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repeat…over the course of the final fifteen days of 2009, i’m going to let you in on fifteen things that need to change in my life in the coming year. fifteen decisions that i am making that reflect things that are important to me.
i’m going to go waaay out on a limb. i’m going to give you my best shot at honest transparency, in an attempt to be held accountable. some things will be about my spiritual journey…others are simply improvements to the life i walk. either way, they are important to me…and here’s the next one on the list:
change number fifteen
well, before i get to the climactic ending of my “fifteen for 2010”, i’ll post a few other changes i’ve been contemplating, but haven’t fully committed to…yet:
joining a jack bauer fan club.
completely blowing away my facebook page…really, there’s just something creepy about people who don’t really want to be my friend asking to friend me.
letting my head hair grow out… just to see what it looks like.
driving off-road more in my jeep.
running for a position on the school board…or stop complaining about what i see and hear.
teaching myself how to play lead guitar…as in screaming stevie ray vaughn solos. you really ought to see me in my dreams…
using some vacation time to go to the san diego padres spring training camp in peoria, arizona.
starting a “bring-in-n-out-burgers-to-lewisville” lobby group.
adopting a really opinionated position on end times.
stop staying up so late.
starting a hobby. i’ve never had a hobby. i think it would sound really cool to say, “this ____ is my hobby”…
twittering. i can actually see some value in it.
getting a mac. i’m into my fourth year and i still love my sony vaio and will keep using it until it flatlines. but what to do when that day comes? i’m torn.
completely redoing the master bathroom. (the term “master bath” is kind of a joke in the farra crib…four and a half feet wide by five feet long…it’s more like a closet with a toilet)
becoming a texas rangers fan.
buying a suit.
writing a book.
now, i’m not saying that i won’t eventually commit to some of these. they all have merit. i’m just not quite ready to sell my soul to any of them. yet.
i’ll keep you posted.
anyway…back to change number fifteen.
i have developed a quirky little pattern over the past few years. in all of my days as a youth pastor, i was always a decisive, confident, risk-taker as a leader. i was very seldom afraid to step out on faith when it came to following where i sensed god was leading.
i’ve always tried to stay well-informed and i have never been reckless in my decision-making, but change and adventure and innovation and living on the edge and outside-the-box thinking have always fueled my leadership and framed by life journey…both personally and as a youth pastor.
a couple of years ago, when i fully embraced my role as the senior dude at north point, something changed in me. i became much more cautious and deliberate. i moved more carefully. i have become more guarded and almost hesitant to step out and make bold decisions…the way i did when i was a youth pastor.
some of that is wise. in some ways, there is more at stake with my leadership now. financial ones! as a youth pastor, i used things, broke things, abused things. i spent…exhausted…expended…used up…wore out…consumed…wasted …and manipulated stuff. and it was always someone else’s responsibility to figure out how to pay for it.
not anymore.
the world i live in now is a bigger picture and the responsibility i shoulder is much broader. i get it.
but here’s what needs to change. it’s time for me to be a better leader.
i want to lead with the same kind of boldness and confidence i always had as a youth pastor. i need to be a risk-taker, without being reckless. i need to listen carefully to what the holy spirit is saying…while i listen to the sage advice of wise counsel. i need to lead by faith…but never move out alone. this is a family affair.
i need to fear god, and not people. i need to live so deep in relationship that differences of opinion always have the opportunity to be worked through. i need to live out on the edge…but take others with me. i need to think outside the box…and help others grow comfortable with the untried or unknown.
i simply need to be a better leader this year.
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