.Real.Greg.Lee.

It is week 11 and we are finally to the first Bears-Packers game of the year. 

This is among the most storied rivalries in all of football, but everything is different this year.  Brett Favre is gone.   The Bears have had a good run against the Packers under Lovie Smith, especially in Green Bay.  And, I feel good about this one.

I predict Kyle Orton will start and out-play Aaron Rogers.

Bears 20  Packers 17

They play again on the Monday night before Christmas at Soldier Field…anyone got tickets?  Monday nights are a lot better for me than noon on Sunday!

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If you are a leader, a good part of your job is about analyzing the health of your team or business or church.  That has to do with big-picture thinking, strategic initiatives, aligning our resources (leaders, people, money, etc) for growth.  I think it was the E-Myth that coined the concept of “working on your business, not just in your business.”

So…why is it that so many leaders don’t seek good feedback to help them define reality (Do we really believe we have no blind spots?)

Arrogant Leaders don’t invite feedback.

Insecure Leaders can’t handle feedback.

Unaware Leaders ignore feedback.

Good Leaders listen to feedback…without being defensive.

Wise Leaders filter feedback…considering the source or the agenda.

Great leaders invite feedback…and leverage the best of it for the future.

In the last week, I’ve gone through three feedback garnering experiences.  First, I asked the staff (my primary team) to give me feedback on my own leadership.  I’ll share the raw results of this later and my reaction to it (I’ll post that after I give the staff my in-person reaction next week).

Second, We had the ministry staff do a SWOT analysis of our church. (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats)  This wasn’t as helpful as I thought it might be because it came from such a narrow segment of our church…should have included (and will at some stage) a broader constituency (volunteer leaders, average attenders, seekers, elders)

Third, we took all of our ministry leaders and group leaders through an exercise tonight.  Essentially we asked them to tell us 3 areas where you see Suncrest winning (this gives the room a great vibe as they talk about these around the tables).  AND, we asked for them to turn in ONE thing about Suncrest they thought we were getting wrong or had a blind spot about.  I can’t wait to see the results.  I’ll post more on it when I do.

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My dad.  My father-in-law.  Grandpa Bluhm.  Grandpa Lee.  The Greatest Generation.  My friends at Suncrest….Tim and John and Aaron and others.  Dave Ditolla and other classmates that now serve as chaplains. 

Whether it was World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, another place on the globe or during peace-time…

Thank you for the freedom I enjoy.  I take it for granted too often.  Today, I remember it has actually come with great sacrifice on your part and often at a very steep price.

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Suncrest is hardly the first church to do it, but this coming Sunday at West Campus, we will begin a three-week message series called “God @ The Movies”.

The three movies we are going to use a springboard for the teaching have a little diversity to them.

Week 1 — The Dark Knight

Theme:  What is your Breaking Point?

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Week 2 — The Pursuit of Happyness

Theme:  What drives me?

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Week 3 – Stranger than Fiction

Theme:  What is my Unique Role?

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Doug Gamble (our East Campus Pastor) just sent me one of the best articles I’ve read on innovation…especially as it relates to innovating with limited resources.  Click here for the article.

Innovation is a buzz word in the church today…so it’s the topic of this week’s poll…

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While we try to serve our community all year long, Suncrest picks one day each year to mobilize as many people as possible to serve people in need.  Today was that day.

I worked with a great group form Suncrest helping a family in Munster that is still trying to get their house in a livable condition after the flood form 2 months ago.  I worked beside Brian Ferber, Craig, Laurie, Neil, Eric, and Vanessa Olson, David Vineyard, Christopher Gadomski, and Susie Smith.

The family was so grateful and it was a lot of fun!  I loved working next to Christopher a little bit becuase I hardly knew him before and we got to talk about how life a little bit.  Every time I serve like this the blesings outweigh the cost.  Hope you aren’t missing out on God’s blessings…

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Jenny and the kids left town yesterday for the weekend for a family birthday party.  I get a lot done when I’m here alone, but I miss them so much. 

I took this picture of Abby before they left with her brother’s new hat and mittens on.  How could you not miss that smile?

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I wish had better news…and maybe this is good news since the only two games I’ve picked correctly have been the Bears-Lions games.  Who couldn’t predict that?

But, the Titans are undefeated and the Bears will likely be playing with Rex Grossman.  I see this as a recipe for a miserable game.

Titans 24  Bears 9

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I have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to our staff at suncrest. 

For over 40 hours from Sunday to Tuesday, we got away with our 12 ministry staff for our annual retreat.  For church leaders who read this, I’ll give you my 2 cents on it from that perspective.

-By their nature, retreats are relational.  Don’t miss out on that or you will ruin the whole experience.

-By their nature retreats are out of the daily grind.  Do everything you can to eliminate email connectivity.

-We do things on staff retreats that can’t be done in regular staff gatherings at church. 

• Take advantage of a different location (we fished, played kickball, and did lots of quiet reflection in the outdoors, sang around a campfire).
• Take advantage of LONG discussions.  When else do you have the chance to talk about one thing with everyone for 5+ hours?  Don’t waste that chance for a topic/experience that demands it.
• Take advantage of seeing people as they really are.  People can put on a face when it’s hours at the office, but when you bunk together, make sandwiches together, experience fatigue together, and compete with each other on the kickball field, the real you is bound to come out.  And, surprisingly to some, most of it is good!

Our staff retreat this year tackled some strategic issues…  Should we do a Saturday night service?  How do we measure results?  A “SWOT” analysis of the church (strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats).

But, mostly, it was reflective on how we are doing as LEADERS and as a TEAM. 

Our theme passage was Romans 12:1-5 and for me the key phrase in there was “think of yourself with sober judgment.”  It can take a retreat like this for everyone to look inside and reflect internally.  We were asking about our own leadership and how we are (or aren’t) adding value to the team.

We used some great stuff on leadership from Craig Groeschel’s blog on different styles of leadership.  We spoke into one another lives….with encouragement that is often left unsaid and with candor about each other’s blind spots and weaknesses.

I also gave the staff some time to reflect on me as the leader…released them for a block of time on their own to come back with consensus on what I should keep doing as their leader…and what I need to do better at.  Very insighful.

I’m blessed by this staff and their commitment to our mission.

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Here’s some candid and totally random thoughts after the election this week.

• I believe to my toes that not only is God in control, but that he could have used either Barack Obama or John McCain as president.  I had a preference (which I’ll mention below), but my trust is always in God to change people’s lives, not government.
• Not everything Barack Obama does will be God’s will, but that doesn’t mean God won’t use him to bring about some things that are His will.  And, to clarify, not everything I do is God’s will either. (It’s whole other discussion, but believing everything that happens is “God’s will” is crazy thinking.)
• If it wasn’t ministry for me, I think I would have gone into either journalism or politics.  At one stage I dreamed of being President. 
• Instead, I decided to do something more influential.  🙂  Charles Spurgeon said “If God calls you to be a preacher don’t stoop to be a King.”
• I used to consider myself a Republican because I am a big believer in personal responsibility.  Now, I’d consider myself Independent becuase I think many Republicans have lost their way.  And, I think Democrats are at least raising the right questions (even when I often disagree with their answers). 
• I wrestle with lots of issues…and the role of government in solving those issues.  For example, I think we should do everythign we can to help the poor.  But by “we” I don’t think I mean the government.  I think I mean the church.  And by the church, I don’t think I mean the church budget, I think I mean people in the church.  See…it’s complicated.  (And it can lose practicality fast, which I hate.)
• I did vote for John McCain.  Why?  I sensed it to be the right choice.   My top issues:  (1) The ability to appoint Supreme Court Justices (this is about abortion, but even more so about how the Constitution is interpreted on many things, including the role of faith in public life) (2) An approach that calls for smaller government and the discipline to curtail out-of-control spending  (3) Character of John McCain and his experience with threats to our nation.
• To me, Barack Obama is all about potential.  I don’t say that negatively.  He is very smart and I think he has the potential to create new solutions to our problems…whether economic, international relations or anything else.  I think he ran the best campaign ever conceived and executed, which says something about his ability to lead.  And, he is inspirational…potentially that person who can bring some unity to our country.
• I will be a supporter of Barack Obama as my president.  I have already prayed for him and will keep doing so.  I will also be willing to appropriately challenge him on places I disagree with him. 
• It’s kind of a challenging place to be when you think about it:  I think he has great leadership potential…which means he could possibly be excellent at bringing about the very changes I might disagree with.  Hmmm…
• It should be interesting with Chicago as Obama’s home.  Our region will probably benefit with the Obama ties.  I just talked to a guy from our church who was at the rally in person Tuesday night (pictured above).
• Regardless of politics I’m happy our country has grown to place that an African-American can be elected as our leader.  Racism is sin.
• I loved watching some of the coverage with our 5 year old, Jack.  He wanted to know about red states and blue states and who I voted for and why.  It reminded me of one of my preaching values…trying to make complex things simple enough for the everyday person to understand.
• Jack said he wanted to be president some day.  I told him he could.  The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

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