Things to Check Out

Here are some things that caught my eye this week:

My friend Casey Ross is launching his new blog.  The main content will center around ”how” things are done.  He’s a great high-capacity leader – you should subscribe to his rss feed.  You’ll have a great return on investment (ROI) for your reading time.

Craig’s posts on time saving tips were interesting – if you need to take back some of your time each week – check these out and add some more margin to your life.  Tip 1, Tip 2, Tip 3, Tip 4, Tip 5

Tony Morgan’s been doing lots of interviews on his blog lately.  His interview with NewSpring worship leader Lee McDerment is great – watch parts one and two here – lots of wisdom & humility.

Mark Batterson had a great post titled ”Imitation is Suicide” about being yourself, continuing to learn, and leading out of your uniqueness

Sherry Moorhead had this quote on her blog about a key role volunteers can play in the experience of your guests:

Sharing the encouragement « Sherry Moorhead via kwout

Leading in the Valleys

I read this on Perry’s blog this week from Brian Houston of Hillsong Church - “Leadership is proven in the valleys, not on the mountain tops.

 

That’s a great idea, and one that proves itself to be true over and over again.  The fact is, it’s really easy to lead on the mountain tops.  While some leadership ability is needed, when an organization, family, friendship, or group is experiencing a mountain top, often times it seems like they’re running themselves.  In the good times it’s relatively easy to lead, easy to love, and easy to be a friend.  It’s easy to lead when everyone respects your leadership, fulfills a unique role by acting out of their strengths, your children just made the honor roll or received a college scholarship, and your friends are experiencing success in their lives.

 

Leading through the valleys is a different story.  It’s not quite as easy to lead when it seems like no one respects you, or your input is not valued.  The decisions are much harder when it looks like you’ve got a bus full of the wrong people in your organization.  Although you still love them, it’s not as easy when you child throws a tantrum in the middle of a store or just got suspended from school.  It’s hard when your friend who was doing well the last time you saw them now wants nothing to do with you and seems to be turning away from God.

 

The true nature of a leader is proven when things are tough.

 

How have you/are you leading through the valleys?  What encouraging stories have you heard about others leading through the valley?

Things to check out

Here are some things that caught my eye this week.  Hopefully they’ll be a good resource or at least an interesting read.

JD Greear - had a great series of posts about questions to ask when you face a closed door.  He suggests - always ask, pray the sheep prayer, and always forward.  He also has a great post here, from a couple of weeks ago about small groups.  

Ben Arment – had an interesting post about leaders, their iconic symbols, and the importance of the symbols to a leader’s legacy - churchill and his cigar, lincoln and his black hat.  I’m not really sure I have one of those yet – maybe a red mountainsmith day pack?

Tim Stevens – offered some insightful words concerning the results of a study they did at Granger a few months ago, and responded to the findings that some at Granger don’t believe in the authority of Scripture and others that attend are still exploring Christianity.  Read the post here.

Review – Wild Goose Chase

I first heard about Mark Batterson when I was given a copy of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day to read in a leadership meeting.  It messed me up - that book should definitely have a warning label on it.  When I heard about Wild Goose Chase I began anticipating the release.  Mark and the folks at Multnomah were kind enough to give me a copy to review on the blog. 

The book has a great flow to it and could be read in one or two sittings.  As with In a Pit…, Wild Goose Chase should definitely have a warning label on it as well.  It hits you between the eyes and encourages you to move to new places in your life – a place of great dependence on the Spirit.  An adventure that often times leads you on what seems to be a wild goose chase.  Here are some personal highlights, including the origin of the book’s title:

• “If you would describe your relationship with God as anything less than adventurous, then maybe you think you’re following the Spirit but have actually settled for something less.”
• “Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit – An Geadh-Glas,or ‘the Wild Goose.’  The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed.  An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him.  And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life.  I think the Celtic Christians were on to something.”
• “I’m not convinced that your date of death is carved on your tombstone.  Most people die long before that. 
• “When God puts a passion in your heart,…that God-ordained passion becomes your responsibility.”
• “Your success isn’t contingent upon what’s in your hand.  Your success is contingent upon whether God extends His might hand on your behalf.”
• “Chasing the Wild Goose is recognizing which way the wind of the Spirit is blowing and responding to it.  It requires a moment-by-moment sensitivity to the Wild Goose.  And you have to trust His promptings more than you trust your own plans.”
• “We need people who are more afraid of missing opportunities than making mistakes.  People who are more afraid of lifelong regret than temporary failure.”
• “‘Faith is being sure of what we hope for.’  But most of us are more sure of what we’re afraid of than what we hope for.”

I highly recommend the book to anyone.  Especially those who may be bored with the routine of life, anyone who’s feeling stuck, or who are asking of the Christian life, “Is this all there is?  There’s got to be more, right?”

You can purchase the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.

**They were kind enough to give me two copies, so leave a comment and some contact information and I’ll be glad to send you a Free Copy.**

“Book Bytes”

Mark Batterson is giving previews of his new book Wild Goose Chase , which comes out this Tuesday, August 19th, on his blog.  He’s calling them book bytes.  They’re worth the read.  Here are a couple that he posted this week.

 

Evotional.com – Originality, Authenticity, Creativity via kwout

Read the rest of the post here.

 

Evotional.com – Originality, Authenticity, Creativity via kwout

Also, check back here on Tuesday for a review of the book.

Leadership Lesson

I think someone’s trying to teach me a lesson.  However, contrary to my normal learning method, which consists of me deciding that I want to learn about someone or something and then gathering some books and reading about it, this one just keeps popping up.  So much so, that I’m starting to ask, “What’s going on here?” 

I’ve known for several years that most people are heavy on education and light on application.  So here are the ways this has crossed my path in the last week:

• Mark Batterson is giving previews of his new book Wild Goose Chase on his blog and he wrote this on Wednesday:

 
Evotional.com – Originality, Authenticity, Creativity via kwout

• Ben Arment wrote this on Thursday:

History in the Making: THE DEFAULT CHURCH FACTOR via kwout

• I met with a great leader this week and ask him some questions.  I asked about some of the books that had been most meaningful to him as a leader, and what he was currently reading.   He quickly gave me a few titles and then said, “Honestly, I’m in more of an application phase right now.  I already know a lot more than I’m actually applying as a leader.  The challenge is to work hard to apply what I already know.” 

As I was leaving my meeting I asked if he would mind meeting with me again at some point.  He said that he would, but between now and then that I needed to work on applying some of the leadership principles I was learning.  There was also some implication (although not explicitly stated) that I’d better have some application examples ready before I contacted him for another meeting.

So, where are you educated far beyond your level of obedience?  What’s the next right step you need to take to work on applying the knowledge you have?

Read These

While I’m not advocating that you read this.  I think you should check out some of these links:

• Tony Morgan has a couple of posts here and here about his weekly routine.
• Ben Arment had two more great posts about leadership this week.  Empowering Leaders Pt. 1 and Pt. 2
• Brad Lomenick recently put out his August list of Young Influencers, and an interesting post about the DMV.
• Carlos posted installment 4 of Dear Worship Dude

There’s also a quote that this guy said that I’ve been thinking about for a few days.  “Don’t be the person who’s way more interested in what you think someone needs – instead of being interested in what they actually need.”  I think I’ve been the former person a lot more than I’ve been the latter.

Generosity

Lately I’ve been thinking more about giving and generosity.  Last week I heard Dino Rizzo’s One Prayer message on extreme generosity (you can watch it and other One Prayer messages here), and several things he said got stuck in my mind:  

• The selfish world gets smaller and smaller
• “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give” – Winston Churchill
• God didn’t give second rate – he gave everything – he gave his own son
• We need to release to refresh  (see Proverbs 11:24-25)

 

What would our world look like if we lived this out?  What would our churches look like?  Our cities?  What relationships, opportunities, and ideas are getting smaller for me, because I refuse to give freely.  How can I give not only my financial resources, but also my time and my talents to refresh others?

 

There are many more questions right now than answers, but I’m excited the opportunity to try and figure this one out. 

 

 

What are you releasing currently or willing to release for the benefit of others?

Things to Check Out

I’ve been checking out some interesting things lately.  I thought I would pass them on…

1. If you’re a young worship leader (high school or college) go to www.youaretheamp.com and register for the first Amp Saturday in Atlanta on September 20.  You need to be there.  This guy, this guy, and this guy are the organizers and they’re all three superstars at what they do.  Plus, this guy will be there – you’ll grow in coolness just hanging around him.
2. Ben Arment was on a roll on his blog last week.  There were several great posts.  Here were a couple of my favorites (the neutering of church volunteers & how to attrach high-caliber leaders), if you’re part of an organization that depends on volunteers in any capacity, you need to read these and think about your organization.
3. Tony’s a really smart guy.  His post on the things that were catching his attention lately caught my attention.  Every link was either interesting or helpful for me.  Hopefully, you’ll find them useful too.
4. Chunks had a great guest post here about what Elevation does to get ready for “Big Days.”  These guys do “Big Days,” really well.  If you’ve got an event coming up, some of these tips will help you out.