Category Archives: Leadership

I Wasn’t Offended By the Post But…

I know people who gripe and complain that would be.

Scott Adams has a great post today over at the Dilbert Blog about fault-finders that commonly write to say that a particular post/strip might, possibly, even the slightest, perhaps, very likely, could offend someone. Of course the ones writing the angry letter wasn’t offended but they know someone who would be.

The post points out how frustrating and potentially damaging random, inconsistant criticism can be. Like, Adams sometimes the disparaging comments and emails that ministers recieve fall into this same catagory.

The post is worth a read if you get the time today. Check it out.

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In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day: Book Review

I’ve be experiencing a sense of synergy as of late. It seems that everything that I’ve been reading or talking about has all centered around the idea of taking the risk.

That’s why it came as no surprise to me that Mark Batterson‘s newest book, In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day, continued pushing me to reflect upon the nature of uncertainty and the desire within me to put it all on the line.

In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day is all about taking risks. The title comes from what seems like one of the most insignificant passages in all of scripture. 2 Samuel 23:20-1 tells us all we need to know about a man named Benaiah:

There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two of Moab’s mightiest warriors. Another time he chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it. Another time, armed only with a club, he killed a great Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it.

In Texas we would call Benaiah a hoss! I had to read the story over and over in every translation of the Bible I have available to me to believe that this story was in there. I had never heard it before and now I can’t stop thinking about it. What an incredible dude!!! But according to Batterson, we can all be lion chasers like Benaiah, every single one of us.

Batterson believes that God uses “past experiences to prepare us for future opportunities” but warns “those God-given opportunities often come disguised as man-eating lions. And how we react when we encounter those lions will determine our destiny.”

See, Benaiah could have walked away from the Moabites because he was out numbered, he could have avoided the fight with the Egyptian, and he could of certainly steered clear of the lion but would he still have been hired as a bodyguard for David which eventually led to him taking over as commander of God’s army. I’m not sure. According to Batterson, “God is in the business of resume making.”

The book is a great read. Batterson’s style is engaging, funny, and at times, incredibly challenging. Using stories from his own experience in the risk-taking world of church planting Batterson grounds the book firmly in reality.

The book is presented well and it can be read very quickly. Each chapter has a summary and questions for further thought or to be used within a small group setting.

Batterson is the pastor at National Community Church in the nation’s capital. I have been reading his blog, Evotional, for quite some time and I have benefited greatly from his thoughts and his heart for ministry. (Evotional has the best banner pic hands down)

I am highly recommending this incredible book to everyone that I know. It isn’t your typical book where you highlight your favorite passages and then place it on the shelf to be forgotten. Batterson dares you to move asking “What lion is God calling you to chase?”

After reading In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day I made some pretty difficult decisions about taking on some big, hairy lions in my life. Opportunities have presented themselves and I pursuing them. I don’t want to miss out on what God has planned just because I was too afraid to move.

So right now, I’m out chasing lions with my Dad. Take the risk. Come and join us!!!

ChasetheLion.com

Are You Willing to Make The Hard Changes Now?

From Seth Godin’s Small is the New Big:

My first job was cleaning the grease off the hot-dog roaster at the carousel snack bar, near my home in Buffalo. Actually, it wasn’t a roaster. It was more a series of nails that rotated under a lightbulb. I also had to make the coffee and scrub the place clean every night. it very quickly became obvious to me that I didn’t have much of a future in food service.

I didn’t have to make many decisions in my job. And the manager of the store didn’t exactly look to me to initiate change. In fact, she didn’t want anyone to initiate change. (My suggestion that we branch out into frozen yogurt fell on deaf ears, as did my plea that it would be a lot cheaper to boil hot dogs on demand than to keep them on the rack under the lightbulb all day.)

Any change, any innovation, any risk at all would lead to some sort of terrible outcome for her, she believed.

After I set a record by breaking three coffee carafes in one shift, my food-service career was over. I was out on the street, unemployed at the tender age of 16. But from that first job, I learned a lot — and those lessons keep getting reinforced.

Just about every day, I go to a meeting where I meet my boss from the snack bar. Okay, it’s not really her. But it’s someone just like her: a corporate middle-person who’s desperately trying to reconcile the status quo with a passionate desire to survive. My boss didn’t want to jeopardize her job. She viewed every day and every interaction not as an opportunity but as a threat — a threat not to the company but to her own well-being. If she had a mantra, it was “Don’t blow it.”

In her business, she faced two choices: to die by the guillotine, a horrible but quick death, or to perish slowly on the rack — which is just as painful a way to go, if not more so, and guaranteed to leave you every bit as dead. But in her nightmares, only one of those two options loomed large — the guillotine.

I have to admit it. I have the same dream.

Have you ever spent a night worrying about what your boss (or your stockbroker or a big customer) is going to say to you at that meeting the next morning? Have you ever worried about some impending moment of doom? That’s fear of the guillotine.

But almost no one worries about the rack. We don’t quake in our boots about a layoff that’s going to happen two years from now if we don’t migrate our systems before our competition does. We’re not afraid of stagnating and dying slowly. No, we’re more afraid of sudden death, even though the guillotine is probably a far better way to die.

Recently, at the invitation of the president of a company, I visited its operation in Chicago. This company is a household name, a financial-services giant. And its people know that the Internet represents a huge threat to their future.

When I get there, people are so earnest. They’ve all done their homework. They all take notes and ask questions. At first, it seems as if they’re doing everything right to prepare for the future. They’ve got an Internet task force, and it reports directly to the president. It’s a high-profile gig: Lots of senior people are on this team, and virtually every department in the company has a representative on it.

The team is busy hiring consultants, building prototypes, creating business models, and generally working hard to get the company in shape for the next century.

I give my talk, and team members invite me to sit in on a presentation by the company’s top marketing person. We sit down in a huge conference room, with a fantastic view of the lake, a silver tea set on a sideboard, and custom-printed yellow pads placed in front of everyone.

After the presentation — which sounds all too much like state-of-the-art Internet strategy circa 1996 — they ask me what I think.

I look around, and that’s when I realize that every single person in the room is waiting for me to say the same thing. They want to hear, “Hey, you guys are totally prepared for the Net. Don’t worry about it.” They want to hear, “Hey, this Web thing isn’t a threat to your business model. You don’t need to change a thing.” They want to be told that everything will be fine.

And the really sad and amazing thing is that they don’t care if I’m wrong. The idea that their company could end up like Waldenbooks or CBS or Sears or any other big, dumb company is just fine — as long as they don’t have to change now.

What was going on here? I had just met a group of smart, aggressive, well-compensated people, who control billions of dollars in assets and one of the best brand names in the world. Yet they knew they were going to fail, and they couldn’t do a thing about it. They had all bought into a system in which it’s just fine to fail on the big stuff — as long as little failures don’t happen now.

Let’s be honest.

Nobody likes change.

Real change, earth-shattering change, stay-up-all-night-worrying change isn’t fun. At most companies, it’s a huge threat, an opportunity for failure, a chance to see the stock plummet, to watch divisions get axed, to hear customers scream and yell. We’re organized to resist big change at every turn.

The problem is that today we don’t have a choice. We can’t leave innovation to the small guys, the startups that have nothing to lose. Either we change our businesses, or they die.

Resisting change is natural, sometimes even healthy. In today’s world, though, it can be deadly.

Businesses that don’t change disappear. Winners change; losers don’t.

At the Carousel Snack Bar, I learned three lessons that are just as valid now, 23 years later, as they were then. The first is that you should never take a job that requires you to bring your own grease rag to work. Second, jobs in which you don’t initiate change are never as challenging, fun, or well paid as those in which you do. And third, companies that don’t change vanish.

It’s easy to see those lessons at work on the Net, but change isn’t just about the Internet. When the Internet is old news, companies still will be turning over. Remember DeSoto and Pierce-Arrow and Dusenberg and Packard and American Motors? How about Borland and Spinnaker Software and Ashton-Tate and (almost) Apple? Or A&M Records? Or Orion Pictures?

In the long run, we’re all dead. The same is true for companies, divisions, and brands. Sooner or later, the place where you work is going to disappear. You’re not safe, no matter where you are. Your company is going to fail or be acquired or acquire another company, and you’ll lose your job. Or you’ll lose interest in your job.

One way or another, sooner or later, you’re going to leave. So why not take some risks along the way? Here’s the question: Are you going to be a change agent, or are you going to keep bringing your own grease rag to work?

The biggest gripe that I hear from folks at companies with two or more employees is that someone else in their company is impeding change, that “they” don’t get it, won’t endorse it, won’t allow it to happen. If you’re one of the folks offering up one of those excuses, I’ve got news for you: What you’re looking for isn’t change. What you’re looking for is an official endorsement of the risk-free status quo.

It’s possible to have a great corporate career, to make a difference, to add significant value to your company. But the best way to do that is to instigate and execute change, to risk your job on a nearly constant basis — because every job risk enhances your career.

Imagine that you’re on a boat. It’s a big boat, and it’s got a leak. Actually, it’s got a hole. Belowdecks, your colleagues are busy bailing: They’ve got cans and hoses and even a pump, and they’re bailing water as fast as they can. The optimists in the group are pointing out that no one has drowned yet, and that maybe a giant piece of kelp will come along and get stuck in the hole and plug it up.

Up on the deck, senior management is saying, “Full speed ahead.” Sure, every once in a while a vice president notices that the ship isn’t quite as high in the water as it was. And the rest can’t help noticing that many of the boats around them are sinking. But, frankly, they’ve got a pretty good gig, and all of the alternatives that they can think of involve getting wet.

And there, about 50 feet away, is a brand-new boat, a boat with no leaks, no holes. And nobody’s on it. So here’s the question: Why not go for it?

Big-company CEOs almost never complain to me about employees who take too many risks. They almost never whine about a workforce that’s busy with new initiatives at the expense of the core business. And they don’t complain when people stand up and fight for ideas, standards, and quality that they absolutely believe in. But they almost always talk about people who play it too safe, who avoid risks, and who are dooming their company to mediocrity and, ultimately, death.

What are you going to do? Risk the sharks in the water, get your brand-new Lacoste shirt wet, and go for a swim? Or grab a can and start bailing, even though you know this baby’s going under? What will it be? The guillotine or the rack?

By the way, the last time I visited my parents in Buffalo, I drove by the Carousel Snack Bar. It’s closed — bankrupt, I think. And I bet that spending those last few years on the rack was no fun at all.

Seth Godin (sgodin@fastcompany.com) is the author of “Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends, and Friends into Customers” (Simon & Schuster, 1999).

In my life I have had the opportunity to work for men and women who were willing to do the hard thing. They traded present security in order to make changes that had the potential to secure the future. Win or lose the organizition was better for it. We worked harder and with greater enthusiasm because we knew that we were standing on the edge of greatness. When we were faced with failure we stood together and quickly rallied with a new idea or perspective to keep us on track. There is no greater feeling.

Conversely, I have worked with my fair share of people who simply try and avoid the guillotine not realizing that they have resigned themselves, their organization, employees, and shareholders to an aggonzing, slow death on the rack of irrelevance.

What about you? Anybody out there want to work for someone that simply avoids the hard stuff?

Not me. I am willing to make the hard changes. I’ll start by making the changes within myself.

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2007: The Year of William Wilburforce

I am making a bold prediction here. Over the last few weeks I have heard the name William Wilberforce over and over and over. 2007 is going to be his year. And with good reason.

Wilberforce was a member of British parliment near the end of the 18th century. In 1784, a great change occured in his life. He became a Christian.

This great change influenced the way he lived and lit a new fire in his belly. Wilberforce set out to abolish slavery in all of the British Empire. It became his all consuming passion. He dedicated the rest of his life to this end. Friends were lost and enemies were made but he never gave up. For 34 years, he continued to push for an end to the “horrors of the slave trade.”

One month after he passed away, Parliment passed the Slavery Abolition Act, freeing all slaves within the Brish empire.

One man. One Faith. One Pursuit. Millions of lives changed.

Wlden Media will release Amazing Grace: The William Wilberforce Story next Spring. I hope you all get to see it.

In conjuction with the movie, you can sign an online petition that has as its aim to abolish slavery world wide. Click over there and sign it or download it and pass it around to those around you.

I wish that there were a few canidates out there that had these kinds of ideas. I would gladly vote for any man or woman that stood for something like justice and truth instead of just a donkey or an elephant.

Bio

Great Question

I’m reading Seth Godin’s Small is the New Big and I was struck by a great question that every ministry needs to wrestle with.

What story are we telling or should be telling?

Maybe the reason that your ministry isn’t connecting with those in and around it is because you’re telling the wrong story.

To see what I mean you can read the whole article at Seth’s blog.

A New Day Is Dawning

I know that over the last few months my posts have focussed mainly on music and pop news. The truth is I have been very busy and rather than post about something deep and challeging I have chosen to post about shallow and easy things.

The time for mere talking is quickly coming to an end. I am excited about a new focus that I have been given and I am determined to do more with the blog.

I read this today:

Essentially there are two jobs that define the role of the church. The first is to speak the language of the church to the culture. And the second is to be the connector for the other (cultural) influencers. (Buisness, Politics, Education, Family, Arts & Entertainment, and the Media)

How can we begin to do this? How can we begin to do this together?

Be on the lookout.

Peace,
Micheal

Stand Up

I’ve been awfully music heavy the last few days so I wanted to shake it up a little and catch everyone up on what’s been going on in my busy life.

I updated the links page with some of my favorite blogs.

I just finished my first summer at my new church. By the gace of God, I believe that it was a success. I have about 30 awesome teens who enjoying being together and who have a great habit of inviting their friends. The summer went by very, very quickly. I actually started on May 30th and before I knew it – August had arrived. I am currently trying to put together the fall calendar and I have a lock-in and a big cookout on the horizon. This week I’m visiting my students at school and getting achance to meet more of their friends. Today’s visit was a lot of fun. I love being a Youth Minister.

This coming Sunday I’m going to “the Dance.” That’s right, I’m stepping into the pulpit for Sunday morning worship assembly. It’s the big game! We have been going through Exodus 20 taking a fresh look at the Ten Commandments. I’ll be covering v. 15:

Thou shalt not steal.

I know a little bit about stealing. When I was a little elementary kid, I used to put gum on the end of wire hangers and steal quarters, nickels, and dimes out of the high school student’s lockers at my school for sodas. I might mention that this Sunday. Maybe.

Btw, I think the Ten Commandments sound a lot better in the King’s English but that’s just me.

Some books that you need to read right now:

Some albums that you need to hear right now:

I’ll leave you with this:

On your journey as a believer, questions automatically arise. Who am I and what is my calling? Am I called to be a deacon? Am I called to be a pastor? Am I called to be an evangelist, a fireman, or a retail salesperson? Am I called into counseling, sports medicine, or intercession? Paul let’s us know that those questions are good starting points for a young believer, but as you mature in your faith, the callings that once consumed you begin to diminish, and the sumreme calling to one thing becomes ever clearer. Whether you are annointed or not is no longer the motivaing drive of a mature individual. The motivating thing becomes: Am I tender toward the Lord? Am I moved when he comes near me? Instead of being consumed with numbers and results, ask yourself: Do I hunger for Him like I used to? Is my gaze still focused and my eyes still pure? Is my heart expanding in the understanding of this Man, Jesus? Paul’s exhortation is clear. As you mature in your faith, your pursuit of Jesus becomes more and more consuming.

Dwaye Roberts, One Thing

May you begin to ask yourself the deeper questions.

Peace,
Micheal

Jeremiah 20:9

From the Introduction to Reggie McNeal’s Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extrordinary Spiritual Leaders:

Humility derives from the leader’s awareness of where his or her source of strength lies.

Jesus’ idea of greatness revolves around humility and service- a far cry from our typical associations with this concept.

Great leaders bless people. They inspire and encourage, The help people become more than what they have been, maybe even more than they thought that they could be. Great leaders help people be part of something bigger than themselves. In short, great leaders leave people better off than they were before the leader entered their lives.

Leaders who have an appropriate view of self (humility), combined with the capacity to help others (service), don’t just show up in the nick of time. They are crafted over time. They practice being great. Extraordinary character and exceptional competence develop over time. Leaders must make countless good choices and right calls to fasion greatness.

In the spiritual realm, greatness is not pursued for greatness’ sake. Perhaps this statement should go without saying, but to do so would run an unwarranted risk of a colossal misunderstanding about the pursuit of greatness for spiritual leaders. Genuinely great spiritual leaders do not do what they do for themselves or even as a way to become recognized as great leaders. The end game for spiritual leaders is about expanding the kingdom of God. They pursue greatness because they are passionate about God and helping other people experience the life God intends for them to enjoy. In the end, great spiritual leaders are not interested in calling attention to themselves. They point people to a great God. This is the sort of greatness we are desperate for.

Greatness is earned. It is not a gift; it is a reward. It is not accidental; it is cultivated. It is not bestowed by others; it is self-determined. You do not need to hope it happens. You can plot a course to make it happen. “Am I a great leader?” or “Do I want to be a great leader?” are questions only you can answer. You will answer them one way or another. The kingdom of God is at stake.

You are free to practice greatness.

If that doesn’t stir your soul about becoming a great leader, I don’t know what will.

Dare to be great.

Redeeming the Time

Right now, I am totally being blessed by a number of podcasts that I have been listening too. Instead of driving around listning to mindless chatter and even more mindless songs (“London Bridge”- uhg. I didn’t think it could get any worse than “My Humps” but I was proven wrong) I have been redeeming my time spent behind the wheel by listening to some quailty training.

We all have to drive or ride to work. Why not make the most of your time.