists would not be surprised if someone with the childhood trauma suffered by Eleanor Roosevelt grew up to be a maladjusted person. Mrs. Roosevelt, however, seemed to use that experience to the advantage of the world and the world’s people. Overpowering compassion, unbelievable strength, devotion to those in need, forgiveness of those who personally hurt her, and intolerance of injustice toward others are just some of the traits identified with this woman. She would give much of the credit to the mentoring of the headmistress of her school who seemed to lay down her life for this frightened, unloved, ugly duckling of child. Can you identify the one in your life (or perhaps more than one) who did so for you? Can you identify those to whom you have given life in such a way? Jesus talks about himself as the Good Shepherd. In our Gospel lesson he uses the images of shepherd, sheep, and wolves. These are images he could relate to and teach because of the countryside in which he lived and worked. It is a model that he carried in his heart from the songs he had learned in the synagogue. As I sat in this sanctuary for the opera last week, I was able to experience our beautiful Good Shepherd window as you do each week. The picture of Jesus holding the little sheep gathered into his arms is a restful one. It brings comfort and a nice soothing sense. It doesn’t, however, relate to specific needs of comfort, support or nurture here in the midst of St. Louis. No one, to my knowledge, involved in this congregation owns sheep (not even our two cattlemen). Most of us have had the advantage of visiting the countryside, farms or rolling hills of Missouri, but what about those who have never been out of the city or north St. Louis? What would it mean – what would it look like – for someone to lay down their life for city dwellers…now…here…today? What would it mean for someone to be able to say they know us and we know them; that we belong to them and we listen to their voice? Everyone needs to know that someone believes in them. Everyone needs to be assured that there is possibility within their life. Everyone needs to hear that affirmation by others. Much as some tout the idea of being a ‘self-starter’ or ‘self-made person’ I do not believe there is such an entity. We are all products of the relationships we have had, the environments in which we have been reared, and the affirmation/love we have either received or not received. Thankfully, Eleanor Roosevelt encountered the one who would help her shift from being bereft, lost, lonely and unloved to being one held and nurtured, cared for, led, loved, and challenged. Those who know Jesus Christ have that chance as well. They, and all of us, need not continue in life isolated and un-attended. But how does that word get out? As the church of Jesus Christ — the body, the visible presence, of Christ — we are the ones who serve in that capacity for others. We are the ones called to claim others in this life. We are the ones called to care for, affirm, and harbor others in safety. If we take this seriously we are the shepherd! And there is great power in that call. The sheep — all God’s children — in this world need to be claimed. The wolves of the day are real — even though they don’t look like the wolves that would bother the pastoral scene of years ago. The wolves of today are any ills that destroy the sense of human worth and dignity. They are the unfortunate circumstances that eat away hope, that dull our children’s imaginative spirits, that set barriers around us, that turn hearts stone cold. Wolves of the countryside snatch the sheep and scatter the others, creating chaos and forcing the sheep out of the fold into isolation. The wolves of the city do the same. A St. Louis Alderman was quoted in yesterday’s paper after a teen-ager was shot to death just north of here. He said: “We’ve had killing after killing. It’s more than kids killing themselves. It’s the environment killing them. They don’t think they’re going to live past 21 years old. They don’t feel like they have a future, so they don’t have anything to live for. The kids have nothing to do – no place to go. We need community centers and neighborhood alternatives to gangs.” Shootings, vandalism, and theft are daily occurrences. Do we close our eyes, lock our doors even tighter and make sure we are in before dark? The wolf snatches some and scatters the rest. In these times it is important NOT to be isolated…NOT to be scattered…NOT to be alone …NOT to allow the wolves to define our existence. There is power in the shepherd. We know there is life and love possible. Union Avenue Christian Church – so the legend goes – has deliberately chosen to stay in this pasture…this neighborhood…over the past 100-plus years. The decisions to do so were not about the building, our money, or member location. Union Avenue has chosen to be here because of a call to mission and the claim we have as shepherds to this community — this portion of the city, these people, the sheep of our pasture. As mentors or shepherds — whichever image fits — our mission is that which Jesus Christ does for us: listening, affirming, forgiving, challenging, claiming us as his own, bringing us into the fold and making sure the wolves will not devour nor isolate those in this protected space. That is why we gather as church. That is why we claim ourselves Christian — because Jesus Christ has opened that life to us. That, then, is what we are called to do for those that have been given to us in this Holy Ground of our neighborhood. Last week I gave you some examples of ways to become involved and people to see and talk with to find those avenues. This week, the block unit of 5400 Enright will begin having their monthly meetings in our building. These are our closest neighbors. They know Clela Anderson. They know Roger Duncan. They need to know others — by name. And we — if, indeed, we are the shepherds, the mentors of this neighborhood — we need to know our neighbors by name as well. We also have a community center across the street from us that could be a place for daily activities of children and teens, but it clearly needs advocacy, neighbor support and rallying efforts to get it functioning well. Isolated, unloved, shuffled off across the Atlantic, a young teenager had little hope of becoming a successful woman, let alone a contributor to society. Yet, because of one woman’s attentive care, challenging love and insightful determination, Eleanor Roosevelt became one of the most important women in American history. Northside St. Louis — a struggling pasture of possibility — needs a Good Shepherd to mentor and help develop it as a community and protect it from the wolves who would scatter and isolate is members. This community — rich with potential and history — will be served by the witness and ministry of Jesus Christ, if we take on that powerful mantle of leadership and service. May we be so bold. May we be so hope-filled. May we be so powerful in our leadership! SW |
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