Embrace Your Story

We are all storytellers…some embrace it and learn and develop the story, while others ignore it.

We are all a part of the greatest story ever told…God’s story.  He’s included you and I to be a part of the story that He’s writing for eternity.  I think this is why we’re so drawn to love the narrative…the imagination…the wonder.  We turn everything into a story, and sometimes the story gets in the way, and sometimes we tell it well.  But there’s never been a better time for storytelling.

My goal is to increase your self-awareness, and part of that growth is our ability to constantly process our stories in a top-of-mind reality.  Often a good dose of self-reflection will allow us the opportunity to reflect on our stories.  We need a source for our stories, and that’s why I’ve always encouraged students to keep a very detailed journal.  I think a wonderful idea is to create a library of your life stories.  Build them around these 4 prompters: people / places / things / times and events.

Write down the story of how you met your spouse.  Write down an embarrassing story from your childhood that we can all laugh about now.  Write down the story of your greatest triumph but also your greatest struggle.  People are drawn to stories, and when you can incorporate them into the way you lead, walls are removed and access is granted.

Every good story has an exposition / conflict / resolution.  Craft the stories of your life with these elements, and keep them tucked away for moments to share with others as we do life together.

I’m working on my library of stories now…I think it would even be fun to do with friends and family.  Hope you’ll consider doing the same.

Tell your story…then live His story.

God Bless,

-ABB

Don't Despise Small Beginnings

I wanted to take a moment and hopefully provide you with some encouragement…

I don’t care where you are on this journey of life: whether you’re frustrated and can’t figure out your purpose / whether you’re chasing your dream but haven’t seen it fulfilled / whether you’re on the path and are starting to see the fruit / or whether you’re looking back on a season of success…I want to remind you:

Do Not Despise the Day of Small Beginnings… (Zechariah 4:10)

When you’re in the days of small beginnings, it’s often hard to see what God is building.  But everyone starts small. 

There is no such thing as an overnight success.

Everyone fails.

Everyone experiences frustration.

Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy.

You know these things…but it’s always good to be reminded. 

Jesus used the tiny mustard seed to explain the faith we needed because it was a tangible representation of not only the power of God to overcome any limitation, but as a starting point to believe great things come with small and simple beginnings.  

And if you’re in a season of growth and expansion, I would encourage you to embrace the small beginnings, and use it as a reminder of all that God has done.  The fresh perspective you’ve been looking for to move forward may be in the humble response to your start.  

Even if it doesn’t feel like we’ve progressed, we can look back on the faithfulness of God and realize how far we’ve come.  I bet you’re doing better than you think you are. 

So Pray Big…Start Small…He is always Faithful!

-ABB

Writing for Tomorrow

Every day, I’ve been trying to follow the same pattern of expectation…

Before I go to bed, I want to write the next day’s date at the top of my journal.  It’s a simple step, but one that insures that I do a couple of things.

First, it means I have to write something in the blanks of that space tomorrow.  I need to process / dream / think / understand what’s happening in my head and put it into action on paper.  If I don’t add anything to my journal for the day, I would have to mark thru the date, as if it didn’t exist.  I don’t want to do that.  One of my favorite verses is Psalm 90:12:

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (NIV)

Second, I believe that there is hope for tomorrowwhen we take action today.  The somewhat insignificant act of jotting down tomorrow’s date is looking forward with anticipation.  I use my journal in 3 ways: looking back at what I’ve learned, looking at the present to create an outlet, and for a brief moment every evening, looking to the future expectantly. 

I want to cherish what God is doing in my life…you can do the exact same thing in this easy step of faith.  Know that the best is always yet to come; we serve a faithful God with daily expectancy. 

God Bless,

-ABB

You Are Creative

I believe that we’re all born creative.  We are made in the image of the Creator, therefore we have been designed to be creative.  

The fact that we’re all creative beings, and many of us don’t feel that way is usually due to several different factors.

I think the 1st factor is the truth that most of us allow frustration to block our creative process.  We second guess our abilities because of previous failures or setbacks. 

When our frustration gets the best of us, fear will often creep in, limiting our creativity.  And this is the next factor that keeps us from experiencing our true creative self.  We become afraid to show people what we’re really made of / what inspires us / what drives us.  A lifetime of frustrations will either push us to overcome our fears or cripple us underneath them. 

So my best advice to becoming a true creative, the way God intended you to be: GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY!

The only person that can keep you from your calling is you.  We’re so lost in our own heads most of the time, that we can’t envision the creativity that is often buried deep.  Am I saying all of us can paint the Mona Lisa or sing the National Anthem in front of thousands?  No.  Am I saying that there’s a unique creative outlet that God has designed inside of you that is desperately trying to get out?  Definitely!  It’s your job to figure out in what capacity that looks like for you. 

Go be creative!  Just don’t forget to get out of your own way.  It will be messy at first, but the more you pursue it, the more the Creator will work in you and through you!

-ABB

I'm Glad I Didn't Write a Book in my 20s

I’ve run into a lot of 20 something’s in the last couple of months that tell me they are aspiring writers and that they want to write a book.  It got me thinking…I’m really glad I didn’t write a book in my 20s.  Not that I don’t think there are some amazing millenials with a ton of talent and insight, but I’m really understanding in my mid-30s how far I’ve come from where I was in my early to mid-20s. 

Spend your 20s absorbing information and experience like a sponge.  Read everything you can…listen to thought leaders on the subjects you’re passionate about…become an expert in the field you want to engage with.

…then write your book.  

I love the age we live in, where there have never been fewer barriers to entry for writers.  But let’s remember that the goal is to be learners for the rest of our lives, and sometimes we need to slow our roll on writing from little to no experience.  I’m still learning, and I too want to write a book…but only in the last couple of years do I believe I’ve gained some of the insight that I think might help others, only because I’ve lived it. 

Maybe my 50 year old self will tell my mid-30s self that I’ve still got a lot to learn…I hope so! 

Don’t be afraid to explore now for experience later.  

All the Best!

-ABB

Make it Personal

A couple of days ago, I shared a post with you about creating a “plus” experience for your guests / customers.  This is a vision that has to be clearly and consistently communicated, but at the end of the day it is the staff and / or volunteers that will drive this experience and ultimately deliver the desired outcome.

And the method to this buy-in is from our staff / volunteers is making it personal.

We are “owners” in our vision / dedication / unity that have responsibilities, not “members” with rights.

If you can get the people delivering the “magic” to buy in to this way of thinking, and make it personal, then the “plus” experience becomes an overflow of that ownership. 

There is no secret sauce…it’s empowering your employees to know that we have a common goal, and that they play a huge role in making it happen.  Dave Ramsey teaches his staff that they should each treat their job as though they are self-employed.  If you buy into an organization at that level, there is an amount of care that is associated to it that cannot be overemphasized. 

So what are you doing for your team to make sure that they know how personal this is?  Are you sharing stories / casting the vision / empowering each role?

It’s the baseline for creating an incredible experience for your guests / customers.  One that will have them talking…and when people talk in today’s social media culture, it’s the difference between winning and losing.

God Bless,

-ABB

What Advice?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what advice I would give my 20-year-old self…if I somehow had magical powers to accomplish this encounter…

And what I keep coming back to is this: self-awareness.

I’m convinced, that your ability to be completely and honestly aware of your strengths and your weaknesses is a critical key to your success.  I’m learning that now, but I’ve wasted a lot of years finally coming to this conclusion.

I have spent so much wasted time trying to improve the things that I suck at.  Time that I could have used developing my strengths, and propelling my career and life forward.

I want to give the next generation a gift: spend some real time analyzing what your passions are and what gives you life and energy.  Align it with what you’re really good at.  Blend your passion and your strengths, and it’s hard not to succeed.

Be introspective / be observant / be honest with yourself.  If you need help, ask family / close friends to be gut-wrenchingly honest with you and tell you your strengths and weaknesses.  But you have to know what they are, and the more you’re in tune with this knowledge of your own self-awareness, the more success you’ll find in almost every aspect of life.

I want to provide a caveat, too: don’t focus unnecessary time and energy on your weaknesses…we all have them, so embrace your limitations.  Understand that there is a purpose in your weakness, and don’t allow the fear and the negative voices keep you from moving forward.  One of your newly developed strengths will now be understanding what makes you tick: both sides of the strength and weakness coin.  Build on the strength of self-awareness.

Be strong today…& be aware.

Blessings,

-ABB

The Heartbeat of Pluster

Confession time: I have a real fascination with everything Disney...from Walt to the parks to movies to merchandise. I'm not a fanatic (yet), but there's a little bit of a romance going on. 

My real passion is understanding the model in which Disney runs their parks. This stems directly from Walt himself, who knew that the magic was in the method.This method was known as "plussing" the experience.

Employees are called "cast members" because any and every interaction with customers are "on stage." I think the real strength in the parks is the experience that is created by the cast members. Walt also encouraged his imagineers to look for new and exciting ways attractions could be plussed, as a living and breathing organism.

So...what if our organization or even our church consistently created a "plus" experience for our guests? How could this change the dynamic for the people we're trying to reach as they walk through our doors? This can be applied, and through vision and teaching, we can duplicate this plussing effect!

I have some practical ways I believe this can be implemented, and will be sharing a lot more in the coming weeks and months.  The first connection we'll make is the responsibility our staff and volunteers must understand: that it's always personal.

...I wanted to get you to start thinking about the "+".  It's what my startup "Pluster" is all about: Plus The Experience / Connect the Story.  

More to come real soon...thanks for tuning in!

-ABB

Social Media & Small Groups

Church happens in community…and community happens Monday-Saturday, not just Sunday morning.

As your church grows, the more and more this becomes true.

Social Media gives us the opportunity to BE the church during the week.  We’ve placed a tremendous amount of effort and resources on small groups, and that’s because they make a large church feel small.  Andy Stanley likes to say, “Church happens in circles, not in rows.”

Small groups typically only meet once per week, as well.  So…if our small group is the church, we should be finding ways of connecting additionally throughout the week as well.  After all, aren’t we supposed to be “doing life together?”

So I’m encouraging small group leaders, and volunteer team leaders..embrace social media!  I’ve seen great examples of adult groups using private Facebook groups.  I’ve seen student groups excel with GroupMe and Snapchat.  Whatever medium you’re using, embrace it to connect your group throughout the week.  I promise it makes a huge difference.

We have the technology to help harness community.  Nothing is a replacement for gathering together on a regular basis.  But to bridge the gap every week, I want to encourage you to use the tools that are available to make people feel as though they belong…after all, isn’t that what we’re all looking for?

God bless!

-ABB

#Wordsnotusedoftenenough

There was a hashtag on Twitter trending worldwide the other day, called #wordsnotusedoftenenough …which I really enjoyed scrolling through.  It’s funny, because as I was seeing an overwhelming response to several particular phrases, I was reminded of 2 phrases we were taught growing up…and 1 that we probably weren’t taught enough.

The “magic” words we were taught: 

1.       “Please”

2.       “Thank You”

And the "magic words we may never have seen demonstrated:

1.    "I was wrong"

Quick question for today: what would your world look like if we were just a little more thankful / appreciative / pleasant / humble / self-aware?  The “thank you” that you were expecting may not evoke much emotion…but the “thank you” you were expecting that was never received most likely will.  And the unexpected “thank you” always evokes a response in us.  How about the unexpected “I’m sorry?”  I think it’s just an overflow of the love that grows inside us for one another. 

Maybe we throw out our intentions, and send that thank you note/text we thought about last week…or maybe it’s time for us to admit we were wrong…

You know this is important, just like I do.  But if you’re like me, there’s always a gap between our knowledge and our actions.  Maybe we just take a couple of those this week, and act on them?  I think that would be pretty great.

I thank you (sincerely) for reading, I hope this blesses you.

-ABB