Serotiny and Leadership

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Church Leadership Center It takes heat for them to fulfill their purpose. Only when being burned do they release seeds that begin a new cycle of life. I'm referring to the serotinous pine cone of the lodgepole pine tree. These pine cones sit stagnant for years, appearing to be dysfunctional in comparison to other pine cones. But then, when you would least expect it, during a forest fire; they burst open. It is in the heat of the fire that the cones open and seeds are released for a new cycle of tree life to begin.   We learned about serotinous pine cones during last week's trip to Yellowstone National Park, when the park guides talked about the fires of 1988. The fires affected 793,880 acres, or 36 percent of the park. Amazingly, many of these areas are now lush, green forest lands from which lodgepole pines have emerged. Because the trees were burned, the seeds of new life were released from serotinous pine cones. The leadership lesson is that new life emerges through times of fire and heat. As much as it hurts, leaders are often refined and renewed when passing through fires in life and in ministry. The challenges that hurt us most deeply often become the means by which new perspectives and directions in life begin. Fire and death can lead to new life. This is the message of Jesus: "Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds" (John 12:24). And, it is also the message of Peter: "So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world" (1 Peter 1:7). Technically, the word serotiny means "late in blooming, developing, or opening." As the term applies to serotinous pine cones, they are delayed in opening, rather than being late. And, this apparent delay in terms of the cycle of nature is actually right-on-time according to the purpose for which the pine cone was created. Another lesson of the serotinous pine cone is for leaders to serve according to the purposes for which they have been created… even if these do not appear to be the same as the other "trees" and "cones" in the "forest." Church Leadership Center assists leaders and churches with leadership development. Click here for more information. To view videos about Commissioned Pastors and those who support them, click here. To read previous blogs, click here. Mark your calendar: Leadership and Commissioned Pastor Retreat is planned for October 25 – 26, 2013 at Camp Geneva, Holland, MI. Guest presenter: Pastor Marlin Vis. Topic: Reading the Bible through Middle Eastern Eyes. For additional information click here. To be put on the retreat mailing list, contact Alison DeBoer, adeboer@rcagl.org Please forward this email to a lay leader or church staff member who may benefit from information about leadership development and Church Leadership Center. To contribute financially to CLC or to learn about options for leadership development in your church, reply to this email. Copyright © 2013 Church Leadership Center, All rights reserved. This email is being sent to persons who are on the email leadership contact list of Burt Braunius (burt@braunius.org). Because correspondence has been received from and/or sent to you in the past or because of a common organizational affiliation; your permission to make occasional email contact is appreciated. You may unsubscribe at any time. Our mailing address is: Church Leadership Center 4500 60th Street 616-616-698-7071 Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512 Add us to your address book  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences | view email in browser