The great paradox of life is that those who lose their lives will gain
them. This paradox becomes visible in very ordinary situations. If we
cling to our friends, we may lose them, but when we are nonpossessive
in our relationships, we will make many friends. When fame is what we
seek and desire, it often vanishes as soon as we acquire it, but when
we have no need to be known, we might be remembered long after our
deaths. When we want to be in the center, we easily end up on the
margins, but when we are free enough to be wherever we must be, we find
ourselves often in the center.

Giving away our lives for others is the greatest of all human arts.  This will gain us our lives.

Click to Enlargen

Every now and again, I like to share the last couple of dozen photos I have added to my favorites on flickr.  Here is another installment of my favorite Flickr photos.

  The Boy at the Temple 
  Originally uploaded by Stuck in Customs

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."  Proverbs 17:22 NLT

So I was with a few new friends from India last night and one of the guys was just a fountain of humor.  I am going to have to email him for some of the different jokes he told me.  Here is one humorous story he mentioned, though I may not remember all the details exactly.

The story goes that when a boy gets to walking age or a bit older, the parents set three objects across the room.  A bottle of wine, some cash and a holy book.  The idea is this.  The boy is to walk over and pick up an item and that determines their future.

If the boy goes over and picks up a bottle of wine, that means that he will have a life of pleasure.  If he goes over and picks up the cash, then he will be a great business man.  If he picks up the holy book, then he will be a priest or holy man.

So this one boy walked across the room and he put a wine bottle under his left arm, the holy book under his right and carried the cash in his hands.  So I said, "What does that make him?"  He replied, "A politician."

  feet washing 
  Originally uploaded by ღMøûñ†àíñwømãñღ

There was a talk that John Ortberg gave on servant leadership that I thought was really helpful for those who serve in some leadership capacity.  So I thought I would pass on a few quotes and a summary this coming week.

It was Jesus who said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Mark 10:42b-45 TNIV

“Jesus says, "Not so with you." Now, because power and leadership can be abused and can be dark in the hands of fallen people -- because Jesus has warnings about it -- some people get distrustful about any form of leadership or the exercise of power. They don't initiate, they don't challenge, they don't stretch those who are around them.

They hold back from leading when they ought to lead, and they hold others back from leading. That is not a good thing. Their families, their churches, their organizations suffer because part of human nature in this world, unless there is leadership and people being envisioned and challenged and stretched to grow, people will suffer.

To lead is a good thing. At the very beginning, the Bible says that God created human beings to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it and have dominion. Jesus doesn't reject leadership or even the use of power or greatness for that matter, but he redefines it, he redeems it.

As he says here, Jesus himself is the ultimate example of redeemed leadership. He says, "I didn't come to be served," which is generally the measure of leadership in our world. How many people are underneath me serving me?

He says, "I came to serve." That's what servants do. Here's a real key point. In Jesus, to lead is to serve. In Jesus, leadership is simply one form of servanthood. In God, to lead is to serve those he leads.” - John Ortberg

In the next post on this series, we will take a look at how Jesus served, since we are called to imitate him.

You can make a guess of what the picture represents on the left.  In today's post I am sharing the five most popular posts this past month, in case you missed one of them.  Also, I have found that some of you who follow this blog enjoy learning about the other people who visit this site, so I try to give a monthly report of the top 50 cities that have visited this blog in the past month.  So here are the top five posts and top 50 cities.

TOP FIVE POSTS IN APRIL
Is Conversion a Four-Letter Word? Series
Finding Truth in a Sound Bite Society
Why We're Not Emergent By Two Guys Who Should Be Literary Review
Need Inspiration?
A Celtic Prayer

TOP 50 CITIES VISITING THIS BLOG IN APRIL
Richmond, VA
Los Angeles
Amsterdam
Herdon, VA
Vancouver, BC
New York
London
Atlanta
Dallas
Fayetteville, NC

Boston
Plano, TX
Chicago
Mt. Laurel, NJ
Ann Arbor, MI
San Francisco
Bronx, NY
Snohomish, WA
Irvine, CA
Grass Valley, CA

Blacksburg, VA
Bethpage, NY
Sydney, Australia
Tulsa, OK
Washington D.C.
Marysville, WA
Columbia, MO
Sanford, FL
San Jose, CA
Waterford, MI

Houston
Redmond, WA
Columbus, OH
Toronto, Canada
Austin
Portland
St. Louis
Seattle
West Palm Beach, FL
Phoenix

Roanoke, TX
Overland Park, KS
Media, PN
Minnipeg, Canada
Auckland, New Zealand
Singapore
Calgary, Canada
Bangkok, Thailand
Pasadena, CA
Miami, FL

  feet washing 
  Originally uploaded by ღMøûñ†àíñwømãñღ

When it comes to understaning Servant Leadership, we can learn a lot from the One to whom we are call to imitate and follow. Here are some more thoughts from John Orberg.

“From the beginning of eternity to creation to the outworking of redemption after the Fall to the end of eternity, the end of time as we know it, the Father, Son and Spirit pour themselves out in humble service of each other and creation and even fallen creatures like you and me.

All who watch are amazed and filled with awe and wonder and bow their knees. Jesus is the greatest servant that ever lived for it is the nature of God to serve -- that's who God is. Paul says people can't see that without being awed and broken by it -- that God is a servant.

At the same time, Jesus had the strongest character of anyone who ever lived. He was never intimidated. He defied those who held immense power without batting an eye. He threw full-grown men out of the temple area with a whip. He is a servant, but he had impact and led like no one else who ever walked the earth.

He calls us, calls his followers to be people of impact to leadership that is a form of servanthood, to what a guy named Rob Banks suggests what we might call "leading servanthood." We've heard about the idea of servant leaders. Really, servanthood is what will go on forever and ever. One form of servanthood is leading in the right way.”

In the next post in this series, we will look at some of the tension points when it comes to servant leadership.

  feet washing 
  Originally uploaded by ღMøûñ†àíñwømãñღ

Continuing on the series John Ortberg brings up four tensions that we need to wrestle through as servant leaders.  I will mention two of them in this post and two in the next post.

1. Decisive Submissiveness – Leaders must make decisions, they have difficult calls to make, when leaders abdicate making decisions it can be disaster. That is one side. The danger is dominating people and making self-serving decisions.  Jesus made decisions but was submissive to his parents and His father in heaven.  He exercised decisive submissiveness.  He was not wishy-washy, nor did he had a defiant willfulness, but he had a decisive submissiveness.  Questions for you:  What people do you submit to?  Are you submissive to scripture?  Are you submissive to the Spirit?

2. Tough-minded Accountability and Tender-hearted Compassion – Leaders must give to the people that they serve what one guy who writes about leadership calls the gift of accountability. There is an aspect of fallen human nature that unless I have people in my life who challenge me and stretch me beyond myself and say, “Here’s the covenant that you agreed to live up to and your not doing it,” I’m not going to grow the way I could.  That is one side. The danger is if I’m always in the position of judging and evaluating other people, there’s the danger that I can become so obsessed with accomplishing tasks that people become a means to an end.  There just tools. There needs to be tender-hearted compassion as well, loving those on our staff, in our community.  Questions for you:  Would the people in your sphere of influence – your work, your home, your area of ministry – would they say that you love them?  Not just that you value them because they’re able to perform, but that you love them?

McCann's
Originally uploaded by FotoEdge

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."  Proverbs 17:22 NLT

A friend of mine by the name of Aby shared this joke with me.

On watching the American ads for drugs (Advair, Lipitor, etc.), a friend visiting from India said, "This sounds like marriage. The drug ads say take this brand and you will never have problem with backache. And, then as a side note they say that the side effects may be heart attack, kidney failure, nausea and headache. This is how marriages are, they come with side effects."

Praying
Originally uploaded by Kaj Bjurman

Dear heavenly Father,

We ask you now to give us all your Holy Spirit, and to give it continually, that it may awaken, enlighten, encourage, and enable us to dare to take the small and large steps of moving out of the comfort with which we can comfort each other and into hope in you.  Turn us away toward you!  Do not allow us to hide from you! Do not let us do anything without you!  Show us how glorious you are and how glorious it is to trust and obey you!

We would ask the same for all people, that the nations and governments may bow to your Word, and that they will be willing to work for justice and peace on earth, that your Word may be understood and taken to heart by all those who are poor, sick, imprisoned, troubled, oppressed, and unbelieving; that through word and deed it may be made known to them; and that it may be perceived by them as the answer to their sighs and cries; that all Christian churches and confessions may learn to recognize it anew and serve it with renewed faithfulness; that its truth may be and remain bright here and now in all of humanity's error and confusion, until such a time as it shall ultimately enlighten all people and all things.  You are glorified, you who make us free in Jesus Christ, your Son, by confessing and standing on this: that our hope is in you.  Amen.  From Fifty Prayers.

feet washing
Originally uploaded by ღMøûñ†àíñwømãñღ

Here are a couple more tensions in Servant Leadership that John Ortberg mentions.  Here is my summary.

3. Resourcefully Dependent – Leaders need to be resourceful people.  They just have a knack for unlocking resources.  They have a way of challenging people without apology to give and contribute. They stay up nights figuring out ways to tap new assets. They’re creative and inventive.  They find resources.  This is good thing. Nehemiah is an example.  But the danger is over time this resourcefulness, the ability to get things done and make things happen, can lead to a sense of self-sufficiency and of arrogance and destroy the deeper truth, which is that I am utterly depended on God.  Jesus looks for people who are dependent, resourcefully dependent.  A lack of dependence on God is lethal.  Check out the story that starts in Acts 12:20.  God wants leading servants who are resourcefully dependent on him, who are just on their knees. Questions for You:  How is your prayer life?  Do you recognize that all you have is a gift from God?  Are you humble?

4. Relaxed Urgency – God wants to use us.  Some people just drift through life. There is no sense of urgency. We live in a world that the Scripture says is locked in a battle between good and evil, life and death.  These are very real and create in us a deep sense of conviction and urgency.  But the danger is that while I need to take my mission and my calling from God with great urgency, I also need to take my appearance, my visible success, my reputation, my little set of ambitions, my resume – real lightly.  God calls us to do his work with passion, but god is not anxious about his kingdom at all, He is not biting his fingernails to see what you’re going to do next.  Servant leaders have a burning sense of relaxed urgency.

I'm typing from Richmond, Virginia.  This week I have the privilege this week to help train 40 church planters as a part of the Ecclesia Network.  It is an intense but rich time.  During one of my last sessions I will be talking about Leadership Skills and Attitudes for the Journey.  One of the things that I did in preparation for this talk was to survey a number of church planters that I know and work with around the world.  I asked them five questions.  One of the questions was:  What are the three biggest lessons you have learned as a church planter?  I thought I would take some time to share some of these with you in this series.

Church Planter in Los Angeles

1. Dependence on God



2. To be faithful and create an atmosphere for growth, letting God be responsible for His part



3. Know that there are going to be unexpected difficulties

Church Planter in Amsterdam

1. Don’t over complicate things, keep it simple



2. Focus on prayer, outreach and basic discipleship



3. Watch out for disunity! It will kill a church plant, communication is a key to avoiding some of the pitfalls of disunity

Church Planter in England

1. What it takes to get them is what it takes to keep them.  (In other words if you invest a lot of time and energy I developing a relationship with someone and they become a part of your church plant, they will come with the expectation that you will continue to invest that kind of time and energy on them.  When that doesn’t happen they’ll be hurt, feel rejected, and in most cases they will share their ill will with others.)



2. You are not desperate for people (If you live as if you are desperate for people to be a part of your church then you will lower your standards, compromise on non-negotiables, etc. etc. etc. to get people to take part.)



3. Who you are in private is far more important that what you say and do in public

I will be sharing more lessons that people have learned in part II.  If you are a church planter, what would be your top three lessons you learned?  Help us add to the wisdom from practitioners.

In this series, I am sharing about a survey that I have done with Church Planters that I know in different cities.  Here are a few more responses to one of the questions I posed to them: 

What are the three biggest lessons you have learned as a church planter?

Church Planter in Maryland

1. You need a solid team and care for them



2. Don’t neglect your walk with God



3. Success is not measured in numbers alone



4. Have think skin

Church Planter in Michigan

1. Ninety percent of the people who criticize your work are Christians from other churches



2. Don’t try to plant a church I the style of the church you are coming from



3. Plant a church that connects with the city you are planting in

Church Planter in Portland

1. Carefully select leadership (very carefully, and have others involved in the process)



2. Develop a network of trusted advisors outside the church (also connect with other church planters locally, nationally, internationally for mutual encouragement)



3. Lead not only by teaching/instruction, but by example in all areas (especially in faith, hope, love and humility)



4. Focus on equipping people for ministry as a primary part of your role while remaining engaged relationally with those who don't know Christ (this is a high priority)

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."  Proverbs 17:22 NLT

This Monday Morning Medicine is authored by Kim Fabricius over at Ben Myers blog - Faith and Theology.  It is bound to give you a laugh. This entry followed a discussion on managerialism.

PETER: Eh… Jesus…

JESUS: Yes, Peter…?

PETER: I’ve been thinking.

JESUS: Start the day with a miracle, is it?

PETER: No, seriously, Jesus, I’ve been thinking…

JESUS: What about, Peter?

PETER: About mission – and about the future.

JESUS: Into eschatology now, are we?

PETER: Escha … escha … escha-what-ogy?

JESUS:
“Eschatology”, Peter. The “last things” – death, judgement, heaven,
hell – the end of the world. You said you were thinking about the
future.

PETER: Not that far into the future. I was thinking more about the immediate future.

JESUS: What about it?

PETER: Precisely Jesus – what about it? We can’t go on living like this.

JESUS: Like what, Peter?

PETER:
Like “lilies of the field”. You say that they don’t worry about the
future, so why should we? Come on, Jesus, get real! Ours is a field for
mission, not flowers. If we’re going to go out proclaiming the kingdom
of God, we’ve got to plan ahead. “Lambs among wolves” indeed! We’ll get
eaten alive.

JESUS: What if I tell you to take some mint sauce along?

PETER: Come on, Jesus, I’m serious.

JESUS: Okay, Peter, tell me about these plans of yours.

PETER: Management theory.

JESUS: Pardon?

PETER: Management theory, Jesus. Haven’t you read the latest pack from Jerusalem? It’s all there. We need a system.

JESUS: A system?

PETER:
Yes, a system. We’ve got a product, and we’ve got to sell it – we’ve
got to be productive – and to be productive we need a system. It’s all
about efficiency.

JESUS: I see.

PETER: We need to establish goals and set targets, and we need to prioritise.

JESUS: “Prioritise”?

PETER: Yes, I mean tax collectors and sinners? It’s a disgrace.

JESUS: I don’t do diss, Peter. But go on.

PETER: Where was I…? Yes, and we need to monitor, evaluate, assess.

JESUS: Of course.

PETER: I was thinking of a market research unit and a performance review team. And we’ll need a director of finance.

JESUS: But I’ve already appointed Judas as treasurer.

PETER:
Bad choice according to the Micah-Baruch type test I ran him through,
which was confirmed by the little focus group Jim and I set up.

JESUS: Who do you have in mind?

PETER:
I’m drawing up a shortlist. And, of course, you’ll need a personal
private consultant. And my first job will be to come up with a mission
statement.

JESUS: Absolutely.

PETER: You know we don’t even have a mobile phone or a laptop. And we’ll have to have a blog.

JESUS: Is that “blog” as in Gog and Magog?

PETER:
This isn’t a joke, Jesus. With that attitude no wonder we’re in such a
state. But no more. From now on we’re going to be organised, with
nothing left to chance, all the “i”s dotted and “t”s crossed. The
future will be secure.

JESUS: So we’ll be profitable?

PETER: Yes.

JESUS: And successful?
`
PETER: Yes.

JESUS: And respected, admired, extolled?

PETER: I can see your picture now on the cover of Chronos: “Jesus of Nazareth: Man of the Year”!

JESUS: [Starts laughing.]

PETER: What’s so funny, Jesus?

JESUS: [Laughter increases.]

PETER: Why are you laughing?

JESUS: [Now in stitches.]

PETER: [Testily] Jesus!

JESUS: Peter, you’ve forgotten something absolutely crucial to good practice.

PETER: [Arrogantly] And what’s that?

JESUS: The No Asshole Rule.

It is encouraging to know that there are many people who have plans to plant new churches this coming year.  In this series, we are taking a look at a survey that I conducted with a number of church planters in North America and Europe.  One of the questions that I posed to each church planter was this:

What are the three biggest lessons you have learned as a church planter?

Here are some more responses to this question:

Church Planter in Amsterdam

1. Stay primarily connected to the vine (Jesus) and secondarily united with your fellow leaders



2. Expect a brutal period of transition, chaos, and attrition (of finances, team members, emotional energy, etc.), but stay the course and watch God work



3. Pace yourself (don’t bite off more than you can chew, don’t be pressured by assumed timetables etc.)

Church Planter in New York, NY

1. Importance of prayer



2. Not letting the needs of your growing community turn you inward and lose your missional edge



3. The supremacy of relationships and love over programs

Church Planter in Orlando

1. How much I needed someone to balance my effect



2. Church planting is the adventure of a lifetime



3. Tighten your seat belt

Patrick M. Lencioni does a great job as summarizing The Five Dysfunctions of a Team in his book by the same title.  Whether you are planting churches, starting businesses or simply trying to do something as a team, these five factors are so important to understand.   Many of you are familiar with this book, but for those who are not, you can now catch up.  Click Image to Enlargen.

1. The first dysfunction is an absence of trust among team members.  Essentially, this stems from their unwillingness to be vulnerable within the group. Team members who are not genuinely open with one another about their mistakes and weaknesses make it impossible to build a foundation of trust.



2. This failure to build trust is damaging because it sets the tone for the second dysfunction: fear of conflict.  Teams that lack trust are incapable of engaging in unfiltered and passionate debate of ideas.  Instead, they resort to veiled discussions and guarded comments.



3. A lack of healthy conflict is a problem because it ensures the third dysfunction of a team: lack of commitment.  Without having aired their opinions in the course of passionate and open debate, team members rarely, if ever, buy in and commit to decisions, though they my feign agreement during meetings.



4. Because of this lack of real commitment and buy-in, team members develop an avoidance of accountability, the fourth dysfunction.  Without committing to a clear plan of action, even the most focused and driven people often hesitate to call their peers on actions and behaviors that seem counterproductive to the good of the team.



5. Failure to hold one another accountable creates an environment where the fifth dysfunction can thrive.  Inattention to results occurs when team members put their individual needs (such as ego, career development, or recognition) or even the needs of their divisions above the collective goals of the team.

We are continuing this series where we are hearing what different church planters from various cities have to say about this important question: 

What are the three biggest lessons you have learned as a church planter?

Church Planter in Amsterdam

1. Stay primarily connected to the vine (Jesus) and secondarily united with your fellow leaders



2. Expect a brutal period of transition, chaos, and attrition (of finances, team members, emotional energy, etc.), but stay the course and watch God work



3. Pace yourself (don’t bite off more than you can chew, don’t be pressured by assumed timetables etc.)

Church Planter in New York, NY

1. Importance of prayer



2. Not letting the needs of your growing community turn you inward and lose your missional edge



3. The supremacy of relationships and love over programs

Church Planter in Orlando

1. How much I needed someone to balance my effect



2. Church planting is the adventure of a lifetime



3. Tighten your seat belt

Karl Barth.jpg
Originally uploaded by theologian75142

"Lord, our God, you wanted to live not only in heaven,
but also with us, here on earth; not only to be high and great, but also to be small and lowly, as we are; not only to rule, but also to serve us; not only to be God in eternity, but also to be born as a person, to live, and to die.

In your dear Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, you have given us none other than yourself, that we may wholly belong to you.  This affects all of us, and none of us has deserved this.  What remains for us to do but to wonder, to rejoice, to be thankful, and to hold fast to what you have done for us?

We ask you to let this be the case in this hour, among us and in all of us! Let us become a proper Christmas community in hon4e6, open, and willing prayer and singing, speaking and hearing, and let us in great hunger be proper Communion community!  Amen."

-Karl Barth

"A cheerful heart is good medicine."  Proverbs 17:22 NLT

So the question that I have been asking in this series to different church planters is: What are the three biggest lessons that you have learned as a church planter.  Here are a few more responses.

Church Planter in Las Vegas
(Doesn’t know how to count, or bet and doubled his numbers)

1.    What it takes to get it (or them) is what it takes to keep it
2.    Beware of paying too high a price
3.    In the midst of chaos there is ground to be gained
4.    Language creates culture
5.    It not about you so play to an audience of one
6.    If you are taking flak, you are probably over the target

Church Planter in Minneapolis

1.    Things don’t go exactly as you plan
2.    It takes a long time to build a church body and movement in a community
3.    Getting the right people on the team is of utmost importance

Church Planter in Long Beach, CA

1.    Stay flexible
2.    Know our leadership as friends, not utility
3.    Allow the name of your vision to die if it need to in order to reach the city