In his profile of University of Alabama quarterback A. J. McCarron, John Wertheim describes a scene that took place when the record-setting quarterback first arrived and joined the team as an 18-year-old freshman.
At his first intrasquad scrimmage McCarron was grouped with walk-ons, facing the defensive starters. He was sacked early and often, and wasn’t happy about it. He didn’t even remove his cleats before marching into Coach Nick Saban’s office afterward.
“I need to talk to you,” he snapped.
“O.K.,” said Saban.
“You want me to show you what I can do, how I can play? Well, I can’t do s— when you put me with walk-ons who can’t even block. I don’t understand why you don’t put me with the [starters].”
“Why? Because today we were testing your leadership,” Saban said, barely looking up. “And you failed. Miserably.”
Life is filled with little tests (and big ones), and they aren’t always what they seem. Tests of faith. Tests of skill or knowledge. Tests of character. Tests of performance. And yes, tests of leadership.
Most of these tests reveal themselves in the rearview mirror, not in the windshield. It’s only after the fact that we can truly see them for what they are. What we can do, however, is use hindsight to identify when others faced tests of leadership and learn from their successes or “miserable failures.” Here are five ways to recognize when your leadership was being tested: [click to continue…]
Surrender to the lordship and authority of Christ isn’t the goal of the Christian life.
It’s the means to the goal.
And that’s the problem, because in many Evangelical circles we’ve made surrender the target. In our audience-spectator-based worship services, we sing songs, give money, enjoy some fellowship, and hear a passionate call, all around the same theme – Jesus is Lord, and wants to be Lord of your life. Then we appeal to non-believers to surrender in faith to His Lordship for salvation, and to believers to surrender to His Lordship for sanctification.
Okay. Now what? [click to continue…]
It was painful and ugly, Lisa told us. She had left town to attend a school, presumably to train people to be worship leaders. What she discovered instead was an unhealthy, “I’m always right” form of egotistical authority-wielding. If anybody in the so-called “school” suggested an idea that didn’t line up perfectly with the ego-polishing done “on the stage,” there was hell to pay. And the favorite punch(ing) line: “You need to buy into the vision.”
“We’ve been spending some time rethinking our organization’s vision,” John said.
“Why is that?”
“Because we need a better way of communicating to the public and to our people the essence of why we’re here.”
May I offer a polite suggestion? (If not, I’ll be happy to offer a rude one.)
Before you start planning or pontificating on what you, somebody else, or the organization “needs,” don’t you think it would be a good idea to have a clear definition of “need?”
And before you merge onto the leadership freeway, teeming with thousands of commuters headed, they say, in the direction of their “vision,” don’t you think you need to have a grasp on what a vision actually is? [click to continue…]
The Dream
Somewhere in the deepest places of your heart, however old and tired or fresh and alive it may seem, there lurks The Dream. Rooted in who or what you believe to be true, grounded in what you are most passionate about, The Dream is your ideal sense of beauty, happiness, and ultimate contentment.
For many people, The Dream is so patently obvious or so magically impossible, they hardly think about it, much less discuss it. For others, The Dream is tantamount to heaven, so they assume that the only joy here is preparing for life there, after death.
Let me be clear. “God has prepared things for those who love him that no eye has seen, or ear has heard, or that haven’t crossed the mind of any human being” (1 Corinthians 2:9, CEB). But in setting your heart toward home, He has given you a sense of life as it ought to be… as it can be. It may seem impossible this side of heaven…
Nevertheless, The Dream is there.
And you are here.
And in between are the Distance and the Spaces.
The Spaces are those markers and milestones that speak of the progress you have made in the direction of The Dream.
The Distance is the ruthless, unyielding set of facts, measurements and rules that, apart from God’s grace, show us just how far we have to go. [click to continue…]
Last summer I was sitting in a meeting of professors and academics discussing a tricky issue at this Christian university. The issue: What do we do about the fact that the back half of the full auditorium crowd spent their entire time in chapel texting on their phones? Beyond discussing rules for courtesy and maturity, I remember blurting out something like, “What they’re telling us is that whoever they’re connecting to is more interesting and relevant than whatever is happening on the stage.”
I was reading a web site not long ago about a product or service or something that somebody wanted me to “invest” in. I kept wishing whoever wrote it would get to the point. What is this? What can it do for me? What do I need to do to get it and how much is it going to cost me? Instead, in true sales letter form, I kept reading stuff like, “But first, let me tell you about so-and-so’s experience.” After a while I found myself screaming on the inside, Stop trying to get me interested! If I wasn’t interested I wouldn’t still be reading! Just give me the message and get to the point!
Years ago I went to a seminar for professional therapists called “Crossing the Line.” It was an ethical seminar about counselors who got romantically or sexually involved with their clients – totally a no-no. Yet statistics say something like 33% of therapists do it. They presented the facts to a huge room filled with people, and shook their heads and talked about how terrible it was and how to avoid it. But if the stats were true, a third of that crowd were perpetrators – and nobody offered them anything as a solution other than more guilt and shame. I left angry and frustrated. Is that what four hours of my time was supposed to produce?
I don’t care who you are or how you choose to communicate, please tell me that on the other end of that is somebody you expect to be interested, gain understanding, take action or dare to dream. Whether it’s an email message, a speech, a sales pitch, or even a sermon to a captive audience, please tell me you’re not going to waste somebody else’s time and your credibility with communication that doesn’t communicate!
Before you hit the send button, seal the envelope or walk up to the podium, here are four questions you need to be prepared to answer, and then actually answer them: [click to continue…]
When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.
(Brennan Manning)
It’s time to face the facts.
Anybody ever say that to you?
Did they ever follow it with something that sounded like good news?
Where did reality get such a bum rap? I don’t mean Debbie-Downer-such-a-frowner stuff where you look for reasons to be miserable. I certainly don’t mean TV shows that pass for “reality.” I mean an honest assessment of the brutal facts that say, “Where you is is where you is.”
So… um… Where you is?
Do you realize that the only way you can ever experience meaningful change, positive results, breathtaking opportunities or fulfilled potential is first to enter the doorway of truth? [click to continue…]
I think Peter was left handed.
I’m referring, of course, to Simon Peter of the New Testament, not Peter Gabriel, Paul and Mary’s friend Peter, or Laurence J. Peter of The Peter Principle.
Oh, I’m sure his mama beat it out of him since left handedness was considered a disability, if not a sign of evil back in the day. But evidence of Peter’s right-brained dominance abound… [click to continue…]
Nehemiah discovered a gap between what was and what should be.
What was – local thugs were keeping the holy city of his fathers in ruins as the people there had tried to rebuild it for 40 years.
What should be – a city with a wall around it.
In that discovery, he made a risky decision. It wasn’t enough to pray or weep over it. He needed to take action. So Nehemiah aimed for The Gap. And 52 days after his arrival in Jerusalem, the wall was completed.
Moses was hiding from his past on the back side of the desert when he discovered a gap between what was and what should be.
What was – the cries of the oppressed Israelites had reached the ears of their God.
What should be – a nation of slaves set free to inherit the land of God’s promise.
In that discovery, he made a risky decision. It wasn’t enough to stand there and try to argue with a burning bush and the God who was calling him. He needed to take action. So Moses aimed for The Gap. And weeks later, he and a few million of his family members stood at the edge of the Red Sea.
This is the essence of leadership. [click to continue…]
On Interstate 40 in New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Santa Rosa, you’ll find an exit at the 226 mile marker.
That’s about it.
A bridge and four exit and entrance lanes. That’s all.
There is no food, phone, gas or camping opportunity. No tourist traps so common on this major cross-country artery. Nothing.
Okay, but at least there’s a highway number or the name of some road, right? I mean, plenty of Interstate exits offer no services, but at least they name the road or the destination like Owassa, Hope Hull, or Tucumcari. What’s the name of this road?
There isn’t one.
Where does it lead?
Nowhere.
The sign simply says, “Exit 226.” [click to continue…]
So somebody’s in charge, but nobody’s actually leading. There’s a boss, but no vision caster. You have an authority figure, but no one is harnessing the best efforts of the people in your organization.
In short, you have a leadership vacuum. What do you do?
Quit?
Lead a mutiny?
Facebook your friends and tell them what a loser you have as a leader?
Try to outmaneuver others politically and manipulate your way to power?
Sit and suffer and hope for the best, while your peers keep howling for leadership?
How about asking God to smite somebody while you’re at it?
These are all approaches used to face situations that have become almost cliché they’re so common: What do I do when my leader isn’t leading? Organizations everywhere – businesses, churches, nonprofits, and schools are decrying a lack of leadership. Somebody needs to make the tough decisions, cast the difficult vision, harness the amazing abilities and energy of the people! And we seem to be convinced that the answer to the search lies somewhere else.
Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe the search for someone to step into the leadership ends with you. Maybe you’re the leader the organization needs, even if people in executive suites don’t necessarily see it yet. Maybe you’re the catalyst for change, even if you don’t have the sanctioned power to make it so. [click to continue…]
In his profile of University of Alabama quarterback A. J. McCarron, John Wertheim describes a scene that took place when the record-setting quarterback first arrived and joined the team as an 18-year-old freshman.
