On the Journey

My dad coached high school football in Bristow, Oklahoma for almost 30 years. They won three state championships, played in the state championship game another three times, won district titles basically every year, and in the 1980’s were the winningest high school program in the state. Growing up in Bristow meant high school football. 

I asked him the other day what makes a good coach. Here were his responses:

1. First and foremost, they have to be great leaders. Players and other coaches want to follow them. They will make the tough decisions, and also have no problem surrounding themselves with other coaches who are more talented than they are. 

2. Ability to motivate- they have enthusiasm, and are able to pull the best out of kids. They also create great camaraderie among their staff.

3. Create a great program- great coaches carry with them a certain aura; they are incredibly competent, but also have the “IT” factor. People want to be around them. Kids want to do their best for them, parents want their kids playing for them, the school embraces them, and the community loves them. They create a winning tradition and other schools don’t like to play them. 

4. Competent- they know X’s and O’s. They are highly organized, lead well, and skilled at their profession.

5. Teacher at their core- there really is a connection between a great coach and great teacher. Coaches love to teach- the best coaches can take a player and raise their level of skill and ability because they not only can motivate them, but also can instruct them on how to be better.

Is it just me, or does it seem like we’ve recently lost a strong line of leaders in our economy, our government, our culture, and overall in our country? 

Everyone currently simply wants to cast blame on someone else, but not necessarily stand up and say “follow me.” What happened? 

A couple of years ago, Time claimed the person of the year was “you.” WE had arrived because we were able to control our own content, our own networks, our own free agent careers, our own investments, our own business, and our own way of life. 

But in times of crisis and time of fear and uncertainty, WE need someone to lead us. Please Mr. Senator, Mrs. Congresswomen, White House officials, Federal Reserve people- please lead us. And lead us now.

- Catalyst is now 11 days away. Yikes. 

- The greatest thing we have going with Catalyst? The leaders who will converge for three days. When you get 12,000 leaders together for 3 days, great things happen.

- I am continually impressed with the Burger King marketing campaign. Crispin + Porter + Bogusky is the firm behind the ads. By the way, Crispin Porter is doing the ads for Microsoft’s latest campaign with Bill Gates in many of the commercials, but you won’t find Microsoft listed as a client on their website. The latest Burger King commercial portrays the oversized Burger King man generously giving money to people on the street by slipping it into their pockets- sort of an opposite of a pick pocket. 

- It’s one of those weekends in college football…. USC lost on Thursday night, and Florida has already lost today. Who will fall next???

- Ben Arment is putting together some incredibly cool stuff for Catalyst West Coast. It will be launching in two weeks on the Catalyst website. 

- Still a huge need in Houston and Galveston. Please see the message from Chris Seay on how you can help them in their hurricane relief efforts.

- Bring your Junky Car Club to Catalyst. You will get preferred VIP parking, a gift bag, and also priority seating during one of the main sessions.

Two recommendations for you:

1. Lost Valley Ranch- 2 hrs southwest of Denver. I worked there for 5 years just after college, so I know this place well. The Foster family has been running this ranch for almost 50 years. An incredible place and amazing staff. The best horseback riding in the country- period. Hiking, fly fishing, tennis, swimming pool, skeet shooting. Plus a great kids program if you want to spend a week there in the summer. 

2. Vista Verde Ranch- just outside of Steamboat Springs in Colorado. This ranch is now run by two great friends, Ben Martin and Dace Starkweather. A Comprehensive experience with horseback riding, whitewater rafting, fly fishing, snow skiing (in the winter obviously), hiking and mountain biking. Beautiful setting and great amenities.

Both of these ranches are great for families, or for a getaway with your staff or friends. You can stay for a weekend, or for a week. Highly recommend either.

1. A Team

2. Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion

3. The fall of the Berlin Wall

4. Friendship bracelets

5. Guns n Roses 

6. Miami Hurricanes and San Francisco 49ER’s Football

7. Ronald Reagan

8. Nintendo

9. Tight roll jeans 

10. Michael Jackson

The together series continues. It is time that we discuss a more recent “TEAM” story. The US Olympic Basketball team. Why the gold medal this time? And what were the characteristics of this team that helped them win the gold? Here are a few thoughts: 

1. A clear vision and laser like goal- WIN the GOLD. 

2. Vulnerability- This team finally felt they were vulnerable- as a team, the US were confident, but also not cocky. they were concerned that other teams could beat them, and could match their talent.

3. Unselfish- finally, it wasn’t just about showing more of who each of them were as players. A greater focus on what they could do together. 

4. Strong, confident and respected leader- Coach K. Enough said. 

5. Ability to have fun and build team camaraderie – you probably saw the team hanging out at other events, laughing, and looking like they actually enjoyed being around each other. It works. And makes sense. 

6. Talent- Either you have it or you don’t. But not imperative. The US team had it in 2004, but the other pieces were missing. 

What else do you believe helped this team achieve gold?

Ed Bastian, President of Delta Airlines, stopped by the offices several weeks ago, and was gracious enough to allow us to capture some of his thoughts on leadership. Check it out. You can see other clips from our time with Ed here. 

A great post recently from Seth Godin on why people make decisions that seem out of sync with yours. 

Can’t wait to have Seth here with us for Catalyst.

Are you busy but not intentional? Do you feel like you are just spinning your wheels and not getting any traction? Could be you are dealing with way too much “sideways energy.” There is good energy and bad energy- and bad energy usually shows up as sideways… not because it is necessarily bad, but because it is usually a distraction.

Bad energy would be not showing up to work. Sideways energy is showing up but spending two hours talking about what you should have done an hour and a half ago. 

Bad energy would be gossiping. Sideways energy is procrastinating.

Bad energy is no new ideas. Sideways energy is the same meeting eight times in a row regarding the same idea that still has yet to be implemented. 

Bad energy is having three sales to close and not calling them back because you are lazy. Sideways energy is an organizational or personal system that takes 4 weeks to move a sale through the process because there is too much bureaucracy. 

Paper shuffling is sideways energy. Dealing with the same problem multiple times is sideways energy. Too many cc’ed emails is sideways energy. Micromanaging is sideways energy. Lack of trust is sideways energy.

And many times, the reason sideways energy becomes such a regular happening is because there is pressure coming from all sides with an organization- the very top, your boss, and those who you are leading. And the side seems to be the only place to find some relief and maybe focus on something, even if it is not the right thing to be focused on at the time. And growth can cause pressure that facilitates MORE sideways energy. Ultimately, this all leads to a lack of focus, which causes pressure because you choose not to deal with reality and instead want to focus on things that ultimately don’t matter. 

How to combat sideways energy? First, realize it exists and will paralyze an organization. Second, identity it and deal with it. Third, measure your productivity and create a system that will help you determine how much sideways energy you are creating, both for yourself as well as for your team. And finally, be clear on your goals and what the right kind of energy looks like for your team- if you model the right kind of energy, your team will follow in the same direction.

We picked out our best 5 bowlers on the team here at Catalyst and participated in the first annual PUSH Bowl Fundraiser last night. This is an event hosted by Essential 2 Life, which is a great organization here in Atlanta started by Vince Hungate that works with urban students within the Atlanta School system providing effective mentoring and training. 

The Catalyst team brought home second place. Thanks to Dwayne Melton, Chad Johnson, Melissa Kruse, and our ringer intern Sabrina Joseph for helping us bring home the silver. We were beat by a team from Coke…. hmmm, Coke was the major sponsor of the event…. seems a bit scandalous to me… we have filed a protest with the National Bowling Association….. we’ll see what happens! 

It was a great night, and tons of fun. Over 50 organizations participated from all over Atlanta. Make sure to check out Essential 2 Life and the great work they are doing with Atlanta’s at-risk youth.

Welcome to all the IT fans. Thanks for stopping by today for the Craig Groeschel Blog Tour. Scott Hodge yesterday, and Dave Ferguson tomorrow. I am in good company.

I had several questions for Craig regarding IT, but had to narrow everything down to one. So here you go.

For young leaders, one of our great challenges is that we want to be confident in leading, but not arrogant, and we want to step up and lead now. When it comes to the “IT” factor, how do we know if we have IT when we might be very early in the process, so it’s hard to measure because of a true lack of experience?

Craig: 

Brad, Thanks for your tremendous leadership with Catalyst! I can’t wait for the event again this year.
 
You’ve asked a great question. In case your readers don’t know what I mean by IT, I am simply referring to the special work of God that you experience at some places. You can feel IT… sense IT… you want IT…
 
Actually, I believe that IT is often easier for a young leader to have than for a veteran because ministry often kills IT. I know that sounds odd, but it’s true.
 
Some people are so in love with Jesus that they’ll leave their higher paying jobs to serve God in full-time ministry. Over time, they get hurt, disillusioned, and discouraged. Without even realizing it, they can lose their spiritual edge.
 
Experience breeds wisdom. There can be a huge advantage as a leader matures over time. But even a child can “get it.” I love to encourage the passion in the young believers and challenge them to keep dreaming big! You don’t have to be old to make a huge difference for Christ! Paul encouraged Timothy not to let anyone despise his youth. 

Thanks Craig! Looking forward to seeing and hearing from you in a couple of weeks. 

Visit Craig’s blog here.

Just wanted to provide a quick update on the Blue Tarps Campaign. Over 300 tarps since last Monday have been sent to Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, and those are only the ones we know about! So thanks to everyone who sent tarps, and also to those who helped get the word out. 

And there is still a great need, so get involved now. Visit the original post here for pertinent information.

Interesting article in several major papers today. You can read it here. Mixed views on Sarah Palin, as represented by a wide variety of voices within the Church today being quoted. 

Your thoughts?

Love what is happening with Advent Conspiracy. Check out the brand new video on the website for leading up to Christmas this year. Started by good friends Rick McKinley and Chris Seay. The fall campaign will launch next week leading up to Christmas. Get your church or organization involved with this great initiative.

Read HERE. 

Archives HERE.

So I am talking with Ed Stetzer yesterday about Catalyst- his research he is releasing at the event, his quick presentation on the main stage of this research, and his lab session on Wednesday afternoon. 

During our conversation he busts my chops about my blog being tired, which in many ways I agree with. Plus, as I find out today, he is twittering while we are talking- so all 10 million of the people who follow him on twitter now think my blog is tired…… thanks for the encouragement Ed!

So, the challenge: PLEASE help me upgrade my blog. New design, new name, and other innovative ideas.

Designers? Innovators? Help! What do you think?

Craig Groeschel, author of IT, is going on a book blog tour next week. The blog tour features 10 blogs over two weeks.

Below is the schedule for this blog tour:

September 15 – Swerve (Craig Groeschel & Bobby Gruenewald)

September 16 – Scott Hodge

September 17 – Catalyst blog and On the Journey (Brad Lomenick)

September 18 – Velocity (Dave Ferguson)

September 19 –Zondervan blog

September 22 – Monday Morning Insight (Todd Rhoades)

September 23 – Innovative Ministry Leader (Sean Lewis)

September 24 – Tony Morgan Live

September 25 – Leading Smart (Tim Stevens)

September 26 – FlowerDust (Anne Jackson) 

While the tour kicks off next week on the Swerve blog, you do not have to wait to find out more information. Each day this week on the Zondervan blog, they will be posting something about the book and the concepts behind it. 

Visit www.zondervan.com/it for more information

Hurricane Gustav missed a direct hit on New Orleans, but trounced Baton Rouge pretty hard. Supposedly, the worst hurricane damage ever in Baton Rouge.

Our great friends at Healing Place Church, who for the last three years has been doing incredible work in Katrina relief efforts, are now in need of your help. Dino Rizzo and the team at Healing Place are asking for BLUE TARPS for the relief efforts from Hurricane Gustav. 

Our road trip team was there on Friday and saw the damage first hand. Power is expected to be out in parts of southern Louisiana for 4-6 weeks. Many people in the outer parts of the bayou have yet to be reached. We asked how we could help. Their answer:

They need BLUE TARPS! 

Please send as many blue tarps as you can to Healing Place Church. 

Here is a BLUE TARP Link where you can purchase a blue tarp. The shipping address is below. 

ONE (1) BLUE TARP
Healing Place Church
19202 Highland Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
225.753.2273

You can also visit the official Hurricane Relief website set up by Healing Place Church for more information and other ways to get involved.

Thanks for giving and helping our friends in Baton Rouge! And please post this on your own sites as well and forward to friends.

Check out a recent conversation with Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church and author of the new book Wild Goose Chase. His first book In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day has been a huge success. You can stream the conversation here or download/stream from itunes.

In round 2 of the “Together” Series leading up to Catalyst on October 8-10, I wanted to highlight a great project that demonstrates the beauty of working together.

The Quench Project is a collaborative effort among several organizations, film studios, producers, and creatives in the Christian community to provide a joint DVD project that will give all proceeds to clean water wells in Africa. These filmmakers have each donated one (or more) of their finest media pieces to the formation of a compilation DVD. This DVD is currently being sold to local churches for use in their worship services. 100% of all sales will be donated monthly to Living Water International, a non-profit organization that has been building clean water wells for seventeen years. 

A number of organizations are involved, so make sure to visit the project website and support this worth endeavor by purchasing the DVD.