In case you missed it, I posted 3 new resources that I'm pretty excited about over at SaviorCC.com. The final message in our recent mini-series dealt with lifehacks and workflows for spiritual transformation. In addition to the usual podcast audio, I posted notes and some info on software that I use in my day-to-day soul-work. Yes, I use software to hack my soul! Why wouldn't I? :-)
Here is a link to all the posts from the series:--> Am I Series
Despite an unbroken string of 11 blockbuster films, Catmull regularly says, "Success hides problems." It's an insight Google should acknowledge and act on. Google's leadership admirably tolerates failure on side-projects (and big projects as well), but what Pixar has that Google does not is a culture where the fear of complacency is a strong motivator, where new problems are identified, discussed, and addressed openly and honestly, all of which requires humility.
When Catmull gives a public speech or lecture, what's most noticeable is that he talks about the problems that Pixar has encountered and the mistakes that he has made. Pixar has, for example, nearly burned-out its employees on numerous occasions. Like every organization, there are also pockets of the company that are extremely resistant to change.Catmull freely acknowledges through his words and deeds that doesn't know what he doesn't know. When delivering a lecture at Stanford's Computer Science department in April, he compared trying to build a successful lasting company to a constant iterative creative process. "There is a lot about this process which I find mystifying still," he said, "There's certain things that I think we've got right and certain things we've got wrong."
The pursuit of perfection is what most of us are after. It’s a noble pursuit. However, it can be an addicting one as well. You can really equate it to a drug addict or alcoholic in some ways. I found myself constantly reading. Finishing one book and picking up the next. Constantly thinking about how to achieve this or to achieve that. At the end of the day, this pursuit of perfection is all about a future state. I found it very difficult to enjoy what was happening in the now.
Very insightful and encouraging post about productivity.
With less than 2 weeks left on my Sabbatical this Article from the NYT was a helpful reminder about why I took a break in the first place. The focus in the first half of the article is largely on the demands people set on clergy. At SaviorCC this has never really been an issue, though the demands of my time have become increasingly difficult to manage over the past year. For me, what seemed to be an oncoming burnout developed from a combination of my church work and heavy teaching load. Heavy for me anyway.
One quote started to approach a significant frustration that I have been more and more aware of:
Larger social trends, like the aging and shrinking of congregations, the dwindling availability of volunteers in the era of two-income households, and the likelihood that a male pastor’s wife has a career of her own, also spur some ministers to push themselves past their limits, she said. (Emphasis added.)
Not all apply for us, but it highlights a difficulty that I have been hearing from more and more pastors. They simply cannot get people to meaningfully contribute time to the work. If this is the result of social trends, it helps explain why less clergy are staying in the profession.
A 2005 survey of clergy by the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church also took special note of a quadrupling in the number of people leaving the profession during the first five years of ministry, compared with the 1970s.
I am tempted to think that there is an increased pressure on pastors in the aftermath of the church growth movement. Does the pressure to measure up to the relatively few “stars” in our field lead us to have a greater sense of failure and personal disappointment? I think it is a valid question, but the article goes on to site common pressures among Muslim clerics, Catholic Priests, and even Rabbis. I am not sure they have the same kind of cultural pressures to be super-successes as Evangelical pastors often do. So it would seem to have more to do with the other broader social factors mentioned.
Ultimately, I think we need to recognize the deeper spiritual realities underlying the issue. When a Pastor lives as if the success of God's plan depends on him, it is because somewhere deep within he believes that to be the case. I'm guilty of it. I'm in the process of repenting.
The Christian can enjoy the little that he owns in a way that the non-Christian millionaire cannot, because the Christian tastes mercy and grace in the smallest crumb and drop that God gives him. But the Christian can even enjoy things that others own in a way the owners themselves cannot! I can wander through the mall and admire the beauty and creativity of the clothes and gadgets even if I will never own them. I can see and enjoy the speed of fast cars, the elegance of sleek yachts, and the architecture of expensive houses in a way that those who own them cannot. I can see God’s wise, beautiful and powerful creativity behind every good thing (Emphasis added).
Clip of John Piper talking about Christian and Muslim relations. For an explanation of what it is about and links to the documents it refers to read the original post at his blog.
John Piper has a great article on the role that Black and Latino Christians can play in hurting the abortion industry (and make no mistake about it—abortion is big business!). He writes,
The end of abortion as a business is in sight when the prolife movement is not only joined by, but led by, the African-American and Latino Christian Community. I call it the Third Wave.
He offers this prayer in conclusion of his article:
Father, arouse and unite your people to be cross-bearers for child-bearers. Imbue our church leaders of every race with moral clarity and courage to name what is the clearest expression of the human indignity in our country: child-killing. Let reconciling grace flow like a river. Let humbling grace make possible Black and Latino approaches to the great work before us. Color our prolife ranks, marches, assemblies, conferences, and staffs with the richness of Black and Latino Christian servants. To them belong the honor of leading us to victory in the abolition of abortion, for the establishment of righteousness in the land and for the glory of your name.
Read the full article here.
