Yesterday I posted the Top 10 Ways To Obliterate A Leadership Culture by Jon & Dave Ferguson. However, it leaves me wondering: “How do you nurture a culture that values and practices leadership development?” Well, thankfully enough Jon & Dave were so kind as to also write up a second list:

10 Simple (But NOT Easy) Practices for Creating a Leadership Culture

• Make sure that leadership development is directly tied to the success of the vision. I know there is no way that Community Christian Church will ever be a church of 200 locations that has mobilized 100,000 3C Christ Followers without intentional and rigorous attention to leadership development. I know that our NewThing Network will never catalyze a movement of reproducing churches unless we prioritize leadership development.
• Give leaders a dream worth sacrificing and trading their lives. The reason many churches do not attract leaders and in particular high-capacity leaders is that the church has not put before them a vision or dream so compelling that they are willing to trade their lives for it. Leaders want a bit hill!
• Vision casting should include leaders in the details. When I share the vision of 200 sites in the Chicago area I always say it will come down to two things: Developing more and better artists and developing more and better leaders. I will also talk about the number of leaders it will take to accomplish this God-sized vision: small group leaders, ministry team leaders, Kids’ City leaders, Student Community leaders, etc. The trigger point for every new site is the rising up of a leader to become the campus pastor for that location. Leadership is in the details of the vision.
• Tell stories of leadership development. Some of my favorite stories are the stories of some people who are now on our executive leadership team who started at COMMUNITY as an apprentice leader in a small group or a Kids’ City group. In time they became a leader of a group; then a coach; soon they transitioned to staff leadership and now they have as much influence at COMMUNITY as anyone. WHen you tell these stories other leaders think, “maybe I could do that too.”
• Make known your leadership pipeline. I was at lunch the other day with a high-capacity leader and they told me that one day they would like to be on staff at COMMUNITY and then asked me how that could happen. I drew on a napkin the following: apprentice leader->leader->coach->staff. That simple explanation is our leadership pipeline. Some people refer to it as a career path. I see it as the way that a leader proves their faithfulness and expands their influence. If you want to create a leadership culture you should be able to write your leadership pipeline on the back of a napkin.
• Make risk-taking a value. At COMMUNITY, risk-taking is not only a value; for us it is a synonym for faith. And risk-taking is attractive to leaders.
• Success is measured in terms of leadership development. In the last few years we have developed a tool we call a dashboard. It comes out once a month and it gives us an update on how the overall church is doing and how each COMMUNITY site is doing. There are about a half dozen key indicators that we watch and one of the most significant indicators is the development of new and emerging leaders.
• Reward faithful leaders. We try to reward people who faithfully fulfill their leadership capacity. There are lots of ways to reward leaders but the best way to reward an emerging leader is with greater influence and responsibility. This perhaps as much as anything will foster a leadership culture.
• Use small groups to develop leaders. Small groups are a great and safe place to take risks on emerging leaders. It is a great place because the emerging leader knows these people and they are really rooting for him/her and will give them good feedback. It i a safe place because there are only 6-15 people in a small group.
• Have high expectations, but easy entrance into leadership. Set the bar for leaders really high. Leaders want to be a part of something that is challenging and exceptional. But at the same time do not insist that a person has to be around for a long time to move into a leadership role. If an emerging leader will adhere to the leadership expectations they should be able to move into leadership ASAP!

I’m not sure I realized how exciting yet challenging it can be to create a new culture from scratch, but that’s exactly the situation we church planters find ourselves in. It’s also funny to think that you can obliterate a leadership culture when the culture doesn’t exist quite yet, but I’d say that it’s easier to obliterate the possibility of a strong leadership culture before it even begins.

So, here are the Top 9 Ways to Obliterate A Leadership Culture (Before You Even Begin):

• Make really small “ASKS” of people. In other words, don’t challenge people to do anything that requires a significant level of investment or sacrifice. Minimize whatever you need them to do just so they’ll say “yes” to being a “leader.”
• Decide today that Small Groups won’t work anymore. Conclude that people are really best cared for and leaders are better developed in a classroom setting. This alone could kill your leadership culture overnight.
• Lead with “NO” (this is the opposite of leading with “YES”). Get really good at helping people understand why their idea is not a good one and how it will never work. Phrases that can help you expand your “no” vernacular are: “I doubt it,” “I don’t think so,” “Probably not,” etc.
• Never celebrate “Wins”. No matter how successful a leader or team of people may e, don’t take time to honor their accomplishments in any way. Send the message that what they did was simply expected and deserves no special recognition.
• Don’t expect artists to develop artists. Establish such high standards for your artists (vocalists, musicians, etc.) that they convince themselves and everyone else that they are irreplaceable and couldn’t possibly find anyone that could be developed to their level.
• Hire more staff to coach leaders. Believe the lie that developing an unpaid layer of leaders to coach other leaders is nearly impossible and does not work. This will force you to hire way more staff than you could ever afford.
• Make it really difficult to step into leadership. Create lots of red-tape and put people through all sorts of hoops so that it is extremely difficult to step into leadership. One way to do this would be to insist that anyone aspiring to lead needs to attend a weekly leadership class for six months.
• Turn your teams into Committees. Stop your leadership team cold in their tracks by insisting that they are now committees, that they can only make a decision if there is unanimous agreement, and that they must operate based on Robert’s Rules of Order.
• Offer no on-going training. Make the assumption that once people have said “yes” to leading they have all the tools and resources they need to be successful. In addition, provide absolutely no coaching, just figure if they need some help, they’ll let you know.

The first known Christmas sermon was preached in AD 386 by the “greatest preacher in the early church”, St. John Chrysostom (or ‘Golden Mouthed’ which is the meaning of his given surname). It is both beautifully written and profound.

BEHOLD a new and wondrous mystery. My ears resound to the Shepherd’s song, piping no soft melody, but chanting full forth a heavenly hymn. The Angels sing. The Archangels blend their voice in harmony. The Cherubim hymn their joyful praise. The Seraphim exalt His glory. All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead here on earth, and man in heaven. He Who is above, now for our redemption dwells here below; and he that was lowly is by divine mercy raised.

Bethlehem this day resembles heaven; hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices; and in place of the sun, enfolds within itself on every side, the Sun of justice. And ask not how: for where God wills, the order of nature yields. For He willed, He had the power, He descended, He redeemed; all things yielded in obedience to God. This day He Who is, is Born; and He Who is, becomes what He was not. For when He was God, He became man; yet not departing from the Godhead that is His. Nor yet by any loss of divinity became He man, nor through increase became He God from man; but being the Word He became flesh, His nature, because of impassability, remaining unchanged.

And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him Angels, nor Archangels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Powers, nor Principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.

Since this heavenly birth cannot be described, neither does His coming amongst us in these days permit of too curious scrutiny. Though I know that a Virgin this day gave birth, and I believe that God was begotten before all time, yet the manner of this generation I have learned to venerate in silence and I accept that this is not to be probed too curiously with wordy speech. For with God we look not for the order of nature, but rest our faith in the power of Him who works.

What shall I say to you; what shall I tell you? I behold a Mother who has brought forth; I see a Child come to this light by birth. The manner of His conception I cannot comprehend.

Nature here rested, while the Will of God labored. O ineffable grace! The Only Begotten, Who is before all ages, Who cannot be touched or be perceived, Who is simple, without body, has now put on my body, that is visible and liable to corruption. For what reason? That coming amongst us he may teach us, and teaching, lead us by the hand to the things that men cannot see. For since men believe that the eyes are more trustworthy than the ears, they doubt of that which they do not see, and so He has deigned to show Himself in bodily presence, that He may remove all doubt.

Christ, finding the holy body and soul of the Virgin, builds for Himself a living temple, and as He had willed, formed there a man from the Virgin; and, putting Him on, this day came forth; unashamed of the lowliness of our nature’. For it was to Him no lowering to put on what He Himself had made. Let that handiwork be forever glorified, which became the cloak of its own Creator. For as in the first creation of flesh, man could not be made before the clay had come into His hand, so neither could this corruptible body be glorified, until it had first become the garment of its Maker.

What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this wonder fills me with astonishment. The Ancient of days has become an infant. He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a manger. And He Who cannot be touched, Who is simple, without complexity, and incorporeal, now lies subject to the hands of men. He Who has broken the bonds of sinners, is now bound by an infants bands. But He has decreed that ignominy shall become honor, infamy be clothed with glory, and total humiliation the measure of His Goodness.

For this He assumed my body, that I may become capable of His Word; taking my flesh, He gives me His spirit; and so He bestowing and I receiving, He prepares for me the treasure of Life. He takes my flesh, to sanctify me; He gives me His Spirit, that He may save me.

Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been ‘in planted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and men now hold speech with angels.

Why is this? Because God is now on earth, and man in heaven; on every side all things commingle. He became Flesh. He did not become God. He was God. Wherefore He became flesh, so that He Whom heaven did not contain, a manger would this day receive. He was placed in a manger, so that He, by whom all things arc nourished, may receive an infant’s food from His Virgin Mother. So, the Father of all ages, as an infant at the breast, nestles in the virginal arms, that the Magi may more easily see Him. Since this day the Magi too have come, and made a beginning of withstanding tyranny; and the heavens give glory, as the Lord is revealed by a star.

To Him, then, Who out of confusion has wrought a clear path, to Christ, to the Father, and to the Holy Ghost, we offer all praise, now and for ever. Amen.

The past three weeks I’ve been doing something a little out of the ordinary… I’ve been growing a ’stache. Over the past week it finally moved from the creepy stache phase into something a little more respectable (thank goodness… I was getting weird looks on the street.) Many people have asked me, “so what’s the deal with the ’stache man?” To which I get to tell people about an amazing organization called Donor’s Choose. Donor’s Choose is an organization that utilizes the concept of micro-finance to help fund teachers and education around the country, especially in the most underfunded areas of Music and Art.

The past three weeks I’ve attempted to raise some awareness as well as get some people to fund some projects around Northern California and the Bay Area through My Giving Page, which has an up to date picture of me sporting my amazing stache.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to raise much of what I’d like to help these teachers and students and the 4 weeks are almost up (ends on Tuesday.) So, I thought I’d throw out a little challenge… I hate my mustache… it’s itchy, weird looking, and it’s starting to become a food-trap… in short, I want to shave it off and am very much looking forward to Tuesday’s shave! However, if between now and Saturday my giving page sees an increase of $200 and we’re able to make a difference in the lives of 200+ more students I’ll keep my ’stache and sport that sucker at the Old Navy Christmas Party in front of all of Tracy’s co-workers (December 17th)… embarrassing? Yes… but more for me than her for sure!

So, I leave this in your hands. You decide when the ’stache goes… sooner or later!

However, what if that’s not really the answer? For many who participate in Buy Nothing Day, the purchases that would be made on Black Friday simply get strung out over the course of the month leading up to Christmas which makes Buy Nothing Day a purely symbolic act with no real teeth at all.

What if we began to think about Black Friday in a different way… what if we began to look at how we spend our money–where we spend our money? What if we began to educate ourselves on our spending habits…

(ht: Adam Lehman

Often times our buying power, our wealth as a nation is seen by many as a very bad thing… I believe that’s because of how we use our buying power. But what if we began to see our buying power as a positive thing… what if we began utilizing our financial resources and buying power in positive ways by educating ourselves on what it is that we are buying and where it is that we are buying from? I think we would see radical changes take place in business practices all over the globe, and through our buying choices be a voice for the voiceless.

Just a few facts…

In 2009 the Pentagon’s base military budget was $518 billion + an extra $130 billion for Iraq & Afghanistan = $648 billion for 2009 alone.

Earlier this month President Obama signed the Military Defense Authorization bill for 2010 raising the Pentagon’s base military budget to $550 billion + another $130 billion for Iraq & Afghanistan = $680 billion for 2010.

(If you’re keeping tally, that’s $1.3 trillion in defense spending for a two year time span.)

The United States has consistently ranked #1 in military expenditures and 2009 is no different… we will outspend the next 15 countries combined. Meaning, if you take the military expenditures of China, Russia, Britain, France, Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, India, Brazil, Italy, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, and The Netherlands and put them all together, we spent more. (An interesting note: 12 of the 15 countries in that list are our allies.) In fact, the United States accounts for 47% of the entire world’s military spending… and if you’re worried about North Korea or Iran, well, we outspent them at a pace of 72 to 1. And just for some perspective: China (ranked number 2 on the list) spent only $89.4 billion on their military… or 5.8% of the world military spending.

Sound like overkill?

In 2008, 21% of every dollar paid in taxes went to the defense budget. (That number is sure to rise as the 2009 budget gets reconciled and all the numbers come in.) Meaning if your family makes $60,000/year this is what your portion looks like…

(ht: Rortybomb)

I’ve long found the excessive amount of money we spend as a nation on military expenditures ridiculous, especially considering how poorly we take care of our soldiers (the majority of the money goes to outdated weapons technology that has been earmarked by members of congress for their home state.) But it became a lot more real for me as this past week the Senate unveiled their own version of the Health Care Bill. There has already been a great deal of debate surrounding the bill, and it certainly won’t come to a conclusion in the near future. (Note: The point of this post is not to talk about the merits or lack of merit with the current Health Care Bill because it’s got a long way to go and in the end will look nothing like what it does in its present state… if it passes at all. Rather it’s to look at the discrepancy of our values as a country in how we spend our money.) The greatest amount of argumentation about the Health Care Bill came as the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) unveiled the cost of the bill in its current form: $848 billion over the course of ten years, or roughly $84.8 billion per year (or 12.5% of what we currently spend on our national defense–not our overall budget.)

The screams from fiscal conservatives could be heard all across the country subsequently leading to a quick “no” on health care because of the cost alone in an attempt to quickly stifle debate. However, I’m sure we could squeeze $84.8 billion dollars per year out of the Pentagon’s budget to provide health care for those who cannot afford to pay for health care on their own because of rising premiums (or roughly the equivalent of China’s defense budget…and we’d still be okay on national defense still ranking far and away as #1 in the world with.) That’s $84.8 billion to protect American’s from sickness and disease… $84.8 billion to save lives instead of $84.8 billion to take lives.

When the $680 billion dollar Military Defense Authorization Bill came across the President’s desk, there was hardly a peep on the astronomical cost… it’s nearly 10x greater than the cost of health care… where were the fiscal conservatives on that one? As a country that purportedly stands proud in our value for life, we’ve certainly got a funny way of showing it.

This has been one of those weeks of seeking calm after the frenzied pace of officially launching IKON… therefore I found myself wandering time and again to the soothing sounds of William Fitzsimmons for audio respite. If you haven’t checked this guy out, you really should. He’s got a highly enjoyable soothing melodic vibe.