• You Want Who to Do Whaaaaa-aaat?

    This morning I have the honor of teaching at Encounter, the high school ministry of Journey Community Church.

    I’m kicking off a series called Sea Jesus. And basically it’s stuff that Jesus has to teach us while he’s near the Sea of Galilee.

    Like everything else I produce that I’m at liberty to share, I’ve made all of my notes, handouts, slides, and even Photoshop files available in my free section.

    [download id=”18″]

  • Fear is not your friend

    These are scary times. If you allow these times to be scary. 

    The reality is that when you allow fear to creep in you are in big trouble.

    Life is full of things that seem worthy of fear…

    • Big decisions like where to go to college, who to go out with, who to marry, having kids.
    • Big moments like telling your loved ones where you are going to college, who you are dating, that you’re getting married, or that you’re pregnant.
    • Pursuing big huge dreams and taking big huge risks to fulfill them.
    • Failure or being told your dreams aren’t going to be fulfilled.
    • Having a personal failure disclosed publicly.
    • Going broke, going hungry, or even having to move in with other people.
    • Relationships ending, you ending relationships, or relationships just accidentally ending.
    • Saying the wrong thing, at the wrong time, to the wrong people.
    • Unknown-ness.
    • Upcoming known stuff.
    • Unsafe things happening next door, in your house, or even on TV.
    This list never ends, does it? We each, in our moments of vulnerability, have things we are afraid of.
    Likewise, we each have things that we should be afraid of that we’ve learned aren’t all that scary because you’ve been there and done that.

    A fearful state of mind

    Over the years I’ve learned the biggest problem with living in fear of things beyond my control is that fear puts me in a state of mind which increases my ability to make stupid decisions. I remember one of my management mentors instructing me to use fear as a tool of manipulating people to do what I wanted. “When a person buys a car or a house or their spouse is pregnant, that’s when you change their job function or work hours. Why? Because they are so strung out financially that they will just deal with it because they can’t afford to quit.“
    That was stupid advice. Ultimately, I don’t want to manipulate anyone into doing something because they are afraid of the consequences. Fear is a short-term motivator. It’s helpful in an emergency, like when a building is on fire, but you can’t motivate someone to do their best work for years at a time over fear of a job loss.
    In the same way, I do whatever I can to push fear aside. I don’t let fear of the stuff above scare me into a dumb decision. Instead, I push fear aside in those moments. Ultimately, it’s just an emotion and I have power over emotions.

    What is worth fearing? (Not a rhetorical question)

    More like who.

    The Lord. The phrase “fear of the Lord” is found at least 135 times in the Bible.

    Sure. That sounds cheesy right off the bat. But when you allow the reality to sink in that God is bigger, stronger, and in full knowledge of everything you face… it adds a new perspective on things I fear.

    Ultimately, it helps me to know that fear of stuff doesn’t come from the Lord. Over and over again I read in the Bible, when God’s people were faced with impossible odds, “Fear Me alone.”

    Next to that? Everything else is unworthy of my fear. 

  • Bono is the man

    And the moral of the story is….

    ht to Ed Noble

  • When Daddy is Away

    It’s inevitable.

    All of the chaos happens when I leave town. 

    On Monday afternoon Kristen dropped me off at the San Diego airport. All was calm and under control in the McLane clan. Leaving Kristen for 5 days with Megan, (10) Paul, (7) and Jackson (4 months) was hard. I really didn’t want to leave them. We all wished I didn’t have to do this trip. Not because I was dreading going on the trip or being in Minnesota but simply because it’s been so long since I’ve been away. And I’ve really loved being home more.

    At the same time we were prepared for daddy to be gone for a few days and for Kristen to manage the kids, and the house, and her job, and the kids school. (They go year-round, getting out July 15th) The older two are growing very independent… helpful even. In many ways, when I’m gone is like an exam. Can they handle more responsibility? Let’s hope so because they need to! 

    I checked in with Kristen Monday night when I landed in Minneapolis. All was calm and everyone was tucked in and sleeping away.

    My Tuesday was rushed in visiting with all of my fellow co-workers at YouthWorks, meetings, the normal. Then I got a call from a weird 619 number. I let it go to voice mail but quickly checked it. It said, “Mr. McLane, this is the nurse at Darnall Elementary School. We have Paul here in the office and he’s been injured on the playground. We’ll need you to come get him as soon as possible. Please call us right away.”

    My heart leapt and sank at the same time. My instinct told me to grab my keys and go get him. But my reality was that I’m a 4 day drive away. I quickly connected with Kristen, who was dashing to get him.

    He had broken his arm in an accident on the playground. Our first ER trip as parents and I missed it.

    Kristen and I exchanged a hundred text messages while they were at the ER. Paul and Amy, dear friends, came to the rescue and took Megan and Jackson for the afternoon. While Paul waited nearly 3 hours to get an x-ray and a cast… I wasn’t there. 

    It seems like this always happens. Important things happen when daddy is out-of-town. Last year, Kristen was rear-ended while I was on a trip to Washington state. I’ve missed kids losing teeth. Or winning an award at school. Or epic small group nights with major breakthroughs. Doctors appointments when Kristen was pregnant. Bed times, quiet times, crazy times, thrills, spills, shrills, and the immediate stills of realizing it’d all be OK.

    When daddy is away stuff happens. Life doesn’t stop at home. It’s inevitable. And it kills me. And while I know Kristen is a trooper/super power mom/amazingly strong woman who can handle it all I want to be there, with her, when these things happen. I want to be there.

    What does this have to do with you?

    Our Heavenly Father is the same way. While He never leaves us sometimes we go far from Him. And life moves on. Stuff happens, chaos reigns, victories occur, and sometimes bones break. For every bed time, quiet time, crazy time, thrills, spills, shrills, and the immediate stills of realizing it’ll all be OK– Our Heavenly Father wants the intimacy of sharing those moments with us.

    His heart breaks for His children when they are away from Him. He wants to be there.

    Maybe it’s time for you to come home? 

    So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Luke 15:20

    I’m going home tomorrow to Kristen and the kids. But maybe today you need to go home and be with your Father? 

  • NYWC: What’s More Awesome Than a Bacon-filled Banana?

    The news: Today is the last day to register for NYWC San Diego for Super Early Bird prices.

    Bacon and flutophones?  The brainstorm session for this video was a blast. Ian, Tic, and I kicked around a thousand ideas around the concept of “What would be MORE AWESOME?”

    The shoot: This video was shot all around our office in El Cajon. Literally all around. As Ian set-up and moved lights all around the office to get lighting set, Tic got more and more creative. I stepped out for a phone call with Mark Matlock, came back, and Tic was riding my bike around the office. Hilarious. 

    But wait… there’s more. (Videos that is. Coming in a few weeks.)

  • The Trampoline Effect

    Myth: It matters who you know.

    I couldn’t be more of a nobody. When I showed up as a 17 year old kid on the campus of Moody Bible Institute I couldn’t have been more aware that I’d stepped into a world I knew nothing about, knew not a soul, and had no claim to anything.

    As I met people, they referenced relationships to people I’d never heard of. Famous pastors. Famous parents. Famous books. Famous and important allegiances that would take them far in life.

    Years later I learned that some of my early ministry job references were telling people that my biggest obstacle to a ministry career was that I didn’t come from a ministry family. “He’s a nice guy, but didn’t grow up in a ministry setting, so he can’t possibly ever be that effective.”

    Huh…. Really? 

    17 years later I can look up many of those people on Facebook and quickly learn that knowing all the right people and kissing all of the right rings hasn’t gotten them very far in life.

    Why is that? Because it doesn’t really matter who you know. That’s just a lie told by people in power to make you think you’re a nothing. 

    Your Secret to Success

    The Trampoline Effect: Who you don’t know isn’t nearly as important as what you do with who you do know.

    Give me a handful of friends who want to help one another and we’ll do 10000% more in a month than a pile of well-connected, entitlement fat, whiners who think the world owes them their next paycheck.

    It’s simple physics. 

    Potential Energy = 0 Impact

    If you’re a nobody like me. If you’re like me and your family lineage looks more like a bush than a tree. If your track record includes some famous failures. If you have dreams bigger than your budget or zip code. If you woke up this morning and realized that you have no more tricks in your bag.

    Than the Trampoline Effect is good news to you. Having the right friends is nice. But it isn’t the difference between success and failure! I’m living proof.

    Get together with a couple friends and show the world what you can do. 

    Kinetic Energy = Massive Impact

  • Behind the Scenes on this Year’s Top 20 List

    Today I published the YS list of top 20 bloggers in youth ministry. It’s the second year for publishing it (third year I’ve done it) and I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

    I thought it’d be cool to pass along some notes from the process:

    • Overall, there was exceptional growth this year. In 2010, the YS Blog was the clear #1. Statistically, it was well ahead of the pack. This year that same blog came in at #5. What happened is that the YS Blog was largely flat in growth, lost its lead, then got passed by 4 blogs to drop it to #5.
    • There were a few new entries to the top 20. Kenda Creasy Dean, Greg Stier, Terrace Crawford, Rethinking Youth Ministry, and Doug Fields are all new to the list in 2011.
    • At quick glance, you’ll notice few women, which continues to baffle me. With what I index, there is a ratio of 5 men for every female youth ministry blogger. What’s weird about that is that the field is typically evenly split with 50% men and 50% women. For now, Kenda Creasy Dean and Kara Powell (Fuller Youth Institute) are our female bloggers. (Kara does about half the blogging for FYI, Brad Griffin does the other half.)
    • Looking at the rankings with a 3 year lens, I’m actually pleased with how the formula works. It’s 66% publicly available stats and 33% an influence ranking. (Who knows where that other 1% goes!) If you’ll look year over year over year, it’s cool that there aren’t wild fluctuations.
    • This list is pretty democratic. I’ll index anyone whose blog is on youth ministry, is active, (posted in the last 60 days) and has some statistical value. (Like… more that 25 readers per day top get into the top 100.)
    • Unlike last year, where we saw a HUGE drop off between #5 and #6, there is no dropoff in the composite ranking. There’s no drop off in the index and that carries all the way to #50.
    • Speaking of the composite ranking. Josh Griffin barely held off Mark Oestreicher for #1 this year. I wasn’t sure who’d be #1 until I added the very last numbers.
    • 2012 is “game on.” I think anyone currently in the top 10 could make a run at the top spot next year. There’s even a couple between 11-20 who could make a run at it.
    • On a personal note, it’s really cool to see my blog creep up from #5 to #4. I’m no Tim Schmoyer. But I’m getting there!
    • Last thing, this is a labor of love. I love doing it. And I have seen how these rankings have been used in the past 2 years, so I know that while everyone feels a bit weird about ranking bloggers… it’s ultimately good for the genre of youth ministry blogs AND it’s good for the visibility of the field of youth ministry.
    Got questions? Leave me a comment.

  • I choose hope

    Recession? Here's the NASDAQ Index July 2, 2009 -July 2, 2011

    Our culture loves despair. We ignore the facts and choose lamentation.

    Listen to an hour of the news and you’ll hear how dangerous our country is. (Crime is down significantly over the past 30 years) You’ll hear how horrible the economy is. (The image above shows the NASDAQ Index the past two years.) Public school stink. (In fact, most major metropolitan school systems have seen test scores steadily increase over the past decade.)

    Find a slow news and the media just goes back to the wheel of despair news stories that you love. Teen pregnancy, homelessness, violence in schools, date rape, sexting… you know the list. They go back to that wheel of despair because YOU LOVE THAT NEWS! Our culture is sick,  twisted, and upside down.

    We love to point to examples of bad news and apply them to our entire culture. Gang violence up 2% in Chicago? People in Arizona will go buy a handgun, just in case it spreads. A school in the district is struggling? Pull financial support, start a private school, all the kids with means will go there.

    We’re all going to hell in a handbasket and there’s nothing you can do about it. Armageddon is on the horizon, cope and deal baby!

    That’s our culture of despair.

    I reject despair for a posture of hope

    I refuse to be defined, to think of myself, or to allow myself to be manipulated by an evil system which loves despair. Jesus did not die so I could live a life of despair. He subjected himself, even to death, so that I could live life to full. (John 10:10)

    • My project is faced with impossible odds? I like my odds of winning.
    • Life biggest challenges afoot? I smile at the opportunity.
    • Less than 5% of our neighborhood attends a church? Let’s get to work loving our neighbors.
    • One of my students lives in ruin because of bad decisions? Today can be the next chapter in an amazing story of redemption.
    • 1.5 million people left homeless after the earthquake in Port-au-Prince? Well, let’s feed this 5,000. It’s a start.
    • The church cut the budget, staff let go, initiatives put on ice? Time for some soft innovation.
    • Everything that could have gone wrong today did? Tomorrow is a new day. Let’s learn from this and move forward.

    I choose to fear God alone and allow Him to have dominion over what He’s asked me to do. He’s not surprised by my circumstance. He’s never let me down. And He takes great pleasure when I put my faith and trust in Him despite the odds.

    The only story Americans like more than despair? A comeback. Your comeback can begin right here and right now. But you have to put on hope. You have to wear it like a jacket. You have to allow hope to define you.

    Hope goes beyond and attitude and a forced smile.

    It is a posture I choose to carry in all areas.

    If you don’t like hope. You won’t like me.

    Join me. Reject despair.

    Assume a posture of hope.

  • Summer Garden Tour

  • News from around McLaneland

    A few highlights and posts from around McLaneland.

    Summer Garden Tour

    Learn more about our garden at OurGreenFarm.com

    Jackson is Four Months Old

    Check out pictures and stuff at JacksonMcLane.com

    The McLane Creative Blog is Growing

    Here’s a few posts you might find interesting

  • Google+: Two is Company, Three is a Crowd
  • Four Creative Uses of QR Codes
  • 5 More Top Secret Laser Weapons Under Development by the Navy

    • Connect with my techie, nerd stuff over at McLane Creative

    T-Shirt ideas and more…

    Check out my Flickr page for more random stuff

    That’s it! Random news from McLaneland.

    I’ve got a redesign for the blog coming in a couple weeks. You won’t want to miss that.