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Maybe It’s Time to Get a Divorce.

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The other day, I was watching the Chronicles of Narnia:Prince Caspian movie with my family. It was an okay flick…a little less cheesy than the first in my opinion. There was one line that really stuck out to me. It was when Lucy finds Aslan and asks him why he did not come and help defend the people of Narnia. His reply was, simply, “Things never happen the same way twice.”

There’s  a lot of truth in that statement. It is so easy for us, as church leaders, to find success in a certain method and then cling to it desperately…even when it stops being effective. We think to ourselves, “Look at how well it worked before.” while ignoring the fact that it’s not working now.

We know what our mission is. That has never changed. But, we cannot afford to be married to a method. Methods change with culture. The moment we allow ourselves to become too endeared to a method is the moment we lose momentum.

What many of us need to do is divorce some of our old methods. We need to look them in the eye and let them know it’s just not working and we simply don’t love them anymore. It’s time to move on.

Are you willing to divorce your method if it means accomplishing your mission?



Written by on February 8, 2012 and categorized under Impact, Innovation

Critical Eye or Critical Spirit?

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One of the unfortunate side-effects of being human is the constant need to deal with one’s humanity…aka, the tendency to err. I recently made a statement that was less than wise…and, quite frankly, unkind. My background in theatre and event programming has taught me to look at things with a critical eye. Unfortunately, it is all too easy for that critical eye to give way to a critical spirit.

What’s the difference?

  • a critical eye operates in love…a critical spirit operates in pride
  • a critical eye offers solutions…a critical spirit only points out the problems
  • a critical eye sees the people…a critical spirit only sees the product
  • a critical eye builds up…a critical spirit tears down
  • a critical eye desires to make the ideas of others better…a critical spirit believes his ideas are always best
It is important to have a critical eye to continue to raise the bar of excellence and to empower others to reach past even their own potential. It is to your detriment, and the detriment of those around you, to operate in a critical spirit. Be careful to know the difference.

For me, this is a lesson learned the hard way.


Written by on December 6, 2011 and categorized under Impact, Innovation

The Two Most Important Words for Growth

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Everything that is living should grow. Without growth, we become stagnant…stuck. We ferment, turn sour and become less and less effective until we’re not effective at all.

But, two little words can change the world…”What if?”

  • What if we did things a little different…
  • What if we tried this approach…
  • What if our people understood this…
  • What if there were no boundaries to what we could do…
“What if” can breathe life into that which is dying. It forces us to look beyond what is to see what could be. It causes us to truly examine every method, every program and see what could be done better.

Are you willing to ask, “What if?”


Written by on October 26, 2011 and categorized under Impact, Innovation

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