Forgiveness

Some thoughts on forgiveness:

• David shows it in 2 Samuel 19


• Don Miller blogs about it here


• Pastor Doug preaches about it here (see December 18- the gift of forgiveness)

Asleep at the Wheel

Every time I read through KingDavid's story, I am struck at the lessons we can learn. 2 Samuel 15 opens with Absalom- one of David's sons- plotting to take over the kingdom by schmoozing the people. He laments with them, gossips with them, sympathizes with them, and wonders with them how things might be different if he were in control. And this goes on for four years! What is David is doing?!? How can he not know what Absalom is up to for four years? Are there no grumblings, no early warnings, no trusted advisors warning him about what Absalom is up to?

I have a hard time believing that David allows this to go for so long and then is surprised when Absalom’s plan (finally) comes to light. But, King David’s downfall begins with the Bethsheba incident- but not for the adultery- but rather from the observation that he stayed home at the time when kings went to war (2 Samuel 11:1). He failed to keep doing the work of being a king, even though God was on his side.

I sometimes think we take the fact that God is on our side for granted. It is as if we feel we no longer need to do anything since God is on our side. But knowing that God is on our side ought to compel us to work even harder or better, doing all we can to make sure that we don’t squander all God has entrusted to us. Leaders- even spiritual ones- can’t confuse their relationship with God as evidence that they can put their lives, their organizations, and/or their churches on cruise control. I’m willing to bet it took some work and effort to get to the closeness of your relationship with God that you have in the first place, so why would we think that once we get there, we should stop doing those same things?

The Flinch and New Years

A couple interesting thoughts from a short little book called The Flinch (best of all- the book is free on your Kindle!):

• You say you want to be successful. You think you’re working hard. You think all you need is your lucky break. Wrong. You haven’t done what’s necessary at all. You haven’t made the sacrifices. You haven’t put in the time. You haven’t faced the flinch. You haven’t learned the lessons and you don’t have the scars. Not for the fights that matter. Look, there’s a fight happening right now- quite a few, actually. You can turn on the TV and watch them on any channel. World hunger, AIDS, the next billion-dollar business, even in your own family- they’re all there. You watch these fights all the time, but are you actually fighting right now? Most people rarely get in the ring for what matters. Instead, the fight gets fought by other people, elsewhere. Everyone talks about it like they want to be involved, but it’s just talk. The truth is that they can’t handle the pressure. They’re not in the ring because they aren’t ready to do what’s necessary to win.

• The common will capture your attention as long as it’s allowed in the room. Whatever you’re used to, whether cigarettes, shopping, or Twitter, must be eliminated in the quest to get into the ring. You must make a sacrifice on the altar of greatness and perform acts that others will now. If you aren’t willing to sacrifice your comfort, you don’t have what it takes. Set fire to your old self. It’s not needed here. It’s too busy shopping, gossiping about others, and watching days go by and asking why you haven’t gotten as far as you’d like.

If you're considering making a New Year's resolution, some words to ponder.

And while the author is primarily concerned with the world of work, so much of this rings true for those who want to grow closer in their relationship with Jesus. In my last sermon I talked about time and how much (or little) time it actually takes to begin spending time with Jesus each day. Hillcrest produces a daily devotional each week- it's part of our bulletin- and each day has a scripture reading, a short commentary (written by a Hillcrest volunteer!), and a couple of questions. We actually did in both morning services. It took 3 minutes in the first service and 4 minutes in the second! Now, who doesn't have 3-4 minutes to spend on their relationship with Jesus?!? But if we're starting from nothing, we'd be wise to heed these words from the Flinch and make sure we're willing to sacrifice- even if it's 3 or 4 minutes.

Diamond in the Rough

After David's affair with Bethsheba, life spins out of control for David and his family (and soon, the entire kingdom). A brother rapes a sister. Another brother kills a brother. Family members are banished from the kingdom. And it will get worse. But in the midst of all this chaotic depravity, a woman from Tekoa offers these wise words both to King David and to us:

Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him (2 Samuel 14:14).

What a wonderful statement of hope and a reminder of what God is in the business of doing- devising ways to bring us back when we get lost.

Merry Christmas!

Thinking and Doing

Are you a thinker who does?

Or a doer who thinks?

There's no right answer- both are good and the world needs both- and knowing who you are can be important.

What the world doesn't need? Thinkers who never do anything. And doers who never think about anything.

The Economics of Child Sponsorship

We sponsor a child (Luis) through World Vision. We receive letters from our child as well as information about how the child is doing, what's going on in his community as well as the country, and what other opportunities and challenges there are for our child. We've sponsored a child for several years now as a way to connect with under-resourced from the developing world.

World Vision, Compassion, and other organizations, in fact, market their operations in these terms: for $30 (or comparable amount) per month, you can educate, feed, and minister to a child in XYZ. It's a brilliant and successful model. We- and thousands of others- give each month, and our gift directly helps out Luis.

By now, I realize it porbably doesn't work quite that way. It's not that I think that Luis isn't being helped by my gift, it's that I understand the costs of supporting Luis in Ecuador have to be different than the costs of supporting a child in Ethiopia. Or Romania. Or Vietnam. They have to be different, because so many of those costs- the education, the food, the supplies- are contigent on local conditions. But for World Vision it'd be an administrative nightmare to market child sponsorship in Ecuador at $22.50/month but $31.58 in Vietnam and $16.47 in Romania (those prices are completley made up, by the way!). Somewhere along the way they determined that $30 was the magic figure that people would buy in at. And it's brilliant, really. My gift helps out the world's most under-resourced and World Vision gives me a story of how my giving makes a difference. World Vision also gets to use those monies for developing under-resourced communities- which Luis is certainly apart of- without the trap of having to explain each and every cost of working in each and every community they work in. I mean, if I found out that it only cost $20 a month to sponor Luis, would I consider World Vision to be ripping me off since I pay $30?!? Of course not. I'd trust them to then allocate that extra $10 to another Luis in another community.

You can see other examples in World Vision's Gift Catalog (for instance, 2 chickens might cost $25. A great gift- and one I've done before! But again, how much do the chickens really cost and can we be sure they cost the same throughout the globe?!?). Our local Union Gospel Mission advertises how many Thanksgiving meals a certain amount will buy (without knowing how many will eat that meal, how much the food will cost, etc). Our Food Bank does the same thing.

The point in all this is that these non-profits discovered unique and creative ways to partner with their donors. Their marketing pitches tell a creative heartfelt story and invite people to partner with their good work- which many of us are happy to do.

Where's MY grace?

I'm at Lewis the other day, standing in line at the customer service desk to mail a package for work. There's at least 6 people in front of me, all mailing packages. No worries. At least 3 of them require additional assistance with their packages. One woman put a priority label on her package and wasn't supposed to (the Lewis worker helped her find the correct label). Another woman hadn't even addressed her envelope or put the contents into it (a second Lewis worker let her do it right there instead of doing it over at the table where she should have done it to avoid getting out of line). Another woman was unsure how to ship her package and what priority box she needed (the first Lewis worker found her the right one).

I was pleasantlty surprised at the great service these other patrons were receiving . . . until it was my turn! I was mailing some pictures in a manilla envelope- the kind with the metal clasp- and was told (several times) that I wasn't allowed to mail it with the clasps. The Lewis worker almost begrudgingly put a piece of tape over it all the while explaining that this is bad for the machine that sorts the mail. So bad, in fact, that it's almost the worst kind of mail to send (really? Is there a 'most wanted' poster that depicts the worst type of mail to send?!?). The second worker piped in about wondering why they even make this envelope anymore because it is such a hassle. Nevermind you the previous patrons in front of me who were uneducated and unprepared, I get the lecture because of a metal clasp! Tis the season . . .

Great by Choice

I finished Jim Collins' latest book Great by Choice and really enjoyed it. Collins is one of the authors whom I will read almost anything he produces and he also backs up his writing with lots of data and research- right up my alley. Here are some of my favorites quotes:

• On the one hand, 10Xers (leaders who led at companies who did 10 times better than their comparison competition during the same time period; Southwest vs. PSA, in the airline industry, for instance) understand that they face continuous uncertainty and that they cannot control, and cannot accurately predict, significant aspects of the world around them. On the other hand, 10Xers reject the idea that forces outside their control or chance events will determine their results; they accept full responsibility for their fate (19).


• The environment doesn’t determine why some companies thrive in chaos and why others don’t. People do. People are disciplined fanatics. People are empirical. People are creative. People are productively paranoid. People lead. People build teams. People build organizations. People build cultures. People exemplify values, pursue purpose, and achieve big hairy audacious goals. Of all the luck we can get, people luck- the luck of finding the right mentor, teammate, leader, friend, is one of the most important (161).


• The difference between Bill Gates and similarly advantaged people is not luck. Yes, Gates was lucky to be born at the right time, but many others had this luck. And yes, Gates was lucky to have the chance to learn programming by 1975, but many others had this same luck. Gates did more with his luck, taking a confluence of lucky circumstances and creating a huge return on his luck. And this is the important difference (163).

Sometimes we're tempted to blame our misfortune and other's good fortune on luck. Most of the time, though, there's a whole lot of effort and energy and work (or lack thereof) behind those fortunes.

A Tale of Two Davids

As I make my way through 1 and 2 Samuel, the story of David always strikes me. Much has been written and analyzed about David's life- his heroic defeat of Goliath, his shrewd loyalty as Saul pursued him, and his tragic flaw and subsequent repentance over the Bathsheba incident. But the authors of 1 and 2 Samuel almost intentionally divide David's life into two parts- the first part, where David seeks the Lord almost every chapter, and the second part, where David stops seeking the Lord. The first part you could count until 2 Samuel 6 and then after 2 Samuel 6, there's maybe one more mention of David seeking the Lord. Is it coincidence that one could hardly say that David 'finished well' or is there a direct connection between the latter part of David's life and the fact that he no longer sought God?

They

Who is 'they'?

You know, as in

• 'they say never eat before going to bed'


• 'they say opposites attract'


• 'they say you have to wait 30 minutes after lunch until you can swim'


• 'they say it's your birthday'

Perhaps 'they' is well-tested research, but sometimes it might be an old wives' tale. Sometimes 'they' is wisdom, but sometimes it might just be Oprah.

Who is 'they'? And how much say do they have in your life?

Chrismas Lights

A great post from Seth Godin on the 'economics' Christmas lights here.

Couple extra thoughts:

• My dad is awesome with Christmas lights! And, he, my brother and me have a great story about hanging lights one season that invovled two ladders (one on the roof!), freezing rain, and those infamous words, 'uh oh'. Classic!


• I am not so awesome with the Christmas lights, but hang them each season with the saying 'happy wife, happy life' in the back of my mind. Currently, two different strands of my icicles have sections that don't work. I've tried switching out bulbs and replacing fuses. Nada. So, I will turn them on, suffer the ridicule of having half-lit lights, and have T get some new ones when they are half off after Christmas!


• Finally, it's probably not a good sign when more of my neighbors decorate for Halloween then for Christmas . . .

Read This Before Our Next Meeting

From Read This Before Our Next Meeting:

Every meeting should require pre-meting work. Any information for getting attendees up to speed should be given out beforehand. If the attendee doesn’t have time to read and prepare, she doesn’t have time to attend.

Fair? Or too harsh?

A Marketing Disconnect

Once a month my wife teaches voice lessons and thus I have to find something for me and the kids to do- not that hard when the weather's nice, but a bit of challenge when the temp head south, so last month we visited a local Sioux Falls establishment that markets itself as a family friendly place. We arrived at the place and were greeted less than enthusiastically, as if a dad with 4 kids would be disrupting their afternoon of being paid to do nothing. We went to the first area and it was ok, but things soon changed when we went to the main area (I realize I could tell you where I was, but I will spare them and you!). Now, to be fully honest, it was a Sunday afternoon so I might have been a little distracted checking the Packers score, then my fantasy team's score, and then back to the Packers, but I was still plenty of engaged. My kids broke the first rule within 10 seconds- no touching. Ok, fair enough, but the reason given for no touching was ludricous. After five more minutes, my older two broke another rule- no 'heelying' (for the uniformed, as I was a few weeks ago, a 'heely' is a shoe with wheels so it doubles as a shoe and a roller skate). Pretty sure that heelying isn't in the rules, but you get the drift.

By now, I am annoyed, as the no heelying is what I call an 'annoyance rule'- it's a rule we make up because we're annoyed, not because it is wrong or immoral. We left the establishment soon after that and I told T I don't want to go back.

I am sure the spot is just fine, but they ought to market who they are- an organization that appeals to senior citizens, hermits, and kids- but only kids who are sleeping or in strollers (and preferably, both!) not market something they're not . . .

Storytelling

We all like stories. From our earliest formative years to adults, we all enjoy stories, whether those stories are in books, on a TV or movie screen, or told to us. We enjoy- and tell- stories for all kinds of reasons:

• To entertain


• To inform


• To understand


• To teach


• To advertise


• To inspire


• To manipulate


• To correct


• To caution


• To persuade


• To project

and to do a host of other things. The thing about stories is that they either bring us closer to truth or farther away from it.

What kind of story are you telling these days? Does it bring you (and your listener) closer to truth or farther away?

Time is (not) Money

From The Best of Guerrilla Marketing:

Successful people also used to boast about how busy they were.

According to the author, time is the most important resource we have.

Not money.

Everyone is busy. Everyone has schedules, to do lists, jobs, families, friends, and TV shows to keep up on (!).

Instead of saying 'I don't have time for . . . (whatever that is)', instead say 'I spend my time . . . '. I'll admit, I'm tempted to use the 'I don't have time' excuse, but really, I have the same amount of time as everyone else.

Instead of trying to compete with others by saying how busy you are (or, how unbusy you are, as both can be dangerous), make time for the people that matter to you. And for the things that matter to you.

Instead of wondering how 'so and so does it all' or how 'so and so has time for . . .', do a time audit. How do you spend your time? I know I'd have more time for more important things if I shut off the TV from time to time.

Quit Screaming at the Computer!

A good insight from Anything You Want:

So when we yell at a website or a company, using our computer or phone, we forget that it’s not an appliance but a person that’s affected. It’s dehumanizing to have thousands of people passing through our computer screens, so we do things we’d never do if those people were sitting next to us.

If you ever read the comments sections on blogs or newspapers, you already know this to be true.

To have a friend, be a friend . . .

I'm familiar with the friendship between the biblical friendship of David and Jonathan. Jonathan's dad, Saul, is the sitting king. David, fresh after his triumph of Golaith, is the king in waiting. Saul spends much time and energy plotting to take out his rival David, and the text reveals many of his plots are thwarted by his own son Jonathan!

Couple thoughts/questions:

• Jonathan went against his dad for the sake of his friend. What would that have been like?


• Jonathan arguably gave up his rightful claim to the throne for his friend. What would that have been like?


• What would it look like to be a friend like that? To have a friend like that?

Psych 101

I have a gumball machine in my office- a fun thing for the kids to have in the office and also a sure way to make sure we keep our dentist employed. The other day my one son wanted some gumballs so he uses the 'community' coin jar I have right by it and got three. For himself. I intervened and said you can keep one for yourself but have to give the other two to your siblings (the remaining sibling already had one). He opted to put all the gumballs back rather than giving up the other two. Apparently the best choice was everyone having none (when he thought he could have three) rather than everyone having one!

I think there's a pscyh experiment in there somewhere . . .

The Bait of Experience

The only way you can get experience is by doing something. Once you have experience, it can be the most valuable thing you have regardless of your endeavor- work, volunteering, marriage, parenting, athletics, music, etc. Doesn't matter. The temptation though, once you have experience, is to stop there. Since you have a baseline of experience, there's no need to keep growing, keep learning, or keep doing the things that got you that experience in the first place.

Each fall I have the opportunity to talk to seminary students about finances and financial issues in ministry. For me, it's gravy. Just a real neat opportunity to talk about the reality that money plays in ministry, whether it's a church, a counseling office, the mission field, or a nonprofit. Reagrdless of the location or the vocation, you will deal with money. And each year I speak with the group and share my experience (both the good and the bad). After the event is over, I get why those who get paid to teach and speak like it so much (and this is especially true for those who travel as speakers or teachers, often giving the same speech or talk in different settings). You have enough experience to know your stuff, the audience is receptive to it, and the feedback is normally pretty good. What's not to like?!? But if you stop there, you'll lose what you got there in the first place.

If the speakers and teachers in your life are telling outdated stories and remembering the good ol' days of when they used to be in your shoes, the ones that do, they're coasting on past experience.

Rules of Thumb

Some personal rules of thumb:

• You can move anything with a two wheel cart- It's true. I've moved refrigerators, couches, tables, book shelves, office desks and even a seriously heavy 4 drawer file cabinent with just me and a two wheel cart. And when people look at me, they don't wonder if I played football . . .


• Only boring people get bored- learned this one from mom and I find myself telling my own kids the same thing, and it's true. If your life consists of what's coming up next on TV, you will probably be bored, but if you don't, then boredom will seldom come your way.


• You can achieve a lot if you don't care who gets the credit- I think Reagan may have first said this, but it is so true. We're wired to seek attention and our egos crave credit and recognition. Those things aren't bad, but seeking those things can stall projects and accomplish less than what's possible. If you can genuinley care about not getting the credit, you'll accomplish far more, and still feel good about yourself. Win win.


• Leaders are readers (or leaders are learners)- it's too bad that so many people think that after graduation (be it high school, college, or grad school) that they are done learning. School ought to instill a lifelong love for learning whatever your enterprise, not serve simply as a means to an end. And there are so many good tools and resources available today that by putting in some time, you can read enough material and grasp the concepts worth of a degree. You won't have the degree, but other than the piece of paper, you'll have the same result . . .

Tradition

Traditions are funny things, especially when you put them in the context of church. Most if not all traditions start off as wonderful and meaningful things. As the years go by, however, those wonderful and meaningful things turn into something that no one really knows about anymore. It's simply what we have always done. Like this joke about cutting off the ends of a ham!

This week Hillcrest participated in a couple of things that have become somewhat of a tradition. The first is providing treats for those vote at our facility. Tuesday was a special election for Sioux Falls and thus we provided doughnut holes and cookies for the voters as it's been something we've done now for the last several elections. It's become tradition I guess because the voters remember it and look forward to it. The election people even tell us that kids beg to come with their parents to vote because they know they will get a treat. One guy wanted to arrive when the polls opened so he could vote and get a treat!

The second occurred Wednesday Night as we put on our annual carnival for the kids at Children's Home Society. I honestly had forgotten about the event until an email a couple months ago wondering if we were doing the carnival again as the kids loved it and look forward to it. Why, of course! By now the event doesn't take a lot of planning, Hillcresters are eager to help, and it's become somewhat of a tradition- and a good one at that!

You are Here

You know those maps in malls that say "you are here"? What an invention- especially for guys, who for the most part detest spending any time in a mall! Tell me where I am- show me where the sporting goods store is and I can figure out to get there based on your map.


I wonder what might happen if we treated our spiritual journeys more like this kind of map. Often, I think, we approach spiritual journeys as something like school- it's one size fits all and the goal for everyone is graduation. We move at the same pace, learn the same things, and receive the same diploma. But what if we approached it more like a mall map, where's there different destinations? At the mall, some want the food court, others want Sears or Macy's, and others want to find the play park. With our spiritual lives, we might simply want to meet other people, or explore foundational questions about the faith, or focus on a topic like marriage or parenting, or perhaps something more experiential like serving or missions. I think we make it pretty tough when we assume everyone is starting at Point A and that everyone wants to get to Point B and do all the same things along the way. But if we look at things more like a mall map, there's flexibility, freedom of choice, and the ability to move around when considering our own spiritual journies.

Reggie McNeal used a different but very helpful analogy when he compares spiritual development to joining a gym. When you join a gym, you have a specific goal in mind. It might require a group or maybe just a trainer. You might want to lose some weight or run a 5k. But the goals are different and unique and a good gym is set up to help you with your goal.

How might that look in the church?

Random Thoughts

Some random thoughts:

• I am doing terrible at fantasy football, thanks to Chris Johnson, Peyton Hillis and a team full of under-achievers. After winning championships in 2009 and 2010, the dynasty comes to an end.




• It's no secret that I love to read and I always thought that I'd prefer books over e-books, but now with the ability to read books on my phone thanks to the Kindle app, I'm hooked. Especially with the ability to 'bookmark' on the kindle. Brilliant. Not sure how I will footnote thoughts I like, however!




• If I am not careful, I could get hooked on this game!




• Interesting article on Halloween from the Christian recording artist Mandissa.




• How many animated movies can Hollywood make that are a) against humans taking over the environment b) against business or as in the case in many of them c) against both a and b? Seriously. I get it. After watching Cars 2, Rango, and seeing previews of the upcoming release Happy Feet 2 I get it. Humans are bad. Animals are good. And the environment is king. And if any human activity threatens animal activity or the kingdom of nature, then it is bad. Oh, and it will also make for a great movie, which will make the studios (already filthy rich) even richer. Ironic.

Counterfeit Gods

Recently read Tim Keller's book Counterfeit Gods. Very good stuff as much of what Keller writes is. Some takeaways:

• What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give. A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living (xvii-xviii).

• People who have never suffered in life have less empathy for others, little knowledge of their own shortcomings and limitations, no endurance in the face of hardship, and unrealistic expectations for life (15).

• Tithing is a minimum standard for Christian believers. We certainly wouldn’t want to be in a position of giving away less of our income than those who had so much less of an understanding of what God did to save them (62).

• The increasing political polarization and bitterness we see in US politics today is a sign that we have made political activism into a form of religion (100).

Good stuff indeed.

Thinking and Doing

Are you a thinker who does or a doer who thinks?

Both are important as is knowing the difference between the two.

Equally important is staying away from being a thinker who never does or being a doer who never thinks.

A Top With a Story

My boys have recently gotten into beyblades. My wife and I both think that they look like old school tops- you know, the toy you spin on the ground. But the boys love them. You battle with other players, there's an arena for them, and there's even a cartoon about them. All of this fuss over what is essentially a top.

Two thoughts- first, this is some pretty creative marketing from the people who make beyblade (and Pokemon, for that matter).

Second, and perhaps more important, is that Beyblade isn't just a top, but it is a top with a story. Yes, the marketing helps, but it is the story behind Beyblade that generates its popularity (and again, the same is true for Pokemon).

Our faith can either be like the top and just a top. You know, something fucntional, something useful, but not all that exciting. Or, our faith can be like a beyblade, which is still just a top, but with a story behind it, a story that we're apart of, a story we're helping to create. The choice is ours.

The Volunteer is Always Right

In retail, the customer is always right.

In information technology, the user is always right.

Perhaps in the non-profit world, we should consider the idea that the "volunteer is always right".
Obviously, there are exceptions to a customer or a volunteer always being right. A customer who buys something at Target and tries to return it at JCPenney shouldn't be right- though they might be in some stores. A volunteer who can find a substitute for something ought to try and find one. But when there's a problem between the organization and the volunteer, the default for fixing on the problem falls on the organization.

I called one of our Wednesday Night Service partners last week to tell them how many were planning to serve on our scheduled shift. For this opportunity, our numbers were low and we were barely going to be able to keep our commitment, but we were going to be able to keep it. I could tell the person working the phone for our partner that they were disappointed with our response. They told me they were planning for more people. I replied that we were sorry but weren't going to be able to have more people. They asked if I could find more. At this point, I'm getting a little frustrated that the partner isn't listening to me. They are hearing me- but they are not listening. I told them no- we had who was coming.

Fast forward to Wednesday Night where the partner calls my phone right before our group is scheduled to serve and asks if we had more coming! I am surprised (and more frustrated!) as apparently they had lined up another person to help. I call back and leave a message that I am sure sounds pretty frustrated and again say no, who is there is who is planning to help.

I am sure the partner was disappointed that we had lower numbers and weren't going to accomplish all they had hoped. As someone who occupies that role too, I get that. But, the key is to figure that out on the leader's end and not on the volunteer end. Volunteers are giving their extra time and resources- precious commodities today- and to try to guilt them into giving more in the short-term isn't a successful long-term strategy.

The Token God- Part 2

Continuing in 1 Samuel 5, the Philistines have routed the Israelites and have the ultimate spoil from war- the Ark of the Covenant! When they return home, they place it alongside one of their other gods. They wake the next morning and see their idol tipped over. They set it up and the same thing happens the next morning. They try again. The next morning, their god has lost its arms. This is bad news. Pretty soon, the town that has the ark in it experiences disease and death. They move it to a different town. Same result. Soon, Philistine towns are begging that the Ark stay away from their town. What the Philistines thought would be the ultimate treasure is becoming a national nightmare. They make plans to send the ark back to Israel along with guilt offerings.

How did this happen? For the Philistines, they thought they could just add the Ark into their collection of gods and deities. For them, it was just one more thing to add. They had their gods, and they know had the Israelite God. But for the Israelite God, it's all or nothing. God has no time to be on the same mantle as something else. God has no interest in competing with other gods for allegiance or loyalty. And again, even if you're not a follower of God, you still can't contain God.

We do this all the time, don't we? We place God alongside our other gods- money, success, power, beauty, security, family. We have a mantle full of other gods and think that we can simply add God to our collection. We attend church on Sunday- that's our God mantle. The rest of the week we devout to our money god, or our family god, or our success god. But again, our God doesn't want to compete with the other gods. And we can't compartmentalize this God either.

It's not that family isn't important. Or that work and money are bad things. But when they take god status in our lives, God doesn't want to compete. God wants all of us.

The Token God- Part 1

Interesting story from 1 Samuel 5. It's a dark time in Israel's history. The last few judges have been scoundrels. Eli, the chief priest, is a priest in title only and has lost control of his wayward sons who too are scoundrels. The Philistines are knocking on Israel's door for a fight. War is nothing new for Israel at this point in time. They've won most of the battles they've fought, but just for good measure, they send for the Ark of the Covenant. You know- a little extra holy magic from their god in case it is a tough fight or things take longer than expected. And the result is surprising for the Israelites but not surprising for those of us who have the benefit of reading the story- they get routed. Severe loss of life. And to add insult to injury, the Philistines take control of the Ark and bring it back with them. A dark, dark day for Israel.

And yet, how surprised could they have been? They had been living far apart from God. Their spiritual leaders were anything but spiritual leaders. They had a history of military success. They had once known God but now God was just a token for them- a symbol of things that gone well in the past but now had no meaning in day to day life. When times got tough with an army coming in, they quick proclaim faith in the token God, as they had done before, but a token God is powerless. They saw God- and the Ark that contained him- as a Genie they could run to when things got tough. But as soon as life settled down and prosperity returned, they put the genie back in the bottle and the ark back in the museum.

It goes without saying, but how often do I do that? How often do I call on God only when I need him? How often do I treat God as if he was a genie or Santa Claus- useful for when I am in need, but when good times return, there's no need anymore?

Weird Churches

Seth Godin has a new book out called We Are All Weird. While Godin is primarily a marketer, he dabbles with comments on religion every now and then. In this book, he writes:

When people in power tell other people what to do with their hobbies, their work, their passion, and their lives, we run the risk of enforcing the status quo by pretending we’re talking about morality when we’re actually using fear or corporate greed as a motivator. Hence the stress that so many organized religions face today. When the religion ceases to be about faith and hope and connection and love and positive change and begins to focus on compliance, this organizational embrace of the status quo runs straight into the trend toward the weird (84).

I preached a message last month that included how the modern era valued organizations over individuals and how today's era now values individuals over organizations. There's varying evidence to this theory, but Godin nails it here with his comments on religion and churches. If the goal is to bring people in and make them fill some role within the organization (and consequently adhere strictly to the organization's views on doctrine, programming, ministry philosophy, etc), that probably won't work in the long term. If, however, the goal is to coach individuals on matter of faith and provide communities and opportunities for them to practice and learn, that model could make it in this new era.

Insecurity Work

Found this great term from this book. The author writes:

"we spend too much time obsessing over real-time data. Whether you are checking your web site’s traffic, customer sentiment, or your bank account, these small actions don’t help you make ideas happen. They just help you feel safe. “Insecurity work” is stuff that you do that (1) has no intended outcome, (2) does not move the ball forward in any way, and (3) is quick enough that you can do it multiple times a day without realizing it- but nonetheless puts you at ease (159). "

I can be as guilty as anyone about doing this- checking email too frequently, checking bank accounts, checking survey results, etc. And it isn't that these items aren't important or necessary, it's that they don't need to be done multiple times throughout the day or some of them even once a day. Doing them makes us feel as if we've done something, but all we've done is prolong working on something that we should have been working on in the first place.

Just Do It

The word 'just' worked for Nike. Just do it. You know, run the race, play the sport, whatever.

But nowadays, we misuse the word 'just':

• "I'm 'just' a volunteer"- so my opinion doesn't matter, my time or energy isn't as valued, or I'm not as important. This is bologna.


• "I'm 'just' saying"- so I can now say whatever I want to say, regardless of my tone or content, because I am 'just' saying. This is dangerous.


• "I 'just' work here"- so while I get paid to be here, I can't really answer your question, provide you with meaningful service, or help you in any real positive way. This is way too common.


• "Just ___________"- fill in the blank. Just stop it. Just start working. Just stop complaining. Just get along. Just knock it off. It's as if the words behind those instructions aren't enough so we add the 'just' to signify we really mean what we're saying. Personal experience tells me that if I have to add 'just' to whatever I am about to say, I am already in trouble! This doesn't work.

Maybe we should just stop using the word just.

Change

It's been said that the only constant in life is change. Yes, that statement seems to be a contradiction, and yet everywhere I turn, I see change:

• My HyVee is totally remodeling and changing the whole store


• Facebook introduced some new changes the past couple of weeks with more in store


• Netflix recently decided to change by splitting its streaming service from the DVD by mail service

We all respond to change in different ways. A few of us like change and adopt to it early; marketers call this group early adopters. The biggest section of us- the middle or the normal- adopt after a service or product is mainstreamed. At the moment the early adopters are doing the new thing, the middle group is buying or getting used to the old thing. The last section- the laggards or the late adopters- almost fight tooth and nail against change. This group probably still has a VCR- that they bought last month!

It's interesting to notice people's response to change. Take HyVee- I've heard several east-side shoppers almost complain that they like the old store the way it was because they knew where stuff was. True, but the new store will have better organization and newer and better 'specialites' such as the deli, Starbucks, and pharmacy.

Or Facebook- whenever they roll out changes, my wall fills with posts of people griping. And yet Facebook carries on and we still use the service. In record numbers.

And when Netflix changed, there was downright anger. So much so, that they've actually reversed course.

That's the thing about change- it is such a common part of life. Yes, leaders need to do the best they can to communicate the change and lead well throughout the change. Failing to do so results in a Newflix incident. And yet, most of the time, the changes happen whether we like them or not. What matters is what we do with all of the change around us and how we lead with or through change in our own lives, be that at work, school, home, or church.

The Food Budget

I used to think a budget was only a good financial tool. We would know what money was coming in and then spend it on paper as Ramsey says. We knew which months were more expensive and which months less money was coming in and we'd budget accordingly. Early on we used credit cards to get us through those pinches but today we've gotten better at budgeting so we don't need the credit cards (though the pinches sometimes still come!). When the money ran out, it ran out.

Well, you'd think I'd translate that same thinking to my diet, but I didn't. I love food. And drink. And food and drink. And for years I didn't have to pay too much attention to what I ate or drink because it didn't matter. I don't mean that flipantly- it really didn't matter- I could pretty much eat and drink whatever I wanted and not pay too much attention and as long as I was moderately active, I didn't gain weight and felt pretty good.

Well, that's changed. Blame the kids, blame me being stuck in the middle of my 30s, blame whatever, but my lack of a budget caught up with me. Clothes not fitting ok, energy sapping a bit, you get the idea. So I realized that just like I can't spend whatever I want, I also can't eat whatever I want. Brilliant, hunh?!? I've begun a food budget with the help of an online tool. It tracks my calories, has access to almost everything I eat, counts my excercise, and measures my progress. Again, brilliant. Doing this has done a couple things:

1. Counting my calories make me conscious of how much food 'costs' me. For example, I love both sweets and pop, but can't do both if I want to drop a few lbs, so I've cut out pop (and almost every other beverage except water and black coffee) because it's too expensive.


2. Logging in each day keeps me accountable. Sure, I blew off of my birthday and a daywith the fam up in Fargo, but I was able to do that because I had been pretty conscious leading up to and after those events.

Interesting, but I would think that similar thinking would apply to other areas, whether money, food, spiritual life, etc.

Problems or opportunities?

In graduate school I managed an apartment complex. For those who know my lack of anything resembling handyman skills, this may sound like a tall tale, but it is true. I collected rent, advertised for openings, checked backgrounds, cleaned, and did some maintenance. My boss oversaw buildings and grounds for what was then Sioux Valley and everytime I'd come to him with a problem- a late rent payment, a vacant apartment, a police call for a domestic disturbance, or a bat in the apartment of Anne who was 90 and both blind and deaf, he'd take a break from chewing on his cigar (mind you, I am not making any of this up!), and say, "Brian, problems are just opportunities." At first, I was like any kid- annoyed and frustrated. But as time grew on, I saw what he meant. Some of the problems were my fault and so the problem was an opportunity to grow in an area. Some of the problems were the faults of others, and those were also opportunities to either get some experience with conflict or help the tenant realize that this perhaps wasn't the spot for them!

I was in some training last week and the trainer was doing a great job with the material. As he fielded questions from people who were envisioning some problems with the application of the training, he'd keep saying 'well, you have an opportunity . . . '.

I'm not close to being there, but I'd sure to love to be a 'opportunity' person and not a 'problem' person.

Chuck E Cheese and Problem Management

We have a birthday ritual for our kids- we go to Chuck E Cheese for supper on their actual birthday no matter what else we got going on. Now, Chuck E Cheese is to birthdays what Wal Mart is to me for grocery shopping. Both places try to compete on price, have ok products (but you can certainly do better at say Pizza Ranch's Fun Zone which has way better food or HyVee for meat and other products), and minimal service. Actually at both places, it's almost like you're an interruption as a customer. But you can't really complain, because why you are dropping some serious change, you're being fed and your kids get to play. At other places, the price you pay at Chuck E Cheese just gets you fed- the playing is extra. With 4 kids, we might as well go stay at a hotel for that money.

Things were different on our most recent visit- the staff was happy and helpful, the food was hot if not better, and Chuck E even came out and danced with all the kids- not just the ones who booked the birthday party! I thought, wow, this is good, this is better, until I saw the 'suits' were there. All of the positives I saw were because corporate was there! In fact, as we were eating, the manager- a kid who looks like he's 16- came up and asked how it was going. First time that's ever happened at Chuck E Cheese. And here's what he said- "Hi I'm the manager here and I just wanted to see if there's any problems?". What? How bad must it normally be for you to start out an inquiry with a customer that way?!? Instead of asking how it's going, how the food is, or what we're celebrating (because you see the cue of balloons and cake!), you ask if we're having any problems! Telling.

Judges

If the book of Judges was a movie, it'd easily get an "R" rating, or perhaps something worse. Seriously, when people say that the Bible is boring and outdated, just direct them to Judges. They'll have to come up with a new complaint. The book's theme is fairly straightforward- in those days, the people did what was right in their own eyes. One of the funnier- not lol funny, but more sad kind of funny- passages is at the end of the book. The people are wondering why God seems to no longer be with them. As the reader, it's obvious, because I am sure it has something to do with their prostitution, genocide, idolatry, rape, sex trafficking and outright disregard for anything that resembles civilized behavior, much less behavior worthy of people who are called out to follow Yahweh.

And yet, I wonder how often I engage a similar question from time to time in my own life. Where is God? Why does it feel like he left? Asking similar questions without first examining my own life is going to be a pretty fruitless exercise. Not that I'm guilty of murdering a whole city or cutting up a body and sending it to the 12 tribes (oh read it, it's in there), but maybe, just maybe the times I encounter a spiritual distance be the result of something in my life?

The Facebook Birthday

I had a birthday recently and it was great. Birthdays when you are an adult can be somewhat anti-climatic as getting older is no longer something you look forward to and there are still bills to pay and work to do. But alas, Facebook now allows adults to receive birthday greetings from their network of 'friends'- if you can count people you rarely hear from as friends- but that's a different matter. And hearing from people is great, especially on your birthday.

A couple years ago, when I first started getting greetings from facebook people, I would remember who sent me a birthday greeting and then make sure I sent one to that person. If someone didn't send me a greeting, I probably didn't send them one. Pretty simple . . . and also pretty selfish. I mean, it costs nothing for me, other than some time and keystrokes, to send a birthday greeting. And I think often times I live my life thinking that if I give, I ought to receive something. This too is a pretty selfish way to live life. If I keep living life this way, I might as well expect continual disappointment. But if I give with the expectation of not receiving something in return, but instead focus on the act of giving and being thankful that I can give something (even if it's as simple as a greeting), then there's much less disappointment and I still benefit from it. Which I guess is still somewhat selfish, but perhaps a better kind.

Coaching

I'm currently coaching my three sons' soccer teams. Yes, all three. Apparently when you sign up your kids for soccer, you can check a box that says "I'm already coaching another team" which prevents a situation such as mine from happening! But, all in all, it's been fun and if I had to choose between watching the game or being involved somehow, I like the opportunity to be involved.

My oldest son plays U9 and this is the most advanced form of soccer for our family yet. Soccer up until this age- and sometimes still with this age- resembles a bit of blob ball, where a blob of kids just pushes the ball up and down the field. Hard to coach and sometimes even harder to watch! But at the U9 level, it's on. We play on bigger fields, have goalies, have referees, and 25 minutes halves which makes for a 50 minute game. There's a host of soccer etiquette and rules that I've been breaking (such as not having my subs come to the halfline and myself going onto the field to coach which are both apparently no-nos!) but it's been a fun experience and one that's taught me some real life lessons:

• It helps to listen to the coach- I know, this one is a duh and a bit biased since I am the coach, but generally speaking, you're better off listening to me when I say something like "throw it to the sideline" (as opposed to in the middle so that their other team's Pele can jump in and score another goal!). Whether it's a mentor, a boss, a friend, or even a book or passage of scripture, we're better off when we listen to a coach.


• It helps to have a co-coach- my knowledge of soccer is pretty limited- every game it seems like I am learning something that I should or shouldn't be doing! My co-coach has a much better understanding of the game and helps to get the players where they need to be, who's going to be subbing in for who, how they should be passing as well as spacing, etc. I manage the game, call for the subs, and do a whole lot of yelling (I mean, encourgagement!). We work very well together and I think if you find yourself in a coaching role, having a co-coach is always a good thing.


• It helps to practice- games are fun, and even more fun when you win, but games also give you an opportunity to know what things aren't going well and to work on those things in practice. Some things the team needs to practice and some things individual players need to practice. Of course, all the practice in the world doesn't mean anything if you don't have a game to test the practice out on.

More Today We Are Rich

This book Today We Are Rich is excellent, just excellent. Much of it is admittingly self-help, positive thinking, rah-rah kind of stuff. But when it comes from a former Yahoo executive who worked with Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, it is louder. Some thoughts:

• You should be as careful about what you put into your mind as about what you put into your mouth. Your mind is a machine. When you ingest a piece of information, your mind goes to work, chewing on it, digesting it, and then converting it into a thought. When good stuff goes into your mind, good thoughts emerge. People who maintain purposeful diets of positive stimuli think healthy thoughts (49).

• I’ve never met any devil’s advocates with many good ideas. Usually they are compensating for their lack of creativity by being nitpicky. Their negativity isolates them over time, as idea people eventually shun them. They end up with a point of view that’s anti-change, anti-risk, anti-new (98).

• Almost any negative thought pattern can be broken with thoughts of gratitude. When you “think thanks”, you dial into what you have instead of what you lack. The effect is immediate—you feel positive (132).

• No matter how hard you try, there will be times when you give and give and never get thanked enough. As long as you hold on to the egotistical notion that you should receive gratitude in return for your charity, you are setting yourself up to move backwards in the development of your generosity (161).

A Golfing Observation

Somehow this summer I golfed (a sport I despise) more times (3) than I played tennis (a sport I cherish, 0). How did this happen?!? I am terrible at golf, just terrible. Ask anyone from my family, my wife's family, or my church family- they will enthusiastically concur that I am one of the worst golfers ever.

What's interesting about the game of golf is that it is the only sport I can think of where it is not only accepted, but sometimes even encouraged to give the people you're playing with (otherwise known as your opponent, the person you're trying to beat!) advice on how to play better. Now, to be fair, the people giving me advice are generally trying to help and it wouldn't be right for me to actually think that I am their opponent! Even with the advice, there's no way I will beat them so they are safe! But really, think about it- when I'm playing basketball, the person guarding me doesn't stop the game and say 'you know, you need to shoot more with your legs'. If I am playing tennis, the guy on the other side of the net doesn't come over and explain to me that the toss on my serve needs to be higher. Not sure how it came to be that offering other golfers advice was kosher, but alas it is.

And so help me, I will never have another summer where I 'play' more golf than tennis!

Today We Are Rich

From Tim Sanders and his newest book Today We Are Rich:

"Avoid gossip the way you would the flu. It's a socially acceptable form of pornography that is hurtful. Other people's misfortunes should never be a source of entertainment (56-57)."

Wow. And ouch. At the same time.

Get off the couch!

From Joshua 18:3- So Joshua said to the Israelites, "How long will you slack about going in and taking possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?".

Couple thoughts:

• The Israelites had already accomplished much including taking out Jericho, Canaan, and Judah. I am sure some had the thought that they had already done so much, why keep going so hard, or at least take a break?


• Some of the tribes hadn't yet claimed their land. The text is quiet on why but we can offer some ideas- lack of motivation, wanting Joshua to do it, etc. Whatever the reason, Joshua was tired of their complancency and told them to move.

As I read this, I am reminded that the temptation to coast is always there for us, to think we've done enough or accomplished enough. And there's the other temptation to perhaps let someone else do the work for us, to let the Joshuas is our lives do the heavy lifting for us. If we give in to either temptation, though, we can expect to get a rebuke similar to the one the Israelites got from Joshua.

Do the Work!

Finished reading Do the Work. It's more of a pamphlet then a book (though you pay a book's price!) but one memorable quote:

In our feel-good, social-safety-net, high esteem world, you and I have been brainwashed to believe that there is no such thing as evil, that human nature is perfectible, that everyone and everything can be made nice. We have been conditioned to imagine the darkness that we see in the world and feel in our hearts is only an illusion, which can be dispelled by the proper care, the proper love, the proper education, and the proper funding. It can’t (59).

I made a similar remark in my message this past Sunday in connection with Jesus' anger at Lazarus' tomb. While most focus on his weeping, and we did as well, we miss his anger at the effect that death has on those still living. Jesus' anger is the reality that death is the consequence of a broken relationship with God, and he's angry about it, angry that all is not right in the world. We too ought to be upset when we come across things thata aren't right in this world, and while we don't think of these things (whether it be a kid needing adoption or a backpack full of good food for the weekend) as evidence of evil in our world, we're kidding ourselves if we think they aren't.

Reveal Results

Four years ago this September, Hillcrest began the Reveal, a movement designed to help us answer the question 'if we were to stop being a church, would anyone miss us?'. We polled the church for ways that we could impact the community, saw several themes, and designed ways each of us could make an impact. We set some program goals (such as sponsoring 10 adoptions) and some annual goals (such as supplying Cleveland with 60 mentors; this goal restarts each year). We've done great with some of the goals (the backpack program for instance) while others have been more challenging (we had 20 mentors last year and while that was our best year, we're still 40 short). But when we look at how things have went over the lsat 4 years combined, the results are as follows:

• Sponsored 6 adoptions



• Mentored over 50 kids



• Provided over 180 kids with a reading buddy who helped them with reading for 15 minutes a week


• Sponsored 650 backpacks for under-resourced children who have little to eat on the weekend



• Opened a tutoring center where 11 middle school students last year received focused homework assistance and the ability to build meaningful relationships with caring adults



• Planted a farm in Southern Sudan

While we have work to within each of these goals, it is encouraging to see the work that's been done during the last four years.

Poor Economics

Just finished a book called Poor Economics. It was a pretty lengthy read but a book that goes to great detail to say that helping the world's 2 billion people who live on less than $2 a day raise their standard of living is a complex and difficult proposition.

For all of the supposed gains made in helping the world's poor- whether it be the Gates' foundation and their efforts in medical care or the success stories that microfinance operations have made in making small loans to entrepreneuers who seek a better life than what $2 a day can provide, there are still many efforts that need to be made.

The book's scope was to see which strategies work and which are overrated. It does a nice of job of identifying the various biases of the left (more governmental aid and involvement) and the right (less aid and more free market presence) while saying that both sides have some things that work but neither side has the complete answer. It argues that the world's poorest folks are the victims of some bad luck- corrupt governments, poor education, and disastrous climate and weather events- but that they also don't have the normal safety nets that those in richer countries do have- safety nets such as savings accounts (the cost of such an account prevents many of the poorest people from opening one) and insurance (some efforts have been made, but there's lots of kinks to be worked out).

The authors write "we are often inclined to see the world of the poor as a land of missed opportunities and to wonder why they don’t put these purchases on hold and invest in what would really make their lives better. The poor, on the other hand, may well be more skeptical about the supposed opportunities and the possibility of any radical change in their lives. They often behave as if they think that any change that is significant enough to be worth sacrificing for will simply take too long. This could explain why they focus on the here and now, on living their lives as pleasantly as possible, celebrating when occasion demands it (38)".

To back up the claim, the authors follow a young entreprenuer who wants to open a sewing company, but has to buy the equipment in order to do so. The authors reveal that if she saves 10-20% of her profits, it would still take over 20 years before she could buy the equipment. Some might say, well, she just needs to keep working at it. True, but if a crisis comes along- an illness, a famine, a death- the savings gets eaten up and the purchase of the equipment is delayed even further. And when one is making $2 or less a day, there's not much extra to go around.

I (Don't) Like Big Buts

Love this video that we showed in services this past Sunday.

And it's true- every one of us has a big but . . .

The S Word

School started for our oldest two today with T and the younger two heading back next week. I know for some parents this is the most wonderful time of the year, but not for me. For me, it is a sign that summer is surely ending. A sign that we can no longer swim at the pool until it closes and then think of what else we can do after that. A sign that school year routines and schedules take the place of trips to the lake or nights at the ballfield. And alas a sign that not only are our children getting older, but I am getting older, and who likes that?!?

Hillcrest Reading Buddies

School starts next week, so we posted some pictures of Hillcrest's Reading Buddies here. Reading buddies spend anywhere from 15 minutes to over an hour a week working with Cleveland readers who need some extra assistance. Interested in being a reading buddy? Leave a comment or let me know.

Back to School Lunch

While I really don't like the back to school time of year (summer is way too short up here!), I always enjoy the back to school lunch that Hillcrest sponsors for the staff and teachers at Cleveland Elementary. We've done this for the good folks at Cleveland for the past few years, and while I was bummed that I couldn't make this year's event, I love that our church does this; it is such a simple way to encourage and support a school and the good people who make it up.

The Daily Drucker

In addition to my devotional time, I've been reading The Daily Drucker as well- very good stuff.

A snipet from today's reading: "there is an old banker's rule of thumb according to which one assumes that bills will have to be paid sixty days earlier than expected and receivables will come in sixty days later".

In other words, while you're hoping for the best, make plans for the 'worst case' scenarios.

Powerhouse Progress Report

Hillcrest's Powerhouse Tutoring Center finished its first year in May and is looking forward to its second year when school resumes in a couple weeks. Hard to believe how fast time flies. When we submitted a grant to the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation we identified three goals:

1. 75% of the students will have less than 10 unexcused absences from school



2. 75% of the students will have a C or better grade for their English classes



3. 75% of the students will have a C or better grade for their Math classes

Our director, Jessi, recently compiled the results:

1. 91% of the students had less than 10 unexcused absences from school



2. 91% of the students finished with a C or better in their English classes



3. 100% of the students finished with a C or better in their Math classes

Couldn't be happier to the good work that Jessi and the volunteers did this past year!

We're also looking for volunteers for this next school year, so if you have free time on school days from 4-6 PM and like middle school students, let me know.

Should Have Gone to Goodwill

Just got back from vacation with Tarina's side where we had the privilege of meeting her brother's fiance, Karina. Here's an interesting conversation between her and my 8 year old Riley:

Riley: Where did you get your jeans- Goodwill?
Karina: No, Aeropostale.
Riley: Hmm. How much were they?
Karina: They were like $80.
Riley: Hmm. You know they have holes in them, right?
Karina: Yeah- they came that way.
Riley: They came that way? Then you should have gone to Goodwill.

Priceless!

What time is it?

Camp was a big part of my growing up years. I was a camper there. Counseled there. Led there. And one of the unique things about being at camp was forgetting what day it was. About the middle of a week whether as a camper or an adult, I had no idea what day it was and had lost most contact with the outside world (except for who won Wimbledon; I had my priorities) and it was this weird feeling. Today, with wifi, smart phones and TVs everywhere you go, it's even harder to get this feeling. We had the privilege to spend a few days at the lake over the 4th of July, and for a brief moment this feeling returned. There's no TV at the lake. No internet. Spotty cell coverage. And it's great, because halfway through our visit, we had lost track of what day it was. Didn't know what was happening in the news. Had no idea who was winning what. Just time with one another and thankfully, lots of time outside.

There's lots of stuff out there about keeping a Sabbath, taking a rest, making sure you don't work all seven days, etc. And I'm not the best example of keeping a weekly Sabbath, but for me, when I lose track of what day it is, I feel that's as close to Sabbath as I can get, and it's great.

Weird

Read a book called Weird recently- really a pretty good book. I think each generation has its own book or books that aims to provide solid insight on spiritual development. When I was in seminary and early on in ministry, Gordon MacDonald's Ordering Your Private World was such a book- one that I've read several times as the wisdom is so applicable. Weird is such a book, but written in more contemporary language and from a guy who's in the ministry now (whereas MacDonald is more or so out of day to day ministry). Rather than give you my review, though, I liked Meriah's (our new student ministries coordinator) take here.

This Sunday at Hillcrest

July is a month with 5 Sundays which means baptisms and communion for Hillcrest! There's only 4 such months each year so these are special times. We have 5 people taking the important step of baptism this Sunday! Several of the folks being baptized are adults, which doesn't mean there's something extra special about the baptism, but I think it's really neat when adults do make that decision because it is their decision, and theirs alone. Should be a special Sunday.

Anonymous Legalism

We recieved a letter this week from someone who drove by our church facility on a Sunday and didn't like something they saw. Their letter was a reprimand to us for 'violating the Sabbath'. They quoted scriptures, said they were disappointed with us, and urged us to set a better example because we are a church.

The letter, of course, was unsigned and didn't have a return address. Of course.

I'm ok with people having different opinions and strong convictions. I'm ok with people who not only feel the need to live out their opinions and strong convictions and also tell others about them. This person felt strong enough to write the letter, put it an envelope, address it and mail it (hopefully not on the Sabbath, however, for then she'd be violating what she was judging us for!). Good for her (how do I know it's a her- the handwriting- duh!). But to do all that anonymously? Seriously? I am sure that person feels that they've taken a stand or followed through on something, but to do it without signing it or addressing it lessens that stand. There's no opportunity for dialogue, to see things from one another's perspectives, or to ask her how we could be a better church for her and the neighborhood.

Just a legalistic stand without a name or a face . . .

Hillcrest, HyVee, and our Neighbors

This past Wednesday Hillcresters went through our neighborhood and delivered a card to our neighbors. Each card had a $10 HyVee gift card and an invitation to our 'drive-in' movie that we show on our parking lot (this year's film is 'Secretariat' and shows at 8:30 on Friday, August 5th). We've done this each summer for the past three years or so as a simple way to show that we love being in our neighborhood and that we care about our neighbors. Granted, a $10 HyVee card isn't going to buy too much, but it's something. There's no strings attached- we're not using the gift card as a bribe for people to come to Hillcrest (though we've been accused of that!). We're simply looking for ways that our church can be a blessing to people and especially to our neighbors. A church that our neighbors would miss if we weren't in the neighborhood.

Are poorer people happier?

Wednesday night I had the opportunity to serve with the Furniture Mission. Sioux Falls was towards the end of a brutal heat streak- highs in the 90s, lows in the upper 70s, and a lot of humidity (though I actually love the weather, but that's for a different post) so it was a hot night. Our first stop took us to an elderly woman who lived in a little house on N Cliff Ave. She had some help and it took us no time to unload her furniture, learn that she had recently been reunited with some grandchildren, and pray with her. Our next stop took us to some apartments on N Cleveland Ave where we delivering furniture to a family new to Sioux Falls from Nepal. There were six of them living in a 3rd story one bedroom apartment without the air running. It was stifling making that delivery and yet the whole family helped out and was having a good time with it. The apartment complex is home to several refugee families and kids were outside laughing, playing, and paying no attention to the sweltering conditions. After we finished this delivery, we were offered a glass of Sunny D and invited to sit and visit for a bit. So neat. It's humbling when folks who don't have a lot offer you something out of their gratitude. Very cool.

After this delivery, we set out for some of Sioux Falls' nicer neighborhoods to pick up donations. The families who donate furniture to the mission perform an invaluable service- without their donations, the family from Nepal isn't sleeping on a bed- so I'm not intending to rag on them, but the families who donated clearly had more stuff- nice homes, nicer cars, nicer toys, more food, etc- and yet they didn't seem as happy. One couple in particular was almost grumpy- maybe it was the heat, maybe it because we were running a little late- who knows, but I was struck again by the joy of those who didn't have as much stuff compared to the lack of joy from those who do have much stuff. I say again, because whether I've been to the poorer parts of Sioux Falls, Standing Rock, Los Angeles, or Mexico, I'm always struck by the fact that while I have much more than these folks, they seem to have more joy. So, who's the rich one?

Feeding the Masses

This past week Pastor Doug taught on the miracle of the feeding of 5,000. We looked at it as we continue our summer series on the book of John, but outside of the resurrection, it is the only miracle recorded in all 4 gospels. It is such a familiar story that we almost lose the magic and the mystery behind it. To consider that Jesus probably fed over 20,000 (most scholars estimate that it would have been over 20,000 when you account for the women and children) is incredible! And I think that our sophisticated and advanced mindset is to automatically discount a miracle such as this or explain it in some rational way (everyone must have shared their lunch; there weren't that many people, etc) and yet I wonder if we believe in the idea of miracles such as this happening today?

When I graduated high school my youth group joined several others on a life-changing mission trip to Monterrey, Mexico. There were several 'miracles' that happened on that trip including buses that had stopped just starting again, but the most memorable one was what we call the Coke miracle. After a day of ministry, one of our buses stopped at a roadside vendor to treat the bus to a Coke. The Cokes came in bottles and were cold- both a special treat for our group. The vendor, however, was a few cokes short and we soon realized that the whole group wouldn't get a Coke. Since we're on a mission trip, people begin giving up their Coke so that others could get one. While the leaders passed out the Cokes, they instructed us that we had to return the bottles to the vendor so that he could recycle them and save on some of his costs. When all the bottles had been returned, everyone had a Coke, even though the vendor and the leaders knew they were short for the whole bus! Again, the temptation is to try to explain this or discount it- maybe the vendor miscounted, maybe some on the bus had bottles they passed up, etc. But those on the bus call it a miracle- for what else do you call it?

Book Report: A Whole New Mind

I'm not sure how I came across this book, but the subtitle quickly concerned me: "Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future". One of the endorsements on the back of the book echoed this sentiment: "if it's likely that someone in China or India can do your work more cheaply than you can, or if a computer can do your work faster than you can, read this book."

The book's main idea is that our economy is shifting from being dominated by left-brainers (think accountants, lawyers, and computer programmers who predominantly use the brain's logical, left side) to those who more use the right side. The brain's right side is the creative side of our brain- it's where we make music, compose a story or a poem, and paint a picutre. This is greatly concerning to me because I'm no artist. I got a "C"in the only art class I ever had to take- way back in 8th grade. My glaring lack of skill was evident when I had sketched a can of Pepsi and peanut butter M&MS and had used the wrong color on the M&Ms. When my teacher pressed why I had used the color, I told her that when I had showed her the earlier sketch, that it looked good, so I kept going. Wrong color and all! To be fair, I probably got a better grade than I deserved, because I am not sure you could call my art even average! Just a couple weeks ago each of us had to sketch something at our staff meeting and those "C in Art class" fears came out- pretty sure I had the worst drawing of the group. And for the longest time, the best name I could come up with for our Powerhouse Tutoring Center was the "Whittier Neighborhood Tutoring Center". Wow. So creative! Glad we landed on Powerhouse!

So as I started the book, I was nervous that I wouldn't have a job in the next few years because of my left-sided dominance. What I did read, though, was much more hopeful, and more of a statement than in an economy of abundance (which the author characterizes as most of us having more than what we need) and Asia (which the author characterizes as the ability of Asian nations to now do much of our work cheaper), our work will need to take on an increasingly artistic flavor. While we can disagree over that sentiment, the author puts forth six senses that in his opinion will help both left brains and right brains. The six senses are design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. If I talked about all 6, well then, I might as well quote the whole book! But of the 6, story seems to always be an area that most of us, regardless of profession, can glean from. In church world, where we hear sermons each week and perhaps more than one a week, it's the stories that seem to resonate the most with us. The more connected a story is to a value or a key idea, the better. It's often been said that Jesus was more of a story-teller than a teacher, but the two roles really ought not be that different. Obviously, it's not all about stories. Obviously there are times (lots of times) where we need information. And explanation. And application.

But I bet that we're more likely to remember that information if it's packaged as a story, much like you're more likely to remember that I got a C in art class (and why!) than you are the main point of this book . . .

What to Read

I've been asked a couple times recentlly how I decide what I am going to read. While I confess I haven't put too much thought into it, alas, here's a post to answer the question(!):

• My favs- I have my favorite authors and generally read whatever they put out.




• Other's favs- I follow several blogs, and from time to stumble across reading lists such as this one. From that list, I might read 1-2 of those recommendations. I also come across books others are reading from their blogs- see a book show up enough times, it's probably worth checking out. And of course, word of mouth recommendations from family and friends make it to my reading list as well.


• Books- it's funny, but ocassionally the books I read recommend other books that I should read. So I might read one or two off that list. Now, there might be some conspiracy amongst all these various authors and publishers to artifically drive up book sales, but I've rarely been disappointed.


• New skills- in the last year or so I've read books on grantwriting, social media, and screenwriting. Now, I'm not looking at switiching careers, but I've found that there's much crossover from these books and the skills they describe and various parts of my work. And in my amazon wishlist is a book on how to better use Powerpoint- who can't use that, right?!?

Not sure how brilliantly insightful that is, but there you go!

Movie Reviews

It's been in the works for awhile now, but here's a review of some recent films we've seen. With our netflix account, you'd think we'd watch some more films, but alas the pace of life hasn't really bumped up our movie watching! Also, I've enlisted a rule that if a DVD that we've gotten from Netflix sits at our house for a week and we don't watch it, then it must not be worth watching (I am sure it could be that there were too many (worthwhile) things going on that week that trumped movies, but I consider this good stewardship!). Onto the reviews:

• True Grit- I not much into Westerns, but this was a good show. Loved the girl's performance in it and liked that it didn't end 'Hollywood'. We watched this during two different nights while at the lake as I fell asleep, so guess that's a negative!


• I Am Number Four- this fell victim to the one week rule. Sorry. So did 'Hereafter'.


• Gnomeo and Juliet- cute kid movie, but glad we didn't pay to see it in a theatre!


• Cars 2- did pay to see this in the theatre and it was so fun experiencing it with my almost 2 year old nephew and it being his first movie! Seeing it with Emmett trumped what I thought was a weak story and more of a money grab for Disney.


• Mater's Tall Tales- so good. We've watched this one several times. So good. Should have used this as Cars 2 and kept Cars 2 in the uber-secure 'Disney vault'.


• Soul Surfer- saw this with the youth back in April. I thought it was very good. Looking forward to it being on DVD.

We're talking about practice?!?

Riley's baseball season ended last night with a team meal at the Pizza Ranch. It was a great season- the kids got better and played well with each game, the coach had the right balance of patience (and knowing that this was a team of 8 year olds) but was also firm with them in teaching the fundamentals (run hard, don't watch the ball, and hit the cutoff), and while we didn't know many of the families at the start of the season, they were great families and it was fun to be with them throughout May and June.

What's interesting is that when the team started practicing in April, Riley was apprehensive about wanting to play baseball. He wasn't getting very many hits and the coach was conducting practice similar to game situations where you only get 6 pitches to make a hit and if you strike out, it counts as an out (side note- this was definitely the most intense season of any sport our kids have been apart of- there's a dad whose job was to keep the book so the kids knew who won and lost). Riley was pretty discouraged and didn't know if he wanted to continue with the whole baseball thing. I think kids and sports is a tricky thing. I am certainly not of the mindset that 'you can be anything you set your mind to' because I believe that God has hardwired us with certain talents, abilities, and passions and wants us to use those to serve him. Try as I might, I was never going to be a professional baseball player. And yet I think 8 is too young to think a certain sport isn't for you. So what did we do? We practiced. Well, first we bought some gear- a new bat, a bag, some balls, etc. There's nothing like some gear to make you feel more apart of the sport! But then we practiced. We practiced throwing, we practiced where to throw the ball, and we practiced hitting using the same real game scenarios of 6 pitches and strikeouts. And over the summer- Riley got better. He ended up only having one game where he didn't reach base and went 3 for 3 on his last game. I was so proud of him- not just for the results, but for seeing that practice makes a difference. As the coach was handing out the trophies last night, he said a little something about each kid and for Riley, he noticed that he had been practicing and was working to get better and that it made a difference.

I'm convinced that practice matters in many areas of life- not just sports. But one area we seem to fail to carry the idea of practice into is our spiritual lives. We get that we have to read to improve at our jobs, but fail to think that we need to read to become closer to Jesus. We get that an 8 year old needs to practice hitting a baseball to get better, but fail to think that we need to serve others to in fact get better at serving others (and also understand what types of serving things we're wired for). We get that kids should practice their instrument to do better at it, but fail to spend time in prayer with God while still wondering why God seems so far away.

New Staff

Hillcrest welcomed several new staff to our office this week:

• Jennifer Simons is our new adminsitrative assitant, and after going months without an administrative assistant, it's awesome having her on board! Jennifer is an excellent addition to the office at Hillcrest.


• Jesse VanderWeide is our worship ministries coordinator. He's been interning within worship ministries the last year and is ready to coordinate the ministry. He's a very talented musician with the heart of a teacher and is such a valuable addition to the team. Jesse blogs here.


• Meriah VanderWeide is our student ministries coordinator. She's grown up in Hillcrest and has been volunteering with student ministries the last couple years. Her fun personality and attention to students and what's going on in their lives will add much to our student ministry and church.

It's so exciting to have each of these folks on the team and dedicated to serving Jesus and the people of Hillcrest.

You've got spam

Last summer Tarina helped her brother move out to Spokane, Washington. They wanted to break up their drive out there so I booked them a hotel in Billings, Montana using Hotwire. I used Hotwire in exactly the way they aadvertised, putting their search engines to work to find me a deep discount on a room not being used in Billings, Montana. The room was great, the price was good, and everyone was happy. Except for me, as now every Wednesday, I receive an email from Hotwire informing me of more great hotel deals in Billings! Every Wednesday! Why Wednesday, I don't know, but each week Hotwire sends me a message to try and get me to renew my previous travel experience in Billings. And each week I get just a bit more upset with the tatic. As if someone in the marketing department actually had the great idea that Brian Stroh would be desperately looking for Billings hotel options on Wednesday evenings since he stayed there one time and that if we just send him a simple and free (it costs Hotwire no money to do this) message, maybe, just maybe he will come back for more! The rationale goes that even if it doesn't work, at least we got our brand out there and it didn't cost us anything. Except that it does.

And it's not just Hotwire. I get daily emails from Christian publishers that we've bought curriculum from, daily emails from a Christian blogger who's more interested in selling stuff than communicating ideas, and even a weekly email from someone in our denomination reminding us to check out their blog (sidenote- if you have to remind me to read you, shouldn't that tell you something?!?). I know you can opt out of these emails after you make purchases online, as I always do, and it doesn't work. I know you can set it up so that these emails go directly to your junk mail, but somehow some miss this filter as if the folks at Outlook and the folks at mass marketing departments are in cahoots with one another to allow me to think I can control my junk email but in fact it's just an illusion!

The truth of my rant is this- if I want something from you, I will find you. If I want your discount hotel service, discount book service, Christian curriculum, or to read your blog, I will find you. I have ways of doing this. I can follow you, I can check in with you regularly, and I can choose to purchase from you again the next time I'm passing through Billings. But you, online company, know that I'm unlikely to return to Billings anytime soon, so stop reminding me you're here, because the more you remind me you're here, the more I want to forget that you're there.

Onward

Just finished Howard Schultz's book Onward. Schultz is the founder of Starbucks, built the coffee company into the American fabric of life, stepped away for awhile, and then returned as the CEO when the company began to falter in 2007 and 2008. I know for some folks Starbucks is akin to WalMart- a too big company that pushes independent and smaller mom and pop coffee shops out of business and off of main street. And perhaps there is some truth to this, but after reading this book, the sketical reader will at the minimum come away with a different take on the company. For instance, they certainly aren't WalMart when it comes to what they offer for benefits, including extending health care plans to part time employees. Their efforts to treat coffee farmers fairly and pay them a living wage is commendable as well.

Those who are leaders or in positions of influence, however, probably have the most to gain from reading this book. You get an inside look at how Schultz and his team brought Starbucks back from the brink (at one time, the stock price hovered around $7 and the team feared a takeover; as of this post it is $35) in terms of vision, personnel moves, strategic partnerships as well as partnerships they passed on, new products they brought to market, some they didn't and some products that they took off of the market.

The part of the book that resonated the most with me was the part where Schultz explains his very controversial decision to not disclose what the company's current 'comps' were compared to previous quarters. For Starbucks and other retailers, your comps are what tell you how well (or how bad) you are doing compared to the same point last year (or any other period in time). Starbucks. As Strabucks underwent its transformation, the comps too a beating. As Schultz writes:

But there was an even more important reason that I chose to eliminate comps from our quarterly reporting. They were a dangerous enemy in the battle to transform the company. We’d had almost 200 straight months of positive comps, unheard of momentum in retail. And as we grew at a faster and faster clip during 2006 and 2007, maintaining that positive comp growth history drove poor business decisions that veered us away from our core (90).

When you're in a turnaround situation- or a situation where you're resetting your mission or fighting for your survival- looking at your comps is tempting, but may alter your decision making processes and lure you into making decisions that you think will raise the comps but not be the right decisions.

Links

Some links to pass on:

• Pastor Doug had a recent article in the Argus Leader here.


• I blogged last summer about some of the different places I got to eat, and my hometown ran a piece on one of my favorites here.


• If you're interested in what's been happening at Hillcrest lately, our Facebook page is a great place to check out.

Shoulda. Woulda. Coulda.

A few weeks ago I took our student minstry on a day trip to Valley Fair Amusement Park in Shakopee, MN. School had just gotten out, we hadn't done a trip in awhile, and the students (and me!) were excited to head out and get their adrenaline pumping with the Power Tower, Wild Thing, and other crazy rides. All in all, 33 people came with us spead across 3 vehicles. Super fun, except for that one unpredictable variable- the weather. Our trip was on a Friday, and by a few days before I knew the weather was going to be a factor. Each day closer to the trip the chance for rain jumped up by 10%. The day of the trip, the chance for rain was 70%. And it was raining (wouldn't that make it 100%?!?). I had already had a backup plan of heading to the Mall of America and a Waterpark and had communicated the plan, but the hope obvioulsy was to do Valley Fair. We drove through rain most of the way to Valley Fair and when we got to Valley Fair, it was raining pretty good. Valley Fair was still open, so it was decision time. Go to Valley Fair or go with Plan B. We went with Plan B and headed to the Mall of America. The students were able to do the rides there as well as play at the Waterpark of America- two fun things! As I go through a rather simple thing like this trip, I'm reminded of a few lessons:

• Have a backup plan- the trip would have been a disaster without a backup plan. The students wouldn't have had their swim gear, we would have lost time with processing what to do, and we would have upset (and righly so) students! Most situations in life require a backup plan, even if you never use it.


• Solicit input- I asked the other leaders with me to get feedback from the students. Most didn't care and some (again, rightly so!) really wanted to go to Valley Fair- even in the rain. While I didn't take a vote, getting input was important.


• Don't count on others to help you out- what I mean is I really hoped that Valley Fair would close because that would have made my decision so much easier! But they didn't, and I had to make a decision.


• Prepare to be second guessed- I am not perfect, and I am certainly not a meterologist, but after making the call to head to the Mall of America, some were disappointed (again, rightly so!). They had wanted to go to Valley Fair. And when the sun peaked out for an hour so in the early afternooon, it looked like I made the wrong call and I was second guessing myself . . . until it started pouring an hour later!


• Move ahead with the decsion- once we made the move to the Mall, it doesn't do any good wonder about what Valley Fair would have been like. Or how much we missed not going to Valley Fair, but rather to be positive with the new plan- in this case, to enjoy the new things that we were going to do (And to their credit, the students and staff did and made it a wonderful day and a memorable trip). That doesn't mean that we don't revisit decisions to learn what we can learn, but sometimes we spend so much time on the shouldas and wouldas and couldas.

Book Report: Evil Plans

Been off the blog for awhile now. Work's been busy and we squeezed out some vacation to Omaha and to the lake. Looking forward to some more frequent posting.

I read Evil Plans awhile ago- a book that came recommended from following Seth Godin's blog. A couple takeaways:

• It seems almost unbelievable now, but our parents and grandparents spent huge amounts of their free, “nonwork” time watching television. Passive, non-interactive media consumption will soon be mostly a thing of the past . . . a historical accident of the old factory-worker age meeting the modern mass-media age. Of course it wouldn’t last forever. We humans as a species were designed to compete, not to sit around on our asses. We’re designed to create, not consume (28).

I have tendencies to just veg in front of the TV as much as anyone else, especially with a sporting event. And now with Newflix, I'm watching more movies. For some reason I always resonate with people who pick on TV as a time sucker and it's amazing how much more I can do if I am not worried about missing what's on TV.

• Human beings need to tell stories. Historically, it’s the quickest way we have for transmitting useful information to other members of our species. Stories are essential survival tools. How does telling your story become a survival tool for other people? (46).

For those looking for a job, how does your story differ from the other applicants?

For a business or nonprofit, how is your story different than someone else's? Your story ought to convince me to spend my money, my charitable donations, my free time with your organization.

For a church, how is our story different then another church (or perhaps more importantly, different then the other options people have to spend their free time). I'm not suggesting that Hillcrest has a different story of the gospel then another church- but rather, what's different about our church that people can resonate with?