matt's journal

Powerful message about men, leaders and church

2010-09-02T12:52:58Z

the vision at sea

2010-08-29T11:57:13Z

They’re out there on waves of sea?

They’re no different than you or me

Except they have no hope

Trying desperately to cope

With the perilous tides of despair

while many simply stop and stare.

They have no hope beyond death’s door

They’re the ones that we’re created for.

The storm erupts, the desperate age

Doomed to die in selfish rage

The Captain beacons us to come

We hear the cry but choose to run

Run to ease, comfort, distraction

To seek our selfish satisfaction

Will you heed the call?

Or build a wall

Will you stare at this universal tragedy

Or rescue them eternally.

politicians should take a course on active listening

2010-08-27T03:49:10Z

gut check

2010-08-25T21:00:33Z

before the journey into a new reality
before staring at death's finality
ask yourself if you are willing to walk
(step by step)
into the place God beckons you
Let his voice wreck you
Don't expect
to elect yourself
and erect a dream
And reject the labor
Instead, expect...
Expect the passion of hard decisions and tough days
Which will lead to endless praise of the One who joins you
This is His story and for His glory.

The Perfect Storm

2010-08-18T18:28:36Z

life has a rhythm

2010-08-13T22:08:05Z

The follow is my sermon intro for this Sunday it will be read/performed with a bongo player! I've never done anything like this and will probably not be wearing a dye-died t-shirt and I hope I won't hear people snap their fingers in approval after it's over.

Life has a rhythm

(Drums Start)

It’s an unpredictable series of declarations

Of our lives

From exposition

To Rising Action

Conflict

Climactic scenes

Resolution and denumaunte

(Silence)

It has a rhythm but you can’t always hear that sound of the drum

(Drums)

Sometimes you create your own rhythm

Other times the rhythm creates you

It creates movement and color

It connects us

with each other

It connects us with God.

Life is a holy rhythmic festival of faith

Even those without faith

Hear the beating

Of life and wonder

At night’s desperation

When there is no sound

No sleep

No up or down

We all ask

“Is there more?”

(Silence)

It started with a death.

John the Baptist

His head on a platter

The one who prepared the way.

The one Jesus knew as a child

For a moment the beating stopped

And Jesus went to a solitary place

A place to connect

A place to weep

A place to question

The lonely place

(Drums start again)

But the people saw him

And the tempo increased

He saw them coming

He felt their struggle

Broken people

His disciples heard the rhythm of desperation

The word spread

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

The rhythm of healing

The rhythm of teaching

The rhythm of worship

And then rhythm of desperation.

But the rhythm collided with practicality.

(Drums Stop)

We are out here in the middle of nowhere!

The people are hungry! There’s not a fish stand for miles! Jesus what are we going to do! Somebody close in prayer! And tell them to go away!

(Drums start again)

Jesus spoke

Matter-of-factly

Jesus spoke

From a different perspective.

The disciples worried

The disciples spoke

From their inadequacy

Jesus spoke

From his sufficiency

He said “You give them something to eat”

(Silence)

Wait a second. Us? You want us to give them something to eat? I’m a firm believer in delegation but you don’t understand we don’t have what it takes to feed this many people.

He said it again! “You give them something to eat.”

We only have five loaves and two fish.

I can use what you have.

He gave thanks and broke the bread

(Drums start)

First slowly

Then surprisingly

The rhythm

Of giving

The rhythm of a whole lot from very little

The rhythm of provision

But not just provision

Abundance

And after this Jesus sent the disciples on a boat to go ahead of him

And Jesus went to pray alone

(Silence)

He knew the rhythm of the divine and the rhythm of rest, the rhythm of connection

It’s a slower rhythm but a rhythm still the same

(Drums start)

As the disciples jumped

Into a boat

Things started slowly

The rhythm of paddles caressing the glassy surface of the water.

But the sky darkened,

The night fell

The waves rose.

3 AM

Weary from the dance

Of crashing waves

And bailing water

And screaming fits

And fearful souls

A figure came

They thought it was a ghost.

And amazingly

They realized it was Jesus

Just passing by the boat.

(Silence)

In the original Greek it doesn’t say he stopped

He just casually walks on water.

This was a new rhythm of reality.

And suddenly in the middle of the deep darkness of night

And in the middle of wide-eyed amazement and confusion

Jesus said Take courage. It’s me! Don’t be afraid!

Fast Drums- Loud

At that moment everything in Peter commanded him to shout to Jesus

Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.

Jesus cried out. OK Come on out.

All the sudden things just stopped

(Drums Stop)

Peter looked at the water.

Looked back at his travelling companions.

Looked at Jesus

He gripped the side of the boat as if his life depended upon it.

Did I really say what I thought I said?

I’ve been a fisherman all my life.

I know what happens to people when they leave the boat.

Am I crazy?

I saw the fish.

Jesus did it.

I saw the bread.

Jesus did it.

I also heard about John and things didn’t turn out so well for him.

I know what the waves are like.

It’s the middle of the night

The conditions are far from perfect for swimming much less walking… on water.

What am I thinking?

This is crazy

Why did I even open my mouth?

But he said come.

(Drums begin slowly)

One foot

I’m actually doing it.

Two feet.

There’s no stopping now.

Three steps.

Lord, could you please say peace be still?

Fourth step- the wind.

And then

Lord save me.

(Silence)

Jesus plucked him from the water.

Jesus smiled, “Peter where’d your faith go?

And they climbed in the boat. And they worshipped Him for who he was the Amazing God that breaks the rules of physics. The rules he created when God said, Let there be light.

He was and is the God of wonders. A God who invites us all to get out of the boat.

End

After sermon

And the rhythm continues

Life is filled with uncertainties

And the waves are overwhelming

The wind howls today just as it did in Jesus day.

When a car hits a tree and the sirens wail

When you see the culture destroy children

Denying that there is a God

When leaders get sick

When leaders are nowhere to be found.

He’s calling out to us

Get out of the boat

This perfect storm is God sent- even in all its complexities.

The rhythm goes forward

Pressing

Bidding

Daring

For you to risk

For you to be an active participant rather than a feeble spectator.

But to hear the rhythm

We have to slow down

And really listen

To let go of the rail

To let go of the fear

And allow his challenge to actually, incredibly surprisingly calm us

So that we

Can be

Completely

Desperately

Abandoned

To Him

Daniel Pink: Three main motivator for teams

2010-08-06T18:27:57Z

Autonomy
Mastery
Purpose

Management is an 18th century technology. Management is a tool of compliance. We are motivated by autonomy over various dimensions of their work.

If you get out of peoples way you get results.
Gmail was not an official project.
Google news was notable official project.

In your organization, try a FedEx day. Get an idea there overnight.

Time
task
technique

Exercise: when people in the organization say we instead of they, there is progress.

What all of this is about is change. One person can't change an organization. One person can change themselves.

Every great business, romance and organization begins with a conversation.

Jeff Manion: Land in Between

2010-08-06T17:46:52Z

In “the land between” we use the words “for now” like “for now I’m living with my parents.
You can find the land between on a map… the Sinai Peninsula, the land between Egypt and the Promised Land of Canaan.
The Jewish people were in the desert.
How did they eat? God provided manna, which means “what is it?”
They began to crave other food and began to complain. Numbers 11:4
You think nothing grows in the desert? It’s fertile ground… for complaints.
Given the right set of circumstances I would be right there with them (complaining.)
Moses was not immune to complaining. Numbers 11:11-14
“God, if this is how you’re going to treat me, put me to death” -Moses
This is too heavy. I can’t carry it anymore. Whose voice do you hear here? The voice of the woman who after years if illness can’t get a good diagnosis. The parent whose kids are rebelling. The pastor whose trying to hold a church together.
When you throw yourself into spiritual leadership and you will have moments where you come to the end of yourself.
When I started into ministry I was prepared for days of disappointment, but I wasn’t prepared for years of disappointment. I wasn’t prepared for years of being a disappointment.
God told Moses to get 70 leaders and God would place the spirit He gave to Moses and put it on them as well so Moses wouldn’t have to bear the burden himself.
The land between is fertile ground for God’s provision.
Sometimes God provides a job, and sometimes he provides contentment to do without. Sometimes he provides the strength to send out one more resume or make 5 more phone calls.
God loves to provide.
Another famous melt-down in scripture – Elijah. He prayed and asked God to die. He fell asleep & when he woke there was a jar of water and bread baking over coals.
I love this story because I was expecting a lecture and instead God made him lunch.
What if God is good? What if He provides?
God said, I have heard your wailing and will provide you with meat, and you will eat meat until it comes out of your nostrils and you loath it. Numbers 11:18-20
Moses asked how are we going to have food for a month. God answered “are my arms too short?” Are you questioning my competence or my love for you.
The land between is also fertile ground for discipline.
God sent the quail. While they were still eating it, God sent a plague and people died.
Great dinner-time story for your kids.
Discipline is inflicting pain for redemptive purposes.
We are naive to think we are exempt from God’s discipline.
God is telling us, “I want you to trust me.”
The Jewish people were an unruly mob of ex-slaves who have been indoctrinated with idolatry for generations. They were not ready for the promised land. God wanted them to learn to trust him in the desert.
The land between is fertile ground for transformation.
We say “time heals all wounds” but it doesn’t. Some people just get more and more bitter over time.
You don’t have to ask for complaints. Complaints arrive as an uninvited guest.
Complaint doesn’t like to be evicted.
You deter complaint’s return by inviting trust to take its place.
Trust evicts complaint. They are incompatible roommates.

Terri Kelly: Leadership Summit

2010-08-06T17:44:05Z

CEO gore technologies

What were the founders of Gore trying to do?
Fundamental values lead to your success.
Foster an environment of collaboration.
Personal relationships that formed while doing special projects, wanted to create an entire company that functions that way.
Organize around the power of small teams.

Everyone understands it’s everyone’s job to make everyone successful.
People are much more vested in their own outcome and the success of the organization.
What do you mean by “on demand hierarchy?”
Decisions are made based on who is most knowledgeable

"the practices must be adaptable."

How do you protect culture? Do some behavioral interviewing!

Make the culture visible within the organization everyday.

Don't drill holes in the ship below the waterline.

You are only a leader if people want to follow you. You have to continue to create followership. They don't get there by position! They get there through having people follow them.

The culture that's put on the wall needs to be lived out.

The culture needs to change. The energy must stay the same.

Andy Stanley: tensions

2010-08-05T23:25:17Z

Myth: if you are a great leader there won't be problems.

Every single day you will have pressure and tension and it will never go away.

Every organization has problems that shouldn't be solved and tedious that shouldn't be resolved.

How do you manage home and ministry. You can't solve it, you must manage it.

What are the specifics that should be solve and what should be managed. Systems or flexibility.

Solving the tension of attracting unchurched and shepherding believers.

All organizations have these types of tensions.

Excellence vs financial responsibility.
Theology vs application

If you solve that tension you Hinder progress
Three questions
Does this problem keep emerging?
Are their mature advocates on both sides of the issue?
Every single church should wrestle with being safe for unbeliever and maturing believers? This tension should never go away!

Family and work tension.

Your role as a leader is to learn to leverage this.

A. Identify tensions
B. Create terminology
C. Inform your core.
D. Continually give value to both sides.
E. Don't weigh in too heavily on your personal bias. Understand the upside of the opposite side and the downside of your side. (example: environment vs content) as long as it's win/lose, leaders wil want to win
F. Don't allow strong the strong personality to win the day. I need passionate people who will champion their side but mature people with levity and grace. Passionate and mature...

G. When it comes to this, think less of balance and more of rhythm. Fairness ended in the garden of Eden. There are times we need to be about systems and other times we need flexibility.

If you will identify the tensions, they will become a part of your story