For me personally, the analogy is challenging. Have I let what is true be choked out by worry? Have I let doubt (which can serve us greatly in our pursuit of faith) steal from my journey? What difficulties led me to choose a hard heart, where seeds can’t take root?

I find myself often in these stories. And just like these stories, the point is not to identify alone, but to take action.

• When I have a stone-heart, I examine why, and ask God for help in trust and forgiveness.
• When I have a thorny, weedy-heart, I get to the root of what I’m worried about, or what pursuits are choking God’s good work in me. You can’t wish for a weeded garden; you’ve got to get down and pull!
• When I my seeds are “snatched away”, I ask myself, “Did you let doubt take you down… instea of take you closer to Jesus?”

It’s been a process! I know this, though: roots are the evidence of a seed that grew in good soil.

Maybe He should have hired a firm.

The advent of Christ was a time-splitting event, forever altering history and human hearts. You would think God could have thought through a better marketing plan.

A young mother, painfully pregnant, stuck in Bethlehem for a government census (the timing!). While in town for the census, she goes into labor, and the Christ-child is born in a hillside stable, and placed in an animal trough as a makeshift crib.

That’s not even the worst of it. God sends His angels to announce this wondrous birth, and where do they go? To whom do they announce this momentous occasion?

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:8-12)

Yep, shepherds. Wool-watchers on graveyard shift. The minimum wage guys.

See, if the Almighty had thought this through, he could have alerted the local media, or sent His angels to the movers and shakers of the day; Israel’s version of Hollywood’s hottest. But He didn’t. He didn’t twitter, or post, or use serious networking. He went to the fringes.

He found those that would be ignored, shoved aside, perhaps completely forgotten. And He shared His beautiful advent moment with those guys, kicking off what would be for Jesus every day life: Go to the broken, the forgotten. Those confused, hurt, and misused. Don’t worry about appearances. Go deeper, to the heart. And in this advent season, we are reminded as Christ-followers to keep it up.

Maybe God has this marketing thing down just fine.

Tylenol shouldn’t be at the top of your Christmas wish list. I mean, come on.

Every year it happens, even amongst throngs of people who say they’ll resist it: turmoil over the Christmas season. Why? Why would we ever choose this? And I use ‘choose’ very purposefully. See, I think that all of the stress, worry, maxed credit cards and lack of peace are the result of a choice, albeit subtle.

A choice to worship with part of one of the fastest-growing religions in America: Consumerism.

Now before I’m pelted with holiday cheer in the form of fruitcake thrown in my direction, think it through:

• Credit card offers sent out every fall, with the marketing slant “being able to cross off everything on your Christmas wish list!”
• Stores chock full of extra kiosks and displays – full of strange collections you would never buy anyone (penknife and travel mug set?), except that it’s Christmas and you have no idea what to get Uncle Stewart. And yet you feel like you have to get him something.
• Hours and hours wasted, aimlessly wandering through aisle after aisle of meaningless gifts, only to spend a few measly hours with your family opening them.

These are all symptoms of a much bigger disease. Now please understand: I give gifts. I shop. I buy holiday wares. There’s a sweet place for gift giving and tradition and all of that. Some of my most cherished holiday memories come each year in the form of established family traditions.

For me, though, it’s a deeper problem than gift-giving: I want the holiday season called Christmas to reflect the peace, grace, and joy of Christ. I don’t mean this in some religious social way, like fighting to make CHRISTmas be about Jesus, or demanding government buildings display Christmas trees. I mean this as a personal decision for me, and from the heart of a pastor who sees fellow followers of Christ burnt out from the holidays.

How consumerism has replaced many of the pieces from the original Christmas story:

• The star in the east is replaced by fluorescent lighting and glossy print ads.
• The shepherds keeping watch by night have opted out; late night shelf-stockers at local retails stores prepare the altars for next days worship.
• As opposed to angels singing, “Glory in the highest!” we now hear credit companies shrilly singing: “0% interest and no payments for six months… O.A.C.!”

Solutions? Take it personal. We do not need rallies or protests. We need deep internal change, manifested in our attitudes, holiday focus, and spending habits. Here are a few ideas:

• Spend less. Decide that you will not go into debt for Christmas. One way my family has spent less is to stop buying gifts for every adult sibling – with my brothers, in-laws, and spouses that’s eight presents! We sometimes secretly choose one sibling, but it really makes it easier every Christmas.
• Spend time. Your greatest gift is presence. The huge amount of time spent shopping could be logged at home, playing a game with your family, or baking together.
• Give the gift of serving. Every Christmas season is an opportunity to serve and be a blessing to others. No matter how big or small, make plans with family or friends to serve and touch lives. There are countless shelters, food banks, churches, schools and service groups doing something… get out there!
• Read the Christmas story. Get back to the raw beauty of the story: a humble birth in a hillside stable by a small town girl. That literally changed history. Sit down and read the accounts (found in the gospels of Matthew and Luke) of Jesus’ birth.
• Create honoring traditions. What will you add to your holiday season that brings honor? Peace? Joy?

I hope you have a beautiful Christmas season… Tylenol free and clear of shopping madness!

Search by month, speaker, or just click on our podcast link to have it all downloaded automatically to your computer. Good stuff!

Allow this disclaimer: I really enjoy BBQ! It’s great. And fireworks are really enjoyable displays. In and of themselves they are not issues. It’s when we forget what we are a part of something bigger, and have an incredible freedom to celebrate.

For me,  there are great parallels to the church.  Many have forgotten (or forsaken) the freedom Christ provided for us. We forget the mission God has placed in the path of His church, to go into all of the world with the hope of the gospel. To be a blessing; to love and serve with the strength God provides.

For some, it has turned into a Sunday event where people can attend churches as passive consumers (“gimme some BBQ!”) and watch an entertaining, well put together show (“Mama, look – fireworks!”).  Again, Sunday gatherings are not the issue in themselves.  But when we trade the freedom of new life in Christ, when we set aside the mission – serving and loving this world with the full gospel – all for a plate and a show – we are simply exercising our ability to miss the point.

It’s still about grace. Forgiveness. Hope.

And a world Jesus loves.

Neil Cole is very adept as stripping away the institutional trappings that hinder churches, and see the vibrant power of organic churches – and leaders.

The book centers on growing leaders that multiply naturally in a healthy church setting, a topic that resonates with me.  I love Cole because he’s not afraid of pulling any punches as he goes to work on faulty leadership ideas, yet he truly loves the church!  This guys not off on a bitter rant; he simply wants to see God’s church alive.

I have a feeling we’re going to need quite a few more copies of this floating around the Fountain.  For now, I’m off to do a couple more chapters over a quick taco and iced tea before I head home.

It’s a changing world.  There are new challenges to face, and leaders must be able to discern not only how to navigate change, but how to do so in a way that keeps the church/organization/business moving through the “change waters” with her!

The Change-Resistant Saboteur

Here are some scenarios that saboteurs love:

• “We’ve never tried that before!”  This one is a pretty obvious one; when faced with new opportunities, it is natural to retreat to the well known path.  Brave leaders cannot be afraid of new efforts.
• “We tried that and it didn’t work!”  This one is a little less obvious than the first.  It’s not always wise to scratch a tried and failed situation off the list.  Maybe the right kind of team wasn’t there to see it happen.  Perhaps you are at a place now to do it right!
• “The Mountain To Die On” – Sabs love this one, because we end up making a process, event, or ministry a non-negotiable.  Why is this so bad?  Our clarity for evaluation goes out the window.  A big value for many companies these days is excellence – not a bad value on it’s own.  However, if we evaluate a ministry by the value of excellence (when it truly might need to change) it can really be misleading!  Especially if we leave out words like, oh, effectiveness.  In other words, I can do things that don’t really matter with excellence!

There are other scenarios as well – saboteurs are opportunists!  I’ll leave you with a couple tricky spots to avoid:

1. Becoming obsessed with change:  Change can be such a healthy thing for an organization that we often equate change with progress.  And for progress to happen, we must change.  But I have seen leaders too often fall in love with change, which makes for schizophrenic ministries, new every year… or at least after every conference or book.  Which inevitably leads to burned-out teams, confused team leaders, and lots of money and time spent.  Change has to be approached with discernment, weighing the changes with the lens of the groups’ mission.

2. Only embracing changes that you initiate:  Can you really embrace and accept change?  Or do you only love change when it’s your idea?  A good litmus test:  When someone offers a change idea that you would not normally think of or appreciate, is your response resistance?  Do you shoot it down right away?  Learn to process and think through each idea for its own merit, and change will be your ally.

Thoughts?

By the time you notice a saboteur’s handiwork, it’s too late:  the damage is done.  Of course, we have to guard ourselves from a myriad of things every day that can take us out, but even after a shootout, we can still shoot our own foot!

Today’s Leadership Saboteur:  The Authoritarian
 A Saboteur that poses under the guise of ”High Quality Leadership Skills.  How the Authoritarian takes us out:

• Creates a sense of independence from needing others’ ideas or input
• Insulates us from fresh perspective
• Monopolizes leadership decisions, pushing potential leaders even further away
• Locks us into ruts quick (“I’m the authority on this, so we’ll do it my way!”)

And on we go… bullet point lists ad infinitum. 

The danger in The Authoritarian is that he keeps coming back!  Every time we succeed in an endeavor, he’s watching, waiting for us - ready to convince us to become the expert in our area of success.

In other words, the very thing we succeed in has the potential to take us out. 

Some ammo to aid in your battle against the Authoritarian:

• Fight fear:  the fear of failure, fear of being wrong, and the fear of not having all the answers.  Free yourself up to need others.  Strong leaders understand their need for interdependency.
• Invite people into your circle of decision-making (or even decision evaluation) that see things differently than you.  Ask for their input.  Listen.
• Honestly evaluate if you resist change, and if so, why.  Remember:  Leaders often champion and promote change when it’s the change they came up with! 
• Stay teachable.  Read.  Ask questions.

Don’t let your most recent victory become the thing that ruts you!

The tricky thing about saboteurs:  they are trained to go under the radar.  That’s why they are so effective; they do their work undetected.  Usually you don’t notice the work of a saboteur until things have blown up in your face, and the damage has been done.  In the wreckage, you notice the blind spot that a crafty saboteur has slipped in through.

Leaders, pastors, team members - all are targets for saboteurs.  And you don’t have to lead long before you realize:  many saboteurs are found in the mirror.  So for leaders to grow and expand their level of influence, pride has got go.  This challenge continually presents itself in a myriad of contexts:  Equipping others, delegating, accepting new ideas and directions.

The Deadly Duo:  Originality & Carbon Copying

These first saboteurs come to us as a duo.  Originality and Carbon Copying are like a combination 1-2 punch - if the first doesn’t get you, the other one will! 

Saboteur #1: Carbon Copy Leadership

We want to look hip, in the know, current.  Unfortunately, this can often lead to molding ourselves after another leader.  It’s easier than ever, too:  I can download their DNA via podcast, worship at their blog and even stalk them on Twitter!

But just like David couldn’t wear King Saul’s armor, I can’t fit into the mold of another leader.  My situation is different.  I have my own giants to face.  There are scores of leaders, running from seminar to seminar, putting on other leaders’ armor.  Don’t  be afraid to learn from others, but know the danger of carbon copying another leaders. We end up entrenched in trends, unable to think for ourselves. 

“Original” Leadership

Now, don’t get me wrong; I love original ideas.  Cookie cutter solutions have done their fair share of destroying what could have been a breath of fresh air in organizations.  Many leaders have tried to carbon copy something they have seen, only to find frustration in their unique setting.

But when the pride of being original gets in the way of learning from others, we’re in trouble.  Why do we fight so hard to appear original and creative?  Why have we accepted the lie that learning and drawing from others is a sign of leadership weakness?

When we draw from many leaders, we are able to gain perspective on how they addressed issues, resolved conflicts, and discovered creative solutions.  These things do not stifle our own originality; in fact, they spur it on.  Case in point:  Every time I watch a Pixar movie, I come away challenged to be more creative and original, drawing from the fresh ways Pixar looks at the world (via Wall-E’s eyes, Lightning McQueen’s tires, etc).

Learning how others do things helps you become better.  It doesn’t mean that originality has to die – in fact, the more you learn to listen to other voices, the better you might be able to recognize your own.

The Tension Of Wisdom

In order to not be taken out by either saboteur, I have to lead with wisdom.  Wisdom teaches me to read other people’s books, to listen to great leaders, and to stay passionate about growing.  Wisdom also guards me from trying to find my identity in others.  I’m free to learn, to draw in, and to simultaneously let God make me who I need to be.

And that’s hard to sabotage.