GIVING OF YOUR ESSENCE, NOT JUST YOUR EXCESS LEADER’S GUIDE A 5 WEEK CINEMATIC JOURNEY FROM Rhemedia GIVING OF YOUR ESSENCE, NOT JUST YOUR EXCESS CONTENTS A Letter from Our Chairman.................................................................................. 6 Introduction............................................................................................................ 7 Gospel Connection............................................................................................ 10 Session 1: PROMISES......................................................................................... 12 Session 2: LEGACY............................................................................................ 20 Session 3: AMBITION....................................................................................... 26 Session 4: CAPACITY........................................................................................ 32 Session 5: ESSENCE.......................................................................................... 38 Copyright 2014 Rhemedia, LLC All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or other including photocopy or any storage and retrieval system, except for brief quotations in articles or reviews, without written permission from the publisher. A LETTER FROM AN INTRODUCTION TO OUR CHAIRMAN LEADING GENEROUSLY Welcome to our third series on generosity, Leading Leading Generously is the third series in the ReImagine Generosity initiative. Generously! The first series, Living Generously, explores what it means to steward everything Our first two series dealt with transactional generosity (allowing God’s gifts of in our lives for God’s purposes. The central metaphor comes from a lesson a time, talent and treasure to flow through us to others) and relational generosity gardener teaches a child: are you giving God the Good Sheep or the Stinky (pursuing community and the ministry of reconciliation). This third series examines Sheep? That is, do you conduct your life as though God is lucky to receive your our common calling to be Servant Leaders in our spheres of influence. This is leftovers—or as though all things belong to God and are meant to be stewarded the call to sacrificial generosity. for His kingdom? Are you like the man in Matthew 25:14-30 who buried the talent the Master had given him because he was unwilling to take a righteous risk, or do Integrity is one of the cornerstones of sound leadership. Facing failures head you invest your talents and blessings in the hope of a rich return for the Master? on is as important as “doing the right thing.” Leaders need solid communities around them to support them, guide them, and hold them accountable. In the The second series, Loving Generously, examines generosity in our relationships. Leading Generously films, we see one man confronting his enduring failure to be the father God called him to be. We see another man experiencing the The central metaphor is found in a banquet. When you hold a banquet, as Jesus truth that leadership sometimes requires stepping up into the limelight—but, says in Luke 14, do you only invite the fond and the favored—your friends and other times, requires stepping down in order to serve in humble and quiet connections, people who can repay you for your kindness? Or do you invite ways. As John the Baptist said, “He must increase, I must decrease.” “the poor, the lame and the blind,” who may never repay you but who matter dearly to God? As Jesus invited us to his table when we were estranged from We look in this series at the promises, motives and legacy of a Servant Leader. God, we can live out the gospel by inviting those society rejects, or those our We see that the ultimate form of generosity is “giving of your essence, not your hearts have rejected, and reconciling in love. From the relational generosity of excess.” Philippians 2 says that “Jesus made Himself nothing and took on the a kind, authentic community arises an environment in which each person gives form of a servant.” The Greek word is kenosis, or self-emptying. In this story, honor and love abundantly, one to another. we see Frank and Cassie Donovan emptying themselves to serve at-risk youth. This third series focuses on generosity in leadership. How can we lead others Such sacrifice is only possible because of the gospel. Romans 12:1 says, “In view of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices. This is your spiritual act generously, and how can we lead others to be generous? These are questions of worship.” God’s Spirit moves us to mercy and servant leadership in our for all of us. We all exercise influence in some domain. So what are the qualities domains, no matter how big or small. of a generous leader? How can we model Christ-like generosity in such a way that we awaken and cultivate generosity in everyone around us? How can May God bless you as you experience the life that is truly life!! we expand in others the capacity for generosity and thus forge a legacy that reaches far beyond whatever resources we might have been able to give? Best wishes in Christ, As in the other series, we follow the lives of Frank and Cassie Donovan and Jack Alexander their former gardener Re (pronounced “Ray”). In earlier films, Frank practiced Chairman generosity from a position of worldly power and wealth. While the generosity Rhemedia, LLC he demonstrated and the people he invited into his life sometimes left him ReImagineGenerosity.com uncomfortable and vulnerable, Frank could be generous with his resources and Rhemedia.com still want for nothing. In this series, for the first time, Frank’s own affluence comes into question as he must decide whether he will embrace the “declining” life in order to elevate others. 6 7 On the opposite end of the spectrum, Re had once lost everything, and had to HOW DOES IT WORK? rebuild. In his own way, though, Re, too, was relatively comfortable. He always seemed to have the answers. He was loved and respected for his faith and We have provided an abundance of material in order to allow you to customize wisdom. Now, just as his life appears to be coming together personally and the experience for your context and circumstances: professionally, he will be publicly confronted with one of his most humiliating failures. For Re, the question is whether he will become the leader he was truly • Narrative videos (approximately 7 minutes each) telling the story of meant to be, even if it means humbling himself, confronting a painful reality, and Re and the Donovans reconstructing a legacy of selfless giving. • Vignette videos (approximately 2 minutes each) summarizing central teaching points For both Frank and Re, the central question is whether they are willing to give of their essence, and not just their excess—whether they are willing to pour • Ancillary materials are provided to help facilitate the series themselves out for the people God placed in their lives, even if it means giving • Leader Guides up their pride and comfort. • Participant Guides We hope you enjoy the journey and find it as meaningful as we have. If you belong to a congregation watching the narrative films during worship services, then you may choose to watch the films and the vignettes in your adult education classes or small group meetings. The vignettes are designed to help you transition from the films into conversation about what they mean. While the specifics are up to you, we have found this to be a solid approach for classes or small group studies: • Open in Prayer. • Recite the memory verse for the week. • Recap the previous lessons. • Watch the film, the vignette, or both. • Work through the study guide questions in discussion. • Allow time for reflection and closing prayer. You can learn more about our generosity products at ReImagineGenerosity.com, and you can learn more about all Rhemedia products at Rhemedia.com. 8 9 Legacy: One of the fundamental questions you confront as a leader is whether GOSPEL you are more concerned with your legend or with your legacy. Your legend is your reputation, your fame (your “press”), your list of accomplishments. Your CONNECTION legacy is your effect on the lives of others. A Servant Leader will be less focused on her own accomplishments and more on the accomplishments of others. Jesus did not build a sterling reputation for himself. He came to serve and to save. Offered worldly leadership, he sacrificed his legend for a greater, more enduring legacy. Likewise, Servant Leaders are less concerned with reputation than with leaving behind patterns of service and faithfulness reproduced in the lives of others. Leadership is not about a job or a title or a corner office. It’s about influencing others. If you have authority in any sphere of life, you are a leader. If you are Ambition: Since God calls each of us to lead in some capacity, we should pointing others toward the good, you are a leader. If you live a life worth examine whether our motivations are for ourselves or for others. Philippians following, you are a leader. Each of us has a domain of influence—at work, at 2 says we should “do nothing out of selfish ambition,” but should consider others home, at church, on the sports field, or perhaps among friends. and their interests more important. This sums up the other-centeredness of Servant Leadership. Are your ambitions self-promoting and self-serving? Or are they, like The kind of generous leadership we describe in this series is not possible apart Christ’s, selfless ambitions for the good of others? from Christ. A true Servant Leader leads in Christ’s likeness, modeling his profoundly self-sacrificial leadership for others. The generous leader can say, Capacity: Through the renewal of Christ, the Holy Spirit guides and empowers as Paul does in 1 Corinthians 11, ‘Follow my example as I follow the example us in such a way that we are capable of doing so much more than we could of Christ.’ Of course, in the long term, it’s impossible to lead like Christ unless have before.