Leading and Inspiring a Team

In 1969, as the United States was racing to be the first country to successfully execute a manned lunar landing, the Apollo 11 mission was hours away from making history when flight director Gene Kranz, the leader of the entire mission operation, called his team together and shared the following:

"Hey gang, we're really gonna go and land on the moon today....We're about to do something that no one has ever done. Be aware that there's a lot of stuff that we don't know about the environment that we're ready to walk into, but be aware that I trust you implicitly....I know we're working in an area of the unknown that has high risk. But we don't even think of tying in this game, we think only to win, and I know you guys, if you've even got a few seconds to work your problem, we're gonna win. So let's have at it".

Here's The Point: A team will follow a leader who prepares the team well, exudes confidence in the team's ability, and who personally leads the team on the mission.

Source: Apollo: The Race to the Moon (Murray and Cox)

Catalyst Conference 2011- Mark Driscoll

Mark Driscoll is the Founding Pastor of Mars Hill Church, the Acts 29 Network and the Resurgence. He spoke at Catalyst on the topic of fear. Here is some of what he shared:

Fear in the mind causes stress in the body. How is stress going to help you? (Luke 12:25)

Fear is not always a sin but it is always an opportunity. When you fear someone, you cannot love them. Who has too much influence over your physical, emotional and spiritual well being? Whose opinion matters way too much to you?

Is my appetite for praise unhealthy? Am I overly devastated by criticism? Criticism in modern culture is instant, constant, global and permanent.

Are you committed to people and things that God did not call you to?

Fear is vision without hope.

Fear is not rational but it is powerful.

Fear is about getting what we don't want.

"Fear not" is the most frequently given command in Scripture. "Fear not, I am with you" is not just about facing fear but knowing that God is with us.

As Christ-followers, we've got to reset "worst-case scenarios"; if we die, we go to Jesus.

Everything may not be okay but if Jesus is with you, you'll be okay.

Just One Page

How important is Scripture to you?

What if all you had was one page of the Bible from which to study and learn God's Word? What if, upon entering a country that is closed to the Gospel, you were only able to sneak one page of the Bible into the lining of your suitcase.

Yesterday in our Bible Fellowship class, we tried something we had not done before. Last week, every person in class was given a photocopied page from the New Testament and asked to read over and pray through the passage they were given. Then yesterday, we asked people to share what God had shown them from their One Page.

It was a really great time of sharing as over a dozen people shared how God spoke to the them through their One Page this week. Some shared about how they need to be more aware of their daily testimony. One person shared about praying in thankfulness and with joy. One person shared about remembering who he was before he met Christ.

We will spend another Sunday morning looking at One Page in the future.

Being a Dad Who Cares

As a Dad of two young sons, I try to be involved in their world by knowing their friends (and their friends' parents when possible), by being involved as a youth sports coach, by volunteering in their classrooms. Because I care about my sons. And because I care about children.

Reggie Joiner, in his book The Slow Fade, writes from the perspective of the Dad of college-aged adults that he is. But this excerpt (pg. 34), though not written about being a parent of young children, summarizes why I try to be involved in my sons lives as well as those of other children:

"When I meet someone who is college-aged, I think about my kids, then I think about their parents, and I wonder what I can do that would reflect what I would want another adult to do if this were my son or daughter. It's not that I am extremely gracious or noble; it's just that I am a Dad and I have children, and I know adults who care about my kids. So I tend to care about other people's kids; it's just contagious that way".

Remembering Jeremy Frye

Today marks three years since my friend Jeremy Frye passed away as the result of complications he sustained during an accident that occurred while he was hiking.

Here is a post I wrote two years ago. The thoughts still very much apply today.

Fun on Friday- More Turnerisms

My youngest son, Turner, is 4 years old. The combination of a developing sense of his world, an expanding vocabulary and a creative young mind have led to what we affectionately refer to as Turnerisms. Here are a few more:

Turner (turning off the TV and running out of the living room): "I turned it off so it wouldn't run down the batteries".
Parker (quietly to me only): "I don't think he knows the TV doesn't run on batteries".

Turner: "If you don't let me have chips, I'll be sad. And you don't want me to be sad".

Me: "Turner, what are your 3 favorite sports?"
Turner: "Umm. Soccer. Pumpkin bowling. Eating".

Great Quote Thursday

Today, Tonya and I and several members of our church staff and their spouses attended Re:Awaken, a one-day workshop for leadership health at NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC. I will post more about the workshop in a future post.

For now, here's a great quote from Perry Noble- Freedom comes when you don't have anything to prove.