3 Questions Innovators Should be Asking

I've mentioned here and elsewhere that I'm just finishing a book that has been very good called The Invention of Air. It's a little outside the genre of books I normally read but has been a fascinating one. It's a narrative centered around the life and innovations of a pastor in England in the 1700's named Joseph Priestly - a kind of lost figure among the founding fathers of America. He was highly influential in the lives of Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson. He was also a key figure in other fields -he played a critical role in the discovery of pure oxygen, the discovery of ecosystems science and the process of photosynthesis, he was the founder of the Unitarian Church, and as I said earlier, played a critical role in the politics of the American Revolution. Not bad for a life's work. I must say plainly that I believe that theologically he is a heretic in the first variety. Nonetheless I've learned a lot from the example of his life and one angle has centered around the process of innovation. Inspired by the life of Joseph Priestly here are three questions I think innovators should be asking themselves:

1. Am I creating enough down time to innovate? The spikes in Priestly's innovative genius and influence occurred during the seasons of his life where he had the most free time. I know there are limits to this in our modern reality. Most of us can't just work 1-2 hours per day like he did and devote the rest of our time to innovation, invention, and new ideas. But there are smaller ways that we can create space and time to innovate. I need to be diligent about creating more.
   
2. Do I have people around me that will help to give my ideas wings? Priestly was a part of the 18th Century British coffeehouse culture which proved a gathering place for very smart and like-minded thinkers from a variety of disciplines who gathered regularly to share and build upon each others ideas. Priestly was incredibly unselfish with his ideas and far less concerned about getting credit than getting at the truth of the next big innovation.
3. What are the fatal flaws in the existing models? Priestly consistently looked for inconsistencies in the current ways of thinking, be it chemistry, or thermodynamics, or theology, or politics. And then let his curiosity run wild as he explored other methods, theories, or explanations for what was happening. These alternative explanations ultimately led to paradigm shifts in all of these areas.

What are some helpful questions that you ask to fuel your innovative side?

Reasons Disney is So Stinking Successful

1. Every employee is in customer service - all the way down to the guys changing the trash bags. It's amazing how committed they are to this.

2. They manage the quality of your experience from beginning to end. They leave absolutely nothing to chance. They built their own highway system down here for heavens sake. Just to make sure that the feeling you get when you drive through those arches and the signage to get you to the right places is absolutely perfect.

3. They're a cult ... or something... I mean it's just scary... these guys are going to rule the world someday... and I for one... just might follow them...

Courage Is

Been collecting some quotes about courage lately for some reason. Here are three of my favorites.

1. "Courage is knowing that you are indestructible until God’s work is done." unknown
   
2. "Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" Winston Churchil
3. "Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway." John Wayne
   

How To Measure Success in Ministry - Part 1

If you are not in ministry - you may not understand how difficult it is to resist the temptation to measure a ministry's success based on "nickles and noses." These two factors can't be ignored (giving and attendance) - but they have become the obsession of many a church leader. Our staff went through a time of training and study today and the topic of success and failure in ministry. We unpacked 1 Thessalonians 2:1-6ff which contains the only usage of the word "failure" in the New Testament. Paul said that his ministry to the church in Thessalonica was "not a failure." He then goes on to list some unusual evidence to support his argument. He doesn't talk about numbers of converts, or start up churches. He mentions 3 marks of "success":

1. His own character (2:3-11 - the bulk of Paul's argument is based on the purity of his motives and character.)
2. The gospel was preached (2:2)
   
3. Lives were changed (2:14-15)

Thanks to conference notes from some folks who attended Innovation 3 which became a great launching pad for our conversation.

Things I Like About our New President

I may not agree with all his policies and I'm sure there are still many difficult times ahead, but in these days of enthusiasm and hope - I've been considering a few things that I like about President Obama.

1. He uses words well. If you know me, you know that I love words. I love when things are well crafted - and I'm anal about wordsmithing my messages when I speak. His speeches have been amazing throughout the campaign and inauguration. And with his words, President Obama has the power to envision, embolden, and inspire an entire nation. And with those same words he has the ability to do great harm (as we all do). I pray that he wields his most powerful weapon with wisdom and skill.

2. He uses technology well. It is well-documented that Obama's presidential campaign has changed the paradigm of how to run for office in the United States. His use of email, social networking, youtube, and a variety of other technologies has been astounding. And not just for fundraising purposes but for vision casting, soliciting feedback, building momentum, creating intrigue, it's been fascinating to watch. He will hopefully provide unparalleled access to the White House and the presidency through technology.

3. He's an African American. This is a weird to say that I like about him in that it is not a character quality or something that he has chosen. However, in talking to a number of my African American friends - the affect that President Obama's elecion has had on the mindset and psyche of young black kids across this nation will only be known a few generations from now. All I know is that it seems to have unlocked something in their minds that will allow them to dream bigger dreams, and that makes me happy. I pray that starting now, those dreams will begin to have a positive affect in cities and towns across this great land.

No bashing on this blog- so what are some things you like and admire about our new President? Also, stay tuned for a post about some things that I like about George Bush...

Reasons to Come to Grace on Christmas Eve

If you are in Erie I would urge you to get to one of our Christmas eve services tomorrow - they're going to rock! I would also challenge you to bring someone along with you - even if they don't usually go to church. Grace has a way of surprising people who haven't been to church in a while with comments like, "can you do that in church?" Our services are at 4:30, 6:30, and 11:00 PM. There is free and secure nursery care available at the first two services. Here are just three of the reasons you should come:

1. The music - I would stack our musicians at Grace up against the best in the region. The music is going to be awesome. At 4:30 and 6:30 our band will put a modern flare on all the traditional Christmas carols along with a song that they are performing that is going to really blow you away. At 11:00 a vocal team will be singing through an even larger selection of carols and inspirational Christmas songs.
2. Creativity - all our services will be highlighted with creative elements that will inspire your faith and make God happy. We will put a new twist on the traditional candlelighting ceremony, and my very own Ayden will be making a really cute vocal appearance which I can't wait for you to hear! We also have some video elements that are just amazing. 11:00 is going to capture your imagination with dramatic readings and participatory elements. It's going to be awesome.
3. The message - Pastor Al and I have taken great care to prepare a challenging and inspirational message to everyone who attends no matter where they are at on their faith journey. I will be speaking at 4:30 and 6:30 and Al will be bringing it home at 11:00. You're not going to want to miss these services -get there early- we'll see you there.
   

Top "Memo" lines on a tithe check

I came across a top 10 list on Monday Morning Insights that made me laugh. It was a top 10 tithe check memo line notes. You can check out all 10 here. Obviously I'm only including my favorite 3. :)

1. $1 less for every minute past noon.
2. Casino winnings.
3. For voice lessons for the worship team.
   

Favorite Christmas Traditions from Childhood

1. Making hard candy - we would always make multiple flavors of hard candy during the holidays to have around the house and to give away to friends. I loved how the cinnamon made the house smell but liked the taste of root beer the best.
2. One present on Christmas eve - we would draw names on Christmas eve and open the present from that person. It was a cool way to satisfy the itch of anxious children.
3. Fondu - I don't remember when it started, but my family often would do fondue on Christmas eve. We experimented with the oil and cooking meat in there, with the cheese and dipping hard bread, and with the chocolate and dipping fruit and stuff.

What are your fond traditions from when you were growing up?

Favorite Things to Do on a Day Off When the Kids Are in School

I have some vacation days that have accumulated throughout the year that I now need to use up in December and January, so I'm doing something new (because I have to). I'm not taking them all in one big chunk - I'm spreading some out on Mondays and a Thursday during December. Today was one of those days and I was reflecting on a couple of things I like to do on a day off while the kids are at school:

1. Do stuff with Kim - it's fun to be able to run errands together, go to the grocery store, do projects around the house, etc. Kids often don't allow us to just do simple "us" stuff that we used to do before we got outnumbered by rugrats.
   
2. Manual Labor Projects - I love to get out and do projects. Because I work in an office most of the time and work with people - I love to get away from both (no offense people) and do projects that are a physical challenge and have a clear completion goal. It is sometimes hard to see objective results when dealing with people because most relational situations stay in a permanent state of development. So on days off I love to start something and finish something and see the result. Often #1 and #2 happen together because Kim builds houses and often wants me to help her with her latest house project.
3. Head to the gym - I always try to hit the gym on a free day and pick up a raquetball game or a run. I typically catch up on some podcasts that have been backlogging or blast music into my skull and sweat like crazy.

What are some of your favorite "free day" activities?

December Coaching Network Learnings

As some of you know I have been a part of Tony's coaching network at Newspring Church in Anderson, SC. for about 4 months now. There is a picture and some more details about the guys in an earlier blog post here. Here are a few of my takeaway quotes from last week. This month's topic was Communications and Sermon Planning.

1. When people don't show up to your stuff - it's usually not a marketing issue, it's a ministry issue. The easy thing is to announce it louder and more often, but that doesn't address the root problem that your ministry event is not very good.
2. In most churches the pain of change is higher than the pain of ineffectiveness, so they refuse to change and continue to be ineffective. (from Simple Church)
3. Leaders must avoid the two extremes of micromanagement and neglect –one way to walk this line is to continually cast vision. (also from Simple Church)

Prayer is Hard

This is difficult to confess as a pastor - but prayer is hard. I've always been a good Bible study guy because it's objective, it's concrete, it's easy to measure. Prayer has always been more difficult for me because it is the opposite of all those things. Plus, it's so personal with God it's threatening. Because maybe He's going to ask me to actually change something about the way I'm doing my life. In the past couple years I have made some good progress in the area of prayer - here are a few of my learnings:

1. Pray out loud - this may seem a little weird but it has helped me a lot. If you do this around people you will look nuts (which is not always bad), but I would recommend a quiet room somewhere by yourself for a designated amount of time. It is much more normal to just talk - much easier to stay focused. Approach prayer like a conversation.
2. Follow my mental wanderings - for years I was frustrated because during prayer my mind would wander to other, seemingly unrelated, things. Now instead of trying to clear my mind of all that stuff - I use it as a springboard. Maybe God is bringing those things to mind because they are the very things I'm supposed to be praying about. Now when something pops in my head I just go with it. I pray about that thing - give it back to God - try to discern if there are other things I should be praying about in and around that topic- and then move on.
3. Listen to God - after doing these first two things I'm usually at a place where I've said what I needed to say out loud to God. I have also followed my mental wanderings wherever they lead. This finally leaves my mind clear and focused. Instead of saying Amen, I stop to listen, and ask God what's next for me. This is the part that gets dangerous because God does speak- we just usually don't stop long enough to listen. He challenges me, encourages me, corrects me, rebukes me, loves me, laughs with me, expresses disappointment in me, pushes me, etc. Then I have to decide whether I will obey or not - but at least there no room to question what God wants - He has made himself clear...
   

Anything that has been helpful for your prayer life?

Invasion of the Canadians

On a clear day, we can see Canada across the lake from the beaches in Erie, PA. The shores of Ontario are 34 miles from our shores in Erie. I like to think of us as the first line of defense against any Canadian onslaught that might come against our great land. When you think about it we are a key cog in the National Security wheel. No season of year is as dicey in this regard as Christmas time. With the convenient excuse of "no sales tax" the Canadians cross the border and invade Erie by the busload each winter. We may regret allowing them to move about our country so freely and shop and eat and drink and whatnot...they are sneaky those Canucks. Here are three recent sightings:

1. Kohls - My mother in law saw a large bus emptying at the front of the Kohl's department store in Erie. She approached one from the emerging legions and discovered that they were all from Toronto. I wonder if the word "kohls" is some canadian military code word...it sounds kind of Canadian, eh?
   
2. Buffets - the buffet restaurants in Erie have been overrun with the foreign visitors as of late. C'mon you can't use the sales tax excuse on buffet restaraunts people. I looked it up -there is no sales tax on restaraunt food in Canada.
   
3. Starbucks - I saw a busload emptying near Starbucks the other day. Seriously? They have their precious Tim Hortons for heaven's sake - what the heck are they doing in our Starbucks? There must be reconnaissance and surveillance going on for some future initiative...

I'm not trying to be an alarmist or anything but the first time I see a Mounty trotting down the street - I'm calling Homeland Security...

Ideas to Jump-Start Your Spiritual Life

The majority of people out there believe on God and believe that there is a spiritual component to all of us.  Many people have given up on the God of the Bible because they had a crappy experience with church or with Christians sometime in their past.  Many people have not given up on the God of the Bible but still have a languishing spiritual life because they haven't been intentional about nurturing this part of themselves.  They spend much more time on physical health, occupational health, familial health, emotional health, and while these things are important they are not as critical as the spiritual side of us when it comes to our true fulfillment and purpose.  Here are three ideas to help jump-start a faltering spiritual life.

1. Take a regular half day away - go somewhere away from all media and technology and use the time to pray, write, reflect, ponder, take inventory, confess the junk in your life.  I often ask God the question, "what's next for me?"  What's next in my own personal/spiritual development, what's next in my family life, what's next in my job?
2. Adjust your input - most people are addicted to media.  Media can be a very positive thing if we utilize it to allow soul-expanding content to enter our hearts and minds. About two years ago we cancelled cable at our house (although we still get some channels that we watch).  Some great sources of spiritually enhancing content are: youversion - the bible for i-phones, podcasts of godly pastors/speakers, blog subscriptions to people who will challenge and stretch your thinking on a regular basis.  Use your media intake to expand your soul and not just as a mindless outlet.
3. Find a spiritual partner/ mentor - this takes some initiative and some guts, but if you don't have someone walking your spiritual journey with you, you likely won't progress.  Most of my Christian life has been shared with like-minded travelers who served as sounding boards, confidants, truth-tellers, and butt-kickers.

What's your logical next step toward spiritual progress?

Life Is Short

I spoke a couple of years ago on this theme, and considering my recent post about almost dying, I think it's an appropriate time to post something on the subject. My sermon was based on the words of Moses in Psalm 90:10, 12. He wasn't at a real good place in his life, "As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away…So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom." Three things to learn from this passage:

1. The “27,740” Principle - that's the number of days in 76 years. The average life of copper wire is 20 years. The average age for a cat is 15 years. The average life of a dollar bill is 18 months. The average life of a painted line on the road is 3-4 months. The average life of a pro basketball players shoes is 2 weeks. The average life of a tornado is 10 minutes. The average life of a person in America is approximately 76 years or 27,740 days. So far I've used up about 13,380 of mine- almost half- and I subtract one more off the total with every sunset. And so do you.
2. The "Time Flies" Principle - Moses says that soon our time is gone and then we fly away. I read a quote one time that said something like- in childhood, time creeps, as a teenager, time walks, As a young adult, time runs, and during adulthood – time flies. I look no further than the size of my kids to be reminded how quickly time flies.
3. The "Make it Count" Principle - Moses turns to prayer and asks God that He teach us to "number our days." The truth is, our days are already numbered, we’re just not aware of it most of the time. And when you come across people who are aware that their own days are numbered, their perspective is totally different than the rest of us. They’re working on making every moment count on the important stuff. I pray I will follow suit.

"Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Those rewards create almost as many problems as they solve. Our souls are hungry for meaning … we want our lives to matter." -Harold Kushner

Kids Questions that Adults Keep Asking

There are some questions that we ask as kids that we continue to ask throughout adulthood. Here are three:

1. Why? Ever been around a three year old that asks "why" about everything? Sometimes out of curiosity and sometimes they don't really care, they just zone out and keep asking for the sake of asking. Sometimes I think adults keep asking, "Why God?" "Why did you let this happen to me?" "Why couldn't my life have turned out differently?" because we either don't have the guts to admit to knowing the answers or we're afraid to walk forward courageously in faith. For some, our questioning becomes an excuse for our inertia.
2. Are We There Yet? Kids are impatient on trips - so are we. We are used to instant gratification. We forget that God is in the process of making something in us and He isn't quite done yet. It seems that God is often less concerned with our final destination than He is with who we are becoming along the journey.
3. Do I have to Share? We are mortified when our kids don't share and are blatantly selfish while playing with other kids. We insist that if they have two of something that they give one to the kid who doesn't have anything. It's just common courtesy. I wonder what runs through God's mind when He looks down on those of us with a lot refusing to share with those who have little? "Immature selfish brats..."

Any other good childhood questions that we can't seem to let go of?

Things I Learned from Almost Dying

All right, I mentioned this in passing a couple of weeks ago, but figure it's time to expound on my experience. I was driving back to Erie on Rt. 85 near Greenville, SC by myself. It was about 5:30 PM, during rush hour on a very busy highway. I was going about 75 mph along with everyone else - it was a fast moving bumper to bumper traffic pattern. I passed out and ran into a guard rail in the median. I regained consciousness as my head and shoulder were being slammed into the driver side door and window. Here are three things I learned.

1. The way I laugh can actually make me pass out. If you know me, you know I love to laugh - sometimes hysterically. Something funny came on the radio in the car and I laughed at the same time I was yawning - and bam! I was out. I have felt the sensation of being light-headed before while laughing - but I've never actually passed out - until now.
2. Close calls lead to a lot of personal reflection. After crashing there was nothing for me to do and no where to go other than to get back on the road and keep driving. The car was drivable although the driver's side was pretty demolished. I drove the remaining 11 hours home and had a lot of time to take inventory of my life. Thinking about Kim without a husband and my kids without a dad messed me up for a few days. My mood was a bit more somber in the days following the crash. I wasn't even aware of it until people started commenting. I have made some life commitments with myself since.
3. God has something left for me here. There were two things that allowed me to narrowly avoid death. If I had regained consciousness any sooner than I did - I am certain I would have tried to jerk the car back onto the road - I would have been obliterated. I had also fortunately just taken off the cruise control. If the cruise had been on - I would have hit the rail and carromed back into traffic. It would have been ugly. There is more for me to accomplish on this earth - and I'm pretty committed to chasing whatever it is that God has for me next.

Carpe Deim... life is a gift... may God be pleased with how we use our moments. Anybody else have a brush with death?

Best Movie Endings: Part 3

This ended up being a more suspenseful finale than I had anticipated - but a crazy weekend pushed this to a Monday post.  Anyway - you can see my 9th, 8th and 7th favorite movie endings here and the 6th, 5th and 4th  here. Here are my top 3 favorite movie endings.

1. The Usual Suspects - This gets my top spot because it was the first movie I watched that made me truly appreciate the twist ending.  Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey) walks out of the Police Station, and the detective begins to look around his office and see all the items that Verbal used to craft the story of the movie -and with the drop of a coffee cup and the correction of a limp - Keyser Soze walks off scott free.  The voiceover to close it out is, "...my guess is, you'll never hear from him again... The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist ... and like that... he's gone."
2. The Game - This movie is really high on my list of favorites and the ending is a big part of it.  I love psychological thrillers and this is a doozie.  Micheal Douglas - shoots his own brother and predictably jumps to his death.  As he's in flight, his life flashes before his eyes, he falls through the glass ceiling and lands on the inflated "X", "Happy Birthday Nicholas!"
3. Shawshank Redemption - The beauty of this ending is really in the writing of the voiceover in the final scene.  The words come from "Red" (Morgan Freeman's character). The final scene starts with Red saying, I guess it's time to "get busy living or get busy dying." He breaks parole and sets off to find his escapee friend.  As his bus meanders through the counryside he says, "I'm so excited I can barely sit still - I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel - a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain...I hope I can make it across the border... I hope I can find my friend and shake his hand... I hope the pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams... I hope..." Great last words... love it.
   

Best Movie Endings: Part 2

This post constitutes my 4th, 5th and 6th favorite movie endings. See the introduction and movies 7,8, and 9 here. Here are the next three:

1. Rocky I - not only was this a serious bonding movie as a kid with me and my dad, but the series has been a favorite of mine over the years (except Rocky V which was terrible!) The reason the first movie ending was so great is because Rocky loses to Apollo at the end. It doesn't fit the fairy tale ending mold even though Rocky puts up a valiant fight. I can still hear "Adrianne!" ringing in my ears.
2. Good Will Hunting - Ben Afflec and the boys go to Matt Damon's house as they've always done and this time he's not there - he's finally left to chase his dreams. Afflec goes back to his car - his friends switch seats in the car when they realize the front seat is now open - and Robin Williams reads the letter from Matt Damon, "sorry, I had to go see about a girl." Great ending to a great movie.
3. Braveheart - after the famous beheading scene with William Wallace laid out for all to see and screaming "Freedom!" the narrator describes what happens as the saddened Scottish soldiers gather on the hillside. "Wallace's body was torn to pieces, his head was mounted on London bridge, his arms and legs were sent to the four corners of Britain as a warning... but it did not have the effect that Longshanks planned." Then you see Robert the Bruce gathering his troops, "You have bled with Wallace - now bleed with me." And the crazy undermanned Scottish army throw the claymore and go charging into the field screaming, "they fought like warrior poets, they fought like Scottsmen, and they won their freedom..." I'm ready to suit up right now and battle the Brits myself!

Top three are coming tomorrow...any guesses?

Best Movie Endings: Part 1

I'm preaching a sermon this weekend called "The Fugitive" and it has reminded me of the powerful ending of that Harrison Ford movie from the 90's. It was one of the great endings to a great story in film. It got me thinking about movies that I love that have great endings - and it didn't even come up in the top 3 or so on my list. I'm going to do a rapid-fire three part post of my favorite movie endings - in essence it will be my Top 9. There are some classic movies with great endings like Citizen Kane, the Godfather, Planet of the Apes, Star Wars, Bladerunner, One Flew Over the Cukoos Nest, etc. But I'm going to stick to movies that I've seen as an adult that were made within my generation. These are movies that either have great last lines, emotionally powerful conclusions, or cool twists at the end. So here it goes - this first post will contain my bottom three choices (in essence #'s 9, 8, and 7):

1. The Fugitive - This storyline was so well-conceived, and I remember being completely invested as I watched it unfold. From the jumping off the dam scene to the big raucous in the convention hall the action didn't stop. So when Tommy Lee Jones took the cuffs off of Harrison Ford in the squad car at the end, I literally had a physical reaction of relief.
2. Fight Club - As a Pastor, I'm not sure I'm allowed to include this movie on my list, but here it goes. The story has always fascinated me, and the multiple personality twist at the end of this movie is what makes it list-worthy. As Tyler Durden (Edward Norton) watches the city crumble before his eyes at the end after his band of terrorist blow the city to bits, he tells his lady friend, "you came at a very strange time in my life..."
3. Saving Private Ryan - as Ryan visits the cemetary as an old man and reflects on the men who had died saving his life, the only words he can muster to his wife and family are, "Tell me I'm a good man," he so wanted to live up to the price that was paid for his life. This is a redemptive theme that I've used in a sermon before. There is an indebtedness that comes when someone gives their life for yours.

Stay tuned for the middle three on my list in Part 2 and then my top three movie endings in Part 3.

Categories of Thankfulness

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. There are a few different categories or even levels of giving thanks that I've been pondering as we head into this holiday tomorrow.

1. Thankful for the things we have. This is the traditional question that we ask and answer around our Thanksgiving meal each year, "what are you thankful for?" And there are many, many things to list. From our family members to our ipods we have more than we could ever know what to do with. I'm sure every person reading these words could come up with a hearty list.
2. Thankful for things unseen. This category is a little harder to capture because it's less concrete. Things such as the mutual trust that is exchanged like a commodity within a friendship, the forgiveness that has been extended in a relationship on the mend, the compassion that is felt for someone who is hurting, the compelling love of an active God. These things may not be as close to the tip of our tongues around the Thanksgiving table, but they are deeper and richer and more soul-expanding than the items in the first category.
   
3. Thankful for our difficulties. It takes a broad perspective to get our hearts around this one. But it is one of the evidences of a spiritually healthy person. Someone who can give thanks even through difficult times knowing that on the other side of the trouble - they will have grown and learned and been formed into something that couldn't have been without that experience... and God will still have been faithful.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.