The Perfect Storm

My blogging has temporarily slowed a bit. I'm working to find my life rhythm again, and I will find it.

I just started a Masters Degree Program with Regent University. I'm working toward a Masters in Organizational Leadership (MOL). It is challenging, to say the least, and it is stretching me in places that I did not know could stretch.

I think I've created the perfect storm...job transition...starting a major academic pursuit...and everything else that is floating around in my head that I want and need to do. I'm very, very good at creating perfect storms. Sometimes I ask myself why I don't just find a lawn chair and sit on the sidelines for a while...you know, just watch the game for a quarter or two.

I just can't -- don't want to.

Reminds me of the story that you've probably heard of the guy named Larry who was sitting around his yard without much to do (this story is true, check out the details at snopes) and he got this wild idea to tie a bunch of weather balloons to his lawn chair, strap himself in, and see if he could get airborne.

Larry anchored the chair to the ground, attached way too many helium filled weather balloons, and armed himself with a BB gun so that when he wanted to come back to the ground he would shoot the balloons out one at a time until he drifted back to earth.

When he was ready he strapped in, pulled the cord on his anchors, and to his surprise he shot up like a bullet to more than 10,000 feet. He was so startled that he did not have the presence of mind to take any action and once he was so high up he was afraid to shoot any of the balloons. He was even spotted and reported by a commercial airliner when he drifted into the flight path of L.A. International Airport. (I'm sure that was an interesting radio conversation!)

Eventually he gained the courage to shoot out some of the balloons and he made it back to earth unharmed.

Of all of the things that a guy could do, why would you do something so stupid. When asked that question his reply was simply:

Hey, a guy can't just sit around.

I hope that I've thought things out a little better than Larry did but I've got to echo his insight...a guy can't just sit around.

If you stop learning you stop leading.

Things Keep Changing

Change is an important part of our lives and an important thing to consider in spiritual leadership.

I recently read somewhere that the knowledge bank of humanity doubles every 2 years and that by the year 2020 it will be doubling every 73 days. I've heard a few variations of the rate of change but the statement is accurate enough to challenge us with the impact of change on our culture. This is not simply a technological explosion but it is an information explosion that leads to constant flux and change in our lives and in the organizations that we lead.

Remember the Oldsmobile television commercial from a few years ago... images of vintage tank-like Oldsmobiles were replaced with racy and sleek new Oldsmobiles. The voice over said, "This is not your father's Oldsmobile." I think that was a couple of years before they stopped making Oldsmobiles so the advertising strategy could hardly be considered a success. You can't change an image that has been impressed upon generations just by saying something has changed.

Perhaps if we are trying to catch the attention of a generation that thrives on change we should embrace true change instead of just trying to point out that we are somehow new and improved. I suppose that if you have to call attention to the fact that you have changed then the change is probably not all that remarkable and it definitely isn't organic.

After the Oldsmobile commercials gained popularity I heard people cutely modify the phrase and saying it with that deep announcer-like voice... "This is not your father's church." The inference being, "Hey, look at us, see how much we've changed." You've seen it and it's kinda pitiful. A church that does everything just like they always have but they tweak a couple of insignificant things and start touting their relevance. Oh my.

Constant change is a part of our culture like never before in the history of mankind. We shouldn't force change just because we want to be trendy but change comes when we realize our effectiveness is waning. We open ourselves up to change when the things that we value most are starting to slip away. Change is, or should be, an organic response of our passion to reach people that Jesus loves.

I'm glad that some things never change. That is a comfort to me. There are constants that keep us anchored. The core of the message itself does not change but the methods are constantly morphing.

So, how does an organization or church face the inevitable need for change? Well, a lot of complex discussion could be had on this topic but I'd prefer to just make a simple statement about it.

If the organization that I lead needs to change to be effective, relevant, loving, concerned, or reflective of Jesus...then I must change first. When I embrace deep change in the ways that I respond, the ways that I lead myself, the fervency with which I pursue God, the reflection that I am of Christ, then and only then will I be able to lead the kind of organic change necessary to effectively minister to this generation and the ones behind it.

When I become, as a leader and as a person, unwilling to embrace organic changes that are clearly and obviously necessary for the fulfillment of the mission then it's time for me to step aside.

May I (we) be continually transformed by the renewing of our minds.