Peace – Even When There’s No Coffee

Last week I took my first “Focus Day” since joining CCCA more than two years ago. I had been advised to do this by a couple camp/conference leaders, and had been craving the time to get away by myself, spend time with God, dream with Him about the future, ask for His guidance on current challenges and evaluate some of the opportunities that lie ahead for CCCA.

The day, which I had scheduled months before, turned out to be one of those absolutely gorgeous Colorado winter days that make me think of heaven. I went to the Broadmoor Hotel, dropped off my briefcase in a comfortable lounge with a roaring fireplace and began my walking prayer time around the lake. The temperature was near 50 degrees at 8:30 in the morning, yet it seemed that I had the whole property to myself. In fact, as I rounded the lake, I only passed one other person.

I stopped at the first tee box on the Ross Golf Course, which is a stone’s throw from the lake. As I looked up at the mountains and sky, then around at the golf course, I prayed, “Lord, I am not even worthy to stand here in your presence. I am clearly the ugliest thing on the landscape right now.” And again I thought of heaven and why I will fall on my face in the glory of His presence one day.

I was so content to just stand there and drink in the sunshine and scenery. I didn’t care about the time, and I had no set schedule – I was simply there to enjoy God’s presence and His creation for those moments. Then the clock on the mountain above the lake began to chime. But rather than rushing me from my reverie, the sound called me to stay still and listen. I heard every note of those rich, strong bells, and only wished that they could continue to ring so I could stand and listen even longer.

Then God provided a contrast.

I went to the Broadmoor coffee shop. As I walked in, the staff member from the adjacent gift shop said, “I’m sorry. The barista had to step out to run a quick errand. I’m sure she’ll be back in just a minute.” I noticed another customer standing at the coffee counter, a stern look on her face. I walked to the magazine rack and picked up a magazine with Aaron Rodgers on the cover and began to read the predictions for who would win the Super Bowl this year. (The expert had chosen the final two AFC teams correctly, but had missed both teams in the NFC championship game.)

I overheard the customer say to the gift store staffer: “This is ridiculous. How could this happen?”

“I’m so sorry, ma’am. She ran out of here pretty quickly. I think it was rather an emergency.”

“Well, this is just wrong. And somebody needs to know about it.” Then the customer stormed out of the shop and headed toward the front desk.

Less than 30 seconds later, the barista returned, and asked the gift store staffer if everything was all right. “Well, this guest needs to be served,” she said, waving toward me and avoiding the story of the angry customer altogether.

As I stepped to the counter, I saw the angry woman walk briskly past the coffee shop and out the door, looking more perturbed than before.

I ordered a roll and a coffee, and when I attempted to pay, the barista said, “This one is courtesy of me, for making you wait.”

I thanked her and left.

As I returned to my secluded fireside lounge, I realized that the impatient woman had missed out on receiving whatever she would have ordered, for free, and instead opted to run to the front desk and vent. In the time it took to lodge the complaint, she could have left the building with a free coffee and cinnamon roll. (I love cinnamon rolls!)

I also thought of how many times I’ve been in that woman’s place. Thinking of what I want, incredulous that the people who were here to serve me had dropped the ball, cost me time, failed to meet my expectations. On this day, when taking my time was a good part of the agenda, I refused to get upset. And I was rewarded. The angry woman left empty handed and caffeine-free. I pitied the next person on her calendar.

I don’t want to be her. Ever again.

I want my life, my attitude, my countenance to reflect the peace that passes understanding. I want to demonstrate to my family and my colleagues a grace that refuses to give in to the irritation of the unmet expectation.

By the way, I caught a snippet of the barista’s comment to the gift shop employee, “It was my son. He had an accident in his car and didn’t know what to do…”

Seems like that was more important than an angry woman’s cup of coffee – and even my cinnamon roll.

Do I Have a Dream?

Today we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. King’s name and his famous speech have been referred to a lot in the last several days, and I want to share a thought about why I believe his impact was so great.

You may have heard it said, “Dr. King delivered the ‘I Have A Dream’ speech, not the ‘I Have A Plan’ speech.  Speakers and writers take a different slant on why the distinction is important. But one, author and marketing consultant Simon Sinek, said at a TED conference in Seattle that the “dream” is the key to unlocking a true connection between what a company offers and how the public responds to it.

Other revolutionary thinkers agree. Horst Schulze, former president and COO of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Group, says that if we hire people just to fulfill a function, the employee becomes no different from a chair that fulfills a function. Instead, he says, “We should hire people to participate with us in our dreams.” And when our dreams become their dreams, the services we provide will be measurably better because of the emotional investment of our team members.

It’s all about getting to the “why” – why we do what we do. In Christian camping ministry, it’s quite easy to explain what we do: spiritual formation, horse programs, water sports, outdoor education. But how often do we dig down to the why?

I have a dream that Christian camping will be seen as the No. 1 feeder system of new and renewed Jesus-followers to the church. And that will be because people everywhere will see camping as the most effective way of providing a powerful environment for a connection with God.  Or, as my friend John McAuley of Muskoka Woods said last week: “Camping is the hope of the church.”

That’s a huge “why” at the heart of what we do in Christian camping and at CCCA.

If Dr. King had shared a plan, it likely would have been dismissed by a huge portion of the U.S. population as one more activist’s attempts to affect change. But when he shared his dream, he cast a vision that the listener couldn’t help but imagine. He captured the imagination of a nation the way a TV program captures your attention as you walk into a room, particularly a drama or action/adventure show that you can’t look away from. The visual images King painted with his words spoke passionately and clearly what was in his heart.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama,… little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”

See full text of the speech here: http://tinyurl.com/8a4xcjf

How long has it been since you expressed your dreams to someone: your spouse, friends, co-workers, staff members, board members or donors to your ministry? Do they know why you do what you do? Do you?

No Map, Just Me.

Imagine planning a special bonding time with a son or daughter, or even a staff member. You’re looking to grow your relationship, to understand each other better, and you want to pour some wisdom into his or her life. You may choose a snow-boarding trip, a fishing weekend or a day at the beach. You want the young person to experience the trip moment by moment, so you keep the destination a secret. You know that if you tell that person where you’re going and what you’re going to do there, he’ll be focused on the destination and the activities while you travel, and not on the road trip—the journey with you.

In today’s reading of the devotional Jesus Calling, Sarah Young writes this from the perspective of Jesus: “You would like to see a map, showing all the twists and turns of your journey… I will not show you what is on the road ahead, but I will thoroughly equip you for the journey.”

I know some of the stops on my journey today; I have a lot to accomplish. But even the schedule can’t always accurately dictate the way things actually transpire. Surprises will come, some good, some bad. I’ll be forced into detours or even backtracking to cover the same ground I’ve already traveled. But none of it is a surprise to the One who maps my journey. And He knows what I’ll need along the way, especially His presence, and He provides it all, without fail.

I can rest in that. I don’t, always. But I can.

So, as I prepare to take my younger son on a trip to the mountains tomorrow, he can rest assured that I’ll make the right decisions to ensure he is completely prepared with all he’ll need. But I may not tell him where we’re going or what we’ll do there. I want to spend the time with him, enjoying each other’s company, and for at least part of the journey, I want his full attention.

The Best Toys of All Time

Almost a year ago, Wired magazine put out its list of the five best toys of all time.  I opened the article with great interest and significant skepticism as I thought: “What video games or tech products will they name?  And which will I disagree with? Will any of my favorites be there?”

Even though I think of myself as a young-ish man, I feel like some of my values are extremely old fashioned compared to the culture we live in. So I was incredibly surprised, and amused, to read the list, because it seemed to come directly from my childhood years of the late 1960s and early 70s.

According to the Wired article, the five best toys of all time are…

1. Stick
2. Box
3. String
4. Cardboard tube
5. Dirt

(Read the full, amusing article here: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/01/the-5-best-toys-of-all-time/all/1.)

I am sorry I didn’t blog about this before Christmas, especially if you have children who were pleading for the latest video game or other tech toy. You could have referred to this article and packaged up a cup or two of topsoil, slapped a bow on it and saved $39.99. Again, my apologies.

So, what’s our application to Christian camp and conference ministry?  Let me answer that question with a question:  Do you ever feel like we are replacing some of the most basic, tried-and-true methods of ministry with something current, “hip,” and popular? If so, does it ever come at a cost you wish you hadn’t paid, or at the expense of something you didn’t intend? Please share your thoughts.

I AM What You Want

Peter Reid is returning as daily Bible teacher for the 2011 CCCA National Conference next week in Asheville, NC, and I am eagerly awaiting what he will deliver to attendees. Two years ago, at the 2009 CCCA National Conference, Peter drew dramatic parallels between the prophet Elijah’s life and our relationship with God today.

Then a few months ago, Peter wrote in a column for InSite magazine, our bi-monthly publication, that our ministry can actually become an idol; that we can seek ministry goals more than we seek God Himself. He wrote: “We need to develop a ‘holy disinterest’ in our ministry lest it usurp a place in our hearts which Christ must occupy.”

Peter concluded his article with his own poetic writing that I’ve heard him recite before. It is so powerful, I want to share it with you here. I encourage you to read it slowly and to consider each part of each line carefully.

I AM What You Want

When you desire The Light more than what He reveals, you’ll see what you haven’t understood.

When you desire The Bread more than being satisfied, you’ll enjoy fullness of joy.

When you desire The Door more than the pasture He exposes, you’ll enter inner freedom.

When you desire The Shepherd more than His voice, you’ll hear Him speak to you by name.

When you desire The Resurrection more than being raised, you’ll start doing the impossible.

When you desire The Way more than the direction He gives, you’ll walk in His good will.

When you desire The Truth more than acquiring knowledge, you’ll search the depths of God.

When you desire The Life more than the Christian life, you’ll experience Christ as your Life.

When you desire The Vine more than the fruit He produces, you’ll bear fruit that remains.

Does God Look the Other Way?

The other day I was talking with a friend who asked, “In heaven, do you think we’ll care enough to ask God: ‘Why did So-and-So thrive on earth when You know they mistreated people and seemed so full of pride?’”

Hmmm, good question. Maybe you know someone like that who runs a business. But especially if they serve a ministry, their successes can be really surprising, even frustrating, because of what you know. “Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?” (Ps. 10)

Then I thought, “If people even care about these things in heaven, how many would be asking God about me?”

It was a comfort to me to think that in heaven, in the presence of Almighty God, all these kinds of questions will melt away. They just won’t matter anymore.

Are you bothered by leaders who don’t seem to try to lead like Jesus? Are you curious about how others perceive you as a leader?

What keeps you awake at night?

Earlier this week, our Yorkshire Terrier (which I usually call a Yorkshire “Terrorist”) started barking at 1:20 a.m. It was one of those persistent, “Hey, something’s going on here! Wake up, guys!” types of barks. My wife and I both got up and looked out the front window toward the garage. We could see one of our garbage cans tipped over with the lid off. Standing next to the can and making a meal of the contents of a large, white kitchen garbage bag was a big black bear. Darn. Our fault for leaving the trash can outside the garage. It was trash pickup day and no one had brought the can back inside, even when we dropped in another bag of garbage.

Something else that keeps me awake sometimes is what I call “vain regrets.” I lie there thinking about something I’ve said or done that hurt someone, made someone uncomfortable or embarrassed myself. Once again, the sleeplessness is my fault. It comes from me not yielding to God what seems so precious to me at times:  my reputation.  Over the years, the incidence of “vain-regret wakefulness” has decreased, though I still experience it from time to time.

What problems keep you awake at night? Are you responsible for creating those issues? Or do you embrace things that aren’t yours to own? It occurs to me that I can find peace (and sleep) by doing two things: 1. Avoid pitfalls that rob me of peace (i.e. bring in the trash cans). I can do what is in my power to prevent problems that bring on stress, worry and sleeplessness.  2. Release to God what He can manage much better than I – my reputation, my image… my personal “brand.”

What’s robbing you of sleep?

A Closer Look

A photographer friend of mine in Atlanta was out in a field one crisp October morning at dawn, trying to capture the sunrise and dewdrops. Betsy Garmon didn’t mind sacrificing breakfast and sleep because she knew the payoff – a gorgeous photograph – would be worth it.  Because of the intrusive power lines and the cold that caused her hands to shake, Betsy went home feeling like the effort had been wasted – that she hadn’t captured any shots good enough to use.

She offloaded the 50 or so photos she’d taken, and confirmed that none of the shots were what she’d hoped for. They were blurry, too cluttered with other “stuff,” or just not right. Nevertheless, Betsy decided to take a closer look at the one shot with “decent composition” – the one closest to her ideal.

It was during that closer, magnified look that Betsy found this:  “There, hidden in that third, unimpressive shot, was a treasure. Reflected in the face of the dewdrop was an image of the incredible sky that I had been striving so hard to capture. There, suspended on the end of a dried flower stalk in a throwaway shot, was a reminder that anything I ‘create’ is simply a reflection of God’s glory. It was a prompt to look closely at what seems to be, by my analysis, something to discard and find every bit of what God has for me.”

Well said, Betsy.  Reader, have you spent hours on projects that didn’t turn out right, research that didn’t lead to what you thought was the “right” conclusion or a relationship that went sour? If you look more closely, can you see what God may have for you in the situation – an image that comes into focus when you pause long enough to search for it, to study it? Are you willing to share something here that you learned by taking a second look at a “wasted” situation?

(You can see Betsy Garmon’s website at wildthymecreative.com.)

Decision-Making and Changing Direction

“Dad, what do you do at work?” my 12-year-old son Nate asked me recently. “I mean, I know your title, but what do you do all day?”

I smiled, hesitated for a few seconds, and then answered.

“I make decisions.”

“Wow. That sounds exciting,” Nate answered, with more than a hint of pre-adolescent sarcasm.

“Well, there’s more to it than that, son,” I said, thinking how I might gain his interest back. “Many days I’m like a field general, building plans, casting vision for the team and leading the charge to accomplish specific goals.”

“Well, that sounds more interesting,” he answered, and I could almost hear the video playing in his mind (complete with a horseback-riding cavalry storming into battle to take the desired hilltop).

When it comes down to it, making decisions does fill much of my work day. And I want to share with you now a valuable lesson I learned from a strong leader who was a colleague of mine for several years. I asked him at a lunch meeting one day, “How do you do it? You seem to make decisions so quickly.”

“It’s really not very complicated,” he said. “I don’t tolerate inactivity. We’re either moving forward or we’re stagnant. So when I have two or more options to choose from in making a decision, I first look to see if one is the obvious choice based on my knowledge or past experience. I’ll ask the person bringing the decision to me if they have a preference or recommendation. If two or more options still seem equal, I just pick one, and expect the whole team to support it wholeheartedly.”

“What? You mean you randomly make a choice and ask everybody to get in line to support it? What if it proves to be the wrong decision?”

“That’s the beauty of this approach,” he answered. “If the choice clearly becomes less ideal than another, I change my mind and go with the better option. I’m not afraid or embarrassed to change my mind and give new direction based on new information.”

He paused, smiling, allowing for this realization to sink in. Then he went on, “Only a fool continues to support a decision he knows is not the best he can do. Some people think that changing their mind or changing direction is a sign of weakness. I think it’s a sign of humility and strength for a leader to say, ‘I’ve discovered a better way; we’re changing to Plan B now.’”

In my experience, I have found that the biggest challenge to this approach comes from people negatively affected by a change in direction. To them, it can seem like you didn’t mean what you said in the first place, even if you were wholeheartedly committed to Plan A at the time. Worse, you can seem insincere or untruthful. But I hope to build a reputation for honesty and integrity even when changing direction, so that people understand and give me the benefit of the doubt, even if my change impacts them negatively.

If your social style is “Analytical,”* you may balk at this approach, because your style is to wait, gather the facts, avoid the risk and move forward more slowly and cautiously. (*Click here for a link to more information about social styles and decision making, courtesy of John Pearson.)

Whatever your level of responsibility or social style, do you struggle with making, announcing or supporting decisions once you’ve made them? Would taking this kind of approach serve you well, or would you hesitate to act on a decision that seemed “tied” with two or three others? Do you have my friend’s desire to keep moving, keep searching, keep advancing … even if you have to turn around and go a different direction at times?

Loyal for Life

I received an email this week from Texas Section President Kevin Edney, director of advancement at Forest Glen Camps, whom I met at the 2010 national conference at Ridgecrest. Kevin attended one of my seminars on marketing at the Texas Sectional Conference, and he knows I’m passionate about helping camps market themselves with excellence in order to fill more beds and do more ministry.

Here is Kevin’s firsthand experience with excellent customer service that won him over with this manufacturer, possibly for a lifetime:

I purchased an iPhone a couple months ago, which was my first Apple product ever. Since that time I have integrated both my personal and professional life into that phone. I have found it’s abilities to be incredibly valuable to what I do. This weekend, my iPhone decided to go swimming with me, which wasn’t the best decision because those kinds of actions are not covered under AT&T or Apple warranties. So I made an appointment with the Genius Bar at the Apple Store hoping they could salvage it. But in my mind, I was ready and willing to pay for the cost of a new one because of how functional it’s been for me. 

 Well, they couldn’t salvage it. There was no magic pill. But, because I was a new apple customer and have never had any service done, they replaced my phone absolutely free. “One time gift,” they said. But this is what they really did – they bought brand loyalty for their cost of giving me that phone. I’m absolutely committed to purchasing or using Apple products in the future and when I upgrade my current computers, it will be with Apple. Their phone is good, but their willingness to meet my needs (customer service) was excellent.

 I’m going to tell that story to those on the Texas section e-mail list this week and encourage them to keep up the good work of creating “brand loyalty” with their innovative and “need meeting” service. The “experience” is where the present and future of camping has to be.

How can this level of customer service be applied at camps and conference centers to create brand loyalty? Can we really do this kind of thing on limited budgets? Please share your ideas or experiences here.

P.S. An interesting article on this topic: Apple triggers “religious reaction” in fans’ brains.