I’ve been exchanging a few notes about our upcoming pulpit changes with my old and dear friend Gail Geisenhainer. Those who follow this blog know I’m the candidate at the First Unitarian Church of Providence. Gail is candidate at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor.
I consider Gail one of the wise ones.
And she demonstrated it once again when she mentioned in passing how one simple text was her “partner in ministry.”
I suggest it’s the only leadership lesson anyone will ever need.
Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people’s approval
and you will be their prisoner.
Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.
Tao Te Ching chapter 9
(If you need a graduate course on true leadership, you might read the whole book. My favorite translation isn’t actually a translation but rather the “version” put together by poet, old Zen hand and all around wise person, Stephen Mitchell.)
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