Focus

I have recently been reflecting on my need to focus more. By nature I'm a little ADD. I do like to keep moving and doing stuff, so it takes quite a bit of effort to just stop and focus on something for very long. There are so many things that feed this tendency.

• Email - it's the worst. With a little sound on my computer I am constantly distracted by new email. It beckons me to "pay attention to me because I am the most important thing you have to attend to right at this moment." Even though a lot of the time it is something that can wait on or a Forward of a joke or a "special offer" telling me how I can get 1 million dollars by sending some stranger $1 or any other number of stupid things that fill up my inbox.
• Interruptions at the door - the culture of Suncrest is that a closed door is just a signal that you need to knock before you interrupt....not that you shouldn't interrupt at all.
  
• A "to do list" that is way, way to big - okay now I'm really sounding like I'm complaining, but it is true. It's way too big.
• Things I want to do - let's face it, we all have things we don't like to do at work but we have to do. Then there are things we want to do, but may not be the most necessary at the moment. Many times I just choose to do the things I want to do instead of focusing on the more important things.
• Going to the bathroom - okay, maybe a personal problem...or maybe I need to cut back on the coffee. Either way, it is a distraction.
  

This is just a partial list, but you get the idea and I am sure you relate. Because of all this I have been digesting some productivity stuff and found some sage wisdom out there. I am currently trying out some of it as it relates to the evil monster of email...and it's working! I will post some of the best advice soon. For now, I felt compelled to just comment on the fact that for all of us the cost is high if we don't FOCUS. Focus gives us clarity to our work. Focus maximizes our effectiveness on whatever it is we are doing. Focus makes us an invaluable contributor to the teams we serve on.

Growing by Serving

It struck me last week when reading that day's 21 Day Challenge passage that sometimes I miss the boat on what it really takes to mature. When most talk about maturing in their faith they almost exclusively talk about "learning something." I think that is why so much emphasis is placed on the sermon in a service. People feel like if they learn some thing then they are growing. The reality is that just because we hear something doesn't mean we have grown. We have to actually put it into practice before we can say we have grown.

In Ephesians 4:7-16, though, a model is given that doesn't have much to do with listening to a sermon or studying. It has everything to do with serving though. In fact, in verse 13 and 14 Paul is so clear that we mature to the point that we are not "tossed back and forth" by deceit when we SERVE. I almost always talk about the motivation for service being twofold:

1. Jesus said to do it;
2. It is a great experience.

Those reasons are still valid, but Scripture also teaches that the main result of serving is that we actually mature in four ways:

1. Unity with other Christ followers;
2. Experience a vibrant relationship with Christ;
3. Have confidence in what we believe;
4. Have the ability to speak truth to other Christ followers.

Having said that, I don't want to minimize the role of sermons in our growth. I have to say that since I am a preacher. :) But perhaps, we should not forget that most growth actually comes from putting into practice what we hear. That is never more true than when we are serving.

Leadership by relationships

Found this great article over at Lifehack.org, a productivity blog.

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/management/how-to-lead-people-for-results.html

Great perspective that is strangely familiar to Jesus' style of leadership. This is refreshing to read because I have read many things about leadership and witnessed many leaders that do not lead in this way. They choose to lead as a boss only. It is more natural to lead through relationships for me than to try and be only the "boss." It certainly takes time. And it does take a lot of effort. But with the teams I have led in this way it is a whole lot funner!

I'm speaking mostly of volunteer teams, so the boss analogy may not be the best comparison in those situations. Perhaps it is a lead through relationship versus lead through title. I'm the leader of this ministry and I love you so let's do this together versus I'm the leader so do what I say.

Ben is 1!

Benjamin turned one last week. It was a rather busy week so unfortunately his birthday was pretty lowkey. Although because some good friend's son share his birthday we did celebrate with them at Chuck E.Cheese. So, Ben got his first real visual overload experience. Here's a pic of his 1st birthday cake:

Doesn't get much better than this

Sometimes I have to stop and think about how blessed I am to do what I do. Just considering this week I have had more interaction with people who are diving into their Bible with the 21 Day challenge and/or considering going to the East campus. It's so awesome to hear from people who want to do something significant like being a part of the new campus. To talk to some who have only heard the smallest of details about the new campus and yet they are telling me, "I'm in!"

So cool to do this for a living.

21 day challenge

So, I don't know what I was thinking. I decided to create the "21 Day Challenge" blog to go along with the Catalyst message series we are in right now. It will give all the staff a chance to share their thoughts and reflections in this journey. Now with this one, along with the suncresteast.org blog, I am managing and contributing to 3 blogs. That's crazy. Oh well, crazy is fun.

3 years

This past weekend I celebrated 3 years at Suncrest. It came and went rather inconspicuously, as it should. It's not 10 or 20 or 30 years...something grand like that. And yet I feel like I have packed 10 years worth of experiences into 3 great years. I can't imagine serving a better place than Suncrest at this point in my journey. I feel like I have grown immensely, been allowed to serve in areas in which I am gifted and found a home.

For those reading that are a part of Suncrest, thanks for allowing me to have a place in your lives. You have been a blessing.