{"id":490,"date":"2013-12-15T18:38:25","date_gmt":"2013-12-15T18:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beta.dminlgp.com\/?p=490"},"modified":"2014-08-13T20:56:40","modified_gmt":"2014-08-13T20:56:40","slug":"finding-safe-places-in-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/finding-safe-places-in-london\/","title":{"rendered":"FInding Safe Places in London"},"content":{"rendered":"

First Impressions<\/strong><\/p>\n

The London Advance for the George Fox Theological Seminary Doctoral Program (September 2013) introduced me to two wonderful places of safety and joy.\u00a0 The first was found on Sunday afternoon, when my introverted nature draw me away from my cohort to fulfill my passion as a world traveler: to get closer to everyday life of ordinary people in London. Being alone also provided me a few minutes of quiet reflection, to process this tsunami of ideas, insights, new friendships and instructions from this week in London.\u00a0 Leaving my group at the National Gallery, I ventured down to the Thames to find a riverfront festival in full swing, complete with food stands, human statues, jugglers, contortionist and\u2014best of all\u2014lots of children and families.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

One particular group of children playing in a storm of bubbles caught my attention. The children frolicked together attempting to grab these shimmer and allusive objects as they floated by.\u00a0 The children\u2019s laughter and smiles were contagious.\u00a0 Here children seemed safe to laugh and play.\u00a0 This was my first safe place in London.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This one moment seemed to capture perfectly the entire London Advanced for me. Like those colorful bubbles, the week long Face-to-Face had swirled and flashed before me with a vast array of captivating of ideas, insights, challenges, people and places.\u00a0 Getting a handle on the flood of intellectual, sensory and emotional information was like trying to grab a bubble.\u00a0 During this week long feast in this exuberant learning environment I had met business leaders and church leaders\u2014from a pastor in small local parish church to a vicar in grand Cathedral; I enjoyed English Pub food as well Indian and Japanese fare; I visited the heights of the financial world and strolled through local parks and neighborhoods; I had devotions in a small room with my cohort and worshipped in Westminster Abbey; and I even learned how to tweet and blog.<\/p>\n

I was most awed and inspired by meeting and being taught by dynamic church leaders.\u00a0 Here were cutting-edge practitioners making real contributions to both church and society pouring their wisdom into our small group.\u00a0 Also, I witnessed examples of servant leadership from the George Fox Staff whose encouragement continually brought peace of mind and allowed space for joyful exploration.<\/p>\n

Our LGP4 Cohort came together from literally all over the world, a bright display of God\u2019s very best living brilliant and vibrant lives in service to Christ. Here was a microcosm of the church in the world today. Here were pastors, teachers, missionaries and servants, gather for the purposed of trying take hold of this allusive thing we call faith or Christianity or God.\u00a0 What was most obvious about these newfound friends was their passion.\u00a0 Their sacrifice of time, money and effort, to step away from work and family, all for the simple hope of bettering their service.\u00a0 Like these children on the Thames, an instantaneous unity and fellowship was found due a shared center and sacrifice (or maybe from the common feeling of \u201cOMG\u2014what have we gotten ourselves into?\u201d).\u00a0 There was immediately a shared \u201cmeaning and value\u201d that provided cohesion to such a diverse group.1<\/a> Here in this newly formed LGP4 was found a place of joy and fellowship; my second safe place in London<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 Here we had permission to question, inquire and even to disagree. Having stepped out of our traditions and social structures, away from our peers and cultures, we could freely give our full attention to something (or someone) greater than ourselves. For a moment, we could be who we are. \u00a0We came from many nations, cultures, church backgrounds, theologies, educational and social situations, to find common ground in seeking the voice and direction of God that we might better serve Him.\u00a0 Here, we found fellow travelers with a common focus.\u00a0 That common focus created a safe place<\/em><\/strong> where tremendous fellowship and playfulness was experienced.<\/p>\n

New Knowledge<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leadership was a central theme during the Advance.\u00a0 For years, leadership was something I did, not something I thought about.\u00a0 The speakers and the reading on leadership were hugely important to my understanding of both my role and style of leadership; it has also helped me to better understand issues and challenges that I face in ministry.\u00a0 The Saturday Global Leadership Perspective Conference was truly eye opening. MaryKate Morse2<\/a> developed the concept of embodied leadership that works closer to my character and concerns. \u00a0She challenged us to be mindful of what our bodies tell others, realizing that body language speaks volumes about our attitudes toward the other and projects our concepts of leadership and ourselves.\u00a0 Remembering that Jesus embodies us provides important insight about what our actions also might say about our Savior.\u00a0 Her leadership perspective was about leading up-close and personal, through influence and example rather than power.\u00a0 Thereby, \u201cself-leading\u201d then becomes essential to develop effective leadership.<\/p>\n

Martyn Percy\u2019s call for \u201cwise leadership\u201d that is \u201coccupied with God,\u201d rooted in listening3<\/a> resonated strongly with me and dovetailed beautifully with Morse\u2019s insights. David Ford is also concerned with the concept of wisdom, relating it to theology, suggesting that the Christians should \u201cbeware of any pursuit of theological information and knowledge that is not somehow in the service of wisdom.\u201d4<\/a>\u00a0 This renewed focus on wisdom\u2014that is a God informed understanding\u2014of leadership and learning is encouraging. This idea of wise leadership provides a radically different way forward for our modern, CEO style Christian leaders who rely on charisma or power.\u00a0 One reason for my reluctance to read leadership books has been their focus on self-motivation, control and power. How refreshing it was to hear someone espousing a deeper spiritual foundation and focus, for prayer and contemplation to seek God\u2019s direction and voice for authentic leadership. \u00a0A common theme among all the speakers was the need to know who you are, where you stand with Christ, and how much of your life is influenced and reflective of God.<\/p>\n

The most influential lessons on leadership came from the examples of the GFES staff who exhibited servant and empowering leadership. I often heard the staff speak words of encouragement and affirmation to the cohort.\u00a0 It became clear over the week that this program and its leadership paradigm was vastly different from what I\u2019ve experienced in the academic world and even in the church.\u00a0 The LGP program is not about competition or getting ahead.\u00a0 Rather this program is designed to create an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual support. This concept is well described in Nohria and Khurana as \u201cleading for innovation\u201d that creates a situation \u201cwhich people want to belong \u2013 one in which individuals are affirmed in their identity (unleashing their \u2018slices of genius,\u2019 or talents) and are able to be a part of and contribute to something larger than themselves (harnessing the diverse slices of genius to develop innovative solutions for a collective purpose).\u201d5<\/a> \u00a0It is leadership designed to empower and motivate others to innovate, use their talents and contribute their very best. And motivated we were!<\/p>\n

Practices and Application\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

I had no idea how many of the experiences at the Advanced would affect my work and my life. Time and again I found myself writing notes during talks about the issues I was facing on a regular basis.\u00a0 I work in a small organization that most would call dysfunctional.\u00a0 Steve Chalke\u2019s was extremely helpful for understanding the major issues within our organization.\u00a0 His comment that \u201cthe best founder is a dead founder\u201d was both humorous and truthful, as he explained founders are visionaries, not administrators.\u00a0 When founders try to administer, it usual creates problems.\u00a0 I have struggle since entering into my organization to find ways to bring some sense of order and direction to a vast array of ministries that our founder has (and continues) to create. Chalke\u2019s personal confession about not being an administrator was highly encouraging, along with his challenge for visionary leaders to let go and enjoy seeing others doing the work well.<\/p>\n

Our visit with Jeremy Crossley\u2014a man of gentle spirit and humor\u2014was captivating and extremely encouraging.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Here was a pastor who had entered into a completely ministry new in a completely new world and culture\u2014the world big business.\u00a0 He was essentially a pioneering missionary to the London financial district and had to learn the language and culture of his flock and find ways of meeting people where they were.\u00a0 He reminded us that a pastor should never assume he knows the world of those he minister to and must be humble enough to learn.\u00a0 Even more, a pastor must become a part of their world. Instead of expecting them to come over to his side before he engaged them, Crossley ventured out into their every day world.\u00a0 He dealt effectively with bridging the gap \u201cbetween the mission and everyday practice\u201d that haunts so many church leaders.6<\/a> \u00a0Through the years, Crossley has developed a tremendous understanding about the lives and struggles of those who are now his flock, even adjusting the church schedule to fit their complicated lives.\u00a0 Here is a powerful example of what it means to follow Christ by entering into the world of those needing to hear the Gospel and meeting them at the place they call home.<\/p>\n

Visual Ethnography<\/strong><\/p>\n

Which brings us back to the children on the Thames gleefully playing with the bubbles. This photo caused me to reflect more closely on what I was observing and what it told me about London.\u00a0 What I first found captivating in this group was the joy and playfulness of these children.\u00a0 They laughed and squalled, jumped and played so unpretentiously. They found this a safe place<\/em><\/strong> to play. I was next captivated by the ethnic mix of these children.\u00a0 Some looked European, others Middle Eastern and others Indian.\u00a0 Some wore colorful clothing associated with their national cultures, while others dressed in typical European fashion.\u00a0 So who were these children and where did they come from?\u00a0 Was this a typical display of the ethnic and cultural make up of Londoners?\u00a0 And was this the normal experience for children in London to come together from so many cultures and nationalities to joyfully play together?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Though these questions cannot be answered fully, let me venture some observations from this moment and from my wider experiences in walking around London.\u00a0 First, if you pull back from the close up of these children, you see their guardians or parents.\u00a0 The ethnic make-up becomes clearer as many of the parents are also in their national dress. Listening to their conversations, the different languages spoken gave further hints of their backgrounds. What was immediately evident was that the interactions of the children were not copied by the parents and family members. These guardians stood in small clusters, focused on the children\u2014most were taking pictures\u2014while ignoring those on their left and their right.\u00a0 Is this outer circle more representative of life in London?\u00a0 Was this festival on the Thames than a special occasion, a safe place for at least children to play together who don\u2019t normally play together? What I was witnessing was what Pink describes as the \u201cnew political and economic context that economic migrants, refugees and asylum seekers find themselves in\u201d which makes modern ethnographic studies complicated.7<\/a> The huge influx of immigrants into London over the last fifty years who have settled into culturally homogeneous neighborhoods was well represented in this group. But to capture ethnographically these immigrant parents who were learning to live and adjust, survive and negotiate in two worlds at once while hoping the best for their children was a monumental challenge; let alone trying to capture their children who are seeking to make their way between old and new cultures, between parents wishes and their new reality.<\/p>\n

I became aware of these \u201cethnic neighborhoods\u201d \u00a0one evening as I strolled away from our hotel.\u00a0 Walking, according to Pink, is a specially useful ethnographic method offering \u201crich medium for sensory ethnographic representation\u201d 8<\/a>\u00a0 Our hotel was located in a very affluent and well-groomed neighborhood of row houses.\u00a0 Most of those I passed on the streets near our hotel were white, well-dressed individuals in the latest Western fashions. \u00a0\u00a0Our neighborhood had mostly traditional English pubs and restaurants.\u00a0 The only exception was an occasional small store run by non-Europeans.\u00a0 This particular evening I strolled several blocks beyond Paddington Station. When I turned the corner, I suddenly found myself in a totally different world. What was immediately obvious was the signage everywhere was in both English and Arabic.\u00a0 As I began to look around at the people and their dress, I found myself surrounded mostly by Middle Easterners: women in headscarves, men in Arabic thawb, and in front of every coffee shop and small stores were people enjoying hookah pipes.\u00a0 There were also a number of stores that sold groceries and items that catered to a Middle Eastern cliental.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

All of a sudden, I was very much the minority. It because evident that I was in a different culture when I entered a McDonald\u2019s.\u00a0 The girl behind the counter was dressed in a headscarf and floor length dress and spoke English with a strong accent, which combined with my American accent resulted in my receiving two McFlurries instead of the one I ordered. \u00a0I sat for a short while observing several older men dressed in suit jackets, who had neither food nor drinks at their table but seem to have made this their personal meeting place to engage in conversation, business or fellowship.\u00a0 Realized I was the only non-Middle Easterner in the McDonald\u2019s,\u00a0 I felt miles away from London at this moment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The children involved in joyful interaction on the Thames were most likely from similar culturally segregated neighborhoods, yet had found a safe place to interact without any inhibitions.\u00a0 Even their parents seem to revel in this moment of joyful play, even capturing it with pictures.\u00a0 Pink asks us to consider the \u201cidea of human imagination and dreams as a site of ethnographic fieldwork.\u201d9<\/a> \u00a0I had to wonder if these adults here imagined this scene as a vision for the future for their children.\u00a0 Was there a dream that their children would find a place in Britain where their ethnic or culture differences didn\u2019t matter, where a common focus might bring people joyfully together? Or, would these parents see their neighborhoods as the only real safe place for their children?\u00a0 Would these children simply go back at the end of this festive day to their neighborhoods, where they would not meet or engage with others from India, or the Middle East, or Africa, or even England for days or months? \u00a0As we ponder Elliott\u2019s definition of society as \u201can indispensable medium for the production of social relations, emphasizing the benefits of interpersonal relationships and the potential gains from intercultural communication,\u201d1<\/a>0 I had to ask what kind of social or interpersonal relations would these children ever be able to experience in Modern London, and what amount of intercultural communication was there now or in the future?\u00a0 Even though these children lived in the same country and maybe shared the same citizenship, would all these children grow up in their parent\u2019s culture, segregated from others, speaking some other language than English as their first language, and only rarely rubbing shoulders those outside their group?<\/p>\n

For me, the whole question of the in segregation of London\u2019s neighborhoods became a big question. How did is come about that there is are Indian, Polish, Middle Eastern and African neighborhoods? \u00a0And how much daily interaction did the children from these different neighborhoods really have?\u00a0 And what did the parents feel about the parents across the circle and what were their ultimately dreams for their children?<\/p>\n

I have been mostly honest as about what I saw in my limited time in London, fulfilling most of Pink\u2019s instructions to \u201coffer a vision of ethnographers\u2019 experiences of reality that is as loyal as possible to the context, negotiations and intersubjectivities through which knowledge was produced.\u201d1<\/a>1 That is, except for my subjectivities. As I reflected again on the first photo, it struck me like a load of bricks that my reason for choosing the picture was obvious.\u00a0 My ministry is working with children. \u00a0I engage the world from the viewpoint of children.\u00a0 How parents and society treat children and how children either suffer or thrive are for me is the gage of how a society is doing. It is no wonder that I would be drawn to these lively and joyful children at play. This brought new appreciation for Pink\u2019s concern for a \u201creflexive approach\u201d to visual ethnography.1<\/a>2 \u00a0I did bring myself into the observation. Further, I had to admit that being in London I was a foreigner also informed my choices in what I observed.\u00a0 No wonder my focus would be the lives of immigrants (read foreigners) adjusting to their new culture (like me).\u00a0 These personal concerns explain my focus on questions about the hardships (prejudices, biases, discriminations) that especially immigrant parents suffer and how it effected the children. \u00a0I now see that I was just as much a part of what I was studying.<\/p>\n

Sadly, our time in London was too short and our contacts with the children and their parents too limited to even begin to answer these questions.\u00a0 But these questions about London will forever haunt me and cause me to pray for the children of London, that as they grow to be adults, they might create safe places <\/em><\/strong>where they can experience the same joy in engaging with others of diverse backgrounds as they once did as children along the Thames one sunny day.<\/p>\n

____________________<\/p>\n

\n
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1 Mary Ann Glynn and Rich DeJordy, \u201cLeadership Through an Organization Behavior Lens,\u201d in\u00a0Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice<\/em>, eds. Nitin Nohira and Rakesh Khurana (Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press, 2010), 1796, Kindle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

2 MaryKate Morse, \u201cEmbodying Leadership,\u201d\u00a0Global Leaders Perspectives Conference <\/em>(London: George Fox Evangelical Seminary, Sep. 2013).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

3 Martyn Percy. \u201cOccupation and Vocation: Leadership in the Church,\u201d\u00a0Global Leaders Perspectives Conference<\/em>\u00a0 (London: George Fox Evangelical Seminary, Sep. 2013).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

4 David F. Ford, Theology: A Very Short Introduction <\/em>(Oxford: Oxford University Press, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1999), 165.<\/p>\n

5 Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana, eds. Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice: A Harvard Business School Centennial Colloquium.<\/em> (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2010), 304, Kindle<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a06 Ibid., 7.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

<\/a>\u00a07 Sarah Pink, Doing Visual Ethnography <\/em>(London: Sage Publication Ltd., 2006), 28.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

8 Sarah Pink,\u00a0 Doing Sensory Ethnography<\/em> (London: Sage Publications,\u00a02009), 3624, Kindle.<\/p>\n

9 Pink, Visual, 39.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

10 Anthony Elliott,\u00a0 Contemporary Social Theory <\/em>(London: Routledge, 2009),\u00a0 5,Kindle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

11\u00a0Ibid., 22.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

12 Sarah Pink ,Doing Visual Ethnography <\/em>(London: Sage Publication Ltd., 2006), 32, Kindle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First Impressions The London Advance for the George Fox Theological Seminary Doctoral Program (September 2013) introduced me to two wonderful places of safety and joy.\u00a0 The first was found on Sunday afternoon, when my introverted nature draw me away from my cohort to fulfill my passion as a world traveler: to get closer to everyday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"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":[1],"tags":[2,62],"class_list":["post-490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dminlgp","tag-ve","cohort-lgp4"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490","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\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1825,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490\/revisions\/1825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}