Jim Rome had an interesting interview with Detroit Piston’s head coach Michael Curry the other day. Rome posed the question to Curry, “Do you think that leaders are born or do you think that they are made?”

While Curry believed that there is something to leadership that comes from our personalities, he really believed that good leaders are more often “made” then simply “born.” He spoke of reading John Maxwell books in graduate school, and the importance of developing the skills of leadership. It is a craft.

At a church planting conference a few years ago I heard the same thing from a church planter. Leadership is not simply something that just happens. He challenged us to read more books, and put ourselves in the paths of leaders-that we would learn from them. I think many pastors are realizing that there is much wisdom to delving into this issue of how to be better leaders of people. Probably because it does not come naturally.

In the past year or so, I’ve read a few books on leadership, by both Christian and unbelieving authors. Here are some I’ve found helpful: Leading with a Limp by Dan Alender, Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni and Good to Great by James Collins. I actually thought the latter (written by unbelievers) in some cases, were just as, or more biblical and practical. Wherever we are, I think developing greater leadership skill is crucial.

I’ve been slowly working my way through John Piper’s When I Don’t Desire God, How to fight for Joy with another young adult in my church. We’ve both really been blessed and challenged by the book. Here is an excerpt from a section we just read.

Most people, before their prayers are soaked in Scripture, simply bring their natural desires to God. In other words, they pray the way an unbeliever would pray who is convinced that God might give him what he wants: health, a better job, safe journeys, a prosperous portfolio, successful children, plenty of food, a happy marriage, a car that works, a comfortable retirement, etc…None of these is evil. They’re just natural. You don’t have to be born again to want any of these. Desiring them-even from God-is no evidence of saving faith. So if these are all you pray for, there is a deep problem. Your desires have not yet been changed to put the glory of Christ at the center.

Wow. Pretty convicting. How often do prayer requests go like this, “I ask for traveling mercies, a job, a spouse, kids doing well in school, etc…?” Again these things aren’t bad to ask for when they trouble us. But when we pray alone, or with our spouses and friends, are our prayers much different?

I heard in a Sunday school class (not at my present church) something to the effect of, “Just ask, and talk, like a child to your daddy.” I wasn’t there for the whole series so I may have missed the part of prayer which involves Praise, Kingdom vision, Thanksgiving, Confession (you know, the way Jesus taught us to pray). But if you tell my heart simply to ask for things, and not ask for God to receive glory from those things, guess which route I’m going to take?

Again, asking for a job, a car, for your house to sell isn’t bad. But we need to be asking these things motivated by Christ to receive glory and His Kingdom going forward. For instance, I would pray for a job that I may honor Christ in my workplace and have money to not only support myself but to support the church and its mission. Wordy yes, but our prayer requests are often quite shallow, and I would imagine, so are our prayers. So with that realization, we ought to think more clearly on how such petitions fit in with His Kingdom and His Glory covering the Earth. When we do that, we’ll be more likely to trust God with the specific details of how He answers.

Sometimes we have impulsive ideas that we would really love to act on. However, sometimes our own shame, simple concern for “laws of decency,” fear of losing a job or social black-listing, keeps us from acting on them. Sometimes. Of course there are some times when all of the aforementioned don’t stop us.

A friend directed me to this article in the Bradenton Herald. Apparently a kid who was in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (0n the spectrum of Autism) had been disrupting the class for a while. Amy has certainly experienced that a time or two. But basically there’s not a whole lot you can do except write a bunch of referrals (although Principals really aren’t big fans of that either). The other kids just have to suffer through the tantrums.

Or she could have done what this Port St. Lucie teacher did. She put the kid in front of the class, and had the class vote on whether or not he should be allowed to continue in their class. He lost 14-2. He must have received some sympathy votes.

In all honesty, he needed to be somewhere else. And he is now. But voting him “off the island?” Certainly something I would have thought about, but I might have “run that by” someone before I acted on it! How important is it to have people in our lives who can say, “Voting that really disruptive kid out of the class might not be the wisest direction for you to take.” I’m not judging this teacher. I’d probably have done worse.

For Amy last year, her hands were tied even after a plethora of tests and papers were filed. Of course now he IS in a special class. Just a year too late, but better late than never. Some teacher owes Amy big time.

On Sunday afternoon, after the Buc’s game finished early, FOX switched to some bonus coverage of the Philadelphia Eagles and Cincinnati Bengal’s game. That coverage was short lived because the game soon went into Overtime and some sort of broadcasting rules don’t allow “bonus coverage” to continue past 4:15 pm.

In overtime, the game see-sawed back and forth, and then time ran out. It was a tie. One of the things that I hate about hockey and soccer CAN, on occasion, happen in the NFL (not NCAA football though). Well Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, in a true expression of honesty, actually admitted he didn’t know that the game could end in a tie. I guess he thought there would be just another OT quarter.

How this dude didn’t know that is beyond me. This tie is the 3rd tie in the past 11 years. I can-I don’t know what this says about me, maybe I shouldn’t ‘open my mouth’ like McNabb and admit this-tell you the other teams which share this dubious distinction (Giants/Cowboys; Steelers/Falcons).

How can someone not know the simple rules of OT, especially since McNabb has been in 8 OT games in his career? The meaningless debate (all sports debate really is meaningless, but still fun) is whether or not his knowledge, or lack thereof, affected his play. Could have made him less aggressive, thinking that he could always play for the next quarter?

I’d have to look at his record in OT games to draw any conclusions, and I’ve already probably spent more time thinking about this then necessary, so I’ll not look that up. But in our Christian walks, it DOES matter that we know the “OT” rules.

We are and have been in what the bible calls the “last days” since Jesus’ resurrection. There is a set amount of time left. Could be a lot, could be a little. But what we do know is that there will be no ties. The forces of Satan and God are not equal. There will be no ties, as Jesus will move His church forward, and bring about His Kingdom in fullness one day.

Knowing that there are no ties in OT does make a difference in life. It should move us as individuals forward in mission. Unlike Hockey, Soccer, and yes, sadly the NFL, we needn’t worry about “ties.’ Fortunately. Present frustration, sure. But ultimately no “ties!”

I understand that not everyone has great neighbors. I get that. Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall” has a lovely and appropriate line, “Good fences make good neighbors.” For some folks, I understand the sentiment. My friend has neighbor who makes great sacrifices. Not figuratively speaking, but literally speaking. They sacrifice animals. Seriously. It’s legal as long as you eat them afterwards. Crazy.

But we have neighbors who sacrifice themselves. Not literally, but they sacrifice time and comfort. Let me give you a “for example.” On Saturday, just after catching my last redfish, I received a frantic call from Amy. It was a snake.

A little snake managed to get in between the screen and the office window. Not good. I was on the water, at least an hour away, so our only option was to call our neighbor Donna the Dragon Slayer. She is not scared of snakes. They are scared of her.

So Donna came over, in the rain, and killed that baby snake. We think it was a baby rattler, but Donna practically pureed it with the shovel. I really couldn’t find any pieces.

So how about that for a neighbor, eh? Sure, I’ll come over in the rain and kill the snake for you. For some, fences make good neighbors. For us, good neighbors are just good neighbors.
I give Donna high praise and put her up for “neighbor of the year.” However, she’s one of several great ones we have here in Groveland. I just got invited by another neighbor today to a beer-n-bonfire. Tough to beat.

I doubt that it’s only Groveland that has such great neighbors. I would encourage you to get outside, take a walk, spend a little time in your front yard, and you might just find another Donna the Dragon Slayer living down the street from you. Maybe you can even “one-up” me with a better “neighbor brag.” I doubt that, but its worth a try.

Well if the big change predicted by the Panera Prophetess was that I would break out of my fishing slump, then she was right on. Today I caught what folks call a “Slam:” snook (1), redfish (2), and trout (4). Not a bad day on the water. Always nice to get the monkey off one’s back and regain some “swagger” out there on the water.

Today after my men’s group at Panera I had a “run-in” with an interesting and bold young Christian girl. As I was getting ready to leave, she came up to me and said, “I don’t know you at all, but God wants you to know that you’ve been seeking something big, and to not give up. It’s just around the corner.”

I didn’t know what to say, but I did want to commend this young girl on her boldness to come up to a complete stranger. So I thanked her for the message. And I do admire her boldness. I really do.

In our session meeting the other day, we looked at a passage in Acts 8. The Spirit clearly tells Phillip of an evangelistic opportunity, and to “Go that chariot and stand near it (Acts 8:29-NIV).” He meets an Ethiopian who is reading and trying to comprehend a passage in Isaiah 53. We all discussed the need to be open to the Spirit’s leading in the role of evangelism, whatever that might look like.

A few questions, at least a few, popped into my head. Did God really tell her to say that? I can’t prove that He didn’t. Nor will I try. Maybe he did lead her to tell me that? If I had to bet, I would bet NO. I really have no idea of what the “huge breakthrough” or “change” might be. Perhaps I will break out of my fishing slump tomorrow, or soon? That would be nice.

Would I be so bold as to go up to a random stranger and tell them that? Well not specifically that message, but the message of the gospel? Not random strangers, but people I know or who I meet? I commend her on on her boldness. Maybe if I catch a ton of snook and reds tomorrow, and break out of my “fishing slump,” I’ll come back and thank her one day. If that breakthrough or another comes my way, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Selfishness is not a learned behavior. We are born selfish. No one needs to teach a young child anything about “private property.” What’s theirs is theirs and what’s yours is theirs; things simply become “private property” by touch. I guess you could argue that it’s “genetic,” going all the way back to Adam.

I didn’t have to teach Connar anything about sticking his foot in his mouth. So I guess you could say that sticking one’s foot in mouth is not a learned behavior either. Although he’ll certainly have plenty of time to develop this “skill” by watching and learning from one of the best: his Daddy.

I just finished reading Jim Collin’s book Good to Great. I found it a good, or rather great, read on leadership, vision, and managing people. Collins and his research crew spent a serious amount of time interviewing and examining companies which seemed to fit a specific mold. For instance, the most successful companies had what he called “Level 5” leaders (bold, humble, people who put company before ego), followed a Hedgehog concept (what can we best at, what can we have a passion for, setting a common economic denominator), and always dealt honestly with real challenges. Much of the principles could be used at any management level and have proved helpful for pastors or those leading non-profit organizations.

One of my favorite lines from Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America is, “Yeah, he (a male singer just referred to as “good”) is good and terrible!” The funny thing is (though I guess that’s not really the best word for it) that two of these Good to Great companies have now become Good and Terrible. Fannie Mae ran into a “bit” of trouble the other day, and just recently Circuit City filed for bankruptcy. The economy could have played a part, but it seems that they may have deviated from their Hedgehog concept by treating their employees poorly (according to some). Well I hope Walgreens isn’t next or else that will be 3 out of about 9 on the list!

I was watching a little of the Georgia-Kentucky football game on Saturday while baby-sitting Connar. In the stands was a 90 year-old who had been to over 400 straight University of Kentucky home football games. He would have had more but a little something called WWII happened and he went to fly bombers over Burma.

And I thought to myself, this is Kentucky football. This isn’t USC, UF, FSU, OSU. This is Kentucky football. I can’t imagine that kind of commitment. Especially to a team that will very often let you down.

What a good model for Christians. Commitment to a local church where you may get disappointed a time or two. But he was committed nonetheless, and it sure looked like he was having a heck of a time in the stands (even though they did eventually lose at the end). I think we too can find joy in our commitment. Our problem is that we tend to skip the commitment part, though, and simply search for joy.