We spent several Christmases at the Wright family farm where my Mom was raised. We often stayed with my Granny in a little wide place in the road called Dixie about 10 minutes from the farm. We did that because the farm house was full of others who came in for the holiday.
But the most fun was when we stayed at the farm with everyone else. Before we all arrived my Uncle Jr would go out on the ridge and get a scrub cedar for the Christmas tree that sat at the east end of the house. We'd play outside in the cold with the other cousins who had come for the holiday. I remember coming in to the house, getting warm and falling asleep after a busy day.
One Christmas we traveled to the farm in our '55 Chevy. Mom had to pack the trunk in such a way that she could hide the gifts from Santa Claus that would be under the tree on Christmas morning. That year I had asked for cowboy boots. I was thrilled when I opened one of my packages and found the brand new pair of brown cowboy boots with round toes and the fancy stitching up the sides. The first thing I had to do as soon as I got a chance was try them out. I went straight for the manure pile outside the dairy barn and tested them for farm use. My Mom just couldn't appreciate my need to do that.
Another year we traveled to the farm in our brand new '64 Olds. We had picked it up just a few days before we made the trip. In fact, I remember our license plate arriving from the dealership at the farm.
The arrival of the snow on Christmas Day was almost better than the new car. We got somewhere around 6" and the farm became a winter wonderland. The funnest part was sledding on the hill across the road from the farm with my cousins.
To add to the atmosphere we got some old tires (before the EPA) and set them on fire to give us a place to get warm and dry out while we went up and down the hill. We didn't have a lot of fancy sleds. We improvised. We got the hood of an old Crosley car with it's turned down nose (when it was on the car), flipped it over and rode it down the hill. We could usually get 5 of us on it. There was no steering it. It went where it wanted to go...very fast! It was a blast. I can't imagine a ready-made sled being nearly that much fun. We won't talk of the danger of the sharp edges.
There was one serious store-bought sled that I remember. We took turns riding it down the hill. One time my cousin Dan and I went down together on that one. The two of us could get into more trouble at the farm. In this case we went flying down the hill laughing all the way until we realized we were heading very quickly for the pond at the bottom of the hill. It was hit a fence post or take a very cold bath in the pond. We "chose" the fence post and it knocked my cousin a little silly...all the more fun.
I even remember my Dad, who wasn't much for outside things like this, taking that sled down the hill for a ride. He didn't go straight down like we did so he avoided the choice of the pond and fence post. Instead, he made as sharp a turn as he could...and spilled everything in his pockets on the hillside. That included a pocket knife, change and probably a fingernail clipper besides his keys. We laughed as we picked up all the items thinking about seeing my Dad come down the hill.
We flew down that hill all day except for a few breaks for food. By evening the hill was icing up and the Crosley hood got even faster. I don't think I've ever had that much fun sledding since.
Another Christmas I remember a bunch of us being there. The women got the food together for us, cooking a pot of soup on a couple of burners to get enough heat to it to finish it off. The kitchen counter was lined with goodies and we all ate our fill and laughed until our sides hurt.
The memories keep flooding back as I write. I'll have several more posts with antics from the farm. It was a childhood dream. And I don't remember the "things" I got as much as the fun times with family.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Racing
Today I'm thinking about adding some flowers to my blog. Nah! Probably not.
When I was a kid my Dad and I didn't do a lot of fun things together. He was an only child who lost his Dad when he was 2. His step father didn't come into his life until 4 or 5 years later. So he didn't know a whole lot about being a father.
One thing we did have in common was a love of cars. I can remember as a kid hanging on the back of the front bench seat looking at all the cars going by as we drove some place. I could name them all--make, model and year. Of course, that's when they all didn't look alike and the styling changed every year.
I lived in Louisville, KY about 5 miles from the state fairgrounds where they had a 1/4 mile paved asphalt oval race track. On a Fri or Sat night we could hear the cars going around the track in the distance.
One night out of the blue my Dad told me to get ready we were going someplace. I couldn't imagine where he would take me on a Fri night. We didn't often do things like that together, especially on a whim.
Much to my surprise and joy we ended up at the race track at the fairgrounds. On Fri nights they ran the older models...cars from the late 40's and early 50's...in lap races but also in figure eights. It was fun to watch two cars approaching the X of the figure eight wondering if they were going to hit. One night a couple of them did and one ended up sitting atop the stack of tires they placed there for...well, I'm not sure what for.
That began a regular activity for us happening several times a year. On Sat nights they ran the late models...60's. They were faster and sleaker. It was something to see a car that was a current model running on the track. Someone really had to have the bucks to do that! One of my neighbors ran a late model and I would occasionally go down past his house to see the car off the track being worked on.
We would often get to go in the pits to see the cars up close. It just further fueled my love of cars, especially the unmuffled roar of the engines.
As I grew older we stopped going to the oval track but my buddies now took me to the drag strip to see the cars, again with wonderful unmuffled engines, roar down the track from a standstill to over 100 mph in a quarter mile. Wow! That was moving.
I still love racing and enjoy watching the NASCAR races on TV. When I was a kid it was rare to see them televised.
One of the fun things that happened while I was at the Bargain Hunter was we sponsored a weekly race series car. We got free tickets to go to the Mansfield track to see it race as a major sponsor of a car.
One evening we went over for the Hooters 250. I thought about bringing ear plugs...but I didn't want to be a sissy. I made sure we sat down close to the track on turn 4 so we could get the benefit of the acceleration of the engines. I came home that night unable to hear well and it lasted a day or so more.
Maybe that's why I need hearing aids. Aw, it was worth it and still is to see and hear the cars turn loose their horsepower. One of my dreams is to drive a NASCAR in one of their schools around the country. It's part of my bucket list. What's on yours?
When I was a kid my Dad and I didn't do a lot of fun things together. He was an only child who lost his Dad when he was 2. His step father didn't come into his life until 4 or 5 years later. So he didn't know a whole lot about being a father.
One thing we did have in common was a love of cars. I can remember as a kid hanging on the back of the front bench seat looking at all the cars going by as we drove some place. I could name them all--make, model and year. Of course, that's when they all didn't look alike and the styling changed every year.
I lived in Louisville, KY about 5 miles from the state fairgrounds where they had a 1/4 mile paved asphalt oval race track. On a Fri or Sat night we could hear the cars going around the track in the distance.
One night out of the blue my Dad told me to get ready we were going someplace. I couldn't imagine where he would take me on a Fri night. We didn't often do things like that together, especially on a whim.
Much to my surprise and joy we ended up at the race track at the fairgrounds. On Fri nights they ran the older models...cars from the late 40's and early 50's...in lap races but also in figure eights. It was fun to watch two cars approaching the X of the figure eight wondering if they were going to hit. One night a couple of them did and one ended up sitting atop the stack of tires they placed there for...well, I'm not sure what for.
That began a regular activity for us happening several times a year. On Sat nights they ran the late models...60's. They were faster and sleaker. It was something to see a car that was a current model running on the track. Someone really had to have the bucks to do that! One of my neighbors ran a late model and I would occasionally go down past his house to see the car off the track being worked on.
We would often get to go in the pits to see the cars up close. It just further fueled my love of cars, especially the unmuffled roar of the engines.
As I grew older we stopped going to the oval track but my buddies now took me to the drag strip to see the cars, again with wonderful unmuffled engines, roar down the track from a standstill to over 100 mph in a quarter mile. Wow! That was moving.
I still love racing and enjoy watching the NASCAR races on TV. When I was a kid it was rare to see them televised.
One of the fun things that happened while I was at the Bargain Hunter was we sponsored a weekly race series car. We got free tickets to go to the Mansfield track to see it race as a major sponsor of a car.
One evening we went over for the Hooters 250. I thought about bringing ear plugs...but I didn't want to be a sissy. I made sure we sat down close to the track on turn 4 so we could get the benefit of the acceleration of the engines. I came home that night unable to hear well and it lasted a day or so more.
Maybe that's why I need hearing aids. Aw, it was worth it and still is to see and hear the cars turn loose their horsepower. One of my dreams is to drive a NASCAR in one of their schools around the country. It's part of my bucket list. What's on yours?
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Jeeps
Let's do something fun today! Well, it may not be fun for you but it will be fun for me.
As a young boy I remember sitting in front of our first television, a 12" screen, black and white Motorola (which I have sitting in my shop, by the way). One of my favorite shows was the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans show. I was especially taken by the Jeep, Nellie Belle.
Part of my fascination with that show was I was remembering the Jeep my grandfather had bought in 1949 (or 8 as some of the family say) to use on his farm. It was a dark green CJ3. It had an indestructible 4 cylinder flat head engine, the military style tires for mud and a Willys tailgate that was let down with chains.
When I visited the farm the location of the Jeep was one of the first places I'd go to after getting out of the car. My cousins and I would sit in it for hours playing all sorts of make believe.
We went everywhere in that Jeep...over the 280 acres of the farm, pulling wagons, trailers, hauling things or just out for a drive to see the cattle on Tunnel Ridge. Later after my grandfather died, my uncle would drive us into town to get supplies and we'd always tag along, two of us together in the passenger seat. Usually, it was my cousin Danny. Back then, the canvas top was long gone and my uncle had built a white plywood top to go over the two seats to keep warm in the winter.
As I got older, reaching the big 12, I was allowed to try to drive the Jeep moving it around from place to place. In fact, that's where I learned to drive. I had to stretch holding on to the steering wheel while pressing the floor starter button and depressing the clutch to get it started. Sometimes there just wasn't enough of me to get that done.
As I grew older my cousin Dan and I would get the Jeep out and drive it around the farm occasionally getting it in a situation where we needed the help of the tractor to pull us out. One time in particular we had killed the motor and the Jeep was sitting too close to the rock wall, threatening to go over it backwards. Part of that problem stemmed from being too short for us to get it started, let out the clutch and get it going away from the peril.
When my grandfather originally bought the Jeep new he purchased a short wheelbase trailer to go with it. The axle was located right in the center of the trailer. It was the hardest trailer to back that you have ever seen...but that didn't stop my cousin and I from trying it. Over and over and over again.
When my grandmother died we went back to the farm for the funeral. I had my new wife, Pat, along. We had just been married a few months. I remember taking her for a ride in the Jeep out into the old orchard.
In 1986 we went back to the farm while at a family reunion. The Jeep had been sitting for some time and hadn't been used on a regular basis. All we had to do was pour gas in the carburetor and make sure it had a jump and it fired right up. By then the two pedals for the clutch and brake had rusted together...but it still drove. In fact, if I remember correctly, my daughter Nissa took it for a drive.
I remember asking my uncle who still owned it (and still does!) if I could buy it from him. He wasn't willing to sell it so I returned back to PA where we were living at the time and bought one of my own. It was a '61 Willys Jeep CJ5, red with a white hardtop probably bought at Sears. The original 4 or 6 cylinder motor had been replaced by a Chevy 283 V8 from a '68. The owners had used it to plow snow and wanted some more horsepower. They also equipped it with a J C Whitney overdrive. And most importantly, it had a Willys tailgate with chains to let it down.
I've had a lot of fun in my Jeep but not as much fun as I would have hoped. I drove it everyday back and forth to work for about a year when we first moved back to OH. Then I used it to drag trees in the woods around our home when we bought out in Millersburg. I occasionally got it out and ran down the road, taking the various grandkids for a ride. Yea, they go for the Jeep when they get to my house now, sitting in it and playing make believe. When we lived in OH my grandson, Briggs, used to ask me to take he and his brother Rece for a ride in the forest (the woods around my home).
I can't drive my Jeep now. PA wants me to have it look like new to get Antique Plates on it. The other option is to license it regularly but that would drive the national deficit up even further to bring it back to road-worthiness.
Why do I keep it? Because it still means fun to me. It still brings out the boy in me and reminds me of all the fun times I had on the farm, exploring, seeing the countryside and doing the work of a farmer. Every kid should have that experience.
As a young boy I remember sitting in front of our first television, a 12" screen, black and white Motorola (which I have sitting in my shop, by the way). One of my favorite shows was the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans show. I was especially taken by the Jeep, Nellie Belle.
Part of my fascination with that show was I was remembering the Jeep my grandfather had bought in 1949 (or 8 as some of the family say) to use on his farm. It was a dark green CJ3. It had an indestructible 4 cylinder flat head engine, the military style tires for mud and a Willys tailgate that was let down with chains.
When I visited the farm the location of the Jeep was one of the first places I'd go to after getting out of the car. My cousins and I would sit in it for hours playing all sorts of make believe.
We went everywhere in that Jeep...over the 280 acres of the farm, pulling wagons, trailers, hauling things or just out for a drive to see the cattle on Tunnel Ridge. Later after my grandfather died, my uncle would drive us into town to get supplies and we'd always tag along, two of us together in the passenger seat. Usually, it was my cousin Danny. Back then, the canvas top was long gone and my uncle had built a white plywood top to go over the two seats to keep warm in the winter.
As I got older, reaching the big 12, I was allowed to try to drive the Jeep moving it around from place to place. In fact, that's where I learned to drive. I had to stretch holding on to the steering wheel while pressing the floor starter button and depressing the clutch to get it started. Sometimes there just wasn't enough of me to get that done.
As I grew older my cousin Dan and I would get the Jeep out and drive it around the farm occasionally getting it in a situation where we needed the help of the tractor to pull us out. One time in particular we had killed the motor and the Jeep was sitting too close to the rock wall, threatening to go over it backwards. Part of that problem stemmed from being too short for us to get it started, let out the clutch and get it going away from the peril.
When my grandfather originally bought the Jeep new he purchased a short wheelbase trailer to go with it. The axle was located right in the center of the trailer. It was the hardest trailer to back that you have ever seen...but that didn't stop my cousin and I from trying it. Over and over and over again.
When my grandmother died we went back to the farm for the funeral. I had my new wife, Pat, along. We had just been married a few months. I remember taking her for a ride in the Jeep out into the old orchard.
In 1986 we went back to the farm while at a family reunion. The Jeep had been sitting for some time and hadn't been used on a regular basis. All we had to do was pour gas in the carburetor and make sure it had a jump and it fired right up. By then the two pedals for the clutch and brake had rusted together...but it still drove. In fact, if I remember correctly, my daughter Nissa took it for a drive.
I remember asking my uncle who still owned it (and still does!) if I could buy it from him. He wasn't willing to sell it so I returned back to PA where we were living at the time and bought one of my own. It was a '61 Willys Jeep CJ5, red with a white hardtop probably bought at Sears. The original 4 or 6 cylinder motor had been replaced by a Chevy 283 V8 from a '68. The owners had used it to plow snow and wanted some more horsepower. They also equipped it with a J C Whitney overdrive. And most importantly, it had a Willys tailgate with chains to let it down.
I've had a lot of fun in my Jeep but not as much fun as I would have hoped. I drove it everyday back and forth to work for about a year when we first moved back to OH. Then I used it to drag trees in the woods around our home when we bought out in Millersburg. I occasionally got it out and ran down the road, taking the various grandkids for a ride. Yea, they go for the Jeep when they get to my house now, sitting in it and playing make believe. When we lived in OH my grandson, Briggs, used to ask me to take he and his brother Rece for a ride in the forest (the woods around my home).
I can't drive my Jeep now. PA wants me to have it look like new to get Antique Plates on it. The other option is to license it regularly but that would drive the national deficit up even further to bring it back to road-worthiness.
Why do I keep it? Because it still means fun to me. It still brings out the boy in me and reminds me of all the fun times I had on the farm, exploring, seeing the countryside and doing the work of a farmer. Every kid should have that experience.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Adam & Eve Syndrome
It's always someone else's fault. It's never my responsibility.
Where did that come from? From our dear friends and close relatives, Adam and Eve. It began when God asked Adam why he ate the fruit of the tree that was specifically banned. Adam's response: Eve made me do it. A number of years ago a comedian had a funny line that was equally suspect: The devil made me do it.
When is it our responsibility? Today. The world will only change when we take personal responsibility for our individual behavior, repent of our failings and seek to obey, not because the law says to but because we are in relationship with the righteous Father.
It is so easy to justify our behavior because "everyone else is doing it." That sounds like something I used to say to my Mom when she asked me why I did or why I needed to do something. That's how I justified speeding when I was traveling so much. I was just keeping up with the traffic. In fact, if I didn't go faster "they" would pass me. So?
Why do we obey the laws of the land? Because we are afraid of getting caught? With the police forces trimmed back and busy with so many other crimes I have a better chance of getting by with something. Observe how many people run stop signs or red lights (except for the ones with cameras!). Their odds of getting by with it are pretty good (unless someone with what they think is a green light and the right to enter the intersection collides with them).
If our behavior is based strictly on what others are doing we are in trouble. We have to come to a point where we are behaving righteously because of our relationship with the Father--regardless of what anyone else is doing. My inner motivation for obeying the laws can't be based on whether I am discovered or not. There are too many things we can do that no one will ever know whether we are persons of integrity or not. It has to be based on our relationship with a God who is personal and delights in our obedience.
Our behavior can't be based on the Old Testament idea of "an eye for an eye". We can not excuse our behavior based on the behavior of others. "He was just being a jerk so I just gave him back what he deserved." At some point someone needs to be the adult in these types of situations and refuse to retaliate.
If we as followers of Christ keep following others in their behaviors we are soon going to live in a very frightful world. There won't be enough laws to stop the dangerous behavior of everyone. We will get to a point where it won't be safe to enter an intersection because we won't be able to depend on the other person to stop. We won't be safe on the streets because someone else will decide that they need to take what we have. We will experience anarchy--total lawlessness.
It is time for those of us who claim to be followers of Christ to behave righteously, accept responsibility and act lawfully because we are people of the King. We are the salt and the light of the world and the culture is counting on us to stem the tide of evil and selfish behavior that is driving the world to lawlessness.
Where did that come from? From our dear friends and close relatives, Adam and Eve. It began when God asked Adam why he ate the fruit of the tree that was specifically banned. Adam's response: Eve made me do it. A number of years ago a comedian had a funny line that was equally suspect: The devil made me do it.
When is it our responsibility? Today. The world will only change when we take personal responsibility for our individual behavior, repent of our failings and seek to obey, not because the law says to but because we are in relationship with the righteous Father.
It is so easy to justify our behavior because "everyone else is doing it." That sounds like something I used to say to my Mom when she asked me why I did or why I needed to do something. That's how I justified speeding when I was traveling so much. I was just keeping up with the traffic. In fact, if I didn't go faster "they" would pass me. So?
Why do we obey the laws of the land? Because we are afraid of getting caught? With the police forces trimmed back and busy with so many other crimes I have a better chance of getting by with something. Observe how many people run stop signs or red lights (except for the ones with cameras!). Their odds of getting by with it are pretty good (unless someone with what they think is a green light and the right to enter the intersection collides with them).
If our behavior is based strictly on what others are doing we are in trouble. We have to come to a point where we are behaving righteously because of our relationship with the Father--regardless of what anyone else is doing. My inner motivation for obeying the laws can't be based on whether I am discovered or not. There are too many things we can do that no one will ever know whether we are persons of integrity or not. It has to be based on our relationship with a God who is personal and delights in our obedience.
Our behavior can't be based on the Old Testament idea of "an eye for an eye". We can not excuse our behavior based on the behavior of others. "He was just being a jerk so I just gave him back what he deserved." At some point someone needs to be the adult in these types of situations and refuse to retaliate.
If we as followers of Christ keep following others in their behaviors we are soon going to live in a very frightful world. There won't be enough laws to stop the dangerous behavior of everyone. We will get to a point where it won't be safe to enter an intersection because we won't be able to depend on the other person to stop. We won't be safe on the streets because someone else will decide that they need to take what we have. We will experience anarchy--total lawlessness.
It is time for those of us who claim to be followers of Christ to behave righteously, accept responsibility and act lawfully because we are people of the King. We are the salt and the light of the world and the culture is counting on us to stem the tide of evil and selfish behavior that is driving the world to lawlessness.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Management vs Leadership
I want to spin out a few things about management and leadership. It would be fun to have a dialog about these principles if you are interested.
For me, management is stewardship of resources. Making the best use of time, finances, available tools--basically what you have. The key resource in any organization is the people. I've seen it in churches, in business and other organizations. There are an awful lot of managers who are not good stewards of their resources, especially people. In too many cases managers, especially if they are doing the hiring of their personnel, don't know how to identify the gifts and talents of people in order to put them in the right place to exercise their gifts.
It takes someone who knows people to do this effectively. How do you find out what a person's passions are? This can be especially difficult if the person you are interviewing doesn't have a handle on who they are. I have always found it helpful to find out what a person would do if money were no object. What do they love to do if given the time? What has always lit their fire and brought energy to them over the course of their life? What motivates them to get out of bed each morning? By the way, I learned a lot of these questions and answers for myself when reading What Color is Your Parachute? years ago when searching for a job.
For me, I love to bring order out of chaos. Now I'll do my share of complaining when the job seems overwhelming but given time I can bring something into shape. I want to make an organization run like a Swiss clock. I want to see it work at effectively as a 4G network...fast, reliable and hitting the marks.
I've had a person working with me in a sales position who really wanted to be a band director in high school. As you can expect they really weren't that good at sales. They were hired to sell because they could be had cheaply. They were cheap but ineffective...and they experienced a lot of stress attempting to succeed at something they weren't gifted at. Last I heard they were still working in a high school directing a band. I've known persons who were very organized experiencing lots of frustration working for a boss who wasn't organized...and continually got in their way.
That's another aspect of good management...turning someone loose in their gifting. If someone is organized, encourage them to put things in order. Don't criticize them for freaking out in the middle of a mess. If someone isn't as prone to being organized make sure they are in a creative position that allows them to go with the flow of their creative ideas whenever they hit them.
I marvel at the management in many high tech firms. They provide their programmers with bean bag chairs, balls to throw, toys to play with. You need those after writing code for any length of time. They also encourage their employees to work when the creative juices are flowing. 24 hours straight if that works for them. I even heard of one company who put their programmers in the basement with a refrigerator full of Mountain Dew (at the time, the most caffeine you could get) and dared any of the other "normal" employees to go down there and bother them.
How does leadership differ from management? For me, the critical factor is vision. A leader has vision about what is ahead and is constantly articulating that vision to spur the troops on. What is the goal we are all working toward? To be the best camp for kids? To be the best ministry for emotionally broken people? To be the best at reaching those who are unchurched? To be the best small publisher in the region? To be the best HVAC service department in our county?
If someone isn't articulating the goal we are moving toward, the troops lose heart in the day to day grind. Working 8-5 or 6-4 or whatever hours you work doesn't mean anything if all you get is a paycheck.
Part of leadership's role in sharing the vision is reporting how we are getting closer to the fulfillment of that vision. How are team members doing their jobs and exercising their gifts in ways that are helping us get closer to our fulfillment? How am I doing in helping the organization to achieve our goal? I've known companies who have given small things as an incentive to their workers just to spur them on...a $5 gift certificate to McDonald's, a gas card for $20, a $2 bill for every compliment they get when a job is finished.
Vision is the sizzle of the steak. If you've ever had a steak delivered to your table on a hot plate, still sizzling from the grill, you have a picture of what I am talking about. Roast beef piled up on a plate just doesn't make my saliva flow like a sizzling hot steak on a plate does.
We have so many organizations in our world that are being led by managers without the ability to be good stewards of their resources. We have so many more that are being led by people who can't articulate a vision and get the team behind it. No wonder so many of us (I forget the per percentage) dread going to our jobs each day, some doing it for 40 years! That would kill anyone.
Are you managing without being a good steward of your resources? Are you being managed by someone who doesn't understand your gifting and passions? Are you in an organization with a passion-less leader who can't articulate the vision of where you are going? In some cases we can't change these situations quickly. In some we don't have power to make the change in the organization. But each of us can change our own behavior, commit to working where our hearts come alive and model for others what it is like to have passion for what we are doing.
For me, management is stewardship of resources. Making the best use of time, finances, available tools--basically what you have. The key resource in any organization is the people. I've seen it in churches, in business and other organizations. There are an awful lot of managers who are not good stewards of their resources, especially people. In too many cases managers, especially if they are doing the hiring of their personnel, don't know how to identify the gifts and talents of people in order to put them in the right place to exercise their gifts.
It takes someone who knows people to do this effectively. How do you find out what a person's passions are? This can be especially difficult if the person you are interviewing doesn't have a handle on who they are. I have always found it helpful to find out what a person would do if money were no object. What do they love to do if given the time? What has always lit their fire and brought energy to them over the course of their life? What motivates them to get out of bed each morning? By the way, I learned a lot of these questions and answers for myself when reading What Color is Your Parachute? years ago when searching for a job.
For me, I love to bring order out of chaos. Now I'll do my share of complaining when the job seems overwhelming but given time I can bring something into shape. I want to make an organization run like a Swiss clock. I want to see it work at effectively as a 4G network...fast, reliable and hitting the marks.
I've had a person working with me in a sales position who really wanted to be a band director in high school. As you can expect they really weren't that good at sales. They were hired to sell because they could be had cheaply. They were cheap but ineffective...and they experienced a lot of stress attempting to succeed at something they weren't gifted at. Last I heard they were still working in a high school directing a band. I've known persons who were very organized experiencing lots of frustration working for a boss who wasn't organized...and continually got in their way.
That's another aspect of good management...turning someone loose in their gifting. If someone is organized, encourage them to put things in order. Don't criticize them for freaking out in the middle of a mess. If someone isn't as prone to being organized make sure they are in a creative position that allows them to go with the flow of their creative ideas whenever they hit them.
I marvel at the management in many high tech firms. They provide their programmers with bean bag chairs, balls to throw, toys to play with. You need those after writing code for any length of time. They also encourage their employees to work when the creative juices are flowing. 24 hours straight if that works for them. I even heard of one company who put their programmers in the basement with a refrigerator full of Mountain Dew (at the time, the most caffeine you could get) and dared any of the other "normal" employees to go down there and bother them.
How does leadership differ from management? For me, the critical factor is vision. A leader has vision about what is ahead and is constantly articulating that vision to spur the troops on. What is the goal we are all working toward? To be the best camp for kids? To be the best ministry for emotionally broken people? To be the best at reaching those who are unchurched? To be the best small publisher in the region? To be the best HVAC service department in our county?
If someone isn't articulating the goal we are moving toward, the troops lose heart in the day to day grind. Working 8-5 or 6-4 or whatever hours you work doesn't mean anything if all you get is a paycheck.
Part of leadership's role in sharing the vision is reporting how we are getting closer to the fulfillment of that vision. How are team members doing their jobs and exercising their gifts in ways that are helping us get closer to our fulfillment? How am I doing in helping the organization to achieve our goal? I've known companies who have given small things as an incentive to their workers just to spur them on...a $5 gift certificate to McDonald's, a gas card for $20, a $2 bill for every compliment they get when a job is finished.
Vision is the sizzle of the steak. If you've ever had a steak delivered to your table on a hot plate, still sizzling from the grill, you have a picture of what I am talking about. Roast beef piled up on a plate just doesn't make my saliva flow like a sizzling hot steak on a plate does.
We have so many organizations in our world that are being led by managers without the ability to be good stewards of their resources. We have so many more that are being led by people who can't articulate a vision and get the team behind it. No wonder so many of us (I forget the per percentage) dread going to our jobs each day, some doing it for 40 years! That would kill anyone.
Are you managing without being a good steward of your resources? Are you being managed by someone who doesn't understand your gifting and passions? Are you in an organization with a passion-less leader who can't articulate the vision of where you are going? In some cases we can't change these situations quickly. In some we don't have power to make the change in the organization. But each of us can change our own behavior, commit to working where our hearts come alive and model for others what it is like to have passion for what we are doing.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Modeling
I've been on a prophetic kick the last couple of posts. Let me move back over to story telling for a bit.
I have attended more hours of classroom and seminar instruction that I can remember. In the first year of my Master's program I was assigned 10,000 pages of reading. As I am filling out job applications I keep remembering more things I have been exposed to. I know there are some things still rattling around in my brain that haven't come to the fore yet.
Of all the instructions I have "heard" the ones that have stuck with me the most are the things I learned by modeling--watching someone do something. As I worked with persons in Theotherapy it wasn't the things the participants had learned in class that caused them the problems they were facing. It was the actions of others (or the lack of actions) that caused the problems--behavior they had seen modeled that they embraced for themselves.
For instance, what did you learn about conflict resolution in your family setting? Did you observe your parents having a quarrel? Did they yell and shout at each other or did they clam up and go quietly about their business for the rest of the day...or week...or month. Were they able to talk out their disagreements, hear each other clearly and resolve the conflict? Or maybe you never heard your parents have a disagreement. In that case, you learned (falsely) that couples always get along and don't ever have quarrels. How realistic is that?
One of the things my Mom used to tell me when I got bored as a kid (before I was able to have a summer job) was that I should go out and watch the birds. I always thought that was lame and it didn't interest me in the least. But more importantly, I never saw my mom go out and watch the birds! What I saw her doing (and doing and doing) was work from dawn until dark. She was the first one up and the last one to go to bed and she seldom sat down to do anything relaxing. So when I got bored I was looking for activity! Give me something to do.
I learned the lesson all too well. I find it hard to sit down and just do nothing. I still seldom go out on my deck and watch the birds. In fact I seldom go out on my deck except to sweep it off, move something around or bring things out and put them away when the season dictates it.
I have learned some great things through modeling. I watched my Dad tackle home remodeling projects when he hadn't had any instruction from his Dad in how to do things. I have learned incredible skills in building from some of the best craftsmen I have seen. They taught me how to lay block, frame houses, hang drywall, finish drywall as I watched them perform their gifts with such skill. I've also learned how not to do some things but most of those I learned on my own by trial and error.
One of the other most important things I have learned is how to relate to people. I used to follow my friend Nate Miller around in OH when we first moved there. He never met a stranger. It didn't matter how weird or quiet or outgoing they were, he could become their friend in a matter of minutes. He drug all sorts of kids to his farm to have them work alongside him and impact their lives. He isn't shy about meeting anyone including thieves.
The rest of that story is that we were camping one time down near Loudonville, OH when someone took off with our coolers. Nate saw them going and ran after them calling out for them to stop. He got our cooler back and he also brought back the guys who stole it. He sat them down and talked to them! And it was with the kind and gentle instruction of someone who loves you. I had never seen that before!
I learned anger from others and unlearned most of those responses by watching others. I've learned how to have a better relationship with my wife from others. I've learned more about becoming a man of God and walking in my gifting from others who have shown me the way.
I hope you have had positive role models in your life. If you haven't there is still hope. I can remember when the book Wild At Heart first fell into my hands. I longed for some men to show me how to live like the Godly men I read about in Eldredge's book. The book came into my hands after I had cried out to God for a role model for Godly manhood. I got the book and then the Father began to bring me examples of Godly men to model my life after. I was literally taught by the Holy Spirit how to be a Godly man (I am still in need of instruction in that area!). So don't give up if you don't have a role model for positive behavior. God can still meet your need.
I have attended more hours of classroom and seminar instruction that I can remember. In the first year of my Master's program I was assigned 10,000 pages of reading. As I am filling out job applications I keep remembering more things I have been exposed to. I know there are some things still rattling around in my brain that haven't come to the fore yet.
Of all the instructions I have "heard" the ones that have stuck with me the most are the things I learned by modeling--watching someone do something. As I worked with persons in Theotherapy it wasn't the things the participants had learned in class that caused them the problems they were facing. It was the actions of others (or the lack of actions) that caused the problems--behavior they had seen modeled that they embraced for themselves.
For instance, what did you learn about conflict resolution in your family setting? Did you observe your parents having a quarrel? Did they yell and shout at each other or did they clam up and go quietly about their business for the rest of the day...or week...or month. Were they able to talk out their disagreements, hear each other clearly and resolve the conflict? Or maybe you never heard your parents have a disagreement. In that case, you learned (falsely) that couples always get along and don't ever have quarrels. How realistic is that?
One of the things my Mom used to tell me when I got bored as a kid (before I was able to have a summer job) was that I should go out and watch the birds. I always thought that was lame and it didn't interest me in the least. But more importantly, I never saw my mom go out and watch the birds! What I saw her doing (and doing and doing) was work from dawn until dark. She was the first one up and the last one to go to bed and she seldom sat down to do anything relaxing. So when I got bored I was looking for activity! Give me something to do.
I learned the lesson all too well. I find it hard to sit down and just do nothing. I still seldom go out on my deck and watch the birds. In fact I seldom go out on my deck except to sweep it off, move something around or bring things out and put them away when the season dictates it.
I have learned some great things through modeling. I watched my Dad tackle home remodeling projects when he hadn't had any instruction from his Dad in how to do things. I have learned incredible skills in building from some of the best craftsmen I have seen. They taught me how to lay block, frame houses, hang drywall, finish drywall as I watched them perform their gifts with such skill. I've also learned how not to do some things but most of those I learned on my own by trial and error.
One of the other most important things I have learned is how to relate to people. I used to follow my friend Nate Miller around in OH when we first moved there. He never met a stranger. It didn't matter how weird or quiet or outgoing they were, he could become their friend in a matter of minutes. He drug all sorts of kids to his farm to have them work alongside him and impact their lives. He isn't shy about meeting anyone including thieves.
The rest of that story is that we were camping one time down near Loudonville, OH when someone took off with our coolers. Nate saw them going and ran after them calling out for them to stop. He got our cooler back and he also brought back the guys who stole it. He sat them down and talked to them! And it was with the kind and gentle instruction of someone who loves you. I had never seen that before!
I learned anger from others and unlearned most of those responses by watching others. I've learned how to have a better relationship with my wife from others. I've learned more about becoming a man of God and walking in my gifting from others who have shown me the way.
I hope you have had positive role models in your life. If you haven't there is still hope. I can remember when the book Wild At Heart first fell into my hands. I longed for some men to show me how to live like the Godly men I read about in Eldredge's book. The book came into my hands after I had cried out to God for a role model for Godly manhood. I got the book and then the Father began to bring me examples of Godly men to model my life after. I was literally taught by the Holy Spirit how to be a Godly man (I am still in need of instruction in that area!). So don't give up if you don't have a role model for positive behavior. God can still meet your need.
Lawlessness
This one will probably step on some toes...but isn't that the job of a prophet? That's why the OT prophets tried to talk God out of calling them to that responsibility.
I want more spiritual authority in my life. I want to see the powers of darkness pushed back and the captives set free. Those of you who know me well know that my theme passage in life is Isaiah 61.
One of the brothers in the body of Christ that I listen to often is Arthur Burk. He is out on the edge in his spiritual walk and that's the kind of guy I want to hear from. A mutual friend of ours mentioned to me around New Year's last year that Arthur had suggested that if we want more spiritual authority in our lives we need to be obedient to the law. Now he is not advocating just being Pharisees or Sadduces and trying to keep the 614 Jewish laws for the sake of the appearance. And he's not trying to get people to become proud of their "righteousness". He wants to see more Christians with spiritual authority active in the world. I'd say we need it, don't you?
So what practical thing did he suggest? That we as Christians obey the speed limit. Stepped on my toes! I had gradually over the years stepped up my speed on the road to keep up with the traffic. I had noticed in frequent driving that the cops usually didn't bother you doing as much as 10 mph over the speed limit. In fact, I had heard 15 was now the new limit to get one of them to introduce themselves to you along the road.
I felt convicted, not by the judgment of the person who shared this with me, but by the Holy Spirit. I want more spiritual authority in my life. I want to see the power of God released through me as a part of the body of Christ to do battle with the forces of darkness that are ruining the lives of too many in our world.
So shortly after I heard this call, I began to set my cruise control to the speed limit regardless of where I was--local roads, rural roads, interstates. 25, 35, 45, 55, 65. I got to see the front of a lot of cars in my mirror very close to my rear bumper. People didn't like it who were following me. They passed me on double yellow lines, single yellow lines, turning lanes, anywhere they could get around me. I have been amused to see how many of them I meet at the next traffic light.
I haven't (well, most of the time) used my speed to aggravate them. I don't pull out in the fast lane on the interstate just to slow someone down. I have pulled off the road to let some of the drivers go by. I don't want the stress of having them right on my tail. In fact, I've noticed something. In eight months of driving 45 minutes to work every day I found myself arriving both at home and work less stressed. Our road trips have been less stressful. I kinda like not having the worry of getting a ticket or getting in someone else's way or having them get in my way and stressing about it.
I live in a conservative county, Lancaster, in PA where there are a lot of church-going people. Some of them wear little coverings on their head to affirm their being under authority. Some of them drive black or dark vehicles to avoid the things of the world. Others look just like me. But I don't see many of them driving the speed limit.
I have wondered, what would happen to the traffic here in Lancaster County if the professing Christians drove the speed limit? For that matter, what would happen if they began to obey the rest of the traffic laws like stopping at stop signs, stopping at red lights, only using designated turn lanes to make a turn? Take it a step further. What if the Christians would begin to be courteous in their responses to other drivers? Would it make a difference in the culture here?
I believe it would...one person at a time. Think about it.
I want more spiritual authority in my life. I want to see the powers of darkness pushed back and the captives set free. Those of you who know me well know that my theme passage in life is Isaiah 61.
One of the brothers in the body of Christ that I listen to often is Arthur Burk. He is out on the edge in his spiritual walk and that's the kind of guy I want to hear from. A mutual friend of ours mentioned to me around New Year's last year that Arthur had suggested that if we want more spiritual authority in our lives we need to be obedient to the law. Now he is not advocating just being Pharisees or Sadduces and trying to keep the 614 Jewish laws for the sake of the appearance. And he's not trying to get people to become proud of their "righteousness". He wants to see more Christians with spiritual authority active in the world. I'd say we need it, don't you?
So what practical thing did he suggest? That we as Christians obey the speed limit. Stepped on my toes! I had gradually over the years stepped up my speed on the road to keep up with the traffic. I had noticed in frequent driving that the cops usually didn't bother you doing as much as 10 mph over the speed limit. In fact, I had heard 15 was now the new limit to get one of them to introduce themselves to you along the road.
I felt convicted, not by the judgment of the person who shared this with me, but by the Holy Spirit. I want more spiritual authority in my life. I want to see the power of God released through me as a part of the body of Christ to do battle with the forces of darkness that are ruining the lives of too many in our world.
So shortly after I heard this call, I began to set my cruise control to the speed limit regardless of where I was--local roads, rural roads, interstates. 25, 35, 45, 55, 65. I got to see the front of a lot of cars in my mirror very close to my rear bumper. People didn't like it who were following me. They passed me on double yellow lines, single yellow lines, turning lanes, anywhere they could get around me. I have been amused to see how many of them I meet at the next traffic light.
I haven't (well, most of the time) used my speed to aggravate them. I don't pull out in the fast lane on the interstate just to slow someone down. I have pulled off the road to let some of the drivers go by. I don't want the stress of having them right on my tail. In fact, I've noticed something. In eight months of driving 45 minutes to work every day I found myself arriving both at home and work less stressed. Our road trips have been less stressful. I kinda like not having the worry of getting a ticket or getting in someone else's way or having them get in my way and stressing about it.
I live in a conservative county, Lancaster, in PA where there are a lot of church-going people. Some of them wear little coverings on their head to affirm their being under authority. Some of them drive black or dark vehicles to avoid the things of the world. Others look just like me. But I don't see many of them driving the speed limit.
I have wondered, what would happen to the traffic here in Lancaster County if the professing Christians drove the speed limit? For that matter, what would happen if they began to obey the rest of the traffic laws like stopping at stop signs, stopping at red lights, only using designated turn lanes to make a turn? Take it a step further. What if the Christians would begin to be courteous in their responses to other drivers? Would it make a difference in the culture here?
I believe it would...one person at a time. Think about it.
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