Pastors' Cage Fight (notes from #ElephantRoom)

I'll try to post some thoughts on a few of the discussions from watching the Elephant Room back in February.

Honestly, if you get a chance, last years Elephant Room was much more challenging and "iron sharpening iron" than this years. In 2011, pastors seemed willing to challenge each other in grace, confronted differences, and candidly present their views while agreeing to disagree.

In 2012, it seemed that the design was set to demonstrate a kumbaya-like atmosphere where pastors, who clearly have significant differences, can agree to agree and get along without making a public scene. This IS a key and essential quality due to the rancor of contemporary mudslinging, misrepresentation, and character assassination that goes on all too frequently both among pastors and churches. Since I bear my own scars and wounds from such ill-constructed, misinformed, and ill-placed personal attacks, I deeply appreciate any voice of wisdom and reason that rises up in today's Church to speak against slander, gossip, and abuse of pastoral leadership and biblical communicators.

Over the next few posts, I'll mix in a few of these discussion points and what my personal, and meaningful take-aways were from this event.

A Pastors' Cage Fight

Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending the The Elephant Room, a live simulcast event pitting nationally prominent Christian leaders to debate topics with each other. It was open to questions via Twitter, and allowed 2 pastors to debate an issue, but each topic was then opened for input from the others in attendance.

While I thought last year's Elephant Room was more challenging, heated, and interactive, this one certainly left me with me take-aways. I posted several direct quotes via Twitter and Facebook.

Learn more about the speakers and topics here: James MacDonald, Mark Driscoll, Crawford Loritts, Jack Graham, TD Jakes, Steven Furtick, Wayne Cordeiro.

Topics/ Issues: Diversity, Denominations, Differences (in major theology), Depression (un-health of pastors and how to avoid burnout), Distinctives (essentials of the Gospel).

Significantly, at least at the event, TD Jakes came out and addressed his position, with great humility and willingness, on his theology of the Godhead. What was discussed was a deep theological distinction regarding modalism or Sabellianism. (For more info on Sabellianism, visit Justin Holcomb's Know Your Heretics series at The Resurgence.) and Trinitarianism. Honestly, while I study and know my theology, I was not familiar with TD Jakes position on these issues, so I wasn't prepared for this discussion and was even surprised by it.

I enjoyed the grace and truth with which topics were handled and debated. In fact, I wish there had been more heat, debate, and direct candor on differences (or that they had brought in speakers who didn't agree so much). The elephant did not seem very big in the Elephant Room. In fact, here's a pic of the actual elephant in the room at our event. See, not very big!

If you would like to read well-written live-blogged version of the event, check it out at Trevin Wax's blog.

I may post some of my personal thoughts and notes from the event next week, if there is enough interest. Let me know!

Great thoughts from Chick-fila Leaders Conference

On Friday, Chick-fila and John Maxwell lead a Leadercast (leadership-oriented simulcast). Some of the content may be available for download, so check it out.

I'll continue to post some other notes, but here were some very quotable quips from the day:

• Great ideas come from having fun and being together without an agenda. Best ideas happen in meetings with no agendas.
• Jim Knight- Coke Chairman: Selling products is not enough, we all need 2 be a better partner with society.
• Relationships, not transactions, lead to transactions.
• When it is really hard, look up and put a smile on your face! If you can't do it, how can you expect it from your employees?
• Humility and being able to carry your own bag are important in leadership." - Muhtar Kent
• Learning from a mentor: not always what they say but the subtleties of what they do. Dan Cathy
• People who want to change the world try MANY ideas!
• Innovative ideas almost always seem obvious after the fact. The trick is to come up with them before the fact

How to Make Decisions

The Art of Decision-making by Seth Godin from my notes of Leadercast by Chick-fil-a.

Lot's of great thoughts and easily tweetable one-liners.

Discover that leadership means making decisions. Leaders must be willing to answer the following questions:

• Will I accept what is and what will be? Willing to acknowledge reality, and make decisions based on that reality. Don't be like newspaper industry, ignoring how business is changing.
• Temptation is to see what we are hoping for, not what is.
• Are you invisible or remarkable? Making average stuff for average people (make everything “good enough”) rather than customizing and making unique.
• Are we willing to earn the right to whisper rather than yell? We have to stop yelling at our audience, and earn the right to start whispering to them.
• Are you in the story business or fact business? We purchase, decide, join based on the story we tell ourselves and what we believe/ our bias.
• Will we defend past or adapt to invent future? Do you resist future, because you’re happy where you are? How do you need to adapt/ invent future? Get rid of hammer, so that you have many tools rather than only a hammer.
• Thinking inside vs. outside box: in box- really dark. At edge of box is where innovation happens- poke edge. Won’t get ovations every time you get to edge- usually experience resistance. Action is on the fringe, edge of box.
• Lesson from Ford: Interchangeable parts = interchangeable people. Can run a factory making average stuff for average people. BUT if personal, custom needs irreplaceable people doing work we can’t imagine, dependent on people who work for you.
• Be the organization you want to buy from, invest in, join.
• Hard work is scary because it takes guts.
• Leading is scary because it means giving up control.
• Are you in business of complying or inspiring? We don't need more compliance, we need better decisions
• Management produces status quo. Leadership is innovation.
• Difference between scarcity and abundance. Either accountant doing things over again or an artist creating uniqueness. Artists use skill to do work worth doing, have difficult discussions. If you take responsibility, then people will allow you to be irreplaceable. Stand out rather than fit in.
• Do something no one else is willing to do.

What do we do in this turbulent economy?

I got the privilege to attend a breakfast presentation this morning with Steve Forbes and Northwestern Mutual CEO John Schlifske in DC. What amazed me was that much of their thoughts/ teachings was how much of it was biblical wisdom that it regularly offered in sermons weekly (or at least should be). Love it when truth is shared that reaffirms our faith. Truth is truth regardless of where it's applied or what industry embraces it. It works every time. Read for yourself.

These are notes adapted from the forum discussion by these financial wizards (and I've adapted some of them into biblical, spiritual, church-oriented principles):

3 steps to financial strength:
1. Financial plan- like a game plan- each person needs both an offensive & defensive plan,
2. Financial advisor- like a coach, we need someone to help guide and implement that plan,
3. Save more. Consume less, save more. Basically, the borrowed the Lifehouse-ism of "live on less to give more" (or in this case, retire with more).

• When investing, emotions are our enemy. They do immense harm causing people to buy high, sell low. -Forbes.
• Be patient when investing. Compound interest is a true miracle -Einstien.
• If it feels good, don't. If feels bad, probably right. This one surprised me. Sounds like the counter-cultural, counter-intuitive teachings of Jesus and the way of the cross.
• 3x harder to preserve wealth than to build it. Why? Once we have, we spend/ waste. We adjust our lifestyle to abundance, rather than maintaining our values and purpose for wealth.

Top Focus for Investing:

• Keep long-term perspective rather than looking for quick fix solutions. 'When do you plan to use your investment?' If you have time, then don't panic, don't jump early. When people panic, they do stupid things when market fluctuates and make bad decisions that are personally destructive. Same could be said spiritually.
• Life expectancy continues to increase, so plan further ahead. Make sure your making preparations for deep into retirement. Plan to live a long time. (On spiritual note- are we planning past retirement to eternity? How far ahead are you planning?)
• Greatest risk is to under-estimated expenses in retirement, esp. health care costs. So, plan for higher expenses in retirement. (Spiritually, greatest risk is not to be prepared for eternity and underestimate the reality of hell/ eternity. It cost Christ more than you can imagine.)
• Most critical tool in current business climate- cash flow. Businesses need working capital. Don't waste cash in moment, but plan 5 yrs down the road.
• Can eat well or sleep well, but not both. (Spiritually, whatever you sow, you'll reap. If living for self, reap destruction)
• Stay focused on core competencies rather than areas where you can't add value. Clear on mission & purpose both in non-profit & business. (I think they borrowed this concept from Blanchard's Leading at Higher Levels and Warren's Purpose Driven Life).

How do we balance risk & investment? (allow me to insert the word faith for risk, just for the sake of spiritual application)

• Recognize key areas of risk- disability & out-living your income. Faith areas- possibilities that we can predict and eternity.
• First, focus on risk management, then think about wealth accumulation. Take care of "risk" areas first, then start to build wealth. (Faith trumps this lifetime. Have we made proper preparations for eternity or are we just re-arranging the chairs on the Titanic).
• Quickly adapt to change and new factors in market. The speed of adaptability determines longterm health of business.
• Accept changes- plan for them, then take risk step of investing. (Do we appropriately expect challenges and hardship, then allow our faith to full us through? Are we willing to take bold steps of faith in the midst of difficult circumstances, even when the odds are against us?)
• Gold, like oil, won't stay up forever- only 5% of portfolio. (Nothing lasts, even gold will eventually be destroyed)
• Like at-bat in baseball, take risk on 3-0 count, since you'll get another chance if you miss NOT on 0-2 count when you'll strike out.

What's holding economy back? (this one's for church leaders. Application- think "what's holding back the church from fulfilling her mission?)

• Policy- gov't runs $. Like running the engine of a car, if it lacks gas, goes empty but too much gas, flooded. Fed putting in too much 'gas' by printing $, which slows down recovery and drives up prices, (What codified policies are holding back the Church from impacting our communities? What "old", not necessarily biblical, methods are flooding the church with the wrong busyness and distracting her from her mission?)
• For economy to truly stabilize, the dollar must be relinked to gold, which has intrinsic value. (Where does the church derive value? Faith in Jesus, truly living the absolute truth of the Bible)
• Tax reform- congress must simply the tax code. Most significant documents in world are brief, unlike the 9.5 million word tax code. (Keep our faith in Jesus simple and practical)
• Need positive reform of health care by cutting out the middle man 3rd-party system to allow free trade between customer & medical providers. Give patients back control of their health care.
• US in painful pause but not decline,
• Revenue base (taxes of 2.2 trillion) devoured by entitlements (about 2.3 trillion) plus all the rest of government spending (another 1 trillion).

Where's interest rate going?

• Inflation/ bonds won't explode,
• Biggest issue is employment,
• Greater risk in deflation now than inflation,
• 8% annual expectation for return on investments is hopeful not likely,

Leadership thoughts:

• In business and investing, keep focused on core purpose/ mission (yeah, that works well for the church too),
• Earning trust- great leaders don't leverage position but earn trust over time.
• Help people (those you serve and those you employee) see something bigger than themselves (find bigger purpose/ Cause- can't think of a Cause greater than eternity),
• Respond quickly to 'curveballs'- focus on changes, adapt fast,
• Focus on details to generate productivity or the details will devour it,
• Stick to Values: NorthWestern Mutual's: 1. Strength (provide a stable, strong investment environment for clients); 2. Pay dividends (add value to those you serve); 3. Do the right thing all the time (wow! any church/ Christian could take these values, which seem very biblical and apply them to their life).

Secret to growth:

• Don't rest on laurels from past or relax or try to preserve greatness, since there are others trying to catchup,
• Don't forget the "why" & where your going (keep your eye focused on the destination).

Hope you found this helpful from both a financial and personal/ spiritual/ leadership perspective.

Would love feedback and thoughts?

Being Jesus in OUR Community- notes from Exponential Conference

Incarnational Ministry, by Michael Frost (author of several books including ReJesus and well-known missiologist)

Just as Jesus was God incarnate (in the flesh) to the world, we must incarnate Jesus into our communities.

How do we live incarnationally in our neighborhoods to reach people with the Good News of Jesus?

1. Listen to your neighbor- take to to both talk and listen. Listen deeply. 
2. Say YES to every invitation to engage your community and neighbors. If they invite you in, go in. Invite you out, go out. Don't avoid interaction with community.
3. Say “we will serve you” and mean it and do it!
4. Be a doggedly-loyal and intimately committed presence of God to your neighborhood and community. This commitment is the leading influence of Christian impact. We need selfless, caring, grace-filled believers to add salt and light in our communities.

My personal take-away is the re-affirmation of a passionate appeal that I often articulate regarding church- BE THE CHURCH! We don't go to church, attend church, or do church. We are the church. We live, gather, scatter as the church. I love the concept that church is a verb not a noun. 

What is THE Church?

Notes from speakers at Exponential Conference (just returned this past weekend):
---
Speaker Reggie McNeal on "what is the church?"
In current America/ European model, a Church just becomes another category or module of the existing culture, like politics, economics, education, and now- religion.

To truly be the church, the church must spread cross-culturally into each category of culture.

Church is deployed not just gathered.

“Church” is a verb not a noun. The Church has one constant mission- to serve, reach people for Jesus.

The Church must impact her culture by engaging and serving the community. She must penetrate and transform those around her. The evidence of her impact can be measured in lowered crime rate, lowered  gang participation, higher graduation rate, lowered teen pregnancy rate, etc.

These are life/ Kingdom-metrics. Are people being transformed in their living because of the church?

“The church” not A church. It's “being the church” not “going to church”. (I think Reggie got these from me!)

church is not the destination, the Kingdom of God is the destination.

Please RSVP- Unquenchable Life Seminar TOMORROW

All Lifehousers are invited to join us for the Unquenchable Life Seminar!

Please RSVP immediately and register here, so we know you're coming and have lunch ready for you.

"Life can leave you feeling empty, dry, and insignificant, but don't you long for something more?  A life that outlasts death.  An identity that's more than what we see in the mirror or what we write on a resume.  We long to accumulate what can never be spent.  To serve something more than ourselves. We long for the Unquenchable Life..."


Join me and other guest speakers THIS Saturday April 9th at UNQUENCHABLE, a one day seminar that will inspire and refuel your spiritual life.


This event includes powerful worship experiences, inspiring teaching sessions, corporate prayer gatherings, and the opportunity to choose from several interactive workshops that cover topics such as: The Fire of Prayer & Worship, Living for a Greater Cause, Finding Purpose in your Gifts, Understanding God & Money, and Building an Unquenchable Community.


Free lunch and childcare are available for pre-registered guests, so feel free to reserve your tickets below or visit http://unquenchableseminar.eventbrite.com for more information.  Isn't it time to experience the joy of The Unquenchable Life?

Check us out on Facebook.

Online Ticketing for THE UNQUENCHABLE LIFE: ONE DAY SEMINAR powered by Eventbrite

Whose Mark Are You Making?

Every leader will leave a mark, whose mark will you leave? That was the main question that Andy Stanley (pastor, North Point Community Church (Atlanta, GA) opened with at Catalyst Conference in the first official session. Here are some of the notes as posted by Church Relevance:

What man is a man that does not make the world better?

Leadership is a gift. Every leader leaves a mark. But the challenge is… what type of mark will you leave?

If you are discontent with the status quo and you want to see change, it is because God has put that desire to lead inside of you.

You will never recognize your biggest opportunity until after you’ve taken advantage of it or missed it. You won’t know your mistakes until long after you’ve made them.

The challenge for those of us who are leaders that want to see change is you don’t know the thing that you will do that will make the biggest difference (for good or for evil). When you study the stories of leaders, they did not know the significance of what they had done until long after they had done it.

The story of Joshua is a great example. God’s greatest concern for Israel was that they would become so wealthy that overtime they would grow less and less dependent on God. But when Joshua was 110 years old, he addressed the nation and said that he never lost sight of the fact that he was dependent on God (Joshua 23:8 & Joshua 23:11). Joshua decided that he would focus on who he is for rather than getting caught up wondering who is for him or against him.

There is no greater joy than to leverage your leadership gift into the perfect will of God.

• Am I willing to submit my leadership gift to a bigger picture and a larger story?
• Do I recognize that I am invited to be a part of God’s story?

When you finally settle why you do what you do, then you can live your life with a freedom that is unexplainable unless you experience it.

God will take full responsibility for your life and leadership once you fully surrender your life to Him.

• It is not about your mark. It is about His mark.
• It is not about who is for or against you. It is about who you are for.
• When God does His greatest work through you, you will have no idea what happened.

Our mark isn’t worth our life. Living to make my mark is too small a thing to give my life to, but to somehow be positioned in a place where God can work through me is something worth giving my life to.

Leaders are going to leave a mark. But the daily question for you is, “Whose mark are you going to leave?”