Things are in high gear…Grand Opening worship is Feb 21st — less than 3 weeks away.   Yes, it’s exciting.  But sometimes it still seems so overwhelming,  and sometimes it’s  frightening.  the cool thing is, I know that this is what we are supposed to be doing.   In fact, if it weren’t of God, we’d have never gotten this far.

This morning’s verse in the Devotional Day Planner is about Gideon’s asking God,”How can I do this?”

God’s response?   “I will be with you.” (Judges 6:16)

As I sit here in my office thinking about that, the mountains have some clouds over them, but the beams of the early morning sun are cutting through a gap in the clouds and casting their rays on this whole area.   Kinda’ like God was trying to remind me of something.

Adjustments

Sunday’s preview felt a little like the Chargers/Jets game.  We’d been listening, evaluating, tweaking, making each preview better than the last one, and then Sunday was just “flat.”

It was long.  Worse, it seemed long.  The pace was slow. I was flat.  And, we tried to do too much.  And the result wasn’t a crystal clear message woven throughout the Sunday experience.  It was mush.

Now good things still happened, despite it all.  That’s a testimony to the grace of God and the power of the Spirit to do things in spite of us.  We had some new first-time guests; and there were still a few isolated moments that seemed to connect with people

But  overall, we didn’t hit the mark this Sunday.   Not by a long shot.

First of all, my apologies to any first time guest reading this.   We will do better.  We must do better. Second, my apologies to those who’ve been with us for several previews.   What happened on Sunday wasn’t what you’ve come to expect.  We’ve been improving each time, and this Sunday we didn’t.  Again, we will do better.  We must do better.   Hang with us.   And to all those who worked so hard to make Sunday happen (it takes 25-30 volunteers each week to pull it off); again, my apologies.  I really didn’t put you in the best position to have a “win.”

Now here’s the good news.   We still have time to adjust – and we will.   That’s why we do “previews” and practices — so we can work all those kinks out before GRAND OPENING.   True, Grand Opening is 20 days away, so there’s not a lot of time.  But that means we still do have TIME to learn from what we did and make it better before we open.

What happened, in a nutshell, is that I got away from the core game plan of FAM JAM: ONE deep truth experienced in a variety of simple ways and tried to teach two deep truths instead.   Actually, there was ONE deep truth behind it all – but I developed  that with two more DEEP truths, instead of  simple steps reinforcing the one big thing.

I tried to cram too much in.  And that didn’t work.

That wasn’t good news yesterday.  But it’s good news today, because my “Monday morning quarterbacking” took me back to the basics of the game plan.   I even wrote a series of  questions I need to run through in planning each Fam Jam that wil keep me focused on what we’re trying to do

I don’t like coming out flat, like we did on Sunday.  I never do.   But this time  I’m actually excited about failure, because this time,  we still have TIME to “fail forward,” to learn and grow from this, to ruthlessly evaluate what went wrong, make adjustments, and get it right the next time.

And we will.

So pray for us.  Pray for me.  If we’re going to get to 100 baptisms in 2010, we’ve got to get this right.

Balance

Last week I posted on balance, and directed you to Shawn Lovejoy’s blog for some great comments.   Check out his followup today at shawnlovejoy.com.   From my perspective he hit another  home run with this one.

It was convicting, and it was challenging.  But it also gave some practical ideas for putting “sabbath” into practice in the weekly rhythms of my life.

I needed that.  We’re less than a month from launch and, if it’s possible, the pace has gotten even more intense.   I haven’t had a problem devoting myself to work; and I’ve been working at being “fully present” at home.   But I have done a lousy job of what Shawn calls, ” letting all the plates fall” once a week.

I think — no, I KNOW — that has to change.  Not just for  health reasons (I seem to be hanging in there on that one).   But primarily because I’m not honoring God.  He doesn’t have a commandment on balance, but He does have one on sabbath.

Check out what Shawn has to say (shawnlovejoy.com).   It’s good stuff.  And pray for me, that I do better at it all — working, plate spinning, being fully present, and yes…letting all the plates drop when they’re supposed to.

Balance

Ever struggle with balancing the demands of work and family?   Who doesn’t?   But I wonder if, in the pursuit of that elusive “middle ground,” we sacrifice excellence and accomplishment (in both work AND family) on the altar of balance.  If so, I’m not so sure that balance is a such a good thing.   Maybe it’s better to be PASSIONATE — and fully present – where I am and in what I’m doing and in who I’m doing it with.

Shawn Lovejoy has a great post on that.  Check it out at shawnlovejoy.com.

Leadership

Leadership is leadership is leadership – whether business, sports, or the church.  That’s why I like to “cross-train.”   That means, even though my business is church, I also  look to find leadership lessons from other places.

I got one the other day listening to sports talk radio while driving back from the hospital.  The coach of the Boise State football team was talking about the bold move they made in the 4^th quarter of this year’s Fiesta Bowl – -a fake punt from somewhere around their own 30 yard line.   That successful play turned the momentum and helped them win the game.

What did I learn from the coach?

First, he didn’t take all the credit.  He gave credit to his coaches, and to the players. And he was sincere about it.

Second, he revealed that the players on the field (those closest to the action) actually made the call.  The coaches had called the play earlier in the game; but they also teach the players what to look for in the opposing defense.  And even if the coaches call the play, if  the player on the field sees something in the defense he doesn’t like, he calls off the fake .

That’s what Coach Peterson said happened earlier in the game.  The coaches had called the play; and the special teams player called it off and punted the ball away because he saw a look in the defense that he didn’t like. Then, in that critical  fourth quarter play, the player on the field saw the exact look in the defense that the coaches had taught them would likely make the fake a success.   They called the fake, and ended up winning the game.

They were so well trained that they knew what to look for; they were so comfortable with the risk-taking culture established at Boise State that they weren’t afraid to make the call; and the coach trusted those closest to the action enough both to make good decisions at “ground level,”  and to execute them successfully to help the team win.

In listening to the coach talk, I also get the idea that, had that fake punt failed, he would have taken 100% of the blame.

Lots of leadership lessons there.

But I know what I think.   I’d be interested in your thoughts.  What lessons do you see?

back from hiatus

Whew!!

It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve blogged and a lot has happened in that time.

I made it through the Christmas rush (an especially difficult time for pastors to balance work and family); a vacation that’s not really a vacation (too much family stuff going on up at the in-laws to make it anywhere close to relaxing); and then back to work, where that are so many things going on with starting this new church that sometimes I think my head is going to explode.

Maybe you can relate to some of that in your own life.

Since I like to work and to create, there are many times I find this all incredible energizing.   And then there are other times,  when so much is happening on all fronts with no sign of stopping, that  I find myself in “blah spots” and “lull spots” when I don’t  feel quite “on my game” anywhere (at work , at home, even, in my devotional time with God).  and don’t  seem to be working with the same “edge” as usual.

Ever been there?   Here’s what I do.

Push through it… Knowing those times are going to come, I just going.  I may not have “the edge,” but I just keep working, and praying, and working through the clutter and confusion until I get back to focus and clarity and that “razor sharp edge.”

I try to call a “time-out” if I can, because I find that also helps get things on track.   But when that’s not possible, I just keep pushing through it.

Working and praying.   For me, that works a whole lot better than either self-pity or blaming.

And by the way, for all you prayer partners of Concordia who are praying for me daily…THANK YOU.   Your support has strengthened me way more than you know

Wins and losses

It’s getting close to playoff time in the NFL, and each win each Sunday takes on more and more significance.   Sunday was a great day for my Chargers, and an agonizing day for my Packers.

In sports, the final score lets you know whether the day was a win or a loss.. In the church business, sometimes the score is a little more difficult to measure. But by any measure, as our “second season,” our “playoffs,” our “big day” (Grand Opening,  February 21, 2010) gets closer and closer,  yesterday was a BIG WIN for Concordia.

The unofficial headcount put attendance for the Living Nativity at 650 people.  And about 70% of the 100 or so we’ve gathered to launch Concordia were actively serving in some capacity to help make the Living Nativity happen.    And we did this in a way that no one else is doing … a “kid friendly” Living Nativity where children in Concordia Preschool were main characters in the play.

We’ve never done anything that big before, or had that great an opportunity to share the story of Jesus with that many people at one time.

Big thanks to everyone…from all the prayer partners interceding for this event, to those who planned, and prepared, and worked so hard to make this a success.   And HUGE, HUGE kudos to Karin, our volunteer coordinator for the event.   She pulled it all together, kept it all together, and worked tirelessly to make sure all the rest of us were in the right places to shine.

Setback or Stepping Stone?

So…we prayed for no rain.  And it rained A LOT!!!  Then, we made alternate arrangements to hold the Living Nativity our parking lot, and prayed for the rain to hold off through the weekend.

And the forecast changed…to the greatest rain now being predicted for the program day on Saturday.  What’s up?  Didn’t God get the memo that we’re working hard on this program and that we’re trying to reach people with His story?  Didn’t He see how many people were working?  Didn’t He know what a pain it is to change things after all the publicity is out and all the people play (children, parents, teachers, volunteers) had made their plans around December 12^th?

Maybe He did.  And maybe He saw that postponing a week was in His best interests.  Maybe that extra week will help us do a better job; and do a better job of getting the word out. Is it possible God knew what He was doing all along?  We prayed for His blessing.  It could be that the rain actually is a blessing for us  in the long run, even though it seems like such a monumental pain in the short term.

Obstacles, you see, can also become opportunities.  And obstacles can unleash creativity.   I’ve seen that over and over and over again on this mission launch.  Maybe this is just another one of those times.    God knows.  I think I’ll just trust Him on that.  Trust Him AND work really hard with the extra week He’s now given us.

Bold Move

In his book Axiom , Bill Hybels shares this story:

“Back in the days when neither seatbelts nor infant car seats were mandatory, my daughter Shauna would sit right by my side on the arm rest of the old Chevy Impala I drove.  One morning she and I loaded up to run a few errands, and as I was pulling out onto a major thoroughfare, I glanced over to make sure she was secure on her makeshift seat.  In that split second between when I looked her way and when I looked back to see and oncoming traffic, a car appeared out of nowhere.  Feeling I had no other options, I stomped on the accelerator. The other driver came within mere feet of plowing into us before swerving out of our lane.  It was way to close for comfort, and I died a thousand deaths in the space of the next six shallow breaths.  What if that car had hit us?  What if Shauna had been hurt?  Or killed?

My mind was racing as I tried to think of a way to apologize to this little girl who, because of me, almost didn’t make it to her fifth birthday when she interrupted my self-reproach with three simple words: “Bold move, Dad.”

BOLD MOVE.  The phrase stuck.  And his point, later in the section was this.  As an organization, “you will never take big hills without bold moves.”

Wednesday night I shared with a small group at church a big goal that God laid on my heart up while I was up in Big Bear.   The goal?  That in 2010 we have 100 baptisms at Concordia.

100 baptisms in just one year.   For a church averaging slightly more than 100 in worship, that’s a bold move.

Question:  What will it take to get there???  Any ideas?

Yesterday I was at a lunch to honor department heads at the City of Chula Vista.  I was honored to be asked by Mayor Cox to give the invocation, and delighted to be part of a group of so many community leaders who really care about this city.

I love living in Chula Vista.  It’s a great city, and I think, working together, we have a great future.

Thanks to Allied Waste for caring enough about the community to generously sponsor this event.

Thanks to those department heads for working so hard to keep our city headed in the right direction, and to prepare us for bigger and better things to come.

And, from my perspective, thanks to Mayor Cox for being such a good leader, and assembling such a good team of people.

I think that our city is better because of her leadership.   We don’t always agree, but I always I appreciate her honesty and integrity.  I can certainly see that she cares deeply for our city and its people.   I know we’re a better place, in tough times, because of her leadership.  And I feel good about her assembling the right team to guide us to better times in the future.