Books: Small Things With Great Love by Margot Starbuck</h1> <article> <h1>Books: Small Things With Great Love by Margot Starbuck</h1> <p>lauraboggess — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:00:04 +0000</p> <p>“I’ve been reading this book,” I begin, and I look up just in time to catch them throw each other one of those looks. You know, one of those <em>Oh, no, here we go again </em>looks.</p> <p>I continue anyway.</p> <p>“I’ve been reading this book called <a href="http://www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/booknotes/on_the_short_list_for_book_of/" target="_blank"><em>Small Things with Great Love</em> </a>and it’s about doing a better job of loving others. You know, loving a world in need. Giving more of ourselves.”</p> <p>They are shoveling food in the mouth, cutting into the pork chops their dad just pulled off the grill.</p> <p>“<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0830838171/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thehighcallio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0830838171" target="_blank"><em>Small Things with Great Love</em></a>, huh? What does that even mean?”</p> <p>He is talking with his mouth full and I am feeling my lack as a parent.</p> <p>“It’s from something Mother Teresa said,” I say. “She said, ‘We cannot do great things, only small things with great love’.”</p> <p>My two children stare at me blankly. Their father is stone-faced.</p> <p>“Well, anyway. The woman who wrote this book does something neat with her family. Once a week they give up their usual meal and have a simple one of rice and beans. To remember the poor.”</p> <p>Knives and forks suddenly stop clanking on plates and three pairs of eyes bore into me.</p> <p>I clear my throat.</p> <p>“Rice and beans. Because that’s sometimes the only thing available to eat for most of the world’s poor. I thought maybe we might try something like that. Just once a week.”</p> <p>“But I like meat!”</p> <p>“Don’t you think most people would rather have meat if they could? That’s the point.”</p> <p>They are not very open to my idea and to avoid a dinner table mutiny I hedge. Just a bit.</p> <p>“Think about it,” I say. “We’ll talk more later this week.”</p> <p>So I carry this book around with me all week and re-read parts of it out loud at the dinner table and pray about it.</p> <p>The neat thing about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0830838171/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thehighcallio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0830838171" target="_blank"><em>Small Things with Great Love: Adventures in Loving Your Neighbor</em></a> by <a href="http://margotstarbuck.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Margot Starbuck</a> is how easy this book is to navigate. Starbuck has organized the book in a way that customizes reading for every person that picks it up. There’s a chapter for young people and old people and for us middle people too. There’s one for introverts and extroverts and single people. There’s one for caregivers and urbanites and people in school. And there’s one for parents. Did I mention there’s one for parents? I read the one for parents—um—more than once.</p> <p>At the end of each chapter appropriate to me, there is a decision ladder that tells me where to turn next for further reading. So, after I read the chapter for introverts, I am directed to turn to the chapter for women, and then after that I go to the chapter for middle-agers, and such and so-forth until I work my way through book—exploring ideas and stories for missional living geared specifically to someone like me.</p> <p>Each of these chapters has great, practical ideas for engaging with a world in need. And if you are like me—easily overwhelmed by life in general—you need some ideas and stories about real people with real lives who have found ways—big and small—to meet God’s desire for those who suffer <em>to experience loving kindness through human agents.</em></p> <p>This book gently yet unapologetically challenges me to take a look at my life and see if I am living from a kingdom viewpoint. Margot Starbuck encourages me to make every day decisions—every day moments—count. That’s one thing we understand at The High Calling. As Starbuck says in the chapter on work: <em>“Whether you work in an office or a church, a clinic or a school, a restaurant or an amusement park, you’ve been called to bless a world in need.”</em></p> <p>And no matter where you are in life, you've got to start somewhere. Like maybe with a simple bowl of rice and beans.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>Want to know more? Here's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BslcvvS68vI" target="_blank">a short video of the author </a>talking about Small Things with Great Love.</em></p> <p> </p> <p><em>Image by <a href="http://spyjournal.biz/" target="_blank">Tim Miller</a>. Used with permission. Post by <a href="http://lauraboggess.com" target="_blank">Laura J. Boggess.</a></em></p> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-author-name"> <div class="field-label">Author Name: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Laura Boggess </div> </div> </div><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=ITnL6BMIOG8:7uVwXKQOU8s:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=ITnL6BMIOG8:7uVwXKQOU8s:qj6IDK7rITs"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>The Upside of Down</h1> <p>David Rupert — Sat, 19 May 2012 12:00:23 +0000</p> <p>Unemployed? Financially stressed? Those of us who live under the High Calling understand that not everything is as it seems. God has a plan. Are you looking for it?Pick up the newspaper, listen to the talk at any coffee shop, look at the faces in the crowd, and you'll know that times are tough. It seems that nearly every industry has taken a hit, dragging investments, housing and basic security into the dark pit of uncertainty. And the personal toll has been huge. We're scared. We all know people who have been laid off, fired or whose jobs have disappeared altogether. For millions, months have now turned into years of unemployment or under-employment. Maybe this is you.</p> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-author-name"> <div class="field-label">Author Name: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> David Rupert </div> </div> </div> <p><a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/8819/the-upside-of-down" target="_blank">read more</a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=2zdwPq4NMYQ:IFO1vpuGUvY:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=2zdwPq4NMYQ:IFO1vpuGUvY:qj6IDK7rITs"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Everything Matters: Living Alone as a Cultural Act</h1> <p>CharSingleton — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:00:09 +0000</p> <p><em>Editor's Note: On Fridays we're hosting a series called Everything Matters, where guests share why their particular vocation or gift is a cultural act. Each installment serves as a response to the post, <a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/culture/creating-high-calling-culture" target="_blank">Creating a High Calling Culture</a>.</em></p> <p>“Most people wouldn’t understand why we do this,” I said to two friends one day as we were shopping.</p> <p>“Spend four hours buying food?” Jamie asked. We laughed. We already had been to the farmers market, a coffee shop, and two grocery stores.</p> <p>“No, run errands together,” I said. “Most married people, especially if they have kids, wouldn’t get together with friends and go to the grocery store. And I don’t think they would understand why we do it.”</p> <p>I wondered about it myself. Why is it that many Saturdays I find myself in the car driving around town with these or other single friends who live alone like I do, picking up a gift at a department store, doing the week’s shopping, or depositing a check at the credit union?</p> <p>Recent census figures indicate that 28 percent of all American households, and as many as 50 percent in large metropolitan areas, now are made up of just one member. That’s 31 million of us using our dryers as a dresser, eating peanut butter out of the jar with our fingers, or leaving the door open when we are in the bathroom.</p> <p>Eric Klinenberg’s book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Going-Solo-Extraordinary-Surprising-ebook/dp/B005GSYYIU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1331762023&sr=8-2" target="_blank"><em>Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone</em></a><em>,</em> analyzes this cultural phenomenon in which a large percentage of people are living on their own for the first time in history. Just 60 years ago, only 22 percent of American adults were single and a mere four million lived alone, accounting for only nine percent of households. Today, more than 50 percent of American adults are single.</p> <p>But though so many of us are doing it, living alone is something few people like to talk about. And even then, “on those rare occasions when there is a public debate about the rise of living alone, commentators tend to present it as an unmitigated social problem, a sign of narcissism, fragmentation, and a diminished public life,” Klinenberg says in his book. Living alone often is perceived as an act of anti-culture, contributing creatively and productively to oneself only.</p> <p>I had some of the same concerns when I bought my house. Was I being selfish, or even self-indulgent, to choose this lifestyle? Was it a waste of money to pay all the expenses of a household for just me? Or worse, was I cutting myself off from community, isolating myself permanently? Signing the mortgage that day felt like a long-term commitment to a life of single occupancy.</p> <p>At my age, most people I meet assume I am married with kids. When I tell them I am not, they look surprised. Especially when I tell them I live alone in a home I own. Then come the questions: <em>Do I cook for myself? Am I scared to be alone? Do I shovel the snow from my own driveway?</em></p> <p>Mostly, I think people just wonder if I am lonely.</p> <p>Living alone is possible for so many people, not because of an increased sense of independence, but precisely because our increasingly urban, plugged-in culture has made us so interdependent.</p> <p>In <a href="http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-02-06/eric-klinenberg-going-solo-extraordinary-rise-and-surprising-appeal-living-alone/tr" target="_blank">an interview on The Diane Rehm Show</a>, Klinenberg emphasized that “living alone is different from being alone and it’s different from feeling lonely and it’s different from being isolated.” In many cases, people who live alone often are “socially overextended,” and “struggle more with avoiding the distraction of always available social activity . . . than with being disconnected,” he writes.</p> <p>That’s been my experience, too. Relationships with friends take the place of a nuclear family. But instead of scrambling for time together under one roof, if I want to be with my “family,” I have to leave the house, virtually if not actually.</p> <p>But it goes beyond social activity to culture-making. The time I can devote to working past the clock, volunteering at church, helping friends update their resumes, even writing this article, is not just a luxury of living alone. It’s the hallmark. The time I am not investing in a nuclear family is spent in other culturally significant ways, like sharing a meal with others.</p> <p>A few weeks ago, I went to Jamie’s house for tacos. The same three of us from the shopping trip were eating together, as is our habit. I brought the tomatoes and black beans. Verray made the guacamole.</p> <p>Just before I hopped in the car, I realized I was wearing my “house sweater,” the quirky one I wear only at home. I reached my arm out, preparing to take it off in exchange for a more suitable item of clothing. But then I stopped. If ever there were an occasion to wear my “house sweater” out of the house, it was this one.</p> <p>It wasn’t like I was wearing it to a friend’s house. This was family.</p> <p class="rtecenter">* * * * *</p> <p><em>The "Everything Matters" Collection</em></p> <ul> <li> <a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/culture/creating-high-calling-culture" target="_blank">Creating a High Calling Culture</a></li> <li> <a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/culture/everything-matters-editing-cultural-act" target="_blank">Everything Matters: Editing as a Cultural Act</a></li> <li> <a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/faith/everything-matters-easter-cultural-act" target="_blank">Everything Matters: Easter as a Cultural Act</a></li> <li> <a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/culture/everything-matters-teaching-cultural-act" target="_blank">Everything Matters: Teaching as a Cultural Act</a></li> <li> <a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/culture/everything-matters-rusted-chevy-chrome-plated-couch" target="_blank">Everything Matters: From Rusty Chevy to Chrome-Plated Couch</a></li> <li> <a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/culture/everything-matters-managing-operations-cultural-act" target="_blank">Everything Matters: Managing Operations as a Cultural Act</a></li> <li> <a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/culture/everything-matters-reading-cultural-act" target="_blank">Everything Matters: Reading as a Cultural Act</a></li> <li> <a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/culture/everything-matters-hospitality-cultural-act" target="_blank">Everything Matters: Hospitality as a Cultural Act</a></li> <li> <a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/culture/everything-matters-living-alone-cultural-act" target="_blank">Everything Matters: Living Alone as a Cultural Act</a></li> </ul> <p><em>Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/27147/" target="_blank">Sippanont Samchai</a>. Used with <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">permission</a>. Sourced via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/33645693@N08/3822009466/">Flickr</a>. Post by High Calling Content Editor, <a href="http://www.charitysingleton.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Charity Singleton</a>.</em></p> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-author-name"> <div class="field-label">Author Name: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Charity Singleton </div> </div> </div><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=eKaNsbfZb2c:4vK2jJejxJI:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=eKaNsbfZb2c:4vK2jJejxJI:qj6IDK7rITs"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Serving God in the Healthcare Profession: Four Reflections</h1> <p>Marcus Goodyear — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:29:55 +0000</p> <p>Our friends at The Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation, and Culture just published a fantastic series of articles about <a href="http://www.washingtoninst.org/1898/healthcare-provision-and-the-discipline-of-listening/" target="_blank">serving God in the healthcare profession</a>. Four healthcare professionals reflect on what it means to listen in this profession. Web editor Jay Bilsborrow writes,</p> <p><em>How does a fallen world begin to heal? How do the shattered pieces get put back together to form a picture that is even more beautiful than it was to begin with? The answer: piece by piece. Those called of God take up their vocations.</em></p> <p><em>...This month we focus on the daily work of healthcare providers. Their work perhaps best exemplifies the importance of the practice of listening. We can be grateful for the thoughtful, skillful, and compassionate care doctors, nurses, and technicians provide daily to the broad spectrum of men, women, and children in need. Indeed, from a vocational perspective, having hands that bring healing and wholeness is tremendously honorable and redemptive work in God’s world.</em></p> <p>Read more about <a href="http://www.washingtoninst.org/1898/healthcare-provision-and-the-discipline-of-listening/" target="_blank">Healthcare Provision and the Discipline of Listening</a> or click through directly to the four vocational reflections from healthcare professionals:</p> <ul> <li> <a href="http://www.washingtoninst.org/1904/on-the-auscultation-of-the-heart/">On the Auscultation of the Heart</a> by Dr. Ryan Buchholz</li> <li> <a href="http://www.washingtoninst.org/1906/are-you-listening/">Are You Listening</a> by Dr. Curt Thompson</li> <li> <a href="http://www.washingtoninst.org/1902/listening-is-not-hearing/">Listening Is Not Hearing</a> by Eden Garber</li> <li> <a href="http://www.washingtoninst.org/1917/listening-in-medicine/">Listening in Medicine</a> by Dr. Larry Bergstrom</li> </ul> <p><em>Image by <a href="http://www.fluidr.com/photos/glouk/interesting" target="_blank">Eric Montfort</a>. Used with <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/" target="_blank">permission</a>. Sourced via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/44079102@N03/5044670146/" target="_blank">Flickr</a>.</em></p> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-author-name"> <div class="field-label">Author Name: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Marcus Goodyear </div> </div> </div><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=DIpQuZMgxFc:HNW0C0D_Km8:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=DIpQuZMgxFc:HNW0C0D_Km8:qj6IDK7rITs"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>An Open Apology From a Working Mom</h1> <p>denadyer — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:00:04 +0000</p> <p>Dear vacuum, broom, and dust pan, I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you. After working all day, you’re the last things I want to spend my time with.</p> <p>To my friends, I do want to get together. I’m not just saying that. During the day, I’m distracted by disbursement authorizations. At night, I’m surrounded by bathroom humor -- the perils of living with boys. I could really use a night on the town. But by the time I think about calling you, my eyelids are heavy. And <em>The Middle </em>is on.</p> <p>I’m just being honest.</p> <p>To my pastor, you’re a brilliant man. Seriously. My dozing off in the middle of your Sunday sermon is not indicative of lackluster delivery or boring content. I’m just. So. Tired.</p> <p>To yoga, walking, and other exercises I once performed <strike>regularly </strike>periodically, I will come back. I promise. For now, I’m taking the stairs, parking further from work, and doing “Just Dance 3” with my sons.</p> <p>To my long-distance friends and family, I love you, I really do. But if you’re not on Facebook, I probably won’t be in contact. It’s not ideal, but then, neither is Facebook.</p> <p>And to my fellow working moms, I’m appalled that I ever questioned your commitment to our sons’ school. Why did I look down on you because you couldn’t make it to the Groundhog Day party? Never again.</p> <p>I know now what I didn’t know before, that you’re doing the best you can in the midst of a crazy-busy life. You most likely <em>want</em> to be a driver on a field trip. But you also want to<em> keep</em> the job that helps pay for the field trip and the lunches and the raffles.</p> <p>Finally, to my hobbies, I remember our time together with fondness. I certainly spent plenty of money purchasing necessities like mini paper cutters, industrial-strength adhesive, and pacifier-shaped cut-outs when my firstborn was a toddler. Since then, however, your appeal has faded.</p> <p>The choice is clear. I’m sorry to be so blunt, but I side with sleeping, reading, and spending time with my family.</p> <p>And for that, I make no apologies.</p> <p><em>Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/uvafragola/" target="_blank">Alessandra Oddi</a>. Used with <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/" target="_blank">permission</a>. Sourced via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uvafragola/7057136555/in/photostream" target="_blank">Flickr</a>. Post is an edited reprint by High Calling Welcome Editor</em><em><a href="http://www.denadyer.typepad.com/" target="_blank"> Dena Dyer</a></em><em>.</em></p> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-author-name"> <div class="field-label">Author Name: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Dena Dyer </div> </div> </div><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=lgxcvdlPE3Y:9eZKgjenMic:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=lgxcvdlPE3Y:9eZKgjenMic:qj6IDK7rITs"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Do You Have a Job, a Career, or a Calling?</h1> <p>bradleyjmoore — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:16:02 +0000</p> <p>The first job I had out of high school was as a dishwasher for a white-tablecloth Italian restaurant during the late seventies. My industrious best friend worked there, and he said it would be a good place to earn some spending money. Plus, some foxy girls would be waitressing, and maybe we could get to know them better. </p> <p>I instantly fell for his delusion and diligently applied myself to the job. I was delighted to receive my fifty-dollar paycheck at the end of the first week, which was promptly spent on gas, movies and fast food.</p> <p>But after a few weeks I was overcome with boredom. I couldn’t bear to put one more lousy plate through that steaming washer, so I announced my resignation and spent the rest of the summer in an aimless leisurely stupor with my other unemployed friends.</p> <p>This job clearly had been nothing more to me than a brief stint to make a couple bucks and move on.</p> <p>I proceeded on to college and then grad school, whereupon I entered my first real professional job. I was delighted to receive my first week's paycheck, which promptly went towards rent, meals, and a never-ending stream of parking tickets made out to “The City of Boston,” where my new wife and I had dreamily established our first apartment in the Back Bay.</p> <p>I was proud to be a professional, and thus began my track towards a true career. I leveraged the experience gained at that job to get the next one, continued honing my strengths and skills, and for the next two decades focused on promotions and advancement.</p> <p>“Slacker Boy Makes Good On His Education,” might well be the moral tagline of this story, but it didn’t end there. As I matured and became more concerned about God's purpose for my career, I considered that it might be more than just all about me. Perhaps the emphasis of my work could involve helping others, rather than self-seeking promotions. This led to a much more integrated and fulfilling view of my employment.</p> <p>Bill Barnett, in his Harvard Business Blog post, “<a href="http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/04/make_your_job_more_meaningful.html" target="_blank">How to Make Your Job More Meaningful</a>,” distinguishes between the consequences of our attitudes towards work as a job, career, or calling.<br /> People with a “jobs” mindset, he says, are working just for the money, and generally find little meaning in what they do - similar to my dishwasher stint.</p> <p>Those who are careerists focus more on the advancements and prestige of their work. Their level of job satisfaction tends to revolve around their perception of whether or not they are getting ahead at the pace they expect.</p> <p>“But people with callings are different,” Barnett continues. “They see their work as a positive end in itself. They feel good about what they're doing. They give more to their work. They get more from it.”</p> <p>He goes on to describe three things that individuals with callings prioritize differently from others: (1) they emphasize service; (2) they focus on excellence and craftsmanship in their work; and (3) they de-emphasize money. The intrinsic value of helping people and creating excellence in their field is fulfilling in and of itself.</p> <p>This framework for mixing job satisfaction with a sense of purpose fits nicely with our views here at The High Calling, where we believe that God is honored in all of the jobs we faithfully undertake.</p> <p>Based on Barnett’s discussion, it seems that a sense of calling might be less a function of the kind of work you do as much as it is in the attitude towards that work. The higher the calling, the better, wouldn’t you say?</p> <p><em>Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/76029035@N02/" target="_blank">Viktor.</a> Used with <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/" target="_blank">permission</a>. Sourced via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/76029035@N02/6829433975/" target="_blank">Flickr</a>. Post by <a href="http://shrinkingthecamel.com/" target="_blank">Bradley J. Moore</a>.</em></p> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-author-name"> <div class="field-label">Author Name: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Bradley J. Moore </div> </div> </div><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=fTtHAG-Fc_E:gTC-eYjxVYo:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=fTtHAG-Fc_E:gTC-eYjxVYo:qj6IDK7rITs"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Walking Into Uncertainty: Growth in Perspective</h1> <p>claireburge — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:00:08 +0000</p> <p>Walking over storm water drains and man hole covers terrifies me. I think it’s the unknown darkness below me that makes my toes curl inward. I try to dodge the menacing holes, but every now and then, the rush of the crowd forces me to walk right over them. When this happens, the world slows, and I cannot get over them quickly enough.</p> <p>Sometimes, my business gives me the same rush of fear.</p> <p>After recently exiting my first tech company, I invested in another <a href="http://eventengine.net/" target="_blank">firm</a> that moves in <a href="http://www.forentrepreneurs.com/business-models/lead-gen-models/" target="_blank">lead generation</a> for events and venues. I play an active role in the company as an online editor, and for a brief period earlier this month, I felt like I was walking over a storm water drain, with nothing but the unknown darkness below me.</p> <p>Our team has grown from 3 to 12 employees in the space of 6 short months, with more hires in the pipeline, and within a very small window frame of time, the entire business has changed exponentially.</p> <p>A few things make a small start-up business like ours agile in it's first three years:</p> <ul> <li> <p>Two or three people work side by side and instinctively know what is happening in all elements of the business because of close, shared proximity.</p> </li> <li> <p>Job roles are interchangeable as everyone pulls together to get everything done.</p> </li> </ul> <p>As the company grows, however, roles become more disparate. In our case, the team no longer shares proximate space, and instead, members are working remotely, virtually and individually in order to get through the growing demand for products and services.</p> <p>Sometimes, without the team even recognizing it initially, the company’s agility starts ebbing away. It is a natural form of progression, but it brings its own challenges.</p> <ul> <li> <p>Simple tasks that were once dealt with efficiently don’t happen because no one has been assigned the role.</p> </li> <li> <p>The team spends extensive effort and time to keep everyone in the loop about what is happening and when it is happening.</p> </li> <li> <p>Meetings take up more and more of our working day.</p> </li> <li> <p>Joint decision making is no longer possible because daily workloads require decisions that cannot wait.</p> </li> </ul> <p>Only teams with diverse skills pull through these uncertain periods of growth.</p> <p>In our small tech company we try to see treading over a ‘storm water drain’ for what it is: a stunning growth phase and reason for celebration. We own up to mistakes and assumptions; we laugh at our individual idiosyncrasies; and we put the necessary processes in place to take things further, ensuring no one falls and all fears are managed.</p> <p>In his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership/dp/0787960756" target="_blank"><em>The Five Dysfunctions of a Team</em></a>, Patrick Lencioni details that absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results are the reasons for declining performance.</p> <p>But teams that walk over the storm drains together with the intention of managing their growth, those are the teams who can breathe a little easier on the other side.</p> <p> </p> <p><em><strong>This article is part of an ongoing series on business lessons learned in the day to day setting of a small business tech environment. Other articles in this series are linked below.</strong></em></p> <ul> <li> <p class="title"><span class="field-content"><a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/work/start-lessons-raising-bar" target="_blank">Start-Up Lessons: Raising the Bar</a></span></p> </li> <li> <p><a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/work/getting-other-side-perfect-storm-business" target="_blank">Getting to the Other Side: The Perfect Storm of Business</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/work/pumpkins-afros-and-sunglasses-juggling-people-business" target="_blank">Pumpkins, Afros, and Sunglasses: Juggling People in Business</a></p> </li> <li> <p><a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/business-growth/walking-uncertainty-growth-perspective" target="_blank">Walking into Uncertainty: Growth in Perspective</a></p> </li> </ul> <p><em>Image by <a href="http://www.grungetextures.com/" target="_blank">Darren Hester</a>. Used with <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/" target="_blank">permission</a>. Sourced via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/44718043@N06/4121455038/" target="_blank">Flickr</a>. Post by High Calling Photo Editor, <a href="http://www.claireburge.com" target="_blank">Claire Burge</a>.</em></p> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-author-name"> <div class="field-label">Author Name: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Claire Burge </div> </div> </div><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=PeYW04MBUHU:bQZ3yVWodo0:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=PeYW04MBUHU:bQZ3yVWodo0:qj6IDK7rITs"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Community Post: Teaching Vocation at a Young Age</h1> <p>LDPeabody — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:46:19 +0000</p> <p><span lang="EN">Before you went into the work world, did you receive any biblical instruction on choosing a job? More instruction would have saved me a world of heartache and humiliation at doing a bad job at work and justifying it as a necessary evil for doing ‘God’s work’ off-hours. Read the entire post <a href="http://calledintowork.com/articles/article.asp?articleID=113">here.</a></span></p> <p><span lang="EN"><span lang="EN"><em>Image by <a href="http://www.katerina.nl/">Katerina Plevkova</a>. Used with<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/"> permission</a>. Sourced via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kat7677/3827372297/in/photostream/">Flikr.</a> Post by Newsletter Editor <a href="http://www.redletterbelievers.com/">David Rupert</a>. </em></span></span></p> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-linkout"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> http://calledintowork.com/articles/article.asp?articleID=113 </div> </div> </div> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-author-name"> <div class="field-label">Author Name: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Larry Peabody </div> </div> </div><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=c0-9do-YEyo:QExcxXNLToY:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=c0-9do-YEyo:QExcxXNLToY:qj6IDK7rITs"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Sharing the Days</h1> <p>canvaschild — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:00:12 +0000</p> <p>It’s just nine in the morning, and I’m wishing to hear the garage door sliding shut, meaning Trenton is home, his bike parked.</p> <p>And I’ve never told him, because I’m too embarrassed of needing him this way. This desperate schoolgirl way that jumps when I hear him stepping towards the door.</p> <p>It’s only nine and I know we’re doing a good thing, taking in two more boys, and God is blessing us, and I’m not trying to be a super-hero. But I miss having just two boys. I miss sorting out my day calmly, as though it were laundry, towels from napkins, silks from cotton.</p> <p>I used to cut Aiden’s peanut butter and honey toast, and I’d read my Bible while he ate it in his high-chair watching <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/273081332775491/" target="_blank">Thomas the Train</a>, Trent bringing up Kasher from his crib after showering and me spooning pabulum and handing Trent his lunch and watching him bike off to the school where he’s a math and Bible teacher.</p> <p>Before we became foster parents, the two boys and I would sometimes take the wagon to the store where we’d use <a href="http://www.barrheaddistrictscoop.ca/" target="_blank">our co-op</a> share number to get groceries, and then we’d poke our heads in the window at the school and watch Trent teach.</p> <p>But these days it’s caring for four boys under the age of four: filling sippy cups and buttering toast and cleaning up banana squished to the floor and changing dirty diapers and searching for socks that match. These days it’s Trent calling by the stairs, “Do you have a lunch for me?” and me, still in my bathrobe, not having had my coffee, thinking about the three books I’ve been contracted to write.</p> <p>It’s nine now, and Aiden and Joey have had two time-outs because they’re both sick and extremely needy and fighting over everything. Jin has stuck his hand in the toilet and dumped porridge on his head, and Kasher has fallen down the stairs in his walker because I forgot to close the gate after feeding the guinea pig.</p> <p>And now my eight-month-old has a black eye and I don’t think I can do this anymore. What kind of mother lets her son fall down the stairs in his walker?</p> <p>So I scoop up Kasher and hold him against my pabulum-stained robe, close the door to my office, sit in the chair at my desk where my books remain unwritten, and rock my baby back and forth, back and forth, and try to pray, but I’m crying too hard.</p> <p>And then I determine to convince God that I can’t do it anymore. I can’t write and do art, and be a mom, and a wife, and a foster parent, and Trent won’t get home until six today because he’s coaching basketball.</p> <p>The day seems like a toilet paper kind of blank. And all I want is for my son’s eye to stop swelling.</p> <p>And then Trent calls. And I weep into the phone and he reminds me, we can do this. <a href="http://www.thehighcalling.org/family/i-do-holding" target="_blank">Together.</a></p> <p>Because tomorrow he has a half-day and he’ll take the kids to the farm and let me get some writing done. And tonight he has hockey, so I can do some more writing while the kids sleep. And he always has Fridays off, so he’ll take the kids then, too, and Kasher is reaching up and touching my face with his chubby hands. Like he’s blessing me.</p> <p><em>Image by <a href="http://www.icedsoul.de/" target="_blank">Teymur Madjderey</a>. Used with <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/" target="_blank">permission</a>. Sourced via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42202689@N00/2458560513/" target="_blank">Flickr</a>. Post by <a href="http://www.canvaschild.com/" target="_blank">Emily Wierenga</a>, </em><em>author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1897213352/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thehighcallio-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=1897213352" target="_blank">Chasing Silhouettes: How to Help a Loved One Battling an Eating Disorder </a>(available August 2012)</em></p> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-author-name"> <div class="field-label">Author Name: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> Emily Wierenga </div> </div> </div><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=WovQffnoHIc:Z4b7_zDvpOA:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=WovQffnoHIc:Z4b7_zDvpOA:qj6IDK7rITs"></img></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>A Lawyer Finds Ways to Honor God at Work</h1> <p>David Rupert — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:32:49 +0000</p> <p><a href="http://www.quietedwaters.com/about-quieted-waters/">Josh</a> is a High Calling network blogger who writes regularly over at <a href="http://www.quietedwaters.com/">Quieted Waters</a>. His public legal work keeps his identity hidden, but his heart is fully exposed in his thoughtful posts. He is young in age, but wise in his words as he writes about what it means for young professionals to be faithful Christians.</p> <p>He recently posted a series called, <a href="http://www.quietedwaters.com/9-ways-to-honor-god-at-work/">Nine Ways to Honor God at Work</a>. There are excellent posts including the admonition to <a href="http://www.quietedwaters.com/work-diligently-to-honor-god-at-work">work diligently</a>, to stop <a href="http://www.quietedwaters.com/stop-stealing-from-your-boss/">workplace theft</a> of time and resources, and to <a href="http://www.quietedwaters.com/serve-your-coworkers/">serve</a> your coworkers.</p> <p>Read the whole series <a href="http://www.quietedwaters.com/9-ways-to-honor-god-at-work/">here</a> and cheer on this young lawyer in a challenging workplace</p> <p><em>Image by <a href="http://www.paulgoyettephotography.com/">Paul Goyette</a>. Used with <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">permission</a>. Sourced via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/85732581@N00/2620249510/">Flickr.</a> </em></p> <p><em>Post by Newsletter Editor <a href="http://www.redletterbelievers.com/">David Rupert</a></em></p> <p> </p> <div class="field field-type-text field-field-author-name"> <div class="field-label">Author Name: </div> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item odd"> David Rupert </div> </div> </div><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=gypqfHgfNc0:oQEK4roxWfI:yIl2AUoC8zA"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/TheHighCallingAll?a=gypqfHgfNc0:oQEK4roxWfI:qj6IDK7rITs"></img></a> </div> </article> </main></body></html>