All posts in Leadership
Good People – May Edition, Promise Tangeman & Krist Wilde
Perhaps these two good people don’t need an introduction, but in the event that you’ve never heard of them, you need to.
1. Meet Krist Wilde. He’s a pastor in Boise, ID at a church called Capital Christian Center. In today’s culture, we are all two clicks away from a message from any mega church pastor we want to listen to. To be a great communicator sometimes means you just have to have a likable personality on stage, or you can just copy what you podcasted and maybe that will “work.” But to be a great communicator of the GOSPEL, I believe it demands a dedication to really studying scripture. I don’t know Krist at all or his study habits, but when I listen to him preach, there’s an excellence that he brings to the pulpit that I believe truly honors the gospel. He seems like a guy who takes his job seriously. You can listen to a message and see what Capital Christian Center is up to here.
2. Meet Promise Tangeman. I was honored to share a lab session at Catalyst Dallas earlier this month with Promise and what she does is phenomenal! Besides being a top tier graphic designer, she runs a company called Sitehouse Designs. They create templates for creatives to use to build their own sites. It’s super easy to use. It’s great for start ups and for small companies that don’t need anything fancy. One of the unique things Sitehouse does is a workshop called Go Live. It’s a 2 day workshop for creatives that want to implement a Sitehouse design for a site, ask questions, and get feedback. And on the 2nd day, you hit publish and go live! Promise and her team will help you create a fresh online presence that you’ll be proud to call your own. I love that. P.s. Promise’s husband, Brian, is pretty legit too. Good people.
What Phil Jackson Would Say In Your Leadership Meeting
When it comes to winning championships, we often think of the great athletes that inspire us. They are the ones that, if you can afford it, you pay to go see. No one pays to go see a coach. The greatest NBA team of all time was none other than the 1996 NBA Champion Chicago Bulls team that went 72-10 in the regular season. The team was coached by Phil Jackson. In case you’re unaware, going 72-10 in an NBA regular season is right next to impossible. It’s easier to win a championship than it is to pull that off, and the Bulls did both.
When Phil Jackson, who also has 10 other NBA titles along with this one, was asked what he would attribute to their success that particular year, his response was surprising. He didn’t say, “Well, we did have the greatest basketball player ever in Michael Jordan“, or “Dennis Rodman’s rebounding is what really kept us together that year“, or “Our defense was spectacular. You know, defense wins championships.” He said, “We simply stayed healthy for a whole year. No one really got hurt. If a good team can stay fully healthy for a year, they can do wonders.”
No matter what career path you’ve found yourself on, I would suspect that you love winning, right? I think what Phil Jackson would say in your leadership meeting is, “Stay Healthy.” If you were to ask your colleagues about the culture of your organization, would they say it was healthy? You can be as talented as you want to be, and you can recruit as much talent as you want, but if your talent isn’t healthy, they can’t win. Some say that Phil Jackson isn’t just a great basketball coach, but that he was the greatest manager of talent and could coach the uncoachable. Part of creating a healthy culture is also managing personalities well.
2 Ways to Create a Healthy Culture
1. Anonymous Evaluations – You have to be able to get honest feedback from those above, around, and below you. If you’re in a Christian organization, most people, ironically, will lie to you because they want to be nice. You have to retrieve HONEST feedback to get better, and to stay healthy.
2. Staff Getaways – Find an inexpensive hotel that may only be an hour away or anything and just get away with your staff. You can’t manage people well if you only really know them in the context of ministry. Too often we find out too late that somebody’s marriage was struggling because our only conversation with them was based on how they’re small group was going.
What are some ways you think you can create a healthy culture?
Good People – April Edition, City Church Chicago
I love celebrating what God is doing all around the country. I don’t get to see everybody and everything, but there’s enough haters out there to go around. I have simply chosen to be a person that encourages people to stay in the fight. There’s one church that I’ve gotten to know of the past year that is straight up fighting for Chicago. The church is called City Church Chicago.
Brian Houston, pastor of Hillsong Church, was asked how to create culture. He responded, “You don’t create culture. You are it. BE the culture.” I have never seen the words lived out more than in Kent & Alli Munsey. They pastor City Church Chicago in a way that I’ve never seen. I’m not just saying that to brag on them. I REALLY have never seen anything like it. The church has ONE employee. And everything else that makes up City Church is ran by volunteers. And their volunteers are no joke!
I get to visit City Church about once every month if not once every other month and on one of my visits I happen to catch food poisoning. Stupid. My brother lives about 90 minutes outside of Chicago and so I went to visit him and laid sick on his couch for a few days. In the midst of my illness, I get a text from a City Church volunteer saying, “Can we bring you anything?” I responded, “No, it’s ok, I’m about 90 minutes or so outside of Chicago now. I’ll be fine.” And they responded, “Like I said before, can we bring you anything?” That was impressive to me until this next story happen.
City Church is a growing church and considering some expansion out of their AMAZING vintage theatre that they meet in. One of the volunteers, who works for a professional architecture firm downtown Chicago, was giving me a tour of the building in parts that hadn’t been renovated yet. It’s was 6:30pm on a Monday night and a guy walks in fresh from working downtown in corporate America wearing dress pants, shirt, tie, and the works. He asked the other volunteer for the keys, and I asked him what he needed keys for just because I was curious. He said, “Oh, I’m here to clean to the toilets.” A leader/volunteer heard about the expense the church was paying for cleaning maintenance and spoke up in a meeting and said, “I can get a group of guys to take care of that for free.”
What Kent & Alli are building in Chicago is incredible, but it’s not built on really great “systems”. It’s built on a heart that is willing to do anything to reach a city for Jesus. City Church Chicago… is good people.
Just Friends
I read the above and think, “That’s what a friend does.” That’s not what a Facebook friend does. That’s what real friends do. They help each other find strength in the Lord especially when they’re in a desert. You’re reading this right now and I bet you know at least one person who’s just in a dry place searching for God knows what. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
I’m challenged to be more than the average friend. Yes, let’s hang out, let’s laugh, let’s eat, let’s shop, let’s hoop, but could it be that I’m friends with the people I’m friends with right now for a reason? Could it be that God strategically placed them in my life and I in theirs for a reason? Come on. We’re better than we’ve been. We’re not meant to be just friends. We’re meant to come alongside each other and strengthen one another in the Lord to help them fulfill the mission that God has placed on their life.
Kings Go To War
Watching the Bible Series has really been interesting for me. I try to watch it slow by pausing and rewinding so that I can read the Bible while I do it. And during the David and Bathsheba scene, this was the first verse I began to read.
It just challenged my leadership on two levels:
1.) To be where I’m suppose to be… when I’m suppose to be there. As the author sets up this story, is he telling us that David had a lust issue, or a placement issue? Or did he feel entitled to Kingship so much that he didn’t need to go to war? Had he killed enough and had so much confidence in his army that he thought they didn’t need him? I have no idea, but I simply can’t be afraid to ask myself hard questions about my own leadership and placement. The lack thereof only leads to disaster.
2.) To fight more. There’s a season where kings go to war. There’s times where, as a leader, it’s not about giving the most eloquent, clear, and concise orders that make your followers melt in loyalty to your vision and instructions. At some point, people need to see a sword in your hand to keep them believing in the vision. Sometimes when we achieve great success, we live under the notion that our success merits more money, stature, fame, and… less grunt work, less fighting. Kings go to war.
That’s what I had to preach to myself after verse 1. What do you guys think about the Bible series? I loved the black Samson with dreads.
Good People, January Edition: A Photographer & An Entrepreneur
At this stage of my life I get exposed to a lot of different people, leaders, & organizations. I walk away from so many meetings with one of many thoughts, “Man, they’re good people.” They have unique stories and abilities that some people aren’t always aware of, and so I thought I’d share a short list of “Good People” once a month on here. To get us started, I’d like to tell you about a photographer and an entrepreneur.
1.) Meet Meshali Mitchell. Hey, when you’re looking for a photographer for your wedding or special event, there’s a few things you look for: Someone with decent equipment and most importantly, a great portfolio. 
But Meshali brings something else to the table: an energetic personality. Any person I know that has done a shoot with her has HAD FUN doing it. Part of getting great photos is the process in which you got them. All in all, Meshali… is good people. Here’s a sample of some of her stuff.
To see more photos and learn a little more about Meshali, go here.
2.) Meet Taylor Scheer. Taylor and I became friends this summer and I’ve been Impressed with him from day one. He’s the son of mega church pastor, Bill Scheer, who pastors Guts Church in Tulsa, OK. 
Taylor was working at the church up until a couple of months ago when he decided to resign from his position to start his own clothing store. Taylor’s desire is to start multiple businesses over the next decade and then come back to work for the church and be less of a financial burden for the organization. I admire his heart for the church and for business. I visited the store last month and this dude is crushing it. I love the look and feel of the whole place. It was a total God thing as to how he acquired the space and how he was able to open so fast. He designed everything you see himself. Taylor Scheer: Incredibly talented, creative, Godly, and Good people. To find out more about the store, check out http://stylelabtulsa.com/. 
The Tension Between Being Spiritual & Being Practical
There 2 schools of thought when it comes to measuring spiritual growth. One school sums up a person’s spiritual expansion by: 1.) The quantity & quality of their time in prayer and reading the Bible. (the longer you pray, and the more you read, the better) 2.) The level of commitment they give to their to church. (the more involved and the more you serve, the better) This school is very inward focused. If you can spend 3 hours on your face before God, then that’s a big W in this circle.
The second school of thought grades one’s spiritual improvement by: 1.) Their community. (small groups or life groups are key here. “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future”) 2.) Their philanthropy. (how much of their money & time they give to causes, responding to natural disasters, involvement in city programs and community engagement is critical here)
It’s a shame that these schools of thought have opposed each other for years, but I’m beginning to see a new school that has a balance of both. I don’t think you can make your bed in either school and boast about anything you’ve done. “Pentecostals” have way too often found themselves inside the doors of the church expecting lost people to want to come in. And “non-denoms” have way too long found themselves outside the doors of the church at ground zero of some lost people’s hurt and pain with no spiritual potency to actually do anything about their hurt and their pain. It’s almost become bragging rights to simply be around lost people.
You could provide scriptures to support whatever it is you want to do, but no matter who you are, we all could use a little balance one way or the other.
Customer Engagement
Starting a business or a church can be tough. They both often run into the same organizational issues, but simply use different terminology to describe them. Businesses use words like “products” and “customers”. Churches use words like “first-time visitors” and “ministries”. Once a church or a business has had a particularly successful amount traction, the way they connect with their congregants or customers changes drastically.
The need for new products/ministries and services challenges a staff to adapt systems that were put in place during simpler times. Although people are creatures of habit, thriving organizations need flexibility to remain alert to the people who are coming through their doors and market trends.
One system that we all need to be aware of is how we continually engage our customers. We have to be able to stand in their shoes, or better yet, have them tell you about the experience they have had with your church or business. Bringing in church members into the organizational design process allows you to re-think how you engage with them. Whether it is transactional or consultative, you know you are engaging effectively with your customer when they echo back the things that make you special to them.
Here’s 4 indicators you have a healthy organizational culture that engages “customers” well:
- When people know where to turn for help when they need it. (user-friendly website and customer service at the office)
- When the experience people have with your organization reflects the values your organization
- When the service (or product) delivery is consistent and meets (or beats) people’s expectations
- When people understand the value proposition of what you provide
Like Mike
When I was a kid, on the court is where I lived. We all had one goal, and one dream… “to be like Mike.” I’d drink Gatorade when I wasn’t thirsty. I’d stick out my tongue on lay-ups (felt like dunks in my mind). I’d even pump the tongue of my shoes as if I, too, could fly from free throw lines… all trying to be like… Michael Jordan.
From adolescence to adulthood, there’s a dream to be chased, and a someone who’s living it. Whether the dream gets bigger or smaller, over time, the dream becomes more realistic. And the person living that “dream”… you see yourself being like that someday.
You see yourself…
Leading Worship like Joel Houston. Thinking like C.S. Lewis. Multiplying like Craig Groeschell. Leading like John Maxwell. Writing like Erwin McManus. Preaching the word like Judah Smith. Giving like Oprah. Winning the battlefield of your mind like Joyce Meyer. Breaking down the word like Mark Driscoll. Reaching young adults like Matt Chandler. Speaking to 2 million kids a year in schools like Reggie Dabbs. Having church in movie theatres like Mark Batterson. Being Practical like Andy Stanley. Being Purpose driven like Rick Warren. Being anointed like Kim Walker. Being Radical like David Platt. Inspiring people like TD Jakes. Creating like Ed Young. Smiling like Joel Osteen. Organizing like Bill Hybels. Singing ridiculous notes like Israel Houghton. Writing world-renown songs like Chris Tomlin. Dreaming like Matthew Barnett. Relating like Rob Bell. Going against the grain like Francis Chan… Or Writing blogs like Jon Acuff.
Perhaps we go even further in reading the scriptures. We see ourselves reaching “Paul” or “Peter” status. But on the contrary, Jesus wanted what they did to be foundational, not the end goal. What’s fascinating about all of the above individuals is they are all like Mike in their one thing they’re known for. And they‘ve paved the way for you to be like Mike in yours, not to simply catch up. We think of Jesus as a comedian when he said we’d do greater things than he did, but maybe he wasn’t joking. The best is yet to come.