Follow-Up

So yesterday I posted a brief review about the Radical Leap — and within hours the Author Steve Farber left a comment.  That’s incredible.  It could be that he has some software that generates comments automatically, I don’t think so though, becuase he is living out his book.  He is cultivating love.  Wow, way to win a fan Steve.

Another amazing thing that I just experienced.  Seth Godin, found out that his new Audiobood was not playing properly on iPods committed to make sure that Apple fixed this and he wanted people to email him to let him know if they were having issues.  Pretty cool.

One area that I know I need improvement is in following-up a lot of stuff that comes across my email doesn’t need to be followed-up with but there are somethings that I need to get on right away, but I let them go, because I want to think about it, or I just have no idea what to say.  So these two authors just gave me a quick and simple example of doing the right thing.  Pretty cool.

Purple Cow & The Radical Leap

So I recently finished two great books.  First Purple Cow, written by Seth Godin.  This book was really a marketing book, and I am not a professional marketer by any means.  But the premise of this book applies to any organization.  The best marketing is created by being remarkable, by being something that people want to talk about.  Godin introduces the concept of the Idea Virus which is an idea that starts with a few key influencers (sneezers) and is then spread by word of mouth as the sneezers get excited about the idea or product.

This kind of work is hard, and it takes a willingness to take risks and be different and change the way things are done.  I feel like I came across this book at just the right time in my life because we are trying to re-invent our ministry and so this is a period of experimentation, trial & error and deep heartfelt prayer.

If there is any kind of idea virus that is worth spreading it’s the Gospel, and so while we don’t have to create a new message, we have to create a means by which to spread the ideavirus effectively.  Seattle is a very post-christian environment, people have no religious memory so we are trying to get the gospel to people who have no idea who Jesus really is, and that’s scary, but if we can make the Gospel remarkable through transformed lives, then the tranformed will become the best marketing we could ever dream of.  Look on John 4, one woman who had a remarkable (in a negative way) past was transformed and she spread the ideavirus of the gospel to the whole town.

That is my prayer for our ministry, that we will begin to see lives of students transformed, that we would begin to really believe the gospel for ourselves and be unable to hold it inside any longer.  It’s hard and it can be discouraging at times, but that’s what we are called to do.  This is a great book to remind you that you don’t have to go out into the whole world to reach the world, but you need to start with the few and let the gospel infect people.  And make it remarkable.

The next book I read was The Radical Leap by Steve Farber.  This is a leadership fable in the same style as Patrick Lencioni.  This was an easy quick read.  I would really recommend it.

The point is that you need to really love what you are doing and you have to be committed to the vision that caused you to fall in love with it in the first place.   Again this is a book that was just the right thing and just the right time.

Leap is an acronym.

cultivate Love

Generate Energy

Inspire Audacity

Provide Proof

I don’t even really know what to say about this book yet, except to say that if you are feeling burned out or tired, or are forgetting why you got into ministry in the first place then read this book.  We as Christ followers are called to change the world.  And we need to love the calling and bring others along in love.  We need to energize people to go out into the world to transform the world.  We need to inspire Audacity, that is the courage and boldness to believe that the Gospel is real and we can be creative as to how we are going to get the message to the world.  And we need to provide Proof that we are committed to making this a reality.  Great book.  Farber has some more books that I am going to have to look into.

Both of these books I checked out from the Public Library.  I love the Library because through them I own millions of books, and I let other people hold on to them and read them from time to time.

Happy Mother’s Day

I know this is a little late in the game but better late than  never.

My son and I are incredibly blessed because we have been given a gift in my Wife Kathy.  She is amazing, she loves more than I could ever imagine, she sacrifices a lot for our family, and she works super hard to make our life great.

She’s hot too so I’ve found the best looking woman and the best mom ever, what more could I ask for.

Sought

I have been reading Earl Creps’ book Off Road Disciplines.  I work on several books at once, and ORD is my current Gym reading book.

Yesterday I was very captivated by a thought that has challenged and encouraged me.  Earl was writing about how the church has been trying to be “seeker-sensitive” and really that’s not a bad idea.  But the words we uses like seeker, lost, unsaved, non-christian tend to create an us and them mentality.  Now we don’t do it on purpose.

The truth is, people who are not going to church, are not really seeking.  The only true seeker is the Father.  The Father sent Jesus to seek us.  Some have been found and some are still hiding, but Jesus is searching for us.

The reason that this captivated me, is because it puts me in the same camp as the people who are not going to church.  It gives us all the same status as sought-out ones.  I think there is an incredible amount of spiritual arrogance in the church today, and this simple paradigm shift can eliminate the arrogance, and the us vs. them mentality.

I went to a little half-day conference where Earl was the speaker. And I left with more thoughts and questions then I came with.  Earl is like a friend who always knows exactly what you are hungry for, and takes you to that restaurant, but then afterwards, he invites you to another restaurant with food that you’ve never even heard of before but you are instantly intrigued and you can’t wait for the next time you get together.

Thanks Earl, I’m loving the book, and I look forward to getting challenged more and more.

devastation

This weekend we faced another incredible, terrifying display of the power of Nature, and the effects that it has on people’s lives. An entire town in Kansas was destroyed by a tornado with up to 200mph winds.  Entire houses ripped to shreds.

My heart goes out to the families that have lost so much.  And the people whose lives are forever changed.  I know that God can bring back hope and restoration to these families.

One of the things about devastation is that you have an opportunity to rebuild from the ground up, instead of remodeling and trying to work around the already existing structures, trying not to mess up the carpets, scuff the walls, match the furniture.  All that stuff.  I know this probably sounds really crass but it’s true.

What do we need to have devastated in our lives?  What are we trying to build around, but we need to let it just be destroyed.  I think we have some sacred cows that need to be butchered and it’s only when we let God do the butchering that we can really begin to rebuild.

Personal, family, traditions, churches, what do we need to have devastated?

Preaching Today

So today I have to privilege of preaching for our congregation.  I really love being allowed to teach and I feel very blessed to be in a place where I can do this.  I always have a little nerves about the message (not the actual speaking in front of people) about how well it will be received.  But then I get up there and within a few minutes I am having so much fun that I forget about the nerves.

I think this is part of being an artist.  You are always worried about the reception of your art, that’s why people read reviews, blogs, or whatever because they want to see if it’s received.  I really do feel like preaching is an art.  It’s something that you craft and hone, and try to improve.  And through your study and the anointing of the Holy Spirit a masterpiece can be crafted.

Like all art, preaching hopes to move people, to create a response in people’s lives, to cause them to think, reflect, change.  It’s an art form that can have an immediate response, or one that can have people mulling over for month and then you get feedback.

It can be pop-art, light and fluffy, or it can be incredible contemplative.  It can be bad, or it can be great.  It’s an amazing medium, and like all art it is something that you are called to, something that you are compelled to.   You can’t not preach.

So yeah today’s the day that the Holy Spirit and I work as a team to showcase our art.  I hope and pray that it is well received, and I hope that through the message people can find freedom.