The Point

I talk about money every day, seriously.

I get paid to talk about money.

But when it comes to asking for money for my own need, I get nervous and proud and light headed all at once.

There is something about realizing that you have a goal that is beyond your own ability to meet that is frightening, humbling, and energizing!

That’s where I am today.

 I shared last week that the total costs for our adoption will tally nearly $30,000. A major portion of which is due in less than a month!

As I stared at the number for a while, I realized a couple things- that’s more than I can do alone…AND if I’m going to ask for help I might as well DO MORE.

I have decided that it’s not enough to simply adopt a child and get them out of an orphanage in Africa, we also need to change Africa. So today I want to introduce you to A Glimmer of Hope. Their work on the ground in Ethiopia is helping the country make great strides towards sustainable income, lower infant mortality, and higher standards of living.

So, in addition to asking you for money to help rescue an orphan, I’m also asking you to help build a better Ethiopia.

If every Twitter and Facebook friend gives $2 a month for the next 6 months…

Together we can raise all the funds for adoption and enough to drill two wells in rural Ethiopia!

Some of you can give a lot more, if we raise more than the goal, all additional funds will go to build additional wells.

To give via credit card you can click the box to the right of the page, if you’d rather send a check, shoot me an email and I’ll give you our mailing address.

Let’s do this…it’s time!

Water: A Global Crisis from A Glimmer of Hope on Vimeo.

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This is a Re-Post from Will Mancini, he says it better than I could so I’ll let him, you can visit his blog here–

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I talk with hundreds of churches every year.

Most are genuinely striving to do things the best they can to reach as many people as they can.

Most also have the common denominator of a capable senior leader, the visionary/speaker.

What sets apart the Great from the merely good or less than good?

The successful ones almost always have one thing in common.

A dynamic second chair leader- most often referred to as Executive Pastor but known by different names in different settings.

What makes a good second chair leader?

As we discussed in a previous post–Competence and Character are keys to leadership, but the competencies of a good Executive Pastor should and do look different from those of a Senior Pastor.  So what skills should your team be looking for when adding this person–

1. Business acumen/savvy- this takes several names, but basically can be summed up by saying that while it’s essential that the XP understand and buy into the spiritual vision, he must also have a sense of the business actions and framework that can enable and boost that vision.

2. Faith- I’ve seen a few disasters where someone with excellent business pedigree was put into the XP seat and absolutely tore a church apart because of their complete disregard for the consideration that this still a church, even if it should be run more like a business that can be taken too far!

3. Team Focus- Many great second chair leaders are independent go-getter’s, but all that they do must support and enable the best work of the entire team, this is true for everyone in leadership and because  the leader in the second chair can subvert authority if they lead inappropriately, team focus is more important here than in any other role.

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This is my website.

As you have noticed I spend a fair amount of time discussing non-profit leadership, that’s a big part of me.

But an even bigger part of me is my family, and that’s something I also share about from time to time.

We decided to start the adoption process early this year and after spending time researching the process, the places, and the people(organizations), we decided to adopt from Ethiopia through AGCI.

Since that decision, we’ve had numerous emails and calls with the agency and made it through the initial paperwork and fee without putting together a good plan for how we’d raise the rest of the money.

Now we’re to a point where it’s time to come up with some good fundraising ideas…

Here is the breakdown of costs and dates due, earliest date is a real deadline, the others depend on the Ethiopian and U.S. government a bit.

$7,390+$1,000 for homestudy    September 24th

$920                                                          October 30th

$5,190                                                       November 30th

$5,050                                                      December 31st

$7,640                                                      January 31st,2011

That’s $27,190 to raise in six months or less…whew. So we’ve got a few ideas, but would love any ideas/input you may have as well…

And don’t be surprised if I ask you for money the next time we talk

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I read a lot of books. Most of them are pretty good. Occasionally I get a free book and a request to review it, that was the case with this one.

I immediately liked the concept, cover art, and title, and the book drew me quickly in with an interesting story.

Unfortunately, it seemed to wrap up rather abruptly like many of my semi formed thoughts have a tendency to do on this site…

I’d give it a solid 3 out of five stars, not bad…not great.

If you’d like to decide for yourself you can order the book HERE

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“Organizational decline is more about what you do to yourself than what happens to you.” –Jim Collins

There was a time when I’m not sure I believed that quote. Spending most of the last year working with struggling non-profits has confirmed its truth.

With the crisis consulting I’m involved in today, most calls come to me when a church is about to lose their property or some other dire event is occurring.

What I find after spending some time with these ministries is that these situations don’t come out of nowhere.

Where we find ourselves today is the result of many small steps we’ve taken in this direction!

Sometimes the way out of this mess isn’t to continue bravely forward, but to make the decision now to change directions.

So, how do we get out of the pit?

1. Acknowledge the situation–I see far too many situations made worse by denial to admit that what got us here won’t get us out, or worse that there is nothing wrong with where we are (it’s not what we’ve done but what’s been done to us mentality)

2. Seek counsel– Every organization has talent they are not utilizing, both internally and in your network of contacts, there are people who can help, seek them out and then hear them out.

3. Communicate clearly and fully- In the situation of a church in a financial emergency, almost all of them initially want to hold this information within a very small circle of leadership, when ultimately the solution to the problem lies in the vast majority of people who may help if given the full story.

An important thing to remember is that you can get out of today’s mess, one small step at a time…

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…is important.

In order to maintain momentum in any endeavor, it’s essential to stay motivated.

This could be a grand post for church planters, but today my mind is on running.

When I was younger I ran, fast. I stopped for a few years. Starting again was hard…and slow. Now I’m running again.

For me to continue this lifestyle change, one thing that helps is to put goals at regular intervals that are close enough to be trained for, but consistent enough to keep me going.

So, here is my race schedule for the next six months. I’ll continue to keep about a six month lead of races at least every eight weeks to not allow myself too much time between to get comfortable and complacent…those can both be enemies of success.

August 28th- Chattanooga Mud Run

October 16th- Dalton Half Marathon

December 4th- Savannah Bridge Run Double Pump!

January 7-8th- Ragnar Relay Miami to Key West

February 13th- Mardi Gras Half Marathon

See you out there!

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Today I want to share something fun I’m up to…

I have two boys, Alex who is almost 5, the little ladies man who is the self-proclaimed “Love Master” and Ben, who at 16 months hasn’t taken on any titles for himself yet, but is always quick to give a smile or a smack.

I travel more than I’d recommend for the average father of two young boys,  but we’re not aspiring to be average so it’s working for now.

One of the things I’m fanatical about is spending intentional time with them, not just passing time, but making memories whenever possible.

To that end, one of my big ongoing projects is to get them to EVERY major league baseball stadium, ideally to see the Tigers play! We just started this last year, but are off to a pretty good start. So far we have seen games at–

Detroit, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Atlanta, Tampa, Washington, New York Mets, and will catch the Tigers play at Baltimore and the other New York team who I won’t name here…

So that’s 9 parks in two years! Now if only the Tigers would win some games after the All-Star break!

The point of this story isn’t to brag, but to encourage you to think about what you’re doing and be intentional with your time…and by all means

Have FUN…

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Every week I sit down and talk to Pastors and ministry leaders and the first question I ask is always the same

“How are you doing?”

           Sitting across from the guy they called because they needed or wanted to talk money they go immediately into the church budget and how good or bad the recent offering trends have been, important stuff to be sure, but not really what I was asking.

It’s important for your staff to stay healthy. Spiritually, Emotionally, Physically, Mentally…

If you, like me, sometimes find yourself not feeling as well as you should, here are a few tips that I use to write the ship-

1.  Take a break-sometimes this is just a Starbucks run and sometimes it’s completely unplugging for several days. We often need to step away from a problem to see the solution.

2. RUN-This has become one of my go to stress relievers, but it’s not just running, wrestling with the kids, biking with the wife, anything to get your blood pumping and your mind off of whatever its been obsessing over.

3. Read a book- I often find solutions to problems I’m wrestling with in the pages of a good book.

4. Talk about it-  sometimes you just need to unload, and you’d be surprised how often this alone makes you feel better.

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Over the last year, an increasing amount of my time has been spent with organizations experiencing hardship.

While no two situations are ever exactly the same, I run into recurring themes among organizations that are having trouble, most seem to stem from a single source-

Leadership.

Within the failures of leadership I’ve seen there are two primary streams

Failure of Competence

Failure of Character

The worst situations often have a combination of both!

To be clear, it’s not always a blatant failure by the senior leader, though they are often a culprit, there are other leaders in any organization whose character and competence are also crucial to success and when a failure occurs in these ranks it can still be devastating.

There are many ways to end up with a failure of competence or character, but I’d rather spend this time on ways to protect against such failure.

Find a Mentor- A good mentor is a great resource of knowledge and accountability

Seek outside counsel- I am often amazed at the seemingly simple things I can’t see when I’m too close to situations. The same is true for anyone dealing with something day in and day out, seek unbiased counsel, regularly, to help resolve issues and to avoid issues before they get out of hand. You may think your problem is so big and unique that no one knows the answer, but there is likely someone closer than you think who has experience dealing with those very issues.

Build the Board of Directors- A large, involved, independent  board of directors can ensure the health and success of an organization more than any individual leader.

If you’re reading this and think that you or your organization could never fall prey to a Failure of competence or character, be careful, almost all the crises I’ve stepped into have been preceded by a period of increasing pride.

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