Leadership Category

 

December 30th, 2011

My Best Reads didn’t make the Biggest Impact

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Since I threw out the value of reading in a recent blog, I thought that it may be potentially beneficial to share some of the more impacting reads of my past year. As context, I think it’s important to share a couple of thoughts.

First, the better books and/or reading experiences weren’t always the most impacting. In fact, this is often true. Many of the books that I enjoy the most are far from the most impacting or memorable.  Of course, reasons abound. (e.g. I enjoyed them because they simply restated what I already felt or believed; they were simply fun or entertaining; they were well written but not necessarily thought-provoking for me; etc.)

Second, some of the more thought-provoking and memorable books are the ones that I disagreed with most profoundly. This only makes sense. My disagreement forced me to interact with them in a far more purposeful, and personal way. (I think that I some times write more notes on a page than the author.) I also tend to read and reread portions of these books. A good example of this in 2011 was Rob Bell’s “Love Wins.”

Third, I find that the reading experiences I have makes me better whether I ultimately remember or am in some way directly impacted by the specific book or not.

Fourth, I have a growing disdain for books that, like many movies, are simple repeats of the same old, (dare I use the word one of my English teachers taught me to never use?), thing. I really have grown tired of superficial drivel. After all, Christians are in relationship with the Creator. Shouldn’t we be the most creative, inspiring, thought-provoking people in the world? (If the answer isn’t obvious to you, then you’ll probably take issue with my view of so many of the popular Christian books these days.)

Fifth, this is not my exhaustive reading list from this past year.

Books of note and why…

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield – This was my second go around with this book. As a person who is constantly seeking to communicate the most important truth of the universe, God’s truth, in creative and impacting ways, I found this book to be sensationally motivating. Steven Pressfield gets the struggle of constantly creating…thus the title. Warning…he is not a believer and all of his ideas are not representative of or in line with God’s truth. But, as one human committed to writing or communicating with excellence to another, he has written a valuable little book.

Jesus Manifesto by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola – Though I have to confess that I’m not a real fan of the style or typical thrust of Sweet’s writings and that this book is far from the best or most consistently written, it impacted me. To be honest…one simple but profound thought in particular impacted me. “What is Christianity? It is Christ. Nothing more. Nothing less.” YES! Sadly, I (we) so often make Christianity about all of the little stuff we’ve added to it or personally value about delivering it to the world rather than about Christ Himself. This challenged me, and I’m thankful that they wrote it.

The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard – I had to work hard to get through this book…again. (I think I’ve read it before…either that or I’ve started reading it so many times that I just believe I have.) So many of the concepts Dr Willard addressed in this book impacted me…really made me think again about my view of, value for, and personal application of God’s Kingdom in my life. Dallas Willard makes me wish I was smarter than I am, and, even more, makes me want to live, experience, and represent the Kingdom of God more and more and better and better.

King’s Cross by Timothy Keller – a simpler, more accessible book about God’s Kingdom than Willard’s “Divine Conspiracy.” It’s actually written from talks he gave from the Gospel of Mark. But, it was an engaging and impacting read. I really appreciate Keller’s ministry and have found personal value from experiencing it through his writing.

John Adams by David McCullough – This was an enjoyable read…but it had impact as well. Three examples: First: revolution tends to be a young man’s game. The older John Adams and Thomas Jefferson would have never done what they did as young men. We need to release young people, with their energy and idealism, into ministry and leadership. Second: leaders on opposite ends of the spectrum  can make each other way better than they would be without them. Third: what we’re experiencing today between leaders, politicians, etc., though undesirable, is nothing new. Solomon was right…there’s nothing new under the sun.

Okay…this is already long enough. But, I’d love to hear about books that you’ve read and how they’ve impacted you. In fact, I’d love your “must read” recommendations as I begin to assemble my list of books for 2012.

 

Categorized: Change, Christian Living, Leader Change, Leadership, Life Change |

 
 

December 8th, 2011

Less is More

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For those of us driven for success or significance, we’ll do just about anything to achieve it. By nature, this would include sacrificing issues of integrity and morality because getting ahead is the primary value. For those of us who have opened our lives to the nature transforming power of Christ, we tend to leverage everything we can to achieve our desired greatness while trying to maintain our commitment to integrity and morality. (The original disciples are a great example of this. See Matthew 20:20-21.)

The problem is that we go about it in a way that actually robs us of the very thing we’re looking…striving for. Of course, in His answer to James and John’s Mom in Matthew 20:25-28, Jesus makes this clear. He says that greatness, (success and significance), will only be found through serving. But, the place where I see this illustrated so beautifully is in the life of Daniel. Here is a guy who didn’t seek every advantage in order to achieve success in his life. In fact, he did the opposite. He gave up all the things that we would normally see as essential for gaining the upper hand in order to remain absolutely pure before and committed to God. And, the result is, from our human standpoint, unexpected. (Checkout Daniel 1:11-20.)

Though he gave up every human advantage for success, he became ten times better than his nearest competitors. How? By realizing that God is enough. He understood what I, and so many of us, fail to remember. God is able to do beyond anything we can “ask or imagine.” (See Ephesians 3:20.) God is the only advantage we need and the only One we should commit ourselves to never failing to seek.

Simply, if we really want to achieve and experience a success and significance worthy of our lives, then we need to always remember that “less is more”…when God is in it. It may sound too simplistic or trite, but it’s the truth. The only question is: are we, like Daniel, willing to stake our lives on it?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on how this could apply to your present circumstances and life.

Categorized: Christian Living, Leadership |

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God Creates Another Masterpiece

December 1st, 2011

Creativity & Criticism

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We just experienced our very first snowfall. And, once again, I was reminded that God’s an artist….an unbelievably creative artist.

And yet, not surprisingly, the immediate response from many was to pan His creative expression. Amazing, isn’t it? Even the master creator gets criticized when He puts out a new piece of artwork. And, it’s not just His winter art that gets roundly rejected. People criticize the elements He uses in some of His work…they hate those blasted drips of water and few seem to like His use of wind. And, when He chooses to creatively hide His sunset behind some beautifully sculpted clouds, once again people complain.

Though maybe a bit exaggerated, I’m sure you get the point. Criticism is a very natural response to creativity. But, as God continues to reveal day after day after day, we need to keep creating anyway. Don’t waste your gifts, dreams, and life worrying about criticism. Rather, use everyday to the fullest. Keep creating. The world will be a better, more beautiful place as a result.

Is there something that you’ve not done because of the fear of criticism? What is it? What are you going to do about it now?

Categorized: Christian Living, Leadership |

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February 27th, 2011

India

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After one more long flight from Amsterdam to Mumbai, Roxann, our NorthRidge team, and I will be with some of these wonderful people in India. We have a pretty aggressive and diverse agenda for our time in India. I’ll be privileged to partner with another leader in teaching approximately 850 spiritual leaders and pastors who represent 3500 churches and the millions of lives that they have the potential to reach. They are moving through change as they seek to plant many more churches and reach the yet unreached multitudes of their country.  I’m so thankful that I’ve been given the opportunity to share some of my passion and experience for leading God’s people through change.  Our entire team will be helping to make our time with these leaders special and impacting…by leading out in serving, praying, and even worship.

We will also be visiting several sites where we are seeking God’s leadership for a further way to expand our impact in India…such as a home for children with HIV Aids; a home for the children of women forced into prostitution; some schools that we are sponsoring in very poor areas that provide the hope of breaking the cycle of poverty in young peoples lives; and we’re hoping to be able to be at the official opening of a new water well that the NorthRidge family has made possible. I’m expecting our time with these precious people to be emotional but meaningful, exhausting but exhilarating, discouraging but life expanding, and life changing for all of us…those we are going to serve and our entire team.

More than anything, it’s my prayer that this trip will give God pleasure. After all, His love and compassion is what makes ours possible. As 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.”

Hopefully, as I have access to internet, I’ll be able to share some of the pictures and videos that we take. Either way…thanks for following and praying for us.

Categorized: Leadership, NorthRidge Church |

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December 2nd, 2010

Invisible Pathway

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Wow…this passage lit me up big time this morning.

“Your path led through the sea,your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron,” Psalm 77:19-20.

This is all about the great exodus of God’s people from Egypt. In Exodus 14, we discover that God specifically led His people into an impossible circumstance. From a human standpoint, it was the worst leadership possible. He, through Moses, led them to a place of certain disaster…destruction. And, the people responded appropriately to this sorry leadership. They dogged Moses and God. Though it was a bit late, they wanted different leadership. They wanted out.

There’s only one problem with their response. It forgot to take into account that God ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT HE’S DOING AND CAN ALWAYS BE TRUSTED. As the Psalm above notes, God led them there because He had designed a pathway that was invisible to His people…but real none-the-less. It was the perfect pathway.

And, as you can read in Exodus 14, Moses, though He couldn’t see the pathway, knew and trusted God. In verse 13, He says to the complaining crowd…don’t be afraid…watch our God, the God of the impossible and invisible, do His AMAZING WORK. And, God opened up the invisible pathway by parting the Red Sea.

What a God! Yes. But, think of Moses. Because He genuinely knew God, He trusted, even when He couldn’t see the pathway, that God knew what He was doing. And, the result? He made a profound difference. He lived a life of significance. He was a leader worthy of following.

As for me…though I’m a great distance behind Moses…I want to be like Him. I want to know God so well that I am willing to follow Him into the impossible…I am willing to step off an obvious cliff when I know He’s leading…because I know that He sees the INVISIBLE PATHWAY that I don’t see. I want to make a difference, live a life of significance, and be a leader worth following. But, to do it…I have to trust God enough to walk the invisible pathway.

Come on…let’s follow God into the impossible and then through the Red Sea together. There’s nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Categorized: Christian Living, Leadership |

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September 11th, 2010

Eternity is On the Line

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This past week, I had the privilege of sharing a “game changing” experience with thousands of leaders through a Leadership Network Video Event called “The Nines.” I thought it would be worth sharing with you here. Let me know your thoughts or how it impacts you.

Categorized: Leadership |

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June 4th, 2010

Great Leaders are Grateful and Encouraging

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My time in Nigeria is now a memory, but it’s impact, on me personally and the thousands of leaders we had the privilege of teaching and challenging, continues.

One of the memories I will long cherish is the opportunity I had to spend with Pastor William Okoye.

He is the pastor of a very large, impacting, and influential church in Abujah, Nigeria. For nine years, he was the Chaplain to the President of Nigeria. Because of his commitment to unwavering integrity in a political environment more known for compromise, he won the admiration and respect of pastors and spiritual leaders from every spiritual background and denominational heritage. Now, he is seeking to use that influence to bring new life to the churches of Nigeria and ultimately profound change to the people, culture, and condition of his nation.

It was because of his leadership vision and influence that I had the privilege of sharing God’s truth and my passion for the church with so many leaders. It was both a pleasure and privilege to spend so much time with him over the past couple of weeks and even more to now count him as a friend.

Upon returning home, I received this letter from him.

Dear Brad,

So very appreciative of your unquantifiable sacrifice in coming to Nigeria to train Christian leaders in four major cities; Lagos,Port Harcourt,Owerri and Abuja. You were selfless and almost preached yourself to exhaustion.

Your revolutionary teachings on change made indeliable impact on all of us, including mainline denominations. (There are good reports in this respect).

Thank you also for giving us the right to reprint your book, without demanding any royalty on it. Thank you for your partnership, as we look forward to a changed Nigeria as a result.

Blessing.

William Okoye

Though I am the one who owes him gratitude and should be reaching out to encourage him in his courageous leadership, he wrote as an expression of gratitude and encouragement to me. As in all of his leadership, again here he reveals the character of a great leader. Great leaders are always grateful and encouraging. He truly is a great leader.

I pray my leadership will reflect the same kind of consistent and uncompromising character that he embodies and that I will impact other leaders as he has me and thousands of others in Nigeria.

Categorized: Leadership |

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May 26th, 2010

Exhausted but Exhilarated

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The title seems obvious enough, but it’s a bit deceptive.

Yes, I’m exhausted. In 11 days, I’ve been on 6 different airplanes (3 more to go), in 4 very different major Nigerian cities, given everything I’ve got in teaching 19 sessions of an hour or more each (only 1 more to go), to nearly 10,000 pastors (yes, you read that right…nearly 10,000 pastors), in a very different culture, in heat & humidity equal to a country near the equator, sweat more than my body weight of water (okay, that’s an exaggeration…but it felt like it), on less than the required amount of sleep and eating food (not much at times) as foreign as the culture and certainly foreign to my taste buds (though prepared with great love and with much sacrifice). Yes, I’m exhausted!

Yes, I’m exhilarated…(and not because I’m only 1 session away from being done…though I am honestly excited and thankful for that). I’m exhilarated because I’ve had the privilege of sharing my passion for Christ, His truth about what the church is supposed to be (the hope of the world when it’s working right), the reality and reason that most churches aren’t working right, and principles from God’s Word for how to fix the problem by leading Change without Compromise. And, I’ve been able to share this in a vitally important country like Nigeria, (they say as Nigeria goes so goes Africa), with nearly 10,000 pastors. Are you kidding me? Who gets to do this? Yes, I’m exhilarated!

Here’s the part that’s a bit deceptive. On the surface, the “exhausted” part looks equal to the “exhilarated” part. But, honestly, there’s no comparison. I know the exhausted part is temporary. Seriously, getting home, hugging my wife and family, eating my favorite meal, getting a night sleep, and having the opportunity to be back with my church family, and I’ll be like brand new. It’ll be like I was never gone.

But, the exhilarated side is eternal. God’s Word doesn’t return void and our labor for Christ is never in vain. God has done a significant work through this investment that I’ve made. I believe (as well as the team I’m with and the Nigerian leaders who’ve prayed, led, organized and sacrificed to make these teaching opportunities possible) that God has begun a work in many of these pastors lives which will forever change them and the churches they lead. And, these pastors, the multitude of people they lead, and the multitudes they’ll reach are eternal!

(As well, I have to add to that God has turned my investment around and forever changed me. If I hadn’t said yes to this exhausting investment, I would have missed out on the eternally significant impact in my life.)

So yes, I’m exhausted and exhilarated but don’t let that deceive you. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Who wouldn’t trade that which is temporary for that which is eternal?  My prayer is that more believers will start and continue trading their temporary comfort for eternal consequence. After all, it only makes sense. As 1 Corinthians 15:58 says…”Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

Check out these pictures…

Main Floor at Final Conf Site...Abujah

3000 Pastors hearing God's Truth about Change w/o Compromise

Suit & Tie? Practicing what I preach by being relevant to their culture!

My Favorite Picture...Truth Shared & Passionately Received

I hope you’ll benefit from my thoughts and share them. And, I’d love for you to let me know your thoughts!

Categorized: Christian Living, Leadership |

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May 18th, 2010

Nigeria: What a Beginning!

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“What a Beginning” is an apt description of what I’ve experienced so far on this my second trip to Nigeria.

It started on Saturday night. Our “Relationship Idle?” Series Finale weekend kicked off with Katharine McPhee, the season 5 American Idol finalist. Then, I gave the final talk. Immediately following the 5:15 p.m. service, I took off for the airport to begin my 17 hour (13 in the air) marathon trip to Lagos, Nigeria. (FYI – Our Creative and Technical Arts teams then enabled me to give the talk for the last 3 services in Plymouth via video while everything else continued live.) (If you want, you can check out Katharine’s singing and my talk at northridgechurch.com under online talks. It’s the May 15-16 service.)

We landed in Lagos at 4:30 p.m. Nigerian time Sunday afternoon. By the time we weaved our way through customs, out of the airport, through the traffic of the city of 18 million people, and to our hotel, we only had time to eat a late meal, settle into our rooms, and crash for the night.

We got up, ate breakfast, and then headed to the venue where we would do the first of four two day conferences on becoming Purpose-Driven Churches. My role is to teach 5 sessions, (around 5 1/2 hours over a day and a half) on leading change without compromise. As in America, the churches in Nigeria are facing the significant need for change in order to fulfill God’s purposes in their world.

We just finished this first conference. Though I’m not positive about the total number of pastors registered, I was told that we had around 3000 people in attendance. Of course, I was a bit anxious coming to deliver my thoughts on leading change for the first time in Nigeria. Though nervous, God came through big time. The connection and impact was startling to me. One Nigerian pastor gave me great affirmation. He told me that he had heard me share my thoughts in California at Rick Warren’s conference, and I was “an American talking about change to Americans.” Here, at this conference, he said: “you spoke as a Nigerian to Nigerians.” Only God can do this. It was a huge confirmation that God was enabling me to connect with them in a relevant and powerful way.

When I walked off the platform following my final session, I plopped into my seat and gasped to one of my team members…”do I really have to do this 3 more times?”

What a Beginning is Right! I’m so thankful for the privilege. Please be praying for me and the team. (BTW-I’ve had a couple of hours and a dinner separate me from the finish of this conference, and I’m already feeling like going at it again. Hmmm. I must be crazy. But, I’m lov’n it. Ha.)

Categorized: Leadership |

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April 22nd, 2010

Give Me That Smile

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I just got back from a heartbreaking trip to Haiti. I have to tell you that, while the problems are enormous, there are no easy solutions. For me, this is extremely frustrating. And yet, in the midst of my frustration, I’m trying to remember a couple of vital truths. First, with God, nothing is impossible, Luke 1:37. Second, His power is at work in us…which makes possible even that which we can’t imagine, Ephesians 3:20. Third, God hasn’t called us to solve all the problems but He has called us to do something, Ephesians 2:10. Finally, we are able to rejoice in the Lord always, Philippians 4:4.

It’s in light of the last one that I share this video. I was amazed at the capacity of so many of the Haitian people, children especially, to have joy in the midst of their suffering. I met the boy in this video while walking through one of the many devastated areas. Yet, he was smiling and playing. In fact, he and I had a blast playing the “hand slap” game.  Then, I learned his story. It’s devastating…but he is still filled with innocence, love and joy.

My prayer is that the young man in this video will move you to prayer and action on behalf of those who are hurting in this world…whether in Haiti or living next door to you. I also hope that, whatever your circumstances, he will give you the ability to “give me that smile.”

Categorized: Leadership |

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