I got the greatest kick out of this picture partnered with this caption from The Drudge Report this morning. Classic.

I also hear that the CIA is recruiting a ton of children from The Xavier Academy for covert ops and that a young man named Barry Allen is helping police in Silver City.

I just wish that Metropolis had a city plan in place to protect its citizens.

Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18 KJVS)

I began thinking about this verse and I remembered a scene at the beginning of one of my favorite movies, Seven Samurai.

Kurosawa’s 1954 classic film begins with a gang of bandits tearing through the Japanese’s countryside. They come to a stop at the top of the a hill overlooking a small, poor, insignificant village. They are about to attack the defenseless hamlet when their leader reminds them that they attacked this village last season. He tells them that they should come back when the barley harvest is in so that they could really wreak some havoc. They agree and they ride off vowing to return and destroy everything. An older man from the village had been hiding on the hill and he overhears the bandits plans and he rushes down the hill to warn the people.

The very next scene show the entire village weeping and wailing and sitting in the dirt in the center of the village. Some are crying out they they wished that they could die right now. Doom and gloom is all around. Most have given up every ounce of hope.

One young man stands up and proclaims passionately that the villagers must fight the bandits. Most of the older men shout him down telling him that his idea is ludicrous. The older men agree that the course of action must be decided by the leader of the village. Every villager stands up and marches to the old mill where the oldest and wisest man living among them resides. The old man will tell them what they must do.

After much deliberation and thought the old man agrees that they must fight these bandits off. He tells them that they must hire samurai to help protect the people. Many of the men argue with the old man’s words saying that they could never afford to hire samurai. They ask him incredulously, “What Samurai would work for barley and rice?”

The old man responds to their doubt by saying, “We will look for hungry samurai.”

That’s vision.

Without his vision, the people would perish. The old man knew that his people were in trouble. He knew their fears and he knew their limitations. They needed help and they needed a different perspective. The old man exhibited vision to see beyond excuses.

Effective vision is most often the most practical. The people were focused on what prohibited them from surviving. The old man focused on what they had and what would help them survive.

Quit whining and crying about your situation and what you think is keeping you and your people from success.

Go find you some hungry samurai and protect your village.

My follow-up posts on the Paradoxes of Leading from the Second Chair have been put on hold (surprise, surprise) while I prep for my sermon this week.

I am preaching on the importance of Leadership Vision. It is a topic that really gets my heart going.

Proverbs 29:18 says that where there is no vision (khaw-ZONE), the people perish (KJV).

I love how the Message interprets this verse:

If people can’t see what God is doing,
they stumble all over themselves;
But when they attend to what he reveals,
they are most blessed.

It is this message that I want to get across this week.

Leadership Vision isn’t about crazy dreams or overly creative ideas birthed by high and lofty positional leaders.

Leadership Vision is for all people who humbly and reverently seek to make sure that their vision is God’s vision.

It is the ability to see what God is doing and the desire to attend to his revelation. If you can’t or are unwilling to see what God is up too then I would suggest that you are in the way.

We will be specifically looking at Nehemiah, the cupbearer of the king. He wasn’t an important official. He wasn’t a member of the royal family. He was a humble servant. His vision was to see that God was glorified through his life and the lives of those he led. His eyes and heart were opened to God’s vision for living and he let God lead him to do great and wonderful things that brought glory, not to Nehemiah, but to God.

Leadership Vision is never about YOU. It is about bringing glory to Almighty God.

I’ll post updates about the sermon throughout the week. Until then, have a great day and keep seeking out God’s vision.

Well folks, it seems that I was wrong in believing that the Justice Dept. would never approve of a merger between XM and Sirius satellite radios. Today the merger won the government’s a-ok.

I’m a bit bummed but whatcha gonna do?

I just hope that I am wrong again and that the merger won’t affect by bill or my satellite radio experience. I’m doubtful however.

Prove me wrong XM/Sirius. Prove me wrong.

I’ve been reading Leading From the Second Chair by Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson this week. What a great resource this is! I only wish I had read it a few years ago so that I could have implemented some of its perspective in my first ministry position after college.

According to Bonem and Patterson, a Second-Chair Leader is a person in a subordinate role whose influence with others adds value throughout the organization(2). Basically it is someone who is a leader but is not the “lead leader.” Success for the Second Chair leader is found through influence and building strong relationships.

There is a great amount of freedom in that and I feel a great sense pride knowing that God has allowed me to gain influence and build strong relationships in every single working opportunity I’ve had. From working at a restaurant to campus security to my current position as a youth minister, being in the second chair (or third or eighth) has allowed me to serve in the most pure form of leadership there is: leading/serving without formal authority.

Have I always embraced this truth? Unfortunately not. I have complained and I have missed or refused many opportunities to look at the big picture. The reality is, thankfully, that God has used/is now using/will use my experiences in the second chair as a “transformational season” in my life. That is an awesome truth that I will and must embrace!

Bonem and Patterson go on discuss the three paradoxes of Second Chair Leadership: subordinate-leader, deep-wide, and contentment-dreaming. In discussing these paradoxes I realized how incredibly privileged I am to be in a second chair role. There is freedom but as the number two (or three or eight) I have a even greater responsibility not just to my particular ministry but to everyone that I come in contact with. I’ll unpack these paradoxes tomorrow.

Until then, Are you in the second chair leadership position where you lead? If so, have you ever looked at this position as an opportunity for growth and strength?

What would it take for you to begin gaining influence and building stronger relationships across your entire organization from your current second chair position today?

March 16- 23 is considered “Holy Week” throughout the world. I came across a great resource in Group magazine that I using this week to help my teens think through the last week of Jesus’ life as he entered Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) until he rose from the dead (Easter). The devotional was originally written by Steve Case but I modified it to meet the specific needs of my teenagers.

This devotional will combine their love for technology with scripture and prayer. It’s called “A Cell-ebration for Holy Week” and it is designed to be led entirely using text messages. That’s right, I am redeeming their text messages for Jesus!

Each night during Holy Week, which also corresponds with their Spring Break, I will text them scripture passages and devotional ideas. The teens will have the opportunity to text back and text one another.

I know that this seems odd but I think it has the potential to be really great. As my readers, you too are invited to join us for the devotional. It would also serve as a good opportunity for you and your family to worship together each night while on break or just because. To participate, email me with your cell phone number to kickingatthedarkness (at) gmail (dot) com.

You can also follow along with the study each night by follwoing the Order of Worship laid out below. The entire week will follow this order. Keep this outline handy to help you follow along.

A CELL-ebration for Holy Week
This worship service is designed to be led entirely using text messaging.

What You’ll Need:
Cell phone- You will need a cell phone. If you don’t have a cell phone just follow this order of worship on your own.

An order of worship- this will help you stay on track and follow along each night

A Bible- I will text you scripture references from Psalms and the NT for you to read and meditate on

A quiet place- Make sure that you are in a state of mind and at a place where you can really focus on Jesus

Call to Worship:
Micheal texts: The Lord be with you
You text: And also with you

Micheal texts: Let us lift our hearts to God
You text: Amen

Micheal texts: A psalm (I will text you a reference for the psalm of the day. Read the psalm. When you are done reading the psalm text me back the word “Amen”)

Micheal texts: A passage from the Gospels (I will text you a reference for the gospel passage of the day. Read the passage. When you are done reading text me back the word “Amen”)

Micheal texts: I will text you a message about what we have read. (When you are done reading text me back the word “Amen”)

Micheal texts: Prayers of the people
You text: Text Micheal specific prayer requests (I will in turn text everyone a prayer list each night)

Micheal texts: Kyrie eleison (Greek for “Lord have mercy.”)
You text: Kyrie eleison

Micheal texts: Go now to love and serve God. The Lord be with you.
Teens text: And also with you

Scripture References:
Palm Sunday- Ps 2; Luke 19:29-40
Monday- Ps 22:1-11; Luke 19:45-48
Tuesday- Ps 22:11-21; Matthew 21;12-17
Wednesday- Ps 69; Matthew 26:14-18
Thursday- Ps 109; Luke 22:14-20
Good Friday- Ps 23; John 19:19-30
Saturday- Ps 46; John 19:38-42

I have been just living inside of a great study on the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA.

Last summer, Chan preached a 7-part series on the Holy Spirit to his congregation and I have just now been able to begin working through the podcasts. Chan is an incredible teacher and his passion and desire for God is made evident when he is expressing this gift.

The podcasts have been great but I have been able to go deeper into the study by following the small group study page Cornerstone provides their people. (they are available for every lesson on the Cornerstone website. Main>Media>Sermons)

I have never heard lessons on the Holy Spirit this revealing, tempered, and powerful. Like Chan, I too believe that our greatest sin to the people we lead is neglecting the power of the Spirit.

The last few days have been eye opening for me. I have been able to approach this (too often) delicate subject without fear and trepidation. I have just found myself meditating and marveling at some passages of scripture that I feel like I have missed over the years.

My heart is so full right now that I find it difficult to put my thoughts in blog form.

The long and short of it is this: the Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus, sent from the Father, is a mysterious truth that we will never fully understand. I am grateful that through these podcasts and through the Word of God I am scratching the surface of this mystery.

Discussion Question:
Why do we neglect teaching about or learning about the Holy Spirit?

I’m headed off on our Men’s Retreat this afternoon.

It will be a nice change of pace to be on a retreat with adults rather than teens. It will also be nice to go on a retreat that I haven’t scheduled or planned. I’m the AV guy and I do have a presentation on Teen Mentoring but it should be a relaxing 2 days.

I’m taking a few books with me. I’ll start Nancy Ortberg’s Looking for God and (hopefully) I’ll knock out a good chunk of Neal Gabler’s 912 page biography of Walt Disney.

I have been trying to get to the bio of Uncle Walt for some time but other books have gotten in the way. On March 30, I’m preaching on The Vision of a Leader and I can’t think of anyone in the modern age with more vision that Walt Disney. Of course, Walt surrounded himself with other visionaries and experts. Men “on the ground” like Ub Iwerks and those men and women of the creative team known as The Imagineers have helped carry out Walt’s vision and have even managed to take his vision further than he ever imagined.

I am convinced that you, personally, can have a vision for something but ultimately vision is a team sport. I once heard that as iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens the other. Sounds like whoever said that knew what they were talking about.

Have a great weekend everyone.

From Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw:

Our president is not organizing another political party, nope… not even running with Nader on the Green ticket.

Jesus is forming a new kind of people, a different kind of party, whose peculiar politics are embodied in who we are. The church is a people called out of the world to embody a social alternative that the world cannot know on its own terms. We are not simply asking the government to be what God has commissioned the church to be.

After all, even the best government can’t legislate love. We can build hundreds of affordable housing (a good thing by the way) and people still might not have homes. We can provide universal health care and keep folks breathing longer (another nice move), but people can be breathing and still not truly be alive. We can create laws to enforce good behavior, but no law has ever changed a human heart or reconciled a broken relationship. The church is not simply suggesting political alternatives. The church is embodying one.

I didn’t agree with everything in this book. The author’s painted with a very large brush (they admit that right up front) and some of their theological conclusions (read: oversimplifications) made me scratch my head.

At times the book even made me angry. I was angry at the authors, politicians, the man, the left, the right, the system, and most of all, at myself. I wrestled all day long with Jesus for President yesterday as I wrestled with my decision to involve myself in the political process.

One thing is for sure: If Jesus did run for President he would lose in the most devastating landslide in the history of democracy. The way of Jesus stands in stark contrast to the agendas of the Republicans and the Democrats. His Kingdom is not of this world.

All of this did make me think yesterday, if none of these candidates look like Jesus, talk like Jesus, walk like Jesus, or live like Jesus then who do I vote for?

Over the last few weeks I have received 3 free books in the mail. Books are awesome. Free is amazing. Free books takes it to a whole different level!!!

Last fall at Catalyst, I subscribed to the Catalyst Filter. It was my understanding that the Filter would be primarily a web-based companion to the conference.

On one level it is. At the site you can find audio from past conferences, articles from speakers and leaders, and connect with other subscribers. It is good but just worth the price of admission.

However, the real benefits to the Catalyst Filter have been through the “off-site” things. I have been able to participate in exclusive conference calls with pastors and authors like Mark Batterson and Gabe Lyons. Each one that I have participated in have really ministered to my soul and imagination for making Christ number one in my life, church, and community. I would subscribe again next year for the conference calls alone.

But wait, there’s more.

I had no idea that they would be sending us books. They have sent a total of 4 books to me since Christmas and I couldn’t be more pleased.

Last month I received The Organic God by Margret Feinberg. I have heard some great things about this book and I look forward to reading it beginning today.

Yesterday I received 2 (count em: 2!) books crammed into my mailbox.

I am most excited about the pre-release copy of Nancy Ortberg’s Looking for God: An Unexpected Journey through Tattoos, Tofu, and Pronouns. Hopefully, I’ll get to it sometime next week.

The other book sent to me yesterday has the best title of any Christian book I’ve read this year. I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt: Replacing Souvenir Religion with Authentic Spiritual Passion by Vince Antonucci looks to be a great book. Vince became a Christian at age 20 after reading the New Testament. When he began to get connected to a church he was dumbstruck by the superficial nature by which most Christians he encountered lived out their faith. I can’t wait to dig into this one.

Thanks Catalyst for a great conference (see you in October) and thanks for the free books. Keep them coming!!!