Being a baseball guy I have to tell you I loved Moneyball. I loved the story, I loved the real game footage, I love the scene with Ron Washington (then 3rd base coach for the A’s, played by Brent Jennings) and Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) when they go to visit Scott Hatteberg, trying to convince him that switching to first base, after playing catcher his entire career up to that point, would be the move to make. You’ll have to watch it to see what I’m talking about.

As I watched the movie it made me think of things outside of baseball like the church. See, the main point of the movie was more about how Billy Beane went against tradition and what tradition said was the right way to run a baseball team than anything else. All of the conflict he had in the movie was between him and the baseball purists, the scouts, ownership, manager Art Howe, because they wanted to do things the way they always had (getting the same results they always had.) and he wanted to do things differently. The fact that they ended up winning more games that year (the same number of games as the Yankees with less than half the budget.) than they did the year before and making the playoffs is besides the point.

As a pastor or church leader what can you learn from Moneyball you ask? It’s simple: Just because something has always been done a certain way is not a reason to continue to do it that way. Anytime you try to change something big (and even small in many churches…) your greatest foe will be tradition. People love to keep things the way they’ve always been and they love their sacred cows. Now Billy Beane didn’t want to change things just for the sake of change. Going against tradition began with a brutally honest assessment of this team’s current reality. He knew that if they didn’t make radical changes they didn’t have a chance against big payroll teams like the Yankees. Because he could be honest he wasn’t afraid to make the changes necessary to move his team forward even at the objections of his “inner-circle”.

If you’re a pastor or a leader you’re in that position for a reason. Sometimes you’re the one God has placed in that position to be the one to go against tradition. Watch Moneyball and get inspired to do BIG things.

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes…

I hope I’m not dating myself by the David Bowie reference (I was in kindergarten when the song debuted. If you want to know the year Google it.)  in the title of this post, but there are big ch-ch-ch-ch-changes on the way for me and my family. In a nutshell, we are leaving Fort Worth, TX where I’ve lived my entire life and moving to Durham, NC where I’ll become the Directional Leader/Lead Pastor of a multi-ethnic church restart called Mosaic Durham. Because it’s a restart I’m having to raise support for 12 months to make the transition.

In going through this whole change process I began to realize their are two primary ways to handle it. I can be a Risk Manager or I can be a Risk Taker.

All change involves taking risks on our part no matter how big or how small the change may be. If I become a Risk Manager I take the safe road (at least that’s what I think.) trying to control the situation, attempting to  minimize the chance for failure and the level I have to step out of my comfort zone and embrace what’s going on around me. Yes I pray, but what I’m waiting for is for God to give me a crystal clear sign of what He wants me to do. I do this to take me out of the equation which normally is a good thing but in this case all I’m trying to do is not make a mistake. If I know 100% what God wants me to do and where He wants me to go then if things don’t work out I can always blame Him. I know we’ve all heard “the devil made me do it”, but in this case it’s “God told me to do it”.

I’m not saying being a Risk Manager is always bad, but if it’s left up to me I’d prefer to err on the side of being a Risk Taker. Here’s why. If I’m going to mess up I’d much rather go somewhere or do something God wasn’t specifically calling me to do and have an epic fail and learn from it than to stay put in a comfortable situation, afraid to take risks, when God’s calling me out to do something great. Being a Risk Taker doesn’t mean just jumping into things without thinking them through and seeking direction from God. Jesus says in Luke 14:28 that we aren’t to even begin without counting the cost. (“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?) Risk Managers keep counting the cost to the point of paralysis by analysis while Risk Takers count the cost, see the reward as being far greater than the risk, and hit the ground running without looking back.

My own personal philosophy is I’m going to “go, until God says no, or says to go slow”. I’m operating on the basis that by leaning on His direction and letting the Holy Spirit guide me on the front end, as I move through the process I can be more certain I’m operating is His will, not mine.

It’s funny how much God has changed me over the years and prepared for what He has me doing right here, right now. In the words of David Bowie,

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Don’t want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man

I’ve embraced change by not being afraid to take risks and learning from the failures along the way in becoming the man God has made me today.

Do you tend to be a Risk Manager or a Risk Taker?

“There is no education like adversity.” ~Disraeli

When I read that quote it made me think of all the things I’ve learned in life that have made me who I am today that I learned in the midst of adversity. Many times those are our greatest opportunities to learn and to grow. It’s also those times that many people throw in the towel and totally “miss” what they were supposed to “get”.

One of the greatest recent examples of learning through adversity can be found by looking back to the 2008 Big 10 Indoor Track Championships when Heather Dorniden falls down during the Women’s 600m race with only one lap to go and gets back up and wins at the end by a slim margin. Even the slightest hesitation on her part about whether to get back up would have cost her the race. If you’ve never seen the video then watch it now and while you watch Heather’s inspiring performance think back to a time in your life when you let adversity teach you one of life’s greatest lessons- “never give up.”

In the words of Homer Simpson..."Doh!"

But what I want to talk about today has nothing to do with any of that. As a matter of fact when most leaders make these two huge mistakes we usually have no idea until we are looking back. Remember it’s impossible to connect the dots looking forward but we can always connect them looking back. We also usually make these mistakes in the midst of thinking we are doing the right thing.

What am I talking about? The two biggest mistakes many leaders make are staying too long in a position or leaving a position too early. It happens all of the time. I think for many leaders God has been preparing them and now calling them for that next season in their life and they keep ignoring the signs.

Why do we stay? Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of change, sense of obligation, sense of loyalty, the list could go on and on. For others it’s the opposite. God is telling you to stay and you bail. Maybe you see a better opportunity somewhere else, someone offended you, you feel under appreciated, you think you could do things better, who knows. The point is God wants you where you are and you decide otherwise. So how do we know when to stay and when to go?

Abide in Him, seek His will, and check our motives. This is the time for honesty and transparency. Be real with yourself and answer this question-why am I staying or why do I want to go? What is God telling me to do?

I was reminded this past weekend of how significant small things can be. My family and I spent this past Sunday evening hanging out with a friend and his family. It was a great time. He cooked brisket, we ate, talked, laughed, talked baseball, and caught up on the past 13 years. Up until a month ago I hadn’t seen or talked to my friend James in almost 13 years. We originally met playing on a Men’s baseball team in Fort Worth called the White Sox. Other than being teammates we didn’t spend much time together. He was a nice guy that simply enjoyed being on the team. He usually came off the bench and filled in at first and I played short stop. We reconnected last month at the birthday party for another friend of mine that I baptized earlier that day. At the party the guy catering the food came up to me and asked me if my name was Bobby Minor. It was James. He said his wife had mentioned to him that the guy that preached that morning was “some guy named Bobby Minor”. He wondered if it was the same “Bobby Minor” and he was correct. We chatted briefly and discovered we literally live less than two miles from each other. We talked about me being a pastor now and I gave him my card. We also agreed to catch up sometime soon. The following is an email he sent me two days after the party.

Hi Bobby, 

It is always good to see an old teammate again, however I was especially glad to see you at Alberto’s party on Sunday.  I know we only played together on the White Sox briefly, but I have always wanted to thank you for something.

During one of my first games with the team I made an error on an easy throw from you, and felt absolutely awful about this as it allowed a run to score.  As you recall, we did not win many games back then, and so it was a big deal.  I was not the greatest player, but absolutely loved the game and tried so hard, so if effected me deeply.

However I will never forget that as we were running in from the field at the end of the inning, you made it a point to run over to me and rather than being upset, you smiled and told me it was OK.  This meant a lot to me as I was new to the Sox and trying so hard to fit in with everyone.  The error affected me more than it did you, and you were perceptive enough to know this, and gracious enough to help me get past it.

I played seven wonderful seasons with the White Sox, had it not been for you I probably would not have come back for another game. I doubt you recall this incident, however I have never forgotten it and have always wanted to say thank you.

It would be great to get together sometime and talk baseball, among other things.  I think you live near us in Park Glen, perhaps you and your wife would like to come over for dinner sometime?  

Best regards,

James

Honestly, when I read his email I was blown away. He was right, I didn’t remember. To me I’m sure it wasn’t a big deal. I played baseball most of my life and at the moment it happened it was just “one of those things”. It obviously meant a great deal to him. That’s what I want to remind everyone of. Small things can make a huge difference in the life of someone else and we can never underestimate the impact they may have. Saying hi to someone, smiling at someone, talking to someone, encouraging someone, all can mean the world to the person on the receiving end even if to us it’s no big deal. Don’t get so busy, so in a hurry that you don’t have time for the small things. It may mean the world to someone else even if you never know.

Yes, even us pastors have pet peeves and things that get on our nerves from time to time. We are only human as you may be aware. I know it may be hard to believe but there are actually a few things can get under my skin just a bit. 

In no particular order here are four of the things that I’m not a big fan of. If you are guilty of doing any of these…stop it. Please. Now.

Ok, if you know me at all you know I’m pretty active on Facebook. I love posting things and using it as a tool to connect with people all over the world. Two of my biggest pet peeves both have to do with Facebook. 

The first one is when “people tag me in random photos that I’m not in and have no association with.” I guess along with that would be “people that post things on my wall unsolicited.” (I guess that would mean my list has now grown to five.) I don’t mind being tagged in a photo that I’m actually in but why would you want to tag me in one that I’m not? I also don’t mind people posting a comment on my wall but I don’t  like it when people use my wall as a way to market/promote/advertise something they have going on without at least giving me the courtesy of seeing if I’m cool with it. If you want me to promote something just ask. Make sense?

This leads me to my next Facebook pet peeve- “when guys poke me on Facebook.”

Call me old fashioned but I don’t get this one either. Throw all of the high school-ish sexual innuendos out the window and I still don’t like it. It’s weird to me and I don’t get it. Period, end of story. If you’re a guy don’t do it.

My next pet peeve is when “people state the obvious.” For example, you and I are supposed to meet at Starbuck’s at 10:15am and you text me at 10:20am and say, “I’m running late” it’s pretty obvious at that point. Next time try this, “hey sorry for running late I’ll be there in 15 minutes.” Simple enough. Another one in this category is when people say any form of this: “This may or may not happen”, “This may or may not be true”, etc. Anytime you preface something by saying “this may or may not” it obviously applies to every situation. Nuff said.

My last pet peeve is when “people talk (or Facebook, Twitter, etc…) on their cell phone in the restroom in the stall when there is only one stall.” Maybe they are multi-tasking, I don’t know, but what I do know is that when I’m in there and I’m messing with my phone I’m not really thinking about someone else that may or may not be (lol) waiting outside because they’ve got to go as well. The courteous thing to do is get in and get out as quickly as possible. When you’re at home, have at it, take your laptop, kindle, ipad, whatever you want in there with you and take as long as you want, just don’t do it in a public restroom where I may be waiting patiently. 

I guess if I wanted to give you a bonus pet peeve it would be “when people don’t ask for my ID when I use my debit card.” Why does that bother me? Because I never sign my debit card, I always put “ASK FOR ID” where the signature would go. By not taking the time to look at the back of the card and asking me for my ID it tells me that if someone ever stole (found) my debit card and wanted to use it, I’m in trouble.

Well there you have it. Of course I wrote this in an attempt to be slightly humorous but we all know there’s always a little bit of truth in it whenever someone is joking.

If you enjoyed reading about just a few of the things that get on my nerves I’d love for you to return the favor and share a few of your pet peeves as well. I know that most of you may or may not have gotten this far and if you did you may or may not post a comment and that’s ok, I’m cool with it.

Right now my life seems like a whirlwind with so many things going on. In some ways it’s exciting and in other ways a bit overwhelming. That’s why is so critical for me to focus and prioritize. Almost weekly I’m presented with new opportunities to do some cool things but right now these are the top five things going on that really have me excited:

1.     2nd Chances-The Barrio Pilot: Over the past 12 months I’ve been working with author Robert Renteria from Chicago and his publisher Corey Michael Blake on creating a pilot for a reality show we are going to present to several networks. In this arena there is a lot of “hurry up and wait” going on. Finally, after what seems like months of inactivity, we are taking things to the next level. This relationship began with an idea I had and by me reaching out to Robert via Facebook. Prior to that we didn’t know each other. In the next 90-120 days we will begin shooting the pilot for the show. If you want to find out more about it check this out: http://www.rockethub.com/projects/3066-2nd-chances-from-the-barrio-pilot

2.     3rd service launch at Waves: Over the past 18 months God has been doing some amazing things at Waves of Faith where I pastor. We have grown from the 180′s and one service to consistently over 450 and two services (with close to 80 baptisms during that time) to now launching a third service this Sunday. On Easter we had three services for one day and had over 600 people show up. After recently celebrating my 10-year anniversary of the first time I ever stepped foot in Waves (September 16th) I am blown away by how much it has changed since then and can’t wait to see what God has in store next. Check out Waves at http://wavesoffaith.com/

3.     JSparks Studios: My good friend Jaime Puente and I have our hands full working on Social Media campaigns for several people and organizations including some that most people are very familiar with (can anyone say “tweet 2 eat”?). Moving into 2012 we are planning on taking on a limited number of new clients. This is a lot of fun and the fact that I love helping people build their brands and business is an added bonus. Get the scoop on JSparks at http://jsparkstudios.com/

4.     C3 Church Consulting: Last July while on a plane to India I mapped out a plan to use my 20+ years of corporate sales and marketing experience and combine that with my ministry experience and what came out of that is C3 Church Consulting. It’s been incredible these past 12 months working with local churches and parachurch and denominational groups to do some pretty cool things. I’m in the process of getting my certification through the Society of Church Consultants and that has me very stoked! You can learn more about what I do with C3 at http://www.c3churchconsulting.com/

5.     Top Secret Golf Project: Because of where things are in the process I’m not at liberty to publically say who all is involved but I can say I’m in the middle of launching something on a national level with one of the top golf publications out there. This is something that will launch in the first quarter of 2012 and is going to provide an amazing service to junior golfers wanting to play college golf. Stay tuned for more details.

So there you have it. Five really cool things I have going on, on top of everything else that I do day in and day out like being a husband, father, friend, baseball coach, pastor, writer, and whatever else I feel like getting into. 

It’s no secret, I’m a big fan of most sports and love using sports analogies, comparisons, and clichés. One of my favorites comes from the great game of golf, "It’s not how you drive it’s how you arrive". Put in layman’s terms, "it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish." In golf it’s used frequently after someone hits a mammoth drive only to make bogey on a hole while his playing partner dinks it around the course and somehow manages to make par.

The world of sports has reminded me of this a couple of times here recently. Yesterday at the Crowne Plaza Colonial (a PGA Tour event) Rickie Fowler was flirting with the course record at Colonial and had a legitimate chance to tie or break it coming to his last hole. Unfortunately he incurred a penalty stroke after hitting his approach shot in the water and settled for a round of 63, two shots off of the course record. While a 63 is a phenomenal round, knowing golfers and their fans the way that I do, what everyone will remember is that he made double-bogey on his last hole and blew his chance at history. It didn’t matter how good or bad he played prior to that, if he wouldn’t have made double on his last hole, he would have at least tied the course record of 61.

Another example is the Boston Red Sox. If you follow baseball at all then you know that people everywhere were hitting the panic button early in the season when the famed Red Sox started off horribly. When the Sox started off the season 2-10, heads were getting ready to roll. Since that epic fail start to their season, they have gone 21-10, including 8-2 over their last ten games. The rumblings of discontent have subsided and my guess is that when the 162 game season is over the Red Sox will find themselves playing in the post season once again and early-April will be but a distant memory. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

It’s also the same way in life. Finishing strong is much more important than how you start. Ideally starting strong and finishing strong is what we all should strive for but in cases like mine, where I lived a very selfish, self-centered life for my first 35 years only to realize it wasn’t all about me, the best I can hope for is to finish as strong as I can and to make the most of every opportunity. Never underestimate how God wants to use you regardless of where you are in life and what it’s looked like up to this point. Why is it so important to finish strong? I’ll let the Apostle Paul answer that question.

In Acts 20:24 Paul writes, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”

Finish the race, finish strong, and let God be glorified.

Is this what it should be about?

I’m not picking on this church, but as I was driving by I noticed their banner out front. I circled the block and stopped right in the middle of the street to take this picture. Unfortunately this is what many churches have made it about. It’s not about getting more members, it’s about being and making disciples. It’s about being intentional with people and connecting with them, not using a banner to encourage them to join the church.