by Jeff Smith

It starts with your philosophy.
[Lead] your people in a way that gives them a higher shared purpose.
You can lead them to death.
You can lead them to life.
They must never fear danger or dishonesty.
– Sun Tzu

The most important decision you make, as a leader, is how you Read the rest of this entry »

by Jeff Smith

I was privileged to spend last weekend with a friend Randy Siever, the Doable Evangelism expert. We ran an Idea Party in Sparks and one of the things that bubbled up (not on the agenda – as usual) was an over-riding sense of dissent with respect to the church.

Every one of those participating considered themselves an apprentice of Jesus, but very few of them considered themselves ‘cool’ with the church in the ways they’ve experienced it.

Which drove me to think about dissent. One of my favorite books is Peter Block who wrote Community: the Structure of Belonging. Peter asks dissent questions that I am considering in light of the church and last weekend’s experience. Please respond as you feel led.

1) What doubts and reservations do you have?
2) What is the no or refusal that you keep postponing?
3) What have you said ‘Yes’ to that you no longer really mean?
4) What is the commitment or decision that you have changed your mind about?
5) What resentment do you hold that no one knows about?
6) What forgiveness are you withholding?

I’ve been a teacher – that is on this side of the desk – for 17 years. I’ve been a student for almost 35 years.  Having sat in too many classes, churches and business workshops, I’ve come to several conclusions about most meetings with other people.  These conclusions lead us to constructing Idea Parties™. Read the rest of this entry »