Reading Lencioni

When we travel as a family and Claudia does her share of the driving on the Interstate, I usually pass the time reading. This week I have one of Patrick Lencioni's books, Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars. Lencioni is a consultant for corporations and non-profit organizations. He has also been a key speaker at some of Willow Creek Leadership Summits.

In Silos, Lencioni has written a very good fable that depicts the typical "silos" or turf wars that take place in any organization. Using several different case scenarios, Lencioni does a great job in describing the subtleties of turf wars and places the blame square at the top of the organization. (The ground troops are simply doing their jobs as described for them by their bosses.)

The answer to the turf war, according to Lencioni, is a thematic goal. This is not to be confuse with a vision statement or a BHAG (big fat hairy goal), as Porras and Collins describe. But it is more than strategic goals and objectives. I must admit, this was a new concept for me and I'm not quite sure of the concept even after reading Lencioni's concept.

Lencioni clearly states that a thematic goal does not exclude the need to develop a good, functioning executive team (cf. Dysfunctions of Teams). Indeed, good executive teams are a priority for Lencioni. But contends that even well functioning teams with good personal relationships will sometimes have organizational/structural weaknesses that allow "silos" or turf wars to develop.

Overall, Lencioni has written a very readable book that clearly describes the problem of politics among divisions in an organization. But the concept of a "thematic goal" (as opposed to organizational vision) is still a bit vague to me -- but he's probably on to something. I don't think this book is as good as his Dysfunctions of Teams, but it is still a good read, has great application for various organizations including many churches and ministries.

Week of Family Reunions, Speaking Engagements

Our entire family has been on the road quite a bit since our arrival in the Indiana 10 days ago. Over the weekends we try to visit various churches. This past Sunday we were in Lincoln and Decautor, Illinois. We drove back to my parents in NW Indiana, only to leave on Wednesday for Cleveland, TN.

In Cleveland we met with some of my cousins (on the Rosson side). Yesterday we drove to Statesville, NC where there is a family reunion with my mother's family. So... we've been on the road quite a bit... averaging 7 hours per day of travel.

This Sunday I will speak twice here in North Carolina -- South Lenoir and Statesville (Landmark) and share what God is doing in Central and Eastern Europe (e.g., Germany, Russia, and all points in between).

How do we keep the kids happy while spending so much time on the road? DVDs! That and the comfort of seven little words: "It will all come out in therapy."

News / Prayer Request from Moscow

This coming month, September 2007, our seminary in Moscow will apply for the license "to conduct educational activity." Currently the seminary is registered as a religious organization and the Russian law provides for clear separation of church and state. Previously we were of the opinion that such a license was optional. However, it has become evident that we must now apply for a license.

Our Rector (Provost) Ilya Okhotnikov is working diligently on the licensing process. He hopes to have all of our paperwork and applications finished by the beginning of September. Ilya writes,

I ask you keep me and the rest of the Seminary administration in prayer for wisdom and His guidance, so that God would grant favor in the eyes of the governmental offices.... In need you to include is the prayer for those people who will actually come on campus of the Seminary to inspect us and search, to make sure we have enough resources “to conduct Educational Activity”. Especially Mr. Gruzkov, the Head of the Office of Licensing at the Federal Services – he will preside over the Inspection Committee.

The licensing process is very complicated, necessitating the clearance and approval from various governmental agencies (e.g., fire department, sanitation department, department of registration services, etc.). It will also involve a number of extra expenses that we had not anticipated. Please pray for a successful completion of the licensing process and that our educational activities at ETSM will proceed as planned.

Love is not a feeling

Peck notes in The Road Less Traveled that love is not a feeling. Instead it is an activity and an investment. He defines love as, "The will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth." Love is primarily actions towards nurturing the spiritual growth of another. Love cannot be sustained by mutual dependence, rather, love between two parties is made stronger when they are completely independent of one another.

Peck distinguishes between love and cathexis. Cathexis is what explains attractions to the opposite sex, the instinct for cuddling pets and pinching babies' cheeks. However, cathexis is not love. Ironically, true love does not begin in isolation, and a certain amount of cathexis is necessary to spark true love.

The work of love begins when the cathexis wears off. Love is not a feeling. It consists of what you do for another person. "Love is as love does." It is about giving the other person what they need to grow. It is about truly knowing and understanding them.

Peck is writing predominately about the love between humans. But the same principles are easily applied to one's understanding of and relationship with God. After the newness of our walk with Christ wears off, it is important to realize that God is concerned about our spiritual growth. He gives us what we need (and not what we don't need) so that we can grow -- something we also call discipleship.

Discipline - Life is difficult

Working through some old note, I came across the book The Road Less Traveled by Scott Peck. Peck, an American psychiatrist who was also a professing Christian. He talked of the importance of discipline that has the following "tools":

• Delaying gratification: Sacrificing present comfort for future gains.
• Acceptance of responsibility: Accepting responsibility for one's own decisions.
• Dedication to truth: Honesty, both in word and deed.
• Balancing: Handling conflicting requirements. We need to prioritize between different requirements -- bracketing.

Peck’s book begins with the profound truth that ‘Life is difficult!’. We must come to grips with the fact that life was never meant to be easy. We can either complain about them or solve them.

These tools are techniques of suffering, means by which we experience the pain of problems in such a way as to work through them and solve them successfully, learning and growing in the process. Most of us do not want to wrestle with our problems because of the pain involved. Yet, it is only in grappling with our problems that life has its meaning. In refusing to suffer the pain of sacrifice, we fail to truly grow. It is in giving that we gain more.

Healing Rain

For more than 20 years I've been a fan of Michael W. Smith's music. I never ceased to be amazed at his ability to write and produce great songs even when times change along with music styles.

Healing Rain is a reminder to all of us of the love of God that is available to all of us. Enjoy!

London in Eight Hours

We traveled from Germany to the United States with a 8-hour layover in London. So what do you do with three kids who have never been to the UK?

We took the tube from Heathrow to Picadilly Circus. There we were able to board an "open top" double decker bus and do a tour of London. The great thing is you can go on/off these buses as often as you like. (Same with the tube with the day pass.) Taking the "original tour", we got to see many of London's famous sights.

• Kensington Palace
• Hyde Park
• Ritz Hotel
• Royal Albert Hall
• Nelson's Column & Trafalgar Square
• British Airways London Eye
• Big Ben & Parliament
• Downing Street
• Horse Guards' Parade

But the time was too short to really take it all in. And with the London traffic, we had to cut out some of the other typical sites of London (St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower of London, Sherlock Holmes house). As it was, we had train delays getting back to the airport. We literally ran to the gate and were among the last ones to board.

Where's Waldo?

It's a bit late, but finally I have a picture of the participants from the Central and Eastern European Leadership Conference that was held in Kniebis, Germany this past June.

Countries represented were Germany, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Hungary, Poland, and Austria.