On the Edge

Okay, it has taken me a while (better part of 50 years) to put words to what it is that I'm being called to do with my life. This is not to say that I haven't been doing this all my life (certainly all my professional life) it's just that I never knew what to call it. I have called myself a "facilitator" someone who connects others and creates new entitites. However, that wasn't really the right term as I was actively involved in the systems and interventions that I was helping to facilitate. Gary Gunderson wrote a book a few years ago entitled, "Boundary Leaders: Leadership Skills for People of Faith". In it he describes these "boundary leaders" as those persons who exist at the edges of the known - those who routinely cross the artificial boundaries of humanity to solve problems. He says, "The work of boundary leaders is to align the assets of community with the most relevant science and most mature faith." Yep, that's what I'm up to; and it's why I've had to be out on my own trying to create a living 'cause there ain't no job that fits this description. ;-) Life is lived in areas on the edge, on boundaries. Unfortunately, our healthcare is deliviered in silos because of the episodic nature of the beast that has been created by for-profit insurance companies and policies, and the healthcare-industrial complex. Our lives are incredibly complex and interwoven, thus it is of no great surprise that our simplistic way of studying life has yielded little to no impact on health disparities. We continue to focus our social interventions and research on personal conduct (choices) and family history (genetics). What we end up with then (as Gary Gunderson says) is "...a precise answer to the wrong question. Nothing makes us dumber quicker than that."! Boundary Leaders exist in the tension that accompanies the complexities of life lived. They understand that there are complex and varied social, economic and racial patterns to public health that can not be ignored if we are to solve the myriad health problems that confront us. Where do faith communities come in to this mix? Well, that's just where this Boundary Leader is spending his time and effort. If we can just overcome the artificial boundaries of religious doctrine and (for Christians as an example) follow the boundary leaders of our faith (Jesus the Christ in this example) we have the resources in our congregations to deal with all of the social injustices. At last count, 38,000 different sects acknowledged Jesus as their leader and there are a couple billion persons who identify themselves at least nominally as Christian. Add into this the observant Jews and Muslims (all descended spiritually from Abraham) and one has far more than half of the population of the world who profess a belief in the distributive justice of the one true Creator G-d! Following the teaching of these great boundary leaders will allow us to finally realize the world as G-d intends it. This weekend, take a close look at your community (both faith and secular). Where are the areas of social injustice that you are called to intervene? Maybe you'll be called like me to re-invent the healthcare system with an eye towards distributive justice. If so, let's get started. Peace for the journey, Dan