All In!

Leadership is hard. Every decision a leader makes can either help or hurt the organization. Each decision carries significant weight  and the outcomes can carry positive or negative results that can either stall, trip up, or move the organization down the field. There are no insignificant issues or decisions as every consequence, good or bad, has meaning.

A leader who is "all in" must have a sense of calling and purpose. While some leaders cannot specifically articulate why they sacrifice so much for the organization, it is definitely there. These types of leaders are willing to give up on, or let go of, those little issues that are frivolous and don't help the organization. They have the ability to stay the course especially in the midst of adversity. 

I had the opportunity to be with some leaders who are "all in" when I visited Village of Hope in Guatemala last month. The Blocks and Uchereks have sacrificed so much in order to provide faith, family, and a future to special needs and HIV children. I encourage you to check out the links below and follow these families and their ministry. How "all in" are you? 

Village of Hope Facebook

Lifesong Guatemala (Parent Organization)

Block Family

Ucherek Family

Break It Down!

In the past month I have had the privilege to meet with some pretty cool people. One was a young gentlemen who left for Kenya, with his wife and young daughter. They are taking a 1 year assignment to assist a church. Another meeting was with two families who are currently serving in Guatemala and working diligently to start an orphanage. As I met, listened, and conversed it was evident that in both instances there was a lot of anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed with the enormity of the tasks at hand. 

They had every right to feel this way. For the young couple in Kenya they had never served on a pastoral staff prior to this trip and neither has done any kind of leadership development work. The families in Guatemala have never started an orphanage and only one of them has experience working in an orphanage for 9 months. (For the record, I am a firm believer that lack of experience DOES NOT disqualify a person from an opportunity. If that was the case I would not be where I am today.)

Changes in life, while exciting, will bring anxiety, tension, and stress. Furthermore, a lack of knowledge within the field we are entering will place a sense of fear in us that causes doubts and removes confidence in ourselves. So what advice did I give? It is critical that they breakdown the projects and goals, don't get caught up in the big picture, and to focus on a few pieces rather than the whole.

The first step is to have a clear understanding of realistic expectations from those in authority. We will typically place higher expectations on ourselves than what our bosses will place on us. Likewise, we tend to look at the big picture and try to imagine how we are going to fit or fix everything at once. 

Secondly, we must identify a time frame to accomplish our tasks. Do we have a few months? A year? Once we have established a time frame then we can start working backwards and we can identify how many projects/goals can we realistically accomplish within the designated period of time?

Third, keep your focus on two or three projects, depending on the nature of your work, in which you will have a great sense of accomplishment when you are done. The trick here, especially if you have been on the job for a while, is to keep these goals in line with what you are already doing. Don't try and go outside your job responsibilities. Doing this will only slow you down. 

Lastly, perform a weekly review to stay on top of the progress you are making towards your goals and, if necessary, adjust. Typically, we set an unrealistic timeframe to complete our projects. The more you do this the better you will get at it. This is especially true when we involve others. Many times a third party will slow your project down. It's ok. Adjust for current project and realize this fact when planning for the following year. 

The end of each August marks the end of the ministry season for our staff. We will spend the last Monday of that month in a full day staff retreat. During this retreat we will review our goals from the previous year and share our goals for the next 12 months. Following the steps above has helped me to identify 3 goals to accomplish in the next 12 months. Give them and try and tweak them to fit you!

Don't Forget the People!

There are a ton of studies out there that help us to understand more about ourselves. There is DISC, Myers-Briggs, Strengthfinders, a multitude of personality assessments, EQ assessments, and more. I am a sucker for these assessments as I am curious as to how I will test. Likewise, I love the idea of finding something out about myself that I could not previously articulate. These tests have helped to identify where I am strong as well as areas that need improvement. They communicate how I work under pressure and how I am viewed by others when under stress. These assessments are great when done with a team or family as they can show the greatest potential in working together. 

Early on I always thought of myself as being people oriented rather than task oriented. I thought of myself as someone who cares about people, looks for opportunities to connect, and has their best interest in mind. Besides, shouldn't a pastor be people focused? However, I have come to accept the fact that I have a natural tendency to be more task oriented as I have taken these assessments, made general observations, and evaluated myself. I love hanging out, helping, and connecting people to what God is doing in our communities and around the world. However, I can get drained when I do not balance my "people" time with "alone" time. I receive my energy when I am locked away in my office with a white board to process, plan, and organize my tasks and responsibilities. I am re-energized when I am driving in my car by myself or going for a run. I need that time and space to reflect, process, and think through various issues. 

Since I have a natural bent towards tasks consequently a natural byproduct can be alienating those working with me. I will average 5-7 meetings during the course of a week. These meetings are with individuals and ministry teams who I am working with or meeting for the first time. I don't necessarily like to have this many meetings each week, but it is important that I am meeting with people, updating my teams, and receiving input on projects. I have a natural tendency to move forward on projects without talking through with a team or not informing them of what we are doing. I also tend to take on tasks rather than delegate or share the responsibility and the project will take much longer to complete. Ultimately, the worse thing that can happen is that people's feelings can become hurt. Hurt feeling can happen on many different levels and can manifest in a variety of ways.

People do not forget when their feelings have been hurt. They may forgive, but not forget. They may decide to work with you again, but they will leave their guard up and not feel free to fully give themselves to the project or share their opinions and ideas. Regardless, if you are naturally bent towards task or people, don't forget its the people who drive the tasks and complete the projects. I encourage you to identify which side of the line you are on and understand the positives and negatives. 

A 6 Month Overview

Note: I realize that this type of exercise can be limited too specific job responsibilities. However, I would encourage anyone to spend some time looking ahead. Whether it is to overview a week, month, quarter, etc. This can be a valuable exercise that helps you to identify your upcoming season and to stay on top of your deadlines!

I am a little late with this exercise, but late is always better than never. Twice a year a get out the whiteboard and begin looking out over the horizon of the next 6 months and to anticipate what projects, deadlines, and events are coming up that I need to plan. On the flip side, if there are any gaps then I can insert projects that have been sitting on the back burner. Typically, I will look at January through June in the month of December and July through December in the month of June. However, because of time out of the office this summer I was not able to look at the next 6 months  until this week. (And I thought summer was going to be a "catch-up" season!) 

Here is a walk through of what I do:

1. Create 6 columns (one for each month).
2. Under each month I write down a date and the activity or meeting I have scheduled. When I have exhausted all of my scheduled events, meetings, and deadlines for each month I will then draw a line at the last entry. 
3. Under this line I will then write down what Action Steps or projects I need to accomplish during that month. These action steps will correspond with all events, meeting, or deadlines for the current and future months. (Read my post on tackling projects.)
1. When writing down these action steps I keep 3 things in mind:
1. What prep work and/or follow up needs to happen with each activity in the corresponding month.
2. What prep work needs to take place for the next month(s).
3. What seasonal projects should I be working on or allow for? We have annual events and defined seasons that help me breakdown projects and plan for events.
4. I then draw another line under the action steps. In the space left I will identify how many weeks I have in each month and assign up to 3 action steps per week. I make these a priority each week.
5. Next, I input this information into Smartytask which organizes my action steps by context and deadlines. Smartytask is the platform I use for my "to-do" list and project organization. (I wrote a post about this as well.)

This six month overview helps me to take a step back and grasp what is coming at me over the next "season." It helps me to keep my head up and see what is all around me (see my previous post). This simple exercise, if done properly and not rushed, almost always eliminates any surprises and will give me enough time to make sure I am meeting my deadlines and moving my projects "down the field!"

Keep Your Head Up! (A leadership principle on the trails of Pictured Rocks)

I recently took a backpacking trip with six other people through the beautiful Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I had been looking forward to this trip for many months as it was my first backpacking expedition. Our schedule was not difficult as we planned to only hike about 2-3 miles per day to each campsite. You may not think that is a very long hike, but with 25 pound packs and medium terrain it was enough for us first timers. Our hikes between campsites would take approximately 2.5 hours as we made frequent stops for water, food, or just to take in the view. Most of the time our trail would take us along the 200 foot cliffs which provided lots of photos ops. (These pictures were taken on my wife's iphone.) I had no idea that the midwest offered this type of landscape!

Although this was my first backpacking trip, it was not my first visit to Pictured Rocks. In fact this was my third trip to this park within a 6 week time period. Suffice it to say I knew the area, but I still didn't want to miss anything as each trail we hiked offered a different landscape and terrain. As we would hike the trails I would frequently find myself looking down at my feet. Subconsciously, I was checking to make sure there was nothing to trip over on the path. I had to make a conscious effort to keep my head up. Shortly after I would catch myself within a few minutes I would be looking down again as I focused on the rocks, sticks, or roots that came up out of the ground. Again, I had to remind myself to hike with my head up so I could see what was around me!

Of course I didn't want to trip over anything so an occasional glance down would be ok. However, if I always kept my head down on the path I would lose sight of where I was walking. As I reflected more on this I thought that it was a good leadership principle as well. As a leader, I tend to focus on the little things that are right in front of me. I keep my "head down" and focus on the little things that are of no real significance. All the while I am missing the grander picture of where I am going, identify how to get there, and to enjoy being with the people on the journey with me. I have a propensity to get hung up and distracted with the phone calls, emails, and other such tasks that do not help in moving the ball down the field. Yes, I need to do these steps, but they should not drive my agenda or schedule. 

As leaders, it is important that we see what is going on all around us and not stay focused on what is only in front of us. I will be writing some future posts on topics that have helped me to "keep my head up." Fortunately, as we hiked out of the park I realized that I was no longer looking down. By catching and correcting myself I was able to change my subconscious. I was no longer drawn to look at the little things on the path.

Own Your Education

I'm sure you have heard the same story a million times over. The one about how someone was a terrible student until they figured out what they wanted to do in life and eventually became a model student. When we can identify something we are interested in doing and want to pursue it as a career, we own our education. We want to read every boook and take every class that is offered on the topoc. It's like a light bulb clicked on or the sun, moon, stars, and all the planets came into alignment. It is hard to fathom that we will actually get paid to do this. This is my story as well. However, it seems that after we graduate, begin our career, start a family, etc. our passion begins to wane. What once peaked our interest us has now become all too familiar. What used to excite us has now become a routine. Unfortunately, we stop learning and growing. We know longer create or imagine. We stop dreaming about the difference we are going to make in our workplace, community, and world. Life becomes mundane. 

Learning is a discipline that we must continue to pursue and fight to keep. Growing in our knowledge and understandings on subjects of interest can be life changing. In my experience, life can be a drag when I am not stretching myself. Life can be unfulfilled when I am stuck in a routine of work, dinner, television, and sleep. However, what I have found out about myself is this: if I don't own my education, then I won't learn anything. In other words, if I am forced to read a book or learn about a subject, I will go through the motions and jump through the hoops to meet the requirements. But, if I take the initiative to own what I am learning and apply it to my life, then I find myself fully engrossed in the subject.

Recently, I came across a book (click here for my book review) that has me on a journey of stretching myself as I discern my belief system and how it forces me to think and live out my life. In a way, it has brought to life some of my senses that have laid dormant for some time. After I am finished with this book I will be making further investigation into the claims the author is making. What really stinks is that I am supposed to be reading some other books at this time as I seek ordination through our church's denomination. There are some good books that I am required to read, but not really on the topics I prefer. Again, I am not owning my education in that regards. Maybe its the left over residue from taking 10 years to finish my bachelor and associate degrees and I am tired of being told what to read! Oh well, I guess that is why I read more than one book at a time!!

Book Review: Confessions Of A Bible Thumper

(Note: Leaders Are Readers. I am not sure who is credited with that statement, but it is absolutely true! In order to lead effectively, leaders must be informed and stay in tune with the topics that effect them. I will typically read 2-3 books at a time (you can follow me on Goodreads). I will periodically offer a book review when I feel it warrants a post. Other times I will post a review because I have received a free book and required to post a review. However, I am not required to give a favorable review. I will typically read what interests me, but I also enjoy being stretched to think about other opinions, perspectives, and lifestyles.)

Title: Confessions of a Bible Thumper

Author: Michael Camp

Description from the Book: A former evangelical's journey: What happens when a devout religious conservative examines his own evangelical tradition using the Socratic principle and follows where the evidence leads? Michael Camp's examination sent him on an illuminating spiritual adventure, a tenacious quest for a vibrant but reasoned faith in God. 

My Review: This is one of those books in which I knew that my views differed from the authors'. However, rather than allowing that knowledge to deter me from reading it, I was anxious to hear what this author had to say. As I began, it occurred to me rather quickly that our opinions and perception of Church, Christianity, and God have much to do with the context in which we grew up. He does a good job of setting up where he came from and how his journey has brought him to this point. I appreciate the openness of the author as he is blunt with his thoughts, feelings, and opinions towards the evangelical movement.

Admittingly, I was taken aback by the statements he would make about the evangelical movement, but over the course of the book I began to become more intrigued by his position and the claims he was making. I am not endorsing these claims, but this book has caused me to become more intentional with my own faith and to identify what I believe. Over the years, I have heard evangelical pastors and theologians make claims as if they are straight out of the gospel, but left me scratching my head because I didn't see the connection. 

Moreover, I began reading "Are You Sure You're Right" by Jerry A. Hickson as I was reading "Confessions..." Hickson's book shares the differences between the Church of God (Anderson, IN) movement, of which I belong, and the evangelical movement. Together these books have given me "permission" to seek what is truth and to bring into question the claims, theological position, and doctrine of what has been known as the evangelical movement.  In conclusion, while Camp's book can read like a personal journal, I recommend reading it if you are open to hearing a different perspective on the evangelical movement.

Overvalued or Underappreciated?

I am always intrigued in the offseason when free agency begins in professional sports. During free agency we hear about the value a player will bring to their new team or potential team. Or, we are told how terrible of a fit a player was to his former team. Take Steve Nash for example, in his move from Phoenix to Los Angeles, Phoenix felt that Nash, 38, is past his prime and not worth the money to resign him. However, for the Lakers, he is the perfect point guard to complement Koby Bryant, run their offense, and potentially bring the Lakers their 17th NBA Title. In light of winning the Andrew Luck sweepstakes, Indianapolis believed that Payton Manning, after sitting out an entire year due to multiple neck surgeries, was too much of a risk to resign. However, the Denver Broncos immediately snatched him up and believe that he is their golden ticket to the Super Bowl. 

How does this happen? How is one person a valuable commodity to an organization, but a liability to another? There is actually more than one answer to that question, but I want to focus on what I call the Law of Knowing Someone to Well, otherwise known as "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." Just as we do in our relationships, sports teams, as well as businesses and organizations, cannot help but to compare their players, employees, bosses, and co-workers with others. When we spend hours on end with someone we can tend to focus on their weaknesses, lack of skills, and deficiencies. When we focus too much attention on the negative, we begin to compare them with others who we don't spend the time, or can't spend the time, to identify those same characteristics. We only pick up on their strengths and see the characteristics we prefer. 

As leaders, it is important that we have a proper perspective on the skills, personality, and a right "fit" with our employees, co-workers, and family members. There is absolutely no one who can meet our full expectations. Just ask my wife! There will always be something that frustrates or bugs us about that person. If we are bringing a new employee on board, it is important to take the time and determine that they are the proper fit to the organization's culture. There are multiple tests that can help to determine personalities, strengths and weaknesses, communication skills, and more. Use them to learn as much as possible about a prospective employee.

We must also know and understand that the more time we spend with someone the more susceptible we are to take them for granted. We then begin to under appreciate them and the value they bring to the organization. We need to encourage often, specifically by communicating the value they bring. Contrary to popular belief, many employees are motivated more by knowing they are a valuable asset to the organization verses money. Take time to coach your employees at least quarterly if not more frequently. Help them to identify their goals and purpose within their job. Take the time to identify the positive character traits of your spouse and children and share with them how they can use them.  Spur them on to use their strengths. Don't take them for granted. Ultimately, keep it balanced between overvaluing and under appreciating those you work and live with. 

Articulate Your Vision

This past weekend I participated in our second annual Father/Son Trip. The twelve of us packed up the vehicles and headed north. We drove ATV's, hiked through the woods, fished in deep waters, ate fantastic food, and had great conversations. There were so many good things that came out of this trip that it is next to impossible to capture them all in one posting, so I will share with you the main idea of this group. 

The genesis of this group came about 2.5 years ago when I brought together a group of boys who were the same age as my son. These boys were going to be making some critical decisions as they navigated through high school and college. I wanted these guys to know and own the characteristics of manhood. I wanted these guys to have close friends and older men who to lean on through the years. I also knew that we had to bring them together beforehand to build trust and credibility. We began when the boys were 14 years of age and in the 8th grade. Now they are about to receive their drivers license and enter into a new world of responsibility. 


Along with having fun, my goal for this trip was to challenge the young men, along with their dads, to be intentional about their future. Each night, either before or after supper, we met for 1-2 hours to talk about vision, purpose, character traits, and life verses from the Bible. I didn't want to overwhelm them to the point of losing interest, so I made the exercises as simple as possible. Here is how it went down:

• The first night I challenged them with improving one character trait over the next year. Too often we attempt to improve ourselves in a variety of areas. However, it is usually in the area of productivity, diet, exercise, etc. How much better would we all be if we strived to improve our character! Likewise, we try to fix everything at once. Slow down... we have a lifetime to improve ourselves. Imagine the impact we could have if we improved just one area each year!

• The second night we started talking about vision and specifically keeping the "end in mind." For those familiar with Stephen Covey's book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." He challenges his readers to "begin with the end in mind." The boys came up with a time frame and context. Most of the boys wanted to cast a vision for the next 3-5 years as they graduated from high school and moved into college. I posed the question, "how do you want people to remember you when you graduate from high school?" 

• The third night we continued to talk about vision. As each person shared, I challenged them to think about another aspect.  Along with "begin with the end in mind", another component of a vision is to identify something broken that we are compelled or convicted to fix. Quite often we set out to do something that we thought was a good idea, but it never compelled or convicted us. If those pieces are missing then our vision will fail! I also challenged the guys to identify a Biblical passage that goes along with their vision that they would then memorize.

• The fourth and last night we identified action steps that would help them accomplish their vision. I gave the example of a football team. as the main vision, or purpose, is to score a touchdown or a field goal. They accomplish this by moving the ball down the field by gaining a few yards at a time combined with one or two big plays. It was important for the guys to come up with tangible, practical action steps that will help them move the ball down the field, a few yards at a time, and score!

By the end of our time together we all had a rough sketch of our vision and with potential action steps to complete it. Over the course of the next year we will continue to fine tune them during our monthly breakfast meetings. We will use these times to cheer one another on!

So you think you're an expert?

Without question, the radio station I listen to the most is our local ESPN Radio affiliate, 1380 AM. A few months ago our local FM radio station (106.7) announced that it's parent company was going to be a mirrored broadcast of the ESPN 1380 station. While it meant that our community would lose out on having a great local station, personally I was excited since the 1380 station would not always have a clear signal. The move to an FM station meant that I could listen to my sports station without any interruptions or static. However, the end result has been less than disappointing and borders on out right frustration! It has been more than a month since the transition and what has resulted is not what was advertised. Rather than broadcast the ESPN schedule they have introduced several new talk shows lead by local hosts. I have tried to give it some time thinking I will eventually enjoy it, but I don't think that will ever happen. 

Something happened last week that put me over the edge. While a local host was on vacation the voice of the fill-in host was familiar. After listening for a few more minutes it occurred to me that this was a disc jockey from  a classic rock station that was also owned by the same parent company. What in the world did this guy know about sports?!?!?! I also identified why this transition frustrated me and why I will probably never get over it. These people think they are experts in the world of sports simply because they have a radio platform. 

ESPN has the means to provide excellent and educated journalist, current and former professional players, owners, commissioners, and others who can provide expert opinion, information, and analysis. The most a classic rock disc jockey can provide is an opinion as a fan - not as an expert! How can someone host a sports radio show when they have never played a professional sport and have no education or background in sport's journalism? Have we come to the place where we will give anyone a platform just because they have an interest or an opinion on a subject? 

I oversee the local outreach and global missions ministries at County Line Church. I could read all the books, talk to every missionary, and do some research on the internet and none of that would give me a license to  become a missionary. I cannot speak as an expert on the subject until I have actually experienced living cross-culturally and have gone through the emotional, relational, and physical turmoil. 

As leaders, it is critical that we stay within our realm of expertise. We need to acknowledge the various areas in which we are not experts. More importantly, we need to network with and befriend those who are experts in those areas. This is one of the reasons why I visit our missionaries and learn about their ministry context. It would be irresponsible of me to speak into their life and ministry without knowing what they go through on a daily basis. 

Write Down Everything!

For many years, I was proud of the fact that I could remember what needed to be done and the order in which I had to do it. I could easily recall who I needed to call and who I was waiting on to return my call. I knew who I was meeting for the week and where. I knew what deadlines were coming up and what projects were due. I was able to keep all of this organized in my head. However, when I joined the staff at County Line Church the number of projects, meetings, and people I corresponded with increased at a level I could not keep up with using my current system, or lack there of. On my quest for a better system I was introduced to David Allen's book, "Getting Things Done." The concepts of the book is referred to as GTD (Getting Things Done). It changed how I approached my projects and drastically increased my level of productivity. While I don't want to summarize the entire book I do want to highlight a few important principles that can help you move in the right direction. 

The number one principle of GTD is to write everything done. Everything. At first I didn't understand the power of getting that thought, reminder, phone call, or project idea out of my head and on to a piece of paper. It will take some discipline and a few tools to get you moving in the right direction. However, when you finally get this principle down you will find yourself worrying less and having more confidence as you own your projects rather than allowing them to own you. Most importantly, you can then work on creating and producing rather than stressing and fretting over what you were supposed to do or who you were supposed to call. There is a lot of freedom when you write down EVERYTHING!

The next step is to put what you need to do in its proper context. As an example, I have 7 contexts in which I place my to do items. They are "Contacts", "Computer", "Office", "Waiting", "Agenda", "Errands", and "Appointments." The idea is that when you group your to-do's in the same context it will help you to stay focused on your list. This also helps to shrink your to do's down into a manageable workload. Rather than staring at everything I need to do, I can pull up my contact list and begin working in only that contexts. This will also help you to plan ahead and "schedule" yourself to complete your "office" or "computer" work. 

This is not a system for everyone and it really depends on your line of work. However, the beauty of GTD is that it gives you a framework that you can adapt to your own context. As I mentioned earlier, I have many projects going on at once and will have a minimum of 4-6 meetings in a week. I am constantly thinking of new projects that will enhance the mission of our church or for ways to improve what we are already doing. It is imperative that I can keep all of this organized in a way that everything continues to move down the field. If any of this peeks your interest in the least bit then I strongly encourage you to read it!

Tackling Projects

Summer time season can be tricky if we aren't paying attention. With each spring comes the excitement and anticipation of summer. For me, summer can never get here fast enough. However, as soon as I blink the month of June is ending and we are staring 4th of July right in the face. In a panic, I check the calendar to see that we only have 6 weeks before the kids head back to school. Summer tricks us into thinking we can kick back, relax, enjoy bike rides and family gatherings. So, why does the time go by so fast? I think one of the reasons is that we try and pack too much into too little time. Whether its the yard projects, family vacations, or we take on more projects at work because we think things will slow down for us. 

For a couple of years I have been able to stay on top of my projects (albeit more so at work than home) through a very simple process. It can be a little overwhelming when we take on projects both at work and home, and even more daunting when we have several projects going on at the same time. This is a nightmare for those who cannot easily multi-task. In some situations we are able to complete one project before working on the next, but that is a rarity. Most of the time we are trying to work on several projects at the same time. Currently I have 19 projects at work that I am currently working on or will soon begin to work on them. This is on the low side of what I usually am doing. 

A project is actually nothing more than a series of tasks. For example, renewing my Passport was a project. While it wasn't as large as landscaping my yard, it did take more than two steps to finish. It also took much longer than I anticipated. It sounded so simple that I did not even follow my own rules. I just began working towards renewing my passport. Now that it is done, or at least I got it sent it in, I went back and wrote down each action step it took for me to complete the project. Here is what I did:

1. Pick up a Passport Renewal form at the Post Office (Errands)
2. Fill out the application. (Office)
3. Order new checks so that I can pay the renewal fee. (Computer)
4. Wait for checks to arrive. (Waiting)
5. Take the form and a check to the Post Office. (Errands)
6. Wait for my new passport to come in the mail. (Waiting)

The entire process took about 2.5 weeks as I had to take the time to fill out the form and wait for my new checks to arrive. That was much longer, and a little more complicated than what I anticipated. Had I written the list out before I started I could have prioritized some things to make sure it happened much sooner. (You cannot travel outside the country when your passport is within 6 months of expiring.) The parentheses is the category that each action step fell under in my "To-Do" list. I will share more about that in another post. For right now I want to encourage you to breakdown your project into manageable action steps by writing down everything you will need accomplish in order to complete your project. 

When you begin to think about your projects in terms of little steps you will see a few things begin to happen:

1. Your projects will not overwhelm you or own you! When we write everything down that needs to happen it will help to ease your mind. If we try and keep all of the steps in our head, or we don't think through the steps, the "project" will consume us. Steps will be forgotten or messed up and in the end the project will either take too long or it will not go as planned. 
2. You will have more time to enjoy your summer. When you list all the steps it will help you to see how much work it will take to complete the project and how much time you will need to set aside for it. I had no idea that it would take so long to renew my passport. 

In my next post I will share with you some resources I use to help me categorize my Action Steps. If you want to get a head start or want more information on this topic then I highly recommend David Allen's book, "Getting Things Done." It is a life saver!

Create Memories With Your Kids

One winter night I was bored at home with the family. I'm not sure what gave me the idea, but I got out the iPad and began interviewing my two daughters. I meant for it to be a short little activity, but  it ended up taking about an hour. What transpired was really fun. I began by asking them questions about their future in terms of where they will be, what they would be doing, who they will marry, how many kids they will have, etc. As they talked, I picked up on little things in their answers that would lead to more questions. I can't wait to get the video out in 5 to 10 years from now and relive the memories and to see how close or far off they were from their answers. 

Part of our responsibility as a leader in the home is to create fun memories with our family. I wish I would do that more. Quite often I am too self absorbed with what I am doing or want to do and don't think about what we could be doing together. As dads we can't be serious all the time either. It is important for our kids to see us having a good time and not care what others think. (Check out this link in YouTube: Entertainment for the Ride Home) This summer I encourage you to make it a goal to create one fun family activity that you can do each week.  

Why I Will Never Again Misplace My iPad!

It was the last leg of my trip as I flew from Detroit to Ft. Wayne. Sixteen hours earlier I had boarded a plane in Berlin to fly back home. I was exhausted! My goal on this short flight (29 min.) was to stay awake so that I could sleep that night. So as soon as I boarded the plane I got my iPad out to read until we were ready for takeoff. I was able to read for a few minutes before I had to put it in the seat pocket. (You cannot have electronic devices on during takeoff and landing.) My intentions were to take it back out and start reading again when we had reached a high enough altitude. I laid my head back and "rested" my eyes for takeoff. The next thing I know we are landing at the airport in Ft. Wayne. I had slept the entire flight! 

As we taxied to the gate I was still coming out of a deep sleep as my body thought we were still on European time. My mind wasn't entirely clear. As we got to the gate I looked at my backpack under the seat and semi-remember putting my iPad in there before I fell asleep. I didn't even glance in the seat pocket! As soon as  I got home I went to sleep and didn't realize what I had done until the next morning. I was in disbelief as to why I didn't check the seat pocket! Well, long story short, I contacted the Ft. Wayne airport and they had my iPad safe and secure. What a relief! 

I have had my iPad for almost a year now and it didn't occur to me, until I lost the thing, how much I use and rely on this device. I practically take it with me everywhere I go. Most of what I do in terms of work or personal time is on the iPad. I continue to see and hear more people using an iPad, or some kind of tablet device (my wife has a Kindle Fire). So, how do I use my iPad? Below is a list of the most frequent ways I use the iPad.

1. Reading: I read a lot of material. If you are a leader, then you have to be a reader. A reader will usually indicate a self-learner that wants to grow. 
• Book Apps. I use iBooks (Apple), nook (Barnes & Noble), and Kindle (Amazon). I will typically put a book that I want to buy on my wish list with my Amazon account. In reality this is my "To Read" list. When I am ready to purchase a book I will check all three of these stores to see who is selling it the cheapest. 
• Google Reader. This is how I read blogs. I like to read what other leaders and people are saying. I will write another post on which blogs I read. 
• Glo Bible. I have made the transition from using a regular Bible to using Glo Bible on my iPad. I wasn't sure if lightning would strike me dead at first, but so far God doesn't seem to mind if His Word is in paper or digital form!
• KPCNews.com. I have shortcut on my home screen to our local newspaper's website so that I can read it on my iPad. 
2. Work Tools: I use my iPad a lot for work. I have a lot of ongoing projects that need my attention. The great thing about most of these Apps is that they are web-based, so I can work on the same content on my computer in my office or on my iPad at a coffee shop (Jeremiah's Brewed Awakening).
• Evernote. By far, this is the App I use the most. I use Evernote to write blog posts, take meeting notes, write down sermon ideas, make packing list, and just about anything else that I need to write down. Evernote syncs to a cloud, so as soon as I make an entry it will also show up on my other devices such as my desktop computer and my iPhone. 
• Mail. Along with my iPhone, the iPad is where I check my emails the most. 
• Smartytask. This is the program I use to keep my projects and to-do list organized. It allows me to list all of the steps I need to do in order to complete a project. I can set reminders and prioritize my list. If you use GTD then consider using Smartytask.
• Preaching/Speaking. I am just beginning to learn how to use my iPad for preaching and speaking. I have already used it in classes where I used Keynote, but I have yet to preach/speak from it. In fact I am performing a wedding and preaching this weekend and planning to use the iPad. Since this is my first time and not sure how it will go I am planning to print out my notes as a back up!
3. Personal Time: There are many other things I do on my iPad as I am becoming more comfortable with it. 
• Paying the Bills. About a year ago I transitioned to paying all of my bills online through my bank and keep an online checkbook using clearcheckbook.com. This has cut my time in half when it comes to paying the bills. I have also used TurboTax the last two years which makes doing the taxes easy and even fun!
• Sports. I listen frequently to my ESPN Radio App  as well as have multiple shortcuts to my favorites sports sites on the internet. 
• Social. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube are the social networking tools I use to stay up to date with family, friends, and other people. 
• Shopping. As with paying the bills, I have grown more accustomed to shopping on the internet as well. While most of my online purchases have been books I have also bought clothes, shoes, and backpacking equipment as well. Quite often when shopping at a brick and mortar store, I use either my Shopsavvy or Amazon Apps to scan the bar code and see if there are better deals online. Nine times out of Ten I can buy the same product online for 30-40% cheaper than in the store. If I don't need the item right away I will make the purchase online.
• Netflix. We don't have cable at home, so Netflix is used frequently. We watch it through our Wii, or the kids will watch their favorite episodes or movies on their iPods. My favorite way to watch Netflix is to connect my iPad to our TV with an HDMI cable. 

It seems that almost every week I hear about new Apps or various ways people are adapting the iPad to use in their craft. You can pretty much adapt it to what you need.  It is certainly a handy tool that has made it convenient, easy, and fun to work and play! Which is why I will never again (with fingers crossed) misplace my iPad!

Leadership Transcends Culture

The last two months have been some of the most eventful for me since I have been in ministry. Earlier this week I returned from a two week trip to Europe. Prior to that I spent another two weeks in Africa. Combined, I traveled to (or through) 11 countries and 15 cities in 27 days totaling just under 30,000 miles by air and land. In Africa I traveled to Zambia, Kenya, and Uganda. In Europe I traveled to Germany, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary. The intent of these trips was to visit missionaries, pastors, churches, and ministries that our church is connected with or to locations my travel companions were connected. 

The one lesson that I consistently learned during my travels is that the quality of leadership is a major indicator of whether a ministry will fail or succeed. If there is not quality leadership in place then, at the very least, the ministry will become crippled. If it stays crippled for an extended period of time then that ministry will ultimately fail. Unfortunately, individuals are frequently placed into leadership positions who have no experience, lack any self-introspection, and have no idea on how to lead a team, let alone an organization. Some individuals are placed into leadership positions out of default because there was no one else willing or available. Others were voted into a leadership position because they were the most popular candidate. Others will force themselves into leadership because they were the most powerful or vocal. Some will assume a leadership position because they were successful in another job or business. None of these scenarios should qualify anyone to be placed in a leadership position. 

There are however, many characteristics that do qualify someone as a leader. While it is not an exhaustive list, I believe they are important characteristics that can be found in a leader. A leader may not possess everyone of these characteristics, but they should have many of them and be working towards developing the rest. These characteristics are not partial to western leadership and must be a part of any culture, regardless of the ministry or organizational context. 

The stakes are too high for epic leadership failures. Especially when these failures translate into churches closing, Christianity loses its footing, and donor money is wasted. As bad as those are, it becomes even more tragic because this also means that orphans have to move, people can no longer hear about Jesus Christ, and many are left wounded by the church... again. Put all of these together and it is no wonder why Christianity has a bad reputation and has become irrelevant in culture and society. The Church needs quality leaders! Para-church organizations needs quality leaders! Mission agencies need quality leaders! The stakes are simply too high for bad leadership!

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Below is my list leadership characteristics. It is not an exhaustive list, but I believe these characteristics serve as a foundation for anyone in a leadership position. I encourage you to read through them, come up with your own list, and begin to identify them in your own life and leadership context (work, home, community). 

Visionary - Humility - Integrity - Servanthood - Communicator - Strategist

Problem Solver - Self-introspective - Steward of Resources - Relational

Identify Threats

This past Sunday, Patrick Nachtigall (www.three-worlds.com), led a seminar for the Bulgarian Church of God entitled, "5 Reasons the Church is Not Growing." Patrick has identified these five reasons after traveling across 6 continents in which he interviewed leaders and members of congregations and ministries within the Church of God, Anderson, IN. 

One of the key responsibilities for anyone in a leadership position is to identify any potential problems that threaten the environment, culture, and overall health. An effective leader does not bury their head in the sand and assume all is well. A good leader will identify and assess any current threats and deal with them head on. Better yet, a great leader will anticipate potential threats before they become a reality. 

Here is a simple exercise that you can perform based upon your current leadership context (work, home, or other): 

1. Make a list of what is currently threatening to destroy or cause injury to your environment. 
2. Create a second list of anticipated threats. 
3. Identify solutions, safeguards, and accountability measures to implement. 

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If interested, here are the "5 Reasons the Church is Not Growing" as identified by Patrick.

1. The lack of understanding the historical and cultural factors of the home country. 
2. The fear of change and risk.
3. Churches don't understand that all Christians are missionaries to their own communities.
4. Churches do not invest in young people.
5. Churches tend to treat the symptoms and not the disease. 

(Patrick, along with his wife Jamie, are the Regional Coordinators for the Europe/Middle East Region for Global Missions. Global Missions is the mission arm of the Church of God, Anderson, IN. You can read more on this topic in Patrick's most recent book, "Mosaic." This book is highly recommended for all church leaders!)

Seasons of Life

When I started out to create this blog the idea was not to post once every 2 years. My original goal was to write 2-3 posts a week, not annually. So what happened? Life happened! It amazes me how many times I set out to achieve something, or to maintain a disciplined regimen of prayer, devotions, diet, or whatever else I feel needs my attention, and then 2 weeks later nothing has changed. My intentions were good, but my delivery was poor. Looking back, I did not have a proper perspective of the season in which I was living.

So many things in life are fluid and temporary, yet when we start a new project, hobby, job, discipline, or relationship we fully convince ourselves that these will be permanent fixtures in our life. That couldn't be further from the truth. A recent study at the Bureau  Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov), shows that Baby Boomers held an average of 11 jobs from the ages of 18-44. That means on average Baby Boomers held 11 jobs in a 26 year span. That translates into changing jobs every 2.36 years. Nothing is permanent.

Our relationships change as well. If you have kids, your interaction, influence, and time spent together will fluctuate as they grow older. We have very few friendships that last a lifetime. Typically a job change, house move, or some other trigger will terminate or change the type of friendships we have.

When we begin something new in our life, inevitably we are forced to make a decision to end something. There are tipping points for everything in life. We can only have so many friendships. We can only read so many books at a time. (What?? Am I the only one that reads multiple books at a time?) We can only have so many house projects going. You get the point.

As leaders, it is important that we are fully aware of the season we live in and how it affects what we can realistically accomplish. Depending on the season we are in, we may not be physically drained, but emotionally or spiritually we are dried up. We cannot under estimate how inseparable our work life and home life are as they are connected to one another. Nor can we be naive to think that a busy and stressful public life will not spill over into our personal life. 


When I made the decision to begin this blog, I had no idea what was waiting for me on the horizon. Since I started this blog I have moved into a different role at work, which involved making a lot of changes as well as starting new teams and ministries,  (I think this took a lot of mental energy that kept me from blogging/journaling on a regular basis), I graduated with two degrees, my wife went back to school and started a new job, and my children are becoming increasingly busy as they grow older. 
Remember that your current season is not permanent. It took me 10 years to complete my degree. That was a long season and many times I was on the verge of quitting. However, I reminded myself that this was only for a season and that it would not last forever. 


Below is a short list to consider as you navigate through your current or future season. Remember, a season is not forever. If you are going through a dark and difficult time, there is joy on the other side. If you are going through a particularly good season, beware that you will not stay on top forever. 

1. Identify the season you are in and project how long it will last. What is particularly difficult or easy about this season?
2. If your mental or physical capacity is full at work, how is it affecting your home life, or vice-versa?
3. Breakdown your projects and to-do list into little steps. Be realistic in how much time and energy it will take you to complete the tasks. Don't add a new project without finishing or deleting a project first.
4. Leave room for margin in your life. Don't overextend yourself or your family!