Last night my small group had the privilege of being introduced to a wonderful mom named Irekka. (Check out Tonia Bendickson's Blog on the story here.)
We found out about her because of our relationship with Communities in Schools - Safe Journey a program that helps teenage mothers graduate from high school and pursue their dreams in college.
Irekka's story is tragic - 19 with 2 kids, living in an apartment with a box spring to sleep on, a pot with a broken handle to warm up her kid's bottle, no money, no support, and seemingly no reason for having hope - yet, the characteristic that stood out most about her was her Joy.
Some of the ladies in our group treated Irekka to her first dinner at Olive Garden, we stayed behind and loaded furniture, dishes, clothes, and food into the apartment. When Irekka returned she walked into a fully furnished apartment. Her little girl Meiara was so excited she was literally bouncing off the walls. Irekka said, "I've been praying for 2 months that God would help and He did...I'm so happy!"
Irekka's joy and contentment was remarkable.
Thank you Irekka for reminding me just how blessed I am and for resetting my vision. Your best is yet to come. We're praying for you and more importantly, we're with you!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
It IS my fault...
Pastor Furtick posted a blog recently titled "How IS it my fault". Check it out here.
As I'm sitting here looking at the index card he referenced I'm thinking about the frame of mind I was in when I made the comment.
In reading through Habit 1 of Steven Covey's book I was struck by this line: "Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions." (Covey, 71) - you should probably read that line again...
I wrote in an exercise that we did while studying this habit together that I need to spend less time in asking why something happened (i.e. assigning blame) and a lot more time using the "why" to answer the question, "how do we make it right next time."
One thing that has begun to sink in for me is that no matter who's fault it is and no matter what the solution is the problem is ultimately my responsibility. If it was a staff member that dropped the ball, for instance, I'm not off the hook. I need to ask, "How can I coach them better?", "What resources do they need to be effective?", "Was the way I communicated my expectations ineffective?", "Does this staff person have what it takes?", "Do I need to release them from the pressure of these decisions?" etc... It's a subtle shift but it is absolutely necessary. At the end of the day if my leadership does not have direction modifying influence on the people I lead I cease to be necessary as a leader!
So how IS it my fault? Well, if I'm really the leader it's all my fault. Now that we've got that out of the way, how can we fix it moving forward...
As I'm sitting here looking at the index card he referenced I'm thinking about the frame of mind I was in when I made the comment.
In reading through Habit 1 of Steven Covey's book I was struck by this line: "Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions." (Covey, 71) - you should probably read that line again...
I wrote in an exercise that we did while studying this habit together that I need to spend less time in asking why something happened (i.e. assigning blame) and a lot more time using the "why" to answer the question, "how do we make it right next time."
One thing that has begun to sink in for me is that no matter who's fault it is and no matter what the solution is the problem is ultimately my responsibility. If it was a staff member that dropped the ball, for instance, I'm not off the hook. I need to ask, "How can I coach them better?", "What resources do they need to be effective?", "Was the way I communicated my expectations ineffective?", "Does this staff person have what it takes?", "Do I need to release them from the pressure of these decisions?" etc... It's a subtle shift but it is absolutely necessary. At the end of the day if my leadership does not have direction modifying influence on the people I lead I cease to be necessary as a leader!
So how IS it my fault? Well, if I'm really the leader it's all my fault. Now that we've got that out of the way, how can we fix it moving forward...
Monday, October 20, 2008
I'm So Far Behind!
I'm signing up for Facebook!
I am also considering twitter!
Someone asked everyone in the audience at the GroupLife conference at Willow Creek last week (side note: average age 48-52) whether they had a Facebook account...I was one of 7 people who did not raise their hand in a room of 1500 people. The other six...an Amish family!
I'm signing up for an account. If I deny you as a friend don't take it personally, I probably just don't know how to work the thing!
I am also considering twitter!
Someone asked everyone in the audience at the GroupLife conference at Willow Creek last week (side note: average age 48-52) whether they had a Facebook account...I was one of 7 people who did not raise their hand in a room of 1500 people. The other six...an Amish family!
I'm signing up for an account. If I deny you as a friend don't take it personally, I probably just don't know how to work the thing!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
GroupLife Conference Takeaways
I don't have time to write about all of the things that I'm taking away from the GroupLife Conference at Willow so instead I'm going to give you the first three that come to my mind:
1) Being in connection with other great leaders is my #1 resource for advancing the work that God has placed in front of me.
2) Everything is an experiment (thanks Mark and Heather). Therefore, start trying stuff!!!
3) The model of ministry that is going to work best for us is the one that we are most excited about. So...we need to pick one and start!
and for a bonus:
4) What we have going on in Charlotte, NC is borderline miraculous! We are part of a very special move of God...I can't wait to get back.
1) Being in connection with other great leaders is my #1 resource for advancing the work that God has placed in front of me.
2) Everything is an experiment (thanks Mark and Heather). Therefore, start trying stuff!!!
3) The model of ministry that is going to work best for us is the one that we are most excited about. So...we need to pick one and start!
and for a bonus:
4) What we have going on in Charlotte, NC is borderline miraculous! We are part of a very special move of God...I can't wait to get back.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Drummer's are Supposed to Keep The Beat
Let's imagine that I was at a conference at some point where there was a drummer on stage. In this hypothetical situation you could imagine that this drummer was actually a very talented young person who had a bright future as a drummer and you would not think that this blog was in any way a slam on said drummer...
But here is one thing I understand about drummers: the fundamental purpose of drummer is to keep the beat...agreed? Sure, they add a lot more then just the tempo, but there isn't anyone else in the band that will pick up the slack on the beat if the drummer decides to play without a click track.
So if you were at this hypothetical conference with me trying to sing a great song like Hosanna (for instance) you might be a little distracted if the drummer started at about 60 beats per minute and ended at about 100 beats per minute.
He might have had great fills, an incredible amount of passion, he might have been worshipping and carrying the weight of the musical experience, but when all was finished he would have neglected his central purpose as the drummer...he would have failed to keep the beat!
One thing I have learned as a leader in my short experience is that it is easy to get caught up in the passion of circumstances, pressures, or exciting moments in ministry and lose sight of my main purpose - to cast vision and lead people. I might develop great systems, or put together phenominal reports. I might extinguish fires, or pull off great announcements, but at the end of the day none of that matters if I fail to keep the beat.
Taking a lesson from the drummer, keep the primary purpose in focus and if you can't do it all make sure to at least keep the beat...the guitarist can alsways jump in with a cool solo, but no one else is watching the metronome!
But here is one thing I understand about drummers: the fundamental purpose of drummer is to keep the beat...agreed? Sure, they add a lot more then just the tempo, but there isn't anyone else in the band that will pick up the slack on the beat if the drummer decides to play without a click track.
So if you were at this hypothetical conference with me trying to sing a great song like Hosanna (for instance) you might be a little distracted if the drummer started at about 60 beats per minute and ended at about 100 beats per minute.
He might have had great fills, an incredible amount of passion, he might have been worshipping and carrying the weight of the musical experience, but when all was finished he would have neglected his central purpose as the drummer...he would have failed to keep the beat!
One thing I have learned as a leader in my short experience is that it is easy to get caught up in the passion of circumstances, pressures, or exciting moments in ministry and lose sight of my main purpose - to cast vision and lead people. I might develop great systems, or put together phenominal reports. I might extinguish fires, or pull off great announcements, but at the end of the day none of that matters if I fail to keep the beat.
Taking a lesson from the drummer, keep the primary purpose in focus and if you can't do it all make sure to at least keep the beat...the guitarist can alsways jump in with a cool solo, but no one else is watching the metronome!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Changing Stuff...
I think there are people who really love to change stuff all the time. They annoy people with the desire to make things different. They are always looking for a new way, a better way, a short-cut. Sometimes they change stuff merely because it hasn't been changed in a while.
People who like things to stay the same all the time get very frustrated. They feel like they are trying to grab smoke. They are constantly searching for their Penelope (Lost Season 4) to keep from having their brain meltdown in the midst of things that are always shifting.
Hello, my name is John Bishop and I like to change stuff...all the time!
This past weekend, my wife and I shifted the furniture in our living room, again.
Today I am re-doing all of the reports for the ministries department.
My hair style will be different in 6 months then it is today.
The style of clothes I wear is radically different than it was 6 months ago.
The next time I get glasses they will be very different then the ones I'm currently wearing (probably, John Lennon transitions...)
It's just the way I like it!
People who like things to stay the same all the time get very frustrated. They feel like they are trying to grab smoke. They are constantly searching for their Penelope (Lost Season 4) to keep from having their brain meltdown in the midst of things that are always shifting.
Hello, my name is John Bishop and I like to change stuff...all the time!
This past weekend, my wife and I shifted the furniture in our living room, again.
Today I am re-doing all of the reports for the ministries department.
My hair style will be different in 6 months then it is today.
The style of clothes I wear is radically different than it was 6 months ago.
The next time I get glasses they will be very different then the ones I'm currently wearing (probably, John Lennon transitions...)
It's just the way I like it!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Early Morning Thoughts
It's 6:26am.
I've been up since 12:30am.
Some people (much more spiritual than me) pray when God gets them up early.
I have been reading Influencer (Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, and Ron McMillan) and furiously scribbling charts, structural problems, system breakdowns, organizational ideas, and new initiatives as fast as possible trying not to loose what God is showing me about the ministries of Elevation Church.
For some reason this morning was set aside for me to loose some sleep. But I would gladly trade sleep for the opportunity to do what I do...
This past Sunday we had 4485 people attending our one of seven worship experiences across three campuses 29 months into our church's existence; we had 152 people accept Christ bringing the total number of people who accepted Christ during the three weeks of the Gospel series to 903. These numbers are following on the heels of 1044 people being baptized during our Awakening series...and I can't sleep!
Pastor Furtick said it this way, "We need to let the victories God gives us be our fuel not our ceiling."
God has pumped my spirit full of $4.85, 93 octane gasoline...I can sleep later!
I've been up since 12:30am.
Some people (much more spiritual than me) pray when God gets them up early.
I have been reading Influencer (Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, and Ron McMillan) and furiously scribbling charts, structural problems, system breakdowns, organizational ideas, and new initiatives as fast as possible trying not to loose what God is showing me about the ministries of Elevation Church.
For some reason this morning was set aside for me to loose some sleep. But I would gladly trade sleep for the opportunity to do what I do...
This past Sunday we had 4485 people attending our one of seven worship experiences across three campuses 29 months into our church's existence; we had 152 people accept Christ bringing the total number of people who accepted Christ during the three weeks of the Gospel series to 903. These numbers are following on the heels of 1044 people being baptized during our Awakening series...and I can't sleep!
Pastor Furtick said it this way, "We need to let the victories God gives us be our fuel not our ceiling."
God has pumped my spirit full of $4.85, 93 octane gasoline...I can sleep later!
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