I am Jamaica's husband, Personality's founder, Foursquare's comm director, CFCC's evangelist, and more.
I'm also blogging at:
Personality™
Church Marketing Sucks
Rant Archives
May 14, 2008
Problem Spotters Should Be Problem Solvers
Filed under: Rant
Remember in grade school when someone--never you, of course--had a bad case of flatulence and someone would blurt out a cheesy excuse like "He who smelt it, dealt it" or "He who sensed it, commenced it"? (Apparently there are tons of these corny phrases.)
I think a parallel exists for people that spot problems. The person that points out the problem is probably best suited to solve the problem.
"We need a more more unified team."
"There's got to be a better way to build this."
"That design is awful, surely we can do better than that."
"Why can't we say it this way?"
"Are you sure we can't automate that?"
"Does it have to cost this much?"
The next time you point out problems, blurt out critiques, or offer your humble opinion, maybe you should also consider a follow up response and come up with a few solutions.
Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
May 3, 2008
Change the World, I Don't Think So
Filed under: Rant
One of the 18-minute presenters at the Q conference last month was culture-thinker/author Andy Crouch. He opened his presentation with a little research he did about books that have been written on the subject of changing the world.
In the first seven years of this century (2000-2007), there were 154 books published containing some iteration of the words "change the world.” Crouch estimates that by 2010, there will be 220 titles. In comparison, only 140 books were published over the entire 100 years leading up to 2000. The allure of changing the world is obviously on the rise.
I can relate. For as long as I can remember, whenever someone asked me what I wanted to do with my life, I always responded with an audacious, "I want to change the world!" Lately, I'm beginning to think this inclination is not only unhealthy, it's also counter-productive. In my humble opinion, the idea of changing the world has derailed a generation from actually accomplishing it.
There's a reason for this, and I think it has to do with how humanity has progressed over the centuries when it comes to knowing and being known.
Continue reading "Change the World, I Don't Think So"
Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
April 27, 2008
Resisting Institutionalization
Filed under: Rant
Last week one of the Foursquare veeps sent me an email with a PDF attachment of an article written by Josh Packard, an assistant professor of sociology at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. It's a seven page summary about some research Packard has done on the Emerging Church. Despite Jamaica's sincere intrigue, I've never taken any considerable interest in conversations about this subject mostly because it doesn't interest me so much. Nonetheless, there were arguments that Packard makes about institutionalization that got my attention.
Packard points out that "routines are dangerous for groups and people which value diversity in individual expression." In other words, routine can be the enemy of innovation. The more routine takes root, the more groups of people become institutionalized.
The cause of this institutionalization is varied, arising from such diverse sources as government regulations (e.g., mandated organizational components of filing as an official 501(c)3 nonprofit, tax exempt, organization), internal norms and habits developed during professional training (e.g., seminary), and mimicry of perceived success (e.g., utilizing ministry models such as A Purpose Driven Church).
Although Packard is making his case in the context of the church, the reality is that the danger of institutionalization is not confined to the church. It can suck the life out of businesses, schools, government and any other place that people congregate.
Continue reading "Resisting Institutionalization"
Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
April 3, 2008
Oral Dancing
Filed under: Rant
I wonder what it is about human nature that causes us to dance around the obvious in our conversations? Why do we ignore the elephant in the room? When push comes to shove, why do so many people revert to a placating hug? I find this to be especially true in church circles where brotherly love and Christian camaraderie seem to rule the day. There isn't a week that goes by that I am not involved in some sort of meeting where a key leader will spew unnecessary elegant oral verbiage. Audiences are affirmed while B.S. detectors are sounding alarms.
What bugs me even more is that I'm guilty of this. And I hate it.
Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
January 4, 2008
Illegitimate Indiscretion
Filed under: Rant
Jamaica and I always get into some sort of debate when it comes to feelings. The debate is not new and definitely not new to male+female relationships. Last night we were talking about how some feelings are just not appropriate. It bugs me when people can get away with feelings that they should not be having because the premise is incorrect. I am not questioning whether the feeling is a real feeling, but whether the feeling should be there in the first place.
For example, when a child is told he can't have ice cream because he didn't eat his dinner, and the child becomes angry when everyone else is eating ice cream, that feeling is unwarranted because he could have avoided it. When an employee is elated after a co-worker gets corrected, that feeling is wrong because we should not be giddy at the expense of someone else.
I suggest that these types of feelings are born out of illegitimate indiscretion.
Again, the feeling is real but the basis for it is wrong.
When I say something stupid, mean or hurtful and Jamaica responds as if I don't love her, that feeling she has is illegitimate indiscretion because she knows I really love her. This doesn't justify my mistake, but it certainly makes dealing with it a little easier because now we have two issues to work through. A dumb mouth and unwarranted feelings.
Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
November 11, 2007
Self-Branding With Metafriends
Filed under: Rant
"This is hard to say to a friend, but our relationship is starting to take up too much of my time. It's weird that I know more about you than I do about actual friends I hang out with in person--whom I propose we distinguish by calling 'non-metafriends.' In fact, I know more about you than I know about myself. I have no idea what my favorite movie or song or TV show is."
Joel Stein's back page essay from the October 15 Time magazine is hilarious. Entitled "You Are Not My Friend," I resonate with Stein's social networking rants. He thinks sites like MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter "aren't about connecting and reconnecting. They're a platform for self-branding."
"...you're a bit aggressive in our friendship. Would a non-metafriend call me up and say, 'Hey! Guess what? I have a bunch of new pictures of me'? Or tell me he'd colored in a map of all the places he'd ever been?"
I signed up to LinkedIn a year ago and just recently to Facebook. I joined mostly because of the email barrage of invitations. I don't spend time on any of these sites and I feel kind of silly that I even set them up.
"We've gone 40 years back, to sales tactics predating irony, self-deprecation and actual modesty. We are, as a social network, all so awesome that we will soon not be able to type the number 1, because we will have worn out the exclamation point that shares its key."
Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
September 4, 2007
A Degree in Homemaking
Filed under: Rant
I can't believe this August 10 story from the Seattle Times. It reads more like an article out of The Onion or The Wittenburg Door, not real life!
I can't wait for the stay-at-home dad degree.
Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
March 6, 2007
Dismissing Distractions
Filed under: Rant
I've had a Crackberry for a couple years. It's been a happy medium between a phone and a laptop and, up until a few months ago, I used it for all of my emailing when I wasn't in front of a computer.
Things became ridiculous. I don't claim to be any busier than the next guy, but when you're thumbing at all hours of the day, all days of the week, something has to change.
I realized that my Crackbery had made me more available to everyone else and less available to the people that really mattered. From my wife and family to friends and God, I can afford to dismiss a few more distractions.
So I shut it off. I no longer use it to receive email. I still have the ability to send email, I just don't receive it.
And so far it's been working really well.
Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
January 15, 2007
Charismatic Leaders Council
Filed under: Rant
I flew to Orlando this morning on the Delta red eye. I'm traveling with Foursquare president Jack Hayford on a quick 36-hour trip as he facilitates the fourth annual "Charismatic Leaders Council." This gathering of about 100 "industry" heavyweights is hosted by charismatic publishing mecca Strang Communications. I'm here more for the journey than the destination, as the travel time is prime opportunity to have uninterrupted face-time with the boss.
Continue reading "Charismatic Leaders Council"
Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
October 22, 2005
Blow My Freakin' Bubble
Filed under: Rant
I just returned from a trip to the south for a bi-annual meeting with one of the boards I serve on. On my way there, during the first leg to Dallas, I sat next to a guy who was on his way back to New Orleans after being away since he left six days after Hurricane Katrina. Dean was "stuck" in the penthouse suite of the Ritz Carlton for six days as he looked out over the city and saw lives lost and a city destroyed. Dean was friendly and feisty, and very angry at the injustices happening in the aftermath of Katrina. A "manager of hundreds of local bands" (his only family he says), Dean lives in the French Quarter, a reverend on Bourbon Street who also does weddings. He was frustrated primarily at government and aid workers for not doing enough. He wanted these people to pay for the injustices they caused Dean's "family." Dean was going to play his "reverend" card - the universal church licenses him - and he knew things were going to get ugly.
Thanks, Dean, for your authentic attempt to right the wrongs.
On my trip home, I was in the aisle seat. Sarah was in the middle seat. A consultant from Dallas was in the window seat, on her way to Asia.
Continue reading "Blow My Freakin' Bubble"
September 26, 2004
To Hug or Shake?
Filed under: Rant
Is there a rule book or handy reference guide for explaining the when-to-shake and when-to-hug policy? It is becoming increasingly awkward for me as I meet more and more new people all the time. Add the whole business factor to the mix (new clients, old clients, vendors, etc.) and I'm your perfect candidate for coaching. For example:
If the person was a casual friend and then turned into a business client, do I shake or hug?
If the person was a business client and then turned into a casual friend, do I shake or hug?
If the person is family, I always hug. If the person is a friend of a family member, I shake. But what if the friend of the family member becomes more than the casual visitor around the family?
It seems as though when you begin the "hug," you can never go back to the "shake" with the person. But if you keep things to a "shake" with someone it seems like you always have to keep it that way until the other person initiates the hug.
It always gets weird when I have someone else with me (like my wife). Especially when the frequency of familiarity is different for all parties involved in the greeting.
When I meet someone for the first time, I usually shake. When I meet the same someone for the second time and my wife is with me meeting them for the first time, what is preferred?
What about when the person you are greeting is of a different culture and you know they are particular about their greetings (more so than my white-boy American paradigm)?
What about when the person is a different age, particularly younger?
What about when the person works for you and they come back from vacation? They hug all their coworkers but do you hug your boss?
Maybe I just have a certain phobia for all this, but it seems like there should be some answers.
Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
September 18, 2004
American Holocaust
Filed under: Rant
I just finished reading American Holocaust by David E. Stannard. If you haven't read it, I encourage you to do so. It is a detailed and horrendously fascinating look into the days of Columbus and his Spanish conquest of the Americas. Stannard does a brilliant job of story-telling using journal entries from early Conquistadors, historical and archeological research, and a host of other information sources that all weave together in this 358-page quick read. Be warned: the details are gruesome and the inferred imagery made me do the proverbial "turning of the head" more times than I can count.
Never have I been so helplessly frustrated with humans.
While I sincerely appreciate Stannard's book, I absolutely and categorically disagree with his premise and assumptions for writing it. In the Prologue, referring to worldwide genocidal accounts, Stannard's intent is brief, "The murder and destruction continue, with the aid and assistance of the United States." Later he will say,
"Before Christ would return, all Christians knew, the gospel had to be spread throughout the entire world, and the entire world was not yet known. Spreading the gospel throughout the world meant acceptance of its message by all the world's people, once they had been located - and that in turn mean the total conversion or extermination of all non-Christians."
I could blog about this for quite sometime but it would work better for both of us if you just read the book.
Surprisingly, Stannard includes a quote half way into the book that does a much better job at encouraging change. While the context of it is not a premise for the book, it should have been.
"Rather, as Michael Berenbaum has wisely put it, 'we should let our sufferings, however incommensurate, unite us in condemnation of inhumanity rather than divide us in a calculus of calamity."
Thanks, Stannard, for educating me and completely changing my paradigms about Christopher Columbus and other significant "leaders" since then.
As for your conclusions and assumptions about America and Christianity being the cause of every past, present, and future genocidal evil, I beg to differ. Maybe a future blog?
Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink
August 4, 2004
Starbucks, the Date That Was Not
Filed under: Rant
Every once in a while, Jamaica gets a hankering for finding and using coupons. This past week was no exception when she came upon quite the prize: Starbucks coupons! And more than just one, there were several winners. "Free beverage with the purchase of another." "Free drink (any kind, any size) with purchase of a pastry." "Free drink of your choice." We thought the end of the world had to be close because Starbucks has coupons!
Not so fast.
Continue reading "Starbucks, the Date That Was Not"
Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink