The Better Halves.

Mandy Ralph is preaching this Sunday at PAC.

Those of you who have heard her before will no doubt want to hear her again!

Those of you who have not will want to make sure you come and hear this gifted communicator and teacher bring what God has laid on her heart.

Also, caught a bit of the worship team practice on Thursday and am pumped for them.  I saw a group of talented people who were having a great time and love worship God with you all.

Finally, a heads up for next week:

Tamara will be preaching.  

Or as I like to put it “Bringing the THUNDER”.

Improving Effectiveness Always Means Change.

It was grade 3 and the report card was good with one exception.  The school I was in didn’t just grade kids on academic performance but on character qualities as well.  

I got a “needs improvement” in the character quality of flexibility - and they were bang on!  I didn’t do change well.  I got used to something, I liked it, it worked, and when someone wanted to change it I had a hard time with it.  I fought it.  

I still don’t do change all that well.  I like to go to the same restaurants.  The same patterns in life.  My first reflex is to buck change.  Why try the new restaurant when I know exactly what I like at Olive Garden?  It is one of the parts of who I am which Tamara wishes was different.  I am cautious by nature. 

I like sameness and if not for another “like” in my life I would be OK with same old same old for a long time.  But my desire for sameness has an enemy.

You see, I also like effectiveness.  Or more accurately, I loathe ineffectiveness.  When I see something which does not work to produce the results it is intended to produce it drives me up the wall.  I can’t let it go.  Especially if I believe I can DO something about it.

I don’t think this is unique to me - I suspect those two desires are at war in most people.  

Most people like the comfort of consistency and predictability (sameness).

Most people get frustrated when things don’t work (effectiveness).

What makes some people leaders is they commit to have their desire for effectiveness trump their desire for sameness.

I suppose there are some leaders out there who didn’t get a “needs improvement” in flexibility in grade 2 and who naturally gravitate towards change just for the thrill of it. Leaders who are addicted to the adrenaline rush of the new.  Leaders who have no hesitation in their gut as they barrel devil-may-care into the future.

But I am not one of those and so every single day I have to commit to effectiveness.  

 If I don’t:

• The comfort and predictability of sameness becomes soul numbing stagnancy.
• I eventually lose the ability to choose effectiveness and get lost in paralyzing fear. 

Every day I have to choose.   

And so might you.

C’est Finito…(not teaching french so it’s ok)

All done class outlines for the 4 modules where I am guest lecturer at WPS High this fall and spring!  

And I am pumped! (this is why I am using exclamation points)

My courses are as follows:

Grade 11+12

• Overview of Christian Thought (9 classes)
• Towards a Biblical Worldview (9 classes)
• Contemporary Issues and Biblical Answers (9 classes)

Grade 9

• Life of Christ

I have been itching to do something like this with / for WPS for the last few years at and really glad it has finally worked out. 

Going to fight hard to have those kids fall absolutely in love with Christ and His Kingdom.

We drive a Venti truck.

“Nathan what is the name of that phoofy le foof coffee place you like?”

“Starbucks.”

And so began the most humorous series of events I have been a part of in a long time.  We all had a self effacing laugh at it in the truck so rest assured I am not out of line poking fun at my two pals.

We finished the Muddy Waters Ride and had some food, decided to grab a coffee on the way out of town.

The three of us head into Starbucks (that hard to remember obscure coffee shop I am a fan of).  The queries start early from my pals.

“What is good here?”

“How do you say that?”

We get it all sorted out by the time we get to the front of the line and we also by that time have the attention of everyone (although they probably noticed us when the monster truck pulled up) because there is not a moment of silence with these two and D. especially can tend to be a little loud.  C. is saying “Macchiato” under his breath over and over so when he orders he wont mess it up.  D. has decided on a “Mocha” but clearly didn’t practice enough because when he ordered he says it with a volume and tone appropriate if you were correcting a child who said it wrong.

“I’ll have a cafe MOCHA….”

The nod of the girl is encouraging enough to take the next step on his own.

“Do you have large?”

Having been assured they do - D. pays up and moves and it is C. turn.

His practice has him saying Macchiato like he was born in Vienna .  Unfortunately, his focus on the new word makes “iced” come out like “oofed”, so there was some confusion before it all got strung together coherently.  

And then it is time to specify size.  Ahh size, the classic trip up at Starbucks is the sizing.  Tall, Grande, and Venti are the Small, Medium, and Large equivalents and this variance in terminology makes people not just confused, but angry and awkward.

C. is no exception - “Give me a large or venti or whatever the hell size you call it.”

We then wait for our drinks to be announced.

“Venti Cafe Mocha!” - this one belongs to D

“What did you call it?”- D. is thrown off by the “Venti” because he ordered a large.

Thankfully by now C. can come to his aid with a “that is what they call a large in this place” and then the best part of the whole exchange.  C. gives an explanation to the baristas and the entire room for the scene.

“We” - he says with a sweeping look around the room - “are from Portage.”

And so we got back into our Venti truck with our phoofy le foof drinks and headed her home.

Original Day One Thoughts.

The following were my thoughts on Willow Creek Leadership Summit which I did not post because they were the kind of things that I’d hate to read if I was in the shoes of the people who put the Summit on.  But the second day more than made up for it and provide balancing context for my Day #1 thoughts - here they are:

I’m tired of hearing about how he started in 1990 with 4 families and now there are 25000 and 4 locations.

I’m tired of prayers having to end at the same me as a countdown so video can transition seamlessly.

I’m tired of volunteers who have to wear black shirts and beige khaki’s.

I’m not tired of Andy Stanley.

I’m tired of hearing about the 2 books I can buy which dovetail into each section.

I am tired of other supplementary materials I can buy for just a few dollars.

I’m tired of being told I am part of a movement I feel little emotional attachment to.

I’m tired of being asked to give money so the global church can sample what the western church can offer.

I am tired of the lack of self reflection I perceive (but how can you tell via video)?

I’m really intrigued by what must have been going on at Hillsong about 20 years ago.

I am tired of the rehashing of the same leadership principles and anecdotes.

I’m tired of acronyms which make things memorable and lists which start with the same letter.

I’m tired of apologetic celebrity.

Best line of the day? “Can we please go and find some darkness” - challenge from Christine Caine to a group who is called to be light.  Let me continue her challenge PAC’ers.  When was the last time you heard a really dirty joke? When was the last time you looked into glazed eyes and smelled a lot of alcohol on someones breath?  When was the last time you met a hungry person?  When was the last time you wrapped your arms around someone who was so broken they might collapse?  When was the last time you smelled pot?  Go find some darkness and be light where people notice it.

I’m tired of people telling me what I just saw was really powerful stuff.

I wonder if something got lost in translation or if there is now a chinese version of the health and wealth gospel.

I’m tired of Bill Hybel’s voice cracking at the same moment in every single talk I hear him give.  Please note, just because I am tired of it doesn’t mean I don’t think he is sincere.   I think he is.

I wonder how much or how little I have learned in the 15 years I have been attending these sorts of events.  I honestly don’t know.  

I like thinking about the “seats on the bus” and the “right people on the bus” and feeling like PAC is 99.9% there.

I’m tired of hosts reading tweets from people at satellite locations as if they were life changing manifestos.

Lots to think about.  

Am I just tired?

Or is the whole Leadership Summit idea tired?

To everything there is a season…?

I don’t really know.

Tomorrow we all head back for Day #2.

An open heart and open mind might have me singing a very different tune tomorrow night.  (and indeed it did).