Apr 2007
"where did you go?!?!?"
Friday, April 20, 2007 Filed in: my life
sorry it's been so long
since i've written. a lot has been going on lately
and i've been processing a lot but didn't want to
post until i'd came to some conclusions. this is
about one of them.
as many of you know, i started attending church at ROCKHARBOR as of last week. some have been asking why. while there are a lot of reasons, there are two that stand out and that i want to share here. the first has only to do with me while the second has to do with ROCKHARBOR (and me).
over the past months, as i've been going through counseling (or therapy or "happy time with Ted" or whatever you want to call it) i've come to some great conclusions. one of them has been that it's maybe time for me to break out and do something on my own. after college, i came back and worked at the high school that I'd only graduated from four years earlier. after i left there, i immersed myself at the church i'd been at for most of my life (Yorba Linda Friends). in a way, and in certain areas, i've never stepped out on my own to do something that is new and mine. this seems like a good time to do that. and because of the second reason, ROCKHARBOR seems like a great place for me to go.
over the last year, i've been studying Organizational Leadership at Azusa Pacific University. this program is amazing and has caused me to re-evaluate myself, my priorities and the organizations with which i involve myself. these professors are experts in their fields and have years of leadership experience in a variety of areas. (it's funny, cuz a lot of people seem to think that this is very progressive, young and idealistic thinking. however, only one of my professors so far has been under the age of 50. most of these concepts simply come from years of experience with what works and what doesn't, and a lot of it comes straight from Biblical teachings of what a leader should be.) anyway, as i've been learning about how organizations are effectively led and organized and what servant leadership is really all about, i realized that i hadn't really experienced this. it all sounded great in theory, but what about in practice. i thought this until i started to get involved with ROCKHABOR. the thing about ROCKHARBOR is that, in all my experiences with organizations of any kind (churches or otherwise), i've never seen an organization that gets organizational leadership and servant leadership like they do.
now, i'm sure that there are other orgs out there doing the same kinds of things, but i've simply never experienced it at this level from any organization i've had any interactions with. they know exactly who they are, who they aren't, where they're going and how they're going to get there and all of this comes across in everything they do and say. not only that, but they go to GREAT lengths to make sure that every person who comes to ROCKHARBOR knows and understands who they are, what they're about and where they're going.
in fact, when you walk in, there's short brochure that simply asks, "where are we going?" the inside of it gives a concise and very clear overview. in just a few minutes, you can know everything you really need to know about them. (you can check it out on their website too… http://www.rockharbor.org/content/contentpage.aspx?pageid=393) in fact, i have yet to talk to a person there who isn't very clear about and very on-board with their vision and mission. (and i've been asking a lot of people.) not only that, but what they're doing is actively engaging their church and actually changing the world and the community that surrounds them.
if you read my blogs or talk to me at all, you know that i interviewed at ROCKHABOR a few months back for a job. during that process, i asked their HR person to summarize what they're about in her own words. she said, "basically, we want to be so entrenched in the surrounding community that if we were to disappear, the community would feel that loss." at first, I thought this was pretty profound. after i thought about it for a while i decided that it's kind of sad that that thought is so revolutionary. i mean, isn't that what churches should be doing anyway?
as i've had friends who have recently become employed by ROCKHARBOR, i've learned that they are structured in such a way that innovation is inherent and accountability is built-in. they use their time and resources to pour into and build up their staff and volunteers in very intentional ways. they let their congregation know exactly what they expect of them and push them to get outside themselves and "give themselves away."
anyway, i know it sounds like i think ROCKHABOR is perfect. that's not true. i know that, like anywhere, there are problems. however, even in the two weeks that I've been getting involved there, i can plainly see that when a problem is pointed out, they deal with it and that they're open to discussions about what each person (staff or volunteer) can do to make the church even better. there is a very intentional effort there to make things as good as they can be for everyone involved knowing that in the end, it will only serve to make them more effective as an organization.
over the years, i've seen bits and pieces of this in play in various churches, schools and businesses i've been involved with. but, not like this. so, in the end, i guess my second reason for going to ROCKHARBOR is that with my intense interest to learn and grow as an organizational leader, i want to experience this place that so gets what organizational leadership really is and how it works so that I can continue my education outside of the classroom walls of APU.
Yorba Linda Friends will always be my home church and i'll always be apart of what's going on there in some form or another. but for now, i need to explore this so that i might grow into the leader and change-agent that i know God is calling me to be.
-matt
as many of you know, i started attending church at ROCKHARBOR as of last week. some have been asking why. while there are a lot of reasons, there are two that stand out and that i want to share here. the first has only to do with me while the second has to do with ROCKHARBOR (and me).
over the past months, as i've been going through counseling (or therapy or "happy time with Ted" or whatever you want to call it) i've come to some great conclusions. one of them has been that it's maybe time for me to break out and do something on my own. after college, i came back and worked at the high school that I'd only graduated from four years earlier. after i left there, i immersed myself at the church i'd been at for most of my life (Yorba Linda Friends). in a way, and in certain areas, i've never stepped out on my own to do something that is new and mine. this seems like a good time to do that. and because of the second reason, ROCKHARBOR seems like a great place for me to go.
over the last year, i've been studying Organizational Leadership at Azusa Pacific University. this program is amazing and has caused me to re-evaluate myself, my priorities and the organizations with which i involve myself. these professors are experts in their fields and have years of leadership experience in a variety of areas. (it's funny, cuz a lot of people seem to think that this is very progressive, young and idealistic thinking. however, only one of my professors so far has been under the age of 50. most of these concepts simply come from years of experience with what works and what doesn't, and a lot of it comes straight from Biblical teachings of what a leader should be.) anyway, as i've been learning about how organizations are effectively led and organized and what servant leadership is really all about, i realized that i hadn't really experienced this. it all sounded great in theory, but what about in practice. i thought this until i started to get involved with ROCKHABOR. the thing about ROCKHARBOR is that, in all my experiences with organizations of any kind (churches or otherwise), i've never seen an organization that gets organizational leadership and servant leadership like they do.
now, i'm sure that there are other orgs out there doing the same kinds of things, but i've simply never experienced it at this level from any organization i've had any interactions with. they know exactly who they are, who they aren't, where they're going and how they're going to get there and all of this comes across in everything they do and say. not only that, but they go to GREAT lengths to make sure that every person who comes to ROCKHARBOR knows and understands who they are, what they're about and where they're going.
in fact, when you walk in, there's short brochure that simply asks, "where are we going?" the inside of it gives a concise and very clear overview. in just a few minutes, you can know everything you really need to know about them. (you can check it out on their website too… http://www.rockharbor.org/content/contentpage.aspx?pageid=393) in fact, i have yet to talk to a person there who isn't very clear about and very on-board with their vision and mission. (and i've been asking a lot of people.) not only that, but what they're doing is actively engaging their church and actually changing the world and the community that surrounds them.
if you read my blogs or talk to me at all, you know that i interviewed at ROCKHABOR a few months back for a job. during that process, i asked their HR person to summarize what they're about in her own words. she said, "basically, we want to be so entrenched in the surrounding community that if we were to disappear, the community would feel that loss." at first, I thought this was pretty profound. after i thought about it for a while i decided that it's kind of sad that that thought is so revolutionary. i mean, isn't that what churches should be doing anyway?
as i've had friends who have recently become employed by ROCKHARBOR, i've learned that they are structured in such a way that innovation is inherent and accountability is built-in. they use their time and resources to pour into and build up their staff and volunteers in very intentional ways. they let their congregation know exactly what they expect of them and push them to get outside themselves and "give themselves away."
anyway, i know it sounds like i think ROCKHABOR is perfect. that's not true. i know that, like anywhere, there are problems. however, even in the two weeks that I've been getting involved there, i can plainly see that when a problem is pointed out, they deal with it and that they're open to discussions about what each person (staff or volunteer) can do to make the church even better. there is a very intentional effort there to make things as good as they can be for everyone involved knowing that in the end, it will only serve to make them more effective as an organization.
over the years, i've seen bits and pieces of this in play in various churches, schools and businesses i've been involved with. but, not like this. so, in the end, i guess my second reason for going to ROCKHARBOR is that with my intense interest to learn and grow as an organizational leader, i want to experience this place that so gets what organizational leadership really is and how it works so that I can continue my education outside of the classroom walls of APU.
Yorba Linda Friends will always be my home church and i'll always be apart of what's going on there in some form or another. but for now, i need to explore this so that i might grow into the leader and change-agent that i know God is calling me to be.
-matt
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