Three Critical Traits To Be a Successful CEO

Leaders today need to be at home navigating a ship through 40-foot waves — oceans that will never again be serene — and still be able to guide their crew safely from port to port. They must remain highly effective in an environment of extraordinary, ongoing stress.  In researching their new book, Better Under Pressure, the writers sought to identify the qualities that define leaders who excel in this environment of duress.  To perform their best in today’s turbulent atmosphere, leaders must possess this highly unusual set of three traits that often run counter to natural human behavior. These attributes are catalysts for the mastery displayed by the world’s best CEOs — and, together, they add up to a new definition of leadership:

  1. Realistic optimism. Leaders with this trait possess confidence without self-delusion or irrationality. They pursue audacious goals, which others would typically view as impossible pipedreams, while at the same time remaining aware of the magnitude of the challenges confronting them and the difficulties that lie ahead.
  2.  

  3. Subservience to purpose. Leaders with this ability see their professional goal as so profound in importance that their lives become measured in value by how much they contribute to furthering that goal. What is more, they must be pursuing a professional goal in order to feel a purpose for living. In essence, that goal is their master and their reason for being. They do not ruminate about their purpose, because their mind finds satisfaction in its occupation with their goal. Their level of dedication to their work is a direct result of the extraordinary, remarkable importance they place on their goal.
  4.  

  5. Finding order in chaos. Leaders with this trait find taking on multidimensional problems invigorating, and their ability to bring clarity to quandaries that baffle others makes their contributions invaluable.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE

Mark Driscoll in Chicago – April 1-2, 2011

Mark Driscoll is coming to Chicago April 1-2, 2011 to Harvest Bible Chapel – here’s the conference’s pitch:

How is your love life? Think it could or should be better? Married? Single? College Student? No other area of our life impacts our quality of life more than this one. It can lead us to the best of times and for many of us it has lead to the worst of times.  The LoveLife Conference is a 6 hour investment into your present situation, your future and truly even your kids and grandkids. One of if not the most important role we can play with our kids is giving them a happy and well adjusted home, and that starts with a healthly marriage. An ounce of prevention is most certainly worth more than a pound of cure. LoveLife features best selling author, Pastor and International Christian Leader Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. With The Bible, primarily the Old Testament book of Song of Solomon, as Pastor Mark’s guide, he will teach us with humor, candidness and grace, God’s design for Love, Dating, Marriage and Sexuality.

LoveLife will also help with these key areas:

  • Attract and become the right kind of a person
  • How to Date and then moving towards a serious relationship
  • The Gift of Intimacy and Sex, and why and how it can be such a blessing or such a struggle
  • How to fight, because we all do, and how to grow closer through fight, not build a bigger wall between us
  • Romancing our spouse after years, fighting boredom and “this is as good as it’s going to get” pitfall
  • Commitment and why it is God’s desire and command, and why it is the most satisfying, simple and fulfilling model ever

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Phil Vischer is back with “What’s in the Bible” DVDs

What’s in the Bible? is a new DVD series from VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer designed to walk kids and families through the entire Bible. The 13 DVD-series will release beginning March 1, 2010.  Most will remember that in 1990, 24-year-old computer-animator Phil Vischer who was attending Park Community Church, sat down with Mike Nawrocki to create a group of characters that could teach Christian values to kids in a delightfully different way. A tomato named Bob and a cucumber named Larry were born. VeggieTales would go on to revolutionize Christian filmmaking, selling more than 50 million videos [Read more...]

10 Secrets to Business Success

10 Secrets to Business Success

Investor’s Business Daily has spent years analyzing leaders and successful people in all walks of life. Most have 10 traits that, when combined, can turn dreams into reality….


1. HOW YOU THINK IS EVERYTHING: Always be positive. Think success, not failure. Beware of a negative environment.

2. DECIDE UPON YOUR TRUE DREAMS AND GOALS: Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them.

3. TAKE ACTION: Goals are nothing without action. Don’t be afraid to get started. Just do it.

4. NEVER STOP LEARNING: Go back to school or read books. Get training and acquire skills.

5. BE PERSISTENT AND WORK HARD: Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.

6. LEARN TO ANALYZE DETAILS: Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your mistakes.

7. FOCUS ON YOUR TIME AND MONEY: Don’t let other people or things distract you.

8. DON’T BE AFRAID TO INNOVATE; BE DIFFERENT; Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.

9. DEAL AND COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE EFFECTIVELY: No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others.

10. BE HONEST AND DEPENDABLE; TAKE RESPONSIBILITY: Otherwise, numbers 1 – 9 won’t matter.

Provision Theater Teams Up with Chicago Charity

Provision Theater Company has announced that in these difficult financial times, it has teamed up with the Greater Chicago Food Depository to raise money for hunger relief.  Provision Theater Company will donate $5 to the food depository for every ticket purchased using promotional code GCFD2 for it’s upcoming production of Harry Chapin’s Cotton Patch Gospel which starts Sep 12th.

“We chose to support the Greater Chicago Food Depository with this show because Harry Chapin was such an amazing humanitarian and he worked so tirelessly to help those in need,” said Managing Director Mike Schuppe.  “His fans will be able to enjoy this great show he wrote and also contribute to a cause he cared so strongly about.

Provision Theater Company opens their 2009-10 season September 12th with a bigger and bolder version of their 2004 hit production of Harry Chapin’s COTTON PATCH GOSPEL.  The season will be the first produced in their brand new theater home, located at 1001 W. Roosevelt Road in Chicago .  To celebrate the space, the theater company will host a gala reception, highlighted with a champagne toast, on Saturday, September 12; a date that also marks the official opening of the production which previews September 10 and runs through November 8.  Lou Contey will direct the production.

In March 2004, Provision Theater Company produced a Jeff nominated, critically acclaimed production of Harry Chapin’s off-Broadway smash hit COTTON PATCH GOSPEL.  The production played to packed houses and unanimous critical praise from the Chicagoland media.  The production features the reverential retelling of the Gospels of Matthew and John in a contemporary southern setting, set to bluegrass music.  The award winning musical is based on the book “The Cotton Patch Gospels of Matthew and John” by Clarence Jordan, a Bible scholar and Civil Rights activist.  Tom Key and Russel Trevz adapted Jordan ’s writings and worked with the late Harry Chapin to create this musical stage version.

Critics have raved that the show is “Tuneful, zesty and good-hearted!,” (Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune), “…this clever reworking offers a simple interpretation of familiar Bible stories and does so with a heartfelt passion laced with humor and enhanced by some darn good music!” (Mary Houlihan, Chicago Sun-Times), Provision’s breezy, bright inaugural production offers a welcome alternative to Mel Gibson’s controversial film!” (Jen Goddu, The Chicago Reader).

People can order tickets at www.provisiontheater.org or by calling 866.811.4111.  Please use promotional code GCFD2 when ordering.  The performance schedule is as follows:  Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. ($28) and Sundays at 3 p.m. ($25).  Select Wednesday and Thursday preview performances will be held at 8 p.m. ($22).  Ticket prices include free parking.

Provision Theater Company is devoted to producing works of hope, reconciliation and redemption; works that challenge us to explore a life of meaning and purpose.

In addition to the 2004 hit COTTON PATCH GOSPEL, Provision Theater Company has celebrated two more Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for their critically-acclaimed production of A CHRISTMAS CAROL.  Other highly praised and Joseph Jefferson nominated productions include: C.S. LEWIS ON STAGE, SMOKE ON THE MOUNTAIN, A CHRISTMAS MEMORY & THE THANKSGIVING VISITOR, THE BOYS NEXT DOOR, THE SPITFIRE GRILL, THE GOSPEL OF JOHN and BEAST ON THE MOON.

Chicago Free Fridays 2: How to Score Free Oprah Tickets

We have lots of visitors and guests and invariably, they all ask — “How do I get free tickets for Oprah?”  I found a great website resource for all you Chicagoans and visitors alike called Free Things to Do in Chicago .

Here is what they say about scoring Oprah tickets:

things to do in chicago One of the most popular free things to do in Chicago is to take in an Oprah taping in the West Loop at her Harpo Studios. Audience reservations for The Oprah Winfrey Show are available almost exclusively by phone. As you can imagine, demand for free Oprah tickets far exceeds supply, so you may receive a lot of busy signals before getting through to one of the audience department employees. Periodically, you may be able to request last-minute reservations via e-mail.

The Oprah Winfrey Show taping schedule: Ms. Winfrey is much too important to be tied down to a production schedule like regular talk-show hosts. Therefore, your guess is a good as anyone as to what days the show tapes. A specific list of days is given to those lucky enough to get through by phone to…………  Learn more at   Free Things to Do in Chicago

Are You Ready to Be a “Bridger”?

Occasionally, I like to highlight folks who have had great success in the marketplace but then move into the non-profit sector to use their skills and abilities to make a more significant impact on people.  They are sometimes called Bridgers—individuals whose professional experience comes wholly or primarily from for-profit companies prior to entering the nonprofit sector—and they make the switch for reasons both personal and professional.  I came across this story on Patty Stonesifer, the founding chief executive officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Stonesifer, a former senior executive at Microsoft Corp., recently stepped down as the foundation’s chief executive in August 2008.

As CEO of the foundation from its inception in 1997 until August 2008, Stonesifer led its mission to promote equity for all people around the world, setting strategic priorities, monitoring results and facilitating relationships with key partners. Stonesifer is now a senior advisor to the foundation’s trustees, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett. In addition to her continuing work with the foundation, Stonesifer recently became the chair of the Board of Regents for the Smithsonian Institution. Prior to joining the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Stonesifer had a two-decade career in technology, including eight years in senior executive roles at Microsoft Corp.

The article explores Stonesifer’s transition into the nonprofit sector as well as her subsequent role as leader of a fast-growing foundation.  Like many bridgers, Stonesifer found the no-frills, collaborative culture in the nonprofit sector a challenge at first. But she quickly saw that her new role allowed her to rediscover what she liked about being a manager: the ability to build relationships with people within and outside the organization. Her “rediscovery” also helped her tackle one of the biggest challenges in managing the fast-growing foundation: balancing the foundation’s desire to accomplish important initiatives quickly with the need to first reach consensus with all the key players affected by each initiative.

Read the Whole Article

Burma Disaster Relief: Park To Send a 10,000 gallon/day Water Purifier

As many of you are already aware, last weekend Tropical cyclone Nargis claimed thousands of lives in Myanmar early Saturday morning 2:30am. By daylight, the full effect of the storm was obvious. Homes were destroyed, giant trees crashed through buildings, and were lying uprooted, blocking roads. Blackouts, water shortages and rapidly rising prices were reported in Rangoon, a city of 5 million people. The cost of gasoline has tripled since Saturday.

International news organizations are not allowed to report from Myanmar, but the news that is trickling out is horrifying. The death toll is estimated to be at least 100,000 and another 41,000 are missing.

Jackson and the elders would like to invite you to pray right now for the people of Myanmar, especially those who have lost husbands, wives and children – and those whose loved ones are still missing. And as you sit down for your lunches and dinners this week, continue to pray for this country which is in terrific need.

We will be taking a special offering during our services the next two weeks which will go directly to relief efforts in this devastated country. Hundreds of thousands of people in Myanmar are suffering in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. They need your help, and quickly.We will provide envelopes for you to put your donations in, so please come prepared to give.

==================================================

Here is a quick update to all our readers about where Park will be redirecting its special offerings this week for relief efforts in Myanmar. There have been many questions about how relief is going to get there with the military junta not allowing aid relief workers in and seizing aid shipments. We have been working to find a relief agency that is onsite and able to get our donations and use them in a way that will get aid to the people in Myanmar as quickly as possible.

We will be collecting donations for Water Missions International based in South Carolina. They are working with World Vision, which has had a national office in Myanmar for 40 years,and Samaritan’s Purse to provide water purification units.

Our goal is to raise $15,000 to buy a water purification unit which will provide at minimum 10,000 gallons of fresh water daily to help meet immediate needs in this devastated area. Also, this unit will be part of an ongoing community development program which will continue to help provide clean water for years to come.

Water Mission International has already deployed 12 units to Myanmar as of this morning (details here) that they knew would get through. They want to be good stewards of the donated resources and ensure that needs are being met, so units will not be sent until it is confirmed that the resources will reach the people in need. World Vision is aware of the situation and will let Water Missions know when shipments can begin.

Volunteer help will be needed upon assurance that the resources will be received, so Park will be sending a team to South Carolina to help assemble the unit we provide before it is shipped to Myanmar. Details will follow.

Continue to pray for this horrific situation, for those affected, and those working to provide aid. And please come prepared to give this weekend.

If you have additional questions about Park’s response, please email Scott Clifton.

Are you part of an Expeditionary Force?

The Missional Challenge has an excellent article about the local church becoming a Expeditionary Force in the city — take a read…..

Dr. Ray Bakke describes the church as an expeditionary force in The Urban Christian (1987). He views Christians as ministers to their worlds of relationships. For example, a banker who is a Christian doesn’t simply serve at his church by teaching Sunday School or being on the Finance Committee. Instead, he would “identify a mission within the bank, perhaps running a Bible Study with his colleagues or even planning resources to help build up neglected neighborhoods.” (p 132)

Bakke sees several advantages to an urban church which sees itself as an Expeditionary Force, emphasizing its role to “go” on mission into the city:

  1. It legitimizes the call to lay mission
  2. It reaches more widely and follows the urban twenty-four-hour clock
  3. It fulfills the need of specialized urban people to affirm their personal vocations as their ministry

“In this model the pastoral task is to help these members identify, plan for and equip themselves for their diverse ministry opportunities.” (p 132)

Where are you in your vocation as a missionary force?

Can you imagine the missionary force that could be released in every town and neighborhood in America if local churches would begin to see themselves as an expeditionary force? <MORE>

Chicago Named a Top City for Hispanics

Hispanic Magazine, came out last year out with their annual Top 10 Cities for Hispanics, and Chicago ranked in the top 10 among all US cities. The magazine looked at several factors in coming up with their top 10, such as cost of living, average home cost, Hispanic population, violent crime, pollution, health insurance costs, unemployment rates, and measures of school success. Chicago was given poor marks for cost of living, but high marks for wages and for a large and active Hispanic population. The Windy City also received high marks for “diverse culture” and “wealth of arts”.

The Top 10 Cities for Hispanics: (in alphabetical order)
01. Albuquerque
02. Austin
03. Chicago
04. Dallas
05. Denver
06. Houston
07. Miami
08. Phoenix
09. San Antonio
10. Tucson

The article goes on to say that Hispanics comprise 29% percent of the overall city’s population. The City of Chicago also has an active Puerto Rican community complete with its own street (Paseo Boricua), about 3 or 4 Puerto Rican specific restaurants, and an annual parade attended by many.

Easter Creativity – God is at Work!

It’s now a week after Easter and I am checking out the blogs and news to see how God used people this Easter weekend and what drew people in to hear the Word of God on Easter. Wow! There is lots of creativity out there and that affirms that God is working His plan with the churches here in the United States and new creative thinkers are bringing the Gospel to the folks. I love God’s verse on creativity in the church — in Luke 14:23 (NASB) it says:

23“And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.

“COMPEL THEM TO COME IN” –

Here are my “Sweet Sixteen” creative teams who I found that did a lot of brainstorming, planning, hard work and execution with excellent creative ideas to COMPEL PEOPLE TO COME IN this Easter — To God be the Glory!:

1. The Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina that is just over two years old celebrated as 4,800 people showed up for services for an excellent start to a series called “Breakout” and over 500 people gave their lives to Christ! Check it out here.

2. Oak Leaf Church, less than 19 months old, did a message on TATTOO and left their mark by giving tattoos live on stage for all three services. The point of the message was that external marks are meant to point to internal life change. The point isn’t the mark, it’s the story and the meaning. In the same way, external behavior modification is never enough…what makes us Christians are our changed hearts. They were praying for 1,000 people but had 1,350 with 60 people accepting Christ (read about it here)

3. Craig Groeschel and the folks at multi-site Lifechurch.tv Started a new series on Easter and handed out fortune cookies with a note inside of them inviting people to the series entitled “The Warrior.” They placed huge barrels of fortune cookies outside and asked people to give them to their friends. More than a grand total of 31,000 people attended all 13 LifeChurch.tv campuses this Easter weekend with 479 hands raised during altar calls.

4. Scott Hodge and his team from Orchard Church in Aurora, Illinois dropped Easter eggs from a helicopter. 20,000 eggs and thousands of people (see pictures here)

5. National Community Church in DC also celebrated with 20,000 eggs and a baptism service on Saturday (read about it here)

6. Gary Lamb and the folks at Revolution Church in Canton Georgia also dropped Easter eggs from a helicopter. I love this idea from all three of these churches! Check out the story and pictures.

7. Eric Bramlett and his team in Naperville IL at Community Christian in Naperville have a really funny video as they debuted their series called “Losing My Religion” which started Easter Weekend. Check it out HERE.

8. High Desert Church in CA continued their series called “The Most Spectacular Show on Earth” and had more than 6,000 attend and over 100 people come to Christ after battling spiritual warfare with everything going wrong on their sound systems at their various locations.

9. Travis Johnson and the crew at Life Point Church in Homestead FL held a Moonlight Easter Egg Hunt (7-9pm) and had 7,000+ people show up. How creative is that idea? A moonlight Easter Egg Hunt!? They had a great turnout on Sunday with many coming from the community who attended that Easter Egg hunt.

10. Cross Point Church in Nashville had an amazing Easter at their two campuses locally (read a great letter from someone who was greatly impacted here) and at their new church start-up in the Dominican Republic. A team of 20 from Cross Point spent their week working on the church building and while the building was far from being completed, the pastor led their first service in the new church on Easter Sunday. How cool is that?

11. Check out the things Granger Community Church had people hold in their hands during the service. HERE are the pics. Read about it here and here.

12. NewSpring Church saw 12,000 people attend their services and over 120 people receive Christ (read here) and held a great service in their Man Series called “Ultimate Fighter”

13. The team at Seacoast Church launched a new campus on Easter in one of the most crime-ridden areas of the country. HERE is the story.

14. Connexus had more than 1,300 at their two compuses with some moving stories.

15. Jordan Creek Church played the Upside Down Video.

16. A worship leader in Atlanta experienced what true worship is really all about (read this moving story here)

PS…BONUS COVERAGE I just found out that Saddleback Church opened two new sites on Easter and their San Clemente site celebrated its one year anniversary! The first service of Saddleback Corona gathered 490 attenders and 43 accepted Christ. That’s almost 10 % of those who attended! The first service at Saddleback Irvine gathered 1,826 attenders and 34 accepted Christ! The service at Saddleback San Clemente (open one year) gathered 1,550 attenders and 39 accepted Christ!

5 Rules with a Mentor

As a serial entrepreneur, I love to spend time with folks who are getting their own company going. I remember the days when I was getting started and I was searching for people who knew more than me that would take time to meet with me and impart some wisdom into my situation. I tell everyone who asks — get a mentor…get someone who will help you as you grow as an entrepreneur.

I recently came across a great post by Perry Noble about the “5 Rules with a Mentor”. Here is what he said:

I have had the privilege of being mentored by some incredible leaders, some you would know, others you might not–but nonetheless, God has used them to teach me SO MUCH about life and ministry. Over the years I have developed five rules for meeting with a mentor that I would love to share here today…you may agree or disagree, all I know is that they have worked for me.

#1 – I Always Adjust To Their Schedule–ALWAYS!

When I am attempting to set up an appointment with someone I want to meet with–I always ask them (or their assistant) to throw two or three dates at me that is most convenient for them…and then I adjust my schedule to make the meeting happen. I NEVER send them the times I want and then ask them to adjust their schedules. I am the one who wants the meeting…and if they are available to me I will bend over backwards to hang out with them.

#2 – I Am Always Early For The Appointment

If I am driving from out of town I always make sure I arrive around [Read more...]

Jesus Time on Earth: 0-33 A.D.

With Abby Jill Brauhn’s passing last week, I was reminded by someone about the story of the dash that separates your birth date and the date of your death on your gravestone and it really stuck with me as I reflected on Jesus’ time on earth –

so short but so impactful and world-changing.

The story was about a man who had a revelation while sitting in a cemetery where a loved one was buried.

He looked around at all the tomb stones and he noticed how each one was very similar. Each marker told a story. It told the person’s name, their date of birth and their date of death. Some even had a brief sentence such as “A loving husband and father” which inadequately tried to describe the life of that person. The man began to think of all the untold stories contained in each tomb stone. They each told of the beginning (date of birth) followed by a dash and then the end for that person on earth; However, what happened in between? The man thought, what was in that “dash” for each of these people? Then it hit him. We all are living in our “dash” right now! That little line, that seemingly insignificant hyphen is our very significant life. Jesus came to earth for 33 years to sacrifice His life for all of our sins, yet that amount of time is so inconsequential… just 33 years.

Yet the amount of teaching, mentoring, living and loving that Jesus did during His “dash” and His dying on the cross and His Sunday resurrection changed the world forever. He lived His “dash” , His time on earth, to the fullest. Here is what Philippians 2 says Jesus did with His dash:

6Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

So, how is your dash looking? Are you truly living a life worth living in that little line between your birth date and your date of death? Remember – it is your choice! Check out this link to a moving visual poem about the ‘dash”. Click here.

If you are in Chicago, join us tonight at 7pm for our Good Friday service at Torrey-Grey Ausitorium at 840 N LaSalle Street on the Moody Bible Institute campus.

It’s Good Friday, But Sunday’s Comin!

As we sit and reflect on this Good Friday, the story of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion is one of betrayal, brutality, despair, and pain. Yet we know even before His death that redemption was promised to be coming soon. We know that the story does not end at the cross. We know what many did not realize – although it is Friday and despair ran rampant among his followers — that Sunday’s comin’ — Jesus rose from the dead, conquered death, and provided a pathway for us to have a relationship with God.  This is my FAVORITE video on Good Friday (the preacher is S.M Lockridge, who also did “That’s My King“).

YouTube Preview Image

In two days, we will celebrate Easter, rejoicing in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and recognizing what enormous sacrifice Jesus made for each one of us so that we could spend enternity in relationship with the living God.  Be reminded of this truth during Easter: God has worked, is working, and will work through all things, even now as we find ourselves awaiting his return.  This is important — please comment if you have any questions I could help you with.

Faith at Work

As I get ready to transition out of Park with the soon-to-open new ministry center, I am reflecting a lot on my new role as the CEO of a new company FanFuego.com, the leading multi-sport social network for sports fans, and my leadership style and faith at work. I came across a great article in the New York Times from a while back that looks at the issue of faith in the marketplace, including an interesting inside look at Christians working at Intel.

The article talks about many examples of faith in the marketplace and has a seciton on the reporter’s visit where sixteen engineers and programmers sat around a table during lunch hour, eating pizza and sandwiches from the company cafeteria and discussing the Book of Ruth. William McSpadden, a 43-year-old design engineer, father of five and hardcore weekend soccer coach, led the Bible study. He describes the 200 or so local participants in the Intel Bible-Based Christian Network as ”about half conservative Christians, even fundamentalists, with the rest being Presbyterians, Methodists, Catholics and the like.”

Intel has been in the forefront of public corporations that brought religion into the mix of their employee groups, thanks in part to the fact that one of its corporate heads, Patrick Gelsinger, its chief technology officer, is an evangelical Christian who has written a book on faith and work. The Bible network became an authorized company affinity group in 1997. There are four Bible-study sessions per week at the Intel – Jones Farm campus, where 4,700 of the company’s 15,000 employees work, plus special events and a monthly faith-at-work community-outreach gathering at a local Borders. ”When I started at Intel in 1983, we had an informal Bible-study group,” McSpadden says after the Bible-study meeting as he erases the whiteboard and his colleagues head back to work. ”The company probably didn’t even know it was going on. Its being formalized basically makes life easier. It means I can book a conference room without feeling I’m going against company wishes.”

Take a read here.

In Memory of Abby-Jill — We Will Miss You

This week, Park Community Church suffered a great loss, when one of its former staff, Abby-Jill Brauhn , lost her fight with cancer and went to be with the Lord on Tuesday morning, surrounded by her family in Wisconsin. Abby-Jill was a Godly woman who loved the Lord and loved people. She made a huge impact for the Kingdom and will be greatly missed, although I know she is feeling no pain and dancing in heaven as we speak. I will miss her greatly — I loved her passion to see people come to know Jesus in a personal relationship and I appreciated her tremendous gift of leadership on the trips I went on to the orphanage in Mexico. Here is a summary (with some adds by me about my friend) of the obituary sent to the Tribune:

Abby-Jill Marie Brauhn

September 16, 1964 – March 11, 2008

Abby-Jill Brauhn, 43, died Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at the home of her sister, Deborah Geary. She was the daughter of Maggie French and the late Stephen Brauhn. Abby was blessed with an extraordinary life. She graduated from Buffalo General School of Nursing, where she began her career as a registered nurse. She later joined Parke Davis Pharmaceuticals as a sales representative. Abby’s ambition and initiative brought her to Chicago, where enjoyed a successful career as new-products sales rep and then regional manager.

In 1995, Abby went on a short term mission trip to the FFHM orphanage that Park supports in the Baja of Mexico, and there her life chcanged and it would never be the same. She experienced a great renewal of her faith, and when she heard a higher calling in 1998, Abby went to work for Park Community Church in Chicago as the Director of Extension Ministries. Here she founded and grew Park’s annual Park Service Day ( now called For One Chicago), which engaged more than 900 Park Church members to serve the Chicago community for a day. She was a pivotal member of Park’s short term mission trips called Vacation with a Purpose, which led mission trips to orphanages in Mexico operated by Foundation for His Ministry and other places around the world. She always had a vision that she would create an orphanage, so when the opportunity came, Abby’s faith took her to California. In October 2004, she left Park to become a senior leader at Charla Pereault’s right hand side at FFHM in Oxnard California.

Abby lived a life that was full of joy, love, and devotion to her family, friends, and God. An avid reader and traveler, she embarked on many voyages around the world. She had a wonderful ability to touch all that she came in contact with. A diagnosis of terminal cancer brought her back to the Midwest, where she lived with her sister, Debbie, and her family. With faith and courage, Abby endured cancer treatment for two and a half years.

Abby-Jill is survived by her mother, Maggie, her sister Debbie, brother-in-law Brian Geary, brother Robert Brauhn, brother Adam Brauhn, sister-in-law Tasha, nieces Molly, Maggie, Katherine, and Grace, and nephews Christopher and Nicholas. Abby was preceded in death by her father, Stephen.

================================================

A funeral service will be held at St. Anthony on the Lake, N2101 Hwy. SS Pewaukee Wis., on Friday, March 11, at 4:00 p.m.

“A Chicago memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 15th, at 1:00 p.m. at the GERMANIA PLACE BALLROOM (please note location has been changed).

In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure, 877.465.6636, or Heartland Hospice, 13255 W. Bluemound Road Suite 100, Brookfield, Wis. 53005.

Cesarz Charapata & Zinnecker is serving the family. For more information, please call the funeral home at 262.542.6609.

Christians in the Culture

For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in how the culture ebbs and flows and who drives the culture. I’ve also seen a more determined generation who wants to drive faith and values into the culture. hidden chicagoA good friend of mine, Dave Carlson of Bucktown Pictures, has continually told me that the movie theaters are the churches of the next century and movie directors are the priests so we better wade into the culture and not shrink from it as Christians.

Recently, I have been introduced to the Wedgewood Circle folks, sort of a national angel investment network of successful entrepreneurs, investment institutions and high net worth investors who provide investment capital, strategic guidance and relationships to contribute to the renewal of the culture by investing in cultural “artifact” creation in the key influential sectors of film, music television, publishing, theatre/performing, fashion, fine arts and computer/console gaming. I like what they are doing.

I also like what Gabe Lyons and the Fermi Project is doing. Fermi Project is a broad collective of innovators, artists, social entrepreneurs, church and societal leaders experimenting with ways to advance the common good in culture.

Well over the last ten years, many have begun to make an impact in Hollywood and recently, Beliefnet has chronicled their top dozen most influential and powerful Christians in Hollywood? Well, Beliefnet has come up with their list, and it includes names like Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, Patricia Heaton, Angela Bassett, and Martin Sheen. Sounds like a pretty diverse list with a pretty broad theological definition, but none the less, interesting. You can read more here…

DWELL: Driving Urban Church Planters

At Park Community Church, our vision is to be a Biblical community where the Gospel of Jesus Christ transforms lives, renews the city and impacts the world. Being a city center church, we are focused on reaching the city of Chicago and would like to reach 1% (29,000 people) of the city in the years to come. That is why we love conferences that focus on the major global centers like Chicago or New York, and one of those great get-togethers is coming up.

The Dwell Conference is scheduled for April 29-30, 2008 in New York City and involves two of our favorites: Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City will be co-hosting and partnering with Acts 29 Network in a premiere church planting event to create a world-class training for urban church planters. It has a fabulous lineup of some of the most influential church planting leaders as speakers at this event: Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, Ed Stetzer, CJ Mahaney, and Darrin Patrick.

I also love their anchor verse for this movement of planters (as it has been an anchor for our church about urban living for years):

Jeremiah 29:4-7
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and DWELL in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.”