I want to take you to a place where, frankly, we aren’t invited. For just a minute, let’s be one of “those” people we often gripe about – those rubberneckers on the highway, who seem fascinated with somebody else’s messes.
In this case, we’re creeping up to a closed bedroom door, where on the other side, we can hear muffled sobs.
A man’s sobs.
A few days ago, somebody from home had rocked his world. The news was bad, and every ounce of optimism he once had was crushed.
You should have been here yesterday. He was really blubbering then. And he will be again tomorrow. Fasting, too. And praying. Lots of praying.
But as he cries and prays and cries and fasts and cries some more, something happens. [click to continue…]
No telling how many times I’ve said to someone, “Put this in your oven and let it bake for a while,” or “I don’t have this all sorted out yet – it’s still in the oven.”
I thought I’d share some of the “bread” that’s in my oven right now. Here are seven half-baked, half-raw ideas I’m heating up. I may toss ‘em. I may cook ‘em up. Put them in your oven too, and let’s see what comes out. You can help, if you’d like, by sharing your thoughts in the comments below.
+++++++
There is no such thing as a porcelain healer. There are expert healers, wounded healers, bloody healers, spiritual healers. But if your goal is to look pretty on a shelf or remain detached from the broken, the sick, the wounded, or the dying, you aren’t much use. For God’s sake, stay out of the way of those who are.
+++++++
“The Lord has made everything for its own purpose…” (Proverbs 16:4). If God is purposeful, He must be faithful to complete His purpose. Otherwise, He’s an idiot or impotent, a scoundrel or attention-deficit, careless or passive. In other words, if He is purposeful but not faithful, He’d be created in our image.
+++++++
Even my dog hates closed doors.
+++++++
The Ultimate test of a leader is whether he will “lay down his life for his sheep.” In other words, will he say no to his instinct toward self-preservation and do what is best for the people he leads? If you must maintain your position, your salary, your perks, or your title at all costs, you are no leader.
+++++++
“Have you ever considered how often we judge ourselves by our intentions while we judge others by their actions? Yet intention without action is an insult to those who expect the best from you.” –Andy Andrews, The Noticer.
+++++++
Having a wallet that’s an inch thick is NOT a status symbol. (Wait for it… wait for it… Here it comes… What’s in YOUR wallet?)
+++++++
Overheard on “Criminal Minds” a few weeks ago: “Scars remind us of where we’ve been, but they don’t have to dictate where we are going.”
(The Twelve Ways of Christmas, Part 5: The Way of Watching)
Ken Johnson’s answer had become automatic, though dead-on accurate. Whenever someone found out he had flown helicopters for the army in Viet Nam, they would often ask, “So what’s it like to be a pilot in Viet Nam?”
“Months of boredom,” Ken would say, “followed by 15 minutes of sheer terror.”
Ken’s military training, and his subsequent years as a police detective, had made him an expert at noticing things that others were oblivious to. He would pass a random building in a strange city and mutter, “Somethin’ not right going on in there.” He could spot and usually identify one of 18 different kinds of smiles, or when an interviewee was lying or hiding something. But none of his experience or training, including the gritty lessons learned from a failed marriage and some very tense relationships with two of his adult children, could have prepared him for this.
Somebody took a shortcut to Ken Johnson’s heart. [click to continue…]
Aunt Ruth was neither my aunt, nor was she named “Ruth.” Through a set of circumstances I don’t have time to relate, “Aunt Ruth” was what I wound up calling her.
Aunt Ruth had eyes that danced long after her feet were unable to. She defied aging – said she didn’t have time or sense enough to grow old. She detested religiosity and people who took themselves too seriously. “Fuddy Duddy Christians,” she called them. Aunt Ruth was wise. Through her sometimes-sharp exterior, she loved me. And she taught me one of the most important lessons I ever learned.
“Life’s full of mysteries,” Aunt Ruth said. In fact, she said it a lot. Aunt Ruth loved mysteries. Not the murder-type, but those principles in life that defy logic. It always amused her to get me in an argumentative mode and throw out one of her “mysteries.”
Like the time I was angry because someone had been spreading lies about me. “I’m gonna find out who started it, and set them straight!” I informed her.
“Forget it,” Aunt Ruth said. “Get to the bottom of it, and all you get is some stirred up mud and a mad catfish.” [click to continue…]
Just across from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem is a small mountain called Moriah. Today the Dome of the Rock stands as the old city’s most visible landmark. But there was a time when, on that very site, one of the most striking ancient structures of all time stood, calling the people of Israel to worship God. I’d like to tell you why the Solomon’s temple was located there.
It all started with a colossal failure in leadership that left 70,000 people dead.
And the leader? Israel’s wonder-boy, David.
You remember David, right? [click to continue…]
Last week I was having a “what do I do” conversation with a youth pastor in another city. Seems he found himself at an impasse with his boss – the senior pastor of the church – over what leadership was supposed to look like. His take on it: the “leader” isn’t leading anybody. Not him, not the others involved in the problem. Nobody.
A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a frustrated children’s pastor about a supervisor who was repeatedly letting important details fall through the cracks. It got so bad, the entire church leadership team was hindered in getting their work done.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve counseled or consulted with employees or constituents – inside and outside Church World – who are crying out for visionary, heart-based leadership. All they get instead are insecure emperors, oilers of the machinery, or absent-minded trips down memory lane.
Whenever I hear yet another story of position holders who are failing the people they’re supposed to be leading, I have two knee-jerk reactions. First, I want to take up the constituents’ offense. I want to bark and growl and roll my eyes and look incredulously and fuss and fume. Second, I wonder if anybody could issue the same complaint about me if they were completely honest.
Just for laughs, why don’t we stick out necks out and try on an idea. Leadership failures aren’t the result of somebody setting out to ruin an organization or to make your life or work miserable. (Hey, I said “try it on”… if it doesn’t fit, we can fuss and fume some more later.) Assuming that’s true, then, where do we go wrong? How do leaders begin to suck the life out of people or organizations? Here are 10 things to watch for: [click to continue…]
OK, so there’s this guy who’s asking his brother-in-law for a major favor. This isn’t like lending a wheelbarrow or babysitting the kids for a weekend. This order’s pretty tall. As in,
Could you leave your family?
Oh, and your country, too?
And help me babysit my family of three million?
Hey, what’s a family for?
And get this – all indications are that that the brother-in-law did it.
Curious yet? I sure would be, for several reasons: [click to continue…]
I expected to learn some things and be reminded of some things when I made my first trip to Thailand. I was not disappointed. To put an exclamation point on our trip, here are some things I learned along the way…
You may think you know what humidity is, but you’re wrong.
My wife had one unending childhood adventure.
Churches everywhere are made up of humans, with human needs, human potential, and human flaws.
Pastors may not speak the same language, but the leadership issues they face are the same worldwide.
It’s amazing the trust you can gain with a sincere smile. [click to continue…]
Over the last two weeks, I have spent meaningful time with six different pastors who live 12 time zones away from me. Each is uniquely gifted, varied in experience and have completely different assignments. In the course of that time, I’ve seen and heard some things, learned some things, observed some things. Here’s a sampling:
- Each pastor has his own unique model or approach for ministry.
- Each is convinced his ministry model is the right one, at least for him.
- Each has questions or concerns, if not open criticism, about other models of ministry practiced by others.
- Nearly every one of them has been hurt pretty deeply by people in Church World.
“What are you teaching them about?” my daughter asked – referring to our upcoming pastors and leaders training in Thailand.
“Leadership,” I said.
“Well, can I ask you something? Is there a way – I’m not sure how to say this – is there a way to ‘dumb down’ leadership training?”
My pause meant, “Keep going.”
“I have to train these fifth-and-sixth-grade leaders every day at FROG camp for about 30 minutes on being a leader, and I was wondering how I could explain biblical leadership on their level.”
I did a random brainstorm with her. Talked about David and Joshua and Paul and Jesus. Hurled out Bible passages like Joshua 1:1-9, 2 Timothy, 1 Peter 5:2-4, 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. She said “thanks,” but I hung up with the feeling that I hadn’t “dumbed down” anything.
That got me to thinking later. I have a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership. I’ve spent years studying theories and models, biblical principles and best practices. But none of them – none – involved fifth- or sixth-graders.
Maybe we have it backwards. Rather than presuming to teach 11-year-olds all about leading, maybe we should try to learn some things from them. [click to continue…]
