Leading the way Jesus led.
Here’s the best thing I’ve read all week:
If the church consists of all those who have believed in Jesus, then church leaders must be less concerned with attracting a bigger flock and more concerned with getting the flock out of the pen.
This awesome nugget comes from Neil Cole and Phil Helfer in their timely and amazing book entitled Church Transfusion: Changing Your Church Organically–From the Inside Out.
On Halloween of 1993, Pasadena, CA had to face the reality of street gangs head on. There was no more room to pretend like the organized crime of America’s gang capital, Los Angeles, wasn’t here too.
That night, three gang-affiliated men gunned down six teenagers who were trick-or-treating. None of the victims were gang-affiliated; they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time that Halloween. Three of the young men died that night.
This tragic crime happened near the intersection of Emerson and Wilson in the Bungalow Heaven section of Pasadena, CA.
More than two years later, the three gunmen were found guilty of first degree murder, among other charges. And nearly three and a half years after the Halloween Massacre occurred the perpetrators were sentenced to death. And though 21 years have passed, the three men who were convicted of this horror on Halloween have yet to receive their ultimate punishment.
The tragedy of this situation isn’t just found in the deaths of innocent young men or the ever-present delays of the justice system; it can also be seen in the fact that a community had ignored the warning signs that this type of gang-related violence was possible. All the necessary components were present. And yet no one seemed to notice and, thus, nothing was done.
There’s no need to look unnecessarily back into the past to pick at proverbial scabs. But when there’s an opportunity for learning to happen and growth to occur, it would be a grand mistake not to look back so that we can move forward.
So, it’s with this philosophy of learning from the past that I offer a few humble suggestions of possible lessons to be learned from the Halloween Massacre of 1993 in Pasadena.
So, what will you do? How will you help lead others to address issues like the ones that led to the Halloween Massacre in Pasadena? And How will you and your community give the responsibility of transformation over to Jesus? Let me know in the comments below!
For the last few years I’ve been doing quite a bit of processing. Specifically I’ve been thinking about mission. What’s my personal mission? What’s my family’s mission? What’s my small community’s mission? What’s my Sunday School’s mission? What’s my church’s mission?
What’s the mission of a follower of Jesus?
And, to be honest, for a follower of Jesus the answer to all of these questions is relatively straightforward: to make disciples (Matthew 28.19-20). The rub, of course, comes with how one defines these things. What is a disciple? How is one made? And what does it mean that our mission as a follower of Jesus is to make disciples?
What would this look like? How would we get from the places where we find ourselves to the places we think we should be?
Honestly, however, there are a ton of people who have written or spoken about this. Most, if not all of them, will do a better job than me. And most, if not all of them, will probably have more experience.
However, I still think there’s some wisdom to be found in simply following the ways of Jesus as we see them in the Scriptures, whether lived out in Jesus’ own life or in the lives of his earliest followers.
As I was doing some of this self evaluation, I ran into some common denominators. Here they are:
These are the things that we tend to aim for. And doing so seems to place us right in line with typical American/Western behavior. But are these things the things we should be aiming for? Or are we way off?
But before we answer the question of what our mission should be, we have to honestly take stock of what our mission appears to be. How would we figure this out?
It’s not my way or the highway…it’s His way is the HIGH way! And what is Jesus’ way?
So the summary of what it means to live out the fact that Jesus is Lord can be stated like this: make disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples.
And that’s it. Our mission is to make disciples. As we examine our behaviors and see that our mission appears to be something else, then we must change it to THE mission! There are no other choices. There is no getting around this. This isn’t just for the super-Christians or the paid church staff.
Making disciples is the call on the life of each and every follower of Jesus. That includes me. And that includes you.
What do you think about the mission of your life as a follower of Jesus? As a community? As a church? Let me know in the comments below!
“You have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Sit down and listen Matt!”
Sadly I’ve forgotten who exactly said this to me. I do know, however, that it was a teacher of mine in seventh grade. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I’m uber-talkative. Especially when I’m sleepy. And when was I not sleepy as a seventh grader!
But this aphorism from my teacher speaks volumes. While its reliance on anatomy and physiology is cutesy; the truth behind it is solid. Listening is important, even more important than talking.
By: Travis Isaacs
Listening is a skill that needs to be developed.
Think about this — there are four primary types of communication: 1) writing, 2) reading, 3) speaking, and 4) listening. Formal education in the West centers almost completely on writing and reading, with a tiny bit of speaking thrown in, such as in a public speaking course here or there. But there is almost no training for an average student with regard to listening. Almost none.
Isn’t that crazy? One of the most important human skills is completely left off the educational menu! One of my favorite leadership thinkers, Michael Hyatt, says that listening is a lost art, and it appears he is right!
What kind of impact has this oversight had on us, our culture, our leadership skills, and our capacity to be missional?
So, what are some ways that listening will help us as we seek more and more to be on mission with God, accomplishing his will where we work, live, and play?
Therefore, friends, we need to become more effective listeners! What are some ways that you think you can become a better listener? Let me know in the comments below.
Richard Sherman during 2013 Seattle Seahawks training camp. After the AFC Championship game, Sherman made some comments that many have interpreted as highly arrogant. What do you think?
Thanks to a crazy post-game interview by Seattle Seahawks standout cornerback Richard Sherman, arrogance has been on my mind. Click on the link in the previous sentence to watch a video of the interview or you can read what was said here:
Erin Andrews: Richard, let me ask you; the final play, take me through it…
Sherman: Well, I’m the best corner in the game! When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you’re going to get! Don’t you ever talk about me!
Andrews: Who was talking about you?
Sherman: Crabtree. Don’t you open your mouth about the best! Or I’m going to shut it for you real quick! L-O-B!
Andrews: Alright, befo-…and…Joe, back over to you!
I don’t want to judge Sherman directly. Instead, I want to examine why I didn’t like his comments.
So, why didn’t I? One word: arrogance.
Again, I want to be clear, I’m not accusing Sherman of being arrogant. What I’m saying is that his comments certainly sounded awfully arrogant. I mean, the guy talked about being the best twice in the matter of fifteen seconds.
And when I heard Sherman’s comments I immediately cringed. And as I’ve thought about why I cringed, it forced me to think a bit about arrogance and how it comes across to others. As a follower of Jesus and/or as a leader, this is an important topic. How people perceive you is a big deal! It can make or break your witness to someone and it can sap whatever leadership capital you may have built up over time.
Silly cat!
So, what does all of this mean for followers of Jesus and/or Christian leaders? Don’t be arrogant! We must fight against our natural tendencies to toot our own horns! We need to remember that we are all messed up and broken sinners in constant need of God’s grace and anything that we do well is only thanks to the blessings of God and the help of others. In other words, we need to live out Philippians 2.3-4:
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.
What do you think? What affect does arrogance have in our relationships? Let me know in the comments below!
By: Kheel Center
The power of the spoken word, of language, has long been known to have great influence to help create change for an intentional leader.
Surely you’ve heard it said that a picture is worth a thousand words. And that people care more about what you do than what you say. And that your body language communicates way more than your words do.
What do these conventional sayings have in common? Each, in its own way, seems to be saying that verbal communication – language – is not as important as other things, such as images, modeling, and posture.
Don’t get me wrong: graphics, behaviors, and how we hold ourselves are important, vitally important even! But their importance in no way diminishes the value of actual spoken language.
What we say matters. How often we say it matters. The manner in which we say it matters. The contexts in which it is shared matters.
Language can make a huge difference one way or the other for a leader.
And perhaps the most important kind of language that we have at our disposal is the analogy.
By: Peretz Partensky
The USS IKE Aircraft Carrier
An analogy is a language tool used in which the speaker compares one thing with another, usually for the purpose of clarification.
Here’s an example — Sometimes large institutions are compared with aircraft carriers. The analogy usually is referring to the fact that it takes miles and miles for an aircraft carrier to turn, not to mention the fact that it takes the cooperation of lots and lots of people to execute the turn.
The implication is clear: when a speaker uses the aircraft carrier analogy he or she is communicating that the institution is slow and cumbersome.
There may be truth in this analogy for a given institution. Maybe there’s a ton of red tape to wade through in order to get things done. And perhaps it takes the shared vision and effort of several people and/or departments in order for real change to happen. Great.
But what if the language we are using isn’t helping the situation. What is actually being communicated by constantly referring to the institution as an aircraft carrier? At best that change is slow and hard-fought; at worst that change is so difficult that it shouldn’t even be attempted.
And if an analogy like this is being used over and over and over again within an institution, it can begin to influence the entire culture of the institution. Sticking with the aircraft carrier analogy — if it gets repeated a bunch, then a culture begins to be created in which real change is almost never attempted.
As leaders, no matter the size of our influence, it’s our responsibility to pay attention to the language being used, especially the language that we use ourselves. So, if you find yourself in a situation in which a somewhat negative analogy is being used (such as the aircraft carrier analogy), start using a new analogy (like a sports team) or re-vision the old analogy (“you know, aircraft carriers do, in fact, turn!”).
One of the key traits of a leader is the ability to change institutional culture. And perhaps the best tool to bring about change is language.
Negative language will promote decline, decay, and disillusionment (forgive the alliteration!).
On the other hand, positive language will help develop vitality, vigor, and verve (okay that one was on purpose!).
What do you think? How powerful is language in creating institutional culture? Let me know in the comments below!
geralt / Pixabay
One option is good, one option is great. How do you make a decision?
You have a decision to make, you’re under a time crunch, and lots of people are counting on you! What do you do?
Let’s practice: Make a decision between running forty miles or eating your favorite meal. Which did you choose?
Here’s another: Would you rather get punched in the face or spend two hours doing your favorite hobby?
One more: Would you rather run over someone’s pet with your car or land your dream job?
These are all ludicrous, right? Not many of of us would have a hard time making any of those decisions. Deciding between the bad and the good is surprisingly easy. There’s an important caveat though: It’s easy to make a decision between something good and bad in a vacuum. Given pressure, temptations, etc., things could get more tricky. But, in general, it’s fairly easy to see the difference between the bad and the good.
This one is harder, both in a vacuum and in the real world. How do you do it? It’s not as easy to give examples for this one since everyone’s definitions of “good” and “great” are so driven by personality, context, culture, etc. But when you’re faced with a decision like this, you know it. In fact, almost any decision that you’ve ever struggled with is likely one in which you had to pick between something good and something great.
Things can get even more complicated though. Usually when you are actually making the decision, both options seem good or both options seem great. It’s not until weeks, months, or years have passed that you can see which one was really just good and which one was great.
So what do you do? How do you make a decision between the good and the great? Here are a few thoughts:
How do you make decisions? How do you decide between the good and the great? Let me know in the comments below!
By: Forest Service Northern Region
Seeing a black bear on a hike is some adversity that can cause focus!
My wife and I were on a hike recently in the local mountain range just northeast of our home. We were doing what we always do on a hike: solving the world’s problems by chit-chatting together. Then, at least a quarter of a mile down the path, we saw a black bear cub. Immediately the mantra “Where there’s a cub, there’s a mama bear” came to our minds and we got a bit scared.
The cub was blocking the only path we knew between us and the car. What should we do?
Here’s what we ended up doing: I asked my wife to keep her eyes on the bear and I opened up my pack. I pulled out my nice-sized pocket knife that I carry with us on hikes. Then we switched and she grabbed her pepper spray. Luckily the bear started down the path going away from us, so we followed slowly. Along the way I picked up an old signpost that I could use as a distraction/weapon as a last resort.
After following the bear for ten or fifteen minutes it went off the trail and we lost sight of it. That didn’t matter much. In fact, it may have made matters worse. Until we were in the car and driving back to our place I didn’t lose focus on protecting my wife and myself from a bear attack!
In my experience nothing creates focus or intentionality quite like adversity. Now please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that you or I should go out looking for adversity all willy-nilly. That’s just stupid. Why? Because adversity will find you!
And when it does, you have two choices really: 1) prepare to confront it head-on to the best of your abilities or 2) completely freeze up and be consumed by it. From experience let me tell you that number 2 just doesn’t work as a long-term strategy!
So, here are a few tips that I’ve learned about how to focus when facing adversity:
How do you deal with adversity? Did I leave anything out? Let me know in the comments below!
Hans / Pixabay
I read an interesting post on Fast Company’s website today called “Popularity Means Nothing–The Missing Step to Startup Success.” In the article Bhavin Parikh and Aaron Schwartz make a convincing claim that alignemnt is a key factor for success. They share five ways of creating alignment. In this post I’d like to apply these ideas to creating missional alignment in a Christian community.
Doing these five things can certainly build alignment into a missional community. If we did each of them better, then it would create a greater buy-in from everyone, thus helping us fulfill the Greatest Commandment and the Great Commission!
What do you think? What other sorts of things might create missioanl alingment?