Creating Change Without Power
Robben Island, South Africa
Power leadership seems to be all the rage these days. Leverage. Threats and intimidation. It is an effective way to get things done. Well, as long as you don’t mind the tremendous collateral damage to people and communities who don’t acquiesce.
Which brings up the question, how can someone without power exert influence? Can there be leadership without authority? I found a compelling answer to that question on a recent trip to South Africa.
After visiting Johannesburg and Cape Town, we took a ferry to Robben Island. Here Nelson Mandela was kept in solitary confinement for 18 of the 27 years he was held as a political prisoner.
His story is truly remarkable. We walked by his cell, which couldn’t have been more than 6’ by 8’ with a sink and a mat to sleep on (see picture). He dug into the limestone for hours a day, which nearly blinded him.
Mandela endured such unjust and horrible treatment, he and too many others like him, and yet was able to emerge with grace, dignity, ready to lead a people and a nation. How?
His story really came to life for me in Dede’s story.
Dede, our guide at Robben Island, had been a political prisoner there with Mandela. We stood and sat and walked in rapt attention as he shared his personal stories from his seven years in confinement.
I took a very somber tone as we entered the prison. Dede did not.
He smiled. He joked. He told us about his first love inspired by a smuggled poster—Diana Ross. Such a dissonant chord, with beautiful notes playing in his voice on a dark and angry stage. I jostled to the front to hear more.
He shared how he and other prisoners earned college degrees from correspondence courses while imprisoned. They played scrabble and argued about words with a set of dictionaries opened around them. Some of the guards became less tense, and, over time, even sympathetic.
One such guard supplied magazines and newspapers (with all political content cut out) to the prisoners. It was just enough to show them the world was still out there and freedom might somehow be achieved in their lifetime. Hope. Dede smiled gently.
His bright voice dropped into a heavier place, however, when he talked about the punishments. The cruelest were the lashings, with men buckled to a wooden stand while they were whipped with straps doused in alcohol.
How can someone endure this kind of inhuman treatment and not descend into despair and hate?
Dede talked about Mandela and his quiet way of leading them by example. “With the passage of time you begin to see the humanness in others. That’s what Mandela taught us.”
He said he is now close friends with his most bitter enemy, a guard who “had it out for him.” They spend time together. Their families have BBQ together. Enemies who discovered something bigger than the forces that separated them.
Grace. Forgiveness. Empathy. Love.
When Mandela was first offered his freedom, he refused unless all the other prisoners were released with him. Then, in February 1990, they were.
What did Dede do when he was released? He said he went straight to Table Mountain, that pillar above Cape Town that they could see from their cells. They climbed. They cheered. Then they went to KFC!
I was so rapt by Dede’s stories. Even more, his spirit.
His is a crucible story. The way of Mandela. Christians know it as the way of the Cross. He chose that path and inspired a nation to face the truth and seek reconciliation. Change emerged from a place of no power. Or perhaps I’m wrong. Maybe the power of faith, hope and love is stronger.
The ancient forces of pride, hatred and corruption are ever at hand in South Africa, as they are around the world.
But there is light. It is the way of the cross. Crucifixion that leads to resurrection. May we find the way ourselves, and lead others through it.
Elephant Encounter: Leadership Lessons from the Field
Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa
Pictures cannot fully capture the experience of driving into the middle of an elephant herd. Let’s see about words.
Driving down the trail, we saw one elephant, then several, then up to 20 elephants on our left side. Very close quarters. There were several mamas and babies, which was just so beautiful but also gave our driver/safari guide cause to keep us quiet and still (we were stopped, engine off). The mamas can get fierce if they feel their calves are threatened.
Such a magical moment, just feet away. We were quiet witnesses to these majestic animals in their deeply social behavior.
Then, as we started to slowly pull forward, three more elephants appeared in front of us, two walking toward us.
We got quiet again, engine off. We were blocked in by the herd to our left, a slope to our right, another jeep behind us, and the arriving elephants. One of the walking pair veered away but the other kept walking straight at us. The guide slowly backed the jeep away “to show respect,” he commented. The two elephants walked right by us, within inches.
Once we settled our excitement, our guide looked up the road and said, "He's the one I'm worried about."
It was the big bull male. And this one, apparently, has a reputation.
The guide said he wasn't 100% sure until he could see the other ear, but he suspected this was the one. He told us about how this bull had gotten agitated a couple years back and lifted a jeep with his tusks a meter off the ground and shook it several times. No one was injured but the jeep was damaged, and they needed to call for help.
We felt nervous, excited, fully alive.
Our guide moved the jeep slowly up to the bull elephant’s rear quarter. He stopped and shut the engine again, hoping it would move.
But it didn't.
It wasn't showing aggression, but it wasn't giving any ground either. So we waited. Until the guide thought we could slowly pass by the bull. We began to inch forward, his massive frame nearly blocking passage.
We slipped quietly by. And there confirmed it was, in fact, the "short tempered" bull, as our guide put it with eloquent understatement.
We were buzzing with excitement and relief, as if we exhaled all at once. We peppered the guide for his thoughts. It was a close encounter, indeed.
There on the African plain, I witnessed a rare and compelling style of leadership.
Experience – The guide’s years of experience in the park and around these animals, along with his years of study, gave him the information and instincts required to navigate this remarkable encounter. We may be able to use AI to get fast answers, but there is no short cut to gaining knowledge and wisdom.
Calm – His calm kept his mind clear and observant. It also signaled peace and calm to the elephants in the field and to us in the jeep. Any show of fear or burst of emotion from the group or from the herd could have triggered a dangerous situation.
Respect – The guide showed respect to the elephants by quieting the jeep and, at times, slowly backing away. He gave them no reason to challenge for dominance or space.
Situational Awareness – From this quiet space, the guide was alert to any changes in the spirit or posture of the elephants. If any were to look up suddenly, to spread their ears, to turn and face us, that would have indicated agitation and potential aggression.
Joy – Not through words, but the guide conveyed a spirit of deep appreciation and joy in the moment that was contagious. There was a healthy fear, of course, but he did not let the fear suppress the joy. In fact, the mix of emotions existing together felt exhilarating.
Our guide expertly guided us through a magical experience.
In a world that is increasingly tribal, aggressive and polarizing, this was a refreshing experience. We were able to enter the terrain of these magnificent beasts because we did so on their terms. And once there, we were able to bear witness to their native behaviors—calves moving under their mothers, elephants affirming their social bonds through small gestures of smell and touch, bulls protecting the herd.
Leaders who want to dominate write their own rules and create their own worlds. They seek confrontation, looking to weaken others so they can be strengthened. Such leaders can gain tremendous leverage and build whole empires.
But for those of us who choose a world that is created by higher love, by higher law, a world that embraces the miraculous diversity of creation and respects differences, a world that approaches challenges with curiosity, that seeks co-existence and shared success, the steady and open hand of the safari guide offers a way through.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Part 7 in my National Parks blog series
LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK
June 13, 2025
This is the one I called out in my opening blog.
Ever heard of Lassen Volcanic National Park? Me neither. Which is part of the attraction of this idea. The goal of visiting all the national parks, including ones that are off the radar, promises to take me to places and have experiences that I wouldn’t have otherwise.
Lassen is about a 4 1/2-hour drive from San Francisco, or less than four hours if you leave from Sonoma, which is what we did. We’ve been coming to Sonoma for years, tacking on this lovely little wine country town to various San Francisco business trips. We always stay at the old-West Sonoma Hotel and eat next door at The Girl and the Fig. It’s nice to have favorite spots in faraway places.
Sonoma helped me sell Caryn on the idea of joining me for Lassen.
We hit the trail at Lassen after a mixed-review stay at the Highland Ranch nearby (lovely cabin, beautiful views, loud neighbors). We had already noted the dead trees that covered one of the ridges. We learned that these are the charred remains of the 2021 Dixie Fire. This was the largest wildfire in California history, burning nearly 1 million square acres and over 1,000 homes. It took hundreds of firefighters 3 ½ months to contain the blaze. Once again, fire suppression efforts over recent decades played a role. That and a recent inundation of bark beetles, which kill trees, and the historic long drought that has affected the whole of the West.
Lassen is filled with “devastation zones” of completely burned trees and otherwise barren landscape. The other factor in June is the snowpack. Most of the trails are still closed or require boots and micro-spikes to manage the snow and ice.
We tried to drive up as far as the road was open. The unrailed road carved an unnatural ridge in the steep, bare mountainside. I found myself hugging, then riding the solid yellow line in the center. We crossed a freshly cleared rockslide. The road ahead got steeper with more hairpins. My brain decided it did not feel safe, so I used the next turnout to turn around.
We came back down and checked out Sulphur Works, an area of fumaroles (steam and volcanic-gas vents) and a big, bubbling mud pot. This is like a mini-Yellowstone, another volcanic region.
From there we checked out the visitor center, which included a short film documenting the history and geology of Lassen. It’s all about the volcanos, the most recent eruption being just over 100 years ago. We then took the one trail that was open, a 6+ mile hike through the burnt forest to a gushing waterfall. Four years after the fire and the area shows almost no signs yet of recovery. Some fungus is just starting to appear on some of the trees. Caryn and I talked about the time scale of nature vs our own. It’s another one of those perspective-setting moments.
I don’t think this will make the top 10 list once I complete my tour of the national parks. But Lassen gave us a glimpse into the powerful forces of nature and time that shape the world in which we live, and a chance to walk in it.
The Mighty Sequoia: Lessons in Life & Leadership
Part 6 in my National Parks blog series
After visiting three national parks in three days—Pinnacles, Sequoia, and King’s Canyon—I am now back in the Bay Area for a wedding today and a workshop on Tuesday. I have left the native landscapes of Central California, but Central California hasn’t left me.
Standing tall in my memory are those tree giants, the mighty sequoia. Elders of the forest, these ancient cypress can rise 250-300 feet tall and be as much as 2,000, even 3,000 years old. I shared earlier (in the Sequoia National Park blog) how I moved from shock and awe to deeper observation and curiosity. How do they do it, live and grow for thousands of years?
Some of the answer is plainly evident. All the older trees have scars. And not just a little nick here or there. These are coal black, deep cut, long scars, sometimes running up fifty feet, sometimes drilling deep holes in the trunk, and most remarkably, sometimes cutting all the way through the tree. Some gashes are so large you can walk through them. These are scars born from intense wildfires that have burned through the ages.
An alternate title for this piece could be, “Fire and Water.” This is the part about the fire. I’ll get to the water.
These trees, I learned, not only survived the fires. They thrived. In fact, they need the fires to survive as a species. Fire clears the brush that builds up on the forest floor, choking out new growth trees. Fire melts the resin that coats the sequoia seeds, releasing them to connect with the soil and begin to grow. Without fire, they remain dormant.
Fire suppression efforts over the last century have prevented new growth trees. Forest rangers now do controlled burns to restore the natural forces that bear life in the sequoia groves.
I can’t help but to think what life and leadership lessons we can draw. How do we think about the fires of life, those intense challenges—the loss of a job, an economic crisis, a business loss, inter-personal drama, health scares, etc.—that sometimes rage in our lives? Our instinct is fire suppression. Avoid. Protect. Medicate.
What if, like the mighty sequoia, we were meant to embrace the fire rather than suppress it?
The Bible speaks of being “refined by fire” (1 Peter 1:7) for personal and spiritual growth. James 1:2-4 reads,
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
I used to read these and similar passages from a distance. Accept pain and challenges, that I could understand. But to embrace them? To find joy in those dark places? How can this make sense??
But ancient wisdom teaches that fire can produce resilience, wisdom and maturity, if we choose.
One thing I found remarkable about the trees is the bark. I came across a felled sequoia, which gave me a way to get up close to the whole tree. The outer layer was soft and spongy. I assumed that the hard outer bark had been harvested by park rangers for some project. Then I began to walk up close to the standing trees. I reached out to feel the bark. These, too, were soft, moist and spongy, with a very thin, almost translucent, outer skin.
I was shocked. I’d seen the armor bark of the surrounding pine trees. I assumed the sequoias would be even harder, stronger. Yet here they are, soft and accessible, despite the threat of fire. Something in that moist outer coat enables that sequoia to withstand fires that destroy other species.
But it comes at a cost. Those deep scars, those holes and tunnels burnt into the trunk. Here’s what I saw. The tree survives because it is willing to give up a part of itself. As long as there are parts that connect to the roots below and to the branches above, life-giving nutrients continue to flow.
What does that look like for us? I spent all of my younger years building up a protective outer layer. Dad leaves the family, four kids under six. Insecure at school. Cut from the soccer team. Not sure where to fit in. Each moment adding layers to the wall. By the time I graduated college, I had the appearance of strength and success on the outside, but a deep questioning hidden below that outer layer.
As I grew in the Christan faith that I came to in my young 20s, I saw a different model in Jesus. He did not fly through life like a super. Just the opposite, in fact. He came in weakness and humility. As prophesied by Isaiah,
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Isaiah 53:2-3
Jesus shared his thoughts, his hurts, his uncertainties, with the trusted circle he had built around him. Go to Gethsemane and see for yourself (Mark 14:32–42). His strength came not from hardening but from connecting, with the Father above and with friends around. He had the bark of a sequoia, soft and moist, accessible, resilient.
The fires came, and so did the scars. “…by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) Scars that bear witness to the suffering. Scars that provide life.
This is a style of leadership, and of life.
There are other forms, other ways of seeking success. One is to be so forward-looking, so optimistic, so determined to keep ourselves and people around us moving forward that we minimize pain and loss and hide our scars. We may generate perspiration with this approach but never inspiration. Eventually, hidden scars lead to detachment and burnout.
Then there’s the hardened, blustery, aggressive, threatening, manipulative style of strength and power. It’s all the rage now. This blitzkrieg approach can produce quick results as people act in fear or fealty. Lines are drawn. Winners and losers are loudly declared. Success is self-proclaimed. There are no scars because no weakness dare be shown. Any who fall off the path disappear.
Let’s see what stands the test of time.
I choose the way of the sequoia, and the way of the Son. To stay soft in the storm. To be willing to take the hits. To show kindness and empathy when others are down. Here is the fertile ground where trust, respect, character, competency, and meaningful connections grow. Here is where scars and tears produce new branches that rise to new heights. Here is where strength shows up as courage, where frailty is met by resilience, where leadership inspires action rather than demands it.
Now let’s talk about the water. Sequoias thrive in the montane zone of the high Sierra, around 7,000-8,000 feet. This region takes in tremendous amounts of water through rain and, most of all, massive snowfall (20 feet annually) in the winter, providing what these trees need to grow.
Sequioa do not have a taproot reaching for underground water. Their roots systems are surprisingly shallow and can stretch for acres. Being close to the surface, they are purpose-built to take in water from the rain and snow melt. These overlapping root systems also serve as a strong, connected subterranean base that can resist the high winds that threaten to fell the giants.
We often talk about building deep foundations to build high in life and business. And there is wisdom there. But there is also wisdom in building wide, a broad, nourishing network with the strength of overlaying root systems that are better suited to stand against the high winds than standing alone.
How are we in this? Are we building wide? Are we building networks with others who are strong, capable, like-minded, and spiritually generative? Are we building trust and shared wisdom, the kind that shows up in times of need? Or do we try to stand alone and retreat when the storms hit, when we are at our most vulnerable?
We do our best to climate control our lives and work. We seek success and stability. The tree giants offer a different perspective, however. Let the mighty sequoia show us her secrets of growth and grandeur, of longevity and life. Theirs is a story of fire and water, of wide and connected roots, of staying soft even when the heat comes, or especially when the heat comes.
They stand before us, and they show us their scars. There is no effort to cosmetically repair the damage. The scars tell their story. The scars show what was lost to keep growing. The scars tell the secret of life, of survival, of resilience and growth. When we do the same, others see the secret of our strength.
May we look up and hear the story.
Sunrise on the Chapparal
Part 5 in my National Parks blog series
Psalm 19
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 But who can discern their own errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.
14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
King’s Canyon National Park
Part 4 in my National Parks blog series
Heeding the advice of my friend the geology professor who’s been coming here since he was two, I got up before dawn. It’s almost a three-hour drive to King’s Canyon from here at the base of Sequioa. I gassed up and packed my daypack last night. All I needed this morning was to have my coffee, read a bit of Bible, and make my cheese and tomato sandwich. I got off at 5:30 am.
In a way, today felt like a highlight reel of the past several days. My drive started in the foothill chapparal (previous word of the day), that lovely little ecosystem teeming with birds and little critters. I especially enjoyed seeing little coveys (new word of the day) of quail scurrying by the roadside, looking like something straight out of a Dr. Seuss book with those curious head feathers.
Next up, the switchbacks. Up and over and down and back and up and around and… yup, you can’t get through the Sierra Nevada without them. The drops weren’t as precipitous as they were in Sequoia yesterday. And I got more comfortable moving that beast of a Ford SUV up the mountain.
And then the payoff, getting to experience another wonderous feature of nature.
King’s Canyon borders Sequioa to the North. It also serves as a refuge for the tree giants, including the famous "General Grant” tree, which I saw today. But the star of the show here is the canyon. This is a mini-Yosemite, at least that’s what they say. I can’t call it a mini anything. It’s massive. Per Wikipedia, “The stupendous rocks of purplish gray granite that form the walls are from 2500 to 5000 feet in height, while the depth of the valley is considerably more than a mile.”
Looking down from the top of the canyon, just spectacular! It seems to go forever, layers and layers of canyon walls that overlap and then seemingly fade into a distant infinity. Looking up from the bottom as I hiked from Road’s End (which is where, well, the road ends) to Mist Falls, even more astounding! I hope the pictures do some little measure of justice to this monumental scenery.
I had two memorable encounters today with other hikers. The first came as I sat taking a short water break at the side of the raging river. I barely heard a man trying to say something to me. I looked around. “Watch out, there’s a rattlesnake on the path ahead. I moved it with a stick, but it might go back.”
My first thought, said out loud, was, “Thank you for letting me know.”
My second thought, to myself, was, “There are rattlesnakes around here?”
My next thought was, “Yes, dummy, of course there are. Pay attention!”
As I walked on, eyes on the path, I had one more thought. “He had a stick. I need a stick. I need a rattlesnake stick.”
I found a worthy candidate, thick, heavy, ready for battle. Five minutes later, I laid the stick back in its natural habitat, confident in my new focus on eyeing the path, and tired of carrying a thick, heavy stick.
The other encounter happened not too long afterwards. An Asian family was heading down the path as I was walking up. The father seemed about my age. I stepped aside to let them pass by. The first to pass was the older man. He paused for a moment, smiled, and gave a short bow. Then he held up his hand as he walked by. At first, I thought he was asking me to continue to wait. But then I realized what he wanted and gave him a high five as he passed. It felt like mutual respect and a moment of human connection. I walked on with a smile of my own.
Tomorrow is a rest day as I travel back to the Bay area ahead of a friend’s wedding. I will meet up with Caryn there. Together, after the wedding and after a workshop I’m leading on Tuesday, we will go to visit Lassen Volcanic National Park. Oh, and wine country :)
Sequoia National Park
Part 3 in my National Parks blog series
I salute the generals. General Sherman. General Grant. General Washington. And the presidents. President McKinley. President Washington. And hail to the Chief, another of the named sequoia trees in Sequoia National Park.
I really don’t know how to describe the majesty and beauty of these ancient giants that stand 250-300 feet tall in the Sierra Nevada. Some of these trees are 2,000, even 3,000 years old. They were here when Jesus walked the earth. Take that in.
John Muir, the great Scottish naturalist, was so taken he called this area the Giant Forest. The name stands to this day.
As for me--self-controlled, balanced, cerebral me—I cried out at one point (to no one)—“This is not real!” I might have watered up a bit once or twice.
It could very well be a callback to when I saw the giant redwoods nearly 40 years ago. It was then that I saw and felt the enormity and presence of God. I remember then feeling both so small and, somehow, so significant. It moved me to pursue a life to be near Him. I felt that again today. I have spent so much time in church and in ministry. It’s refreshing to simply encounter God in the garden of His creation.
I don’t know how much energy I have to write too much about today. So I’ll break it down into smaller bits.
The drive up and down to the main grove of trees takes one hour. One hour straight of switchbacks gaining then losing (on the way back) 6,000 feet. Maybe that’s why my foot is swollen. ONE HOUR winding up, up, up; ONE HOUR braking down, down, down hairpin turns. I’ve driven all over the world. Nothing like this. The breathtaking views competed for my attention with the several thousand feet drop just over the rail. Or sometimes no rail. Talk about mindfulness. I was focused!
One bit of news worth sharing, I think… I was able to solve two problems with one solution. I didn’t share in yesterday’s blog but my root vegetable chips lost all their crispiness when packed in with my tomato and cheese sandwich. I didn’t have any other baggies to pack them into. Then I remembered that German brown bread. I realized in a moment the value of the bread is the bag wrapper. I tossed the bread and used the wrapper to store my chips. So satisfying!
I spent a lot of today thinking about those trees. Once I passed the initial state of awe, I began to look closer, investigating them, getting up close, asking questions. What is your secret, oh ancient trees! And they answered. Or God did. Or something. I will likely write up a separate blog on thoughts about life, leadership and organizations that came to me in my time in the woods.
That’s the leadership and org development nerd in me. Sorry, not sorry.
So until then, I look forward to an early bedtime as I prepare for a sunrise departure for the second leg of this sequoia adventure, Kings Canyon National Park.
Check out the NPS website for Sequoia & Kings Canyon for more info: https://www.nps.gov/seki/index.htm
Pinnacles National Park
Part 2 in my National Parks blog series
I woke up at 4:30, or 7:30 on my East Coast body clock. I had already organized my daypack the night before, so there was plenty of time for my morning Bible read and breakfast--fruit and German dark bread. Ugh. Well, you see, all they had at Trader Joe’s for non-refrigerated quick breakfast food was sugar-topped gluten-free strawberry muffins, iced coffee cake, and, well, German dark bread. So either food for an eight-year old’s birthday party or German dark bread.
I got to the park early having been warned by many a visitor on various forums and blogs to arrive by 7:00am or risk not finding a parking space. And to avoid the heat of the day. After a 6:30am departure from my hotel, I arrived to find…No one at the gate. No one in the lot. It was strange and wonderful to have the whole national park to myself. And it stayed that way for more than an hour.
The drive through the valley, up the foothills steeped in dry grass and speckled with oak trees, stirred my anticipation. There were birds and rabbits (jackrabbits, with those long ears, and cottontails) and more birds hopping and skipping and flying out of the long grass as I passed by. More of the same as I began my hike, along with mule a family of mule dear in the meadow and several gray foxes along the trail. Honestly, it felt like Bambi was going to pop out at any moment.
Then I learned my word of the day: chaparral. This is an ecosystem with grassland, low shrubs, etc. that is home to a very diverse and active community of cute little animals and birds. Having the place to myself, I found myself stopping often to look and listen. As I got to higher elevation, I saw many soaring birds finding lift in the valley thermals, and even a Condor.
Pinnacles is just a magical, otherworldly place. You basically are climbing up the time-worn remnants of a 23-million-year-old dormant volcano. The molten rock inspires with its high reaching peaks, invites and, at times, forbids travelers to pass. The trail had to be carved out of and, at times, through the stone. Rangers cut trails, built bridges and retaining walls, notched steps into some of the high rock and installed rails in the steep narrows to make this majestic place accessible to the rest of us. Hats off to the park rangers.
One note on that. I found it interesting that there was no ranger at the booth even when I left. No one to collect the park fee. With all these drastic cuts to budgets and staff, I just wonder if this is their little way to say what happens when you do that.
I met some great people today.
There’s Jason of Ohio and his family of five touring several California national parks on the occasion of his younger daughter graduating high school. We had a chuckle about the early start. He, too read all the warnings about getting to the parking lot by 7:00 am. So he rallied the troops at 6:00 am, got out, and arrived to find what I found, no one. We just laughed. Classic dad move.
I came across three young men who live in the area. One told me they try to come out once a month to hike it, that it’s always changing with seasons and weather, that he can’t help but take massive amounts of pictures every time.
Then there’s Paul, the retired geology professor who is hosting me at his Airbnb cabin on a river adjacent to Sequioa National Park. He met me at the gate of his 340-acre property and led me down, down, down to my secluded little cabin.
I asked if he is from the area. He shared that he has been coming here ever since he was two years old. Every summer before he went off to college, his parents, both school teachers, would pack a station wagon with a tent and the kids and head to Yosemite for six weeks, then Sequioa for another six weeks. He literally grew up here. When he retired, he bought this property. His spirit adds texture to the place, and to the experience.
I don’t have the space to write about all that happened today. Early morning smoke from Canadian wildfires (that dissipated, amen!), narrow winding roads that reminded me of driving in Ireland, the no-internet, no access to my online trail map fiasco, and more. But I just love that I had eight stories before 7:00 am, before I even started my hike. That’s a good day!
To learn more about Pinnacles NP, check out the National Park Service website: https://www.nps.gov/pinn/index.htm
Next stop: Sequoia.
63 by 65, A National Parks Story
Part 1 in my National Parks blog series
Dateline June 2, 2025
When I turned 62 earlier this year, I had an idea. There are 63 national parks in our beautiful country. What if I made it my goal to visit all 63 by the time I turn 63? I did a little research and quickly worked out that I’ve already visited 15. That leaves 48. I found a list of parks on the NPS website, copied that into Word doc, arranged them in geographic clusters, and started to map out what this could look like.
I began to see the high ambition, even audacity, of this goal. I would need to drop most everything else and go full throttle to get it done. Beyond that, I realized I would get into “grabbing peaks” mode at the expense of truly experiencing the wonder of each park. Like my old Tom Tom GPS map used to tell me after a wrong turn, I began “recalculating.” The next age that felt like a good milestone number is 65. OK, I won’t get to say, “I got to all 63 by 63,” but “63 by 65” works for me.
That brings me to my flight to San Franciso. Along with my small backpack with computer and such, I have a medium suitcase packed on one side with slacks, a jacket, a couple of ironed shirts, and black shoes, and the other side with tee-shirts, shorts, hiking pants, layers, and an ultralight 12-liter hydration daypack with various trekking gear. Let me explain.
Caryn and I have a wedding in Los Altos this coming weekend. Then, a couple of days later, I’m leading a public speaking workshop in Santa Clara. So that brings me to California. I opened up my Google Maps and plotted national parks around the Bay Area. I worked out that I could visit three parks the week before the wedding/workshop (Pinnacles, Kings Canyon and Sequoia), and one after, Lassen.
Ever heard of Lassen Volcanic National Park? Me neither. Which is part of the attraction of this idea. The goal of visiting all the national parks, including ones that are off the radar, promises to take me to places and have experiences that I wouldn’t have otherwise.
It’s so easy to draw our cards from the deck of what we know, the familiar, the comfortable. I’m talking about activities but also ways of thinking, of seeing, and of relationships. As I get older, it becomes easier to want to do that. And sure, I feel the need for some level of comfort, security and stability. But I also want to keep reaching, keep expanding, keep moving, keep growing. I find it good medicine for mind, body and spirit. “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.” (Olympic runner and devoted Christian in Chariots of Fire)
I planned my flight to arrive in San Francisco early enough for me to drive my rental car to the hotel in Soledad well before the dreaded SF rush hour. I took a slight detour to spend the afternoon in Monterey, a favorite. I’m tempted to write about the wonders of that little coastal paradise, but I’m reminding myself this is a national parks blog.
After a short stop at Trader Joe’s to get fruit, bread, cheese, and trail snacks, I made it into Soledad. Tomorrow, I plan to get to the parking lot at Pinnacles when it opens at 7:00am to secure a spot, then hit some hiking routes I found on the AllTrails app.
The ancient tree giants of Sequoia and Kings Canyon call from a distance. But first, Pinnacles. It begins.
The Jesus Team
Spiritual Leadership Team Series
Jesus came to change the world. He didn’t try to do it alone.
He had more power, more wisdom, more talent, more ability than any before or since he walked the earth. And yet, as magnificently capable as he was, he knew he needed others to join him. His first act of mission? He built a team.
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. Mark 1:16-18
Yes, he called people to follow him, to become “fishers of men.” Not as individuals, however, but as a team. Over the next three years this group of future leaders would walk, learn, witness, eat, drink, suffer, sing, laugh, cry, serve, sin, repent and grow together.
These were not the “Ivy League” hires, either. A most unlikely lot to go on a world-changing mission. This is how the religious elite viewed them:
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13
That tells me it’s less about individual talent and more about the desire to follow Jesus and the collective will to invest in relationships and partner on mission. That means it can be any of us, all of us, if we choose the same path as they did.
There are over two-hundred references to “the disciples” in the four gospels, far exceeding references to any one of them by name. Jesus was close to all of them, but closest to Peter, James and John. From the Mount of Transfiguration to the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus spent his most vulnerable, most transformative moments with this close circle.
Women played a central role as well. “The twelve were with him, and also some women…” And not just a few; v3 cites “many others,” including some who were helping to support his ministry. (Luke 8:1-3) The first to encounter the risen Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, were also the first to share the good news of his resurrection.
Jesus once again shows us the way. How did he lead? He built a team—a deeply connected, relational, diverse, collaborative, at times messy, but ultimately impactful, spiritual leadership team. If we want to have a Jesus-like impact on the world today, we too must be effective team-builders and good team-players.
Look around. Who are you walking with? If you cannot name your team, you do not have a team. Find one, or build one. Nothing changes the world like a Jesus team.
Leading Starts with Modeling
Spiritual Leadership Team Series
The first principle of leadership is example. A leadership team is a model of the church to the church. Jesus taught through modeling—a living example of faith, hope and love. He didn’t spend a lot of time teaching in the synagogue. Instead, he went into the wilderness, built a team, and showed the world what a redemption community looks like. Paul understood the power of modeling. He called out the Thessalonian church for its sacrifice and love, “And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” (1 Thess. 1:7)
The truth is every leadership team is modeling something to the church and to the community. The only question is—what kind of model do they see? Is it a model of faith, hope and love? Is it a model of humility, deep connection and spiritual partnership? Or is it a model of conflict and division?
Scripture
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from ME, or seen in ME—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9
Follow MY example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1
Leadership Team Application:
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from US, or seen in US—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:9
Follow OUR example, as WE follow the example of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1
The New Testament writers give us powerful and practical images of the church as connected and unified. Ephesians 2 offer three metaphors—(1) a nation, (2) a family, and (3) a household.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22
What an amazing vision for the church! But is it what we see when we look at the leadership team? Jesus knew that, for the gospel to spread and for churches to grow, the leaders would need to be unified. This was so important to Jesus that he spent his last night washing their feet and praying for their relationships.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. John 13:1
Leaders and leadership teams too must “wash one another’s feet” to create the connection and unity needed to serve the church. We cannot lead together in Christ if we do not live together in Christ. The church will imitate not only the faith but also the sense of family of its leaders. May we build leadership teams that are “joined together” in a way that inspires the church with a vison of “being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Leadership Team = Leader + Team
Spiritual Leadership Team Series
Church leadership teams are not committees, advisory groups, or management teams. These are all important functions that have a time and place in healthy spiritual organizations. Especially as churches get larger, there is a need for good management of programs, finances, policies, budgets, events, communications, etc.
Too often churches settle for management, however, when leadership is needed. Management is easier, it’s safer, and it’s fine as long as we’re perfectly happy with where things are and just want that to continue. If we seek change and growth, however, leadership is needed.
Jesus was a leader. Stirred by the darkness and lostness of the world, he left the security of heaven and set out on a rescue mission. He came to start a movement, to build a Kingdom. To do that, he needed men and women willing to follow at any cost. Only the most devoted would stay with him.
Church leadership teams must be willing and able to lead. There are many ways to do this. The best way is to have a trained leader with the faith, vision, gifts and courage to lead. A good leader can transform a good team into a great one. If a team is unable or unwilling to bring in a trained leader, the team itself must find ways to cultivate the leadership capacity within it. Outside support and training for members of the group is a vital to building leadership team skills.
Great leaders are good team builders. Jesus led in a way that drew men and women to him. They felt safe. Just look at how real the disciples were in his presence. Jesus sent out the twelve in small teams of two. These partnerships would help these young leaders develop deeper connections and serve as the DNA for leading in teams in the years to come. Leaders who were more attracted to power and position, who were unwilling to work in teams, would ultimately falter (Judas, Simon the Sorcerer, Diotrephes, “who loves to be first,” etc.). Servant leaders who matched faith and courage with humility, who were connectors and team builders, built teams that built the church.
Great teams value and support good leaders. Barnabas rallied others around Paul even as many questioned him. If a leader, leadership team and Board do not come together in heart, spirit, vision and relationship, trouble follows. Integrating new leaders, especially younger leaders, into existing teams can be particularly challenging. It takes time, attention and support to navigate through the “Forming” and “Storming” phases of group development. Leaders and teams that grow together, however, grow churches.
Into the Wild
Bighorn Range, Wyoming
In the summer of 1987, I spent three weeks in the Bighorn mountains in Wyoming as part of a wilderness expedition training program with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). We were there to learn how to prepare, navigate and ultimately lead others in backcountry travel. I arrived with a new set of hiking boots and an adventurous spirit. We were supplied with equipment and provisions for an off-trail, unsupported (other than one resupply) trek into the mountains.
We walked, climbed and hiked for days upon days, all the while learning about nutrition, mountain medicine, setting up tarps (no tents) below and above tree line, weather patterns, edible plants, cooking (even baking in an open fire), and many other useful skills. The most important lessons, however, were orienteering and group dynamics. We were taught how to read a topographical map and use a compass to navigate the terrain, and to work together to plan and solve problems.
After breakfast each morning the group came together to decide where to set up camp later that day, being careful to select a spot that covered the miles needed, had access to fresh water, and was protected, if possible, from the elements. Then came the most challenging but also the most energizing part. Once we were packed up for the day, we were divided into teams of three or four, then separated from the other groups and tasked with selecting a route (remember, no paths), navigating the terrain, supporting each other, watching for hazards, locating water, and basically working together to get safely to the next location. Each day new groups were formed, which meant learning how to work with different people with a wide range of personalities, talents and abilities. Our guides provided just enough coaching to help us learn how to plan, problem-solve, and ultimately succeed as working teams. They stayed close enough to help as needed, but otherwise left us to go and grow on our own.
I loved that experience. It has had a profound influence on how I think about leadership, coaching, capacity building and team development ever since. There is nothing like coming together as a group, developing deep connections, tapping everyone’s gifts and resources, taking ownership of the task, facing challenges, brainstorming solutions, and working together to accomplish things we couldn’t achieve on our own. Building confidence and capacity in others, and developing productive teams, is the very essence of good leadership.
The Power and Peril of Church Leadership Teams
Leadership teams have more ways to succeed (than individuals) through the power of combining spiritual gifts, the creative force of diverse perspectives, the collective energy and thought power, and the larger capacity to carry the load. On the other hand, because they have many parts with complex organizational and relational dynamics, teams also have more ways to break and fail. Here are some common scenarios that can lead to stuck teams and stuck churches.
1. Unfit or Unwell Members
Spirituality is a must for anyone serving in a decision-making role in the church. Anyone serving in a Board or Administration role should also be spiritually strong, a member in good standing, and well connected relationally. Too often roles of leadership are given to those who may be gifted but are not spiritually or relationally fit. Even one spiritually unfit or unwell member can derail a leadership team, and a church.
2. Role and Goal Confusion (Who, What & How)
Leading with a team requires a clear definition of WHO (roles & responsibilities), WHAT (goals) and HOW (processes). When roles & responsibilities are not well defined, teams tend to spend too much time in long meetings and never-ending conversations trying to solve even simple questions. When goals are not set, teams tend to become managers of the status quo and lack the vision and capacity needed to move the church forward. When processes and procedures are not clear, even teams with great faith can fail because they simply do not know how to function.
3. Relationship Issues
Strong teams are built on strong relationships. If there are unresolved issues between team members, it can make it difficult if not impossible to work together in a productive way. Teams can spend weeks, months and even years debating issues related to church matters and not realize the real issues are relational.
4. Unresolved History
When we don’t process and resolve difficult experiences (whether inside or outside the church), they tend to stick to us and create a fear/reaction response when facing issues. We may resist leadership because of a bad experience with a leader in the past. We may resist an idea because it feels like something that failed in the past. We avoid certain people because they remind us of people who hurt us. Unresolved history can prevent leadership teams from being faithful, forward-looking and effective.
5. Negativity or Just Familiarity
Jesus could not do miracles in his hometown. To the people there he was just too familiar. Leaders and teams also can become too familiar—with each other, with the church, with situations. Stagnation and negativity can set it and slowly dull the spirit of the team as it loses faith and vision in what God can do. Without someone inside or outside to call it out, these churches become a smaller version of what God created them to be. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18).
Combining gifted, diverse people into a coherent, high-functioning leadership team is hard. Like any system, the team relies on the good work of each part, a strong connection among the parts, and a coherent operating system. A breakdown in any of these, left unchecked, can stall the whole thing. The payoff of getting it right, however—the elevated leadership that a good team can provide—makes is worth the effort.
A Systems Approach to Leadership: A Car Story
Spiritual Leadership Team Series
This is first in a series on spiritual leadership teams. Although the specific context is church leadership, many of the principles apply to leadership and teaming generally.
I bought my first car when I was a second year university student. It was a very small older car with a soft covered sunroof. I loved driving that little car, especially with the windows and sunroof open to the fresh Virginia air. It ran pretty well. The only issue was a small oil leak. I didn’t want to spend the money to repair that. Instead, I kept a jug of engine oil in the trunk and just added some every time it was running low. That worked fine, until it didn’t.
At the end of the school year, I was driving home to Maryland when the oil light came on. I had used all the spare oil so I had none to add. I was only about 20 minutes from home, however, so I made the decision to just keep driving. A few minutes later, the engine shut down. I pulled off the road and called a mechanic, who towed the car to his repair shop. The news was not good. The engine had completely seized up—the pistons were fused to the engine block. It was beyond repair. The car had to be scrapped. And so ends the short life story of my first car.
Why do I share this story? There are lessons to be learned.
1. An engine is a system that relies on many parts operating together. Each part has a purpose, but that purpose is only realized when it is properly designed, fitted and calibrated to work with all the other parts. If one part suffers, every part suffers. Wait, where have we heard that before? Church leadership teams are also systems that must be designed and built well to work effectively. Too often, however, they are pieced together without understanding what parts are needed, how they should work together, and what performance looks like.
2. An engine needs regular preventative maintenance. A small problem can grow into a big problem if it is not addressed quickly. If we wait for something to break down, it can create much more damage. It is the same with church leaderships. We have seen a lot of breakdown in leadership teams, some with issues that have festered for years. Too often we find out too late, only after it has become an emergency and much damage has been caused. We need to find ways to build stronger connections, have better insight, get earlier feedback, do preventive maintenance, and provide support sooner, before small issues become larger.
3. Relationships and trust are the oil of teams. Oil keeps the moving parts from damaging each other while the engine is powering the car. If the oil leaks out, the engine will fail. It’s one thing to lose a car that way. It’s another thing to lose a church.
Jesus taught these same concepts using different metaphors—bodies (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12), fields (Mathew 13), households and homes (Ephesians 2). We need to see church leadership in a more holistic sense, as parts working (or not) together, as a system designed by God to power and support the church. This will require a shift in how we support churches and church leadership teams.
Write On!
Last year I went on a 100-mile bicycle ride (a century, as they call it in the biz) and wrote up a blog piece on the experience, 100 Miles of Solitude. I was so energized by the experience, and I mean the writing, that I published a second blog the following week. That was it, the beginning of my weekly writing practice. Or at least I thought. Turns out that lasted, well, those two weeks.
Months passed with nary a word from me. Then I had the extraordinary adventure of walking the Camino with my daughter—300 miles of exploration and adventure from Porto, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. During the trek, I shared experiences, reflections, photos, etc. with my family via WhatsApp daily messages. While I did this to share the journey with them, I found the process of daily blogging added depth, texture and meaning to the experience for me. I turned that into a blog series, which I published this summer.
Then radio silence. Again.
What gets in the way?
Waiting for perfection, for one. The perfect idea. The perfect words, phrasing, mood, flow, style, everything. After all, once the written word goes out into the world, it lives in that form forever. So, I better get it just right. The quest for perfection is suffocating.
Then there’s the search for subject. What should I write about? I’ve wasted way too many opportunities to create by waiting for perfect (there it is again) clarity on topic. How about just write and see what comes?
I recently rewatched the “Get Back” Beatles documentary series. With excerpts stitched together from over 60 hours of raw film, director Peter Jackson offers us a unique window into the creative space that is songwriting. What amazes me is to see the approach. Someone comes in with an idea, maybe a musical phrase, a lyric, sometimes more, sometimes less, and then they just start creating and re-creating together. It’s a messy process. Just get started and work it work it.
So here it is October of 2024, one year after my first burst of inspiration to begin writing again. This time I hope to employ a more disciplined approach, a daily practice to get the engine re-started and running. It’s time to get something down, and work it work it. Write on!
Walking the Camino
Hello Family and Friends!
Here's a little travel log of my walk on the Camino Portugues with my daughter, Jessica. We left Porto, Portugal on June 5th and arrived in Santiago de Compostela, Spain on June 19. What happened in the between was just oh so special. It was joy to have done it, and to capture the moments, the ups and downs, the chance encounters, the exquisite beauty, the stories, and the spiritual journey to share and to remember.
This was initially “published” as a series of daily WhatsApp messages to my family. They were all good sports and signed up to share the adventure with us. Since then, others have asked to see the pictures and hear the stories. So here we are.
Interested in learning in little about the Camino walk, what it is, and why people do it? There are many websites, often the work of “pilgrims” inspired to share good information about routes, gear, history, etc. with fellow travelers. Here’s a good one: https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/need-to-know-camino-de-santiago-pilgrimage-route-spain/
I’m going to try and post these as separate articles, one for each day, just as I shared them originally. I think that will make it more accessible. Just know that each day connects to another day and to the journey overall. Let’s see how it plays out :)
Day 0: Lisbon
Walking the Camino
Jessica and I arrived in Lisbon from DC (me) and Amsterdam (Jessica) on Sunday. We walked the city, including a cute old neighborhood on one hill and the castle on another hill. And had our first pasteis de nata, the traditional Portuguese pastry. Yum 😋
Lisbon is beautiful in an old Europe, colorful, weathered, wonderful kinda way. These were supposed to be rest days before the big walking, but we still did 23k+ steps a day. So much to see and do! Lots of hills, lots of stairs. Turns out that was good training for Porto (foreshadowing alert).
We took a sunset sail on the river, where we took in the sights and the stories as told by our eager young boathand, Miguel. We also had our first taste of Portuguese green wine. It's light and sparkly, and just right for a summer sunset sail, it turns out.
Portugal is sun, good vibes, good food (especially seafood), friendly people, and, at least for us, adventure, reflection and connection. So grateful to be here, to do this.
Btw "Day 0" represents the two days we spent in Lisbon.
Day 1: Porto
Walking the Camino
We took the high speed rail to Porto on Tuesday. Porto is more elegant than Lisbon (much of Lisbon was flattened in a devastating earthquake in 1755) and, somehow, even more hilly. It sits in a river gorge, with houses and buildings built up and all around the slopes. Very pretty.
We walked the city, ate some bifanas (juicy little pork sandwiches, sooo good!), and toured the local cathedral that represents the starting point of our journey. We picked up our Camino passports there and our first stamp. (The idea is to get the passport stamped along the way to document and in a way, prove we made the journey. Only then can we get our certificate in Santiago de Compostela, the end point of the walk.)
We stayed in a hostel in a shared room. This was us trying the true hostel approach to walking the Camino, which is its purest form. Sorry, too old for that. We'll be booking a private room in hostels or guesthouses from now on. Sleep matters.
We managed to escape the crowds up an old alley, where we found a lovely little restaurant to end our lovely little day. Tomorrow we start the walk.
Day 2: Porto to Matosinhos
Walking the Camino
This was a short walk of just 6 miles, our Camino starter kit. We met our first fellow pilgrims on the way down to the river... a mother and her teenage son from Atlanta. She's connecting with him. He's trying to figure out next steps in life. Each person has their own reasons to walk the Camino. I'll explore that more later.
We followed the flow of the river out of the city towards the coast, then banked right where the met the sea. We are walking the Coastal Route, with parts of the Litoral Route. The other main pathway is the Central Route, which is, well, more central. See how it works?
We stayed in a private room at the Caruma Surf Hostel. Great place, super spacious. There’s big time surfing in Portugal. Check out "The 100 Foot Wave" on Netflix for more on that.