Quotage: Make commitments

“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hope, but no plans” - Peter Drucker

Just a good thought on a Wednesday night.

Posting has been sparse here because life’s been busy. If you want more updates, you can follow my twitter updates (which also have an RSS feed for you Bloglines or Google Blog Reader folks). I’m hoping to get into a schedule where I can post more regularly again. Some exciting things are happening in life, so here’s to hoping things will gel soon!

Linkage: Distractions, unreal suits, and leadership

• The distracted life - “Kevin….chill out. When it comes to listening, really listening….you can’t be demanding.” And I immediately thought, “Oh…good lesson #1. Listening requires patience. Chill Out Kevin. Wait on God.”
• WIRED on why Iron Man’s suit wouldn’t work in real life (or WIRED - ruining superhero movies since 1993)
• A Leader’s Legacy by James Kouzes and Barry Posner - Some great quotes from the book from David Mays. “The legacy you leave is the life you lead. We lead our lives daily. We leave our legacy daily. The people you see, the decisions you make, the actions you take—they are what tell your story.”

So these three theologians walk into a …

Seminary’s a weird place. You’re learning a lot about God. Some of it’s even useful and incredibly beneficial. But you also get stuck in this “other world” with terminology and ideas that can separate you from normal, everyday life.

That’s why I love this joke a buddy sent me today. It’s the only seminary joke you’ll ever see on this blog. Trust me.

Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, and Reinhold Niebuhr find themselves all at the same time at Caesarea Philippi. Along comes Jesus, and he asks these three famous theologians, “Who do you say that I am?”

Karl Barth stands up and says: “You are the ‘wholly other,’ the vestigious trinitatum who speaks to us in the modality of Christomonism.”

Following this, Paul Tillich states: “You are he who heals our ambiguities and overcomes the split of angst and existential estrangement; you are he who speaks of the theonomous viewpoint of the analogia entis, the analogy of our being and the ground of all possibilities.”

Reinhold Niebuhr gives a cough for effect and says, in one breath: “You are the impossible possibility who brings to us, your children of light and children of darkness, the overwhelming oughtness in the midst of our fraught condition of estrangement and brokenness in the contiguity and existential anxieties of our ontological relationships.”

And Jesus looks at them and says, “What?”

Your greatest strengths are…

I was looking at some sample job interview questions online, and in the process found a list with “suggested answers”. I love that they tell you what you should say your greatest strength is …

Becoming missional communities

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what it means to be a “missional community” - how small groups can organize around outward mission that enables those relationships with God and each other to grow and be developed along the way. Alan Hirsch has a lot of great things to say about this here.

The problem is, life isn’t giving me much time to think, and I haven’t been able to put much of it into words to share here. But never fear! There are people much smarter than I’ll ever be talking about the same stuff. Here are a couple of pieces of good “thought food” from Drew Goodmanson.

I’m serious. It’s good, thick stuff. Take some time to look at it. If you need more of an intro to some of the ideas, read the Hirsch article above first. It’s from a different perspective, but it’ll begin to give you a framework through which to process the ideas.

Organic Movement - Reverse Church Planting
Today, a lot of what is called church planting is really starting a new 1 hour service for people to attend.  There’s a belief that just by opening your doors and great preaching, you will start a revolution.

Leading a Missional Community
A Missional Community (MC) is a committed core of believers who live out the mission of God together in a specific area or to a particular people group by demonstrating the gospel in tangible forms and declaring the gospel to others – both those who believe it and those who are being exposed to it.

Multiplying Missional Communities
As our communities gather rdinary people doing ordinary things with gospel intentionality, we should both pray for and expect the Spirit to work among us.

I hope those Texans appreciate good art…

If you’ve been in our apartment you’ve seen some art done *ahem* in the style of a Vietnamese artist named Minh Son. We picked them up when we were in Vietnam a few years ago. I love his style - it’s unique, vibrant, modern, and still has a traditional feel to it. Well, NorthWood’s bringing him in for an arts festival. Wish I could be there…

Worship leader wanted

I’m looking for a worship leader for an event in May. Here’s my dream list: female, piano-driven groove-like style, kind of a Sara Bareilles sound. If you know of anyone in the Pasadena area, let me know!

Starbucks - refreshing the “original” third place

You know the story. Visionary leader builds a revolutionary brand. Visionary leader steps away and hands it off. Brand falters. Said leader steps back in to turn things around.

The first big changes are taking place since Howard Schultz stepped back into the head spot at Starbucks, and honestly, I’m excited to see if and how he makes the chain unique again. I used to love hanging out at the local Starbucks, but recently they’ve just been crowded places with cluttered stores and dirty bathrooms. I guess it deserves an apology to my Sbux barista friends, but hey, at least Peet’s smells like coffee!

That said, changes are underway! One of the first is the company’s new Pike Place roast, named after its first store. Unlike recent practice, the beans will actually be ground in the store (bringing back that coffee shop smell).

It looks like they’re also making the gutsy move of changing up the brand a little (at least for a while). According to Brand New and pictures from the chain’s website, they’ll be using their original logo in the store and on the cups. I’ll be interested to see how the general public takes to the look. People love their Starbucks, but I’m not sure if they realize that character in the middle of the green circle was originally a bare-chested, split-legged mermaid.

(Image from Brand New)

But hey, it signals change, and maybe that’s what’s needed. The store shots from Pike Place look great. If they can give other stores the same feel, it might bring back that original “coffee shop” ambiance. I’m tired of my local third place feeling like McDonald’s!

(UPDATE: Thanks to Jeff’s comment below, we now know the logo is “tweaked” a little from it’s original version. There’s a picture of the cup here. Looks like the mermaid has longer hair to cover herself a little more )

For you Pasadena folks, the Starbucks tasting tour (where I guess they’re showing off their new blend) is stopping at Paseo this weekend. Here’s the info.

4/12
Paseo Colorado
280 E. Colorado Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91101
10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

For everyone else, here are a few other posts about the changes…

• A great post from Brand Autopsy summarizing all the new changes
• Starbucks site - Pike Place roast
• Brand New - about the logo and changes
• TIME - Starbucks looks for a fresh jolt
• An older series from Brand Autopsy about changes Starbucks must make
• Idea Sandbox and the “aroma first” rule

Headphones, but no music

Odd, but true - I think I use my headphones on my laptop to generate white noise more often than to listen to actual music these days. I love music when I’m working out, cleaning the house, or doing non-brain-intensive activities, but as soon as I’m trying to think at all, any words mercilessly distract me.

Noise to the rescue. This nifty little program for the Mac generates white or pink noise - perfect for drowning out any distracting things going on around me so I can concentrate on wonderful work like outlining the book of James based on textual markers.

So if you see me in the library or Starbucks, I’m probably not listening to some great band. It’s probably just that sound you get when you leave the radio in between stations…

Pieces of paper can’t tell the whole story

Today’s been an organization day in Sampson world. I’ve spent the morning sorting through piles of papers that have accumulated over the past few months as well as scanning some older files I want to keep around.

One folder I ran across was filled with church plant proposals from different church planters I’ve met with. Looking at the pile of proposals was interesting. Less than half of the churches are around today, and those that are look nothing like those sheets of paper.

I’ve heard many church planters say the end result will never look like that ministry prospectus. That’s not surprising. I guess what surprised me is that it was 100% true. Not often true. Not true most of the time. It was true in every case.

When starting something new in God’s kingdom, it’s important to have a vision and call. But maybe it’s better to start with a page or two of ideas and let God flesh out the book as we move forward following him.

Wednesday Distraction: Bright idea?

If you have $28 to spend on a light bulb, you absolutely need to get this one:

More here.

Jesus, sinners, and you

I’m always amazed at how Jesus not only hung around rough crowds filled with corrupt businessmen, prostitutes, and sinners but how those crowds actually wanted to be around Jesus. How does that happen? His message essentially tells them they need to change, but they invite him to parties.

When I’m in a new group and want them to “like” me, my first instinct is to impress them. If I look the right way and say the right things, they’ll think I’m cool and want me around, right?

Yeah. It’s a lousy approach. You can work to impress people, or you can try to connect with them. Impressing involves working to send all the right signals. Connecting involves spending a lot more time listening, asking questions, and sharing stories. It’s being who you are and caring about the other person rather than showing off a certain look or feel.

So the down-and-out crowded to be around Jesus. But today, most people outside of church avoid Christians like the plague. Part of the problem, it seems, is that while Jesus worked to connect, we’re working to impress.

I’m convinced it’s all about love. Jesus’ love was attractive. Somehow, the amount he cared about the people he was around came through enough that it was the message.

For us as individuals and the church, it’s a freeing message. Be yourself and love people.

It doesn’t mean we have to soften the rough edges of Christianity that might offend. Just be yourself and love people.

It doesn’t mean we have to lead perfect lives so everyone can see what a Christian should be like. Just be yourself and love people.

It doesn’t mean that our creative church services must be perfect every Sunday. Just be yourself and love people.

For some folks, this call is more difficult. It’s easier to put on a show than to simply be. But God’s call to love God and love others is centered around that type of relationship. Jesus’ call to “follow me” focuses on those relationships as well.

So how about this. Stop worrying about impressing people. Follow God. Be yourself. Love people.

Remove jargon. Communicate clearly.

The more you’re a part of a subculture, the more you speak that culture’s language. That’s all fine and good until you need to communicate with someone outside of that culture.

It happens in the church world. Phrases and expectations can be completely odd to the newcomer. And let me tell you - seminary doesn’t help. Most Christians wouldn’t know what half the stuff seminary students talk about means.

Want to know what it feels like to be someone walking into a jargon-filled church for the first time? Watch this…

[ht: 22 Words]

Wednesday Distraction: Bringing back the musical

I’ve noticed that the longer I’m in seminary, the less “deep” this blog gets. I’m not exactly sure what that means. If you miss depth and want to read about substantive dualism and nonreductive physicalism, let me know and I’ll send you a paper I wrote…

Making the most of time in seminary

I wrote a post for the site goingtoseminary.com about what role seminary can play in prep for ministry. You can check it out here.

I’m always surprised when I talk with seminary students who are frustrated with the education they’re receiving. I’ve attended two very different seminaries so far, and the complainers existed both places. So I’m guessing this is a universal thing.

Most of the time they don’t feel like their education is fully preparing them for ministry. They may say it’s too theoretical. It’s not practical enough.

But honestly, I think they’re expecting too much.

 Read more.