How do you handle adversity?
How do you handle unexpected adversity? I mean the kind of adversity that totally knocks you upside the head — because you just never saw it coming?
In the face of that kind of adversity — how do you lead?
These are a few of the questions I’m asking myself as I watch the quarterback situation unfolding in San Francisco.
Have you heard about the “Kaepernick Factor?”
I’m going to guess “No” — in part, because I may have just made it up.
Colin Kaepernick is the new starting quarterback of the surging San Francisco 49ers.
As a 24-year old who has been thrust to the forefront of a Super Bowl contender, he has won his first two NFL starts — leading his team to big wins over the Saints and Bears in back-to-back weeks.
Kaepernick got his big break when Alex Smith, the overall #1 pick from the 2005 draft, got injured during the 49ers win over the St. Louis Rams on Nov. 11th.
Although Smith has been cleared to play, Kaepernick continues to look like the Niners new leading man.
And before this starts to sound too much like a guest post for ESPN, let me tell you what I think any of this matters to you — and the young, aspiring leaders you serve…
I have so much to be thankful for this year… not the least of which is the work God has called me to with college students.
And I’m thankful to have you as a colleague — wherever you serve — on mission to reach this generation of college students for Christ.
As an expression of my appreciation for you — and all that you do — I’m extending to you a 20% discount to the 2013 Faith ON Campus Summer Institute.
Leading is a challenge.
Leading in the midst of division is all the more so.
But I’m confident that it can be done.
As our nation begins to settle into the reality of last night’s election, and the direction of our country for the next four years, there are some things that I hope our elected officials might consider — and that we, as ministry leaders, might model — as we seek to move forward for the betterment of those that we have been called (or elected) to serve.
“No.”
How often to you use this word? Do you feel the freedom to use it — to tell people no, to turn down a request?
My guess is the answer to that question is “no.” Or at least, not very often.
We feel called by God — to serve others. To be available. To make a difference.
“No,” just feels so unhelpful — even unChristian.
But is it?
Have you ever been to a dueling piano bar?
They’re truly astounding to watch. Their level of skill is uncanny, and they can play a seemingly endless number of requests. To this day, I’ve never seen a dueling piano player stumped by an audience request.
The freedom these performers have on their instruments is enviable. How fun it must be to sit down with such command of the piano! To have the freedom to play whatever they want.
I took piano lessons for several years as a kid, and I never got even close to this level of talent. It’s easy to watch these guys and imagine they must just be better than I am. More musical, more gifted, whatever.
In the last year, I’ve gotten to a place where the hamster wheel that I feel like I’m on is spinning out of control. Because I’ve been on the hamster wheel for, oh, about 25 years (I perfected managing a schedule, balancing responsibilities, and not lying around at a very early age), I actually know better how to live busy than I do to live balanced. I’ve explained to friends and family for years… okay, decades, that “things are going to slow down soon,” or “I’m just hustling now and I will get a break in a couple of weeks.”
In the midst of the busyness of ministry, I’ve learned that perhaps busyness is masking a dirty little secret. In the last year as I’ve examined both the cause and the cost of my busyness, I’ve begun to wonder if sometimes my busyness is actually…
I’ve learned, I can’t do everything. In fact, I’ve learned that if I don’t do some things, I can’t do anything.
It probably became a reality for me when my two boys were busy with sports, school, and church activities. I grew up without a father, so I wanted to be there for everything they did. I was successful for the most part, but that meant balancing their plans with running a business, serving on the city council, as well as dozens of appointed boards because of my elected position. I was in over my head.
I’m a collector, of sorts. I collect compasses. It’s not a very big collection. I only have about six of them. And though some of them look pretty nice, none of them are expensive. But I do like compasses. I have a couple setting on my desk at the office. I have one on my desk at home. I have others sitting at various spots throughout the house.
A compass is different than a clock or a calendar. Clocks and calendars are about time. A compass is all about direction. It is not about where you are at this moment in time, but about the direction in which you are heading. It helps to answer the questions, “Am I going in the direction I want to be going? Will this path get me to the place you want to be?”
While we lead others, we must lead ourselves. I often say to students who are planning on going into ministry, “We lead with our lives.” Ministry is, in one big sense, witness. Not infallible witness (we are all flawed, so please don’t climb on the inadequacy bandwagon), but witness, nonetheless.
In the best ministry, we are transparent, vulnerable, even when we’re assertively taking charge and doing great things.
This is the paradox of spiritual leadership.