Conexus

My Team...

2009-11-12T21:14:00.004-06:00

Several of my SoHills' ministerial team mates and I spent the day at the 4-H Center in Brownwood, Texas participating in a ropes challenge course. Great experience... I really appreciate my team.

Meet Habumugisha...

2009-11-11T15:58:00.005-06:00

This is Habumugisha Girbert, and he lives in Rwanda. Susan and I are committing $38 per month through Compassion International to provide Habumugisha with opportunities for education, health and personal development.

I encourage you to consider sponsoring a child through Compassion. Never have the needs in our world been greater, and never have there been more resources available to meet those needs.

The Fear of Failure...

2009-11-10T05:27:00.007-06:00

Craig Groeshel posted the following thoughts recently. I felt his words were worth repeating.

The fear of failure paralyzes too many people. I’ve found one of the best gifts God can give a leader is the gift of failure. Too many of us are not doing what we feel called to do because we’re afraid to fail.

As I observe the people around me, it seems the most effective have failed far more times than the least effective. The people making the biggest impact seem to:

1) Try something outlandish.
2) Fail.
3) Learn.
4) Adjust.
5) Try something that works better.

Failure is never final. It is often the first step to success.

If you haven’t failed in awhile, why don’t you try something crazy and see what happens.

Some Thoughts On Leadership...

2009-11-09T05:19:00.003-06:00

You probably are not leading when...

- You wait for someone to tell you what to do rather than taking the initiative yourself.
- You spend too much time talking about how things should be different.
- You blame the context, surroundings, or other people for your current situation.
- You choose not to speak the truth in love.
- You are more concerned about being cool or accepted than doing the right thing.
- You aren't taking any significant risks.
- You accept status quo as the way it's always been and always will be.
- You start protecting your reputation instead of opening yourself up to opposition.
- You procrastinate to avoid making a tough call.
- You don't feel like your butt is on the line for anything significant.
- You think what you say doesn't matter.
- You ask for way too many opinions before taking action.

Animated Poem...

2009-11-06T06:33:00.003-06:00

There's a cool poem in this video... along with a great deal of typography.

It's interesting to see how the spoken words of this poem are used to tell a visual story using video animation.

God's Beauty On Display...

2009-11-05T13:52:00.004-06:00

Susan and I are spending a few days in Boerne, Texas... and this afternoon I'm enjoying the beautiful fall colors and Monarch butterflies found at the Cibolo Nature Center. God's beauty is on display in a magnificent way!

Systems and Seasons...

2009-11-04T09:05:00.005-06:00

The following is a recent post by Craig Groeschel. I felt Craig hit the nail on the head with his insightful comments.

Even a good ministry system will eventually limit what God wants to do if the system doesn’t evolve or totally change. (By system, I mean any program, structure, philosophy, or culture that shapes and helps produce a desired outcome.)

Once people operate within a system long enough, they often start to do ministry out of “muscle memory.” They tend to do the same things and work with the same people, but the results often start to slowly (or quickly) diminish.

Because this is what “we’ve always done,” people might think we just need to do what we did—better. In reality, God might want you to de-construct some ministry philosophy or system so you can hear His new direction.

For example, years ago we were doing everything you could think of to innovate and create ministry possibilities. God directed us into a season of focusing on only five things. This philosophy served us well for about four years. It allowed us to focus on our core ministries without being distracted by lots of less-than-our-best efforts.

After a few years, it became obvious this season was coming to a close. What used to seem freeing started to become limiting. After prayer, we intentionally broke the established system to learn something new.

When a ministry enters a new season, we must open the door for new leaders. The “old guard” often resents new seasons. I’m a big believer in working hard to lead the tenured believers toward new life. Sometimes, though, they refuse to move forward.

In those times, we have to help people grow. If we can’t help people grow with the new direction, we need to be willing to allow some people to move on.

During these transitional seasons, I’m always looking for new leaders. Often they arise from right in front of you. There could be faithful people that were serving under others who seem to rise from nowhere when there is a new chance to lead.

When the current changes, keep your eyes open to new people God will raise up.

Jesus Catching A Plane...

2009-11-03T05:20:00.003-06:00

Some photographs are just about being at the right place at the right time.

Servant Leadership & Premium Parking...

2009-11-02T05:22:00.004-06:00

We're in the midst of some major renovation at SoHills and, as a result, our parking lots reflect a great deal of excavated pavement and parked heavy equipment. Parking spaces convenient to church building entrances are at a premium... and we're trying to reserve many of these for our guests.

As I pulled into our parking lot yesterday I recalled a church I had visited several years ago. They appeared to have parking issues, as I had to park some distance from their building. After hiking from the far reaches of their parking lot, I noticed that the premium parking spaces near their main entrance were reserved for the senior pastor, associate senior pastor, and administrative secretary.

At the risk of sounding petty, let me say that this status parking seemed crazy on several levels. First, I don't know when this ministerial staff was making their appearance... but I can tell you that when I arrive at the SoHills building (usually about 45 minutes before things get started) I can have my pick of almost any parking space on our entire campus. I'm not seeing why a reserved parking space near the front door would be necessary for most ministerial staff.

And even if this was a last arriving ministerial team, what kind of signal (first shall be last and last shall be first) are you sending to the rest of the church by placing a hold on the premium parking slots near the front door?

Now, lest you think the above sounds very judgmental, I will confess that the entire ministerial of that church may have had mobility issues... I really can't recall. So, I'm more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

The whole point of this brief foray into the realm of church parking is to smack me (and maybe you) upside the head with a reminder that servant-leadership means just that... reflecting a servant's spirit in my leadership, even if that means sacrificing parking privileges. Because if servant leadership isn't reflected in the parking lot... it might not get a second look anyplace else.

Soccer Ball Hero...

2009-10-31T05:30:00.002-05:00

What do you get when you build a guitar game that's three stories high and controlled by soccer balls? You get this...

Isn't this a cool concept and a great video?!

Cell Phone Symphony...

2009-10-30T05:12:00.003-05:00

What do you get when you place 1,000 cell phones on a wall and add 2,000 texts? A symphony... or to be more precise, Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture.

Creating this ad took 53 different ringtone alerts that were precisely timed. But after a lot of practice... it actually worked!

Comfort Zones...

2009-10-29T15:57:00.003-05:00

"If we're not careful, eventually our comfort zones become cocoons and then coffins."

I Love Jesus Parties...

2009-10-28T05:47:00.004-05:00

I love Jesus Parties... because I see Jesus in every person who's there. Our next Jesus Party will be Friday, December 4.

Ideators...

2009-10-27T08:34:00.004-05:00

Who are the people you know who are the best "ideators"? Ideators are people who take ideas from... well, an idea... to implementation. Who would you want to learn this skill from?

The Walls Are Up...

2009-10-26T05:00:00.009-05:00

It was thrilling to see the walls go up over the weekend of the house that SoHills is building in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Pictured below is the sweet family who'll own the home: Monica, Adriahna, Anthony and Shannon. The last picture is looking into Anthony's bedroom... and when Anthony made this very clear to me on Saturday he was just about to pop with excitement.

Adam and Laura Hollifield, along with Tim and Amanda Pittman, have done an incredible job of coordinating things on SoHills side of the Habitat partnership. They've prayed, planned, communicated, managed work teams and hammered nails. They've even chalk outlined the individual rooms of the house... along with the name of who will occupy which bedroom.

Please make a point to visit the house before it's moved to it's permanent location on November 7. And as you walk through their new home, pray for Shannon, Monica, Anthony and Adriahna.

Excuses...

2009-10-24T06:17:00.003-05:00

This video called "Excuses" powerfully promotes breast cancer awareness... but it's also visually stunning.

Great message... astonishing creativity.

500 Years of Women's Portraits...

2009-10-23T05:18:00.002-05:00

Portraits of women... reflecting a time span of about 500 years... in less than 3 minutes.

Amazing!

A Lesson...

2009-10-22T05:27:00.006-05:00

I loved this recent post by Caryn Carroll, daughter of my ministry partner, Donnie, and his sweet wife, Lisa:

Tuesday. It's raining. I'm leaving Parkland to meet my sister and niece for lunch. I start my car. It hesitates. It jerks. It runs. Whew! I turn onto Inwood Road to join bumper-to-bumper traffic in a highly congested and miserable construction zone. My car jerks. It keeps running. Red light. Green light. Bummer. It dies. Did I mention that its raining? Did I mention that there's tons of traffic? Did I mention I'm in an intersection?

What's a girl to do? Restart it, I suppose. Its running...4...3...2...1...it dies. So, I restart it a couple of times until I'm as off to the side as one can be on a no-shoulder, high-traffic, under-construction intersection. Then, of course! Call Dad! What's the problem? Out of gas. (I know- that's a dumb problem that shouldn't have ever happened.) He advises me start my car again, coast for as long as possible, start my car again, coast as long as possible, make people angry on the road, and try to crawl to the gas station about .2 miles away. After a few honks, angry expressions, and a very slow crawl, I make it to the entry of the gas station. Problem: it's a pretty steep entry. By now my car is crawling for about 2 seconds with every key twist in the ignition. Hmm... but I try. Nope. Try again... YES????

All of a sudden two men ran towards my car in the steady rain and started pushing against my bumper. We made it about half way up and then the dear car started rolling backwards. Then, two more men ran towards us and got behind the car and pushed. After a couple of attempts we finally made it to the beautiful gas pump!

So, who were these gallant men to rescue this damsel in distress in the tempest? Their faces I knew well. I pass them almost everyday in that same intersection. They are the men who walk along the streets lined with cars asking for food, beverages, and money. They are the men who find shelter from the rain under that overpass.

Many times I have seen them, shared a smile, but hoped that they wouldn't come greet me at my car window. Many times I have driven past, thinking to myself "I'm working hard, really hard, in grad school trying to feed myself and keep a roof over my head. Surely they could improve their living situations with a little bit more effort." These were the faces of men I judged without knowing their life story... without knowing their name. The men who are poor, unclean, hungry, and thirsty, the men who have been rejected by me (and countless others) are the men who were willing to get their clothes wet and willing to help someone in need. How grateful I am to these men who are slower to pass judgment and quicker to lend a hand. And how humbled I am by their grace and generosity.

The Best Don't Tell You They're The Best...

2009-10-21T15:57:00.006-05:00

When looking for outstanding leaders, those who are truly outstanding (or potentially outstanding) usually don’t tell you they are outstanding. In fact, they often don’t realize they are exceptionally gifted by God to lead.

With rare exceptions, whenever someone initially rattles off a resume of success, I find that most of the time these "outstanding" leaders are either:

A) Very insecure.
B) Overselling themselves.

Those who are truly the best don’t seem to be driven to convince you they are the best. The most gifted do more than they talk.

Insincere Praise & Mean-Spirited Criticism...

2009-10-20T05:27:00.008-05:00

One of the highlights of the recent Catalyst Conference for me was listening to Chuck Swindoll's message. Swindoll shared leadership lessons he’d learned over a half century of ministry. One of his points which stuck out to me dealt with how we receive the opinions of others. Swindoll said (and I'm paraphrasing):

"There will be people in your life who basically want to worship you. In their eyes you can do no wrong. They put you up on a pedestal and believe every word, every action, every thought is pure as the fallen snow."

"On the other hand you will have your critics for whom you can do nothing right. Every word, action, and thought will be criticized with little thought to who you are as a person."

Swindoll stated that the wise leader will not take either one of these groups too seriously. I didn't take his comment to mean we shouldn’t still love them. My take was that Swindoll meant we shouldn’t allow these people to shape or mold us. Their insincere praise or eager critical hearts can damage the work God is doing in us and through us... so guard your mind and your heart.

Quit Trying To Be Interesting...

2009-10-19T08:51:00.005-05:00

“Quit trying to be interesting. Start trying to be interested.”

This statement changed Jim Collins’ life. It came at the end of a conversation the author was having years ago with his mentor. It was confrontational. It struck a nerve. And it stayed with him.

Which one do you find yourself most focused on these days: trying to be interesting or interested?

One is inwardly focused.
One is outwardly focused.
One won’t change much of anything.
One has the potential to change anything.
One is about me.
One is about others.

There are four simple ways to become more interested:

Be curious. Ask questions. Talk less. Listen more.

The ironic twist of it all is that when we become more interested, we might actually become more interesting.

Jesus Plane...

2009-10-16T05:06:00.002-05:00

This is funny... and sort of scary.

This is painful parody to watch.

A Touching Moment...

2009-10-15T08:47:00.008-05:00

At the Catalyst Conference which I recently attended, there was a moment so genuinely sweet and touching it couldn't have been planned or scripted. Watch this video (it's 18 minutes, but worth it) and see Jimmy Wambua, a young man from Kenya, meet his Compassion sponsor of 19 years, for the first time. Have Kleenex handy.

Susan and I are sponsoring a Compassion child... if you're not, consider doing so.

Love God Wholeheartedly...

2009-10-14T11:02:00.004-05:00

The Ten Commandments end with "You shall not covet." Some people view this as more of a reward than a commandment... if you love God and seek him wholeheartedly you won't want any other life than your own. -- Rob Bell, Catalyst 2009

Making Your Mark...

2009-10-13T09:53:00.008-05:00

Below are the notes that I took during Andy Stanley's opening presentation at Catalyst 2009. The theme for this year's Catalyst Conference was "On Your Mark." Building off that theme, Andy's comments focused on "making your mark."

- We need to take the subject of leadership and look at it through the lens of Scripture.

- The reason we are here and love to study and learn about leadership is because we want to make our world better… we want to make our mark.

- We want to make the world better.

- We want to believe when we are gone we will be missed.

- We want people to say: Our world was better because they were here. That’s not an ego, it’s the mark of God on our lives.

- Every leader leaves a mark. The challenge is: what mark are you going to leave?

- If you are discontent with the status quo and want to see change it’s because God has put that desire in you.

- Leaders always leave a mark the question is what kind of mark are you going to leave?

- You won't understand the mark you've left until long after you've left it.

- You won’t recognize your greatest mistake until after you've made it.

- You won't know your defining moment until it’s already happened.

- The challenge and problem for leaders who want to see change is that we don’t know the thing that we will do that will make the greatest difference.

- As you study leadership and leaders, you see they don’t realize the significance of what they've done until long after they've done it.

- “God takes full responsibility for the life wholly committed to Him.” – Charles Stanley

- It’s not about the mark you leave but the mark God makes through you.

- My responsibly is to be obedient to God and to trust him with the consequences.

- You need to settle once and for all, who’s mark is this for? Be consumed with Who you are for. Once you decide that, you can live your life with freedom in knowing that God will take full responsibility for your life and your leadership.

- You have no idea what God wants to accomplish for you. When God has done His greatest work in the world you won’t know it.

- Living life to make my mark is too small a thing for us to give our whole life to. Live with greater concern about who you are for. If you settle this once and for all, you’ll be perfectly positioned for God to do His most extraordinary thing through you.

- You are going to leave a mark. The real question for you is, “Who’s mark is it gonna be?”

- Let’s not live our lives trying to live our small marks when we've been invited to play a role in God’s story and to make His mark in our world.