All posts in Personal Thoughts
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?
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.
Open Mic
One thing I’ve noticed in my life since I was a teenager was that whenever I encourage someone, 9 times out 10 they say, “I really needed that.” A lot of these people were strong “joyous” Christians yet they found themselves in a place of discouragement. Discouragement isn’t a sin, but what is it? I would define discouragement as the enemy replaying negative thoughts in a person’s head over and over again to get them to a place where they lose focus of what God has called them to do. Whenever I meet someone who would honestly say they’re discouraged, I would simply say they’ve believed lies.
I heard Bishop Jakes say, “Never give your stage to the devil.” He was referring to being very cautious about what outside issues you address in church and which ones you do not. When I think of discouragement, I think of a person’s mind being a stage, it’s open mic there, and the enemy is going to town. “You’re too young, you don’t have enough experience, you don’t enough swag, you’re too radical, you’re not unique and people want unique, you’re good but not great.” And here’s the deal, every single time you read the Bible, it’s like you’re giving God the mic on a stage in your head.
Stop giving your enemy a mic in your head. It’s dumb. He doesn’t belong on that stage.
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, February Edition
What impresses me the most about the two guys I’m bragging on this month is that they aren’t just good in their own circles. When your gift begins to become universal is what I believe is next level leadership. These dudes flow in so many diverse settings and I love it.
1. Normandy Ortiz. 
Normandy is the founder of TOM Central. TOM is The One Movement. It is a five step process to help people love one person toward Christ at a time. One thing that is underrated in our culture today is being bilingual. The impact that you can have just by learning another language is huge. Normandy’s ability to be an effective communicator in the latin world and english world is sick! He’s somebody you want to keep your eye on.
2. Travis Simons. Travis is the Young Adults Pastor at the Potter’s House. (Bishop TD Jakes’ Church) Like I said before, Travis has an ability to bounce between different cultures and remain effective. The man can preach in any setting. The more I’ve gotten to know Travis, the more I feel inspired to learn. He’s extremely educated, but never feels like he’s learned so much that he can take a break. He’s always looking for ways to get better and get smarter. He’s good people.
What To Do With Black History Month
It’s easy to make Black History month a time where we get creative with our latest black jokes because if we were to really take it seriously, there might actually be some tension. We like to stay away from sticky topics because we don’t like offending people, but I think there’s tremendous value in really taking a few moments to research what some of the Black History is.
When you look at the strides that we’ve taken in our country to give black people an opportunity to do anything any people can do, it really is remarkable. I had the opportunity to see pre screenings of a couple of movies that addressed the tension involved in Black History: DJango Unchained and 42 (movie about major league’s first ball player, Jackie Robinson.) They really made me realize how truly privileged I am in today’s society, but I think there’s a lot of work to still be done.
When I look at Black History, I don’t see black and white. I see division. And even though a lot of racial issues are in our rearview, division amongst churches could be at an all-time high. And I believe if we can dive into what allowed people of all colors to come together to even the playing field for everyone, I wonder what strategies we could pull from to blur some denominational lines to make a bigger impact for the kingdom of God.
That’s what I’m doing with Black History Month. What about you?
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/. 