Archive for March, 2009

Here is the Lance Burton interview we did for our Houdini series:

Lance Burton Interview from Wojo on Vimeo.

Even though I enjoy “reality” TV shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race, I have never been a big fan of celebrity reality shows but for some reason, I have been intrigued with the celebrity version of The Apprentice this season. I guess my interest has been with Dennis Rodman, the former Chicago Bulls player, and his colorful antics that leave the other players confused, angry, and often wondering what planet Dennis is from. It seems like every week Dennis should be “fired” by Donald Trump but he has stuck around – obviously for ratings reasons.

Dennis Rodman fascinates me. Since I am a big North Carolina Tarheels fan, I always followed closely the most recognized Tarheel of all time – Michael Jordan. When Jordan played for the Bulls, I watched more NBA basketball than I ever have. I was not so much a Bulls fan but more of a Jordan fan. I loved how Jordan made the other players around him so much better in spite of his own incredible individual talent. One of the players he helped make an incredible basketball player was Dennis Rodman. I loved watching Rodman play. He knew his role and performed it at a level that is rare among professional athletes. He was never a great, or even good, scorer, but that was not his job. His job was to make the Chicago Bulls better by rebounding like a madman, playing tantalizing defense, and doing whatever was necessary at the time to make them a championship caliber team. And he did his job well. Sure you always had to put up with a level of nonsense with Rodman but he always made his team better and I admired that about him.

So it captured my attention when I saw that Rodman was going to be on The Apprentice – a show that is all about leadership and being able to be a team player with other leaders. Rodman has been a fiasco. From his in-cohesive ramblings, to his alcoholism, to his outbursts of anger, to his unprofessional attitude and language, to his lack of camaraderie, to his narcissistic individualism, he has been a disaster.  And the sad reality is this: Rodman’s team believed in him. They tried to support him in spite of his constant disruption of team chemistry.  They forgave and encouraged and supported again and again until they finally had enough and realized his disruptions were not worth sacrificing the overall team goal.

I feel sorry for a guy like Rodman. He lives in the spotlight. He attracts attention everywhere he goes.  And I believe, people want to like him. I think most people can see beyond the image he seems to try and portray with all of his tats and piercings and crazy clothes and publicity stunts and they truly want to like the guy but he refuses to be liked.  He insists on doing his own thing to the point he abuses and turns away the very people who desire to stand behind and beside him.

Last night, Dennis Rodman was “fired” by The Trump from The Apprentice.  It was sad to see guys like Jesse James of West Coast Choppers fame, country music legend Clint Black, Heisman trophy winner Herschael Walker, and R & B artist Brian McKnight sit and talk about a guy like Rodman who seems to have all the potential in the world but is blowing it because he can’t see beyond himself.  I think they actually felt sorry for Dennis as he rambled on and on about how great a team player he WAS when he played for the Bulls and yet now he is throwing away all of his potential and likeability.

Rodman is not a true leader. He was a great basketball player and incredible role player and a hard worker but he is not a great leader. And the evidence is clear.  Being in the spotlight does not make you a great leader.  “Standing out” does not make you a great leader.  Being popular or recognizable does not make you a great leader.  Having other people believe in you and support you does not make you a great leader. Potential does not make you a great leader.

I don’t have a “what makes a great leader” list ready to give you but I guess in some sense I have learned in watching a cheesy wanna-be celebrity reality show that includes a guy who seems to be throwing away a world of potential what a great leader is not.  And that is a lesson all of us should learn.

Good weekend overall…

- Zac and Ragan both learned to ride bikes this weekend! Ragan just jumped on and took off … Zac needed a little more help but is definitely getting it.

- Played golf Friday afternoon. Beautiful golf weather right now.

- Watched Heels advance to the Elite 8 on Friday night.

- GP served at the Little League opening ceremonies on Saturday morning. Over 30 volunteers showed up to: work the concession stand, operate a dunk tank, 2 jump houses, and do a ton of face painting. We had tons of people come through – great service opp.

- Grace Point is a sponsor for a couple of teams in the league.

- We have some serious face painters at GP!

- Several people who came through talked about how they see us so active in the community. Love that!

- Got some serious sun for the first time this season.

- Why does the dunk tank always attract some obnoxious loudmouth person who has to insult every thrower?

- Great game between Pitt & Villanova on Saturday afternoon.

- Did absolutely nothing on Saturday night.

- Another great day at GP on Sunday. Attendance has been growing the last several weeks.

- Showed the interview I did with Lance Burton – great interview.

- Taught on the story of Lazarus and how Jesus is in control of life and death.

- This series is turning into a good one. Perfect series for Easter season.

- Band is in a great groove right now.

- Seeing a lot of new faces at GP in recent days.

- Can’t believe Easter is 2 weeks away! Have no idea what to expect.

- Watched the Heels advance to the Final Four on Sunday afternoon. Looks like they have a legitimate shot.

- Tiger Woods is unbelievable.

- Another busy week ahead

later

I had the privilege of facilitating a class yesterday at UNLV.  The class was a 400 level class so most of the students were seniors who are graduating in May. The class is Advanced Organizational Behavior.  It is basically a class on entrepreneurial leadership and management.  I was able to share my story and how I “got where I am” today.  The students asked some awesome questions and we got to share some laughs, insights, and leadership principles. I really enjoyed my time with them.  One of the students was even from Northern Virginia and attended Liberty University for a while (where I do some proctor work).  I was able to share openly about the role of faith in my occupational development and hopefully break down some of the normal stereotypes that the average college student has about Christianity and pastors!

And the added bonus: hanging out with college students makes me feel young!

Maybe this funeral home should consider moving its business to Vegas! I wonder if there is a pole on the inside of the funeral home as well???

There was an early 90s Steven Seagal movie called Marked for Death.  In the movie, Seagal’s character runs into trouble with a Jamacian drug posse and he is “marked for death” by the drug lord.  In week 1 of our Houdini series, we talked about how Jesus was marked for death by the religious elite of his day. I did not realize until preparing for this series how often the religious leaders tried to take out Jesus. He lived life with this death sentence on his life.  There were even a couple of occasions where it appears that Jesus is about to be assassinated but it did not happen because the New Testament indicates his time had not come.

What we are discovering in our series is that death was not in control of Jesus.  When it comes to our own mortality, death sets our appointment. Death dictates when, how, and where we will face it pending grip.  But in the the case of Jesus, He set his own appointment with death. Jesus willingly laid down his life and then took it up again.  He was in control of death.  Jesus was marked for death but death had no control over him.

And as a follower of Jesus, death does not have the final word in our lives as well. Even though we will face the reality of death, death has no control over those who follow the giver of eternal life.  Those who believe “pass over” from death to life.  Death has no sting because he has removed the sting of death by overcoming it.  Death has been conquered and as a result our mark is no longer death but life.  We have been marked for life – eternal life!

- Played some golf with my chiropractor and two of his acquaintances on Friday. Got the “changes the whole dynamic” magical question about 8 holes into the round – so Devin, what do you do in Vegas?  Once they found out I was a “priest” (his words), it took my a few more holes to let them know I am a fairly normal guy.

- Took Kayleigh and friends to get Twilight at midnight on Friday. Quite an experience. Read about it here.

- Watched a ton of college hoops this weekend – love March Madness.

- My primary bracket scored 13 out of 16 of the sweet 16.

- Heels seem to have a legitimate shot! We will see.

- Ate at Shane’s Rib Shack on Saturday evening – one of the few places in town that serves good Southern style barbecue and authentic sweet tea!

- Started our new series today – Houdini.

- Set design was awesome.

- I love the central idea of this series – the Jesus is the only true person to ever escape death and what that means for his followers.

- I actually laid down fully horizontal on the stage today for an illustration.

- While studying for this series, I learned that famous magician Harry Houdini died for a punch to the stomach which in return ruptured his appendix. he often challenged people to punch him in the stomach to show his endurance. A college student took his challenge and punched him before he was ready. End result? Houdini died!

- We had several new faces today.

- The Lance Burton videos are great.

- Turned windy and cool today – sinus attack!

- Our oldest daughter Kayleigh won the most improved player on her basketball team!

- I am a guest at a leadership class this week at UNLV – students get to ask me random questions about leadership. Should be a trip.

Busy week ahead.

So in a spontaneous moment I decided to take my daughter Kayleigh and two of her friends to Wal-Mart at midnight to get Twilight on DVD. I thought we would just drop by at 11:50 on our way home from hanging out with some friends and grab a copy … WRONG. We walked to the Electronics section and saw a line – didn’t seem so bad at first – a small line that looked like it just stretched around the corner. And then I realized it stretched around another corner and another corner and then it extended all the way along the back wall of Wal-Mart! Did I mention it was midnight? ONE HOUR later we got to the front of the line and got our copy of a movie that is evidently sub-par at best. Here’s a couple of observations about my midnight experience…

1. You will do stuff for your kids that you will not do for anyone else. Unless something changes, I have zero plans to watch Twilight. From what I understand, the movie is not even good. But I stood there for my daughter, while her and her friends surfed the store. I did it for one reason: to make her happy … well maybe I also did it to make up for running over her this week with my car!

2. Why do most Twilight fans look like they walked off the pages of the book? I have never seen so much black in my life – black clothes, black finger nail polish, black shoes, black hair (with some color stripe), and pail white skin. I felt like for a second that I was on the movie set.

3. Most guys who are Twilight fans are not very … how should I say this … not very “athletic”???

4. Twilight seems to have a lot of young teen fans.

5. Young teens can do some serious texting!

6. Standing in line reveals what type of “standing-in-line” type person you are:

- The quiet contemplative who just moves a step at a time and never talks or even looks at what is on the shelves – I have no idea what is going on in this person’s brain;
- The quiet – check-out everything on the shelves by picking it up – handling it – and returning it to the shelf person
- The quiet ADDer who paces back and forth in their designated area, picks up different things, never gets them back to their proper spot, sighs really loudly, checks their phone, stands on their tiptoes to see who is ahead of them and how fast the line is moving, and who looks like they really would commit suicide with the proper equipment.
- The person who has a friend and is able to carry on a conversation with someone else and keep the conversation basically between the two without getting on the nerves of everyone in Wal-Mart.
- The loud and obnoxious person with a friend who talks loud enough for everyone in the state to hear their conversation.
- The loud and obnoxious person WITHOUT a friend who talks to total strangers loud enough for everyone in the state to hear their conversation.
- The loud and obnoxious person who wants to have a friend by the end of the line-standing experience.

Last night, I was basically the quiet ADDer … my worst nightmare is standing in line with either of the last 3 (particularly the last 2). I had some of both around me but none close enough where I became the victim. I pray I never become either of the last 2! I think we need to create a “permission to punch” slip for those in the last 3!

7. I do have something in common with Twilight type characters – after midnight, I become really cranky and could potentially bite!

8. No I don’t want to have a conversation on whether Twilight is appropriate for Christians to read and watch!

9. I would love to be in charge of getting people in and out of Wal-Mart in situations like that one.  Here’s an idea: open up about 20 registers and get it done!

10. If you are going to make me stand in line, stretch the line along a wall lined with cool stuff. I don’t care about looking at pool toys, cheap golf equipment, ping pong paddles, bike tire patch kits, and igloo coolers while I am waiting in line! Thank God for the little electronic 20 questions game that kept me occupied for about 20 minutes.

That’s it – just some random thoughts from a spontaneous decision moment.

I had one of those scare moments yesterday that causes your heart to do crazy things. I pulled into the garage with my oldest daughter Kayleigh in the front seat and my little man Zac in the back. I usually stop short of the garage so Kayleigh can get out without having to battle all the stuff that stays on the passenger side of my car in the garage (plus I don’t trust my kids to open my doors without potential dings). But for some reason, I didn’t stop this time. Once I got in the garage, I realized what I had done so I put my car in reverse and backed out enough for her to get out.

Kayleigh got out and proceeded to walk behind my car while continuing to read her book (yes she is kind of like Belle on Beauty and Beast when it comes to books). I forgot that I had just backed out and was thinking that the car was still in drive and not reverse. You guessed it … I let off the brake and started to roll backward (b/c the car was in reverse). I thought in my mind the car was just rolling and so I gave it a little gas to make it go forward (knowing Kayleigh was walking behind the car and not wanting to roll back into her). Instead my car lunged backward and my heart SANK to my toes. I slammed on my brakes and immediately looked in my mirror and I could not see Kayleigh! PARENTAL HEART ATTACK

Fortunately Kayleigh thought I was pulling another one of my infamous dad pranks (I reassured her after the event that there would never be any pranks pulled involving pretending to run over my kid with the car) so she jumped out of the way. The car barely bumped her on the arm. It did not even knock her down. I jumped out of the car and held her so tight that she finally said “Daddy let go – you are squeezing me too tight.” It scared me – it scared her. Wow – it only takes a moment!

I think I am a good parent. I try not to run over my kids with the car on a regular basis! But yesterday was one of those moments when your worst nightmare as a parent flashes before your eyes. And yes before we went to bed last night I did apologize to Kayleigh for running into her with my car. Hopefully that is the first and last time I have to make that apology!!!

Incredible video that shows how fast our world is changing … how do we take the unchanging gospel to this rapidly changing world???

Ready or Not Here Comes Change

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