Why I Mow The Yard on Sundays

I switched blog philosophies several weeks ago to doing a book review on Mondays. I just got to the point that I was struggling to find anything worth saying publicly on a regular basis, and the Monday book review was a good challenge for me to read a new book every week and interract with it on a regular basis. I figure I'll leave the wisdom and insight into ministry to some of the other guys out there who excel at that type of thing, and try to do something a little different.

But this is an unbelievably busy season in ministry for me, and I didn't quite finish my book last week. So, you're going to get the old kind of post today. Sorry.

We knew it was going to be a crazy season in ministry. We just launched a new singles philosophy at the church that is pretty high-maintenance at the outset, I'm preaching in a couple of weeks, leading a premarital counseling class, doing a couple of weddings, preparing for and traveling to Italy for a week in the middle of October to do some mission work there, and trying to keep-up with some of the relationships I've been building since I came back in June.

I'm no sage, but I know that times like this happen in ministry (and life in general, for that matter). Fortunately, we saw this one coming far enough in advance that we've been able to protect our November to give us a season of rest after the season of busyness. But even so, my personal bent is such that I tend to get extremely discouraged during my busiest times of ministry.

Most of the time, you don't see a lot of fast progress in ministry. So a lot of times when I'm working my tail off, it is for few noticeable results. Very rarely does God use me to be involved in changing a person's life overnight. Results are slow, people are messy, and a lot of times the ministry is a bit more like herding cats than shepherding sheep. And so in my busiest seasons of ministry, it's easy to get completely discouraged because you're exerting so much effort and see very little change.

Sundays are the worst. You prepare, pray, and preach on a Sunday morning, and by the time the Cowboys kick-off, the average church member has forgotten 95 percent of what you said. And the five percent they remember is the story about the crocodile you told to open the message. And so, some of the most discouraging times for many pastors (not just me) is Sunday afternoon.

So, I mow my yard every Sunday afternoon.

My grass is a great metaphor of ministry for me. I work hard in the yard. I prepare the soil, I fertilize regularly, I water every day, pull every weed I can see, and pulverize every critter that might threaten the health of my yard. But if I was to lay down on my stomach and lament the fact that I can't see the grass growing, you would call for the men in their nice white coats to cart me away to the funny farm.

So, I spend an hour or two every Sunday after church (sorry Sabatarians) cutting my grass. It's the only thing I do every week where I get to see an instant reward for my work, and a constant reminder that ministry (and life) is worth the hard work.

You've got questions? We've got answers.

I thought this was funny, following up to my link to teampyro's Pomotivators. HT: Faithmaps

I'm Glad You Asked

I've mentioned "I'm Glad You Asked" before in passing, but just pulled it off my shelf again and read back through it, and thought it was worth a stand-alone review.

Several years ago I took a class with "the Prof," Howard Hendricks, at Dallas Seminary. Prof pulled out this book, and declared to the class, "Men, if I ever get the honor of speaking in your churches, I'm going to walk in your office and look on your bookshelf to see if you have this book. If you don't, you can forget about me teaching in your church - I'll know you're not serious about reaching those around you."

Prof always has been one given to hyperbole now and again. But hyperbole aside, this really is a book you need to have on your shelf.

Ken Boa and Larry Moody have invested almost their entire lives with unbelievers, attempting to talk with them about some of the most difficult questions about Christianity. Throughout their decades of dialoguing with unbelievers, Boa and Moody believe there are only actually twelve questions that unbelievers say are keeping them from trusting Christ. This book is devoted to answering those twelve questions.

"Is there really a God?" "Do miracles really happen?" "Isn't Christianity just a psychological crutch?" "Why do the innocent suffer?" "Is Christ the only way to God?" are among some of the questions this book attempts to answer.

Boa and Moody rely on logic, common sense, and science for many of their arguments, and attempt to teach you how to confidently enter discussions with unbelievers without fear. For the most part, the authors do a tremendous job at simplifying complex arguments to the point that even I can understand them. The major exception, unfortunately, is the first question the authors attempt to answer: "Is there really a God." Although some of the arguments used to answer this question are simple, several of them discuss metaphysics and thermodynamics, and shoot right over the head of the average reader. Those of us who are slightly below the average reader don't have a prayer. Obviously, the arguments are important to the point the authors are making, but could cause you to be overwhelmed somewhere around page 29. Just skip to page 32 - after this chapter, the book is pretty easy sledding.

This book will be particularly helpful for those of you left-brained people who need a logical, rational, analytical look at the arguments that defend Christianity. Each chapter even contains a flow-chart that traces the path of logic through the chapter.

You may not agree with every argument the authors present. Some of them betray particular theological positions that the authors hold which you may not be comfortable with. That's okay, I've never read a book in which I couldn't find something to disagree with. The vast majority of this book is solid, logical, and will help you put a grid over the way you think about the evidence for the validity of Christianity.

If you've ever had that paralyzing feeling of anxiety about sharing your faith - afraid someone was going to ask you a question about the evidence for Christianity that you might not know the answer to, buy this book. If nothing else, buy it because you never know when Prof is going to show up in your office.

Holy Discontent

I was really excited to pick this book up. I've respected Bill Hybels for a long time. Throughout the late nineties and early part of this century, Bill Hybels and the philosophy of Willow Creek Community Church were the "hot button" issue that students of theology debated over coffee. Regardless of where you fall/fell on that debate, I think it would be impossible to not respect Hybels for his humility in dealing with his critics, and willingness to admit when he has made mistakes.

I've read several of Hybels' books, and have generally been very impressed. Courageous Leadership and Just Walk Across The Room were both good reads with some excellent material.

Although I thought Holy Discontent was "okay," I don't think it's probably Hybels' best work. And that's a shame, because in a lot of ways, it's a book about what made Bill Hybels, Bill Hybels.

Hybels talks about "Holy Discontent" in the way that most people talk about "Driving Passion." But, it's not just a passion that comes and goes, it's a passion that defines your life. The biblical illustration Hybels uses is Moses who seems to have had a "holy discontent" about the status of the nation of Israel that drove him to both murder and liberation.

For the most part, and I mean this with all due respect, Holy Discontent is something of a "rah-rah" book. Hybels challenges us all to find the one thing that drives us - the one thing that we, like Popeye "just can't stands no more," and devote our life to that thing.

Although Moses is a good example of someone who does seem to have had a "holy discontent" about something, I wasn't ever completely convinced by this book that every person is given a "personal burning bush." The anecdotes and examples in the book were "change-the-world" kind of examples. One guy drops everything to move his family to Australia and pastor a church. Another woman leaves a lucrative accounting career to move to Africa and work with AIDS orphans.

Don't misunderstand me - I'm infinitely thankful for those kinds of people, and have no doubt that their desire and decision to make those kinds of sacrifices are God-ordained. But what about the guy who lives a quiet life on his block and quietly impacts his neighborhood with the gospel? We certainly need people who are changing the world on a macro level, but I'm not sure I think everyone is called to have those kinds of dreams. You have to have Pauls and Timothys, but you also have to have Freds and Jim Bobs.

The second big challenge I had was that all of the illustrations of Holy Discontent being put to use in the book were with local church ministry. Again, we desperately need people with a heartbeat for the local church. I'm one of those people. But we also need people with a heartbeat for their neighborhoods, para church ministries, and families. As one of my mentors says constantly, "The local church is not the hope of the world, Jesus is."

The final big challenge for me in this book was that it doesn't help me identify my area of holy discontent if I have one. It tells me how to live once I've identified my burning passion. It tells me what holy discontent looks like. And it tells me a lot about other people who are changing the world. But if I have an area of holy discontent and don't know what it is, I'm not sure what steps to take in identifying it after reading the book.

Holy Discontent is an easy, quick read, with some great stories that will get you fired up about the potential for the church to do great things in the future. However, if you're looking for a book that will help you identify what you were created to do based on biblical principles, I'm not sure this one is the best fit.

Random Gratuitous Celebration Post

I'm planning to take Monday off, so I'm not sure if I'll get a review from my latest read posted then or not. Meanwhile, today's a big day to celebrate two things:

Tonight marks the kickoff of the 17 greatest weeks of the year. College football season officially begins tonight, and it's a really good thing. Okie State kicks off their season on Saturday with a mammoth road game between the hedges. Not sure whose brilliant idea that was, but if we lose I hope they get fired! Either way, there's nothing better than college football. If you need me on a Saturday for the next 17 weeks, I'll be on the couch.

On a more serious note, I did something last night that two years ago I wasn't sure I would ever do again. Back in February I wrote a post talking about my battle with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, a syndrome that attacked the 7th cranial nerve and paralyzed the right side of my face. It affected my hearing, my eyesight, and left me looking like a person made of plastic placed too close to the furnace.

As an athletic-type-person, one of my favorite outlets is playing softball. During college and seminary, I was a fairly decent left center fielder. I wasn't lightning fast, but I didn't miss a lot of balls. Ramsay Hunt changed that, because the muscles in my right eye were paralyzed and didn't allow me to follow the ball when I ran. I tried playing once after RHS, but there's something about a rock-hard ball coming at your face combined with a jiggly eye that made the excitement a little too stressful for me.

Eye muscle is one of the things I haven't regained since RHS - perhaps because they don't make dumbbells for that. So, I figured softball days were over. That was, until one of the single guys invited me to sub for his men's team this week. I told him my issue, and he stuck me in the infield where my jiggly eye would only have to react, not bounce. And it worked. I had a blast, played decent, and I'm back in the game baby!

I've regained about 90 percent of the movement in my face since RHS. The doctors say I won't get any more back (But then again, they said I wouldn't get any back in the first place... what do they know?). Even so, I'm cool with that. Though you might not be able to tell anything was ever wrong with me, I can still tell every time I look in the mirror. And it's a constant reminder that God's purposes are bigger than our momentary light afflictions. Every time I look in the mirror, I remember that God is faithful to even me. Jiggly eye and all.

The Big Idea - Dave Ferguson

I picked up The Big Idea because it was on a list of recommended books put out by Leadership Network, some guys I have worked with in the past and respect quite a bit. It was written by Dave Ferguson, Lead Pastor at Community Christian Church (CCC) - a multi-site church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

The book discusses a philosophy of doing Sunday morning church in such a way that the entire Sunday morning "experience" focuses on one primary theme - the "Big Idea." The rationale from the big idea comes from a core value that "[the church] can no longer afford to waste another Sunday allowing people to leave confused abotu what to do next." As a solution, CCC leaders have elected to frame their entire Sunday morning program for children, youth, and adults about one "Big Idea." The hope is that a laser focus on one big idea will better position the congregation to understand and act on Truth, rather than leaving the service overwhelmed by too many messages in too many environments.

The first half of this book describes a part of the rationale behind the philosophy. The assumption by Ferguson (and his team) is that the average Christian is bombarded with a different message in small group, Sunday school, the main church service, and other weekly Bible studies and church services. CCC's contention is that the mixture of messages leads to confusion and or helplessness when it comes to applying Truth to the believer's life. The solution of the "Big Idea" allows for a unification of teaching, better checks on the types of curriculum the church member is handed, and the ability for children, youth, and adults to have common ground to discuss and apply when leaving the church. It also fosters unity of purpose on the staff and volunteer teams.

The second half of the book describes the process CCC goes through to develop and implement the "big idea" - a series of meetings beginning a year out, which gives the staff and volunteer teams ownership in the "big ideas" for the coming year. It also gives everyone on the team time to exercise creativity and produce quality resources to aide the communication of the "big idea." The concept for each "big idea" comes a year out. Then, the idea is honed down in meetings thirteen weeks out, nine weeks out, five weeks out, three weeks out, two weeks out, and one week out.

I really appreciated two major things in this book. First, Ferguson repeatedly warns against merely adopting CCC's philosophy without taking into consideration your own church's culture and DNA. This was a refreshing change from many church philosophy books that give the distinct impression that their philosophy will work in every culture, even when it won't. The Big Idea does a great job at pointing out several potential pitfalls to consider before even applying a small part of the book to your church.

Secondly, the chapter (3.8) on the relationship between the Senior Pastor and the Worship pastor is worth the price of the book. Having served as a worship pastor, and currently preparing to serve as a senior pastor at some point, I may have a heightened sensitivity to this relationship - but these guys nailed it. Senior Pastors and Worship Leaders often have perspectives that mix about as easily as oil and water. Yet, their relationship is one of the most strategic in the church. This book does a good job at pointing out how the two can better understand each other.

I have one primary concern with The Big Idea, and it's a biggie to me. The entire system depends on developing the "big idea" first. As a result, the process as presented in the book requires an overhaul for churches that value a more expository style. But worse (in my opinion), is the fact that the system presented in The Big Idea begins with application rather than beginning with the Text. As the process is layed out in The Big Idea, the creative team figures out what they believe should be the "takeaway" from each Sunday morning, and then goes off in search of "stories, Scriptures, illustrations, insighs, props, and jokes..."

This kind of approach (as the norm) makes me pretty nervous. When you begin with the desired application, you open yourself up to the danger of finding passages that weren't written to say what we make them say. As a result, the Bible can be relegated to a mere illustration of our point rather than the "Big Idea" being the summation of the Bible's point.

I'm not making a statement about whether or not topical preaching is okay. I'm not saying this particular method can't (or isn't) being done well by the good people at CCC and across the planet. I'm simply saying that I get really nervous when we begin with our desired outcome, and overlay Scripture, jokes, and illustrations to make our point.

Don't be discouraged from reading this book. It has some good ideas - more than I can write in a blog entry. But read the process with an eye for how it might be tweaked to begin with the Scripture and end with "the big idea."

Pornified Update

Interesting that since my last post included the words "porn," and "pornography," my web hits per day have more than doubled according to www.statcounter.com.

Doing a key word analysis was both flattering and sickening. Ten sick perverts out there did a google search for "Chris Freeland Porn."

They're probably from Canada.

Pornified

I only threw up twice, but I was nauseous for almost the full 276 pages of this book. This book was twisted, repulsive, disgusting, and if you're in ministry or work around anyone younger than 40 on a regular basis, it needs to be the next book you read.

Pamela Paul is a writer for Time magazine and a freelance writer for many other magazines, and has done the most exhaustive study I've read on the consequences and costs of pornography in (and on) our society.

Pornified includes excerpts from interviews with more than a hundred people from mainstream society, and reveals that the average consumer of porn in today's society isn't the dirty old man down the street; it's the clean-cut middle-class guy (and girl) next door. Porn is no longer the "dirty little secret" between a man and the gas station attendant - it's accepted by a good portion of mainstream society as a perfectly normal thing.

Ms. Paul spends roughly the first half of the book with what amounts to a shock-and-awe description of the kinds of pornography that are available, the history of porn in modern society, and the different perspectives from which men and women view pornography.

Little disclaimer: I'm not a prude. I grew up in public school, and have worked in college, youth, and young adult ministry for around ten years. But this stuff blew my mind. When you hear people talk about "porn" today, they're not talking about an airbrushed supermodel in a relatively tame pose on the pages of Playboy. That's the porn of the pre-internet age where there was still a 'check' on pornography consumption - you had to go out in public to purchase something to satisfy your craving. Today's porn is free, private, and makes Hugh Hefner look like Mister Rogers.

Pornified pictures a world where porn functions just like a drug. You start with something relatively tame and use it until you need something stronger. Then you go off in search of something else stronger. Before long it can take over your life.

The most terrifying part of this book to me was the section that describes the effect of pornography on kids. It points out that many of our kids are being educated about sex and intimacy through the websites that are only two clicks away. Although it's too soon to measure the long term effects, studies already show a skewed ideology in kids' thinking about how human sexuality functions. The long-term effects on marriages and relationships are difficult to imagine.

Again, this book will make you sick to your stomach. It contains language and graphic descriptions that will make you blush, gasp, and vomit at the same time. But you need to read it. I have guys in my office every month who are struggling in this area. I hear of guys almost daily who have fallen in this area. And the problem isn't going to get better through our remaining ignorant.

Buy this book. Buy some Pepto Bismol. Someone you talk to in the future will be glad you did.

Caught Being Good

Many moons ago, the elementary school I attended did something called "caught being good." The idea was simple: Teachers carried around little slips of paper that had "_________ was caught being good" written on the front. They were always on the lookout for kids who were doing the right thing without a knowledge that anyone was watching. When they "caught" you doing something good, they would pull one of those slips out of the paper, write your name on it, and you got to take it to the principal for a "high five."

That was it.

You got a piece of paper, walked to the principal's office, he gave you a high five, and you walked back to class.

The purpose is obvious: good behavior is positively reinforced and rewarded. As a result, students were encouraged that people were watching you do the little things right even when you didn't think they were.

The "prize" wasn't tangible. It cost however much 1/8th of a piece of computer paper costs. We didn't receive a free pizza party, or a sticker, or anything. We got a piece of paper and a high five, but I guarantee you I could find some of those pieces of paper to this day.

In your organization/home/business/church, how frequently do you take the time to celebrate people who are "caught being good?" When you catch people doing the things your organization values behind the scenes, make sure to let them know you notice. Make sure you tell them exactly what you noticed and why it's important. And don't forget to give them a high five. If they're anything like me, they'll remember it forever.

Same Kind of Different as Me

This week, my Monday book review is being posted on Tuesday. Things are a little bit crazy around here. One of these days, I have a cache of other posts I'd like to make about various things, but the tyranny of the urgent keeps knocking down those plans.

I just finished reading "Same Kind of Different As Me," by Ron Hall and Denver Moore.

Let me say first, I rarely read fiction. I can count on one finger how many fiction books I've read in the last couple of years. Part of that was the necessity of reading non-fiction books for graduate school. Part is due to the fact that I've never been one to believe the book is better than the movie. I'd rather get some popcorn, rent the DVD, and finish the story in two hours than invest several days in a story that I don't know beforehand that I'm going to like. And, I figure if the book is even mediocre, it will ultimately become a movie anyway, so I might as well save myself the trouble.

But, nearly everyone in our church is reading this book right now because parts of it took place within the walls of our church. So, I decided to pick it up.

If you're a fiction kind of person, this book is definitely worth reading. It's based on true events, but is written like a work of fiction. The subtitle is "a modern-day slave, an international art dealer, and the unlikely woman who bound them together."

First of all, being an ignorant person from suburban and metropolitan America, I'm ashamed to admit I didn't realize that slavery-like conditions still exist in some part of the United States. This book tells the story of a man who grew up in 20th century Louisiana, on a cotton plantation, living the kind of life most of America left behind in the 1860s. After fleeing the cotton plantation, he ended up on the streets of Fort Worth, TX where he was pursued by a wealthy art dealer who initially wanted nothing to do with him.

If you're a conservative theology buff, you might read some things here and there in the book that make you wince - especially as it relates to superstitious things like ghosts and "visitations," and direct communication from God through dreams and visions. That's material for a different conversation, but shouldn't distract you from reading this book.

The story of these men; a modern-day slave, and a wealthy upper-class international art dealer, and the "unlikely woman who bound them together" is a good story that illustrates what can happen when Christian people do Christian things. Good Works produce Good Will, which provides a Good Platform for the Good News. This is the story of that.

I can't wait for the movie....

Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God

It's been a crazy week. Some guys take hiatus(es?) from their blogs. Recently I've been having to take hiatus(i?) to blog. One of these days I'll get a bit more consistent, but today is not that day.

I just finished a new book: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God, by Larry Osborne.

I have to admit, I was prepared to dislike this book. The flyleaf promises the book is for those who "Don't fit the mold..." are "tired of adjusting to other people's definitions of spirituality..." who feel "traditional spiritual disciplines just aren't working for [them]..." To me, it seemed like it was going to be one of those throw-everything-out-the-window kind of books for anti-establishment people who are discontent with everything the church has stood for over the past several centuries and want a complete rework of everything. Those people wear me out.

This book wasn't like that at all. Obviously, there were things in it that didn't do a lot for me, but overall I really enjoyed it. Here were some of my take-aways.

• We do people a disservice when we offer them one-size-fits-all approaches to discipleship.


• It's unrealistic to expect everyone to become a Timothy or Titus. Timothy and Titus were not the standard fruit of Paul's ministry. They were exceptional. That's the point.


• Over time it was the "cobblers" left behind in Corinth who turned the ancient world upside down, just as much as the missionaries bouncing from town to town.


• Most of our programs for discipleship are linear, but few of our own journeys followed the linear path we prescribe.


• Most growth happens on a need-to-know basis.


• Bible theology and knowledge are important, but they don't equal pleasing God.


• There's a distinct difference between a blind spot and high-handed sin in another person's life.


• God hasn't called us to be world class at everything. You can't have the grace of a ballerina and the body of a sumo wrestler.


• Work to be a better you, not a poor copy of someone else.


• Many of us have a concept of a balanced life that is more a reflection of American values than biblical principles.


• Instead of asking, "how are things going," ask "Am I doing the right things?" In the end, that's all you have control over.


• An amazing number of people swear by things that ought to work but have never really worked for them.


• The recipe for maximized potential is strangely similar to the recipe for a nervous breakdown or broken home.

Crafty Vision

Just got back from South Carolina. The most eligible bachelor in my immediate family (okay, he was the only eligible bachelor left in my immediate family) is now officially "off the market." The wedding went well, and the couple is honeymooning on the beach right now. I love weddings. More on that some other time...

For now, I was just reading in Genesis 11, doing some preparation for a series I'll be teaching this October, and noticed something interesting. You remember the Tower of Babel story, which comes sometime after Noah's ark landed. In Genesis 11:4, the people of the earth say, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."

The idea of crafting a vision to unify an organization is as old as Noah's ark.

But you'll also remember that the people of Babel ended up in big trouble for their vision. The key word in the passage is "ourselves." Read the verse again: "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."

These people were the direct descendants of Noah. They had his testimony, and would have undoubtedly heard of God's declarations about Noah and his descendants. They had an identity - a vision. The problem was, they wanted their own.

As a part of organizations, especially churches, we need to be abolutely sure that we're not in the business of crafting vision for our organization. We shouldn't be able creating a brand/identity for our organization. As leaders of Christian organizations, we must never be in the business of creating vision, but we must always be in the business of casting the vision which has already been established. Otherwise, we run the risk of creating vision and identity that is in direct contradiction to God's desire for us, which is exactly what the people of Babel did. And, just as in the case of the people of Babel, our vision for ourselves will always be shortsighted.

The rationale behind the decision of those in Babel to create their own vision, city, and name, was to prevent being "scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." They wanted a city and name for themselves so badly that they allowed a felt-need to eclipse their greater purpose. In reality, dispersement over the whole earth was a blessing promised to Noah and his sons by God in 9:1.

Their dream was short-sighted, selfish, and either knowingly or unknowingly left God out. And as a result, God fulfilled his blessing to Noah's descendants by judging them.

I worry sometimes that a lot of our Christian organizations set out to craft vision in response to felt needs without ever stopping to consider how that vision might hinder the vision each Christian organization should presuppose.

These are funny:

My infamous pyromaniac uncle is the founder of the Team Pyromaniac Blog. Most of the time their blogs are way over my head. Sometimes they can border on mean-spirited. Often their thoughts are right on, witty, informative and entertaining.

Regardless of whether or not you would consider yourself "emergent" or "postmodern" in your worship preferences, I think you'll find the following pictures amusing.

I don't know if Phil deserves the credit/blame for coming up with these (my guess is that he does), or someone else, but they're a series of pictures along the lines of the old successories pictures. See if they don't at least make you chuckle.

You can see them here, here, and here.

Meanwhile, Kari and I are off to South Carolina. My baby brother is getting married on Saturday, and it's a good excuse to play some golf...

Melt Me

Had a great lunch today with one of the guys who is involved in the young singles ministry to talk about the small group he's leading. He wants to challenge them more effectively and be more intentional about shaping their lives. It was a great conversation - he's the kind of guy you pray God will send you to lead one of your small groups if you're a pastor.

He made a comment that was pretty profound as we were talking about how difficult it is to build into the lives of people.

"When I think about ministry, I'm reminded of that old hymn "Spirit of the Living God," where we sing the chorus 'melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.' But we don't really believe it. Everyone wants to be molded, filled, and used, but nobody wants to melt."

That's good stuff.

It's Harder to Breathe at the Top

For as long as I can remember, I've been obsessed with being the best at whatever I do. Perhaps it's because I'm a sore loser by nature. Maybe it's because I like the recognition and satisfaction that comes from a job well done. At times there are more noble reasons for pursuing excellence in everything I do. Most of the time, it's a mixed bag of the above reasons. But whatever the motivation, I'm often pretty dedicated to charging to the "top" of whatever mountain we're climbing. And not only do I want to get to the top, I want to be there first.

Ignore all the obvious character flaws the above paragraph puts flashing lights around, and play along with me for a while. Because I'm a dreamer by nature, and want to be the best, I spend a lot of time thinking about the future. I love to dream, plan, strategize, think, and hope about what I'll say during my conversation this afternoon with one of our single adults who is struggling with pornography, my premarital counseling session next week with a really cute couple who is doing things right - I even have a "WIAP" (When I'm a Pastor) file in my filing cabinet that started about 10 years ago - before I even started in ministry.

But if I'm not careful, I can spend my whole life thinking about how great things are going to be "when I get to the top" that I miss the fun in the journey, and glamorize "the top" to the point that the picture in my head is an inaccurate portrayal about what "the top" really looks like.

I watched a movie the other night about some guys who climbed Mt. Everest. They spent years planning their trip, days and weeks preparing and climbing the mountain, and 5 minutes at the summit.

5 minutes at the top...

It's hard to breathe at the top.

It's the same thing in our careers and ministries. We can fawn over what life must be like to be the CEO, or the Manager, or the head honcho. But when you get to the top, it's pretty hard to breathe. You're no longer working in the realm of possibility - you're dealing in the world of actuality which never seems to conform to the world you dreamt about.

When I got my first full-time ministry position almost ten years ago, I had a file full of ideas for how to be a great leader. I knew how to craft a vision, mission, to establish core values, and to establish a group identity. I'm embarrassed to tell you how many management books I read in preparation for that job (and subsequent jobs), to only find out that the majority of them are written by dreamers like me who manage in the world of pretend without real people, real problems, and real issues.

In the current ministry where I serve, there are lots of exciting things happening. It's glamorous sometimes, but most of the time it's just plain hard to breathe. Decisions aren't as easy as the fake decisions you make in your head that have no consequences. At the "top" of a ministry, every decision is like that old game of Pick up Sticks: every thing you move has an effect on everything else. You can't change a program without assessing values, and you can't assess values without assessing culture. You can't look at culture without looking at people, and people are messy and change on you just about the time you're ready to make headway.

Leadership is a lot about making good gut decisions, and those make my stomach hurt.

Make no mistake, I love where I'm at. I can see things slowly beginning to shift as lives are changed and perspectives are transformed. I can see light bulbs coming on, and a bigger picture that not a lot of people get to see. But it's a lot harder to breathe than I thought it would be.

Patriotic Worship?

I feel the need to start this post with a little disclaimer: I'm one of the most patriotic people you could ever hope to meet. I'm proud to be an American citizen, thankful for the freedom I enjoy, and participate in our democracy every chance I get.

But as an American pastor, every year on Memorial Day and Independence Day I find myself asking a question that I'm hoping you can help me with: Is it appropriate to sing patriotic songs in a church worship service?

Thousands of churches (including mine) added "America the Beautiful" and "God Bless America" to the music portion of their service this week. Several said the Pledge of Allegiance, and took the offering to the Star Spangled Banner.

And I have to admit, it kind of makes me wince a little.

I understand some of the reasoning. Church is often the only venue outside of fireworks displays that we hear many of those songs anymore. Also, we want to honor those who have gone before us to preserve the freedoms we presently enjoy, one of which we exercise every time we go to church. But I wonder if our message as the Church is not at best confused by a worship team who sings a stanza of "America the Beautiful," changes keys, and begins a hymn or praise chorus?

To me, it's one thing to honor those who have used the gifts, talents, and abilities God has given them to serve in the armed forces during our Memorial Day and Independence Day services much as we would honor a missionary who used his or her gifts, talents, and abilities. It's another thing to pledge allegiance to the American flag, or sing songs about our country during a worship service.

If the Church exists as the Body of Christ, as people who are aliens in this world, with the responsibility to point people to a kingdom that is not of this world, do we not run the risk of confusing that message when we glorify our country in a service designed to glorify Christ?

And what about the people in our churches who are not from the United States of America? What about the exchange student, or temporary worker who is in the States for a contract position and shows up to our church? Doesn't that send them a conflicting message about what the Church is about?

I'd love to hear your comments. Does your church include patriotic music in its services? Do you have an American flag on the stage? As you have thought through the issue, whether or not you're in full-time ministry, what conclusions have you reached?

Transforming Church - Review

I just finished "Transforming Church - Bringing Out the Good to Get Great," by Kevin Ford.

It was recommended by our senior pastor, particularly for its discussion of effective staff relationships. I expected it would be like most of the other hundred or so "make your church great" books I've read over the past several years, but was pleasantly surprised.

Although I'm not sure the book answers all the questions it asks, it's definitely worth reading. Here are some of the things the book said that I thought were noteworthy:

• It's time to help our churches move from consuming churches to connecting and engaging churches.


• Church staffs must function as teams, not families. A team functions with a goal in mind, and is able to rearrange or reassign team members in order to achieve that goal. The family is comfortable with its black sheep, and is often unwilling to confront issues that prevent health because of the relationship with an individual.


• Community/collaboration is inextricably bound to creativity. It is impossible to be truly creative apart from community. It is also impossible to have true community without creativity.


• Churches have become a "dispenser of religious goods and services where people come to get" instead of a "missions station where people are launched to give."


• We should spend more time caring about church health than church success.


• We should be encouraging the people in our church that their "everyday life is an extension of our church's mission."


• True leadership means releasing power for the sake of empowering others.


• Churches fail when they offer an adventure instead of a quest. The adventure seeks treasure rather than transformation. A quest offers a changed life.


• The job of a leader is not to protect people from pain.


• Good leaders regulate stress and energy making sure there is always an element of anxiety and stress in the organization they lead. With too much stress and anxiety, the organization is rendered helpless. With too little stress and anxiety, the organization becomes complacent.

Overall, it was a good book and an easy read. If you're looking for a book on church health that is different from the others you've read, this one is one you should check out.

Follow the Leader

It's almost always during a crisis that you see what kind of leader a person is. Lincoln put his stamp on leadership history during the height of the civil war. Churchill became a leadership icon in the throws of World War II. Rudy Giuliani showed some masterful leadership in the days after September 11th. There is something about a crisis that reveals a leader's true mettle.

This week is Camp Sonshine (Baptists read "VBS") at McKinney Memorial Bible Church. This year the children's ministry leadership decided to hold Camp Sonshine at the Lockheed-Martin recreational facility, which is a pretty sweet complex near the Lockheed-Martin facilities in North Fort Worth. The grounds are complete with basketball courts, several pools, and ammenities that beat the heck out of the piecemeal playground and blacktop pavement we had at VBS growing up.

The only thing missing at the Lockheed-Martin recreational facility is cover from rain.

So yesterday morning, when we woke up at 6:30 to rain coming down at a rate of about 2 inches per hour, I figured it was going to be a crazy day. The kids were scheduled to show up to Camp Sonshine at 8:30, and at 7:30 word came that camp would be moved to the church building. Even if the rain stopped, we were looking at 3 or 4 hundred muddy kiddos.

I drove to the church expecting chaos, but instead I found a very organized group of about one-hundred volunteers working quickly, efficiently, but in an orderly manner to move Camp Sonshine - and hundreds of kids - to a brand new location. This meant hiring some entertainment at the last minute, organizing new games, logistics, and activities for the day, and figuring out a way to get the word to parents and volunteers in a matter of less than an hour.

At the center of the chaos was the Children's Director, Nita Menshew, who has been on the job at McKinney for almost two years.

As I walked into the foyer, expecting chaos, I saw Nita standing in the middle of the room, answering her phone, solving problems, and pointing volunteers in the right direction without skipping a beat. She wasn't panicked. She was smiling, laughing, and calmly making decisions in a split-second that would have normally received a week or two worth of attention.

The volunteers followed their leader, and the entire day went without a hitch. So much so that when my alarm went off this morning at 6:45, and I heard the rain pounding my window, I leaped out of bed - not because I felt like they would need me at the church, but because I wanted to be there to watch a leader at her best.

Great job Nita and leadership team.

Rewards

Seth Godin has another great post today about a genius fast-food promotion:

Freaknomics points us to the greatest fast food promotion in memory. Beat the cashier in a game of rock paper scissors and save a buck.

What I absolutely love about this idea, other than its obvious remarkability, is the way it humanizes the previously automatonized front line worker. Instead of making them invisible, it makes them part of the deal. "Tell your Starbucks barrista a really funny joke, get a free biscotti (knock knock jokes not valid in some states.)"

Why not do this with your accounts payable people? Or give the customer service people the ability to give a prize to the nicest person who calls in each day? What's the worst that could happen--they might use a little judgment, might enjoy the day a bit more, might even start to care.

If you let them.


I love the idea for several of the same reasons. I guess I've always had a soft spot for the guy in the check-out line because I've been there/done that.

One of my biggest pet peeves is the people who go through the checkout line yacking on their cell phone without so much as a "hello" to the guy behind the counter. They're people too - not robots. I love the idea of reintroducing them to the customer, and rewarding the kind of behavior that treats the checkout guy as an individual who is involved in the process rather than a machine who cranks out change.

We don't have a California Tortilla in Fort Worth or I'd be there Wednesday to support the idea... despite the fact that I stink at Paper Rock Scissors.

Culture Shock

As most of you know, Fort Worth and Dallas are only about 20 miles apart in proximity. But I told someone the other day, sometimes I feel like someone airlifted me into a foreign culture and dropped me off. It's a different world over here.

I snapped this picture at a barbeque restaurant some of the guys took me to the other day in Fort Worth. This sign reflects the sentiment of most of the people in Fort Worth.

I've recently discovered that I no longer live in "Dallas/Fort Worth." That name is an insult to people in Fort Worth. Fort Worthers don't care to be identified in the same sentence as Dallas. When they find out you moved over from Dallas, they're quick to point out a more laid-back atmosphere, the lack of traffic, better food, and lower property taxes. In fact, on more than one occasion when I've mentioned I just moved over from Dallas, the response has been "What took you so long?"

It is a little more laid back over here. There isn't traffic like in Dallas. So far, the food does seem to be better. But those are not the only difference between Dallas and Fort Worth.

Fort Worth thrives on industries like Lockheed-Martin, Alcon, and the railroad industry. Dallas thrives on smaller, more entrepeneur-type industries. As a result, the people in Dallas have a much more independently creative type mindset while people in Fort Worth think like engineers. That's reflected in our church big-time. The worship services are more structured, rigid (in a good way), and to-the-point than most of the worship services I've been a part of in Dallas.

It's interesting that both the church I served at in Dallas and the church where I'm currently serving in Fort Worth are functioning at an extremely high level, but neither would work in the other culture. Fellowship Bible Church North would not function well as it is in South Fort Worth. McKinney Church would not function well in a Dallas atmosphere - even though they're only twenty miles apart. And I think that's a good thing. Both churches have such a laser focus on the culture they're attempting to reach that if they were ripped out of that culture, much of their effectiveness would be lost.