Application:

Lesson #1 - Obsess over customers = Obsess over Jesus (i.e. what's the one thing your org is about?) Jn 12:32.

Lesson #2 - Invent = Creativity is the lifeblood of the re-articulating the gospel in each generation. 1 Cor 9:22.

Lesson #3 - Think long term = Have a 20 year plan!  See here.  Don't be afraid to take your time.  Our culture is obsessed with instant success.  Gal. 6:9.

Lesson #4 - It's always Day 1 = There's always something new to learn.  There's never a dull moment.  Be a life long learner.  Prov. 4:18.

1. Vision - you can see IT clearly.

2. Focus - you know where IT is not.

3. Camaraderie -  you enjoy IT with others.

4. Innovation - you'll do anything for IT.

5. Risk taking - you'll fail towards IT.

6. Outward focus - you want others to have IT.

7. Kingdom generosity - you share IT.

Full of good stories, good advice and hewn from real life experiences.  Great leadership book; great church organizational book.  Worth the read. 

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Yesterday the Boston Foundation unveiled major changes in its grantmaking strategy and announced that "the most dramatic change is a shift of emphasis to unrestricted operating support." You're not hallucinating, and it's not a typo. As if the emphasis on operating support were not jaw-dropping enough, it's going to be unrestricted. This is not a narrow experiment. It involves the "majority of the Boston Foundation's competitive grants." And this is not a bunch of well-intentioned, innovative MBAs starting a little experimental social venture fund. It's a major institutional funder with a $700 million endowment that was founded in 1915.

Hallelujah. This is the nonprofit sector equivalent of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I remember when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004. I didn't cheer. I just kept saying over and over "The Red Sox just won the World Series" to convince myself that it was real. It was the same experience yesterday. I'm an optimist, but even I am so used to the hyper-incrementalism that defines the sector that I found myself in a state of disbelief.

The Foundation went ever further. They will start making larger grants, they are removing term limits so grants can be made over five years or longer, and they are removing deadlines so nonprofits can operate on their own timelines. The White House could learn a thing or two about hope and change from these people. The announcement is striking and material on several levels.

First, it is an important voice making a declaration that real change will come from strengthening the capacity of good organizations; that as good as it may feel to fund programs, the greatest good can be achieved by funding organizations. Our mantra on poverty for decades has been, "instead of giving a man a fish, give him a fishing rod and teach him to fish." But the institutional funding approach with nonprofits has been to deny fishing rods and hand out fish for a year or two and then tell the organizations to go find some new fish somewhere else. The Boston Foundation has said in no uncertain terms that it is in the fishing rod business.

Second, in a culture where a misinformed donating public has a prejudice against "overhead," it recognizes the unique responsibility that institutional funders who know better have to act on their better knowledge.

Third, in a relationship where for years nonprofit organizations have been saying that what they need most is general operating support, it demonstrates respect, listening, empathy, understanding, and real commitment to their success.

Fourth, in a sector desperate for encouragement it demonstrates the ability of boldness and daring to excite and inspire, and it demonstrates the value of excitement and inspiration themselves. This is a new day, and the dawn of a new day moves people.

Fifth, it shows that the oldest institutions can rise up and surprise us. That disrupts the syndrome of predictability that so suffocates our sense of possibility.

Sixth, it is a demonstration of trust.

Last and most important, it is a demonstration of brave leadership. It challenges all major players to follow suit - not only to rewrite funding strategies, but to be bold, to lead, and to surprise. Today let us salute the Boston Foundation. They have just changed the world.

This entry was first posted under the title "Making Discples the Peter Way."

Recently, I've come to another application of this passage: "Self-leadership - How to Lead Yourself Well." What follows are the edits from this perspective.

The apostle Peter makes this amazing promise: "If these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless or unfruitful..for as long as you practice thes things you will never stumble." 2 Peter 1:8,10.

You can't state it much stronger than that. It's as close to a divine guarantee as you can get. What are the "qualities" Peter refers to? They are 8 of them listed in v. 5-7 -- diligence, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love.

These qualities are the basis of what I call Peter's Path to Self-Leadership. Here's a visual of how I look at it.  "Your Faith" in the middle of the grid = Your Self-leadership."          

There are a couple important points to note: 1) These 8 qualities are organized in the sequence just as Peter states them showing how they build upon each other. 2) These 8 qualities are also organized in a grid to indicate that our self-leadership process may focus on one or more of these at different times, in differing intensities, but it still fits within an overall framework. They key thing is that we commit this grid to memory and keep them constantly before us as the 8 areas by which, if we nurture them constantly, we will experience self-leadership that leads to maturity, growth and fruitfulness.

"By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples."  Jn 15:8

#1 - Studies have shown church planters overestimate what they can accomplish in 5 years, and underestimate what they can accomplish in 20 years.  

We love to see instant, explosive growth, and that's what we celebrate, and we should.  Most magazine covers are about these stories.  But realiistically, statistically, and historically, this is not the trajectory of most church plants.  So, pray for explosion, but plan for incremental scenarios.

#2 - Most pastors exhibit their greatest years of fruitfulness after their 7th year. 

With so many church plants folding within five years, this is a shame, because if they could hang in there just a bit longer, traction could really take place and the planters ministry could really take off.  This is also true of pastors taking over a church, and leaving "too soon."

Put these two stats together, and you have a compelling reason to look at and plan differently for church plants.  At 5 Stones, we've divided our 20 year plan into four, five-year chunks. 

1st phase (first five years) = start-up phase (establish core values, vision, team, ministries).

2nd phase (second five years) = scale up phase (establishing systems, rails that anticipates and provides for growth - from accounting to HR policies to ministry processes and more.  This is the blow-up, experiment, renovate and hone stage).

3rd phase (third five years) = growth phase (seeing membership increase and take off after the net's been set and carpet's been laid).

4th phase (last five years) = multiplication phase (go plant other churches!).

If anyone is interested in my powerpoint on this, please go to "Downloadable Stuff" section (left hand column).   Cheers.