Away

So... am back in Mombasa, my favorite vacation spot in the entire world! Only am not on vacation, but attending the annual retreat of the Nairobi Chapel lead pastors. Great to catch up and to hear what God is doing in all the other churches. As well as to synchronize plans for 2009…Am definitely privileged to be part of the Chapel family; what a great team of leaders!

More and more I’m realizing that one of my biggest responsibilities is developing other leaders around me. An ancient Chinese proverb supposedly (not quite sure how ancient or how Chinese) says, ‘If you are planning for one year, grow rice. If you are planning for twenty years, grow trees. If you are planning for centuries, grow men’. I’m the product of much investment by others and I pray that God will use me to invest in and develop great leaders around me in my lifetime.

Next week though, I do get to stay behind and vacation @ the Coast for a few days with Carol & the kids. We’ll be staying with some good friends and I look forward to some R & R. Changing the world can hold off till next year!

Media Revolution

Kudos to Citizen TV for kicking off a renaissance of Kenyan content on our TV screens. The other stations are paying attention and working hard to catch up! Several years ago, Carol & I ran a video production company and it was very difficult to sell local content to our TV stations then. They preferred cheap Hollywood (or Bollywood or Nollywood) re-runs.

The current situation is really a win-win-win though. We get (hopefully) more relevant TV programs, local production skills increase, more jobs are created in the sector, and TV stations can focus on their core business; transmission of programs and production of news shows.

Though we don’t watch much TV, we treat ourselves every week to my favorite program; Citizen’s ‘Mother In Law’ and Carol’s; NTV’s ‘Wash & Set’. We have also both enjoyed ‘Churchill Live’ another NTV show. Very glad to see Churchill, a Christian comedian, building a name across our country for clean comedy.

Media and the arts are such powerful tools. I believe the time has come for radical kingdom minded Christians to proactively engage them. As musicians, actors, dancers, DJ’s, writers, editors, graphic artists, event organizers, record label executives, TV producers, movie makers, media station owners etc. And not necessarily through ‘Christian media stations' or by producing ‘Christian programs’. But as undercover agents, in every media outlet, set quietly in place to win the battle for hearts and minds of our generation…

The current situation is a great opportunity for Christians to get in at the ground level and to set the agenda. Let’s produce creative & entertaining content that will promote healthy societal values.

And while I’m going on about media, two really great movies made by Christians that are ‘must watch’ (neither is local). One is ‘Faith Like Potatoes’ (www.faithlikepotatoes.com) shot in SA. And the other is ‘Amazing Grace’ (www.amazinggracemovie.com), about British MP Wilberforce, an amazing man who changed his generation.

Have a great week!

Summit

This week the Mavuno pastoral team is attending the Global Leadership Summit, a training event for Christian leaders hosted by the Nairobi Baptist Church. It’s a good bonding event for us as a team and also a time to network with other Christian leaders from across the city. For me, also a great time to sit at the feet of great Christian leaders and just learn…

My treat of the day yesterday was hearing Bill Hybels speak. He’s senior pastor of Willow Creek Church, which puts together the annual Summit all around the world. For some reason I’d expected his address would be on video then I realized he was there in the flesh! Anyhow, it was great to see, hear and even shake the hand of this great man who’s had a huge impact on church leaders across the world, myself included. He’s the one from whom I gained the conviction that the church is the hope of the world. It was great observing this mature leader who God has used to accomplish so much. He spoke about some of his leadership mentors and the things he’s learnt from them.

The rest of the speakers were on video. Jim Collins, of ‘Good To Great’ fame, spoke about the qualities of a Level 5 leader. [His bestselling book was an exposition of a 5-year research on the companies that have had extraordinary results over several decades. One of his findings was that there was a qualitative difference between leaders of these companies when compared to leaders of similar companies that hadn’t had the same longevity. His ‘Level 5 leader’, who displays both genuine personal humility and ferocious determination to accomplish the organizations goals, very closely resembles Jesus’ own model of leadership!] Anyway he challenged us about the Level 5 decisions we are facing at work; those that require us to make personal sacrifices for the cause. Good stuff.

Interestingly, Jim sees having charisma as a liability for leaders! Because charismatic leaders often get used to leading based on their own gifts as opposed to building systems that will accomplish the organizations goals long after they’re gone. So he taught how to overcome ‘the curse of charisma’!

God really spoke to me through Gary Haugen of International Justice Mission, who talked about leading people in the things that matter to God. Just because I’m leading and people are following doesn’t mean I’m leading in the things God is passionate about. If I want my leadership to matter, then I need to lead in the things that matter to God. His was a very challenging call for Christian's to be involved in the work of justice, with some practical pointers about how do so.

Am blessed to love what I do. And to be part of Mavuno’s incredible staff team. And to belong to such a fun church where God is at work and anything is possible.

Peace

Back

Am back to work after a week of rest. It was one of those breaks where I didn’t do any travel, errands or projects but simply lounged and recuperated. And I feel much better for it. Great to be back to Mavuno though, after a month away. And to begin a new series called True North, about living lives of purpose.
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This week, we might as well be the 51st state of the US; all our national attention is focused westwards on that country’s elections. Despite myself, it’s hard to not get caught up with the Obamamania, a word that could easily make it into next year’s dictionaries! I suspect that as a nation, Obama gives us an opportunity to vicariously participate in an election that leaves us all united and feeling good about ourselves. The kind of experience we wish we could have had in January...

He also gives us a respite from the uncertainties and hard realities of how to deal with the Waki report. Wishing this report away is clearly not going to help us in the long run. And while it’s important not to condemn anyone without sufficient proof, its equally important to demonstrate to our political leaders that they can’t cause mayhem and bloodshed and then hide behind tribal politics. This is certainly a test of leadership for our president/prime minister duo and I pray that they will be bold and not cave in to pressure.

Meanwhile, I’m looking forward this Friday to ‘Dress To Address’, a dinner/dance event this Friday 7.30pm at the Mavuno Dome. Hosted by ZanaA, proceeds will go towards an initiative to provide sanitary towels to Kenyan school girls who can’t afford them. I plan to be there. Please come and let’s support a great cause!

Faith Paradox

The Waki report is a reminder for us about how fragile our peace really is. And about our need as a nation to deal with the real issues that brought us to the precipice in January. So that by God's grace, we'll be at a very different place in 2012. It’s not the only sobering reality facing us right now though.

Columnist Robert Shaw in an article in one of our dailies recently listed some of the massive economic problems we are currently facing as a nation...

• The havoc wrecked by the post-election violence earlier in the year that adversely affected our economy
• Two deficient rainy seasons in succession that have negatively affected agriculture, which is the source of most jobs in our economy
• Escalating global food, fuel and fertilizer prices, resulting in inflation of 25% or more and reducing purchasing power and increasing poverty
• Decline in Diaspora remittances (due to the economic crisis in the West), an important source of foreign currency inflow.
• Financial pressure in developed economies that will likely lead to a setback in tourism numbers here.
• A likelihood that the problems in the global financial system will infect our own
• The IMF warning that the world is “on the cusp of a recession” and that there will be zero growth in the developed economies next year.

He concludes that it’s not a question as to whether Kenya will be affected by global recession but how much.

Most of us are already feeling the consequences; increased cost of living (I discovered over the weekend that a gas cylinder that cost 1200/- a year ago now costs 1800/-), higher interest rates, and a generally harder business environment.

Walala! It’s easy to slowly sink into a general malaise of low-grade depression amidst all the gathering storm clouds. To wonder how we got ourselves here. To live fearful and anxious lives, wondering whether we will survive. And yet I believe the challenges facing us as individuals present us with an opportunity.

The problem is that fear limits what God can do in our lives. But the opposite is true; faith allows God to carry out His purpose in our lives. That’s why Paul is able to say in 2Cor.12:9, ‘Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why for Christ’s sake I delight in weaknesses…. For when I am weak, then I am strong’.

I call this the ‘paradox of faith’. When we’re strong, we tend to trust in our resources & hold back from trusting in God. We forfeit His divine power and end up limited to our own inadequate resources. When we’re weak however, we (hopefully) cling to God with all we have knowing that we have no other resource. We’re freed by faith to tap into His divine strength & perspective. We’re no longer afraid of what the future holds.

So here’s the paradoxical good news. If you’re feeling weak & helpless – that may be exactly where God wants you! Begin to call out to the Lord, knowing that only He can save you. The good news is that your faith is will not only please Him (Heb.11:6), but will create opportunities to experience God’s strength & victory during the rest of 2008. And God willing, you’ll have some amazing testimonies to share come the end of the year!

Decongesting Life

I greatly enjoyed the long weekend; hanging out with family members as well as kicking back and watching a couple of high-octane-low-intelligence-required movies. As much as I enjoy hard work, I also enjoy hard rest, and three public holidays in one month is pretty cool! Being forced to slow down often reminds me that work is a part of life and not the sum of it. And that the journey is just as important as the destination.

Here's an interesting article by Tim Ferris who wrote 'The Four Day Workweek' on 9 habits in order to simplify congested lifestyles.

The Responsibility Of Leadership

Is it just me or does there seem to be an increase of terrible accidents on our roads? It feels like deja vu ~ a flashback to a time in the past when it was nothing exceptional to read headlines about horrible bus and matatu crashes resulting in massive life losses. And that's not suprising because whatever highway I'm on nowadays, there's a PSV hurtling by at 100km/h or more. We buried the Michuki-rules and now, we're burying Kenyans everyday. I wonder - does our transport minister still feel like Pilate, that the deaths of these Kenyans are not his business?

Being a far from perfect leader myself, I hate to complain; but I just had to vent about that one! It's hard to sit back and watch the wanton suffering brought about by such avoidable causes. Anyone else feeling me?

So... here's to God raising some great leaders in our generation who will change this nation. In politics, governance, business, media, education, etc. Some great quotes for those reading this that are part of the change...

• The measure of a man is what he does with power (Pittacus)
• Leadership is action, not position (Donald McGannon)
• All power is trust (Benjamin Disraeli)
• It's amazing how much people can get done if they do not worry about who gets the credit (Sandra Surnney)
• One test of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency (unknown)

May we be faithful stewards of whatever leadership responsibility God has entrusted to us this week!