Mark Waltz | ...Because People Matter

One Phone Call. A World of Memories. A Life of Grace.

My wife, Laura, and I are Hoosiers. Always have been. Except for about six years in the early/mid nineties when we moved to Tacoma, WA to be part of a church staff there. Stephen Edwards was the senior pastor in those days. Because of Steve's grace and a traumatic season in our family's world, Steve moved quickly from being my senior pastor and boss to my personal friend.

We send Steve and his wife, Vivian, our annual Christmas card and Steve responded with a phone call. Today we connected. It's been a long time. I was so moved by the power of our conversation that I sat down and jotted a follow-up email to him. I share that email here because it's such a vivid picture of the power of grace in personal relationship. 

Hello, Steve –

We just finished an hour-long phone call. And what a refreshing conversation. I’m so grateful for your phone call.

My mind is all jumbled, at a loss for words for how grateful I am for you. Your investment in me, your care for me, your trust… honestly, I’m overwhelmed. God is good and faithful to have allowed/caused our paths to cross back in 1991… and then to continue over a 6 year journey that didn’t end when either of us left Parkland Christian.

I’ve told many people that I didn’t deserve or expect the level of grace and care that I and my family experienced under your care, through your friendship and through the people you led there. At least four of those six years were in many ways the worst years of my life. Not because I was there in ministry and life with you, but because of the devastating life-blow my family and I experienced then. God saved my life through that season, through you, through other friends. Literally saved my life. My baby girl has a daddy today because of our family in Tacoma. My wife has a husband today because people in our lives refused to let go.

My life and ministry is marked by your life. I know few people whose pursuit of Jesus is as humble and honest as yours. Your conviction that people matter, your unyielding commitment to spiritual transformation, and your personal dedication to discipling others still inspire me.

You’re a few years ahead of me. You’ve traversed some dips and curves that are still in front of me. You’ve experienced some mile markers that I can learn from. Thanks for traveling in the grace and love of Jesus. Thanks for allowing me to witness the boundless scope of forgiveness, healing, and grace through your life… to mine.

In our phone call you spoke a great deal of finishing well. Of the new temptations that can derail… of the sobering thought that up to 2/3 of great God-fearing leaders throughout history did not finish well. In your gracious way, you called me to finish well. I want to finish well. I want you to finish well.

So this season as we both engage families and ministry and friends 2500 miles apart, I’m praying for you. Praying you not only finish well, but that you thrive. And I’m thanking God for you.

Let’s talk before next Christmas,

Mark

Thanks, Steve... and Rusty and Ralph and Doug and Drex and Kathy and Julie and Laurel and Mike and Tim and Mark and Tom ... and many more friends who have invested and cared for me and my family. I'm grateful. And changed.

Merry Christmas

Silent Monks Sing Hallelujah Chorus

My Mom sent this to me, promising I would enjoy this. She was right. 

Merry Christmas! 

Dribbling with Your Head Down

Today, Dan Webster, of Authentic Leadership, Inc, sent me a pre-release copy of  his new book, KidUnique. As I perused it I stopped at a section subtitle: "dribbling with your head down."

I didn't play sports in school. I couldn't dribble or shoot a lay-up now or then. Too much coordination is required. My head would always be down watching the ball - and bad things would happen.

I get the meaning of dribbling with your head down.

Dan writes about a friend's experience with his teenage son. Coming back from a trip this friend picked up his son to grab some dinner and catch up. Throughout the meal he answered several work-related text messages. Finally one of those messages came from across the table, "Hey, Dad, how about putting your phone down." Doh. Dan points out - that's dribbling with your head down.

It's happened too often lately that it's not been our 16-year-old daughter who's been preoccupied with her phone at mealtime. I'm guilty.

Dan's book subtitled, Helping Kids Discover Who They Are, targets parents and youth leaders who want to invest in their kids, calling out the best God's created them to be. You can learn more here.

By the way - if I'm in a meeting with my staff, I'm taking calls and texts from my family. However, if I'm with my family, I can't guarantee the reverse will happen. Can't afford to dribble with my head down.

Use this holiday time to sort some priorities and look up into the eyes of the people you care most about.

I'm going to.

Mary & Joseph Go to Bed

Today St Matthew-in-the-City Church in Auckland, New Zealand put a billboard up to get people talking about Christmas (read more about the church's conversation on their website). Here's some early news coverage of the reaction. After you watch it - what's your response?

Guest Services Practice #7: Plan the Understated

I'm fascinated when I watch behind the scenes documentaries of movies, theme parks or events. Sometimes it's the big, amazing, OMGosh, how'd they do that? Often it's the smaller, simple nuances that are, well, amazing. This list isn't outstanding. You don't have to announce any of these. There's not much budget in this list. But someone had to plan.

• keep the paper towels and tissue stocked
• add hand lotion in the restroom - especially during winter months
• be sensitive to the flu fears, provide hand sanitizer
• print in readable fonts
• clean the carpet and other flooring
• set the thermostat
• make seating comfortable

Add to your own list. Think behind the scenes. Plan the understated.

Guest Services Best Practices #8: Don’t Just Fix It

Ownership is a powerful dynamic in any organization: people see a problem, they just fix it. No questions or squabbles about whose job is whose. No arguments about who gets the credit. The problem, large or small, gets fixed when it's identified.

That's all really good - to a point.

In addition to this level of "can-do" ownership, there must be a feedback loop established. Otherwise, you'll have teams of people who continue to fix the same things over and over and over. A feedback loop will help you see patterns - system breakdowns, simple processes, little incidentals - that can be addressed and fixed for the long haul. Ownership that is valued will result in positive change - not over and over, but rather consistently.

Don't just fix it.

Guest Services Best Practice #9: Listen to Complaints

Let's get this list finished up before Christmas. You're wondering who "us" is, huh? Ok. It's on me. I'm going to finish up this list before Christmas. This one isn't really any fun - but it's important.

Listen to Complaints

As in when people make comments less than complimentary. Even disparaging. Listen.

• If one person is making the observation, ten more may be thinking the same thing. They just didn't have the courage to say so.
• The person may not understand your values, methods or language, but if you'll listen, you may learn what people are actually hearing - even if you don't intend to communicate it.
• There's usually at least a grain of truth - even if the complaint is riddled with emotion and misinformed statements.
• A primary concern (in addition to your faithfulness to the message of Jesus) should be how people are hearing and experience your message: from the parking lot to the message to the care expressed in your systems and connection points.
• Often people who share legitimate concerns are people who can help bring solutions to your systems and organization.

One more thought - if you're the one making a complaint, have the courage to use your name. When you do, conversation can be constructive and helpful. To both parties.

An Advent Funeral

Today I led a funeral for a man in our church (Bob Muncey) who died unexpectedly this past weekend. There's never a "good" time to experience the death of a husband, a dad, a grandpa or a friend. But, I observed aloud what everyone was experiencing - this is especially difficult: losing a loved one at Christmas time.

But as I reflected on the meaning of Advent and the hope that is ours through Christ, I knew I had to share the following in the service today. Thought I'd share it here for anyone who's holidays bring the fresh ache of someone who went too soon.

My heart breaks for you in this loss. I can’t ignore what we’re all thinking about the timing of Bob’s passing. Christmas is next week. Nothing’s the same now. What do you do with that?

And yet, there’s something powerful in this season, in this timing that I want to point out. In church language this season is known as Advent. A season that celebrates not only Jesus’ first coming, but the promise, the hope of His return, his second coming. This season reminds us that although the chaos of life – from the busyness of shopping to the grief wrapped up in death – in all that chaos there is hope. Jesus came, not to give us a holiday to drink eggnog and give gifts, but he came to announce, to live, to demonstrate the inclusiveness of the Kingdom. Jesus announced “it is here; I am here.”

And after a few short years here on the planet, he announced his departure… and he died at the hands of a people who didn’t understand his agenda or his love.

But he defeated death. He rose from the grave. He will still fulfill his promise to return, bringing justice and peace and wholeness to all He has created. This isn’t it.Death doesn't win.

This is Advent. The in-between season. Between reality past and future to come. We’re living there. All of us. And with a heightened clarity, my prayer for you as family and friends of Bob Muncey is that you will experience the hope of Jesus this Christmas. Maybe it’s meaning will, strangely, be more meaningful for you than the rest of us.

And it's my prayer for any of you who know the pain of loss this season will find fresh meaning and unexplainable hope.

Merry Christmas.

No More Bibles, Please. A Top Ten List

This week a friend helped me discover that there are 3500 different Bibles available in the English language. I'm grateful that scholars are helping people engage the story of the Bible with study helps and easy to understand language. But somewhere there's a limit to all of this. You may know that you can purchase:

• The Patriot's Bible
• The Maxwell Leadership Bible
• The Every Man's Bible
• The Marriage Bible
• The Men's Fraternity Bible
• The New Spirit-filled Life Bible
• The Women of Faith Study Bible

The list goes on and on. Is the story of God in the Scriptures really that personalized, that limited to one's perceived microscopic focus?

Here are ten Bibles I haven't seen published. Maybe there's still time before Christmas gift-giving is here:

The Pet Owner's Bible

• All dogs do go to heaven, right?

The Ultimate Sex in Marriage Bible

• Who wouldn't read that? Who doesn't want that? Comes with a bottle of KY.

The Baptipostcal Bible

• For people who've ridden the denominational coaster from Baptist to Pentecostal and a couple in between. Don't forget Jesus was a Nazarene.

The Jeannie-in-Leather Bible

• Forget the bottle. This fine leather holds the God you were promised: One who is all about you and the world as you see it.

The Introvert's Bible

• All the introverted people of scripture are touted as the quiet, unassuming heroes, including Jesus.

The Extrovert's Bible

• All the extroverted people of scripture are touted as the charging, change-making heroes, including Jesus

The Over-Fifty Bible

• Highlighted promises include "mounting up on eagle's wings, running without fainting" and "seeing clearly face-to-face"

The Oprah Bible

• Justifies pop culture self-knowing with the will of God

The Anti-Mega-Church Bible

• The phrase "cell church" appears over 56,000 times

The Do-It-Yourself Bible

• A next generation, digital Bible, designed to print-on-demand - but only those passages that you want to live by

Maybe there's a Bible you'd like to see published that didn't make this list. Go ahead, leave it in a comment. There's probably a chance it'll get printed soon.
 

6 Options This Christmas Eve

Our new weekend series, A Christmas Carol, launched this weekend - and oh, did it launch. Following the classic ghostly visits in Dickens' classic tale, Mark Beeson addressed the regrets of our past with the celebration of Christmas - Jesus has come! His forgiveness opens the door to a future of growth and purpose. You can watch the entire service with the gripping arts here.

Enjoy this weekly sneak peak of what's to come in six services on Christmas Eve:

The Ghost of Christmas Past from Granger Community on Vimeo.

Get your free tickets for the Granger campus here or plan to participate in the 11pm ONLINE service here.

It's Coming. 2 Days. GCC.

If you call Granger Community Church your church, or you're anywhere in the driving area looking for a church - you'll want to prioritize your weekends this month to catch this.

A Christmas Carol from Granger Community on Vimeo.

Services at Granger campus: Saturdays, 5pm and 7pm; Sundays, 9:30am and 11:30am.

Services at Elkhart campus: Sundays, 9:30am and 11:30am.

Services Online campus: Sundays, 6:30pm and 8:30pm.

More details here.

Organic Linear Growth. Really?

Our senior pastor, Mark Beeson, is challenging our entire church to memorize 2 Peter 1.2-12 (NIV). He started with our staff a couple weeks ago. Last evening during our First Wednesday service he invited a room-full of Christ-followers at Granger to do the same - by Christmas. This year. In early 2010 he'll extend the same challenging invitation to our entire weekend crowd. The goal will be to have these verses committed to memory by Easter. [Read Mark's invitation here]

Memorization isn't the mere point of this exercise. As a senior management team (which grew by three more astounding people yesterday - read about it here!) we're jazzed about a fresh strategic approach to spiritual formation in 2010 - and we'll base all of it on this passage of scripture.

When I read these verses I jump right over to Paul's writing in Galatians 5 - the fruit of the Spirit passage (Galatians 5.22-23). And when I read both passages, I realize that both Paul and Peter were looking at Jesus. These characteristics are wrapped up in Jesus. It's the kingdom life he calls each of us to. It is the work and fruit of His Spirit - which he promised would teach us all that Jesus taught and practiced.

Interesting - Peter talks about these characteristics as though in a linear continuum. As though you can't have one without the one before it. And yet I know some very loving people whose knowledge doesn't seem as deep as their love. So, what's up with that? Peter also suggests in verse 8 that this is not a strictly linear process - "get the first one wired up, then move on to the next one". In verse 8 he says "if you possess these qualities in increasing measure..." As in, this is not a closed system - get one, get two, get 'em all. You're done.

Rather, these qualities are interconnected. One makes little sense without the others. Just as Paul's discussion of the "fruit" of the Spirit - not the "fruits" - suggests that we're not to be about getting merely "good" at one, then the next, then the next. Rather the whole is the fruit, the fruit is the whole. As I add goodness to my faith, and knowledge to goodness, I'm on a journey to become my truest, God-created self. In His image.

However, this growth will happen in my life - in your life - as we methodically read, pray, exercise practices, pay attention to relationships that help us develop each of these, individually. But it'll be messy, overlapping and repetitive.

Sounds like a journey to me.

You comin'?

Looking for a Coach? I'm Looking for You. 12 of You.

I'm very excited about saying "YES!"

I've had several people ask me in workshops, email and twitter if I'd consider coaching them - for more than a day or two. 

And today the answer is "YES!"

Beginning in February I'm entering a four-month journey with leaders whose responsibilities are focused on connections, volunteer involvement, group relationships, and spiritual growth. If you are a senior pastor or a pastor/director responsible for adult connections or assimilation ministries - I'm inviting you to apply for this coaching journey.

My typical work with churches has me addressing teams of people - staff and volunteers - focused most specifically on guest services ministries, occasionally venturing into conversations related to volunteers and relational ministries. Typically that happens in a day, two at most. I love the partnership with churches and their teams who are willing and ready to push against the walls of comfort and convenience to take sacrificial steps to reach people for Christ. In fact, I'll be on the road in late January to do just that - it's a real privilege!

But this is different.

• It will be intensely practical. Highly conversational. Interactive. And limited to 12 leaders.
• We will study. We'll read. We'll learn together. We'll explore your specific questions, issues and church dynamic.
• We will get specific about cultivating culture, building teams, casting vision, designing environments for connecting, serving and growing.

It isn't cheap. It won't be terribly convenient (like travel to northern Indiana). It will be worth it.

Don't think one coach - think 12 coaches. We'll do this together. I'm confident you'll be better from the experience. I'm certain you'll lead your church, your staff, your teams more effectively and serve your people and guests more thoroughly because of this coaching journey.

This is the first I'm talking about this - I won't include more than 12 leaders. If you're interested, hop in now!

I'm praying God forms an incredible coaching network that will surprise all of us by June of 2010!

Download Connections Strategy Coaching Summary.