BLeach

Inspirational Leadership

I've been reading through the gospel of Luke, outlining characteristics of Jesus' life and ministry.  One thought that has stood out: Jesus led through inspiration.

From now on you'll catch men instead of fish.  Inspiration.

Men don't quit their jobs without having another job lined up because they're needed.  They drop their nets (cash in their stock) because they're inspired.

Recruitment is one of the constant demands of leadership.  In the local church, recruiting volunteers feels challenging when it seems like their is little incentive to offer.  But that's because we're often leading out of need.  We need small group leaders.  We need setup workers.  We need volunteers in the nursery.  And after awhile, the ongoing announcements and pleas fall on deaf ears.

God's people need more than an opportunity.  They need to be inspired.

And it's inspired leaders who inspire leaders.

If you're having a difficult time gaining buy-in, get alone with a Bible and a journal and recapture the worth of your cause.  Let the lostness of your city burden you again.  Let the enduring nature of the local church capture you again.  Let the honor of serving the mission of God motivate you again.

Then lead with inspiration.

Monday Mind Dump

• Last night we kicked off the Thanksgiving week with an old school testimony service at our building.  Loved hearing all the stories about what God has been doing this year.
• There were several stories shared about dreams that God has fulfilled and revived this year in people's lives. 
• One woman in our church shared a true "test"imony.  It was the story of what God did out of an extremely painful season in her life. 
• I preached part two of The Prodigal series in our morning gathering.  Felt like I was able to share some insights about the degression of sin and the progression of repentance.   
• I'm praising God for several "prodigals" responded in the service with repentance.   
• The more I get to know Metro Detroit, the more I realize that a large percentage of our mission field are prodigals (men and women who grew up in religious circles but have left the Father's house). 
• I'm pumped about heading into the holiday season.  It's such a great time to connect with unchurched people in our city. 
• God has given us a vision to commission "neighborhood pastors" in our church who will adopt households in the neighborhoods around Southfield Lathrup High School.  Can't wait to cast the vision for it in December! 
• I've been really proud of our SWAT team.  Feels like setup and teardown is getting smoother on Sundays. 
• I love being in the school because it gives us the capacity for God to do something so significant through our church.  Yesterday I closed my eyes during my sermon and envisioned every seat in the auditorium filled with prodigals from every pocket of our city.  It's going to happen! 
• I couldn't watch the Lions yesterday because the blackout continues.  But watching the scores flash at the bottom of the screen is enough.  17-0.  17-7.  17-14.  17-21.  And we lose 20-38. 
• I've seen several bad Lion's teams in my lifetime, but I think this one might be the worst. 
• I don't want the Lions to go 0-16.  And I don't understand Lion's fans who do.  Why would we want our team to go down as the worst team ever?  I think I'll write a separate post about this. 
• It looks like the Thanksgiving day game may even be blacked out in Detroit this week. 
• Speaking of football, Michigan's season mercifully came to an end on Saturday.  This was a long season with way too much losing. 
• Leah is still trying to talk me into cheering for the Steelers and Penn State.  I just haven't been able to bring myself to do it.  Although I do hope Penn State represents the Big Ten well in the Rose Bowl. 
• Looks like this weekend was a tough one for my fantasy football teams.  I need Drew Brees to have a huge game tonight.  But at this point it's all about the playoffs! 
• Leah and I are headed out of town for vacation this week.  I can't wait to get some rest, get some sun, eat some turkey and celebrate Thanksgiving with the family!

The Other Side of the Automotive Crisis

Detroit continues to show up in the news due to the automaker's financial troubles.  So I thought I'd share a great story that illustrates how God has redeemed the crisis.

Jason and Andrea Huang are two young adults in our church who have recently accepted a challenge to pioneer an Intervarsity ministry on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.  They have been fundraising, which is quite a challenge for missionaries in our economy.  Meanwhile, they've been praying specifically for a big donor to step up.

Jason has worked at Chrysler for the past four years.  So accepting this ministry opportunity required him to leave a good job and step into the uncertainty of launching a brand new ministry.  

The big three have been laying off thousands of employees in Detroit this fall.  A few weeks ago, Chrysler announced its decision to lay off 25% of all salaried workers.  But they also offered some volunteer buy-out packages to salaried workers as well.  

Jason applied for the buy-out, knowing that it's been 18 years since a buy-out has been given to an employee his age.  But he got it!  And he had to leave anyway:)

As a result, Jason and Andrea will be able to meet their goal of moving to Pittsburgh before the winter semester starts at Carnegie Mellon.  Who knew that when they prayed for a big donor, Chrysler would be the answer to their prayer!

So cool to see God turn an incredibly difficult situation around for good!

One of the Craziest Moments of my Life

A Story of Redemption

This past weekend was officially "baby weekend" for our church.  In addition to our announcement, we celebrated with Eddie and JT as they welcomed their new foster kids into their home. 

On Saturday we celebrated with about sixty people at a baby shower where Eddie and JT shared their unfolding story of redemption.

• God is redeeming a young mom who is lost and unable to love her kids like she wants to
• God is redeeming two beautiful kids who deserve the love and nurture they'll now receive
• God is redeeming two of his servants who have dreamed about having children

Little Nick and Rosie were amazing.  So calm and peaceful.  Filled with so much joy and life.  They clung to Eddie and JT as if they'd known them their whole lives.

So proud of Eddie and JT as they embrace God's plan for this season of their lives!

The Big Announcement

On Sunday I started a new series called the Prodigal by viewing Jesus' story of The Prodigal Son from the perspective of the father.  It was a good opportunity to clear up some misunderstandings that many people have about God. 

It was also a great way to tell the church that Leah is about to make me a dad!

Toward the end of my message I began talking about the dream I've had to be a dad, and the journey that Leah and I have been taking in discerning God's leading for our family.  At that point Leah came walking in from backstage with a pillow under her shirt.

Half the church started clapping, excited about what we were trying to communicate.  The other half looked to the stage with an awkward stare, as if to ask, "What kind of weird illustration is this?"

It was our BIG announcement!

Oh well:)  It all made sense in our heads.  And it turned out to be a lot of fun once everyone understood what was going on!

Drumroll Please...

I'm going to be a dad!

Leah is about 8 weeks pregnant, and we are pumped!

Leah actually found out about one month ago, while I was away at class.  She kept it to herself until I came home, and then presented me with a several gift packages.  They were numbered.  I opened the first and found an old "Abba" CD.  I thought that was strange, but it wasn't the first strange thing Leah has ever done:)  My original thought was that they would just keep getting progressively better and that there might be an iphone in the last package.

Package number two was a bag of Junior Mints.  And package number three was some Sugar Daddies.  That's when it hit me, and I turned to Leah and said, "Are you trying to tell me that we're having a baby!"

I continued opening packages to find some more candy, a Piston's pacifier, and finally the digital pregnancy test with the words "pregnant" on it.

The last month has been filled with various emotions as I think about becoming a father.  Can't wait for the new adventure!

The Prodigal

This Sunday we'll kick off a new series.  I'm excited about taking three weeks to explore what may be Jesus' most famous parable: the parable of the Prodigal Son.  We'll look at one character each week, beginning with The Father this Sunday.

I once heard Eugene Peterson say that most of what we've learned about God is wrong.  I feel like one of my responsibilities as a pastor is to keep perceptions of God clean.  I'm hoping this series gives us a fresh glimpse into the heart and character of The Father.

Acting Like Men

I spent some time this morning reflecting on an exhilarating weekend.  Several months ago my friend Jim Wiegand invited me to speak at an annual men's conference his church hosts at The Freedom Center.  So this weekend I had the opportunity to speak five times to a highly responsive group of men.  I loved it.

On Saturday the power went out in Fenton, which made for an interesting speaking environment.  Since the auditorium was pitch black, and I couldn't use a microphone, I found myself standing on the stage, surrounded by candles, shouting out into the darkness.  It felt like a good metaphor for what Jesus has called us to do as servants with the audacious goal of transforming cities.

Several guys from our church joined me for the conference.  So great to share the experience with the guys who are in the trenches with me.  I think the highlight of the weekend for me was staying up late with several of them on Friday night, in the hotel hot tub, talking about life, marriage and faith.

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love (1 Corinthians 16.13-14).

4, 4 Letter Words 4 November 4

• Vote: Be a good American
• Hope: The Kingdom of God advances
• Pray: Here's a good guide
• Free: Coffee, ice cream, doughnuts...what a country!