The Gift of Christmas

My earliest Christmas memory occured when I was five years old. I remember my brothers (age 4, & 2) and I decorating the tree in our small home in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas. We were so excited! Christmas was nearly here. We went to bed that night in anticipation of a wonderful Christmas morning opening presents. We awoke early the next morning before Mom and Dad were up and ran into the living room to discover Santa had come that night! Perfectly gift wrapped gifts were under the tree! That's when my brothers (age 4 & 2) and I had a familiy conference. Our descion: to plunge right in and see what Santa had brought. We jumped right in and began opening boxes. Our first surprise was that the presents were dish towels, tools, shirts and socks--much to big for us. Our second surprise occurred when our parents came into the room with the fury of a Texas tornado.

My brothers and I had jumped the gun. Those gifts we opened were for our extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins! My mother had stayed up late the night before to wrap them. The recriminations began immediately. Being the oldest I was blamed. In my defense I said I was out voted by my brothers (ages 4 & 2). After a stern talking to we now understood that Christmas morning was still a couple of days away.

I think about that first Christmas memory this time of year. All the hustle, bustle and anticipation. As I shop the crowded stores and malls I wonder how many people will miss the true joy of Christmas. As Christians we know the true gift of Christmas: Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us.

In 2 John 3 we find this verse: "Grace, mercy and peace be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love." (HCSB) Five great words describe the results of the gift of Christmas: grace, mercy, peace, truth and love.

May these be yours through Jesus Christ this Christmas season!

[This is my last post until after Christmas.}

Do you serve in a Christendom or Missional Church?

For the past few months I have had the privilege to serve with a group of people charged with the responsibility for strategic planning for a regional group of churches. It is challenging task but one wrought with God-sized opportunities. Their ministry area is projected to grow from 625k to over 1.1 million by the year 2030. One of the key issues our group wrestled with was the current state of our churches. We recognized that many churches are still mired in practices of yesteryear and are unable to seize opportunities for ministry in today's world. They are Christendom churches. We also recognized that many churches today ar Missional churches. Some were planted that way in recent years, some transitioned from a Christendom culture to missional mode. What are the differences between Christendom and Missional churches? What kind of church do you serve? Here are a few differences that can help you discover what kind of church you serve:

Christendom Churches: focus on maintaining the institution; Missional: focus on transforming lives.

Christendom churches: make a long-term commitment to the church; Missional: have a new found commitment to Jesus Christ.

Christendom churches: manage through committees and position holders; Missional churches deploy members into missions and ministries.

Christendom churches make decisions (usually for someone else to implement!); Missional churches make disciples of Jesus.

Christendom churches emphasize members training; Missional churches emphasize lifetime learning & growing in grace.

Christendom churches focus on raising money; Missional churches focus on raising people.

Christendom churches discuss internal needs; Missional churches address the unchurched in the community.

Christendom churches have an information-oriented faith; Missional churches have an experience-oriented faith.

Christendom churches are concerned with perpetuating a heritage; Missional churches are concerned with looking toward the future.

Christendom churches talk about church work; Missional churches talk about fulfillment, mission & ministry.

Where did you come out? Do you serve in a Christendom or Missional context.

What kind of team player are you?

Re-reading some material last night I came across Glenn Parker's book, Team Players and Teamwork (Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996). Great stuff that is still helpful to many church leadership teams. Parker sites research describing four types of team players that contribute to successful and effective teams:

1. The Contributor is the task-oriented member who enjoys providing the team with good information and data. Typically they push the team to higher performance standards and the wise use of resources. They are often described as dependable, responsible, organized, systematic and proficient.

2. The Collaborator is a goal-directed member who gets the vision, mission or purpose of the team. They are flexible and open to new ideas and are willing to pitch in and work outside their role and are willing to share the limelight with others in order to see the team accomplish its goals. The Collaborator is often describes as cooperative, flexible, forward-looking, generous, open and visionary.

3. The Communicator is the process-orinted team member who is an effective listener who facilitates involvement, handles conflict resolution, a consensus builder and helps creates an informal and relaxed climate. These people are supportive, encouraging, tactful, helpful, patient, informal and considerate.

4. The Challenger is the one member who will question the goals, methods, and even the ethics of the team. They are willing to disagree with the leader or someone in higher authority. They also encourage the team to take well-calculated risks. They are often acribed as candid, honest, truthful, outspoken, principled and brave.

As the leader resist the temptation to stack the deck with people who think, work and react just like you. Look hard for people described with these four characteristics and qualities. Your church or ministry will be better for it and the end result with be a better decision, ministry or project. The best result may just be that each of these people, having bought in because they contributed can gain the support of others who are like them. The result is quicker ownership of the new idea, ministry or product by your whole organization.

Books I re-read every year

Some books deserve to be read only once. Some are used for reference, and skimmed. Yet there are books that deserve to be read and re-read regularly. This year I plan to re-read six books, five I have re-read every year for the last several and a new one I plan on re-reading. Here are the six book I will read again in 2010:

Toward an Exegetical Theology by Walter Kaiser.

I first read this book in seminary have used it for years in my preparation to preach and teach God's Word. When I re-read this book it's like when I take my car in for a 30,000 mile check-up. Every time I read it I feel as if I am being re-tooled for rightly dividing the Word.

Good to Great by Jim Collins.

I believe this is the greatest business book of all time and has much to say to the church of Jesus Christ. If you want your church to go to the next level I can't recommend this book highly enough.

The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren

The farther we go into the 21st century and away from a program driven church this book is foundational for ministry in the future. It was simple before simple was cool. It can help you transition to a process focused ministry and away from a program based ministry.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Ok I confess to being an Anglophile and a lover of C S Lewis in particular. I've read and re-read this since my college days. It's like visiting an old friend you haven't seen for a while and then picking up just where we left off. A classic devotional and apologetic for good reason. The last page is worth the price of the book. It begins, "Nothing that has not died can ever be resurrected...' Great advice for these and every day.

Modern Times by Paul Johnson

An incisive analysis of the 20th century by a prominent historian. It's theme: the struggle for freedom against the forces of totalitarianism and the state. A ready reminder for our world today.

The Reason for God by Tim Keller

A great book by a leading pastor that helps Christians reclaim the intellectual high ground for a Christ-centered conversation with our culture. His book, The Prodigal God is also bless and challenge you.

Well, here's my list. Now I'm ready to get started sharpening my saw!

Is there a lesson in the Tiger Trauma?

Is there a leadership lesson we can learn from the sorry and sorid tale of Tiger Woods? Let me begin by saying that we should pray for him, his wife Elin and their family. Throughout his career Tiger has used his celebrity to make lots of money but also to raise millions in charities that make a difference in the lives of countless prople. Every public event recieves smothering coverage.

It shouldn't shock us that celebrities have personal failure. And in this day of 24/7/365 media coverage that we find out about it. What is shocking in Tiger's case is his pedantic response to the events that have dominated the news since Saturday night. Years ago I heard Bill Gates tell business leaders: 'The good news is that bad news travels fast.' In other words if there is bad news about your business, ministry or in your personal life get it out, deal with it, tell the truth, don't sugar coat it and don't try to spin it. Delay. Delay. Delay, only leads to making a bad situation worse and in Tiger's case becomes a fodder for cable news, TV talk shows and the internet gone wild.

The leadership lesson: get out in front of bad news or it may run over you.