Mindful Leader

Dennis Shaw is a musician, marathoner (Boston!), retired military officer, math modeler, muse, and United Methodist Pastor. A keen observer of the human condition, he has degrees in music, quantitative methods (don’t ask!), theology and leadership. He will discuss with other leaders how to become engaged and present in our current leadership opportunities. Critical to leadership is strong self-awareness. Becoming authentic, empathetic, and aware will form the framework of all discussions. You can access and follow this podcast on Apple, Podbean, Spotify and Amazon Music.

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Episodes

Saturday Feb 02, 2019

Gifts of the Spirit, Fruit of the Spirit, Gifts are what you have been given, fruits are what is made manifest by your connection to God.  Big ideas:  common good, community, trusting the Spirit for others to have gifts I don’t have.  GC2019 – Peace is a fruit.  Peace will (might?) come if we collectively take a deep, inspiring, breath.  

Epiphany +1 -- Our Anthem

Saturday Feb 02, 2019

Saturday Feb 02, 2019

 
This is Prayer of the Children, our anthem on Epiphany 2.  

Saturday Feb 02, 2019

Receiving the Holy Spirit – Gentleness
 Primary Text that I will read:  Luke 3:15-22 – Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.
 Marilyn White and Claudine Haight reporting on the mission trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Marilyn during her report on the mission trip to San Juan will, in part, address the need for helpers in that kind of role to be respectfully gentle in relationships.  We don’t show up and say “this is what you must do” and when presented with road blocks and problems, keeping them informed as to what is going on conveys a gentleness of spirit that I think Paul is driving at in his Fruits in Galatians. 

Saturday Feb 02, 2019

Ephesians 3: 1-13
Liturgical material for the service developed by Kerry Greenhill, Sacred Stones.  
1 Kings -- God Speaks in a Small Still Voice, and Galatians 5 -- fruits of the Spirit.  Today the fruit is generosity.  

Advent 3, Waiting in Joy!

Saturday Feb 02, 2019

Saturday Feb 02, 2019

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31 (English Standard Version)
From my newsletter article (click to read):  Our theme for Advent will be: Waiting patiently in hope, peace, joy and love.  Each week will focus on one of those four ideas.  We want to honor Advent I think part of how we honor the season is cherishing and embracing waiting.  The Isaiah above is a theme for all who want to move quickly.  ‘Renew your strength:  wait.’ 
This week, we are somehow, waiting patiently … in joy … This is Gaudete Sunday – which is a 25 cent Ecclesiastical Latin word meaning Rejoice. 
The sermon will be drawn from the Philippians 4: 4-7 – Rejoice. 

Saturday Feb 02, 2019

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31 (English Standard Version)
From my newsletter article (Click to read):  Our theme for Advent will be: Waiting patiently in hope, peace, joy and love.  Each week will focus on one of those four ideas.  We want to honor Advent I think part of how we honor the season is cherishing and embracing waiting.  The Isaiah above is a theme for all who want to move quickly.  ‘Renew your strength:  wait.’ 
This week, we are somehow, waiting patiently … in peace … Last week the invitation was to be alert, be awake, be on watch, here are there God sightings which make us hopeful and if yes, don’t wait to be a messenger for God on this.  Yes, wait patiently, but patiently is not necessarily silently.  Go and tell people the Good News.  Be a messenger.  Be a Malachi.  Be a John the Baptist (ok, maybe not a John the Baptist).  The Lord IS coming.  Go tell someone! 

Advent 1, 2018 -- Waiting Well

Saturday Feb 02, 2019

Saturday Feb 02, 2019

Scripture:  Luke 21: 25-36
Big Idea:  Our theme for the day is Waiting Well.  The Reformed theologian Jürgen Moltmann speaks of Advent 1 in terms of a title of a book he wrote: "With Theology of Hope… I tried to present the Christian hope no longer as such an 'opium of the beyond' but rather as the divine power that makes us alive in this world." 
My view is that there is an end time coming, be about our work, and task.  We wait well by being about our tasks, be busy.  The reign/kingdom is near and it helps make us alive in our now. 

Saturday Feb 02, 2019

John 18: 33-37
 
We stand at the end of the church year.  It is New Year’s Eve in New York City and the ball has gone down and we are here to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.  Who is Jesus for us?  Really for us?  What is our no equivocation answer?  He is King? 
 
If not, why not?  I expect while the scriptures are NOT John 3: 15-17, I will get to John 3: 15-17, particularly 17.  We can live according to the cynical values of Pilate or …. the choice is ours. 

Saturday Feb 02, 2019

Scripture Readings: Luke 15: 11-12 (yes, short). 
 Big idea:  God calls on people to serve.  I am mindful that the son had a different agenda than serving but what I want to focus on is letting go.  The father let go.  In today’s world, we are served by many and parents, grandparents, friends, have to let go. 
 “In the process of letting go, you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.”  Deepak Chopra
 Part of our task is know when to let go, and when to hang on. 

Sunday Nov 04, 2018

 
Luke 12: 22 to 34.  The text is from The Message.  (We had flowers for Eugene Peterson.)  Her sermon title is Enough.  
Amy Gearhart is an Elder in the Missouri Conference and we had her speak at Hilltop on Commitment Sunday.  AKA Consecration Sunday.  Amy explains her new position at the Mountain Sky Conference.  I called her the Transition and Culture Czarina. 
This was our most effective Stewardship campaign in my time at Hilltop, at least in terms of Treasure.  Still work to do in all three of time, talent, and treasure but we are making progress.   
I spoke a little at the start to make some comments on the shootings at the Synagogue in Pittsburgh.  

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