Today's sermon- Thanks Lisa H. You are a dear friend.

LOVE CUBED LEADERSHIP

This is the place where leadership begins. Leadership begins even from that place where you feel ‘cubed’ in.
Then it continues with love.
Leadership can begin even when you feel cubed in.
Love that perhaps, has hit the wall. But in the midst of that circumstance, it is multiplied by the love of God.

Visiting Jane Kaminske this week, she had hit a wall.
Combination of chemo and another shot to rebuild her bones, ached with head to toe pain. Nothing she could do to get comfortable.
When she called, I could tell she felt cubed in.

But then we talked about love. Love for Tim. Love for Barry. Love for this church and community. The love of God which she hears as the stream in front of her house trickles by even in winter.

In the midst of this life circumstance, she is witness to that love – and offers leadership of love to the third degree on her blog.

With all of her heart, all her mind, all her soul – she puts herself out there – so that others may find peace and comfort.

We walked upstairs to her third floor. She showed me how the blog all works. She showed me this cool mechanism called a ‘sitecounter’ that allows her to track how many visits she has had since April. It even tells her where in the world, people were reading her blog. When we logged on, a reader was on in Texas and in New York and in New Castle.

Does anyone know how many visitors she has had on her blog since April?

Almost 35,000.

Now that might be 100 visitors, every day of the year.
But still, that is love cubed leadership.

With all her heart, all her soul, all her might – her love for God is being revealed daily in a way that leads other to that place of peace as well.

Exponential increase.
Even when she feels cubed in.
Love to the third degree.
Love cubed leadership.

If we want to be multiply and be fruitful,
For our children and for our children’s children –
We begin with love.

If you want to move into the promised land,
If you want to be the leadership for the next generation,
You begin with love.

That is the starting place for us as a church.
So that when we breath in scripture, and breath out service –
That first breath of scripture is informed by Mark 12 –
Which takes these words from the Shema –
When Jesus is asked, what is the greatest commandment?

To love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and might.
Starting with that scripture, will call forth leadership in our service.

And the multiplication of all that love, heart, mind, soul, will lead to infinity and then, beyond.

Amen.