Dr. Newman told the story of the wickedness of the famous Port Royal and the earthquake which destroyed the city on the 7th June, 1692 and lead to the birth of Kingston city, the capital of Jamaica. The genesis of the class distribution of “uptown” and “downtown” and the fact that these two (2) fragments of society “do not mix”
Chronicles of my 1st Trip to Jamaica for Overture Studies: Day 2 8th February, 2013
I believe that as a transformational leader, I must be willing to open my emotions and heart to the hurts and joys of the people who I am seeking to change. It is impossible to seek to change a people or situation if the people or situation is not internalized
My trip to Jamaica has remained with me 9 years later in 2022 and will remain with me for life. Today, I am continuing my blog on my Jamaica experience.
Day Two: February 8th, 2013
The second day in Jamaica saw the commencement of a lifelong transformational experience. From the rocky ride down the mountains from Smokey Vale to the exhilarating entrance to the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology, the day promised to be fulfilling.
On this day and everyday that followed there will be classroom interactions. Today, the classroom session started with a devotional segment. The main presenter was my professor and he made deliberate efforts to highlight transformational leaders who loose themselves to “idolatry and injustices” by identifying that “when we loose God’s primary in our lives, it leads to injustices”. Another speaker addressed how leaders can please God by remembering and applying the principle that “as kingdom of God minded reps, we need to be mindful of God’s kingdom on earth”. Yet another speaker, shared how “God has handpicked us and chosen us for transformation” and “as we focus on God, we will see him do great things in our cities”.
Devotion was followed by introductory lectures by Dr. H. Spees on “Transformational Urban Leadership: Seek Peace for Cities Through Christ-Centered Civic Renewal”. Dr. Spees spoke on leadership and effective communication by highlighting the various styles of communication in leadership. The styles are back-to-back, side by side, face to face and kneeling communication. There was also an interactive “getting to know you” segment where each member of the class gave an introduction of his/herself. Each individual clearly stated their name, country of origin, nature of their work and why they joined the doctorate program. We were encouraged to apply our assets of church, business, education, etc. and revive the city as transformational leaders “connect the elites with the streets”. Some elaboration was done on “the Downward Ascent”: Christ left wealth and power to dwell with the poor and powerless, and “the pain of transformational leadership”.
The final compliment of the day was a presentation by Dr. Las Newman. Dr. Newman travelled through the history of Jamaica and allowed us to experience aged knowledge of both the good and the disturbing facts of Jamaica. The fight for ownership of Jamaica between the British and the Spanish was highlighted. Dr. Newman told the story of the wickedness of the famous Port Royal and the earthquake which destroyed the city on the 7th June, 1692 and lead to the birth of Kingston city, the capital of Jamaica. The genesis of the class distribution of “uptown” and “downtown” and the fact that these two (2) fragments of society “do not mix”, was mentioned. Dr. Newman elaborated on the famous people, places and monuments on the island. Dr. Newman then presented the woes of Jamaica. The woes of a high murder rate, a high trafficking in children rate, challenges in land planning and distribution, poverty, politics that divide a fragile people and a failing city infrastructure were intentionally highlighted.
How did I feel about the day?
The morning devotion was excellent as it set the pace for the day’s work. Prayer and praise always adds the right flavor to the day, but as transformational leaders, or simply professionals we sometimes tend to be too busy to connect with God our creator. I sometimes would encounter this challenge where I am unable to give the Lord my first fruit of praise and prayer. I believe incorporating this aspect of devotion in our daily routine, helps us as individual to stay tuned with God’s voice and what He was saying to us daily.
During every encounter on this day, I came to the realization that Transformational Leadership is HARD, but if we were to pool resources as a group for whatever cuase, we could transform and reshape any community once there is unity and the integration of resources. I lauded the point expressed by Dr. Spees that as leaders we need to be willing to humble ourselves when communicating as this provides us with an opportunity to listen to what other individuals are saying. Additionally, if we are desirous of achieving positive results, we must be willing to become intimate when communicating.
I rested in accepting that Transformation Leadership was not an easy task. The pains of transformational leadership was showcased using the analogy of the pain of the city of Kingston. This was a vivid picture of the experiences of the transformational leader and city transformer. I believe that as a transformational leader, I must be willing to open my emotions and heart to the hurts and joy of the people who I am seeking to change. It is impossible to seek to change a people or situation if the people or situation is not internalized.
Comments