Leadership Analogy

The other day I was trying to explain to one of my direct reports why I act the way I do in certain situations and I said, "I lead like a chess match rather than a marksman..."




I proceeded to explain that I occasionally struggle with "analysis paralysis" meaning that I'm so concerned about eliminating future moves by making a bad decision that I sometimes struggle to decide at all.





To run with the chess analogy, you can't set up the uber-powerful and strategic "castling" move (see the picture on the right) if you have made a mistake early on in the game and exposed your king to a "check" by the opponent. I have been blessed (and cursed) with an analytical mind. This means I generally have multiple scenarios running through my head for every decision I'm trying to make, big or small.



The strength: when I've got time to think and prepare I generally have contingencies covered and I make a complete decision.



The weakness: "Would you please just make a decision already...no one cares what the parking lot should look like in 35 years the traffic is backed up on 51!"



Some of you lead like a sawed off shot gun. You can pull the trigger quick and plaster the target with holes. You have your weaknesses too...I'm just saying!



I'm learning that the best leaders know their strengths and weaknesses and I'm thankful to have mentors and friends in my life who care enough about my development to point out my weaknesses so I can grow.


Get to know your style, and make provision for your weaknesses, it's the first step toward becoming more effective!

The Christmas Gnome

Welcome to another addition to Friday's Fun Family Facts.

If you have not been following my blog over the past year let me catch you up. I have an interesting family! So on occasion, and always on Fridays, I post a story about things that have happened in my family. Usually these things are from my childhood but today I have a special treat...a glimpse into the present!

About 5 years ago we (my family) all got fed up buying cheap presents for everyone (which ironically cost more) and decided to take all the money we were spending on everyone and concentrate it on one person. The result, we spend less and get nicer things. Enter the Christmas Gnome...

Having an interesting family, it isn't possible to just do a normal name exchange. Without a certain element of mystery, competition and bitter sarcasm it just doesn't fly with us. The Christmas Gnome provided all those essential elements to our name exchange and for the last 5 years we have relied on him to help us navigate through the logistical nightmare that is buying presents for a big family.

I wanted to give you a glimpse into the mind of the Christmas Gnome (and consequently into the personality of my family) so I've copied an email that he wrote to my family below. Please know that everyone in my family is trying very hard to figure out which one of us is masquerading as this vicious little imp...it really has been a mystery. If any of you have an idea who it might be I would love to know!

Well,

I know you have been eagerly awaiting this email for days now, so let me get right to it...

This year we, the governing body of the Bishop/Cushing-and-Extension-Christmas-Gift-Purchase-and-Delivery-Extravaganza led by the illustrious Christmas Gnome, are going to experiment with something a little bit different.

Rather than just send a boring email with your gift recipient's name in it, we are going to make the actual name acquiring portion of the present exchange process part of the fun! You will be receiving an email in the next 24 hours with three clues as to who your secret gift recipient is for this year.

You will only have three days to figure out who your person is on your own and then I will send a cheat sheet so that you don't buy presents for the wrong person. The first person to email thechristmasgnome@gmail.com with a correct guess for who you think you have this year will win a highly coveted and desirable prize (to be awarded on Christmas day...).

As always you can begin "replying to all" with your Christmas lists so that your mystery Santa can know what to buy for you. Your Christmas list will be due no later than December 15th...a very nice day for things to be due indeed...

The amount to be spent this year is $50.00.

The Christmas Gnome

Here's what the Christmas Gnome thought would be good clues to describe me...I was not very happy!

JOHN
1) TALENT: The Scrabler...or is it Scrabbler?: Could win at Scrabble every time, if only spelling weren't an issue
2) LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8ISuRkO3Fs
3) ANIMAL: Shrew

Sometimes having an interesting family is fun. Other times, it's just down right painful!

Ruth Stumbled into her Calling

The other day, I had the privilege of watching a DVD of T. D. Jakes over lunch with Pastor Furtick.

Now, I enjoy any time I get to spend with Pastor Furtick, but when it includes wings and a GREAT sermon by T.D. Jakes I'm not sure there is anything better!

Jakes was preaching from the book of Ruth and in classic Bishop Jakes fashion he hammered out a principle that was right on.

"Ruth stumbled into her calling!"

Read back through the book of Ruth sometime and think about all of the things that could have gone wrong leading up to her becoming the wife of Boaz and consequently the Grandmother of King David.

She could have let depression take her out when her husband died.

She could have gone with Orpah back to Moab.

She could have given up when Naomi freaked out and started calling herself bitter.

She could have decided not to go to the wine press.

and these are just the things she could have messed up. You have to consider the ways that Naomi may have chosen differently or maybe Ruth's real redeemer might have said yes at the gate, or maybe Boaz would have been late getting to the field that day and missed Ruth altogether.

Ruth stumbled into her calling! And if we're honest, most of us have stumbled into ours as well. If you feel like you're a self made man/woman I would take a poll of all the times things might have worked out differently for you.

My guess is you have stumbled into your calling too. Give praise to God for his leading, and blessing in your life He has more to do with it then you're currently giving Him credit for.

What Googler's and Elevators Have in Common

The lead staff read this article together the other day and it was VERY good!

It's about the culture of Google written by employees at Google. It was really exciting reading the article because in a very non-spiritual way there were some striking similarities between the way they think and the way we (all of us that would call ourselves Elevators) think.

A quote from the article: "The attitude is to pursue ideas that another company dismisses as outside the realm of possibility." - Niniane Wang (Engineering Manager).

Maybe you don't see it, but when I read that quote I feel like Niniane has been spying on us!

Here are some examples:

Grinders and 50 gallon barrels at Easter.

Worship CD and cool T-shirt for First Time Guests.

Spontaneous Baptisms.

launching a new service in 26 days so that our Butler Campus will still be able to reach people beginning January 11, 2009.

We never start with the question, "What's possible?" instead we ask, "What's the best case scenario?" and then we do everything we can to try to achieve that scenario.

If you want to be part of this type of culture then click here and get signed up.

If you don't...well that's fine too. I just can't kick the phrase, "I despaired at the thought that my life might pass me by without God moving mightily on my behalf." - Jim Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire

Sunday Night Worship Experience

If you attend the Butler High School campus of Elevation Church you heard the announcement yesterday - Elevation Church is adding an evening worship experience at the Butler Campus.

The Worship Experience will begin at 6:00pm with a full Children's Ministry. For the first time since I have been the Campus Pastor we have additional capacity. We have been averaging over 1250 people attending the Butler Campus each week and this past Sunday we had over 1400 people for the first time in our history.

This is a VERY exciting time for our Campus we have an additional 615 seats to fill and because of our growth we NEED them.

We have 26 days left to build a new contingency of volunteers who will make the 6:00pm Worship Experience their opportunity to make an impact in the lives of the people who come to our church. If you want to be part of making the Elevation Experience a reality at the Butler 6:00pm Worship Experience please email Gene Lakey glakey@elevationchurch.org and get signed up now. You can also check out our online application for volunteering.

There are still thousands of people who need to know Christ living in our neighborhoods and in some cases in our own homes. The time is now! and the opportunity has never been better. Get on board as a volunteer for the 6:00pm Worship Experience at Butler and be part of the vision of reaching people far from God...

PRAY

Sometimes there is nothing left to do but pray.

There has been a tragic situation unfolding over the past week involving one of Butler's volunteers (Danny). At this point, I don't feel comfortable sharing the details of the situation, however, know that a week ago Danny was seemingly healthy and today he is on life support in the hospital.

Will you pray! Pray in such a way that God will hear your cries for a miracle and grant them.

God ultimately knows the conclusion of this tragedy, but until we know the conclusion, let's continue to pray in faith and believe God for a miracle.

Psalm 20

1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.

3 May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.

4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.

5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.

6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven
with the saving power of his right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.

9 O LORD, save the king!
Answer [a] us when we call!

Thought of the day

To be a person who is able to get things done you have to create the broad picture and "shape that picture into a set of executable actions..." - Execution - Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan

Casting the vision takes more than just communicating the plan it also requires a good strategy for executing the plan.

Maybe you should consider the implications of what you're about to tell you employee, teenager, spouse etc... Are you ready to help them get from here to there or are you about to ask them to drive to your destination while you hold tightly to the map?

Like I said, just a thought!

We Still Have BOLD Prayers to Pray

I was reading a book called Axiom written by Bill Hybels (The Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church) this morning.

He wrote, "Slowly but surely, that "God can do anything" feeling fades, bold prayers quit getting prayed, and the beginning of the end is near."

Here's what I want to say to us: we still have BOLD prayers to pray!!!

Here are the facts:
1) When the Porter Ridge Campus was launched it was done as a product of bold prayers and audacious faith on the part of our staff and the volunteers that went to be part of the movement.

2) When the Porter Ridge Campus was transferred to the Butler Campus it was done as a product of bold prayers and audacious faith on the part of the staff and the volunteers who grabbed onto the vision of seeing people far from God filled with life in Christ and were selfless enough to embrace and welcome the change.

Butler - We still have BOLD prayers to pray because you still have friends and family members who are far from God and need Christ to invade their life like He has invaded yours.

So here's what I need from you today...I have a meeting at 10:30 today that will determine whether we can make our next BOLD move toward achieving our vision. Will you pray BOLD prayers with me today that God would open doors and clear away obstacles.

I can't give you more than that right now, but assuming you will be praying with me today I hope to make an incredible announcement this Sunday!!!

I need you Butler Campus! We've got a big vision and not enough seats. Will you get in the trenches with me today?

From Porter Ridge to Butler to...

On March 6th, 2007 the staff of Elevation Church (which at the time was less than 10 people) sat down to have a conversation about what to do. Within a 10 week span we had grown from barely 1000 people to over 1700 in our two services at our only campus. Out of this conversation we determined to launch a 2nd campus...we were ignorant about the implications of that decisions and VERY passionate to see God continue to reach people far from God, so in our minds there really wasn't any other option.

32 days later we launched our second campus at Porter Ridge High School with you at the helm; a rag-tag group of renegade volunteers who were ready to take over Union County. On Easter of 2007 there were 501 people worshipping with you.

For those of you who were there during the next few months fighting for the Porter Ridge campus you remember the excitement of seeing your friends who would never have given church a chance walk through the doors of Porter Ridge High School. It was in those times that you developed the reputation for being absolutely insane. We could hardly have you in a worship night or live recording because of the fear that you would literally explode with excitement.

Fast forward to September 23, 2007 the Porter Ridge Campus was transitioned to Butler High School in order to strategically place it in the middle of a densely populated area on the edge of Union County. At Butler High School we launched with 2 services and saw 1186 people walk through the doors only 6 short months after that first conversation in March.

On Easter Sunday 2008 Butler Campus had 1388 people in attendance - packing that place wall to wall. All the while you, the same insane rag-tag group of volunteers have stuck with it; have fought for the vision of seeing your friends and family members who were far from God be reached with the life changing power of the Gospel of Christ.

Today, Butler Campus, our average attendance is 1250 and 6 of the last 15 weeks we have seen over 1300 people attending our campus - we're SLAMMED!

Now, there is a building being built and the opportunity to grow is coming but that's 10 months away. 10 months! Last year we more than doubled the size of our campus in less than 6 months. 10 months is a long time to wait when every single day that passes is potentially the last opportunity you'll have to get your friend to come. So let me pose a question to you Butler - what are we going to do in 32 days?

Elevation Church has been defined by it's audacity and you're considered crazy even by our standards. You're the ones who stepped up to start Porter Ridge; who stepped out in faith because you believed God would do the miraculous and because of your faith and sacrifice, He has! It's time again! People are looking to you to find out whether you still believe that God can do the impossible. There are still thousands of people to reach and I believe you have the vision and passion to reach them.

What are you going to do? Are you with me?