Mark Waltz | ...because People Matter

Still Crazy After All These Years

28 Years today, Babe!

We were young, silly, immature... and crazy in love. Laura (you can follow her on twitter here) has shown me crazy, faithful support in seasons that would have destroyed many marriages. She has laughed with me, cried with me, prayed with me and... still loved me. She's my only lover, my best friend, the mother of our one daughter, and the companion who keeps calling out God's best in me.

I'm committed for life, Laura; I want to grow old, very old, quite ancient with you. Happy Anniversary! (And with that - we're off to celebrate. I'll rest from blogging until after the Thanksgiving holiday.)

Not a Waiting Room for Christians

This morning my assistant, Julie (she's awesome!) brought this blog entry to my attention. Actually she was loud with excitement like she'd just found a $100 bill hiding in the side of her purse. No really. She was happy. Then I read the post. I was happy! It comes from a man who's been attending Granger for the past year or so. On his blog he shared his personal experience of Granger Community reflected against the backdrop of his workplace.

Hope this is as refreshing for you as it is for me.

At work a co-worker starting talking about the "Relationslips" series at Granger Community Church… Now, I knew he went to [the] same church as me but it's a big church with multiple services and I have never seen him there before…

 

He asked another guy that goes to GCC if he caught the weekend they talked about "Leadership slips". The message basically talked about working with people that you don't always see eye to eye with. That pretty much includes everyone. Then during all this another woman chimed in and said her daughter just started going to GCC and since going there deleted her MySpace and Facebook accounts. I guess those must have been a negative issue in her life.

I know you’re wondering “what's the point?” Here it goes, for the first time in my life we go to a church that is not all made up of Christians. I know, duh what church is? Right?

 

…At Granger Community I'm in an environment where any given weekend a good majority of people around you might be unbelievers. I don't have a clue what the percentage of unbelievers vs. believers are at Granger Community. To me it seems higher than the average church though. Which I don't think is a bad thing because it means they are getting the un-churched to walk through the doors.

 

Hearing these co-workers talk made me realize that I work among people that go to the same church as me but are not committed to God yet. For me this is a very refreshing realization. Not the fact that they are casual church goers but the fact that GCC is a church that is not a waiting room for Christians but a hospital for the hurting. It's easy to think weekend services are all about us (Christians) when really in many ways they should be about leading the unbeliever to Jesus (emphasis added).

Thanks, Josh for sharing your experience. I'm grateful to be part of a group of Christ-followers who are creating a space for your friends to learn they matter to God!

Read Josh's full blog post here. Check out the Relationslips series here.

Leaving Well. How Rare.

Last week my friend, our pastor of performing arts here at Granger, announced to our staff that he is stepping away from his staff role. But he's not leaving. He's just not going to receive a paycheck. Pastors and church leaders rarely leave well. I admire Butch for his courage, his character, and his faithfulness. He is a trusted friend and leader.

Here it is in his own words.

I wanted to take a moment to tell you about a personal adventure I’ll be taking in the near future. A little background: Five years ago, I felt God’s call to move into ministry at GCC. So, I left my career to come to GCC. Next to marrying Chris, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have not for a moment doubted my calling, nor regretted my decision to follow that call. However, over the past several months, I have had this sense of completion - a sense that I have helped take our teams to the place God has asked of me, but that there are higher, better places God has in store for our team. I have also sensed that God wants someone else to help lead us there.

After several weeks of processing this with Tim Stevens and Mark Beeson, I have decided to step down from the paid ministry at GCC, return to the marketplace, and remain at GCC as a volunteer minister and a future member of the Administrative Council (Church Board of Directors.) I love our church, it’s mission, and it’s values. I trust and respect the leadership of our Senior Management Team. I cannot think of a better place in which to serve and worship.

My experience as pastor of creative arts has been amazing and has helped move me closer to God. I am grateful for having been given this opportunity. I am grateful for having been able to serve with each of you - it’s meant more to me than you could ever know. Over the next few weeks, Tim and the SMT will be working on my transition plan. My goal is to leave and lead well through this change and help position our team and our church for an amazing future.

It’s been a true pleasure to have been your pastor. Thank you for continually sacrificing and serving Jesus with your gifts in our church. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Your Friend in Christ,

- Butch

I'm grateful to be along for the journey with you, friend. I'm looking forward to see what God's up to in your story.

Guest Services Best Practice #10: Imitate Jesus’ Attitude

Read Philippians 2.1-11. You'll discover that serving with Jesus' attitude means...

• setting one's own agenda aside for the sake of others
• humility is about character
• trading personal preferences for profound inconveniences
• prioritizing others' interests... interests? Yeah, interests
• being willing to not only serve, but be known as a servant
• surrendering to the Father's kingdom agenda of love

There may be more to the job description for staff and volunteers who create welcoming environments in the local church, but every role summary must be developed on this foundation.

Jesus.

Period.

Any questions?

Spiritual Formation Isn't a Department Ministry

 

Last week Tim Stevens used a similar diagram to illustrate the importance of keeping the weekend service's purpose clean and clear. In Steven's words "We are at our best when we focus our weekend services squarely on those who are at the beginning of their spiritual journey..." (read his post here). Some would argue that discipleship happens in some component outside of the weekend. Perhaps in groups. Or maybe a class.

Really? Since when does discipleship happen in a department of ministry?

Dallas Willard points out in his book, Renovation of the Heart, that spiritual formation begins at birth. As in - human birth. Like as a baby. Through our parents, friends, coaches, pastors, culture, life events - good and bad we are daily being formed. Formation is happening. Hence, because all of life is spiritual, spiritual formation happens whether or not we ever make it to church. Our views of God, life, others and ourselves are being formed everyday in every way. That's spiritual formation.

However, spiritual transformation - or rather - life transformation (it's all spiritual) occurs through the power and work of the Holy Spirit. And He utilizes what He chooses to transform us. He uses relationships, the Scriptures, biblical teaching, spiritual practices, serving, giving, and life experiences to transform us.

Spiritual transformation has never been a department. Unless you consider the Holy Spirit to be a department.

Our role in the local church is to leverage every venue, every tool, with clear communication to help our people live integrated lives that are step by step surrendered to the work and cause of Christ through His Spirit. Our role is to be responsible to our people by being responsible for environments that help them take their next step in relationship. (For more on this thought, check this out)

What is your church-wide plan for making disciples?

Guest Services Best Practice #11-B

I just watched this video again in a training session Tim Stevens led in North Carolina. I watched again. Laughed out loud. Shed a tear or two.

Then I realized this should have been included in my previous post. I'm so grateful for the thousands of volunteers who lead and carry the ministry of Granger Community Church! Enjoy - again.

Guest Services Best Practice #11: Value Your Volunteers

 

Gonna keep this simple. It seems like a no-brainer, yet it's so easy to miss opportunities to value the volunteers who lead and carry the ministry of your church. Here are some ideas:

• Bake a cake! The cake above was actually provided to one of our weekend teams by their volunteer leader - just because.
• Send a note - after the weekend serve.
• Thank them face-to-face.
• Cast vision as you thank them - remind them why they do what they do...why it matters at all.
• Demonstrate that you're happy to see them!
• Empower them with responsibility for the ministry.
• Take time to coach them. Invest in them. Believe in them.
• Provide serving roles of significance. Make it worth their time and energy.
• Thank them publicly. During a service.
• Throw a party!
• Don't assume they're "lifers". Give them opportunity to "re-up".
• Brag on them to other volunteers.
• Brag on them to other volunteers in front of the volunteer you're bragging about.
• Ask about their life. And care enough to listen.
• Remember what they told you... and follow-up.
• Pray for them.
• Trust them to pray for you.
• Build relationships.
• Develop reasonable spans of care, so you really can care, and people really do experience care.

Okay, I'm off to join Mark Beeson, Kem Meyer, and Tim Stevens for a day of training church leaders in Raleigh, NC. Maybe I'll see you there!

Guest Services Best Practice #12: Expect New People

This really happened to me.

I walked into a restaurant early in the lunch hour. Like 11:00. Surveying the place, I saw, well, nothing. Lots of open tables. And still I was told "give me just a couple of minutes and we'll have a table for you." I could see at least 1,200 seating options. But I waited.

As I sat down I intuitively wiped bread crumbs from the table into the floor and thought "this doesn't make sense. There's no way there have been other customers in here for lunch already." Of course, the mess had to have been left over from the night before. We then learned that the coffee and tea were still brewing.

Bottom-line? This staff wasn't ready for us. They weren't really expecting customers - not this early any way.

How about your church? Is it apparent that you're expecting new people? Here are some simple ways to communicate "we've been expecting you!"...

• a core of people who know church isn't all about them - but about others, so they...
• • give up their front parking spaces
  • move to the center of the row, leaving the aisle seats open
  • greet people around them - even when they're not "on" as an usher or greeter
  • invite their friends to join them
• parking attendants in the parking lot
• greeters at entry doors and ushers throughout the building
• signage that points to "new family children's area" or "guest services"
• a verbal welcome from the front of the room that includes (without embarrassing) new guests
• a program/bulletin that speaks to new people, using "normal" language
• visible, accessible "on-ramps" that help new people connect and grow

When your guests show up will they think, "Wow! They acted like they were expecting me... and they were happy about it"... or will they feel as if they've crashed a party they weren't invited to attend?

How are you planning for and expecting new guests at your church?

Somethin's Brewin' at Granger

 

You may have seen this on Tim Steven's blog (LeadingSmart.com) a day or so ago. Curious? Read Tim's post here.

Let's just say 2010 is going to be a year to engage at Granger like never before. If you're at Granger - hang on. If you're not at Granger... hang on.

I Want to Work with You

Each year the resourcing arm of our ministry, WiredChurches.com, offers strategic and practical workshops and learning experiences to equip other churches (Watch here for 2010 venues and dates to be released soon). I get to be part of that training experience. It's a dynamic privilege to partner with ministries who are focused on reaching and connecting people who matter to God.

I also receive multiple invitations each year to consult and train off-site with other churches and conferences. My first responsibility is to my local church - Granger Community Church - where I serve as pastor of connections. With oversight for guest services, groups, classes, volunteer involvement, retail services and member care (with a great team of staff and volunteers!), I must limit the number of invitations I accept to travel off-site to consult and train.

This year I can accept about six additional travel engagements to work with your staff and/or volunteer teams. Read this for a complete summary of how we can work together.

Here are my current available dates for 2010:

• Jan 23-24 or Jan 30-31 (tentatively scheduled, unconfirmed)
• Mar 20-21 (tentatively scheduled, unconfirmed)
• Apr 24-25
• Jul 17-18
• Aug 28-29
• Nov 6-7

These dates have some flexibility dependent on our local church calendar. At the same time the priority of my local ministry could alter these dates until confirmed.

I'll be in Raleigh, North Carolina on Tuesday of this next week with some of my favorite peeps. We'll be leading an all-day workshop. Here's the skinny:

• Mark Beeson will be talking about leading teams from his deep well of experiences and teaching.
• Kem Meyer will be delivering a talk straight out of her book about church communications.
• Tim Stevens will be teaching creative ideas from his book Pop Goes the Church. 
• I will be teaching about creating WOW experiences at your church (based on this?)

It is going to be a packed day where we will be bringing everything we have to add value to pastors and church leaders. It's my hope you can join us! Download PDF Brochure

If you want to link up on any of the six dates in 2010 above, you can email me - mwaltz@gccwired.com or catch me on twitter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Guest Services Best Practice #13: Make Room

Our senior pastor, Mark Beeson, says often - "New people can really be a headache for churched people. New people expect a parking space, a place to sit, and a place for their kids. And they don't know that you already have a choice parking space, a favorite seat, and a place for your kids." When a church is intentional about reaching new people who don't know they matter to God, new people will show up. And they will take your parking spot, and sit in your seat, and crowd your children's space.

Are you okay with that?

The reality is many churches aren't. By churches, of course, I mean people - 'cause the church is people.

I've visited churches who appear to be thoughtful about new guests by providing designated parking for guests. But there are only three spaces reserved! Really? You expected three guests? That's it? I've heard horror stories of church members standing in an aisle telling a guest, "that's my seat." Argggg...

Are you making room for new guests? Are you communicating that you expect them? [more on that in the next post]

What about:

• asking your volunteers, staff, and members to park in the parking spaces furthest from the building, leaving the front spaces for your newer guests?
• designated parking for guests - and making sure it's adequate in size?
• using ushers to seat guests, providing them choice seats without regard for "owned" seats?
• putting traffic teams in the parking lot who's job it is to not only direct traffic, but provide a warm welcome before guests and members reach the building?

What are you doing to make room for new people?

Still Refreshing

Our media arts team created this months ago for a First Wednesday experience. I pulled it up again this morning to reflect on God and the Scriptures that capture His ancient and active work.

It's still refreshing to me. Enjoy.

Water from Granger Community on Vimeo.

Guest Services Best Practice #14: Get Dressed!

It's just a good idea. Fully clothed greeters at the front doors of your church is more than helpful. And, of course, that's not exactly what I'm talking about here.

People will show up dressed. The question is will they be dressed for your guests? And how will they know how to dress unless you tell them? No rocket science here. But someone needs to communicate the expectations, whatever they are.

Years ago before jeans became the new business casual, we expected all our guest services volunteers to avoid denim and dress "professionally". We've really relaxed that expectation in recent years, but we still expect our team members to...

• look in the mirror before they leave the house. Messed hair and crusty eyes are not welcoming.
• leave the Bud Lite t-shirt at home for mowing. Not helpful at the front door.
• dress modestly. We want people turned on to Jesus, if you know what I mean.
• be themselves. Use an iron if the shirt calls for it, or don't if it doesn't.

The point is - communicate what you expect. Once your team member arrives to serve, it's a difficult conversation to ask them to not serve or go home to change. Avoid that. Be clear up-front.

Guest Services Best Practice #15: Tell Stories

Tim Keel wrote: “Throughout history people have told stories and been shaped by them, and in doing so they have discovered and constructed ways of understanding who they are and what is happening in the world around them.”  [Intuitive Leadership: Embracing a Paradigm of Narrative, Metaphor, and Chaos]

The numbers on your weekend service tally sheet represent faces. Faces of men and women and children. And those faces hold stories. Personal and real stories. And while we may not get the opportunity to engage details of life stories with many folks on the weekend, we will walk away with stories.

Over the past few weeks I've heard stories - albeit shortened versions - of pain, loss, enormous joy, and quiet peace. I heard the story of a man who is literally dying; the cancer will take his life in just a few weeks. Another man told me the heart-wrenching, but inspiring story of his 35 year old brother who died just a week ago. I celebrated with a man who started a new job this week - after being out of work for a year. I needed to hear those stories as much as those sharing needed to tell the story. They help me look at my own life, and they help me take in what is really happening around me.

I want our teams to hear stories like those. Stories that take us past the task. Past the rush of getting everyone into the service. Past the pace of a four-service weekend. Stories that cause us to pause and thank God for the people we get to encounter, offer a cup of cold water in Jesus' name, to pray for as they hurry into the service.

There are other stories. Stories of our team members' God-moments with our guests. Moments that marked them. Moments that called the best out of them. Moments where they got to witness God at work - right in front of their eyes. Everyone needs to hear those stories. Stories that help us "get it" - God is using us to bring up there down here. 

America's authority on story-telling, Robert McKee put it this way: "Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact." 

Tell stories. And perhaps more importantly - listen to the stories of others. It is the ultimate human contact.

Have a story of hope and human touch to share from your weekend experiences? I'd love to hear it. Leave me a comment...

Busy People and Volunteering: An Interview with Tony Morgan

I met up with Tony Morgan recently to chat about engaging busy people as volunteers in the local church. As you read this brief conversation, join me in celebrating the hundreds and hundreds of selfless volunteers who carry the ministry of Granger Community Church - on and off the campus, in and out of the local community.

You can read the entire article here. Follow Tony Morgan here and here.

Tony, it was fun to see you a couple of days ago at STORY09.

Guest Services Best Practice #16: Diversify

There's a common leadership principle that suggests we attract who we are.John Maxwell calls it the Law of Magnetism. Maxwell suggests that leaders must work hard to add people to their team who don't merely mirror themselves. 

Here's at least one application of this law in the world of Guest Services in your local church or organization. You have a dyno-leader who's 62. Professional in every way. Sharp image. Mature leadership. Formal, but personable, presentation. This leader will naturally attract others like her. That's not a bad thing.

Nor is it a bad thing that the leader of another team is 34. Sharp, but hip. Untucked, frayed jeans, no socks. Mature leader. Laid back and personable. He will attract others like himself. And that's not a bad thing either.

Except for this reality. Each of these leaders leads a greeter team. On different weekends. Which means on weekend one, when the mature 62-year old is leading, the majority of team members greeting at doors and assisting guests are mature 60-somethings. Again - there's nothing wrong with that, except that there will likely be younger people attending the service this weekend. When they arrive they're likely to assume - "I don't know if this is my church, because..." don't miss this... "there's no one here like me."

The same thing will happen next week when the team is comprised of late-20 and 30-somethings. Older people will arrive and wonder if this church is their church, because "everyone seems younger."

People want to fit in. They want to sense that they belong. Remove those barriers. Diversify your teams.

Your leaders will have to work hard to do so. They'll have to empower other younger - or older - team members to invite and involve others like them. Then when guests arrive, on any weekend, they'll sense at first glance that they just might belong.

SWITCH | Navigating Change with Chip Heath: Session 3

Part 3 of 3: Shaping the Path (Part 1, Part 2)

• Tweak the environment to make change/impact more possible   ...because what often looks like a people problem is actually a situation problem
• • Lieutenant General William Gus Pagonis (Gulf War & Desert Storm) called morning meetings that were consistent, 5-15 minutes in length - and they met standing up. This environment communicated urgency, the meetings were consistently focused and brief.
  • Tweaking the environment provides space, communicates a new "normal" and clarifies the do-able objective.
• Rally the herd
• • People are often not ready for change. Consider...
  • • moving people into the first sky-scraper
    • eating the first shrimp
    • UGG boots in the middle of summer
  • But one change agent impacts another who impacts another who ... (you get the idea)
  • New norms are formed that redefine the "win" for the person or organization

Now here's the question that a couple of us have been wondering: How do we apply this conversation about behavioral change to spiritual formation? Is mere behavioral change the point? Are the desired outcomes about...

• higher weekend attendance?
• more people in small groups?
• a thriving marriage ministry?
• larger offerings?

OR...

• more people coming to Christ?
• people developing meaningful relationships that help them navigate their spiritual journey?
• deepening marriages that model self-sacrificing love?
• generous people more focused on others than themselves

Do we see the win, the outcomes, as measurables that paint us as a success or do we see the win for what our people experience in their relationship with Jesus? How do we best help people move toward their God-designed, truest self?

SWITCH | Navigating Change with Chip Heath: Session 2

From last post: First of all: Direct the Rider

Next...

• Motivate the Elephant
• • Find the Feeling
  • • Change requires tapping the emotions. The "want to." The rider is outmatched by the elephant. The elephant must be excited about the change.
    • Paint a picture. Tell stories. Get people involved so they experience the problem, the reality, the people and relationships beyond the task at hand.
    • You want people to say:
    • • This is wrong! This is crazy!
      • ...AND We can fix this!
    • People then become part of the solution and move toward change.
    • John Kotter notes: Change doesn't happen by 1)thinking, 2) analyzing 3) changing. Rather it is by 1) Seeing 2) Feeling then 3) Changing
  • Shrink the Change
  • • Must be manageable change. A step.
    • • Make it small. Create an immediate win.
      • • Example - the dread of cleaning (a desk, a room, etc)...Fly Lady: 5-minute Room Rescue
  • Grow the Elephant
  • • Create an identity that makes people feel proud.
    • We love break-throughs... but don't like the thought of smashing into walls
    • A fixed mindset will shy away from challenges, will be defensive to correction and will deny or be shaped negatively by failure
    • A growth mindset embraces challenges, appreciates the opportunities that come from correction and accept failure as learning
    • • By preparing people to fail - which is always part of success - you help people to develop and live out of a growth mindset. It's normal. It's good.

What change are you working on? How will you direct the rider with clarity... then instill emotional motivation that evokes change?

SWITCH | Navigating Change with Chip Heath: Session 1

I'm in an all-day training session with Chip Heath and about 70 other people at Willow Creek. Chip and his brother Dan are brilliant thinkers who apply their research to life: business, church, personal.

Here are some rough notes from session 1:

• We are willing to change. We do it a lot.
• We willingly marry; have kids… voluntarily embracing change. Major change.
• These changes seem easy to accept… however, others are very difficult.

• We experience the schizophrenia of change. We want to… we don't want to. We will, but we won't.
• Analytical vs. emotional self
• Part of us wants to get up on a Saturday morning to get a task done… another part wants to sleep in
• Consider these juxtapositions; the last of these is the primary image for today's focus:

• Analytical	Emotional
  Reflective	Unconscious
  Charioteer	Unruly horse
  Superego	Id
  Planner	Doer
  Rider: sometimes causes us to regret, press too hard, to long, etc...	Elephant : sometimes steers us away from our intention; but also asks important questions: What if…? That's wrong!

• Consider a rider on an elephant. The rider may know where he wants to go, but the elephant in largely in charge. How do you get those two in sync? That's the challenge of change.
• If we spend time staring at cookies and not eating; restraining from honking; etc… it saps our will power. And when our will power is low, we more quickly give in to other temptations.  [Ministries that focus on 'staying away from porn'; 'quitting smoking'; etc… often only strain and drain the self will. Sounds like Romans 7.]
• Must direct the rider.

Who, by the way over-plans, over-analyzes, other-things

• Find the bright spots.
• How many novels/movies merely celebrate a successful marriage? Few if any. We love the conflict, the struggle, to create the story. We are not accustomed to this search.
• What will we change to? That’s a challenge at the onset.
• So, when find the bright spots, don't analyze them or dismiss them. Celebrate them. Own them.

• Script the critical moves.
• People may not be resisting change; they may have no idea how to change.
• Limit the number of options. Or people won't choose.
• Be specific. Abstract directives aren't helpful:
• Be nicer.
• Play better in the sandbox.
• Be a good Christian.

• Point to the destination.
• Change is much easier when you know where you're headed.
• Specific outcomes must motivate.

Guest Services Best Practice #17: Create a Schedule

I learned the hard way. People need to be reminded.

Back in my student ministry days I thought that grown adults could remember meeting dates and times. After all, they get kids to soccer practice, keep doctor appointments, show up for work, and remember birthdays. All that's true. And maybe that's the point: it's ALL true. There's a lot going on.

It's happened to all of us. Weekend service. You're ready. You're on time. And someone else isn't. You cripple through the services or services on a shoestring, hoping to not miss any critical elements or people as you attempt to provide a welcoming space for your guests. It happens. People aren't always blowing off responsibility. Sometimes people just forget.

Here are some thoughts about serving as a full team:

• Create a schedule. Put it on paper. Make sure everyone has it.
• Make the schedule easy to remember. Build some pattern into it. Monthly. Biweekly. Find a rhythm.
• Send reminders. Make phone calls. Send postcards. Tweet. Text. Email. And you must, you must, you must - not choose the easiest and preferred communication for yourself as the leader. Learn how everyone on your team is best connected. You'll likely call some, text others, and email the rest.
• Follow-up when someone doesn't show. This is a simple and opportune chance to care. You may discover they're facing difficulty, illness, or worse. Reach out. You made it past the weekend. That's good. But, it's not all there is to the team.
• Expect the schedule to be kept and followed. By planning it, printing it, reminding, following up you'll communicate that people matter - the team matters. "We're counting on you!"

Sunday's coming! Is your team?

Now, It's a Party

Just a couple weeks ago we celebrated year ONE of our Granger Community Church in Elkhart. Jeff Bell and his wife, Leslee, are leading a great team of kingdom-minded people there! Way to go, team!

Elkhart Campus' One Year Review from Granger Community on Vimeo.

Guest Services Best Practice #18: Surprise Your Guests

I'm not talking about jumping out from behind trash cans and scaring your guests. That'd be a surprise, but no.

And I'm not thinking about blowing your budget to lavish your guest with extravagant gifts.

Think simple. Think functional. Think...

• umbrella escorts in inclement weather
• hand sanitizer dispensers around your building
• chairs/lounge area in the women's restroom
• clean everything
• follow-up when guests request help
• mouthwash, lotion, mints in the restroom
• soft seating in common areas

Check out this transformation at Christ Community in St Charles, IL (thanks for sharing the pics, Brian!):

Before...

 

After...

 
 

The point isn't too merely surprise your guests. The surprise communicates care and value.

...because people matter.

It's a Pile

A reading pile, that is. I've been slowly, but slowly working through a few books - since the spring. It's been a bit pathetic, quite honestly. Why am I putting this out there in "permanent, instant, global" world? Confession's good, right? Truth is, it's been a season. A good season, but an intense season. The pace has been unusual, even for me. My focus has been challenged, which is somewhat of a constant reality for me, but more so the past few months. Hence, my reading has been sporadic. Some would advise me to slow it down and read one at a time, but that's just not my wiring. I like the pile. And I'm ready.

In addition to my Bible here are the books I'm diving into and a quote or take-away that hooked me early:

• Walter Brueggemann's The Word That Redescribes the Word
• • "...like the people of God from the beginning, the church has to live between peculiarity and pluralism, between shaping ourselves as a different people - different not in our humanness but in our obedience - and living in relation to the other who is our immediate neighbor and also to the nation far off."
• Chris Castaldo's Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Catholic
• • A former Roman Catholic, Castaldo is now an Evangelical pastor. His book is not a Catholic-bash-fest. Rather he writes from his experiences and seeks to help Christians with Catholic roots embrace a grace-filled relationship with God. I think I'll learn better how to help many of our people and my new friends.
• Tony Dungy's Uncommon Ground: Finding Your Path to Significance
• • I've been a Colts fan since living in Indianapolis 15 years ago. Following them, I've also gained great respect for their Super-Bowl winning Coach, Tony Dungy. This book comes after decades of success to say that's not all there is to success. Committed to see young men live up to the aspirations of their Creator, Dungy speaks to the reality of living life in an "uncommon" way.
• Ann Spangler's & Lois Tverberg's Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith
• • The authors draw from a rich well of research to help us Westerners read the Bible as the document it is - Jewish. Their well-written, story-filled book brings the nuances and customs of an ancient culture to bear on our often surface-skimming read of the Scriptures. And it's written for simple folk like me.
• Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life
• • Challenged with the task of remembering all the details of his life, Miller writes: "I know I've had more experiences than this, but there's no way I can remember everything. Life isn't memorable enough to remember everything. It's not like there are explosions happening all the time or dogs smoking cigarettes. Life is slower. It's like we're all watching a movie, waiting for something to happen, and every couple months the audience points at the screen and says, "Look, that guy's getting a parking ticket." It's strange the things we remember."
• John Burke's Soul Revolution: How Imperfect People Become All God Intended
• • On of our Groups experiences at Granger is centered around this book, intended to help people be transformed as they engage personal relationship with God. My wife and I are reading it together. I invited a team to read it with me, along with another friend. Burke awakens a challenge that Frank Laubach wrote about and practiced nearly 80 years ago. It's really all about practicing the presence of Jesus. 

I'll finish out the Guest Services Best Practices list soon, then be occasionally posting and/or tweeting from my reading. Maybe you'd like to join me and read one of these books over the next few weeks.

Welcome to my reading journey.

Advice to a New Dad

A gentleman in our church just emailed me a picture of his new baby girl, prouder than snot to be a new dad of his precious princess. He asked what additional advice I had for him. So, without a lot of prolonged thought, I fired back:

• Love her momma well. Make sure she sees it, hears it, knows it.
• Tell her how beautiful she is and how proud of her you are of her– often.
• Listen. Then listen some more. Keep listening.
• Trust her. Make sure she knows it.
• Always hug her.
• Show her what it looks like to be treasured: treat her like a princess.
• Don’t be afraid to say “no.” You’ll say it a lot.
• Be sure to say “yes” to lots of right things.
• Pray all the time.
• Buy a shotgun.

Nuf said? What would you add?

Guest Services Best Practice #19: Think One Chance

Over the past few days I've been through a fair amount of frustration with Comcast. Three of four conversations with different reps left me feeling like I had done something wrong. I felt chided, even scolded a couple of times. I'd chuck the whole deal with them and go to another provider, but I'm in an older neighborhood and ... well, I feel stuck with Comcast. So, I'm negotiating and finding the arrangement livable.

I'm really not that hard to get along with, honest. But, like you, there's something in me that knows I have personal value. And when we experience "customer service" that isn't "customer care," we feel de-valued. Great service is about value. 

We could happen into a restaurant where the food is excellent. I mean, the best we've ever eaten. But if the service is poor - slow, impersonal, or indifferent, we'll likely be so distracted by the lack of service that we'll miss just how superb the meal is.

That's why we'll stop going to a restaurant that can't seem to get our steak cooked as requested. It's why we'll switch dry cleaners after more than a couple shirts are ruined or not pressed properly. We're not snobs. We just know that value can be communicated, so we go to places, businesses and people where that's our consistent experience.

Our guests in our church do the same thing. Every weekend.

They assess - involuntarily - the sense of personal value they experience. It could be the best message our pastor has ever preached. It could be the most inspiring media, impactful music... but, if our guests didn't feel welcomed, found the restroom dirty, the parking lot difficult to navigate, the children's room crowded - they may sit in our service and completely miss the message that they matter to God.

They may choose, in one visit, to not return simply because they didn't experience value. Call it guest services, call it customer care, call it ministry. It doesn't matter the label. Our people will experience value - or not. And they'll make decisions about returning based on it.

We may only get one chance.

What are you doing to make that one weekend for that one guest be an experience of personal value? Will people be distracted or embraced by the excellence of your care? Will they leave and not return or come back to experience the love of Christ through his people?

Think "one chance."