Grace at work?

So, I'm still reading Ascent of a Leader. In chapter 2 they introduced the idea of grace at work. Providing a safe environment where people can make mistakes, where they are shown grace for their shortcomings, produces innovation, risk-taking, and giving the best to the employer. I know failure is part of learning and growth, but I've never thought of it in the context of grace - unmerited favor.

In chapter 3, the authors expound on this idea and discuss the fruit of relationships of grace.

1. Acceptance: when human flaws are accepted, we tend to try harder to please the one who accepted our shortcomings. Interesting paradox...acceptance of "as is" results in change. Hmmm...

2. Honesty: humans are more likely to admit mistakes, and learn from them, rather than hide mistakes in relationships of grace.

Reading this, it all seems like common sense, right? But, I have found it much more difficult to practice. Creating this kind of environment takes a tremendous amount of patience, time, and persistence. The book asserts, that those who've received grace find it easier to give because they know and understand it's power.

I've thought a lot about this. I learned more about grace through immense heartache and failure than any other source. I experienced grace and in the process came to appreciate it. What about you?

Have you received grace? Are you sharing it with others?

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The Ascent of a Leader

Recently, I've been reading a book titled Ascent of a Leader. The basic premise of the book is, in order to be a leader worth following you need to pay as much attention to the development of your character as you do capacity building. They demonstrate this through the illustration of two ladders - climbing the rungs of the capacity ladder and the character ladder.

I've only completed the second chapter of the book, but there was a startling statistic in this chapter. According to a leadership professor at Fuller Theological Seminary - at least 70% of leaders fail. The number one reason for failure - a moral (character) failure. Yikes! That is just so disappointing to me. Seventy percent!!!

I don't want to fall in to that statistic. Rather, I want to be the faithful servant, the one who finishes the race to win the prize. This book offers some very practical tips to being a leader of influence worthy of the calling - the number one thing I've learned so far. It's all about relationships - involve others, guide others, encourage others. Borrowing from Rick Warren's famous saying: "It's not about you."

Dear US Airways,

I was supposed to be in Washington DC today for a meeting. I had my husband drive the two hours to Charlotte so I could catch my flight. I arrived at the airport and was told the flight was delayed. This is not an unusual occurrence in travel these days. So, I moved on to security.

Once through security I looked at the monitors to see the delay had increased 30 minutes in the few minutes it took me to clear security. I decided to pick up dinner in the food court and head to my gate. I checked the monitors again on my way to the gate - all information was gone. In the time it took me to travel from ticket counter to gate, my flight had been cancelled.

The agent at the gate couldn't help me and sent me to customer service near the gate. The agent at customer service couldn't help and sent me back to the initial ticketing counter, on the other side of security. The ticketing agent couldn't help either and sent a group of us to a counter that was without staff. Eventually, staff arrived. Though there were multiple flights going to the area - Dulles, Baltimore, Richmond - none were available to me. The soonest they could get me out was 8am the following day. I would miss half the meeting by the time I arrived. I called my husband who was almost home, he turned around to pick me up.

Dear US Airways, why did flights leave to Dulles, Regan, Baltimore and Richmond the same night but you cancelled my flight "due to weather?" It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you don't have to compensate passengers for the inconvenience of a missed flight if you can conveniently blame the cancellation on weather. Would it? I missed a meeting I was schedule to be at, not because of lack of planning on my part or for lack of effort, but more because of the indifference of the customer service agents and the limited number of flights to my destination. And, what about my poor husband - giving up 6 hours to drive me to the airport for a flight that was eventually cancelled and then having to turn around and pick me up again? If I had an option, I would choose to never fly with you again. Unfortunately, I am increasingly aware of my limited options in flights and airlines and know that will ultimately be an empty promise. So, instead I am going to do what others have done before me and complain on my blog, connected to the world wide web, and let the world know what a disappointment your customer service has been to me and my family.

unconventional methods of recruiting to ministry

When I travel I often send out emails to those who have told me they are interested in the work. When I was working exclusively with India the list had grown to around 250 individuals. When I took the job in North Carolina I reduced the list to around 50. Through referrals, the distribution list is back up to around 250 people. I have never met many of the people on the distribution list...they are just familiar names or email addresses.

Well, I received a referral in a round about way for a couple who would like to be included on the list. We continued to correspond by email. They asked me questions about the work, how I got in to it. They conveyed their desire to pursue this type of work as a couple. They have skills that will be useful to the work so I encouraged them and pointed them to a few resources.

This weekend I received an exciting email...

Just wanted to let you know that [we] will be Interning with SP in Cambodia from July to December. I also wanted to thank you for your wise counsel and for keeping us in the loop regarding your work -- this helped us get our minds around the best approach to this line of work and how best to gain the experience we need. We hope to meet you sometime soon.

I share this, not to toot my own horn...but rather to celebrate how God uses unconventional tools, like email, to bring his people together to spur one another on. I pray God uses this blog. I don't track the number of people who read it, but I do get quite a few emails that reference it. Things posted that cause others to think. I don't think God is outdated, but more often it is the church stuck in a rut or putting God in a box.

P.S. I will be meeting this couple next month at orientation. Awesome! I'll also probably visit them in Cambodia in the fall. How fun! I can't wait to see where God takes them. This is just the first step in the journey to a lifetime of adventure.

Interesting International Facts: dress code

I have a friend who is getting married next month and moving to Sudan. Her husband to be has been living in South Sudan for the last three years. She asked him about the dress code there - what is appropriate to wear and considered modest?
Tank tops? Not allowed in many countries, not a problem in Sudan. I am told it is not uncommon to see topless women. Breasts are not sexual to the Sudanese.
Shorts? Nope not allowed. You may be surprised to find out why. In Sudan, men go crazy for the back of the knee. Yup, the back of the knee is considered errotic and should be kept hidden in public.
Learn something new everyday!!

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