My Blog Is Moving

Hey everyone. I am moving blogging platforms. The new site is up but it still needs some work. From now on, though, I will be blogging on the new site. This new site allows people to comment easier. I would love for you guys to offer comments and engage in the dialogue. It will be fun (to me anyway).

Check it out...
www.jakestum.com

Jake

True Community

I had an overwhelming experience at church this morning. I help lead a class that targets our homeless population. This morning we had almost 30 people in our class. In the last few weeks we have had three people get jobs and they are now looking for housing. This is exhilarating to me, but the really cool part is what else is happening–story time…

First, let me tell you about a friend that I will call Bob (not his real name). We helped him get a job about a month ago. He was able to get a little car and moved out of the warehouse and into his car. With his first pay check he went and bought some whole turkeys and brought them to the church. He said that because the church had done so much to help him, he wanted to give something back.

Second, this morning was amazing. One of the guys in the class, who has recently gotten a job, fixed up some used bicycles and brought them to the other members of our class so that they could have transportation to job interviews. Then a senior adult ladies class heard what was going on and has offered to donate the money for this guy to continue buying bikes and fixing them so that everyone in the class can have some type of transportation.

Third, we have had several who have committed their lives to following the way of Christ who have NEVER been into our sanctuary. They wouldn’t feel comfortable there, but we have made a place for them to connect in community.

Geez! I sat in the class witnessing the church in action. Unbelievable. Don’t know what else to say.

Prepetually Ignorant?

The post below contains a quote by Elbert Hubbard. Here is another one...

"The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge."

Few things in this world bother me more than people who aren't willing to have dialogue. I used to be the person that would either avoid or argue with people who had ANY different opinion. One of the most valuable lessons I have learned is the power of true dialogue. I believe that I can learn from anyone if I will value them and attempt to listen more than I talk.

Glad I am stupid

I came across a great quote today by Elbert Hubbard that really encouraged me...

"Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped."

Most of the time I feel more "stupid" than "genius." According this quote that actually gives me an advantage. Yes!

How to earn respect

I am reading through the Old Testament book of Exodus. I noticed something this morning that is interesting to me. Moses was able to earn respect with people of Israel and the people of Egypt (except Pharaoh). At first he was a stammering outcast, but became one of the greatest leaders in Israel's history. There are several reasons for this, but what struck me this morning is that one of the main reasons is everything Moses said was going to happen really happened. He said plagues were coming and they did. He said the children of Israel would get to leave Egypt and they did.

This is a good leadership lesson about earning respect. I have been guilty of making statements that did not come to pass. When this happens on a regular basis followers begin to lose respect. Here are some reasons why I over-promise and under-deliver:

1. I speak too soon: Many times I will start talking about an idea before I should. I will begin to implement something or cast vision when it is not formulated enough to be public knowledge.

2. I say too much: I have "ideas" all the time. I can start spouting off all of these ideas and eventually they become white noise for those I am leading. They think, "we have heard this stuff before. It isn't going to happen." They mistake my verbal brainstorming for intentional plans.

3. I am lazy: I can tend to plan some big project, promote it, then realize that I don't really have the energy to pull it off. After a few of these failures people will begin to lose enthusiasm for new projects because they aren't convinced they will really happen.

Following through on our promises will help us earn respect.

Blog Recommendation

Just came a across the SAMBA blog... great stuff.

A clear view does not equal a short distance

Today I read a quote by a Grand Canyon hiker...

"Don't mistake a clear view for a short distance."

That statement resonates with me. So many times I feel like I can see clearly where I need to go. I often, however, underestimate how long it will take to get there. This can lead to disappointment. Just because I have a vision/idea/project clearly in my mind doesn't mean it is easy to achieve.

Grapevine Communication

We are studying informal communication in our program right now. It's pretty interesting. We have had some good conversation about the grapevine form of communication. Otherwise known as rumors or gossip. The most interesting aspect of this is that great leaders see the grapevine as something positive.

1. They figure out how to listen to the grapevine to sharpen themselves. What is the grapevine saying about me? What are others saying? This can be detected if we will open our heart for honest critique. This is hard, but effective.

2. Great leaders also learn how to send information down the grapevine. This happens by knowing who people turn to for information and feeding them with information that you would like passed along. This way they have something to gossip about that will benefit the leader rather than hurt him/her.

Interesting.

selfishly selfless

We can't be completely selfless because we will burn out. We can't be completely selfish because we will be miss out on the thrill of helping others. The balance?...Become strategic in our selfishness so that we can continue to be relentlessly selfless.

Swagga

So tonight Merica and I were giving our boys a bath and I decided it should be hip-hop night. We made up a little ditty that goes like this..."No one in Benwood has swagga like us." Benwood is a neighborhood in our town. That was the only line of our song. But we kept repeating it and doing the hip-hop bounce. Dosen stopped, looked at me with a really serious look and said, "Daddy, can I dance?" I said, "Dance my son." Then he broke it down. It was awesome. Merica, Luke, Dosen, and I proceeded to have a dance party in the bathroom.

Holla.

The coolest kids...

Just get started

The most daunting task for me in most projects/assignments is getting started. If I will make up my mind to just take the first step, then most of the other steps become clearer. Many times I allow the fear of getting started to keep me from starting. I am trying to become better at simply doing something: making a phone call, writing the first sentence, reading the first page, having the first meeting. What do you need to get started on?

Rest

I was reading Hebrews 3 & 4 this morning and was fascinated by the theme of rest. Several times it calls establishing a relationship with God as "entering into His rest." The writer continues to value the importance of rest (peace) that should come along with our relationship with God. Sometimes I think that we, in today's society, miss out on this promise. So many of the people that I work with are overly stressed, worried, and fearful. Hebrews 3:1 gives the following warning,

"Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it."

That verse is very convicting to me. Many days I come short of entering His rest. But the absolutely amazing thing is that His rest is available every day. And if it was available and real for the early Christians who were facing extreme hardships, then I have no excuse.

Today I will rest.

be scared

I was reminded today of a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, "Do one thing every day that scares you." This has been my world this year. From submitted articles to get published, to launching new services, to going to a neighborhood today that we are adopting this semester. We went to our neibhorhood today to simply introduce ourselves. It is always intimidating to go door-to-door, but today we had the best experience. Everyone was so kind and excited that we were going to be hanging out with them. Many of them have lost their jobs in this economic crisis and were thrilled that we would take time to pray with them. It was encouraging to me.

So many times I am tempted to play it safe. I hope that I can continue to take risks and do one thing every day that scares me. Great challenge. Thanks Eleanor.

Props to my boy Micah

Hey friends. One of the guys from my church who is in Las Vegas is an aspiring photographer. He is uber-cool (i am jealous of his dreadlocks) and wrote an amazing post today. He also has some of his photography included in the post.

Peep it by clicking here.

Creativity loves a problem, but it hates a lousy audience.

I am fascinated by the topic of creativity. I think it is one of the most valuable assets in a leader's toolbox. Creativity is powerful: it inspires, it gives hope, it makes new possibilities, it thrives in economic crisis.

The title of this blog was borrowed from Seth Godin's blog. It is brilliant enough to type again here.

Creativity loves a problem, but it hates a lousy audience (click the link to go read Seth's blog on this topic). What a thought this is! Creativity would not be needed in a problem free environment. It is in crisis that creativity thrives. But creativity is squelched often by lousy audiences. I have often experienced a situation where someone has offered a very creative solution to a problem, but the lousy audience dismisses the creative solution.

I need to think more about this one....

How Valuable is a Good Idea?

I am making my way through Bill Hybels' book Axiom. I just finished the chapter on the value of a good idea. I loved this thought...

Leaders traffic in idea creation. The best leaders I know are ferociously disciplined about seeking them out and incredibly committed to stewarding them well.

Leaders traffic in idea creation. Now that is is profound thought and challenge. I have been much more intentional with this so far this year. I have tried to go through everything that I am involved with and re-think them. Is there something that needs to be changed? Can we make this better? Is it still relevant? How could we risk and possibly make it more successful? As I think deeply about all of these things, I realize that every single one of them can be improved. It is usually simply a good idea that can provide momentum to push these things to a new level.

Some things that have helped me:

1. Scheduled time to take one thing (ministry, assignment, article, meeting, sermon, etc..) and think deeply about that one thing; taking time to think, write down every thought no matter how ridiculous, pray, listen, then decide a course of action.

2. Included other people in the idea creation process. I am realizing that if they are involved with the creation of the idea, then they will be excited about seeing the idea through to implementation.

3. Stopped assuming that everything was "okay." Just because a certain part of my job description is "fine" doesn't mean anything. Each area needs the next good idea to push it forward.

I want to traffic in idea creation.

the fray

Their new album is out. I can tend to be a "band wagon" guy, but this album is amazing. I had the chance to see these guys in a very small venue (at the Q conference in NYC) in which they shared quite a bit about themselves and their songs. I was impressed with their transparency, genuineness, and boldness. I will from now on be a fan.

www.thefray.net