Leah Rade

The 1976 Cincinnati Reds

According to a book that I picked up during my visit to Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago, the 1976 Cincinnati Reds team is considered to be the strongest team...ever.  So, what made this World Series-winning team so great?  I have a couple of thoughts, since this is the team that I cheered for; listened to almost every game; and memorized every statistic for every player.

• Most of the team members were future Hall-of-Famers and each member recognized and valued the contributions from each strong member.
• They valued and protected team unity. (Many team members are great friends today.)
• The entire team exuded positive energy which created incredible enthusiasm amongst the fans.

I am so thankful that I got to experience this great team first-hand. - Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Davie Concepcion, Dan Driessen,  Ken Griffey, Sr., Don Gullet, Tom Seaver & Manager Sparky Anderson

Saying "Yes" To God, Pt. 3

I'm totally pumped after a great staff retreat!  Honestly, I'm scared too, but in a good way, or should I say...a God way!  I'm continuing to discover that saying "Yes" to God means that we let go of that place of comfortable circumstances, a safe place seemingly under our control; to a place where we have to fully rely on Him. 

Today, our staff collectively said "Yes" to God.  We said "Yes" to considering new ways of accomplishing our mission.  We said "Yes" to letting go of some things.  We said "Yes" to fully utilizing our gifts and talents.  We said "Yes" to relinquishing our control.  We said "Yes" to the disruption of our comfort zones.  In saying "Yes" to God, we're allowing Him to give us more of Himself. 

Saying "Yes" is scary because  we open ourselves to whatever God wants to do in us and through us.  Tonight, I found strength in Psalm 73:23-26 to shout "Yes!!" and trust God completely, knowing that He holds our hands and is guiding us.

NHC'ers, God has a great adventure ahead...and it will be disruptive.  It will require us to fully rely on God.  It will require us to bring our best in order to be fully utilized by Him to accomplish His mission.  It will require us to step out of our comfort zone.   It will require us to put complete trust in Him.  So here's the question?  Will you say "Yes!"?  Call me at the church office.  I'd love to talk with you.

TEAM!

As I've reflected on our Easter gatherings, I can't help but focus my thoughts on the synergy and energy of our teams!  Our NHC mission is to help people encounter God and engage in community and yesterday...Together Everyone Achieved Mission!  And, our mission has just begun!  If you served this weekend, you know how much joy you're feeling today knowing that you helped make a difference in so many lives.  You know how close you feel to God because you understand that it's not about you, but about our unchurched friends and family, who may have come to church yesterday for the very first time.  It is an incredible privilege to serve with all of you and I love you all.

So how do we sustain this momentum?  The Apostle Paul says it better than I can and I've chosen this passage as my primary focus this year:

Does your life in Christ give you strength? Does his love comfort you? Do we share together in the spirit? Do you have mercy and kindness? If so, make me very happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and having one mind and purpose. When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide. Instead, be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves. Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others.  Philippians 2:1-4

"Top 10 Ways To Fail As A Team Leader"

At lunch today I had the opportunity to peruse the new REV Magazine and one article in particular really hit home for a couple of reasons.  First, I've been on some teams led by really poor leaders...not at NHC, of course (you can sigh now Dave).  And,...in my early leading days, I exhibited at least one of the poor leadership traits listed below.  Ouch! 

According to REV, these are the top 10 ways to fail as a team leader (my commentary is italicized).

1. Fill your team with people just like you.  (How boring is that?!  Scary thought...more than one Leah on a team...aaaah)
2. Ask someone to do a specific job, and then go do it yourself.  (Now that exhibits confidence in your team member, for sure.  This is one that I learned my lesson on.)
   
3. Don't trust anyone.  (Really, really builds confidence in your team member...hmmmm.)
4. Look out for #1.  (Corny, but there's no "I" in team.  I warned you it was corny...true, but corny)
5. Exercise high control.  (I'm sure that unleashes creativity and fosters ownership within team members...yawn)
6. Make sure all ideas originate with you.   (Just in case you're not exercising too much control, rely on this one as a backup.)
7. Foster an atmosphere of paranoia.  (Intimidation really builds a team...yeah, right.)
8. Make sure nobody appears smarter than you are.  (That's a new one.  I thought I just had to know people with the right answers, instead of knowing the right answers...oh, well.)
9. Have a closed-door policy.  (How can you listen when you don't let anybody in to talk to you?)
10. Conserve affirmation.  (Oh, no...now I've even screwed up my kids.  I taught them "magic words" - "please" and "THANK YOU".)

I'm sure that you've experienced a leader or two who have led by using some of the tactics listed above.  What are some other characteristics of a "failure" leader?

A Strong Team, Pt. 1

Only when vision is caught and shared by everyone, can there be a strong team.  When everyone on the team possesses the same heart and passion, they move in the same direction with unstoppable movement and the power to overcome every problem.  The Apostle Paul understood the power of a church in alignment when he wrote to the church at Philippi, "Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose." Philippians 2:2.

For me, this video illustrates the power of alignment, when every team member is working together to acheive the same goal.

Together

Several years ago, after our son was born, I was, well let's just say I had some baby fat to shed.  I tried dieting, but the weight wouldn't come off.  It wasn't until my neighbor invited me to start walking daily with her, that I lost lover 50 pounds in 11 months.

As Sherry and I walked our 3+ miles each day, we frequently commented about how fast the time flew because we just enjoyed being together, making the walking a joy rather than a chore.  On those occasions when Sherry was on vacation and I walked alone, it was amazing how much of a chore walking became when I was walking alone.  In fact, it was easy for me to make excuses not to walk, until she returned.

It's the same with ministry.  When Jesus sent out his twelve disciples, he sent them out in pairs.    Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. Mark 6:7.  Let's not forget that it is God's intention that we minister together.  Join a serving team.  It's a joy, not a job when you serve together.

The Perfect Day

Today has been the perfect day, a balance of left brain and right brain stimulation.  I spent most of my day at NHC finalizing the implementation plan of a new web-based church management solution, which will enable us to care for people more effectively, manage resources more efficiently, eliminate missed opportunities, integrate all of our systems and enable real growth.  Wow!  To say that I'm "psyched" is a real understatement.

The renovations in the family ministry areas are well underway and are nearing completion.  These new environments are exciting and extremely functional.  Great job Mark and Adam!  And major props to your volunteers!  I just love serving with these guys.

Tonight I spent the evening with 30 of the most creative and interesting artists living & working in Orange County.  My passion for good art is only surpassed by my passion to assist the artists.  The Orange County Arts Commission sponsors free quarterly professional development opportunities for artists and tonight I participated on a panel discussing the topic of time management.  The presentations were well received and everyone enjoyed the hour-long discussion following our presentations.

My daughter Alana, who loves to shop (she didn't get that from me) did the weekly grocery shopping while Mike and I were in Carrboro tonight.

I just spoke with Chris Gilham, our Janitorial Team Leader, who along with 5 other volunteers are spending the entire night at the church (happily too), stripping and waxing the over 4000 sq. ft. lobby.  He had just ordered pizza when he touched base and sounded like they were having a party. Hey that's what happens when you serve God with others...it's a party.  Thanks guys, you're the best!

Life is good!

Sacrifice & Significance

The past two days have been a whirlwind, beginning last night with our daughter's graduation from AmeriCorps.  Upon Alana's graduation from UNC-Asheville last year, she told us that she was very compelled to serve for one year on an AmeriCorps team.  She applied, was accepted and began serving last August.

I have to admit that until last night I did not have a clear understanding of AmeriCorps or the sacrifice that was made by all eighteen of Alana's teammates.  All I knew was that Alana appeared to have more purpose and joy than ever, which must have made up for the fact that AmeriCorps pays a "living stipend" of only $800.00/month.  After listening to the emotional testimonies given by each of the supervisors, describing the passion, sacrifices and exemplary dedication of each team member, I found myself very humbled.

Hearing these testimonies, I found myself thinking how familiar the story sounded, almost as if they were describing the church found in Acts, chapter 2.  I have never witnessed more passion for a mission, more unity, or more dedication than I experienced from this group last night.  In fact, I am still processing my experience to gain insight as to how this group of very diverse individuals, coming together from all over the US, accomplished the daunting task of making a day-to-day difference in the lives of 492 under-resourced kids in the western part of our state (mostly middle schoolers).

This team, comprised of people from varied backgrounds, aged 20-50; many coming from other states, joined together for one year, making incredible sacrifices in order that a group of children (that they didn't even know) could understand they mattered....to someone.

What is so impressive is that these 19 people understood they couldn't accomplish the mission on their own, so together they recruited and trained over 550 other volunteers from the area to assist them.  My tears started flowing when I heard story after story about how the team members would talk with great passion about the kids, telling potential volunteers, "We're starting a homework club in a tough public housing project for middle schoolers, with no money or resources, but lots of love and passion...and we need your help.  By the way, we need you to be consistent each day from 3-6 PM and probably some Saturdays too."  To my amazement, there were too many volunteers for this particular club and some volunteers were diverted to other programs.

The program director provided incredible statistics too.  Using a formula, the volunteer man-hours donated by the 550 volunteers were calculated to be worth over $220,000.000.  Yep, almost 1/4 million dollars.

I am still wowed by what I experienced last night and will continue to process my thoughts through this venue, as I uncover leadership and team-building secrets revealed through 19 people with passion & focus unlike I've ever experienced.