ABC’S:
Reflections on Kroc Major JoAnn
Shade September 2009
As children we learn
the quasi-nursery rhyme song that concludes: now I sang my
ABC’s, next time won’t you sing with me. The following
ABC reflections are offered as a part of the song I’ve now
been singing for about three years, specifically in relation
to the development of a Kroc Center, but the principles are
broader than Kroc. Hope you’re able to sing along.
Adaptability “Here is the
principle...adapt your measures to the necessity of the people
to whom you minister. You are to take the Gospel to them in
such modes...and circumstances as will gain for it from them a
hearing” (Catherine Booth). While we’ve been adapting in
various ways since the days of William and Catherine, Kroc is
a new song that we (individually and corporately) have never
sung before. We are each searching for our groove,
straining to hear the notes flowing through our days. We
are adapting to a new paradigm, but none of us is quite sure
what it will look like when it is complete. What saves us is
that we know the Singer!
Balance This adventure
requires that we find both organizational balance and personal
balance. Not the kind of wobbly, hold-your-breath kind
of high wire walking, but a steady balance that lives from a
well-grounded faith. As Oprah Winfrey reminds us, “I've
learned that you can't have everything and do everything at
the same time.“ Even if
we’re doing it for Jesus.
Communication Even with all the
expanding ways of communicating in our technological world, it
remains a challenge to get and keep everyone on the same page.
Lotus Notes calendars and e-mails are wonderful tools, but we
each have varying technological savvy and comfort. We
also have to realize that just because we sent an e-mail on a
topic, it doesn’t follow that our staff has received and/or
read their e-mail. Also, there are some communications
that should be handled in person (as our lawyer has recently
reminded our division). Our
on-going communication struggles are made more difficult by
the longer hours that the RJKCCC is open. There are
part-time employees that we may not see for a couple of weeks
if our schedules don’t coincide. We do continue to have
monthly full staff meetings where all employees are welcome
but not mandated to attend. We’ve also established
‘section’ meetings to bring together all those working in a
particular area that have met with some success. Yet if
we were to name our biggest staff-related challenge, it would
be communication. We need to TALK!
Determination There is a
measure of resolve and even stubbornness needed to bring these
centers to completion. There are times when we must do
what we have to do to move the development ahead. There
are times when we just have to jump through one more hoop, and
there are other times when we need to battle to dismantle a
hoop or two. Might we have the serenity to accept those
things we cannot change, the courage to change those things we
can change (or work to change), and the wisdom to know the
difference. Expectations
With all the hype surrounding the new centers, expectations
have been flying sky-high. Joan Kroc’s expectations for
excellence come to us from the grave. Our communities
expect us to keep our promises, while many participants do not
expect to have to pay for services from the Salvation Army –
after all, ‘you are the Salvation Army.’ Our donors
expect us to be the Salvation Army, careful of how we spend
the money that’s been entrusted to us to use. Our DHQ’s
may expect our centers to be a resource to the division
without realizing the local commitments we have.
Tourists expect to drop in and get a tour, often with the
officers as tour guides. We expect our staff to take a
crash course in Salvation Army policy and procedure, and to
know how to use systems that are still developing. We
expect excellence in programs from the start, and we have a
“If we build it, they will come” mentality that may be naïve,
especially in tough economic times. We also expect too
much of ourselves as leaders, and any workaholic tendencies we
have are easily exacerbated in the Kroc experience. To
manage expectations, we need to make sure that we’re all
telling the same story. We need to be willing to say,
“This is what we can do,” and offer alternatives when we can’t
help or provide a particular karate class. Even with the
wonderful resources of the center, we cannot realistically be
all things to all people. Future-Thinking
What will our centers look like in five, ten, twenty or fifty
years? We must think to the future, programmatically and
facility-wise. Just having celebrated the fortieth
anniversary of the Hough Center in Cleveland, it was apparent
that its inflexible facility footprint, lack of preventative
maintenance, and on-going financial struggle are limiting its
impact in the twenty-first century. While we can’t
predict the future, we can anticipate that change will occur
and keep our centers open for shifting interests and needs
within our communities. Grace
Ah, it is an amazing grace. Now is a time to offer grace
for each other and for ourselves. “You deserve a break
today” isn’t only a McDonalds slogan – it’s a gift we can give
each other. In a big adventure like the Kroc Center
development, we are sure to fail in some ways. For every
Big Mac that sold millions, there was an experiment like Ray
Kroc’s Hula Burger that never made it out of the gate (grilled
pineapple topped with cheese on a bun). Dan Allender
tells us that “to continue to dream when failure and
disappointment cloud the sun is the radical gift of hope,” the
kind of hope that is “a calculated risk that declares,
whatever the loss, it is better than remaining where we are.”
Like it or not, we’ve thrown our hat over the fence, and have
no choice but to go after it and give it our best shot.
When it doesn’t work out quite like we planned, we’ve got to
have a large helping of grace to ease our sense of failure.
History We must find ways to
honor our heritage in the midst of the new work of the Lord in
the centers. In Ashland, the Salvation Army has been in
operation since 1886, and we had to consider how that history
could be honored. In our case, this included
story-telling with soldiers, finding a place for the existing
altar and holiness table in the new building, and honoring
Salvationists from prior generations through bricks and other
naming opportunities. These centers are not being
developed in a vacuum, but instead, are part of a long train
of mission stations in operating since the beginning of the
church of Christ.
Involvement We’ve worked to
create a team approach to leadership and to our work within
the center, but that brings its own challenges. Who does
what? How do we delegate? How do we decide which
voices have priority? How do we handle conflict?
We’re not a voting organization, so this feels like new
ground. Joy
“I’m lovin’ it!” I’ve heard a number of our staff
say, “I love my job.” What can we put in place in the
planning and structure so that this will be true? Are
employees and volunteers being affirmed? Are conflicts
being resolved so that there aren’t uneasy feelings at the
center? Is there room for celebration? Are there
enough flowers and chocolate? Do we as leaders love our
jobs? Do we show it?
Kites We interviewed a
candidate for one of our positions who wrote in her cover
letter, “While I would love to be employed at the center, I do
need to keep time to fly kites with my grandchildren.”
There’s got to be time and space for fun, and not just for
center participants. The development of these centers is
hard work and very time-consuming. Every once in a
while, we need to hear the whisper from Mr. Banks and Bert of
Mary Poppins fame: When you send it flyin' up
there all at once you're lighter than air You can dance on the
breeze over 'ouses and trees With your fist 'olding tight to
the string of your kite Oh, oh, oh! Let's go
fly a kite up to the highest height! Let's go fly a kite and
send it soaring Up through the atmosphere, Up where the air is
clear Oh, let's go fly a kite! Love
Can these words be said of us? “We are patient. We
are kind. We don’t envy. We don’t boast. We
are not proud. We don’t dishonor others. We are
not self-seeking. We are not easily angered. We
don’t keep a record of wrongs. We don’t delight in evil.
We rejoice with the truth. We always protect. We
always hope. We always persevere.”
Mother Let’s be clear here.
I am not your mother. Your mother doesn’t work here, and
your mother isn’t going to clean up after you. More than
that, our centers must find ways to move away from the
parent-child relationships that occur so often in the
Salvation Army so that we can invite people to healthy
adult-to-adult relationships. Noise
Face it. We want noise. If our buildings are
silent, we have failed. However, noise is not always welcome.
While some like the strains of our Dixieland band, others
would prefer peace and quiet. Crying babies in our
Gathering Place make the welcome center job more difficult,
We have had more ‘concerns’ expressed over what kind of Muzak
is playing in the hallways than anything else – classical,
contemporary Christian, smooth jazz, SA brass music – every
switch brings e-mails and suggestion cards lamenting or
applauding the change. What is noise to one is harmony
to another. Is there room for it all? “Make a
joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise,
and rejoice, and sing praise.” Psalm 98:4
Opportunity What an
incredible opportunity we’ve been given. After all the
tears and headaches, we have a magnificent facility that is
making a difference in our community every day. Thank
you, Lord. Children and adults are being exposed to
music and art and dance and gardening and Jesus. Thank
you, Lord. We have the opportunity, as does the
Starbucks chain, to be welcoming, genuine, considerate,
knowledgeable and involved. Thank you, Lord. Like
Starbucks, we can make it our own. We can recognize that
everything matters. We can be open to surprise and
delight. We can embrace resistance rather than fight it.
And we can leave our mark. Thank you, Lord. What
an incredible opportunity we’ve been given.
Prayer
’Mid all the traffic of the ways, Turmoils without,
within, Make in my heart a quiet place, And come and dwell
therein. A little place of mystic grace, Of self and sin
swept bare, Where I may look upon Thy face, And talk with
Thee in prayer. William Dunkerley’s words speak to a
place in the heart, yet also describe a place within the
busyness of the center. A small room was initially meant
as a crying room for parents to use if their babies needed to
be taken out of the church services but now has been set up as
a prayer room. It has become a place of mystic grace for
many in our community, as has the labyrinth in the southwest
corner of the property. Questions
Richard Rinehart asks the following five questions: Is
Jesus Christ the focus of attention around here? Are
relationships the lifeblood of this ministry? Can I let go
of control and step aside when I need to? Am I growing more
conscious of my leadership values and assumptions? What
kind of change agent am I? Role Model
Yogi Berra tells us that “you can observe a lot by just
watching.” Many eyes are on these new centers, and our
actions are being observed by children and adults alike.
It is a great gift and a great responsibility. Oh, God,
“Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.”
Structure and System Somewhere I ran
across the concept that suggests that where the spirit is
right, any structure will work. I’m not so sure of that.
Our structure and the systems that support the work are
important to what we’re doing. Perhaps our greatest
challenge in the early days was that we didn’t have enough
‘system’ in place to allow staff to relax into their
positions. We are still challenged by phones, the
copier, Kroc Suites, statistical collection and accounting
decisions. It seemed as though we had worked a lot on
getting systems in place, and so it was frustrating to see how
much we hadn’t gotten finished prior to opening. There
are days when I simply want to throw open the doors and say,
“come on in” – we’ll figure out the paperwork and stats later.
Perhaps there’s a spiritual lesson to be learned??
Tension There is a tension between two
descriptors of our work: saving souls, serving suffering
humanity, and making saints versus the goals of developing
character, confidence, capacity and hope. There is a
tension between ‘go for souls and go for the worst’ and
offering programs in the arts, education, and recreation for
the underserved, the undeserving (dare we say that word out
loud), and the paying audience. There may be a tension
between those who have been faithful to the Salvation Army
through thick and thin, and those newcomers who may seem like
‘carpetbaggers’ to those who have been in the war for a long
time. Tension is not inherently good or bad.
After all, without tension in the strings, a cello is silent.
Joan Borysenko understands: “Some
tension is necessary for the soul to grow, and we can put that
tension to good use. We can look for every opportunity to give
and receive love, to heal our wounds and the wounds of others,
to forgive, and to serve.”
Naming the tensions when they exist and valuing the hearts of
all who are included will allow for love, healing, forgiveness
and service to occur. Under Authority
Regardless of the Kroc distinction or aura, we are the
Salvation Army, and as such remain people under authority.
We do have unique concerns that we’d like the corporate Army
to understand and to bend its long standing practices that
would make our job easier, but that may not happen. We
need to accept that and get on with it.
Vision Without vision, the people
perish. The challenge of the Kroc projects is that there
are a number of visions that have to somehow be integrated
into a whole. First, the vision of Catherine and
William Booth, that the lost of the world might know Jesus.
Next, Joan Kroc’s vision that placed specific parameters
around the use of her gift. Then there is the vision of
the local community, that may not understand the requirements
of the gift or the machinations of the Salvation Army.
Add to that mix the levels of DHQ and THQ, where each person
around the board table has his or her own ideas and
priorities, and we have quite a task of integration. Is
there room for the vision of the advisory board or corps
council? The children? What of the vision of the
officers who are appointed to the Kroc center development,
often partway through the process? And, first and
foremost, what does God want? The Kroc leader has the
responsibility of taking hundreds of vision-bearing images and
crafting them into a coherent film. “Be thou my vision O
Lord of my heart.” Welcome
“There is a welcome here for you. A cup of water, a warm
embrace, there is a welcome here for you.” Is that
evident? Space can be designed to create an atmosphere
of welcome, and systems can be developed to facilitate methods
of welcome, but in the end it depends on people.
eXamine How will we evaluate
what is happening in the centers and in the lives of its
participants? We’re so busy trying to get programming
started that we’ve not been very good at building in an
evaluative component. This is our baby – what if someone says
it’s ugly? How open can we be to feedback?
Yes Tony Blair
suggests that “the art of leadership is saying no, not saying
yes. It is very easy to say yes.” While I get his point,
I suggest that our centers need to be places where “yes” is
heard more often than “no.” Yes, you can do this, I
believe in you. Yes, you can sing and dance. Yes,
you can run and fly kites. Yes, you can love Jesus and
love your brother and sister. Yes, you can be safe here.
Yes, you can dream. Yes, you can hope. Yes, you
can reach your capacity. Yes, you can!
Zoo During our assignment at the
Cleveland Hough Center, definitely a precursor for the Kroc
Center concept, a Salvation Army leader joined us on a busy
evening at the center and commented: “This is a zoo, and
you’re the zookeeper.” Ouch! I’m not always good
at responding in the moment, but nearly twenty years later, I
can tell him that a zoo is the wrong metaphor. We don’t
have people in cages, and while we may have a lot of activity
in the centers, it is not chaos. It’s up to us
to choose healthy metaphors for our centers. While we
continue to be the Salvation Army, a military metaphor may not
be the only one to use in these settings. Might we also
see ourselves as a circle, a harbor, a well, or the village
green? How we as leaders see our centers will influence
what they become.
|