on sailing, leadership and preaching

Yachting in New Zealand has always turned my mind towards leadership and preaching.

Ever since I read that Peter Blake’s secret of success with winning the America’s Cup was ‘spreading leadership throughout the organisation’, and wished that we leaders could adopt this mantra more often. Ever since I listened to Peter Montgomery’s radio and television commentaries, and wished that we preachers could exhibit that same manner and skill more often…

The other day, as I passed through Palmerston North airport, my eye rested on Bill Francis’ Peter Montgomery, The Voice of Yachtingand I thought ‘why not?’. The book was finished before I reached Sydney. Not so much because it is particularly well-written (the author’s John Graham biography is much better) – but because it took me back to leadership and preaching.

Leadership is still there. Woven into the narrative are reflections from Montgomery himself on the prominent ‘yachties’ with whom he worked: Chris Dickson (91-93), Peter Blake (131-133; see also 117, 152), Russell Coutts (164-167; see also 152), and Dean Barker (197-199). The raw material for a captivating study on diverse Kiwi leadership styles is all there, especially when you add in the chapter about Grant Dalton (168-182). If it hasn’t been done yet, there is a doctoral thesis here  – or, at the very least, an engaging seminar on good and bad leadership. After reading this book, my opinion of Dickson and Blake stayed the same. My opinion of Coutts and Barker rose. My opinion of Dalton dropped.

Preaching is still there. So many features of ‘PJ’ as a man and as a commentator transfer across to preachers and preaching – both with his manner and his skills.

With his manner…
There is his passion. He had ‘the ability to bring (the America’s Cup) to life through his enthusiasm and sense of excitement’ (78). If mere yachting could do this to someone, why not the gospel? There is his warmth. ‘It was like talking to someone with a smile on their face’ (210). There is his rapport. He was ‘totally relatable’ (211) to his audience, willing to pitch his words to ‘the little lady with the blue rinse in Riverton’ (26) – the very lady most preachers wish to overlook in the pursuit of some sort of shallow relevance. There is his wisdom. He had the ability to win the trust of the central players (often at odds with each other) and build friendships with them, maintaining confidentiality always. There is his composure. I remember well his awful gaffe at the end of an Olympic rowing final. He stuffed it up completely. So embarrassing. He was vilified mercilessly by the New Zealand Herald among others – cartoons, editorials etc. But he saw it through (with the television authorities helping out by editing the gaffe out of the official version!).

With his skill…
In Montgomery’s commentaries, we see the power of words. As a kid, Russell Coutts listened to PJ’s commentary: ‘What it did was create a dream’ (152). We see the value of imagination. He created pictures with his words. People did not just hear things, they saw things as they heard them. Referring to the waves of the Southern Ocean as ‘liquid himalayas’ is one that comes to mind. We also see the importance of preparation. The cult of spontaneity is not the answer. His great line – ‘The America’s Cup is now New Zealand’s Cup’ – was totally and carefully rehearsed. ‘He brought to his work not only the artistry of a rich vocabulary, but was able to complement his outgoing natural flow by the studied aside’ (211). Ahh, the ‘studied aside’. We could do with more of that ingredient in preaching.

One more thing. There is the signature opening line which Montgomery used as he contacted yachties in every distant corner of the oceans of the world: “How are you? Where are you?” (67). What great questions for the preacher-evangelist, probing to find a resting place for the gospel in every restless human heart where that gospel can live and transform.

Here is a piece of commentary from Peter Montgomery. It is from one of the dark days in the history of yachting: when One Australia sank in a matter of seconds…

nice chatting

Paul

Archive

Receive new posts to your inbox

I’d love to keep you updated with my latest news and posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

About Me

paul06.16

the art of unpacking

After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.

Leave a Comment





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Posts

true, but not true enough

February 5, 2025

“What is a Christian?” A ‘follower of Jesus’ is the standard response. And it is true, but it is not true enough. Let’s think about this for a minute. So I have this encounter with Jesus. Maybe at a camp of some kind. In the singing and the speaking he becomes so real. It is…

yay! it’s you

January 27, 2025

We had been on holiday in Queenstown. Barby had to come back early to go to work. I stayed on for a couple more days with our daughter, Alyssa, and her family. When I did fly back, Barby had the car and so the easiest thing for me was to get an Uber home—and so…

expect an exception

January 24, 2025

I know I’ve mentioned this one before, but I am not really a flag-in-church kinda guy. All those years ago, as a student in the USA, it was a shock to see the flag up there in the same neighbourhood as the pulpit, the Lord’s Table and the baptistry. “What is going on?” “Have I…

transforming friendship

January 15, 2025

Just when I thought that it could not be possible to have another first-hand account of the impact of John Stott’s life (d. 2011), along comes this book by his close friend, John Wyatt. I am always ready to learn more about John Stott, but also about friendship. It fascinates me. It keeps coming up…

handa leads the way

December 29, 2024

Reading stories to grandchildren over Christmas reminded me again of how powerful they can be. They are so compact and simple in presentation, and yet so clever in construction. There are just so many features at work in an effective story. It is some years since I taught narrative preaching, but when I did I’d…

elchristo, elmina—and beyond

December 19, 2024

Today is Day 56—and on Day 57 we board a flight for home. There has been so much to absorb as Barby and I have encountered the people of God in different places. el-christo, in bolivia A few days before we left NZ, I discovered that I had five sessions to give in Pakistan. Yikes.…

cadeca art

November 20, 2024

The little chapel at Cadeca Casa del Catequista, a retreat centre on the fringes of Cochabamba (Bolivia), caught my eye on an earlier visit in 2017. Lots of photos… I was thrilled to learn that there would be a return visit, this time with Barby—and with lots of video. Enjoy. A 360 view Some Old…

the emus

October 19, 2024

Apart from the eight years in which we were based overseas, Barby has been working at the Refugee Resettlement Center in Auckland since 2002. This year she is a ‘release teacher’, spending one day each week in three different classrooms, with three different age groups. Impressive—and demanding. One day is spent with 11-13 year olds—from…