Archives For Culture

Influencing the Future

March 31, 2011 — Leave a comment

Churches tend to lag behind when it comes to innovation. Pastors are usually so focused on “Sunday’s Coming” that they forget the future is already here. As a result, churches spend most of their time living in the past, planning for today, and completely missing tomorrow.

But what if you could actually shape the future. What if, rather than living in reaction mode, you actually created the future. Irene Sanders, innovator and author of Strategic Thinking and the New Science, observes, “The key to influencing the future is to apply your thinking and planning resources NOW to emerging conditions, issues, and opportunities.” Doing so requires a blend of insight about the present and foresight about the future.

Insight comes from studying the issue or problem at hand, understanding your church’s history, knowing the assumptions that shape why and how you do ministry, and reading and learning outside of your field. This aggressive learning posture prepares you to see and seize the future.

Foresight is all about identifying your emerging initial conditions. I know that’s a mouthful so let me make it as plain as I can with application to a local church. Identifying your emerging initial conditions is about seeing the changes that are bubbling below the surface of your church that could have a radical impact on how you do ministry. These conditions are usually not easily visible. They could be emerging changes in the community where you serve, emerging technologies, economic shifts, growing needs, or any number of issues. Sanders says, “These are things which  may seem small now, but if any one of them mushroomed overnight it could have a dramatic impact on the future of your business.”

Continue Reading…

In Church, Culture, Leadership, Organizations Church, Foresight, Future, Innovation, Insight, Leadership, Organizations
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A Visual Picture of Calling

August 30, 2010 — Leave a comment

Yesterday I posted “Why Calling Isn’t Just for Pastors.” I was recently introduced to a fantastic video by The Fund for Theological Education that provides a clear snapshot of calling from a biblical perspective.  The video combines the idea of vocation, calling, talents, abilities, passions, and roles. It’s worth your time. Enjoy!



Vocation 101: What Do You Mean by Vocation? from FTE on Vimeo.

In Culture Calling, Life Purpose
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Why "Calling" Isn’t Just for Pastors

August 28, 2010 — Leave a comment
In church world, pastors often promote a sincere yet misguided idea that to be “called into the ministry” is the highest way to serve God. In fact, if you ever went to church camp as a teenager, you might have even heard a speaker give an altar call for people who felt “called.” So here’s my question: How come these speakers rarely or never gave an “invitation” for people who were called to serve God in business, media, education, politics, and any other number of roles? 

Let’s be honest. Most pastors would say, “Well sure God calls people to be in business. But it’s so they can be a witness and fund the kingdom.” While there’s truth to that statement, I would suggest that it’s extremely shortsighted. Calling is about so much more than funding someone else’s “ministry.” And while sharing Christ with others is very important, calling doesn’t stop there. Needless to say, there’s a lot of confusion about calling.

Authors Darrow Miller and Stan Guthrie observe that millions of believers operate from a worldview in which Christians fall into an ancient Greek dichotomy dividing the universe into the spiritual realm and the physical realm. This “sacred/secular” divide presents a skewed interpretation of Scripture. Bob Reccord and Randy Singer, authors of Made to Count, assert that the sacred and secular are nothing more than man-made distinctions. Instead, man is called to redeem all of culture…what Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey call, “The Cultural Commission.” Colson and Pearcey refer to the cultural commision as “the call to create a culture under the lordship of Christ…Our job is not only to build up the church but also to build a society to the glory of God.”

Os Hillman, author of The 9 to 5 Window observes that of Jesus’ 132 public appearances, all but ten were in the marketplace while 45 of His 52 parables had a workplace context. In the book of Acts, there were 40 miracles or divine encounters–39 of which occurred in the workplace. 

Here’s the point I want you to get: When leaders restrict “calling” to the church world, they diminish the biblical idea of calling and remove the power of the Gospel to redeem the marketplace and culture. Calling isn’t just for pastors–YOU are called. Perhaps Gene Edward Veith, Jr. says it best in God at Work: “‘The priesthood of all believers’ did not make everyone into church workers; rather, it turned every kind of work into a sacred calling.”

Consider the very term “vocation.” Vocation comes from the Latin word for “calling.” What we consider a job to pay the bills is actually much more than that. And in case you think that business, politics, media, banking, social services, education, engineering, art, or construction can’t be a “holy” calling, then who (or what) makes the call sacred? The call is sacred because of who it comes from not what it’s to. The source of the call, not the function of the call, is what makes the call sacred . A Holy God cannot produce unholy callings. And doesn’t God have the authority to call anyone He chooses to whatever vocation He chooses?

Scripture is clear: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).  The “good works” you do may be different from the good works I do. But those works–although different–were prepared in advance for us to do. We are called and were created to do them. Other passages also reiterate calling (Romans 8:28, Romans 13:1-6, Colossians 3:23-24, John 14:14-18, Exodus 31:1-11, Exodus 35:30-35, 36:1). 

So how do you view calling? And what has God called you to? 
In Culture Calling, Life Purpose
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4 Signs That You’re Missing the Future

May 10, 2010 — 1 Comment

Sometimes churches and organizations have a bad case of nearsightedness. They get so focused on the hear and now that they don’t see their greatest opportunities on the horizon.  I recently heard Gary Hamel describe it like this: “Organizations miss the future because they over invest in what is at the expense of what could be.” Here are four signs that your church or organization is nearsighted (over investing in what is) and is aimed to miss the future:

1.  Misguided Planning:  I can’t tell you how many organizations (churches especially) think planning is nothing more than whipping out the calendar and filling it with activities.  If all of your planning is focused on scheduling events, then you’re making a serious, nearsighted investment in “what is.” The future requires you to think and plan with “strategic flexibility.”  In most cases, calendar planning could be renamed “carbon-copy planning” because it’s nothing more than a repeat of the previous year’s programs and events.

2.  Unchallenged Assumptions:  I find it interesting that research conducted by Matthew Olson, Derek van Bever, and Seth Verry pinpoints assumptions as the common culprit in stalled growth.  In their article, “When Growth Stalls,” published in Harvard Business Review, they state that stalled growth is the result of management’s failure to bring the “underlying assumptions that drive company strategy into line with changes in the external environment.”  When we fail to challenge our assumptions, we drive our churches into irrelevance at warp speed.

3.  Budget Handcuffs:  Many churches and organizations are wearing budget handcuffs because every dollar is allocated to existing programs, buildings, and salaries.  I recently heard Willowcreek Community Church describe a line item in their budget called, “Winds of the Spirit.”  Each year Willow allocates a certain amount of money that doesn’t have a program name attached to it.  It’s simply money set aside to be used as the Holy Spirit directs the leadership.  This allows leaders to be innovative without being handcuffed by the budget–it gives them resources to fund new, innovative thinking.

4.  Idea-Repellant Cultures:  If you’ve ever sat in a meeting where new ideas were treated like the Bubonic Plague, you know exactly what I mean by “idea-repellant cultures.”  If your culture doesn’t have room for new ideas to breathe, you’re placing the kiss of death on your future.

Question:  What are other signs that a church or organization is going to miss the future by over-investing in what is?

In Culture, Leadership, Personal Growth Assumptions, Culture, Future, Ideas, Organizations, Planning
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Creativity, Doritos, and Super Bowl XLIV

January 15, 2010 — Leave a comment

In September, Doritos announced the fourth annual “Crash the Super Bowl” challenge in which they would air three “user generated” commercials during Superbowl XLIV. After more than 4,000 entries, the challenge has been narrowed to six finalists. And some serious prize money is at stake. One of the creative finalists is Erwin McManus, pastor of Mosaic church in Los Angeles, with his commercial titled, “Casket.” Check out his commercial below and then vote for his commercial to win here.



In Culture, Miscellaneous Creativity, Culture, Video
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Integrity and the Compartmentalization of Faith

July 14, 2009 — Leave a comment
Integrity is a non-negotiable–not just for leadership but for life in general. Integrity is the purity of character that influences every part of a person’s life to the degree that what you see in public is what God sees in private. Integrity is about more than the absence of bad habits. It’s the presence of the Holy Spirit’s work in your life producing genuine character. To have integrity implies that you are whole or complete.

One of the enemies of “wholeness” is the compartmentalization of faith. We live in a world of “lists” and that list mentality has negatively impacted our ability to live with integrity. As a result, we create compartments in life and often organize those compartments into two major categories–sacred and secular. Author and professor Dallas Willard has observed, “There truly is no division between sacred and secular except what we have created. And that is why the division of the legitimate roles and functions of human life into the sacred and the secular does incalculable damage to our individual lives and to the cause of Christ. Holy people must stop going into “church work” as their natural course of action and take up holy orders in farming, industry, law, education, banking, and journalism with the same zeal previously given to evangelism or to pastoral and missionary work.”

The truth is when God redeems your life, he redeems all of who you are. He doesn’t just redeem your spiritual life, but he redeems your work life, family life, recreational life–essentially all of you. Your life is not divided into “sacred” and “secular” categories. Rather, God calls you to be holy and to view every arena of life through a missional lens. Therefore, when God redeems you, He invites you to be on-mission with Him. He invites you to participate, as Chuck Colson says, not only in the great commission, but also in the “cultural commission,” using your God-given influence to shape culture for good.

Integrity cannot exist when our faith is compartmentalized. True integrity de-compartmentalizes our lives and makes us one person–whole and complete. When you lack integrity, a different you shows up in each arena of life. It’s like a spiritual multiple personality disorder–the people around you never know which you will show up at home, work, or church. But God invites us to a life of integrity where He is at the very core influencing everything we do and every arena of life. God-directed integrity removes a compartmentalized faith and creates one you in step with God’s work in you and in the world.

Questions: Do you compartmentalize your faith? How has this affected your integrity? What needs to happen for your life to represent the wholeness and completeness associated with true integrity?
In Culture, Personal Growth Character, Culture, Faith, Integrity
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The Haunting of Your Missional Potential

July 9, 2009 — Leave a comment

Potential has two sides to it–the side you’ve developed and the side you haven’t it. Phillips Brooks, author of the song, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” said, “When you discover you’ve been leading only half a life, the other half is going to haunt you until you develop it.” Potential is a tricky thing. It’s hard to know how much you have until you learn what you didn’t know–and then the potential finish line moves. That’s why the development of your full potential is a lifelong journey.

Particularly important is the development of your missional potential. Your missional potential is where your God-given purpose intersects your God-given capacity. It’s the lifelong process of being on-mission with God to the fullest extent of who God created you to be. It’s the maximization of your spiritual gifts, abilities, skills, and passions–aligned with God’s mission for your life–to make the greatest contribution to the world around you. When you fail to develop your full missional potential, the underdeveloped side haunts you. The only cure is clarity of the mission God created you to pursue, the courage to go after it, and the commitment to be a lifelong learner.

Question: What are you doing to develop your missional potential?

In Culture, Personal Growth Life Purpose, Missional, Personal Growth, Potential
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Why Global Suffering?

June 28, 2009 — Leave a comment

Our world is suffering. The wide-spread abuse of power is birthing some of the worst atrocities known to man. This morning I preached a message at our church titled, “Darfur, AIDS, and Sex-Trafficking: Why?” It was the final message in a series we’ve been doing titled, “Ask God.” In the series we’ve tackled some of the tough issue that leave us scratching our heads asking God what in the world is going on. Today’s message focused on global, wide-spread suffering. While there are no easy answers, I focused on three causes of suffering. With each one, I’ve added a leadership take-away:

1. Human Freedom and Responsibility – God created man with the freedom to choose, and man has used that freedom irresponsibly. Freedom is a good principle, but freedom ultimately could not exist unless the possibility of its abuse existed as well. Freedom without the ability to choose is not freedom at all. Had God not created us with the ability to freely choose, humans would be nothing more than wind-up toys whose behavior was manipulated by its manufacturer. Because man has been irresponsible with his freedom to choose, some of the most horrific atrocities in history–such as the genocide in Darfur–have emerged as the unchecked presence of evil. Leadership Take-Away: You will be held accountable for your leadership decisions. Use your freedom responsibly.

2. Original Sin – Philip Yancey once said, “Suffering…was introduced into the world as a consequence of man’s aborted freedom.” While Satan introduced sin into the spiritual realm, Adam and Eve introduced sin into the world when they willfully rebelled against God’s perfect design. As a result, the nature of man has become sinful. Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” Leadership Take-Away: A leader’s sin nature affects more than himself. Your ability to control your sin nature and walk in full submission to Christ is absolutely essential.

3. A Wide-Scale Depraved Worldview – Everybody lives with a worldview–a set of beliefs and assumptions about God, ethics, values, morals, reality, and right and wrong–through which they view and interpret the world. When entire cultures live with a depraved worldview (a worldview that is misaligned with the Bible–similar to what we read about in Romans 1:28-32), the results can be devastating. How does this wide-scale depravation happen? It occurs when depraved ideas about what is right and wrong spread horizontally and vertically. The horizontal spread of wrong ideas occurs when one friend shares their beliefs with another and over time the ideas spread from person to person and community to community. Ideas about right and wrong spread vertically when leaders in positions of influence build entire cultures, systems, policies, laws, and economic structures based on their depraved belief system. Ultimately, the ideas about truth become institutionalized in the society’s laws, value systems, and structures, and, in turn, often create wide-spread suffering. Leadership Take-Away: A leader’s worldview shapes every person, system, structure, and organization he or she influences or interacts with. A foundational Biblical worldview is imperative for leaders to shape culture for good.

The answers to “why suffering” do not really satisfy our souls. And perhaps this is a good thing. Because if our souls found contentment in the answers to our questions about suffering, then our soul might be inclined to inaction. I believe the fact that we don’t have all the answers forces us to grapple with the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46 (I encourage you to read these words for yourself). At some point, followers of Christ must do more than ask, “Why?” We must ask “Who?” Who will respond to the need? Who will do something about the suffering? What will I do? I wrapped up the message this morning with an incredible video titled, “A Thousand Questions” that Willow Creek featured at their 2008 Leadership Summit. It’s just over 10 minutes long–and worth every minute.





In Culture, Leadership Culture, Leadership, Suffering, Worldview
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Are You Doing Ministry From Memory?

April 11, 2009 — 5 Comments

A few months ago I read Craig Groeschel’s new book, It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It.  In the book, Groeschel says “IT” is what God does through a rare combination of passion for His presence, a deep craving to reach the lost, sincere integrity, Spirit-filled faith, down-to-earth humility, and brokenness.  He then articulates a number of qualities that contribute to “it” in a local church including vision, divine focus, unmistakable camaraderie, innovative minds, willingness to fall short, hearts focused outward, and Kingdom-mindedness.  Throughout the book, Groeschel also highlights a handful of churches that God is using.  One of them is National Community Church.  He says, “The leaders of NCC fight against becoming what they call a closed system.  They never want to limit their learning to what they know.  The leaders of this innovative church refuse to do ministry from memory.”  


I love that statement!  Are you doing ministry from memory?  

Are the well-worn ruts of your methods leading to a slow death?  Here’s a wake-up call–leaders LEAD.  The responsibility falls on the shoulders of leaders to lead their churches and organizations out of the well-worn traditions that are ending in a slow death.  Even Jesus told the Pharisees, “You nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition” (Matthew 15:6).  Stop doing ministry from memory.  Pray!  Dream!  Listen!  Learn!  and then LEAD.  Too much hangs in the balance to do ministry from memory.

And by the way…if you’re spiritually dry, the last two chapters of Groeschel’s book will rock your world in a big way.  
In Culture, Leadership Innovation, Leadership
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