{"id":33806,"date":"2023-11-02T05:15:39","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T12:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=33806"},"modified":"2023-11-02T06:21:02","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T13:21:02","slug":"listening-for-the-kingdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/listening-for-the-kingdom\/","title":{"rendered":"Listening for the Kingdom"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sound of Leadership: Kingdom Notes to Fine Tune Your Life and Influence, <\/em>by Jules Glanzer, presents a pause from the intense readings of the past few weeks. The title of the book grabbed my attention immediately as it hinted at further insights to the importance of listening, a thread I\u2019m following throughout our readings. However, it was the words at the end of the Prelude, \u201cSound is the interface between heaven and earth\u201d[1]<\/a> that not only sparked my imagination about the relationship between leadership and the kingdom of God but took me back to a vivid memory of a morning walk with my husband at Lithia Park in Ashland, Oregon, during the summer of 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201c…the kingdom of God is in your midst.\u201d \u00a0Luke 17:21<\/p>\n

We attended a production at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival the previous evening. I remember little of the event\u2026 a modern twist on a familiar play now forgotten. The next morning my husband and I went for a walk through nearby Lithia park. We enjoyed an especially sweet conversation, the focus of which was listening for and seeing God in all things. I had been sharing insights from my spiritual direction training, enjoying connection with God through nature, and our time together. I was in a rather contemplative mood and had a heightened sense of God\u2019s presence which surprised me as it was so unexpected.<\/p>\n

We had just fallen silent as we turned to head back down the hill towards the entrance of the park when we heard the faint strands of delicate, ethereal music echoing through the trees. It felt like a thin place, an \u201cinterface between heaven and earth,\u201d as Dr. Glanzer phrased it. The music beckoned us forward as we followed the wooded path and the musical trail until we arrived at the source. There a gentleman sat playing the cello. The lush greenness of God\u2019s creation his backdrop. By this point tears were forming behind my eyes. Something was pulling on my heartstrings, as if the song had a story. We sat on a bench across from the cellist to listen and linger in the moment. When he finished playing, I asked about the song. He told us that he had written it for a woman as a gift for her 75th<\/sup> birthday. He interviewed her and the people who knew her well in preparation for composing the instrumental piece. He listened to her story and created a musical portrait of her life! His gift offered the liminal space in which I sensed heaven and earth met, connecting her story to God\u2019s.<\/p>\n

The entire experience left me feeling as though I had been touched by God\u2019s kingdom bursting on the scene. Afterall, God’s kingdom is here! Right now, in our midst. Are we listening for it? I left the park that morning with a deep appreciation for God\u2019s gift within this man and the gift of listening he gave to others. It was also an invitation to consider how God is not only writing a story but a song for each beautiful soul he has created. It moved me to consider God\u2019s attention to the details of my life, the high notes and the low notes, that make up my story. It reminded me of God\u2019s kingdom breaking through in my life.<\/p>\n

The Sound of Leadership and God\u2019s Symphony<\/p>\n

Dr. Glanzer similarly noted German composer Robert Schumann\u2019s gift for composing music based on real and imagined characters. His question sparked my imagination. What is the sound of leadership within my story?[2]<\/a> Dr. Will Foster impressed upon me that, \u201cAll leadership is autobiographical.\u201d[3]<\/a> The sound of our leadership and our story merge creatively to bring God\u2019s kingdom to earth. Glanzer writes, \u201cThe mission of God in the world is carried out by individuals who allow the Lord to shape their lives, preparing them for meaningful leadership service. Like the sound of a beautiful symphony, their lives inspire those around them bringing hope, peace, and fulfillment.\u201d[4]<\/a> What a lovely image to hold before us as leaders. Glanzer asserts, \u201cEvery direction we set, every strategy we implement, and every decision we make is a stewardship entrusted to us to fulfill God\u2019s purposes on earth.\u201d[5]<\/a> Is that literally and figuratively what I experienced at Lithia Park? \u00a0I am inspired to think of our leadership songs as part of God\u2019s larger symphony to be nurtured and stewarded for His glory.<\/p>\n

Holy Partnership<\/p>\n

Visions of our NPO\u2019s spring to mind. I know that my NPO is interwoven with my personal story. Have you noticed connections to your personal story? How is it part of your unique expression of bringing God\u2019s kingdom to earth? The passion and creativity we are pouring into our projects are filled with holy imagination and holy hope. While we are composing our own unique leadership song we are also participating in bringing forth God\u2019s kingdom to earth, in \u201choly partnership\u201d with Him and others.[6]<\/a> Our imagination, creativity, talents, skills, and personal stories are all woven together by God and represent opportunities for engaging the world with God\u2019s message of love and redemption. That is a beautiful symphony I long to hear. Where will our imagination and creativity as leaders take us and those we lead as we listen for the kingdom?<\/p>\n

In case you are wondering about the cellist here is his website:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.danielaustinsperry.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

I have forgotten the name of the song I heard that morning. I believe it is the piece below as it had a similar effect on me as I listened to several of Daniel Austin Sperry\u2019s pieces before writing this post. I hope you will take a moment to experience the song or reflect upon times when sound and senses felt like a liminal space where heaven and earth met for you.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/danielaustinsperry.bandcamp.com\/track\/ground-song-a-blessing-for-debbie<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Jules Glanzer, The Sound of Leadership, <\/em>(Plano, TX: Invite Press, 2023), xxvi.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Glanzer, The Sound of Leadership, <\/em>52.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Will Foster, Oxford Advance presentation to doctoral students, September 25, 2023.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Glanzer, 42.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid., 82.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Sound of Leadership: Kingdom Notes to Fine Tune Your Life and Influence, by Jules Glanzer, presents a pause from the intense readings of the past few weeks. The title of the book grabbed my attention immediately as it hinted at further insights to the importance of listening, a thread I\u2019m following throughout our readings. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":184,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2310],"tags":[2893],"class_list":["post-33806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-dlgp02-glanzer","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33806"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33815,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33806\/revisions\/33815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}