The endorsement caused concern from several who believed I was recommending a writer whom they believe is abandoning Christianity as defined in the Word, and is closely align to what they see as a new hertical movement, “the emergent movement.” Many who are calling for changes in the church are being questioned as not subscribing to the actual truth, teaching and life of Christ.

I committed to re-read and give my response in 30-days. I have decided to re-tract the recommendation and blog post for two reasons:

[1.]  While I do not fully agree with those who argue that Miller is preaching a “different gospel,” there is enough within the book that cold be misunderstood, and miscontrued that it is not worth those who look to me being led astray by teaching different from the Truth of God’s Word. For those who challenged me, I did follow-through and check what I am recommending according to the Word of God. It is the same act that the Bereans performed in the New Testament, and as my brothers and sisters in Christ. I respect your desires to see me “hold to the truth,” That is my commitment, and will always be the commitment of my life.

[2.]  In regards to the blog entry, I also realized that I broke with a rule that I have held through the years.  In the past when suggest or recommend reading this is more challenging or edgy, I usually give the reader some “pre-conditions” or filters by which to read. I typically state the areas I do not fully agree, or where the writer might be off. I did not offer those disclaimers for Blue Like Jazz.

I read more widely maybe than most. I do not read only what I agree with. I make it a habit to NOT embrace everything I read. I hope that is the same habit that you employ. Every writer has his or her bias or areas where they move out of balance. Although writers should not move beyond the Truth according to the God’s Word, it is also not honest to think that each of us does not have our blind spots. We do. Even those who love the world of apologestics.

I will always be committed to the authority of Scripture and aligning myself only to that which stands for truth. And, I do not want to recommend reading that which has the potetnial of causing others to drift into false belief and truths.  For that reason… I offer the re-traction of my recommendation. And I do apologize if I have caused any to be misled by Miller’s writings. In the days ahead, I will work to hold to the two safeguards are well in place in the books and resource I may recommend.

For myself, personally, I see where and what Miller is trying to do, and therefore it is a read that I appreciated. I would NOT recommend this to the “new in the faith.”  In the New Testament, I believe that Jesus was aware and even read concerning the false teachers of his day. How else could he have combat their beliefs. And Paul sought to call into question the religious, and the thinking of his day. How else could be have had the dialog with the Greek thinkers of his day, later chapters of Acts, without have read that which was not the truth?

Food for thought.

Terry

God develops and grows leaders over a lifetime, in the soils of life itself. The essence and premise of this approach is summarized in the field of study known as Leadership Emergence Theory and is based upon research of Dr. J. Robert Clinton.

As God works in a leader’s life, the explanation of that working, that is, the development or shaping  of the leader, can be explained to a large extent by three important umbrella-like concepts: processing, time analysis and pattern of response.

Processing describes the intervention incidents which God uses to shape leaders.   Though each
individual’s processing is unique and situationally specific, there are common items shared with other
leaders.  We call those common items process items–items in the course of daily life which God uses to
“process” or “shape” a leader toward development.

Time analysis, the second of the umbrella-like concepts that helps explain the development of a
leader, refers to chronological analysis of the processing of a leader.  Time analysis does three things.  It
forces the emerging leader to see present processing in terms of a larger picture.  It also allows a means for
integrating the processing experienced to date into some sort of coherent overall picture.  Finally, it sets
expectations.  A coherent picture of a leader can be compared to a common time analysis synthesized from
comparative study of many unique timelines.

Comparative study of processing integrated along many unique time-lines has also resulted in the
identification of patterns describing various aspects of a leader’s development.  These response patterns
make up the third of the three umbrella-like concepts which help explain how a leader develops.  About
twenty-five patterns have been clearly identified.

These core concepts have been distilled in the Leader Breakthru category of resources known as Organic Leadership.

Check them out:

Take me to ORGANIC LEADERSHIP

I challenge people to live extra-ordinary lives: to be a part of living more than ordinary days. But what you do while you are waiting, in the ordinary, is often where issues of character and integrity are forged.

In the ordinary days of a leader, when the mundane seems to rule… and nothing seems to be occurring, what type of leader are you then? More often than not, that leaders are born in the valleys.  when it would be easy to just skate and even compromise, values and convictions are deepen. All leaders want change. When change does not occur, we find out where are commitments lie.

Think about 40 years of days wandering in a desert… or fifty days of waiting on the coming of a yet unknown, the Holy Spirit. How about the growing up years of Christ en route to a cross, or Paul in the desert after his conversion wondering when would he be able to redeem his years of persecution of the church. And then the hot and ordinary days of three missionary journeys… the ordinary is all over the pages of the Biblical characters lives, along with the extra-ordinary.

They are like the days os study and the wait to graduate… the weekly times of Bible studies and prayer that go on week in and week out… they days of quiet when God seems not to speak or work… the times when His promises grow thin through the strain of finances, and the in between times when the high of a mountain retreat meets the mundane of the work week week.

Who we are in the valley’s is who we are.

In the moments when life seems ordinary we are tested, sometimes more than in the times of crisis. In the ordinary you and I come face-to-face with what we believe and what we are called to bring into existence, and is it really important to weather the ordinary. Consistency… over time… when no one comes or responds. Will we take a pass on living out the vision, or will we choose to stay at it… to work it… to believe in it… to prepare for it, or not?

Living in the ordinary produces the passion and the courage to do the extra-ordinary.

I join the list of those who commit to finish well. One of the key habits of those who share that passion is that of being a lifelong learner. I never want to grow stale in my approach to life or thinking. I want to cultivate a life that pleases God, and takes in all that he desires.

I normally am not a big fan of lists, but Dan Sullivan, in his book “The Laws of Lifetime Growth” gave a list of impressive challenges which caught my eye. Thought you might like to wander through these with a question:  “How you want to approach the days ahead?”

Always make your questions bigger than your answers.

Always make your learning greater tha your experience.

Always make your contribution bigger than your reward.

Always make your performance greater than your applause.

Always make your future bigger than your past.

Always make your gratitude greater than your success.

Always make your enjoyment greater than effort.

Always make your cooperation greater than your status.

Always make your confidence greater than your comfort.

Always make your purpose greater than your money.

Some thoughts from Dr. J. Robert Clinton:

The single most important antidote to plateauing is a well developed learning posture.  Such a posture is also one of the major ways through which God gives vision.  I will describe more about how to do this in the commentary which follows.

Another of the major leadership lessons is Effective leaders  maintain a learning posture all their lives.  It sounds simple enough but many leaders don’t heed it.  Two Biblical leaders who certainly were learners all their lives and exemplified this principle were Daniel and Paul.  Note how Daniel observed this principle.  In Daniel 9 when he is quite old we find that he was still studying his Bible and still learning new things from it.  And he was alert to what God wanted to do through what he was learning.  Consequently, Daniel was able to intercede for his people and become a recipient of one of the great  messianic revelations.  Paul’s closing remarks to Timothy show he was still learning.  “And when you come don’t forget the books Timothy!” (2 Timothy 4:13).

Are you committed to make these kind of approaches to your days ahead? To finish well?

The key to innovation is often rediscovering what business you are in, to whom you’re actually trying to serve, and what are the needs/values you are trying to respond to. Tom Kelly of IDEO gives FIVE basic steps to innovation:

1. Understand the client and market-situation
2. Observe real people in real life situations… go to the source
3. Visualize new approaches and who will use them
4. Evaluate and refine prototypes
5. Implement the new in order to sustain the creative risk that has gone before.

What about you and the new things God wants to do? In your life and the lives of others?

1. Dare to ask God what’s next.
2. Dare to ask God to reveal what He is doing and how to and align us with His current plans.
3. Dare to ask God for new ways, and new approaches to serve His agenda.
4. Dare to ask God how to capture, evaluate, deepen and replicate the insights that He reveals.                    5. Dare to risk the new in order to allow for the creative, innovative side of God to be revealed.

Recall after 3 weeks:
Learning through being Told: 70%
Learning through being Told and shown: 72%
Learning through being Told, shown and experienced: 85%

Recall after 3 months:
Learning through being Told: 10%
Learning through being Told and shown: 32%
Learning through being Told, shown and experienced: 65%

(Source: Coaching for Performance, John Whitmore)

It is a simple reality: we do not remember, very well something we are told alone.
Learning, as it now is understood, requires the full participation of the learner. Expertiential learning is the staging of an experience where participants are engaged, connecting to knowledge and information, and are moved to the acquisition of new learning in a memorable way.

What’s the Point?

Transformation is different that just the dispensing of information. How we teach, train and resource… how we design our learning needs to be done differently, espcially as we more into the experience economy. In the future, our delivery needs to be relational, expertiental, dialogue- driven, non-static, and interactive.

Do you teach? Are you seeking to develop leaders? Train for transformed lives, nout just the dispensing of knowledge.

If you and I don’t learn to say no to even the good, we will not able to say yes to the best of what God has for our lives. But how? What grid should you use to be able to decide

Jesus modeled the focused life. Luke 9:51… he resolutely set His face toward Jerusalem.

Jesus followed a different path. He walked away from the desires of the crowd. He lived each day in communion with the Father (John 5), and closer to His ultimate purpose that He and the Father agreed upon before time began.

There is a way to be able to say No. It comes from discovering God unique shaping of our lives. In the 20s-30s it often mean clarifying your personal calling… in 40s-50s it means discovering your major role… in 60s and beyond it means discerning your ultimate contribution and legacy.

Living the Focused Life calls for an increased prioritzation of life activities and can make you often feel like the odd-man out. But you can life different if you want to!

Focused Living is a Leader Breakthru on-line and retreat process that helps you develop the grid required to say no, so you can yes to God’s best.

These difficult experiences also initiate a deep, inner searching and hunger for God. Without negative preparation, many leaders would plateau or stagnate in their growth. Negative processing, though painful, also serve other purposes.

> Negative events can reveal what an individual is gifted to do and not do.
> Negative experiences can cut through to areas of needed maturity.
> Negative process items often force leaders to mature and identify roles for which they are better-suited.

Time of negative preparation typically are not self-initiated… often cannot rationally be explained… and generally are not task related, but people related.

Examples include:
• Dissatisfaction with present job description or role
• Transition or crisis in job or ministry
• Limits in terms of a leader’s abilities or skills
• Conflict with other Christian workers or leaders
• Problems in life maturing (marriage relationships, problems with children, etc.)
• Adverse living conditions or financial sttruggles
• Struggles with interior, character issues
• Unexplained sickess or physical struggles

So… is it hard right now?
Has something happened to you that is hard to understand?
It happens. It’s something few of us  talk about, but all of us experience at one time or another.
Don’t grow weary in well doing, for you shall reap if you faint not.

So, I offer a suggestion my list. It borders on simplistic, but I think it is helpful sometimes to pair things back to the basics. I believe, at its core, there are two basic types of leaders: Directional Leaders and Devotional Leaders.

One leads from the outside-inward, the other from the Inside-outward. Both are leaders, but their approach to an issue or needs is often night-and-day.

Directional leaders are the ones we most oft tab as leaders. They announce vision, push us beyond, challenge the status quo, and lead by helping to address the issue of what’s next. Directional types are often initutives in that they cannot always tell you why a certain direction, or how to get there, but they comes up with the new and rally us to action.

Devotional leaders are also leaders, but their influence route takes them to interior side of those they lead. They go after issues of heart, motivation, values and formation of character. These leaders care for us as people, whereby we grant them the right to speak deeply into who we are and what we need to be. Devotional types are sometimes written off by the Type-A, task followers, but the more we trust a devotional leaders advice, the more their influence grows.

Directional can offer care and be devotional in their… and devotional do have moments when they set direction, but leaders often bring about their influence in one of these two types or approaches.

Last blog was about reverse mentoring… modeling and mentoring by living a life that others choose NOT to follow, based upon our bad example of life and leadership. Sad to say, but some of us learn our greatest convictions from the hurt, abuse and negative mentoring for those who have been our leaders.

This entry challenges us the other way…seizing the opportunity for influence by providing models and mentoring a lifestyle and leadership that others want to follow.

One of the NINE TYPES of mentoring, suggested by Dr. J. Robert Clinton is his book “Connecting,” is Contemporary Models. Mentoring can be more than just sharing a resource. It is often about the modeling of a lifestyle. People often times need to see a truth, before they live the truth.

I want to recommend a blog and resource for ideas and models: theplowblog.com.

It is authored by some passionate emerging leaders. Instead of just “bagging the church” for what’s it not, they are presenting ideas, models and responses to issues we have too long ignored in mainstream church. I enjoy and am inspired by both their challenges, and their creativity / insights.

Poverty is their current blog topic. It is obvious that poverty occupied Jesus’ heart. The question is not whether we should respond, but how?  And when the church does not respond, leaders need to begin to model and resource those around them with ways to live the truth.

Instead of letting the enoromity of the need overwhelm us, the authors provide models of response for others to emulate. I am in, and am going to link people to their ideas on how to respond. This is just one of many issues they are attacking head on.

We have a poverty of soul in the church today. The team at The Plow are helping us to respond. A worthy look. I do often. I encourage you to.