The patriarchs rolled deep.
Throughout his travels, Abraham (Abram) he was accompanied by servants
and extended family. He and his nephew
Lot grew their household entourages from dozens to hundreds, maybe even
thousands. When you read about what
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or another patriarch did, remember that most of the
time, they didn’t do it alone. Each
patriarch built a COMMUNITY. Whatever you call it --- community, crew,
entourage, circle, squad, congregation --- it’s not always easy.
Here are 6 lessons in community leadership from the drama of
Genesis 13.
1.
Watch out
for 2nd hand drama. Abram and Lot didn’t have problems until
Abram’s friends and Lot’s friends had problems.
And there was strife between the
herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. (Genesis
13: 7)
So that’s not just a middle school phenomenon or a peculiarity of poor
communities. No matter your age or
spiritual status, you gotta watch for the I-can’t-be-your-friend-cause-my-friend-doesn’t-like-your-friend
drama.
2.
Look past
feelings and see the facts. The strife was aggravated by second-hand drama
but the underlying problem was real. There
were insufficient resources for Abram’s and Lot’s combined community.
Now the land was not able to support them,
that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they
could not dwell together. Genesis 13: 6)
3.
[AG1] Compartmentalize relationships. Preserve
Community. Conflict in one area,
like a business relationship, doesn’t mean you have to complete end all relationship within the community.
After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, BP and Haliburton sued each other over who was responsible for the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The case wasn’t settled until 2015. In July of 2013 BP and Haliburton were working together on oil exploration projects ---- while they were suing each other.
After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, BP and Haliburton sued each other over who was responsible for the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The case wasn’t settled until 2015. In July of 2013 BP and Haliburton were working together on oil exploration projects ---- while they were suing each other.
Community is bigger than any one beef.
The leaders of community must have relationships that are bigger than
any one conflict.
So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be
no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we
are brethren (Genesis 13:8)
4.
Kill your
need to WIN every engagement. As the
senior leader, Abram could have forced Lot into an inferior choice of
lands. He didn’t.
Is not the whole land before you?
Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or,
if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.” (Genesis 13:9)
Lot chose the richest, most fertile area for himself. So what?
Somebody had to take that good job.
Somebody was going to pick up that contact. Somebody was going to get that
extraordinarily talented church musician.
Why not your friend? The community (the Kingdom) can be blessed by them
as well as by you.
Pray, “Lord whatever you’re doing in this season, do it. Even if it’s without me.”
5.
Leave
room for God. If you don’t hoard the
blessings in your community, you leave space for God to bless you beyond what’s
available in your community.
Lot had his hands full with all of the opportunities in the region around
Sodom and Gomorrah. With Lot gone Abram
had more space, but he knew their situation was constrained.
And the Lord said to Abram, AFTER Lot
had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you
are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you
see I give to you and your descendants forever. (Genesis 13: 14-15)
Let your people branch out. Don’t
hold them back. Don’t let the current
boundaries of your control be the limit of your people’s ideas and actions. Don’t let the boundaries of your control be
the limit of YOUR ideas and actions. Leave room for God to redirect your vision
farther out beyond your right now.
6.
Follow
God further. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it
to you.” Then Abram moved his tent . . . (Genesis 13:17,
18)
Communities die from unique combinations of multiple factors, but a
common element is the an obsession with “the good ole days.”
If we can just keep this one factory and not diversify our economy.
As long as we have this specific racial/ethnic make-up and no one else.
Don’t ask those questions, or more to the point: Don’t answer those questions.
Don’t ask those questions, or more to the point: Don’t answer those questions.
Just dress, dance, talk, communicate, celebrate, compete, organize, etc. the way we always have.
In
other words, communities die because despite all the revelations God sends them
(and He always sends signs) they refuse to move from where they are. Abram
moved his tent.
Then Abram moved his
tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron,
and built an altar THERE to the Lord. (Genesis 13: 18)
God isn’t confined to your present so if you are grounded in
the Word when your community moves forward, they aren’t leaving God behind; they’re going to where God is waiting to bless
them.
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and
consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T.
Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama; executive
director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO); and director of rural leadership development for the National
Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
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personal blog www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .
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