Steve Sjogren :: Blog

Be sure to tune in tonight on Shapevine where I'll be sharing a summary of my new book coming out soon with Regal Publishing.

One of the main thoughts of the book is how you can move from a "3 to an 8," as a leader and as a church. The simple idea is that many leaders have been laboring under the burden of trying to become something or someone that they are not called, not made to be. As a former 4th grade teacher I have discovered there are no "10s" but Jesus, and there is rarely a "9" (someone with a Billy Graham level of personality/gifiting)

But all of us, when we are in sync with the distinct calling and gifting of God, can flow powerfully as an "8." However, when we try to mimic someone else and are not living spontaneously in the unique thing that God has called us to be, we will live with massive frustration. We will not experience the joy of the spontaneous life of the Holy Spirit living in side of us. And most tragically, we will never even get close to accomplishing what Jesus has called us to live out, which are amazing unique things that only we and the group we lead can live out at this point in history.

I hope you are able to log on and interact with the webcast tonight at 8pm... it's going to be fun!

Drumroll please. Here's a 'Tah-Dah' that might actually open a peeper or two. If you have been asleep, ask someone to wake you by whatever means necessary – (yes, there is now and then a good reason to sign the ‘Whatever It Takes’ waiver – for times just like today.)

RISE AND SHINE BUEHLER! (high voltage cattle prod, stun device of your favorite accessory color, or a flick on the ear ala Mr. Schmidt your 10th grade earth science teacher).

Before - we - can - convey – a – bit – of – information – regarding – God’s – kingdom – we must – begin – to - regain - credibility – with - not - yet – believers.

We - must - make - amends - for - the - Bozo - shenanigans - the - Church - has - done - to – people – REAL – OR – IMAGINED - even – though – we – likely – disagreed – with – said – matters.

There is much more to explain than this opening thought. But make no mistake. We are in the middle of the Church age that requires us to seek forgiveness with nearly all we connect with before any hope of credibility is established.

Chew on this. Stay tuned kids. There’s more!

I'm making a New Year's resolution… now that it’s late May.

I caught onto the futility of the resolution thing a long time ago and stopped doing them. Such things are useless in my mind (no offense unless the shoe fits…) To do so is akin to

"And this year I'm going to push a different colored car uphill while the transmission is in ‘Drive’ with the engine off and the parking brake set."

In other words, ‘Can’t get there from here.’

Resolutions accomplish one thing. To those paying close attention – they point out we can do nothing apart from God’s intervention in our trek continually. Even with such an ‘Interventional life’ we are going to screw things up in a jolly big way. Guaranteed.

"So," you ask, "why the resolution since you are so not into it?" I use this merely as an expression, not as something I'm seriously seeking to accomplish with a mighty college effort. The goal here is to zero in on the matter closest to Jesus' heart (that is, if the Scriptures are to be taken seriously).

Gathering - is - priority - one.

Okay, that's not news. Gathering is just a new fangled way of saying ‘Evangelism.’ Many have made this point over and over and over... (someone do me a favor and hit the 'endless loop' feature on the GarageBand software). ‘There are no ordinary people. All are extraordinary because they are all everlasting. They are all created by God. He loves them all beyond our ability to grasp a percentile of.

Just a thought to put on the back burner: The word ‘Evangelism’ is so vastly misunderstood maybe we are wise to invest some time as leaders / activists digging into the ‘E-word’ as I dubbed it in Conspiracy of Kindness fifteen years ago. (The word is a combination of ‘message’ and ‘angels’ – roughly translated, ‘The message of the angels.’ Lay that next to the outworking we see today and the above suggestion begins to bear merit).

Everybody Needs a Model Or Two To Be Effective

'People never do what you say - only what you do
...then only after you have salted them down...'

What / Who Is An Approximate Leader Metaphor You Relate To?

As we venture through life, influential personalities pass our way. Some of these are distant influencers. They touch us through their books, blogs – the proverbial ship passing in the night. Others stay longer. Rarely does an influential we come to love and respect leave without heat though. ‘Parting is with great sorrow’ as Shakespeare captured it so well. This fascinating dynamic is a worthwhile study in various biographies that are honest enough to get past the silly surface-grin and down to what we all know to be the real story we all suffer through. (Bobby Clinton has a grasp on this matter as well any anyone on the planet. His tomes The Making of A Leader and Connecting are in my top 100 list of ‘Just Gotta Buy, Read, and Re-Read.’ Don’t ask for this list – it’s not together yet…)

(NOTE: I officially no longer waste my time actually ‘reading’ books unless they ‘re-read’ worthy. As many know, I am a graduate of the ‘Evelyn Wood-Head Sped-Redding School of Sped Redding’ to quote Cheech and Chong. I do scan lots of books still – but scanning and carefully reading are far different matters.)

All effective leaders have lived long enough to realize they lack the marbles to accomplish the humongous goal Jesus has placed in their heart. To get there, some amazing, serendipitous supply is needed. The greatest part of God’s supply will always arrive in the form of content – the wisdom God provides that can come from people alone.

Question:

Is there a metaphor you can use to help people relate to your leadership style?

There are numerous aspects needed to describe the breadth of how you relate as a leader:

• The communication aspect of your leadership
• The way you connect with people; the way you don’t connect (more important)

People now tell me who I remind them of so I don’t really need a metaphor often.

May I recommend one to you if you are searching or starting out?

Jack Black – the funny man who is all about finding the good in people and is not afraid to climb into situations or fend for the downtrodden.
Best of all – Jack is self-deprecating. It is hard to not follow one like this. Today, if you can't tell on yourself, be yourself, you are sunk.

Mind you, however, that with Jack as a metaphor there come built-in weaknesses to be aware of...

You are an easy target by weak, opportunistic leaders around you who are not living vulnerably.

Short People Got No... Need For Toilet Plungers

... of strengths, limits, liabilities

While in Denver recently doing some city-wide training with leaders, I stayed with some friends. They have renovated a house that is beautiful, ornate... and has old plumbing.

This couple have children that are adults, are out of the house. Both of them are just over five feet tall. Their children are about the same size. Fortunately they are Hispanic so they have not been tortured by Hobbit jokes (Hobbits look nothing like a Central or South American).

Here's the problem: I am nearly 6'3". In ALL WAYS my life is different than theirs for the most part.

Without ruining your appetite for the next 48 hours, I will put this delicately. These kind, wonderful folks were gone most of the day when I arrived. That's fine by me - I write all day. Just need oxygen, water, a Venti Starbucks dark blend, enough half and half to color the coffee khaki and three Splendas. I'm in my own world(s) for 8 to 12 hours. Nature does call however. When it did, their flushing mechanism was clearly not designed for people of normal size - IE, over 5 feet tall and all that goes with that (enough said). Upon a search, I discovered they have no plunger. I called them. "We've lived there for fifteen years and have never needed a plunger."

"Do you ever have people over five feet tall here visiting?"

"As a matter of fact, only family visits. You're right - they are all rather short like us. How did you know?"

"Lucky guess."

I walked down the street to Wal-Mart and bought them their first two plungers (Sam's was less expensive but they didn't need two dozen).

In writing and posting this blog I hope you as a reader can appreciate the risk I am taking with those who - uh, aren't members of the Servant Evangelism or Steve Sjogren Fan Club.

But hey, I'm game for stepping out on the limb to make a point or two.

1. Leaders, it's time to face up to our limitations.

The notion of the Peter Principle - we tend to gravitate to our greatest strength - then we take one more step. That last step occurs when others 'promote' us and we don't speak up... when we fail to tell them, "I'm not about this. I'm not qualified. I'm not called. There is not fruit here. I've gotta be me."

Re-read Dr. Peter's book (you can find it on Amazon). Memorize the simple principles. Pray for utter, cut-throat self-honesty. If you don't, you are dooming yourself and those around you - most sadly your family who choose loyalty to you in spite of an utter lack of skill, anointing, 'getty-up.'

2. With strengths (some think being 6'3" is a good thing) always come liabilities.

Real short on this. You are a genius at something. SomeTHING as in singular. You may do another thing that is pretty outstanding. There may be a third matter you are way above average. If you are a wise person, you will develop those three - then gather a team around you. You will not need to apologize for being who God made you to be. You will merely need to be brutally honest. To fake or miscommunicate on the fourth matter and beyond...

To quote the prophet Forrest Gump, 'That's all I have to say about that.'

- the fine art of church suicide

“My word... I now know for certain. My church has lost its collective mind...” - Bob, the cowboy commentator and church consultant

My friend Bob looked up from reading the blog on his laptop. He pulled off his reading glasses with some drama as he does when miffed (an effective technique - you might consider picking up a pair of spectacles whether you need them or not).

Bob explained his ‘Mad-as-a-hornet, can’t take no more’ response.

He wasn’t one bit negative. Deep love and pain was emerging.

“I’ve always thought when someone takes their own life that they are out of their mind - at least at that moment. Maybe this holds true for groups when they do the same...”

Bob’s words hung in the air - like a slow moving indoor cloud hovering in the room. Bob spoke a drop dead amazing truth.

One thing is certain - 100% of the innumerable groups who succeeded in a suicide attempt - not one was thinking clearly at the moment of the ultimate deed.

Is there a pattern that leads up to a church or a spiritual movement to self-destruct? Ponder these common patterns that lead up to what lemmings do each spring.

•Celebrating The Tragedy of Others... other leaders / churches!

“They finally got what was coming them them / him / her. Yep, God got ‘em good. You can’t fool Him...”

If you haven’t thought this or said it you likely aren’t thinking back hard enough. Human nature makes such behavior tendencies natural to us all. Call it “The Martha Stewart Effect.” She goes to prison without protesting the initial sentence dished out to her. Amazingly, the vast majority of Americans decided they hated Martha - they decided to enthusiastically believe the worst about her. There is something particularly savory about believing the worst about those who have been highly successful in life. This goes double for the leaders of large churches. ‘They are large because they are doing something that’s not kosher...’ (No names here please...)

Recommend: Start praying for a church each week like this, “God we ask you to bless this other church today - we ask you to profoundly touch them today more than us...”

•Church Suicide Comes From The Passive Condoning of Toxic Attitudes
Rarely will leaders in the local church clearly say aloud what is as negative as what is carried about in the heart. “We really don’t like people who aren’t like us...” Who in their right mind would cop to that?... especially official leaders. Yet can you explain how it is that great public efforts are taken to increase attendance yet the ‘backdoor’ siphons more out than in?

Recommend: If you are one who speaks or has a voice into the leadership, be candid about your heart. Fear keeps us stuck and away rather than toward people. To like people is more costly than to love people very often!

•Church Suicide Begins With Bombastic Attitudes
“We really are all that - and more!” No comment necessary.

Recommend: Pray with an honest, open heart. Start with confessions. When God shows up honesty tends to happen.

Bob never told me what upset him that day. That wasn’t the point. He loves his heritage. Even more he loves the Church at large - as do I on both points. Maybe we are on the same boat as it works in fellow-ship.