The 26th annual CCDA conference opened last night just down the road in Raleigh. The highlight for Donna and me was a brief but rich visit with our beloved mentors John and Vera Mae Perkins. Being with them ignited wisdom they taught us in Mississippi about the true nature of deep leadership and change.  At Voice of Calvary we claimed a poem which embodied this wisdom, written in 6^th century B.C. by Lao Tzu in the Tao Te Ching:

“Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. But with the best leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say ‘We have done this ourselves.’”  

These words inspire us as we think ahead to being with new companions in Northeast Asia with the Mennonite Central Committee. If I were to humbly suggest one addition, it would be “… Love them.  Be loved by them.”