Put yourself in a leadership position for an extended period and it won’t take long to figure out where your weaknesses are.

That is a lesson I have learned since going from part time to full time at my church and taking on a lot on more responsibility.

I’ve found that I struggle to be confrontational in difficult situations. And yet, I truly believe that all situations are better when an open dialogue can occur. This takes a person in the situation to confront the issue. I guess I get scared my being confrontational will be taken the wrong way; that somehow I’ll be perceived as mad when really I just simply care.

I’ll often sit back and have an internal fight with myself about whether to start the conversation and bring up the subject or not to. Whenever the “not to” side of me wins then fight with myself about why I wouldn’t confront the issue.

One of my bosses, Jay, often says, “if it feels funky, engage.” Meaning that if something doesn’t feel right, the best solution is to confront the issue or the person (in a Biblical way).

Believe me, no one likes to figure out where they are weak. It is most often a humbling rather, and not something that builds confidence. But, especially within leadership, how can you become a better person without learning the hard way?

This is what I’m learning.

How have you learned your weaknesses?

How have you overcome them?

I watched The Hurt Locker last night, mostly because it is nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars on Sunday. It is quite sad how few of the movies nominated for Best Picture I have seen. I guess I was trying to make up that a little. All in all, a solid movie. Seemed to give an honest look into the war in Iraq.

Usually I enjoy watching the Oscars, but I honestly don’t think I can stomach famous and rich people giving praise to other famous and rich people this year. Beyond that, I don’t know why people spend time arguing about how people are dressed during the red carpet shows.

Blogs

1. One thing that churches can learn from Google and Apple.
2. How to get your bike ready for spring.
3. Eugene Cho has some great thoughts on defining success as a pastor and/or leader.
4. Chad and Sarah Markley are sharing their story in an interview form on Rhett Smith’s blog this week. All married couples should take some time to read it.
5. Enjoyed Mark Batterson’s thoughts on the importance of teaching people how to study the Bible.

News

• US Goalie Ryan Miller was given a louder ovation in Pittsburgh this week than Sidney Crosby. That’s what I’m talking about!
• While I understand why this principal would be fired, I have to say…what he did was pretty funny.
• There is no way this girl should be playing basketball for a long time. (Update: She was suspended 2 games…ridiculous it is that short.)
• Beginning with the top 24, American Idol set up each individual with various social media accounts. But this week they scrapped that plan and formulated it all into one feed. I think they missed the point of social media.
• Speaking of Idol…has Idol lost its luster? I’d say yes.

Spring is almost here (unless you live in Portland, because it is here already).

In many ways our “modern” form of worship is already becoming outdated.

What do I mean by modern worship? I mean Hillsong United, I mean Chris Tomlin, I mean moving lights and moving backgrounds with lyrics over the top, I mean 4 minute songs, I mean 5 song worship “sets” of music. Hopefully you get the picture.

Over the last week I’ve been listening to a band named Gungor non-stop (best Christian album I’ve heard in a long time). Gungor is led by Michael Gungor and they play music in order to bring about what they call “worship experiences” outside of the church.

Instead of going around and touring churches, they are planning a few “events” rather than a concert tour. They’ll be in music venues rather than churches and yet they will still be focused around praise and worship music, though it might be different than you’ve seen or heard before. With the infusion of art and music outside the church they hope to reach a whole different group of people than the local church might reach.

(Come here if you can’t see the video RSS readers)

I for one, love this. This whole idea. Today’s church has turned worship into a music-oriented time. Bands like Gungor are turning worship into a sensory experience of God.

And for those of you who loved their album titled song from the first video, here is an acoustic version of it. It goes from good to INCREDIBLE (plus the lyrics are profound) at about the 2 minute mark:

Gungor isn’t alone with this kind of idea. I hung out with a group named Revolver when they came to Portland’s Idea Camp last November. They are doing something very similar through their church in San Diego.

I see this expression in worship growing in popularity as time goes on. I say that because everyone I know who has been a part of something like this is always blown away afterward.

This is a new expression of worship. And we should embrace that.

Change is a good thing.

(Just to be clear, I wasn’t paid for this post, nor was I asked to write anything about Gungor or Revolver. I was worried some of you might have thought otherwise because of my raving remarks for their music. I paid for the mp3s of Gungor’s new album with my own money and fell in love. I know a lot of bloggers get free stuff and post about it, but that isn’t my gig.

Oh and if you didn’t listen the the acoustic version of “Beautiful Things” you missed out on a beautiful 5 minutes. I’m just sayin…)

I often wonder if we haven’t made mentoring something far too difficult for most people.

When most people think of mentoring I believe they think of finding someone younger than them, who needs guidance, meeting with them for serious conversations over a long period of time, until they grow up.

You might say that this picture of mentoring isn’t how most people view it, but it probably isn’t far off.

And this picture, if true, is an extremely intimidating one. How many people actually think they have a lot to offer others? Not many. How many people want to sit down and have serious conversations week after week with the same person? Not many.

So maybe we’ve made this whole mentoring thing a little bit too complicated.

I saw a great artice in Portland Monthly about mentoring for baristas (coffee is big in Portland if you didn’t know). Here is how this barista mentoring program is described (read the whole article here):

“For most of us, coffee is simply a tool for paddle-shocking our brains every morning, but for a few of Portland’s 1,000 or so homeless youth, it’s a way to jump-start a career…The arrangement is simple, explains Sarah Dougher, a veteran P:ear staffer: Caffé Vita donates the coffee, equipment, and instruction while P:ear provides the space…P:ear’s eight-week-long program begins with a survey of coffees from around the world. Then students learn the intricacies of brewing coffees and espressos in the school’s tricked-out coffee cart…After graduation, alumni intern at local hot spots like Broder Cafe on SE Clinton Street to garner real-world experience and work references. ‘Being a barista should not be these kids’ last job,’ Dougher says. ‘But it can be their first.‘” (emphasis mine)

I absolutely love this. Part of me loves it because it is changing lives. Part of me loves it because of how simple and practical it is.

Too often we become intimidated about mentoring always being serious conversations (especially guys), but this program is an example of how mentoring can be accessible for anyone.

Maybe we need a new way of mentoring.

(Image: Mattox)

In case you missed some of these…here are the most popular posts from February 2010. I’ve ranked them based on total number of hits according to Google Analytics.

1. Tebow, Abortion, and the Super Bowl
2. Why ChurchRater.com is a Bad Idea
3. Why ChurchRater.com is a Great Idea
4. How NBC Ruined the Olympics
5. The Numbers Game

Which one stuck out to you?

I read a post from Seth Godin a few weeks ago that has stuck with me ever since. Here is his concluding thought:

Firing the customers you can’t possibly please gives you the bandwidth and resources to coddle the ones that truly deserve your attention and repay you with referrals, applause and loyalty (read the full post here).

Seth’s focus is more on marketing within the business world, but I do think there are implications for the church in what he said here.

My experience in the local church has been that much of the church’s time is spent keeping those inside happy, instead of using that time to reach those outside. Maybe your experience is similar.

But what if our mindset was unapologetic? What if each church did church their way without apologizing for it? If someone doesn’t like it, there are plenty of other churches to choose from.

I wonder if maybe each church would be much more effective by having that mindset.

I’m not necessarily saying this is the best course of action. But I am curious how you react to this line of thinking.

How should a local church best deal with critical people within their body?