Patriots and Perfection

 

The “perfect” Patriots lost the Super Bowl yesterday. After a regular season and playoff combination of 18 straight wins, the New York Giants scored with 38 seconds left to beat the Patriots by 3 points. They were so close but couldn’t make it.

The Patriots managed to set a number of records throughout the season (both team records and individual player records). But the team’s goal at the beginning of the season was not to break records—it was to win the Super Bowl. With the Patriots’ attention to detail, extensive training and preparation, fancy playbook, it was a definite shock that they could lose everything in the end.

While many were getting excited about the Super Bowl, the commercials, and the parties, I challenged my Sunday school class to get excited about the Bible. In Paul’s epistles he would often write using “athletic” imagery, given the heavy influence of the Olympics within the culture. He would say things like:

Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You must run in such a way that you will win. All athletes practice self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. -1 Cor. 9:24-27, New Living Translation

Paul displayed an in depth knowledge of the “culture of competition” in his society but also had the unique ability to translate the concepts of competition to spiritual truths. So how can we do the same with the “near perfect” Patriots?

Nicodemus and Jesus

In John 3, Nicodemus came to Jesus by night to learn more about his teachings. Nicodemus had heard about Jesus’ teachings and his miracles. However, Nicodemus was truly unprepared for what Jesus was about to tell him. “I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3, NLT). This notion of being “born again” shocked Nicodemus at his core. As a leader of the Pharisees, this challenged everything that he knew to be right. The Pharisees were a religious sect which strived to keep the religious law to perfection so that they could make it into heaven. By working on their “actions” and their outwardly obedience to the law they would be secure.

 

The concept of “born again” goes beyond actions and deals with human nature. It says that because of the fall of Adam, all creation connected to Adam, start their season immediately disqualified. They can play as hard as they want but it will not translate in the end. However, if we are “born again” we establish a connection with Jesus the “second Adam.” Through our second birth, we then have access to heaven. Like the New York Giants, you can have a less than perfect season and still win ultimately.

 

This means that you can win 18 straight games and lose the most important one. You can live a successful life, do good deeds, be well-known, and still not make it in the end. Your statistics or your status do not make you win the heavenly “Super Bowl.” The Bible sums this up by saying, “And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process” (Mark 8:36, NLT)?

 

The Patriots’ perfection couldn’t secure their ultimate victory and neither can ours. As Jesus told Nicodemus, we must be “born again.” Athletes are competing for a prize that will fade away. We are reaching for an eternal prize—the Super Bowl in the sky.

 

-Atnre Alleyne

 

Note: I am an Eagles fan

 

Jesus, Accountant

 

In Laurie Beth Jones’ book, Jesus, CEO, Jones looks to Jesus’ ministry for key lessons for visionary leadership. In that same spirit, I thought that it would be interesting to see what Jesus can tell us about being good accountants. Whether or not we have a CPA behind our names—or a passion for number crunching—it’s crucial that we maintain a good account of the many things that God has entrusted us with (money, family, leadership responsibilities, etc). Taking good inventory is a key element of good accounting. As you plan for your ministry or personal development it is necessary for you to review your inventory.

 

Many principles of accounting can be drawn from Jesus’ use of the popular prodigal son parable.  I will give you the story in short form, but you definitely should read it when you get the chance—Luke 15:11-32. One of a man’s two sons asks him to give him his inheritance in advance. The son then travels abroad and wastes all his money. After almost starving to death, the son (now termed the prodigal or wasteful son) comes to his senses. He returns home ashamed, hoping for his father’s mercy. To his amazement his father embraces him with love and celebrates his return. Now here’s what this parable tells us in terms of accounting and inventory-taking.

 

Know what you have

If there was one thing the “prodigal son” did correctly it was that he knew what was his. He knew there was money that his dad had saved and knew how to access it when he wanted it. As leaders, we need to know what resources are available to us and how to access them if we desire to be successful in our endeavors. A lot of this awareness and knowledge is a product of good research but it is also the result of good organization. I am a Microsoft Excel maniac so I suggest you create Excel spreadsheets to organize your inventory. My wife and I recently worked with the music ministry at our church to create a comprehensive Master Song List database. We neatly organized all the songs that we have in our repertoire in a spreadsheet along with the song writer, tempo, key, etc. This inventory-taking process immediately introduced much needed variety in our weekly song selections. We were able to reintroduce many songs that we had completely forgotten. 

Know the worth of what you have                                                                                   Like the prodigal son, if you know what you have and do not know what it is worth, you will likely waste it. You can waste it proactively—deplete it completely or misuse it—or you can waste it passively by not using it at all. I’ll laugh at myself for a moment to illustrate this point. After a lecture given by a business person that I admire (Dr. Randal Pinkett), I had the opportunity to speak with him briefly. I asked him for some advice about one of my business ventures and he replied, “I really don’t know much about that line of business.” Of course he didn’t! Fortunately, I had a few more minutes with him and was able to seek information from him in an area where he would be most valuable to me. But this blunder was a result of disorganization and lack of research.  

We need to give huge consideration to our networks and our people resources when taking inventory. My wife and I are learning that involving everyone in the brainstorming stage of the church’s strategic planning process isn’t always the best way to use the church’s human resources.  Some people are better suited to the implementation process while others make a stronger contribution on the idea-producing end. The challenge, then, is to have a complete awareness of what (and who) you have and how they add value.  The Bible noted that when the prodigal son “came to himself” he realized what was really available to him and returned home to access it.

 

Now let’s join him in the “coming to” process.

 

-Atnre Alleyne

Preparing for Change–Using your E.Y.E.S.

After reading my entry on New Year’s Research, my uncle let me know that he particularly enjoyed my acronyms—GIGs and PRUNING. So thanks to him, I put a healthy dose of acronyms in today’s post. Many of us know the story of Noah and the Ark. I like to think of the story as “Noah: The ARK (Already Ready Kind)”. Noah’s obedience to God and perception of impending environmental change (40 days/40 nights of rain) led him to set up a structure (the ark) that was able to withstand change. When the change came, he was already ready.

Now I’m sure you know of the Already Ready Kinds of this world. The shop for Christmas in July types who were watching Home Alone 1 on December 24th while you were fighting over the last Nintendo Wii. Whether you consider yourself an ARK or not, this entry suggests (similar to last week’s focus on research) that preparation and organization are key to ministry success this year. In a recent sermon, my pastor shared the quote “God propels prepared people into their purpose.” Our GIGs and our ambitions mean little without preparation.

The Prepared are Preserved

Noah and his family were preserved because of Noah’s structure. Leaders who prepare, preserve themselves and their teams. Lack of preparation and structure puts a strain on you, as the leader, and your followers. Noah’s preparation also positioned him to save the animals and store up food.  Preparation will save you time, money, and energy in your ministry efforts. You will be able to stock up on the essentials early, which is bound to save you time and money.

Know Your Environment

True preparation demands that we know our environment. Had Noah not been aware of his environment he would have been unprepared when the floods came. To be truly prepared for this year in ministry, I suggest that you use your EYES (Evaluation of Your Environmental Situation). Your EYES should be a major component of your strategic planning for the year.

Your EYES is conventionally referred to as “environmental scanning.” Environmental scanning focuses on the identification of any issues, developments, trends, practices and events that can affect your organization. Ministry leaders are often oblivious to the social, technological, economic, environmental, and political (STEEP) changes (or potential changes) that can help or hinder their ministry work. Here are a few questions that will help you get a better understanding of your external environment.

1. What are the STEEP changes that can affect the future of my ministry this year?

2. When are they likely to occur? Have they already taken place?

3. In what way do I think they can affect my ministry?

4. How well prepared is my ministry to adapt to, respond to, or benefit from these changes?

5. What can we do to be more prepared?

 

- Atnre Alleyne

New Year’s Research

 

In my last Sunday School class of 2007, I challenged the students to establish GIGs for 2008– God-Inspired Goals. These GIGs take the “wish list” out of New Year’s resolutions and replace it with divine direction. God is concerned with every aspect of our lives and will gladly focus us for the new year. But what do we do after we’ve established our 2008 GIGs?
 
We do our RESEARCH. When God leads us, my pastor recently said, “Don’t question if you can do it–question how you can do it.” So as a “professional student” (as some affectionately call me) and former researcher at consulting companies like the Gallup Organization and Hay Group, I decided to put together a post on conducting “New Year’s Research” for your ministry and personal life.

RESEARCH QUESTION: What are you looking for?
 
Whenever I engaged in academic research, my advisers could slice through my creative confusion with one phrase–”What’s your research question?” After I came up with an answer to this question I was then able to focus my attention on the information that was most relevant to my needs. You could do a Dora the Explorer type of research, but you are likely to waste a lot of time and get completely thrown off track. If you start with a specific question (eg. how to have more efficient choir rehearsals) or focus you will be more effective in your research.
 
LITERATURE REVIEW: What has already been found?
 
Most academic research contains a literature review. So that you don’t reinvent the wheel or spin your wheels, it will be very helpful for you to review the material related to your GIGs. You may not be able to purchase and read all of the books/articles immediately but a good start is to compile a reading list. Go to a local Christian bookstore or a regular bookstore (or their website) and browse through the material relevant to your ministry and your GIGs for the new year. Write down the name of the book, the author, and the price for each of the books and add them to your library as time goes on. You can do the same for DVDs and CDs as well.
 
METHODOLOGY: How are you going to find what you’re looking for?
 
Treasure Hunt
 
Good information is a treasure. That’s one of the reasons why I advocate engaging your ministry team or a friend in the research process. It is a great team-building endeavor. Encourage your team to look for information that can advance your ministry. Do it in a way where there is excitement in the research and information exchange process. Create a suggestion box, ask for their input, acknowledge people who find and share information, break them off into teams in search for information on particular topics, etc.
 
Subscribe to Blogs, Journals, Listserves:
 
We spend so much time looking for information. How about letting information look for us? During your research, find blogs (eg. Next Level Worship blog), journals (eg. International Journal of Music Education), and listservs (eg. Ruach listserv) that are relevant to your GIGs and subscribe to them. This will ensure that updates are sent to your inbox and that you stay abreast of new information and insights.
 
CONCLUSION: What have you found?
 
Retain or RE-Search
 
You cannot afford not to hoard. Unless you were just overjoyed about the research process, and wouldn’t mind doing it all over again–you’ll need to retain the information you found. You can use “Add to Favorites” to bookmark important websites, save PDF docs of relevant articles into a folder (“2008 Research” perhaps), print documents and use the old file cabinet system, etc. Just be sure to compile all of your findings in a central place.
 
Share Findings
 
Share the information with others. Perhaps prepare a short write up of your major findings. Much of the information you find relevant to your GIGs and your ministry will be relevant in other ministries. It is also possible that the questions you asked will promote passion for inquiry in others.
 
End is the Beginning
 
Academic research often includes “Opportunities for additional research” in the concluding section. As ironic as it sounds, the conclusion to your research is just the beginning. If done well, you should now have more questions, more desire for answers, and thus more motivation for research. You couldn’t possibly have learned everything you need to know within a few weeks of research. It is at this point of your research activity that you fully realize this.

Do you have any interesting research strategies you can share? I completely forgot to mention the almighty GOOGLE so feel free to do so!

Hello world!

Welcome to my “PRUNING” blog (Policy Reform: Using New Ideas for New Growth). I set it up so that I can share insights and ideas that will help you be more fruitful in your ministry and personal endeavors. I welcome you to leave comments and share your thoughts with me for the sake of lively discussion. Enjoy!