I was reading one of my favorite blogs today: Tim Stevens – LeadingSmart.com and I was reminded of a very important principle; fun is important.  I know play is important because it helps us be creative.  We – like children – learn the most and are most creative when we are playing; fully engaged in something that has captured our attention.  But Tim brings out a finer point that I tend to forget.  Playing together is important  because it helps us build the affinity needed for healthy teams.

This can be a challenge, not only because we are busy and often forget to make time for fun together or miss the importance of it all together, but because we are (overly) concerned about other peoples opinions.  There seems to be more sensitivity to this in the church than in the work place.  Many successful companies realize the productivity benefits of their teams playing together – they call this “team building” and it has been encouraged at most places I have worked.  Although I have a Frisbee in my office, we don’t seem to use it much.  I find myself thinking, “what would someone think if they drove by and saw a few of the staff outside tossin the disc?”  I’m not going to be concerned about this anymore. In fact I am hoping for that someone brings it up, what a great teaching opportunity.

If you lead a team, spend some time enjoying life with them, it’ll change the dynamics of your team and pay off in ways you never imagined.

Lets assume for a minute that you have an amazing ministry and people are more than willing to join your team; either by seeking you out or by simple invitation. If this is the case you will find yourself in a position to be selective about team members. You will want to choose team members who are going to be fulfilled by working with your team and who you can pour into. There are four attributes you can use to help with this selection.
Attitude: most important is the attitude of your team members. Very often, attitude is the only choice we have. Even when you have no control over a situation, you can still choose your attitude. Choose team members who have a good, positive and encouraging attitude and can muster this attitude even in a bad situation.
Alignment: you will want team members who are aligned with your mission, vision and leadership. This is sometimes a little challenging to discern up front because it takes time for people to catch your vision and adjust to your leadership style. Alignment is an attribute you will want to monitor in your team and address when team members lose alignment.
Affinity: there should be some natural chemistry in your team members. This attribute is to often put second to skill. It is more important to have a team of strong players who can play together than it is to have a team of superstars. Superstars very often don’t play well with others. A team which can work together will accomplish exponentially more that the best group of superstar who won’t work together as a team.
Aptitude: You don’t always need people with a ton of experience. Successful companies know this, they spend significant amounts of money recruiting and training good, unproven people. The trick is identifying aptitude; the ability to learn what must be learned to be a part of the mission. Obviously, this will require you to work on developing the talent in your team, but this is why you exist as a team leader!
Choosing and developing your team is one of the most important thing you do as a leader; take the time to do it 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 have great ideas all day long about things i want to write about.  When i finally have time to write at night, they’re  gone.

Things i want to write about if i find my thoughts:
Why i love working with artists
In search of a good story

For tonight though, thoughts on leading.

I often have conversations with people on leading change.  These conversations come up as discussions on vision, mission, strategy, planning, change, goals, or very often “I want this to happen and its not!”

If you’ve heard yourself say something similar to the last statement, you are probably leading change.  Here are a few questions to get you going in the right direction:

• What’s the problem today? (Be specific)
• What will it look like when the problem is solved? (again, be specific)
• What is the plan to fix the problem? (don’t be painfully specific on this one, highlight the milestones).

Another way to say this is: where are you today, where do you want to go, how will you get there?  This is the critical path for leading change.  Assuming there are other people involved in the change you want to make, you must make these points crystal clear to all involved. 
Identifying and communicating where you are, where your going and how you’ll get there wont always guarantee success, but not identifying these things will almost always guarantee failure.

What leaders do:

• Dream
• Share their dreams
• Show others what we can do together and encourage them to dream
• Listen to others dreams
• Build teams
• Encourage people to make a difference
• Help identify and solve problems
• Collectively set strategies and goals
• Believe in others
• Take responsibility for change
• Seek wisdom
• Reflect, Refocus, Reengage
• Learn

I like to achieve new goals each week, but it doesn’t always happen. When I find myself in these situations, I try to take stock of my actions. I know I have a tendency to try to make things happen myself when I feel progress slows down OR I notice that progress slows down because I am trying to do things myself. My role is to lead. There are times when producing is a vital part of this role, but it is secondary to leading. Leading is more about what you do for others than what tasks you complete. In order to refocus my attention on leading I use the list above, It isn’t all inclusive, but it gets me thinking in the right direction.

What else would you add to the list?

I was reading about pleasing people v. pleasing God this morning in my reading. My primary goal is to please God, no question in my mind. But I believe there is also an aspect of “pleasing people” which must be considered. In the past I have used the “pleasing God” agenda to excuse my lack of “love your neighbor as yourself” attitude. I have a D personality, it is natural for me to seek Gods will and once I perceive it I pursue it at full speed, often with people as speed bumps. Maybe this is allowable if you are accomplishing something alone, but it doesn’t work if you are trying to accomplish something bigger.

We know that people buy into a leader before they buy into a cause. If you want to attract people (especially good people) to your cause there is an element of being at peace with those around you. If you are too pleasing whereby forgoing your convictions you end up with the same plight as many politicians, but if you are blind to the feelings and thoughts of those around you, you may be leading only yourself. I have worked with people (long, long ago ) who don’t know how to interact or appreciate those around them; I certainly don’t feel the desire to help achieve their cause. In fact, I often question the legitimacy of their cause; is it really all about them? After all, the fruits are love, joy, peace, patients, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control; no mention of directness or offensiveness their!

This is a delicate balance that I don’t think I’ve mastered yet. How do you deal with this?

Heb 12:14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

Heb 12:15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

What do you think about when you think of work ethic? Do you think of someone who works hard for long hours? Someone who is always at the office? Someone who shows up early and stays late, putting in at least 45 – 50 hours each week?

I think this the common perception of a good work ethic, at least for the generation in front of me. I have had the luxury of spending much of my career running my own business or as a consultant; insulated from bosses who would tell me I have to work so many hours a week. Yet looking back I think I spent more hours in the office than most. Why? No one was driving me to do so. Towards the end of my secular career I spent about a year dreading going to work and for the first time in my life found I was tending to only put in my “40″ if I could (which was nearly never). Did my work ethic change?

No, my work ethic and philosophy have been constant since I was about 20; work is a gift from God to build us into who we were meant to be. I also manage this way. I have always encouraged those who work for me to invest in their careers; to learn and grow as much as they can. This is more than being in the office; its living life, experiencing new things, learning about the world around us and playing. This is when learning happens, not under the demand of a 50 hour office week. In fact, I would argue that the person who spends all their time in the office is not going to be as effective as the person who has a well rounded life.

Work doesn’t happen only in the office. Work isn’t only the tasks we complete. The post modern world we live in has moved past that and if we want to attract and retain the best young minds out there we must move past it as well. Let me encourage you to rethink work ethic and how you manage. If the greatest asset a company has is its people, then shouldn’t the focus be growing those assets as opposed to consuming them?

In reading through the Acts this morning, I was again impressed by how much time Paul and the other disciples spent communicating the good news. There were a couple instances where Paul worked as a tent maker, but the majority of his time was spent traveling and talking with people. There were times when God had allowed Paul to be under house arrest, which afforded him the time to do little else. Was that coincidental? I don’t think it was.

This is encouraging to me. I often feel led to take the time to stop and talk with people, especially to encourage them in their journey. Sometimes this is at the sake of some tasks that I am supposed to complete. Like many people, I often struggle with knowing that I am using my time most effectively. As a leader, I know that I should be focusing on those things that only I can do and providing those around me with opportunities to exercise their talents. This is not always easy when there doesn’t appear to be anyone around me willing to take on a certain task. There is always more work than time and resources to complete the work. So, like many I struggle to effectively prioritize. Reading in the Acts this morning spoke to me. The one thing I know I am meant to do, more than anything, is encourage and continually pour myself into those that I work with. This needs to be a higher priority than completing tasks for me. When I do this, I feel like I am following Gods plan for my life and that feels right. Though I wish for these insights and decisions to be easy, that doesn’t seem to be the way God works with me! Someday I hope to understand why. 

This is the title of the book I have been reading. It originally captured my interest because I was going to start working on our “Getting Connected” ministry and I needed to come up with a plan.

Funny enough, the book talks about plans – specifically master plans – and how limiting they are to community growth. My initial response was to disagree. How can we have success without a plan?? At the turn of each page I found myself saying “but, but, …..”

But the truth is, when I open my mind to the possibilities and look at this thing we like to call community from a fresh standpoint, the views expressed by the author are hard to find fault with.

One overarching questions has surfaced in my mind: why are we trying to build community?

This question is not as simple as it looks. Do we really need to “build” community or does it happen in spite of our efforts? What is our desire in getting people connected, are we trying to accomplish our goals or improve their walk? Why do we have such a hard time expanding on natural affinities? How do we measure successful community?

The author (Joseph Myers) suggests that this won’t happen by a master plan or by force but by collaborative, organic growth patterns.

Very Interesting.

My wife tells me that most people are blessed with ambition, but I am plagued with it.

I often see things as I think they should or could be and feel the need to  make them that way.  Unfortunately, this often causes me to violate my desire to do one thing and do it well (read focus).
It seems that most leaders have trouble with this.

Why is it that we can’t eliminate world hunger while simultaneously curing AIDS and implementing world peace?   I may never understand the answer to this question, but I know I need to continue to discipline myself to focus if I am ever to achieve anything.