Great Firewall

Can your blog or website be viewed in China? Here's a website that will let you test it out: The Great Firewall of China. By the way, GetAnchored made it thru . . .

What Impression Are You Making?

Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 750 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.


I read about sandals with treads that leave the words “Jesus” and “Loves You” as you walk along sandy or muddy ground. The sandals can be ordered for about $25 from a website called "Shoes of the Fisherman.” The company also sells snowboots for those who want to leave their mark while walking in the snow.

I’ll leave it up to you to decide if this is a worthwhile use of your money. But as I read the story about sandals that leave the words “Jesus Loves You” wherever the owner walks, it made me think. I couldn’t help but ask what kind of “impression” I’m making in the lives of others.

In 1 Thessalonians 2:8 Paul said, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” I’ve memorized that verse and you should, too.

Paul said he shared two things with them. First, he shared the gospel with them. He wanted them to know Jesus, to know Jesus’ forgiveness and guidance and power for living. But Paul said he shared not only the gospel with them but also his life: his time, his energy, his heart. He was enthusiastically connected with them.

You go to enough churches enough times and you’ll hear a challenge to share the gospel. The problem for too many of us is that even if we finally get up the nerve to share the gospel, we’re hardly effective because we’re not sharing the other thing that Paul listed: we’re not sharing our lives with them.

Maybe the missing ingredient that keeps us from being effective witnesses is friendship. We need to nurture authentic relationships with those who need the Lord. Mark Mittleberg of Willow Creek Church calls it the “Barbeque First Principle.” Invite them to a barbeque in your backyard before you invite them to church. In other words, socialize, be real, develop a no-strings-attached friendship with those around you.

You can buy some sandals that leave the Christian message as an impression in the sand. But what are you doing to leave the Christian message as an impression in someone’s life?

This weekend we wrap up our four-Sunday study through Christ’s famous Beatitudes called "The Pursuit of Happiness." Join us this Sunday at Hillcrest (9:30am or 10:45am) if you're in the Austin area, or listen to a recording online (iTunes; website)

The "Jesus Tomb" Hooey

The best way to counter the "Jesus Tomb" hooey is with intelligent satire. Ted Olsen's piece fits well in this genre. Below, I've just pasted the whole piece into my post. If you want to read it on the publisher's page, go here.

An Exclusive Interview with James Cameron
"I think you have the wrong guy!" he admits.
Interview by Ted Olsen posted 2/27/2007 01:12PM

James Cameron is the producer of "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," a Discovery Channel documentary that claims a tomb outside Jerusalem once held the remains of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, a "son of Jesus," and family members. We reached him at his home in Redding, California.

So, tell us about your interest in the historical Jesus.

Um, I guess I'm interested in Jesus, yeah. Where did you say you were from, again?

Christianity Today magazine.

Are you selling subscriptions or something?

No, we want to talk about your documentary.

What?

The one about Jesus' tomb.

Um, yeah, I think you have the wrong guy. I think you want the other James Cameron.

You're not James Cameron?

No, I am, but not …

… And your wife's name is Suzy?

Susanna.

Right. We found your number online. We figured the chances of you not being the filmmaker James Cameron are, like, a jillion to one. And you live in California, so that pretty much clinches it.

We're in Redding. Do you know where Redding is? It's, like, 500 miles from …

Let's get back on topic. What's your response to the criticism that no actual New Testament scholar supports your thesis?

Okay. We're done here. Don't call me ever again.

In the tie-in book, you say that "some of the most respected experts in biblical history and archaeology have contributed to this investigation." Could you name one who actually supports the argument that this is "the greatest archaeological story ever"? Just one? Hello? Mr. Cameron?

Ted Olsen is the former solicitor general of the United States.

"Former solicitor general." Good one. In fact, everything about this fictional interview uses the same techniques that Cameron and Indiana-Jones-wannabe Simcha Jacobovici use to tout their theory that the tomb found by archaeologists in the 1980s is, in fact, the tomb of Jesus and his family. For more coverage of the hooey, find the links at the end of Olsen's article.

Links to Your World--Tuesday February 27

You have to hear Kevin Kling’s story of how his prayers have changed (here). It’s about six minutes long. It’s from NPR’s Driveway Moments, a once-a-week podcast that highlights stories that make people literally hang out in their driveway, in their car, just to hear the end.

Why do men ignore nagging wives? It's all science (HT: The Morning News)

Find the “astronomy picture of the day” here. Lois and Joan Terrell gave me this link. They especially recommend the “Witch’s Broom” nebula (here).

Brenda S. Armstrong advises “3 Things to Consider Before Jumping Into Love”

Pray for Southern Baptist missionary Kay Garvin, who was shot in the chest by robbers Feb. 23 near Moshi, Tanzania.

In last week’s Baptist Standard, Marv Knox wrote about “The Executive Board’s Crucial Agenda” for our state convention.

The average city dweller is exposed to 5,000 ads per day.

In “Preparing Your Church to Evangelize,” Doug Murren and Mike Meeks provide encouragement for the long, slow process of getting your unchurched friends to attend Hillcrest with you.

I was encouraged to find that “Baylor aims to become a leader in Christian music.”

"People are damaged by a paradigm for sexuality that sees desire as the single most important clue to true identity, rather than as part of a complex of relational longing." So says Patton Dodd in a fascinating article on the Ted Haggard scandal.

Have you read the previous posts this week? They include an impassioned plea from Ed Stetzer that the SBC take the steps to become a missional convention, a Netflix invitation, a recording of Austinite Stephen Bruton’s “Walk by Faith,” and a hilarious video of self-centered worship. To keep up with the journal, sign up for e-mail updates or assign the feed to your news reader or Google Personalized Home Page.

On-Mission Mondays: Ed Stetzer's "Toward a Missional Convention"

Get a cup of coffee, settle in to your desk chair, and take 45 minutes to listen to Ed Stetzer's lecture, "Toward a Missional Convention." (Links are at the end of this post.)

He delivered this at the Baptist Identity Conference at Union University. I listened to all the lectures, but I'd put Timothy George (iTunes; website) and Ed Stetzer at the top of the "worth listening" list (Jim Shaddix did a good job, too, though he painted contemporary ways of "doing church" with way too broad a brushstroke: iTunes; website).

As I said, you should take the time to listen to Stetzer's lecture--no, let's call it a plea. My only complaint is that he spoke too quickly, making it difficult to keep up with the huge amount of information he unpacked. But bear with the delivery and listen carefully.

Stetzer starts out with about 10 minutes of the use of the word "missional" in history and in current use, including the reluctance some in the SBC have to its use. Whether or not we want to use the word, we need to practice the concept, Stetzer says:

Being "mission-minded" does not mean we are "missional." "Many churches will go to great lengths and tremendous expense to involve members in missional activities far from home, yet fail to engage fully their own neighborhood."

He then gets into three ways the SBC can be a thriving missional convention as they were in the past. These three points are common themes in Stetzer's lectures and writings:

First, contend for the faith. Stetzer says that the SBC conservative resurgence that began in 1979 was necessary to preserve the convention as biblically-faithful, which is a necessary mark of a missional church: "A missional church will always contend for the gospel in its setting [Jude 3] because that is its nature."

Second, contextualize the ministry. We have to uphold biblical faithfulness (contend) in a specific setting (contextualize). Stetzer says: "Two hindrances often occur when churches try to contend for the gospel without engaging their society. First, they are seen as irrelevant, and consequently their message is also viewed as irrelevant. Second, the church does not really know the needs, desires, or the concerns of those around them, nor do they see the possibilities that exist to act upon these opportunities and speak to peoples' hearts."

Third, cooperate with other churches for the kingdom of God. Stetzer says that the SBC entities are no longer leading in this cooperative venture. Some memorable quotes:

"The first step in organizational decline is that you lose your creative people, who decide to go on to more entrepreneural settings. We have already lost most of this number. In fact, we have actively pushed many of them out by teaching and preaching against them in many SBC contexts and venues. The next step in decline is that the most competent among us begin to leave. . . ."

. . .

"We've already told a whole generation of 'Purpose-Driven' pastors that they're not really needed or wanted in today's SBC [that would be my generation]. Are we intent on communicating this same message to the next generation?"

. . .

"When Jimmy Draper was planning the first national 'young leaders' meeting, he asked me for suggested speakers. I told him what we needed most was a nationally-known pastor who had credibility with young pastors and who was also still clearly connected with the denomination. His voice went up with excitement: "Exactly! Who?" With sadness I replied, 'That's my point.'

Stetzer assures us that “solid missional and theologically-sound churches can be planted, revitalized, or grown" but only "if we will choose to engage and be part of the solution, not continue to lob grenades of half truths and caricatures into missional church contexts.”

Good stuff. I'm planning to be at the "Gathering for Missional Leaders" at the Southern Baptist Convention in San Antonio, Monday, June 11th, 9pm. Maybe I'll see you there.

So, get that cup of coffee, carve out 45 minutes, and listen:

Toward a Missional Convention

If you'd rather read his paper, you can find it here. If you'd rather download the audio file to your mp3 player, you can find the audio link at this website or iTunes.

Every Monday I post about being “on mission” with Christ. Find previous posts here. In the "On-Mission Mondays" posts, I've been reflecting on Milfred Minatrea’s book, Shaped By God's Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches. I'll get back to that next week.

From One Netflix Fan to Another

Netflix delivered its 1 billionth DVD over this weekend. If you're a subscriber, join my "Friends" list and let's compare queues and recommendations.

Song of the Week: Walk By Faith

Austinite Stephen Bruton sounds like he has a lot of fun on this song, from his fifth album, From the Five. I bet his story behind the lyrics to this song would be a good one, as well as the story behind the first song on the album, where he sings about how he once thought he was a big wheel but now he's "giving it up to the Bigger Wheel." Here's "Walk by Faith"--

When the road gets narrow and you cannot turn
And you can't tell left from right
There's a lesson you should learn
Walk by faith and not by sight

When darkness falls on your brightest day
And it turns into an endless night
What will lead you home by a different way?
Walk by faith and not by sight

Not by sight--come to understand
Not by sight--you find the promised land
Not by sight--see the distance made
Not by sight--you gotta walk by faith.

If you stumble and you fall
You might lose your will to fight
But conquer self and you can conquer all
Walk by faith and not by sight

If your soul seems empty and your well runs dry
You can't see but you ain't blind
There's one more option that you should try--
Walk by faith and not by sight.

Not by sight--you'll be glory bound
Not by sight--to the higher ground
Not by sight--don't slow your pace
Not by sight--you gotta walk by faith.

I spent a long time wandering here and there
Just looking for a place to hide
I mistook going for getting somewhere
Walk by faith and not by sight

If you're looking for a shadow 'cause the sun's too bright
Ninety-nine and a half won't do
Don't take the path of least resistance where wrong seems right
Just walk by faith and not by sight

Not by sight--you'll be glory bound
Not by sight--to the higher ground
Not by sight--don't slow your pace
Not by sight--you gotta walk by faith.

Craig Ferguson Observes 15 Years of Recovery

Craig Ferguson is TV's most gifted talk show host. I used to set my DVR for his show just for the monologues before I got into this too-busy season of my life. Like most comics, too bad he's sometimes bawdy and he can be cruel to those he skewers. But unlike most comics, he's been known to open himself to his audience with brutal and touching honesty, too. The night he spent twenty minutes talking about his dad's death was classic. The following falls in that category. Ferguson tells us that his 15-year anniversary of sobriety was a day to reflect on what he and other comics were doing to broken people like Britney Spears and Anna Nicole Smith. I'm in close conversation with a few people at Hillcrest who are thinking about launching a recovery ministry, so watching Ferguson celebrate 15 years of his sobreity was timely (HT: SBC Outpost):

Combine Clarity with Urgency

Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter designed for church leaders. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

It’s the combination of clarity and urgency that makes a leader’s vision effective.

Bill Donahue pointed that out in a recent article. He’s the executive director of small groups for the Willow Creek Association. In an article from a print journal, Donahue says there are three reasons why vision gets a little fuzzy and what leaders can do to adjust the focus.

The article made me review my own work of vision-casting across these four years at Hillcrest. I haven’t been able to find it online for you, but across these last three weeks of LeaderLines I’ve tried to summarize his points and my reactions to those points.

First, he said vision can get fuzzy when leaders focus on “vision-casting” while neglecting “problem-casting.” I commented on that point two weeks ago. Second, he said leaders have to do more than just focus on what they want to achieve--we have to communicate what we plan to preserve. I shared my thoughts on that insight last week.

Today I’ll wrap up my reactions to the article with his third point. He said that leaders need to combine clarity (what steps need to be taken) with urgency (why this must happen now). Our clarity improves when we issue a call to action that is “clear, doable, challenging, and rewarding." Our urgency improves as we communicate the biblical, personal, relevant, and consequential reasons why we must act immediately.

Donahue points out the different results of vision-casting depending on whether these two qualities are present:

Bored: This is what a leader sees in his or her people when urgency and clarity are both missing. People see the "vision" as just an announcement.

Frustrated: This is what leaders see when they cast a vision with urgency but the clarity is missing. People need to see simple, clear next steps to take.

Skeptical: This is what leaders see when they cast a vision with clarity but the urgency is missing. When we leaders explain what needs to be done without telling people why it is essential to act now, our people ask themselves," Why are we doing all this activity? What is the point?"

Inspired: This is what leaders see when they cast a vision with both urgency and clarity. Donahue says, "When there is a compelling reason to act (urgency) combined with a clear call to action that is doable, challenging, and rewarding, people tend to embrace the problem and are inspired to move forward."

I’d say that, overall, we’ve moved away from the “Frustrated” stage toward the “Inspired” stage at Hillcrest. Of course, having a pastor comment on his own skill at vision-casting is a bit like asking the head waiter how the steak is! But my overall impression is that we’re closer to the word “Inspired” than “Frustrated” when describing our church.

As Donahue says, “Frustrated” is the stage a group is at when there’s urgency but not much clarity. There are a lot of reasons why this could have described our church in the first couple of years of my start. For one, I was following a good pastor’s 13-year tenure, and there’s always some confusion while a congregation and its new pastor get to know each other. Also, since I had not served in the U.S. for 5 years--and I had not served in a city for more than 10 years--I decided to be an observer for a couple of years. Instead of saying, “We’re not reaching our neighborhood, so here’s what we’re going to do,” I said, “We’re not reaching our neighborhood--any ideas?” I still think this was the right approach to take, but urgency without clarity did create some congregation anxiety. In my first 2 years, I would have become a rich man if I got a dollar for every time someone asked, “What’s our vision? Where’s this church going?”

As I complete my fourth year this May, I’d say the congregation is closer to Donahue’s “Inspired” stage than his “Frustrated” stage. Of course, I’m still asking questions and still getting to know the community Hillcrest is commissioned to reach. But I think the Ministry Staff and I are starting to communicate a “doable, challenging, and rewarding” plan of action. I’m convinced this is happening as I look at the overall increase in attendance, specifically the increase in the number of young adults who’ve joined us (did you know we’re expecting seven more babies to our nursery this year?). Also, I think about the amazing things that are starting to happen among our Boomers with the launch of “Second Half Ministries,” the THEM stories people pass on to me, and the success of Common Ground Café and the two morning services. I could add the appearance of families from our Mother’s Day Out program who have begun to attend our church, and the success of our new “Hillcrest Hoops” feature in the Upward Basketball program.

Since my “official” anniversary isn’t until May, it’s a little early for me to say it. Still, I’m glad for these first four years with you, and I’m looking forward to “Year Five!”

P.S., it may be a little early for me to reflect on my fourth anniversary with you, but did you know that today marks Jim Siegel’s third anniversary with us? Congrats to Jim!

"It's All About Me . . ."

Well, this about says it all (HT: Think Christian). . .

Connecting with International Students in Austin

Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 750 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

"What are we teaching 600,000 foreign students about the U.S.?"

That’s what Katherine Mangu-Ward asks in her Wall Street Journal article, "Ambassador Training." More important to me is what we believers are teaching international students about Christ.

Ms. Mangu-Ward contends that foreign students, especially those from countries with troubled relations with the West, can become America’s best "ambassadors" when they return home. Many are from elite or middle-class families, and since they are on student visas they are required to return to their home country upon completion of their American study program. This, she says, gives us a prime opportunity for influence.

Ms. Mangu-Ward wants us to look for ways to expose international students to American culture beyond the cardboard caricatures they came with, but I have an additional motivation for highlighting her article. We believers also need to look for ways to expose international students to real Christianity. Their two-to-six years on a student visa may be their only real chance to interact with Christians and examine biblical faith.

Let’s not waste that chance. There is a practical way you can build personal friendships with international students. Sunday, March 11, has been set aside as "International Night" at Rodeo Austin. Hillcrest supports a ministry that reaches out to international students, and this organization already has a waiting list of students interested in experiencing this uniquely American—and Texan—event. We want to show you how you can start a relationship with international students (singles and families) by bringing them to the rodeo.

To find out more about this work, join us on Wednesday, March 7, at 6:30pm. A representative from the international student ministry will tell us what we need to know. Contact Craig Johnson, our Missions Committee chairman, if you’d like to find out more.

This Sunday, February 25, we’ll continue our study through the Beatitudes called "The Pursuit of Happiness." Join us at 9:30am and 10:45am. And if you attend the first service, "hang around for Common Ground" in the gym afterward. If you attend the second service, come to the lobby an hour earlier this week, and a greeter will take you to a Sunday School class. I’m seeing new faces in our small-group ministry every week!

I first referenced Ms. Mangu-Ward's WSJ article in August. I ended the post by saying, "Pray for ways to build personal friendships with international students, and help us look for ways to connect Hillcrest with service opportunities to these students." With this "International Night" at the Rodeo, looks like my prayers are answered!

Big Feat for Little Feet

Little Amillia Taylor, who was born less than 22 weeks after conception, is doing fine. Tell me again the argument prochoice forces try to make for abortion?

Links to Your World--Tuesday February 20

In “Flame First, Think Later,” Daniel Goldman of the New York Times writes about the strange phenomenon of firing off angry e-mails or instant messages in a manner that we never would if we were face-to-face.

Albert Mohler answers a vital question in this podcast: “How Do You Know When It's Time To Get Married?”

Can you successfully live a life of purity after promiscuity? Dawn Eden says you can, and this rock-journalist-turned-Christian is living proof. And the remarkable Lauren Winner would agree.

Have you seen “Bridge to Terabithia” yet? In this interview the book's author Katherine Paterson says, “Who you are informs what you write on a very deep level. You reveal yourself whether you intend to or not. . . . If it comes from a person who has a Christian hope and a Christian knowledge of grace, then I think hope and grace are going to infuse my work—not that I put them in, but because I can't help having them there.”

Speaking of films, you can find the trailer for “Amazing Grace” here. It opens this Friday. It’s the story of William Wilberforce, the Christian politician who led the fight against slavery in the British Parliament. Read a quick overview of his story here and here. The film also turns the spotlight on John Newton, the slave-trader-turned-Christian who wrote the hymn, “Amazing Grace.” Austin’s own Chris Tomlin wrote the theme song, which you can hear behind the trailer. By the way, this article says that Tomlin's songs are sung more often in U.S. churches than any other contemporary artist.

Check out these “Top Web Tools for College Students.”

Song of the Week Offline

I've taken down the mp3 player for the "Song of the Week." Apparently the player I was using was not "free" as I had assumed. It's a nice one, though. As soon as I can figure out how to buy a player or install a free one, I will return the "Song of the Week" feature: it's been a popular addition to the site. Apologies to the owner of the mp3 player.

On-Mission Mondays: Worthy Worship

Every Monday I post about being “on mission” with Christ. I’ll spend a couple of months asking you to think with me about the principles in Milfred Minatrea’s book, Shaped By God's Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches . Find previous posts on this subject here.

"As missional congregations encounter God and are shaped by His heart, a natural conversation results in which disciples confess their desire to be useful instruments for His purpose."

That’s why Minatrea says that churches should examine their worship experiences. It’s his “Missional Practice Number Four." He outlines several ingredients to make sure worship stays fresh, and I’ll comment on three of them:

God is the focus of worship. Worship is not provided to entertain those accustomed to attending church, nor is it a "tool" to reach the unchurched: “Although it includes those who are not yet disciples, worship is not intended to reach the unreached, but to allow those who know God to bring Him praise." I completely agree, and wrote about this a few months ago (here), advocating "seeker-sensitive services," as opposed to services that are either "seeker-indifferent" or "seeker-targeted."

Worship is about content, not form. Minatrea correctly points out that simply being "contemporary" in our services does not make a church missional. However, I believe a church can't be missional without being relevant in our services. "Relevance" requires us to focus on what elements of worship helps open people to God in our particular community. In that sense, worship is about form as well as content. A church that ignores this reality can never become missional.

Worship values creativity. Missional churches have a high view of the arts. This is an area we're still developing at Hillcrest:

* First, we are expanding the number of instrumentalists in both styles of services.

* Second, I would like to use more personal testimonies, and we're making plans for that right now.

* Third, while I prefer the use of "real life" stories, in addition we are considering recording dramatic "sketches" in our TV studio that can be inserted as video clips into the service. Recording them ahead of time helps us control certain variables such as time, lighting, sound, and stage space.

* Fourth, we occasionally create images for our projector screens that have visual impact.

* And, fifth, we sometimes use clips from popular films that capture the congregation’s attention.

Beyond these five elements, however, I doubt we’ll introduce some of the things that other creative churches are trying: I just can’t get into interpretive dance, and I would find it too distracting to have artists paint on canvas while I’m preaching, or encouraging members to go to different “stations” during the sermon where they can interpret the message in clay or complete a collaborative drawing. I’m not saying these things shouldn’t be done: more power to the churches using these elements to effect. But it’s just not “me,” and I doubt any of these things would fit the community that we’re building at Hillcrest. Still, Minatrea’s right that worship should value creativity in forms suitable to the worshippers and the guests of the worshippers.

Song of the Week: Lyle Lovett's "Church"

The player for the featured "Song of the Week" can be found on the upper right corner of the weblog for one week.

Lyle Lovett graduated from my high school, Klein, in northwest Houston. He's not your ordinary country singer, with lyrics wry and quirky. Enjoy "Church," from Joshua Judges Ruth (1992). Maybe the choir at Hillcrest needs to learn the chorus--

I went to church last Sunday
So I could sing and pray
But something quite unusual
Happened on that day

Now church it started right on time
Just like it does without a doubt
And everything was all just fine
Except when it came time to let us out

You know the preacher he kept preaching
He told us "I have one more thing to say
Children before you think of leaving
You better think about the Judgment Day"

Now everyone got nervous
Because everyone was hungry too
And everyone was wondering
What was the next thing he would do

And the preacher he kept preaching
He said "Now I'll remind you if I may
You all better pay attention
Or I might decide to preach all day"

And now everyone was getting so hungry
That the old ones started feeling ill
And the weak ones started passing out
And the young ones they could not sit still

And the preacher's voice rose higher
So I snuck up on the balcony
And I crept into the choir
And I begged them "Brothers, sisters, help me please"

I said "When I give you a signal"
I said "When I raise up my hand
Won't you please join with me together
And praise the Lord I have a plan"

And the preacher he kept preaching
"Long is the struggle, hard the fight"
And I prayed, "Father please forgive me"
And then I stood up and with all my might
I sang

"To the Lord let praises be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat
We've got some beans and some good cornbread
And I listened to what the preacher said
Now it's to the Lord let praised be
It's time for dinner now let's go eat"

Yes and I did give a signal
Yes and I raised up my hands
And then joined with me the choir
Yes every woman, child, and man
They sang

Chorus

And the preacher he stopped preaching
And a hush the church did fill
And then a great white dove from up above
Landed on the window sill

And the dove flew down beside him
And a fork appeared right in his hand
And with everybody watching
The preacher ate that bird right there and then

And now everyone got really nervous
And the preacher he did start to glow
And as we watched in disbelief
These were the words he spoke

He said "Now Mama's in the kitchen
And she's been there all day
And I know she's cooking something good
So let's bow our heads and pray"
And he sang

Chorus

And the moral of this story
Children it is plain but true
God knows if a preacher preaches long enough
Even he'll get hungry too
And he'll sing

Chorus

Clarify What We Plan to Preserve

Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter designed for church leaders. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

Vision can get fuzzy when leaders only focus on what they want to achieve and fail to communicate what they plan to preserve. That’s Bill Donahue’s conviction. He’s the executive director of small groups for the Willow Creek Association. In an article from a print journal, Donahue says there are three reasons why vision gets a little fuzzy and what leaders can do to adjust the focus.

Last week I pointed out that the article made me review my own work of vision-casting across these four years at Hillcrest. I haven’t been able to find it online for you, but across three weeks of LeaderLines I’ll try to summarize his points and my reactions to those points.

I’ve already covered my reaction to his first point: vision can get fuzzy when leaders focus on “vision-casting” while neglecting “problem-casting.” Here’s his second point: leaders have to do more than just focus on what they want to achieve--we have to communicate what we plan to preserve. When people are always hearing about the ‘next big thing’ we want to accomplish, it leaves them wondering if what we have done already has any merit.

I could improve in this area of vision-casting. My tendency in leadership is walk into a situation, roll up my sleeves, and get to work. I focus my attention on areas that need fixing. There may be a hundred things going smoothly in a church, but my attention turns to those few, but critical, issues that need to be fixed.

I lead churches like my friend, a chiropractor, fixes backs. Years ago, I went to my friend complaining of a sharp pain between my shoulder blades. He put me on the table and began to work the muscles in my back.

Suddenly he found the tender spot--”Ouch!” I yelped.

Do you think he said, “Oh, I’m sorry”? Do you think he avoided that area and moved away from it to massage the rest of my back? Oh, no. He left every other part of my back alone and began to dig his fingers into the knot he had found. He knew his job wasn’t to give my back a massage (too bad). His job was find and fix the knotted muscles that were giving me trouble.

This is a great way to fix backs, but not necessarily a great way to lead people. I’ve found that people need to hear a leader say what’s working in the organization, not just what’s not working. If a leader feels that changes need to be made, people need to hear what’s not going to change, too.

Next week, we’ll wrap up Donahue’s article with the third thing that he says can sharpen a leader’s work of vision-casting.

Go Ahead, Let it Out

Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 750 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Have you seen those new Kleenex commercials? Ingenious.

They set up a couch and a chair and a coffee table outdoors on city sidewalks, and real people sit down to have unrehearsed talks with this guy who’s just there to listen and empathize with them. As they talk about the birth of their child, or the loss of a loved one, or how tough life is, their eyes well up with tears and they reach for the Kleenex box in front of them.

But imagine you found a couch and chair on the corner of Sixth and Congress tomorrow. You sit down, and as you talk with the empathetic guy from the commercials, your own eyes well up with tears. But you’re not crying in sadness over a loved one’s death or in joy over the birth of a child. Instead, you’re mourning about the brokenness within you and around you.

"I’m sorry I’m crying," you say to the guy, "but I get this way when I think about the promises I haven’t kept, and the kindness that I have not shown, and the selfish choices that I’ve made. I get this way when I think about the unjust things that people do to each other. I get this way when I think about the families I know hurt by addiction or by abuse. I get this way every time I think about all the people who’ve walked away from God."

What do you think the Kleenex company would do with that? Your crying episode on that couch probably would not show up on one of their commercials! But Jesus said that God blesses anyone who gets to that point in his or her life. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn" (Matthew 5:4). When we’re broken-hearted over the brokenness within us and around us, Jesus says, "Well, now we can finally start getting somewhere. You’re at the starting point for a life of real happiness."

This is what we discovered on the first day of our four-Sunday study through Christ’s famous Beatitudes called "The Pursuit of Happiness." If you missed it or want to review it, listen online (iTunes; website) And join us this Sunday at Hillcrest (9:30am or 10:45am) if you're in the Austin area.

Links to Your World--Tuesday February 13

Is There a Perfect Valentine Present?

Have you heard that naps increase productivity and decrease the chance of heart problems? Just don’t use that excuse during the sermons. . . .

It’s been out a while now, but I bet most of you haven’t seen the rap video, “Baby Got Book.” Hilarious.

In 10 Questions for the Seeker, Scott Pruett raises some questions designed to stir the mind of the seeker, and to give touchstones for dialog to Christians seeking to reach them.

Ten-minute devotionals called “Drive Time” in podcast form here. iTunes is free. You can listen on your computer or load the podcast on your mp3 player. Saddleback Pastor Tom Holladay is in the middle of Romans right now.

In “Believing Scripture but Playing by Science’s Rules,” the NY Times profiles Marcus Ross, a young-earth creationist who received his doctorate in paleontology.

Gender roles in the home are often ignored according to this leader.

Learn more about Cheryl Selby’s work in this news video. this news video.

This seeker has a blog all about her spiritual search, and she’s looking for your stories. She writes, “Other than the occasional random moments in nature that I’ve already described, I haven’t felt the presence of God much in my life and I’m finding it frustrating. I talk to others who have felt it and I find it hard to believe, if only because I find it hard to imagine for myself. They meditate or go to faith healers or other kinds of healers or pray and find themselves in that presence. I meditate or pray and I can’t shut myself up. Here’s what I’d like: Stories from you. Fire away. How have you solved a problem or gotten through a bad time, and how has God shown up to help?” Add your comments to her blog.

Kelso on the Northcross Walmart Protest

Austin American-Statesman funnyman John Kelso had some comments about the weekend protest against Walmart moving into the Northcross Mall near Hillcrest:

On Saturday morning, 2,500 people showed up to form a human chain on the streets around Northcross to tell Wal-Mart to bug out. Ironically, this is probably the most people ever to show up around Northcross Mall, an indoor skating rink surrounded by some largely neglected shops, including one called Space Available.

If you live in the vicinity, what's your opinion of Walmart's move to Northcross? I've heard both sides in church socials, but most of the people I talk to are looking forward to the development.

New Feature: AnswerTips

I've added AnswerTips to the blog, so when you run across an unfamiliar word, just double click on it. A popup will appear with a dictionary definition and an option to hear the word spoken. Try it out on these words: juxtaposition . . . transubstantiation . . . peripatetic. Okay, I'll try not to use the four-dollar words too much. But AnswerTips will be there when you need it!

On-Mission Mondays: Applied Christianity

Every Monday I post about being “on mission” with Christ. I’ll spend a couple of months asking you to think with me about the principles in Milfred Minatrea’s book, Shaped By God's Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches . Find previous posts on this subject by clicking the label “On-Mission Mondays” at the end of this entry.

"Faith possessed must become faith expressed if God's purpose for each believer is to be realized."

That's what Minatrea says about the third practice of missional churches: we are to teach disciples to obey rather than simply to know. He quotes Erwin McManus: "God never intended the Bible to be studied for information or knowledge alone. . . . It is significant that the history of the first-century church is called the book of Acts, not the book of Truths."

Of course, comments like that can leave the impression that learning truth isn't as important as taking action. Minatrea quotes one person as saying, "Spirituality [the practice of faith] is first-order Christianity; theology [the study of faith] is second-order Christianity." Though Minatrea tries to emphasize the importance of study and action, he quotes comments that can create an unnecessary juxtaposition, belittling study in order to glorify action.

Religious educators have always emphasized that the objective of teaching the Bible is to gain knowledge and to motivate action. If long-established and traditional churches have designed their equipping ministries only for the first objective, this cannot be corrected by designing our ministries only for the last objective.

The best missional churches will focus on knowledge and action. And, as Minatrea points out in his book, this actually heightens respect for God's Word. You can see this in churches that teach their people how to study and apply God abiding Word.

At Hillcrest, we've tried to take this missional practice seriously. In our H.I.L.L. acrostic we emphasize that Bible knowledge leads to action. The acrostic reminds us of our Four Purposes: "Honor the Lord of Life," "Invite Your World to Life," "Love the Fellowship for Life," and "Live the Word in Life."

In the last statement, the word live was not chosen just because it begins with the letter "L." It was chosen to remind us that disciples learn the Word with the end result of putting it into practice. The learning process isn't over until we're applying what we've learned to life: Disciples "live the Word in life." We have let that statement guide us in the sermon topics that are chosen, in the courses that are offered in our Hillcrest Institute, and in the way we train our teachers and small-group leaders.

Song of the Week: Chocolate on My Tongue

I ran across this song from from The Wood Brothers album Ways Not to Lose. It's about savoring the simple pleasures. The line always makes me smile--"If I die young at least I got some chocolate on my tongue." There are some free downloads at their website.

Sittin' on the front porch
Ice cream in my hand
Meltin' in the sun
All that chocolate on my tongue

And that's good enough reason to live
Good enough reason to live

Sittin' in the bathtub
Hi-fi playin' low
Diggin' all that green
Well you must know what I mean

And that's good enough reason to live
Good enough reason to live

If I die young
At least I got some chocolate on my tongue
If I die young
'Least I got some chocolate on my tongue

Sittin' in the front seat
Good girl in my arms
Smilin' in my eyes
Gettin' me all hypnotized

And that's good enough reason to live
Good enough reason to live

If I die young
At least I got some chocolate on my tongue
If I die young
'Least I got some chocolate on, chocolate on my tongue
If I die young
At least I got some chocolate on my tongue

This Weekend's Guest Post: Irrational Jealousy

This weekend's "guest blogger" is Susan Presley, who's taking some time away from Austin to return home and complete her degree. Her blog, TheyWon'tFindMeHere, is what GetAnchored hopes to be when it grows up. She's sharp-witted and rigorously honest. In the photo, Susan is second from the left at last Fall's study through The Anchor Course. I asked her to visit GetAnchored with some thoughts on Lisa Nowak.

Perhaps you read this week about Navy Captain Lisa Nowak. She was arrested on battery, attempted kidnapping and attempted murder charges. Capt. Nowak, 43, was a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Discovery.

What allegedly happened is that Capt. Nowak drove from Houston, Texas to Orlando, Florida in order to meet with Colleen Shipman, another NASA employee. At issue was that both women were involved in a "relationship" with Navy commander/astronaut Bill Oefelein.

Lisa Nowak was jealous, and jealousy can often trump logic.

On her trip from Houston to Orlando, Nowak wore diapers so she wouldn't have to take the time for restroom breaks. In her bag, police found a wig, BB gun, steel mallet, folding knife with 4-inch blade, 3-4 feet of rubber tubing and large plastic garbage bags. One can imagine that no good was going to come of a person in Nowak's state using these items.

Shipman noticed Nowak (disguised in a wig and trench coat) following her in the airport parking lot. Nowak managed to spray Shipman with pepper spray, and Shipman was able to drive to get help and have authorities summoned.

During this week, we've heard everyone from radio and TV hosts to bloggers, public speakers to work-out buddies making jokes about "astro-nuts" and "Lust in Space." I've seen headlines that say "Houston, she has a problem."

Is this the appropriate tack for Christians to take, to laugh at this situation? Proverbs 6:34 tells us "Jealousy arouses a husband's fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge." Jealousy is not a virtue, to be certain. But it's a common thing that we all -- believers or not -- struggle with to some degree.

Do any of us know precisely when we've passed the breaking point regarding jealousy? Do we know for certain which straw on the camel's back will send us into a Nowak-like course of action? Let's not be arrogant enough to think it can't happen; we're all just mere mortals here, all needy of God's grace.

Nowak likely didn't think she was behaving bizarrely. On reflection, she may have seen how other people might take it that way, but I doubt that she saw her actions as anything but logical under the circumstances. We're each distinctly unqualified to diagnose our own foibles.

A positive reaction to Nowak's situation would be to examine our support networks. We need someone outside ourselves:

• Church
• Family
• Community
• Friends
• God

In turn, we need to make sure we're providing that service to others, as well.

So you there, in your glass condominium: put down your bucket of rocks. Rather, let's hold each other accountable, even when the situations are sensitive, as this one was.

Problem-Casting Before Vision-Casting

Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter designed for church leaders. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

In a recent article, Bill Donahue says there are three reasons why vision gets a little fuzzy, and he explains what leaders can do to adjust the focus. Donahue serves with the Willow Creek Association.

It was one of those articles that made me review my own work of vision-casting across these four years at Hillcrest. I haven’t been able to find the article online for you, but across the next three weeks of LeaderLines I’ll try to summarize his points and my reactions to those points.

Here’s his first point: Vision can get fuzzy when leaders focus on “vision-casting” while neglecting “problem-casting.” Donahue pointed out that before Nehemiah ever cast the vision, the Old Testament leader outlined the problem – “Jerusalem lies in ruins; and its gates are burned with fire.” Leaders have to help people understand the problem before they can consider your vision as a relevant solution to that problem.

He pegged me on his second and third points, which I’ll share in the next two weeks. But regarding this first point, we’ve done alright with the necessary work of “problem-casting.” In fact, one of the questions I often heard in the first couple of years here was, “What’s your vision? Where are we ‘going’ as a church?” Some may have regarded it a sign of leadership weakness that I wasn’t laying out a “vision,” but that would have had no effect if there was not a common conviction of what problems needed to be addressed.

So, I walked into the Hillcrest job saying, “I’m new to Austin and I’ve been out of the States for 5 years. Help me know this area so we can figure out what we need to do.” I kept pointing out that though we were great at sending missionaries to other lands and ministry teams to other socio-economic groups in Austin, what were we doing to be a mission point in our own community? How was the church doing at “connecting” with unchurched seekers of northwest Austin?

It wasn’t until I was on the field a year that I outlined anything that someone would call a “vision.” On my first anniversary I announced that during my next five or six years we would be about the work of renovating our hearts, our program, and our look. That work continues to this day.

During that first year of “problem-casting,” one of the most meaningful things to me was the four-week online discussion of “Austin Al and Alice.” I asked our LeaderLines readers to introduce me to the characteristics of unchurched persons they thought surrounded our church. You can find that 4-year-old project here, here, here, and here.

Another moment that was special to me happened a year ago as I led three groups through a small-group study of John Burke’s book, No Perfect People Allowed. John planted a church in Austin about 7-8 years ago (Gateway Community Church). He’s been very successful in identifying the characteristics of Austin’s unchurched people and figuring out effective ways to reach them.

For a study through his book, I started with a small group of men in their 20s and 30s at my house. That was really an amazing series of Thursday night discussions that went long into the night. A number of those men are now deacons, by the way.

At the end of that study, that group actually broke into three groups that recruited and led more men to do the study again. While they led their groups, I invited a group of men in their 40s and 50s to study the book with me. I then led a co-ed group during our Hillcrest Institute semester. These studies provided a huge breakthrough in our congregation’s understanding of our local mission field.

I have to admit that there have been several moments through these last four years where I wanted to short-cut the “problem-casting” phase and just jump into “vision-casting.” I’ve found that the hardest thing a new leader has to do is get people to see that there’s a problem that needs to be solved. But Donahue is right: Leaders have to help people understand the problem before they can consider the leader’s vision as a relevant solution to that problem.

In the next couple of weeks, I’ll point out some things I wish I had done differently after reading Donahue’s article.

I’m enjoying serving and teaching and sharing life at Hillcrest! Thanks for being leadership-partners with me in the work!

What Are You Chasing?

Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 750 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Our Declaration of Independence tells us that “the pursuit of happiness” is a fundamental human right. But if you don’t know what will really make you happy it’s futile to pursue it.

I read about an enterprising lady in New York City, where there are very few places to bury a deceased pet. The city authorities will take your pet off your hands for $50, but for a while there was a woman who advertised the same service for half the price. When she got a call, she showed up at the client’s apartment with a second-hand suitcase she had purchased at the Salvation Army for two dollars. She would gently place the deceased pet in the luggage and leave the apartment. Then she would take a ride on the subway, setting the suitcase down and acting like she wasn’t watching. Invariably a thief would steal her suitcase, and she would look up and say, “Wait. Stop. Thief.”

Her problem got solved, but my guess is the people who stole those suitcases got a real surprise when they got home!

Some of us are like those New York thieves. We keep grabbing what we think will give us happiness, but we end up with something that doesn’t quite deliver. Maybe that’s why only 20% of the people in the U.S. claim to be happy according to one study. The right to pursue happiness is no guarantee that you will find it.

That’s why we’re going to look at Jesus’ definition of happiness the next four weeks at Hillcrest. In our study through the Gospel of Matthew, we’ve reached the famous Beatitudes. Eight times Jesus declared certain people “blessed” and explained why.

The Beatitudes stand alongside the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23 as the most beloved passages of the Bible. But what do they really mean?

That’s what philosopher Dallas Willard asked in his award-winning book, The Divine Conspiracy. “The Beatitudes are acknowledged by almost everyone to be among the highest expressions of religious insight and moral inspiration,” he said. “We can savor them, affirm them, meditate upon them, and engrave them on plaques to hang on our walls. But . . . how are we to live in response to them?”

For the next four Sundays we’ll figure out how to answer that question in a study called “The Pursuit of Happiness.” Join us at Hillcrest (9:30am or 10:45am) if you're in the Austin area, or listen to the sermon podcast (iTunes; website) posted Monday.

Links to Your World--Tuesday February 6

In this Texas Monthly article, discover 10 resolutions for healthy eating. I knew several of them already, but some were a surprise.

In last week’s sermon I quoted from Steven Weinberg’s review of Richard Dawkins book, The God Delusion. You can find that article here.

If you don’t know how to leave your church and you decide the only way you can do it is to fake your own death, here’s a hint: don’t attend the memorial service.

See the progress on a South Austin mural, updated regularly here.

This article points out that surfing the internet has become a favorite hobby for older adults.

Here’s an Associated Press article about LifeBox, the program we’re leading in our area to express support and outreach to our troops.

“Imagine that you were a college student, and pregnant,” Serrin M. Foster says. “So you go to the university health services for advice. Two of the employees there, university employees, recount to you the embarrassment and inconvenience associated with pregnancy. If you do decide to have the child, they explain to you, the university will almost certainly give you no support; it will do nothing to make things easier for you. And then they urge you to have an abortion.” In this article, Foster points out that some journalists went undercover and discovered that this kind of thing happens all the time. I thought abortion advocates wanted to give women all their options.

On-Mission Mondays: Get Real

Every Monday I post about being “on mission” with Christ. I’ll spend a couple of months asking you to think with me about the principles in Milfred Minatrea’s book, Shaped By God's Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches . Find previous posts on this subject by clicking the label “On-Mission Mondays” at the end of this entry.

"Our world is tired of words -- it wants real."

That's one of the convictions that drives Robert Lewis at Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock. And Minatrea says that's the second practice of missional churches. He says we need to be authentic in our faith, authentic with one another, and we need to act authentically in the world.

Authentic in Our Faith. Minatrea says that many people “perceive the church to be a head trip that never touches the heart.” Instead, discipleship touches every part of our lives and has implications everyday of the week.

Authentic with Each Other. Minatrea provides several examples of churches where disciples are free to be open with each other and challenge each other. This happens best in small-group ministry. For example, Antioch Community Church in Waco encourages their small groups to interact with one another in seven areas that are based upon the New Testament: love one another, serve one another, spend time with one another, allow others to be imperfect, build one another out, have a gentle heart toward others and difficulty, and be in unity with one another.

Authentic Actions in the World. Robert Lewis at Fellowship Bible Church challenges his people to “present living proof of a loving God to a watching world.” Minatrea says of believers, “When their faith transforms the way they live and react every day, then it merits the world’s attention.”

What are the ways your congregation encourages this kind of authenticity?

And Now For Something Completely Different . . .

Things have gotten too serious at "Get Anchored." To change the pace, here's a group of kids at the Granbury High School talent show(Granbury, Texas). My neices attend this school. In fact, one of them had a routine in this same show. But it's this cool treadmill dance that's making YouTube fame:

Mike Huckabee (Part 4): Gay Rights

Mike Huckabee has begun his presidential campaign. He presented himself well promoting his book on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (see it here). What do you think of his candidacy? Here is his response to questions from Tim Russert on Meet the Press regarding gay rights:

MR. RUSSERT: You said this to the Des Moines Register: “Let’s face it. In our lifetimes, we’ve seen our country go from ‘Leave it to Beaver’ to ‘Beavis and Butt-head,’ from Barney Fife to Barney Frank.” Why, why include Barney Frank, a gay congressman, in that reference?

GOV. HUCKABEE: I think it was a matter of a rhetorical device to talk about the different cultural shift that we have, and it wasn’t any particular attempt to be derisive of him. But, but there has been a huge cultural shift in this country, Tim. And I think that’s why many Americans are seeking leadership that has a positive and optimistic spirit, that wants to take this nation—what I call vertical politics rather than horizontal.

I just completed a book in which I talk about the difference between horizontal politics, where everything is left or right, everything is liberal or conservative, everything is Democrat or Republican. I think the American people are hungry for vertical politics, where we have leaders who lift us up rather than those who tear us down.

MR. RUSSERT: But some would suggest by including Barny Frank in that reference you are tearing a gay man down. You’re against gay marriage, you’re against gay civil unions. Is—do you have a problem with gay people?

GOV. HUCKABEE: No. I have a problem with changing institutions that have served us. And I, I think I would rather characterize not what I’m against, but what I’m for. Before we change the definition of marriage to mean something different, I think our real focus ought to be on trying to strengthen heterosexual marriages because half of them are ending in divorce. That’s a real problem in this country. There are a lot of kids who are growing up in a very, very confused and conflicted world because—not because we have same-sex marriage, but because we’re seeing a real failure in the tradition heterosexual marriage. That’s where our focus needs to be. Because if we want to end poverty, get a kid through high school, let him grow up in a stable, two-parent home and make sure that that child doesn’t have a child before he’s 21 and has a full-time job. That’s a 93 percent chance that child will never grow up in a single day of poverty if those are the criteria.

MR. RUSSERT: Should...

GOV. HUCKABEE: So we ought to be working more to build strong families rather than just to create new versions of them.

MR. RUSSERT: Should gay couples be allowed to adopt children?

GOV. HUCKABEE: That’s a question that, that I think, again, goes back to the heart of what’s best for the child. Unfortunately, so much of this argument has been framed about what, what the same-sex couple wants. But the real question needs to be child-focused, not couple-focused. And, Tim, that’s true for whether the couple is same-sex or whether they’re heterosexual. In our state, as in most, the criteria for adoption is always what’s in the best interest of the child. That ought to be what’s front and center.

MR. RUSSERT: So is it in the interest—best interest of the child to have a gay, gay parents?

GOV. HUCKABEE: That’s a question I’m not sure that, that we have a positive answer to. And until we absolutely could say it, then, then I—I’m always hesitant to change those institutions.

MR. RUSSERT: Do you believe that you’re born gay or you choose to be gay?

GOV. HUCKABEE: I don’t honestly know. I really don’t. I think there are—there are people who would argue vociferously on both sides of that. But I think that the point is, people are, are who they want to be, and we should respect them for that. But when they want to change the institutions that’ve governed our society for all the years of recorded human history, then that’s a serious change of, of culture that we, we don’t just make readily or, or hurriedly. It has to be done with some, some deep thought.

Mike Huckabee (Part 3): Abortion

Mike Huckabee has begun his presidential campaign. He presented himself well promoting his book on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (see it here). What do you think of his candidacy? Here is his response to questions from Tim Russert on Meet the Press regarding abortion:

MR. RUSSERT: South Dakota had some proposed legislation to outlaw all abortion except saving the life of a mother, no exceptions for rape or incest. You said you’d sign that. Why?

GOV. HUCKABEE: Well, I always am going to err on the side of life, Tim. I believe life is precious. But I think the issue for many of us who are in the pro-life camp—and I have been since, you know, I was a teenager. This is not something that I’ve been all over the board on, it’s consistent. It’s because of my view that God is the creator and instigator of life. But I think those of us in the pro-life movement, we have to do also some growing and expanding. We have to remind people that life, that we belive it begins at conception. It doesn’t end at birth. And if we’re really pro-life we have to be concerned about more than just the gestation period. As a pro-life person, as a governor, look at my record. Yes, did we pass pro-life legislation? We did. But we also did things that improved the environmental quality and the conservation issues that would affect a child’s air and water. We also made sure that he had a better education, that access to affordable health care would be better. So I think that real pro-life people need to be concerned about affordable housing, we need to be concerned about safe neighborhoods, access to a college education. That, for me, is what pro-life has to mean.

MR. RUSSERT: But if you outlawed abortion, what would happen to the doctor who performed an abortion? What, what would happen to the woman who had an abortion?

GOV. HUCKABEE: Well, I think the question is, would I sign the bill in South Dakota? Do I think it’s the best only bill that ever could be signed? The question still comes back to this is a debate that’s been so divisive, and what we really need to be doing is having the discussion center around how can we create a culture where people value and celebrate life. The fundamental difference between the United States and our enemies in terror is that, regardless of whether one is considered pro-life or pro-choice, the one thing that—that is unique to America, or certainly characteristic of America, is that we celebrate life. We believe in it; we cherish it. We may have different definitions of it, what it means and how extensive we want to protect it. But the enemy on the other hand celebrates death. That’s where we need to bring this debate, is to remind ourselves that we still are a nation that elevates the concept that life is precious and important. And I hope that we can center on those topics rather than on the, the fine points that sometimes separate and divide.

MR. RUSSERT: But, as president, you would seek to ban abortion.

GOV. HUCKABEE: I would seek always to promote the view that life is precious and should be protected. Would I be able to singularly do that? Of course not. But I think it has to be won on, on a battlefield of one heart at a time rather than pieces of legislation at a time.

Mike Huckabee (Part 2): Personal Faith and Public Policy

Mike Huckabee has begun his presidential campaign. He presented himself well promoting his book on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (see it here). What do you think of his candidacy? Here is his response to questions from Tim Russert on Meet the Press regarding the role that a candidate's faith should play in public policy:

MR. RUSSERT: I was reading a lot about you, an ordained Baptist minister.

GOV. HUCKABEE: Yes.

MR. RUSSERT: I want to ask you a couple things that you said earlier in your political career. “Huckabee ... explained why he left pastoring for politics. ‘I didn’t get into politics because I thought government had a better answer. I got into politics because I knew government didn’t have the real answers, that the real answers lie in accepting Jesus Christ into our lives.’” And then this: “I hope we answer the alarm clock and take this nation back for Christ.” Would you, as president, consider America a Christian nation and try to lead it as—into a situation as being a more Christian nation?

GOV. HUCKABEE: I think it’s dangerous to say that we are a nation that ought to be pushed into a Christian faith by its leaders. However, I make no apology for my faith. My faith explains me. It means that I believe that we’re all frail, it means that we’re all fragile, that all of us have faults, none of us are perfect, that all of us need redemption. We are a nation of faith. It doesn’t necessarily have to be mine. But we are a nation that believes that faith is an important part of describing who we are, and our generosity, and our sense of optimism and hope. That does describe me.

MR. RUSSERT: But when you say...

GOV. HUCKABEE: I’m appalled, Tim, when someone says, “Tell me about your faith,” and they say, “Oh, my faith doesn’t influence my public policy.” Because when someone says that, it’s as if they’re saying, “My faith isn’t significant, it’s not authentic, it’s not so consequential that it affects me.” Well, truthfully my faith does affect me. But it doesn’t make me think I’m better than someone, it makes me know that I’m not as good as I really need to be.

MR. RUSSERT: But when you say “take this nation back for Christ,” what does that say to Jews, Muslims, agnostics, atheists? What...

GOV. HUCKABEE: Well, I think I—I’d probably phrase it a little differently today. But I don’t want to make people think that I’m going to replace the Capitol dome with a steeple or change the legislative sessions for prayer meetings. What it does mean is that people of faith do need to exercise their sense of responsibility toward education, toward health, toward the environment. All of those issues, for me, are driven by my sense that this is a wonderful world that God’s made, we’re responsible for taking care of it. We’re responsible for being responsible managers and stewards of it. I think that’s what faith ought to do in our lives if we’re in public service.

Mike Huckabee (Part 1): Iraq

Mike Huckabee has begun his presidential campaign. He presented himself well promoting his book on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (see it here). What do you think of his candidacy? Here is his response to questions on Iraq from Tim Russert on Meet the Press:

MR. RUSSERT: Let’s try to define who you are. The last time we talked it was on a—my CNBC show. I asked you about George W. Bush, and you said this, “I think the president has done a magnificent job. And generally, you know, I don’t find that many areas where I would disagree with him.” You still hold that view, Bush has done a magnificent job?

GOV. HUCKABEE: Well, I think he’s had a lot of struggles, particularly in managing the, the war in Iraq. We did a great job of going in and toppling Saddam Hussein. The tough part has been bringing some sense of stability there. And so it’s been a struggle for the president. I think the domestic agenda has also been something that’s almost been ignored and overlooked because we have spent so much of a time on Iraq.

MR. RUSSERT: If you were in the Senate or the House, would you vote to oppose the president sending more troops to Iraq?

GOV. HUCKABEE: I think that’s a dangerous position to take, to oppose a sitting commander in chief while we’ve got people being shot at on the ground. I think it’s one thing to have a debate and a discussion about this strategy, but to openly oppose, in essence, the strategy, I think that can be a very risky thing for our troops.

MR. RUSSERT: Is there one area you disagree with President Bush?

GOV. HUCKABEE: On Iraq or on...

MR. RUSSERT: On anything.

GOV. HUCKABEE: Well, I think we need to be very careful about the overuse of the Guard and the Reserve in our military. As a governor for 10 ½ years and commander in chief of our Guard, I’ve seen 80 percent of our Guard forces deployed to Iraq. Now we’re talking about sending them back yet again and again. These are citizen soldiers. They didn’t sign up to be gone all the time. They signed up to be soldiers called upon for extraordinary duty, and they’ll—they’ve done it. They’re willing to do their duty, but the toll that it’s taking on their families, their employers and their communities is—it’s beginning to really wear.

Happy Groundhog Day

"When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter."

Phil Conners (Bill Murray)
Groundhog Day (1993)

The Wisdom of Looking Ahead

Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter designed for church leaders. (I missed yesterday's posting.) If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

In a recent Christianity Today article, Rick Ezell advised leaders to “create their organizational future before it happens.” Ezell is senior pastor of Naperville Baptist Church, Naperville, Ill. He wrote:

Bill Walsh, the former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, was thought eccentric because of how extensively he planned his plays in advance of each game. Most coaches would wait to see how the game unfolded, then respond with plays that seemed appropriate. Not Bill Walsh. Walsh would pace the sidelines with a big sheet of plays that his team was going to run, no matter what. He wanted the game to respond to him.

Walsh won a lot of Super Bowls with his "eccentric" proactive approach. But all he did was to act on the crucial difference between creating and responding. He was a coach that looked into the future.

Effective leadership not only requires thinking about where the organization needs to go, but also looking at how it will get there. We look ahead so we won't get behind. Only by seeing the invisible can we attempt the impossible.

The wisest person of all instructed, "The wise man looks ahead" (Prov. 14:8 LB).

The critical need of looking ahead is the process of creating your organizational future before it happens. Like Bill Walsh, it is creating your own actions in advance so that your life will respond to you. It is attempting to write history in advance.

Ezell explains seven advantages of thinking about where your organization is going, and where it needs to go.

Looking ahead gives direction. It “helps one determine the few things that are worth doing, and worth doing well.”

Looking ahead helps us to create rather than react. Ezell points out that “creation” and “reaction” are actually anagrams--they have the same letters in them. “Each step along our journey we are faced with a choice either to create or to react.”

Looking ahead saves time.

Looking ahead allows us to build on their strengths. “Effective leaders determine what the organization can do best and then do it.”

Looking ahead reduces crisis. “The two controlling influences will be either our plans or our pressures. And contrary to public opinion, no one works well under pressure for long.”

Looking ahead gives energy. “Failing to focus, we dissipate our energy on less important matters, improper agendas, and lost crusades.”

Looking ahead is a spiritual experience. “Looking ahead cannot be done without the power of prayer. As your eyes engage the plan, allow your heart to engage the Heavenly Father.”

Good advice. For the full article, click here.

Tom