I received the following prayer as part of a daily devotional from Luther Seminary this morning:
In the breaking of the bread and pouring out of the cup, you come to us, Lord Jesus, and usher us into the kingdom of God in the new covenant of your body and blood. Amen.
I wanted to think of something inspirational to write as my first post on this new blog. But in contemplating what to write, it occurred to me, “don’t over think.” So, here it is I start the blog with a prayer that this series of conversations may be of use to those of you who want to hear one west coast transplant’s ideas on leadership in the non-profit world, the social sector world, about where the different sectors of society converge and mix, about faith based institutions and the church, etc.
Basically, I believe this blog is part of my calling as a Lutheran Christian with many vocations- one of which is to be a learner and thinker. You can’t learn and think alone, you need to do so in community so I welcome you here. This blog won’t always be directly about faith, religion, and the church. I have a theology degree, but I also have a management degree, so hopefully my thoughts and reflections here will speak to you and be of use as you see things in your own lives and wonder, what does this mean? What might this mean? We can wonder these questions together. I am not going to say I have the answers, just hopefully some ideas. We’ll see where they lead.
For a couple of starting questions: 1) What perplexes you most about leadership?; 2) For those of you who are Christian, what is on your mind at the start of this Holy Week?
About the author: Timothy Siburg is currently working as part of a for-profit start-up in the Twin Cities of Minnesota working to close the unemployment gap among minorities. He also works part-time as a worship coordinator in a local congregation, and provides consulting around mission and identity for congregations and nonprofits. He graduated from Pacific Lutheran University with a BA in Economics and Religion, from the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management with a MA in Management, and from Luther Seminary with a MA in Congregational Mission and Leadership. He is happily married to another theology nerd and seminary graduate who works in a local congregation in areas around faith formation and life-long learning.
Timothy Siburg 
Been meaning to respond for a few days with some sort of answer. Deep questions!
1) What isn’t perplexing about leadership…I guess what perplexes me most boils down to the relationship between leaders and followers. Leadership needs something to be led, so followers (which lack leadership?) are just as integral to leadership as leaders. I think it’s easy to assume followers need leaders, but don’t leaders need followers just as much? So where exactly is the leadership in that? It’s somewhere, but perplexes me.
2) This is an odd Holy Week for me. Student teaching is basically over on Good Friday. This is the most exciting time in professional life to date, and honestly a time I’ll probably never forget. It’s very, very easy for me to think about new beginnings right now, which is making it harder for me to sit with the deep sorrow and injustice Jesus suffered on the cross.
Thanks Tim!
1) You have inspired me to write a couple posts about the relationship between leaders and followers. A professor at Drucker used to quote the dictionary to define a “follower.” By the end of the class, she had all of us convinced no one wanted to be called a follower. So perhaps a better word might be constituent. Having a follower or being a follower implies great passivity I think. Anyway, thanks! You gave me a good start for the next couple of leadership posts I write here soon.
2) Your excitement sounds similar to mine. Perhaps my own post about this question, resonates with you (posted yesterday)?