Maximizing

As I reflect from the Chick-fil-a leadercast conference I was impacted by many of the words that Seth Godin spoke regarding leadership. In an interview with Leadercast he says, "Management is telling other people what to do. Leadership is opening doors and encouraging people to make their own journey." Later on in the interview he was speaking on ways that leaders can use their influence to engender change, "I wonder what happens instead if you spend your time getting your agenda in sync with the agenda of people you care about. Once needs and goals are aligned, once we're telling the same story and working in the same direction, things happen."

As I contemplate what these thoughts mean, I begin to wonder what does it mean for those of us in Bellingham and Washington State to open the doors for those around us? In what ways can I open the doors for others, and align my agenda with those around me? How in the world do we align goals and needs in a way that we tell the same story?

I do not claim to have any of the answers, I simply want to ask questions. I have been given leadership at different times and in different ways, and had the opportunity to observe, think, and conclude in different contexts. But, I still feel like I have much to learn and little to contribute. So, for the time being I want to simply question, refine, and sharpen my thinking. My hope is that I will continue to do this for the rest of my years, and that in my questioning you might ask a few questions too.

The more I study, dream, and vision the more I realize that I am just a small and tiny grain of sand in a large and shifty sea of people that are unique and creative people. We crave to be a part of something of meaning, something that is shaped into that of a great sandcastle. Our sandcastles have taken different shapes such as corporations, nations, empires, religions, cities. Many of us (myself included) will say, look at this castle I have built and the people that have joined me in this castle. But ultimately the sea will topple the sand and it will return to its original place among the rest of the sand. Maybe, just maybe we should not be looking to build the next big sandcastle, but find a way to become a more cohesive mound of sand that can stick out as an island among the ocean of time and space.

If we can come to the same assumption that people are people, and that all are deserving of love, grace, and care then we might be able to see our world of sand improved. We can then begin asking question, not around the idea of how do we beat our competition, but focused on maximizing our resources to influence the most change possible.

What does it mean for you to see other's skills and gifts maximized, and how can we use our gifts and talents to maximize and help the people that are around us?

Superfeet

Today myself, Jory, and Braden will travel up to Ferndale and visit the headquarters of Superfeet and meet with the CEO Scott and tour their facilities! I am so excited about this amazing opportunity to see and understand more of what Scott does and how he has grown a once tiny business into a multi-million dollar company.

A few things that Scott had shared was his focus on creating strong company values and ensuring that he communicated those values clearly. To Scott Superfeet has become a family a place that he can care and lead a group of people and show them the love that he was shown a few years ago.

I am also moving forward with the marketing plan for Malibu Leadership Weekend today, I hope to print and finalize a number of the pieces for our inviters. There is much to be done to prepare and see a successful launch carried out!

As I write this blog post I have found that it has simply become a way that I can update what I have been doing in my work. I hope to increase my writing here and have it become something that analyzes and looks at thoughts, quotes, books, movies and who knows what else in addition to what is happening in my life!

For now, enjoy the sun, love what the rain brings, and dream about reaching the stars.

Spring and new life

I can hardly believe how quickly time has flown by over the past 3 months! I have been working really hard at revamping the social media campaign of WSL and working on the ground meeting with students and planning and implementing the WSL Forum. We implemented and finished a great event in Olympia, the more I worked on this project the more I realized the love hate relationship I have of making events happen. The adrenaline and pressure to have every detail covered is amazing and difficult all at the same time.

For the Forum we had approximately 120 students in attendance, 2 incumbent leaders as facilitators for each small group, 3 phenomenal forum speakers, 3 beautiful spotlights, 6 seminars, 2 great musical performers. Everyone seemed to enjoy the time, and we are hoping to put together another great time up in Malibu to continue our discussions and bring the generations together.

My work in Bellingham has been growing and changing over the past months, after many discussions and connections my network has expanded and more people are gathering around the idea of intergenerational relationships. The biggest difficulty is following through with connections, some people let things slip and others make things happen. I have enjoyed seeing connections at The Fort grow, we brought in a number of incumbent leaders to share their lives and now have three mentors meeting with small groups and men in the house. I have connected 2 men to a great businessman in the area and we are touring his plant up in Ferndale tomorrow!

I have learned so much along this process, how to grow personal relationships and connect people to each other. I have deepened a few close strategic relationship and have been encouraged by these men as they have connected me to people and fought for me personally.

Caroline and I are eagerly looking forward to being married! It is only a few short months until our wedding and we are anticipating a great celebration of what God has done in our lives and in the lives of others.

I hope to keep up on my blog posts more in the coming weeks as my life continues to change and move as the wind moves and changes.

Thanks for checking in!

Continuing the journey and starting a new one!

So I avoided blogging at all over the last few weeks simply because I was preparing to propose to Caroline, and I did not want any detail to slip out!! She said yes!!! We are very excited to start this journey together and enjoy engagement and look forward to being married. With this new development my life has become quiet hectic, but I am encouraged none-the-less with where work is and where the Bellingham Community is headed.

I met with Frank (financial advisor) and Dwayne (Bellingham Integrity Group Chairman) and we detailed how WSL and BIG can begin to partner and support each other. I look forward to this connection and how it will influence the WWU community. Dwayne looks to stretch and expand our vision in Bellingham, and Frank helps to focus and work out the details in relationships. These two men have great hearts and are excited about shifting the focus of the Church in Bellingham!

Johnny C. visited The Fort on Sunday and shared with the house his story, heart, and hope for the house. I was so encouraged by his words, and the eager heart of the men at the house to study the Bible and learn the teachings within it. The men will begin to study Paul's letter to the Phillipians, it is sure to challenge and encourage them in this season of life.

On the statewide front the WSL website is nearing completion, and should be operational by the end of the week. We are developing a base of student inviters for the Forum, and are excited to see 150 students gather together in Olympia in March. The program and flow of the event looks to be top notch and very exciting!! I am currently developing a blueprint for the creation of Community Core's around the state and can't wait to have it put into action in the coming years.

Anyway, I hope that all is well in your community and that the Lord blessed your Christmas and New Year. Until next time, grace and peace to you on your journey.

December

With many of our emerging leaders relocating around the state, nation, and world the Christmas holiday has allowed for an opportunity to analyze and regroup. I have been able to speak with some of our key people in Bellingham the past few weeks and really hash out a vision of what is necessary to see a Community Core (our version of a board) formed in Bellingham! There is still a drive to find more hosts and mentors that would directly engage the student population consistently over time. Basically there is a lot of work to be done, and I need to create a business plan!
So for the next two weeks that is my task, discerning where God is moving and how to see how I can align our mission and vision to that movement!

Some of the meetings that I have had include:

• Meeting with Johnny our resident Bible scholar who is passionate about surrounding and guiding the men at the Fort and around the area in discipleship! This guy is solid, knows Jesus, and sticks to what Jesus taught! One interesting thought that he shared last week was based on the idea that the writings of Paul are the best commentary to the gospel anyone can find. He doesn't devalue Paul's writing (still believing that they are inspired by the Spirit) but emphasizes the importance of knowing and understanding the words and actions of Jesus!
• Shared what we are doing with the Bellingham Integrity Group (BIG) and am hoping to get more face time with them over the next few months, creating a sustainable relationship that will enable emerging leaders to connect with incumbent leaders in the workplace.
• I met with three awesome men that are passionate about making an impact around the campus of Western and will hopefully make the time to interact with the emerging leaders around the area!
  

Overall, the past month has been encouraging and a lot of growth has happened!! I am excited for the next quarter and to see how Jesus impacts Bellingham and the entire state!

Hope y'all have a Merry Christmas!

A month come and gone

I can hardly believe that November is already behind us, and that December is rapidly progressing. Time has flown by, and I as in the past have a hard time keeping up like small tasks of writing a blog!! But alas I will continue to write as often as I can to include you in the picture of how my work is progressing.

The past three weeks have seen the turning of a corner. At the beginning of November I had a meeting with a woman by the name of Amy and she is the first person to commit to any sort of position! From there appointments and people that are willing to be involved with what I am doing in Bellingham has drastically increased. Since that meeting we have seen person after person commit to engaging the emerging generation in relationship and thought! Now the difficult part is continuing to push into God and trust HIM to do the work and not get prideful thinking that I could do anything without him!!

It looks like we will have a functional and pretty website by the beginning of the year which is SOOOO exciting. One thing that I have found over time is that people check out your website and if it is not functional and easy to navigate they don't like it. We are starting to work towards integrating all sorts of videos, social media, and other interesting features! One big opportunity with the site is for people like Johnny to develop studies for the Fort that would have video intros and more in-depth looks into the study to help guide a discussion in a small group. We will be able to post speeches from the forum and governor's prayer breakfast on the site, the hope is that it will eventually be a huge tool for people to learn, discover, and vision for their lives and communities.

On Thursday I had a busy day full of meetings and food! I received updates from Loran and Jim two of the campus ministry directors and learned of what they have seen and heard over the past quarter, and I learned how to better encourage and support them over the next 6 months. Spoke with some emerging leaders that are thinking and questioning how to live intentionally with other people. Meet a new friend who is a creative leader passionate about evangelism and discipleship. Encouraged friends to mediate on the word and join me in an in-depth study and memorization course in the winter! Finally I enjoyed dinner with a professor named Bruce and some of the guys at The Fort. Dinner was definitely worth highlighting; not only was it a great meal, but the conversation was delightful! I learned more about the men that now live at the place I once called home, heard from the wisdom of a incumbent leader, and helped walk the guys through a conflict! Overall a great day!!

As I begin to prepare for the coming weeks and months, pray that Jesus would guide my path as we continue to work at discipling and equipping the next generation of leaders. Pray that they would continue to have the opportunity to hear from incumbent leaders. I hope to keep you updated with my progress over the next few weeks. Until next time, Merry Christmas!

A new season

So I realize that I haven't been as consistent as I had hoped with keeping this blog up. BIG SURPRISE!!! As life gets busier and busier, the small tasks like writing a blog get pushed to the side. But never-the-less I will continue to write as often as I can and remember!

The past few weeks have been busy busy busy! I attended a conference last week and was blown away by many of the talks that were given. Speakers such as Richard Stearns, Judah Smith, Mark Driscoll, and Francis Chan. They gathered to speak to church pastors and leaders, at a conference called Calibrate. The purpose was to discuss and gather around what is the true meaning behind the church and how can we better become the bride that Christ calls us to be! I am currently in the middle of the video by Richard Stearns, President of World Vision, and am blown away at the view presented. There is nothing extremely new to me in this message, but the idea and tone to the message is revolutionary. I am realizing more and more from the conversations I have, talks I hear, and books I read that my life falls completely short of how Jesus asked us to live. In the day to day busyness I can forget to broaden my perspective and remember the hurts and pains of people around the world, to think globally while I act locally. My job and vision right now is focused on creating a sustainable community core in Bellingham, and I know that this is important to God, it is necessary for His Kingdom work. I think it is necessary for me to remember that part of this purpose needs to encourage those around me to think globally, to take chances like Jarrett and Jory and go to India. If we as a community in the NW can begin to think not only about our individual selves, communities, schools, cities, counties, states, regions, nations but rather think about ourselves within the global community there is a chance that Jesus could drastically transform the world.

If we as a generation start to care and transform the way we live as individuals right now, the possibilities are endless. Well that's my soapbox for the day, I'll have to update y'all on my week on Friday!

Much Love,

Brian