Near and Far Faith

I've seen it through all my ministry experience - from the student missions trips to leading a team of musicians - to work with people you must be flexible.

We are tattered selfish people - all of us - prone to selfishness. Whether in ministry or not, working with people requires you to be able to change and adapt to that selfishness within the world and fight running from discomfort. Those who cannot - well everyone can - those who will not will be disillusioned with society, leaders, even God himself. This is a world of continuous transitional change and we are the people living in it causing it to change. To think that what worked before will work now is dangerously cautious. To think that people will always do it this way is a cop out on relationship investing.

The cool thing is that once a culture is built to see the transition and change as the norm, from the big decisions to the little tweaks, they thrive within it. Alan J. Roxburgh wrote a book about this phenomenon of change and we as leaders leading through it that's been just beating with my heart - it's called "The Sky is Falling".

I watched a great example of the culture built to change this week with our worship team. We ended up, through some miscommunication, without a drummer at rehearsal. As we had only found out about our percussion-free team at rehearsal, we had to change quickly and still produce a quality project for our family service this weekend. The team transitioned smoothly and quickly into an "unplugged" format. We got out of practice on time and received a lot of positive feedback from the congregation about the music.

Change is not good. Change is normal. Change and transition is reality.

Nehemiah 3:1 - Then Eliashib the high priest and the other priests started to rebuild at the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set up its doors, building the wall as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and the Tower of Hananel.

How easy would it have been for HIGH PRIEST to just delegate the task of rebuilding the wall? That position was... well... high. For me, delegation comes naturally - too naturally. It's not because I don't like to work, I just know that the task requires more than just my skill so others must participate. The problem I stumble over a lot is not putting the right people on the right tasks. The downfall of this logic is a lack of getting my hands dirty. If I work side by side with all of us that are trying to complete the task, I'll see the weaknesses and holes and be able to fill them. But that's uncomfortable - that's admitting that we're on the same level. It's comfortable to be the boss - the delegaTOR.

It really comes down to investment - am I willing to invest in people? The task then is the source of the issue - too often we make the task "winning" people, when it should be investing in them no matter what their spiritual decision may be at the end of the service on Sunday. Winning the lost is short-sited. Continuous life change was Jesus' goal and should be ours.

I have this addiction...

It's T-shirts

I bought this one as soon as I saw it on Ben's blog.

And no... I will not be that guy that wears the event T-shirt to the event.

We decided as a leadership team that I would begin to track my hours. I knew in the back of my mind the kind of results this would yield, but it still is really challenging. I'm finding I'm not focused. At least not as focused as I should be. I jump from one task to the next without full completion. The result is mediocre fruition.

So I'm starting this week differently. I'm listing the tasks for the week and prioritizing them. Then I'm going to stick to it.

This feels so basic and even immature. But growth, I've found, mostly feels this way. That's why it's so easy not to grow. The challenges are not exciting exhilarating mountains. They are many times mundane minute by minute changes that we've spent a lot of time allowing to stew and set. I'm convinced though that without these mundane changes, we will not be adequately prepared for the big exhilarating mountains when they come.

Ben Arment challenged me to read through Nehemiah in a phone conversation last week and Nehemiah sets a great example of patient change without too many words and speeches, marketing and hoopla. It's the life that happens when we're not paying close enough attention that will change the future.

I moved Tate's crib out of his room this morning and replaced it with his Big Bed. He is not old enough to understand the implications or the huge growth step that has just transpired. He has entered a new chapter. He is about to have to learn a whole new set of rules.

It reminds me of my journey with God. We had a great discussion time last night within our high school small group and that always makes me wish that I would've known then what I know now. But I wouldn't... unless I'd done what I've done since then. Most of the time I didn't know that I was about to grow significantly - be forced to choose growth or digression. But looking back over the years since I was a teenager, I'm a different person.

It just gives me a renewed sense of determination in any season.

This is my dad and me. He died on June 3rd, 2004. I like remembering him. He was a pastor too. In fact someone on my dad's side of the family has been a pastor for 4 generations.

We've been through a lot of death over the past few years as a family. We've learned how to deal with it though experiencing it. It doesn't derail us any more, and that's not sad, it's reality.

Went to Washington DC this weekend... with the flu. My West Coast friend, Thomas, was in town on a business trip and I took the chance to hang out with him for the weekend.

I love DC as a city, but what I was really excited about was visiting National Community Church. Mark Batterson is a nationally known pastor and writer and the church met just a block from where Thomas and I stayed. Their service was great, but two things really stood out:

1. Their Media. They had a custom video countdown that rocked and that went into a promo video about the church itself - the different campuses, their vision, that sort of thing. The movie theater created a small church environment, but their lighting (which they had permanently installed all their pars and source-4s in the theater), their banners, and the videos were top notch - way above anything we've ever produced.


2. Mark's Vocabulary. Don't get me wrong, he was easily understood, but I was challenged and moved forward quicker than in a typical sermon (even one of my own). It was like great humor that wasn't dumbed down, but held just at your level where you could grasp it, but only if you stood up and listened.

Getting to meet Mark and Chat for a few minutes was a privilege. This was the In a Pit guy!!

Unfortunately, I had to cut my trip short. I wasn't going to come home 'til Monday but I took off Sunday after the NCC service. Which meant that I had to cancel dinner with Ben Arment. That killed me. I was really looking forward to chatting with him about leadership. Have to wait 'til Whiteboard now.

So tomorrow has come a bit later than I thought (thanks Sarah). Here's the low down on this amazing book:

The majority of the book is written it what it calls a "fable". The story illustrates the principles in the book and puts faces on people. The result is walking away from it saying "Oh I'm definitely him and that's you!" It makes it more... feelable for the team to identify the dysfunctions and the parts that they each play in proliferating them.

The dysfunctions are:
Studying this book has begun a process in our team. We are now heading for a tighter team - better leadership - less gaps in responsibility - and ultimately better communication. Anyone on any team should read this book. It's an easy read - even for me. But be warned fellow A.D.D.ers - the first chunk of the book is interesting and motivating. However the last 2 chapters or so, where the story ends and the author (check out his website) goes into detail and exercises, will take you as long as the first 20.