Fresh wind for our movement (fb)

I am proud to be a part of a world-wide movement that traces its roots back thousands of years.  I joined in high school, but had watched with curiosity and attraction for years.  Having no sense of the movement's history I couldn't have understood that I got connected at the beginning of a major downturn in our movement's popularity- at least in America.  The fact is that our movement has mostly fallen off of the radar of relevancy in our culture.

Prior to the 1940's the movement was primarily about professionals or the wealthy - but three things combined to create an explosion - making it accessible and desirable for millions of Americans.  First, a picture.  In 1953 Time magazine profiled John F. and Jackie Kennedy sailing small boats off sandy beaches off of Cape Cod.  The images told a story that included sailing in a life of romance, leadership, family, and citizenship.  The demand for sailing caused small communities of sailors to begin organizing.   These clubs were member owned and managed and existed to connect families with the opportunity to use free time sailing together.  The third factor was technological- in 1943 the Owens Corning company developed fiberglass, making boats both durable and affordable.  When Todd Little and I became 50-50 partners on a 16 foot Sidewinder racing sloop there were 10 million middle-class Americans that were part of this movement called "sailing."  In the last decade participation in sailing has declined by 40%.  Why?

First, the clubs built expensive water-front club houses during the boom years.  They began to hire staff, develop programs, include restaurants and bars, and generally forgot the core principle that they started with - "make it possible for people to sail."  The clubs that are currently thriving have no paid staff, still share resources, are intergenerational, and require that everyone give some of their free time for the sake of the club.  Todd and I got the guts to buy our boat because of a club at Lake Hefner that offered hourly rentals.

The "partners" tuning up Chastity in the driveway

Second, sailing became dominated by professionals and lost its connection to family life.  "The organic vitality of an activity can be measured by a ratio of amateurs to professionals active in it...when too many pros tax too few amateurs, some amateurs will start to wonder why they are in it."  In 2008, five percent of sailors were paid for it in some fashion.  Compare that with music, where one in 300 musicians are paid. The pro/amateur imbalance means that sailing has become a "crutch for some and a whim for others" rather than a lifestyle of the devoted.

Stacy and I bought "Dixie"- a 23' cruiser with a cabin- when our kids were four and six.  Sailing for us was about family and friends sharing experiences together.  It was a place of prayer, mentoring, laughter, and adventure.  It wasn't easy, but it was so worth it.

Third, sailing isn't simple - it is both art and science - quite complicated- the kind of thing that requires a lifetime commitment.  In the last 20 years our culture has abandoned "lifetime pursuits" in favor of paid entertainment in small time increments.  It is much easier to pay for a two hour movie than to head to a lake, rig a boat, read the wind, face a new challenge then take it all down and put it away.

Fourth, related to the former point, families aren't sailing together and the sailing industry promotes a generational disconnect.  "Find a culture where kids and adults are segregated and you'll find a culture on life support."  The decline of sailing in the last 20 years is directly correlated to the rise of kids "programs." We have taught a generation that sailing is primarily something to be done for kids, by kids, as kids in summer programs.  It is something to grow out of, not grow in to.

Finally, the focus on competition has brought division in sailing.  The professionals promoted sailing as a sport to compete in rather than a pastime to enjoy.  It is much easier to sell things to people who believe they need the latest and greatest, lightest and fastest.  The emphasis on racing created massive division among sailors competing to promote their race, their rules, their events, their class of boats as THE standard.  Each group has their own organizations, rules, publications, heroes and gurus.  For the average Joe that might be interested in sailing- this all seems like one big complicated mess.

What can we do about it?  What would it take for sailing to again become a lifestyle about shared adventure?

"Sailboats are flatly not family friendly in the popular sense.  On sailboats people argue, swear, and shout.  On sailboats, people fear, cry and celebrate.  On sailboats people fart, burp and vomit.  All out in the open.  But on sailboats, people, even children, learn to trust and understand each other, even when mistakes are made or common-sense lines are crossed...When sailing finally includes whole families and their networks, then sailing will gain in popularity again because it will matter again."

1.  Focus on mentoring

Jake about to take the helm as we motor out of Lake Hefner's East Bay

Real sailors are passionate about an idea: "that sailing is a better way to live than not sailing."  "...it is very difficult to spread one's passion into a pastime for the masses.  In fact, avidity usually develops one on one, or one to a few."  Mentors carry "authentic, contagious enthusiasm" for sailing- they are the key to its reemergence as a viable "Life Pastime" in the next generation.  "Mentoring en-masse is inevitably inauthentic.  And it fails when mentoring is confused with a place, a curriculum, philanthropy or a social program by well-meaning organizers."  Mentors are motivated by progress in their apprentices.  They don't waste time on just anyone- they look for apprentices willing to "commit, recommit, and recommit again even if it hurts."  "This can only happen in small groups of the same people over substantial time...everyone must participate."

2.  Raise the bar
"If sailors hope that sailing will survive and grow, they won't try to convince others that it is easy.  They will rightly call sailing what it is: difficult, time-consuming, evolving, sometimes risky and always worth it."

3.  Connect it to community, including women and girls

Em chillin' on Dixie

"Today, for every seven sailors on a boat, only one is a woman and almost none of these are active mothers."  Sailing has traditionally been the pastime of men and boys.  For sailing to begin growing again it must be about community, connecting families and generations to a shared lifestyle.  This requires a community commitment to create "overlapping free time" to spend together.

4.  Refocus sailing organizations around simple things-
"Define "family friendly" not as something sanitized or segregated, but as a thing purposely built for active family use."
Help mentors find apprentices and vice-versa
Focus everything around the idea of spreading a passion for sailing to as many as possible

Dad and Jake on Eufaula.  "I'll drive, you trim sails"

Finally- some things to avoid:
1.  "Don't focus on making entry easy; instead create open access and let the benefits pull those who choose to participate."
2.  "Don't encourage sailing, or for that matter any Life Pastime, to be a spectator sport.  It's bad for sailing and for spectators."
3.  "Never outsorce leadership.  Leaders are a product of time invested and shared experiences.  So invest time and share experiences among leaders and potential leaders."
4.  "Don't think that schools or programs or clubs and do what parents and/or mentor should do.
5.  "Never separate families and friends."
6.  "Never limit access to the water or deny someone time on a sailboat."

I recently finished reading Nicholas D. Hayes' Saving Sailing - all of the quotes and most of these ideas are direct lifts from that book.  If you, like me, are a student of leadership and community you should read this book.

I am a part of another movement that has declined with eery parallels to sailing in recent decades.  I love sailing, the other movement is my Eternal Past Time- why has it declined and what will it take to see it revived in America? - re-read the above with your Church glasses on - and be of good cheer - the breeze really is freshening from the east!

The Help (fb)

"It's time Minny, do you hear me?  You are free."

Finally finished this beautiful novel by Kathryn Stockett- The Help.  It is the story of a group of young white girls and the black women who raised them and are raising their babies.  It is set in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 60's.  Some thoughts:

Read it this summer on vacation- yeah it will break your heart but you'll also laugh a lot

More help for those that still don't understand why "they" can't just get over "it"- I mean that sincerely

Why so many recent books and movies about the courage, beauty, and forgiving hearts of black women in the face of racial, political, gender, and economic injustice?  God's up to something.

I was inspired by Skeeter's courage and willingness to "see"-  to really see

The beauty and dignity of "house work"  

Minny, Mr. Johnny and Miss Celia are a beautiful, redeeming story within a story- all three rise above their times

Stories, even fictional stories, about people that are different than us open our hearts to love all people more deeply, more genuinely, more like Jesus loves people.  It's good for a white man in 2010 Oklahoma to see into the joy and pain of two classes of women in Jackson, Mississippi in the 60's.

Race is THE issue of our times.  If you are looking for "Kingdom come" then put a hand on this plow- books like this help.  Also- watch the upcoming World Cup - it will be globalization's coming out party and racial tension will be ever-present if you're paying attention. 

Classic in the best way (fb)

The SBs just announced a new church planting initiative- 100 communities in 100 cities launched on 1 day- using the internet to connect people to God and each other, then providing opportunity for them to connect physically (thank you LifeChurch.TV for pioneering).  I'm hoping it's like Danny Wallace "Join Me" style church planting (which has never been more possible thanks to Facebook and Twitter).  They might find a way to mess it up, but....  It's a good example of why the SBs are the only evangelical denomination that has continued to survive, maybe even thrive while the rest whither on the vine.

Why?  Because, throughout their heritage, there are two things they value.

1.  The autonomy of the local church.  They have always been an entrepreneurial movement that values practice over posturing.  They are the NASCAR, git r done denomination.  Do they have bureaucracy and institutions?- of course, but... there is a pilot light still burning that values a decentralized movement united by one thing...

2.  The one thing... a commitment to mission.  This is the thing that unites them.  If it connects people to God- they're in.  They aren't defined (much to the average SB denominational leader's chagrin and they would never admit it) by their theology or doctrine.  Name me an SB theologian- Millard Erickson- ok that's one, but you won't find many.  On the other hand, you'll find lots of Presbyterian, Reformed, Lutheran, Methodist scholars - how are those guys doing?

No- at the end of the day- despite all of their perceived and real crumudgeon-like behavior - the SB's keep coming back to the right question.  "How do we proclaim Good News in this place and in this time?"

Something to grieve, something to own (fb)

Something significant happened in the family called Church last week- maybe you missed it.  Early last week John Piper announced that he is taking "an eight-month leave of absence to address unspecified "sins" that have "taken a toll" on his marriage."  (http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2010/03/author-piper-takes-leave-to-ta.php) John Piper happens to be my favorite modern preacher and teacher.  Back when he started Desiring God Ministries I was on a first name basis with The person that you called to order preaching "tapes."  Until a few years ago I read everything he wrote- including his exposition of Romans 9!  I just love this guy so it's understandable that this would be huge news for me.  But here is why I think it's huge news for "you" and especially for "us."


The Western church, especially the American church, has embraced a structure that is found nowhere in the New Testament, burns out leaders, and generally hinders the mission for which this family was gathered.  I don't know the "sins" to which Piper refers to but I know this.  John Piper walking away from everything for 8 months is a radical step to address radical problems.  This is not a guy who is just tired.  He doesn't just need a sabbatical - he's had lots of those through the years- mostly used for writing.  Fortunately his problems will likely not disqualify him for future leadership in the Church.  But over the last few years I've watched several high profile Christian leaders and several low-profile leaders fall under the weight of a system that is not sustainable.  Specifically, I talked to a couple of guys a year over the past ten years that needed to do what Piper is doing- step away- but wouldn't, couldn't.  


When I was in seminary, the statistic quoted was that the average length of time in vocational ministry for seminary grads was 7 years.  I'll bet that number is less now.  The typical senior pastor is relationally isolated - meaning they have no close friends to share heart-level intimacy with.  Most are also relationally isolated from their wives and families- who often resent continually playing second fiddle to the "church family."  I've never met a senior pastor who didn't say that wife and family are "first" - neither have I ever met one that was at peace with the way that value practically is worked out in the rhythm of life.   The senior pastor carries the weight of maintaining balance in a "provider-client" system that rewards an incremental increase in maintaining the status quo.  Every social invitation becomes a "should," every request for meeting is accompanied with fear.  Mostly fear of inadequacy- inadequate to give that perfect word of wisdom, encouragement, counsel, or affirmation that is expected.  Each time the senior leader rises to proclaim God's word it is with the knowledge that the performance will be judged  in every car and at every lunch table.  Our senior leaders are the brand, they are the franchise, a part of our identity.  In an adolescent culture obsessed with the next hit, they are Christendom's rock stars.  In short, the senior pastor is asked to be Prophet, Priest, and King...Apostle, Pastor, Teacher, and Evangelist.  But why does that matter?


It matters first because my bible tells me that in Christ we are one- we are connected, we share the same spiritual dna, everything that a brother or sister does affects all of the brothers and sisters.  If John Piper is hurting I'm hurting.  If Ted Haggard flames out...we flame out!  It's not "him" it's "us."  We are a covenant people - one in Christ and one with each other.  We are a body, a house, an army, a temple, a bride.  We are watching our leaders walk up onto a stage as a lamb to the slaughter, then we turn our eyes as they fall away.  We wish them well, pray for them, say what a shame it is, point out their flaws, then prop up the next guy.


It matters also because my bible tells me that leadership in the church is not connected to titles but to discipling people.  It is to be done by a diverse group of amateurs that are radically dependent on the Holy Spirit for ... everything.    There is not one description of Church in the new testament that looks anything like what we call "church."  You won't find one senior pastor in the new testament.  What you find is groups of people in cities, in community with one another, radically committed to love their city towards Jesus and His Kingdom.  They meet in small groups a lot more often than they meet in large groups.  The one description of a gathering that we are given in the bible shows a group of people waiting on the Holy Spirit- one has a word, another a song, another a prayer- everyone gets to play- everyone has to play.  Church is the lifestyle of a community on mission together, not a place you go or a meeting to attend.  If you go to a place or attend a meeting it should be for the purpose of equipping and encouraging you to live the lifestyle, or... it should be a worship and prayer throwdown for the ages that serves as a tangible expression of who we are and who God is.  


So what do we do about it?  Radical problems require radical solutions.  Senior pastors will continue to fall under the weight of "ministry" unless the body "be's" the body by taking that weight onto itself.  That will require:
- a fresh dose of grace- where we begin to grasp in our hearts how loved we are and how free we are
- a fresh vision of Kingdom transformation- a heart cry to see our friends, families, cities, and nations loved toward a reflection of "on earth as it is in heaven" 
- a biblical view of Church and church leadership- an army of amateurs committed to encourage one another to go for it in every sphere of culture
- a dependence on the Holy Spirit that we have not experienced in this country since the frontier revivals- we probably will have to be taught by African, Indian, Asian and Latin American brothers and sisters
- a structure that empowers Church as a lifestyle and makes "church as a meeting" a thing of the past


Where can we start?  The local church community that my family is connected to is taking radical steps in the right direction- steps that don't feel radical to most people- which means people are much more willing to embrace change.  Here are a few of these steps that we are embracing:


1.  Multiple preachers and teachers- there is no one that is the visible senior leader
2.  Paid staff are all part time, bi-vocational leaders - this keeps people grounded in real-life and also makes it impossible to load them down with burdens that should be carried by us all
3.  The weekly gathering is appropriately de-emphasized and life-together outside of the weekly meeting is celebrated
4.  The theology of the Kingdom is preached again, and again, and again, and again...
5.  There is almost an "open source" sense of place and mission in regards to the Church in our city, it's mission, and our necessary connection to all of our brothers and sisters in the city, regardless of their label


So let's pray for John and Noel Piper- let's fight for and with them.  And let's listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Church- taking ownership for our own contribution to the repeated crash and burn of our leaders.  Everyone gets to play, everyone has to play.  Finally, we know the end of the story and are full of faith - the Bride will be the beautiful, world-changing girl she was made to be and all the created of all time will marvel at her glory.

Texas Hill Country tour (fb)

A week before Spring Break we had no plans other than to help with the Church 2010 event at the Refuge OKC (which was amazing!)  We only have a few Spring Breaks left with the kids- precious time- so we wanted to use the few days after the OKC event to hit the road and do something fun.  It worked out so well I thought I'd give you the itinerary.  It would be a cool road trip for families with older kids or even for couples (it weirds the kids out when we describe places as "romantic"-  but lots of places were).

Wednesday:
Drove 3 hours to Fort Worth.  Hung out at the Stockyards for about three hours.
Leddy's - learned all about hand made boots, saddles, and hats
The Love Shack- had milkshakes on patio overlooking the main drag
Cattle Drive - kinda lame- only about 20 sleepy cows sauntering down the block
Joe T Garcia's - great tex-mex in an incredible outdoor atmosphere- one of the kids favorite things of the whole trip.  There is a line for seating indoor and one for outdoor.  The outdoor line will be longer but well worth the extra wait.
Billy Bob's- pool and two-stepping, big fun
Hotwire.com hooked us up with a 3.5 star Hyatt Center near downtown for $54 bones

Thursday:
Drove 2 hours to Austin.
Magnolia Cafe- perfect lunch on South Congress ("SoCo")- worth the wait
Walking South Congress and Downtown- South by Southwest was in full swing- there was live music everywhere- every parking lot, bar, lawn, building- everywhere. It was heaven.  We strolled for four hours down SoCo listening to music, eating great food and hanging out in cool boutiques.  Here are a couple of highlights.
Mellow Johnnies- Lance's bike shop.  Over-the-top awesome.  They were setting up for a band that was playing in the shop for SXSW.  Several of Lance's bikes downstairs.
Cupcake Airstream- listening to live music hanging out in front of the cupcake trailer was surreal.
Zilker Park- we took naps on the lawn at Zilker Park- threw the baseball.
Zilker Botanical Gardens- a hidden treasure in Zilker Park- we all loved it- beautiful
Pool at Barton Springs- we didn't swim but it is a must see
Alamo Draft House- good bar food while watching Alice in Wonderland 3-D.  Go early- the stuff they show before the movie is as good as the movie- classic.
Progress Coffee- OK- truth- we were too tired, but it really is the best coffee shop in Austin and I fantasized about all of us laughing into the late hours of the night over coffee but instead we ended up at a smokey Super 8 motel bushed.

Friday:
Drove 2 hours to Fredericksburg- wonderful scenic drive
Downtown Fredericksburg:  classic main street lined with mostly legit boutiques, bookstores, cafe's- nice strolling and browsing.
Rather Sweet Bakery:  where the locals eat- fresh local veg and baked goods.  Best chicken salad sandwich I've ever had- really cool place with a cool courtyard, balconies.
Becker Winery:  Fredericksburg is the hub of the Texas wine country.  Becker is the bell of their ball- expensive tasting room ($10 for 6) but fun.  Good wines.  Wish we had been there in May for the lavender festival.
Peach blossoms everywhere !
Enchanted Rock State Park:  This amazing granite rock in the middle of nowhere. You can climb up in 30 minutes- a must do- probably the consensus favorite thing of the whole trip (many thanks to Teri Brasheres for the rec)  Walked around on top for awhile- saw a helicopter mountain rescue- some lady fell down the rock- be careful!
Der Lindenbaum:  Small German place on Main- great food (this was a German town so we wanted to find the heritage fare).  We waited outside for a table and listened to a guitar player/ singer at the Silver Creek that was amazing.  I could have sat in that courtyard for hours- under the trees and the strung lights and the heaters and the music...

Hangar Hotel:  Our splurge- a converted airline hangar on a working airstrip.  We loved it- beautiful room, great people, boutique hotel.

Saturday:
98.1 KVET:  Listened to this station for three days.  Great new and classic country with a bent towards Texas hill country....country- Robert Earl Keen, Randy Rogers, Jerry Jeff Walker, Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle
Drove an hour, through Luchenbach, to San Marcos- beautiful
San Marcos outlet shopping:  we had a good time- they have all the stores- what can I say- it's outlet shopping- sometimes it's incredible and most of the time no big deal.  This time was on the no big deal end of the spectrum.
Drove 3 hours to Fort Worth
Riscky's BBQ: Good BBQ in Sundance Square- downtown Ft. Worth.  Sundance Square is kinda like if you put OKC's bricktown in the middle of the financial district- right in the middle of downtown- pretty cool.  Best spare-ribs I've ever had- with the possible exception of Shafer's home-smoked ones, but I digress.
Hilton:  Hotwire scored for us again- $54 for the downtown Hilton.  Walking to dinner, swanky hotel, so fun.

Sunday:
Breakfast at the Corner Bakery then we hit the road back to OKC.

Do this trip or something like it.  The Texas hill country is beautiful- great people, food, scenery, music, rural, urban, outdoorsey- everything a road trip should be.

My kids are going to space (fb)

Today was the maiden voyage of the first commercial spacecraft by Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.  It was only a test, and it never got into space but...it will- not 50 years from now but in the next two or three.  This makes me giddy with excitement, not because of space but because it is such a brilliant example of how quantum change really happens- it isn't linear it's reactionary.

If we polled 100 people and asked them "when will commercial spaceflight happen and what will it look like?" ninety plus percent of them would say something like..."It will be decades if it happens in my lifetime and it will be in some big spaceship that looks kind of like the space shuttle, with a blast off and everything."  Leave it to Richard Branson to find the guys that are thinking radically different.  The current model of spaceflight was built in and for the industrial age:

Massive organizations
Thousands of specialists
Rockets required to launch the craft from ground into outer space
Extremely infrequent launches
Large space craft requiring large structures and propulsion
Only the largest and wealthiest governments can afford to participate
Government sponsored space "programs"
Passengers are physical and intellectual elites that have gone through years of training

But here is how Virgin Galactic saw the future:

Smaller organizations
Less specialization and more borrowing from a variety of technologies and industries
Planes perform the final launch from 60,000 feet
Frequent launches
Small craft requiring small structures and propulsion
Thousands and eventually hundreds of thousands able to participate
Private "firms"
Passengers are normal Joes (that have a lot of money- at least at first!)
Training takes three days initially (I'll bet they get that down to one day within the first 5 years)

Wired magazine makes the point this month that the Apple ipad will forever change personal computing- no more mouse or keyboard or clumsy case.  Today the Church in America is Commodor 64, but it will be iPad, not iMac.  It won't be more and better of what we currently think of as "best practice."  It will be  different- quantum different.  I'm a Church lover- I don't know what you love.  But if you're a pioneer, avoid the trap of thinking linear change and train your mind to think quantum, which normally begins by changing all the questions.  And if you're a settler- don't stress out- just enjoy the ride and let the pioneers lose sleep about space travel, smart homes, communication technology, sustainability, urban planning, local food... And while we're glancing out the window wondering what the first moon village will be like you'll be full of joy, in the moment, awed by the vastness of space:)

To the sent ones (fc)

You are part of the most exciting generation in the history of the Church.  A generation set apart to be sent out into every network, neighborhood, and nation.  There is nothing special about you- in fact- it’s your ordinariness that is compelling.  Like the army in the book of Joel, the nations are shaking but they don’t see you they see Him.  Cities will be changed from the inside out, from the margin to the center.  No person, no church, no organization, no country, no leader gets the credit- a.k.a. the GLORY.  That will be reserved only for Him.  But where the sent ones are, EVERYONE will want to be.  If you want it you can have it- AIDS, Africa, human trafficking, extreme poverty, the marketplace and the arts- but it will cost you everything, beginning with your reputation.  History says you’ll quit.  If you make it it will be because you accepted the journey of character, courage, and community for a lifetime.  The good news?  You’ve got it- everything you need to go the distance.  You lack…nothing.