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Archives For November 2011

Another Thanksgiving Thought

November 23, 2011 — Leave a comment

As we celebrate another Thanksgiving, it’s appropriate to remember those things we are thankful for.  We all do this to some degree, right?  If nothing else, we should be thankful for the opportunity to be thankful.  But this year, I’ve been challenging those I’m most thankful for to let our thankfulness be a wellspring of life that allows us to give others things to be thankful for.  That’s a mouthful, I know.  Basically I’ve wanted to let my thankfulness be the things that motivates me to bless others.

This year my family worked together to do something that gives someone else something to be thankful for.  We chose as a family this year to enter into the world of fostering care.  We’ve seen the worst, and we’ve seen the best of the system.  The really strange thing, is that at it’s best…it’s still really hard.

As we drove back from letting the young boy that we’ve had for 9 months reunite with his own family, I was struck with how very thankful I am for my own family.  I’m thankful that life hasn’t presented the kind of challenges that forces me to have to reunite with my own kids.  I’m thankful that my children were big brothers and a big sister to someone that needed them desperately.  I’m thankful that this pain my family feels will be made better by us all being together.  Finally, I’m thankful that we get to imagine big things for our family, and act on those things in big ways.

Psalm 105:1 ESV

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!

How has your own thankfulness impacted those around you this year?  

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Six Keys to Leading Awesome People

November 10, 2011 — 1 Comment

I lead a great team of leaders here at my church, and everyday I’m learning to be the leader they need me to be.  In this journey, I’ve discovered 6 important keys to making it happen for my team.

1. Let them be themselves.  You hired them for who they are, let them be that. (Wisdom and Discretion applied as needed.)  

2. Encourage Self Management.  When you hire someone, let them manage their own time and productivity.  (See #3 for corresponding key.)

3.  Hold everyone Accountable.  When letting someone be themselves, and encouraging self management on your team;  it’s imperative that you also couple those things with heavy accountability.  When is the last time you asked your team what their daily and weekly schedule looked like?  Not that you want to change it, but just because you want to see with your eyes what they are doing with their time.

4.  Say Thank You.  The easiest thing to forget when leading others, yet also the easist thing to do.  When you see something great, tell them you saw it.  So easy to do, so easy to forget.

5. Force Teamwork.  You might say, “How can you force something that should be natural?”  Easy, I tell people to work together on projects.  When they do that, they are being a team.  I will not tolerate the solitary person on our team, we all have to buy in and be a team.  And sometimes that takes the leader making that big ask!

6. Set the Example.  Be the change you want to see on your team.  I know it’s easier said than done…but it’s important nonetheless!

This list goes on and on and on and on…what would you add?

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Headed to the Nation’s Capital

November 9, 2011 — Leave a comment

To those outside of Texas, you might think I’m headed to D.C.  But our nation’s capital is in the ATX! And I’ll be there this Friday and Saturday to spend some quality time with great leaders like Matt McKee, Dan Scott, Kenny Conley, Gina McClain, and Sam Luce at the Austin Illuminate Conference.  As cool as it’ll be to be with those Kidmin legends, the best part is to spend time with the church leaders in the Austin area.  I always look forward to Illuminate, because it’s the only conference that gives me massive amounts of quality time with those in the trenches doing ministry to kids and families.

I’ll be leading two breakouts; one staff breakout on how to make your peers love you, and one volunteer breakout on how to take the next step in your volunteer leadership!  It’s gonna be great…and eventually it’s gonna be online for everyone to enjoy.  Stay tuned for all things Illuminate and you’ll have a chance to see and hear from these great leaders without ever leaving your couch!

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The Perception of Change

November 8, 2011 — Leave a comment

I’m a change advocate.  Change has never really scared me, and I look forward to opportunities to do it the right way.  However, I’ve also learned that the the perception of many towards the change you advocate is oftentimes negative.  Strange, huh?  Yet, that’s the result of change.  There will always be the battle between perception and reality.

What was perceived to be the reality before the change, and what is perceived to be the resulting reality after the change; are different from the actual reality.  The problem is that sometimes perception can be so far from reality that it leads to a new conflict.  As is often the case when you advocate and lead change, you as the leader will bear the burden of criticism due to the perceptions of others.

Over the past few months at our church, I’ve made a pretty significant change to our mid-week programming and the change has been overwhelming positive.  It’s been a long-time in the planning, yet was done with prayerful intentions and a high-degree of reluctance to do so.  However, it’s been the right thing for our church at this time. Even in that atmosphere, there is still the battle between perception and reality.

The perception is that I never liked what was here before.  The reality is different.

The perception is that I ran off people who loved the existing program.  The reality is different.

The perception is that I don’t like programs that require large groups of committed volunteers.  The reality is different.

The perception is that now I’ve created a program of lesser value.  The reality is different.

I could go on and on and on about perception vs. reality; but I’m still left living with the perceptions of others.  And that’s going to be allright.  You can’t control someone perceptions of you and your leadership.  [WARNING: I'd tell you to keep an eye out, if the perception of everyone around you is something different than you; that could very well be the sign that you're wrong and they are right! The perceptions I speak of are from people that aren't on the "inside" of the change that's being made, I speak of those that are solely making their perceptions on what they see from a distance.]

The truth is that you can only control your own personal actions, and the steps you take to help kids and families connect with God through the ministry of your church.  Learning to live in a place of health in spite of unhealthy perceptions is not always easy, but it’s required if you’re going to advocate for change.  Being a change agent in a place that even demands for change will not be easy, but it takes someone willing to sacrifice themselves to current perceptions in order to create a longer-lasting perception based in reality.  And that reality takes time.

Are you committed to making the change in spite of the initial perceptions?  Let’s hear from your own journey…

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Why December 25th?

November 7, 2011 — 26 Comments

A few years ago I remember there being a family in our apartment complex that didn’t celebrate Christmas.  The real kicker was that they were ardent Christians, and we’re a really great family.  They didn’t celebrate it, for reasons that are common.  Jesus wasn’t born in December, it’s a roman holiday, etc, etc, etc…  The real funny thing was that another Christian family in our complex noticed this family didn’t have a tree or any presents for the kids…and in the real Spirit of Christmas they set out to correct this assuming the family couldn’t afford to celebrate.

They went out and bought a tree, presents, and Christmas food and showed up unannounced at their doorstep to surprise this family with their own “Christmas Miracle.”  What was really great, was that the family that didn’t celebrate; never let on with this family as to why they didn’t celebrate.  They just took the gift, and celebrated that year.

Well, this year the folks over at “What’s in the Bible?” have tackled this age-old questions of why is Christmas on December 25th?  The videos and curriculum are sure to be content-rich; but they bring up an interesting question.  How do we approach this sensitive subject with kids and those that lead them in our churches?  I mean we do all understand that Jesus wasn’t born on the morning of December 25th, right?  We know that the date we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior is rooted deeply in pagan traditions, right?

I personally have learned to celebrate the birth and coming of my redeemer, in spite of the conflict that December 25th present for us; but how do I prepare my leaders to do this in the atmosphere of being honest and forthright with our kids?

 

Let’s start here:

  • I’d let the information within the WITB videos spur the questions and answers on their own.  When I show this video to our kids at Trinity this month, I’m going to make room for kids to question what they hear.
  • I’m going to encourage that we make the most important thing the most important thing.  The most important thing being…a redeemer was sent for me.  That redeemer was born to a virgin, and laid in a manger in Bethlehem.  That’s truth, and I can hang my hat on that all day long.
  • Be sensitive to those that disagree with the day of December 25th.  It’s easy to assume those people are nuts, but they have their reasons.  When I’ve dealt with these families; I’ve always encourage them to find their own times of the year to celebrate the arrival of a redeemer!

So I’ve spent time today talking about this great video and curriculm idea from WITB; and now it’s time to give yourself a chance to win some all for yourself!  I’ll be giving away a “Why do we call it Christmas? Curriculum Series” DVD, valued at $79.99!  And you can enter right now below, and there are up to 5 different ways to get your name in the drawing.  Let’s play now!

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