Blake Bouldin

Follower Trap #4

Follower Trap #4: Not being willing to face objective reality

One of the things I have found growing up competing, coaching and working with others in a variety of different fields is that there are a large number of people that suffer from mild to severe delusions in relation to their efforts and competencies.  In other words, a whole lot of us have the tendency to convince ourselves that we are actually working harder and more competent than we really are.  The end result of this kind of thinking is that we never make the kind of progress we could and should be able to make because we are unwilling to pay the price.

Great followers, on the other hand, listen to what their leaders are saying, are brutally honest with their performance, and stare reality in the face.  They are the ones that err on the side of over practicing and over preparing.  They know that in order to accomplish anything worth while there is a huge price involved and in order to ascend to the top you have operate out of a mindset of objective reality.

So what does this have to do with being a Christ follower?  Everything!  You see, the objective reality is this.  Following Christ is hard!  In fact, I have often said that we too often mislead people by telling them that when they put their faith in Jesus Christ their life will be better.  That simply isn't true.  Ultimately, God transforms us into who He wants us to be, but many times that transformation takes place as we walk through the storms of life. Becoming a Christ follower isn't a call to an easier life, it's a call to take up your cross and submit to whatever and wherever Jesus directs.  It is a call to die to ourself so that Christ can live through us.  When we look at following from this perspective, it changes the way we live.

Truth be told, most of us who call ourselves Christ followers live very comfortable lives.  Our call to follow, more often than not, doesn't consist of sacrifice and service, it consists of wanting Christ to serve us.  This, in my opinion, all stems from the delusion that following means showing up once a week for church and making sure we watch our P's and Q's.  Ultimately this kind of following is demonstrated in our unwillingness to pay the price of taking up our crosses and submitting to the authority of Jesus Christ. 

These are tough words that I am writing because they are applicable to me too.  But here is the good news. We are not hopeless causes!  All of us have the ability to change and change starts by facing objective reality.  Here is an action step to start the process:  Commit to check delusion at the door.  Be honest and ask this critical question:  "Are my habits, actions, and behaviors congruent with the kind of follower Christ has called me to be?"  If the answer is no...maybe it's time to face reality.

I love what Jim Collins says in his book Good To Great about facing objective reality.  He says, "There is a sense of exhilaration that comes in facing head-on the hard truths and saying, "We will never give up.  We will never capitulate.  It might take a long time, but we will find a way to prevail."

Leadership and Followership

This weekend I am going to be speaking on the role of both leading in the church and the role of following.  These are two hugely important topics that need to be addressed.  I hope those of you who read this blog and attend WCC will make it a priority to be at church this Sunday.  I don't say this as a ploy to get you in a seat.  I say it because every single Christ follower alive needs to hear and be taught on what they should expect from their leaders.  They also need to know what their leaders should expect from them as followers.

While I am on the topic of leaders, I want to ask you to do me a personal favor.  I want to ask you to pray for the leadership of our church.  I don't think it is any coincidence that over the last 2 days I have sat with two men who were in very important leadership roles at their churches that today are no longer there.  These men, both filled with integrity, acted in ways that demonstrated a loyalty that was greater to God than to individuals and it resulted in their whole lives being disrupted.  When I sat and listened to their stories, my heart hurt because I know the pain of leading.  I know the pain of being misunderstood.  I know the difficulty of doing the right thing even when it is hard and then suffering the repercussions. It shouldn't have to be a part of leadership, but I haven't met a leader yet that couldn't identify with what I just wrote.

I also want to use today's blog as an opportunity to praise the Elders of our church.  This past Sunday night our staff and elders got together to celebrate all the good things God is doing in our midst and to get to know one another better.  We ended the night with a time of prayer.  When I prayed, I said, "Lord, thank you for the Elders that you have placed alongside me at WCC.  These men are filled with integrity.  These are men who have stood up for what is right.  These men are the ones who stood in the trenches when the going got tough.  These are the men who have lead WCC to where it is today.  These are men I love and respect.  Thank you God for Rob Smith and Victor Wright."  If you don't know who these men are, I hope you'll get to know them.  They personify servant leadership and are great spiritual role models in our church.

Finally let me add this: God may be leading some of you to prayerfully consider becoming an Elder.  Initially we had set a date of January 31st as the deadline to receive Elder nominations.  I have decided to extend that for two more weeks.  I think God is moving in the hearts of some of the men and women in our church about pursuing this role.  If God has been speaking to you, my encouragement is to be obedient and jump in.  Leading is hard, but our mission of leading God's church and seeing people enter into a relationship with God is worth it!

I have got really bad news!

Ha.  Fooled you!  I really don't have bad news, but I'd be willing to guarantee you that when you read the title your eyes immediately  went to the body of the blog.  Why is that?  Well it's because the sad reality is that bad news is a draw.  In fact, I challenge you to watch the local or national news tonight and compare the positive stories they report verses the negative.  It will amaze you.

Let me tell you the reason I bring this up.  Today Willow Creek Community Church announced that two of it's teaching pastors, Randy Frazee and Gene Appel would be stepping down from their roles at the church to pursue other ministry opportunities. This is a huge loss and what makes it an even tougher pill to swallow is that it comes on the heels of another great teaching pastor named Mike Breaux stepping down just a few months earlier. This has to be an unbelievably hard time for one of my favorite men of God, Bill Hybels, the founding and now lead pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in  South Barrington, Illinois.  Compounding the problem is all the speculation, spoken and unspoken, that something bad is going on at Willow.

I blogged about this last week, but generally speaking, when people don't know the truth, they make something up and that is exactly what people are doing in this situation.  All around our nation people are speculating on Bill Hybels and his leadership and the church and its stability wondering what in the world is going on. Frankly, I think it is absurd that a man like Bill Hybels and a church like Willow Creek would have to defend their reputation or explain why change is occurring.  Change is inevitable, especially in a thriving ministry like Willow Creek. My guess is that each one of these men have appreciated the opportunity to learn under a man like Bill Hybels and now are ready to move on and lead their own church for the glory of God.  Each one is certainly capable.  In fact, those of you who attend WCC have heard me say on more than one occasion, I don't think there is any more gifted communicator in all of America than Gene Appel.  His no frill, humble, substantive style has been a huge encouragement to me over these last 4 years as I have watched and listened to him just about every week.

What Willow Creek and Bill Hybels need right now is prayer. He and his church have done so much good for the kingdom of God and been positive role models for so many people.  At his age Mr. Hybels should be able to wind down and enjoy the fruits of his many years of arduous labor.  Unfortunately, it looks like he has been left without a whole lot of support.  I hate that for him, but am confident that he will weather this storm and bring glory to God in the process. Today, I choose to intercede instead of interject.  We have enough speculative opinions out there.  Until I know the truth, I choose to believe the best.  I know that is what any of us would want if we were in Bill Hybels position. 

Follower Trap #3....Read it!

I have been listing the traps that followers of Christ can fall into if they aren't careful.  So far I have mentioned:

1. When followers don't know something, they make something up. 

2. Having the mindset that someone else will do it. 

Here is the third trap I want to mention.

Expecting someone else to be responsible for your spiritual growth

One of the reasons people give when they decide to leave the church is that they don't feel like they are being fed, hence they need to go someplace that is "deeper" in the word so that they can grow.  Believe it or not, at one point in my life I thought that this was a pretty reasonable excuse.  Not anymore!!  Maybe it took being a pastor to figure this out or maybe it was just a spiritual maturing on my part, but here is one thing I can say with 100% assurance: It is not the church's, small group leader's, Sunday school teacher's, or the pastor's job to grow anyone up spiritually.  Now, I didn't say that it's not my job to help, but spiritual growth is, by in large, the responsibility of the person wishing to achieve it.  When the apostle Paul talked about growing up spiritually he used the analogy of a race and said this:

You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally.

I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself. I Corinthians 9:24-27

In other words, what Paul is saying here is that if you want to grow spiritually, work hard at it.  Make it a priority.  Don't rely or expect someone else to do it for you and see what happens. Let me offer some very practical solutions to how this can be applied in our lives.  Here are 3 fundamental steps to growing spiritually....just in case your interested.

#1 Prioritize spending time with God alone.  I grew up hearing people encourage the concept of having a daily quiet time with God and to be honest resented it.  I don't know why the whole quiet time thing bothered me so much.  Maybe it's because I have ADD and have trouble sitting still in general, but I thought getting alone with God was ritualistic and stupid.  I was wrong!  Gordan McDonald compares our spiritual lives to a garden.  This garden (our inner world) is a place where the Spirit of God comes to make self disclosure, to share wisdom, to give affirmation or rebuke, to provide encouragement, and to give direction and guidance.  If this garden is not properly maintained it will soon be overrun by intrusive undergrowth and what's worse God does not often walk in disordered, unkempt gardens.   McDonald says, that if we ignore spending time with the Gardener of our inner lives, our gardens or lives will wind up barren and fruitless. I have found this to be so true in my life.  Anyone who is serious about growing spiritually, will get serious about spending time with God alone.

#2 Prioritize being at church.  Some die hards will disagree with this and say that they don't need church to grow spiritually, but I think you do!  God has designed the church to operate like a body – and a body needs the eye to act like an eye, and an ear to act like an ear. The church needs each of us to act like the way He has ordained for us to act in our God-given role.  When we neglect being at church not only does it weaken our spiritual lives it also weakens others who are involved as a part of the body.  Don't misunderstand me, I am not a zealot for never missing church, but when we look at church as a hit or miss proposition, we are dishonoring God, stunting our spiritual growth, and damaging the body as a whole. The Bible says in Ephesians 4:16 that "As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love."  Making church a priority is definitely a key to spiritual growth.

#3 Prioritize being in community. This is another one that I have struggled with over the years.  I don't know why, but I've always thought since spiritual growth was an individual thing, I didn't need anyone else to be involved with the spiritual growth process. That is simply not true.  Life is meant to be shared.  In fact, it is God's intention that we do life together.  Paul put it this way when he said, "I want us to help each other with the faith we have.  Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you." (Romans 1:12)  Building community is not always convenient, but so what.  Being a part of a community of believers shouldn't be predicated on convenience, but rather on the conviction that we need it for our spiritual growth.

Great followers of Christ take personal responsibility for their own spiritual growth and do those things that allow them to grow.  How are you measuring up in this area?

The sun has set for a good friend

I buried a dear friend of mine Tuesday.  Many of you who attend WCC knew Eddie Watkins and knew of Eddie's battle with so many physical ailments.  About a week ago Eddie decided to stop taking his dialysis and make his journey home.  Saturday morning, in the loving care of his wife Cathy, Eddie made the journey and today he is in heaven.

Over the years I have been asked to do quite a few funerals.  Some have been extremely difficult as I have had to stand with the family uncertain of what to say because I wasn't sure whether their loved one had put their faith and trust in Christ.  That wasn't the case with Eddie.  During the months before Eddie died, he and I spent some time together talking about his relationship with the Lord.  On one particular occasion, as I visited him in the hospital, I just point blank asked him, "Eddie do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?"  With no uncertainty in his voice, he responded, "Yes I do."

As I spoke about Eddie yesterday I reminded the family of 3 things.  First, Eddie was in a much better place.  I love the passage in Revelation that says that there is coming a day when Christ will wipe the tears from our eyes and there will be no more death and no more pain and suffering.  Why?  Because the former things have passed away.  The former things for Eddie consisted of sitting in a wheel chair unable to walk or run.  They consisted of not being able to drive his truck or go to ballgames and races.  They consisted of the painful experience of taking dialysis once a week.  His quality of life was so poor.  But God, in His loving mercy chose to wipe the tears from Eddie's eyes, to take away all the suffering and pain, and to welcome him home to a place where there won't be any more death.  Today Eddie is well.  Today Eddie can walk.  Today Eddie is home with the Lord.

I reminded the family that Eddie had a special place created just for him.  I spoke about how it's interesting that we put so much stock in things here on Earth when the Bible is clear that we are strangers and aliens here.  The apostle Paul referred to himself as a foreigner just passing through. The reality is this, we are not living in the land of the living trying to make it to the land of the dying, we are living in the land of the dying trying to make it to the land of the living.  Eddie's made it.  Praise be to God!

Finally, I spoke about the fact that when we know Jesus Christ as our own personal Savior, death creates a separation, but only for a little while. When I was a teenager Michael W. Smith wrote a song that said, "friends are friends forever if the Lord is the Lord of them".  These are catchy lyrics and great theology.  One day Eddie will welcome home all those he knew here on earth that had a relationship with Christ.  I will be one of those Eddie welcomes and I can't wait to see my dear friend.  While death certainly is a time of grief, as I write this I can say that I am so thankful for a God, that through his death, has taken some of the sting out of the pain.

Yes, Death has lost it's sting,
Thanks to the One,
Who has swallowed up death,
And gained victory for us.
The sting of death is sin,
And the power of sin is the law,
But praise God that He gives us victory,
Through Christ Jesus His Son!

See you soon Eddie!

Your friend,

Blake

Follower Trap #2

Last week I started a blog about followership and its importance.  The emphasis was on the fact that good followers make good leaders and just like good leaders can get off track, so can followers.  Here is my follower trap #2.

Having the mindset that someone else will do it.

In any organization, including the church, there is always a litany of important things that need to be done to make the organization run smoothly.  Unfortunately, many times, much of what needs to get done gets left undone due to the mindset that someone else will do it.  Think about it.  How many times have you heard someone on the job complaining that something they think should be a priority is being left undone and yet they haven't lifted a finger themselves to help or change the situation.  This happens a lot in the church.  In fact, there are two very specific areas this is seen vividly.

1. It's seen in giving.  Growing up as a pastor's son, I can't tell you how many times I have walked into churches all over the country and thought to myself, this is despicable.  I mean I have literally been in churches where the carpet was stained, light bulbs were burnt out, tables and chairs were falling apart, paint was peeling off the wall and the smell was a combination of disinfectant and mold.  Of course, the initial thought that ran through my mind was that the pastor didn't care and wasn't providing good leadership.  Sometimes that is the case, but more often than not, it isn't that the pastor that's the culprit.  Usually what has happened is that somewhere along the line the culture of the church has gone from being one of generosity to one of selfishness.  This culture is bread out of the mindset that someone else will do it. This should NEVER be the case.  Here's why. Giving is not only a biblical concept, but it is one that is imperative for any church to thrive.  If the  majority's mindset week after week is that we don't have to contribute someone else will take care of that part, the end result will be a church that is not only aesthetically lacking, but one where the staff and ministries of the church are less than adequate. There is no way that honors God. One of the best qualities that any follower, especially a Christ follower, can have is a generous spirit that says I will give.

2. It's seen in serving.  Anyone who has ever been a part of an organization has probably heard about the 80/20 rule.  This is the rule that states that 80% of the work gets done by 20% of the people.  When I first heard about this principle or rule I thought there is no way this can be the case in the church.  I was wrong!  In fact, many times 90% of the work gets done by 10% of the people.  Now why is that?  Well, it's very simple.  It is directly related to the mindset that says, someone else will do it.  Here is a news flash: NO THEY WON'T! And they shouldn't have to. The Bible teaches that the church operates much like a physical body operates.  And just like our physical bodies suffer when one part doesn't operate effectively, so it is with the church. The bottom line is this: If the church is to be all that God wants it to be, each person must take responsibility for using their gifts for the good of the whole.  In other words, it's everyones responsibility to serve, not just a few.  Let me ask you, can you imagine what kind of impact, not only our church, but churches everywhere would have if Christ followers made it a priority to do away with the someone else will do it mindset? Ira Chaleff puts it this way in The Courageous Follower, "If we serve only ourselves and not the leaders or the stakeholders (members) we are not followers but opportunists siphoning of the energy of the group to serve our own agendas."  Pretty strong words huh? I hope it's a call to action for many of us!

Letter To Me

"If I could write a letter to me and send it back in time to myself at 17" is the first line in a song written by country music star Brad Paisley.  That's right, I said country music.  Maybe it's because my dad loved country music and I was forced to listen to it growing up or maybe it's because it's just good, but I love it!  Anyway, I heard the song "Letter To Me" yesterday and I began thinking about what I would say if I could write a letter to me and send it back in time to myself at 17.  Here are a few thoughts on what I would say to myself.

1. Remember that the people you are trying so hard to impress, 10 years from now you will barely remember their names.

2. Mom and Dad really do know more than you think.

3. The whole thing about study hard because it will matter...well it matter's.

4. You see that kid everyone thinks is a nerd, one day he is going to be your boss so be nice to him.

5. You know that teacher you can't stand because you think she is so unfair and hard, she actually cares for you more than the teacher who lets you sleep through class.  Hard to believe I know, but it's true.

6. Practice eating the right foods now because the weight you can't seem to find at 17 will be the weight you won't be able to lose at 40 if you don't.

7. Cultivate your relationship with God because mom and dad won't always be around to talk to when you need help.  God will.

8. There really is more to life than football, Friday night, and girls.

Here are some of the closing lyrics in Brad Paisley's song, they sum it up for me too.

You've got so much ahead
You'll make new friends, you should see your kids and wife
And I'd end by saying have no fear
These are nowhere near the best years of your life.

Follower Trap #1

I got turned on to a guy by the name of Carey Niewhof's blog this week.  He has been blogging recently about "Follower's Traps."  I like that subject because so often I think people get riveted with what makes a good leader that they forget that being a good follower is important too.  We don't think of following as being a very noble task because in our culture we idolize leaders.  But the reality is following is a fundamental part of our lives.  Jesus said that if anyone wants to be associated with him, following is the most important single thing that they can do.  I mean how ridiculous would it have been if Jesus had said, "If anyone want to come after me, let them take up their cross, deny themselves and lead me?"  It wouldn't have worked.

In my opinion, it is great followers that help create great leaders just like bad followers can destroy them. For example, think about Bill Beliechek, the coach of the undefeated New England Patriots. Granted he may be an unbelievably gifted strategist and motivator, but unless his players are willing to listen to what he says and follow his game plan, he would be an average coach at best.  That's the way it is with any organization.  Without great followers, leadership is minimized.

So what makes a great follower?  Or better yet, what are some of the traps followers can fall into?  Let me try and answer this question as it relates to the church and our spiritual lives.  This is my trap #1that followers fall into.

When they don't know something, they make something up.

This past week the Elders and I sat through a training period where our trainer made the point that when people don't know the truth about an issue, more often than not, they will make something up.  I have found that to be especially true in the life of the church.  Unfortunately what happens many times is that people hear about things that have taken place and instead of going straight to the source, they assume.  What's worse is that once assumptions are made, they are hard to undo.  You know it's the proverbial, "Don't confuse me with the facts, I have already made up my mind mentality." This is extremely detrimental to the life of the church, or any organization for that matter, because it breeds rumor and innuendo.  It creates distrust and lack of loyalty.  It just isn't healthy.

Great followers, just like great leaders don't make assumptions.  Instead if there are situations that develop that cause concern, before they jump into the fray, they take time to do some fact gathering.  Then they confirm that they have accurate information and not just the "gossip" or opinion of someone who may not have their story straight.  This approach is not only good for the church it is the biblical approach.  William Safire said, "Never assume the obvious is true." In other words, what he is saying is make sure you have your facts straight. Great followers take that to heart.  I will talk about more traps that followers fall into in future blogs.  I want to close today's blog with a quote from John Ortberg.

"Great followers create unstoppable cultures.  Don't underestimate the power of great followership because to follow well is one of the greatest challenges in life.  Jesus came looking for followers.  And Jesus is looking for followers still.  Great followers will change the world, so YOU be a great follower."

Life Lessons From Basketball

Don't ask me why, but this year I took on the task, along with Brett Vines, of coaching WCC's middle school basketball team.  The boys on this team range in age from 12 to 14 years old.  I bring that up because there is a huge difference in the maturity level of a 14 year old compared to a 12 year old.  For instance, one of the 14 year olds on our team is 6'2.  We don't have any 12 year olds near 6 ft tall, in fact, some are pushing 5 ft. tall.  It makes for an interesting mix.

I wasn't sure how this team would fare when the season began.  Last year's team, coached by John Summers, was loaded with talent and went undefeated.  My suspicion going in was that that wouldn't be the case this year.  However, I might have underestimated.  This past Saturday night we played a team that was by far and away larger than us in size, but we absolutely wore them out!  In fact, in our first two games, our margin of victory has been over 20 points.  Who would have thought? 

I have to admit that being the competitive soul I am, I gloated for about a day thinking about our victories.  I even had the fleeting thought go through my mind that maybe I wasn't called to pastor, maybe I was called to coach basketball.  My wife reminded me very quickly though that I am barely 5'6 with boots on and that I needed to wake up and smell the coffee. I am not a basketball player, nor am I a basketball coach. Hence, this team isn't winning because of coaching.  So what has been the key to our early success?  Here are my observations.

1. Unselfish play.  If you have ever worked for an organization or played on a team where one specific individual thinks that he/she deserves all the attention, you know then how frustrating that can be.  I mean whether you are a North Carolina fan or not, one of the things that anyone who grew up watching the tar heels play can appreciate about Dean Smith was that he was all about TEAM.  Think about all the great players that have come through the program over the years and yet I can't ever remember a team, even during Michael Jordan's tenure there, where there was just one main go to guy.  That's the way this team is, no stars, no egos, no prima donnas, just boys who want to win!  That is the kind of team I want to play on.

2. Ignorance/Faith.  Crazy to think that ignorance would be an ingredient in a winning team, but sometimes it is. Let me explain.  Sometimes people/players think they know too much which makes coaching them impossible.  I don't know of anything more frustrating than trying to coach someone on how they could improve, only to have them tell you, "my way works just fine".  None of these boys do that.  They except the fact that they don't know everything and have enough faith in Brett and my limited knowledge of the game to do what we ask.  I love that! It makes coaching so much easier.

3. A Winning Attitude. Winning attitudes are essential to winning.  Some people would disagree and say that winning is essential to have a winning attitude, but that is just not true.  I don't care what it is that you are attempting to do in life, whether it's playing basketball, working for an organization, or pastoring a church, if you don't believe in yourself then you have already been defeated.  It was so funny this past Saturday as I watched my "little" team walk out to center court to greet the group of "giants" they were getting ready to play, only to hear one of the "giants" say, "We are going to kill em!"  I then witnessed one of our players say to another, "They are in trouble now."  It didn't matter how big the challenge was, my boys believed they could and would win....and they did.

I don't know if it's because I grew up playing sports or what, but some of my life's greatest lessons have been taught by observing what takes place in the heat of competition. It's funny,  I thought I was going to come out and teach these boys a thing or two.  As it turns out, I am the one who's doing most of the learning.  I am grateful for the lessons they are teaching me about success.  It's not just applicable on the basketball court, it's applicable to life.

Leadership Secrets....

Whenever I speak about controversial subjects someone will always ask me, "So did you get any angry e-mails about what you talked about yesterday?"  My response is almost always the same.  Yes!  It has amazed me since I have been in ministry the way individuals respond to messages that deal with issues that are spoken about in the media/public all the time and yet deemed inappropriate from the stage at church.  Now granted, I understand that when children are in the room there has to be some discernment, but that works both ways.  In fact,  I can remember several years ago speaking about Joseph and Mary and how hard it must have been for them to remain sexually pure before marriage.  I mean it's only logical that Mary and Joseph dealt with the same issues we all deal with right?  Well, one individual didn't like what I had said and sent me an e-mail saying he was highly offended that I had used the word sex 11 times in the message.  I don't know where he came up with the number 11, but I had both the transcript and the tape and the reality was I said the word sex twice.  This guy just chose to get mad.

Sometimes I think people are just looking for reasons to be offended which is something as a leader, I, along with every other leader I know, has had to learn to deal with. I like what Oren Harari author of The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell says about this issue.  I read this this morning, he says, "Leadership can't be a popularity contest.  Trying not to offend anyone or trying to get everyone to like you, will set you on the road to mediocrity.  Why?  Because leaders who are afraid to make people angry are likely to waver and procrastinate when it comes time to make tough choices.  Leaders who care more about being liked than being effective are unlikely to confront the people who need confronting...They won't challenge the status quo.  And inevitably, by not challenging tradition, they hurt both their own credibility and their organization's performance."  That is one of the most inspirational quotes on leadership I have ever read!

This Sunday I am going to be dealing with the issue of "Is God Homophobic?"  I know there are already some who are concerned about the content and how it will impact their children.  Well, rest assured that we will make sure that younger children will have a place to go during the service because this really is one of those messages that has an age limitation.  However, for those individuals that choose to stay, you must know that this message may disturb you, it may provoke you, or, it may give you hope.  I am OK with any of those three responses because the bottom line is what I am going to say needs to be said.  It's a message about love and restoration.  It's a message about being obedient.  It's a message about truth.  So, no matter the outcome, because it's not about me but all about God, I know I will sleep comfortably as I have truly come to grips with the fact that leadership really isn't a popularity contest.  No, leadership is about challenging the status quo and dealing with the hard issues even when the immediate outcome isn't always fun to deal with.