Off the Shelf

Avoiding the "What If" Trap

A friend of mine did something last week and was amazed that she had not done it before. To paraphrase her words, "It was so simple, what kept her from just doing it some time ago?"

My suggestion was the "what if...?" trap.

We get so caught up in this kind of limited thinking and bottom line, it can paralze us from moving forward and doing what we've been called to do. It can stop us from simple tasks to moving forward with power and vision.

What if I lose my job?

What if Washington goes broke?

What if I fail?

What if people criticize me?

What if I break something?

What if, what if what if...? it's a trap.

We can think ourselves into inaction or mediocrity if we let the "what if...?" trap take over our minds and hearts.

David inspires me to think differently in Psalm 27:

[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living! Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord. (Amplified Version)

David believed. He wasn't hopelessly caught up in the "what if...? "trap. Hopelessness is terrible and instead David chose to have a stout and enduring heart. He wasn't giving up on his vision, He was trusting God. He was believing, not analyzing.

He didn't look at what could happen, he chose to believe that God's goodness would prevail in spite of all the "what ifs" that faced him. He chose to wait, hope and expect the Lord to bring all things (mistakes and victories) together for His good.

Avoiding a Post-Red Sea Letdown

I love reading about the crossing of the Red Sea. Can you imagine it? Here’s this large natural boundary parting and you walk or run across it? The movie, The Prince of Egypt, if my favorite depiction. You can see the fish swimming in the sea, but being held back as this wall of water is towering above the people. The path is even dry. God takes care of every detail. What a triumph of faith.

But what happens after the Red Sea moment?

It didn’t take the Israelites long to forget it. They rumbled and grumbled. They saw giants in the land God promised them instead of opportunity. They hated the food, they were ready to go back into slavery. Sadly, they are not alone.

You can search Scripture and discover many similar patterns. Elijah sees God perform incredible miracles and then runs away and feels a loss of faith. The great warrior David hides in the enemy camp. He’d seen God do such wonders in his life, but he lost his focus. He forgot the many “Red Sea Crossings”  he’d experienced.

Unfortunately I’m not any better. God works out so much for me. He orders my steps. I see His provision, His kindness, His forgiveness, His blessing and His power. He sets me on dry land and He holds back the waters, yet, instead of remembering and resting in the Red Sea afterglow, I sometimes forget. I fall into the same trap as the Israelites, Elijah, David and many others.

Psalm 62:8 comes to mind, “Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! From the Amplified Bible.

How do I stay focused on God and not have post Red Sea letdown? I need to marinate in the presence of God and dwell in Him. I need to have confidence in HIM all the time, not just when I'm crossing the Red Sea. It’s simple. When I’m focused on Him, I don’t forget. David, Elijah and the Israelites took their eyes from God and put them on circumstances or emotions or thoughts. They pushed out the Red Sea moment and allowed negativity or doubt or pride or despair take its place.

We overcome Red Sea letdown when we choose to focus on Him and confidently trust, rely, lean on and  dwell in Him. He occupies our mind, instead of the noise of emotions, thoughts and fears.

How about you? How do you keep rightly focused and avoid Red Sea letdown?

The Direction of Light: Pointing Them to Heaven

It's a priviege to be a part of the direction of light. So often we're stuck. We're stuck pointing to things that don't matter. I watch the countless Christmas season commercials and wonder what they really represent. As I sit and watch my earthly father move closer and closer to Heaven's door this week, the important priorities become much clearer. Our direction, or light needst always be toward Jesus, his plan, his salvation and his home.

We have the opportunity to point light to countless people online. It's a natural way to begin conversation and engage people worldwide.

@stickyJesus: how to live out your faith online, by Tami Heim and Toni Birdsong, is a book about how to infuse God’s heartbeat into social networks. This post is part of the @stickyJesus Blog Tour of Light. You can follow @stickyJesus on Twitter, Facebook, or learn more about the book at www.stickyJesus.com.
He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. - John 1:8, NIV

If John the Baptist was clear on one thing in his life it was this: that he was nothing compared to the hurricane that was coming.
John the Baptist is one of scripture’s best examples of a human point of Light that never wavered. So much so that the darkness (Herod) eventually took off John’s head for shining light on people’s sin.
Everything about John’s life pointed heavenward. He wasn’t known for confusing the crowds. They knew exactly where he stood. His words, teachings, and lifestyle were an arrow leading people straight to Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah. The scriptures never indicate pride, grumbling, or an identity crisis regarding John’s attitude. He was born to herald The One True Light when it burst into the world. And that’s exactly what he did.
What if we all had the calling, clarity, and consistency of John?

But our lives don’t always point to Christ—especially when we log online; our purpose is not always so crystal clear. Words stream in and words stream out; sometimes inspired and anointed, other times casual and rambling.

In the Land of Shiny Things the faces, agendas, opinions, and ideologies of others fall over our eyes and minds like fresh fallen snow. We then respond with our faces, agendas, opinions, and ideologies. And the cycle repeats. If we aren’t careful this routine can gradually divert our light until we begin to illuminate ourselves instead of God.

Dwight L. Moody once said, “Christians are the world’s Bible.” He wasn’t elevating man’s authority, just acknowledging that most unbelievers will never read the bible. But they will watch you.
Do you have to get up on a rock and preach like John to be heard? Not quite.
Your life points to Christ when you:
Don’t have to project status or perfection.
Don’t pass judgment.
Don’t have to win every argument.
Don’t need to act like a big shot.
Take the time to encourage others.
Care about the details.
Listen to and respond thoughtfully to what’s going on in other people’s lives.
Respond to unfair treatment minus the bitterness.
Learn from criticism without defensiveness.
Forgive and ask for forgiveness.
Can suffer a failure or a loss without being emotionally devastated.
Are consistently kind, generous, and loving to everyone regardless or title, rank, or position in life.
The online world creates a fantastic opportunity for you to echo John’s humility and mission-centric heart.

If you truly are a Christ follower, you’ve settled in your heart that your life is not your own. Like John, your life is a directional sign that shines a light—for the lost, the broken, the prideful, and the imprisoned—so they too can make it home.

Post/Tweet this today:

John’s life and mission pointed to Christ. Where does your life point when you log online? #LiveSticky

Join us tomorrow for The Armor of Light: Your Power Online
at The Virtual Abbey’s blog. http://thevirtualabbey.blogspot.com/ (Wayne – here is the link to the VA so you can place the link behind the name Possible question below – but you need to pick one that you know will stimulate conversation with your readers!)

Is it difficult for you to point to Christ in your online circles? What’s your biggest challenge?

Stuck in the Middle

Several years ago Stealers Wheel recorded a hit song, "Stuck in the Middle with You." Part of the lyric went, "Clowns to the left of me; Jokers to the right; Here I am, stuck in the middle with you." It's an anthem to so many ideas, goals and projects.

Many times an idea launches with fanfare and celebration. The team is excited. Things start happening. The "change" word is bandied about. Plans are set in place. It all looks so good.

Then, in the middle, something happens. The project, the goal, get stuck. Whether it's bureaucracy, circumstances, or the temptation of that hot fudge sundae, we slow down. We're suddenly people in the quicksand of the middle. The emotional rah-rah is lost, we can't see the end goal for trying and the energy for it all just slowly disappears.

The Israelites suffered in the middle. The former slaves were heading to the promised land. Everything looked great. Seas parted, food reigned down from heaven and God was showing them the way. But, for some reason, they got stuck in the middle. An eleven-day journey took 40 years to complete and the original "team" never did make it.

If any group "had it all" it was this group. If any group should have easily made the goal, hit the target or finished, it was this group.

So what happened and what can we learn so we don't get stuck?

The people lacked vision. In spite of all that Moses did and said, the people lacked vision. This is seen clearly when the 12 come back from spying out the promised land. The people preferred to be negative while Joshua and Caleb saw plenty, the other ten saw disaster and the people clung to the negative. They lost vision. They were so lost they wanted to go back to the way things were - slavery.

They had unbelief. Their lack of vision led to unbelief. It's a horrible cycle for a team to begin. Lack of vision leads to doubt that leads to unbelief. "This is too hard" "Why did we ever start this" "It doesn't make sense". "The numbers don't work".

They were disobedient. God set a clear path before them and yet they strayed from it. They let their own pride, desire and plan get in the way of a perfect plan engineered by God.

As leaders we need to battle the fatigue of the middle. As the ceremony of the beginning wanes, we need to consistently communicate the vision. Our people must never lose sight of the "why". We must coach them through unbelief. When things start going the wrong way, we must discern if this is just an obstacle or a stop sign. If it's just an obstacle, we need to help our people go back to vision and the anticipated end result (the promised land).

Letting the middle get in the way will slow or stop any progress or growth. People think they are doing fine just by getting near the goal. Excellence gets reduced to acceptable. Mediocrity is just a breath away.

Life is Not a Game of Perfect

My friend Ron Potter gave me Dr. Bob Rotella's book, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect a few years ago. I love it and sometimes it's actually helps my game.

What's even more valuable is to take it a step further and realize that LIFE is not a game of perfect. It's so freeing to realize that perfection isn't the goal.

In Genesis 17, God is talking to Abram and He tells him, "I am God Almighty, [habitually] Walk before Me and be blameless. And I will establish My covenant, between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly."

In the verse, Abram (later Abraham) received a tremendous promise from God - he'd would be multiplied exceedingly. BUT, he first had to habitually walk with God. He had to make it a habit to walk with God. He wasn't asked to be perfect, just develop habits of walking with God.

Here's the deal - habits don't come easy. It takes practice to develop good habits. I'd love to play the guitar like the late Chet Atkins or Eric Clapton, but they practiced fourteen hours a day. I don't. Their practice led them to develop some incredible habits, but it took practice. They didn't achieve perfection overnight, and they'd probably admit that they've never reached perfection. But, they keep practicing and developing habits.

The point is this. None of us will ever reach perfection. We get so caught up in our own or other people's expectations and we think we have to hit it perfect every time. Truth is, we can't and we won't. Rotella writes, "[a golfer needs to] shed his expectations before the first shot."

I am reading Linchpin by Seth Godin. He says, "Art is never defect free. Things that are remarkable never meet spec, because that would make them standardized, not worth talking about." Even when we practice, we'll never hit perfection. And, the most remarkable things come out of imperfection.

The key is "habitually walking" with God. We won't reach perfection on this side of the veil, but we can keep habitually talking with God, habitually trusting Him, habitually seeking His voice and His will. We won't be perfect, but we'll be walking in the right direction. FORE!!

Ready, Willing and Able

I've posted many times about change and it's because it's endemic to our culture, society and workplace. We move at the speed of Google and building lasting organizations means they must change with their customers, the market and the other factors that can contribute to their future success.

Here are some insights on change:

Change is hard for many employees. Let's face it, most people would rather struggle with what they know than do something different, even if that means more success. We're easily stuck in ruts.

People need to have the ability to change. This refers to the underlying skills and knowledge to do new or revised work.

People need to be willing to change. This is the desire or motivation to put their ability to work in the changed environment.

How do we, as leaders, create necessary change?

• Create training and mentoring opportunities. People who lack the abilities, but are worthwhile employees need training and mentoring so they can easily adapt to the new work or changed environment. Remember, when you are a leader, you've had time to work through your own strengths and you've had the time to understand how they will work in the new world. Your employees need the same benefit.

• Communicate the reasons for change. You cannot over-communicate. You've had time to understand why the organization needs to change. Communicate why it's important to make changes and how it will benefit, not only the organization, but its customers and others outside the organization,

• Stay Positive. You as the leader sets the tone. If you are discouraged, then your people will be discouraged and down about the change. If you are encouraging, listening and authentic, your employees willingness to change will dramatically increase.

Will you have resistance to change? Probably. However, if you understand the importance of people's abilities and their willingness to change, you can make the process easier and quicker.

Company Culture and Values

A culture, as I’ve written in the past, is like yogurt. It’s dynamic, changing and sometimes it can go sour. I’ve shared on this Blog a number of culture types determining essentially that culture is “how we get things done around here”. Said a different way, company or organizational culture is made up of the values and practices shared by the members of the group.

When I started at Thomas Nelson I asked my employees to do something I’d done with other groups. I use a worksheet that outlines more than 50 common values (If you’d like a PDF, just post a comment or send me a direct message and I’ll email it to you). I ask the employees to name their top five and also rank them. After compiling all the results (I do a bit of cross-tabbing so I can see how different groups respond, but never ask for a person’s name) I have a good picture of the common values of the group.

As a second step, I take the compiled top five and ask the team to define them. Semantics and nuance in this area are too important to leave to chance so I want the definition of the team’s top five values.

It’s also interesting to look at the bottom five as they give leaders a glimpse into the culture for a totally different perspective. For example, five years ago “Information Sharing” was in the Bible Group’s bottom five. It told me a lot about the culture I was inheriting and gave me a big hint of what I needed to do as a leader to promote team work.

Since it’s been five years and we’ve had some changes to the team, we’re taking it again. In a future post, I’ll compare and contrast the two results.

My takeaway from all this? Doing this exercise helps me answer this question: Are the values of the team aligned with my vision and the culture my leadership team and I are trying to build? Most of the time we can legislate practices, but values are deeply held beliefs and if their don’t align with the mission, it takes time, patience, teaching and good leadership to cause the alignment necessary to create something very special.

What are your work group’s top five values?