“If I start with a two-headed animal,” said Dr. Seuss, “I must never waver from that concept. There must be two hats in the closet, two toothbrushes in the bathroom and two sets of spectacles on the night table. Then my readers will accept the poor fellow without hesitation.”

First, Dr. Seuss is a master wordsman. He wasn’t just some guy smoking a crack pipe and then writing children’s books. He was extremely purposeful.

This is one of the things that I think I have always known, but it’s hard to do… And that is that the moral of the story doesn’t… and shouldn’t be… so obvious. People see “the point” coming a mile away. We are all keen on the predictable. And we all gag at it.

I think the best story-telling, writing, speaking leaves a part for the listener or reader to discover. “The point” or the moral should just be left out there. Everything else should develop and lead up to it, but in the end, it’s the listener’s choice.

And it should end in one of those “ah-ha” kind of moments, when you’re like, “so that’s what that old man was trying to get at.”

So it hit me the other day… What the big deal is about High School Musical. It’s this: It’s probably the first big Millennial Generation identifiable movie. When I say Millennial, I’m referring to the now junior high and high school generation.

It’s funny, because for me and other Gen-Xers, I think back to The Breakfast Club. It’s that kind of film where our parents didn’t get it, but everyone from that generation identified with the movie. It became part of our generation’s brand/ethos/psyche.

Then think about where we’ve come from since. The Breakfast Club portrayed values like drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, absent parents, detention and apathy toward life. High School Musical is centered around more positive themes: modesty in sex and language, team-oriented sports and school work, sports stars are coachable and loyal to the team.

It’s a different generation. But I’m happy about that.

But that’s just my thoughts.

Leading Creatives

I had some thoughts on the plane yesterday on my way to Newark from Columbus about leading creative people. Leading creatives can be challenging. Leading me can be challenging. Here are some thoughts I had on why that is and how to do it.

1. Give Them Laboratories

Creative people need a place to test, research and implement the ideas and thoughts flying around in their head. A lot of my friends are very creative people and most of them get bored easily. It can almost come across as disinterest, but creative people need to be challenged. And the challenges need to be new and constantly changing. I have what I call professional-ADD. I need to be doing different things all the time. I’ve had people point at it as a weakness… I think it’s a strength.

2. Let The Team Create The Vision

The vision of the organization HAS to come from a team. It has to. If it doesn’t, then hire minimum-wage, non-creative people to simply perform tasks exactly as you lay them. out. You will spend less money and have less stress. If you are going to have creative people on your team, then you have to allow the vision to be shaped by their different styles, personalities, perspectives and talents. Which will cost you more and probably create more stress. Learn to operate from a creative team - where input is valued. Because the vision is a journey. Not a destination. And there is a lot of distrust for the one-man, rock-star show.

3. Reward Them

Creative people need to be rewarded. They need to know that their work, thoughts and style is valued. With that said, there is no greater reward than to allow their work to shine. Don’t stick them in a lab for the sake of giving them a place to have fun. Implement it. Allow them to lead change. Push them to the front and say, “Alright, now let’s do it.” Creatives have to have buy-in, they have to be invested. Allow them to work/act/live like everything depends on them. One last note, reward them by budgeting funds for their experiments. Cirque de Soleil puts 70% of their profits back into new shows. There’s nothing worse than investing days and weeks into a something and then watching it die. Reward them by allocating resources.

Listen, I’m with you in the fact that I think abortion is wrong and grieves the heart of God… It’s just that I feel like Right-Wing Conservatives have held that up as the defining political agenda for candidates. And in the meantime, we have applauded war, ignored genocide and acted like poverty and disease isn’t really an issue in the 21st century.

We need a more consistent ethic of human life.

Here are some numbers:
4000 abortions take place every day.
9000 die from AIDS every day.
30000 children die from hunger/disease and poverty every day.
500,000 a year from international conflict and war.

Here’s my point: We could do something about the war in Iraq… like today. We could do something about genocide in Darfur… like today. We could do something about hunger and disease and poverty… like today.

When abortion is our defining ticket, it creates narrow-minded politics and a narrow view of the sanctity of life.

If studies are right in telling us that poverty and education are the two biggest factors in a woman’s decision to have an abortion, then what would it look like if we took that seriously? What if the goal of abortion was to make it less necessary and more rare. I think this would be the start of a real turn around.

The problem is that these are almost all left-wing, liberal issues. Abortion on the other hand, is a right-wing conservative issue.

BUT IT’S ALL PRO-LIFE.

So why do we have to choose which of these we do something about?

So I discovered that if you really want to generate some comments, just start getting political. I appreciate the responses. The conversation has been fun.

I read a little about Bush and the War in Iraq. Most of it not so flattering, but then again, it’s hard to find a lot of supportive stuff out there these days.

So here are some of my thoughts (just to warn you, you may not like this):

Is the war in Iraq really worth killing innocent lives?

All so it will ensure our safety in the future?

To tell you the truth, I don’t know if I really want to be a country that embraces a doctrine of pre-emptive war.

I don’t know if I really want to be a country where we go alone on international issues.

It starts to look a bit to me like Pax Americana… And George Bush as the self-proclaimed Messianic Calvinist who has been appointed to root out evil in the world… or protect oil interests… however you see it.

And I don’t buy the thought that this is the only way to make sure another 911 never happens. I don’t think there is a way to make sure 911 never happens. And I think there are far better alternatives than invading a country that wasn’t even linked to the attacks.

And why don’t we give the same attention to civil rights violations and genocide in Africa? Are they of lesser value to the geo-political economy? Are they not considered because they are not rich in oil?

I’m not okay with the fact that oil decides our foreign policy and international stance on justice.

So there… it’s a bit critical… maybe over the top… we’ll see.

I’m trying to talk about politics more these days. It’s actually an area that interests me and it’s funny because it can really get people fired up. So sometimes I just say something to see what reactions I can get. The truth is I remember growing up and there were two things that were off limits for discussion: how much money my parents made and who they voted for. Politics and money were private issues.

I think I want to change that.

So here’s my thoughts. I’m wondering who the Conservative Right is going to vote for in 2008. I personally think you are going to see Juliani up against Obama for the Presidency.

If that’s the case, what do all the Right-Wing Christians do who have held up abortion as the defining issue for a candidate for so many years?

It’s a tough spot.

And… if it’s not Juliani, but McCain, then which is better… having a pro-life President who continues the war in Iraq? Or a President that is pro-choice, but puts an end to the war?

They’re just questions, so relax.

And it’s just a website, so don’t take it so seriously.

I think for me, the issue is becoming more and more about the war. And as such, I feel myself becoming more and more purple (let me know if you get that one). I would just like to see a more consistent ethic of human life. But I’ll talk about that later.

“Ask yourself if you want the rest of your life to be exactly like the last six months. If the asnwer is yes, congratulations. If the answer is no, break up with him today. You are not going to make him change.”

Not sure who said it. Not sure where it came from.

Pascal said it well when he said,

“The power of man’s virtue should not be measured by his special efforts, but by his ordinary doings.”

This has been one of the keys to the success of NBC’s Heros. Tim Kring, the show’s writer, hasn’t set up his heros in capes and spandex - but as ordinary humans grappling with their strange developments. The belief is that their personal dilemma is more interesting than their super-human power.

We see this in Scripture as well: the great miracle of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore.

I don’t think this is an ANTICLIMAX… it is a revelation of God.

Life… is life… in the ORDINARY.

I think we would all like to say, “Oh, I have had a wonderful call from God!” But the true test of my life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the HUMAN LEVEL OF LIFE. Faithfulness in the ORDINARY.

My success in life will not be judged by fame or my speaking ability or the books I write or the amount of money I have collected. My success will be judged in reading to Caden before bed at night. Or throwing a baseball in the back yard on a warm summer night. My success will be judged in cooking a nice dinner and preparing a relaxing evening for Joanna. Or building the trust it takes for her to always be able to communicate honestly with me.

The ORDINARY things.

I believe our HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS are the very conditions in which the ideal life of God should be exhibited.

Alex McManus put up a great list of random things he’s been thinking about lately. Questions about the gospel and the future and genetic engineering and extraterrestrial life and church plants and all kinds of things that make your head hurt. You should check it out.

I have a few lists running around in my head too. Lists of hard questions with no answers. Relationship questions, church questions, life and family questions. Questions that people would read and probably judge me for. So for now… they stay put.

But read it, and then think about what would make your list. You probably have some questions that you’ve been too afraid/intimidated/prideful/hurt/distracted to ask. Would you be comfortable sharing them with those who know you?

So here’s my personal recommendation to everyone for the month of April just to shake things up a little and get you thinking outside the norm.

Go pick up “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” by Ishmael Beah. This is the book Starbucks is promoing right now.

UNICEF tells us that there may be as many as 300,000 child soldiers, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s, in more than fifty conflicts around the world. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them; A 15-year-old soldier. He is one of the first to tell the story. This is a story of redemption and hope.

Then go rent “Blood Diamond.” The two go practically hand-in-hand and tell the story of the civil war in Sierra Leone.

I think you’ll walk away from these with a different way of thinking/seeing… Probably even shocked. And I think we will all come to the place of, “What can I do?” I can’t think of anything more appropriate for the Easter season.

One of the things I’ve been thinking and reading about a lot lately is global education.

I watched the tv special on Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Academy last week. She has received some criticism about it (the selection of the girls, micromanaging) , but I think what she’s doing is amazing. Anybody who is criticizing I’m sure isn’t doing anything in Africa.

This week I read “Leaving Microsoft To Change The World - An Entrepreneur’s Odyssey to Educate the World’s Children.” This will probably be one of the best books I will read this year and I highly recommend it. John Wood left his executive position at Microsoft after a hiking trip through Nepal where he witnessed the lack of schools and libraries. He quit his job at Microsoft and started a non-profit, Room To Read.

Here’s my favorite paragraph from the book:

“I had put long hours into this interview, and that time could not be gained back. But I knew it was important not to focus on Bill’s (Gates) performance. There was no way I could ever run a company this large, so I was in no position to be judgmental. What seemed more important was the signal this sent to me.

If I could not make a big difference at Microsoft, then perhaps this gave me even more of a green light to bail out. The children of Nepal obviously needed me more than my employer did. It was time to jump out of the plane and run my own show.”

Education, books and leadership have always been a huge part of my life. When it’s all said and done I want to have played a role in the education process on a global scale.

Does the church have freedom to experiment?

I’ve been thinking about this lately when I ran across a quote from Nikola Tesla

“Today’s scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality.”

I think that if we are not careful, the church can begin to create formulas and equations for what is currently working or what used to work. Eventually you build a structure which has no relation to reality.

Kind of scary actually.

I think we have a responsibility to experiment.

Jack Welch confirms my thoughts on mentoring in his book, “Winning.”

He says,

“But in my experience there is not one right mentor. There are many right mentors.”

“I had dozens of informal mentors over the course of my career, and each one taught me something important. My mentors ranged from the classic older and wiser executive to coworkers who were often younger than I was.”

“Some mentoring relationships lasted a lifetime, others lasted just weeks.”

PICTURE THIS: Hold up a glass of water to someone who is thirsty.

What’s most important here, the water or the glass?

——————–

The water. Next question:

——————–

What shape is the water?

——————–

The shape of the glass.

——————–

NOW PICTURE THIS: Someone comes to church for the first time because they are thirsty.

What’s most important here, the water or the church?

——————–

The water. Next question:

——————–

What shape is the water?

——————–

The shape of the church.

——————–

Jack Welch calls lack of candor the biggest dirty little secret in business in his newest book, “Winning.”

I agree. Not only in business, but in the church.

When he says lack of candor he is talking about when people don’t INSTINCTIVELY express themselves with FRANKNESS. They don’t communicate straightforwardly or instigate debate. They with hold not only comments, but criticism.

I think people refuse to be candid for two reasons:

1. They feel INSECURE - in their opinions or ideas, in their place on team, or with their superiors.

2. They feel DEVALUED - there is an elephant in the room that is obvious to everyone - your boss or superiors are going to do whatever they want and they don’t stop to ask for ideas. This is their show.

Lack of candor blocks smart ideas, fast action and good people contributing to the team.

Jack asked a great question at a Q & A session with business leaders that serves as a gauge to whether or not there is candor in your organization. When was the last time you had this happen?

“How many of you have received an honest, straight-between-the-eyes feedback session in the last year, where you came out knowing exactly what you have to do to improve and where you stand in the organization?”

I recently saw some CNN video coverage of Mosaic church in Los Angeles. Always faithful to bring both sides of the story to its audience, they had a few people upset over the way Mosaic was handling the Word of God. In an effort to make the Bible culturally acceptable, Mosaic and Erwin McManus were stripping it of its reverence as God’s Holy Word.

Here’s what I think:

Some people discount the need to make the Word of God relevant for a specific audience… yet the gospel has no choice but to be relevant.

Catch this:

Because AUDIENCE PERCEPTION changes with time, interpreting the Word of God involves MAKING CHOICES about what it means today, in their world. The Gospel won’t remain a living form if it fails to acknowledge that audiences themselves are ENGAGED in the INTERPRETATION.

Much of the excitement in crafting a message lies in exploring how it lines up with the audience. After all, the Word of God is a living, breathing object in the world of the hearer in which it is created.

Denying the present culture actually DIMINISHES the Word’s RESONANCE, effectively making it a MUSEUM ARTIFACT.

“I dream for a living.”

-Steven Speilberg

Sounds idealistic.

Sounds too good to be true…

…maybe…

it is true.

I wish it could be true.

Rascal Flatts has a new song out called, “What Hurts The Most.” And even though I’m not really a country fan (and some will argue that Rascal Flatts is not really country) I dig the song.

It’s all about regret and got me thinking about stuff:

Getting up, getting dress, livin’ with this regret
But I know if I could do it over
I would trade, give away all the words that I saved in my heart
That I left unspoken

What hurts the most
Is being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away

It just reminded me to make sure that the people I’m close to know how I feel about them. We don’t always say what we feel…. or what’s in our heart.

I just don’t want to be left with a lot of unsaid things.

“Standing on the edge of me
Standing on the edge of me
Standing on the edge of everything I ever been before.”

-from On Fire

What are you standing on the edge of?

For this to make sense, you’ll have to read my previous post here… and this post… maybe even this one.

Terry Storch linked to my post on True Passion and continued the conversation by adding his thoughts.

Terry said that he disagrees with the quote from Oprah.  Let me refresh your memory:

“Your true passion should feel like breathing; it’s that natural.”

His reason: “I think passion on the surface is fun, exciting = natural.  However, God inspired passion is scary and unsettling.  If you truly let go of your “self” and let God control your life, and follow His way, there is nothing safe and comfortable.”

That’s a great perspective and I know it’s true from what I have experienced.  Some of the defining moments in my life were moments that I was the most unsettled.  Moments where I had to decide if I was going to live fueled by passion… or take the road MORE traveled.

I do think that there is a difference between what is comfortable and what is natural.  I think a lot of times we set up our lives or we create our lives to be comfortable (i.e. “Well, I don’t love my job, but I can’t make this kind of money anywhere else.  What am I supposed to do, quit my job and follow my passion?”).  It’s probably in response to the unsettledness and scariness of following God.

But I think the person who let’s go of “self” and lets God control their lives (as scary as that is) will find that it is the most natural thing they have ever experienced.  It’s the way they were designed to live.

So… do you agree with Oprah?  Add to the conversation.