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Share a Story of Life Change

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I have a friend who has become a Christ-follower in recent years. He’s a marketplace executive. If I mentioned his name, there’s a chance you’d be familiar with him. He’s also a writer.

Now, he’s working on a new book project. Rather than writing about leadership and marketing strategies, he’s going to be sharing his life change story. However, he’s hoping to share the stories of other people as well. Specifically, he’s looking for the stories of men in these categories that have committed their lives to Jesus after pursuing a previous career/lifestyle as:

The Soldier
The Executive (mark hughes)
The Addict
The Fireman
The Doctor
The Athlete
The Alcoholic (tim donnelly)
The Prisoner
The Hit Man
The Rebel (bill lamorey)
  • The Soldier
  • The Executive
  • The Addict
  • The Fireman
  • The Doctor
  • The Athlete
  • The Alcoholic
  • The Prisoner
  • The Hit Man
  • The Rebel

My friend has already found stories for several of these categories, but he’s still looking for stories of life change from a fireman, doctor, athlete and prisoner. That’s where I need your help.

If you know of someone who you think might have a story to share (whether they’re well known or not), either leave a comment on this post or email me.

Don’t worry. I’ll let you know more details when the book is available. Thanks for your help.

Church Unique

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church uniqueOn my flight down to Miami, I wrapped up the book Church Unique by Will Mancini. Will is a new friend of mine. We share a similar passion to help churches embrace their unique potential.

Among other things the book outlines a process for helping churches identify their unique mission, values, strategy and measures that contribute to a unique vision. Here are some of Will’s thoughts that grabbed my attention:

  • Congregations have been “gravitating toward adopting programs and mind-sets that work elsewhere. Leaders today have not clearly discerned the uniqueness of their church.”
  • The “ministry treadmill” is “set in motion when the busyness of ministry creates a progressively irreversible hurriedness in the leader’s life.”
  • “It is not uncommon that the most accomplished people in the room are the least receptive to new learning”
  • “When I walk into a church, it usually takes five minutes to identify the last conference the staff attended.”
  • “The assumption is that more information will produce clearer direction, but just the opposite is true.”
  • “Too many goals threaten to make any one goal unclear.”
  • Larry Osborne of North Coach Church: “People like it small, but leaders like it big.”
  • On Max Lucado and Chuck Swindoll, “Both of these men have not only worked hard to keep vision central; they have sacrificed easy attendance by removing their face from the church brand.”
  • “If people are emotionally attached to the method, they will resist change. If they are emotionally connected to the core value, however, they will not only embrace change but might insist on it.”
  • “In the battle of souls, the intellect will go only so far; the heart must be captivated by a love beyond reason.”
  • Jesus “leaves us with a picture that egotism and arrogance are blemishes on the face of a kingdom leader.”
  • “The greater the mission, the more simply it can be stated.”
  • “Unfortunately, many churches think that being more effective is simply a matter of trying harder, being more obedient, or praying more.”
  • “Programs don’t attract people; people attract people.”
  • “If your church is more than four hundred people, I would caution against hiring a person without the demonstrated spiritual gift of leadership.”
  • “If we propose to advance the gospel in and through the culture, we can’t afford to see the cultural use of communication as an enemy but as an ally.”
  • “The church gathered is actually a time of preparation for ‘being the church’ outside of its walls.”

Will is a former pastor and the founder of Auxano, a consulting group that works with churches and ministries.

Narcissistic Leaders

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narcissistic leadersI took the test. Then Emily took the test for me. We both arrived at the same results. I’m a narcissistic leader.

The test was included in the book Narcissistic Leaders by Michael Maccoby. It’s an older book. It was originally published in 2003, but it may be one of the most helpful leadership books I’ve read.

In the book, Maccoby highlights four patterns of personality:

  • Erotic – They are driven by loving and being loved.
  • Obsessive – They live by the rules, and the rules are set by some higher authority (i.e. father figure, strict conscience, tradition, etc.)
  • Marketing – They sense what the market wants and needs and then conform to it.
  • Narcissist – They impress us as a personality, who disrupts the status quo and brings about change.

Each of these personality patterns can either be productive or disruptive. And, there are combination of types (I’m narcissistic-marketing), but one usually is dominant over the other. Maccoby suggests that Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Henry Ford and Abraham Lincoln are/were productive narcissists.

I’ll let you pick up the book to get the rest of the story. But, here are a handful of highlights from my reading:

  • “Narcissists do no react to the external world so much as they try to create it… [Their] vision always starts with a rejection of the status quo.”
  • “A true narcissist is the kind of person who (1) doesn’t listen to anyone else when he believes in doing something and (2) has a precise vision of how things should be.”
  • Narcissism “is not an illness or a description of bad behavior, but a personality type, and like any personality, it can be productive or unproductive, creative or destructive, healthy or sick, generous or selfish.”
  • Obsessives “become mired in details and rules…; they are more concerned with doing things in the right way than doing the right things; they turn into control freaks.”
  • “Without enthusiasm and passion, even the most skillful, focused, reasoned, and talented person can just go through the motions of work, passively accepting tasks as if they were assignments.”
  • “The ones who do actually change our world, provide meaning not only for themselves but also for the people who work for them, who believe in them, who follow them.”
  • “Narcissists can’t stand situations that contain them and their ideas, and have the guts to go out on their own, risking security and failure in favor of their vision.”
  • “Because of their paranoid tendencies, narcissists may try to maintain total control over an organization, making it impossible for their best people to make any kind of contribution or further the narcissist’s vision.”
  • Regarding working for a narcissist: “If you have a great idea and can’t get his ear, you have to frame it in a way that shows him how he will benefit personally. Also, if you are trying to stop him from an action that could damage the company, you have to show how it will damage him personally.”

Now, let’s be honest. I’m guessing I’m not the only leader in the church today who has these tendencies. Either you do as well, or you probably know someone who does. If that’s true, this book may be for you. I’ve only scratched the surface of the contents of this book.

In the mean time, I need to figure out how to disrupt the status quo a little bit more.

LifeWay Wins the Prize!

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killing cockroachesDuring our date last night, Abby and I stopped by the local LifeWay store to browse books. Look what Abby found. There was a whole stack of Killing Cockroaches.

With that, LifeWay wins the “You’re a Really Cool Bookstore Award” for carrying a sufficient quantity of books so that potential Killing Cockroaches owners don’t have to walk away disappointed.

And, with that, I’m also naming Thom Rainer the first recipient of the “You’re a Really Cool CEO Award” for making it all possible. Thanks Thom!

(By the way, Thom, has there been any sign of Ed Stetzer at the LifeWay offices yet? Any confirmation that he actually works for you? I find it odd that Ed never mentions you when we talk. Very odd…)

This is Your Brain on Joy

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this is your brain on joyI just wrapped up the book This is Your Brain on Joy by Earl Henslin. It’s my first book that I’ve reviewed as part of the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers program. I’m breaking the rules on this review, so this will also probably be my last review in the program.

Honestly, the worst part of the book is the cover. It took me a while to get past all the flowers and the depression and anxiety I experienced thinking I was reading a woman’s book. Once I got started, though, I quickly learned that the book is for everyone…including people like me who have a tendency to wrestle with depression and anxiety.

Henslin’s goal in the book is to help us take steps towards brain health so we can experience joy in our lives. The best part of the book, though, is that Henslin is a Christ-follower yet he doesn’t over-spiritualize our brain issues. (We all have them by the way.) Yes, some of how we are raised impacts our joy. Yes, sin in our lives can impact our joy. But, our brain health, which is also impacted be those two things, also impacts our joy.

Henslin uses the latest research in brain science and brain imaging to help us understand how we can experience joy and happiness. What you thought was a spiritual challenge – anger, depression, mood swings, anxiety, addictions – may also be the result of a sick brain that cannot comprehend a good and loving God.

Here are some of the highlights of the book that grabbed my attention:

  • “Only God knows how much of our wrongdoing is the result of pure rebellion or evil intent and how much is caused by brain imbalances.”
  • “Tragically, too often in religious circles we’ve been trying to pray away or spiritualize a brain problem—assuming (however well-intentioned) that we or someone else has a sin problem. Or a character flaw. Or a root of bitterness. Or, worse, a demon.”
  • “There really isn’t such a thing as a normal brain.”
  • “All our brains are uniquely wired. Some of our wiring gifts us with a basic emotional set point that includes mostly thoughts and feelings of happiness and peace and basic sanity. Sadly, however, some of us are wired to experience more anxiety, anger, or depression.”
  • “Doctors, scientists, and researchers have been so impressed by how prayer changes brain and body chemistry for the better that many hospitals are incorporating and encouraging prayer for their patients as an adjunct to traditional healing therapies.”
  • “It can now be proven that human beings literally change their own brain makeup and that this process continues (as long as you continue to learn and grow) until the day you die.”
  • “Life itself was meant to be our original natural high.”
  • “Surrounding yourself with positive people who believe in and champion your dreams is vital to bouncing back from sorrow or stress into joy.”
  • “Human connection studies show a greater rise in pure happiness than when you are involved, in some way, in voluntarily helping someone else.”
  • “The happiest people tend to give more money to charity. It didn’t matter how much they earned—across the board low- and high-income families who gave a part of their money to help someone else were much happier.”
  • “People who have more activity in the right half of their brains have less control over negativity and tend to walk on the pessimistic side of life’s street. Therefore, they are often introverts who are more paranoid, get depressed more easily, and find that happiness often eludes them.”
  • “The practice of forgiveness has been shown to reduce anger, hurt, depression, and stress, and leads to greater feelings of hope, peace, compassion, and self-confidence.”
  • “The Scriptures speak of ‘taking every thought captive’ (2 Cor. 2:5 NASB) and ‘the renewing of your mind’ (Rom. 12:2). One way to do this is to exchange our worries for God’s reassurances.”
  • “We cannot always believe our thoughts, for our thoughts often lie to us when our chemistry is off balance.”
  • “The famous preacher Charles Spurgeon struggled so severely with depression that he was forced to be absent from his pulpit for two to three months a year.”
  • “If life were perfect, it wouldn’t be life; it would be heaven.”
  • “Scientists have discovered that when we are actively blessing others or saying thanks to God for his many gifts to our lives, the neuron path to worry and fear is literally blocked. You can’t be grateful and anxious at the same time.”

This was a fascinating book. It gave me a whole new perspective on why people (including me) act the way they act and think the way they think. You would really benefit from checking it out. God created our brains. Unfortunately, since we are human, they aren’t perfect.

5 Questions with Geoff Surratt

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10 Stupid ThingsGeoff Surratt is the Pastor of Ministries at Seacoast Church, a multi-site church based in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. That makes Seacoast my second favorite multi-site church based in South Carolina. Geoff and the entire Surratt clan are a fantastic group of folks who are changing the way churches do church. Though Geoff has experienced many successes in ministry, he’s also made some mistakes. Here’s a brief interview where we discuss some of his more “stupid” mistakes.

TONY: People may not know that Seacoast was a pioneer for multi-site ministry. Would you be willing to share a little of that story?

GEOFF: Seacoast never intended to be a multi-site church. In 2001 we had grown to about 3,000 attenders and had run out of space and service times, so we made plans to build a larger auditorium. We ran into a major roadblock, however, when our local town council denied us permission to build.

Seemingly out of options we heard about an experiment that Willow Creek and a couple of other churches around the country were trying with multiple locations  utilizing video teaching. We didn’t think it would work for us in South Carolina (a state not known for being on the cutting edge), but we were out of options. We rented a storefront about ¼ mile from our original location and opened our first “offsite campus” on Easter Sunday, 2002. Much to our surprise it not only worked, but many people actually preferred the intimacy of a smaller congregation combined with the resources of a mega-church. Seven years later over 10,000 people each weekend attend Seacoast’s 13 campuses.

TONY: In honor of your new book, what’s one “stupid thing” churches do when initiating a multi-site strategy?

GEOFF: The biggest mistake churches make when considering a multi-site strategy is to attempt to launch before the church is ready to multiply. In The Multi-site Church Revolution, a book I wrote with Greg Ligon and Dr. Warren Bird, we identify three major questions a church must answer before going multi-site:

  1. How healthy is your church? If your church is not growing and is not healthy you should not export your disease.
  2. What is the driving impetus behind your desire to go multi-site? Some churches are addressing crowding issues, some are reaching communities that do not have a life-giving church, some are reaching into a new culture or demographic. A really poor impetus, however, is to keep up with other churches that are going multi-site. Going multi-site without a compelling reason is like trying to have a baby before getting pregnant.
  3. Are the key leaders behind the decision? Some churches have attempted going multi-site without having the senior leaders fully onboard with very poor results. While you will never get 100% buy in, if the senior leader is not fully invested it is not time to open a new campus.

TONY: How long did it take you to come up with 10 stupid things to write about in your new book?

GEOFF: Church is in my genes. My mom played the church organ on the night I was born and she was back on the organ bench the next Sunday morning. My grandfather was a pastor, my father was a pastor, my brothers are pastors, and my sister is married to a pastor. I won’t go into all of the cousins, uncles, and assorted other relatives that pastor or have pastored somewhere in America. Let me just say if I don’t have a relative already pastoring in your community I’m sure one will be coming soon. My family would start our own cult, but we can’t agree on who gets to be the leader.

The point is that church is in my blood. I have worked for or pastored a church since I was twenty years old and somewhere along the way I have committed every stupid mistake in the book. In addition to my own experience I have talked to hundreds of pastors across the country including the ten prominent pastors featured in the book. So in one way it took me 47 years to come up with the 10 stupid things I wrote about.

TONY: Is one of those stupid things more stupid than the others?

GEOFF: When I led a small church in Huffman, Texas, I was the pastor, the bookkeeper, the Sunday School superintendent, the worship director, the administrative assistant, the groundskeeper, the maintenance man, the janitor and the preacher. As I look back on my time at Church on the Lake, I can’t help but wonder what I was thinking. We had some great people in the church that would have done a much better job than I did at most of these jobs, but I seldom took the time to develop them or give them the freedom to make the job their own. As I’ve talked to pastors around the country I’ve discovered that I’m not alone. Trying to do all (or most) of the work themselves is the number one stupid thing pastors and leaders do that inhibits their church from growing.

TONY: Should we read anything into the fact that my boss, Perry Noble, is the first person that you interviewed for your book on this particular topic?

GEOFF: Perry was incredibly generous to contribute to the book. What you guys are doing in at NewSpring is incredible and an inspiration to pastors in smaller (and larger) communities around the country. I was very fortunate to be able to draw on the wisdom of leaders like Perry, Craig Groeschel, Mark Batterson, my brother Greg Surratt and others to provide insight in how to overcome costly ministry mistakes. My role in writing was to illustrate stupid mistakes from my own experience and then draw on the wisdom of others on how to recover. My mom always said that everyone is good for something even if it’s to be a bad example.

Geoff’s new book, Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing, releases May 1 but you can pre-order your copy today.

Less Clutter. Less Noise.

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img00082Look what arrived in the mail today! It’s my very own autographed copy of Less Clutter. Less Noise.by Kem Meyer.

Here are four reasons why this book makes me smile:

  1. I’m really proud of Kem. Not only because she’s written this book, but because she’s shaping how we communicate the Gospel more clearly in churches throughout the country.
  2. I’ve watched Kem live out and lead through all the principles she writes about. She doesn’t want you to change your message, but she will challenge you to deliver it differently.
  3. Most churches are about more clutter and more noise especially when it comes to communications. I know churches of all shapes and sizes are going to benefit from this book.
  4. It reminds me that Kem has my old snowblower. When I left Indiana for South Carolina, I walked my snowblower down the street to Kem’s house. Now I have less clutter and less noise in my garage.

What if I told you there’s a way to get more people to hear and respond to your message, and you can do it by spending less money? What if it created more time for you to focus on ministry? What if it made life easier for you and your team?

I know you. I’ve seen your church. I’ve seen your life. You need Less Clutter. Less Noise.

5 Questions with Dino Rizzo

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servolutionEarlier this week, I caught up with Dino Rizzo, the senior pastor of Healing Place Church. Healing Place is a multi-site church based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dino and his church have a rich history of serving people. The impact of that effort is touching lives around the world.

TONY: Give us a taste of the Healing Place Church story.

DINO: My wife DeLynn and I started the church in 1993 with the purpose of being a healing place for a hurting world. Louisiana has more than our share of poor and hurting people, and we just felt like God wanted us to do what we could to show them His love by serving them.  Now 16 years later, God has used the people of HPC to serve in ways we never imagined and a lot of people are going to be in Heaven because of it. That’s what really matters–that God is glorified and people are putting their hope in Jesus.

TONY: Your new book is titled Servolution. What exactly is a “servolution”?

DINO: Servolution is a revolution through serving.  It is not just an event; it is a culture. It means seeing the world from a new perspective.  No longer waking up and thinking, “How can I grow my church today?” or “How can I improve my career today?”  But rather, the first thought in our hearts every morning is, “How can I serve the people in my life today?  How can I reach out and care for those who I live next door to and work in the same office with?” It is actively pursuing the lost, the forgotten, and the poor to show them a God who is passionately in love with them.  We want to unite together to share God’s love through simple acts of kindness all for the glory of God.

TONY: Do you think there’s a connection between serving others and evangelism? If so, how do we fuel that?

DINO: Absolutely.  Serving others is what Jesus did.  It’s how he connected with people.  We have found that when people are hungry they have a hard time listening.  But when you meet their needs–whether that’s a free meal, a free bottle of water, a yard clean-up, or a rose on Valentine’s Day–they want to know what you’ve got to say.  They want to know what kind of love cares enough to give.  I like to call it the Gospel in jeans.  It isn’t enough to just preach sermons and pray for people. Sometimes you’ve just gotta get out and work hard.

It’s important to remember that you don’t always get to be the one to see the direct fruit of the serving you do.  But when you do, it is a great reminder–like just a couple weeks ago we had an outreach where we gave out Tootsie Pops at LSU.  A student got the candy with a note about a college service we were having that night.  He came to the meeting, heard about a men’s conference we were hosting, and ended up giving his life to Christ at the Men’s Conference.  That opportunity was created all because he was handed a free Tootsie pop.  It was never about the Tootsie Pop, but was always about the opportunity.

TONY: What is the “7 Days of Servolution” event, and how does it connect with the message of your book?

DINO: 7 Days of Servolution was birthed out of our desire for churches and ministries to be united for the cause of Christ and reach out with Jesus-style ministry.  We don’t believe that serving should something to be saved for just one week each year, but it can be a great catalyst week for churches to infuse serving into their DNA. It is simply churches serving their local communities in some way during the week leading up to Easter (April 3-9).  There are over 220 churches currently signed up, just indicating that they’re in–serving their community, sharing ideas, partnering with other churches and organizations in their area to make a difference.

It’s crazy to see some of the ideas that are coming out of this.  There are great churches all over the world with some great ideas to serve their communities and that’s what the book is about, really.  It’s about serving others, about partnering with others along the way, about the heart Jesus has for the poor and hurting, the lost and forgotten, wherever they are, whatever it takes.  We want to partner together because we believe that together we can do more than we ever could alone.

TONY: Finally, I heard you’re a Tigers fan. Is that true? (Because I’m a Tigers fan too.)

DINO: I am a Tiger fan (the LSU form of Tiger that is, not some orange wanna-be tiger). However, when it comes to basketball I’m all ACC, specifically the North Carolina Tar Heels. So while I see where you’re trying to lead me–down some Clemson path–I was born in Myrtle Beach and I know better.  :-)  I will concede that Clemson is my second favorite Tiger team but that’s all you’ll get.

Even thought Dino doesn’t cheer for the right team, he’s still a good guy. I hope you’ll learn more about 7 Days of Servolution and check out Dino’s new book.

Mad Church Disease

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mad church diseaseI recently finished up the Kindle version of Anne Jackson’s new book, Mad Church Disease. First of all, let me reiterate that I love reading and taking notes using the Kindle. Completely changes how I engage a book.

Secondly, this book in particular is one of those books that every person on staff in a ministry should read. If you aren’t currently facing the “disease” of which Anne writes, you probably will. Here are some of the highlights from my reading:

  • “I had allowed spending time with God to be replaced by spending time doing things for God.”
  • “The fear of letting people down, especially in spiritual matters, can often cause us to feel obligated or pressured into meeting unrealistic expectations, or worse, spending more time doing things for God instead of being what God wants us to be.”
  • “If the leader is exhausted, then the people following that leader will feel exhausted.” –Bill Hybels
  • “There are a lot of Christ-followers who haven’t taken the time to figure out what their holy discontent is, and so they’re doing a gradual slide into apathy and complacency—and that is unconscionable in a broken and lost world.” –Bill Hybels
  • “My experience is that it’s really easy to trash-talk churches or methods that aren’t what we think they should be.”
  • “There are no perfect churches to serve in, no perfect pastors to work for, and no perfect environments.”
  • “I could have prayed to be healed from depression, but if I hadn’t taken the necessary steps, I would have never come out of it.”
  • “An unguarded strength can become your greatest weakness.” –Wayne Cordeiro
  • “You are responsible both for the choices you’ve made in life and for seeking God’s plan for your healing.”
  • “You should design your ministry around your family values.” –Craig Groeschel
  • “One of the most important words in your healing—’NO!’ You may feel guilty for saying it. People may get angry at you for saying it. But you must say it!”
  • “The leaders who were the healthiest were the ones who never disrespected the people who hurt them.”
  • “We believe lies that tell us that our worth is in our productivity.”
  • “We cannot be dependent on ourselves and on God at the same time. When we consider the practice of rest unnecessary, we will also inevitably lose sight of the necessity of God.”

Aside from the great insights, Anne is obviously a gifted writer. I think you will enjoy and be challenged by this book.

Tribes

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tribesLast week I wrapped up Seth Godin’s most recent book called Tribes. I loved it. It’s a small, powerful book about leadership. People don’t normally think of marketers as being leaders, but Seth makes a strong case for the need for leaders to build tribes to accomplish a vision.

Here are some of the highlights from my reading:

  • “The real power of tribes has nothing to do with the Internet and everything to do with people. You don’t need a keyboard to lead…you only need the desire to make something happen.”
  • “Heretics are the new leaders. The ones who challenge the status quo, who get out in front of their tribes, who create movements.”
  • “For the first time ever, everyone in an organization—not just the boss—is expected to lead.”
  • “Managers make widgets. Leaders make change.”
  • “Marketing is the act of telling stories about the things we make—stories that sell and stories that spread.”
  • “Marketing used to be about advertising, and advertising is expensive. Today, marketing is about engaging with the tribe and delivering products and services with stories that spread.”
  • “People yearn for change, they relish being part of a movement, and they talk about things that are remarkable, not boring.”
  • “Leaders make a ruckus.”
  • “There’s a difference between telling people what to do and inciting a movement. The movement happens when people talk to one another, when ideas spread within the community, and most of all, when peer support leads people to do what they always knew was the right thing.”
  • “Ideas that spread, win. Boring ideas don’t spread. Boring organizations don’t grow.”
  • “Fear of criticism is a powerful deterrent because the criticism doesn’t actually have to occur for the fear to set in.”
  • “Great leaders don’t try to please everyone. Great leaders don’t water down their message in order to make the tribe a bit bigger.”
  • “When you fall in love with the system, you lose the ability to grow.”
  • “When you hire amazing people and give them freedom, they do amazing stuff.”
  • “The religion gets in the way of the faith. Static gets in the way of motion. Rules get in the way of principle.”
  • “The safer you play your plans for the future, the riskier it actually is.”
  • “The organizations that need innovation the most are the ones that do the most to stop it from happening.”
  • “Growth doesn’t come from persuading the most loyal members of other tribes to join you. They will be the last to come around. Instead, you’ll find more fertile ground among seekers, among people who desire the feeling they get when they’re part of a vibrant, growing tribe, but who are still looking for that feeling.”
  • “The largest enemy of change and leadership isn’t a ‘no.’ It’s a ‘not yet.’ ‘Not yet’ is the safest, easiest way to forestall change.”
  • “If it’s about your mission, about spreading the faith, about seeing something happen, not only do you not care about credit, you actually want other people to take credit.”

Like all of Seth’s book, this is a quick, easy read, but it’s packed with rich insight. It’s one of those books you should engage with your team.

For those who have already read the book, how did it impact you and your leadership?

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