Month: September 2008 Page 1 of 3

A couple days ago, I was sitting near the manager of my most frequented Starbucks as she began to orient a brand new employee to her store. She began to talk to her about the ‘culture of Starbucks’.

I spoke with this manager yesterday about that, because it is true that what makes Starbucks is a certain culture, a certain attitude of shared commitments and attitudes of the employees. They seem to like working there, and the pleasure they take passes on to the customer.

The culture of a place in this sense are the shared attitudes and values and commitments that give to the thing its personality. And the culture of a place is something often unspoken and unexamined, but which is quickly picked up by those who come in contact with that place.

There is a culture which Starbucks seeks to cultivate.

There apparently is a unique culture to the Tampa Bay Rays, and this unique culture has contributed to their winning ways. I am planning a longer post on why they are winning, but this article says a lot about what has made them successful. Joe Maddon, the manager, has built a culture there where guys respect and love one another, and have a freedom to be who they are regardless of their accomplishments. Amazing.

There is a culture at Starbucks, with the Rays, And there is a culture in churches. It can be free, or stifling. It can be grim or it can be joyful. And whatever that culture is, people pick up on it and respond to it.

The church I pastor has undergone some changes in recent years. One might see those as cosmetic changes – different instruments, different schedule, whatever. But at heart has been a desire to change the culture of the church. That will have far more effect upon the effectiveness of a church than we might imagine.

What Carlos Pena says about the Rays should be said about the church, don’t you think?

“Everyone here feels comfortable, free to be themselves,” Peña said. “They’re respected. They are very appreciated. To come out and feel you’re at home when you walk through the door makes a huge difference as opposed of coming in and you’re like, ‘I feel out of place here. I can’t really talk. I got to watch what I say. I got to make sure I do this right.’ That’s not cool. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be.”

I’d like to be in a church like that!

So I’m curious: what do you see as important in the ‘culture’ of a church?

Technorati Tags: Church

Within my circle of friends and loved ones is one who has the ability to say things which at first sound ridiculous, possessing that quality that makes hearers think, “I can’t believe she just said that.” Upon any serious reflection we find that what she has spoken without reserve what the rest of us hold deeply covered in our heart.

The classic for this was uttered a couple of years ago. She said, with all sincerity:

“I’m not prejudice toward those that matter.”

Yes, of course it is contradictory. But it sheds light on a dark truth of my own heart, if I think about it.

And then yesterday, she said this:

“I don’t mind rules, as long as they don’t keep me from doing what I want to do.”

Yes, of course, that is the problem with rules, isn’t it. She may be more astute than we give her credit for.

Technorati Tags: Christian Life

The Shack by William Young has been this year’s Prayer of Jabez. It is showing up everywhere, and some otherwise rational folk have made the astounding comparison of this book to Pilgrim’s Progress. Whoa, there, Sally. That’s a bit of a tall order.

Others, however, have pretty much concluded that the thing wafted up on an updraft from Hell.

So, anything generating such conflicting reviews and such popularity (#1 seller at Amazon.com) demands some attention. Fortunately, HPC’s associate pastor Geoff Henderson has read it and posted his thoughts.

You can read his review here.

Technorati Tags: Books

Thanks to Staci for putting me on to this article: Suddenly, we’re all stark Ray-ving mad

The article catches the phenomenon this has been. It also catches the wonderful aesthetics of the Trop:

“…a domed park that looks like a garbage can with its lid on crooked.”

Yup. That about captures it!

Technorati Tags: Baseball

I mentioned a week or two ago the roll that luck plays in baseball. There was a freaky example of that in Boston on Monday night. Here is one report of what happened:

With Cleveland ahead 4-2, Boston had runners at first and second with two outs in the sixth.

Jeff Bailey then lined the ball inside third base. Umpire Gerry Davis signaled it was fair, but the ball hit him and stopped just beyond the infield dirt. Third baseman Jamey Carroll picked it up, and Bay, who had rounded third, was caught in a rundown and tagged out.

“When I hit the ball I thought it would kick off the side wall and I thought we’d get at least one run,” Bailey said. “When I saw Carroll getting the ball, I was wondering what happened.”

To see this on video brings home just how bizarre this play was. If the ball did not hit the umpire, the tying run would have scored, and the outcome of the game altered.

We know that even what we observe as chance is subject to the overseeing providence of God. So, we thank Him for our own bit of luck.

You see, the only way lowly chumps like me can get playoff tickets for the Rays first ever playoff series is to enter names in a lottery. Seats that are not assigned to season ticket holders are made available at random to names drawn from those entered in the lottery.

Last night, I found out that my name had been selected. So, today, I am the proud owner of tickets to attend the first and second games played here in the American League division series.

That piece of ‘luck’ has excited me!

Technorati Tags: Baseball

He’s (here and here) BACK!

Yes, this is really Mike!

We will forgive him the cap. It got him, he says, a lot of rides and food in New England!

UPDATE: To see Mike in all his “Homeless Mountain Man” detail, click on the photo.

Technorati Tags: Dreams

A devout Christian farmer believes that it is God who is ultimately responsible for the growth of his crops. He is quick to give praise to God for the harvest for he knows that there is so much that is miraculous in the conversion of seeds to plants to fruit.

At the same time the good Christian farmer is devoted to the science of growth. He becomes expert in the conditions of soil, the nutritional needs of his crops, and the environmental conditions in which they are to grow. He does so in order that he can create the ideal environment to maximize the yield from his crop.

In so doing, the farmer is not working at odds with the miracle of growth. He is rather discovering and working with the principles that God has built into creation by which growth happens. The growth is still a testament to the handiwork of God.

A case could be made that of two farmers, the one who attends to the principles and massages his field to maximize the growth is being far more pious and devout than his neighbor who does little, and simply prays for growth.

Those reading this know that I am no farmer and that my interest there is minimal. My question is whether what is said above can be said about the ministry of a church, replacing ‘farmer’ with ‘pastor’ and ‘crop’ with ‘church’.

I am interested in what people think.

PS A special prize to the person who first correctly identifies the crop in the above picture. (Just click the ‘comment’ button below – it’s easy if you try!)

Sunday morning’s quiet time reading was from Psalm 13. In case this old friend is unfamiliar, here it is:

1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,

4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

6 I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

We Eeyore types love to hang around verse one. It makes good company for us, whether our sorrow and struggle is real, or only imagined. So, when I read this, I breathed deeply of that verse. It gave me good cause to snarl at a God who does not produce himself when I demand.

But then I realized that it is self-pity that leads me to linger there. The psalmist, honest man that he is, doesn’t stay there. He leaves verse one behind and only uses that confession to set in relief his real home: verses 5 and 6.

It is clear that I and verse 5 and 6 need to become much better friends. But that is only going to happen when I wrench my eyes away from my love affair with verse 1.

This realization came fresh on the heels of a gentle and loving slap across the face from a dear friend who has seen his share of real sorrow. Newly widowed, he took the time to send me a note to ask about me. I shared with him some personal frustration. He would not let me stay there. I marvel at the simplicity and profundity of his response:

Frustration occurs when we forget that God is in charge. We are to strive to do His will; that means that when we fail, as we will, we need to rush to Him, as He is the only one with the strength we need, rather than muddling along in our weakness.

I see that you haven’t changed is some respects. I pray that you will spend more time being joyful, and none being frustrated.

That’s what I must do – spend more time being joyful. David and my friend are telling me this. Those are two witnesses to whom I must listen.

Technorati Tags: Christian Life, Joy

I mentioned that Alissa works at Half-Price Books. She loves working for this company. It treats its employees so well, that the mere fact that she found a store with an opening was amazing.

If you’d like to have some fun, though, go to the company’s home page and check out their on-line poll where you can vote for your favorite literary character. The spirit here reflects the playful spirit of the whole company, apparently.

I’m a bit concerned that the Grinch is listed as being home-schooled… 🙂

Technorati Tags: Books

I’ve several ideas for some substantive blog posts stashed away, but having just returned from a long trip north (spawned by a wedding), I don’t have time to pursue those. So, in the absence of my own thoughts, it is nice to be able to lean on one of my ‘legions’ of research assistants.

Having posted on several occasions over the past several weeks on the subject of reading (here, here, here, here, here, and here), I was sent this article about the latest electronic reader. It is an article in praise of the book. You might enjoy it. Here is a snippet:

“In addition, books are inexpensive and available in many different formats, colours, shapes, sizes and weights. The book is readily portable and requires no energy or lubricants to maintain. Being modular, it is easy to store.

”Oh, and probably lasts forever. If eternity does not appeal to the owner, the book can be easily recycled. No wonder books have been popular for a thousand years or so.“

On the recycling of books, we recently had a great time visiting our daughter-in-law Alissa’s new workplace, Half-Price Books in Mentor, Ohio. What a cool store, where you can sell your books, recycle them, as it were, and shop among shelves of wonderful used books. We walked away with a bunch. If any of you has a chunk of change ready to invest, please, please, please invest in opening a Half-Price Books franchise in our area. I promise to buy stuff.

Technorati Tags: Books