mark o'brien

So, I get this phone call today from a research group doing a little survey on a person I have recently done some business with…  would I mind answering a few questions about the person in question?

Well, the person in question was very helpful to me and I felt they went the extra mile in helping me out, so, no, I don’t mind answering a few questions about them…  especially if some good feedback would help them out.  No problems.

But then, this thing took a turn for the ridiculous when they asked me questions and I gave a good answer and then they started repeating everything I had just said SLOWLY as they typed in the responses.  After a couple of minutes, it was painful hearing them slowly garble my eloquent (!) responses into their typed efforts, not-so-behind-the-scenes.  Crazy bad!

I just don’t get it…  surely a business based around phone interviews would simply record the interview and then transcribe the responses afterwards?  That seems simple, elegant, and far more user-friendly, especially if you’re going to form the interview around open-ended questions which don’t simply require a yes/no or number answer.

Sometimes, you just shake your head in amazement…

FROM THE PASTOR

Last week, while in Melbourne for a few days, I enjoyed a taxi ride from the airport to the conference centre where I was staying, and met the most fascinating cab driver I’ve chatted to in quite a while.

It didn’t take long for me to engage him in conversation, and I quickly discovered that this lovely older man of Lebanese background, with his wonderful Lebanese/Aussie accent, had a great many opinions on many topics. We had a wide ranging discussion on all sorts of things from the demise of local garages and corner delis, the GST, the taxi industry in Melbourne, his family, and a bunch of other topics. It was a 45 minute ride and we got through a lot of stuff! One thing that was quite interesting, and also quite funny, was that he somehow managed to attribute pretty much every disaster in his life to John Howard… in fact, after a couple of problems that led back to John Howard, I began to think ahead as we covered new topics to try and anticipate how John Howard was responsible for them too! And, sure enough, John was indeed responsible for them too… sometimes obviously so, and sometimes through some creative connections.

It was an entertaining trip, but it did provide two highlights for me that I reflected on quite a bit later on…

Firstly, it was amazing to me that this guy looked at the world through a certain lens which game him a certain perspective of life, in which sadly John Howard was responsible for almost everything bad. It was kind of funny, but also sad. Funny to me, because standing from the outside I could see how absurd this was, but not so funny to him. And I wondered whether I do this too, in my own way. We all have a lens through which we view life, and I guess those lenses aren’t always good or helpful. What a powerful thing to be able to view life from a variety of perspectives and to gain a broader sense of reality! I prayed right then and there that God would keep me from being close-minded and one-eyed.

But the second highlight was very sad for me… this taxi driver, in the midst of another tirade against the terrible John Howard, paused and told me that he was sad because his life was not the life he had wanted to live and it was too late now… he was resigned, he told me, to the fact that his life would never be much. It was over. He was a poor taxi driver in Melbourne, doing the best he could with what John Howard had left him. In that moment, in a taxi cab hurtling down a Melbourne freeway, I was very sad for this man and his loss of hope and future. And I was so thankful that I don’t feel this way, and that my sense of my life’s journey is much richer and deeper than feeling at the mercy of every swirl and storm of fate.

If there is one thing I am very convinced of, it’s that our God is the God of new beginnings and fresh starts, and it is NEVER too late to begin again, and in God there is always a future and hope of better things.

When I was a kid, I remember playing a game on the beach that involved building a wall of sand to keep the rising tide on my little piece of beach at bay. At the tide slow rose and began to erode my sand barricade, I would jump from spot to spot reinforcing, pushing more sand into the gap, just in time for the next slosh of water to eat away at my line in the sand.

I often think about that memory when I think about leadership, whether it be on the line in a combat situation, or running a non-profit organisation, or the captain of a sports team, CEO of a multinational, a general in the war room, whatever… so often, one of the key functions of leadership is all about holding a line. In a number of ways we define certain kinds of boundaries through our leadership, sometimes in the form of progress made in certain areas, or conquering chaos and dysfunction in others, and then a good deal of our efforts become about holding the line, keeping the hill, repelling the enemies (direct and indirect) who desire to take back what we have gained. The attacks may be subtle and sneaky, and sometimes they may be full frontal assaults, but you spend a lot of energy motivating and cajoling your people to stand firm and hold the line.

It’s exhausting, and sometimes even feels futile. Sometimes, it’s very exciting as we progress forward rapidly and take new ground. But always, at the end of the day, there comes a line that must be held again, and in many respects, it seems to me that great leadership is defined by how well we are able to hold the line.

Perhaps, to put it another way, if you’re in a leadership role but there don’t seem to be any lines to be held with urgency, any progress to be guarded at all costs, any new territory to keep, then whatever you are doing, you’re not leading.

One of the things most leaders struggle with is that their organisational cultures resist change and progress, with a tendency to cling fast to the status quo, whether it is healthy or dysfunctional. I guess it’s part of the human condition, but it is also a huge problem for the leader who aspires to bring about better things.

I believe that one of the most important things any organisation can do is develop a culture of experimentation, where there is an openness to trying out new things and freedom to experiment and play outside the box. I often encourage leaders to move quickly to start pushing the box out by suggesting a variety of experiments, often with a time limit, a stop point to evaluate success, and the clear intention to keep what works and kill what doesn’t.

I see three huge strategic benefits to this approach:

1. You open up the door in a non-threatening way to try stuff and begin to shift your organisational culture to one where change becomes the norm. Putting change in terms of experiments often provides a freedom that is simply not there when it sounds like the change might be permanent. Insisting that success will be evaluated at a set point in time gives people comfort that they may not be stuck with something that doesn’t work. This can be a crucial cultural shift.

2. You open the door in your organisation to measuring things. Many organisations have created protectionist cultures that eschew measurement and evaluation because it’s safer and easier to avoid that kind of critique and feedback (another part of the human condition), and yet every effective leader knows that measurement is crucial to forward progress. Measurement is a huge question (what to measure, etc.), but until you can get your people used to the idea that measurement is ok, then everything will continue on in a vague fog of feelings about how we’re going rather than any serious metrics. So, when you pose an experiment which will be explicitly evaluated, you begin to introduce measurement into your culture, and that’s a huge step forward in itself.

3. You open the door to killing things that don’t work. Most well-established organisations have an enormous momentum towards maintaining “the way we have always done it”, ensuring that change is very unattractive. Some things may be abject failures to the external observer, and yet will be clung to with an amazing tenacity, often quite irrationally. When you begin to experiment with a stated openness to killing something that doesn’t work, you begin to create a culture that says failure is ok because it teaches us things, and it’s ok to stop things if they’re not accomplishing or contributing.

These three benefits alone make creating an experimental culture a no-brainer… it’s surprisingly easy to get people to try stuff if they sense that it is just a trial or experiment, and the changes that ensue in your culture can often be life-changing. You will be a more effective leader if the word “experiment” becomes a regular part of your vocabulary. Give it a go… try it out…

I’ve been really thinking a lot lately about whether the whole social networking space defined by tools like Twitter and Facebook are really worth engaging in.

Recently, just due to a very full-on schedule and lots of late meetings, etc., I found I went a few days without really engaging much with either Facebook or Twitter, and after an initial (and fleeting) sense of missing out, I got over that pretty quickly and realised that I could actually walk away from them without much loss.

There would, without question, be some loss, but the vast majority of input coming into my life through these tools is generally banal and fairly egocentric. It does not add value to my life knowing what yummy thing someone is having for dinner, or that they’ve just seen such-and-such movie, etc. I just find my thinking and mind cluttered by an endless stream of trivialities, and this level of distraction cannot possibly help one to think deeper and more reflectively about life and purpose. I want to be deep and purposeful, but I don’t think that’s really possible if your attention of dispersed in hundreds of shallow directions.

I used to journal a lot, and I used to post on this blog a lot. Both of these activities called me to think and think deeply. At least that was my goal, and I think it did help me to articulate important stuff going on in my head. And, I think I can pin-point the demise of those two disciplines to the period in which Twitter and Facebook became more prominent in my daily activities, and I don’t think I like the impact that’s had on me.

I know that a bunch of folks will accuse me of being flip-floppy on this, having been a big proponent of social technology and the benefits of “ambient awareness”, but I’m really starting to have second thoughts about it all. After having experimented and participated over a couple of years, I’m really starting to doubt. There are some positives, and I’ve enjoyed staying loosely connected with long-lost friends, and folks from all around the world. But, it’s been a trade-off, and all those loose connections have cost me something as well.

The biggest question for me in all of this is: Is it possible to be a purposeful and highly productive person, having a meaningful and significant impact in this world, while also spending a large chunk of time and attention on what is largely trivial and banal?

It’s always amazing to me how fast news travels, and so this is my attempt to get ahead of the jungle drums and let you know about an important change happening for me and our family.

WHAT’S THE BIG NEWS? The big scoop is that, as of 28 March 2010, I will no longer be serving as Senior Pastor of Warnbro Community Church. I’m sure that this will come as a surprise, and perhaps even a shock to some, but in recent months I have felt certain that God has been calling me step down from this role that I have held for almost 10 years. It’s a huge decision, but one we feel is totally right for us at this time.

I want to be quite clear about this…. I am NOT leaving Warnbro because of some issue or big problem.

Stop, and read that again.

There are NO leadership disputes or disagreements. Far from it! This is an awesome church, and has been a wonderful place to serve. This has been one of the most difficult aspects of leaving… it’s not because some issue or problem. It’s about a sense of God’s leading in our lives. I have been very privileged to serve and lead Warnbro Church, and it has been a huge part of my family’s life for this past decade. I believe that the church has a huge future ahead of it, and I have done my best to lay a platform for what is next, but I also firmly believe that I’m not the one to lead it there. I believe that God has someone better suited to take on that task. My skills and gifts lie elsewhere, and I am stepping aside from this role to allow God to guide me into what is next for me. The church has some very exciting directions and projects for the future, but I just don’t sense I’m the one God is calling to lead Warnbro into those things. It’s really that simple. It was a fairly recent revelation to me, and I’m stepping out in obedience. If that sounds crazy to you, I’d have to agree… seems a little crazy to me too, in many respects, except for the fact that I’m quite certain this is what God wants.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR ME? I have no idea! I’m not leaving to take up some other position. There is no “better” job in the mix. No other church or ministry under consideration. We’re just going to trust God that he’ll provide as he always does. I’m ready and feel strongly the time is right for me to begin the transition to the next thing. What is that? I’m not 100% sure to be honest, but I believe that faith is about small steps in the right direction, and I’m taking this one step now and we’ll see what is next. We’re open to wherever God takes us, even if that means a role outside of a formal church or ministry role. In fact, I feel that our next stop may well be in the marketplace or a non-church role.

WHEN DO WE FINISH UP? We have committed to being here until Sunday, March 28 to assist as much as we can with the preparation process for transitioning to another senior leader. That’s the weekend right before Easter. That’s 8 weeks away, and I’m sure it will be a busy time for us all.

SO… I would appreciate it if you would continue to pray for the O’Brien family and the Warnbro Church family – it’s a scary, interesting, unexpected place for us all to be. God will provide and guide, as only he can. But, it’s also kind of exciting. We’ll keep you posted.

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they will never sit in.” –Ancient Greek Proverb

Our world is being consumed by consumers. They’re everywhere. And the Church is not immune to the effects of consumerism. Tragically, in many respects, one of key approaches to growing a local church is centred largely around figuring out what people think they need, and then developing programs and facilities to meet those needs. Spiritually, those of us in church leadership are acutely aware that felt needs are seldom our real needs, but we pragmatically recognise that we need to gain an audience to discuss deeper things, and that audience is gained through connecting with shallow things.

I love the quote above… I came across it through Michael Hyatt, and I love the picture it paints. Whether you’re talking about eco-issues or whether you’re talking about the Church, it’s a profound word of wisdom.

I see one of the greatest challenges in the contemporary churches quickly becoming the grip that baby boomers have on the shaping of what church looks like. Baby boomers grew up in a world that they built and shaped for their own purposes, and they were good at it. They are used to things being made to suit them. They helped create the consumerist mentality that has now been taken to new heights by the Gen Y lot (Gen X-ers seemed to rebel a little against their parents in this), but the boomers still have the power because they have the resources, even as they quickly move into retirement.

In churches, boomers have the power to plant for the future or to consume until their last moment. It’s a tough choice. Consuming is more instantly gratifying and enjoyable. Planting for the future often means I won’t get to enjoy it, and I may not even like it. But a great society is built when we unselfishly realise that we either leave a blessing or a curse to the next generation through the decisions we make now.

I don’t think these issues are new. I think they’re just more sharply recognisable in our fast-moving and dynamic world. Personally, I feel very strongly that if I am going to a church when I am eighty that is doing all the stuff *I* like and love, then we’re probably in big trouble for the future. I know I will struggle with being a part of something I may even intensely dislike at a personal level, but I’ve made the commitment to be a planter and not a consumer. I want to be part of something great, not just something that lives as long as I prop it up.

This video is very scary, but I guess it’s scary to me how poorly informed many folks are about basic political issues anyways. As Australians, we could laugh at some of the feeble responses to questions about what Sarah Palin actually believes in and stands for, but the truth is that most of us are pretty clueless about K Rudd, T Abbott, M Turnbull, and most of the big issues in Australian or global politics, including global warming and all the hot stuff on the agenda right now.

And then we get to vote…

I love democracy, but it seems to me (on a purely rational level) that a bunch of ignorant people making decisions can’t possibly be the best way to go on some issues. This is why referenda are very poor decision-making tools.

Dunno… just saying…

If you’re looking for a highly intelligent and sensible discussion about the existence and implications of God in the world from an elite mathematician, then you MUST listen to this.

John Lennox is Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University. I would LOVE to see him in debate and dialogue with Richard Dawkins, whose writings to me are flawed with terrible logic and an incorrect understanding of science and the scientific method. Lennox slices through the smoke and mirrors to address the real issues.

As an aside, I totally agree with Lennox’s view on creationism and some of the creation science stuff out there… “confusing the big thing with small things”… he’s a smart, articulate guy… worth the 30 minutes investment.

And, yes, I am a little biased towards Mathematicians…

It’s amazing what a difference confidence makes.

As the Dow tips into the highest territory it’s been in well over a year, there’s a general feeling of confidence slipping back into economies all around the world, including the Australian one. Anyone who has traded shares knows all too well that there is very little that is rational about the stockmarket. More than anything, it’s an emotional game, far more than many would want to admit. Perfectly solid and excellent companies will find their share prices falling for all kinds of irrational reasons, while others see enormous leaps based on nothing more than rumour and a hunch.

In sport, confidence is huge. Anyone who has played on a winning team knows the feeling that even when things look bad and the chips are down, you just know that you can do it. It’s rather different when you play for a losing franchise, and even when you’re winning, you’re just waiting to lose it through some catastrophe… snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Watch the walk of the confident, and you know there’s a difference.

Interestingly, confidence leaks and overflows into others… and so does a lack of confidence.

Watch someone get up on stage to speak or sing, and you immediately get a sense of their confidence and it impacts even the audience. When someone is confident, you relax and enjoy. There’s nothing more excruciating than watching a nervous and terrified person fumble their way forward… you feel yourself on edge with them… your heart rate goes up and you feel yourself cringe.

Confidence is more important than we sometimes realise. It’s hard to manufacture. You can only bluff so long before you’re out of the poker game. But true confidence is a game changer. You just know it’ll work out because… well, you just know…

Not sure I have all the answers, but I’m more convinced than ever that confidence is key in more ways than we understand.