Check these links for some good stuff that I haven’t made time to fully develop…

• How to learn from other people, via Fast Company
• Seth Godin on “The Placebo Affect”
• A festival celebrating all that is good about duct tape, via Boing Boing
• That’s a big ol’ catfish!

There is a difference – and the difference is huge!

I started thinking about this difference while reading Tom Peters’s recent blog post about a new biography of Admiral Nelson. Peters says…

The meticulous/academic author attributed much of Nelson’s prowess to the fact that: “[Other] admirals more frightened of losing than anxious to win.”

Then, I read in Andy Stanley’s The Next Generation Leader about General U.S. Grant, not the personal character role model for leaders, but who operated with such a sense of clarity in the middle of uncertainty. Stanley says…

In the early days of the war, Northern generals were so focused on avoiding casualties and embarrassing losses that they would miss strategic opportunities. They spent more time exercising the troops than they did engaging the enemy. (p. 87)

I believe both Peters and Stanley would agree that the best way to achieve our objectives is to go boldly into the uncertain future with a clear vision of what those objectives are. People will follow that kind of clear and bold leadership. Too many of us are trying to play it safe – and we are setting ourselves – and our organizations – up for inertia at best, and defeat at worst.

If this had happened across the state line, instead of across the pond, I’ll betcha the guy would have said, “Hey! Hold muh beer, an’ watch this!”

Interesting…link via Reformissionary…

Today, I’ve already four different people find my blog by googling for “amish porn.” Of course, their search leads to this post. None of ’em are leaving comments, so I don’t know if they’re disappointed, shocked, angry, amused or what when they click the link. It is rather interesting, though…

Just kind of in that Marshall Tucker Band mood today! Especially “Long Hard Ride.”

Link via Starbucks Gossip…

One of the first places on the Web I ever bookmarked was Randy Glasbergen’s cartoon site. His simple characters often reflect profound truths about business, relationships, family, and life in general. They’re also good for a great laugh, and his stuff literally covers the little bulletin board on my office door.

Glasbergen’s entry for today shows a guy typing at his computer. He’s saying, “I’m writing about all the things I ought to do before I die. It’s my oughtobiography.”

This reminds me of the now well-worn Covey principle that says we ought to “Begin with the end in mind.” If we could somehow take the long look ahead, decide what we want to be remembered for, and then set our course according to that compass, what a difference it would make!

Covey also said…

Live out of your imagination, not your history.

What’s in your “oughtobiography?” It’s never too late to start writing it…

I got this quote from Leonardo da Vinci in my Inbox this morning…

There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.

NOTE: I’m reporting on a half-day conference I attended today. See Part One over here.

1. The Decline of the Belief in Exclusivity. According to our presenter, this is the greatest danger of the postmodern mindset and movement. His statistics show that 1 of 5 Southern Baptists believe one “might get saved” without a commitment to Christ. He also told us that this number is growing annually.
2. The Move to “Simple Church.” A sort of “back to basics” movement in which churches focus on doing a few things with excellence. He said this is the great attraction and beauty of Rick Warren’s Purpose-Driven stuff. It helps churches focus on what’s important and how to do the important stuff well. This movement to “simple church” (look for his book by this title in 2006!) involves four components: clarity, movement (how do you get from point a to point c?), elimination (what are you going to get rid of?), and alignment (how do you make sure your actions are matching your values?). Interestingly to me, he didn’t make the correlation between the emerging church phenomenon and this desire to move to “simple church.” I see the emergence of the emerging church as a prime example of this move to “basic Christianity” without all the extra fluff and trappings that get in the way for this generation of postmodern believers and seekers.
3. The Move to High Expectation Churches. In 1997, 1 in 30 churches had some sort of membership class. By 2004, that number was 1 in 3. Our presenter said the importance of a membership class and other high-expectation components is information (what the church is all about, etc.) and expectation (what the church expects from members).
4. The Move to Greater Evangelistic Intentionality Among Young People. Our presenter said that 75% of people who accept Christ do so before age 15. It was during this part (I think! Gary, help me out here…) that he talked about the importance of being accepting of those who are “different” than we are – particularly “those young people with purple hair and multiple piercings.” His quote: “Accept them like they are now, because they are going to change their lifestyle later.” He related the story of one young woman who visited 11 churches before she found one that would accept her just as she was. She expressed the thoughts of many in the “younger” generation when she said most churches might as well put on their signs “Young people, go to hell!” (I was getting a little sleepy about this time, but I do remember thinking how true that is. I also remember thinking how most of those in attendance today probably were thinking, “if we can just make ’em all look, walk, smell, talk, etc. ‘like us,’ then we’ve got ’em.”).
5. The Decline of the Southern Baptist Convention. Now I know that’s a huge influence on most of you. NOT! Our presenter’s point was that we (Southern Baptists) are baptizing the same number of people now as we did 50 years ago, even though we have 10 million more members than we did then. Interestingly, he didn’t mention (although it was in a “now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t” bullet point) that the “conservative resurgence” in the SBC has not improved our evangelistic success. (I was going to ask him about that, but I was too tired to rock the boat at that time.) I have read elsewhere our presenter’s thoughts on the matter: “Imagine where we’d be if we hadn’t had that course correction!” Funny, I thought the “return to our roots” was the cure for everything that ails Southern Baptists. Seems to me, from this vantage point, we were just looking for something to fight about and control. Now that we’ve “rescued” the Bible, who’s the boogeyman keeping us from doing what God called us to do?
6. The Great Facility Showdown. Our presenter’s own bias had been that we spend way too much money on facilities and that we should spend that money on real ministry, real evangelism, etc. But after conducting extensive research (commissioned by large church-construction companies), he had changed his tune to see that the facilities do indeed have an impact on the effectiveness of churches. The most valuable piece of information he learned through this research? Women care about how clean the restrooms are and whether or not their preschoolers will be safe and secure. Go figure…
7. Lost Church Members. Our presenter estimated that 45% of church members in the U.S. are “unregenerate.”
8. When Good Does Not Survive: The Story of Breakout Churches. More of a plug for a recent book than an actual trend with great impact.

I could say a lot more about the conference itself. However, I really don’t want to be considered a cynical jerk. (“Too late,” some of you are saying!).

I really do appreciate the guy’s experience and insight. I really do appreciate our local folks putting on this kind of thing. I really do appreciate the people who attended, took copious notes, nodded, and “Amen-ed” at the appropriate times. But I left with a let down feeling that I hadn’t really taken much away that would help me and my church.

But, wait! I said earlier that I did, in fact, get something important and valuable out of the conference. I’ll tell you about that later. Don’t let me forget…