Crumbs From Catalyst 2011: #3

Dave Ramsey has parlayed his no-nonsense demeanor, his openness and honesty regarding his life mistakes, his business savvy and a rock-solid approach to money management into a media dynasty. He is a best-selling author (Total Money Makeover , EntreLeadership), a radio host and has been a cable TV fixture on Fox. His Financial Peace University, offered primarily as a ministry outreach through churches, has transformed the lives of thousands of people. His enterprise/ministry/business, whatever you would like to call it, has been voted one of the best places to work multiple times.

Dave is very overt in his faith and has been a regular at Catalyst and other conferences in recent years. I love him because he does not mince words.  He says the things that need to be said. His session focused on his hiring practices and dovetailed quite nicely with what Jim Collins had shared.

He shared some important points:

1. In order to be present, you’ve got to understand that people matter.

• The #1 correlation between your success and failure is your relational IQ.
• When you’re having an interaction with someone, listen for their story.

2. An incredible team and a culture of excellence matters.

• If we’re not careful, we’ll be surrounded by people who need more help that they can give.
• You can’t win the Kentucky Derby if you’ve got a donkey.
• When you put someone in the wrong seat on a bus, the whole organization suffers.
• Spend time on the staffing/interview process.
• Don’t intentionally bring ‘crazy’ into the building.

3. Slow and steady matters.

• Don’t let your ministry, workplace, and life go faster than your resources.
• When you’re growing faster than you’ve got money, you’re about to have problems.

4. Financial principles matter.

• Stay out of debt
• Save.
• Have a plan.
• Spend less than you make.
• Learn to be generous.

5. A higher calling matters.

• Do your work as unto the Lord.
• Opportunity will be attracted to excellence. Bloom where you’re planted and opportunities will find you. Don’t spend all your time seeking other opportunities.

Care about the “why” not just the “what.”

The “why” is the most important part. Readdress your higher calling each and every day.

Crumbs from Catalyst 2011: #2

One of the interesting aspects of the Catalyst conferences, setting them apart from some of the other conferences that we church folk commonly attend, is the fact that they invite leaders from the business sector and other disciplines outside of the church to come and share. This year, one of the speakers was Jim Collins. Collins is a former Stanford faculty member who has done years and years of empirical research in the business realm. He is also a best-selling author. One of his most notable books is Good To Great.

Recently, Collins released his latest book entitled Great By Choice. His session revolved around the research he did for this book. I was so impressed by the session, I bought the book myself. I will share the crusty crumbs and then offer my comments:

Good is the enemy of great.

• The central idea from his Good To Great book. The idea is that successful businesses/churches/organizations don’t settle for good. They strive for great. Those that settle for good enough sacrifice greatness.

Why do some thrive in the face of uncertainty and others do not?

• The theme of Great By Choice.

Life is people. Change the what question into a who question. You need to get the right people on the bus, in the right seats, headed in the right direction.

• Successful people and organizations realize that life is not about certain practices, philosophies or products. Life is people. Great people make great organizations. Many times success or failure is not a what issue, it’s a who issue. Discovering the right people and making sure they are in the right positions is very important.

Leadership is not about personalities it is about humility.

• Collins’ research reveals that the great, successful leaders have a keen awareness of their own humanity and that of those with whom they work. They approach things with humility.

Hubris leads to downfall.

• Hubris = Excessive pride or self-confidence
• Correlating to the aforementioned need for humility, the landscape is littered with leaders who were too prideful, too full of themselves to make the decisions necessary for success.

Fanatic discipline. 20 mile marchers succeed.

• Okay, you will have to trust me on this one. One of the examples in Collins’ book is the story of two adventurers and their race to the South Pole. I don’t want to ruin the story, but one made it, winning the race. The other not only lost the race, but he and all his party died in the process. The winning team was very disciplined in planning and in process. He chose to advance 20 miles per day, good conditions or bad. Stay focused.

Empirical creativity. Practical approaches. What actually works. Be willing to live with the Eskimos.

• Related to the adventure story. The winning adventurer didn’t place his faith in technology or cutting edge equipment. Instead, he chose to spend time with the Eskimos, learning the timeless practices necessary to survive the harsh climate.

Fire bullets then fire cannon balls.

• That’s what you do in an uncertain environment. Test.  Imagine you fire all your cannon balls and miss a moving target. Instead, fire the bullets – listen for the “ping” – look where you hit. Then, break out the cannon balls.

Productive paranoia. Channel your anxiety into productivity. The only mistakes that you learn from are the ones you survive.

• Be prepared for what you can’t predict. Always ask, what if? But don’t just get scared by it – channel the anxiety into action.

The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency.

• Hard to disagree with that, huh?

Change practices, not values.

• True dat, homie! I am living this right now. This is the opposite of the too oft used, “But we have always done it that way!”

Jim Collins’ Ten Point To Do List
1- Run the good to great diagnostic on your organization. A free tool.
2- Answer the question of how many seats are on your bus and how can they be filled with the right people.
3- Who will you allow to mentor you? Personal board of directors.
4- Get your hedgehogs right before it’s too late. Passion, DNA for it, making a contribution to others.

• What are you passionate about? What can you be the best at? What can actually make you a living? And the answer must meet all three criteria.
• Collins calls this the “Hedgehog” concept, doing one thing and doing it well. In his book Good to Great, he uses the parable of the clever, devious fox and the simple hedgehog. The fox keeps coming up with new ideas to eat the hedgehog, but the hedgehog handily defeats him by doing his one trick: rolling into a thorny ball.

5- Set your 20 mile march.
6- Try 6 new things before year’s end. Fire bullets. Then cannon balls.
7- Turn off gadgets for at least 2 days every two weeks.

• Unplug. Get away from Facebook, Twitter, etc. Focus your mind.

8- True disciplined action is not in what we do, but what we are willing not to do.
9- Double your reach to people half your age, by changing your practices not values.
10- Set your BHAGS (big hairy audacious goals) that make you useful.

Forget survival and success, be useful.

Allow discipline to amplify creativity without quenching it.

Be rigorous without being ruthless. Get people to the right seats.

What do you think? Share your comments.

Crumbs from Catalyst 2011: #1

I sure am a sorry excuse for a blogger.

Since assuming the position of campus pastor of the Glenwood Campus of Indian Springs Baptist, I have spent the last 4 months in a constant state of hustle. We have been renovating our facilities on a grand scale, recruiting volunteers, filling positions, all while continuing to visit, preach and teach. I am constantly trading one hat for another: contractor, janitor, pastor, husband, father, radio personality, etc. No excuses though. I am having a ball riding this wave on which God has placed me.

I miss blogging. I will do better.

In an effort to get back into the swing of things, I would like to share some of the nuggets I was able to take away from my very first Catalyst Conference in Atlanta last week. If you are a leader in your church or business or any organization for that matter, I would recommend that you make it to a Catalyst event if you can ever work it out. I describe it as a thirsty man having an opportunity to be refreshed by a cool drink of water… only thing is, the dispenser is a fire hydrant. I will be processing information for weeks. However, I am convinced that the responsible thing to do for folks who desire to disciple others (a command for all Christ-followers) is to share good information when we become aware of it.

So today I would like to share a few crumbs from the very first session with Andy Stanley. The theme of the whole conference was “Be Present.” Each speaker spun the theme a different way depending upon their own context and what they brought to the table. Andy’s, of course, related to his role as pastor of Northpoint Community Church one of the largest, fastest growing churches in the Atlanta area in recent years. I will share the thought and then make my comments:
The more successful you are the less accessible you will become.

• Although I can’t claim vast amounts of success for myself (nor would I ever), as I have transitioned into a new role, I can certainly see where Andy’s coming from. As your church/ministry/business grows, your time and accessibility will naturally be challenging to balance. It is impossible to think you can be totally available to every person and every need that arises. That leaves one of two choices. Many choose to become a recluse. They insulate themselves with layers ministerial staff / department heads / administrative assistants, depending on the context, and say, “If I can’t do it for everyone, then it’s not fair that I do it for anyone.”

Fairness ended in the garden of Eden. Don’t be fair, be engaged.

• Don’t hide behind excuses. There are ways to be engaged. Do what you can for who you can. Be present for people when presence is at all possible.

You can’t shut it all out, but you can’t take it all on. Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.

• While it is impossible and dangerous to attempt to meet EVERY need, you cannot shut it all out. Make room for at least one person or situation at a time in which you can invest yourself– your time, your energy, your presence. Andy gave an example of a long-term “project” he took on with a lady who struggled with many facets of life. It was painful. It was stressful. It made him want to scream sometimes. But after many years that person became a resource for others in similar circumstances. The investment by Andy and his staff/family in one “project person” paid dividends in the long run with MANY OTHER PEOPLE.

Go deep, rather than wide. Go long-term rather than short-term. Go time, not just money.

• Many times, when we choose to engage, we tend toward the lowest, easiest levels of engagement. You may as well go big or go home! Why waste time not doing a thing the right way? Even though it is easier to throw money at things rather than time, the real progress is made when the investment is genuine.

When you do for one what you wish you could do for everyone, you often end up doing far more than just one.

• True discipleship means that those we disciple multiply themselves. So the time we take with people often results in multitudes of others who become part of the harvest of fruit. After all, we are to bear much fruit.

What do you think? I would love to hear your comments.

More crumbs to come. Stay tuned.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It’s football time in Tennessee. The most wonderful time of the year has arrived! If only we had the nip of fall in the air.

Last week, I found a great deal on a pair of UT hoodies online and ordered them. The package arrived two days ago and, much to my chagrin, inside the package were two, pristine… Boise State Bronco hoodies. I was so disappointed.

I am not sure what this sign means for Tennessee or Boise State or, perhaps, Georgia.

Any ideas?

Tennessee 42 Montana 17

A One Time Exception

ex – cep – tion [ik-sep-shuhn] – noun – an instance or case not conforming to the general rule.

Last week, my family and I had the marvelous opportunity to be on mission in Corinto, Nicaragua (more about that in another post). In the middle of the week, late one evening, we had just wrapped up share time and several of us were sitting in the dining area of the mission house conversing and trying to catch up on emails and Facebook fodder. I was working on my iPad and came to a picture that I was going to share with the rest of the folks in the room. From a position of being seated in the chair, I picked the iPad up, smart cover and all, and motioned to the others to look. All of the sudden my iPad slipped the bonds of my hands and landed right on its corner- perhaps the weakest spot it could possibly have hit – fracturing the glass screen like lightning in a summer thunderstorm. The entire room gasped in disbelief. Though my flesh would have motivated me to light the airwaves aflame with some choice words at certain points of my life, inexplicably, I remained calm. In that environment, amongst utter poverty, how could I complain about a cracked toy.

Don’t get me wrong. It was upsetting. I have grown very attached to my iPad over the past few months. I preach and teach with it numerous times per week. I use it to take notes and calendar in meetings. It has really streamlined a few things in my life.

Upon our return to the states, I determined that I would try to take it to the closest Apple Store, West Town Mall, Knoxville, TN. I made an appointment with the Genius Bar. The Apple Store Geniuses are individuals who have been trained at corporate headquarters in Cupertino, CA, to handle virtually any Apple/Mac related issue. I was told by a good friend that perhaps they may have an idea. People asked me if I had purchased the insurance. That would be a “no.” I came to find out, however, that Apple does not offer anything that would cover dribbling your iPad on a ceramic tile floor.

Yesterday afternoon I made my way to the Apple Store. I had a 4:45 appointment with a Genius (how much of a big head would you have if your job title was “Genius?”) After arriving early and waiting just a few minutes, Carlos came calling on me. It went something like this:

Carlos: “So what’s up with the iPad today?”

Tiger: [Silently places the iPad down on the table and opens the smart cover]

Carlos: “OOOOOOOOoh!”

He asked how it happened and I told the whole story from my vocation to being on mission in Nicaragua finishing with honestly confessing that it was just my bonehead mistake of dropping it on the floor. After examining everything, Carlos said, “Well, the replacement cost we offer on this model is $349.” I know I must have grimaced a bit then.

“There is no way of replacing the glass alone?” I asked.

“No. Because of the impact damage on the corner, that wouldn’t be possible…. BUT…”

He paused for just a second and a glimmer of hope shot up my spine. “There may be something we can do,” he continued.

After a few clicks on his iMac, Carlos turns to me and says, “Under certain circumstances, they allow us the latitude to make a one time exception. I can get you a new iPad today and it will not cost you anything.”

I nearly fell out of my Apple chair. One of the non-Genius Apple lackeys marched from the back room and presented my new iPad to Carlos. He got it registered, I signed a few papers and I walked out of that store on CLOUD NINE!

That, my friends, is a picture of grace. I received a one-time exception which allowed me to skate on a mistake that could have resulted in a loss that would have been a significant blow to my economy. Instead, I left the store completely restored. It makes me think of another exception I have received.

Because of the mistakes you and I have made, the Bible plainly says that we are deserving of death and eternal separation from God. That is the cost of our mistakes– which the Bible calls sin.  But God made a one-time exception. Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary, one time for all time, granting all who would receive it, an exception or exemption from the general rule which would have called for death. Just like I walked away from Apple with a brand new iPad, you can walk confidently with God in a brand new life– a life more abundant than you can imagine.  THAT is infinitely better than a new iPad.

Incidentally, as you can well-imagine, I am an even bigger Apple fan than I was two days ago– and I was a big fan then. So if you are about to make a computer purchase, you can guess which way I would steer you. You PC People need not comment. I will pray for your salvation.

And so it begins… Indian Springs Baptist Church- Glenwood Campus

This Sunday at 10 a.m., we celebrate the beginning of our new work at our Glenwood campus. Both the Hill Road (our original campus) and the Glenwood folks will combine for one service. You are cordially invited to attend. Come early for coffee and doughnuts under the tent on the lawn. The address is 2601 East Center Street, between Eastman Road and Memorial Boulevard. We will be acknowledging God’s leading as we salute Rev. Charles Roberts, Glenwood Baptist’s outgoing pastor. We will also hear from Bill Northcott, representing the Tennessee Baptist Convention. A combined choir from both campuses and a number of ISBC instrumentalists will be leading in worship led by longtime ISBC Minister of Music, Mike Morgan and the new Interim Minister of Music of our Glenwood campus, Tom Elam.  Our senior pastor, Dr. Roc Collins, will be bringing the message. As the new campus pastor, I will be around too, probably two-fisting doughnuts and praising the Lord! It will be a great day of worship and celebration for all that God has done.

In a sense, however, this will be, as we call it in the retail business, a “soft” opening. Over the next several weeks, work will commence to upgrade and revitalize the facilities in preparation for our late summer / early fall “grand opening” (notice I am not pinning it down…yet.) We will still be conducting regular services at the Glenwood campus on Sundays and Wednesdays over the next couple of months, with a few special days of combined services thrown in. Ultimately, however, we will settle on two morning services. One will be more traditional in nature featuring piano and organ music with our choir and the occasional instrumentalist. I will be preaching in that service. Our second service will be led by a live, contemporary praise band and the message will be a live, simulcast of the preaching of Dr. Collins, life-size on the big screen! It will be something completely different for most and, potentially, life-changing for many.

In the meantime, I will be getting to know my new Glenwood family and gearing up for a Vacation Bible School at the end of July. We will have loads of opportunities for service in the coming weeks. If you want in on it, feel free to shoot me an email at tiger@isbc.org. I am always willing to explain, as best I can, what God is leading us to do to reach Highland, the greater Kingsport community and the uttermost parts of the world with gospel of Jesus Christ.

Stay tuned.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Life’s Seismic Shifts: A Memorial Weekend I Will Remember

There are multiple times in life when we experience major changes. Birth of children, death of loved ones, graduations, and marriage are a few biggies that come to mind. Career or vocational changes also belong somewhere on that list. In 2000, I experienced this in a big way as I stepped away from operations at Tom Brooks Exxon and, after a brief stint as a landman, surrendered to God’s call to ministry.

Yesterday, my church, Indian Springs Baptist, officially voted me in to become the campus pastor of our new Glenwood campus. After 18 years of ministry to children and students (11 full-time and 7 as a part-time volunteer), I will be moving into a new ministerial role. You could say that this qualifies as another seismic shift for the list. Anyone reading this outside of my church and family may be thinking – like Ricky Ricardo used to say – “You’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do!”  I would be delighted to take a few moments and brag on what God has been up to.

In 1955, a thriving Glenwood Baptist Church under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, with then Pastor Freeman Wright and a host of faithful servants, was led to plant a church on the outskirts of Kingsport in the Indian Springs community . The years allowed both congregations to touch thousands of lives. In recent years, however, for reasons too numerous and complex to spell out in this post, Glenwood’s membership numbers began to wane. Over the past couple of years, the faithful leadership of Glenwood sought the Lord for guidance and a path forward. In the fall of 2010, that path led back to the church she had planted 55 years earlier.

Discussions and prayer led both churches to arrive at the proposal which would dissolve Glenwood Baptist and assimilate the membership into Indian Springs Baptist with ISBC becoming one church with two Kingsport campuses – the original Hill Road campus and the Glenwood campus at 2601 East Center Street.  I am humbled when I think of the selfless sacrifice the wonderful members of Glenwood had to make so as to insure the continued ministry outreach to this community and beyond from their tradition-rich location in central Kingsport which has seen ministry ongoing since 1887. I am also proud to be a part of a body of believers less interested in building their own earthly kingdom and keenly interested in stepping out in faith for the Kingdom of God. In a day and age when the notable church news usually consists of moral failure and/or church splits, this is a story worth sharing.

When this proposal began to take shape, God began to move my heart. There we were, my family and I, blissfully content with where we were and unction of the Holy Spirit starts in on us. I love being a student minister, discipling and developing the church one life at a time. My wife and child love the programs in which they are involved and are happy with the friends they have made.  But I would find myself driving through Highland thinking about all the possibilities and what it would take to reach the unreached.  After a few prayer drives, it began to make sense to me that God would bring this Kingsport kid back into town – to the church where his parents were once members, a mile from the house in which he was born and three blocks away from his beloved high school. It was a call that I could not get away from regardless of how uncomfortable it might be. It seemed to also make sense to the leadership and congregation of ISBC. The rest, as they say, is history.

Next weekend, Sunday, June 5, all of ISBC will converge on Glenwood campus for one, combined service at 10am. Our senior pastor, Dr. Roc Collins, will be preaching as we ALL embark on God’s great new adventure. Though my pastorate begins immediately and I will be preaching at Glenwood in the weeks to come, we will be starting some upgrades and revitalization of the Glenwood campus in short order and we will be shooting for an August date (subject to change) to “officially” launch two services – one traditional and one contemporary. Please stay tuned for more news updates.

In the meantime, if you are a Kingsport resident looking for a church home or if you would like to know more about the God I serve and the adventuresome life to which He calls us, I would love to chat with you.

Yes. Memorial Day will forever have a deeper meaning for us.

Grace and Peace!