Flying Like an Eagle

Many times during the past two years, I have wished I had a crystal ball or otherwise could know the future so I would be more confident in making decisions in the present. Many other times, I wished I had had that tool or ability in the past because my decision-making would have been vastly different. But what if I weren’t a magician but rather an eagle, soaring high above the landscape of time, able to see context, cause and effect? We usually ascribe that kind of ability to God – but what if I had it?

Would I have said “if I’d only known” so often lately?

In his book Enduring Ministry, Samuel Rahberg invites us to think about this image of an eagle and what it can teach us about ministry and leadership.¹ For many years, Rahberg has been a spiritual director, program director in a seminary, and a leader in a monastery center, and so he knows intimately both the possibilities and challenges inherent in leadership. He has also seen many different varieties of the strengths and weaknesses that we bring to our leadership work.

Rahberg notes early in the book that we often admire eagles soaring above the earth, or perched atop an evergreen tree. But it may come as a surprise that eagles have a number of weaknesses – and that these weaknesses overlap with those of many leaders! Like some of us, they are typically solitary, which means they lose the benefits that come from living in community. They actually can’t carry a lot of weight, and so sometimes they have to abandon situations where their prey is more than they can handle, just like we can sometimes bite off more than we can chew. Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, eagles aren’t very good at take-offs and landings, even being what we might call “clumsy”! Have you sometimes been humbled by a pastoral situation, entering or exiting in a clumsy or awkward way, or struggling to get a sermon or initiative off the ground?

Rahberg’s book describes nine principles of leadership that he connects with different aspects of eagles’ and leaders’ lives. While I was especially drawn to the chapters on poise and conviction, I want to tell you today about the final chapter, which he entitled “Hope: Hold it Gently.” Having just written thoughtfully and sensitively about the importance of recognizing our limitations, Rahberg notes that, as leaders, we must be able to move forward within the framework of those limitations. And as we think about the future from our current hurting, wounded state, it is so easy to end up responding to our situations and life circumstances reactively. Instead, Rahberg provides us with a few concrete ways to live and lead in hope:

Wait. Sometimes God calls us to swift, immediate action, but when considering deep questions of vocation and direction, we may benefit from intentional waiting. It can take time to discern the still, small voice addressing us. We believe that God speaks … but we may need to make space to hear it.

Pay attention. When we rush, it is so hard to see and hear what God may be doing in a situation. If we can pull off the waiting, then we may be more able to open our eyes and ears, to notice what God may be doing among us and within us. We believe that God is present … but we may need to do some work ourselves in order to see God at work.

Admit vulnerability. We all have parts of ourselves that are tough, and others that are soft. Difficult situations poke at our vulnerabilities, and we often react by retreating into our shell when acknowledging our weaknesses may help God work with them. We believe that God is loving and gentle … but we may need to open ourselves so that God can be loving and gentle with us.

Engage relationally. Ministry leadership requires a capability to work successfully as an individual. But like Jesus’s disciples, we are called into ministry as a part of a ministry community. Again, though, challenging times can lead us to retreat, when it is our relationships that can help sustain us. We believe that God is a god of relationship … but we may need to live it out even when we don’t feel like it.

All of these suggestions can help us embody in our work a distinctly Christian hope, orienting us toward the future in a way that sustains us in the present. We believe that the world is going somewhere, that God is still working, and that one day, all will be made right. We may feel that we are bumping on the ground more than we are soaring in the heavens, but Rahberg’s encouragements can help us lead in a ministry that endures day by day, step by step, sometimes moment by moment.

May God bless you in your work!

David

[1] Samuel D. Rahberg, Enduring Ministry: Toward a Lifetime of Christian Leadership (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2017)