Learning from Leaders - Dan Schaffer

Teaching, Leading and Reproducing

It was the second week of September, 1994. I had been on the staff of Promise Keepers for all of two weeks. I sat with Doc Reed listening to one of the founders of Promise Keepers. He was one of those unassuming guys that when you first met you did not quite know how to take him. Although it was over 15 years ago, I could take you back to the Chinese restaurant and to the exact spot we were seated.

Dan was the Director of Training for PK; and as I sat and listened to him, I realized that very little of what he was saying was about PK. He was sharing a clear strategy for building men. It became very clear then and has only been reinforced in the years following that God birthed in Dan a “to die for” passion to see men transformed as spiritually reproducing fathers.

I could hardly keep up with what he was sharing--not because he was speaking in a foreign language or the subject was so complicated. I had never really heard a man speak so clearly about real manhood. The best part was that it was not men against anything but, it was men for God.

Then he hit us with the statement--the one statement that grabs you so hard that you have to just stop and have it repeated. It is not a statement that requires a follow-on sentence to help you understand. No, this statement was clear and required no further explanation.

Dan simply said to Doc and I, “You can’t teach what you don’t know. You can’t lead where you won’t go. You only reproduce what you are.”

In one sentence Dan changed the landscape of men’s ministry for me. I was all excited about what I could do as a Regional Director for the largest growing men’s movement in the world. Dan made it personal. Men’s ministry was more about who I am and not what I intend to do. When I focus on what I will do, it is about me. When I focus on who I am, it becomes all about God.

Hardly a month goes by where I do not quote Dan. Over the years, Dan has become one of my best friends. We have learned to go “toe to toe” and grow stronger. He and his wife, Jan, are important parts of mine and Billie’s lives.

Dan has not changed since we first met. His ongoing passion is to grow strong, maturing, and reproducing spiritual fathers. After his days at PK where God used him mightily, Dan was led to launch a new ministry, Building Brothers (www.buildingbrothers.org). Dan is still doing what God created him to do.

The “takeaway” from my years with Dan is simple--we are all going to reproduce something in everyone we meet. I must put my energies into becoming the man God created me to be, and God will allow me to reproduce that part of Him into others.

Learning from Leaders - - - Pastor Andy Addis

Sustainable Pace

Last month I was with our son at the health club he manages in Hutchinson, KS. Chad arranged for one of his top personal trainers to spend some time with me and walk me through some training that I could do at home or on the road.
You can check out Genesis at http://www.genesishealthclubs.com/

Joe asked me what outcomes I wanted from my training. I thought for a moment and responded that I need “strength, agility, speed and endurance.” Other than that I felt I was doing pretty well. Over the course of the next hour, Joe helped me understand some key principles; and he helped me with some specific exercises that I can use anywhere.

The following day, I met with one of my heroes, Pastor Andy Addis. If you follow my blog, Facebook© or Twitter©, Andy’s name is not new to you. I have known him for several years and look forward to every occasion we can get some time together. As a Senior Pastor, he is one of the leading thinkers and practitioners of InterGenerational ministry, as well as multi-site churches. Every time Andy and I sit down for any amount of time, I usually leave with pages of notes.

As a “side-bar,” Andy is over 20 years younger than I am; and he is one who teaches me. I say that for the older guys who are not taking the time to really listen and learn from younger men and women.

Now to the bottom line-- As Andy and I talked, I asked him what he had been learning in the time since we had last seen each other. He stated three things. One, however, was the game-winning homerun.

He told me that he must maintain a “sustainable pace.” The moment Andy let the words go; I went back to my training session with Joe. I need “strength, agility, speed and endurance” and a sustainable pace.

That does not mean that there are not periods of increased or high intensity. It means that as I seek to run the race God has set for me, there are days I need to run and on others I need to walk. There are days that are sprints and others that are a steady pace. Yet, over time, the entire pace must be sustainable.

Life, especially our spiritual life, requires “strength, agility, speed and endurance” and a “sustainable pace.” You would think that a guy my age would have this pretty well mastered. Not so -- but I am working on it.

Thank you Andy -- See you soon!

Check out Andy Addis and his messages at his blog http://www.crosseyedlife.com/
and website -- http://www.andyaddis.com/

Learning from Leaders - - - Steve Spicer

Increased Capacity and Stronger Boundaries

Several weeks ago I met with one of my close friends. Steve Spicer and I have been meeting for several years on a regular basis. He is one the many men who I feel that I always get more than I am able to give. Steve is one of my heroes. He is balancing a full-time position in the work place and leading a vibrant and life changing ministry. You can check out his ministry Marked Men for Christ at http://www.markedmenforchrist.org/

Our conversations are always intense. We have a tendency to put everything on the table and then wrestle for God’s best for each of us.

This was the core issue last time we met. Steve said that he wanted God to give him increased capacity. I also would ask for that. As we discussed the issue we also acknowledged that we were doing about what we could in the natural. To increase our pace and effectiveness without giving up other very important issues such as family and church, we needed God to move in the super-natural.

As we discussed the issue I realized that for me (and probably for Steve) we needed God to give us stronger boundaries for the increased capacity.

I thought of it in this manner. Certain containers are made of paper and they have the capacity to hold a certain weight without breaking. If that container were to be made of a stronger material such as cardboard it could hold much heavier amounts. It seemed to me that we have a capacity and we are asking God to let us hold more.

In that same line of thought, if our container were made of steel, we could really hold some weight without breaking or coming apart.

Steve and I agreed that we would pray for each other for increased capacity and for God to strengthen the container or give us stronger boundaries. There are times when it seems that we are asking God for more in volume but the issue is that God is waiting to give us more in density or weight.

Simply put….there are still just 24 hours in a day. Even though I often say and try to live like there are 36. I am not asking God to give me more hours. I want to be more effective with the hours I have been given.

So for me and Steve……Increased capacity must be accompanied by stronger boundaries.

Quit Trying to Pass On Your Faith

For as long as I can remember this phrase has been shared by many to parents and church members. I have come to believe that although well intended, we are missing the point and failing miserably.

At conferences and seminars across the country, I have shared this illustration. Imagine if I would have taken my two sons to my closet when they were young men and ready to take on the world and with great pride presented to them my old wardrobe. There before them would be my clothes from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s and also from 2000 on. But it gets better. Not onely do I show them this vast array of incredible clothing, I tell them that it is all for them now. Wear everything proudly.

There would be a moment of silence. They would look at each other as if to say, “You tell him.” Them one of the would begin by saying, “Dad, we love you.” They would get that out first. But then they would say, “Dad, these things don’t fit us. They are not our size or style. They are not comfortable and really, dad, we would never wear any of these things.” I think they would finish by saying, “Dad, we love you. Really your heart is right. Your head may be a little messed up but your heart is right.”

This story seems funny to most of us. We cannot imagine doing this to our kids or to ourselves. The only place this really happens is in our churches. We have this archaic notion that we must pass on our faith as if it is an old garment that they would love to have for their own.

We must change our mindset and our approach to faith with our children. Our responsibility is not to pass on our faith. Our responsibility is to create a safe place for our children to develop their own faith. Like wardrobes, faith may look different generation after generation. Yes, just as with clothing we must teach some basics. One of the things in life today that breaks my heart is Christian men who let their daughters dress like “hookers” and think it is cute or there is nothing they can do about the situation. That is a major problem and another story.

Our homes and churches must be safe places for our children and others to develop their own faith. One of the reasons that many young of our sons and daughters walk away from church when they are way from home is because they are never given the opportunity to grow their own faith. They operate on their parent’s faith and when they leave home they cast it aside with many other things.

Finally, the greatest problem with this idea of passing on my faith is that I do not have enough faith and I am not done with what faith I have. Not only do I need what I have, I need to grow it stronger.

If we want to help our children, new believers or anyone grow stronger, we must quit thinking that we have the best and only answer and naively believe that without our faith they cannot live.

Maybe the answer is not passing on our faith to them but helping them see Jesus for themselves. Maybe, just maybe we need to live a life that lets them see Jesus in us.

One of the greatest gift one generation can give another is to create a safe place for each generation to know Christ personally grow their own faith that fits them where they live, work and play.

When Warriors are Called

He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also were called together to follow him; and he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulon, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet them. Judges 6:35 (NAS)

This past Sunday morning my good friend Ray Morgan went to the Emergency Room of his local hospital. He had been pretty sick for several days and could not seem to get rid of a fever. After several hours in the ER, he was admitted and as of this morning was still hospitalized.

This is not a commentary on his medical condition or the medical treatment he has (or has not) received. It is really about the importance of friends and warriors who are willing to battle for and with us in this life.

After I talked to Ray on Sunday, I began to notify friends and warriors using the various means I have available. These means included Facebook, Twitter and then just sending out text messages, as well as utilizing our ministry prayer network.

In a very short time, the battle was being fought by warriors across the country and around the world. Literally within minutes, responses came back to me from men and women everywhere to let Ray know that they were praying.

Then I began to see a picture. I am a big fan of Gideon. There are a lot of reasons. When Gideon caught the vision of what God had called him to do, he sent out a call for warriors. We know that the Bible records that 32,000 responded to the call. The bible states that, “He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, and they also were called together to follow him; and he sent messengers to Asher, Zebulon, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet them.”

He Sent messengers. He clearly did not have the tools available that we have today to stay connected. Yet, 32,000 responded to his messengers.

By Monday, I had this picture in my heart of the 32,000 warriors gathered spiritually to fight for and with Ray. Some came because I asked them to be there. Many more came because they know Ray and he has impacted their lives. Others came because friends asked them to come. All in all, warriors around the world have responded.

We all need warriors around us. We must do the things necessary in our lives to develop relationships that can be counted on to respond when the messengers are sent out.

I just spoke with Ray and he seems to be getting much better. He is still hospitalized and not sure when he will be released. He also knows that he has warriors fighting as his side for him and with him.

As for me, I am so blessed to know that there are far more warriors out there than the enemy wants to acknowledge. Frankly, this is so cool!