Michael's Notes - Thoughts On Worship, Leadership & Fitness

Sabbatical from Leadership: history of radical church leadership

On June 4 my family and I landed in Newark, New Jersey from whirlwind tour of England and Scotland.  The focus of the trip was church history, but it really was a history of men being radical followers of Christ who lead others to do the same.

The trip was billed and outlined to give an overview of the formations of the Baptist church. Yes there were the visits to the large cathedrals, but that was not the most thrilling part. The best part was being reminded that the motivation behind the beginnings of the Baptist movement was men wanting to be radical followers of Jesus Christ. “Surrendering to a call to be radical followers of Jesus Christ.” For these men it was all about making their relationship with God personal and not ritual. Their desire for this type of relationship was contagious and their challenge to others to do the same started a movement.

Our worship and walk with Christ is personal and when we follow Christ we are often seen as radical.

The challenge for me is to remember that church can easily slip into ritual when we make it about the ‘church’ and not about God and a relationship with Him. ‘Church’ can easily be transformed into programs that become sacred instead of the sacred being the ‘awe’ of God. ‘Church’ can easily be consumed by honoring the buildings of honoring God in the buildings.

The guard against ritual in processes or pride in things is to remember the mission: ‘glorifying God and making radical disciples.’

The Best Father’s Day Gift

Over the last few months my son Spencer and I have spent quite a bit of time together. During this time I have even got him hooked on NCIS and House. For me it is not about the shows, but that we sit together in the same room and comment and laugh about the story lines….just spending time together.

On Father’s Day morning I found a note taped to the coffee pot. The cover said “Dad from your son.” At first I thought he had got the coffee pot ready to brew the first pot...no such luck. When I realized that was not the case I open the note. Here is what I found.

 

Happy Father’s Day Dad.

Thanks for everything, like my new phone, guitars and bike.

You are the best dad ever.

I hope when I have a family I will be half as great a dad as you. Love you! Thanks so much.

Want to play some bocce ball today.

Love you so much, talk to you later, love you.

 

What else could a dad ask for? 

God truly help me to be a good example to my children.
Help me point them to Christ.
Help me be an example of love.

Leadership: learning from other leaders

I have a list of eight core values that help drive and organize my life. Number eight is ‘be a lifetime learner.” In recent years there has been s drive in me to soak up as much knowledge as possible on a variety of subjects. Three subjects that have occupied most of my time are: worship (knowing as much about God as possible) fitness (learning how to live a balanced healthy life) and leadership (learning how to lead others effectively.)

In planning a sabbatical from my current leadership position I decided that some of that time could be spent interview leaders from a variety of non-profit and for-profit organizations. The list of interviewees varies from university presidents to presidents of health care organizations and leaders of publishing companies.

In preparation for the interviews I compiled a list of questions that I could potentially ask. The original list of questions numbered around 50…there was no way I could take that much time of these leaders. The list had to be edited. What you see below are the questions I have used for the last 9 interviews.  (One of the leaders I interviewed  was Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers and he was gracious to mention me in his blog and post the edited list of questions. Check out his blog for comments from others and also some additional questions)

The exercise of compiling the questions and conducting the interviews has been one of the best experiences I have ever undertaken.  The insights I have gained are priceless and I can’t wait to share them with you. Keep checking back, the answers are coming soon.
1.    Can you name a person who has had a tremendous impact on you as a leader? Maybe some one who has been a mentor to you? Why and how did this person impact your life?
2.    What are the most important decisions you make as a leader of your organization?
3.    As an organization gets larger there can be a tendency for the “institution” to dampen the “inspiration.” How do you keep this from happening?
4.    How do you encourage creative thinking within your organization?
5.    Where do the great ideas come from in your organization?
6.    Which is most important to your organization—mission, core values or vision?
7.    How do you or other leaders in your organization communicate the “core values”?
8.    How do you encourage others in your organization to communicate the “core values”?
9.    Do you set aside specific times to cast vision to your employees and other leaders?
10.    How do you ensure the your organization and its activities are aligned with your “core values”?
11.    How do you help a new employee understand the culture of your organization?
12.    When faced with two equally-qualified candidates, how do you determine whom to hire?
13.    What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?
14.    What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?
15.    What is one mistake you witness leaders making more frequently than others?
16.    What is the one behavior or trait that you have seen derail more leaders’ careers?
17.    Can you explain the impact, if any, that social networking and Web 2.0 has made on your organization or you personally?
18.    What are a few resources you would recommend to someone looking to gain insight into becoming a better leader?
19.    What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?
20.    What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?

Related Posts:
Questions for Leaders, Great Questions, Too Many to Ask.

Questions for Leaders
Leaders: Influence – Influencers

Churches Worship as their Pastor Worships

The pastor is the leader, shepherd of the local church. I believe he is also the lead worshipper to whom the congregation is looking toward to understand how they are to worship. I have believed this and witnessed this for a long time; however, during the last few weeks it has become even more evident to me.

 

Just recently I have had the opportunity to visit a number of churches during their worship services.  In most cases I have been seated so that I could witness the lead pastor during the worship experience.  My belief: “the congregation worships as the lead pastor” was reaffirmed.” Sure there are exceptions to this observation within each congregation, but for the most part they all take their cues from the pastor.

 

I am thankful that I serve at a local congregation where the pastor is a participant in the worship services, not just an observer. Worship is a verb something we do not something we watch. 

Sabbatical from Leadership: England & Scotland

For the last eleven years I have had the privilege of serving and leading as Worship Pastor at ClearView Baptist Church Franklin, Tennessee. And I guess they want me to stay around for a while, because this summer they have allowed me to take a seven week sabbatical to refresh, renew and relax.  This sabbatical is a welcomed blessing, however, I must say it has been very difficult to disconnect. I am working on that and will probably have it down just about the time the sabbatical comes to an end.

The sabbatical is divided into two sections: study and relaxation.  For the relaxation part we have planned some family trips and down time around our house. The study part has and continues to proceed down two paths. The first comes in the form of studying leaders and their actions of leadership. The main avenue of this study is personal interviews with leaders of non-profit and for-profit organizations. To date I have conducted 10 interviews with more to come.  I plan to post more info about these interviews at a later date.

The second part of study came as my family and I got to experience portions of England and Scotland.

In some ways it seems like months ago that my family and I made a trip to England and Scotland. The reality is just a few days ago. It began roughly as we were delayed in our departure by weather and missed an overnight flight to London. However, the trip was something we will look to as a ‘marker’ in our family, something we will remember and talk about for years to come.

The trip was title: Our Christian and Baptist Heritage. During our travels we visited typical tourist locations with stops at the Oxford and Cambridge Universities and the home of  C.S. Lewis. Throughout the trip there were stops at locations of significance to ‘dissenters’ (persons who dissented against the Church of England) that lead to the formation of the Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist and other protestant traditions.  The trip was lead by Dr. David Dockery, President of Union University and Dr. Timothy George, Dean of Beeson Divinity School and Samford University. Before each stop we were given a history lesson about the persons and events that related to each site. Places we visited were related to such noted figures as: John Bunyan, John Knox, William Carey, John Wesley and Charles Spurgeon.

The sites were amazing but what will stick with us more is the desire of the men just mentioned to be a follower of Christ and that they were willing to do so at all cost.

How Much To Eat Today

I am asked often by friends and co-workers about what are some healthy food choices they can make.  First let me say I am no expert and if you really want to get some professional opinion seek out a certified nutritionist. The reality about food choices is that we all know what we should be eating, we just choose to made poor decisions. Here are a couple of easy guidelines to follow:  eat natural not processed, (fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, good fats, lean meats) and at each meal try to make a 1% change for the better.

The other question that often is raised is how much should I eat. The answer that depends on your lifestyle and activity level. This would be based on your Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR); the amount of calories that your body would burn at complete rest.

There are a couple of ways you can determine this number of calories; the best being a specific test performed by a doctor or technician. Another less accurate way is by buying a scale that uses a very small electrical impulse to measure body fat and therefore it can estimate you BMR. Still another way to estimate you BMR is by working a formula using your height weight and age.

In Friday’s edition of our local newspaper, The Tennessean, a brief article was posted in the health section about Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR). In the article the formula was published.  The formula is different for men and women. Once the basic formula is worked then you take it one step further by figuring in your activity level. Here are the formulas:

BMR for Women
655 (plus) (4.35 x weight in pounds) (plus) (4.7 x height in inches) (minus) (4.7 x age.)

BMR for Men
66 (plus) (6.23 x weight in pounds) (plus) (12.7 x height in inches) (minus) (6.8 x age.)

Sedentary – BMR x 1.2
Lightly Active – BMR x 1.375 (light exercise 1 to 3 days a week.)
Moderately Active – BMR x 1.55 (moderate exercise 3 to 5 days a week)
Very Active – BMR x 1.75 (vigorous exercise 6 to 7 days a week)
Extremely active – BMR x 1.9 (intense exercise or sports training 6 to 7 days a week.)

Here is how it works out for me:

66 + (6.23 x 155) + (12.7 x 67) – (6.8 x 49) = 1549.35
I consider myself somewhere between moderately active and very active so for the purposes of this formula I will use moderately active.

1549.35 x 1.55 = 2401.5

According to these calculations I can eat 2401 calories a day.

Take a few minutes and calculate your BMR with the formula above and it will give you a good estimate of how much you should eat everyday. But remember it is important to eat good foods. And if you need to make changes to your eating habits, make small changes that you can live with.

Questions for Leaders, Great Questions, Too Many to Ask.

Recently I posted a call for help, asking readers to send questions they would like to ask leaders of organizations.  I appreciate all the responses, through this blog, Twitter and Facebook.  Below is the list of questions.  Now the task before me is to edit the list down to a manageable size. The goal is to find the best questions which can easily be used in a 30-60 minute interview.

Once the list of questions is edited then I will use them in conversations with leaders from various for-profit and non-profit organizations. I am looking forward to these times. I will be posting reflections on these interviews.

General
•    As you look back over your past, what has had the greatest impact on you personally in your growth as a leader or as a person?
•    Who is a leader that you look up to and why?
•    Why do you think you have been placed in this position of leadership?
•    What is the easiest thing about being a leader?
•    What are among the most important decisions a leader makes?
Creativity
•    How do you guard against inspiration becoming institutional?
•    How do you inspire/encourage creative thinking within your organization?
•    Where do the greatest ideas come from in your organization?
Vision/Core Values, Communication and Culture
•    What is the greatest fear you have for the organization you lead?
•    Which is more important in long term leadership of an organization, Vision or Core Values?
•    How do you communicate values/vision with your employees?
•    Are there specific times you set aside to cast vision?
•    How do you help new employees understand the culture of the organization?
•    What is the most important factor in determining whether to hire someone? (How do you decide who to hire?)
•    How do you ensure your organization is aligned around its vision, values, and goals?
Leadership Characteristics
•    What it the one characteristic that every leader should model? Why?
•    What are characteristics that are essential for leaders?
•    How important are these character traits to you as a leader or for the people you lead: submission, restraint, humility, love, compassion, courage?
•    When faced with two equally good options how do you choose?
•    What is it about your leadership that produces results?
•    What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?
•    What mistakes do you most often see leaders make?
•    In your opinion, what one thing most often derails a leader’s career?
Social Media
•    Social media has invaded our lives. Has it forced changes in how you communicate? 
•    Has social media allowed you to get to know those you lead better?
•    Has social media made it possible for your team to know you better?
Resources for Training
•    What is the best resource for learning leadership skills?
•    What books do you recommend leaders read?
•    What are the three most important things you would tell someone who has just moved into a leadership position for the first time?
•    What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?
Closing Question
•    If you left leadership today would you be satisfied with your accomplishments?

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