In Jim Collins’ leadership classic Good to Great many people were introduced to two concepts: the bus and Level 5 Leaders. Collins explained how “great” leaders get the wrong people off the bus (of organizational leadership), get the right people on the bus, and get the right people in the right seats. Level 5 leadership decisions are made by few leaders, but can result in a breakthrough leading his or her organization from good to great. In many cases the very act of getting the wrong people on the bus, the right people on the bus, and the right people in the right seats requires high-level decision-making. Level 5 leaders recognize the most important decisions are almost always the most difficult. One reason most leaders do not lead organizations from good to great is those difficult decisions are delayed until it is too late to positively impact the organization. When you have delayed a difficult decision so long that everyone else in the organization sees the need, it is likely too late. What follows are some thoughts to help you make Level 5 decisions: 1. Identify the Level 5 decision to be made. Is it a re-allocation of budget money? Changing personnel? Selling a building? Building a building? Speaking to the media? Implementing a strategic plan? You cannot make the decision until you have removed all the weeds and identified it clearly. 2. Determine why this is the real decision to be made. If a staff change seems to be the real decision, why should you make it? Is it a talent issue, or do you just not like the individual? If it is a talent issue, the why might be appropriate. If it is a personality or jealousy issue, the issue might be with you. If you cannot explain the why to the board, your staff, or your management team, perhaps you do not possess sufficient reason to make the decision. 3. When should the decision be enacted? Many leaders dread making difficult decisions. As a result such decisions are delayed, delayed and delayed again. Budget issues go unaddressed leaving managers in a state of flux. Construction decisions are bandied about for endless revisions because the decision maker never says, “That’s it. We are moving forward.” The wrong people remain on the bus so it never reaches its destination. When leaders delay difficult decisions, it creates multiple difficult future decisions all of which are unnecessary. When the decision has been identified, and the rationale is clear, supportable and explainable, make the decision. There will likely be fallout from making a Level 5 decision, but the fallout from not making the decision could be the death knell of your organization, or your leadership in it.
New Mother’s Day video from Igniter Media
A great resource for inexpensive, short ministry videos themed around holidays is Igniter Media. The popular Social Media Christmas video that made the rounds two years ago was produced by this group. Many of there videos are available on DVD or for easy download. Prices are reasonable. See below for their new Mother’s Day video just in time for next week.
Free book: ‘The Generous Soul,’ by Marty Duren, Chapter 5
Thanks for hanging in there to read this far! If you are just finding this, you can start at the beginning by going here. As always, this content is free to use in teaching and preaching, but please do not print it or sell it. chapter five God is bigger than my job “And my God shall supply all of your needs, according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (NASB) “Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven, and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven. Man ate of the bread of angels; he sent them food in abundance.” Psalm 78: 22-25 (ESV) If we think the goal of our finances is simply to pay cash for all our purchases or to ensure we have a sufficient emergency fund, we can lose touch with the fact that God, not budgeting, meets the needs of our lives. Time: Late 20s to early 30s AD, depending on whose calendar you read. Place: The court at the Jewish temple, right beside the offering plates. (We can surmise they did not use buckets from the Hummus Hut.) Participants: Jesus, His disciples, a bunch of rich people, a destitute widow. The following is how this story might have been relayed before the inspired writers, Mark and Luke, penned their records.89 I made this up…obviously. “Anybody seen the Lord in the last few minutes?” Peter asked the other eleven disciples. “Not since He tied that last group of Pharisees in a knot,” replied Andrew. The other disciples nodded their agreement as to the Lord’s effectiveness in dealing with challengers. They shielded their eyes against the sun, deciding to wait until He made His way back to them. Had they known where to find the Lord, they would have seen Him in the temple complex sitting over by the offering box, also called “the treasury.” Since Jesus never did anything by accident, it was with purpose that He watched to see how the people gave. “Hey, guys. Come over here a minute.” The disciples could hear the voice of the Master over the shuffling and murmuring of the worshipers. “Anybody see Him?” asked Thomas. “I hear a voice, but I see no man,” replied Andrew, bringing a head slap from someone behind him. “Over here,” came the voice of Jesus again. They looked to see His hand above the crowd and navigated toward Him. “Is He over by the offering plates?” mused Thaddeus. “Man, I hope this isn’t another tithing sermon,” said someone else who forever escaped identification. No one heard Judas say, under his breath, “I hope it is. My house payment is due.” The twelve men arrived beside Jesus. “What is it, Lord?” they wondered aloud. “OK. I want you to watch this. You see all these people putting in their tithes and offerings?” He asked. For the next few minutes they stood in silence as the worshipers filed by putting in their various amounts. Finally, Jesus said, “What do you see?” They struggled to make any distinction. “Well,” began Peter haltingly, “a lot of people are bringing their offerings and putting them in the treasury.” He looked around for a little moral support from his compatriots. “Yeah,” added Matthew, the former tax collector, “and some are putting in a LOT.” “Notice this,” said Jesus. “Those you see putting in a lot of money also have a lot of money left over. Now, watch that widow.” They listened as the slightest tinkle of copper rattled against the money already in the box. With somewhat puzzled, sideways glances, the twelve semi-shrugged their shoulders as they tried to figure out the Master’s point. “It might not have looked like much,” the Lord resumed His teaching, “but those two coins were all that she had. It was her entire living in this world.” Looking slowly from face to face He finally said, “She gave more than any of the others.” A matter of perspective The historical record of Jesus and the widow’s mites is outstanding in its simplicity. The widow gave all that she had—two copper coins worth less than almost nothing. We are given nothing about her history and the Lord tells us nothing of her future. The only insight we are given into her life is this single act and, like the woman who washed and anointed Jesus feet, this sacrificial act has been a memorial to her since. What we are told in this story is the evaluation that God gave regarding her gift. In God’s economy, this “pauper widow”90 gave more than all the others who contributed. As a result, it becomes clear the “how” of their giving for which Jesus watched: a percentage of the whole. He was interested to see not what was given, but what was kept. In the case of the crowds, much was kept; in the case of the widow, nothing was kept. If this was anyone other than Jesus Christ as the point man in this story we might think them prone to hyperbole, just an exaggeration to make a point. But for Jesus not only to say it, but to doubly emphasize it (“out of her poverty”, “all she had to live on”) is no teacher’s ploy. The widow literally had nothing left. Paul described the giving of Macedonian believers in a similar way, “Out of their extreme poverty, they abounded in generosity.” Randy Alcorn makes an interesting observation91 about how we might respond in a situation similar to the widow’s coins. If a widow in our church came to the offering plate with everything that she had, we would likely try to talk her out of giving it based on her extreme need. But Jesus did not do this. He knew that His Father would bless this woman’s obedience and used her sacrifice as an example to us all. When it comes to missional giving, we cannot compare what
Is it possible for social media to improve search rankings organically? [INFOGRAPHIC]
According to TastyPlacement, Inc, a search engine optimization company, social media plays a role in search rankings (search results).
‘Moonbaby,’ by Siobhan Magnus, album review
I expect future broadcasts of VH1 will feature, “Where Are They Now? Virtually Every American Idol Contestant.” I’m not sure any television show as regularly milks and dashes so many dreams in a single season. Every year, from late winter through spring, Americans huddle around their television sets watching auditions–some promising, some painful–on their way to voting for the one “American Idol.” Sadly for most, including most of the winners, they experience more idle than idol after their season in the sun. We haven’t watched every moment of every season, but really paid a lot of attention the year Melinda Doolittle, the former back-up singer, captivated so many hearts. Again, during Season 9, members of our family thought two particularly stood out: the bluesy, singer guitarist, Casey James and the tattooed, Cape Cod glass blower, Siobhan Magnus. Maddeningly, Season 9 not only found a number of talented singers, it also found perhaps the most dysfunctional judges panel throughout all the years of AI. So much conflicting advice was given to each contestant most viewers had long figured out that ignoring the judges might not lead to victory, but it would assure sanity. Nowhere was this more in evidence than the quirky dressing, vocal powerhouse Siobhan Magnus. In January of this year Magnus released her rookie project, Moonbaby, on her own label, Snotface Records. (You expected less?) It is a collection of 11 songs, ten of which were co-written by Magnus. The last entry is a fine power-ballad style cover of Prince’s, “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Lyrically, it seems clear throughout Moonbaby that Siobhan Magnus is exercising other people’s demons more than her own. There are a number of references to people being mistreated due to not fitting into cultural or peer molds (there may be some errors in my transcriptions as I cannot find the lyrics online anywhere). In “Pure Inspiration” she sings Remember all those times in class it started in the sixth grade. All the things thrown at my head, I walked down the halls in shame. When I tried to be myself, they shouted, “It’s not Halloween.” But they were just projecting their fears all over me. Where did they learn to be so mean? And in the first release from the project, “Black Doll,” she notes her own uniqueness When you draw me, there’s a hole where my heart should be, And I can take my crayons and color it red, Decorate the monster underneath my bed with flowers and pearls and pretty things, but that’s not me. You know me, that’s not me. […] When people saw me, all they saw was strange. (I always felt it was her refusal to bow before the AI machine that sealed her fate and drew those contradictory criticisms from the judges, most notably the uber-grouch, Simon Cowell.) Moonbaby is not all about teenage angst and making it through high school being mocked or harassed. There are three songs that could go into immediate radio rotation if the right people were paying attention. Given the opportunity “Escape Goat” could be the “I Will Survive” of the 2010’s. Switching between the “Ah-hahs” of a lilting pop song, and the growling vocals of an irritated lioness, Magnus wrests her emotional freedom from a former beau: In my Utopia my good intentions would succeed and they’d make the difference and stop hurting me. Why’s it always gotta be bad news? Or lookin’ for a buck or two? You kept me from the truth with All the things you never do. And you’re losing power over me And the walls of your castle are gonna start tumbling. This illusion you living in I no longer believe And I can’t fix you, so don’t you lay that on me. I won’t be defeated twisted and beaten You’ve got some kinda spell on me And I can’t let it be, But, I won’t let you, no I won’t let you, break me. In the reflective song, “Eulogy,” Magnus notes the wounds and confusion of those left behind after a friend’s suicide: Faces contort with shame, we are the remnants of the choice you made that day. Mother’s left behind, it is a crime. The third is the hard driving, “Big Collapse,” during which she turns to the bigger picture behind the problems faced by everyone who has ever graced the planet. This song features the best rocking music on the project, with great lead vocals and strong backing vocals. It also has my favorite line where detractors are told You can’t create or destroy me. The existential issues raised here by Magnus are conversation worthy, and remnant of both the book of Job and the questions people have asked since the dawn of time: The universe is caving in. Don’t know where you end and I begin. You found bottom, have no hope. Come in and leave all alone. If we’re all made of matter, what does it matter? In an infinite world, I’m just another girl. If we’re all made of the same matter, what does it matter if I cry or laugh? I’m not afraid of the big collapse. Those who, like me, have problems shutting our brains down for any length of time will appreciate the reality expressed in vocally soaring, musically haunting “Always Thinking”: Like bats in belfrys crying at my racing mind how can I slow down the hurried hands of time? It’s like a white blanket smothering me sinking to the deepest of an endless sea. and I’m always thinking how I don’t want to be like them but I’m always worried I’ll find a wrong way to start thinking. There are only two songs I do not particularly care for (“Pure Inspiration” and “Moonbaby”), but I confess I have not stopped listening to the entire album since I downloaded it on Friday. Vocally this project is incredibly strong. Siobhan never had issues hitting notes, yet her hard rock screams on Moonbaby are few and always fit the