Working with teams is one of my favorite things to do. If you have been called as a leader, you rely on at least one team of people. Teams are how we accomplish big things, those things that are bigger than what we could do alone. This is the whole idea behind leading; we lead because we recognize a problem that is bigger than us, a problem that it will take many people to solve. We each have a limited capacity to work with other people, so we develop teams to manage our working relationships. Depending on the problem you are trying to solve (your vision for a better future) you may either lead teams of individual contributors or teams of leaders. If you lead a team you should focus on two areas to make your team great.
First, invite. This is two fold. First you need to create a great working environment that creates success with those you serve. Success begets success. When you are successful in your mission, people will be attracted to your team. Next, perfect the art of inviting people onto you team. There is no substitute for hand choosing who you want as part of your team. There can only be a small number of people on your team, probably less than 12; why would you let just anyone join your team? If you have created a successful environment, you will have plenty of people to choose from. Be selective.
I will post more later about creating this environment and picking team members, but for now lets move onto the next next area of focus to develop a great team; invest. Your primary responsibility as a team leader is to develop your team members. This flies in the face of common sense. Most team leaders assume their primary responsibility is to their mission. That’s not the case, your teams primary responsibility is to the mission, yours is to your team. Remember, we have a team because the problem (vision) is to big for us to accomplish alone, therefore it is critical to have teams who can accomplish the mission. Viewing our responsibilities this way will change the way we work and how we treat our team members. Our primary thrust as team leaders is investing in the success of our team members. When we do this, our team members become wildly successful at accomplishing our mission. So, at this point you may be asking “so what if you team is of leaders? Who accomplishes the tasks that achieve your mission?” Well, if your team is made of up leaders that means they are leading others because the vision they are pursuing is to large for them to accomplish on their own, so the same principle applies. We all have an eye on the goal, it keeps us inspired and motivated, but we as leaders accomplish the goal by investing in others. Think about it this way, if you could spend your time helping 10 people be 20% more productive you will add 200% productivity to your work force. Isn’t this more than you could ever contribute on your own, doing tasks yourself? So, the question is how do we invest in our teams? That is a topic that I will save for a near future post as well.

Over the past few weekends, i’ve had the opportunity to converse with a few people whom i would assume are mature Christians.  This assumptions comes from their age (over 40) and their length of tenure at Grace (i’ve seen them around for years).  In general, i enjoy talking with more mature people and usually walk away from such a conversation with much fodder for thought.  The life experience of someone who has walked the road ahead of me is enlightening.
Unfortunately, several of my recent conversations left me bereaved.
First, let me state that i appreciate a truly helpful suggestion, one that makes things better for others.  I don’t even mind criticism, if it in fact is for the benefit of those we serve. 
That said, receiving complaints of personal preference for personal benefit from one who should be serving as a mentor or counsel for the next generation stresses my patience.  Though in most cases i will listen politely and not retort (remember, i am talking with one i assume to be more mature than myself), i walk away mentally frustrated.  This pains me and drains my hope. 
How do we hope for a better church and a church that will span generations when we, the previous generation are self absorbed and are looking for the church to cater to us!?!?!?  In fact WE ARE THE CHURCH!  If you – like me – have been around the church for many years and find yourself on the wiser end of age, you are the church.  The church is hear to attract and disciple the younger, newer generation of disciples.  Think about this, Jesus discipled the apostles for three years and then left them (with the Holy Spirit) to grow the church.  How long do we expect “the church” to disciple us? 
It is time for us to be the church, to focus on those who are coming in and coming up and to teach them to do the same.  We are to call out to the world “come, follow me as i follow Christ”.  I don’t know what this church is that will cater to the mature, older men of faith.  Who is to do this; the staff??  The staff is not the church!  The church is you and i,  and we (the church) are called to be salt and light to the world.  Salt, which brings out the God flavors – amplifies that which is good; and light, which illuminates the truth and what should be.  “This music is too loud and i don’t like it” or “I don’t like this sermon, it didn’t minister to me” is neither salt nor light.
The consequences of not getting this is death for Grace.  If we don’t look to bring in and bring up the next generation (instead of focusing on ourselves), we will go the way of any civilization who failed to expand their population. 
Think of this, every set of parents must have at least three children to increase the population: 

• if two parents yield no children, population plummets;
• if two parents yield one child, population declines;
• if two parents yield two children, population stays flat;
• if two parents yield three children, population grows slowly;
• it is only when two parents yield four or more children that we see rapid population growth.

If we don’t increase our population, then we will continue to age and will eventually die without passing on our legacy.  This happens by default, unless we make a concerted effort to change it.  As Rex continues to age, we will see the average age of the congregation age with him (the avg being +/- 7 years from Rex’s age).  It is only through deliberate efforts to bring in and bring up the next generation that we will build a legacy to be carried on over the generations. 
In the words of the late, great John F. Kennedy; we need to ask not what Grace can do for me, but what I can do for Grace.

I am rooting in Matthew, preparing for the sermon on the mount series we will start on May 23rd.  I’m haunted by a reoccurring theme I seem to find in Jesus’ teaching and life example.  This theme is noticeable when you consider the things Jesus didn’t do that he was expected to do (by the Jews who were looking for Jesus to “deliver” them).
Jesus didn’t get involved in politics at all.  In fact, He says very little about politics of the ruling government (contrasted with the politics of the religious leaders, which Jesus had a very obvious problem with and talked about often.)  This is even more striking when you study the political debacle of those times.  I am sure Jesus could have easily picked many issues with the government and rebuked them and taught on them, but he didn’t.  Jesus also didn’t fight or comment much on those who did.  Again, when you look at the history surrounding Jesus’ visit on earth, it was plagued with wars involving the Jews.  The Jews had been fighting for their religious freedoms for generations.  The Jews expected their savior to lead the charge in combat.  Jesus didn’t encourage his followers to take up this cause. In fact, he taught in contrast:

^38-42“Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for

tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t

hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If

someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back,

giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes

unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life.

No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

^43-47“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its

unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m

telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you,

not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the

energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves,

your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the

sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good

and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you

expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those

who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does

that.

⁴⁸“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it.

Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and

graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.

I think the key is in the last verse: “You’re kingdom subjects.”  I am sure Jesus could have spent his whole life rebuking the practices of the unbelieving world around Him, but he didn’t.  Instead he spent the majority of his time teaching the unbelieving world about “kingdom” things.  I know this is the example I as a believer am called to follow, I need to focus on kingdom things instead of being distracted by the world.  I am not going lend my energy to politics and wars, there’s too much to do for the kingdom.

A friend made an off handed comment the other day.  “That’s all just man’s wisdom” he said.  This has been chewing at me for a couple days and i have been trying to pinpoint why.  I think i figured it out.

Man has no wisdom aside from what God has given him.  Solomon could have asked for anything, but he asked for wisdom and God was pleased with his request and granted it to him.  Did you ever wonder about what Solomon actually obtained?  Do you think he just got a better understanding of the scriptures?  I highly doubt it.  As an observant man once told me, everything in the bible is true but everything which is true is not in the bible.  If you haven’t heard this before i would encourage you to chew on it, even to try and disprove it.

Through my varied professional and academic education i have learned broadly about “man’s wisdom”.  In this education i have learned one thing most prominently.  All existence is governed by universal laws.  We have different names for the laws, some are physics, some are mathematics, quantum mechanics, philosophy, leadership, business principles, theology, etc.  One lesson that sticks with me more than most is that God created these universal laws and existence does not stray from them.  Mankind has only discovered these laws, not created them.  Even though many of these laws are not stated specifically in the bible, they are just as real and valid as the ten commandments.

The comment made by my friend has been chewing at me because i believe it insulted the work and minds of great people who have come before us.  Many people have devoted their life to understanding the universal laws that govern our existence.  Saying “that is just man’s wisdom” implies that this knowledge is optional, like “I can read the bible and I’ve never read that in the bible so it may not be true.”

Really?  OK then, lets test the laws of gravity -care to jump off a bridge? Or how about inertia, -why not stop out in front of a care traveling at 60MPH?  Have you ever tried to develop an employee or mentee without applying good leadership?  Try implementing a significant change and intentionally breaking the rules of change management, see what happens.

BTW, i believe if you read the bible and digest the stories therein, you will also be able to identify many of these universal laws.  Moses engaged the laws of organizational leadership, Nehemiah engaged the laws of change management (actually all seven prominent principles), Noah applied mechanics laws (even though he didn’t know it) and made the ark float, Cain defied the laws of anatomy and physiology and killed his brother (maybe unknowingly), Jesus used psychology principles to teach (seems only fair, he created them!  ). 

Man’s wisdom is not really man’s.  Like everything, we only steward it.  I believe wisdom is a gift of God, he graciously hid some things so that the ones he created curious by nature wouldn’t get bored!

As I continue my life long study of who Jesus was and the example he left us to follow I am struck (again) by the things He DIDN’T touch upon. 
He didn’t condemn slavery, He didn’t get involved in politics, He didn’t spend time analyzing and refuting other religions, just to name a few.  I am sure there are wrongs in these things, but it stands out that he spent very little time on such pressing issues.
He spent most of his time teaching about heaven, faith and our heart (how wicked it is, how we should love God and others …). 
How much of our thought and conversation goes to things that Jesus talked about versus things of this world? I know that I fall short  on this one.  Too much of my thought and conversation goes to whats wrong with this world.  Don’t get me wrong, understanding the times and culture is important (it was obvious by the parables He used that Jesus understood His world well) and for me it is a focus (how can you reach people if you cant relate to them?).  But this focus should be to better relate the things Jesus taught, not to condemn the world we live in.

Do you take a day off each week?

Maybe your day of rest wont look like this, but it should be a break from the go go go of life.

I am always amazed when I talk to people who seem to have a strong faith and good disciplines to find out they don’t take a day off regularly.  It seems strange to me that we take the rest of the 10 commandments so seriously and don’t even usually give a thought to this one.  Funny enough, almost a quarter of the verbiage in the 10 commandments is about the sabbath.  I would think that if the author felt it was important enough to spend this much time on the subject, it must be important. Especially in light of the seriousness of the other commandments:

You shall not kill

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Why is it that we feel compelled to follow this obviously good advice and not the sabbath?

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

For six days you shall labor and do all your work.

But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall
not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female
slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all
that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed
the Sabbath day and consecrated it.

It seems to me that the Creator who created everything might have a clue about what is best for society and for us individually.  Of the millions of things He could have instructed us to do, it strikes me that the sabbath was a higher priority than all but nine.

Maybe we look at the other commandments and rationalize that they are for the greater good, they effect more than just us as individuals.  But is this not true of the sabbath as well?  Wouldn’t a day of rest – void of everyday stress and pressure, a day reflecting on what is good and a day of remembering our heavenly father and spending time with Him have a great impact on society as a whole?  What if we all let the troubles of the world go for one day a week and spent time giving thanks and reflecting on all He has done for us?  I think this might change our culture drastically.  I don’t believe we were intended to “do nothing” on the sabbath, but I do believe we were intended to change our focus on that day.

Maybe we should reconsider our stance on the sabbath; not because it is a rule or law, but because the same one who created humanity seemed to think it was a priority.

What troubles have we
In life so short
That they might be
The ending sort?
What could break
So grim to tell
That we might shake
The gates of hell?
What pain so deep
And hurt so bold
That it should keep
A heart so cold?
When today brings sorrow
hope for tomorrow.

I’ve been reading the sermon on the mount again. 
This is a hard teaching and always troubles me.  I usually leave this reading feeling that I have been given my reward on earth and therefore am forfeiting some heavenly blessing.
I’ve done some reading around this passage recently, in an effort to see what the great minds of the world have concluded.  The literature spans the opinion horizon; from the sermon on the mount being completely figurative, to it being specific for the drastic time in which it was delivered, through it being a literal principle for all ages to adhere to.
The problem is we can not obtain such ideals.  Yet we should be used to being called to that which we can not accomplish.  Jesus also calls us to “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect” and “Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”.
Some are of the opinion that such commandments are ideals that were never really meant to be striven for.  I don’t subscribe to this theory.  I believe these teaching are meant to keep us moving forward towards the goal.  They are attainable, just not in the way and time frame we want to obtain them. 
If we could accomplish all things on our own, why would we need a Father?  With out such absolute ideals that we were meant to strive for, we would have no need for absolute grace.  It is this grace that sustains us, that keeps us and which ultimately saves us.
It is still a hard teaching, but it helps me to appreciate Gods grace even more.

As the two of them drew near the star which we call our sun and to is circling planets, the senior angel pointed to a small and rather insignificant sphere turning very slowly on its axis.  It looked as dull as a dirty tennis ball to the little angel, whose mind was filled with the size and glory of what he had just seen.
“I want you to watch that one particularly,” said the senior angel, pointing with his finger.
“Well, it looks very small and rather dirty to me,” said the little angel. 
What’s special about that one?”
He listened in stunned disbelief as the senior angel told him that this planet, small and insignificant and not overly clean, was the renowned Visited Planet.
“Do you mean that our great and glorious Prince … went down in person to this fifth-rate little ball?  Why should He do a thing like that?” …
The little angel’s face wrinkled in disgust.  “Do you mean to tell me,” he said, “that He stooped so low as to become one of those creeping, crawling creatures of that floating ball?”
“I do, and I don’t think He would like you to call them ‘creeping, crawling creatures’ in that tone of voice.  For, strange as it may seem to us, He loves them.  He went down to visit them to lift them up to become like Him.”
The little angel looked blank.  Such a thought was almost beyond his comprehension.

Yesterday is history,

tomorrow a mystery,

but today’s a gift, that’s why it’s called “the present”.

Master Uguay