• Leaving Romeo: Bob

    As I mentioned two days ago, it is now official that my tenure at Romeo is rapidly coming to an end. And while there is plenty of curiosity among readers about what my new job is all about with Youth Specialties… there are years to talk about that and just days to reflect on the past five years in Romeo.

    The hardest part of moving is seeing relationships transform, morph… but hopefully not end. As we wrapped up our last staff meeting together on Tuesday we all knew it was the end of an era for the church. Out of our staff meeting have come some of the best and worst ideas! (Cow & elf costumes included) But the staff meeting is always a place where we ask the Spirit to help us plan… and we’ve never been shy in following His leading. 

    I can’t think of staff meeting and not think of the guys. So let’s kick off this “leaving Romeo” series by talking about them. 

    Bob is “the man” of our church, constitutionally. I don’t know why, but in the constitution it says that his title is “Pastor” and then a long string of titles like “bishop” and “king of the assembly.” But this includes “the man.” I like that one… and the sports nut in Bob likes it too.

    Bob and I met at Caribou on 26 Mile Road in March 2004. He was interested in being our interim pastor and I was desperate to fill that role.

    About 6 months prior, his predecessor suddenly left to move to Alabama and that left a serious void at our church. One thing I’ve always been confident in at Romeo was that I was “not the man.” I never felt God called me to Romeo to eventually become the Senior Pastor and that left me in an awkward spot during those transition years without a Senior Pastor… I was a guy left serving an unnamed man. 

    When we met it wasn’t all that memorable. He was willing and qualified and we agreed that by taking the interim role he was eliminating himself from the possibility of being the Senior. What I was looking for, he had. It’s really the same core thing we’ve looked for in every single hire I’ve been a part of at Romeo. Does this person passionately love Jesus? Is he wild eyed enough to follow God and not man? If you know Bob you have little doubt within the first 2 minutes that the answer to those questions was… YES!

    Over the next several months Bob and I gradually got to know one another. The thing I want to communicate and the thing I want people to know about Bob as I leave can be boiled down to a couple of facts. 

    1. Bob passionately loves the Lord. Leading the church through a change process has repeatedly put that to the test… and I am the guy positioned closer than anyone so let me tell you, Bob passionately loves the Lord. You could get all “John Piper” on me and disagree with this statement, but the #1 you should look for in choosing a church or choosing to stay at a church is, “Does the person in charge exhibit a passion for Jesus?” If you want my opinion, Bob’s a firm YES on that one. Got doubts? Let me buy you a cup of coffee and lend me your ear.
    2. Bob calls people to an active faith. See, it’s one thing to be passionate about Jesus. But being a leader is all about taking people where they won’t go on their own. (I always think of Patton) Bob’s not a lover of confrontation but he is not afraid to confront you with what the Bible says. As much as our personalities are different… this is something that we’ve been rock-solid-together on since day one… God is calling His people to live our their faith visibly to shake this community to it’s core for the sake of winning thousands to Jesus. Not only have I witnessed in innumerable ways Bob living out an active faith, I’ve seen him call tons of people to an active faith. 
    I’ll miss Bob’s friendship a ton. We do life together. We’ve been married roughly the same amount of time and we’ve got kids roughly the same ages so we’ve always had that in common to talk about. He’s been there for me through some tough times and I’d like to think that I lifted him up through some tough times. Bob’s friendship has been atypical in my life. I generally either make friends with someone quickly or never really connect. In the case of Bob and I, it took a while for us to connect. As “boss and subordinate” our work relationship started off rocky and has continually gotten more natural. I was pretty convinced I was going to get bounced! To say that Bob and I are two different people is like saying that the Sears Tower is tall. Yet our shared heart for the community/church/people kept us united and I never had a serious though of leaving until… well, the day I told him I was leaving! In the end, I think he and I worked pretty well together. Kristen recently asked me, “Who was a tougher boss… Bob or Vivian. (My boss at BlueCross) I have great respect for both, but Bob never was in V’s zip code. I hope I helped make him better as he obviously brought out stuff in me I never foresaw using in a church.
    Since I know how church life is… let me go on the record for future reference. My leaving Romeo was about following God and not about something that happened privately between Bob and I. Quite the opposite! Romeo is a church that has been through so much stuff that I think the people are leery in believing me at face value. In fact, there have been a lot of tears shed over this decision because I know relationships like this don’t come easily. To go further, let me share illustrate with a quick story.
    Last winter the church hit a serious bump. As bumps come in leadership this was a big one and it rattled us. And that led to Bob and I sitting down for a few hours and having a really tough conversation. Basically… he was asking me if I was in. But more than that [simple question to be honest] there was something that Bob needed to say to me that I knew had been swirling around for a while and it would change our relationship somehow. He said something like, “You always say you love the people, love the community, love the church, love the vision, etc… but do you love me? Am I your pastor?” (reference points 1 & 2 above) I think if he and I hadn’t had that conversation that I wouldn’t have been free to leave Romeo now. He and I would have never really known the truth, but now we do. 
    So if you believe that my leaving Romeo is really about some strange conspiracy no one will talk about I… don’t know what else I can say. You probably believe that the FBI killed JFK. Send me an email, I’ll buy you a cup of coffee and we’ll talk. If you still don’t believe me… I can’t help you.
    Soon I’ll talk about all sorts of other things about leaving Romeo. But I wanted to start it off with talking about Bob. Leaving the staff is hard. But leaving friendships and the church is hardest. 

  • Find the value somewhere

    I don’t talk about stocks very much, but I would consider the stock market a passive hobby of mine. It is a very fascinating time to own stock as the markets are all over the place. One day the market is on fire and you’ll add a few points here and there only to see that evaporate the next day.

    Here’s a couple of simple trading tips that help keep me making money in times like this:

    • If one industry is down, it means another industry has to go up. For instance, today my automotive stocks got nailed. But my oil stocks went up. When the economy slows it means bad news for high end retail and good news for Target, Wal*Mart, and other places people are likely to shop when short on cash.
    • Have firm high and low points to sell. I’ve got a stock that has returned almost 100% in 3 months. It’s ripe for the picking and I can sell it comfortably knowing I’ve locked in an amazing return. Likewise, I’ve had some stocks that have “safety valves” built into my E*Trade account. It hits a certain number and I dump the stock to secure I don’t lose too much.
    • Invest in companies that pay dividends. A lot of investors don’t like dividends. I do. If I made some money by investing in your company, dump it in my account and let me decide to invest it somewhere else.

    I’m no expert. But we’ve consistently survived in good markets and bad. What are your tips?

  • Our Big Move

    our big moveThe last few weeks have been a whirlwind… literally. First, there was the crazy phone call that started it all. Then there was a lot of prayer. Then there was the trip out there. Then there was a lot more prayer. This was followed by some very tough conversations, more prayer, and a decision. Then some waiting, some finalizing details and finally here we are.

    What’s the scoop? A week and a half ago I met with the deacons of our church to formally tell them that we are leaving our beloved ministry in Romeo to accept a new calling on our life at Youth Specialties.

    Following that, we told our students and parents followed by an announcement to the congregation on May 11th. I’ll talk more about this later… but the people here in Romeo have been amazing to Kristen and I for the last 5 years. They are either truly excited for us or are really good liars. I’d like to think they are excited for us. If they aren’t, please let me believe they are!

    In the coming days I’ll begin to share a little bit more about my time here in Romeo and describe a little more about what I’ll be doing in San Diego.

    Kristen and I are just a mashed potatoes of emotion. We are sad to leave a place we love. We are thrilled by this door God has opened for us. We don’t want to move. We do want to live in San Diego. We don’t want to leave the security of our life here. We love a little adventure.

    The byline of my blog and subplot of my life is: Crazy enough to want to change the world. The last few weeks God has gotten up in my devotions and said, “Oh really? Wanna prove it?” I don’t know about the changing the world part… but this is the most exciting and craziest thing God has ever asked us to do.

    More to come…

  • Facebook changes on the way

    Facebook changesI’ve not been shy in sharing my preference for Facebook over Myspace. (Although I will admit that Myspace is much better.) Well, a friend of mine sent me a link about some upcoming changes to Facebook as they seek to de-clutter the site.

    If you are getting fed up of all the vampires, booze mail and super wall posts, then help could be on the way.

    The social network site Facebook is getting ready for the first major makeover in its short history.

    Designers are planning some widespread changes to the way the core profile page is organised, aimed at making it “simpler, cleaner and more relevant”. link

     

    Basically, their solution isn’t to get rid of anything. It’s just to offer tabs to sort all of the different applications, photos, wall posts, and other stuff. It’s a welcome change.

    Bonus: Not that anyone cares but me. But I’ve gotten tired of Firefox’s instability on OSX (mac) and am trying out Safari. So far so good. 

  • Figure Skating vs. Ice Hockey

    figure skating under attackIn nearby Plymouth, Michigan the local government is discriminating against figure skating. That is, according to some angry moms. The story is that the local government has decided that since hockey pays 300% what figure skating pays for ice time, they are creating more time for ice hockey. [news story]

    A couple of thoughts. (Feel free to add your own in the comments)

    1. It’s not discrimination, it’s economics. I’ve not heard the ice skating parents say a thing about “we’ll pay what hockey pays to keep the program alive.”
    2. This is hockey town, not figure skating town. The only figure skating legacy Detroit has is Nancy Kerrigan vs. Tonya Harding. (video reminder)
    3. Why is this even a news story? Clearly the Detroit media must have something more important to cover? I can’t believe that this story is still on the news… who are these parents?
    4. Let’s state the most obvious solution. Battle it out. Hockey players vs. Figure skating moms. That would be a cool fight.
    5. Isn’t this really teaching what we all already know? The remote decision makers in the family switch past figure skating as quickly as possible before their wives notice. All of these young figure skaters should just play hockey… thus creating a highly attractive core of women out of Plymouth, Michigan who truly know what men want: Hockey.

    I’d love to have your thoughts!

  • Proof that I’m a goofball

    Last night I was getting ready for bed. And in the course of that routine I walk around and make sure all the doors are locked and lights are off.

    With all the lights off and the latest Doug Fields book in my hand, I did a 180 and started heading for the bedroom.

    Whack!

    I walked full on into the wall. Not like the flat part. But like the really nice fancy molding stuff we have all over the place. And when I say I walked full on, I was walking at full speed and my head hit the corner first.

    So there you have it. I’m a goofball. (With a nice bruise on my forehead and eyebrow.)

  • Saturday Tunes

    Saturday around the McLane house means a couple of things. First, it means yard work. Second, it means soccer. And third, it means music!

    Here are the next 10 tunes I’m tapping my toes to while I do what I do. As always, totally random with rating included.

    1. God’s Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash *****
    2. Pictures of You by The Last Goodnight ****
    3. Everything by Jeremy Camp ****
    4. Hiding Place by Starfield ****
    5. Getting into You by Relient K ****
    6. Graceland by Paul Simon ****
    7. Let’s Dance by Hawk Nelson *****
    8. Falling by the Wayside by People in Planes ****
    9. How Great Thou Art by Charlie Hall *****
    10. I’m Clean by Chris Sligh ****

  • I could do that, it’s easy

    innovationThis week I’ve had a couple of people approach me about YMX. One said, “I thought about doing that but you just got to it first.” The other person said, “I thought about doing that but I just didn’t have the time.”

    Really, both are saying the same thing. I’ve heard it hundreds of times before. What I translate that to mean is… “I wish I had thought of that.”

    We’ve all done it. We’ve watched Donny Deutsch or 60 Minutes and we’ve thought, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Then when we meet someone who invented something or started their own business (and succeeded) we think to those moments and jealousy swells. Then we say something really odd like, “If only I had the capital I could have done the same thing.” They just smile and nod.

    It’s time to let you in on a secret… 99% of the best innovations in the world come out of the same formula. So if you’ve got a great idea. If you think you’ve got the next Google. If you think you’re ready to be the one who answers the innovation questions instead of asks them. Are you ready to see if you’ve got what it takes? Here’s the formula.

    Innovation = hunger + brains + guts

    Innovation: You know it when you see it. It’s a hot seller or a great idea or that little thing that makes life easier somehow. The best ones are the most obvious. But how do I get there?

    1. Hunger: As I’ve said before, 90% of the population is lazy. They strive to be mediocre. But a small percentage of people wake up one day and say… “I’m just not making it the lazy way. I want something else in my life.” Maybe it’s a bill that has to be paid and you don’t have the money? Maybe its that you live in a small house and you are having a kid and need a bigger one? Maybe you need a raise and the only way the boss will take notice is if you come up with a great money saver? Hunger… either literal or figurative… is the root of most innovation. I’d even add a healthy dose of desperation to show you how important hunger is. Very few fat cat companies invent the iPod or Google or Berkshire Hathaway or Facebook. If a company has to hire research and development people, paying them a fat salary, to invent something… that company is not hungry. (Prime example: The auto industry) But when your company CEO and a core group of people have an “oh crap, we’re all going to go bankrupt” meeting… then you’re hungry enough to invent the iPod.

    2. Brains. Let’s face it. There is a reason why most innovations never make it to the marketplace. They may be good ideas. But the person who is hungry enough to innovate something may not have the brain power to see if its a market-worthy idea, know how to capitalize the idea, or even how to make the idea a reality.
    In actuality, the best thing most innovators can do is find the right people to pitch the idea to. YMX would have never gotten past a proposal on a Word document if I hadn’t bounced the idea around with some really smart youth ministry folks, technology folks, marketing folks, and business folks. All of that bouncing around is totally free… and totally made the difference between YMX being a good idea and YMX being just another failed start-up. Trust me when I say those people saved YMX from my incomplete thoughts. The reason we are alive as a company today isn’t luck… it was hunger + brains + guts. Sometimes “brains” also means recognizing that your innovation may be cool, but it isn’t profitable enough to make it. Having brains means knowing the difference between a great idea and a great idea I can live off of. And having brains is getting the right people on the bus before you leave the station.

    3. Guts. When I get those people who come up to me at the booth or IM me or talk to me after church… I can tell they don’t have it in them. They may be hungry enough to innovate. They may have a MENSA mind. But they are wimps when it comes to making their ideas a reality. The last component is the differentiator. If you want to take your great idea to market. If you’ve bounced that idea around and gotten a million thumbs up. You have to pull the trigger and go after it with all you’ve got. It takes guts. Don’t have guts? Innovation isn’t for you.

    I love watching Donny Deutsch because there is a common thread with his guests. At some point most of them marched into their bosses offices and said, “I’m leaving to go do this, I quit.” Most of them had no income to fall back on! They were hungry enough for that innovation that they were willing to be more hungry to make it happen. They were smart enough to know that they couldn’t really innovate at night after a hard days work. And they knew that to make their idea a big idea worth a lot of money… they’d have to put their life on the line. It takes guts to do that. Do you have what it takes?

    So, if you’ve got the next great idea… and I think you do… now you know. It doesn’t happen by mistake. It isn’t an accident. It isn’t “dumb luck” or “good timing” and it’s never handed to you on a platter.

    Innovation = hunger + brains + guts. Get it done. The world is waiting.

  • Skypecast at 2:00 PM

    I know this may come too late for many of my readers. But you are invited to come and watch/participate in Tim’s skypecast with me.

    Click here to go there.

  • Megan’s Journal Entry Today

    One of the things I love about my kids school is that they are trying to teach kids how to write by journaling. Here’s what Megan typed in her journal this afternoon.

    Paul is crazy I don’t know why. He loves me but he is mean to me. He likes my cat more than his cat. But I have more webkinz than Paul. Paul has two webkinz, and I have five. He is also crazy because I am his big sister. He is crazy that I am his big sister because he said
    he is big tooooo. I think Paul is crazy. Don’t you?

    Not bad for a first grader.