The Problem with Isolation

Confession time: I am a science nerd.  I love to learn how things work, to get into the nuts and bolts of stuff and discover what makes things act the way they do.  It's part of the reason I majored in psychology; I want to know why we act the way we do as humans. But I've also had a strong interest in physics, mainly because it can explain so much of what we see on a day to day basis.  How is it that the world is round but nobody falls off into space?  Because of gravity.  What makes the brakes on my car work?  Friction. How do airplanes fly?  Because of the principles of lift (which still blows my mind).  Physics is all around you all the time, working in ways that you don't even see.  Maybe it's just me, but I think that's pretty cool.

Another reason I think the study of physics is not only interesting but also valuable, is because of the parallels we can draw between it and other areas.  If you believe that God created this world, and that He alone is sovereign over it, then it stands to reason that we should pay attention to the physical laws He created and set in place to govern it. Romans 1:19 it says that "Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities".  So I believe that God uses the science of physics to display a little bit of who He is and how He operates.  And I believe that He wants us to pay attention to this fact.

So with all that said, let's talk about thermodynamics.  Yes, thermodynamics.  Specifically, the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics.  Now if you saw the word "thermodynamics" and are getting ready to bolt, just hold on a for a little while.  This isn't a dissertation about physics (I wouldn't have any idea how to write that) and I'm not expert in this stuff.  I just want to look at some basic concepts that I think we can apply to how we live and how we lead.  

At it's core, thermodynamics is a field of physics that deals with heat and energy.  That's the main idea.  Now, there are a few accepted laws that determine how heat and energy behave.  One of these (the 2nd one, in fact) says something to this effect: disorder will only increase in an isolated system.  In other words, if you take something that is nice and organized and cut it off from everything else, it will only get less organized.  Make sense?  An isolated system is always trying to move towards what is called equilibrium, meaning that everything within the system is equal.  That's the basis of the 2nd law.  

For example, supposes you are to put a hot plate of food into an isolated room of  10 degrees.What happens?  The food loses heat, until the room and the food are the same temperature.  Why?  Because the room wants to be at equilibrium; it doesn't want varying temperatures.  So, when we look deeper, here is what actually happened: the food, when hot, is considered highly organized, or ordered, and is useful to us.  But as it loses heat, it becomes more and more disordered, and eventually becomes useless to us, since we want to eat our food hot.  The heat went from being highly concentrated, highly organized, and highly useful in the food, to being dispersed into the room, making it less concentrated, less organized, and less useful.  So even though it doesn't seem "disordered" in the room in our view, it is in fact considered that way from the perspective of energy.  That's how the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics works: isolated systems are always seeking to go to equilibrium, which in turn means disorder will always increase, and never decrease.  

So there are two factors here to consider.  First, heat is being lost.  We can't control that.  But the second factor, the isolation of the system, we can control.  And that's where the application lies.  If we want the food to be hot again, if we want to restore order to the system, we've got to reheat it, and to reheat it, the food can't be isolated.  If we don't, the heat is lost, and the disorder continues increase.

Therein lies the parallel to the Christian life.  If we isolate ourselves from others, from relationships, from help, from advice, from love, and most importantly, from God, the internal disorder we experience is only going to increase.  It is inevitable.  I'm sure the hot plate of food thinks that he's going to be hot forever, but unless he frequently jumps into the microwave, he's going to cool off.  We fall so easily into this line of thinking: "I can live the Christian life on my own, I don't need anyone else"...."I don't really need to study God's word everyday, I'll get enough at church on Sunday to cover me this week"....."I don't need to pray right now, things are going great"....we've all been here, or are here right now.  But the result (whether we've seen it yet or not) if we will be completely honest with ourselves, is that when we isolate ourselves like this, the light within us begins to fade, even if others don't see it on the outside.  Things fall apart.  That's the way of a fallen world.  So we've got to continually go back to the source of that light so that it will continue to shine in and through us.

God made us to be in relationships, both with Him and with other people.  We function best when these two things are right.  And it starts with God first.  Jesus tells us in John 15 that He is the true vine, and that if we remain in Him, He will remain in us, and we will bear good fruit. The command is for us to remain in Him; we have to maintain the connection if we are to see Him supply the fruit.  In other words, we've got to spend time with Him regularly: in prayer, study, fasting, and worship.  These are things many of us have been told to do since we were kids, but until we actually do them, we won't see much fruit.  

And then there are our relationships with others.  We've got to have them.  Doesn't mean we have to be social butterflies, but we were made to invest in others and be invested in by others.  We were made for fellowship.  Jesus spent much of His time around others, investing in them, teaching them, and enjoying fellowship with them.  If we are to follow His lead, and accomplish His will for us on the earth, we must do the same, partly because this will remove ourselves from isolation, but also because there are people out there who are all alone, and are relying on our obedience and friendship to escape isolation themselves.

One final note: when we talk about this idea of less internal disorder, please don't mistake this for meaning that our problems will decrease.  In fact, they just might increase.  But when we do not allow ourselves go about our lives solo, we experience the peace, the joy, the fulfillment of living within the will of God.  That's what it means to have less disorder: it's to have all of these things in the midst of the external storm.

As a introvert, I assure you that these are words that I need to take to heart daily.  But I would encourage you to do the same, because they are at the heart of what being a follower of Christ is all about.  We have to keep going back to the source, and we have to share that source with others.  Without that, we're just cold meatloaf.

The Reality of Perception

If you know me, you know that I don't care too much for politics.  But I will tune in for the presidential election, mostly because I find it very intriguing to follow.  Over the past few weeks, I've really enjoyed watching the presidential and vice presidential debates much more than I thought I would.  The reason for that doesn't lie in the debate itself (they tend to be a bit too cliche and repetitive for my limited political attention span), but in the fact that we now have a wonderful social networking service called Twitter that allows millions of people to share thoughts and opinions instantly with others.  It's been really interesting and entertaining to see the live commentary from both sides as these debates unfold.  And if there is one thing I've learned in following this commentary, it is this simple fact: people see what they want to see.  We all believe that our candidate was right, that he was the clear winner (or at least it was a tie, right?) and that the moderator was clearly pulling for the opposition.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that this stuff isn't necessarily true: it definitely could be.  But both sides are saying it, so someone has to be wrong, don't they?  And  I don't say this because I'm not guilty of it too...I believe we all do this to an extent, and I have found that there are many particular areas where I fail miserably here.  But the reality is that this phenomenon does exist.  Doesn't matter if it's politics, religion, sports, or whatever...we don't always perceive things for what they really are.

I have a theory about this phenomenon.  I like to think that we all have "filters" in our minds that control what we see and what we don't.  These filters are a function of our self-centeredness, only allowing what we want to see and believe into our minds and blocking out the things that might bring us pain or discomfort.  We have filters for literally everything: people, sports teams, foods, movies.  Everything.  And they originate from all kinds of other things: past experiences, the opinions of others, rumors, how we were raised, etc.  Our minds are filled with literally millions of them, all of which affect our perception of ourselves and our surroundings each and every day, and, left unchecked, can lead to some really bizarre ways of thinking on our part.

Let me give you an example from the University of Kentucky football team.  It would be an understatement to say that they have struggled this season, and that the majority of the fans are not happy with the current coaching staff.  Which is fine, in and of itself; everyone is entitled to their opinion on the direction of the program.  Yet there are some who are so adamant about firing the coach that it has affected their perception of the situation.  One specific example: a lady (one who wants the coach fired) called into a local sports call-in show recently and blamed the current rash of player injuries on the coach.  Huh?  That's some really skewed thinking.  The filter in her mind regarding UK football's coaching situation makes sure that all blame for the negative things that happen to the team are placed solely on the shoulders of the coach.  In other words, her filter has rendered her unable to look at the situation objectively.

This is such a small and inconsequential example, but the stakes go up dramatically when we talk about how we lead ourselves and others.  Are we allowing filters to affect how we see those that we are leading?  Did someone wrong you 5 years ago, and now that person can do no right in your eyes?  Are you able to look at not only the good, but the bad in your organization?  Or do you just block it out because it's too painful?  Do you tend to only listen to advice you agree with?  Or do you take all advice into consideration objectively?

Like I said, when the filters go unchecked, we lose our ability to think properly, and it hinders our spiritual growth.  So how do we keep them in check?  It's simple, yet requires discipline.  Our minds must be surrendered to Christ.  Only He can move us away from thinking in such a self-centered ways.  And there is great news when it comes to this.  1 Corinthians 2:16 says, we have the "mind of Christ".  Because of this, we have the ability to "see": we can see the world as God sees it.  So, then, it is our responsibility to continually be applying Scripture (God's thoughts) to replace our own.  This eliminates those filters, because it takes self out of the equation, and replaces them with God's own thoughts.  The more we apply Scripture to our minds, the more we are concerned with others and less with ourselves, and we begin to think as Christ desires us too.  By doing this, we are taking our thoughts captive, and making them obedient to Him. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Perception is not reality.  If a semi truck is driving toward me, but I perceive that it is driving away from me, guess what happens?  The semi truck still runs me over.  Indeed, we have to understand that Christ is the only reality.  When that is our mindset, and His word is our mind, everything else will flow as it should, and as a result, we will be able to lead with love, service, and effectiveness.  Make that your goal in how you lead yourself and those around you.

What It All Boils Down To

For the longest time, I struggled with the concept of leadership.  It always seemed like such a vague and subjective idea to me, and, because of this, I paid little attention to it's importance in my life.  All I knew was that I could identify a leader when I saw one, and that was enough for me.  In fact, it wasn't until the past couple of years that I began to truly understand what it meant to be a leader, and to see the importance of growing as a leader in all aspects of my life.  I've seen it change my relationships, my goals, my passions, and my life strategies.  And it's a big reason why I felt the need and desire to start this blog in the first place.

A little insight about myself: I am a man of few words.  I like getting to the point and don't feel the need to add a lot of fluff to what I need to say.  My wife can tell me a story, present a problem, or ask for advice in a 5 minute mini-speech, and I can respond (much to her chagrin) in a sentence or two.  My friends will tell you I'm not much for small talk.  I don't like listening to fluff either.  Listening to coaches speak about their teams drives me nuts because they rarely say anything of substance, instead choosing to just throw out a bunch of filler and cliches to appease reporters and fans.  And don't even get me started on political speeches.  When it comes right down to it, I really just don't like dancing around the subject of what needs to be said.  And that's how I felt, for many years, that leadership had been presented to me: as a bunch of fluff, with no real point.  I wanted to know the answer to the question: "In one word, what is leadership?"

I feel like John Maxwell gives that answer in the 2nd Law of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.  Here, he boils leadership down to one measure: influence.  The Law of Influence says that being a leader is all about the influence you have with others.  And when you think about it, this makes sense.  In order to lead, I need to influence.  I can't get someone to follow me if they don't care about what I do and say.  In a nutshell, our ability to lead is all about how much influence we have in people's everyday lives.

A fantastic example of this is UK basketball coach John Calipari.  The man is a master at 3 things: getting the best players to come to his school, getting them to buy into the team mentality, and preparing them for a professional basketball career.  That's what he's all about.  And he's a master at this because of his ability to influence these players and their families on so many levels.  Think about how many megastar recruiting classes he has had in his time here at UK.  Think about how sacrificially these megastars have played, seeking the betterment of the team instead of their stat line.  Think about how he has been able to help these kids make the right decision in regards to when they need to enter into the NBA.  It has required a remarkable amount of influence on Cal's part in making all these things happen, year in and year out, and the resulting success for the players and UK have been amazing.  Cal is a master of the Law of Influence.

So if we understand that leadership and influence go hand in hand, the follow up question is "How do I gain influence?".  It's a question that is not easily answered, and it's something that doesn't happen overnight.  It's taken Cal years of hard work to gain the considerable level of influence he holds over young basketball players.  And while it may not take you as long as it took Cal, it will take some time for you to be able to influence those around you.  That's just the nature of things.  In addition to time, there are a few key areas that John Maxwell suggests we need to grow in that produce influence, including our character, relationships, knowledge, intuition, experience, past success, and ability, all of which we will talk about going forward.

All in all, the take away is this: if you want to be a better leader, you need to grow your influence.  Spend some time thinking about those around you and the level of influence you have with them.  Is it where you want it to be?  If you want to lead well, you need people to listen when you speak, and to take notice when you act.  Work to increase your ability to influence, and you'll see your ability to lead grow along with it.

Source: John C. Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, 2007, Thomas Nelson.

Leadership Inequality

You've probably heard the phrase "All men are created equal" a thousand times since you were in grade school.  It's one of the principles that our country was built upon: that we all have a common bond in our humanity, and that, all in all, none of us are inherently better than the other.  It's a principle that we as a country believe and that God claims to be true as well.  Paul touches on the subject in Romans 3:23 when he says that we all fall short of God's standard, and that as a result we are all in the same boat because of our sin.  In the end, whatever our talents, our upbringing, our education, and no matter how hard we work, we are all equals in regards to our humanity.

But the same can't be said for leadership.

You might think me un-American for daring to say that all leaders aren't created equal.  But the truth is that they're not.  Some people are just going to be better leaders than others.  It's just the nature of how leadership works. We weren't all created with the same leadership abilities.  And while we need to be ok with that, that doesn't mean we sit back and stop our growth as a leader, because, as we discussed in the previous post, our effectiveness in our field of service is directly related to our level of leadership.  So we need to keep growing as a leader to be more effective as a person and as a team.

In his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell describes this phenomenon as the Law of the Lid.  It's the first of the 21 laws and a foundation that we have to take to heart if we want to grow in leadership.  Essentially, we all have a leadership "lid", a number that describes our leadership abilities.  This number describes how effective we can be as a leader.  It's a number that is not fixed; it can be raised or lowered, and it's determined by several factors, including natural talent, drive, experience, and others.  And it's an important concept to remember as we move forward in studying leadership.

So why is your "lid" so important?  Let me explain a little further.  Let's say these leadership "lids" can be measured on a scale from 1-10 (10 being the most ability, 1 the least).  If my current leadership lid is a 5, I will only be able to be an effective leader to those whose leadership lids are considered to be below a 5.  And that means I'll find it almost impossible to effectively lead those who have leadership lids of 5 or higher.  It's a tough concept to embrace, but it's true 99 times out of 100.  So what's my solution?  I've got to raise my lid.  I've got to work at getting to a 6 so I can lead more people effectively.

Now, in real life, we don't have a 1-10 scale telling us how good of a leader we are.  And there is no perfect 10 leader among mankind.  But the concept still remains: we need to strive to get better at leading others so that we can positively influence people that we may not have been able to influence before.  And we have to do that one step at a time.  We may never be a 10, and honestly, some of us will start to peak out at around a 7.  But that's doesn't excuse us from growing.

We see this principle in God's Word with The Parable Of The 3 Servants.  I won't cover the whole story, but the main idea is that a master leaves varying amounts of money to 3 of his servants while he is away on a trip, expecting them to do something productive with it.  2 of them go out and put the money to good use, investing it in hopes that it would grow.  But the third buries his money, hoping that his master would be happy that he merely held on to what he was given.  When the master returns, he was happy with the first 2 because, regardless of the amount of money they were given, they sought to grow the money for their master.  But he was furious with the servant who merely buried the money, because he had not "used well what he had been given".  In the master's eyes, it wasn't about how much they had been given, but what they did to grow what they had been given.

I wholeheartedly believe that this parable is applicable when we talk about our leadership ability.  You may be a 6 on the scale, and there is a 7 that God wants you to lead and influence, but it can only happen if you grow as a leader.  That's why the Law of the Lid is so crucial to understand an apply.

So, yeah, all leaders aren't created equal. Not all of us will be 10s, or 9s, or even 8s.  But the point of leadership is not about us and how awesome a leader we can become so we can brag about it and make ourselves feel better; it's about helping others advance to reach their God-given potential, and being faithful to build upon the God-given foundation of leadership we've been given.  And the first step of that process is committing to raising your "lid".  You've really already started because you're reading this blog, which means you are seeking to be a better leader.  As we go forward, we'll see how we can all raise our lids and be more effective leaders of what God has given us.


Source: John C. Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, 2007, Thomas Nelson.

Tip Of The Spear

You may be wondering why I named this blog "On The Front Line".  It comes from a concept we talked about frequently when TurningPoint Church launched in February 2012.  We as a launch team were tasked with being the first ones into the battle that is starting a church.  Pastor Josh Mauney, planter/lead pastor of TPC, frequently referred to the leadership of the church as the "tip of the spear".  It's a concept that I've been intrigued by and one that has been on my mind the past few days.

A spear is a pretty basic weapon made up of 2 parts: the shaft and the spearhead.  It's purpose is simple: to pierce it's target, with the intention to wound, disable, or kill.  Basic stuff, right?  But when you look a little closer, the thing you'll notice about the spear is that it's only really useful if the tip of the spearhead is able to pierce the target.  If that's not accomplished, the spear does not fulfill it's purpose.  In other words, the effectiveness of the spear as a whole is determined by how effective the tip of the spear is.

Now bear with  me as we over-analyze the spear just a bit more....

The question then becomes "What makes the tip of the spear effective?" The answer is pretty obvious: it's sharpness.  That's what it really comes down to.  There may be other factors at play, but at the end of the day, a sharp spear is more effective than a dull one.  And it all starts with the tip.  The tip is at the front: it receives the biggest push back from it's target.  But if it's sharp enough, it will pierce that target and accomplish it's purpose.  And what's more (and really the point I want to make here) is that when the tip pierces it's target successfully, it makes it a whole lot easier for the rest of the spear to do maximum damage to the enemy.  It's a simple, but powerful idea.

Ok, enough of the spear talk.  Let's get to the point.  Like I said earlier, leaders are the tip of the spear.  They are out in front of everyone else. They take on the full impact of the resistance.  And their effectiveness determines how effective those who follow behind them are.  That's why good leaders are so critical.  Without them, the spear doesn't do the damage it was intended to do.  But with them, they open up the way for others to have enormous success, which is what good leadership is all about.

You may think that all this talk of spears and warfare and enemies is too dramatic, but God would beg to differ.  His Word says that we are at war with an enemy, not of this world, but one in an unseen world (Eph. 6:12).  We are not fighting against people, but Satan.  And he is always on the prowl, ready to destroy us at every turn (1 Pet. 5:8).  The spear analogy is not one of war against any man, but one about piercing the dark world with the light of Jesus Christ.

So with this "tip of the spear" concept in mind, our attention then should turn to "sharpening" ourselves as leaders.  That's what this blog is about.  That's part of what TPC is all about.  In the next post, we'll look at a principle that helps illustrate what this looks like, and other reasons for why it is so crucial in not only the church, but in any organization.

Impact

If you have ever read through the Old Testament and reached the Book of Judges, you've probably noticed something strange.  For many years before, the nation of Israel had been led by strong leadership: first by Moses, then by Joshua, his faithful apprentice.  These men were what you look for in a leader: competent, strong, and faithful to God and His will for the people.  For the most part, things had gone great under the leadership of these two men.  Moses had led Israel out of bondage in Egypt, and while there were some wanderings and missteps along the way, they reached the Promised Land and conquered it under the leadership of Joshua.  Life was good.  God had fulfilled His promise.  Israel, it seemed, was on the up and up.

But, like all men before him, Joshua's life came to an end at the ripe old age of 110.  And that's when something strange happened-there was no leader to replace Joshua.  And things started to go south from there.

Judges 2:10 describes the situation best: After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.  When the leadership disappeared, Israel turned away from their God, the God who had done so much for the generation before them, their own parents and grandparents.  And suddenly, instead of progressing as a nation and defeating their enemies, they were on the losing side of the battle.

You see, I don't believe that this was a coincidence.  In fact, I don't believe in too many coincidences these days.  I believe that there is a reason God allowed this to happen to His people, and that thousands of years later, He wants us to look back and see a lesson on leadership here in this pivotal transition is Israel's history.  I believe that God is telling us here that if we as a church want to make an impact in this generation and in the ones to come, we need strong leaders now and in the future.  That means we need to identify and invest in leaders now and mentor ones for the future, because leadership is taught, not inherited.

That's why I started this blog.  Not because I know everything about leadership (I don't), but because I've grown to understand it's important in the church, in the family, in the workplace, and in our relationships.  As TurningPoint Church grows, our leaders must grow too.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that we will only grow as much as our leaders do.  So it's essential that we be intentional in growing leaders who are willing to be on the front lines of the battle.

This blog (to start) will draw from 2 main sources: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell, and the Bible.  And, as John mentions in the book, his principles are bases on Scripture, so really it all comes down to God's Word anyway.  I'd invite you to read along and join in the conversation as we grow together in leadership.  And while this resource was designed with TurningPoint members in mind, it is certainly not limited to that.  The church goes well beyond the doors of our building.

One last thing: you may be asking yourself "How does this apply to me?  I'm not a leader."  I'm hear to tell you that that is a lie.  Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created you in His image, and if God is the ultimate leader, and you were created in His image, then it makes sense that you have the capability to lead in some capacity, doesn't it?  At the least, you're called to lead yourself.  At the most, God may bring thousands under your leadership, or even more.  It's all about faithfully leading what God has blessed you with, whether it's a family, a small group, a company, or just your own self.  These principles apply to all.

So take courage.  I'm looking forward to seeing what God wants to do in and through you, and thrilled to be joining alongside you in whatever He has in store for His church.