Reflections on Professoring

May 17, 2012 in Leadership, Personal, Religion with 3 Comments

When our time today is over, my first foray into teaching college students will be half-way finished. Pepperdine students are a lot of fun. They are intelligent, well-rounded, and a lot of fun–generally. The class I’m teaching is a General Education course (third and last in the required sequence of Religion courses required for graduation), “Christianity and Culture.” The emphasis of the class is Christian Leadership in Times of Chaos. I have 29 students in class, nearly all of whom are Seniors, nearly half of whom are international students. Class meets from 2:30pm – 5:20pm, Monday – Thursday.

In Malibu.

In May.

This is challenging turf for young minds to grow in :)  Nevertheless, here are some random thoughts on teaching experience thus far.

  • College is a unique time in people’s lives and important time in their spiritual journey. I hope churches will wake up toward campus ministry again. It seems as though the passion for it in the Church has ebbed some. I’d hate to see it fade any further. It’s vital churches pay attention to the opportunities for ministry on college campuses.
  • It’s hard to peg people from who they are “on paper.” Given the demographic above, I completely underestimated the ability of the class to stay dialed in. They’ve been attentive and respectful throughout.
  • It’s been fascinating to see the classroom from the professor’s perspective for the first time. It’s easy to forget what it was like to be a student and come into the class with issues that made it hard to focus. It’s a lot like attending church under the same circumstances but it’s more frequent, you’re tested on what’s said, and the numbers are smaller–making it more difficult to hide.
  • Another observation from the professor’s perspective–it’s more frustrating than I thought to have students not find the material I’m teaching as fascinating as I do. Yes, I know this probably happens in church too…so I’ll save you the joke ;)
  • When you’re teaching, you’re not just teaching “a student.” They are someone’s son or daughter.
  • When you’re a student, the Professor isn’t just “Dr. so-and-so.” They are also a real person with education and wisdom (in theory) with something to say worth hearing.
  • I really feel students should be tested on the application of what they’ve learned, not just on the facts. Perhaps this class lends itself more to “applied knowledge” than others. However, I keep thinking some of today’s educational processes award people for the wrong type of achievement (memorization of data rather than learning and application of data). It’s like giving someone a black-belt for the books they’ve read on karate or acing a karate exam, rather than on whether they can fight in a manner worthy of a black-belt.
  • Oh yeah…and it’s hard work, but I’m loving it.

What are your thoughts on the educational experience these days? If you could change something abou the way people are taught these days, what would it be?

Let Them Be – We Need Explorers

May 14, 2012 in Books, Christianity, Church Strategy, conflict, Leadership, Leadership Vault, Religion, Science with 1 Comment

We believe in conventional wisdom, in tried and true ways, and in what the experts tell us.

Good.

That’s a great place to start. However, when someone comes up with a new idea–a church decides to try something else, someone suggests the conventional paths are full of potholes, or the “tried and true” ways are simply tried ways, they need not be labeled as “stubborn” or “arrogant.” One certainly can be so. But, one can be stubborn or arrogant whether one believes in conventional wisdom or not. Those who chart their own course should be encouraged to do so.

I’ve been re-reading A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, by Edwin Friedman. It’s probably the finest book on leadership I’ve ever read, but it’s lesser known–because it was unavailable through all conventional means until a few years ago.

Among other things, Friedman makes the case for the self-differentiated leader–someone who:

  • is someone who has clarity about his or her own life goals, and, therefore, someone who is less likely to become lost in the anxious emotional processes swirling about.
  • is someone who can separate while still remaining connected, and therefore can maintain a modifying, non-anxious, and sometimes challenging presence.
  • is someone who can manage his or her own reactivity to the automatic reactivity of others, and therefore be able to take stands at the risk of displeasing.

He says:

“…those who lack self-definition, whether they are children, marriage partners, employees, clients, therapists, or supervisors, will always perceive those who are well-defined to be ‘headstrong.’ As with Columbus, they will describe well-differentiated leaders as compulsive rather than persistent, as obsessive rather than committed, as foolhardy rather than brave, as dreamers rather than imaginative, as single-minded rather than dedicated, as inflexible rather than principled, as hostile rather than aggressive, as bull-headed rather than resolute, as desperate rather than inspired, as autocratic rather than tough-minded, as ambitious rather than courageous, as domineering rather than self-confident, as egotistical rather than self-assured, as selfish rather than self-possessed–and as insensitive, callous, and cold rather than determined. Such sabotage will be cloaked in supposed virtues likes safety and togetherness.”

All this is to say–good leaders don’t always perfect what’s already in the book. They help write the next chapter over the objections of those who helped write the early chapters and think the book is largely closed.

Listen to what’s already been written. Understand there’s good reason why conventional wisdom has become such. But, never fail to go where God leads because others might think you a fool. It’s far more foolish to ignore God’s leading and listen to humans.

Not every impulse or dream is of God. Sometimes it’s not divinely given, but it’s an idea that’s worth exploration anyway. Go for it, and remind those who are inappropriately attached to conventional wisdom that it was someone’s new, hair-brained idea at some point.

The earth used to be flat.

Everything used to orbit around earth.

Eggs are good for you.

Eggs are bad for you.

Eggs are so-so for you.

Ministry has it’s equivalents and always needs to leave room for well differentiated leaders to explore with encouragement from those who have been the thought leaders for years. Because the goal is the advancement of the Kingdom, not the preservation of our own legacies.

Thoughts? 

Friday Stream of Consciousness – 27

May 11, 2012 in Christianity, Church Strategy, Current Affairs, Family Life, Leadership, New Vintage Church, Personal, Spiritual Formation with 4 Comments

stream of consciousnessHere are some things I’m thinking about this Friday morning:

  • I got to see The Avengers in 3D this past week. Though I’m not a big action movie fan, I enjoyed it. The entire price of the ticket was validated by 10 seconds of the Hulk beating Loki into the floor. I laughed for 30 seconds.
  • The NBA playoffs are under way. With the Mavericks getting bounced in the first round, I’m faced with the difficult choice of a team to root for the rest of the playoffs. So here it is: …..not Miami.
  • This whole thing with John Travolta is just awkward.
  • I survived my first week of teaching as an Adjunct Professor of Religion at Pepperdine. I teach 3 hours a day and have 30 students in class. The class is required, Religion 301 – Christianity and Culture–but has a leadership emphasis.
  • On paper, I could see I had nearly all seniors, including 5 who had already walked for graduation and have only this class left to take. I was thinking the students would be largely checked out. On the contrary, because they’re seniors, they’re smart, organized and mature. They’re less squirrelly and ask great questions.
  • Mother’s Day is Sunday. This one will have a little extra meaning to me as a son because we almost lost mom this year.
  • New Vintage Church is leading a campaign to get as many as want to to read the Bible cover to cover in 90 days. I’m all for Lectio Divina and the more “contemplative” ways of reading Scripture as well. But, something around 90% of Christians have never read the Bible cover-to-cover. This may have something to do with not only “biblical illiteracy” but also theological vertigo that plagues some. Reading the Bible in 90 days obviously isn’t a cure-all or anything. However, cultivating the discipline of Scripture-reading is important.
  • Throughout the summer, the sermons will be taken from the texts we’ll be reading as a church as part of the campaign.
  • Josh Beckett’s chippiness when the press asked him how he could be golfing the day after he missed a start because of a lat injury made me nauseated.
  • Props to Retro Fitness for choosing the phone number 867-5309 . If you don’t know why that’s awesome, you’re under 30, or over 60.
  • This week’s video is of an extreme Facebook update. Don’t try this at home, kids.


What’s on your mind this Friday?

What Do You Think of Them… Really?

May 8, 2012 in Christianity, Church Staffing, Church Strategy, conflict, Leadership, Personal, Productivity with 2 Comments

People can sense what we really think of them. That’s one reason what we really think of others matters. In middle-school we can get away with faking it. The older we get the more adept we become at sensing what others think of us, and we tend to respond to that somehow. Some of us rebel. Some of us do whatever it takes so others like us. Others of us do what is healthier: we remain ourselves.

As a leader, it’s vital you genuinely care about those you work with. Not so they will perform better, but because it’s right. Being who we should be anyway in our view and treatment of others is likely to cultivate a healthier work climate. Again, we don’t try to value others to increase “performance.” Good leaders value people and that happens to, in general, lead to better work product. Why? Because people love to work with/for people who want to work with/for them.

The Arbinger Institute writes in their remarkable book, Leadership and Self-Deception:

“we often can sense how others are feeling toward us, can’t we? Given a little time, we can always tell when we’re being coped with, manipulated, or outsmarted. We can always detect the hypocrisy. We can always feel the blame concealed beneath veneers of niceness. And we typically resent it. In the workplace, for example, it won’t matter if the other person tries managing by walking around, sitting on the edge of the chair to practice active listening, inquiring about family members in order to show interest, or using any other skill learned in order to be more effective. What we’ll know and respond to is how that person is regarding us when doing those things.” (pp. 28-29)

Ask yourself a tough question today: Do I really love the people I work with? Or, do I try to be nice to them so they will work better?

Biblical leadership and utilitarianism are strangers.

Thoughts?

 

What is a Good Sermon?

May 7, 2012 in Christianity, Church Strategy, Leadership, Personal, Preaching, Spiritual Formation, Theology with 6 Comments

It’s Monday, and a lot of preachers have spent some time self-critiquing what happened yesterday during the preaching moment. This weekly process of examination is nearly unavoidable, so it’s important we pay attention to what questions we ask.

It’s important a preacher know how to answer the question, “How’d I do?” I understand the danger in asking such a question. So, perhaps we can try this one on for size: In a sentence, what makes a good sermon? Obviously, answering that question is challenging on two fronts. First, one must come up with the extended play version of the answer…an explanation in however many words necessary of what makes a good sermon a good sermon. Then, there’s the simplification process. It’s tricky simplifying something nuanced like an answer to the “good sermon” question. We should do it anyway.

The reason this exercise matters is because when people tell you on Sunday after assembly, “Good message today!” we need to know what they mean. We also need to know what we mean by “good message,” so we have a target. Like it or not, we’re going to self-critique afterwards. So, let us self-critique the right way. Let’s know what a good message is versus a bad or a useless sermon. Let’s clarify what we mean and help the church understand what a good sermon is, as well.

That way, when they say, “Good sermon,” and you are self-critiquing later, it’s more than a feeling. You can say to yourself:

  • Was it anchored in the biblical text and Gospel?
  • Was it faithful to the text?
  • Did the congregation learn anything?
  • Did the congregation feel anything?
  • What did sermon answer the question: If we took that text seriously, what in our lives would need to change?
  • Did the church sense I really believed what I was saying?

The odds are, if you can answer, “yes,” to these questions, you preaching a good sermon.

Question: What do you think makes a good sermon?

Jerry Rushford – a Tribute

May 4, 2012 in Leadership, Personal, Preaching, Religion with 6 Comments

Jerry Rushford

This humble blog has been a bit more sporadic this week–and for good reason. I’ve made my annual pilgrimage to Malibu for Pepperdine University’s annual Bible Lectures. Though Friday Stream of Consciousness has become the most read weekly post on New Vintage Leadership, I’m altering it today in order to honor a long-time friend and mentor, Jerry Rushford, who bids farewell to directing this remarkable event after thirty years tonight. I hope you’ll indulge me this Friday. I could go on for pages, but in the spirit of Fridays:

Here’s a Friday Stream of Consciousness on Dr. Jerry Rushford:

  • Jerry was one of my favorite professors. I had him for both Preaching and Restoration History. In both cases, my favorite class session was the first, when he would go over the syllabus and tell stories of the authors of our textbooks–among others. He is my favorite storyteller. The man could make the syllabus sing.
  • It really is hard to overstate what the Bible Lectures mean to churches on the West Coast–especially those under 100 in attendance. I grew up in such a church–and know what it means.
  • I might not have every made it to a pulpit in any church had Jerry not been willing to afflict small congregations within driving distance of Pepperdine with my inexperienced preaching–like San Gabriel, Frazier Park, San Fernando, Santa Maria, Cypress, the list goes on for a while. Waking up at 4:30am on Sunday to drive 200 miles to preach to 20 people for no money–priceless. I’m not joking at all when I say that. Those mornings shaped me in huge ways–and I wish everyone who wanted to preach would do that for several years during their education.
  • I am so thankful for Jerry’s trust when I was so young. By the time I was a undergraduate senior he was letting me preside in the Fieldhouse during the morning sessions. I got to introduce speakers like Jeff Walling and Joe Beam–who later became friends but were absolute rock stars to me at the time. It really was my first experience speaking in front of larger crowds, and though it was usually 60 seconds or less each time–it helped.
  • Jerry helped teach me the importance of honoring people–and showing appreciation. I love watching him present a plaque to a person know one has heard of who God has been using out of the spotlight for decades. Appreciating people…a lost art, these days.
  • Jerry is notorious for his late-night calls–or calls that reached you when you thought you couldn’t be reached. I got many, many of those calls. I can remember in 2001 I was stopped in the auditorium between services and presented with a phone. I was told Jerry was on the line and needed the final title for my class. Other times, he’d want to bounce something off me, or process a decision. I loved those calls. Talking ministry or Pepperdine (2 of my favorite subjects) with Jerry was something I enjoyed every time.
  • Jerry taught me the importance of history. He is a living time capsule of the American Restoration Movement. I told him once that before he died, he HAD TO sit down and write or record all the stories he knows that no one else likely does. Jerry could make the tax code interesting. Plus, he needs to tell them Jerry-style.
  • Word association for Jerry Rushford: Energy, story, history, passion.

I couldn’t be more thrilled that Mike Cope and Rick Gibson will help write PBL’s next chapter. They bring their own substantial gifts to bear. However, when the final amen is said tonight in Firestone Fieldhouse, the pastor of a church of 4,000+ that meets but once a year in Malibu will retire. As someone who has been a part of that “church” for all 30 years (including my pre-Pepperdine years), I wish Jerry the absolute best, and thank Him for the role He’s played in my life.

 

 

Have Fun Out There

May 2, 2012 in Christianity, Church Strategy, Family Life, Leadership, Personal, Spiritual Formation, Sports with 2 Comments

SmileMy 9-year-old daughter is struggling at softball this season.

Don’t get me wrong, she’s great with the glove. In the field, she knows where to be and when to be there. She runs well and is smart on the basepaths. She plays hard and loves it. Her attitude is phenomenal. Even if she wasn’t my daughter, she’s the kind of player I’d love to have on my team.

And then…there’s hitting. She hits great in practice. But, in the game…let’s just say she doesn’t hit fine. Why the difference between the practice and the game?

Pressure.

She puts a lot of pressure on herself and when she doesn’t succeed in an at-bat, it lowers her confidence…which then causes her to put more pressure on herself, which….

You get the point. Pressure is unavoidable. It’s a fact of life. Life will give you plenty of pressure. You need not create and apply it yourself.

Last night at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures I watched Jonathan Storment preach, and what really struck me about Jonathan’s preaching was he looked like he was having the time of his life up there. Though I’m sure he felt some pressure speaking on a prestigious stage to over 4,000 people, he didn’t come across pressurized. He came across like he was having fun. As a result, those listening joined him.

There is a phrase coaches love to yell to pitchers during a tough inning: “Have fun out there.” It’s one we in ministry would do well to memorize. Have fun doing what you’re doing. Enjoy your craft. Enjoy sharing God’s Word with people. There is nothing wrong with having fun out there. Of course, ministry isn’t always a bag of giggles. Nevertheless, it’s something we should enjoy … frequently.

I wonder if some of my friends would still be in ministry if some fellow Christian or church leader said to them during a particularly tough season, “Have fun out there!” “Smile.” “Celebrate the things God is doing.” “Enjoy serving the Lord with your life!”

So, maybe I’ll just say to you, whatever season you’re having.

Have fun out there.

Lead Yourself

May 1, 2012 in Christianity, Church Strategy, Leadership with 1 Comment

Lead YourselfWe Christians fancy ourselves as those striving to be “selfless.” After all, we follow one who came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. We are to be serious about God’s mission. All of this should lead one away from thinking about oneself very often.

Indeed, self-absorption is wrong. Self-absorption or selfishness is different than understanding we cannot fix others or motivate the unmotivated. We can only really fix and lead ourselves.

Leadership isn’t about telling others what they must do and motivating them to do it. Leadership begins with a clear sense of one’s own calling and a focus on self-leadership.

When a leader spends his or her energy trying to motivate the unmotivated rather than managing themselves, they can fall into the trap of selfishness unknowingly and attempt leadership at a lower level than they need to. To illustrate just one way this happens: When I’m focused on others inappropriately I inevitably begin comparing myself to them. I tend to aggrandize my virtues and leadership in my own mind while diminishing their “followership.” I may think, “Why can’t they get this?” “Why don’t they care as much as I do?” “Why can’t they just obey what Jesus calls them to do?” These are the questions of one trying to be faithful through others, rather than with others.

Begin with self-leadership. The healthier, more differentiated we are, the better leaders we become. And, ironically, more selfless. We are more patient. We are more able to serve with others without using them. We are more effective, godly leaders.

The emotional and spiritual field created by a healthy, self-led and self-differentiated leader is what leadership really is. It isn’t persuading others to do what they aren’t doing or don’t want to do.

 

 

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