She Said "Yes"

Though I'm sure the news is rapidly spreading already both in Three Hills and around the world, I simply must post this exciting personal news on my blog, even a few days late.
On Saturday, December 23, the most beautiful woman in the world, Sarah Lynne Hunt, said "Yes" when I asked her "will you marry me?" The picture (which I'm having trouble uploading so it will probably appear on a later posting) was taken just a couple hours after we were engaged at her friend Sandra Thomson's home. Sandra was my assistant in the "surprise" plan for Sarah which was actually NOT much of a surprise as she is also an incredibly smart woman! (and yet she still said yes...?) Lord willing, we will be married on May 5, 2007.

I know theologically each and every Christmas is incredible - because it is the time to celebrate Christ's love come in the flesh. Yet this has truly been my most amazing Christmas ever - because Christ's love has come to be shared, and I am experiencing a new aspect of God's love this year!

After our incredible "engagement day," we then spent Sunday in Canmore with the Ibbotson family enjoying the beauty of God's creation as we fellowshipped together - and my nephews mocked their "old uncle Steve" who seems to have lost his senses. Christmas Day was spent with the Hunt family (except Lois who we miss lots but go to talk to via Skype) here in Three Hills.

WOW! God has been tooooo goooood to me!

Ready for Christmas

I doubt that I will be blogging too much in the next few days as the Christmas break is now here. I finished grading exams yesterday and calculated final grades and submitted them to the Registrar's Office this morning - before the deadline of today at 5:00 pm. Now its time to enjoy a "Christmas weekend" with family (and a few friends).

The best part about the week between Christmas and New Years is NOT having no work - work is a good thing and something to be grateful for. And while the extra sleep is nice - esp when I know I've got an 8:00 am class next semester (ouch!), the best part of the weeks after Christmas is watching Canada play in the World Junior Hockey Championships. This year they are in Sweden so the games will probably in decent time in the morning hours (7:00 and 10:00 am by the looks of day 1) and then one can enjoy the rest of the day - without avoiding appropriate work or relational responsibilities.

So merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Biblical Dating

Noticed that Focus on the Family's online webzine Boundless is beginning a new series of articles on Biblical dating. Admittedly, a topic of interest to me!

Scott Croft is the author (a guy who serves as the chair of his local church's board of elders... and so you just gotta know his perspective is almost perfect, practically "inspired" in the biblical sense of the word! okay, enough arrogance for one bracketed comment).

Should be a good series and I'll look forward to watching this site for a good, biblical perspective on the topic.

Oh yeah, and if you are wondering how this topic relates to "leadership" the answer is twofold: 1) A leader demonstrates integrity in every area of life, including dating relationships and
2) How many evangelical Christian leaders do you know who are single? (I'm not saying this is good or right but...)

CBC's Embarrassing Reporters

First let me be remind you all that you should never be watching CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) unless it is for Hockey Night in Canada or possibly some other sports event or for the evening news - oh and its okay to watch a couple of their comedy shows (eg. This Hour has 22 minutes or Air Farce). Their programming otherwise is usually poor in quality and most of the "stuff" they put on in primetime television is appalling.

Nonetheless, on Sunday afternoon with just over two minutes remaining in the Saskatchewan-BC West Final, I thought CBC sports reporting reached a new all-time LOW! Brenda Irving - an otherwise okay reporter - asked Eric Tillman (GM of Sask) if this loss was the end of Danny Barrett's coaching time in Sask. I understand that this was the question everyone was going to be asking at the post-game press conference. It's been the topic of discussion for weeks around the CFL. But really... asking the question on the sideline before the game is actually over? Let the Riders get into the dressing room, lick their wounds and then come to the press conference and ask the question. But on the sideline before the final gun has even sounded. That's just hideously unprofessional. Fortunately Tillman gave a generic "nothing" response.

In my opinion, its even sadder that Brenda Irving, an otherwise decent female sports reporter asked the question. Perhaps - completely unfairly admittedly - it casts doubt on other women who do good quality sports reporting. I can just hear the chauvinistic guys saying, "Yeah, see, that's why you don't have a woman on the sidelines as a reporter. They don't understand the "code" of the game."

That's all for today. BTW, Go Lions!

Articles on Authentic Leadership

A couple articles on Authentic Leadership with some different perspectives.

Forbes magazine article by Dr. Saj-nicole Jani

CEO Refresher article by Dr. Jeffrey Yergler

Evangelical and Unashamed

A challenging article from the latest issue of Kairos journal by Os Guinness.

Leadership Lessons from Sodoku

I’ve been starting to enjoy Sodoku over the past few weeks. The Calgary Herald newspaper has one each day that I’ve been using to practice my skills and logistical arrangements. And I am realizing there’s a lot of Leadership Lessons to be learned from Sodoku.

1) Don’t be afraid to do the simple, obvious things first. It seems to me that leaders often want to do something flashy and impressive, especially in the early days of a new position. But the best thing to do in Sodoku is just to start filling in the simple, obvious numbers that follow the rules of the game. That’s probably a good principle for starting in leadership too. (K.I.S.S. still applies!)

2) One piece of the puzzle affects all the others. Sodoku is essentially a domino-effect game. If one number goes here, then another number can or cannot go there. But the key to Sodoku - and to leadership - is to realize that every “answer” in one space affects how the other “answers” fit in the whole/big picture. Which leads to the next leadership principle...

3) One false assumption can cause significant problems. Once you get past the obvious stuff, making an “educated guess” or “assumption” is risky. And if you make the wrong one, it can really lead to significant trouble for two reasons. Most obviously, the false assumption will lead to other "answers" not fitting in the puzzle. And as you try to re-arrange or re-organize the other "answers" based upon your false assumption, lots of other "answers" start to also get messed up. Even worse is the fact that the false assumption may actually not show up for quite a while and you may work away on the rest of the puzzle with no evidence that your assumption was not in fact correct until the very end – and then you have a big problem that is almost impossible to backtrack and undo. (And so I look at the Sodoku answer key, find out where I got messed up, and shake my head. Not so easy to do in real life and leadership). Especially as it relates to personnel decisions, a poor hire can influence a whole department/division and it may be months before one realizes the person who is the real source of confusion in an area, and then there can be lots of human, financial, and organizational damage to be repaired.

So… I’ll keep developing my Sodoku skills, and hopefully move cautiously though steadily through various leadership challenges.

I like a leader who leads like I would

Though not particularly profound or revolutionary, esp to anyone who’s done any reading on leadership, I discovered in a new way yesterday how much I like a leader who is like me. You see we had a group meeting yesterday at my workplace and the assistant group leader led the meeting. For the first time in a few months, I felt like we actually got something done in that meeting. We spent the last year talking about a document, asking everyone for input on a document, and putting so many parts of it on the table, one didn’t know if it was a document in process or a corpse receiving an autopsy. (And there were more than a few times over the last year that most of us as group members left a meeting wishing we were dead!) So Monday when we finally got stuff done and we were led through the process of getting it done, while there was a sense of exhaustion over the details we got into, I think most people also felt a sense of “finally we got something decided!”

As a leader, one needs to be self-reflective and I realize that I am a “get things done” kinda guy. I’m willing to discuss things with the team, but not ad nauseum. There’s only so much talking you can do and then you gotta DO something. As an anonymous quote I read the other day said, “You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.” Interestingly, I led a meeting the other night where more than one person in our group said, “we obviously should have had more discussion on this topic.” And I was somewhat insulted by that comment a) because it presumed the leadership team had NOT discussed the topic and did not have a clue about some of the concerns people would express. In fact, the leadership team had talked about most (if not all) of the “factors” that various people thought we should have discussed more. Of course second of all, it was time for a decision, not for more discussion. There is stuff to be done; people’s lives to be touched.

So, I realize I need to learn to appreciate different leadership styles, and I also know, appreciate, and believe I am practicing the wisdom of surrounding myself with other leaders NOT like me. But it sure is a joy to work with a leader who leads the way I like leadership to function.

Hands On Hands Off - Tribute from Dave Wall to his dad

Attended the funeral service of Mr Fred Wall on Tuesday and was thoroughly blessed at the life and testimony of a man who was changed by Jesus Christ's work in his life - and now his redemption is complete as Pastor Sweis Ubels preached so well. However, for me the most touching and challenging part was the tribute read by my friend Dave Wall, Fred's son. Dave shared about his father who was "hands on" at just the right times and "hands off" at just the right times. He expressed so well a concept/idea that has been running through my mind for various reasons over the past few days.

And it clearly has applications to leadership - which may also explain why Dave is such a fine leader with New Tribes Mission serving in Papua New Guinea. There are times when a leader needs to be "hands on" with a task, project or person and other times when the best leadership is "hands off."

A real NFL leader

On Sunday, October 1 Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was ejected from the game after he stomped on Dallas center Andre Gurode's face (early in the third quarter). An NFL player acting like an idiot. What else is new, right?

However I saw Haynesworth's post-game interview when asked about the play and sat in joyful surprise! When asked if he felt he should be suspended he said (hold your breath), "Yes, I certainly should be suspended. What I did was totally disgraceful - to my team, to the fans, to other players and to the NFL as a whole. I feel terrible that my children have the same last name as me. There is no excuse for what I did. I was wrong and I will go home and apologize to my wife and 4 children and ask their forgiveness." (not a verbatim quote but the essence of it).

Now that's a leader you respect. He made a mistake, everyone knew it, and he didn't try to justify it, explain it, defend it. He just admitted what everyone already knew and was a man about it. He was wrong. He was genuinely sorry. And there will be consequences for his wrong actions that He will live with. After a week of people following Terrell Owens for his latest "news," I hope the NFL media give a true leader like Albert Haynesworth one tenth as much time and ink as they normally waste on other "heroes."

Silence

Tomorrow (Thursday September 28) is Prairie Bible College's Day of Prayer for the Fall semester. It is wonderful to serve at a school that sets aside a day to intentionally help our students focus on the discipline and privilege of prayer. In line with looking forward to the Day of Prayer, I realized last night as I did my brief devotional reading for the evening, that I have not even been thinking about one of my personal goals for the year, never mind actually doing that goal: to spend 15 minutes a day in silence before God.

For any person, it is difficult to hear the voice of God in the midst of life's busyness. It is even more important for leaders to take time and just be silent before God. And thus, I appreciate the reminders and opportunities set aside to do so, like PBC's Day of Prayer. When I take the time to be in silence with God, I find that a) it calms and relaxes me, b) I see a different perspective on a concern/issue, c) I am better able to differentiate between what is good and best, what is a "critical success factor" and what is an average task to be done, d) I am significantly more likely to hear God's still small voice.

So - even if you can't have a day of prayer set aside in your schedule - take a few minutes and just be silent before God. (Psalm 46:10)

House - "God doesn't limp"

If you are not a regular watcher of the television show, "House MD" then
a) you should start watching immediately! (okay next Tuesday on Fox/Global will have to do) and b) you won't understand this posting very well.

I am an avid "House, MD" fan mainly because I identify with him too well. I think there are at least three reasons:
1) He is brilliant and so am I.
2) He is proud, sometimes abrasive, brash, apparently uncaring, and not really worried about either of those. If the first statement above didn't make that obvious, ditto again for me.
3) He has a physical handicap that does NOT define him as a man, even though people often think it does. Again, ditto.

Hence, when the "Cane and Able" episode (Tues Sept 12) concluded with Dr House being told that Dr Wilson and Dr Cuddy did not want him to know that he had been correct about a previous diagnosis (the previous week's episode) because he needed some humility, otherwise he'd think he was God, Dr. House's reply "God doesn't limp" was just the perfect answer. (I am still in awe of the incredible writing of that final scene even a week later!)

You see, as a person with a visible physical disability, who likely does overcompensate for that by expressing over-confidence, even pride or cockiness, I also am aware - way more than most people get to see - that I am NOT perfect. Only God is perfect and whole and complete. I see my imperfections every day when I look in the mirror or have to get in my power wheelchair or cannot reach something on a not-that-high shelf. I know I am not "perfect" - physically, spiritually, emotionally, etc.

But when I am good and excellent at something, I do not want that gift/talent to be taken away. I am very much, often painfully, aware of what I canNOT do. But don't take away or discredit what I can do... and then try to explain/justify that you are doing so to help me learn humility or any other lesson... and I will be as angry/frustrated as Dr House.

Its amazing that God chooses, and in fact enjoys using weak, imperfect tools to accomplish His purposes and show His glory. I know that I am not God... Dr House knows that he is not God.... because God doesn't limp.

Reflections on Sept 11 (part 2)

The third leadership lesson to reflect upon in light of the fifth anniversary of 9/11 is:

3) People continue to pursue hope and health amidst tragedy
The various stories of how individuals & families have turned their tragedies of losing a loved one on that terrible day show the resiliance of people. The story that I was able to appreciate the most was that of the widow of Garnett "Ace" Bailey - a former NHL hockey player who was the head scout for the Los Angeles Kings at the time of a 9/11 flight that took his life. She has honoured her husband's memory by contributing to a hospital in the Boston area that helps children.

I would suggest that the human ability to pursue hope and health amidst tragedy comes from the fact that we are created in the Image of God (I've just been looking over Genesis 1-2 in preparation for a class tomorrow). It is not because people are inherently "good." Rather it is because the human beings/the human race can still reflect and represent a small part of the completely perfect and good God in whose image we were created, even though we are radically infected with a sinful nature/predisposition in a world affected thoroughly by evil and its effects.

I'll stop preaching now and thank God that amidst agony and pain, He is still sovereign, He is still good, and He enjoys and is glorified most when we as people pursue the Hope God offers through Christ in the midst of apparently tragic situations.

Reflections on Sept 11 (part 1)

First, thanks to the advice of a wise woman, I will henceforth cease from apologizing for my irregular blogging. As this wise woman pointed out, blogging by its very nature is at the wish of the author so it cannot be "late" or "too infrequent" if that's what the blog author decides.

Although the ubiquitous coverage in the past 24 hours of the five year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks - including both ABC's and CBC's "documentaries" which I did not watch - is already long past annoying and its not even noon in Alberta, it is appropriate to reflect from a leadership perspective on what has happened since that tragic day.

1) "Trust" and "leadership" never appear positively in the same sentence.
Watergate and Richard Nixon had pretty much eliminated the words "trust" and "leadership" from being used positively in the same sentence for the last quarter of the 20th century, but as the new millennium dawned, there seemed to be a tinge of hopefulness that respect for those in authority could once again appear, perhaps not in describing a particular nation's leaders but at least in reference to some global leaders, whether in business, politics, religion, NGO's, the media, etc. But 9/11 has pretty much finalized any hope of the "trust" and "leadership" being connected for at least one more generation of humankind.

2) Increase in Religious and Cultural discrimination
Again, the end of the 20th century appeared to be a time of hope as people around the world that "we can all love one another" (whatever that means?). It would appear not... Or at least not without some other underlying impetus/source beyond the fictitious "I'm a good person" idea. Research has been cited in the past few days showing what most of us have discovered and are daring to admit - that we do look suspiciously at people with a different colour of skin, even though we know it is wrong to judge solely on that basis. That we do fear that most Islamic people are terrorists, even though we know better in our moment of sanity. Just as the cultural mindset of North America (and arguably the rest of the world) was rapidly affirming that "tolerance is the greatest virtue" we were jolted back into the reality that every belief system is not "similar" and every culture/religion is not morally good or even morally neutral. Any culture or religion is by its very nature "discriminatory."

To be continued...

Leading on the Edge

Sorry I've been away from blogging for so long. With the start of another academic year, its always crazy... and always exciting! Life in Three Hills could be pretty boring with PBI students.

Yesterday (LabourDay) the big news - other than that the Calgary Stampeders trounced the Edmonton Eskimos in the annual Labour Day Classic! - was that Steve Irwin, aka "The Crocodile Hunter" died in a freak accident while shooting a special new series of his famous television show. And as I thought about that news item, it did bring me back to the theme of leading on the edge of danger or leading in treacherous waters. One book that I found helpful over the last year on this topic was Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky's Leadership on the Line (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2002).

While anyone in leadership will experience critical/dangerous situations in which the outcome can literally hinge or one or two crucial decisions, I would also suggest that for a Christian leader, the element of the spiritual battle cannot be overlooked as a part of steering an organization in turbulent times. Throughout the Gospels and the rest of the NT, followers of Jesus were warned to be alert spiritually and to pray in order to deal wisely in decision making.

Tiger and the Blue Jays

Sorry I have not been blogging as regularly as one should in recent days. Three quick things to check-in on today.

1) The main reason I have not blogged in a while is because I am in the midst of teaching Introduction to Biblical Interpretation to 17 students, all female, enrolled in the new Prairie College of Applied Arts & Technology, specifically the Practical Nurse and Early Childhood Education programs. Feel free to look at the course website.

2) Tiger Woods was simply amazing in winning the 88th PGA Championship last weekend. It was too bad that Mike Weir (the good Canadian boy) faded at the end to finish sixth. It appears Tiger is back "in the zone" and "on his game." An interesting life and leadership lesson that as great a golfer as he was 4-7 years ago, he had to adjust some things technically in terms of his golf game and adjust to some new life situations (eg. marriage, the recent passing away of his father). Some critics that he was done and that he was foolish to mess with his golf game when he was already such a good/great player. Yet to go from good/great to truly be the greatest golfer of all time - something that seems almost certain having just won his 12th major tournament - Tiger had to go through some criticism and difficult days of transition in order to get to where he is today.

3) The Toronto Blue Jays - Just when you think they may be coming out of a slump and ready to make one last push, another "gong show" happens and you know that this team cannot get to the top until the internal "whatever" is settled. Whatever happened last night between pitcher Ted Lilly and manager John Gibbons, both on the mound and afterwards down the hallway of the dugout, was another incident where the Jays clubhouse is significantly hindering a talented team from giving the Yankees and Red Sox a serious run. The Vernon Wells "will he stay in Toronto?" situation has also been simmering for a few weeks and will likely blow soon. My opinion is that the problem goes higher up than the players and manager and goes right to JP Riccardi, the GM. You gotta have the whole team pulling together or it will pull everything apart - even the good stuff!

Interesting Research Report

An interesting report from the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University Bloomington recently released and noted in the Chronicle of Higher Education. One of the key findings is that "historically underserved students benefit more from engaging in these activities [activities related to the National Survey of Student Engagement] than white students in terms of earning higher grades and persisting to the second year of college."

Although diversity is not nearly as "hot" a topic in Canadian post-secondary institutions as it is in our sister schools in the USA (let's not get into a discussion of those reasons), student engagement activities influence on college persistence in general and ways of improving success for students of diverse social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds, specifically, are both areas of interest. Even more specifically, Bible colleges and other Christian colleges and universities are often further behind in recognizing and addressing issues of diversity - something that simply should not be. (Don't get me started on this rant!) And so are most of our evangelical churches in North America.

But... its less hard work and less time consuming to keep the 95% majority of Caucasians happy than to really make significant change that actual reflects what we teach/preach. And after all, leadership is supposed to be easy and relaxing, right?

Almost Ready to Go

After a nice long weekend - Monday was "Heritage Day" here in Alberta - I am starting to get excited about the first class beginning next Monday, August 14th. I will have the great pleasure of teaching the PCAAT students Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, a course I've taught about five times and really enjoy.

And it is such an important course, if I do say so myself. Over the summer one gets to visit other congregations and observe different styles of worship, including music, sermon, etc. Without mentioning the name of the church, there was one community of believers I visited twice and I would suggest that the "sermons" were quite lacking in Biblical interpretation and/or exposition. Not that I'm perfect in my preaching/exposition or that I believe a sermon has to have the proverbial "three points and a poem," but some of the messages I've heard in the past few weeks were certainly unique and interesting explanations of the passages/principles. Its one thing to use Scripture as a jumping off point for a sermon/topic - and that's still pretty weak - but these well-meaning servants of God read the Scripture but the topic of their homily really didn't connect at all to the passage allegedly being explored.

I've revised my Prairie instructor web page so if anyone would like to check out the course info, it will be regularly updated in the next few days.

Enjoying incredible gifts from God

Borrowed a John Piper book ("Don't Waste Your Life") from Pastor Tim and have started to read through it over the past week. So far, not much new in the book if one has already read Piper's classic "Desiring God" book. Talks about "the purpose of a human life is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever." However, that theme's been on my mind a lot the last few days since my girlfriend and I were out last weekend on a trip to see her grandparents.

Note: Thanks to twinkiefann on the Prairie Geek's xanga blogring for "breaking the news" for the Prairie communmity in his July 24/06 posting! And thanks to various ones who also reported an "I saw them too". The beautiful woman I am dating is Sarah Hunt. She is a PBC class of 2000 alumnus, but she doesn't recognize many of the Prairie Geek's bloggers (and you may not recognize her) as she was serving as a teacher and dorm-parent in India the past four years.

Anyway, back to the topic of today's blog. As we were driving through the mountains, listening to various CD's - Casting Crowns, Worship Together, Bebo Norman, etc - there were just an incredible number of those "moments." Moments when all I can do is praise God for His amazing grace and kindness that allows me to sing praise to Him in the midst of His marvellous creation, with an incredible woman I deeply appreciate and care for - who also is enjoying the incredibleness of the moment.

PS For those of you wondering if someone has hacked through blogspot and somehow typed this mushy-gushy stuff and posted it as Dr Steve's (Ibbotson), it REALLY IS ME! A whole new part of life is opening up... and its scary and wonderful all at the same time! Thanks to the Prairie community, in Three Hills and online, for your incredible encouragement and enthusiasm for us. Its actually a real blessing to have sooo many people "excited" about us dating.

Does blogging hurt your career?

Great new article in today's The Chronicle of Higher Education.
(Obviously I'm hoping the answer is no.)

Back from vacation

I'm back from my vacation and while I was away the following things related to life and leadership happened:

1) My first blog posting regarding the New York Islanders unraveled into a typical Mike Milbury mess. Neil Smith, an experienced GM was fired less than a month after being hired. Pat LaFontaine resigned in frustration. And finally goaltender Garth Snow - an average goaltender at best, especially with the NHL enforcing the rules about the size of goalie equipment - retires and is named the GM. I'm beginning to understand how Mike Milbury has survived so long... and the reason is Charles Wang (team owner) is even crazier than him. And here I thought there was hope for the Isles.

2) The Calgary Flames General Manager Darryl Sutter stepped out of the head coaching duties and turned them over to Jim Playfair, formerly the Associate Head Coach. Good leaders plan for their succession.

3) The Toronto Blue Jays dealt with an interesting "in-the-clubhouse" situation which resulted in Shea Hillenbrand (1B/3B/DH) being dealt to the SF Giants. I'm not totally convinced that Hillenbrand was all in the wrong or that manager John Gibbons was totally in the right, but when I heard catcher Greg Zaun's full explanation on TSN last Thursday (July 20), I was quite impressed with the full story. And the fact that the Jays just beat the Yankees 3 out of 4 may speak for the resolved unity of the team.

On Vacation

Probably won't be (m)any blogs in the month of July as I am on vacation. Yes, I'm checking my email sporadically but I really am going to try to do NO work from June 30-July 23 - and for those of you who know me, to not to "something productive" is quite a challenge. But, a leader knows s/he needs to rest, re-charge the batteries, and bring some balance to life.

Ultimate Temper Tantrum

If you have not yet seen the 3-minute temper tantrum of Asheville Tourists manager Joe Mikulik in arguing the umpire's call, you can watch it at the Major League Baseball website.
Admittedly it is less-than-commendable that this temper tantrum has been replayed on every sports show in the last 48 hours (and I'm not suggesting that blogging about the incident is somehow commendable either!).

It was truly the Ultimate Tamper Tantrum - the "best" of Billy Martin & Lou Pinella plus some unique Mikulik additions all at once. Yet what message does this send to children who's parents tell them not to throw a temper tantrum? to young people who can't get what they want, whether because of "mean parents" or "old-fashioned teachers" or ....? It is any wonder that any "authority" is a joke for most adults when we cheer and laugh for behavior like this? And that anyone who calls her/himself a leader is perceived as a hypocrite or soon-to-be-hypocrite?

Please don't take this as some moral condemnation of Mikulik. I've watched the replays at least three times and laughed each time. And I've had my share of frustrations at referees and expressed that in various forms. But I'm smart enough (I think!) to realize that this is not an "acceptable human reaction" to life not going your way.

A leader needs to...
1) be able to express frustration in an appropriate time and place,
2) stand up for the team if s/he feels they are being treated injustly,
3) Do so in a way where the team is improved and grows - not in such a way that the leader becomes "the show."

Thanks Joe Mikulik for reminding me (us?) of this!

Chronicle of Higher Ed Article

Since its Friday, I generally like to check The Chronicle of Higher Education website. In today's Chronicle Review there's a very challenging article by Randall Balmer on evangelicalism in 21st century America.

Joy of Interviews

Over the past few weeks, I have had the joy of being a part of some interviews for different positions here at Prairie Bible College. Our motto here at Prairie is "Building a Passionate Body of Christ" - and as I am privileged to be a part of these interviews it truly gives one a sense of amazement at the uniqueness that each member of the Body of Christ contributes to the whole. I have watched colleagues ask interview questions and learned things about myself - both positive traits and areas of weakness that probably others see in me but I have a "blind spot." I have also seen brothers and sisters seeking the Lord about the possibility of joining us at Prairie and its amazing how God opens doors, closes doors, leads people to work together for His Kingdom. My suspicion is that some people might think sitting in on interviews would be a rather tedious part of a faculty member's job. In fact, it is a blessing! And another way the Lord gives to appreciate the diversity of the Body of Christ.

Father's Day Posting

Since Sunday (June 18) is Father's Day, I thought it would be appropriate to post a brief blog thanking God for my earthly father, John Ibbotson, today. Every once in a while, people tell me that there's some resemblance between me and my dad - either in appearance, sound of our voice, a mannerism, etc. I usually find that to be quite surprising...and yet a compliment also. This brief reflection won't contain anything profound or amazing, but its a brief "thank you" to God for the dad I have been blessed with.

Thanks Lord for a dad who encourages me in whatever I do (attempt) and is there to help pick up the pieces when I make mistakes. And I can't actually ever recall him saying "I told you so." (Of course, I don't give many opportunites for that to happen - but I guess that's another indication of the good dad he was/is!) Thanks for a dad who helped me be/come who You wanted me to be, not what he might have thought was nice or made him look good. Thanks for a dad who encouraged my interests, even when they weren't always his. Thanks for a dad who was ALWAYS in full-time Christian ministry (pastor, missionary, Bible college teacher) and yet never made me feel that his position was hindering me, financially, spiritually, emotionally, etc. In fact, my desire to live/teach in the same Christian community that I was raised in and work for the same Bible college my dad has worked for the past 20 years is because his work/ministry was such a GOOD part of my growing up life. Thanks for a dad who loved his wife, my mom, too! And for encouraging mom to be who God made her to be and encouraged her to use her gifts for the Kingdom too. I probably wouldn't have such "liberal" views on the place of women in ministry/leadership if my dad hadn't been so right in encouraging mom to use her gifts! And thanks for a dad who was willing to apologize when he needed to - and that wasn't very often or for very "significant" matters. And thanks mostly for a dad who loved Jesus and always sought to follow His will first. That's a gift very few young men have today.

Reading on Ministry Leadership

Doing some reading these days on various aspects of leadership and ministry.
1) Read a great piece at the Christianity Today blog "Out of Ur" discussing Christian leadership lessons from George W. Bush
2) Just started reading a book titled 7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley and his associates at North Point Community Church (Multnomah, 2004). It started with a great baseball story too so...

Rebirth of the Islanders

Yesterday the New York Islanders provided some pretty good leadership lessons in the hiring of Neil Smith (GM), Ted Nolan (coach), Bryan Trottier and Pat LaFontaine. My dear brother, Tim, may actually have something to cheer about as an Islanders fan after years of frustration. Congratulations to co-owner Charles Wang for providing us with a few leadership lessons:
1) They connected their future to their past - Smith began his NHL managerial development with the Islanders under Bill Torrey and Al Arbour and he made a point in the press conference of noting that taking on the GM job was in a sense the "full circle." Smith did what was necessary to get the Rangers to a Stanley Cup team just over a decade ago and so he has proven successful. Obviously Trottier & LaFontaine's connections to the team and their success of the late 70's and early 80's speaks for itself. Trottier was also successful as a player and assistant coach in Pittsburgh. All three of these guys made it clear that they want to see the future Islanders achieve a level of greatness comparable to the past.
2) Dangerous Diversity - While still connecting to their organizational past, the Islanders have taken a significant risk, in some hockey people's minds, in hiring Ted Nolan as their head coach. As Don Cherry recently commented on Coach's Corner, Nolan was having a hard time finding an NHL job because he is a "hard guy to fire." Credit Wang with taking a calculated and strategic risk. BTW, I seriously doubt that Neil Smith was not supportive of Nolan's hiring as head coach (as some are speculating) or he would not have taken on the GM position.
3) Admitted past failures - Although not directly spoken of by Wang and answered very politely by Nolan, the Islanders as an organization admitted a handful of errors in their announcement yesterday. Nolan interviewed for the coach's job three years ago and was not chosen - and the Islanders have blundered along as they were before since then. Likewise, by bringing in Smith along with Trottier and LaFontaine as "special consultants," it seems they have finally put the reigns on Mike Milbury, even though he maintains a position with Wang's Sports Industries organization. (Why anyone would keep Mike Milbury around at all in a sports organization after his track record the past decade is a mystery).

A once proud and successful organization which had languished in mediocrity and chaos for years appears to be on its way to being restored to a new level of glory.