Inspiration From A Change in Scenery
As I write this I’m on a plane coming home from a week in California meeting with people, visiting a camp and working on our strategic plan. I have a love-hate relationship with traveling. I hate it because I hate being away from my family and our SpringHill staff.
Yet I love it because I find enormous benefits in having a “change of scenery” including meeting with different people in different places which provides different perspectives on the challenges and opportunities I face personally and we face at SpringHill.
My ideal “change of scenery” always has as its ultimate goal to learn and grow and includes the following:
- Visiting new places – as we did this trip when we visited Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center. This allows me to benchmark myself, our team and SpringHill against another organization.
- Spending time in God’s creation. I’m always moved and inspired when I’m in the middle of God’s handiwork.
- Being in a temporary community of committed and talented people who can push, challenge, critique, discuss and dream with me.
- Having the space to think, pray and plan based on what I’ve learned and seen.
These elements always create a powerful, transforming experience for me.
And maybe it’s also why I’ve committed my career to Christian camping. Because when Christian camping’s done right, when it includes these elements (new places and experiences, God’s creation, temporary communities of like-minded people and space to reflect and pray) Christ uses it transform lives.
So plan a “change of scenery” trip soon and see what good it can do for your work and for your life.
And better yet, in addition to your own “change of scenery”, consider giving a young person a “change of scenery” opportunity this summer by sending them to camp (the best change of scenery there is) so they too can have a life transforming experience.
By the way to see more photo’s from our desert canyon hike click on Perry’s Photo Perspectives.
Leaving a Place Better Than You Found It!
Todd Leinberger, Murphy Felton (former SpringHill staff and current Mount Hermon Staff) and Lisa Olson In spending time in the wilderness I’ve learned two ethical approaches to the impact one should have on the environment when spending time in it.
The first I learned as a Boy Scout. “Leave a place better than you found it.” This meant not only leaving no mark but also removing any marks left by others.
The second ethic is “leave no trace” meaning do no harm as a result of being in the wilderness. This ethic is inherent in the Boy Scout ethic but assumes others will take care of themselves.I’ve been thinking of these ethical approaches this week as Todd Leinberger and myself spent a couple of days at Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center located between San Jose and Santa Cruz, California in the heart of Redwood country. It’s obvious that Mount Hermon and the people of California have an ethic of preserving the beauty of this area.
As part of our visit we spend some time with Lisa Olson, current Mount Hermon executive who spent 22 years on staff at SpringHill. Over dinner I asked Lisa to look back over her tenure at SpringHill and share her proudest contribution.
She didn’t hesitate in answering. Her proudest contribution was that she and her husband Mark led SpringHill to a place where it could multiply itself, a process that took 15 years, resulting in the creation of our Indiana camp.
As I listened to Lisa I realized these two wilderness ethics represent the same ethical options we have when we are part of an organization, community or family.
Lisa and Mark Olson clearly lived out the “leave it better than we found it” ethic. For which I’m thankful.
For me I’m still a Boy Scout at heart. That’s why I too am committed to a “leaving a place better than I found it” ethic whether it’s my work at SpringHill, my volunteer roles in the community or more importantly in my relationships with my family and friends.
The Power of Asking for a Commitment
Of all the good parenting my parents did as I grew up, there was one simple yet brilliant thing my dad did that made significant impact on how I lived during a certain period of my life.
It was one Saturday morning the summer before I entered high school when my dad asked me to go for a ride with him as he ran some errands. This meant he had something to talk about.
The discussion was about the” life choices”, as he called them, I would face in high school. Choices about such things as drinking alcohol, taking drugs and having sex.
He wanted me to know that his and my mom’s expectation was that I would choose what was right; to live as they had raised me to live.
As we finished the discussion, he asked me if I understood what I was facing and what the right choices would be. I answered that I did.
He could have ended the conversation right there and it would have been a successful parent – teenage child discussion. But he took it one more step.
It was a simple, brilliant step.
He asked me to give him my word and make a commitment that I would choose and do the right things over the next few years. .
My response to his request? I gave him my word, and made a commitment to him and my mom.
So, as a result, the story of my high school life was that every time I faced a “life choice” my mind went back to that Saturday morning car ride and the commitment I made. And almost every time (well I wasn’t perfect), because of that moment of commitment to my mom & dad, I made the right choices.
Believe me there were many times I’d wished I hadn’t given him my word but because I did I felt compelled to live up to it.
This is the power of asking for both someone’s commitment and their word and why we should never shy away from doing so. It can be a life changing gift to others that they will never forget.
Praying to Thrive!
“God this is yours…. Let me not be consumed by the physical expectations of the world, but by the path you have set for my life.” The prayer of a winter teen retreat student left on our Thrive tree.
Over the years the SpringHill team has worked to create a life transforming winter retreat experiences that’s attended by 1000’s of teenage students each season…
We have a tubing and snowboarding hill, indoor pool, horses as well as great bands and speakers. But one part of the experience many students continue to say is most impactful is our prayer labyrinth.
In the prayer labyrinth students spend time in a series of rooms or “stations” where they’re asked to reflect on Scripture while in the presence of a visual display that reflects a particular focus under the umbrella of our retreat theme “Thrive”.
Each focus revolves around questions about who we are, who is God, what should our relationship with others look like and what should our relationship with Christ need to be like? Our goal is that these reflections will help each student live a life that is growing and thriving.
The last station allows students to write out a prayer about something that is hindering them from thriving and hang it on the “thrive” tree. By the end of the weekend the tree is full of multi color tags with 100’s of prayers.
The tree is a powerful symbol of 1000’s of teenagers reaching out to Christ with their challenges, hopes and dreams.
Then at the end of the weekend our team collects the prayers and sets them out in our office allowing our staff the privilege of praying for and with all these students throughout the week.
It is a humbling experience but one I’m thankful we’ve been entrusted with.
So, if you would, please take a moment and pray for a teenager you know, asking Christ to remove anything that maybe getting in the way of them having a thriving life. The “thrive” tree is full and the opportunity is great.
Creating a Personal Weekly Plan
“Failure to plan is planning to fail”
“Plan your work and then work your plan”
I am a planner so these well-worn clichés are etched into my psyche.
This is why every Sunday I lay out a plan for the upcoming week integrating both the professional and personal parts of my life.
It’s a ritual I will not miss.
Here’s how I do it:
- I review the previous week and see what was left undone and decide what to do with them (add them to the upcoming week, not do them at all, etc.).
- I compile all the ideas, tasks and thoughts I’ve collected over the previous week and add them to my master Outlook Task List.
- Next I look two to three weeks out in my calendar and add to my list any work I need to do to be ready for upcoming meetings and events. I will also resolve any scheduling issues.
- I may block out time in my calendar to focus on an important task that requires quiet to do well.
- Then I will print a pocket-size card of the tasks I’ve chosen to focus for the week. It stays with me (held in a Levenger “shirt pocket briefcase“) all the time. If my list doesn’t fit on a 3″ by 5” card then it’s too long.
- Finally, each morning I will evaluate the previous day and then highlight the tasks that I want to achieve that day.
Simple enough yet when I don’t create a plan I feel as if I’m going through my week running with scissors.
When I do I enter each day with confidence that I know what I need to do to have a successful week.
Small Town High School Basketball
“Let’s win this game for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here” Merle – from the movie Hoosiers.
Glen Lake, Brethren, Beal City, Lake City, and Burt Lake. These are just a few of small towns, with small schools where in small gyms I’ve watch my boys play high school basketball for Northern Michigan Christian School in McBain.
Both my wife and I graduated from Class A schools. These programs had professional coaches, trainers, future Division I and NBA players,1000’s of spectators, pep bands, cheerleaders and dance teams.
Big school basketball also includes things like tryouts (including “cuts”), single sport specialists, and year around training and contracted individualized coaching.
So our first introduction to small town basketball was a very different experience.
When I’m at a game someone will ask “how’s it going?” I always answer “Great. There is nowhere else I’d rather be on a winter Friday evening in Northern Michigan.”
This is an honest answer. I’ve grown to appreciate small school basketball.
Here are a few reasons why.
It’s a common occurrence for me to talk to a grandfather who played for the school team sitting next to his son who also played for the school and are watching their grandson/son play.
The coaches are parents or “sons” of the community who coach for the love of the game, school and players.
Our son Mitch plays on the JV team and represents the type of student who plays for these schools.
He’s on the soccer, track and Quiz Bowl teams and has one of the leads in the play. Yes he is a talented kid. But in a small school not only can students participate in most things; the school needs them to.
Mitch also knows most of the people in the stands and they know him. This creates a personal connection between the fans, the players, the coaches and the school.
So like in Hoosiers our car is part of the line of vehicles making the road trip each week to some small village where we cheer on our team to victory.
And yes, there is nothing else I’d rather be doing on a winter evening in Northern Michigan.
College Choices and “Artful Procrastination”
Butler University, University of Cincinnati, Point Park University, Alma College, maybe Indiana University or Purchase College?
My daughter Christina’s been accepted into four college ballet programs and is waiting on two more. The four schools she’s been accepted to have a constant flow of communication going to her in hopes that she will pick their school and program.
Only problem is Christina is waiting for two more schools. So though the pressure (from the schools, others in her life and herself) is on making a decision now – as her agent I’ve instructed her to wait until just before the commitment deadline.
There are a lot of things that can happen between now and then that will help her make the best decision.
So procrastination, not being decisive is Christina’s best course of action.
This concept of decision-making’s discussed in one of my favorite leadership books – The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership by Steven Sample. It’s full of practical suggestions for being an effective leader. It’s one of those books I occasionally re-read and often refer to.
In one of his best contrarian perspectives Sample provides his rules for making decisions, one of which is:
Never make a decision today that can reasonably be put off until tomorrow.
This runs counter to what leaders hear from others. We’re supposed to be certain, confident and decisive. But Sample makes a case for what he calls “artful procrastination.”
Sample believes a good leader should take all the time he or she can to make a decision. Why?
Because new options and information will become available during the “procrastination” period that will allow for a better decision.
Now there are times when snap decisions need to be made.
But most important decisions, ones with long-term effects generally do not require immediate action. Instead they require input from others as well as thoughtful reflection and prayer. None of which can be done in a New York minute.
So Christina will put off deciding what school she will attend until “tomorrow” knowing that it’s the best day to make a big decision.
A Superb SpringHill Weekend
This past weekend was our first Junior High Winter Retreat of the season. We had nearly 1000 students and their leaders from 39 different churches attend.
Junior High weekends definitely have a different feel compared to our Senior High weekends. For one thing there is much more energy and motion. These students bring along an enthusiasm for the weekend that seems to fill camp.
To add to the natural energy of this particular weekend we had RO Smith as our speaker. RO is a former SpringHill program director and one of the early architects of the current version of our Winter Retreat program. He and his wife Mindy (who was with him) currently serve as the Co-Directors of Youth Discipleship at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles.
RO is a high energy, animated and humorous speaker who connects well with teenagers resulting in an even more exciting Junior High weekend.
He is also committed to communicating God’s truth, as presented in the Scriptures, in a way that junior highers can relate to and grasp. This makes for a very powerful weekend of ministry.
One other benefit to having RO and Mindy at SpringHill is that we typically have a mini reunion with other past staff coming back to spend time with the Smith’s. So on top of great ministry we can connect with old friends.
So it’s the perfect combination for a superb weekend – junior highers at SpringHill, great ministry and spending time with close friends. What else can a guy ask for on a winter weekend?
Giving Away Our “Best New Idea”
What if you gave away your best new idea for free? Would you do it even if it didn’t benefit you or your organization beyond having the satisfaction of seeing that idea grow?
We’ve done it. Multiple times.
Today our “best new idea” is our Day Camp ministry. We began it as a pilot in 2006 with 250 campers and this summer we expect to serve more than 7000 in nearly 40 locations around the Midwest. By any standards its incredible growth.
So as you might expect word has gotten around the country and other camps have been asking us about the program. They want in on the movement.
Our response? We’re giving away all our Day Camp secrets. You see, we’ve always shared anything and everything we know with other organizations committed to extending Christ’s Kingdom.
In 2010 we had over 4800 campers in our Day Camp program. We also know of at least 1500 other kids in places like Texas and Louisiana that had a quality Day Camp experience as a result of us sharing our “best new idea.”
We multiplied the impact of our Day Camps by giving it away. And 1500 additional kids, their families, churches and communities have benefited. How cool is that?
So why give away our “best new ideas” to like-minded organizations? Because we believe in three important concepts.
First, what we have is not ours, it’s God’s. Yes we are the stewards. But as stewards our goal is to see that what we’ve been entrusted with multiplies which sometimes requires sharing it with others.
Secondly, there is no competition between worker’s in Christ’s Kingdom. Christ said “the harvest is great but the workers are few” Matthew 9:37. There is plenty of work for all of us to do, millions of kids to reach and serve. Until we run out of kids there is no competition.
Finally, we’re committed first to building His Kingdom not ours. This means we will do whatever we can to accomplish this end including giving away our “best new idea.”
So my dream is one day the 6000 kids who were at a Day Camp in 2010 will multiply into 100,000 maybe millions of kids in places all over the world. Big dream? Maybe. Bigger Church and a much bigger God? Definitely.
Picking Yourself Up
“Why do we fall down?” Thomas Wayne asks his son Bruce. “So we can learn to pick ourselves up” Bruce answered. (From the movie Batman Begins)
I’ve come to believe that resiliency is the most underrated and least talked about quality of a leader.
Which doesn’t make much sense since from my own personal experience and the experience of so many leaders I’ve talked to resiliency is the one quality that we all have in common.
I was just at breakfast with a successful leader and part of his story was the resilience he and his wife had through 30 years of leadership. Now both of them are CEO’s of significant organizations that impact 1000’s of people each year. Without resiliency they wouldn’t be in these positions.
This is my story as a leader. Whenever I’ve been able to fight through difficult and challenging situations it’s always led to a place of greater influence and effectiveness. Where I haven’t it’s led, frankly, nowhere.
So what is resiliency? Webster’s (I know old school) says it’s “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or changes.”
Why is resiliency so important?
It’s because the reality is that bad things happen and misfortune is always just around the corner. Believe it or not but we are not in control of all things. We live in a fallen and bent world. This means we will experience bad things in our life and leadership.
The question is can we recover and learn and grow from them?
In his book Breakout Churches Thom S. Rainer used Jim Collins’ research method from Good to Great to determine the factors that lead churches to become a “breakout church”.
Guess what the research found? The average tenure of the senior pastor of a “breakout church” was 21 years compared to 4 years for comparative churches. Rainer says “The breakout church leaders endured pain and did not leave. They were tenacious (and I’d add resilient). Their short-term pain brought long-term gain.”
So I am making a recommendation that resiliency be added to the official list of necessary qualities of every successful leader.
And my prayer is that it will one day it’ll be counted as one of the qualities I displayed in my leadership and life.
