Shake It Up!

I've always been one to shake things up. Literally.

In grade school I would shake my milk carton up so much that the foam would spill out over the top when I opened it. Show me a shelf full of snow globes and prepare for a blizzard. If it's liquid (except sodas), expect a vigorous jiggle from me that rivals commercial paint shakers.

I'm not sure why I do that. Maybe my Mom traveled on bumpy roads a lot while I was still in her womb. Or perhaps the baby sitter set my bassinet on the washing machine to help me go to sleep. For whatever reason, I am a shaker. Shake it up!


Sometimes in meetings I ask, "What if?" Often I challenge the status quo, just to shake things up a bit and get our team looking from a different perspective.

As a worship pastor I would periodically move singers around, placing them near unfamiliar voices, seeking to help them break out of their norm, to try something new. As a leader, I often ask those whom I lead to swap responsibilities, giving each one a new perspective on what others do, and how it relates to what they do. Shake it up!


Sometimes this is a great strategy for releasing creativity, for liberating ideas. Simple actions like sitting in a different chair, or writing a Blog post in longhand (do we remember how to do that?) can go a long way to stimulating innovation.

Call me crazy, but there have been times when I literally will lay down on the floor or stand on a chair and scan the room to change my perspective from my usual 5'9" vantage point. Shake it up!


Turn off the light and think in the dark. walk or ride your bike instead of driving. Pause your iPod and listen to the silence.

Shake it up!


Question: What can you do to shake it up and give yourself a different perspective on what you are dealing with? Share below in responses.


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5 Tips For Roller-Coaster Riding

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Having spent 20+ years as a youth pastor, I have ridden more than my share of roller coasters. In fact, there was a time where I went 103 straight rides in the back seat.

(Some people say the front seat is the best, but my theory is that as the front passes over the first hill, it is going slow. The train accelerates as each car crosses the top because of gravity and weight, therefore the last seat in the last car is passing over the hill the fastest.)

Most of us have heard that life is a roller-coaster, and we have to do our best to navigate it, or simply hang on for dear life. If that is true, here are 5 tips for riding the roller-coaster of life:

Get off the roller-coaster - Often, we have a choice. Many of our choices produce results or consequences that can be avoided. Sometimes our choices could have been different. We can avoid some roller-coasters altogether.

Choose where you sit - I already told you of my string of back-seat rides and why I chose to sit there. In the same way, we can choose where we "sit" in life. Where will you get the best perspective? The best control? The best influence?

Choose who you sit with - Sometimes I would bribe a scared 7th grade boy from our group to ride with me. My goal: to help him overcome his fear and experience a thrill. Having someone with us as we navigate life gives us an incredible opportunity to mentor and influence, as they see how we respond to life's dips and climbs.

Watch what you eat - Riding a roller-coaster after eating two corn-dogs, cotton candy, and a coke is not wise. We need to maintain our life's disciplines (diet & exercise, spiritual health, emotional well-being) to effectively navigate the ups & downs and turns of life. Consistency is key.

Enjoy the ride - Some people ride roller-coasters by tightly gripping the safety bar and screwing their eyes shut. Others raise their arms and with wide-open eyes shout whoo-hoo! Life may be a difficult ride, but you can still find some joy in it.

Have a good "roller-coaster" story? Share it below in responses.

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Leveraging Change

This morning as I began my run it was dark outside, with just a hint of dawn in the eastern sky. As I plodded along the miles, the light pushed back the darkness, and by the end of my run it was light. Just like dawn is an ever-changing situation, we deal with ever-changing situations everyday.


As I ran, this definition of creativity came to me: Leveraging our ever-changing situations and resources to achieve a desired result.


Artists do it all the time. A painter does not begin with an infinite number of colors, but rather blends, thins, and adjusts brush strokes to get the desired look on the canvas.


The same goes for musicians. Music is an constantly changing landscape. For instance, there have been a few occasions where I found myself at the last minute without a bass player for a worship set. We adapted by adjusting the EQ on the keyboard and let the left hand cover the bass line.


Another time during a sound check for our Sunday morning worship, the power went out in the entire grid. No problem. I had three acoustic guitars in my office, another staff member had two and we had several guitar players on the team. I put our drummer and percussionist both on percussion, and we led an acoustic set with six guitars and two percussionists. It was one of the most intimate and powerful worship services we have ever had.


Race car drivers face hundreds of changing situations in a race. And the ones who creatively leverage them to their advantage win races.


Great leaders and business people do the same thing: they leverage situations and resources and make things happen.


Creativity: Leveraging our ever-changing situations and resources to achieve a desired result.


Question: When have you adapted your situations and resources, and what were the results? Share your story below.


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The End Of Rubber-Necking

My wife and I were on our way to lunch the other day when we came upon an auto accident. The vehicles involved, as well as the emergency response vehicles blocked one of the two lanes we were traveling on, and we were forced to merge into one lane. I commented, "Everybody's got to slow down to look." My wife responded, "people are naturally curious."

I think the term is rubber-necking. My wife calls is it curiosity. I call it gawking. Whatever one wants to call it, people slow down on both sides of the road to look. (Can you tell that I am frustrated?)

As I silently berated the gawkers, my mind began to become creative (some may say my mind wanderd), and I envisioned a device that public safety personnel could "pop" open that would become a visual barrier 15 feet high, and that surrounds the accident and emergency response vehicles. Move along folks, nothing to see here.

As I thought it through, it began to seem impractical: What if there were high winds? Would it get into the way of other motorists or of EMS personnel? Who would be assigned to collapse the device for future use? You get the picture. But, it would be a useful invention if someone could get it to work right.

I guess what I am saying is that many ideas come from frustration or inconvenience. My advice: use your frustrations or inconveniences as opportunities for creativity. Don't get mad, get ideas!

By the way, I did pray for the occupants of the auto accident as we drove on. That's it! A device that pops down a prayer card from the visor when it hears a siren or sees flashing lights...

Question: How do you respond to inconveniences? Please respond below.

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Make September Count

It's September. Summer is over. School has started. Fall is just around the corner. However you want to say it, the year is 2/3 over.

Here is a fresh opportunity for you to have have an impact, to create something, to do what you've been putting off for a while.

This morning as I was thinking and praying, I began to focus on something that I had been working on for myself, that I had set aside for a few weeks. I hadn't abandoned it. I was simply allowing the inertia that had been created to keep the momentum going. Well now is the time for me to breathe new life into this project.

Fresh starts are good. Re-starts are good too. Whatever condition you find yourself in creatively, you can always start now, even if you are starting again. You may not be able to wipe the slate clean, but you can begin again, now.

Jump-start, re-kindle, re-send. Case it anyway you want. Call it what you need to. Just take the step, turn the key, push the button.

Make this September count for you. Now.

Question: What can you do to make September count for you?

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The Need To Create

The desire to create. The desire to reproduce ourselves. The desire to leave an impression. All of us carry some degree of a mark-making instinct.

And so children write on walls, taggers paint bridges, builders construct houses, and leaders invest in people. It's present in all of us: the need to create.

You may not think that you are creative, but deep down inside of you is the need to create, That's because you were made in the image of God, The Creator. We carry His DNA, therefore we are all creatives.

So write your song, post on your blog, rearrange the furniture, invest in someone's life.

Find your way of expressing your creativity. (I don't recommend tagging bridges without permission.)

Question: How do you express your creativity? Please respond below...

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Road Trip To Mom's

My wife and daughter left for Florida for my daughter's graduation trip, spending time with our son and his wife in Ft. Lauderdale. My oldest son is working all the time and is rarely home. So I found myself home alone (with Jack-Jack, may daughter's Chihuahua...although with her rarely home anymore, he has become my wife's and my dog).

Before my wife left, she suggested that I go see my Mom, so I decided to take some vacation time and visit her in Kentucky. I'm glad I did.

The 10 hour road trip was uneventful for Jack-Jack and me. I suggested singing and playing the license plate game, but Jack-Jack was uninterested in both. He simply wanted to lay in my lap for the entire journey, except for the times we stopped for gas and at rest stops, to uh... rest.

Well, Mom was glad I came to see her. I chose not to surprise her. I had done that a few years earlier with an unannounced visit, and my sisters and our families, along with my Mom's only brother, had a surprise 80th birthday party for her two years ago. Too many surprises may not be good for a 82-year-old's heart...so my sister whom she lives with made sure my Mom knew I was coming.

So why am I glad I came? Right now I'm sitting in a doctors office waiting room while my Mom is having a previously scheduled Doppler ultrasound test. No, my Mom does not have a storm brewing inside of her. The test is to see the condition of her carotid artery, which had given her some trouble and put her in the hospital last December.

Why am I glad I came? My Mom has talked to me non-stop. After all, I am her favorite son (read only son). She has been telling stories, updating me on her health, and pretty much being my Mom. She is letting me tell her about my trips to India, and commenting on how dangerous it is.

Why am I glad I came? Well, this is my only Mother, and as I get older (and so does she) I'm realizing the value of maintaining and further developing my relationship with her.

She deserves it.

Question: When have you been glad you chose to do something valuable in a relationship?

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Thinking Inside The Box

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We have all heard the statement Think Outside the Box. I would like to challenge us to take a moment and think inside the box. That's right, open the lid and take a look at what you have before you decide what you need.

Sometimes we quickly dismiss the resources that we have available to us inside the box as being insufficient, outdated, and irrelevant. If we only had the newest gadget, the updated software, more money.

Maybe we could make what we have available work for us. Even if the box is empty, it becomes space to fill with our imagination.

Most parents have experienced the phenomenon of their young children losing interest in the gift they received, and playing with the box that it came in. Children have a unique ability to use their imagination, and are very comfortable using what they have.

We creatives (which includes everybody - we were made in the image of the Creator, and therefore we are all creative) automatically look beyond what's there, and visualize what could be. There is nothing wrong with that. Perhaps we could open the box, look inside, and take inventory of what resources are available to us.

Those resources may include "stuff", finances, and people. Be creative and innovative, and leverage those available resources.

Look inside your box. What do you have to work with? If it is empty, how can you use the box?

Question: How have you thought inside the box in creativity or problem solving? Please respond below.


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Designing A Better Toilet

I had a "Facebook posting" conversation with a former student of mine (when I was a youth pastor - a lot of years ago). My former-student-turned-friend, Alex Haupt, was responding to this FB post of mine: Are you leveraging your resources? Blog re-post : http://bit.ly/9uJ6WG. (Did I just advertise my Blog in my Blog?)

After reading my a fore mentioned Blog re-post, Alex responded with: Good Reminder. I have been thinking about how to pitch a ministry idea to our staff. I plan bounce it off a couple people first. What is it with churches spending stupid money on the latest and greatest "whatevers"? I think in the end we ultimately end up only impressing ourselves.

Desiring to keep the conversation going, I returned with: Good point Alex. We do need to look at what we have available, and use existing resources. But don't completely rule out new "stuff and ideas". Where would we be without the printing press?

Alex's response: Or the toilet? God bless the family of Thomas Crapper.

Well our conversation, though starting off productive, kind of went down the um, er, uh...toilet. But the point was made: Use what you have, and if you have to, create what you need.

Alex's comment that we "ultimately end up only impressing ourselves" hung in my spirit for a long time. Sometimes I wonder why we create. Is is to impress others? To impress ourselves? Or do we create because we can't help it?

I have to ask myself this question often, because once I take my eyes off the reason I was created, then when I do create, I am missing my purpose and my destiny.

Question: Why do you create? Please respond below.

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Creative Ministry

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I went to the store for my wife last night just before 9:00. No big deal: my wife knows I will do anything for her (unless it has to do with crawling & broken glass). While I was there I had the opportunity to encourage two different customers, a cashier, and a co-worker of mine. Plus I got a good deal on some fruit.

I have found that opportunities for ministry are everywhere. All we have to do is be a little creative and look for them.

A friend of mine, L.C. Campbell, goes to his local Walmart just about every evening. He really doesn't need to buy stuff all the time. He goes because he knows that is where people are, and people need encouragement. And that's what he does: he helps and encourages people. This isn't something new for him. I have known L.C. for over 35 years, and this has always been his lifestyle.

I know of other people who regularly go to Starbucks so they can develop relationships and somehow be a help and witness to their "Starbucks friends". Another person I know rides on public transportation so he can be around people, and find ways to creatively help those who need it.

Each week at our staff meeting, I remind our team that what we do is about people, not tasks. We need to simply see the people that cross our paths, and look for ways to touch them, to encourage them, to minister to them.

Some Christians squeeze their eyes shut and passionately pray, "Lord, show me who You want me to minister to today." I say open your eyes and look around: people are everywhere. Pick one and go minister!

Question: What do you do to creatively minister? Please respond below.

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A Goose-Eye View

I run several miles most mornings, and on my usual route the road I traverse splits between some woods and a small lake. At a little after 6:00 am, a family of Canadian geese are usually in my path, moving between the woods and the lake.

I have no desire to disrupt their family outing, so I swing out in front of them, giving a wide berth. They appear unfazed by the presence of a human. I appear to be unfazed by the presence of geese (except I have to be careful where I step).

I wonder what the geese see as I ramble by. A tall animal? Knees and shoes? My guess is they see what is in front of them, and not much more. Their goal is to move from the woods to the lake. They are focused on the task at hand, and on not much else.

Now when we usually think of geese, we think of a tight formation of flying honkers several hundred feet in the air. We see the familiar "V", and draw all kinds of analogies for life. Geese teach us when they are flying, not when they are taking early morning strolls.

But allow me to try a bit of creativity...

Sometimes we are like the geese I encounter each morning. We are busy "walking" from one thing to the next, event to event, experience to experience. Our perspective is limited by what we see in front of us, by our next destination.

Maybe we need to get a different perspective and rise above the ground-level path. Maybe we weren't meant to walk on the ground, but we were meant to fly.

Question: What do you do to alter your perspective? Please respond below...

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