What's In Our Container?

I spent 3 hours today in an inservice to learn how to use PowerPoint in an updated application I don't have access to--either at home or at school. But I also learned about a fun website (www.wordle.net) where you can make fun montages out of words. You can view the result of today's education by clicking here.

These are the items in our Operation Christmas Child storage container right now waiting to be packed into shoeboxes at our September 24th packing party. Well, that's not precisely correct because not ALL of these items are in the container yet.

For example, even though we hauled 14 garbage bags (each full of 100 stuffed animals) to the storage container last night, there are still 27 more bags full occupying beds and floors in our bedrooms. And I'm praying God will provide another 24 or 25 bags full in the next month.

Yesterday I was blessed to take a road trip to the beautiful Kinzua Dam area here in Western Pennsylvania. I went to meet and have lunch with Patti Seth, our collection center coordinator from Warren, PA.

And my dear friend Ellen Bunnell made the two-hour round trip from Bradford to bring the Bradford Zoo--a collection of nearly 300 stuffed animals collected by the children at the Hill Memorial UM Church's VBS this year. With such great donations it's no wonder God has filled The Ark nearly to capacity.

Well, I guess the animals won't mind sleeping on our beds for the next few weeks.

GO Boxes

Look at this stack of beautiful boxes ready to be filled with gifts for needy children around the world through Operation Christmas Child. These boxes have recently been renamed GO boxes and that stands for Gospel Opportunity--that's what each of these simple boxes really is for the child who receives it.

Last night my sweet OCC Area Team member Terri Mouyard and I met at Grace Church to assemble these boxes. We hadn't really done this for 9 months and it took a few minutes to get our groove but then we started folding like the crazed OCC fanatics we are. Within 2 hours we'd assembled 200 boxes--ready to be taken by church members to be filled.

Then this morning Dianne Oschmann, our Relay Center Coordinator from Seneca, PA, drove up to Erie to pick up 7 cartons of these GO Boxes for her area. She insists that everyone who takes boxes makes sure each one is filled or returned to her and she's seeing phenomenal growth in Operation Christmas Child in her area through these boxes.

Each Area Coordinator receives a limited number of these and as they start to become more popular at churches here in Northwestern PA I'm afraid we won't be able to meet the demand.

The good news, though, is that these boxes are now available for purchase on the Samaritan's Purse website. You can order a carton of 100 boxes for $24.00 plus shipping which varies by zip code. To get them here in Erie the cost for shipping is $13.37 which I think is a great deal. You can order a minimum of 100 boxes or a maximum of 1,000 on the website. For orders over 1,000 you'll need to call to make arrangements.

Click here for more info on ordering these and make plans to pack and pray for a simple way to change lives around the world.

Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit--Erwin McManus

Getting ready for the last session "Chasing Daylight" and praying I'll be able to implement some of this awareness into our Operation Christmas Child team.

Erwin McManus--Chasing Daylight

There are moments in our lives when we're inspired to act and start looking for incremental changes when we need a total change of mindset. We need to have a different relationship with the future. Ecclesiastes 1--everything is meaningless.

One day in his living room Erwin said he was convinced Solomon was wrong in Eccles. 1. "There's nothing new under the sun." Erwin believes there is something new under the sun. Jesus said, "Behold I am doing a new thing."

Jesus says "you can't put new wine in old wineskins." God was an artisan as He created the world. Every human being is created in the life and image of God. When we live our lives alive in the creator of the universe we become God's instruments for creating the future.

Evil men do not wait for permission from God to create the future they have in mind while good people sit idly by waiting for God to create a better world. We can say God saved the world through Noah but we have a harder time saying Noah saved the human race.

After the post-modern world is whatever we choose. Why do we keep waiting for someone else to create a better future?

Where to focus to create the future God has in mind--

1) we need to become the cultivators of human talent so each person is developed to the furthest level When Moses was born he was no ordinary child and no ordinary child has been born on this planet. But most of us die painfully ordinary. The church should be the nurturer of the human spirit. What would happen if the world knew the Church as the epicenter of Christian creativity? "The moment I met Jesus Christ something came alive in me and I knew there were things still waiting to come but I was afraid to let them be expressed." There are a lot of people who are going to die with their dreams trapped inside of their souls. There is no conflict between human talent and the glory of God.

We need to become narrators of the human story. We used to be the best poets of the world. "When I came to faith I didn't know why I believed the Bible. I began doing an empirical study of the Bible to see if what it said about humans was true." We need to reclaim the truth-telling power of the gospel. (Example of Nathan telling a story to David to convict him of his sin.) We need a revival of great storytelling. Whoever tells the best story shapes the culture. Truth can be lost in a bad story and falsehood is spread in a good story.

It's not that hard to bring a person to Jesus when you tell them a story that they find themself in.

There's a future in the creative and if we nurture the wonder in every person people will be drawn to our communities. If we acknowledge that we are a mosaic that God's light shines through, we will find ourself in this new creative order because Jesus has come and He makes all things new.

Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit--Patrick Lencioni

Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit--another speaker to help us learn how to lead Operation Christmas Child teams.

Patrick Lencioni--his book is called "Getting Naked" about the power of vulnerability

I like to begin by making a few confessions--my personality doesn't lend itself to these types of big speeches; everything I'm going to cover you already know ("people need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed")

Humility is rare and powerful. First job out of college--he was not never to admit he didn't have the right answer; never let the client seem smarter than you--

Then got a job at another company where you also had to pretend you knew everything.

Third job he was allowed to be genuine and it was liberating. Later began his own consulting group and decided to be 'naked' and honest with clients. The trust and loyalty response was amazing.

Definition of vulnerable--capable of being physically or emotionally wounded; open to attach or damage; liable to increase penalties but entitled to increase bonuses in a game of bridge

Vulnerability runs counter to the desire in our culture to avoid discomfort at all costs.

Three fears that keep us from being vulnerable--

1) Fear of losing the business or being rejected--

how to avoid this--

enter the danger--best improv comes from walking right into the wacky conversation

speak the kind truth--sometimes there's terminal niceness in churches; people are desperate for the truth;

2) Fear of being embarrassed--when we're serving others we have to ask questions and make suggestions that may not be wise; when people know you're more interested in making them better, they invite you in; we have to celebrate our mistakes; when we acknowledge our humanity it is attractive

3) Fear of feeling inferior--The last thing we want to do is put ourselves in a lower position; we need to do the dirty work; show people you're willing to do whatever you're asking them to do; the example of Jesus washing the disciples' feet

--honor your clients' work; be more interested in what they do

vulnerability is attractive and powerful and yet it's not easy. It involves suffering and pain. Why do we do this 'vulnerability thing' even if we aren't rewarded for it? Because Jesus did it and calls us to it. In the moments when we don't get rewarded we need to say a prayer of thanksgiving and do it anyway.

Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit--John Dickson

Here at the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit waiting to hear more wisdom that will help me serve better with Operation Christmas Child.

John Dickson--Humilitas, A Lost Key to Life, Love and Leadership

The character trait of humility has been a challenge for leaders for century. John Dickson had a defining moment at a young age when his father died in a plane crash. John is a thinker with a degree in theology and a Ph.D. in ancient history.

The fear of being the guy who talks about humility. There's a dilemma for anyone who would talk about humility in public. "I fell into the topic of humility by accident." I have developed a love/hate relationship with humility.

Humility is not humiliation or low self-esteem. Humility is the noble choice to forego your status and use your influence for the good of others before yourself. It's the humility to hold power for the good of others.

Humility makes the great greater and here are 5 reasons--

1) Humility is common sense--none of us is an expert at everything. Expertise in one area counts for very little in another. Competency extrapolation--think because you're bright in one area you'll be bright in another.

2) Humility is beautiful--we are more attracted to the great who are humble. In ancient Rome 'humility' meant servitude. Jesus created a humility revolution sparked by his crucifixion. Western culture has been profoundly transformed by the cross of Christ. Greatness and humility are now one.

3) Humility is generative--it generates new knowledge and new abilities because the humble person is open to knowledge. The scientific revolution is the result of the humility revolution. The humble place is the place of growth. Sometimes you learn something in the humble place you can't learn any other way. It's the place of flourishing. It's the criticism you know is true.

4) Humility is persuasive--Aristotle in his book "On Rhetoric" said there must be logos, pathos, and ethos. and ethos is the character of the persuader. "We believe good-hearted people to a greater extent and more quickly than we do others on all subjects in general." The most believable person in the world is the person you know has your best interests at heart.

5) Humility is inspiring--"When our ego won't let us build others up...we have stopped inspiring others to great heights." We admire those leaders who are not approachable but we don't emulate them. But those who humble themselves inspire us to be like them. We think they're like us and so feel we can be like them.

Leaders have 4 tools

ability

authority

character

persuasion

Some of the most inspiring leaders in history had no authority but had much ability, character, and persuasion and people followed them. Sometimes you don't need the power or empires to make change--you need character and persuasion. You don't need the keys to the kingdom to impact the kingdom. You don't need to reclaim a Christian nation in order to win a nation back to Christ.

Humility is not just another leadership technique. At the center of everything is a cross and if that is true, the humble life is a life in touch with reality. "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."

Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit--Dr. Henry Cloud

Getting ready to hear what Henry Cloud will say that can help me in leadership for Operation Christmas Child.

Dr. Henry Cloud--The Evil, The Foolish, The Wise

"That Guy" -- the problem person

Wherever you are, God has called you to be a steward over a vision for the specific reason of changing something in a community or a nation. Are you going to let "this guy" stop your vision?

What does a person do when the truth comes to them? That is the diagnostic question.

You make an assumption as a leader that you need to adjust whenever you receive feedback. But you cannot deal with every person you lead the same. You need to diagnose who you're talking to and deal with them appropriately so you won't lose your vision or your joy.

Three categories-- actually we all have all of these in our lives but some people make a career of one or the other

1) Wise--when the light comes to them the person adjusts themselves to match the light "Correct a wise person and he will be wiser still."

When you confront them, they thank you. David said, "A righteous man will strike me and it will be a blessing."

So talk to the wise--coach them--resource them

The challenge is to make sure they are a match for what you need.

Give them good feedback and coaching

Keep them appropriately challenged

2) Fools--when the light comes they adjust the light. They try to change the truth or shoot the messenger. They deny, minimize.

They are not happy to hear the feedback; may get angry.

Leads to hopelessness in the leader because the person being led won't own the problem.

"Do not correct a fool less you incur insults upon yourself."

Stop talking.

Talk about the pattern only "I don't know how to give you feedback in a way that changes anything. I've got to protect our vision. I've got to protect the culture of this team."

Set limits--limit your exposure "Tell me how I can talk to you and make a difference."

What will we do if I correct you and you don't change? Get specific about consequences

Fools change only when the pain of not changing becomes greater than the pain of changing.

Limit Exposure

Give clear consequences

Give them a choice

Follow through

3) Evil--destruction in their hearts; want to inflict pain "Reject a divisive person after a second warning"

Lawyers

Law Enforcement

God has called you to lead people and it's about getting the people to work the plan. Take the leadership challenge to not let someone's character problem stop the vision that God has called you to.

Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit--Michelle Rhee

Waiting to hear what the leader of education in Washington, DC has to say that will help with leading a team for Operation Christmas Child.

At the age of 37 with no superintendent experience Michelle Rhee was appointed chancellor of education in Washington, DC.

Experts have begun to believe failing neighborhoods might be the result of failing schools. Worst scores for reading--only 12% proficient. Michelle Rhee says "this district did not become this way by accident." She fired more than 30 school principals, closed 23 schools and cut 100 staff.

Michelle Rhee says the children in DC were being such a disservice and people were avoiding making decisions that needed to be made.

She says her father was always socially motivated and taught them their advantaged life was the 'luck' of their birth. In her senior year of college she had no idea what she would do and decided to work for Teach for America where she was assigned to inner-city Baltimore. Found out the hardest job is the world is being a classroom teacher. When they observed her classroom teaching they suggested she might want to make a career change. Two years later 90% of her students were proficient in reading and math!

That success was build on building a strong work ethic in the students and having longer school days and also engaging their parents. Second graders had 2 hours of homework every night. The hard work of the students paid off.

She then graduated from Harvard Business School and was asked to help schools learn to recruit and train new teachers. She founded the New Teacher Project to recruit teachers for rural and inner-city schools and retain them.

The biggest myth is that there weren't enough people willing to teach in inner-city schools but they found that was not true. The problem lay in how the schools operated and all the bureaucracy.

Fast forward to the problems in the DC school district where the school board was replaced and the mayor put in charge. Michelle said 'no' several times to the mayor's desire for her to become chancellor. Ultimately she took the job because the mayor was willing for her to do what needed to be done, no matter how hard, to turn the schools around. The mayor said he was willing to risk his entire political career.

When she started only 8^ of the 8th graders were on grade level for reading. Teachers were not paid on time. Textbooks were sitting in warehouses. They bought 6,000 computers and many of the classrooms did not even have 3 prong outlets to plug them into.

The first core problem she chose to address were organizational ones and then they invested in human capital by making sure each teacher and principal were the best possible. They closed 23 schools (15%) at the same time. Central administration office cut in half. Two-thirds of principals and 1000 educators removed.

She tried to create a different culture where each student was treated like their own. She sent her own children to DC public schools and didn't allow any policies that would be harmful to any child.

The term "snap" means you can see as soon as you go into the classroom if the teacher is being effective. They also wanted value-added teachers, meaning they would evaluate teachers on the basis of how much children were growing and improving. You measure the group at the beginning of the year and again at the end of the year to discern level of growth.

Michelle's mother said when she was young she never cared what people thought of her and now that trait is serving her well. Michelle says, though, that she'd rather deal with anger than apathy.

Asks Michelle to give advice on whether incremental change or revolution is best. Michelle says, "I'm not an incremental girl" and said they needed fast change because of the desperate need.

When the mayor was not re-elected Michelle's job came to an end. She notes that education has been driven by special interest groups and has no organized national interest group on behalf of students. So she started an organization called Students' First--a movement to reform education around the country.

Proverbs 31:8 -- speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. Describes herself as an 'aspiring Christian' and says she is held back by watching other people and also because she is rational and linear and has a hard time relinquishing control and surrendering her life.