Heart & Sole

It's one thing to have a heart for what you're doing. It's quite another to put shoe leather to it. I am grateful to be part of a church that is on mission, "heart and sole."

Putting your sole into it means change. Putting sole into it means work. Putting sole into it means risk. Putting sole into it means having crucial conversations. Putting sole into it means learning how to say, "I'm sorry." Putting sole into it means learning how to say, "We're moving on." Putting sole into it means sacrifice and service. Putting sole into it means putting your money where your mission is. Putting sole into it means making principled decisions regardless of the way the wind is blowing. Putting sole into it means trusting and forgiving. Putting sole into it means caging your ego and surrendering your pride. Putting sole into it means quitting some things that work in order to discover what might work better. Putting sole into it means trying and failing and trying again. Putting sole into it means getting there early and staying late. Putting sole into it means research and study and hours and hours of prayer. Putting sole into it takes every week volunteers and a crazy committed staff. Putting sole into it means marching out of your comfort zone and into the “land in between.” Putting sole into it means committing to your own spiritual and professional growth. You will quit if you don’t. Putting sole into it means walking through difficulty and away from security. Putting sole into it means going where you’ve never gone, doing what you’ve never done, to reach who you’ve never reached. Putting sole into it means pain and struggle and ultimately victory.

So, here’s to all my friends out there who are putting cardboard in the bottoms of their spiritual and emotional shoes this morning. I know it hurts. I know you’re tired. I know it seems like the struggle will never end, but it will. Keep going! God is faithful.

“Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.” (1 Samuel 14:7)

What a church leader needs on Monday. #2

Sometimes it’s a cup of coffee and a newspaper.

Sometimes, it’s a coveted few extra minutes in bed in the fetal position imagining someone else is in charge.

Sometimes, it’s a perusal of the job market to see if anything else is calling.

Sometimes, it’s just a note from someone who lived the dream a whole team of leaders had many, many, Sunday nights ago.

Yeah, I’m good.

Let’s rumble.

Peace.

(FX is our Family Experience. It’s a 45 minute service specifically designed for parents and elementary age children to experience together. It is especially attractive to parents who want to return or go to church, but don’t know where to begin. We’re just getting started, but we believe God is about to do a powerful new thing, and we’re grateful!)

Leader Up!

This blog is littered with a few quotes from L. David Marquet’s book, “Turn The Ship Around!” and contains one quote from Dr. Crawford Howe.

 “Are you and your people working to optimize the organization for their tenure, or forever? To promote long term success, I had to ignore short-term reward systems.” (“Turn The Ship Around,” p.11)

Through the years I’ve heard pastors near the end of a tenure say; “I’m going to let the next leader handle that one.” Usually, the comment refers to a tough decision that needs to be made or an issue that they don’t want to address. I’m learning the most effective leaders don’t function that way. They make tough decisions with “forever” in mind.

“I thought about that. On every submarine and ship, and in every squadron and battalion, hundreds of captains were making thousands of decisions to optimize the performance of their own commands for their tour and their tour alone. If they did anything for the long run it was because of an enlightened sense of duty, not because there was anything in the systems that rewarded them for it. We didn’t associate an officer’s leadership effectiveness with how well his unit performed after he left. We didn’t associate an officer’s leadership effectiveness with how often his people got promoted two, three, or four years hence. We didn’t even track that kind of information. All that mattered was performance in the moment.” (p.14)

In other words, “I’ll make decisions based upon what will reward me now. The future is someone else’s problem.”

“As long as you are measuring performance over just the short term, it can (short-term reward systems) be effective. Officers are rewarded for being indispensable, for being missed after they depart. When the performance of a unit goes down after an officer leaves, it is taken as a sign that he was a good leader, not that he was ineffective in training his people properly.” (p. 15)

When church leaders cave to pressure to please people in the moment instead of leading people on a journey, they serve up the future.

Dr. Crawford Howe, the single most effective church leader I’ve ever worked alongside, consistently challenged us to make decisions thinking about where that decision was going to lead in the future. He challenged all of us to leave behind a culture ready for the next season.

“Deal with what needs to be dealt with, Brian, and prepare your leaders for their next leader. Create an enduring leadership culture.”

 It’s a paraphrase from my notes, but not far off of what Dr. Howe said to us in a meeting ten years ago.

I watched him continually make tough decisions based upon right planning for the future. He dealt with difficult people (us) and led a district through an extremely difficult decision on selling a campground because it’s a leader's job to lead.

So, what will it be? Marquet’s question demands an answer.

“Are you and your people working to optimize the organization for their tenure, or forever?

Perhaps what matters most is what happens after you leave. 

 Peace. 

Which is it?

Years ago, a staff member of a church told me that after significant study and prayer, on behalf of the leadership team of the church, their pastor launched a new statement with regard to mission and vision. The statement read: “It’s not about us.” There was so much kickback that a short time later the statement was amended to read: “It’s not just about us.”

 Wow.

 Let me state at the outset that the reality is it’s about Jesus. His mission. His work, His values, what He wants, what He is doing in our community, but that wasn’t what got the pastor in trouble. People are more than willing to put Jesus ahead of self; it’s putting their neighbors ahead of self that kicks sleeping sacred cows.

 What about putting others ahead of ourselves? What if our schedules need to change? What if our approaches need to change? What if our methods need to change? What if leadership needs to change? What if the sacred cow really isn’t sacred?

 I’m not talking about watering down or changing the Gospel. As a matter of fact, I’m talking about returning to it.

 The most difficult reality a local church faces is not the distance she must move with regard to structures, methods, programming, and schedule in order to reach un-churched, de-churched, or non-churched people; it’s what has to happen to her heart before she’ll even consider it.

 Consider below four variables on the “It’s not about us” question.

 1. "It’s not about us." Clear. Definable. Easy to remember. Not much need to elaborate here, a clear filter for change, action, and the mission of the church. We will do whatever it takes short of sin, in order to reach outsiders.  #nosacredcows #sacredcowsmakegreathamburger

 2. “It’s not just about us.” A governor on the engine of commitment, this statement makes it about us first, but after that we need to focus on reaching lost people. This statement is great for a church that wants to focus on reaching lost people occasionally or on special days. There are however, some sacred cows. #coexistwithsacredcows #arewehindu?

 3. “It’s not about us, but…” Making room for a governor on commitment when the purposed action seems too costly to insiders and needs to be reconsidered. There might be some sacred cows so tread lightly and revert back to statement #2 if you discover one. #theremightbesacredcowswatchwhereyoustep #throwthecowabone

 4. “It’s about us.” Clear. Definable. Easy to remember. Not much need to elaborate here, a clear filter for change, action, and the mission of the church. If people want to come along, fine, but we’re not going to change in order to facilitate it. The cow is sacred. The cow rules. Feed the cow. Pet the cow. Stare at the cow. Protect the cow. Talk about the cow when you rise up and when you lay down. When your children ask you; “What is the meaning of the cow?” tell them to shut up and worship the cow. #i❤sacredcows  #putthecowdownslowlyandstepaway

 I’ve never met with a church leadership team who said they didn’t want their church to grow. Actually, that’s not entirely true. I have met with leadership teams who would talk about a growing church down the street and say, “I don’t want us to be like them.” When I questioned what it was about “them” that we didn’t want to be “like,” and then lifted away layers of false perceptions, the issue was size…growth.

 If that’s where you are, congratulations, you need never worry about becoming like “them.” If that’s not who you are, then which statement will you choose?

 Be careful, think about it, and consider (Philippians 2) before you decide. 

Go Home

“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” (Mark 2:11)

At C1, we’re focusing on families. We’re focusing on families because God does, from one end of the book to the other. We are convinced; Change the family, change the world. As a result of this focus, our thoughts are drifting home.

I’m following (at a distance) one brave man’s journey through addiction to sobriety and sanity… and home.

Heroin is a hater unlike any other, but God is doing something in this guy’s life. From a treatment center where the battle is being staged, he writes about his struggle with one goal in mind: going home. A young daughter waits. Friends wait. Family waits. Dreams and daylight and unrealized destiny all wait… at home.

I was thinking about my friend as I read the first few verses of Mark 2. What a moment. Jesus looked at the paralytic and said; “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Just like that, huh, Jesus? Wow.

Not all of our struggles are settled when we come to Jesus, but our salvation is, and that’s one fight we can’t fight. The one thing we cannot do for ourselves, Jesus has already done; atone.

When you’re trying to get up from being paralyzed, the first steps are the most important. We have no record in the story of this man asking for forgiveness, but we are told that Jesus “knows the heart.” Apparently without saying a word audibly, this guy repents. And then Jesus delivers a money line.

“I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” (vs.11)

Let’s break it down.

“I tell you”

Jesus can talk like that. He’s Jesus.

“get up”

Stand up, straighten up, rise up, and get up. There’s a time to kneel, there’s a time to lay on a mat and beg, and there’s a time to get up. The world’s full of people who made a home out of the mat. Not you, get up.

“take your mat”

Roll up the junk you been sleeping, eating, begging, and living on and take it with you. I don’t want you to ever forget where you were or who you were when we met. Show it to other people and tell them about me.

“go home”

There’s life to be lived, work to be done, laughter to be soaked up, tears to be shared, love to be given, and lessons to be learned back there… at the scene of the attack. At the tomb the devil prepared for you I want to have a party.

Three decades ago I sat on a bar stool in Chicago. I was lost. I was an addict. I was trying to figure out how to sort out the mess that was my life. Beside me sat a man I had just met at the bar. Together we watched a ball game and talked about life. He was older. He was wiser, looked successful and seemed to have his act together. He asked me a few questions as we made polite conversation. We laughed at a few things and pondered some of life’s mysteries. It's what guys do at a bar. Then, abruptly, he stood up, grabbed his coat, looked me straight in the eye and said; “Young man, you need to go home.” I never saw him again.

I was speechless. With that, he turned and walked out the door. I got up and did what he suggested. I’m really glad I did. I think about that guy almost every time I celebrate a birthday or Christmas with my wife and kids, and I am grateful.

I don’t know where my friend will end up living. Geography is not the issue here. He may well eventually relocate to start life over. But soon his first few steps off of an airplane will take him, with rolled up mat in hand, home.

May God help us as the Body of Christ to help thousands of fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, children, and grandchildren find their way home. Most aren’t addicts, but their lost. Many have never physically left, but their hearts did, and out there on the road somewhere, Jesus longs to meet them and send them home.

God help us to be as faithful, courageous, innovative, unified, and determined as a few friends of a paralyzed man were 2,000 years ago when they cut a hole in a roof and got their buddy to Jesus. We absolutely, positively, cannot be anything less.

Peace.

"I think it might be Jesus's favorite picture too."

Today an old friend called. I refer to him as an “old” friend, but actually we’ve only known each other for 10 years. He’s just the kind of friend that feels like an "old" friend because our friendship runs deep. The friendships you make following Jesus seem to run that way. We met when he started attending our church. We became friends as I had the privilege of walking with him through the early days of discipleship. I’ve learned a lot about Jesus and life from my friend, Howard.

I’ve seen Jesus redeem a past and unveil a bright future. I’ve seen Jesus lead through valleys and over mountaintops. I’ve seen Jesus use my friend to reach and influence others in a way that only he could. We have laughed, cried, and drank a lot of coffee together. He’s stayed in touch even though I have since moved to another town.

Today, he texted me a simple message letting me know his mother had passed. I called him. We talked and prayed. Before we hung up he told me he was going to send a picture of him and his mother together. “It is,” he said, “my favorite picture.”

He told stories of her faithfulness as a great Mom. His brothers and sisters marvel at how she provided for them during difficult days and never gave up on them during long, sometimes dark years. She was quite a woman.

She died with the peace in her heart that her children particularly one wayward son, were home. Not just home in a location sense, but home… settled, sober, following Jesus and making a difference in the world. Home… safe, belonging, together with family. Home... as in no words were left unsaid, no apologies went unspoken, no love was left unexpressed. Home. His journey there has blessed this pastor and made a world of difference to a Mom who left this world knowing where her son was… home.

He texted me the picture. I have printed a copy and put it under the plastic protector on my desk. I want to see it often and be reminded that when the church is the church, lives are transformed, children come home and Mommas are happy.

I don’t have any other pictures of my friend, but even if I did, this one would be my favorite. It's a reminder of God's amazing grace and what a "win" looks like for the local church. I think it might be Jesus's favorite picture too.

God bless the memory and family of Kay Piercy Schmitt.

Indeed, “Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.” (Proverbs 31:31)

Peace

Your Motives Are In Question

“The cost of leadership,” explains Lt. General George Flynn, “is self-interest.” ("Leaders Eat Last," p.65)

If you seek to lead change in any organization, especially the church, your motives will be called into question… and they should be.

People will wonder; “Why does he care?”

People will ask: “What’s in it for her?”

People will doubt: “He’s only interested in the numbers.”

People will question; “What’s this really all about?”

Why does a leader seek to lead a local church to reach the community around it and consequently, grow?

My friend, Dist. Supt., Rev. Greg Mason once said; “Nothing is more toxic to a church environment than a leader doing the right things for the wrong reasons.”

If you claim to be concerned about lost people, but are more concerned about your resume; beware, your motives will find you out. There will be moments when the outcome is unclear and the scoreboard is hard to look at. It is then that your true motives will be apparent. If self-interest is guiding, the journey will be redirected by your fears. Beware, your motives will find you out. If you have to get the credit, there will never be enough of it. Beware your motives will find you out.

Most leaders, I am convinced, start with the right motives, but leadership can be a slippery slope. Make no mistake about it. Security, acceptance and accolades from our peers matter. We are human.

How does a leader check their motives? We humans are prone to self-deception. Hence the warning from the Apostle Paul; “My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t make me innocent.” (1 Corinthians 4:4)

Prayer and accountability are useful here. An honest heart before God will always be open to the testing work of the Holy Spirit. A few leaders watching you, with permission to ask you about anything are also a tremendous safeguard. In addition, may I suggest considering these three questions.

1. Why bothers me most about the fact that my church isn’t growing?
2. How much of my concern is based upon my own desire to succeed?
3. Would I continue to sacrifice for this cause even if I lost my current position of leadership?

The first two questions are interesting, but the third cuts clear to the bone.

In “Leaders Eat Last,” Simon Sinek says something about politicians that I fear may be true of us in the church.

“It is fun to watch the politicians who announce that if elected they will do all these good things because they care about us. And if they lose their election, many go on to do none of those things.” (p.66)

The issue most important to these political leaders wasn’t people, but their election. Consequently, when the election is lost, the cause is relegated to the sideline. The cause was just a horse to ride in order to win a position.

Before I relate the following story, let me confess that I have had to check my own motives many times. More than once I have had to plod through the muck of self-pity in order to be fit for service. Many times I have had to be reminded by Jesus that it really wasn’t about me. Each time the Lord has been gracious and faithful.

More than 20 years ago I sat before a group of leaders who were examining me as to fitness for ordination. After years of study and service, they would decide if I was “ready” to be ordained as an elder in The Church of the Nazarene. Their responsibility was great. I was humbled and felt truly unworthy. My path had not been typical, and there were a variety of reasons for them to recommend me back to the local church for service, or to the local retail store for a job.

I only remember one question from that interview.

“Rev. Wangler, what will you do if, for some reason, this board decides not to recommend you for ordination this year, or perhaps any year?”

My answer was quick and simple. It was what I honestly felt and believed at that moment.

“I would return to my local church and do everything I could, serve any way I could, to win lost people to Jesus.”

The Board of Ministry asked me a lot of questions over the five-year period it took to work my way through the process. Some of my answers left them shaking their heads, I’m sure. This one didn’t. Don’t think me noble, I wasn’t. Think me grateful because I was.

I think about that question often. Would my answer be the same all of these years later? I pray that it would be. I’m grateful for the platform I have to serve Jesus, but with or without the platform or the title, I’m in. All in. I don’t want a single person to spend a single day more in bondage to darkness.

God has promised to care for us as we serve Him and care for others. This truth unchains our hearts and sets out motives free.

Peace.

Questions

“No man has ever listened himself out of a job.” (Calvin Coolidge)

A portion of Kevin Cashman’s book entitled, “The Pause Principle” is about listening and asking questions. (The following quotes are taken from pages 86-89)

“The two most valuable pause tools for fostering the growth of others are questions and listening.”

“The usefulness of the knowledge we acquire and the effectiveness of the actions we take depend on the quality of the questions we ask.”

“The chairman of a global 100 firm shared with me, ‘At early stages of our career, we build credibility by having the answers. At later career stages, we build credibility by having the most powerful questions.”

“Questions without authentic listening are thinly veiled challenges, judgments, and assertions; challenging questions with authentic listening activates latent power, potential, and collaboration.”

“Effective leaders speak to influence and motivate; exceptional leaders listen to learn, collaborate, and innovate.”

“Of all the core competencies critical to sustained leadership, listening is at, or near, the top of the list.”

“Research confirms that a startling 67 percent of new leaders in organizations fail within eighteen months. Why? Lack of listening.”

I inhale all of this and remember author and speaker Hal Perkin’s plea to parents raising children;

“When you spend time with your child, you don’t need a curriculum. Your child IS the curriculum. Make your child the curriculum, ask the right questions, and listen for the cracks in their heart.”

Dr. Larry Mckain, the new District Supt. on the Chicago Central District Church of the Nazarene often points to a moment in Jesus’ life that leaders miss. When, as a child, Jesus was absent for three days, his parents found him in the synagogue doing two things. Larry says, “When leaders learn these two disciplines, great things happen.”

46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. (Luke 2:46)

Facing a barrier? Make a list of 25 questions and go ask them.

Enjoy.

The Leaders We Leave Behind

“The art of management is consistently, efficiently achieving results; the art of leadership is growing people to produce enduring value.” (Kevin Cashman, The Pause Principle, p.82)

I was talking with a friend of mine who has spent his life building houses. He smiled when I asked him how many homes he had built. “You know, I never really counted.”

“It must feel great,” I said. “Leaving behind thresholds that brides will be carried over, living rooms where children will take their first steps, and kitchens where life will be lived and laughter will overflow. For decades what you’ve built will endure, stand strong, and be 'home' for families."

His response was a bit misty; “Thank you. I’ve never really thought about it that way.”

He walked away smiling. I walked thinking; “What am I building that will stand the test of time?”

“If business managed their money as carelessly as they manage their people, most would be bankrupt. The great majority of companies that control their finances don’t have any comparable processes for developing leaders or even pinpointing which ones to develop.” (Ram Sharan & Bill Conaty; The Talent Masters: Why Smart Leaders Put People Before Numbers.)

It’s certainly not the programs I produce or the sermons I preach. I’ll confess a few moments of self-pity as I reflected on a life’s work that leaves very little in the way of a physical mark on the world. No thresholds, no living rooms, no kitchens.

Then, I remembered. I am where I am because others have built into me. I am a product of committed builders who wanted me to succeed. I’m sure I’m not what they imagined when they started building, but I’m in the fight and at my post.

What a leader leaves behind are people who have crossed thresholds, taken first steps, and enjoyed life and laughter at the table. And then, these leaders get up and lead others. What a leader leaves behind are leaders.

Someday, you will make your last corporate decision, hand in the keys and walk away. Someday, you will inspect your final shipment and close your final deal. Someday, I will walk off of a platform having preached my final sermon. Let’s commit together that when we do whatever it is we will do last as leaders, we leave behind threshold crossers, first step takers, and lovers of life at the table.

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide:…” (Exodus 1:1)

Why I Miss Being A Born-Again Christian

So, here’s the hard part. This is a two-part blog. Before what I’m about to write will be relevant, you’ll have to read the attached blog written by Jessica Misener.

It won’t take but a few minutes so cut and paste or follow the url.  Read it and return.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/why-i-miss-being-a-born-again-christian

If the link doesn't work, just google "Why I Miss Being A Born-Again Christian."

Welcome back, I have four thoughts.

1. There is something extremely cool and powerful about honest doubt. God can work with that. Can the church?

2. I fear we have done a poor job overall of preparing our young people to deal with an academic handling of the Scriptures. "Because the Bible tells me so," won't carry weight if you're conversing with someone who doesn't see the Bible as you do.  We need to reconsider our approach to talking about the sacred Text when dealing with people who see it no different that the Book of Mormon, or the Koran. Don't get me wrong, I accept the Bible as the Word of God, but I have never, not for one day, ever considered it anything different.  I was raised that way. A vast majority of the people around us aren't, and they're going to look at it much the way you and I would look at the Koran or the Book of Mormon. Often, it's not lies they are confronted with on the university campus that cause our young people to doubt the Bible, but truth we didn't bother to teach them, or perhaps mystery we just were afraid to talk about.

There are things about the Bible that I can't fully explain. For instance, how many women were at the tomb? Somewhere between one and five according to the Gospels. Does that bother me? No. I've met Jesus and his resurrection is the point of the story. Far too often we miss what God is pointing to with His finger by arguing about His finger.

May our faith never be so fragile as to keep us from transparent, even sometimes difficult discussions.  Through thousands of years, the finest minds and most dedicated hearts in Christendom have often disagreed about certain passages of Scripture. How arrogant would it be of me to portend that I have the final word regarding The Word? The learned teachers in my life taught me better than that.  Consequently, there is great danger when Scripture is bent to construct a “pre-fab worldview.”

4.  It’s just not that easy to quit Jesus. The older I get the more I am impressed by how hard it is to escape the impact of a man who lived 2,000 years ago, led only a few followers, never wrote a book, and died a criminal’s death. The power of the resurrection is always in front of us. If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to read, “Who is This Man?” by John Ortberg.

The “sheer sensation of life,” the “all-pervading notion of being,” the “pulse of consequence projected onto the humblest of things,” will not likely slacken, Jessica, because Jesus is the Man who just won’t go away.

My prayer is that as Jessica walks through life “smiling thinly” at those of us who profess Christ, Christ's love will so fill our lives, and He will so live out His resurrection in us, that grace will overflow and find it’s way into the tiny cracks in her heart, and truth will reign.

I say that because I believe Jesus misses Jessica more than Jessica misses Jesus.

God help us to live in such a way as to gain an audience with her heart and her mind.

Peace.