Week 38 The Chair.

Week 38 and here's the line that every leader knows too well:

"Everyone not sitting in the leader's chair can have a discussion about it. Those not in the seat can point to the cost or the price, but they don't have to say which prevails. That's what the leader does."


And, the leader also knows, indecision is also decision.

This is what separates leaders from mangers.
Prophets from preachers.
Kingdom builders from aquarium keepers.

You felt the heat of this one recently?

We've just pulled the trigger on a huge step forward in the expansion of the Kingdom of God through Redeemer's Church. A step that few have tried, even fewer have seen it work. Add to this a recession year. Add to this its coming on the back of 7 hard fast years with energy levels lower. Add to this negative voices. Add to this other options.

But when you sit in the leader's chair while you can listen to the discussion around it, others' opinions can be acute but they aren't ultimate. The ultimate is made by the leader in the chair.
And, omission and commission both have consequences.

It's these kinds of decisions that define.
They seperate out.

Are you leading?
You'll know what this chair is like.
When you step out of that chair - you're no longer leading.

It's that simple.

Week 37 - learnings from a brillaint leaders. Guess who.

Week 37 and I'm reading a fascinating book on leadership. In fact a book I highly recommend for any pastor/leader. Probably not a book you would naturally reach for - but trust me, its got brilliant insight.

A Journey: My Political Life @ Tony Blair.

It's hot off the press, its immediately made the best seller lists in UK and it has surprised me.

I have always admired Tony Blair, the ex-prime minister of the United Kingdom for 10 years. 10 years leading at the highest levels - nationally and internationally.

Tony introduced me to New Labor and to a political position that I could and did embrace. Thus began my many years of voting for a progressive, compassionate, intellectual yet pragmatic form of socialism.

But as this is a leadership blog, let me list for you 7 of the best, and initial leadership insights you get from reading Tony's autobiography:

1. There are two types of crazy people; those who are just crazy and who are therefore dangerous; and those whose craziness lends them creativity, strength, ingenuity and verve. These types of crazy you need, yet you will never tame them. The same thing that makes them different and brilliant is the same thing that means they don't conform to normal, predictable modes of behaviour. And, they are always on the edge.


2. I have a few rules about people I work with really closely. Work comes first. No blame culture. Fun, in its proper place, is good. Disloyalty has no place. Look out for each other. Stick together. Respect each other. It helps if you also like each other.


3. Leaders need to learn how to think, not just how to 'pass exams'. Think - analyse, dissect a problem from the first principles, and having deconstructed it, construct a solution.


4. Don't forget: communication is 50% of the battle in the information age. Say it once, say it twice and keep on saying it, and when you've finished, you'll know you've still not said it enough. (Quoting Bill Clinton a fellow modernizing socialist worth learning from.)


5. Every year there is a new height to be attained so that the momentum is not lost.


6. Intensity of the focus is the common in leadership.


7. Each step is fearful, yet each refusal (by yourself out of fear) means not only remorse at an opportunity missed, but, worse, despising yourself for not even summoning up the courage to try.


8. When you speak - speak with utter confidence; use humor; keep a thread running throughout; build the argument don't just plonk it down. Battles are won by generals not preachers.


9. Go beyond the confines of the debate and think about the world that was not debating trivial matters but were focused on life, hope and health versus death due to the ravages of poverty, conflict and disease. Focus always on the big.


10. Creating time for a leader is a near-sacred task. Show me an ineffective leaders and I will show you a badly managed schedule.
    

All within the first 100 pages.

Its a long but a great read.

Read it.

Week 36 - and a fatwa issued on dogs!

Week 36 and I'm back.
Excuse the 10 week break.

......but for all those deeply committed pastors who have worked through the entire summer with maybe a weekend off as a sign of your devotion to Christ and His church - I'll remind you of that come December and you're out of steam!

Funny how we either deny the Sabbath principle or feel guilty for enjoying it.

So what's happened since my last blog?

• Spain won the World Cup ......and most of America missed that.
• President Obama cut US contributions to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria ....and most of America missed that.
• The Afghanistan war budget has increased to where we could start 20 schools for the cost of 1 solider per year there .....we all missed that one.
• The YMCA has finally owned up and announced they will be known for the "Y" - the "C" isn't that important.
• John Stott wrote his final book ....nearly missed that one but for the recommendation by a friend. The Radical Disciple - a LAX to FAT read.
• The Global Leadership Summit had their best first day teaching in their history - if you missed that one, you missed a good one.
• The Oakland Raiders have changed their names to the Oakland Tulips and promise to be kind to everyone. They will now wear pink instead of pirate black.........did you miss that one??
• Nothing much has changed in earthquake devastated Haiti.
• Relatively speaking - has much changed in Hurricane Katrina hit Gulf Coast after 5 years?
• The US Supreme Court ruled that a Christian student group must accept non-Christians as members if they were to be officially recognised - I think that could help most Christian groups!
• China officially became the second largest global economy.
• An Iranian cleric issued a fatwa against keeping dogs as pets ......why could he not have issued it against cats.

The point?

10 weeks and some big things as well as some pretty trivial things have happened.
Nothing stands still.
Certainly Redeemer's Church didn't stand still.

So did my sabbath break help?

I'm chasing my tail ....and its the first day in September.
But I've got energy to chase it.
I've had the time to sit above the urgent and figure out the bigger picture for the next period of leadership.
I didn't stand still.
Yes I wasn't doing my normal. but I was doing something, and something that helped me as a leader:
reading I would never get to; soul nourishing that I've dieted on for the last 11 months; good, healthy perspective that I was losing.

The University of Denver reported that 47% of the books acquired between 2000 and 2009 were never checked out. The University of Arizona reported that they spent $19 million on books over the past decade that were never used.

A waste.

A leader who doesn't refresh or refuel - a waste or a disobedience.

Live the sabbath - find the right rhythm for you.

Check this out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11139960