The Bearded Baptist Back Home

An On Second Thought Special Series

The Bearded Baptist Back Home
Week Seven: The Balcony
A Sabbatical Travelogue by Dr. Dock Hollingsworth

After a Covid test on Saturday, Melissa and I were clear to fly home from London last Sunday afternoon (though our bodies thought it was 2 p.m. Monday morning when we landed). It was a glorious trip but also satisfying to be back to the familiar. As much as we saw, we still left many towns and sites to see. One of those places that we did not have time to visit was about 200 miles north of our London hotel. Near the city of Manchester, England sits Hollingsworth Lake. The family story is that my people got their name because the area of their settlement also had many holly bushes.

In their popular book, Leadership on the Line, Harvard professors Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky, use an image that I have found helpful. They suggest that leaders need to develop the ability to move from the dancefloor to the balcony. On the dancefloor, participants can affect the action (in my case, bump into people and embarrass the children). But, on the balcony, people can see all the room, patterns of behavior… who is uncomfortable, who dances too aggressively, who is the wallflower. Leaders will become more effective if they develop the habit of getting out of the action to reflect on the larger patterns before getting back on the floor to affect outcomes.

In my time away, I have been able to view life and leadership from the balcony for a while. I have reflected on my name, and the family that settled around a lake and holly bushes near Manchester. I have asked what I want my name to mean to the generations behind me. Additionally, I was able to walk the halls that biblical figures stomped on, and I stood inside ancient and great cathedrals that Christian leaders have maintained as a witness to Christ’s love. It has allowed me to ask what kind of witness our great church should aspire. What is the story that will be told of SPdL in 10 years and 100 years?

I mentioned that I tested negative for Covid on the day before arriving home. The next day, I felt rotten… I blamed jetlag. Yep, you are ahead of me… two days after a negative test, I find myself typing this blog in gym shorts and isolation. I'm now positive and Melissa has since tested positive as well. We hope to join my larger family at the beach when quarantine is over.

Before the end of the month, I will be back at my desk, soon back in the pulpit, back in your lives, back on the dancefloor. I will be renewed and ready for a new era of ministry alongside of you. Hopefully, there will be some of you who are ready to dance with me. I’m eager to get back on the floor where the action takes place.

I love being your pastor,
Dock