Quoted…

This from Tom Rusk and Randy Read’s I Want to Change But I Don’t Know How, via Og Mandino’s University of Success…

How much of your talent is being wasted for want of a little boldness?

More of What Leaders Do…

(And it even comes with another E…this good stuff from Bill Easum’s Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask First…

In the absence of strong leadership, leaders leave and dysfunctional people take charge.

Leaders always take responsibility for whatever situation in which they find themselves. Leaders never blame the system for their own failures. If the system destroys them, they allowed it to happen.

Leaders set their own agenda and set out on the journey to make it happen. It is silly to think that a pastor should do whatever a congregation wants him or her to do. That would be a violation of a pastor’s call.

Leaders get what they look for.

8 E’s: What the Leader Does…

Just some thoughts from my own somewhat limited mind…use it if you want to (smoke ‘em if you’ve got ‘em???). Here you go…

• ENVISION. See and share a vision of a preferred future and how best to get there from here. Very seldom in the Bible does God give His vision to a committee. It’s usually to an individual leader, who is sold out and committed to Him.
• EMBODY/EXEMPLIFY. Live out the values and vision in his own life and work. The effective leader never asks anyone around him to do something he’s not willing to do.
• ENLIST. Discover, attract, and motivate a team of “true believers” to accomplish the vision and mission. The effective leader is not afraid of the “Big Ask” in gathering talented, motivated and creative people to his team.
• EQUIP. Provide the team with the necessary resources to achieve the mission and fulfill the vision. The effective leader doesn’t necessarily do it all himself, but he guides and points and trains along the way.
• ENCOURAGE. Give positive feedback along the journey. The effective leader is not only the coach, but the most effective cheerleader.
• EXPECT. Set the bar high and expect no less than the best from the team. High expectations usually are rewarded with excellence. Low expectations that don’t inspire are usually saddled with, well, you know….
• EVALUATE. Let the team know how it’s going in the process and how it went at the end. The effective leader is not necessarily brutal, but is honest and open in communicating to the team.
• EXPRESS. Don’t forget to say “thank you” to those who have been willing to follow. Honor their commitment. Hold them up as models for effective service.

Your mileage may vary…

If This Is a Party, I’m Late Again…

OK, so I took the Twitter plunge. I’m now Twittering…whatever the heck that means.

I think it means one more thing for an old coot to do to look like he’s able to hang with the cool kids…

Two Old Friends, Together…

I’m enjoying a new twist on two old friends tonight…Community Coffee’s New Orleans Blend, made in my  little Bodum French Press! We learned to love chicory coffee way back before coffee was hot. Well, the coffee itself was pretty hot, but it wasn’t cool…pre-nationwide Starbucks days.

Our apartment in New Orleans was in close proximity to the industrial canal, and the Luzianne plant was right there. Most mornings when it was hot and muggy, the aroma of that coffee and chicory being made hung thick in the air as I made my way to class!

Of course, we made the almost-every-weekend pilgrimage to Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter. The cafe au lait and the powdered sugar from the beignets were highlights!

Later, when we knew what it means to miss New Orleans, we discovered we could mail-order the good stuff from Community. Now, it’s our morning go-juice of choice.

My nighttime working brew is usually some kind of Starbucks, but tonight I’m out, and just don’t feel like making the trip to my local mega-mart for more, so I grabbed the Community bag. Good stuff!

NOTE: WOW! I just noticed - and you will, too - the Google maps link to our old address in New Orleans shows the Seminary campus post-Katrina. And our apartment building - along with all the other “States” buildings are no more!

Overheard Today…

This quote is now on my office door note-holder/whiteboard thingy…

I am unable to make a difference if I am unwilling to make a change.

Maybe…

I’m probably way late to this party, but check out this Michael Jordan video…”Maybe you’re just making excuses….”

(via Alwyn Cosgrove’s blog)

Quick Friday Afternoon Hits…

Whassup in Cherokee County, Georgia this afternoon…

• The sunburn is not nearly as bad as I thought and wrote yesterday! In fact, it turns out the really, really bad red was actually because of some of “The Boy’s” leftover sun lotion stuff. I just noticed the label warning today: “Not recommended for outdoor use.” Hmmm….
• Nevertheless, I’m inside this afternoon. With John Rutter’s fantastic Gloria playing loud and clear. And the operative word is loud. (OK, so it’s not Chris Tomlin, or Hillsong, or Steve Fee, or even Lee McD. But it is contemporary. And it is praise and worship. But…it’s a choir and organ and orchestra. And it rocks!
• Reading Timothy Keller’s The Reason for God. It rocks, too…

How’s your Friday going so far?

Beautiful Day, Stupid Me…

Right now it’s 74 and gorgeous in our neck of the woods. So I decided around 1:45 this afternoon to take my work outside. Dumb, stupid move…really dumb, stupid move!

See, my “work” involved reading. The book I’m reading isn’t exactly a page-turner. In fact, it’s got some pretty downright boring parts. Those parts led to a sleepy state. That sleepy state lasted until my phone rang. At about 2:45 this afternoon.

Let’s just say a 47-year-old old coot ought not to be looking for something with the cooling, soothing properties of healing aloe. I can’t remember the last time I was this sunburned! I’m going to pay for that little nap for a while!

Where Should Ministry Decisions Get Made?

On the front lines of ministry, of course! Where else?!?!?

I was reminded of this lesson again in a powerful and practical way today. I’m sure glad the “guys in the field” understand and appreciate that principle. Now if only the “higher-ups” understood the same thing, that “service” is about people and their needs, not necessarily about policy and procedure.

I’ll be chewing on that one the rest of the day today.