A few things I have been thinking about and/or working through lately…

- I’m not entitled to anything.
Entitlement has never been a struggle for me. I grew up in a poor, but loving family and my dad had the best work ethic I’ve ever seen. But as I’ve gotten older, become a bit more “successful” and as my tenure at my current church grows, I’ve noticed myself slipping into an entitlement mentality every once in a while. I don’t like it, I think it’s immature, it wreaks of arrogance.

- I’m no different than the next guy.
I’ve had a few mentors and a few colleagues step away from ministry far too early because of missteps that should have been avoided. I often find myself slipping into a judgemental mode or becoming angry at the dent they put in the reputation of ministry leaders. But then I realize that I’m really not a whole lot different than the next guy…any of us are a few dumb decisions away from the same paths.

- Life is short.
How cliche is that! But man is it ever true. This week I performed the funeral of an 84 year old man who lived a good life. I’m exactly halfway to that age and it’s hard to fathom that my life really is halfway over. It might be time to start a bucket list.

- Very little matters.
At the funeral, nobody talked about this gentleman’s accomplishments, wealth etc. The conversation totally revolved around memories, impact he had made into the lives of others and words of wisdom he was known for. Why the heck do we try so hard to achieve that which nobody really cares about?

- I think I’m going to get an iTouch.
Had to have something light weight in here! Plus, I’ve been thinking about it like crazy and it sounds like something that I’m entitled to, that the next guy already has, and will make my short life a little more meaningful.

- Junior High Ministry had a great weekend this past weekend. We started a short, two-week, series called “New” and highlighted all the new programs and opportunities happening in our ministry this fall. We tied it all around the Newness that Christ offers. We had a hilarious, 4-part video that consisted of four different infomercials. A good weekend.

- Last night I saw “Traitor” with a couple of buddies. I actually really liked it and found myself having a tough time figuring out the direction it was taking. It’s probably worth seeing in theater and certainly a good rental recommendation.

- Man, are the TV networks working overtime to try to convince us that “Gustav” is the next Katrina or what? Obviously it needs to be taken seriously but it feels like they are trying to create news instead of simply reporting it. But what’s new?

- Anybody have an iTouch? I can’t get an iPhone because I can’t switch service providers, but I’m thinking about an iTouch….any thoughts?

- Off to spend the last day of Summer with Cole at the Vans Skate park…his favorite place to skate.

Okay, all I can say as we head into the next 60-something days of presidential campaign craziness is WOW.

- Democrats have fresh, young, African-American rock star caliber presidential candidate with little experience but lots of great ideas partnered with steady, seasoned DC insider.

- Republicans have steady, seasoned DC insider presidential candidate partnered with a fresh, young woman with little experience. Not sure if she’s a rock star, but she’s no dud.

- History will be made either way, which I think is an awesome thing. I’m so excited that my kids will have a black president or a female vice president. Really, it’s about time.

I’m not sure I’ve seen a riskier move than McCain’s choice for V.P. Talk about swinging for the fence!

The biggest downside to me would be that if it backfires and McCain gets beat in a landslide, much of the blame will be put on Palin and that just sets things back again for women, which would be a drag. But Obama in the white house ain’t a terrible historic statement either so that’s a trade-off, I suppose.

The next two months promise to be interesting.

It’s been a crazy week in the Johnston family mainly because we are getting ready for our daughter to enter her freshman year of high school. She has spent her entire life in a much smaller christian school and is now heading into a public high school with a freshman class of around 700 students. Yesterday was the freshman “link” which consisted of four hours worth of meeting upper classmen, being introduced to administrators, going on a scavenger hunt to get familiar with the campus and more. Today was “round up” which was a one hour forms frenzy to make sure everything is in order for the year.

It is an exciting time. It’s also an anxious time….for her and for us. The best part, though is that her impending move from a small, safe, christian school to a large public high school has cracked open the door for some great conversations.

With high school on my mind, I stumbled across two books that grabbed my attention. Neither of them are new, but neither of them really jumped out at me until recently. “The Price of Privilege” and “Doing School” both look like important reads.

Feel free to recommend a book that should be higher on my “must read” list.

I think I may need to go on the record (whatever ‘the record’ is…) as saying that the term “team” has become overused and virtually meaningless in most ministry settings. Just because you work with a group of people doesn’t make you a team; it probably just makes you a work group.

As the leader of a ministry, I really do want the group of people I lead to be a team, but it doesn’t happen just because I want it to. I think in order to function like a team instead of just a work group, you need to identify what defines a team and then constantly work toward that goal.

A few characteristics of a “Work Group”:
- The end result or product is most important.
- People are specialists and never contribute beyond their specialty.
- Usually has highly defined and highly functional chain of command.
- Trust, camaraderie, liking each other etc. aren’t crucial for success.

A few characteristics of a “Team”:
- The people and the journey is just as important as the end result or product.
- People may have specialties, but contribute in other areas to help the team when needed.
- Much more “fluid” chain of command. The person “in charge” may change from project to project or moment to moment depending on the situation at hand.
- Trust, camaraderie, liking each other etc. are vital for long-term success.

I have absolutely NO problem with work groups….In fact work groups may be more effective at, well at getting work done! I’m just suggesting that we not diminish what a real team setting looks like by calling every group of people one.

- This weekend marked the end of our 10-week summer series, Full Service Summer. We wrapped it up with a lesson on using our past to help us navigate our future using the rear view mirror as our object lesson. Over all, I think it was one of our best Summer series in a real long time. Momentum stayed high and each lesson stood alone which kept a long series from feeling too long.

- Closing ceremonies of the Olympics, however, did feel too long…about 2 hours too long. The Olympics are over; blow out the torch and be done already…of course my wife was glued to the television through the whole ordeal.

- Taking Cole and his buddy to Six Flags Magic Mountain today. Should be fun despite the fact that it should be over 100 degrees.

- Don Cheadle is one of my favorite actors and the other day I was thinking that he was past due for a new movie. Last night (during the painfully long closing ceremonies) I saw a trailer for his new movie, Traitor, that opens THIS Wednesday! How is it that I’ve heard nothing about this?

I’ve recently agreed to quickly write a short little book called “99 Thoughts About Guys…For Girls Eyes Only”. It’s meant to be written FOR girls ABOUT guys. The book will be pocket-sized and a quick read.

Each thought will be short, with a sentence or two of explanation. For example:

When a guy says he loves you, he really doesn’t understand what he’s saying!
He may really, really like you, but he probably doesn’t really, truly love you. Mainly because he’s still trying to figure out what real love is all about. Plus, sometimes guys say things they think they are supposed to say.

Got one? I could use a little help.

When I was in junior high, the radio station I listened to (Kmet which played the current Rock and Roll favorites….AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Queen, Van Halen etc.) always referred to Wednesday as hump day and I always giggled when I heard that term. The reference was that once your work week made it over the hump, you were on your way to the weekend and better times!

Today is the first day in a long, long time I can remember hoping that the week would hurry up and end so that better times could ensue. It’s just been one of those wacky, conflict-filled, problem-solving, “I can’t get ahead of the game” kinds of weeks. Weeks I’m sure none of you can relate to!

Anyway, in honor of “hump day” and Kmet, I am listening to the sweet sounds coming from the classic rock playlist on my iPod. Better times are on the way!

I don’t know how to embed a JibJab video, so here’s the link to a fun one about the campaign that wraps up with a quick bit about Saturday’s Civil Forum. Obama riding a unicorn may be the funniest humor bit of the campaign season so far.