• Christmas happiness

    The five McLane’s had a very simple Christmas day. 

    • Everyone slept in so we didn’t get out of bed until about 7. A huge treat!
    • As excited as the kids were to open presents they were polite and orderly about the whole thing.
    • It took Jackson exactly one gift to figure out what this was all about. He loved opening gifts!
    • Christmas was pretty low-key from a gift perspective. We’ve gone from extreme to extreme in our house. Sometimes we’ve given them only 1 gift and other years we’ve gotten them lots of gifts. This year, we gave them each a few and they seemed quite pleased. There were some things off of their lists and some surprises.
    • Speaking of gifts. While I’m a noted C.S. Lewis-hater, my kids now have a full set of the Chronicles of Narnia.
    • Megan and Paul’s “big gift” is a day trip with mom or dad. Megan is going whale watching with Kristen and I’m taking Paul out on the ocean for a day of fishing.
    • Jackson’s big red tractor was a big hit. Several times during the day we saw JT crawl over to the tractor and talk to it.
    • Kristen made a huge feast! Ham and all the fixings. My favorite.
    • For the second year in a row, we channeled our inner Brit and started Christmas dinner with crackers. We all felt quite royal eating our feast with our crowns on. (Yes, mine was pink… quite lovely.)
    • Our house rotation continues. This summer we converted our living room to an office and our dining room into a living room. Well, yesterday was our first family meal in the kitchen around the table. We even did highs/lows while we ate. Look at us– real parents!
    • Megan, Paul, and I had epic battles throughout the day with our fake nerf guns. Why is it that the cheapest gifts (stocking stuffers) end up being the most fun?
    • With Christmas on Sunday it feels like we got ripped off a day. Kristen is off from work today. But I have three projects due this week so I’m off to the office later this morning. (A website, a curriculum, and first steps on a book project)

    A Fiscally Responsible Christmas

    For the last several years Kristen and I have kept a pretty tight Christmas budget. With all the commercialization of Christmas we take great pride to see December as a month to continue our savings/budget goals. It makes me smile to know we can enjoy Christmas and continue our goals at the same time. Take that Madison Avenue! 

  • Holiday story telling rules

    There’s a pretty good chance you’ll be visiting people in the next week or so. This video is totally helpful.

    I’ve found that eye brows up and a little head bob lets the storyteller that you have a better story and to kindly shut up. I’ve also noticed that looking at your phone is the universal “Take your time, I have another 45 minutes.”

    Quickest way to get people to leave you alone so you can watch football? “What do you think about the republican primaries?”

    And if you need to kick off a storytelling fest at your next party. The line, “I bet I have a better baby puke story than you do.” Everyone has one of those stories.

  • The Incarnation

  • High schoolers passing in the night

    I volunteer with the high school ministry at my church. Each Wednesday night I help to lead a small group of high school guys. And each Sunday morning I am one of the adults trying to engage our students in some sort of meaningful conversation.

    Journey is of the size where you can successfully go for ages without ever actually talking to someone. And the high school group is much the same. I’d estimate weekly attendance to our weekend experience like this:

    • 50% regulars (They come on Sunday and Wednesday nearly every week)
    • 25% irregulars (They come on Sunday 1-3 times per month)
    • 25% who the heck are you? (They come every 6 weeks or are a one-time visitor)

    Journey is also the kind of place where you can grow as much or as little as you’d like as a leader. So we have students in many different areas of responsibility in the church. These are amazing young men and women who will make you turn your head 25 degrees to the right and say, “High schoolers can do that?”

    Sunday morning is a expression of two students passing in the night.

    • Students for whom Christ is at the center, He is changing them and they are growing fast.
    • Students whom are checking out of their relationship with Jesus. As soon as their parents allow them, they’ll not come back.

    It’s this sad-hopeful spot in which I sit each Sunday. Both students are on a journey– hopefully towards Christ. One is taking the more direct, obvious and measurable path, while the other is from Missouri, the Show Me State. They may re-engage later in life. But until they have the opportunity to check some things out they aren’t ready to give their lives to this thing.

    I can see the unexpressed frustration on both ends of the spectrum. Those who are growing are looking at their peers and thinking, “When are you going to wake up?” And those who are looking to check out are thinking, “Why don’t you just shut up so I can get out of here?” It sometimes gets expressed through passive-aggression but it is most-often unspoken.

    But it’s that tension, two students passing in opposite directions, which you can feel in our high school ministry.

    Earlier in my ministry career I freaked out about this. I might have thought it was something we could correct. And I certainly would have thought it was something we needed to directly address. But as I’ve gotten a bit older (maybe wiser) I’ve learned that both types of students are on the same spiritual journey. Little I say and do can effect either of the groups. In the end, being loving and supportive and listening and respectful of their story is going to make way more impact.

    Question: Do you see this same phenomenon in your ministry? Are you actively addressing it or passively observing it?

  • Good News Spreads FAST

    I sit in a funny place sometimes. Meeting with a church leader or talking to a passive Christian, they will tell me that they are too busy or too engrained to change.

    As if reaching 10% or less of their community isn’t an emergency? Like, I don’t care what your theological position is on hell. But we, as Christians, believe to the core of our being that a life with Jesus is better than a life without him, right?

    It’s an emergency! You need to stop what you are doing today and re-evaluate. [Insert red, flashing lights!]

    The crux of their pushback is always the same: I don’t have time to do the things you are saying I need to do. (Be Good News in the neighborhood, on my block, at my school, or at my job.)

    That’s what you don’t understand: Good News spreads fast. Good News spreads faster than your program. It grows faster than your church. It outgrows your budgets. The reason you aren’t growing has nothing to do with your words and everything to do with what you do with your day.

    3 examples from yesterday…

    1. I wrote a blog post praising my experience of Good News from Southwest Airlines. They blessed me and I publicly thanked them. A short post I wrote over breakfast was picked up on their corporate blog and then shared on their Twitter feed to 1.2 million followers. Bam! That’s fast.
    2. I wrote a post a few weeks ago about gifts for geeks at Christmas. Last week I got an email from a producer of a BBC show in Ecuador asking me to be on their show. Yesterday, I got to appear on this show… in Ecuador… to talk about Christmas gifts for geeks and invite their listeners to my blog. That’s fast!
    3. Last year, Kristen and I watched our neighbors dogs so they could visit family on the East Coast at Christmas. This year we get to do it again. Now we are getting known on our block as the neighbors who are happy to do favors. That’s Good News spreading fast!

    Is it that we’re doing something special or that God is blessing us in a way no one else can be blessed? Absolutely not. It’s just one simple thing lived out in three different ways.

    Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

    Colossians 4:5

  • Tractors Fly Free, Too

    My love for Southwest Airlines was reaffirmed last night. 

    I fly Southwest whenever I can. I love their easy ticketing, check in app, and seating policies. I love their amazing customer service. And I love their easy Rapid Rewards program for earning free tickets.

    Last week, I flew to Chicago to have some meetings, celebrate the release of the Love is an Orientation DVD, and see some family. While I was visiting my dad in Mishawaka he brought out this amazing gift for Jackson, our 10 month old.

    It’s a late 1950’s Farmall Pedal Tractor. Any self-respecting boy would love this thing… and I can see why grandpa thought Jackson needed it. When he gave it to me he said, “You can carry that on the airplane, right?” I laughed. “Um, no. I’m allowed one personal item and a carry-on but that’s way to big. Maybe I can check it?”

    Like father, like son, right? Neither of us are known for thinking things through. All he knew is it would be awesome and we could figure it out. Well, in this case he must have known I’d figure it out!

    I knew it was too big and too oddly shaped to go on a plane. My plan was to put it in my rental car and take it to a UPS Store in Chicago to mail it. And if that was too expensive I’d find a friend with a child who would love it or even donate it to charity.

    But there was no way that thing would fly. It was too big.

    On Saturday I took it to a UPS Store in Wrigleyville. I waited in line, getting oohhs and ahhhs from city dwellers dreaming of their country upbringing. When I got to the front the clerk was up for the challenge. He carefully measured and found a box for it. Then he did  the estimate for UPS: +/- $250.

    Yikes! That would never work. I left it there for a couple hours, asking him to pack it in a box and look for other options. When I came back it was expertly packed in a massive wardrobe box but it was now officially too large to ship. (USPS doesn’t take boxes that big. And I don’t have the credit to ship it FedEx!)

    I took it and put it back in the car. Literally, it took up half of my rental SUV. This box was HUGE! And I was stressing out a bit about what to do with this tractor. Kristen even suggested that I get on it and ride it to San Diego.

    Yesterday, I took it to my cousin Maria’s house. Maria can fix anything. Literally, McGuiver calls her when he’s in a bind because she is that good. So we took it out of the box and roared with laughter. The UPS Store had bubble wrapped it, bedded it in millions of packing peanuts, and sealed it in this amazingly large box which was 11 inches too big for Southwest’s oversized baggage policy.

    “Let’s just trust Southwest. They’ll figure it out.” I said that not really thinking they would. Even without the packaging it was slightly too long to fit into their policy. At the same time, I have heard and read in Spirit for years how accommodating Southwest can be. (Remember, they even had a reality show all about that!)

    So here I am, walking through Midway with this big, heavy die cast red tractor. Standing in line to check it there were little kids (and their dads) all over wanting to look at it even though it was fully bubble wrapped.

    When it was my turn to check in I put the tractor on the scale and swiped my credit card at the kiosk to print my boarding pass. When the agent came over to grab my bag she started to laugh. “What is this?” So I told her the story about my dad giving this to my son and how I’d tried to ship it and I was just trying to get it home for Christmas.

    She didn’t bat an eye. “He’s going to love it. Just sign this damage waiver and we’re good to go. We’ll get it there.” That was it. No more questions. And no charge. Yes, bags fly free. But this was too big to be considered oversized. No charge, just a smile.

    A few hours later, after an uneventful flight to San Diego, I waited in baggage claim to see how it turned out. I expected it to come out in the oversized bag area, where the golf clubs come out, and would not have too surprised to see parts.

    Then I heard the snickers and giggles. There it was! In all it’s red tractor awesomeness, making its way around the carousel– in perfect condition!

    Thanks Southwest. Your commercials say, “Bags fly free.” But I’d like to point out that Tractors Fly Free, too. 

  • A storied life

    Last night I had a night to myself. I have three kids, happily married, and am aggressively launching two businesses. I never have an evening all to myself. Just one of my favorite towns on the planet, Chicago, and 6 hours.

    I drove over to one of my favorite hole in the wall restaurants, Irazu. (Oatmeal shake, steak el tico, you need to try it.) I hate eating alone! But the food there is so good that it was totally worth it. Then I took the long way back to my friends house… just enjoying the fun vibe of the city. I drove up Western Avenue, across to Lake Shore Drive, then back up Clark to the North Side.

    Even with the scenic route and trying to find parking I was back in 2.5 hours.

    So I sat down and pretty much vegged out watching Sportscenter, which kept my attention for about 45 seconds before I grabbed my laptop and started surfing around on Facebook.

    The new timeline feature has a little app called “map” that I started fiddling with. Essentially, it’s asking you to tag your photos based on location so that you can see a cool map of the places you’ve been. So I started going through my photos on Facebook. Lots and lots of photos. Each with a story and a memory.

    This lead to me looking at pictures on Facebook for a couple of hours. Tagging, remembering the name of the place I was at, and moving on to the next set of images.

    Looking at all of those pictures reminded me of all the amazing places I’ve been in my life. I’ve lived in several states. I’ve lived in Europe. I’ve visited tons of places in the United States, Europe, parts of Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

    If I’m honest– I’ve lived a pretty storied life. Being in my hometown of South Bend this week reminded me that my life didn’t have to turn out the way that it has. Just like my dad, I could have chosen to live in the same community for 65 years and been perfectly happy.

    All of that reflection lead me to this single thought: Is it that I’m living a storied life or is it that I’m living a life worthy of telling a story? 

    Sure, some could say I’ve been fortunate. They could say I’ve been at the right place at the right time lots and lots of times. But I’d be quick to point out that I was and always am looking for opportunities to better my story.

    It’s not so much that I’ve lived a storied life. It’s that I’ve maintained a posture looking for a story.

    That’s the choice we face each day. Is today a story worthy day or not? You get to decide. 

  • Jesus loves Ron Jeremy

    Ladies and genteman of the jury I submit to you…

    People are hard-wired for Good News. It’s like crack to their soul.

    Yes, Good News can change lives. Anyone’s life.

  • Hard wired for Good News

    Have you ever wondered how you could grow your church? 

    What if I could tell you a way to grow your church and your churches impact in the community?

    Here’s how. It’s mostly free. And it’s totally doable. Guaranteed to not backfire. 

    Be Good News to your neighbors. Not start a Good News program. Not preach about Good News.

    That’s putting it on someone else. It’s a way of saying your role as a leader is to move people without you yourself moving.

    Here’s how you grow your impact in your community– starting right now. Be Good News to your neighbor. Yeah, the person next door to you. Yeah, the family across the street.

    Ask yourself this question– What would be Good News for them? And do it.

    Why will this grow your church? Because we, as humans made in the image of God, are hard wired to love Good News. It’s like crack to our soul. We can’t get enough. We are searching for Good News in an instinctual way we can’t explain. And when Good News happens to us or we even partner with a neighbor to bring Good News to someone else, something deep in our soul reasonates with that.

    Each person is hard wired for God. And the catalyst, universal connecting point? Good News.

    In a post-Christian society, the best way to grow your ministry is to deeply reasonate with the part of people’s soul that defies logics last stand. Good News supersedes all. It’s the Gospels secret weapon.

  • Lessons from the Cloud

    I have a fundamental belief that the problems we experience in church leadership are technologically based. It’s not that we have the wrong mission or wrong people, it’s often that we are working on the wrong technologies. (Programs, agendas, projects)

    You might not see the connections between this presentation and your church. But the parallels are stunning. 

    • Just like at this company, there are lots of committees and their agendas at play.
    • Just like this company, we have legacy programs which are expensive to maintain.
    • Just like this company, there are people who work at your church doing things deemed mission critical that aren’t actually critical to the mission of the church.

    A grocery store company isn’t in the IT business any more than a church is in the building maintenance business. Contextualize that for your church. There are lots of things that each church does which are deemed mission critical but aren’t actually critical to the mission of the church.

    Yet, when we talk about foundational changes in the church, getting back to the core mission, there’s tons of fear internally. Fear is what stops all change. Fear is what stops all dreaming.

    Here’s what we learn from this talk that transfers right into the church.

    1. Different people buy into change for different reasons. The CFO wants to hear you’ll save money. The user wants to know you’re making their life better. Fiefdom owners want to know their fiefs are respected.
    2. End-users are wondering what’s taking you so long.
    3. The hardest shift is within the staff, it’s all about control.
    4. Continuous improvement is an expectation of the end user, even old people. And it changes the culture of the staff.
    5. Spend the time not on making changes but on change management. The changes themselves can happen quite quickly.
    6. Real-time collaboration is a better learning and leadership tool than presentations. (Though presentations still have a place.)
    7. Changing the focus back to our core mission helps the whole organization dream about new ways to live out the mission. Thousands of brains and hearts focused on the same thing is so much more powerful than a handful of leaders guiding the mission.