PR in a Jurassic World

Amanda and I went to go see Jurassic World on Saturday night. We had a blast in a jam packed theater sitting at the edge of our seats as we were gasping and jumping at for almost the entire film. Although it was entertaining I couldn’t help but wonder what was their pre-plan for crisis management? Did they have one or were they convinced that they didn’t need one? Did the park’s guests have to fill out a release waiver in case of death? Did they have lawyers on retainer? Some of those questions are pretty basic yet invaluable to the longevity of your church or organization when it is facing a crisis. Before we set-up two pivotal pillars of Crisis Public Relations, please understand that facts are your friends. Do not abandon your friends when the Genetically-Modified Dino is chasing all of you. The first step in pre-crisis or crisis management is to define the dinosaur. The less you know about the dinosaur, especially the ones we create internally, the bigger the body count is going to be. So spend the time before a crisis defining what kind of dinosaurs you might encounter. After you define the dinosaur, ask yourself, “What if it gets out?” Your organization, church, or business needs to imagine life after one or all your dinosaurs escape and terrorize the public; then ask how do we communicate, what do we communicate, how can we minimize the death toll? Have you defined your dinosaur and what you would do if it were to get out?

Leaderless Unity

I deal with ants all day long and they are fascinating creatures. They have massive colonies with 100s of 1000s of colony members, a communication system that run flawlessly, a community mindset where they put others before themselves, and all without a CFO. Each ant works, communicates, and supports each other in the name of community without a leader. Every ants plays a crucial role for the success of the colony. Each of us could take a lesson from these focused, inclusive, generous, hardworking insects. I am not saying we should hold a magnifying glass up to the burning hot sun and fry our creativity or individualism. By no means would that be helpful. However, when we isolate ourselves away from the people in our organization because of differences or preferences, two things happen. First, we neglect to steward the relationships God has given us. Secondly, we neglect the people we are called to reach and love. The ants define each individual’s strengths and then let them operate freely in their role. The sterile female can’t one day decide that she wants to be a reproductive queen because she is tired of foraging for food. We all have different gifts on purpose and for a purpose. Some people need to own their gift. Some people need to hone in their gift. Some people need to trust others to function in their gift. What steps do you need to take to make your organization better at their mission?

Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater

I had an affair and my mistress was ministry. I sacrificed my family, finances, and my health because I was convinced that church wouldn’t happen without me. For some reason I was sold out to the idea that God needed me. Let me emphasis how insane the thought of God needing us is rather than Him choosing to use us. I was 25 years old when I had a stroke. I was in my last year at Texas Tech taking over 15 hours a semester not including summer school, I was 50 pounds overweight, I was averaging 4 hours of sleep a night (Basically surviving on coffee and Coca Cola), married with a 1 year old, and leading a growing and thriving children’s ministry. A perfect storm which climaxed with blurred vision, no feeling in my lips, slurred speech, and I couldn’t even remember my birthday when Amanda took me to the ER. Many business or organization leaders would praise this sold out work ethic. In fact, they would probably celebrate it! Take some time to ask yourself a couple of questions before your family, finances, or health breaks. Are you maintaining a healthy work week with planned rest and fun? Or are you maintaining the rest of your life while your “mistress” gets your best?

Burning Bridges

Living in the Pacific Northwest we run into a lot of people who believe in a lot of different things. These differing belief systems and ideologies have the opportunity to pin people against each other on the grounds of doctrinal “truth.” Unfortunately, I am the type of person who enjoys conflict and I have to fight the urge to argue with others who oppose my Biblical World View. I think it is safe to say that I find myself biting my tongue constantly. I am convinced that as Christians, we man the bridge between society and the Savior. We are the ambassadors who are charged with the burden of bearing Christ’s name and to bring the Good News to all people – even the difficult ones. So how do we effectively escort people across the bridge? Certainly not by standing on one side and directing people about how they can cross the bridge. It is going to take a willing individual to become a personal tour guide instead of a command center specialist. I am not saying that Christians should abandon truth. I am saying lets be willing to befriend the lost and become their personal tour guide across the bridge instead of burning the bridge from command central.

Life After Transition

We drove out of Lubbock, TX on January 2, 2015. All we owned was in a POD that traveled ahead of us and both of our cars packed to the roof. I was flying solo in our Chevy Sonic and Amanda had Noah and the dog in the Edge. We set out at 4:00AM to beat the snow that was headed our way. We had 1800 miles and three days of driving between Lubbock and Vancouver, WA. We were leaving our home church, our friends, and family which we loved. It wasn’t easy leaving- but it was right.

Our plan was set to move into Amanda’s parents 1100 square foot two-bedroom condo. So we have Joe, Stephanie, Geoffrey, Amanda, Noah, two dogs, two fish, and a parakeet starting a new chapter of life. Amanda and I didn’t have jobs, our house in Lubbock didn’t have any offers on it, our money was running low (really low), and we were starting to search for a new church (I had never churched hopped in my life). Suddenly, I had the thought “did we make the right decision?” How were we going to began planting a church with Robby and Rebecca when OUR house was in such disorder?

Doubt moved in and I grew anxious to at least find a job, any job. I applied at over 50 places from McDonalds to Nike and I heard absolutely NOTHING. However, God was in control of everything. Amanda landed a job in the back office at a local car dealership, we became members at a great church called Life Point, and we closed on our house in Lubbock. We had momentum and God was behind it all.

It has been 5 months since we moved and we still don’t know when we will be planting. We still don’t have all the answers. We still miss ALL of our family and friends, even the crazy ones. However, in those five months we have become members of our amazing church – Life Point, we have paid of 65% of our debt, Amanda gets to be home with Noah more, I have lost so much weight that I am the lightest I have been in out 5 years of marriage, and I have a fantastic job as an exterminator.

Let me take a moment to explain my job just a little bit. I kill bugs and hunt rodents. There isn’t a day where I am not tracking some pest in an attic or crawlspace. More importantly I get to travel all over the Portland and Vancouver, I get to meet all sorts of different people, I get to talk to those people about what they love and hate. I get to talk with them about what they believe or don’t believe. I get to conduct market research on the city we are supposed to reach and I am getting paid for it. More than that, I get to share my testimony with every one of the customers I encounter.

The Winklers are doing great! God has got everything under control and the fun part is we didn’t expect our lives to look like this at all. We don’t know when we will plant a church. We don’t know much of anything!

5 Ways to Rejuvenate Your Creativity

5. Move – a body in motion is a brain in motion. Be active by doing some push-ups, go for a walk, or do the WOD. Moving will help your body burn off cooped-up energy and release your creativity.

4. Clean – a clean environment allows you to focus. Plus, when you are cleaning you move! Your house, car, workspace, email inbox, and even your computer desktop might need cleaning. These cluttered spaces might be holding back your creativity.

3. Sleep – a rested brain is receptive to new ideas and perceptions. When you are well rested your imagination has a blank canvas to create.

2. Change – a change in your routine can jump start your creativity. It places you into new situations and experiences where you can find new inspiration.

1. Read – a moment spent in your Bible is the BEST way to rejuvenate your creativity. Not only because God’s nature is to give, but also He is the Author of Creativity. If you are creatively stuck or have writer’s block, spend some time with the Creator.

Amazed!

For the past couple of months I have been doing some reading on church planting. I will be the first one to admit that the books I have been reading are not written to be page-turners. In fact, they are jam-packed with strategies, scripture, and surveys. However, because we are working towards planting a church, I found every “new” discovery AMAZING. Then the Lord asked, “Are you amazed by My book?” I wanted to say yes because I am a good church kid but did my habits reflect my response? I hate to admit that I wasn’t amazed by God’s Word. Reading my Bible meant: start reading plans and fizzling out a few days later. Therefore, I just wouldn’t read because I failed at my reading plan. So here I am, called into ministry, in the early stages of planting a church, and leading my family but I don’t regularly read my Bible. Something had to change- my perspective. I wasn’t being AMAZED by the Bible because I wasn’t expecting anything AMAZING. We don’t grab a book, open to the middle, and read a few sections then stop. We don’t start a movie towards the end and watch 10 minutes. We don’t spend 10 minutes of “social media” time a day. We commit a decent chunk of time to these avenues of entrainment ( or whatever you do for fun) because we expect to be AMAZED by them. Now I approached the Bible expecting the be AMAZED. If you aren’t spending time in the Word or you want to spend more time in the Word, begin by expecting to be amazed and God with exceed your expectations.

Rebel Yell

One of my favorite movies of all time is Braveheart. Nothing beats blue-faced Scotsmen fighting for their freedom. Even to the point where William Wallace would rather have a long and painful death over and fast and easy one. Wallace chooses the hard death so his captures are clear on his demands – FREEDOM!! I am currently reading “Born to be Free” by Tom Vermillion and the Holy Spirit revealed something that has held me captive for years – food. In fact I was so deep in bondage I gave food the majority of my money causing me to overspend on my budget. I went further into self-destructive talk because how I would feel after eating. Food even kept me from experiencing a more intimate relationship with the Lord because I wouldn’t fast. Eating food is easy to justify because you need it to live. It doesn’t have the shock factor of being in bondage from gambling, alcohol, or pornography, but food is just as powerful. How many of us struggle with our weight? How many of us eat our emotions or stress? How many of us get “hangry?” I can say yes to all of these questions, but my freedom is not found in my ability to say no. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom (2 Cor. 3:17). The first step in my freedom process is to realize that freedom is my inheritance as a child of God and the freedom that comes at the price of surrender is not by self-management. Whatever chains may be keeping you from freedom, be encouraged that freedom begins with engaging the Holy Spirt for revelation, support, and friendship and retiring your post as Lord of your life. God wants all of us children to experience freedom in our salvation, yes, even you.

A Stutter and a Staff

One of my favorite things to do is to watch movies with my family. Like most movies or shows, we started watching this one because our almost two-year-old Noah was interested, but his attention was quickly diverted minutes into the movie. The funny thing is that Amanda and I get hooked instantly. I cannot begin to tell you how many episodes of Sesame Street we have watched while Noah is busy doing something else. One day we were scrolling through Netflix trying to find something to watch and we stumbled upon “The Prince of Egypt.” We watched this movie because it accurately (with some creative liberties) communicates the character of God. One of my favorite scenes in the movie has to be when God speaks to Moses though the burning bush. The set-up of who Moses is before he encounters God is just as amazing as the miracles portrayed in the rest of the film. Moses was raised in a palace in one of the most dominate anti-God civilizations who enslaved the people of God for 400 years. On top of that, he was a murderer- but God still used him.

God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Therefore, can you patiently wait for God to complete His work in you or are you trying to rush the process. God and Moses had this conversation when Moses was 80! I would have questioned where God was at week three. Wherever you are at in the process is your faith big enough to trust God completely. My dad always says, “We don’t truly surrender something to God if we go back to His throne and pick it up.” When we fully trust in God only then can we fully surrender everything to Him. All Moses had was a staff and a stutter. God overcame his weakness through relationship and used his minimal resources to perform His miracles. Who and what has God given you to reach the lost, set free those in bondage, and train the next generation to do greater things then yourself?

Geoffrey Winkler