MONDAY - Day 3
After a restful night and an early call from a very vocal and determined rooster to start the day, we launched the first of three conferences today. Today's was designed for those who were in leadership in any area - govermental, social, religious or just WANT to be a leader. We embraced them all. With the help of 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative and Dallas Baptist University, we provided each participant with a certificate of completion. That may not sound like a big deal to us in the US, but trust me it was to those who received it. I've learned through other trips that such a certificate helps reinforce the seriousness of the subject matter. Enough intro - let's make with the pictures.
The banner you see is the official name of our event for the week, despite the diversity of our plans. Our intention was to influence and train leaders today of all shape and sort. We had somewhere between 200-300 crammed into a room far too small for that many. Add to that problem that air conditioning is an unknown quantity here and you have a hot room with hot people. ALL of us were sweating. Thus, the absence of my neck tie and jacket. I didn't even take my neck tie to the event today (it's just a short walk from the hotel) but I did take my jacket. And once I got to the room, I never put it on again. Too hot - even for me who likes it hot. The windows were as open as they could be but it just wasn't enough for that many people in that small a space. Let me say for the record - it's a great problem to have.
As I was saying, it was a small room with lots of people crowded in. The most interesting to me were the gentlemen seated on the front row - at the left edge of this picture. When I walked into the room, they were the first ones I noticed - and they wanted it that way. They are regional tribal leaders - as I understand it - and they had come to offer their blessing on our event. Their presence was a big, big deal and to come in their traditional dress made it clear they meant for it to be. The honor and dignity afforded them was obvious. I understood nothing of what they said - my Amharic (the Ethiopian language) is improving, but not enough for this trip. Later, one of the orthodox bishops stood and blessed the event followed by a Catholic priest. I was humbled to share the time with them. The tribal leaders had to leave for another event so I didn't get a picture with them. It was difficult not to stare in curious interest at them. My staring turned out to be okay because they were staring at me as well. I guessed it was because they had never seen a white man as tall as I am!
When it was my turn to teach, I did my best to hit them with both barrels! Today was our only day with this group and I wanted to make sure I did all I could to make it count. I knew that some of them would be familiar with leadership principles, but even in just a couple of days here, it was obvious the kind of servant leadership I was advocating was going to be a foreign concept to them. Indeed it was. When I spoke, I watched faces as the translator spoke. The confused look on some of their faces made their concerns clear - If I humble myself to serve, will people still respect me as a leader? While it's easy to be critical of our international friends, the same questions exist in the US. Pray with me for a shift in attitudes and that we - as servant leaders in the model Jesus modeled for us - will embrace the opportunity God has given us.
I want to give a shout to my friend Mike Mayer. Mike is an exceptional businessman, deacon and leader at FBC Midland. He doesn't often do talks like this one. But he knew that was part of the deal in serving - do what's needed. He did an AWESOME job!
Tomorrow, we'll switch gears. Section 2 of the conference begins. We will have only religious leaders so we'll be speaking specifically of the church and leadership within her walls. Section 3 begins Wednesday morning as we will teach a very brief systematic theology course on a few aspects of theology. Section 4 begins Wednesday morning as well as our ladies conference gets underway. DiAnn Koehl and Linda Watson will be leading that.
So much of leadership is contextual - leading changes from place to place - but so many principals of it can be universal. Will you pray for our time tomorrow (we'll start about 1 AM Texas time Tuesday morning) to be effective in equipping leaders?
One last word - some of you might be wondering about my diet. I'm glad to report last night we had pizza, complete with a boiled egg on top. Tonight, we had cheese omelets and french fries (don't judge - you'd be surprised at your creativity when so much of the menu is things we cannot eat). I'll be ready for some whataburger when we get back.
The banner you see is the official name of our event for the week, despite the diversity of our plans. Our intention was to influence and train leaders today of all shape and sort. We had somewhere between 200-300 crammed into a room far too small for that many. Add to that problem that air conditioning is an unknown quantity here and you have a hot room with hot people. ALL of us were sweating. Thus, the absence of my neck tie and jacket. I didn't even take my neck tie to the event today (it's just a short walk from the hotel) but I did take my jacket. And once I got to the room, I never put it on again. Too hot - even for me who likes it hot. The windows were as open as they could be but it just wasn't enough for that many people in that small a space. Let me say for the record - it's a great problem to have. 
When it was my turn to teach, I did my best to hit them with both barrels! Today was our only day with this group and I wanted to make sure I did all I could to make it count. I knew that some of them would be familiar with leadership principles, but even in just a couple of days here, it was obvious the kind of servant leadership I was advocating was going to be a foreign concept to them. Indeed it was. When I spoke, I watched faces as the translator spoke. The confused look on some of their faces made their concerns clear - If I humble myself to serve, will people still respect me as a leader? While it's easy to be critical of our international friends, the same questions exist in the US. Pray with me for a shift in attitudes and that we - as servant leaders in the model Jesus modeled for us - will embrace the opportunity God has given us. 
I want to give a shout to my friend Mike Mayer. Mike is an exceptional businessman, deacon and leader at FBC Midland. He doesn't often do talks like this one. But he knew that was part of the deal in serving - do what's needed. He did an AWESOME job! Tomorrow, we'll switch gears. Section 2 of the conference begins. We will have only religious leaders so we'll be speaking specifically of the church and leadership within her walls. Section 3 begins Wednesday morning as we will teach a very brief systematic theology course on a few aspects of theology. Section 4 begins Wednesday morning as well as our ladies conference gets underway. DiAnn Koehl and Linda Watson will be leading that.
So much of leadership is contextual - leading changes from place to place - but so many principals of it can be universal. Will you pray for our time tomorrow (we'll start about 1 AM Texas time Tuesday morning) to be effective in equipping leaders?
One last word - some of you might be wondering about my diet. I'm glad to report last night we had pizza, complete with a boiled egg on top. Tonight, we had cheese omelets and french fries (don't judge - you'd be surprised at your creativity when so much of the menu is things we cannot eat). I'll be ready for some whataburger when we get back.
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