In the Thin Places . Chris Ediger

Leaders With a Limp

2009-11-06T13:35:10+00:00

Reading through The Rabbit and the Elephant. Good stuff on leadership this morning. This has application no matter where you work/lead, but especially in the church:

God is looking for leaders who walk with a limp: those who, like Jacob, have fought with God and surrendered to Him unconditionally (Genesis 32:24-32). God wants leaders who have learned from the disappointments and challenges of following Him through good times and bad. For leaders in the New Testament, their only promise was persecution, not professional perks and public praise. Their training came from the desert school of hard knocks, not the seminary of intellectual questioning. They valued the simplicity of Christ and expected to experience the power of the Holy Spirit in their work.

God is looking for those who are dead to their own ambitions. They have crucified any desire for the limelight, nailing to the cross their own agendas and ministries. They have no need to control. They are willing to go unrecognized, to be of no consequence in the world. They are looking for ways to lay down their lives for others.

We love Wolfgang Simson’s description of apostles as “weeping fathers, longing for their sons to overtake them.” There is no room for personal ambition because God does not share His glory. Our humility is the only way His glory will be seen by others. When we learn to boast in our weakness, the power of God is revealed (2 Corinthians 12:9).

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What Jerry Maguire Wrote

2009-10-26T23:23:21+00:00

I’d like to read Jerry Maguire’s “Mission Statement.” You know, the one that he wrote in middle of the night in a Miami Hilton in a moment of mental breakdown/breakthrough. “The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of our Business” was the title of the 25 page manuscript, and, while it caused him to lose his job, it also marked him & changed the entire course of his life.

And I want to read it.

How many of us sit quietly with our hands over our mouths (or perhaps sitting on our hands) for fear of saying what we really think?

I know there’s a place for reasonable prudence and for us to be “slow to speak,” but I also think there is a place for unabashed, passionate belief that finds its way to our vocal chords and out to the ears of those around us.

I think there are as many who fail to “go for it” as there are those who “go too far.” Could it be that we have been too quick to weigh one as more out of line than the other?

Here’s to those who make the leap and, like Jerry, are forever changed.

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Imperfect Reality

2009-10-20T13:05:31+00:00

Andrea and I have been doing community in our home for fourteen years. From the days of having college freshman at SMSU (now Missouri State University) in our living room, to having twelve house guests for the latest Catalyst iteration, we’ve tried to practice an open home wherever we are.

Most people look at us like we’re crazy. That’s because in today’s culture, while community might be valued (and even longed for), it is an elusive thing for most of us. High octane living and a kind of spiritual ADD have kept us from connecting ‘life on life’ with others most of the time.

At other times, however, I think it is something else. There is a sense of an ‘imperfect reality’ that we seek to avoid at all costs. It is a feeling that there is a perfect life/home/marriage/fill-in-the-blank that is attainable, that others enjoy, and that we are supposed to strive after. It makes us clean our house before the maid arrives, bark marching orders at our children to ‘behave’ abnormally when we are on the verge of being around others, and the half-baked smile most of us wear, even when our lives may be falling apart.

The thought of allowing people to ‘enter in’ to our lives, in all of their disarray, is something that we all struggle with (yours truly included). It is also, perhaps, one of the final barriers between desiring community and truly experiencing community.

I’m reading The Rabbit and the Elephant: Why Small is the New Big for Today’s Church by Tony and Felicity Dale, and George Barna. The authors paint the delimna as follows:

The New Testament also paints the church as a spiritual template built with living stones (1 Peter 2:5). These stones have to be cut and chiseled in order to fit together. Living a community lifestyle helps to grind us into shape. As we grow together in our relationships, particularly as this works itself out on a daily basis, tensions occur. Someone doesn’t like the way that another person handles the children. Another prefers a different style of music. As we share our lives together, we have many opportunities to learn to die to ourselves and our own preferences. This is God’s way of transforming us to be more like Jesus.
The New Testament Christians obviously spent much time together, but how can this be done in the busyness of life today? Often, people feel they can only invite others into their homes if everything is perfect - not a speck of dust on the furniture, the kids all on their best behavior, and a gourmet home-cooked meal sitting on the stove. But if that is our standard, we will never get to know each other! Why not invite another family to join you for pizza before you take the kids to the ball game? Or invite a single mom and her children over to watch a movie?

How do we, practically, release the bond that ‘imperfect reality’ has on us, in order to truly experience Christ-like community?

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The (Real) Catalyst Moment

2009-10-19T12:58:09+00:00

I joked around last week about the “Autotune Andy” video (from Tripp & Tyler) being the highlight of the conference. All joking aside, the following was truly one of the most impactful moments of the entire week.

Jimmy Wambua meets Mark, his Compassion Sponsor of 19 years, for the very first time.

Are you open?

Jimmy begins to share at minute 3:45…

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Listen, Listen, Listen (Autotune Andy)

2009-10-16T12:51:36+00:00

This had to be one of the favorite moments of Catalyst. Okay, no real spiritual value here, but it’s just plain fun. Brought to you by Tripp & Tyler…

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A Glimpse Back at Catalyst East 2009

2009-10-15T12:12:20+00:00

I didn’t take a single note at Catalyst this year… on purpose. Sometimes I get so distracted with filling in the blanks and asking “what did he say?” that I miss things. I decided to take it all in, tweet what impacted me in the moment, and then watch the forthcoming event DVDs to get what I missed.

While there were a good number of speakers that I was impacted by, I’d have to say that Malcolm Gladwell’s Thursday session, and Andy Stanley’s Friday session, were among my favorites.

Here’s a glimpse back at these sessions in case you missed the event (or if, like me, you just want a refresher):

Malcolm Gladwell - “The Necessity of Humility in Leadership” by Michael Hyatt

According to Gladwell, more information does not guarantee better decisions. In fact, we tend to overestimate the value of additional information. He cited the work of Dr. Stuart Hopkins, who did extensive research on this topic. What he discovered is that when people are given more information, they grow more confident in their ability to solve the problem. However, their actual results are not better. Sometimes, they are worse. ...

Overconfidence is “the disease of experts.” They think think they know more than they actually do know. In fact, they make mistakes precisely because they have knowledge. This is what happened on Wall Street. ...

The lesson is this: In times of crisis, we think we need leaders who are bold and confident. This is completely wrong-headed. What we really need are leaders who are humble and willing to listen. As leaders ourselves, how can we avoid becoming overly confident?

Read the full recap article…

Andy Stanley - “Andy Stanley on Creating a Healthy Work Culture” by Kent Shaffer

A culture characterized by trust attracts healthy people. You will never know who you can trust until you trust them. The longer you refuse to trust people, the longer that untrustworthy people can hide in your organization. The moment you feel to tightly manage someone, you might have made a hiring mistake. And if you don’t address the hiring problem, you might create a culture where everyone distrusts each other. You will never know who you can trust until you trust them. Trusting is risky. Refusing to trust is riskier. ...

Trust enables an organization to move faster. In an organization of trust, the culture is fluid. When there is a high level of trust, I am going to act/email/write/communicate as if I believe the best. Teams use trust as currency. ...

Developing a culture of trust begins with a leader. Trust and suspicion are both telegraphed from the leader throughout the organization. We must learn to choose to trust.

Read the full recap article…

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The Story of 12 House Guests

2009-10-14T12:14:20+00:00

I’m still recuperating from last week’s Catalyst experience. It was an incredible time of nearly 13,000 people coming together for leadership training, amazing worship, and inspirational moments. I can’t wait to get the event DVDs so that I can go back and re-watch the speakers, and re-experience the event!

As amazing of a time as the event itself was, I’d honestly say that it is only part of the story for me - and probably the lesser part, at that.

For the past two years we’ve hosted a large group of family and friends for the event. Last year we had a group of 10 people staying with us. This year we bested that number by two - hosting a total of 12 people.

Catalyst is one of those experiences that is better to experience with others. After having people around me for all three of Catalyst’s I’ve attended, I can say that I feel sorry for those who have to come alone for whatever reason. There is so much of the event that is communal in nature that it warrants having a group of people to decompress and digest what is experienced.

Each night we’d gather around a meal, on couches, chairs, and floors, in various rooms, and even on the front porch, to laugh, talk, and pray with one another. It was a truly incredible experience that fed me at a deep level.

It was experiencing a level of community that leaves me longing for me.

It’s a ‘thin place’ that I want to purposefully pursue and not leave to chance to happen once a year around an event like Catalyst.

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Where You Are vs What You Know

2009-10-13T12:22:01+00:00

It was the fall of 2004. I was sitting in a coffee shop in Oklahoma City, getting a little work done before heading into the office, when he walked past.

At first I did a double-take. J.C. Watts had just walked in and headed into a back conference room where he would soon be speaking to a group of businessmen & women.

I grabbed the only piece of paper I saw - an advertisement from the table next to me - walked over to him, told him how much I admired & appreciated him, and asked for his autograph.

While cleaning out some storage in our home, I found the paper with his signature, and it reminded me of several other, more momentous, encounters - moments that changed the path I was traveling and moved me in a completely new direction.

I’d like to say that these moments were of my own doing - that because of hard work, perseverance, and planning, I was able to create opportunities that shaped my very future. The truth is that, while all of these things were contributing factors, I’d have to admit that many of the moments presented themselves because of where I was at the time.

I’ve heard it said that it’s as important ‘who’ you know as much as ‘what’ you know. I’d agree with that. I’d take it a step further, though, and add that ‘where’ you are is equally as important in determining the course you’re on and the opportunities you have.

We place an inordinate amount of attention, time and energy into building up the ‘what’ in our lives - as we should. How we interact and work with others will have bearing on the ‘who’ as well. The ‘where’ is something we have as much of a say so in as both of the others, though.

Where are you right now? How does it contribute to what you want to be doing or what you want to accomplish?

If you’re in a mismatched place - one in which you have little chance of being able to do those things you desire - it may well be time for a change.

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Why Wine Rather Than Grape Juice?

2009-10-12T13:44:55+00:00

Image by VisualAge

Read this great quote from Michael Hyatt. Enjoy (and be sure to follow Hyatt’s blog, which is excellent)!

Unfermented grape juice is a bland and pleasant drink, especially on a warm afternoon mixed half-and-half with ginger ale. It is a ghastly symbol of the life blood of Jesus Christ, especially when served in individual antiseptic, thimble-sized glasses.
“Wine is booze, which means it is dangerous and drunk-making. It makes the timid brave and the reserved amorous. It loosens the tongue and breaks the ice, especially when served in a loving cup. It kills germs. As symbols go, it is a rather splendid one.”
- Frederick Buechner
Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABC

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Catalyst Blog Silence

2009-10-06T11:42:53+00:00

Not that I have had much time to blog here in the last couple of weeks anyhow, but I’m officially going offline for this year’s Catalyst event, which begins tomorrow. We have the first of our 12 house guests flying in tonight, and I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with family & friends (new and old, alike).

If you couldn’t make it to this year’s event, be sure and check out Catalyst Backstage (catalystbackstage.com) when it launches Thursday morning to get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at everything Catalyst - including (for the first time) live look-ins at some main session speakers, worship, interviews and glimpses into the Catalyst experience!

John Saddington (human3rror, ChurchCrunch, MilkEngine) the web guru from North Point Community Church (and the guy responsible for building North Point’s online campus), is heading up the design & operation of the site. Anne Jackson & Carlos Whittaker will be emceeing. You don’t want to miss it!

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