RIGHT BACK AT YA……

I love the idea that because of beautiful grace God does not give me what I deserve.

I just wish I wan’t so good at returning the favor…..I rarly give Him what He deserves.

Anyone else feeling that pain

THE CHURCH…..A PLACE FOR THE SICK?

Sometimes when I hear people talk about the church and how it functions it seems like on some levels it has become a hospital that might ask you to leave if you show symptoms of sickness.

that can’t be what Jesus had in mind……..

 

mmmm…..I feel better now that I got that out

Hey, Thanks for the kind word…..

So if your anything like me criticism is a bitter pill that you have realized must be taken but sometimes you have to do the old “1 2 3 go” a few times before you actually take the leap.

We have all had our fair share of “honest Feedback” . Now on the outside I usually handle it like I am John Maxwell himself, but on the inside I would say I am somewhere in the ranks of Freddy Kruger and Jason Bourne on a really bad day. Once I repent of all my reasons why that certain individual has no right to criticize me and realized I am being a bit of a Jerk. It causes me to think through what I should do with criticism when it comes. Somethings need to be a reactive system in our lives where we began the process before we even think about it. So here is the process I hope will become reflexive for me in the face of criticism.

a) evaluate. Sometimes it is unnecessary to do anything with criticism on a wide scale. but it is always necessary to evaluate it before acting on it or dismissing it. i would even go as far as saying if you have evaluated it and decided to dismiss it take another spin on the evaluation ride before you really dismiss…sometimes the second time around gives more space so you can be more subjective.

b) educate. This goes for you as well as the people around you. you may find that the advice that was offered is coming from someone who simply does not have the context of why you do what you do. They need education. With humility and grace we can walk them through and help them hopefully understand our actions a little better. If it is you that needs the education I would suggest some questions: Q. Why did I decide to do things that way? Q. Is there a better way for me to do this?

c) eliminate. I don’t mean the people who offer the feedback…if need be eliminate the action or attitude that brought on the feedback in the first place. If you have sincerely evaluated and found nothing that deems change then eliminate the thought, don’t ponder on things that have no value they will only fester into thoughts that have no reality. If change is needed and you follow through eliminate the hesitation to make a decision because you don’t want to repeat the same mistake. When we all realize that we are simply humans  that mess up from time to time it will eliminate much stress from our lives.

If the same mistakes are repeated….then repeat the process. eventually “we shall overcome”

THE FLIP SIDE OF LEADERSHIP

When I was a young boy(22) I remember thinking that leadership is hard. In fact I thought it was the hardest thing I had ever set out to do. Now that I am an old man(35) I have come to realize I was wrong. Turns out that once you have packed in a few learning years read some books listened to a few key podcast and attended a brilliant conference suddenly it all changes. When you have accumulated information it becomes way harder to be led. The more I think I know the less I like to be let. It is the evil tensioninside that I must overcome.

Knowledge puffs up……Thanks Mr. Solomon.

the power of connection

letters are one of the most powerful forms of communication we have. Think about it,  for us in the Americas… 26 characters form the most profound things that have the potential to encourage or destroy life in a moment’s time.

letters combined in a certain patter form words…which join together to create a coherent thought…that can be spoken into a profound statement…that has the ability to change the way we think and function.

it’s crazy when you think about it:

“i have a dream”

             -Martin Luther King Jr.-

“That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind”

             -Neal Armstrong-

“if you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one”

             – Mother Teresa-

“it’s not what your country can do for you”

             -JFK-

“let’s roll”

            -Todd Beamer-

“Christians don’t tell lies, they just go to church and sing them” 

            -A.W. Tozer-

“it is finished”

            -Jesus-

what difference are the letters you’re using to form words that are creating statements making in the world around you?

lession numeral dord (umm…obviosly four in turkish)

being born with leadership does not make you a leader.

There has been a lot of debate on this one in the deep dark realms of leadership. Are you born a leader or can leadership be taught? my answer is YES! leading effectively is not easy, actually leading ineffectively is not so easy either. This is what I have noticed, there are ao many people with potential that have no clue how to lead. they may make decisions and people may follow but if that is the definition of leadership than we are all in trouble.

I believe in the “leadership is influence” statement, but in the definition of a leader I would also add that it is someone who is leading people with the concern of the people first and theirs second. You can be in charge and people can be carrying out your desires but that my friend is dictatorship not leadership. If your forcing a group of people in a direction that not leadership, If your casting a compelling vision and people are volunteering   joining your team and loving it, that is leadership.

there are a lot of people who are living with untapped leadership qualities that they were born with, but they need someone to come along side of them and help develop them from a person with charisma into a person that can lead.

So hats off to the teachers, group leaders, coaches, children’s pastors, student pastors and anyone else who has the privilege to sit down with a kid and help mold them into a leader of the future.

Lead well, and lead for them not you.

thank you timmy’s

pounds of ice on the car……bad

loads of snow on top of the ice on the car……bad

no electricity until thursday……bad

my tree branch through the roof of the neighbors shed ……bad

finding out roll up the rim started again this morning……aaaa no words to describe the goodness

lesson numeral tlete (umm..obviosly three in Lebanese)

My heart gets cold faster than it gets hot!

     Ever been in one of those situations where you are the last to know a very important point of information, like “O my bad we changed the time of that meeting” or “hey by the way that toilet is not working” (remember dumb and dumber…hehe). That’s the way I feel about my heart all the time. for some reason despite the fact that I have been with me my whole life I don’t seem to know my heart yet.

It can quickly fake me out, it shows its ugly little face but has developed a unbelevable ability to disguise its motivation.

A few things I have noticed:

- I am usually the last to notice the coldness of my heart.

- My spiritual fever is way more evident to all than I would like to admit.

I think it all boils down to the good ol saying Trash in trash out. The day I fully realize I am what I eat (spiritually speaking) everyone around me would be better off.

APPLICATION:

A brilliant friend of mine (friend is a stretch I am more of a stalker) Bill Johnson said this the other day.

Physical and Spiritual are two different things, when I want to be hungry in the physical I stop eating when I want to be hungry spiritually I need to eat. When I devour spiritual topics my heart developes a hunger for those things.

Cold Hear? Eat something to warm it up. We are what we eat.

lesson numeral deux (…ummm thats french for two)

Getting things done does not equal success.

For a long time this idea escapes me, and to be completely honest at times it still does. Just because something is completed on time and even at a level of professionalism does not always mean that it was a success. In my opinion the easiest way of getting things done is doing them yourself.   The most rewarding way of getting things done is doing it with a group of people. we should always choose the latter. The perk of going at it alone is that you always think your idea is going to rock someones face off. The perk of going at it with a team is they save you the embarrassment of finding out your idea did not rock any faces off any where on any planets. Team is demanding, it’s not easy, it’s complicated, it takes more work, but in the end the product is ten times better and the journey that you share with the people helping you is worth it all.

So here are some questions that I want to remember to ask my self at the end of a completed project:

- Who helped me make it happen? (imaginary friends do not count as team)

- Was there anything that could have been done better? (Honesty is a fat pill that’s hard to swallow)

- if I repeated this tomorrow what would I do differently? (Thinking back is always helpful when you think forward just ask Marty Mcfly)

- Was I alone at the finish line? (This doesn’t mean your fast, it just means your alone)

- How many bodies are in the path of completion? (if your pool of helpers gets smaller and smaller for each project…..it means your killing them)

- Did I enjoy the process? (If you hate what you do, and you are in control of that….well thats just a bummer for you)

Enjoy….

lesson numeral un (…ummm thats french for one)

I was asked to reflect on last year and share some insight that I have gained in 2010… so figured I would share them because I can not think of anything else in my life fascinating enough to blog about so here comes a series for all you…that one you that reads this.

Stinken lid….i hate the lid…..

The infamous(that’s more than famous) John Maxwell introduced us to the “law of the lid” seeing is how I am a NT(that’s new testament) dweller the word “law” scares the bageebees out of me. but I really think this one is true. particularly when it comes to spiritual leadership. i know it transcends all leadership but my lesson in 2010 has been a spiritual one.

I am a lid to the people around me. For those on the teams that I lead, for those that dwell in the house I (really the bank) owns, to the individuals that happen to cross my path. My spiritual fever has the potential to be their lid. now I realize that this may be a bit of an overstatement, obviously people can grow past me. But in my experience more times than not when I am in a leadership position they grow under me. no disrespect ment, there just seems to be a follow the leader deal that happens.

So for me, I need to keep my gaze on the lid, not FIXED on it but on it. I figure  if I keep my eyes FIXED on Christ while keeping the Lid in the peripheral (you should comment simply because I used that big of a word…seriously). I will naturally grow past it.

I am a lid….I hope I am not one of those ones that’s stuck and then you have to run it under hot water and smash it to get it open….that seems painful.