Childlike Faith

When I was putting my son to bed tonight, he was telling me that he was scared because of some "scary" show he had watched (a kids show that mentioned a vampire in it) and because Minecraft has zombies in it. Mostly this is just his routine for trying to prolong going to bed. Nevertheless, I told him that God is with him all the time and will protect him. He said, "OK" and I came back downstairs. A few minutes later, he came down, and said, "Daddy, I have an idea for how you can calm me down when I'm scared." So I asked how, and he said, "When you said God is always with me...that's really cool. Just tell me that and it will calm me down."

So I told him he can tell himself that, and that he can pray to God himself to help him not be scared. He said okay, and I said, "Why don't you try it right now?" So he did. He bowed his little head and he said, "Dear God, you are bigger than any zombie or vampire. Please help me not to be afraid. Amen."

Sometimes kids say things (or word things a certain way) that melt our hearts...sometimes because they're cute, but sometimes because they contain deep theological truths that we adults miss. There is a reason that Jesus told us to become like little children (Mt. 18:3). This is often interpreted to mean "innocent" as children are. While that's true, I think it also means, "Keep things simple" like children do. For my son, he doesn't have to know a lot about God or the Bible, or to have some globe-spanning faith that can make mountains move. He just has to trust that God is bigger than zombies or vampires, and that God can help him not be afraid.

I meet more adults who are scared of...whatever...than kids. Adults worry about all kinds of things, and they have fears of completely irrational things (except spiders; that's a completely rational fear!). Even adults who profess, and demonstrate, strong faith in God don't understand this basic yet deeply profound spiritual truth that children often grasp. God is bigger than zombies and vampires. God is bigger than [insert whatever you're afraid of, big or small, rational or irrational, silly or real]. God can help us not be afraid.

This doesn't mean God won't allow anything bad to happen to us. But God does delight when we have childlike faith...faith that asks Him to help us not be afraid, to be "strong and courageous." We are called to be like children in their innocence, true. But we are also challenged to be like children in their simple understanding of God and in our willingness to trust in his omnipotence and his ability to help us overcome our fear.

Gratitude vs. Entitlement

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, it seems quite appropriate to highlight the fact that gratitude is the opposite of entitlement. The more we feel entitled...to our money, our belongings, our families, our [insert whatever]...the less we feel any real sense of gratitude. After all, if we are owed what we have (or what we don't), then we don't need to be grateful about it.

Nothing highlights these opposites more than the transition from Thanksgiving into Black Friday. What has been set aside as a day to celebrate and give thanks for all of our blessings has become more and more corrupted by the entitlement of the grand daddy of all shopping days, Black Friday. Think about it...we've watched Black Friday deals happen earlier and earlier - to the point where stores are now opening on Thanksgiving evening in order for people to get a jump on their shopping. After all, they're entitled to get a good deal, right? Right?!?

Let's be intentional about reversing this alarming trend: instead of getting caught up in the hype and the entitlement of the post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy, let's take even more time to be grateful, and allow our gratitude to spill over into Black Friday (and beyond) rather than vice versa. The remedy for entitlement is gratitude, after all, so the remedy for our culture's misplaced priorities is to be intentional about ensuring we stand for something different. Christians, I'm talking to you. Don't just say, "Oh well, that's just how it is." No. Don't accept it. Fight it, and fight for a counter-cultural revolution. That's what Jesus did, and what God calls us to do as well.

And for his revolutionary love, I am eternally grateful.

Charisma vs. Leadership

I've found something to be true in many places and I think it hurts the organizations in which it occurs. Often times charisma is confused for leadership. What I mean is, sometimes the assumption is made that if someone has charisma, they must be a good leader

Charisma is, simply put, "compelling attractiveness or charm". Put another way, it can be defined as the ability to draw people to you...being someone that others want to be around. This is an important quality, and one that can give a leader a leg up in the ability to create a sphere of influence. But too often it is automatically equated with leadership itself, which is a faulty and often dangerous assumption.

When I evaluate leadership, I look at these six factors:
1.  Influence. Leaders cultivate a sphere of influence. After all, a leader without followers is no leader at all.
2.  Drive. Some might call this initiative. Put simply, a leader leads. This implies a destination...a leader has to lead somewhere. Great leaders are intentional and active, not accidental or passive. Some call this vision, but it's more than just having vision; it's a willingness to impart vision and catalyze people to want to journey to that place.
3.  Competence. A leader should have some skill or giftedness or wisdom or insight that can be used to do something special with the people he/she leads.
4.  Sacrifice. Some call this a "servant's heart". But being a servant almost always requires self-sacrifice for the sake of those you lead. Selfish leaders often end up doing more harm to their followers than good.
5.  Balance. A great leader knows how to balance time, priorities, and energy, including having a good sense of margin and consistent and healthy boundaries.
6. Integrity. Please hear this: integrity does not mean "someone who never messes up." This word is too often used to imply that, and it's frustrating. Integrity, to me, is comprised of these three factors (these are not exhaustive, of course, but in my experience are three helpful gauges of integrity):

• Transparency: someone who is willing to be real and honest, and to take ownership of his/her failures and shortcomings. 
• Stewardship: someone who demonstrates healthy stewardship (not just financial; in every area...time, priorities, boundaries, etc. See #5). 
• Modeling: leads by example. You cannot lead someone somewhere that you have not been.

Note that charisma is nowhere on the list. Of course, charisma can automatically create number 1. If people are drawn to a charismatic person, you could say they have influence. But typically that type of influence is short-lived. A great leader doesn't just accept those that are naturally drawn to him/her, a great leader works hard to cultivate and create a sphere of influence (which speaks to #2, Drive!). In fact, I would take a leader who has zero charisma but works hard to cultivate a sphere of influence over one with tons of charisma who doesn't work at it at all.

A couple of years ago a friend was with some people on a trip, and when he came back, he was talking about one of the other guys that had gone with him. I'll call him Joe. He said, "Joe's really a leader." I asked what he meant, and he explained that Joe's really got a lot of charisma. But I started to think about Joe, and evaluating him as a leader. I considered his sphere of influence: nonexistent. I considered what he does with the few people that he hangs around with: very little. And I considered what particular competencies he has to do something special even if he has a sphere of influence: minimal. I don't know Joe well enough to evaluate his balance or integrity. But already this assumption that charisma equals leadership starts falling apart.

Charisma is nice, but I'd say it's sort of a bonus. It's not the be-all and end-all that some often make it. In fact, some of the most effective leaders I've ever been around are not people that I would consider charismatic at all. But moving down this list of characteristics that I use to evaluate leaders, the very best of them get almost all of them right.

The larger insight is this: we "approve" or "dismiss" certain people for all kinds of reasons, many of which are, in the end, foolish. We should pay more attention to the real values that matter than we do to the superficial, deceptive factors that can fool is into over- or under- estimating someone.

What Do You Worship?

Humans were created to worship. By this, I don't mean that we created with the capability to worship. I mean that embedded in our DNA is the compulsion to worship. We worship, whether we like it or not, whether we want to or not.

The question is, what do we worship?

Whatever we give the most of our time, our energy, our focus...those are the things that we worship. Worship is, simply put, extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem. If we find ourselves spending an inordinate amount of time or mental energy, or money on something, there's a fair chance that it's something that we worship.

God's desire is that we give him our worship. So, Christians, if we compare the things in our lives that we give most of our attention, money, and time...which things win out? Are they things that are not God? Where does God fall in the mix? If our devotion is going to things other than God, we need to re-evaluate. Anything that we worship that is not God is an idol...something that takes God's rightful place as the object of our worship.

A quick note: God doesn't need our worship. He's God. The reason God wants our worship is not for his sake; it's for ours. Worshiping is, in a sense, submission. It's elevating something above ourselves. If that something is money...we're submitting to money. If that something is sports, we're submitting to sports. If that something is self, we're submitting to self.

The things we worship, the things we submit to, have power over us. Putting worship where it belongs...on God...is submitting to God and giving him power over us. And that is as it should be. God desires our worship because it is beneficial and good for us to submit to him, to acknowledge the truth that God is God and we are not; that without him, we are nothing. God is the reason we have life and breath.

Again, we all worship something or someone. We were created to worship; it is unavoidable. The question is, what do you worship? Is your worship where it should be, on God? Or is it on an idol. Or many idols? How do we need to reorder things in our lives so that the focus of our worship is in its rightful place (on God)?

Being Grateful

As Thanksgiving approaches, I find myself thinking a lot about what it means to be grateful. I don't mean this in the sense we typically think about during this time of year ("I'm thankful for my family," and so forth). What I mean is more in a broad sense. In many ways, gratitude is the opposite of entitlement.

Many of us fall into the entitlement trap, feeling that life, or God, or...whoever/whatever owes us something. We feel we deserve x, y or, z because of what we've done or just who we are. Somehow we should be provided with [insert whatever] because [insert reason].

Yet in many ways gratitude is the opposite of entitlement. It acknowledges our feelings of thankfulness because in many ways we have gotten what we don't deserve. Christians, especially, should have a constant sense of gratitude, because God's grace and mercy is exactly what we don't deserve. Yet we still find ourselves feeling entitled.

What is the remedy, then? I think a good start is to constantly remind ourselves that God is God and we are not. He knows what we need more than we do. He is always working in our favor. He is for us. And we should always recognize exactly how much it is that God has really done for us. Because remembering that constantly is the only way to rest consistently in a perspective of gratitude. It is the only way to keep ourselves from falling into the entitlement trap.

Rejoicing in Heaven

Within the last two weeks, I have had the privilege of helping to lead two young people into saving relationship with Jesus. Without hesitation I can say that this is one of the most incredibly joyful and profoundly moving experiences a Christian can have. Each time I am privileged enough to be part of God bringing someone back into relationship with him, I am humbled and awed beyond words.

More than anything else, God's desire is to be in deep, personal relationship with every single human being. This is the gospel in a nutshell. And the Bible makes clear how much this matters to God:

Luke 15:7, "I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."

And verse 10, "I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Literally all of heaven rejoices when even one sinful human (which is every human!) repents and gets back into right relationship with God. Think about that...all of the heavens, and all of God's angels rejoice and worship because someone recognized their brokenness and their need for Jesus. Amazing!

Yet what I find is that Christians often respond with far less enthusiasm. I remember a few years ago I had spoken at a youth conference where about 100 kids were gathered at a camp in Wisconsin. Over the course of the weekend, forty of them...forty!...gave their lives to Jesus. So, the following weekend, when I got back home to the church I was pastoring at the time, I told them all about it. It was met with what seemed like apathy. In reality, they applauded, but more in a sense of "Oh, that's kind of neat" way than in a "Let's rejoice with all of the heavens over all of these young people that have come to Jesus!" way. 

This makes me sad. Because such a reaction is not specific to that church, or to just certain misguided Christians. Many, many people fall into this lackadaisical response than I ever expected.

Perhaps this feeds our reticence to share our faith. Perhaps this is fed by our reticence to share our faith. But, in many ways, I feel that it breaks God's heart. Because God is overwhelmingly joyful when a sinner repents. Yet we too often respond with, at worst, ambivalence or, at best, lukewarm approval.

We should be so excited when even one person comes to Jesus that we shout it from the rooftops and raise our voices in worship and in praise! We should join God's angels in all the heavens in rejoicing that one more has been added to the number of God's kingdom! We should also be so overwhelmed by the work and message of the gospel that we want the entire world to join us in God's kingdom. We should want everyone we know to have the same joy that we (should) have over the fact that we were lost and now we are found.

The Other Side of the Score Card

This is a follow-up to my last post: http://pismo.blogspot.com/2014/10/score-card-christians.html in which I call out Christians (including myself) for falling into the legalistic trap of 'rating' our faith by what we've done, good or bad, and using that as a barometer for spiritual health, acceptance by God, etc.

Well this post is the counter-balance to that. Because if legalistic score-keeping is the one (most common) extreme, then the opposite extreme is what I call the grace-riders. This is when we DO understand the nature of God's grace and the 'it is finished'ness of the Gospel. But then we use it as a kind of "get out of jail free" card and as a way to keep sinning and then kind of say, "Well, Jesus paid it all. Thank God for grace!"

Not that any of us literally say that, of course. We aren't usually so blatant in the ways we take Jesus for granted. But if we do understand grace and the idea that Jesus already paid for our sins, we often use that as a license to let ourselves off the hook when we mess up. We abuse grace.

Put another way, on the one legalistic score-keeping extreme, when we sin we are riddled with guilt and shame and we mark ourselves off on our scorecard; or, on the contrary, when we get something right we self-righteously, smugly mark it on our scorecard and use it to feel that we're better than others. On the other, grace-riding extreme, when we sin we just wave it off and say, "Oh well, that's what grace is for!" And we don't really deal with the underlying issues and need for repentance, we simply ride the grace train and take it for granted.

I believe that the issue comes down to how we view God. We often view God as an employer or a boss. And even if our boss is good and we know our boss will have grace with us when we mess up, that only goes so far. Eventually, if we mess up enough times, a boss will terminate his relationship with us.

But if we instead view God as our Father, then the dynamic changes. A father never stops loving his children. He always wants what is best for his children. And when you understand that God's guidelines for sins and righteousness are for our own good (in our best interest) then being obedient is not an issue of following a boss's rules because breaking them will eventually result in termination of the relationship, but because breaking a father's rules results in breaking the heart of the father that created us and loves us and wants what's best for us.

That is, we aren't obedient to God because we're afraid of him canceling his relationship with us, or that he will stop loving us, or...whatever. We are obedient because we know that God's love for us is unconditional and that he always wants what's best for us and we want to give him honor and respect him accordingly.

In some ways, understanding grace should ultimately result in less sin than a legalistic mentality does. We shouldn't ever get caught up in the score-keeping. But we also can't fall into the trap of grace-riding either, taking for granted the great sacrifice that Jesus made by using it as a license to continue sinning.

Romans 6 (read it!)

Score Card Christians

I find myself falling into a trap that I think most (if not all) Christians fall into on a regular basis. I try to evaluate my faith with a "score card" mentality. That is, on any given day/week/month/whatever I'll think, "Well, in terms of reading my Bible, A-. In terms of loving my neighbor, D-. In terms of worship, C+. In terms of seeking justice, F." And so forth.

This is an extremely legalistic way of looking at our faith, and it is very unhealthy. Not only does it evaluate our faith based on a comparison mentality, but it also misses the point.

Thinking about our faith in these terms simplifies it to a "if I do enough of the right things, I'm good" and "if I don't do enough of the right things (or do too many of the wrong things), I'm bad" mentality. And that misses the whole point of grace.

Grace tells us that we will never be able to do enough of the right things, and we will always do too many of the wrong things, but that God made a way for us to be made acceptable in his sight anyway. As such, our score card should only ever look like this:

Final Score:

Jesus: 1
Sin/Death: 0

End of story.

2014 Stanley Cup Finals Predictions

Rangers vs. Kings
My prediction: Kings in 5
RESULT: Kings in 5
Thoughts: I called this perfectly. I even called that the games would be close but the series wouldn't particularly be. The Rangers had gotten to this point with a whole lot of luck and mediocrity. The Kings, on the other hand, had fought for every goal/win they've gotten, and are clearly the more talented team. Interesting, the game the Rangers won wasn't even their best game (that was game 2, which they lost). Give them credit for pushing, but the Kings were just the better team and showed it throughout the series. Congratulations to the LA Kings...2014 Stanley Cup champions!

2014 Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions Round 3 (Conference Finals)

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Canadiens vs Rangers
My prediction: Canadiens in 6
RESULT: Rangers in 6
Thoughts: The Canadiens finally lived up to my low expectations of them. They were terrible in this series. New York was...again...consistently mediocre. But Montreal was just a no-show. Where was Subban in this series?


WESTERN CONFERENCE
Blackhawks vs. Kings
My prediction: Kings in 7
RESULT: Kings in 7
Thoughts: The Kings battled against so much these playoffs and deserved to win this series.

2014 Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions Round 2

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Bruins vs. Canadiens
My prediction: Bruins in 5
RESULT: Canadiens in 7
Thoughts: Wow. Just wow. This should never have happened. But, as I said, crazy things happen when Boston and Montreal play each other. 

Penguins vs. Rangers
My prediction: Rangers in 6
RESULT: Rangers in 7
Thoughts: The Rangers had trouble being consistent, but in the end, so did Malkin and Crysby. If those two had been able to bring it every game, they would have won this series easily. Many folks still talk about Crysby as if he's the best player in the world. They have to face up to the fact that he just doesn't bring the goods when it matters most. There are several players (notably, Giroux and Toews) that I'd take over Crysby.

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Blackhawks vs. Wild
My prediction: Blackhawks in 5
RESULT: Blackhawks in 6
Thoughts: The Wild played better than I expected. The two games they won in this series wasn't due to the Blackhawks making mistakes...they were outplayed by the Wild. They played smart and fast, and deserved to win those two. In the end, the 'Hawks' experience and superior skill won out, but kudos to the Wild for what they were able to do this year.

Ducks vs. Kings
My prediction: Kings in 7
RESULT: Kings in 7
Thoughts: Another series comeback for the Kings. Their experience in these kinds of series and the fact that they are coming off that historic series comeback gave them the edge. Their leaders stepped up when needed and had a huge game 7.

The Meaning of Life

I grasp the mysteries of the universe, for I know the Creator. I understand the meaning of life, for I know the Author. I know the source of endless hope and boundless love, for I know the Savior.

One Way Love

So I recently received a gift...a copy of One Way Love by Tullian Tchividjian, a leader, writer, and thinker for whom I have a lot of respect and admiration. I've been digging into it over the last few days and...WOW. Every Christian needs to read this book.

I've been processing why this book is so moving. It's not necessarily new. It's exactly what we find in the gospels. For those of us that spend a lot of time reading about and unpacking exactly what Jesus was all about, the concepts here are old hat. But it's no less revolutionary and transformative, and Tullian has a way with words; a way of framing things that make sense and are contextualized in terms of every day life.

This is moving, deep, and profound stuff. Go. Read it. Now. No joke...now. Trust me on this. You'll thank me later.

2014 Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions Round 1

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Bruins (1) vs. Red Wings (WC)
My prediction: Bruins in 5
RESULT: Bruins in 5
Thoughts: Bruins are the strongest team in the East. I figured Detroit would take one game from them, but didn't offer much resistance. Boston is the team to beat this year. While I suspect someone will upset them, it's not likely to be the Canadiens. Possibly the winner of the Penguins/Jackets vs. Rangers/Flyers series, but it won't surprise me at all to see the Bruins in the finals.

Penguins (1) vs. Blue Jackets (WC)
My prediction: Blue Jackets in 7
RESULT: Penguins in 6
Thoughts: I know this was a bit of a "hopeful" pick. I thought Columbus really had a chance to beat the Penguins. Unfortunately for them, the previously no-show Malkin decided to come alive at exactly the wrong time, sealing up the series. The Jackets should be proud, though, as they took it to the last minute. Great season. I look for more from this this young, solid team over the next few years.

Lightning (2) vs. Canadiens (3)
My prediction: Lightning in 6
RESULT: Canadiens in 4
Thoughts: I really didn't see this coming. The Canadiens aren't a very good team this year, so the Lightning really had to fall apart. Not sure what happened. They have the talent to beat Montreal. This one is a puzzler. Good for the Canadiens for pulling it together.

Rangers (2) vs. Flyers (3)
My prediction: Flyers in 7
RESULT: Rangers in 7
Thoughts: This was a heartbreaker. The Flyers had major identity issues. They proved all year that when they put in the work, they could skate with (and beat) anyone. But their work ethic was surprisingly inconsistent. When they worked hard, they dominated...literally...some of the best teams in the NHL. Other times (far too often), they just looked disinterested and lackadaisical and (as a result) struggled greatly. In game 7 they really only worked in period 3...and still almost took it. The one thing they can take from this, though, is that they finally have a true starting goalie. One of the  best goaltending playoff performances I've ever seen, loss or not. Seriously. Mason > Lundquist.


WESTERN CONFERENCE
Avalanche (1) vs. Wild (WC)
My prediction: Avalanche in 4
RESULT: Wild in 7
Thoughts: Color me surprised on this one too. On paper (and based on the season) the Avs should have taken this series easily. But give the Wild credit for a great series. When the right team gets hot at the right time, anything can happen.

Ducks (1) vs. Stars (WC)
My prediction: Ducks in 5
RESULT: Ducks in 6
Thoughts: The Stars put up more of a fight than I suspected, and not just because they won two games. The other games were pretty close and the Stars competed in all of them. These are two teams with great offense and shaky D/goaltending, so I expected this to be a high scoring series, and it was.

Blues (2) vs. Blackhawks (3)
My prediction: Blackhawks in 6
RESULT: Blackhawks in 6
Thoughts: Most people picked the Blues in this series because of their strong play down the stretch (excepting their slight falter at season's end), but I still believe the defending champion Blackhawks are the strongest team in the West. The Hawks have underachieved this year, while the Blues overachieved; such is usually exposed in the playoffs, and indeed it was. The Blues have limited talent but Hitchcock is great at making players play as a team, which covers a lot of deficit in pure ability...and with Miller in goal they really had a shot. On the other hand, the Hawks have way more talent than their regular season record would indicate, and they've stepped it up in the playoffs.

Sharks (2) vs. Kings (3)
My prediction: Kings in 7
RESULT: Kings in 7
Thoughts: This is what I expected: a long series with lots of scoring from two great offensive teams. I didn't quite expect that it would go down the way it did, but the Kings impressed with their resilience, becoming the latest team to rally from a 3-0 series deficit for just the 5th time (I believe) in NHL history. The Kings had several players from the Flyers team that did the same thing against Boston in 2010, so they knew what they were up against, and they pulled it out. Great job Kings!

3 • 30 Challenge

I've been overweight most of my adult life. I played football (high school) and tennis (high school and college) and was generally a fairly athletic teenager. In fact, I had the opportunity to play tennis professionally. Once I stopped playing and moved on to other things, I gained some weight that I've never taken off. Then I went through a particularly stressful period of time and gained a lot of weight. I tend to be a stress eater.

The last few years, though, I've been convicted about getting healthier, not so much for the sake of appearance (that too), but to be healthier...for all of the typical reasons and, particularly, so that I have the energy I need to keep up with ministry and to set an example for the people in my sphere of influence. I've always kept a fairly rigorous schedule, but I've found myself tiring much more easily.

So I joined the gym and ate better, and dropped over forty pounds from when we moved to Ohio in 2010, most of which during this past August, September and October. In November and December, I had a stretch of 6-8 weeks where I was working 60 to 70 hours a week in front of a computer. I knew I would be forced to be mostly sedentary during that time, so I expected to gain back about fifteen of the pounds I had lost. I gained back nine; less than I expected but still not what I want in the long run.

In the time since, I haven't gained a ton of weight back, but I've definitely hit a plateau. I've gotten out of the gym habit, and while I haven't been eating lots of junk food, I haven't been watching what I eat, paying attention to portions, etc, as much as I was.

That ends now. Starting tomorrow, I am starting a 3 • 30 Challenge (something I just made up): I am committing to lose 30 lbs in the next 3 months. My birthday is July 2, so by then, I will lose 30 lbs. This is not just about losing weight...though I definitely need to do so...but a lifestyle change. When I'm hitting the gym regularly and eating healthier, I feel better. It's that simple. When I'm not, I'm tired more often and more significantly, my long-term back injury acts up, and I'm generally cranky. And, most importantly for me, I need energy to leverage my time for God's kingdom most effectively.

I'm not really worried about motivation. I have a strong will and I finish what I start. But I'm posting it here so it's on "public record" and I have accountability to it. I can honestly say that my greatest desire in life is to honor God. For me, nothing else matters (or, rather, everything else that matters flows from that). I've spent too much of my life not honoring God (and, in fact, dishonoring God) with my physical health. So I'm getting back on track to rectify that. If anyone wants to join me, I'll be glad to have you along. 3 • 30: 3 months, 30 lbs. Book it.

Playing it Safe

The other day I was watching a hockey game with my son, who is six. I asked him, "Do you want to play hockey some day?" He said, "No...that doesn't look very safe."

Aside from being pretty funny, I told him that he's a kid - he's not supposed to be worried about what's safe. He's supposed to be worried about what's fun. But it got me thinking about how we adults often act this way in life. Especially those of us who are Jesus followers...how often do we avoid taking risks in ministry because "it doesn't look safe". I don't mean safe just like in avoiding bodily harm (though that too), but more in terms of not moving out of our comfort zone, not making the extra effort, not going beyond what we are used to. Just...playing it safe.

Here's the reality: over the course of history, very few things have been accomplished by playing it safe. How much life do you miss by playing it safe? How many of the opportunities God gives you do you neglect because you're playing it safe?

I hope my son plays hockey some day (or football, or guitar, or...whatever). But more than that, I hope he doesn't avoid taking risks for the sake of God's kingdom. For that matter, I hope I (and you) don't either.

Organizing the Bus

I am a big fan of Jim Collins, particularly Good to Great. This book came up in conversation with someone today, and it got me thinking about the impact it has had on me. One of the many things about it that has stuck with me is the two-part illustration of an organization being a bus. And, as Collins points out through the interpretation of his research, the first step in organizational development is to get the right people on the bus. Many organizations are good at this (many are not). But the second step is to get the right people in the right seats on the bus. Most organizations (even those good at the first step) are not nearly as good at this second step.

Many leaders understand this, in theory. They get the notion. They quote the notion. But they still don't put it into practice (at least, not well) in the organizations they lead. Because here's the thing I've discovered: many leaders have tunnel vision when it comes to defining what "the right seat" means. They think in terms of roles. That is, "What does the organization need...that's the role we need to fill." The problem with that approach is that very few people fit into that narrow of a definition of a seat. Most people have more than one area of expertise or skill or passion. And many people, in the "employment" process (both from those looking to hire and from those seeking a job), end up sitting in a seat that is either the wrong seat, or may only be the partially right seat (i.e., something at which they can do a decent job, but which may not be the best use of their gifts).

So the "right seat", as I understand it, is not necessarily matching the right person with a particular role (or, rather, not ONLY that), but, more holistically, it is matching up the person with the right opportunities to exercise their particular range of gifts and passions.

Because if we are truly pursuing step one, and getting the right people, then we want to use those people in the best ways possible, to allow them to thrive and to succeed. And when we're focused too much on roles, we miss a lot of potential for our people to flourish.

Obviously there are things at which certain people excel. But getting the right people means then finding opportunities for them to do what they are naturally gifted to do, and at which they will thrive.

I've read a lot about leadership, and one of the things that I see over and over again is the theory of strengths-based leadership...the idea that leaders need to play to their strengths and manage around their weaknesses. It doesn't make sense to spend a ton of time trying to turn a weakness into a strength. Most weaknesses will always be weaknesses. And most strengths are already the things people are good at. So those are the things we need to focus on. Yet many people end up in some nebulous middle ground; something at which they aren't terrible (or which they may even be good at)...but that is not necessarily the best match for their particular strengths or passions.

Strengths-based leadership and "getting the right people into the right seats on the bus" are really the same thing. They're focused on getting the right people regardless of the role, and then finding the areas in which they most excel (which most exercises their strengths and passions).

Where the problem comes is a natural consequence to getting this right: when you match people up with their strengths (and away from just filling a role), it leaves some things to fall through the cracks. The roles that they filled suddenly aren't being filled. I would say two things about this: one, this trade-off is always worth it. Letting a few things fall through the cracks, or finding temporary patches for some things, will always be worth the benefit gained from getting people into the right seats on the bus.

And two, maybe the things that fall through the cracks are not actually what the organization needs. Especially in Christian contexts, we often convince ourselves what is needed, when maybe what we really need are the things which God has already gifted the right people we've already identified. This speaks to something Collins says, which is that great organizations get the right people on the bus before they even know where the bus is going. That is, instead of identifying where the bus needs to go and then finding the people to make it happen (what good organizations do), great organizations get the right people on the bus and then let those right people and their gifts help define where the bus is going by getting them in the right seats. That's a scary thing, especially for organizations that have particularly strong or charismatic individual leaders. But I think Collins hits the nail on the head.

As Collins has identified, great leaders/organizations really get both of these steps, both in theory AND in practice...and getting this right is what separates great organizations from simply good ones.

Parenting Wisdom

Our small group has been talking about Christian marriage/relationships, and all that comes with that. In my years of marital counseling, I have often discussed some of the most commonly cited reasons for relational conflict and separation/divorce. These are the most frequently given answers:

1. Money
2. Child-rearing (and all that goes with it)
3. Sex and sexual issues
4. Roles and Expectations
5. Addictions
6. Conflict (the ways we handle conflict)
7. Communication

Each of these (but especially the last couple/few) can affect all of the others, but are often given as their own sources of conflict. Note that number one is WAY higher than any of the others. Money is easily the number one source of conflict. The others aren't even close. That said, the others are significant enough on their own, and can be just as common.

Each can be the subject of years of study and discussion, but this week our group is particularly talking about number 2: child rearing. One of the things that I often find is that we assume that parents of godly children must be great parents, and that parents of children who are far from God must be bad parents. This is folly. Children make their own choices. Obviously there can be correlations. But often we dismiss (or flat out ignore) insight from parents whose children may be far from God...and, in turn, they may be more reluctant to speak up and offer the often significant advice and insight they can have for other parents. On the contrary, we often give extra credence to insight from parents whose children are following God even when they aren't necessarily the best parents themselves.

I'll illustrate my point (and then explain it) with an example from hockey, the best sport on the planet. Often, the referees are guilty of what is commonly called "calling the result". What this means is that, if an official sees one player suddenly fall down, they will automatically call tripping on a nearby opposing player, even if that player had no contact with the one who fell. Or the official will see a player's head snap back and will call a high sticking penalty on an opposing player even if his stick never left the ice. On the contrary, one player can clearly and obviously be interfered with, but no penalty is called because the other player stayed on his feet. In other words, the referee makes the call based on the result...what the other player does or does not do...rather than on the actual action of the source (the guilty or innocent player).

Here's my point with this: we often do the same thing with parents/children. We judge based on the results, rather than on the source. We miss much sound advice from parents that have a lot of wisdom specifically because their kids are far from God, and listen to foolish insight from parents just because their kids may be following God (even though their kids may be wiser than they are!).

This is, of course, far more broad-reaching than just parenting. We do this in all kinds of ways. We judge the result, or judge based on our perceptions, on our preconceived notions of people rather than the reality. We foolishly allow our own issues to dictate our opinions of others, and thus what we can learn from them. We need to judge wisdom on its own merits...not on our perceptions of its source.

Playing With Fire

My six-year-old son has been on a Minecraft kick lately. He loves building things. Minecraft is like a digital version of Legos, allowing him to create things from scratch. For the last several days, he has been working on a house for himself and he even built one for his sister. Then he built a huge castle with all kinds of cool stuff.

Then, yesterday, he was trying to put a "lava river" next to his castle, and the lava caught it on fire and burned it all down. Understandably for a six-year-old, he freaked out. We finally got him calmed down and convinced him to rebuild, warning him of the danger of putting lava/fire too close to his castle.

He spent all of last night and most of this morning rebuilding his castle, making it "even better than before!" Then he decided he wanted a secret cave underneath his castle. This meant that he had to excavate blocks out from under his castle. In order to do that, he used lava to quickly burn the blocks out of the castle foundation. You can guess what happened. It caught his castle on fire...again...and burned it down. This time, it caught the rest of his village on fire and burned all of it to the ground; his house, his sisters house, the shed he had built, and the "pool" building, along with his castle, were all destroyed.

Of course, he freaked out again, then he had to go to school. But this whole saga got me thinking about sin in our lives. Too often we allow one little sin in, and it burns us. We get over it and start to rebuild, but all too often and all too soon, we start letting a little bit of lava back in, thinking we can handle it and that the same tragedy won't strike again. Of course, more often than not, it ends up making things even worse the second time around, and can destroy everything in our lives.

That's the danger of sin. It seems like we can handle little sins and they won't have too much of an adverse effect. But sins have a way of catching fire to anything and everything in their path. Even if we can successfully "put out the fire" in one instance, if we let the sin back into our lives, it can catch everything and destroy all of us.

The question is, where is the lava in our lives? In what ways are we playing with fire, hoping we won't get burned?

Integrity

I was hanging out with a group of people this past weekend - a bunch of musicians - rehearsing for a recording gig in a couple of months. It was mixed company; three of us that profess to be Christians, and four that make no such claim.

In between jamming, conversation got around to a variety of things. One of them was music and movies, and some of the guys started talking about copying CDs or movies. They talked about this as if it was just common practice and no big deal.

"Ripping" music and movies (or anything else) that you do not own and have not paid for is illegal. It's also just plain dishonest, stealing from the artists, actors, and companies to whom that property belongs. I've heard a lot of excuses that try to justify this. "Most actors are obscenely wealthy" or "A big company won't miss a few songs" or "It's not hurting anyone". That's not the point. The point is this: that product does not belong to you. It is illegal and just plain wrong to steal it. Just because it's a "small" item or something that "doesn't hurt anyone" is irrelevant.

The more frustrating thing is that the other Christians in the group went right along with the discussion, as if there was no conflict of interest. Two problems with that: First, Christians are called to live according to the laws of the land. Romans 13:1-7. Second, Christians are called to set a different example than that of the world. And if we exhibit the same sins the world does, we don't show them that we are different or stand for anything different.

Even if we don't participate in the public conversations about it, being a person of integrity means doing the right thing even when no one else knows about it. It's not just an issue of the appearance of doing right, for when others see or know about it. It's about doing right before God and before yourself, so you know your character is intact.

For what it's worth, I called this group of people out about this. All of them are, to some degree, professional (or at least semi-professional) musicians. They are themselves affected when other people pirate music. I believe I addressed the issue in a tactful and non-judgmental way. But here's the sad thing: the non-Christians took it better than the Christians. Both of the other Christians in the group got a bit upset that I was calling them out about their relaxed attitude about intellectual property theft. Almost all of the non-Christians took it well. I talked to two of them later (to make sure they didn't feel I was being judgmental) and they said they knew I was right and that I hadn't come off as superior or judge-y. They got that I was just sharing my view on it, and one of them said, "I like that you're different from what everyone else stands for."

I see that as a win. But it's very discouraging that the Christians in the group...the very ones that should know better...were the ones that got upset about it. That could be a guilty conscience, but whatever the reason, it's frustrating.

There are many situations where copying copyrighted works is acceptable under the law. For example, I give copies of songs/CDs to people on our worship team all the time. This is allowed under the CCLI (worship music copyright) license, when it's for the purpose of songs (or even possible songs) we might use in worship. I've copied clips from movies to use in a film class I've taught several times. This is allowed under the creative commons license, when it's for purposes of education. I'm not talking about these situations. I've also had people offer to burn CDs for me just to listen to, or movies for me to watch, and I've turned them down. Personal use is not allowed under copyright law. And since I'm called to live according to the laws of the land, I decline.

What kind of standards do you live by even when others aren't around? Are there some situations that you excuse or justify (for whatever reason) even though you know they're wrong? Finally, how do you react when someone calls you out if you don't live/act ethically?

Having strong character is very difficult. But consistency is essential if we want to be people of integrity...all the more true if we profess to follow Jesus. Not only are we called to be honest people of sound character, but we are called to set an example for the rest of the world - to set ourselves apart as people who have different values than the world, and live in a blameless way before man and God.

Lessons on Leadership

I've been thinking a lot about leadership, and one of the most key lessons I've learned is this: people tend to live up to our expectations of them. Not only that, but our expectations and perceptions of people tend to cause us to limit their ability to break out of those very expectations/perceptions.

Here's an example of what I mean: one of the guys that is in my circle of influence is a guy who I just did not expect to be a very good leader. I'm not sure if it's his personality or some bias of my own, but my perception has been that he's probably not a very good/strong leader. Note that I'm not talking about affinity; I like this person very much. But, for whatever reason, I've just had it in my head that he's probably not a very good leader.

As a result of that perception, I haven't given him the opportunities to lead (and, in the process, potentially prove my perceptions wrong). But recently I had occasion to give him just such an opportunity (mostly because I couldn't find anyone else available to do so, sadly). He knocked it out of the park. I was way wrong in my perception of him and his lack of leadership ability.

My initial instinct about this was something like, "Why hasn't he stepped up as a leader before now?" But, of course, my own perceptions prevented me from giving him any opportunities in which he could do so. So, my perceptions about him meant that he lived up to what I expected. That is, I expected him not to be a good leader, therefore what I saw was him not being a good leader. And, at the same time those perceptions prevented me from giving him the opportunities to either 1. prove my perceptions wrong (which he did), or 2. (if my perceptions had been right) grow into being a better leader.

This got me wondering how many other people I've done this with. Are there people that I'm holding back by not giving them the opportunities to lead or grow? Am I basing my perceptions of them on lack of evidence to the contrary, which is my fault in the first place for not giving them the opportunities to succeed or fail and provide just such evidence?

I guess what I'm saying is this: at least in this one case, I didn't even give this guy the chance to be a good leader because I was already convinced that he wasn't. I virtually guaranteed that he couldn't be a good leader by not giving him the opportunities to succeed or fail, and then justified it to myself by saying, "Well, if he really was a good leader, I would have seen evidence of it so far."

The ironic thing is that this obviously shows more of a deficit in my own leadership than in his. And I've been on the receiving end of being discounted as a leader without really being given the opportunity to lead. And often I haven't been given those opportunities based on people's perceptions of me that are often completely inaccurate. So I need to check myself that I'm not doing the very same thing to others in my area of influence (obviously I was, but I need to stop).

I need to make sure that I am developing leaders rather than stifling them or counting them out before they're even given a chance. I need to take chances and risks on people and get over my perceptions and biases in order to allow them to thrive. I hope this lesson might benefit other leaders as well.

How I Met Martin Luther King

One of the great privileges of my life is having Rev. Dr. Albert Paul Brinson as one of my mentors. Al was co-pastor with Martin Luther King, Jr at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, and grew up hanging around the King household. Al has told me many stories of "ML" over the years, but one stands out that has had particular significance for my life.

One day while I was in seminary, I confessed to Al that I was struggling with the idea of going into pastoral ministry. I had been feeling that I was nowhere near holy enough, or righteous enough, or good enough to be a pastor. In response, Al told me a story. He and ML had been sitting on the porch of the King house, and Al had been sharing his own struggles that had, several decades earlier, mirrored my own. He told ML that he didn't feel like he was good enough to be a pastor, and in response, ML said, "None of is good enough. None of us is ever ready. None of us is worthy to serve our Lord. But God calls us, in many ways, because of our brokenness and unworthiness, not in spite of it. The only difference between those God uses mightily and those He does not, is our willingness to say yes to Him."

These words have had a profound effect on me. I hear Al's voice when I think of these words. But every time we celebrate the life and memory of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I think of those words of encouragement, stretching through the years to reach a life far removed from his. I am, of course, grateful for his influence on this world and the social changes he worked to bring about. But if it's possible, I am even more grateful for the way that "ML" influenced my life and ministry in a much more personal way.

"Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing." -1 Thessalonians 5:11