History in the Making

On Vacation

I'm taking a blogging hiatus while we're on vacation. I'll be back on September 2. Until then, comments are on hold. I'll see you soon.

Leaders Need an Iconic Symbol

This is a follow-up to the Tucker Carlson post a few days ago...

Choosing an iconic symbol is important to a leader's legacy. Didn't like Tucker's bow-tie? Tough. It was the only thing that made him stand-out from the other Washington's pundits.

I recommend James Humes' book "Speak Like Churchill, Stand Like Lincoln." It talks about the history of iconic symbols used by leaders. They are intentional props that tell the story of their leadership.

George Washington used to climb out of his carriage 3 miles outside of town and climb onto a white stallion for the ride-in because he knew what the symbolism would accomplish. Here are a few other iconic symbols:

-Chuck Colson's glasses
-Steve Jobs' black mock turtle neck
-Garrison Keillor's red tie
-Abe Lincoln's stovepipe hat
-Winston Churchill's cigar

There was an intentional purpose behind the props these leaders selected. It reinforced the image they wanted to project... the legacy they wanted to leave behind.

Catalyst Shenanigans

Catalyst concierges Dwayne Melton and Chad Johnson showed up to work today wearing the same exact outfit -- jeans and a blue Catalyst polo. They've been harassed mercilessly for being bosom buddies. So the other guys went down to the supply room and got outfitted in the same get-ups. You gotta love this place. You can't put anything past anybody...

In other news (and I confess shameless name-dropping here), I got to join a few guys for prayer last night before 7:22 - Louie, Jarrett Stevens, Charlie Hall, Steve Fee, Dan Kimball, among others. Quite thrilling for a punk kid like me from rural Ohio.

Tucker Took His Tie Off

Several years ago, Tucker Carlson of the show Crossfire always wore a bow tie. It was his trademark, his iconic symbol. Until one day, he no longer wore it. The reason he took it off? The only thing I can pin-point is John Stewart's appearance on their show in 2006, where he said to Tucker in a heated exchange -- "This [show] is theater. How old are you?" "Thirty-five" "And you wear a bow-tie!?"

Criticism knocked Tucker off his game.

This is a bad analogy, I know. But I can't think of anything more destructive to vision than criticism. It makes you doubt yourself, your ideas, your dream of what the future can be. A couple of take-aways...

1. Surround yourself with vision champions
2. Understand that more success equals more criticism
3. If you've taken it off... put your bow tie back on

The Tim Gunn of Good Causes

I have a top 10 list of favorite people, which I won't reveal. It changes based on Christmas presents and flattering words throughout the year. I'm totally kidding. But if I did have one, Mike Foster would be on it. Got this off Shin's blog -- it's Mike explaining Junky Car Club on the Dave Ramsey show. And wouldn't you know it... Mike's brilliant on TV. Get that guy a contract. BTW, Mike is speaking at Catalyst labs this year, and we'll be partnering with Junky for an amazing cause this December.

New Church Home

Ains and I have found a new church home at Fusion Church here in Suwanee. Tony McCollum is the pastor and has uploaded some hilarious videos onto their Vimeo page. Here's one of my favorites - the American Idol audition. You've gotta check out the Yoda in a Growth Group video too...

There is No New Billy Graham

The media is very confused about evangelical Christian leadership.  They so badly want to appoint an authority for us... a pope, if you will. Albeit, a pope in a Hawaiian shirt. Seems like there's new TIME cover every 6 months trying to coronate the next Billy Graham from the ranks of Warren, Osteen, and Jakes. But their perception of influence is based on book sales, congregational size, or social hob-nobbing which leaves most pastors scratching their heads. What the hoo-ha? Christianity is far too decentralized to have one Graham-like leader anymore. There are too many tribes in the nation. And influence only goes as far as relevance.

Undignifying Moments

Do you know what I've found to be the difference between working for yourself (ie: church planting) and working for others? Undignifying moments. When you're working out of a home office, leading an organization, you can prevent almost any and all undignifying moments from happening to you. But in an office environment, surrounded by dozens of other employees and bosses, they happen to you every week.

And it's good for your character. =)

Quitter

Sometimes what we call faithfulness is actually just stupidity.

Over the weekend, Ainsley and I talked about a goal we've had since we got married eight years ago. We've been chasing it all these years, but nothing has ever come of it. No raven has returned. So we finally decided to drop it and commit our energy to a new ambition that will bear more fruit. It took us 8 years to finally change course.

Moments of clarity like this are priceless. Most of us are conditioned to believe that we should stay committed at all costs. But when the return on investment is consistently zero, it's time to move on. If we can just get over the fear of quitting, we can get on with what God really wants us to accomplish. And it's exhilarating. Quitting isn't always a step-back; it can be a stepping stone.

Call Me an Unreasonable Man

Catalyst guards heavily against the word "no" until the last possible moment. From June through September, our special projects team is constantly e-mailing and phoning to see if we can make the most unreasonable ideas possible.

In that spirit, I love this quote by George Bernard Shaw:

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world;  the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.  Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

To be an unreasonable person is to live a defensive life. But the incentives for being reasonable are tragic: "Congratulations! You get to do the exact same thing you've always done!" Sometimes when I encounter people who say no too quickly, I think, "Really? That's as far as you'll go? That's as far as your leash of reason will let you wander?"

The New Catalyst Vodcast is Up

The new Catalyst Vodcast is up on the Catalyst site. This'll be a regular Monday morning feature, along with 5-minute audio playbacks and the soon-to-be-revolutionized Catalyst TV. The high-def version is also available on iTunes if you search "Catalyst Vodcast." Enjoy!

The Glamorization of Good

There's more good being done now for social justice than ever before. It's almost fashionable to support a humanitarian cause... like carrying a puppy in your purse. But it's sad how glamorous the cause industry must become to capture our attention. (And that's an indictment on us... not them.)

If you don't have a celebrity spokesperson representing your cause or a fashionable clothing item to offer as an emblem of support, you don't have a shot. It's the sugar-coating of tragedy.

Shortly after the Jon Benet Ramsey murder, American Journalism Review featured an article on how thousands of young girls are murdered each year, but it takes a beauty queen to make headlines. Something to think about the next time we're endeared by a good cause because it has a cool website, a celebrity face, or a trendy name.

Migrant Worshippers

Once you've been a church planter, you can't "shop" for a new church the same way again. There's greater empathy, a greater understanding of the plight of a new church. You don't "take a snapshot" on one visit and make a judgment. After all, a church plant is always in flux.

I used to tell our congregation in Reston, "If you don't like the people here, stick around a few weeks, it'll change" [seemed like we had a whole new congregation every two years]. "And if you don't like where I'm at as a pastor, stick around a few months... I'll change" [God was continually shaping me].

You don't look the church's position as though it were permanent. Because it's not. Church plants can be radically different year after year. You look at the journey, and decide if it's worth joining.

THE DEFAULT CHURCH FACTOR

Ever since planting a church in northern Virginia seven years ago, I've wondered about the "default church factor." This is where a Christian (family/couple/single person) moves to town and immediately goes to the same big church as everyone else. They plug into the mother ship. I've never been able to talk about this until now because, as a lay person, my motives are no longer suspect.

But as I've visited tons of church plants over the past few months here in Georgia, it's been discouraging to see how many Christians "opt-out" of helping new churches get off the ground. Some of these plants have fantastic services and ministries, but they won't get anywhere until other believers invest in them.

Everybody likes a winner, I guess. But I think there's a deeper issue at work here -- we believe the lie that we're not spiritually mature enough to make a difference. We continually submit ourselves to the spiritual tutelage of others... sitting and soaking... long beyond what's necessary. Most of us are educated far beyond our level of obedience.

STICK IT ON A T-SHIRT

A new subscription service called The Shirt Project mails you a T-shirt every month with the news printed on it. I swear, if stuff like this is profitable, what's our excuse for not being entrepreneurs?

Great Question

From a secret, undisclosed meeting this morning...

Do you work from rest
Or do you rest from work?

A New Idea that I Can't Pull Off

If I had the ability, I would create a weekly e-newsletter called " The Innovator's Notebook." It would be a collection of innovative projects and designs to feed the curious, pioneering minds in the ministry world.

It would feature... oh, say... innovative stage designs, breakthrough technologies, interesting typefaces, out-of-the-box programming ideas, best of the best websites, you name it.

Trouble is... I'm not a very good aggregator. I love to write, and I love to find interesting things. But collecting data is not my strong point. Take a Todd Rhoades, for instance, of Monday Morning Insight. He can pull together interesting information in his sleep.

Jesse Phillips here at Catalyst is an amazing aggregator as well. He can tell you the names of your unborn children. And if we need 25 midgets for Catalyst, he can have them on the horn in 5.

But this is yet one more idea that has to go by the wayside because of gift limitations. If you're an aggregator and want to run with this idea, I'll be your first subscriber...

Brad Gets a Beatdown at the Creative Mtng

Hope it's Better Than 'The Omega Code'

Just read on Tony McCollum's blog that they're coming out with a Billy Graham movie this October. Very timely for Catalyst since we're giving him the lifetime achievement award. Let's hope this film doesn't star Kirk Cameron as George Beverly Shea. =)

Empowering Leaders, Pt.2

Job descriptions get a bad rap. Many of us think we're patronizing people by using them. We're afraid they'll limit people's contributions... or seem too bureaucratic. But creating job descriptions can be the most thoughtful thing we do for those we lead. They empower leaders.

Here's what we communicate when we don't use them:

1. You will have no idea where you stand with me at any given moment.
2. I will micro-manage you... or you will have to wait around for me.
3. Your job is to do whatever comes to my mind at my convenience.
4. I haven't thought hard enough about why you're critical to this organization.
5. We depend on your personality, so if you leave, we're in trouble.

At RCC, we created job descriptions for every conceivable role in the organization - especially for volunteers. They gave everyone a sense of importance, ensured excellence, and allowed us to quickly replace people if they ever stepped down.