the reluctant leader

Stupid Statement #4: The Prodigal Dog…Bites Again

This was big news last week.

"I direct that when my dog, Trouble, dies, her remains shall be buried next to my remains in the Helmsley mausoleum…"

As stupid as that is, Leona Helmsley’s last will & testament actually gets worse. Running out of people to give money to, the billionaire left 12 million dollars to Trouble, her dog.

Trouble is now in legal trouble - for literally biting the hand that fed her. That wounded hand is attached to the Helmsley housekeeper, who is suing Trouble for millions.

Only in America could a dog inherit 12 million dollars, then get sued by its legal guardian, who is probably an illegal alien (that last part is pure speculation).

Here are 3 leadership lessons inspired by this edition of Stupid Statements:

1. Plan. You don’t have to be rich to prepare an inheritance for future generations. Proverbs 13:22 says that it is a “good” man - not a rich man - that leaves an inheritance. I am thankful that my father planned ahead, saved and invested money when he had little – so he could leave an inheritance. He didn’t wait until he had a lot, and neither should you. 

2. Patience. It’s usually better to get an inheritance latter, rather than sooner (Pv 20:21). Remember the younger brother, the prodigal, who got his inheritance too soon and made a mess of his life. Trouble, the prodigal dog, did the same thing. 

3. People. Biblically speaking, an inheritance is for children and grandchildren - people. It is not for animals, law firms and socialistic governments. 

New post on my accidental missionary blog about some of the new Every Nation church plants around the world.

Stupid Statement #3: Thankfulness Run Amuck

He was the top NBA draft pick a couple of years ago. A teenager. Right out of high school. A gifted athlete. An instant millionaire. 

And, apparently a real thankful guy.

Before thanking his momma, his shoe company, his agent, his high school coach and the man upstairs, he said:

“First of all, I want to THANK MYSELF.”

Being thankful is a good thing. But this guy took it to a new level. An absurd level. I have never heard of thanking yourself. I’m not even sure why anyone would want to do that.

Here’s the leadership lesson: we need to be thankful people.

Whether you are a famous teenage millionaire athlete with a shoe deal who can dunk from the 3-point line, or a balding middle-aged middle-class weekend-warrior with a 3-inch vertical and no shoes - you have plenty to be thankful for. 

Specifically, we need to:

1. Thank God. If our heart is still pumping blood and our lungs are still sucking air, then we owe God thanks - every minute of every day.

2. Thank our family. All of us are who we are because of the love, care and help of family. Husband. Wife. Dad. Mom. Brothers. Sisters. Sons. Daughters. We owe them lots of thanks.

3. Thank our friends. Friends who are “born for adversity” and friends who “stick closer than brothers” deserve our thanks. (Pv. 17:17, 18:24)

4. Never thank ourselves. Also, it’s probably a bad idea to congratulate ourselves and to honor ourselves.

*** New post on my multiply site called, "A Message to Worship Leaders" ***

Loud Obnoxious Know-it-all Christians

While minding my own business in my favorite Barnes & Noble, reading Simple Church (great book for church leaders), I had a close encounter with the poster boy of the religious right, conservative republican, home-schooling, fundamentalist, fish bumper-sticker, God’s gym t-shirt, track distributing, loud, obnoxious, know-it-all, us-against-them, Rush O’Reilly, cultural-warrior Christian.   

This guy was so loud, that I had a hard time reading my book. I eventually moved to another part of B&N, but could not escape his running commentary on creation, abortion, church & state, the US Supreme Court, the 10 Commandments, church unity, cell groups, worship styles, pastors, youth ministry, restoration of fallen ministers, evangelism, Christian education…

Did he realize there were other people in the bookstore? Did he realize how loud he was? Did he care? Or, did he think that the rest of us wanted, or needed, to hear his opinions? Did he have an opinion on absolutely everything? 

Weird thing is that I actually agreed with many of his opinions - just not the volume or venue of their expression.

How can a person be so smart and so clueless at the same time – simultaneously so right and so wrong?

It is not just WHAT we believe that matters, but HOW we live those beliefs and how we communicate them to the people around us.

*** New post on my multiply site called, "Christmas in September" ***

More Thoughts on Living Life as a Long-Term Project

Inspired by my Stupid Statement #1 blog and your responses, I’ve been thinking a lot about time and the future. Maybe that “live every day as if it were your last day” statement was not so stupid after all, since it inspired deep thought and meaningful discussion.

Question. Should we live in the past, for the moment, or for the future? Should we live as if today is our last day, or as if we have a thousand more today’s?   

My eclectic religious experience supplied me with the foundation to be either very balanced or very confused, because it enables me to do all three.

1.    My liturgical Episcopal experience taught me to appreciate the past. Gothic architecture. Gregorian Chants. Ancient rituals. Organ music. Ornate robes. Incense. Candles. Priests. Everything seemed to be about looking back and learning from the past.

2.    My spontaneous Charismatic experience taught me to savor the moment. Much of my varied experience in the Charismatic movement had little connection to the past or the future – it was about the moment, the divine touch that would knock you to the ground and change you forever, or at least until the next meeting.

3.    My Reformed Presbyterian experience taught me to prepare for the future… the eternal future and the temporal future. Thankfully, I am reformed enough to see the future through the filter of the sovereignty of God and the promises of Scripture. Therefore, I see time as my ally not my enemy. Real spirituality takes time.

I guess when it comes to time, I lean not to the inexplicable mystery of traditional liturgy, not to the instant cure-all of the charismatic zap, but to the slow and sometimes painful process of sanctification and discipleship.

From the Reformed perspective, time really is on our side, because God really is in charge.

Stupid Statement #2: Dogs with Guns?

American talk radio is an endless source of material for my Stupid Statement blog category. It’s hard to know where to start. How about yesterday…

While in my truck listening to a call-in discussion about what seems to be the biggest news item of the summer – millionaire pro athlete involved in dog fighting scandal – the callers kept comparing dog fighting to hunting.

In the middle of this heated hunting/dog fighting debate, one anti-hunt anti-gun caller uttered this soon-to-be classic Stupid Statement:

“I just think it’s wrong to shoot an unarmed animal.”

Huh? Are there other kinds of animals?

I can’t remember the last time I encountered an ARMED animal. I guess that’s why I haven’t shot one lately.

But, if I ever do see a deer, a duck or a wildebeest with a gun, a knife or nunchucks, then trust me, I’ll fire away like Yosemite Sam on a ‘roid rage.

Yea, I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot an armed animal. And, you shouldn’t either. No matter what PETA says about it. It’s kill or be killed, in this dog-shoot-dog world of ours.

A few leadership lessons from the "unarmed animal" stupid statement:

1. Don’t speak like an authority on topics that you know nothing about. Some people expect pastors and spiritual leaders to be experts on everything from real estate to relationships to politics to child-psychology. Most people can tell when you are just making stuff up, so don't.   

2. Don’t argue, blog, preach or call talk radio shows when you are emotionally worked up. You’ll probably say something stupid and regret it later. Follow the advice of James and try to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. (James 1:19)

3. Ask God for wisdom before you open your mouth or click post. A little wisdom could stop a lot of stupid statements.  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. (James 1:5)

4. Stay away from armed animals. However, if you do encounter an armed animal, shoot first and ask questions later.

Check out the new "accidental missionary" post -- Inspired by a Catholic Monk & Chick-fil-A.

Stupid Statement #1

While on the cross-trainer this morning, I was flipping channels and landed on a sports interview program.  The interviewee was the latest ubiquitous Eastern European teen tennis star/fashion model.

Since most top shelf tennis players/fashion models join the pro tour at 12, they unfortunately and obviously don’t get a lot of education. 

In response to a simple question about being a rich and famous tennis star/model, she spit out one of those pithy but profoundly stupid statements that they must teach at celebrity school, since 78% of all celebrities parrot it. 

I just couldn’t resist commenting on it. In fact, it inspired a new category of reluctant leader posts that I am calling "Stupid Statements."

Here’s the inspirational quote:

“I just live every day as if it were my last.”

What the heck does that mean?

What if you really lived every day as if it were your last?

-    You probably wouldn’t spend 2 hours doing hellish conditioning drills.
-    You definitely wouldn’t spend 2 hours working on your kick serve preparing for next week’s tournament.
-    You wouldn’t go to class or study for tomorrow’s exam.
-    Your diet would be over.
-    You wouldn’t worry about the price tag or your credit limit. (Probably don’t do that anyway.)

I suggest all leaders do the opposite of living every day as if it were your last, and do life and leadership as a long-term project.

Live and lead as if this is NOT your last day.

- Get the best education and training you can, so you can have a better future.
- Take your time and do things right, rather than speeding through life.
- Earn, save, and invest so that the next generation will have an inheritance.
- Invest in long-term relationships, because this is probably not your last day.
- Commit to the painfully slow process of training home-grown leaders. 

When we learn to think long-term, we will see that time is not the enemy. It is actually our ally.