My good friend, Jessica Blanco, often reminds me, “It doesn’t matter what the vision is; it matters what the vision does.” 

The danger is spending so much time attempting to perfect the vision, our product, our plans, or our systems and processes that we never actually do anything of value.  Imagine someone making a New Year’s Resolution to get in better shape.  They spend weeks creating a personal vision and mission statement, developing a strategic plan, artistically displaying their blueprint to get to the gym, and spending money on memberships, healthy food, a trainer, and attractive gym wear.  All of this effort is a waste if it does not produce activity.  The vision is meaningless if three months later you are in no better shape than when you began. 

Action trumps everything.

Make sure the vision is actually doing something and recognize that the journey is the whole point!  Remember, “It doesn’t matter what the vision is; it matters what the vision DOES.”

“We had it and lost it…”  This is a phrase often heard in organizations, churches, teams, etc.  “It” may describe their vision, team unity, winning attitude, or great product.  For example, one may hear “We had a passionate team and lost it.”  The “it” is irrelevant for this conversation.  The point is they had “it”, but somehow and somewhere “it” was lost.

My supposition is that a majority of time this loss is due to personnel.  The right person left, the wrong person was brought in, or chemistry on the team changed.  Many of us have heard the 3 “C’s” of building a great team – Character, Competency, and Chemistry.  I, personally, prefer the following 4 “C’s”

• CALLING – I want to be part of a team that feel they are called – Individuals who are passionate and view their role as more than simply a job or an avenue to a paycheck.  Nothing great in this world has been accomplished apart from passionate people.
• CHARACTER – Integrity is critical for creating authenticity and trust both internally and externally.  A person lacking character will eventually be a cancer to any team.
• COACHABILITY – I prefer this word over ‘competency’.  Competency is a replaceable commodity and, in today’s world, the fact is one will never have enough competencies.  A self-motivated learner who is coachable will be a far greater asset than one who has a tremendous amount of competency, but may have also developed tunnel vision.  Don’t misunderstand – competency is important, but only when intertwined with being a coachable, passionate learner.
• CHEMISTRY – I recall a CEO of a multi-million dollar organization expressing that the greatest cost to their company was hiring the wrong people (not those lacking competency, but those who simply did not fit the culture of the organization).  In fact, this particular business developed a hiring procedure that assessed both the person’s competency for their role and their chemistry with the department and greater organization.  If you want a great team you MUST ensure there is great synergy.  It makes sense to clearly define, in writing, your culture and find people who fit.

Imagine the potential if you assembled a group, who felt called, had character, were coachable, and synergized with the culture of your team and/or organization!  Who wouldn’t sign up for that?

Prior to a race my son and his aunt had entered I overheard Josiah say, “My coach used to be a great runner…”  It caused me to think of the number of times I am already adopting the phrase “used to be”.

Compare the fact that every one of us are, or will be, borrowing the expression “used to be” concerning our athletic prowess, stamina, strength, health, or memory and it becomes obvious that we, in some fashion, will be a “USED TO BE”.  However, as I contemplated this apparently sad truth I began to recognize the things that truly count, the things that are eternal, never need to be “used to be” – loving God, loving others, being gracious, extending mercy, fighting injustices, walking humbly, giving hope…

Each of us will eventually be a “used to be” in something, but with the things holding true eternal value God has granted us the incredible opportunity to have continued impact.

What a gift!

How do we not lose heart?

Characters in all the great stories, fictional or non-fictional, are consistently on the brink of losing heart.  It is always the enemy’s goal to destroy moral.  The danger for any of us is to check out, flee, or give up.  A word search of Scripture will produce numerous encouragements “to not lose heart” indicating our vulnerability to discouragement.  Life is not just about success, it is about victory and defeat, the thrills of winning and the agony of setbacks.

While we are propelled into another year, may we continue to fight and move forward, as the characters in all the great stories have done.  Choose to live these next months with NO RESERVES, NO RETREATS, and NO REGRETS.  You and I, as we grow older, will find our greatest regrets will be things we did not do, adventures we did not live, lives we did not save, people we did not love, and time we did not use.

Perhaps Mother Teresa put it best –

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered…Forgive them anyway

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives…Be kind anyway

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies…Succeed anyway

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you…Be honest and frank anyway

What you spend years building, some could destroy overnight…Build anyway

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;…Be happy anyway

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow…Do good anyway

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough…give the world the best you’ve got anyway

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;…It was never between you and them anyway.

-Mother Teresa

Yesterday a co-worker and I were discussing the depth of our team unity at New Life.  We are a group who plays hard, laughs often, cries with one another, has accomplished much, continues to move forward, and overall views our vision “through the same lens”.  As a framed picture in my office states, “In the end, teamwork can be summed up in five short words… we believe in each other.”  

What is critical to note is that this did not happen accidentally.  You show me a team rooted in each other and I will nearly always show you great leadership behind this unity.  

Thousands upon thousands of pages in literature have been reserved for the idea of leadership.  Certainly, it is arrogant to believe I would add any insight.  However, as I see it one could, perhaps, narrow “Leadership” to three core components:

1. Leaders have followers – Title, rank, years in a position, the amount of leadership principles one can quote, or the scores of leadership books and/or conferences one has attended mean little if no one is following.  In its most barbaric form – if you draw your sword, give the battle cry, and begin running toward the enemy and no one runs with you…you are not a leader.  Leaders have followers!
2. Leaders cast vision – Great leaders rally people to a better future.  Most often they are deeply dissatisfied with the status quo and the question, “what could be” propels them to clearly articulate a brighter future – think Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech. 
3. Leaders get them there – If a great leader is defined by their ability to cast vision they must also be distinct in their ability to successfully arrive at that vision.  If a group could move from point A to point B with no help then, obviously, there is no need for leadership.  Leaders create a team and help that team achieve what they might never do on their own.

I believe in its simplest form these three principles sum up leadership.  Certainly, you and I could debate, over coffee I hope, the addition of one or two points.  Yet, in the end, if we possessed a recognizable name, people would purchase our book or attend our seminar on “The critical components of great leadership” allowing us to expound on these values.  In addition, individuals consistently follow those who exhibit these qualities and regularly laud them as great leaders – and many times they are.  However, the one missing component from the above mentioned list is in fact the only one God stated as being a requirement for great leadership – HUMILITY.  Jesus said, “Kings like to throw their weight around and people in authority like to give themselves fancy titles. It’s not going to be that way with you. Let the senior among you become like the junior; let the leader act the part of the servant.” (Luke 22:24 MSG)

Evidence is abundant of men and women who are genius at casting vision, brilliant at moving a group from point A to point B, and have built an enormous group of passionate followers.  No doubt, each of those qualities is essential to adequately lead others.  Yet, you and I have witnessed far too many of these same leaders destroy trust and crush relationships leaving a wake of individuals feeling confused, abused, cheated, misinformed, and misled.  I propose that most of these leadership failures are results of a lack of humility.  Selfishness, deceit, arrogance, greed, self-entitlement are consequences of lacking humility.  History is saturated with examples of individuals who led powerfully only to be undone due to their pride and arrogance. 

Marcus Buckingham, in his book The One Thing You Need to Know, states “The effective leader takes his self-belief, his self assurance, his self-confidence, and presses them into the service of an enterprise bigger than himself.  For the egomaniac, the self is the enterprise…When a leader lacks extended empathy, when he loses sight of those things we all share, he loses the ability to lead.”

In the end we may argue around the critical components of great leadership, but God himself stated HUMILITY as an absolute requirement.

Mike and I

I have heard it said that each day holds the possibility of a miracle.  Today, I was privileged to hear one.

My friend Mike has a wonderful story of redemption and restoration and this morning he shared with me his recent, incredible story of God’s perfect timing. 

Several weeks ago Mike had cut his head while working.  Our mutual friend, Carolyn, encouraged him to have the wound checked at a nearby Urgent Care.  As they sat in the waiting room, a nurse entered asking for Mr. Jernigan.  Mike approached the nurse as Jernigan is his surname.  The nurse responded, “Are you Marcus?”

“No, actually I am Mike, but my last name is Jernigan.”

 The nurse replied, “Well, I am looking for a Marcus Jernigan.”

As Mike returned to his seat he noticed an African American family seated in the next room.  On a whim Michael went to the family, knowing the son he had not seen in 35 years was named Marcus Jernigan.  They soon discovered Marcus was indeed Michael’s long lost son.  It takes little imagination to conjure the images of joy and happiness as Michael hugged his son!

One can recognize the insurmountable odds of a father and son, who had not met for over 3 decades, arriving to a waiting room in a small clinic within a city of nearly 3 million people at the same moment.  Unquestionably, this was not an accident or mere chance accounter.

As if that is not amazing enough – The day before, Mike had the privilege of meeting the daughter he had not seen in 7 years, along with some of his young grandchildren that he had never met – one who carried his name “Michael”.

As Carolyn relayed this story she said, “Watching God do this and the smile and joy on Marcus’ face…to meet his father and the love Mike had for his son was amazing!   What the enemy meant for bad, God turned to good.  God is good and is the God of perfect timing.”

Mike added, “God – you are too good to me.  Not in my best times could I have created a moment like this.  There had always been a hole in my heart missing my kids – I had wanted to see my children again and to have the opportunity to speak hope to them and cover them in prayer.  To have them see me healthy.”

God took those 35 years and turned it into an amazing, unforgettable moment!

“Trying is just a noisy way of not doing anything” because what we often claim to be obstacles may be nothing more than excuses.  Some time ago I made a commitment to make changes in my life – to start driving and quit going along for the ride.  I wanted to change more than I wanted to stay the same; thus, I created a strategy recognizing the truth of the old adage that “a failure to plan is a plan to fail”.  During this transformation I kept a journal – below are truths I learned during this process:

• Most often the difference between a dream and a decision is commitment
• The last thing I want to do is often the first thing I need to do
• I can only rise as high as my lowest habit
• “Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least” – Goethe
• There will always be whiners, complainers and doubters – I cannot waste my time or energy on these people
• Holistic Excellence – excellence in one area of life often bleeds into other areas
• Achievement breeds confidence
• Measurable Goals are a key to success – too often I have ambiguous dreams with no intentional plan of how to achieve the dream
• Positive “why  nots” versus negative “why nots” – God did not design me to be a pessimistic doubter; always having lists of “why nots”.  He designed me with dreams, to set achievable goals and to pursue these with reckless abandon.  He designed me to have an attitude of “why not” passionately pursue _______?
• Fail fast – anyone striving for excellence has setbacks, but champions learn selective amnesia.
• It’s what I do MOST of the time, not ALL of the time that shapes me
• Success is less about chance and more about choice

It was one of those beautiful summer days that make you glad to be alive.  The sun was shining, birds singing, and my boys and I were standing atop a ledge awaiting their first “cliff jumping” experience.  We had been on a family hike making our way down a canyon when we spotted one of those perfect swimming holes – A sandy beach leading to cold, deep water along the wall of a small cliff.  It was my 11 year old son who first came up with the idea, “Dad, lets jump off that rock”.  After working our way up the rock formation and, prior to approaching the edge, I explained to my sons that the elevation would appear much higher from our current vantage point.  My advice was to walk to the edge, make sure no one was underneath, take several steps back, and JUMP – “If you think about it you will talk yourself out of jumping.  “Jump First – Fear Later!”

I watched as my 11 year old approached the edge and peered into the depths.  Meanwhile, an evil smile appeared on the face of his younger brother.  Before I could rebuke this wicked, albeit funny, idea my youngest had taken the two steps toward his elder brother, extended his arms, and gave him the help needed to plunge into the depths below. 

In our faith journey we often find ourselves on the edge of a precipice with a plethora of unknowns lying beyond our next decision.  Unanswered questions, past failures, and an unknown future make the leap increasingly difficult.  As we stand teetering on the edge, attempting to peer over the ledge into the mysterious, we hear the voice of God whispering, “Trust me – JUMP”.  Yet, unlike my youngest child, God seldom, if ever, pushes us.  He simply stands with us whispering, “Trust me and JUMP”.   Carolyn and I call these bus stop moments (Those who have been privileged to hear Carolyn’s story understand this terminology – video below).

Every life holds these moments that forever change the trajectory of our days on this planet – Opportunities to sink or swim, to trust or fear, to jump or remain the same.  It is these decisions, these instances in our lives, which move us from who we were to who we will be. 

The beauty of taking these bus stop moments, our leaps of faith, is it leads to radical, unexplainable lives of impact.  In Dangerous Wonder Michael Yaconelli emphasizes that this “faith in God that often calls us to do things we could never do on our own faith allows us to recognize the indiscriminate power of God that takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary”.  This type of trust causes us to live lives that make no sense outside of God.  Consequently, Jesus Christ liberates us from slavery, addictions, brokenness, or the mundane lives built around security and responsibility.  It moves us from the predictable and gives us permission to trust God and jump – it frees us to move from the ordinary to the extraordinary! 

As I look back on these past few years I recognize the number of times I refused to “Jump First and Fear Later”.  Too often I, regrettably, allowed my brokenness, regrets, and apprehensions of the unknown to “Fear First – Jump Later”.  However, I revel in those bus stop moments that I trusted God and stepped off that ledge.  The times I mustered that bit of faith in the extraordinary God that have always taken me on amazing rides of adventure, joy, peace, and awe.  So take that leap of faith because with God it’s always YES and AMEN!

Weeks ago I began processing why the primary role of a leader should be to protect the CAUSE rather than the INSTITUTION.  I recognize there are subtle nuances between the two; however, when we blur these lines or become completely absorbed in being institution driven the impacts to the organization are profound.

Below are my undeveloped thoughts – I encourage you to process, edit, and assess how your church, non-profit, or business is doing.  If the organization you work with has slipped into being more institutional driven than cause driven, become the agent of change that can lead your organization to be more about impacting the cause than promoting its name!