On the Journey

Saw an interesting profile on Bob Knight and Bill Parcells on ESPN. Talking about their respective sports, teamwork and leadership. The number one component that seemed to be talked about was trust, and their players trusting them and knowing that they had their best interests in mind. Tony LaRussa was also part of the special segment and he mentioned that players want coaches who respect them and value a friendship/relationship built on trust. So would you rather have a coach you trust, or a coach who is great at X’s and O’s but nobody likes and respects?

Trust wins hands down every time.

i’ve got three out of four in the NCAA final four next weekend in San Antonio. I went with Georgetown instead of Kansas, thinking Kansas wouldn’t be able to get it done. But Georgetown bowed out early.

North Carolina and UCLA in the finals, with NC bringing home the title.

And there is no coincidence that Memphis, UCLA and NC are all making it happen- great point guards, which equal great teamwork and execution.

Spent some time this afternoon with Rusty Pritchard, who is doing great work with Evangelical Environmental Network, and is a good friend of Catalyst. Rusty spends part of his time guest lecturing at Emory here in Atlanta, and also speaks all over the country at colleges and universities on the topic of stewardship and creation care. He also is in charge of the Creation Care magazine, put out by EEN, and also spends lots of time hanging out with really important leaders talking about the future of global warming, social responsibility, creation stewarship, and how churches and Christ followers can lead in this discussion. He made an interesting point today- basically stating that their work is not focused on making people into environmentalists, but instead just purely focusing on the Biblical ideals of creation care and leading people back to Scripture, with only part of the conversation being around the environment. I love that idea.

Got to catch up with my great friend Peb Jackson this afternoon. Peb was in town to meet with Todd Peterson, the former placekicker for the Atlanta Falcons. Todd and Peb are involved in a number of mutual initiatives together, most notably a very cool project Todd is working on with some other friends from the network of influencers around the country. They are truly having an impact on leaders and significant philanthropists and givers around the country.

It was exciting to talk with Peb about his soon to release book Dangerous Faith with Waterbrook Press. Peb is one of those guys who has had some incredible life experiences and journeys, and basically knows everyone. So the book highlights stories from different friends of Peb. I looked through the manuscript this evening and wanted to drop everything and keep reading. We will have more from Peb in the coming weeks.

I am a blog reader. It’s a great way to keep up to date, in the know, and also continue to be a constant learner. These days, blogs are not just about keeping informed, but more geared towards relevant and practical content. So here is my top ten blogs (in no particular order):

1. Seth Godin

2. Swerve

3. Tony Morgan Live

4. Evotional

5. Sanders Says

6. How to Change the World (Guy Kawasaki)

7. Monday Morning Insight

8. Ragamuffin Soul

9. Catalyst Leader Feeder (had to get that one in there)

10. From Where I Sit (Mike Hyatt)

had the privelege on Saturday afternoon to spend some time with Dan Kimball. Dan is a thought leader, pastor, author, speaker and influential blogger. He lives in Santa Cruz, CA and pastors Vintage Faith Church. His most recent book is titled They Like Jesus But not the Church. Our team is going through this book together and it is definitely creating some great discussion and conversation among our team. I highly recommend this book. Dan and I spent a couple of hours together at a local Starbucks (mocha, no whip) and had an enlightening conversation. We talked at length about the Emergent movement, publishing, his church, leadership, and the conference world. I really appreciate his heart and passion for evangelism and his message to the church through his writings. Dan is incredibly intelligent, has a strong desire to learn (which I really admire- he asks great questions), and can tell he just flat out loves Jesus and wants others to know Him. Dan is a leader that will for sure be impacting the Church and leaders in the church for a long time.

So Kevin Myers, the teaching pastor at 12Stone Church here in suburban Atlanta, brought the wood this morning. He had a great message on the conflict between faith “intention” and faith “in action.” It was a great talk. Also focused around Psalm 23 and the idea that Jesus is our shepherd and wants us to find safety and security inside the boundaries of the herd and the protection of the great Shepherd.

I have had the great fortune of being able to meet lots of folks throughout my post college career, and in fact met some great folks and valuable contacts during college as well. It always amazes me how/why you meet the people you meet- I know God is in control and orchestrates connections, but it still remains a mystery to me on many occasions how certain people run across your path.

So, in thinking about the blessing of relationships, friendships, and a valuable network, I wanted to list a few folks I would like to meet over the next couple of years. I will keep you updated on the progress:

1. Denzel Washington

2. Tiger Woods

3. Barack Obama

4. Tom Brady

5. Bono

6. Oprah Winfrey

7. Bear Grylls

8. Steve Jobs

9. Melinda Gates

10. Brett Favre

What about you?

so i had lunch with Alan Nelson last week as mentioned in a previous post. Alan is the executive editor in charge of REV! Magazine, a valuable resource for church leaders that is widely read across the country. Alan is a good friend and for many years has been involved with the Group Publishing world which puts out REV!. Alan has helped in making REV! work, not just from a business model but also from a content and editorial model. He continues to push in being innovative, finding new voices, understanding the context of ministry, and having a finger on the pulse of church leadership. He has a new workshop he is doing for church leaders called Me to We. I really appreciate the fact that he continues to challenge the process and work hard to create environments for leaders to grow and improve.

The magazine business is such a tough thing to make work. Believe me, I know too well. As I have heard many times, magazines and restaurants are quite possibly the two worst investments to make. But magazines are also a huge part of the media world and a very strategic part of how we gather information and how we determine what is NEXT. I was thinking about my favorite magazine, FAST COMPANY, and why I enjoy reading it so much, and truly look forward to receiving it in the mail. I think it is really two main reasons: one, the content is always fresh, practical and applicable, and the design and aesthetic of the magazine is fresh; and two, it gives me the sense that I am part of an elite group of knowledge experts. Not meant in a traditional elitist way, but more from the standpoint of being in the know and having a connection to a community of experts and content folks.

Magazines truly are a great way to get in front of an audience, but the downside can be considerable as well. So what is your favorite magazine? Runner up for me is Business 2.0, although I think it might have gone out of business.

March is one of my favorite times of the year, mainly because of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, apply named March Madness. If I had to choose the final four as of today, I would have to take North Carolina, Tennessee, UCLA, and Kansas. I would love to see Oklahoma just make the tournament this year, as my alma mater has had a tough time the last two years following Kelvin Sampson’s departure to Indiana, although Jason Capel is doing a pretty good job, and is recruiting very well. They should start to show some major improvement next year.

I also predict the following teams to win their conferences:

PAC 10: UCLA

Big 12: Kansas

Big East: Georgetown

SEC: Tennessee

ACC: Duke

Big Ten: Who Cares

What is your final four prediction?

While spending time in Denver and Colorado Springs the last two days, had the chance to connect with three great leaders and visionaries.

• Alan Nelson, executive editor of REV! Magazine- had the chance to have lunch with Alan at the Group Publishing headquarters, and hear about some of the great things he is working on. He gets to live really close to the mountains and work in a really cool office environment. Every time I am there I feel like I just came in from an early morning run on the slopes- very cool vibe. Alan is doing some new teaching for church leaders and running the editorial side of REV!. More on this later.
• Greg Stier- Greg is the President of Dare 2 Share Ministries, based in Denver. He spends a ton of time on the road speaking to youth and challenging and equipping them to share their faith in a way that is relevant, practical and connects with their friends. Man, Greg is one passionate dude- and especially when it involves evangelism and the power of sharing your faith. A couple of hours around Greg and I was ready to walk out on the street and bring the heat for Jesus!
• Ken Petersen- Ken is the Publisher for Multnomah based in Colorado Springs, now a divison of Random House and part of the Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group. Ken is a longtime veteran of the Christian publishing industry, and has tons of respect among his peers, authors, agents and vendors within the publishing circles. Ken is a forward thinker and has a very realistic and accurate understanding of where the publishing world is headed. Plus, he really engages in thinking how we as believers are engaging in culture and changing the perceptions of Christ followers among non-Christians.