Spring Stampede 2009

I'm a little late with this one, but better than never. On April 11 our singles ministry put on our second annual Spring Stampede Disc Golf Tournament. We do this to reach out to the disc golf crowd in our area, demonstrating God's abundant love with them and sharing our hope in Christ. This year we made a decision to move the tournament to a course that would prepare us for future growth. While we are continuing to learn how to do this better, it's always exciting to see how God blesses our efforts. The highlight of the day was the baptism of my friend, Eric, the first outdoor baptism I've done. Check out some picks of the day.

As promised...

Thanks to those who shared their personal axioms with us. For those that did not, keep working on them. It's a worthwhile effort for two key reasons.

First, axioms allow you to clarify your convictions. Most people have general ideas about how to approach life, but these ideas are rarely concretized. Usually some nebulous mass of thoughts hover out in the nether world and, because there is no clarity, these thoughts are often pushed aside by the hasty demands of the moment. But when I say, "Work from your rest," I am acknowledging an important conviction that I best function when I am regularly recharging my body and my soul with down time. Just this statement helps me be clear that I am not supposed to work continously like a marathon runner. We work best when we work in a cycle of sprints interspersed with rest.

Second, axioms enable you to pass on your principles. From the perspective of influence, this is crucial. When you develop compact, memorable proverbs, it enables you share your values with those around you. If your axioms connect with the hearts and minds of those near you, they will be adopted. It also gives the people in your organization a common language around which to build a unique culture. When I say "we're made for community," most of the young singles I serve know what I mean. Those words are like a short-cut to the often recalled passage in Acts 2:42-47 about what the first church experienced, and how it is God's plan to work through a community of faith to fully express His love to the world around us and to live in connection with one another.

So, here's another chance. Develop your own personal axioms. Clarify your convictions; pass on your principles. We'll be waiting on you.

Personal Leadership Proverbs

In his 2008 book, Axiom, Bill Hybels encourages pastors and all leaders to formulate some of their convictions and guiding ideas into axioms- personal proverbs that can be recalled at a moment's notice. I've had a few months to reflect on my own thoughts and some of the language that I tend to use when carrying out my duties, so here are my own axioms.

1. If you're the one pulling the trigger, be sure you like where the gun is pointing. Most of us are put in a position at some time or another where we must make a key decision that will affect others. When this happens, we often find multiple voices in our ears trying to persuade us which choice to make. Though it is always important to listen to those around us, we must not yield the responsibility of our decision to satisfy the demands of others. Simply put, if you're the one who makes the decision, then be sure that you make the decision that is comfortable to you.

2. Challenges are opportunities for greatness. It's easy for people to get down and discouraged when things start to get hard. They see struggle and the possibility of failure around every corner. In reality, it is when we face challenges that the possibility of great success first appears. If there is no challenge, then there's nothing great about success; if it's easy, then who cares?

3. It's about people. In virtually any given situation, people get priority over anything (other than God!). When this starts to slip or get fuzzy, problems are soon to follow.

4. Isn't this fun? When I'm involved in doing God's work, especially within a group of friends, I'm often struck by how much I enjoy it. I love that we get the privilege of doing stuff that matters. I love getting hear stories of how God is at work all around us, blessing our activities and efforts well beyond our understanding. When I get tired, or when I've been through an intense time where God has done amazing things, I like to remind myself and those nearby, "Hey, isn't this fun?"

5. Sharpen the blade. Everything, from programs to systems to strategies, needs to be improved from time to time. For this reason, we must all regularly engage in re-examining and retooling components of life around us. We don't live in a static world; we must never assume that once we create a strategy that we will never again need to solve that particular problem. Even the best blades need to be sharpened occasionally.

So, what are some axioms you've developed? Let me kindly request that everyone who reads this post submit at least one, and then I'll post a further summary and comment at the end of the week.