Demotivation for the day

From one of my favorite websites, despair.com.  Do you sometimes feel like this?  

Maybe Lot's wife feels this way now.

Why don't your dreams become reality?

I'm an idea person.  Some would say I'm a creative visionary, others might say a foolish dreamer.  Maybe you are like me with visions and ideas floating around in your head just waiting to implement.  Maybe you're also like me in that you've never had a "bad idea" in your life.  In other words, idea people thrive on new ideas and, almost always, believe that each idea is the best thing since slice bread. Why, then, do most of your ideas never come to fruition? Maybe the two best answers to that question are a) They weren't supposed to or b) they weren't given enough attention.

Have you ever been in a brainstorming session run amuck?  Idea after idea gets thrown out and the process keeps going and going.  Everything from the impractical, the irrelevant to the absurd is posted on the board.  Everyone's ideas are valued as equal.  The whole goal of this exercise is to help the team break free from conventional thinking to possibly stumble upon one great idea, or at least a general solution to the problem.  Free-thinking is a great place to be for awhile, but stay there too long and everyone's brain will be mush.  Why?  Because ideas are ultimately only useful if they have an application.  The group may come up with tons of great ideas that just don't seem to address the problem at hand.

Questions to ask for your idea.

1. Has this already been tried before? How? Was it successful and why?  Do some research to find out if anyone else has already done this.  That will save you time and frustration on the implementation.  Idea people always think that they are the first to think of something, when in reality, a hundred people have probably already "run it up the flagpole."  Find those people and learn from them.  Chances are they are just as excited about the idea.
2. Does this idea have application now? The important thing here is to write down your idea and try to find an immediate need for it.  There may be a market for your idea, but it may not be apparent at the moment.  If there appears to be a need, then do your research to confirm it.  If not, file it for later.
3. Why doesn't anyone else believe in my idea? This is a hard question to answer. People are probably used to hearing about your latest and greatest idea, only to never see it become a reality.  They get excited at first, but soon learn that you also have a hundred other ideas.  Maybe your idea is too big for them to grasp, or maybe they've just learned to tune you out because they're tired of your idea ADHD.  You may be able to spawn ideas faster than salmon eggs, but you need to learn where to spend your "selling" energy.  Not every idea is worth putting in more than a minute of thought.  Every once in awhile, however, an idea is.  It's there that you spend your social capital and rally others to your cause.
4. Did I invest enough time in my last great idea? Don't make the mistake of going from idea to idea, only to see them all fail.  Current and effective programs or products shouldn't always have to compete with the new ones for oxygen within the organization.  Some "failed" ideas were great, except that they weren't given enough attention or resources for a long enough time.  Ideas in an organization are like bricks that are built one upon another to make a stronger and stronger overall structure.  New ideas are not always better, they're just more exciting - for awhile.

Keep dreaming.  Keep brainstorming.  Keep visioning.  Just try not to drown in a pool of your unrealized dreams.  A good idea is worth putting energy into.  Very few ideas are worth pouring a lifetime into. But when they come along, they can change the world.

I would love to hear your thoughts or personal experience why ideas aren't realized?

Goals - Size Does Matter!

Is there value in setting goals that are unachievable?  What is the correlation between the size of the goal and the time it takes to achieve it.  It all depends.  Friends and family members of "dreamers" probably get tired of hearing about all the lofty things that will be achieved.  Those who know and live with task oriented people eventually get tired of hearing an endless list of to-dos.  What I do know is that the bigger the goal, the longer it takes to achieve.  The longer it takes, the easier it is to become side-tracked by newer dreams and goals.  Also, the smaller we continue to think, the more we can lose sight of our bigger dreams.

Goals can be broken down into several categories:

• God-sized life goals - These are humongous goals that are unachievable without some divine intervention.  Examples: Cure cancer, travel to every country in the world, begin a movement.  These types of goals are what give our life their ultimate purpose.  They guide us long-term and can become very powerful and determining forces for our decision-making over our whole lifespan.  These life-goals are like the top of a multi-story staircase and are often the crowing achievements of one's life.
• Intermediate goals - These goals are often difficult to achieve, and can take years to accomplish.  Examples: Graduate from college, travel to Paris, purchase a house.  These types of goals get us from one place in life to another.  They are often not ends to themselves, but rather means to a bigger end.  Intermediate goals are like individual flights of stairs that get us one floor higher to the top.
• Short-term goals - These goals can be accompished within days, weeks or a few months.  They are the little accomplishments that help us get our work and life done from week to week.  Examples: run 40 miles this week, balance my checkbook, finish reading a novel.  Many times, we don't even think of these as goals because they are so small.  They are usually made up of smaller tasks.  Even though they are small, some people like myself find that these are the most difficult goals to achieve.  I will take a big audacious goal any day over a small easy task.  Others are pros at knocking out small, short-term goals.

Even if you're not a "goal-oriented" person, you probably have several goals in your life.  The question is not whether you have goals, but rather, what size goals do you have and do you have a strategy for achieving different types of goals?  Even a professional couch-potato has a goal, which is, to stay on the couch as much as possible.  What makes some people strive to achieve greater things while others set their sights much lower?  I am not naturally a task-oriented goal setter, but here are some of the things that cause me to set goals. 

• Past experience - some goals are set or not because of a positive or a negative experience in my life.  I look back and desire to experience something positive again, or to NOT experience something that was painful.
• Ambition - human ambition can be an incredibly powerful force in peoples' lives for setting and achieving goals.  This can obviously be a good or a bad thing, depending on what boundaries are set to protect oneself and others.  Sometimes my ambition drives me to set unrealistic goals, simply because I want to be "the best."
• Purpose - some people, like myself, don't set goal and achieve goals unless it ties to a greater purpose in their life.  Many a slacker has transformed into a single-minded workaholic when there is a purpose to work for.  I can spend all day doing trivial things, until I'm reminded of my God-given purpose in life.
• Pride - For me to admit that I can't do something is very difficult.  Some goals that I set for myself are there simply to prove that "I can."

Life without challenge becomes boring, and a boring life is just, well, dull.  When I write or voice my goals to someone else, I am challenging myself to achieve something.  My sister Sarah and I both decided to sign up for an IronMan together.  Why?  Because we both need challenge, and by doing it together, neither one of us is likely to back out.  I told my wife I was going to run at least one marathon this next year.  Even though she doesn't quite understand why, she sees the excitement that it brings in my life to set a big goal and work towards it.

I have stated other bigger goals, sometimes without even believing that they are possible.  Will I achieve every goal that I set?  Maybe not in my lifetime, but I will die trying.  1Cor. 9:27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 

What kind of goal setter are you?  Do you always think big, or do you go small?  I challenge you, and myself, to look at your strenghts and weaknesses in this area.  Whever you are strong, embrace it.  Whever you are weak, don't let that sabatoge achieving your purpose in life.  Also, collaborate with other who excel in areas of goals, tasks achievement where you don't.

Denominations, Associations and Networks

Denomination

A religious denomination is a body of churches and individuals who are bound to each other through common creed and covenant.  Denominational belief requirements for membership range from the basic credal frameworks to tightly knit systems of theology with no wiggle room for variance.  Some denominations are more movement oriented while others are more static.  Some denominations inter-relate while others remain isolated from the church at large.  Within denominations there are often smaller divisions like districts, synods, regions, etc.  Most major denominations today, unfortunately, have fallen into common human power and control patterns and use politics and the primary means of doing so.

Association

An association is a group of organizations or individuals who have banded together for a specific purpose.  They generally have a common goal or philosophy that can be promoted better as a group.  There are associations of churches for just about every kind of cause or ministry area.  Some examples are the Willow Creek Association, Association of Christian Accountants and the Chrsitian Community Development Association.  The members of an association don't generally share the level of theological unity within denominations, however, they do share common values and philosophies regarding a particular issue or area of practice.  Associations are generally well developed organizationally as well.  The association normally assesses membership dues and also provides resources to its members in return.  Associations are only as valuable to the member as the benefits derrived or the accomplishments that are made as a whole. 

Network

A network is a loose connection of individuals, organizations and churches that acts mainly as a social connector.  Networks generally have a lower requirement of commitment for membership and serve primarily to allow for one on one and small group interaction.  Membership of networks is generally at-will and people go in and out of networks as their situation and needs change.  While some networks have a creedal requirement for membership, others simply require that basic values be upheld by its members.

The size of the circle indicates the amount of influence that the entity traditionally has on the congregation. The porousness of the border indicates requirements for membership. The requirements and influence are possibly reversing between the three circles.Networks and associations are nothing new, both in the secular and religious worlds.  Traditionally, networks of like-minded individuals, organizations and ministries serve a purpose for a particular time period.  They provide a loose connection to others with the same interests, philosophy, purpose or style.  In the church world, congregations and ministries operate within certain frameworks, networks and denominations.  Here is the basic breakdown of each type of organization.

What this all means for the church

As traditional institutions lose their power, influence and sense of mission/purpose, churches and ministry leaders are seeking connection and fellowship outside of their institutions.  The rise of inter-denominational networks and associations is nothing new, but there is now shift in how people identify and distinguish themselves.  The majority of churches still belong to denominations, as this provides a theological framework and ecclesiastical accountability structure that is needed for the individual pastor and church.  Churches are less likely, however, to identify themselves publicly with denominations as they were before.  Denominational membership acts more as the foundation upon which the individual congregation grows, and less as the distinguishing outward mark of the church.  Membership in a network or an association is quickly becoming the more common public statement of solidarity among new churches.

Is this shift just a reactionary trend to the decline of institutions?  Will networks and associations someday replace the denomination?  Will networks evolve into denominations?  These questions are yet to be answered.

I do believe, however, that the church is experiencing a more dynamic reality where churches can multiply more creatively and rapidly.  Denominations and districts will either accept this and promote connection to networks and associations, or they will still further attempt to control and restrict their members.  I see great potential for a movement within the mix of denominations, associations and networks.  If a church planting movement is happen, though, institutions will need to reassess their role and begin to loosen their grip on the methods and practices of their members.  If not, they will see themselves become more irrelevant and unneeded in the minds of our new generation of church planters, ministries and congregations.

Donation Challenge - Win an iPad2

Donate for a chance to win a 32 gig iPad2!

I want to challenge you to donate to LINC Houston, the non-profit organization that I am privileged to lead.  So, here's the deal.  

I have personally donated a 32 Gig Apple iPad2 to LINC Houston to use as a online raffle item.

From now until August 1, 2011, anyone who donates at least $10 to LINC Houston using our online donation page will be entered into the drawing for an iPad.  For any amount that you donate in multiples of 10, your name will be entered by that number.  Here's an example for the math impaired ($50 donation = 5 entries).

 Recruit Others to Help You

Also, you can set up a "Help me win an Apple iPad2 page" to get your friends and family to help you win.  To do so, set up a fundraiser on Razoo.com (click here) and select "LINC Houston" as your non-profit.  You can letyour friends know that for every $10 you raise, your name will be entered in the drawing.  Please include your name in the title of the fundraiser so we know that whose name to enter with each ticket.

Please help us raise money for our organization so that we can plant more churches, restore more communities and train more leaders for ministry.

Raise money online for LINC Houston iPad2 Donation Challenge