I’ve mentioned that my husband and I recently moved.  Moving always reminds me of a couple of important things:

1. I have too much stuff.
2. I never want to move again!

The crazy part of this move is that we chose to move into a house that had been in foreclosure and is in desperate need of some TLC.  Why do I get myself into these things?  It’s not that I don’t have anything to do.  Good grief.  This might possibly be one of the busiest seasons of my life so far, but never-the-less we have taken on a project.

There are a couple of reasons we took on this project:

1. It’s an opportunity to multiply the resources God has blessed us with.
2. It’s something that my husband and I enjoy doing together.  Yes, some days it creates a bit of tension and there are definitely some projects (like plumbing) that we should never do together, but overall we enjoy taking something that’s a little beat up and making it beautiful again.

But here’s where the challenge comes in…

We’ve been working on our new home for almost three months and at times I wonder if we can see progress at all.  We’ve had to take care of the little things behind the scenes, the things that aren’t so apparent to the naked eye.  We’ve been working in the underbelly.

• We’ve repaired plumbing leaks under the house… well actually Merlyn and my dad did that because I don’t do plumbing.
• We’ve painted ceilings and every square inch of trim on the second floor.
• I sealed grout.  Yes, really… on my hands and knees spraying a sealer and wiping each little crevice dry.
• Merlyn fixed wiring issues.
• I’ve painted and painted and still have more outrageous rooms to tackle.
• We’ve replaced filters, light bulbs and toilet roll holders.
• I’ve been covered in drywall dust and my new shade of hair color is known as primer.

I get embarrassed some days when friends come to check on our progress and I’m afraid it doesn’t look like much.  I’ve been crazy busy spending every spare minute on this place but sometimes it just isn’t very visible.

I long to rush to the decorating and make every room inviting for friends.  But I would be covering up bruises, bumps and blemishes that will eventually show through.  Doing all the tough work on the underbelly will pay off down the road when I know all the pretty decor is not covering up anything but rather enhancing the architecture.

And this is exactly what the underbelly of my life looks like.

Isn’t this what we do in our personal development and spiritual lives?  We are in such a hurry to look good that we put on the pretty “decor” to appear as if we’re all together but so often we don’t take care of the underbelly.

And man, this is hard work.  Some days it doesn’t seem like I’ve gotten very much done…

I still get offended when someone asks a question in a way that makes me feel like I’ve failed

I still want to retaliate when someone hurts me

I still get insecure when I don’t feel comfortable

I still get jealous when someone else accomplishes the thing I dream of doing

The underbelly takes tough work that isn’t always immediately visible but it’s the foundation to our health – emotionally and spiritually.

Have you taken a look at the underbelly lately?  Is there some clean up you need to attend to?

 

Everyone is preoccupied.

As a church leader I approach Sunday as if it’s the priority if everyone’s week.  It’s “game day” for those of us who get to do this for full-time employment and so it’s natural that Sunday feels like a big deal.  My life on the weekend even revolves around being ready for Sunday.

• We rarely make Saturday evening plans because I prefer to be home relaxing to get to bed on time.
• I wake up earlier on Sunday than any other day of the week.
• Sometime during the weekend I’ve planned what I’m going to wear and I make sure it’s washed and ironed.

I plan very intentionally to be at my best on our big day.

I think it’s critical that I treat this day so seriously.  It really matters.  In fact today across all of our campuses over 100 people gave their life to Christ.

That’s a big day!

But I also think it’s important that I don’t project my intensity onto those attending.  Sometimes I catch myself expecting them to be as excited as I am about jumping out of bed and coming to Cross Point.  It’s a nice desire, but it’s a poor expectation.

It’s a poor expectation because I’m failing to be aware of all that is going on in their lives.  They’re preoccupied by…

• the argument they had before leaving the house
• a friend who is hurting or sick
• the loss they feel in a relationship gone wrong
• the teenager they had to force to get up and get moving
• the aches that keep their well-worn body from moving like it used to
• the stress of their job and what’s looming for them Monday morning
• hope that the Titans will win
• the pain from the burn they got from pouring scalding hot water on themselves trying to make breakfast (Oh wait!  That was me )

We’re all preoccupied by something.

Our lives are full and sometimes just making it through the doors of church is a miracle in itself.

My Sunday lesson this week is to anticipate each Sunday with eagerness and expectation but to weigh that with a tenderness and sensitivity for the load that people bring with them through those doors.

The greatest gift we can give them is an hour of uninterrupted space for God to speak to them.

May He do that through the work that we do every single Sunday!

If leadership is in your blood, it’s what you aspire to… it’s what you’re gifted for… it’s your calling…

It’s likely that you pride yourself in growing to new levels of leadership.  You look for opportunities to grow.  You dream of more influence.  You seek out greater leadership opportunities.  You thrive in being challenged.

Leadership experts define the growth continuum of leadership in 5 stages with the Level 5 Leader being the pinnacle of leadership.

But leadership at that level comes with some costs, and not all of those are understood before you get there.

One thing that I think is often over-looked in leadership development is that the leader must learn to take care of him or herself.  There is a lot of discussion about servant leadership which is absolutely essential in developing to a Level 5 Leader.  In fact, I don’t think you can climb the leadership growth chart if you haven’t learned to put your team before yourself.  Your #1 goal is the health and development of your team.

However, in my own life and I suspect in many of yours, when I have only thought about the health and development of my team and have not balanced that with taking care of my health, I have found myself completely out-of-sorts because I have sacrificed some essentials of my own well-being.

I talk a lot about the importance of self-leadership and often that is in relation to continual growth and knowledge.  I don’t have trouble making time for those things.  I understand that as I learn, I help the team learn.  I have no trouble putting in long hours or extra time in personal development in hopes that it makes me better for my team.

The wake up call for me lately is that I can’t expect someone else to be responsible for watching out for me.  If I’m going to be a Level 5 Leader I have to be mature enough spiritually and emotionally to monitor and manage my health.

Here’s what they’ve forgotten to tell you about Level 5 Leadership:

No one is responsible to take care of you except for you.

For most of our leadership life, we’re sandwiched between those we lead and those who lead us.  Being in the middle of the sandwich is a really comfortable place to be.  You get to lead others and exercise your leadership muscles and you have others ahead of you watching, coaching and directing you.

Once you attain Level 5 Leadership, you’re no longer in the middle. You’re top side is exposed and it’s up to you as to whether you allow that side to get banged, beat up, torn apart and destroyed or whether you find some protective measures to keep you thriving and healthy.

So what are you doing to take care of you?

Today I was struck by a couple of unique perspectives…

The first was a volunteer who was serving his heart out at Cross Point.  Each week he arrives early and stays all day to serve.  He has no greater joy than getting to spend his day serving.

The second was an email from a young couple who were a part of Cross Point for several years but recently felt a call to go plant a church back where they are originally from.  I get a weekly report from them sharing the highs and lows of their ministry experience, but whether good news or bad news there is always a firey passion in their correspondence.  These guys are seeing God at work in every moment and their excitement is contagious!

My lesson today was to challenge myself to always keep these passionate folks around me.  It’s too easy to lose sight of what God is up to if you let yourself become preoccupied by the minutia of the mundane.  Anything, even ministry, can become mundane if you’re not purposeful about keeping the vision fresh.

How do you keep fresh perspective in your work or ministry?

My Fabulous Friday is filled with packing, painting, cleaning, more painting and more packing.  Oh and probably a run to get more boxes and packing supplies.  Moving is a great reminder of how much crap you collect.  PURGE people, PURGE!  It’s good for the soul.

I have a few opportunities to post around the blog-o-sphere this week.  If you’re bored, you can check these out:

• Talking about “What’s Next” at the Willow Creek Association blog
• Having some more conversation about the dangers of “Hitting the Wall” at the Gifted for Leadership blog

And to top off our Fabulous Friday, it’s a book-giveaway day!

I’ve got 5 copies of the new release The Guardian

A young woman thrust into a world of power and corruption…
The sold-out follower of Christ who vows to defend her…
And the scroll that links them both together…

Anna Riley has just stumbled across a family secret–her ancestors have been keepers of an ancient scroll that God gave to John the Disciple.  And now it’s hers.  But Anna will soon discover that being the keeper of the Scroll comes at a price, for there are those inside the Church who would have the scroll and its secrets at any cost.  Sucked into a world of corruption and deceit, Anna is thrust into a journey that leads her half way around the world.  And the only person she can trust is a stranger named Jason Lang who, she’s told, was appointed by God to help her with the task.

As Anna and Jason race against the clock, Anna’s own journey of faith may very well be the thing that unlocks the scroll’s secrets.  And her decisions will determine whether the man she’s grown to love will live or die, as a mystery that’s eluded the world since the time of Adam and Eve is finally revealed.

I’m usually a little wary of Christian fiction but this book was a great read!

To win your copy, leave a comment telling us your favorite Christian fiction book.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Well you all know I’m a fan of Marcus Buckingham.  I love how he thinks, especially in regard to drawing out the best in people.  He challenges and inspires, and always makes you feel like you are wonderful – no matter what your strengths are!

I’m very excited for his new book and thought you might enjoy hearing a big more about it too.

You can get it on Amazon for a great deal right now!

Who’s your favorite author and why?

It was a simple decision, but I just couldn’t make it.

My assistant was picking up lunch for me because I had a string of back-to-back meetings in an already hectic week.  A few minutes after she left, I got a call telling me that the restaurant was out of what I had ordered.  It seems simple enough looking back to think that I just ordered something else, but I couldn’t.  I didn’t know what else I wanted.  In fact I was more willing to go without lunch than to have to make another decision.

I went home that night thinking “what in the world is wrong with me?.  I can’t even make a simple decision about lunch!”

Sadly, my ability to make even simple decisions has been taxed on more than just this occasion.  But I found it interesting that there is actual a name for this “condition” – Decision Fatigue.

Here’s a quote from an article that The New York Times recently published:

Decision fatigue helps explain why ordinarily sensible people get angry at colleagues and families, splurge on clothes, buy junk food at the supermarket and can’t resist the dealer’s offer to rustproof their new car. No matter how rational and high-minded you try to be, you can’t make decision after decision without paying a biological price. It’s different from ordinary physical fatigue — you’re not consciously aware of being tired — but you’re low on mental energy. The more choices you make throughout the day, the harder each one becomes for your brain, and eventually it looks for shortcuts, usually in either of two very different ways. One shortcut is to become reckless: to act impulsively instead of expending the energy to first think through the consequences. (Sure, tweet that photo! What could go wrong?) The other shortcut is the ultimate energy saver: do nothing. Instead of agonizing over decisions, avoid any choice. Ducking a decision often creates bigger problems in the long run, but for the moment, it eases the mental strain.

So at least I’m not crazy, right?

Do you ever struggle with decision fatigue? 

I think as leaders this is a challenge to our leadership that we need to be hyper-aware of.

From a spiritual perspective I think decision fatigue can be a result of relying too much on our own strength.  I would also suspect that it’s a bi-product of not observing the spiritual discipline of Sabbath.

What do you think?

Oftentimes on Sundays I find myself standing at the back of the room during our services.  I might be just off to the side, or maybe in the sound booth but usually somewhere at the back.

I like to stand in the back.

I love to observe how people respond in worship.  I enjoy seeing them connect with the message.

But I also see every distraction.  I see the things that aren’t working.  I become a spectator rather than a leader.  I’m disengaged from the crowd and I’m merely observing and critiquing.  I’ve separated myself from the very people I am entrusted to lead.

My perspective is quite different on the days that I choose to sit in a chair, in a row, in the front.  From the front I’m focused on the purpose of the moment.  From the front I’m aware of my need to lead even with the simple acts of singing, clapping and raising my hands in worship.  From the front I can’t turn around and critique what everyone else is doing.  I must just do what I long to see them do – worship.

I’m amazed at how many times as a leader I get lost in the pack – the very pack that I am responsible for leading.  I get caught up with criticism, self-doubt, complaints, in-fighting, fear, and naysayers.  And before long I’m no longer running at the front, I’m lost somewhere in the middle.  And you can’t lead from the middle of the pack.  You’ll only go in circles.

Leaders have to be out front, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

So what does this look like?

Physically – You literally need to be visible.  Don’t be stuck in the back constantly critiquing.  When you’re focused on everything people are doing wrong, you’re no longer leading them.  A critic and a leader are not the same thing.

Mentally – You must be thinking ahead, anticipating challenges and planning direction.  You can’t do this from the middle… in other words, you can’t do this when you’re stuck in the minutia of day-to-day details.  Break away from the pack enough to see what’s ahead.

Emotionally – You set the emotional thermostat.  When you are tired, everyone else will feel tired.  When you are stressed, everyone else will be stressed.  Take responsibility for setting the emotional tone.

Spiritually – You are their shepherd.  How much your team values spiritual growth and health will be determined by how well you display this as a value in your own life.  You can’t expect what you don’t model.

Leadership is tough.  It’s lonely at the front.  I think that’s why so many of us are tempted to get lost in the middle of the pack… but you simply can’t lead from there.

Where are you trying to lead from? 

Are you at the back of the pack criticizing, poking and prodding your team?  Are you in the middle lost in the confusion of complaints and questions.  Or are you out front leading strongly and boldly?

Hey guys, I’m going to take the long weekend for a bit of a blog break.

I have family in town (yay!) as well as we are in the beginning stages of moving to our new home (yikes – I haven’t packed a thing!).

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend.  I hope you celebrate big with family and friends.

I’ll be neck deep in paint and packing tape.

See you next Tuesday!

I’ve always had a special affinity for creatives, storytellers, dreamers and artists.  It’s rather odd because I’m wired quite the opposite in regard to the stereotypical identities by which we tend to be labeled.  But I think my passion has so much to do with seeing peoples’ God-given gifts come to life.  The creative types often have to risk the practical, responsible tug of everyday life to take a risk on pursuing their dreams and gifts.

That’s why I’m such a fan of STORY.

STORY is a conference for the creative class. The theme for 2011 is IMAGINE NATION which speaks to the power of spiritual imagination. In Exodus 35, the artist of Israel came together to build a dwelling place for God. They carved poles, fashioned gold, and constructed curtains “with cherubim woven into them by expert hands.” The job of these artists was to envision the kingdom and use their gifts to heighten peoples spiritual imaginations. An Imagine Nation.

I’m thrilled to participate in a blogging tour leading up to this event and even more excited that I get to share this interview with Ian Morgan Cron, one of the speakers at STORY this year.

An Interview with Ian Cron

What is your best personal definition of a STORY? 

We defend ourselves against ideas that we fear will challenge or deconstruct our assumptions about the way the world is. A story is a sly device that bypasses our defended intellects and sneaks a new of seeing the world into our hearts through the backdoor of our imaginations. A great narrative also calls forth what is best inside us. We are beautiful, loved, and from time to time even noble. Stories are able to carry the heavy freight of those messages in a way that plain old discursive language can’t. Is it any wonder Jesus told so many of them?

What is one way you have found to grow or engage your imagination? 

We’re taught from a young age that our value is tied to our productivity so we feel guilty when we aren’t doing something profitable. Creative’s feel this unrelenting pressure to be innovative or clever and to create things that are useful. The imagination is shy. It will hide if it’s driven too hard. The imagination awakens when we pursue the pointless, “leap to our leisure” with reckless abandon, shamelessly do nothing, play games (especially with children) where the point isn’t to win but to be together, go to parties to laugh and dance not to network, read a book because its beautiful not because it provides cool quotes for our next presentation. A utilitarian mindset will kill a creative soul.

In your experience what is the best nontraditional form of STORY telling you have seen, heard, or experienced?

The best unconventional storytelling I have experienced has been at AA meetings. It’s unconventional because the addict’s very survival depends on his or her willingness to tell their life story without edits or revisions. You have to tell your story secrets and all or die. I am always brought to silence when someone tells his or her life story in a meeting and leave it all on the field. It’s sacred.

If you could encourage a creative person with one tip on being imaginative what would you tell them? 

Meditate twice a day for twenty minutes. We have 5,000 years of religious testimonies and numerous neuro-scientific studies from leading researchers coming out that support this idea. I might talk more about this at the conference so I’ll shut up now.

What is one thing you are excited about sharing with the tribes attending STORY 2011? 

Keep it sacred. Don’t settle for clever.

If you’re a writer, filmmaker, artist, performer, entrepreneur, church leader, communicator, or other type of creative, you won’t want to miss STORY 2011.  Register here or if you need a little more information visit the STORY site.