I was fortunate to be able to participate in a leadership lunch with Perry a few days ago. These are lunches where Perry takes about eight employees out to eat and talk about leadership. Anything goes: we are allowed to ask him whatever we want regarding leadership. Many things were discussed during the lunch, but I most appreciated the vision Perry cast with regards to industry leadership. It may sound odd to think of a church in market leadership terms, but I was curious about how we at NewSpring see ourselves — via Perry — in the world.

Perry’s answer betrayed his absurd level of faith. He said we need to do the best we can at all times in all things. If we do that, we will be the leaders. Mediocre is the standard the world sets for itself; if we do our best all the time, we will lead.

Now I hate mediocrity — no secrets there. Incompetence has always annoyed me. And I have long been troubled by the amount of mediocrity that Christians seem to dwell in. (I am currently working on a longer piece contra mediocrity.) I am pumped that I work in a place where excellence is pursued — where perfection is sought. These may be lofty goals, but they are refreshing. God has given us so much; we are simply seeking to give Him the best. But at the core it is faith that drives all of this. We — again, with Perry — have faith that if we do our best, God will honor that. And it is through this chain reaction of faith and obedience that God allows us to lead in the areas He wants us to lead in.

This is sort of ethereal, but I must say I was quite pumped about the future. It ties in great with what Perry said yesterday at church: What if your best days are ahead of you? We must usually expect something from God for there to be revelation. We want the supernatural: we must let God do the super and we must do the natural.

Other things I heard at lunch with Perry:

• Honesty [with each other] is the most important thing we need to have for the upcoming year
• What Perry knows now that he didn’t know then: that his biggest critics would be Christians
• With the technology we have we do not have to put up with bad preaching anymore
• Read Deuteronomy and change the way you think: change it to when, not if

But first, here are some cool gadgets you can buy for me:

• The Infinity Bookcase — I want one of these… just cannot imagine where to put it
• Bulletproof tire — These are cooler than spinners
• 256GB Solid State Drive — Sweetness
• Carbon fiber guitar — Light and unbreakable

Here are my choices for the dumbest gadgets of the week:

• Skull Belt Buckle & Mp3 player — Maybe without the LED…
• Blow pictures on your phone — Does this make stalkers less conspicuous?
• Bacon iPhone case — Bacon is the new black leather
• Apple Apples — A rotten idea
• Carbon fiber child seat — $4000 is a lot for a car seat
• Vibrating toilet seat — Why?
• Diamond earbuds — $5000 earbuds make a $4000 car seat almost reasonable
• Suitcases with faux weapons — I cannot imagine going through TSA with these
• Egg lamp — Words fail me
• Oxygen lamp — The girls’ face says it all

Well — maybe you are not. All this recent talk (here, here, here) about being passionate about one’s job has caused me to reflect. I realize I likely have the best job I can fathom here at NewSpring. But that is the best job for me; I sincerely hope you have the best job for you. Here’s a quick way to tell: if you are bitter about the menial things in your job, you may be focusing on the wrong thing. I read an article that says employees are filing lawsuits against their employers. Why? The article (read more here) states this:

“Employees claimed that they were not paid for the 15- to 30-minute task of booting their computers at the start of each day and logging out at the end. Add those minutes up over a week, and hourly employees are losing some serious pay.”

First of all, if your computer takes 15 or 30 minutes to boot, you need to perhaps explore a computer made sometime in this millennium. But more importantly, if you are worried about getting paid to boot up your computer, it may be time to look for a new job that fulfills you. And if you have ever made a complaint like this, you are an annoying employee. Go away.

I have typically held to the concept that there is no such thing as luck. I have rationalized this by clinging to the sovereignty of God. What He allows happen ends up happening. Insert here the diatribe that “God loves everyone yet favors some” and we have a complicated discussion with no resolution.

But maybe there is such a thing as luck. Not dumb luck that hits people in the face like a bug while you ride your bike on a lonely, dirt road but luck that is brought as a result of attitude adjustments and modified expectations. I read an article and found these insights interesting:

“Lucky people see what is there rather than just what they are looking for.”

“Lucky [people]… add variety to their lives.”

“Lucky people use counter-factual thinking to ease the impact of misfortune.”

“Thoughts and behavior affect the good and bad fortune we encounter.”

Read this article here and see what you think.

Every company I have worked for has been massive — both in size and in success. This massiveness is due to no small degree to the abilities these companies have of leveraging themselves as competitors in the market. They set themselves apart as unique; but it is not only marketing. These companies also must protect their data, their processes, and their products from other companies. My present job is much different; collaboration has replaced competition. We work together with other groups in an effort to do what we do better. Why? Because we share a common goal: help humans encounter God. I am new to this whole mentality (of open collaboration) and it is not an easy concept to embrace. Fortunately I am surrounded by other ex-marketplace personnel who can relate. I am curious about two things:

1. How does one relax his/her competitiveness?
2. How long will this last? As more and more churches are on the Internet, will we continue to embrace collaboration, or will we soon turn into the two churches on opposite street corners who bicker over everything?

I have been blessed with one, two, three astounding kids. I have long believed that physical intimacy is important in the development of children. (Interestingly, the older I get, the more I notice myself becoming less intimate with those outside my family, and more intimate within the family.) I’m not talking about just hugs, though. Hugs and kisses can get boring. Many years ago I began transforming the hugs into tickle-tackles and that has evolved into everyone-against-everyone wrestling, where even Bella, the 100-lb, I’ll-start-my-diet-tomorrow dog, joins in.

(Read on …)

It has been just about one month since we have moved to South Carolina and we love it. We love the town, the church, and the job. Here are the top ten things I love about the South:

10. Meat & Three Restaurants — pick one meat and three veggies, all cooked Southern style
9. Carolina-style hot dogs — “all the way” — comes with chili, mustard, onions, and [optional] coleslaw on top
8. Country roads to drive on — quickly
7. The bird-dog — chicken tender wrapped in bacon on a hot dog bun with melted cheese and honey mustard on top
6. Fall colors — the variety of colors is unlike anything I have seen before (here are some pictures I took this weekend)
5. Southern Hospitality — people are generally nicer here than in other parts of the country (you know who you are); I especially love the people I work with
4. The Corner Bagel Shop — best deli sandwich ever, seriously
3. Pulled pork sandwiches — sweet victory
2. Carolina mustard sauce — mustard, vinegar, and other goodness: completes the pig referenced above
1. Sweet tea!

Much of my list is consumed by food and drink. So what?

What about you? Perhaps you have visited the South or maybe you live here already. What do you love about the South?