Category Archives: Discipleship

Discipleship

Marriage Maintenance Part 1

This past weekend I preached a message called Marriage Maintenance as part of our Relationship Rescue series. I am passionate about helping couples identify and deal with issues in their marriage long before they become unmanageable problems.

I used the term maintenance because it is always easier to run maintenance checks than it is to go through a full on repair to fix what is broken.

Using Proverbs 5 as the main text of the message, I challenged our married couples to go through a 3 Point Marriage Inspection in order to assess the heath and life of their marriage relationship. This week I’d like to unpack some of the ideas I presented and offer a few resources for you to check out in order to help your marriage.

To me a marriage represents a microcosm of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the Gospel message, the lost are found, orphans become part of a family, and grace & mercy are extended to those who mess up. God created us for a relationship with him and with one another. In marriage a man and a women become one and set out in a new life with one another.

Marriage is an experience. In the 11.5 years I have been married it is overwhelming to think of all that we have experienced together. It is one thing to collect experiences but it is quite another to learn from those experiences.

Proverbs 5 starts with telling us that it isn’t the experiences that make the difference. It is our ability to lean into God and receive his discipline, wisdom, and learning.

“My son, pay attention to my wisdom, turn your ear to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge.” (Proverbs 5:1–2 NIV11)

The writer of this Proverb has some pretty important things to tell us. He is saying, “Hey! Do not miss this! Pay attention. Get what I am about to say because it could make all the difference in you life.”

This is where we have to begin.

Marriage Maintenance has to be something that we are willing to engage in. It will take intentionally changing attitudes and behaviors. It will take asking hard questions and accepting personal responsibilities for failures and mistakes.

The truth is that God desires your marriage to be healthy and vibrant even more than you do! He wants your marriage to succeed even more than you do!

I want to encourage you to ask God to speak to you about your marriage relationship. Invite him to examine your heart and to change your old patterns into life-giving new expressions of faith. Before we begin, go to Him and ask for the wisdom to maintain your marriage over the long haul.

 

Discipleship, Jesus is the Christ, Leadership, Ministry, Mission, Popular Culture, Teaching

Do You Have A Theological Vision?

This Fall I have spent a great deal of time reading and thinking through Tim Keller‘s excellent book, Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City. Keller is the Pastor at Redeemer in the heart of NYC and is one of my favorite authors/thinkers. Rather than a “cut and paste, this is how we do ministry-this is how you should do ministry” book, Center Church focuses on developing a Theological Vision that is consistent with what a particular congregation believes and that drives the way ministry happens. Too often the ministry expressions of a church are divorced from or even at odds with their beliefs as well as unconnected from the very people they are trying to reach. This causes frustration within the congregation and confusion from those outside looking in.

Keller defines Theological Vision as an underlying vision that brings your theological understanding (doctrine, beliefs) to bear upon your ministry expressions (practices, programs). It is in essence, a faithful understanding of the Gospel “with rich implications for life, ministry, and mission in a type of culture at a specific moment in history.” Developing a robust Theological Vision is important because it forces the people of God to think long and hard about the character and implications of the Gospel, what the Gospel has to say within your particular culture, and what it means to do ministry in your time and place.

With a Theological Vision in place, leaders and churches can make better choices about ministry expression that are faithful to the Gospel while at the same time are meaningful to their ministry context. That means a greater impact in Worship, Discipleship, Evangelism, Service, and Cultural Engagement.

A Theological Vision helps you determine what you are going to do with what you believe within your cultural setting.

Keller sums up the importance of this vision when he says, “A Theological Visions allows (us) to see (our) culture in a way that is different than (we) have ever been able to see before… Those who are empowered by the theological vision do not simply stand against the mainstream impulses of the culture but take the initiative both to understand and speak to that culture from the framework of the Scriptures… The modern theological vision must seek to bring the entire counsel of God into the world of its time in order that its time might be transformed.”

In order to develop a Theological Vision Keller says that you must spend time in “deep reflection” on Scripture and the particular culture that you minister in. In order to think deeply and reflect on these things, Keller offers 8 questions to help in the development of a robust and significant Theological Vision.

They are:
1) What is the gospel, and how do we bring it to bear on the hearts of people today?
2) What is this culture like, and how can we both connect to it and challenge it in our communication?
3) Where are we located — city, suburb, town, rural area — and how does this affect our ministry?
4) To what degree and how should Christians be involved in civic life and cultural production?
5) How do the various ministries in a church — word and deed, community and instruction — relate to one another?
6) How innovative will our church be and how traditional?
7) How will our church relate to other churches in our city and region?
8) How will we make our case to the culture about the truth of Christianity?

Keller warns that the development of this type of vision is hard but it is essential. The quality of your Theological Vision will determine your effectiveness as you find ways to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ clearly to your particular place in history.

Over the coming weeks, I am planning on meeting with a group of leaders to think through these 8 questions as a group in order to gain a better understanding of our mission to those within our church body and our surrounding community. The Starbucks near us recently built a new location complete with a variety of warm and inviting meeting areas so we are going to wrestle with these questions in the heart of the local agora just like Paul did in Athens. Of course Paul, as far as we know, didn’t get to sit in plush leather chairs sipping a peppermint mocha from a red cup.

If you have not read Keller’s Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City, I want encourage you to pick it up and wrestle with these questions within your own ministry context. I’ll be posting my thoughts and feelings as we go along so you are welcome to join in the conversation here in the comments or on Facebook and Twitter.

So what do you think of all this? Is a Theological Vision important? In what ways have you gained a greater understanding of the Gospel? In what ways have you worked to gain a better understanding of your particular culture?

Best Practices, Christmas, Discipleship

Serving Others This Christmas

Even though it is currently in the mid-60s it is still Christmas time. I know that one of the things that my family tries to do this time of year is look for ideas on how to serve those around us.

Over Thanksgiving, I received an email from Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University that had some creative and practical ideas for giving back and serving others this holiday season. I wanted to share them with you today in the hopes that you and your family might find an activity that you can do to help shine the light of Jesus into the lives of those within your sphere of influence or community.

The Apostle John tells the church, “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. (1John 2:6)” Jesus lived in a way that he was a servant to all. Although he himself was God and deserved to be recognized and served, he became the servant and the example for how we should live. James, the brother of Jesus, tells us not to just listen to the word but to do what it says (James 1:22). Scripture tells us over and over again that followers of Jesus serve other people.

I want to encourage you to look at the ideas below and think of ways you can serve others and then… Go do it! Get excited about helping others. Find joy in serving others. Be thankful for all that God has blessed you with. Then after Christmas, do it some more! Make the month of December a trial run for serving others throughout 2013. Hopefully, these 10 suggestions can be a launching point for you to making Jesus famous all next year.

Thanks to Dave and FPU for these great challenges:

The best part is: You don’t have to sacrifice fun or fellowship to be generous with others. Below are 10 simple ways you can pay it forward this holiday season. So, grab your family, your friends, your coworkers, or your small group from church or Financial Peace University, and get to giving!

  1. Plan a scrumptious (Christmas) meal complete with all the fixings, and determine how many families your group can feed. Then, contact a local food pantry for a list of families in need. Spend a Saturday shopping, cooking, and delivering the meals together.
  2. Serve at a soup kitchen for the perfect (Christmas) reality check. Sign up ahead of time to make sure you can go as a group, and show up the morning of to give a warm smile and meal to people who rarely receive either.
  3. Use (Holiday Shopping) to benefit others. Instead of frantically crossing items off your family’s wish list, go as a group to buy clothing items for people in need. Take advantage of the good deals, and donate your finds to a local homeless shelter.
  4. Show love to your community by spending the afternoon cleaning it up. Depending on where you live, this might include raking leaves or shoveling snow. End the night with a chili cook-off that the whole neighborhood’s invited to!
  5. Collect coupons as a group to stretch your dollar at the grocery store. Then, donate the goods to a local food pantry the week of Thanksgiving. Be sure to throw in a few special treats for the holiday.
  6. Write notes of gratitude to soldiers from your community who are spending (Christmas) overseas. Put in a box full of basic necessities, fall candies and a calling card so they can connect with family at home.
  7. Collect toys in anticipation of the Christmas season. Encourage your kids to give up a certain number of gently used toys in order to bless other kids who do without and to make room for new toys that are sure to come their way.
  8. Repair a heating unit for a family in your community. Getting those fixed can be pretty pricey—an especially heavy burden during the holidays. Gather a fund and have it ready for this inevitable crisis.
  9. Collect sweaters, scarves and coats and distribute them among your group. Keep the items handy in your car and be on the lookout for homeless in your city. When you see them, you’ll be able to pass along a bundle of warmth without hesitation.
  10. Set aside extra cash at the beginning of the month. Give a generous tip to your waiter, the person at the checkout counter, the grocery bagger or your hair stylist.

When you give, do it with a welcoming spirit and a humble heart—remembering all that He’s given to you. Let’s make this (Christmas) season one that’s full of authentic addictive gratitude.

(Via)

Discipleship, Ethos, Family Ministry, Leadership

What Story Are You Telling?

This post was originally published on April 24, 2009.

In their book, Lead Like Jesus, Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges state clearly that to lead like Jesus you must become a servant. In Matthew 20:25-28 we see Jesus telling his disciples the difference between leadership as defined by the world and leadership as defined by the Father.

“Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28 TNIV)

Leading like Jesus requires us to tell a new story. Right now, the story most men are telling to their families is that a) Work comes before family b) My relationship with my child will always be strained and c) “Me” time is more important than “We” time

We need to be telling a different story.

Don Miller tells of a time when he met with a good friend over coffee. His friend begins pouring his heart out to Don telling him about how his marriage is suffering, that they are struggling to pay off the bills, and, on top of all that, his 13 yr. old daughter has turned goth and is dating a real loser. They found pot in her room and they are fearful of all the destructive behavior they are beginning to see in her life. His friend tells Don that he has done everything he can- from threatening to ground her to keeping her locked in the house to sending her to youth group (the horror!). The results have been less than encouraging and seem to have driven her further and further away. His friend felt frustrated and felt like a failure.

Don thinks for a minute absorbing all that his friend has said. “I think,” says Don, “that your daughter doesn’t like the story you’re telling her.”

No doubt his friend became a bit perturbed by this answer. Don says, “Ok wait. Hear me out. We are all designed to live in a story. Your daughter wants to live in a story where she is wanted and accepted and needed and loved- hence the loser boyfriend. She is looking for excitement, risk, and adventure- hence the drugs. She is looking for an identity and a purpose- hence the new, goth look. That’s the story she is living in.”

Don then challenges his friend by asking him, “What story are you telling her as her father? Maybe you need to tell a better story.”

The friend thinks about what Don has said for a few days. He then calls a family meeting. He gathers his wife, goth daughter, and younger son together and tells them that he has a project for them. He had contacted an orphanage in Mexico without first telling anyone in his family. This orphanage needed a new building and it was going to cost them $20,000-$25,000 to build a new one. “I don’t know how we are going to raise this money- we are up to our eyeballs in debt,” he tells his family, “but we really need to do something about this and I would really like it if we could do this together. Oh, and we only have two years to do this in. Any ideas?”

That night didn’t end well as you can probably imagine. The family stormed off and Don’s friend was left in the living room all by himself. However about a week later his son comes to him and says that since they will be going to Mexico they will all need passports and could he begin looking at getting the passports. Then his wife comes and offers to sell one of the cars. Then his daughter comes and says that she posted about this plan on MySpace and that she was asking her friends to do the same so that they could begin taking donations.

Two weeks later the boyfriend is gone, she is no longer isolating herself from the family, and they all start to turn the corner in their relationships to one another.

So what happened? The daughter (and everyone else in the family) got caught up with the new story. They all felt needed and felt that they had a purpose. They became the heroes instead of the bit players. They knew that they were called to something greater than themselves. They had become the servants rather than the served.

As parents, as adults, as leaders we are the ones that initiate the story in our families and churches. It is up to us to get caught up in the story God is calling us to and to guide our loved ones into that story.

So the challenge before you is to ask, “What story am I telling?”

Is your story one of self-service or self-sacrifice? The first one is a pretty lousy tale.

The latter was told by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like–minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:1-11 TNIV)

Bible Study, Discipleship, Mission, Preaching, Sermon Series, Sermons

NEXT: Identify with Jesus

Earlier this month I started a new sermon series entitled, NEXT: Taking Your Next Steps in Faith. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus gives us the goal of Spiritual Growth when he says that we are to increase in our Love for God and our love for Others. Next Steps help us grow in our love for God and others by giving us the opportunity to put our faith into practice by following or obeying what he is calling us to do.

In each week, I have had a specific agenda for those listening to my words.

In week one, I was clear that I wanted us to take the next step to CONNECT WITH A CHURCH. A church isn’t a building or an address in Google Maps. A church is a group of people who seek out God together, live together, and work together in order to bring glory to Jesus Christ. Connecting to a church doesn’t mean your growth is automatic or that growth only happens within the four walls of the church. However, when you CONNECT with a group of disciples you are putting yourself in an environment where you can grow in RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ, your FRIENDSHIP with God’s people, and your INFLUENCE with those who are far from God.

The following week I my agenda was to get all of us to ENGAGE WITH GOD’S WORD. According to Move: What 100 Churches Reveal About Spiritual Growth (Hardback, Kindle), the number one catalyst for spiritual growth whether you’ve been a Christian for 5 minutes or 50 years is reflecting on Scripture or ENGAGING with God’s Word. That looks a little different than simply reading your Bible everyday. To ENGAGE encompassing READING the Word, THINKING about what God is saying to us, PRAYING that God will reveal himself and his will to us, and LIVING out what you see God calling you to.

This week, I want those who have not yet been baptized to take that next step to privately and publicly IDENTIFY their lives with Jesus Christ through being BAPTIZED.

Baptism can be an emotional topic to discuss because everyone has different opinions and traditions depending on how they grew up. My motivation isn’t to teach on how everyone else is wrong or misguided. I have one goal and that is to invite and challenge those who have not yet been baptized to do so. 

There are three things that I want to avoid with this week’s message on Baptism:

  1. I don’t want to cause conflict. There was a time in my life when I thought I knew everything there was to say about baptism. At our Christian high school, I can remember starting quite a few arguments with my classmates around this subject. “The Bible told you to do it, you should do it.” was my line and I delivered it with all the care and concern of General Rommel taking North Africa. I was too bombastic and failed to understand that we all come to this topic with our own personal histories. The last thing that I want to do is create conflict around what is, by far and away, the best way to IDENTIFY yourself with the message and person of Jesus Christ.
  2. I don’t want to cause pain. Typically what happens when we begin to talk about baptism is that some pain and angst begins to well up inside of us when we think about friends and family members- primarily those whom have passed away- that were not baptized. We begin to worry about Uncle Sal or we get hurt because someone suggested that our friend may be downstairs when we believe they are upstairs. When I’m discussing baptism I want those that I’m sharing with to think about their own decision in the here and now. I do not want to speculate about theological positions or postulate on things that I just do not and cannot know.
  3. I don’t want to cause confusion. I want everyone who chooses to IDENTIFY with Jesus Christ through being baptized to be sure of their decision. I don’t want someone to look back and be confused about the reasons why they were baptize or to question their own salvation. Baptism paints a perfect picture of what Jesus did on our behalf and is a beautiful expression of our relationship with him. Just as Jesus died for our sins, we are to die to ourselves and our ways of living life. Jesus as Jesus was buried and in the tomb for three days, so we are buried under the water. Just as Jesus was raised to life again through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit empowers us to live the resurrection life as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

In my past, I am sure that I caused some conflict, pain, and confusion when I have argued about baptism. If you were one of those people, I am truly sorry. I promise this weekend, I will take more care as I discuss this highly emotional topic.

My goal this weekend will be to invite others to IDENTIFY with Jesus through taking the next step and being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Discipleship, Prayer

Tomorrow

The day has finally arrived. It’s Election Day.

Millions of us will go to our local polling stations to cast a vote for either President Barak Obama or Governor Mitt Romney today. I know it seems that this campaign season has been going on for the last 3 years but in a few hours (maybe more) the decision will be made. One man will lose. The other win win. This means…

Your guy will win… or he will lose.

My guy will win… or he will lose.

Here is the conclusion I’ve come to over the last few months: It does’t matter who the POTUS is because Jesus is my KING. I don’t serve the President, I serve the Christ. Regardless of who wins, God is in charge and his Son is on the Throne.

In 1 Timothy 2:13 (ESV), Paul tells the church, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

When Paul penned these words to Timothy, Nero was the reigning Emperor in Rome.

Nero– the guy who virtually started the wholesale slaughter of Christians.
Nero– the guy who set fire to the city so he could build a bigger house.
Nero– the guy who probably killed Peter.
Nero– the guy who probably had Paul executed.

Paul urged that the church stand before a holy God and humbly beg on behalf of this Emperor. Paul urged that the church stand before a holy God and pray for this Tyrant. Paul urged the church to stand before a holy God and intervene for this Monster. Paul urged the church to stand before a holy God and offer thanksgivings in spite of everything that this Despot did.

I’m convicted.

Neither Barak Obama nor Mitt Romney are Nero by any stretch of the imagination. Both of these men are loving husbands and fathers. Both of these men have dedicated their lives to public office. Both of these men are facing an uphill battle come tomorrow morning.

Paul urges me to offer “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings.. for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”

I have not always done this in the past. I have been pretty politically aware and involved since that late 80s. Some of the candidates that I have wanted to see win have won and some have lost. I’ve been able to vote in the past 4 Presidential elections and yet, despite knowing this passage, I’m not sure I can say that have lived out this command from scripture.

I know that many people have been praying and fasting for this election. Many leaders urged their people to fast for the 40 days leading up to the election. While I have been praying for the outcome of this election, I am feeling a pull to be diligent in praying for whatever happens in the 1461 days that follow.

Regardless of who wins tonight, I want to more intentionally and consistently be praying for our leaders by name. It is easy to pray for the men and women that we like, but we aren’t called to what is easy.

So here’s my plan:
Starting tonight a 12am Midnight, I will be fasting from soda for the next 40 days. I want to encourage you to find something to fast from and invite you to join me in standing before a holy God on behalf of whom ever is the President of the United States tomorrow morning.

I’ve always been told that every vote makes a difference. As I’ve grown older, learned about the electoral college, and thought about how many people live in Texas, I’m not so sure I buy in to that anymore. However…

I do believe that every PRAYER makes a difference. 

God heard the cries of the Israelites. God heard the prayer of Daniel in his closet. God heard the laments of David in the caves out in the wilderness. God heard the prayers of the early church. God heard John as he was imprisoned on a lonely island. Every PRAYER makes a difference.

Regardless of who wins tonight… let’s make a difference!

Discipleship, Leadership

Top 10 Quotes from Catalyst

Attending Catalyst in Atlanta is a little bit like drinking water from a firehose– here is so much coming at you that it is almost overwhelming! Thankfully, I always purchase the audio sessions from the event so that I can listen to each of the messages again.

I tell people that, for me, Catalyst is a slow burn. Other events or conferences send me home with a new technique or a new curriculum or a new trick that will practically benefit my ministry today. Catalyst is different.

Catalyst does something deep inside of me where thoughts and ideas are ruminated on, processed, and developed over time. As I have thought back over all the leadership goodness I was able to feast on last week, there a few thoughts and ideas that have continued to settle deep inside of me. It is these quotes that have been pushing on my heart and it is these quotes that have arrested my imagination in the quiet and still moments of my day. God is using these thoughts to mold me, change me, and to #MAKE me into the leader he desires me to be. It is my hope that one or all of these will hit you where you are today.

You were MADE to #MAKE a difference.

1) “The greatest thing you do as a leader may not be what you do as a leader but who watches you do what you do.” – @AndyStanley

2) “Your response makes all the difference in the world and is the thing that will determine how God will use you.” – @AndyStanley

3) “”Any organization that wants to make a difference in anything it does must be healthy.” – @PatrickLencioni

4) “Don’t be in a Party. Be a party!” – KidPresident.com

5) “‘NO’ simply means ‘Next Opportunity.'” – @MarkBurnettTV

6) “It is better to be MARKED by God than to be MARKETED by men.” – @ChristineCaine

7) “We’re told to go and make disciples, but we often just sit & make excuses.”- Francis Chan

8) “God will never be handcuffed by your failure or unleashed by your successes!” – @JonAcuff

9) “When we realize that only God is good and our real enemy is Satan, we can make history for the glory of God!”- @craiggroeschel

10) “Don’t blame me.” – Geoffrey Canada

Discipleship, Life, Sermon Series

Weird

This week I’m starting a new sermon series entitled, WEIRD, based on the book by Craig Groeschel. The message is one that I think everyone needs to hear and I am excited to share it with our church body over the coming weeks.

We spend a great portion of our lives pursing what we perceive as normal. We want the cushy job, the big house, the perfect wife, and extra-ordinary children. We want the fast car, the corner office, and the dream vacations. We spend countless hours and tons of money working to achieve these things so that we will just like everyone else. The problem is that in the pursuit of normalcy we are paying a heavy toll.  

Most of us feel like we are no longer in control of our time and schedules. Others dictate where go, when we need to be there, and how much of our time they will consume. As a result, most of us feel overworked and burned out. Normal isn’t working.

Did you know that average household credit card debt is well north of $15,000? As some one smarter than me has said, “We spend money that we don’t have to buy things we don’t need to impress people we don’t like.” Ain’t that the truth! For too many there is too much month left at the end of the money. Normal isn’t working. 

I once read that the average marriage in the US lasts 8 years. I have underwear older than that! Unfortunately, marriages often die long before the divorce is official. Many people start off their relationship with their spouse with a lot of heat and passion and hopes and dreams. However, after too many unmet expectations and a lack of communication many couples never make it the finish line together and instead opt out emotionally, physically, and relationally. Normal isn’t working.

As for our other relationships, most of us struggle to feel connected to real deep and meaningful friendships. We drive into our garages, shut the door before we exit the car, and hang out alone in our backyards (or air conditioned homes- I live in TX). We are an isolated and lonely generation with more digital acquaintances than genuine friends engaged in life together. Normal isn’t working.

The good news is that you were not designed to have a normal life. God doesn’t call you to live like the rest of the world. He empowers you to live like His Son, Jesus Christ.

You aren’t supposed to be Normal. You’re invited to be Weird.

Jesus tells us that there are people that pursue normalcy and where that path leads. He said, “Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” As plain as he can say it, Jesus tells us that the pathway to a “normal life” ends in pain, heartache, and difficulty. Thankfully, this warning comes with hope.

Jesus tells us there is another way.

“But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

There is a road that leads to life. It is a bit out of the way. This isn’t a highway or boulevard. It is a hidden trail leading away from where everyone else is headed. This road isn’t to be taken lightly. If we choose this road it might feel uncomfortable. To take this road choices have to be made and changes have to occur. But at the end of this narrow road… there is… life.

One road leads to an unsustainable pace and burnout. The other to intentional living and soul-giving rest.

One road leads to crushing debt and an unsustainable life style. The other leads to financial peace and the ability to bless others.

One road leads to broken marriages, families torn apart, and a generation suffering from the emotional fallout. The other leads to One-ness, unconditional love, and a marriage that displays the love of God to all who see you.

See, Normal isn’t working.

It’s time to be Weird.

Discipleship, Leadership, Mission

Vision- The WHY

A few years ago, the board of directors for a small but growing chicken restaurant named Chick-fil-a met to decide the future direction of their organization. One group argued that the way to growth would be rapid expansion into new parts of the country. Some argued new menu items would cause the company to gain more of a market share. Still, some made the case for flashier commercials and giveaways in order to make Chick-fil-a a bigger company. The founder, Truett Cathy, sat there and listened to the arguments going back and forth across the conference table. He then began to bang his fist on the table in order to get everyone’s attention. When the room became quiet and with all eyes on him, the oldest man in the room simply said, “When we get better, we’ll get bigger.” With that, Chick-fil-a set out to become a better company in order to become a bigger one.

Compare that to Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC or whatever they are calling themselves these days. It seems like every 6 months, Colonel Sanders and friends roll out a new marketing strategy or flashy new menu item or new remodel in order to attract customers. One ad cycle may show the chain becoming a heath food alternative with the next cycle tapping into the “homestyle-back-in-the-day” nostalgia that Kentucky Fried Chicken had back in the day. KFC seems to have be suffering from a identity crisis.

Much of these differences in marketing, strategy, and focus come down to the Mission of each organization.

On the KFC website, you will see that the company has a mission statement. It says:

KFC is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain, specializing in Original Recipe, Extra Crispy, Colonel’s Crispy Strips and Honey BBQ Wings, with home-style sides and freshly made chicken sandwiches. Since its founding by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, KFC has been serving customers delicious, already prepared complete family meals at affordable prices.

Through this statement, KFC makes it clear that their main focus is delivering chicken products to customers. It even goes so far as to list its main menu items in their mission statement. If you’ll remember, Harlen Sanders believed that Kentucky Fried Chicken existed to serve Original Recipe chicken and only Original Recipe. After he sold the company, he raised quite a stir after the new organization announced a new item- Crispy Chicken. The chicken has always been the focus of KFC.

Now, look at Chick-fil-a’s Mission Statement from their website:

Be America’s Best Quick-Service Restaurant

Chick-fil-a makes it clear that their main goal isn’t to simply sell chicken but to better serve people.

Just a glance at their respective homepages shows that KFC highlights products and Chick-fil-a highlights people. Neither one of these is right or wrong but they will have a direct effect on how each restaurant operates. An organization who holds serving people as their highest value will focus and behave differently than an organization that focuses on serving innovative products.

When it comes to determining what an organization wants to do and the best way to do that, they must first answer the question, “Why do we exist?”

If the answer is “We exist to serve chicken.” than offering many chicken options, highlighting new chicken products, changing your signage, and reminding people about your history of selling chicken will be the type of choices and behaviors the organization will exhibit in order to achieve their goals.

If your reason to exist is to serve people than you might make sure that your employees are trained to be friendly and encourage behaviors such as helping families by delivering the food to their table. You might make sure that the dining experience is fast, clean, and efficient. You might make sure that your menu is streamlined so that when people order they can do so quickly and easily.

If you’ve been to either one of these restaurants recently you know that each one has a distinct style and atmosphere. These things are directly due to the mission and vision that each organization is pursuing.

In his book, Start With Why, author Simon Sinek says that often times organizations struggle with getting their people to understand the vision or to buy into what the organization is trying to accomplish because leaders focus more on WHAT needs to be done and HOW it will be accomplished. Sinek argues that leaders must first get their people to understand the cause, the belief, the mission – the WHY behind it all.

(Set aside 18 minutes in your schedule today in order to watch Simon Sinek’s TED talk: How Great Leaders Inspire Action)

If we are going to lead healthy organizations that are actively making a difference in the lives of our people than we must identify the underlying reason WHY we exist in the first place. Once we understand the WHY, then we can move forward with the mission. Once the people you lead understand the WHY, than they will gladly join you on that mission.