Getting it done!
I had to blow the dust off the book. It is among those that have been on my library shelves for years. I bought it when I was leading a broadcast ministry and knew I needed help. Our ministry was great. The people were great. But in the back of my mind was the question: “How do we sustain this for the months and years ahead?”
The book is called Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Bossidy and Charan. Written over twenty years ago, many of the illustrations are dated. The principles put forth by the authors, though, are solid even today.
Most of us know of good companies and good ministries that just don’t seem to get off the ground. Like a passenger airplane, zipping down the runway is no good if the plane doesn’t actually take off. Let’s look at a few things from the experiences detailed in this book.
- You as a leader must be deeply and passionately engaged in your organization and honest about its realities with others and yourself.
- Having a strategy isn’t enough. It needs to be executed well for success to come.
- Unless you translate big thoughts into concrete steps for action, they’re pointless.
Fred Smith is quoted as saying if you don’t write your ideas down, they are just dreams.
- An organization can execute only if the leader’s heart and soul are immersed in the company. The word “passion” comes to mind again. Not just passion for the job, but passion to see the organization flourish. In our Christian context, the leader needs passion for others.
- Leading for execution is not micromanaging. It’s about active involvement...doing the things leaders should be doing in the first place.
- Organizations don’t execute unless the right people, individually and collectively, focus on the right details at the right time.
- The culture of a company is the behavior of its leaders.
That last point is critical in our ministries and organizations. We have all seen ministries that have lost their effectiveness and credibility because of the leader and his or her behavior. And we have seen ministries flourish and exceed expectations due to a leader who is filled with passion, energy, and an executable plan.
Of course, in our Christian organizations, we must remember whom we serve. Our passion is to please the Lord in everything we do.
Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.
Proverbs 16:3 NLT
It is not enough to have good ideas. Not even good enough to have great people. The leader must have a plan that can take the organization forward...and upward...to God’s high calling.
God’s best...
Making Jesus known...
The folks at Lead Like Jesus reminded me in a recent devotional that Jesus’ role on earth was to make God known. And since we are to pattern our lives after Jesus, it seems that should be in our game plan, too.
So, if I asked you what is the purpose of your ministry, what would it be? While in Brazil recently I was reminded that many people in that country never think of God. Yes, there are many Christians in Brazil. There are many Christians in America, too, but as I look at the culture I wonder if they consider God in their daily lives. The examples of a nation far from God are all around us.
A recent Disney animated series for FXX television is about a young girl who is the product of Satan having sex with this girl’s mother. One film industry website described the program this way: “After being impregnated by the Devil, a reluctant mother and her Antichrist daughter attempt to live an ordinary life in Delaware.”
What? Disney? If anyone at Disney or FXX is thinking of God, it isn’t in a good way. In all my years I have never seen a time when people needed to see the light of the Lord and know the sacrifice He made for their sins like today. The words to an old hymn by P. P. Bliss ring as true today as when penned in 1875:
The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin,
The Light of the world is Jesus!
But how will our world know of Jesus and His love if they don’t hear it and see it in the lives of Christians? That holds true for our ministries, too. What happens when a non-believer comes across your ministry? What happens when they encounter you in the daily routine of life? While not every experience with those who don’t know Christ is your spiritual responsibility, we ought to be sensitive to the fact it might be our assignment.
You may say your ministry is not largely evangelistic. Yet you do have a responsibility toward those God brings across your path. Henry Blackaby pointed that out.
“We were not saved from our sin simply so that we would qualify for heaven. God delivered us so we would have a relationship with Him through which He could carry out His mission to redeem a lost world.”
We should not be content with simply entertaining Christians or even just building them up intellectually for their own edification. Our goal as followers of Christ is to grow and to learn so we might better reflect the nature of God to those around us. It is a dark, sinful world we live in. The need is for the Light.
After telling His followers they were to be salt and light, Jesus said:
“Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:16 NASB
Glorify God. Make Him known. Let others see Jesus in you.
God’s best...
Vanilla ice cream versus Rocky Road
I love vanilla ice cream. Especially if you put it on pecan pie. Or apple pie. Or cherry. But there are times that wonderful ice cream creation called Rocky Road is amazingly and wonderfully overwhelming. So much flavor… with the Dutch chocolate, the rich texture of the almonds, and the marshmallows. Mmmmm.
There are times in our writing and our communications that we write with plain vanilla words. It’s clear. Concise. Appropriate. But there are those times when there needs to be more. Much more.
I got to thinking of that the other day as Judy was playing through some old hymns. In my mind I was singing along and came to the words of one that catapulted me into another realm. The hymn is “Peace, Peace” by W. D. Cornell, and the final line of the chorus grabbed me.
Peace, peace, wonderful peace
Coming down from the Father above
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray
In fathomless billows of love
Look at those words. Fathomless. Billows of love. There is no way to grasp the depths of God’s love. Fathomless. And billows? I think of those massive sea waves that can overwhelm, but rather than waves of disaster…billows of love.
I know. It takes time to think up such visual imagery. But isn’t it worth it to come across something like that? Isn’t it great when you can take a listener or reader to a higher level of understanding? Especially on something that matters…like God’s wonderful peace?
Phil Cooke recently quoted the Russian writer Anton Chekov:
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
Creativity. It is one of the great blessings that the Lord has placed in all our lives. Some think creativity is just for artists and song writers. Not so. It is for all of us. God is the great creator. And Genesis tells us we were created in His image. Creative.
Sure, some can exhibit their creativity better than others. And sometimes creativity isn’t what you need. I don’t particularly want my barber to be creative! A plain, simple haircut will do, thank you very much.
So, when should you put your creative efforts to work? When you want to get the attention of the reader, viewer, or listener. When you want to take them to a deeper level of understanding. When you want to touch their emotions, not just impart information. On occasion…be Rocky Road, not just plain Vanilla. Let the creative waves sweep over you like fathomless billows!
God’s best...
He hissed at me!
Judy and I are somewhat famous for trying to domesticate feral cats. These are the ones that are probably born in the wild and just roam around without a home. They are basically wild. We are on our third feral cat.
We don’t know what happened to Cat #1 or Cat #2, but we suspect the coyotes that live in the woods behind our house had them for dinner. It takes a long time to win these cats’ trust. Judy begins by putting some food out. I’ll join in the process, though you need to understand. I’m a dog lover…and I just tolerate cats. Well, over time these feral cats somewhat accept us as friends…or at least not enemies. And, depending on the cat, they may even become friendly toward us. But not always. They are wild cats at heart.
So, this last one has been around for a few months. When I get up early, the cat (we just call it Kitty…no real name) has been sitting near its food bowl waiting for me to bring it something to eat. In recent days it has even allowed me to touch its head. Almost petting it…but not quite.
Yesterday was different. I put the food down and reached out gently to touch its head…and he hissed at me! Not a little polite hiss. No, this was a full on “get away from me or you’ll be sorry” hiss. And he underscored his attitude with a swipe at my hand, claws fully extended. I got the message. And I told Judy, “That’s it for me and that cat.”
That was yesterday. Today…I got to thinking. I know it’s a bit silly to try to make something spiritual out of an encounter with a feral cat, but I couldn’t help myself. I got to thinking about God’s love for us. His provision for us. The way He provides for us in so many ways. Food. Home. Health. Relationships. Family. And yet there are times we ignore His blessings and may even take a “swipe” at God. The Lord’s chosen people did it. Read Exodus and other Old Testament accounts. The Lord does a miracle, and soon the people are grumbling. He rescues them from the Egyptians. And soon they wish they were back as servants in that foreign land.
And the people of Israel…began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they exclaimed. “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted.”
Numbers 11:4-5 NLT
Ungrateful, to say the least. But what about me? I can look back and see days I enjoyed the “manna” from heaven in my life but grumbled about wanting more. Even worse are the times I just ignored God. I accepted His blessings but didn’t really want to have much to do with Him and His plan for me and for my ministry. (That’s part of the problem. It’s never MY ministry…it is the Lord’s.)
As amazing as that kind of ungrateful attitude is, more amazing is God’s attitude towards me. It is put beautifully in the hymn by Audrey Assad:
O the deep, deep love of Jesus
Vast unmeasured, boundless, free
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me
Underneath me, all around me, is the current
Of Thy love…
Thanks be to God, His love is not dependent on anything but His nature.
If we are unfaithful,
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny who he is.
2 Timothy 2:13 NLT
I never thought I would be taught a spiritual lesson by a feral cat. I may have to rethink my attitude toward that wild feline. Maybe you need to join me as I evaluate my attitude and actions toward our loving, faithful Lord.
God’s best...
Help! I need an idea!
Where in the world do ideas come from? And where is my next good idea when I need it? Most of us in media leadership are constantly looking for ideas...for our next program...our next brochure...our next fundraising letter. And it seems like a mystery where those ideas are. Are they hiding? Do we just wait for the inspiration? What if we don’t have time to wait?
My friend Phil Cooke has a book out called Ideas on a Deadline: How to Be Creative When the Clock is Ticking. We can all benefit from his insight. Phil says, “One of the most destructive myths about creativity is the idea that we need to wait for inspiration.” Cooke goes on to quote artist Chuck Close, who said, “Inspiration is for amateurs—the rest of us just show up and get to work.”
From his personal experience, Phil Cooke says, “...creativity isn’t about waiting for inspiration, hearing from a muse, or having a ‘eureka’ moment. Creativity isn’t mystical, weird, or illusive; it’s simply solving a problem on a deadline.”
Over 80 years ago James Webb Young put together what has become a classic for those who must think creatively. It’s called A Technique for Producing Ideas. I could probably do a whole seminar session on what’s revealed in the little 62-page book. But let me see if I can highlight a few key principles that will help.
Young says there are types of folks who have a great capacity for ideas. They are the type who aren’t easily satisfied with the status quo and are always looking over the horizon for something new and fresh. But even for them, ideas aren’t automatic. The author, who spent many years in the advertising world, says there are principles to know and methods to consider. He likens generating ideas to Henry Ford and his assembly line to build cars.
One of the principles Young mentions is that most ideas are simply combining old elements in new ways. I have often said that there are a limited number of notes in music. No one is inventing new notes on the piano. Yet there are millions of songs, and thousands of new ones daily based on those old notes.
Young builds on this principle by then turning to the method of generating new ideas. He points to five steps that we can only mention briefly:
- Gather the raw information or material and try to see new relationships in this material.
- Think over the information you have gathered. Look at it like looking into a kaleidoscope, turning it this way and that to see it in a different light.
- Set the process aside for a bit. Try not to think about it. Stepping away from the process often gives you new insight.
- At this point, your idea may appear. It may come to you in a flash when you least expect it. (We usually call this “inspiration,” but it is part of a process.)
- The final step is the hard one. Take your idea out into the marketplace and see what it looks like there. Often, reality sets in and that wonderful idea isn’t as good as we thought. But with some work, it can become a powerful concept.
Of course, we have one more resource that ought to be part of the process for us in Christian media leadership. The Holy Spirit. God’s role should permeate each step of the process so that our time and efforts are centered in His will and His plan for us and the ministries the Lord has called us to.
Yes...good creative ideas are usually the result of diligent work. And just like any other thing we do, we can get better at it as we practice the process.
Isn’t that what Paul was telling Timothy in his letter to his young friend?
Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15 NLT
That new idea isn’t going to fall out of a tree...unless you have planted the tree and tended it and waited for the fruit to ripen. A process that can be repeated again and again with successful results.
God’s best...
Last Words
What will it say on your tombstone? What will be your epitaph?
That’s probably not something you spend much time thinking about, but it can say a lot about you. And there have been some good ones...and funny ones...found in cemeteries all over.
There is the tombstone of William H. Hahn, who apparently was always complaining of some health issue. We usually label someone like that a hypochondriac. Hahn had the last word, though. His marker said, “I told you I was sick!”
Or, how about the grave marker of voice over specialist Mel Blanc. He was the voice of Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig, among many others, in countless cartoons. And he was famous for his sign-off at the end of those cartoons. So, it seemed perfect for his tombstone to say,
“That’s all, folks!”
Then there is Jonathan Blake from Uniontown, Pennsylvania. His marker says a lot.
Here lies the body of
Jonathan Blake.
Stepped on the gas
Instead of the brake.
There are others who chose to acknowledge their Christian heart. Take Johnny Cash, the country singer. On his marker are the words of Psalm 19:14:
Let the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in Thy sight,
O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.
Pastor Tim Challies and his wife lost their son, Nick, who died tragically at age 20. It started Tim thinking about what we often see on a gravestone. The date of birth. A dash. The date of death. And in that process Challies asked the question, “How long is that dash?” He wasn’t referring to how many years were represented, but how a person lived their life. What did they accomplish? How did they serve the Lord and others? Good questions for us...who are living in our own personal “dash” ...to consider.
In my morning Bible reading I use plans that will take me through the whole Bible in a year. That does two things for me. It often takes me into passages I would likely not read on my own. And it keeps me from simply returning to familiar passages. God’s Word is far deeper than that.
Now I will admit that the lists of names of David’s warriors or the leaders of all the tribes of Israel are sometimes tedious. But often, in the midst of those verses is a gem, a jewel the Lord has placed there for his servants to find. I found one in the New Testament this morning...and it may well end up on my tombstone someday.
In Romans 16 Paul is commending numerous friends by name...some 35 of them. In verse 10 he mentions Apelles and says this of him:
...a good man whom Christ approves. (NLT)
I would love for that to be said of me...or of you. But even as I say that I realize that means I must end well in my service to the Lord Jesus. Any past accomplishments can be diminished or even destroyed by wrong decisions and succumbing to the world’s temptations.
A good runner knows that the race is not won solely on a good start. The winner is one who runs through the tape to claim his prize. Finish well. Run through the tape. And may it be said of us at the end...
...a good man [or woman] whom Christ approves.
God’s best...
I want to...I don’t want to...
The Apostle Paul lived an amazing life. My life certainly does not come up to his level of commitment or boldness. But there is one area where I resonate with Paul. You probably remember the passage in Romans where Paul is talking about sin, and the internal battles that go on.
I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.
Romans 7:15 NLT
On a smaller scale, I have been carrying a book around for a couple of weeks, knowing I need to dig into it, but am reluctant to pull it out of my briefcase. It’s a book on holiness taken from some sermons by Henry Blackaby and revised by his son Richard. The Solomon Promise subtitle is “The Key to Healing America and Ourselves.” The healing America part is fine. It is the part about healing ourselves that has me nervous. Like Paul, I know I haven’t arrived...especially in the area of holiness. Yet like Paul, I also recognize there are things I must do, and wrestling with the topic of holiness is one of them.
The opening comments hit hard. They deal with the loss of the fear of God. When “good Christians” ignore God’s Truth, it is an indication they have lost the fear of God. We could talk all day about what the fear of God is, but the issue is less what God might do to me if I ignore His commands and more that He would allow me to just go my way.
My friend Dr. O. S. Hawkins says he is less concerned about the Lord’s hand coming down on him as he is God withdrawing His hand from him. Living without God and being allowed to go our own way. It is a dangerous place to be. Blackaby says it this way: “We are closer to either revival or judgment than we have ever been. There is no alternative between the two.”
Then Dr. Blackaby explains further why our move toward holiness is so critical:
“As go the people of God, so goes the redemption of the world.”
The Solomon Promise goes on to talk about revival of the people of God. It references Isaiah 35 as the prophet writes of a “highway of holiness...” a path to move us forward toward what the Lord has commanded us to be. Throughout the book of Leviticus God speaks of this. “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” Peter repeats it in his letter to the persecuted believers in Asia Minor:
For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:16 NLT
I know this is a bit different from what I typically share with you. But it is what the Lord is speaking to me...to my heart...and I think we all need to park ourselves there for a while and pray for God to show us what is keeping us from fulfilling His command to be holy. And then we need to follow that well-worn Nike slogan...and just do it! I want to move out of the weeds of my own self-reliance and sin and plant my feet firmly on that highway of holiness.
What do you think would happen in your ministry...in your life...in God’s kingdom work around the world if we all took that step seriously?
Lord, may it be so for me...and for these friends, your servants.
God’s best...
A Biblical Worry List
How’s your “worry” list? If you are like most leaders...in fact, most people...you keep a pretty good list of things to worry about. Ministry finances, personnel, relationships at work and home, compliance to regulations...the list could go on and on. And it could get personal. Debts, sickness, children and their relationships. A lot to worry about.
It dawned on me that in the Bible there actually is a list of all the things we should worry about. Really. It’s in the New Testament, and it was written by the Apostle Paul. He had a lot that he could worry about. Hated by the Jewish leaders, imprisoned, run out of town, shipwrecked, even snake bitten on the island of Malta. Based on his past, Paul could have had a big worry list for his future.
So...here is Paul’s list, from his letter to the Philippians.
Be anxious for...(and here is Paul’s list)...nothing!
What? “Wait,” you say. “I have some legitimate concerns about things in the future. I have a right to worry.” Do you?
Noted preacher Charles H. Spurgeon said, “Half our fears arise from neglect of the Bible.” Ouch. You mean I could draw a line through many of my concerns, my anxieties, my worries, by paying more attention to God’s Word? In a word, yes. And I think you could eventually learn to not worry at all.
That doesn’t mean you walk around oblivious to issues or potential problems. It means you learn to trust God in all things. I have often said that I am pretty simple in that area. You either trust God...or you don’t. There is no middle ground. And the more we can learn to leave these concerns in God’s hands, the less we worry.
Paul probably expected a bit of a shock when he wrote his “list” of things to worry about, so he quickly followed that pronouncement with a plan. I like the way Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message.
Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Philippians 4:6-7 MSG
Leadership expert Steve Gutzler dealt with worry, like many of us have.
For years, I was plagued by worry and worst-case scenarios. I would “awfulize” (a word I made up). “Catastrophize” (another word I made up). I made a lot of mountains out of molehills.
Gutzler has a list of ways to deal with the stress of worry, and among those items is prayer. It is amazing what happens when we follow Paul’s advice and shape our worries into prayer. King David found the power of prayer and its benefits, too:
I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
Psalm 34:4-5 NLT
Did you catch the second part of those verses? Those who pray...who look to God to take care of the things on their heart...will be radiant with joy. What an exchange! From the burden of worry to the brilliance of joy.
So... trust God, read His word, pray, and allow the Lord to take your burden. The old hymn said it well:
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.
God’s best...
Conflicted over Conflict
How many love conflict in ministry...or anywhere? Raise your hand! Nope...I don’t either. But there are times when the leader must step in and deal with conflict and confrontation.
Fred Smith says, “The Christian community has done a very poor job with confrontation. I am convinced the level of individual accomplishment in Christian organizations is notoriously lower (as a whole) than it should be because unlike business, the leaders confuse the presence of love with the absence of confrontation.”
Our ministries are important. The leadership we give needs to reflect that understanding. It means that the team and the mission are more important than any one individual. And if conflict arises, it needs to be dealt with for the good of the ministry and its mission. That is the role of a leader.
John Maxwell feels most people want to be part of something bigger than themselves. Leaders need to call their team to the highest level of that expectation. Maxwell says, “... most team members want to succeed at what they do. That means that if correction is handled with care, most people will be fairly open to change and improvement.”
Maxwell even has a Ten Commandments of Confrontation. The list starts with confronting in private and doing it as soon as possible. He also reminds leaders to stick to the main point, and to remember to highlight the person’s positive contributions. But...proper confrontation is critical if the ministry or organization is going to accomplish its mission.
Some may say, “Well, I don’t want to ruin a friendship in the process of confronting a team member.” Fred Smith says that is wrong thinking. He says your friendship should be the basis for the appropriate confrontation. Smith says, “Until I am willing to risk a relationship with a truthful confrontation, that relationship really isn’t worthwhile.”
I know, it isn’t pleasant to think about confrontation as part of your leadership role. But it is both critical and necessary. Think of Jesus’ leadership. Did he confront those around him? Absolutely. In Matthew 16 we see an amazing encounter between Jesus and his disciples, especially Simon Peter. Jesus asks who people say He is. Peter was the one who declared, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus went out of His way to commend Peter, calling him blessed and declaring him a “rock.”
But just moments later as Jesus began to explain what would happen in the coming days, predicting his arrest, death, and resurrection, Peter pipes up and says, “Not on my watch!” Immediately Jesus confronts Peter in the harshest of terms. Remember?
Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
Matthew 16:23 NLT
Jesus didn’t confront Peter’s wrong thinking because he didn’t like Peter. He did so out of love and because the cause of Christ, His mission, was so very critical.
God has placed you in a leadership role. Your most important job is not to be friends with everyone on your team. (By the way, the same is true for parents and their children.) Your greatest role is to keep the team pointed toward the God-given goal and the ministry’s mission...even if it means occasional confrontation.
God’s best...
Worried?
My dad often told a joke about a man, we will call him Bill, who worried all the time. It drove his friends crazy. They didn’t even like to be around him because he was always worried...about everything. Then, one day their friend was calm and easy-going. Everyone noticed the dramatic change in Bill. He seemed to have no care in the world. Finally, his friends could not stand it any longer...they had to ask him.
“Bill, how is it you have changed so much, going from a constant worrier to how you are today?” Bill replied, “It’s simple. I hired a man to worry for me! If something comes up, I just give it to him, and he worries for me.” Bill’s friends were amazed. “Wow! How much would you have to pay someone to do that for you?” Bill told his friends the man’s salary was $250,000.
His friends pointed out the obvious. “How can you pay him that much? You don’t make $250,000 yourself.” Bill’s quick reply: “That’s his worry!”
OK...a silly story. But there is nothing silly about those who spend their lives worrying about everything. Fred Smith called worry, “...the nagging headache of the soul.” So how do we get beyond that headache and move on to a more productive and positive life?
First, face the reality of what worry accomplishes.... nothing. Jesus said it clearly. “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” (Matthew 6:27 NLT) The Apostle Paul told the Philippian believers to just stop. “Don’t worry about anything....” (Philippians 4:6 NLT) Pretty clear direction.
Apart from hiring someone to worry for you, what can you do when you find yourself wrapped up in worry? Leadership experts like Steve Gutzler and John Maxwell list a number of things. Here are few thoughts:
- Breath in, breath out. The oxygen to your brain will help you lower your stress levels, and the pause will help you get a better focus on reality.
- Create “white space,” some thinking time to deal with the reality.
- Go for a walk, move, be active. Don’t just sit and worry.
- Change your pattern. Do something different. Instead of worrying, do something nice for another person.
John Maxwell humorously says, “Don't worry about yesterday, it ended last night at midnight.” And Gutzler says, “While I sleep, God works on my behalf.”
It’s worth repeating Paul’s admonition:
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
God’s best...