Faith Venture

Visualize Your Prayer

May 14, 2013

There are two types of people. List people and visual people.

Give my wife directions, and she wants a list. She’ll follow the list to the end.

I want to see a map. I want to visualize the route and possible alternatives.

Since I don’t really believe in false dichotomies, I’ll admit that I also do lists. To do lists are the most powerful tools of getting things done.

Successful sales people visualize the conversation with a prospect before it happens. I used to sit in the parking lot for a few minutes and visualize the entire presentation and imagine the conversation and every objection the prospect might bring up.

Leaders visualize their outcomes. They can see what the results of success looks like.

Often when I pray, I will visualize the outcome or the person or the situation. If I am praying for someone, I like to just hold a picture of them in my mind while I focus on God. No words are needed. When I meditate on Scripture, I like to picture the event. Roll the film in my head, so to speak.

OK, maybe it’s because I didn’t have lots of friends as a kid that I imagine so much. Or maybe engineering training of drawing thoughts. Or maybe it’s a learned technique.

Whatever, it works for me. What about for you? Do you visualize conversations? Do you visualize leadership? Do you visualize in prayer?

Posted in Leadership, Prayer | Leave a Comment »

Take Your Cue To Form Powerful Habits

May 13, 2013

Jesus went to the synagogue as was his habit.

The Gospel writers were not like today’s mass media reporters. They didn’t miss the big picture and report on mundane little things in Jesus’ life. Sometimes they did offer glimpses. A few times, they refer to a habit.

I just listened to Charles Duhigg, author of “The Power of Habit,” interviewed by David Allen, author of “Getting Things Done.” I am not only a disciple of Jesus, I’m also a disciple of “GTD.”

As we form our Spiritual Practices into habits, there are a few essentials. Often I refer to a blog by Leo Babauta, “ZenHabits.” I guess he’s run out of ways to talk about habits, because he doesn’t update often anymore. But then I discovered Duhigg.

He talks about cue, routine and reward.

A cue, for example, may be to lay out your exercise clothes before you go to bed so that when you get up, you put them on and are mentally prepared for your workout. Perhaps you place your Bible or other current reading by your morning chair, so that when you get up and make your cup of coffee, your book is inviting you to sit, study and meditate for a time.

I have practiced the power of cue for years without realizing its power. But it helps the routine. And that is the one thing missing when I travel and find myself on odd schedules. Guess I’ll try that on myself Wednesday when I wake up in Cleveland (a conference on machinery failure prevention–sure to be exciting).

What cues do you use? Or have you even thought about using a cue to trigger your desired habit?

Posted in Disciplines | Leave a Comment »

Living With Intention

May 10, 2013

Intention. Are you just sleep-walking through life? Or do you get up in the morning intending to do something or be somebody?

A friend advises, “Pray with intention. Pray specifically that God will bring someone into your life that answers a need or fits a mission you have.”

Another advisor talking about becoming a morning person advises getting up in the morning with intention.

I think that they mean that you do things “on purpose.” You’ve thought it out. Planned for it. Expect good things to happen. Consciously brought God into the situation.

During the past three or four months that this advice has been on my mind, story after story pops up about amazing things that happened while praying with intention. Both in my life as I decided to change some direction, and in the lives of others I’ve met.

To live an intentional life, consider these attributes:

Awake
Aware
Conscious
Planning for
Focus

Try it. You’ll like it.

Posted in Disciplines, Living | 1 Comment »

Helping Others By Getting Out of the Way

May 9, 2013

It seems to be a human fault. Telling others how to fix their problems.

I often have counseled husbands–just listen to your wife’s complaints. Don’t start offering suggestions about how to fix things. They just want someone to listen to them. As in really listen. If they want to fix the situation, they will try. Mostly, I think they don’t really want to fix it. Just talk about it.

Same way with when we try to help others through our missions. We try to tell people what to do to fix their problems as we have defined their problems.

Ernesto Sirolli discussed this situation in his TED Talk. When most well-intentioned aid workers hear of a problem they think they can fix, they go to work. This, Sirolli suggests, is naïve. In this funny and impassioned talk, he proposes that the first step is to listen to the people you’re trying to help, and tap into their own entrepreneurial spirit.

Bill Hybels, founder and senior pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, talked about his own epiphany–and that of his team–regarding this same issue. In his talk last week, he discussed how the church used to send checks to organizations. Then they started checking up on the organizations. Visiting locations.

Eventually they discovered that partnering with a local church, someone who knew the needs of the local people and could relate to the local people, was much more effective.

Once again, I think what works personally, works corporately. Listen first. Then act appropriately.

I have trouble sometimes with the listening part. How about you?

Posted in Disciplines, Listening, Service | Leave a Comment »

Answering The Call

May 8, 2013

“Did you hear what I said?”

What mother hasn’t asked that question? Many times?

Or my wife when either I didn’t reply or replied too quietly for her to hear.

I was studying the story of Abraham and Isaac where Abraham was called by God to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to Him.

It’s a weird little story. Some drama. No emotion. Nothing like the dramatization of the TV show.

Notice Abraham’s lines in the story. “Here I am.” God calls to Abraham. Abraham answers, “Here I am.” Isaac calls to his father. He answers, “Here I am.” God calls again to Abraham. Once again the answer, “Here I am.”

Are we present at the call? You know the joke, “The lights are on, but nobody is home.”

God doesn’t talk to us every minute of every day. It is our responsibility to notice when he calls and be present. “Here I am, God. What can I do for you?”

Sometimes, it’s not God directly who calls. Sometimes he uses other people to call you. Maybe a friend. A colleague. A pastor or teacher. It is up to us to recognize a call and then go and do it.

We don’t want to wind up like Jonah, I guess. Someone who heard the call and didn’t agree with it. God wouldn’t leave him alone. He tried to escape the call. God pursued. He did it, unwillingly, and grumbled to the end about the injustice of what God did (at least in his eyes).

Better that we just listen, acknowledge and act.

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Are You Getting Better

May 7, 2013

There was a small group of men at one place I worked who considered themselves perfect. They couldn’t get any better because they had been “saved.”

Not sure where they got that idea. It doesn’t fit with 2,000 years of theology and practice. Oh, and none of the rest of us thought they were particularly perfect.

For the rest of us who don’t belong to small churches that take off and run with one idea, life is more of a practice of “sanctification.” That’s a big word that simply means becoming mature in faith.

We decide at some point in our lives that we are going to follow Jesus. As far as our daily lives go, that’s not the end. It’s the beginning. Spiritual life is a journey. Our goal is to live like our Teacher and become closer to perfect.

I recently heard Andy Stanley talking about getting better before getting bigger. He was talking about churches. In a sense it works corporately as well as personally.

Almost every pastor in the US wishes to build one of those mega-churches. Dreams of thousands coming every week to hear his messages. Reads the sociologists of church growth–build by an expressway, have a huge parking lot, don’t have any religious symbols, play loud music.

Business people have the same wish. They want their business to grow to huge proportions.

The strategy should be to get better first. As a person. As an organization.

Ask every day:

“Am I better today?”
“What am I (or are we) doing better today?”
“How can I (we) be better today?”

Posted in Disciplines, Living | Leave a Comment »

Sustain Your Gains

May 6, 2013

Some of the best ideas for both business and church come to you during a church service.

It is said that after the Procter & Gamble Co. accidentally invented a soap that floats, the marketing geniuses tried to find a name. I forget whether it was Procter or Gamble, but one of those men was in church when the pastor read something that had the word “ivory” in it. Supposedly, he got up, said, “that’s it” and left to go to the office.

I don’t know what the pastor said yesterday that triggered the idea, but there it was, fully formed.

“Why do we try these really cool things that get people all charged up–and then nothing happens to sustain it?”

Probably it was a reference to a big church-wide small group experience that will fizzle out unless there is sustaining drive. I’m afraid of wishful thinking on the part of leadership.

This same thing happens in our personal development. We call them “New Year’s Resolutions.”

It’s a great idea. But then we have trouble putting them into practice as a matter of daily routine.

It should be our leadership skill development (whether we’re leading a big organization or just ourselves) to plan for sustaining the idea or program.

What will the life of the organization or our own life look like when we adopt this new action?
How can we incorporate this new thing into our daily life?
Make a plan to complement the vision.
Communicate to ourselves and to the group daily about what this new life will look like.
Live into this new life.

Don’t let it drift away into the rubbish heap of forgotten dreams.

Posted in Disciplines, Leadership | 1 Comment »

Can You Lead Without Passion

May 3, 2013

Can someone lead without passion for what they are doing?

Managers can, and do, manage without passion. Everything becomes a number. There is no real feel for the product. Or the outcome. Or the people. Or customers.

I worked for a company where everyone was proud of the product. It was the best in the industry i our eyes. We all were committed to making it perfect. We thought about the customer. How they would use the product. This was everyone–executive, assembler, accountant.

Then the influx of MBAs and Consultants began. Manage by the numbers. Customers are just a number on the spreadsheet. Products are just a number on the spreadsheet.

Passion drifted away. With the caring people.

I’ve seen it in business. I’ve seen it in church.

Wrong focus. No passion for what you’re doing for people. Just numbers.

If you’re picking leaders, don’t persuade someone to take on a task. Ask, “What do you want to do?” Find places for people where they can contribute according to their passion. Help them develop and grow as a leader.

First, you’ve got to care. You must think of the people you’re serving. You must believe that you’re making life better for them.

Follow your passion. Sometimes it takes a period of time. It took me years to find my niche. But the time in preparation was not wasted. It just prepared me.

Find what you care about.
Pray intentionally to bring people into your life that will help you.
Feed your passion by connecting to God and the people you wish to serve
Find people with similar passions so that you can all mutually feed the fire.
Tell everyone about what it is that lights your torch.
Go out and do.

Posted in Leadership | Leave a Comment »

Do We Think Too Much

May 2, 2013

What if…?

What about…?

The guys in a small study group I attend when I’m in town got to talking about what if? What if the crowd had not called for Jesus’ death? What if Pilate had not made a gutless decision?

I’m in other groups where people ask what about people of other cultures than their own. Will God save them?

I started to wonder–do we think too much? What if, when used in the context of stories about Jesus are pretty much just worthless mind games. Doesn’t matter. What happened–happened. Good thing, too.

Then I remembered all the stories in the Bible–both Old and New Testaments–where people from other cultures than the Hebrews contributed to the cause.

It can be all just idle speculation. Unfortunately, idle speculation sometimes leads to a line of thinking that leads to evil acts. You can talk yourself into feelings of hatred or jealousy. Too much thinking can lead to brooding. It can lead to personality disorder.

Jeff Moore, in his My Everyday Power Blog, just posted a video based on a Charlie Chaplin speech, “Let Us Fight to Free the World.” In this powerful, short speech, Chaplin states, “We think too much and feel too little.”

The word “feel” is in the sense of empathy. When we think, we become theoretical. When we feel for others, we move from theory to practice. People are not a theory. People are not a description in the “DSM” (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, contains definitions of mental illnesses).

Thinking is a marvelous gift from God. It has helped humans make better lives. But it has also caused much suffering when diverted from its real purpose–that of improving society.

I started contemplating Jesus. I’m trying to recall any time when he was merely theoretical. Seems to me he was always in the reality of the present. He had both the standard of God and empathy for fellow humans within him.

Sometimes we think too much and feel too little. We need some of that empathy in our discussions.

Posted in Living | Leave a Comment »

I Am Not Prepared

May 1, 2013

Have you ever had that overwhelming feeling that you are not ready? That your preparations are not adequate

I did not set out in January with the plan to travel every week in April. Things just happened. It was all good. But just busy. There was no normal routine. No daily morning run and Yoga strengthening and flexibility.

Now, here we are. In seven hours I am giving a presentation. I’ve thought about it for months. Revised the slides three times. Written and outlined the talk. But I don’t feel ready. Was my preparation adequate? I should have rehearsed more.

In three days I am participating in the only 5K run that I do every year. I’d rather be chasing soccer players than just running. But that’s just an excuse. I know I didn’t prepare. My time will be ugly.

The same is true in all leadership. You need to make your preparations before you meet the team. Or go to that meeting. Or lead that class.

Sometimes you have made adequate preparation and are just nervous. That is good. You need a little nervous energy to perform well.

Sometimes you have just failed to prepare. Then you live with the consequences.