It is a common practice in retail stores to put an item out "on sale" that is in fact a loss to the store financially. The assumption is, if they can get enough people in the door, attracted by their "loss leader", they will actually buy other things at a significant enough markup for the store as a whole to make a profit.
Firms like WalMart and others have perfected this practice and have it down to a science. They know exactly how much to mark something down and mark other things up to generate enough profits to keep their firms rolling, and more importantly, their stock prices rising.
But what about being a leader of a community that is facing real losses? How do we do that? When it isn't a gimmick to attract more dollars, members etc... but is actually the reality of the community. When loss becomes real and can't just be wiped away by marking up other prices?
A couple weeks ago I commented about the loss Kendra and I suffered in our lives, and tonight our community (not our family, K, Annika and I are just fine) of Trinity suffered a significant loss. This is new ground for me, how do I lead this community through its loss? Attempting to make sense of what has happened, why it happened and where we go from here.
The good news here, and in any situation in which we are called to lead a community through loss is that we have a God who is a "loss leader." This is a God who lead with Jesus. Who gave all God had on the cross and counted not the cost. Who claims us in baptism and gives us the name of "child of God and inheritor of eternal life." This is a God who is a loss leader, who didn't just lead with the loss and then expect us to make up the rest with bigger margins, God led with the loss in order to make gain for all. Romans 14:8
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Belichicking Failure
In the total heyday of the New England Patriots, Coach Bill Belichick (pronounced Beli-check) was so known for his fanatic, frenetic attention to detail that it was known as "Belichicking". He was obsessed to know every detail of the game plan, the organization of the team, who was responsible for everything that it became legendary, and the Patriots success was legendary as was his hooded sweatshirt he wore on the sidelines of every game (thus the nickname "the hoody").
They won 3 of 4 super bowls from 2001-2004. And after "disappointing" seasons in 2005-2006 (they only won their division both years, but lost in the playoffs) they delivered finest regular season performance (sorry Dolphins) in the history of the NFL, going 16-0 and steamrolling opponents.
And then the wheels came off the bus. The New York Giants shocked them in the Super Bowl, improbably winning (and saving their coach's job) in what must be one of the greatest upsets of all time in sport.
Since then, the Patriots have missed the playoffs once, and lost in their first playoff game twice. For those scoring at home, that makes three consecutive playoff losses (despite fine regular seasons). While the moving average on wins per year is still heading in the right direction (see graphic), one has to wonder if perhaps the gleam is off the Belichick rose. And if so, why and what happened?
As a passionate observer of the Patriots I have a few thoughts. But before I give my thoughts, here are my credentials and history here. While my heart is with the Dallas Cowboys, over the past 10 years I have admired the Patriots organization so much that I am far more likely to watch their games than any other team. I like the way the team rotates players around, isn't afraid to make roster moves, ditch big name players in favor of a new younger guy, try new things and innovate. All these pieces are still part of the Patriot puzzle, yet losing when it matters seems to be a new and disturbing trend in Foxboro. Why? I have three thoughts...
1) Failure to recognize scarcity: Several times last night Tom Brady simply threw the ball away when he saw the coverage had him foiled. That works in the regular season, in fact it is a great strategy and use of time and energy. But in the post-season, downs, series, possessions become much scarcer. You just can't assume they will be there. But they have been there so often, maybe they have forgotten that. Their fourth quarter drive that ate up 8 minutes or so of clock, then came away with nothing to show for this.
2) Failure to RUN THE FREAKIN BALL: Their running attack is tepid, they utilize the short pass instead of encouraging the creative running of the ball on a regular basis (like they did on the successful 2 point conversion). Those who know me, know anytime a team other than a service academy loses, I assume they should have run the ball more/better. If Brady can sit in the pocket, untouched and still not find a receiver, you aren't running the ball.
3) Failure of Passion: The hoody should be feared, but I fear he is becoming a caricature. Standing alone on the sideline, hood up, expressionless. Now, I don't want Rex Ryan or his feet anywhere near a team I care about, but you cannot doubt he is passionate, involving others, getting input, giving input. The hoody seems to be in his own world out there, befuddled by why they aren't winning and demonstrating little passion.
Overall, perhaps this is simply the result of setting the bar too high too fast. As a leader, too much success can sometimes be just as bad as failure. Early success brings resources, accolades and the assumption of others you are capable of anything. But what happens when you come back to earth a bit. There are many teams in the NFL who would love to have lost 3 playoff games in the last 4 years, because that would mean they were in three playoff games in the last four years (see Cowboys, Dallas; Chiefs, Kansas City etc...) but those teams aren't in Foxboro.
The Belichicking seems to have gotten off course somewhere. The hoody has lost some mojo. Where will they find it, will they find it? The great thing about football, assuming you don't get fired, you get to play again next fall.
They won 3 of 4 super bowls from 2001-2004. And after "disappointing" seasons in 2005-2006 (they only won their division both years, but lost in the playoffs) they delivered finest regular season performance (sorry Dolphins) in the history of the NFL, going 16-0 and steamrolling opponents.
And then the wheels came off the bus. The New York Giants shocked them in the Super Bowl, improbably winning (and saving their coach's job) in what must be one of the greatest upsets of all time in sport.
As a passionate observer of the Patriots I have a few thoughts. But before I give my thoughts, here are my credentials and history here. While my heart is with the Dallas Cowboys, over the past 10 years I have admired the Patriots organization so much that I am far more likely to watch their games than any other team. I like the way the team rotates players around, isn't afraid to make roster moves, ditch big name players in favor of a new younger guy, try new things and innovate. All these pieces are still part of the Patriot puzzle, yet losing when it matters seems to be a new and disturbing trend in Foxboro. Why? I have three thoughts...
1) Failure to recognize scarcity: Several times last night Tom Brady simply threw the ball away when he saw the coverage had him foiled. That works in the regular season, in fact it is a great strategy and use of time and energy. But in the post-season, downs, series, possessions become much scarcer. You just can't assume they will be there. But they have been there so often, maybe they have forgotten that. Their fourth quarter drive that ate up 8 minutes or so of clock, then came away with nothing to show for this.
2) Failure to RUN THE FREAKIN BALL: Their running attack is tepid, they utilize the short pass instead of encouraging the creative running of the ball on a regular basis (like they did on the successful 2 point conversion). Those who know me, know anytime a team other than a service academy loses, I assume they should have run the ball more/better. If Brady can sit in the pocket, untouched and still not find a receiver, you aren't running the ball.
3) Failure of Passion: The hoody should be feared, but I fear he is becoming a caricature. Standing alone on the sideline, hood up, expressionless. Now, I don't want Rex Ryan or his feet anywhere near a team I care about, but you cannot doubt he is passionate, involving others, getting input, giving input. The hoody seems to be in his own world out there, befuddled by why they aren't winning and demonstrating little passion.
Overall, perhaps this is simply the result of setting the bar too high too fast. As a leader, too much success can sometimes be just as bad as failure. Early success brings resources, accolades and the assumption of others you are capable of anything. But what happens when you come back to earth a bit. There are many teams in the NFL who would love to have lost 3 playoff games in the last 4 years, because that would mean they were in three playoff games in the last four years (see Cowboys, Dallas; Chiefs, Kansas City etc...) but those teams aren't in Foxboro.
The Belichicking seems to have gotten off course somewhere. The hoody has lost some mojo. Where will they find it, will they find it? The great thing about football, assuming you don't get fired, you get to play again next fall.
A post delayed
Less than a two weeks ago I set myself to a task, to blog each week of the new year, by tuesday.
I have 3 minutes to finish my goal for this week. How quickly it is that we be derailed in our goals by reality.
This week has been one of the most intense, challenging and frankly disheartening of my life. K has undergone more medical coverage than I would have ever thought. We have lost a child just 13 weeks into knowing its existence and we are trying to find our moorings.
The most amazing thing is that K and I have been talking constantly. We are in communication, on the same page. We have been supported by our new community here in Fort Worth. We have been loved and cared for by many, and we are grateful for God's amazing grace in the midst of loss.
This week has sucked beyond measure, been marked by gifts of grace, times of patience and times of great anxiety. I give thanks, that tomorrow the sun will rise and that God will be there. Romans 8.
I have 3 minutes to finish my goal for this week. How quickly it is that we be derailed in our goals by reality.
This week has been one of the most intense, challenging and frankly disheartening of my life. K has undergone more medical coverage than I would have ever thought. We have lost a child just 13 weeks into knowing its existence and we are trying to find our moorings.
The most amazing thing is that K and I have been talking constantly. We are in communication, on the same page. We have been supported by our new community here in Fort Worth. We have been loved and cared for by many, and we are grateful for God's amazing grace in the midst of loss.
This week has sucked beyond measure, been marked by gifts of grace, times of patience and times of great anxiety. I give thanks, that tomorrow the sun will rise and that God will be there. Romans 8.
Monday, January 3, 2011
The Power of One Year
With the coming of January, we turn our faces to a new year and a new opportunity. Certainly I am not original in believing that the New Year is a good time to make resolutions but I think this year I have a greater sense of the possibility of a new year. So often we can get caught up in a mindset of assuming that change must take multiple years. That only incremental change is possible.
While certainly one must take care in leading communities not to change too much too fast, I also realize that I shouldn't limit the power of what the Spirit can do in a year by my failure to think bigger. In the past year I have been reminded again and again of just how very much can be accomplished in a year. How much can actually change in 365 days.
Since January 2010 Kendra and I have accomplished a great deal and also seen a great deal of change. We have relocated from Wisconsin to Texas, begun new calls as pastors at Trinity (working together for the first time), seen Annika grow into a "real little person", K has finished a semester of PhD work and finally, we have become truly committed Horned Frog Fans.
But in thinking only about myself, I would also be missing profound change that communities we care about, family and friends have undergone. Some of this change might not have been welcome (some change never is) but it is still impressive to think about how much can be accomplished when pain or necessity requires it.
While certainly DMLC would have preferred not to, they have said goodbye to their pastor, completed their MET process and formed a call committee. Mt Zion has called a clergy couple, installed them and welcomed them into their ongoing ministry and life together. Trinity has gone through a self-study, fixed exploding boilers, interviewed multiple candidates and finally have called a clergy couple from Wisconsin as their pastors.
In January 2010, if you asked members of these communities if these scenarios would have occured, you would have likely been met with disbelief. Yet they have done it, and so have we.
That said, here are some of my hopes and resolutions for change and process in my own life and the communities I inhabit. These goals are the dreams, the vision that I have in addition to completing the normal tasks of my life as father, husband and pastor. In writing them down, I hope to create some accountability for myself so that in January 2012, I can think through why they did or didn't happen. Although some are hard to measure, most of these are SMART goals and I believe they are doable...
1) Blog every week by Tuesday about leadership, reflections on life and theology.
2) Discern what future education I will engage in regarding leadership (begin program?)
3) Help lead Trinity through a Master Planning Team process, reporting by end of year
4) Create a personal website for my blog, coaching practice and general ministry
5) Gain experience by coaching 5 folks in 2011.
6) Run my final marathon in February and retire fully to 5K races
7) Lose 10% of my body weight.
8) Grow as a spouse, father and member of my family.
Happy New Year!
While certainly one must take care in leading communities not to change too much too fast, I also realize that I shouldn't limit the power of what the Spirit can do in a year by my failure to think bigger. In the past year I have been reminded again and again of just how very much can be accomplished in a year. How much can actually change in 365 days.
Since January 2010 Kendra and I have accomplished a great deal and also seen a great deal of change. We have relocated from Wisconsin to Texas, begun new calls as pastors at Trinity (working together for the first time), seen Annika grow into a "real little person", K has finished a semester of PhD work and finally, we have become truly committed Horned Frog Fans.
But in thinking only about myself, I would also be missing profound change that communities we care about, family and friends have undergone. Some of this change might not have been welcome (some change never is) but it is still impressive to think about how much can be accomplished when pain or necessity requires it.
While certainly DMLC would have preferred not to, they have said goodbye to their pastor, completed their MET process and formed a call committee. Mt Zion has called a clergy couple, installed them and welcomed them into their ongoing ministry and life together. Trinity has gone through a self-study, fixed exploding boilers, interviewed multiple candidates and finally have called a clergy couple from Wisconsin as their pastors.
In January 2010, if you asked members of these communities if these scenarios would have occured, you would have likely been met with disbelief. Yet they have done it, and so have we.
That said, here are some of my hopes and resolutions for change and process in my own life and the communities I inhabit. These goals are the dreams, the vision that I have in addition to completing the normal tasks of my life as father, husband and pastor. In writing them down, I hope to create some accountability for myself so that in January 2012, I can think through why they did or didn't happen. Although some are hard to measure, most of these are SMART goals and I believe they are doable...
1) Blog every week by Tuesday about leadership, reflections on life and theology.
2) Discern what future education I will engage in regarding leadership (begin program?)
3) Help lead Trinity through a Master Planning Team process, reporting by end of year
4) Create a personal website for my blog, coaching practice and general ministry
5) Gain experience by coaching 5 folks in 2011.
6) Run my final marathon in February and retire fully to 5K races
7) Lose 10% of my body weight.
8) Grow as a spouse, father and member of my family.
Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Making Connections
The "Holidays" are a time when many folks endeavor to make connections. Either with old friends, family or just the "hometown" crowd that they only see once a year when everyone is back in town. It is fun to make connections, to hear about what folks are doing and even maybe meet some new people they brought along. The key though, it seems, is some sort of shared experience that brings us together in the first place and breaks the ice.
Last night I had a fun opportunity to get together with a group of guys who played football at Harvard and now live in the DFW area. I was invited by a guy who was a couple years younger than me and is a lawyer in Dallas. So I made the trek over to Dallas (a long way for us living here in Fort Worth) to see who might be there and who I might meet. It was a big group, probably about 25 guys, and I quickly realized I knew none of them except my teammate who had invited me.
Luckily, I quickly found my connection and sat down and met many of the guys around us and wound up having a fun evening making new connections. As I left, I had 2 major thoughts...
1) I don't hang around with just guys that much these days, it was a fascinating thing to be in a room with 25 other guys, most of whom are tremendously successful in their business lives. There is just a different energy in a room when you get that many alpha males together around good food and drink.
2) These guys know how to talk to people, make a connection and find a shared experience. Although I had never met most of them, we had the one point of contact in that we played football, most of us for the same coach and at the same school. But we didn't just stay there, from that point of contact new contacts and experiences were shared and by the end of the evening, you would have thought this was a group of old friends.
In his book "The Tipping Point", Malcolm Gladwell talks about three types of people who are essential for any epidemic/movement to gain traction and grow. You need Connectors (people who link the world), Mavens (the information folks, early adapters) and Salesman (the persuaders who get others on board).
Of these the connectors (my belief) may be of the greatest value. These are the folks that live in multiple worlds, who have tentacles (for lack of a good term) in a lot of different places and can reach into those places for experiences and contacts who might be able to help each other succeed and grow.
I think one of the great challenges for pastoral leadership is that it is so easy to get stuck into only one box and forget to make those connections. We may be a Maven, with lots of information and knowledge and ability to solve problems creatively. Or we might be a Salesman (in the church we might call them evangelists) who can bring a person in, sit them down, make the case of our product and why it is important in their life and "close the deal" as it were.
But if we don't have connectors, how are the Mavens and Salesmen ever going to reach anyone? That is one of my biggest concerns in our church today, especially as so many of my pastoral brothers and sisters continue to draw more and more lines of who is in and who is out. Who are encouraging their communities to become wholly self-involved entities, with little cooperation with other communities. They do this under the guise of faithfulness to the Scriptures and our statements of faith, but so often I think it is more about holding fast to traditions and cultural ways of thinking and fear of engagement with the world.
Will our congregations, with the hope of keeping "pure" doctrine and teaching break down connections with other congregations, traditions, institutions, resources in our communities? Some traditions (like the Amish) have chosen to do this, to keep separate from the world for the sake of purity, only engaging very loosely with the world. It works for them, but rarely do I think it leads to growing, thriving and relevant communities, especially if you choose to be a community living not as an enclave but fully in the world.
This is risky business, we need connections but those connections will change us. Yet we proclaim a God who made a connection with us in Emmanuel:God with Us. It was risky for God to connect with us, to get down into the mud and grime or our lives, and it required God to be willing to sacrifice God's own self on the cross. Yet this willingness was and is essential for our salvation.
Are we as a church willing to do the same? Will we be connectors? Or will we simply retreat into our "Holy" enclaves? I for one resolve that my congregation will not.
Last night I had a fun opportunity to get together with a group of guys who played football at Harvard and now live in the DFW area. I was invited by a guy who was a couple years younger than me and is a lawyer in Dallas. So I made the trek over to Dallas (a long way for us living here in Fort Worth) to see who might be there and who I might meet. It was a big group, probably about 25 guys, and I quickly realized I knew none of them except my teammate who had invited me.
Luckily, I quickly found my connection and sat down and met many of the guys around us and wound up having a fun evening making new connections. As I left, I had 2 major thoughts...
1) I don't hang around with just guys that much these days, it was a fascinating thing to be in a room with 25 other guys, most of whom are tremendously successful in their business lives. There is just a different energy in a room when you get that many alpha males together around good food and drink.
2) These guys know how to talk to people, make a connection and find a shared experience. Although I had never met most of them, we had the one point of contact in that we played football, most of us for the same coach and at the same school. But we didn't just stay there, from that point of contact new contacts and experiences were shared and by the end of the evening, you would have thought this was a group of old friends.
In his book "The Tipping Point", Malcolm Gladwell talks about three types of people who are essential for any epidemic/movement to gain traction and grow. You need Connectors (people who link the world), Mavens (the information folks, early adapters) and Salesman (the persuaders who get others on board).
Of these the connectors (my belief) may be of the greatest value. These are the folks that live in multiple worlds, who have tentacles (for lack of a good term) in a lot of different places and can reach into those places for experiences and contacts who might be able to help each other succeed and grow.
I think one of the great challenges for pastoral leadership is that it is so easy to get stuck into only one box and forget to make those connections. We may be a Maven, with lots of information and knowledge and ability to solve problems creatively. Or we might be a Salesman (in the church we might call them evangelists) who can bring a person in, sit them down, make the case of our product and why it is important in their life and "close the deal" as it were.
But if we don't have connectors, how are the Mavens and Salesmen ever going to reach anyone? That is one of my biggest concerns in our church today, especially as so many of my pastoral brothers and sisters continue to draw more and more lines of who is in and who is out. Who are encouraging their communities to become wholly self-involved entities, with little cooperation with other communities. They do this under the guise of faithfulness to the Scriptures and our statements of faith, but so often I think it is more about holding fast to traditions and cultural ways of thinking and fear of engagement with the world.
Will our congregations, with the hope of keeping "pure" doctrine and teaching break down connections with other congregations, traditions, institutions, resources in our communities? Some traditions (like the Amish) have chosen to do this, to keep separate from the world for the sake of purity, only engaging very loosely with the world. It works for them, but rarely do I think it leads to growing, thriving and relevant communities, especially if you choose to be a community living not as an enclave but fully in the world.
This is risky business, we need connections but those connections will change us. Yet we proclaim a God who made a connection with us in Emmanuel:God with Us. It was risky for God to connect with us, to get down into the mud and grime or our lives, and it required God to be willing to sacrifice God's own self on the cross. Yet this willingness was and is essential for our salvation.
Are we as a church willing to do the same? Will we be connectors? Or will we simply retreat into our "Holy" enclaves? I for one resolve that my congregation will not.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
vocation and joy
I watched a member of my congregation tonight fully living into his vocation. This is a business he inherited from his father, has nurtured and grown, and now his son, daughter-in-law, wife, friends and employees were out working with him as he brought joy to hundreds, some of whom are children who may not see another Christmas.
What a joy to watch someone live into their vocational calling. To see what gifts they can give, to experience great joy in those gifts and bring others along with him. It was a privilege from nika and I to be there and experience it. And a reminder to me to make sure that in my vocational calling I truly take joy in the opportunities I have to serve, live and love.
RT, I am grateful to know you.
What a joy to watch someone live into their vocational calling. To see what gifts they can give, to experience great joy in those gifts and bring others along with him. It was a privilege from nika and I to be there and experience it. And a reminder to me to make sure that in my vocational calling I truly take joy in the opportunities I have to serve, live and love.
RT, I am grateful to know you.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The good, bad and yet excellent?
Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien.
(The better(perfect) is the enemy of the good.)-Voltaire
This quote popped up again and again in my mind today. In political debates about tax cuts and unemployment benefits (and I am making no political statement here, just observing), in dealing with my little girl who doesn’t want to eat her peas, discussing the challenges of keeping the fellowship hall floor clean; again and again, the debate of the perfect versus the good.
How do we decide when it is worth it to compromise and accept good, knowing the perfect is out there but at this point unattainable? When political debate and election results have shown that you just can’t do what you thought you might. While following the training program for the marathon exactly as the cyber coach tells you is ideal, sometimes life gets in the way and you are sore and tired and frankly your body says no. While it would be good to completely scrub the floor everyday that job takes too much time and a good old fashion sweep and mopping is ok and we will scrub once a month. While you wish your daughter would, after a 5 minute time out involving screaming and gnashing of teeth, come back to the table and eat the meal you prepared, perhaps her eating plain noodles and drinking her milk and not crying, is victory. The list goes on and on.
Voltaire was on to something here. Perhaps he foresaw the devastation of the French Revolution (even though it was inspired by much of his writing). He could imagine the destruction caused by those who clung so hard to their hopes and dreams of the “perfect” society that they wound up eliminating everyone around them who thought differently. He could see a downside to democracy in which entrenched positions prevented compromise and created the possible tyranny of a majority that ruled, seeking its own perfection, with no consideration for the opinions and beliefs of others. Or of small groups who, because they refused to acknowledge the needs of others, chose to disengage and seek perfection apart from the other.
As a disciple of Jesus and one who confesses that humanity is truly captive (or in bondage) to sin, I see real promise in this line of thinking. The perfect is unachievable this side of the resurrection. Yet we seek it so desperately to achieve it. We grasp so desperately for the perfect solution to our problems. We strive to have perfect jobs, families, and even hope to achieve a perfect “true Lutheran” church. We go forward in this, as if any of those were possible. Forgetting that the while we can hope for the perfect, the good is pretty worthwhile as well.
So does this mean anything goes? To quote a well known author, I say “By no means.” Saying the perfect shouldn’t eliminate the good, doesn’t mean that anything goes or that anything is good or even excellent. Yet excellence doesn’t mean perfection. Can we allow ourselves to not be paralyzed by the fact that we haven’t or can’t achieve the perfect? Can we create ways of discerning that focus on achieving what is helpful, useful, brings hope, serves those in need, gets us started on achieving a mission, keeps the facility running another day and be satisfied? It may not be the perfect master plan, but it certainly is better than nothing, right?
Well, certainly some do not think so. But in my experience in leadership, those who strive constantly for the perfect plan, the exact right answers to every solution, aren’t dealing with actual people and actual communities and they rarely get anything done.
We aren’t going to achieve the perfect, but is there value and excellence the good? Can we be excellent and not perfect? Certainly I am not the only one to have wondered this. For that same author I quoted before (not Voltaire) also wrote…
“Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Indeed, lets think on those things. A blessed Advent to you all.
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