Failure or a Stepping Stone?
Have you failed lately? That’s kind of a shocking question. No one I know sets out to fail. It’s not in anyone’s business or ministry plan. But it happens. So, then what?
Fred Smith told of a young man he had known who was a success story in the making. He was named Outstanding Young Man by a state business group. And his career took off like a rocket. But then he hit a brick wall. A major plan failed, he had to file for bankruptcy, and found himself dejected and sitting in Smith’s office. Fred Smith was a wise mentor to many in business and in ministry. He listened to the man tell of this terrible situation and what it meant to his career, and to him personally. Fred Smith let him talk. When he finished, Smith gave him words of both wisdom and encouragement. He said:
“Only your plans have failed; you have not.”
Has there been a project or venture you have tried that was not met with success? How did you feel? How long did it take you to get over it? For many of us who have walked that path, it is a hard thing to endure. We feel our reputation has been stained. If other people were affected, we wonder what they think of us. And we are sometimes afraid to step back up and try again...because we might fail again. Honest thoughts...but negative ones.
If you ask almost anyone to name the inventor of the light bulb, they will quickly say Thomas Edison. Yet Edison had hundreds of failures along the way. Someone once asked the inventor about all his failures. His response was both classic and instructional:
“I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”
Fred Smith felt we can look at our failures as pitons. These are the spikes driven into a crack in the rock that a climber uses to secure his rope. The piton becomes a way forward, a way up, and is necessary for a climber to be successful. Often our failures become stepping stones, or pitons, to success. Necessary experiences that can propel us toward our goal...our calling.
John Maxwell puts it this way:
“When you’re a leader, failure is your friend. In leadership, it’s not a question of if you fail, it’s a question of when—and how you respond.”
The Apostle Paul had a godly perspective on failure. His Lord spoke to his heart and told him:
“My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT
And the Psalmist had a more personal and even higher perspective on failure:
My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.
Psalm 73:26 NLT
Have you failed lately? How have you handled it? What have you learned from it? And have you looked at your failure in a spiritual light? We may fail...humanly speaking...but God is our strength and in Him, we have the ultimate success.
God’s best,
At the Top of Your Game
Adapted from a previous Monday MEMO
John Paciorek holds an unusual record in major league baseball. He got three hits in three at-bats in his only major league game. In the record book, Paciorek hit one thousand. Statistically, batting 1.000 is 100 percent, perfect. If a player could maintain that...or even something close to that...we could call them excellent, and today they would get paid multiple millions of dollars. But the proof doesn’t come in doing something right once...or even three times. The proof of excellence is measured over time.
Most of us can recall a time with a sport or an activity when we got lucky and performed well. But as time went on, we weren’t able to sustain that same level of greatness. Excellence over time is not easy.
The website Vocabulary.com says this about excellence:
Excellence means greatness—the very best. Achieving excellence is never easy to do. Excellence is a quality that people really appreciate, because it's so hard to find. Excellence is the quality of excelling, of being truly the best at something.
The key word there is being truly best. We can accidentally hit the bullseye. We can happen to know the particular questions to a quiz. But how do we achieve excellence...greatness...again and again?
By the way, the desire and the striving for consistent excellence is not a new thing. The Greek philosopher Aristotle had some words of wisdom for those seeking to achieve at a high level:
Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives—choice, not chance, determines your destiny.
Hard work doesn’t always produce excellence. But an attitude that doesn’t accept poor work will move you in the right direction. Here are some thoughts for you to ponder and apply:
- Set a high standard and keep working toward it in key areas of your work and life.
- Check your work. How does it measure up to your standard? If it misses the mark, what can you do to bring it up to your standard?
- If you are consistently missing your standard of excellence, what is holding you back? Time? Knowledge of the needed skills? Lack of clear direction? Work to change those things and try again.
- Be willing to go the extra mile to make your project excellent.
- Remember that you are not working for man’s approval but in service to the Lord, who provided an excellent sacrifice for your salvation.
Our motivation for excellence is not for better pay, better position, or anything that is simply the world’s standard. We have a much higher calling as we serve the Lord. Paul’s words...his call to excellence...to the Christ-followers at Colossae instruct us today:
Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
Colossians 1:10 NLT
The former president of IBM, Thomas J. Watson, issued this challenge:
If you want to achieve excellence, you can get there today. As of this second, quit doing less-than-excellent work.
A final thought from Aristotle:
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
Make striving for excellence a habit with you. And do your work as unto the Lord.
God’s best,
Words you may not know
Growing up in the southern part of the United States...Texas, to be specific...I heard and used words that may not be in general use globally. Part of the richness of our various heritages. Here are some examples:
Slather – it means to smear something on you or something else. Usage: Slather this cream on your face and by morning you will look ten years younger!
Tump – to tip or turn over something. Usage (usually heard from my mom or dad): Don’t you tump that bucket of water in here, young man!
Fixin’ – not to be confused with “fixing” something. It is not about fixing something or someone. It is about anticipating something. Usage: I’m fixin’ to go to the store. Y’all need anything?
There is a word I have been hearing a lot these days. Revival. What has transpired on the campus of Asbury University in Kentucky has rightly been called a revival. But that isn’t what I thought the word meant growing up. We had revival meetings...some lasting two weeks...that were all about getting the lost to church and seeing them ask Jesus to be their Lord. That’s a good thing, but it wasn’t revival. You see, you can’t RE-vive something that has never been “vived.” Those were evangelistic meetings we mistakenly called revivals.
To be clear, we need both kinds of meetings. It starts with a conviction of our own sin before God. Then, our heartfelt repentance and confession of that sin. Followed by our turning from the path of sin to a path of righteousness. Revival.
Out of that should come a sense of evangelism that drives us to share the hope and joy we have in Christ with those around us on that pathway of sin. Without our own hearts being revived, evangelism is an exercise, an external activity not driven by our hearts.
I’ve been through multiple conferences and seminars on how to share my faith in Jesus with others. I don’t remember one that began with true revival. What I learned was good. The various methods have been helpful. But it is a rote activity if not driven by a heart in tune with and led by the Holy Spirit.
The Psalmist cried out to God:
Come back, we beg you, O God of Heaven’s Armies.
Look down from heaven and see our plight.
Then we will never abandon you again.
Revive us so we can call on your name once more.
Psalm 80:14,18 NLT
The prophet Habakkuk had a similar impassioned plea to the Lord:
I have heard all about you, Lord.
I am filled with awe by your amazing works.
In this time of our deep need,
help us again as you did in years gone by.
And in your anger,
remember your mercy.
Habakkuk 3:2 NLT
And, of course, we are moved and propelled toward a revival of our own hearts with these words of Scripture:
...if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT
Words matter. But the condition of our heart matters more. What will the Lord do with the outpouring of confession, repentance, and pure worship borne from a heart committed to Him? I pray we see it in our lifetime...and may it be very soon!
God’s best,
Who stands fast?
A lifelong learner. That’s what I try to be. And I have so much to learn! Sometimes I feel that the smartphone I carry around with me is secretly laughing at me! That phone and other ever-changing technologies compel me to be that lifelong learner, whether I want to or not. I know I can’t learn everything, but my life can be greatly enriched and inspired as I gain knowledge and, hopefully, some wisdom.
One of my privileges is to work with media leaders and faithful Christ-followers in over 40 countries. And each person in each country and culture enriches my life. In fact, many are my heroes...and I learn much from being with them.
So many of those we serve through MEDIAlliance... and you may be in this group... serve in hard places, facing government challenges and cultural pushback for their work in Christian media. Yet you stand fast. You are teaching many of us what it means to stay committed to the cause of Christ even in the face of adversity.
German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one who stood his ground against great odds...and it ultimately cost Bonhoeffer his life. Prior to his death, this Christian leader...who stood strong in the midst of overwhelming moral compromise in his land...wrote this:
“Who stands fast? Only the man whose final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, or his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all this when he is called to obedient and responsible action in faith and in exclusive allegiance to God—the responsible man, who tries to make his whole life an answer to the question and call of God. Where are these responsible people?”
A good question. Where are these responsible people?
Yes, Bonhoeffer’s stand on his allegiance to Christ resulted in his tragic death. But Dietrich Bonhoeffer understood that God changes tribulation to glory. He believed just as the Apostle Paul did, who told the Christ-followers in Colossae:
We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.
Colossians 1:11 MSG
Strength that endures the unendurable...and spills over into joy. That is quite a challenge...and quite a calling. Thank you who serve so faithfully for teaching me about commitment. May my lifelong learning surpass just the technical or the interesting things of life. May it focus more on learning how to serve our Lord Jesus, proclaiming His Name and His hope to a lost and hopeless world, and do it with great joy. Our example is Jesus...
...the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
Hebrews 12:2 NLT
Throughout this entire year, may the Lord give us new vision, new insight, new resolve, and new commitment to serve the One who endured the cross so that we might have hope and life eternal with Him. And may our Heavenly Father count each of us among those who stand fast!
God’s best,
To Do...or not To Do?
I came across an article recently that has me trying something new. At least new to me. It’s called timeboxing. The article was in the Harvard Business Review (HBR), and it was about becoming more productive. I’m all for being more productive, aren’t you?
Timeboxing is a simple time management technique that involves allotting a fixed, maximum unit of time for an activity in advance, and then completing the activity within that time frame. More importantly, it is taking your To Do list and building it out on your calendar. That long (and growing) list can be intimidating, and it often doesn’t relate to how long a job should take. Timeboxing can solve that, and has several other benefits, too.
The idea is to take your normal list of things to accomplish and assign them a place and time frame on your calendar. If you know a writing project will take an hour, you look at your weekly calendar and with the deadline in mind, find an appropriate place to block out for time to do the job. Simple.
Yes, it can get more complex, and there are apps, like Sunsama that can help you deal with multi-layered projects. For most of us, though, it is enough to control our time...our day... and get the job done in a timely way. I’m just getting started in using timeboxing, but I like it already.
The HBR article lists several advantages of timeboxing. Among them is the visual picture of your day or week, and the tasks you need to accomplish. If you share your calendar with others on your team, they also can see what you are working on, and they can see the time that is blocked out and (hopefully) not interrupt you at those times. HBR also points out that timeboxing gives you a comprehensive record of what you have done. One of the most important advantages is you will feel more in control and more content with what you are accomplishing. And, yes, you will be more productive.
So... how to get started? An article on timeboxing at Forbes.com lists these steps:
- Choose a system or app that will help you.
- Define the tasks that need to get done.
- Block the time on the calendar.
- Check the calendar to be sure you have the relevant tasks properly blocked with an adequate amount of time.
- Work at following your calendar. Trust your initial planning, then evaluate as you go. You are learning a new technique, and it will be a process.
As I was thinking through this (and seeking to stay within the time I set out on my calendar) I thought of Jesus' teaching about constructing a building.
...who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you.
Luke 14: 28-29 NLT
How can you count the cost if you don’t measure it and plan for it?
Yes...Jesus was talking about discipleship here. A far more important application of this truth. But think about this. If your important things are being done in a timely way and you are less stressed over a long To Do list, don’t you think you can be a more effective disciple of Christ?
I’m working on this. I would love to hear what you have discovered if you toss out the To Do list and begin to timebox. And I would love to hear how the Lord is allowing you to be a better ambassador for Christ and His Gospel as a result.
God’s best,
How’s your vision?
Confession time. I’m not really big on organizational vision statements. So many I have read seem somewhat clinical. “We exist to...” fill in the blank. I’m not saying they are unimportant. But sitting in a room for half a day and coming up with a vision statement isn’t the solution to an organization's focus needs. It is part of the process, for sure.
What is a vision statement? I gleaned a bit from some church and ministry leaders. Ken Shaffer says it is “a one-sentence statement describing the clear and inspirational long-term desired change, resulting from an organization or program’s work.” Evan Doyle adds “every church and religious organization needs to communicate what it stands for and where it sees itself in the future.”
So, how do you get to that one-sentence statement that accurately tells others what you, as the leader, see in the future? Our friend and leadership expert Steve Gutzler has some suggestions to get you started. He says leaders can ask these questions of themselves:
- How would I like to change the world?
- What is my dream about this work, this ministry?
- What is my burning passion?
- What drives you to do your very best?
That might bring you to a short vision statement, like one church I know:
Reach people, build lives.
Or it might be a bit longer, like that of Southwest Airlines:
To be the world's most loved, most efficient, and most profitable airline.
One company that helps folks craft their vision statement gives these steps.
- They should be short – a maximum of two sentences.
- They need to be specific to your organization or ministry and should describe a unique outcome that only you can provide.
- Use present tense.
- Keep it simple enough for people both inside and outside your organization to understand.
- It should be ambitious enough to be exciting but not too ambitious that it seems unachievable.
- Vision needs to align with the organization’s core values you want your people to exhibit as they perform their work.
So... here’s my caution. Leaders are clever, creative creatures. And most feel the pressure to “cast a vision” for the ministry or organization. But how do we get to that vision?
Dr. Henry Blackaby says it MUST come from God, not just thought up by the leader and staff in a conference room. He says what is needed is revelation. Blackaby says:
There is a significant difference between revelation and vision. Vision is something people produce; revelation is something people receive. Leaders can dream up a vision, but they cannot discover God’s will. God must reveal it. The visions that drive spiritual leaders must be derived from God.
If we want to pattern our lives and leadership after Jesus, we must follow His example. Jesus looked to His Father for direction for his earthly activity. He told His disciples:
... I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
So... How’s your vision? Seek the Lord’s direction for your ministry and let that be the driving force behind your ministry and your mission.
God’s best,
Right questions...amazing answers
How are your interviewing skills? Those of us in media often find ourselves asking questions, either for an on-air program or for a prospective team member for our organization. Most of us have discovered there is an art to the process and a skill that can be learned.
Someone asked me how many interviews I have done in my media career which spans over fifty-five years. I haven’t kept count. But I did estimate it one time. I have done over twenty thousand interviews for radio and television. Some were brief 5-minute ones. Some were an hour or more. Most were live on the air, and others were recorded for editing. While that does make me experienced, it doesn’t necessarily make me an expert. But I have learned some things I can pass on. Here are a few tips for broadcast or podcast interviews:
- Know your subject, both the topic to be discussed and the person you are interviewing.
- Have a specific angle you want to pursue.
- Don’t offer the questions ahead of time. You want the interview to be spontaneous.
- If there are some sensitive areas, you can alert the interviewee about the topic and area of discussion.
- Put your interviewee at ease. Visit casually prior to the interview.
- Be kind. Ambush interview questions rarely get good answers. And you stand a chance of the interview being tense and not productive.
- Don’t answer the question as you ask it. “Isn’t it true your organization went bankrupt last year?” The answer you will get is probably “Yes.”
- Listen to the answer from your guest. It may lead to a better question than you had planned.
- Stay in control of the interview. Don’t let the interviewee hijack the time. It is your job to steer them back on the topic and to keep them on track.
- Have a good closing question.
- Smile. It actually helps the interviewee feel more comfortable.
Asking questions in job interviews and general conversation is also an art form. Yet we can learn a lot from those who use this technique often. My friend Bob Tiede has built a ministry around asking questions (Leading with Questions). Bob says anyone can learn to lead with questions in about 30 seconds. He has four questions a person can ask staff or friends to get started. You can memorize these easily.
- What do you think?
- What else?
- What else?
- What else?
The idea, of course, is to get the other person talking, hear their views, and probe deeper into what they think and why.
I recall the questions Jesus posed during his ministry. To His disciples, Jesus asked, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” After their responses, the Lord asked, “But who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:13,15 NLT) Questions. Did Jesus not know? Of course, the omniscient God knew. But it started His disciples thinking, and allowed Simon Peter to make that amazing confession, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16 NLT)
The art of asking questions can be an amazing process and can yield amazing responses when used properly.
So, what do you think about that?
God’s best,
After a high moment...
If you are like me, you have probably experienced it. God blesses you with a victory, a great ministry experience, or a special time of experiencing the Lord’s favor. Then...the crash. It is hard to believe you can go from such a high, spiritual moment to some sort of pit of despair. But it happens. Have you been there?
Well, you are in good company. Great people of the Bible dealt with such things, too. David, and Elijah, just to name two prominent ones.
Sometimes the despair is self-inflicted, like with David. Psalm 40 is David’s account of what he experienced, probably after his affair with Bathsheba, and the subsequent orchestrated death of her husband Uriah.
I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
Psalm 40:1-2 NLT
Elijah the prophet experienced a crash after his amazing experience on Mount Carmel, humiliating the four hundred priests of Baal and seeing God rain down fire from heaven. Elijah probably felt that was the pinnacle of his ministry. How do you follow that? That kind of thinking can lead to despair and discouragement.
My friend Richard Blackaby writes about this and relates it to the life of Elijah in his book Living Out of the Overflow.
“People need to believe their life has a purpose. When we are young, our youthful vigor and imagination foster eager anticipation. As time passes, our failures humble us. Enemies’ attacks wound us. Disappointment by friends hardens us. It dawns on us that there are more years behind us than ahead of us.... Awakening each morning with nothing to inspire us is demoralizing.”
In Elijah’s case, he dismissed his servants, thinking his ministry days were over. He took himself off the field of service to the Lord. But God wasn’t through with him yet.
Blackaby notes that in reading the story in 1 Kings 19, God didn’t chastise Elijah. He knew his servant’s heart. And second, the Lord didn’t let Elijah wallow in self-pity. God told His prophet to get up and go. The Lord had another assignment for His servant.
There are some good lessons to draw from this small segment of Elijah’s life and from King David. If, after a spiritual victory, you find yourself down in spirit and in the pit of depression, don’t just sit there and do nothing. David cried out to the Lord. Those verses we shared a moment ago tell how God responded to David’s cry. And verse three explains the result:
He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40:3 NLT
Our despair can be turned into the Lord’s victory in the life of others.
In the case of Elijah, God’s new responsibilities included naming Elisha as his successor. This important assignment allowed Elijah, in Richard Blackaby’s words, “...to touch the future.”
Isn't that just like our Lord? He can take our moments of depression and despair and turn them into life-changing moments if we will listen to His voice and follow through with His assignment.
No... God isn’t through with you yet!
God’s best,
I Quit!
Sorry to startle you. Those two words...I quit...are rarely good for a manager or leader to hear. It often sends a business or ministry into a tailspin until another person can be found, trained, and brought up to a level of proficiency for the job at hand.
Our friend Steve Gutzler recently revealed that about 65 percent of the people who quit their jobs do so because of their leader or manager. Ouch. That should give us the desire to look at ourselves and how we are leading others.
Gutzler, who is a leadership expert and mentor, mentions five kinds of leaders whom people have a tendency to quit.
- Leaders who act superior
- Leaders who are inconsistent
- Leaders who lack vision
- Leaders who lack energy
- Leaders who are insecure
If we are honest, we may identify with one or two of these traits at some time in our leadership role. Certainly, acknowledging weaknesses in our leadership is a good first step, but we need to be proactive and do something about these shortcomings if we want to retain the people God has sent to our ministries. Gutzler has some suggestions there, too. Here are a few:
- Level up your leadership. Commit to personal growth.
- Value people. Put a high value on those who will work WITH you...not FOR you.
- Be open for growth. Have a teachable spirit and listen to the input of your team.
- Lead by example. Communicate your culture through your own behavior and actions.
- Create a culture of appreciation. Look for people’s values and express appreciation for them.
That last point is critical. Dr. Gary Chapman, who has been with our MEDIAlliance leaders on several occasions, has written a book on showing appreciation in the workplace. He and his co-author, Dr. Paul White, point out that about 60 percent of the workers in the workplace don’t feel appreciated. That seems to correlate with the 65 percent that quit their jobs because of their boss or manager. Showing appreciation is a critical component of how a worker values their time on the job and their desire to help the organization achieve its goals.
One expert said about this important leadership element, “Appreciation is most impactful when communicated regularly, delivered personally, and perceived as authentic.”
The apostle Paul was good about sharing praise for his fellow workers in God’s vineyard. And he communicated that to others.
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8 NLT
Then Paul followed through by giving thanks and praise to others. A good pattern for us.
The Lord has placed valuable people on your team. Do all you can to lead and encourage them in a way that both pleases the Lord and keeps those valuable people excited to be serving alongside a great leader.
God’s best,
Is money a blessing?
I had to think deeply about what I was reading from the late business leader and spiritual mentor Fred Smith. Not only for me personally but for our ministry work. Let me explain.
In a recent blog of some of Fred Smith’s writing published by his daughter Brenda, Fred talked about money, and some of the misconceptions people have about it. He often taught his children that “Money is option. With it, you have a multitude of choices. Without it you are limited.” Smith went on to say, “...money does not bring with it the sense of responsibility needed to choose the right options. When we get into trouble, it isn’t money that is the cause, but irresponsibility and poor decisions. The best use of money requires character.”
OK, so far, I am with Fred Smith. But here is where I had to give some deeper thought. Smith says that money is not a blessing. In fact, he goes on to say he is suspicious of those who say they are “blessed” with money. He believes those people think they are at least partially responsible for that blessing, and that they “congratulate” God on His choice of someone to receive His blessing. I know I have often referred to financial blessings both personally and for the ministry.
So how should we think about the financial resources God places in our hands? Yes, we are blessed when someone gives to our ministry, but Fred Smith says there is a better way to think about these resources. “The person who refers to money as a stewardship with which they are entrusted is more likely to use it more wisely and unselfishly.”
I like that. Jesus had parables about those who are stewards of funds. He greatly commended and rewarded those who were good stewards. Jay Link at Taylor University writes, “When you are a faithful steward of someone else’s resources, there is nothing more appropriate for you to do than to routinely examine how effectively you are carrying out His responsibilities.”
Being a steward is a recognition that all our resources belong to God. If He chooses to leave some of them in our hands, we need to have the mind of a good and faithful steward of those resources. In one of those parables of Jesus, the Lord spelled out what would happen when a good steward did his job with others in mind.
A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.
Luke 12:42-43 NLT
As I think about the financial resources we are entrusted with, we can acknowledge that we have received a blessing. But we should quickly move on to our responsibilities as good stewards of those resources. Shift our focus. God will reward it. And He reminds us there are responsibilities that go with the blessing. Jesus concluded His parable with these words:
When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.
Luke 12:48b NLT
Let’s work at being responsible stewards. Believe me, the Lord will notice.
God’s best,