Church Requel Blog - Writings of Mark Pierce

Where Evil Will Be No More

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

This week’s pastoral newsletter will be a little different than my normal. Yes, we have many wonderful plans for this coming Sunday morning, including a special message from our youth pastor, Eddie Walker. Yes, we have lots of very special music planned by Brandi and her dedicated worship team. So take my word for it, without promotion or fanfare, Church Requel will go on as planned and you will be glad you came or tuned into the online stream.

However, this morning, I want to talk to you heart-to-heart as your pastor and friend. This has been a hard week. The news of yet another elementary school shooting and the hellish evil that led to the taking of so many young innocent lives is hard for all to bear. 

If you are like me, you want to scream out to the universe, “What is wrong with you?!” Or if you are even more honest with yourself, perhaps your scream is really a prayer: “Where are You?”

Like you - and I’m still sure - like God, my heart breaks for the parents and families in Uvaldi, who lost their 21 beloveds Tuesday morning. No words or feelings or Bible quotations can ease their grief or our grief for them. No words or feelings or Bible quotations can soothe the anger and loss and longing for why. No amount of finger pointing or politics or Monday morning “what if’s” will bring back these dear children to live out their lives so unfairly snuffed out.

So what is a Christian supposed to do with this? When our every instinct is to scream and groan and cry out, “Why? Why? Why?” What do we do? What can we do?

First, I want you to know that it is ok to scream and groan and cry out! Personally I wouldn’t aim my screams and groans and crying to the empty universe, but to the Almighty God Himself. If the Psalms and Lamentations and Job have taught me anything, it’s that God welcomes our screams and groans and crying. He inhabits our misery. He welcomes our questioning. He stands for us when we cannot stand at all. He never shies away or leaves us when we are falling apart inside. 

So scream and groan and cry out until you cannot continue. Rest and then repeat again - for as long as you must. Don’t hold back. Don’t hold it in. Don’t pretend that somehow this situation is ok and that God surely must have a plan for this. And PLEASE - don’t be quick with easy answers with yourself or others or declare that God will bring good out of this. Even if this is true, this is not the time for peachy preachy.

Second, I want you to know that it is ok to not love this place. While there is much good to be found, and I’m all in favor of focusing my attention toward the good and away from the evil, we cannot lose sight of the truth that we live in a world where it’s possible for a man to walk into an elementary classroom of innocents and empty out his automatic rifle. We can call it by any name you want, but in the end it all comes back to one name: Evil. 

This place is not Heaven. Because so much of our time is spent where we love and are loved, where family and belonging and helping and encouraging are practiced - we can sometimes misplace ourselves. At best Heaven occasionally comes down to Earth. But this is not Heaven. Not yet. Not here. Not now.

This truth was cemented in my mind at 15 years of age when two gunmen captured my brother, my father and me. There’s something about a shot gun being pointed to one’s face with the gun cocked and then uncocked - over and over - that cements forever the truth that this place is not Heaven and never will be. This is a place where evil lives. Where evil hides. Where evil deceives. Where evil kills.

This is a place where evil must be killed. Not won over. Not defeated. Not held back. Evil - in all its treacherous forms - must be utterly wiped out. Forever.

As your pastor, today I remind you (and me): this is the plan. This is the story. Evil loses. Every tear will be wiped away. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. The old order of things - evil - will have passed away. There will be a new order and everything will be made new. There will be a heaven. 

But not now.

So for now, I want you to know that it is ok to hate evil and to love the good. It is ok for you to want to be on the side of Good. And it is ok that every morning and every evening you pray that evil would be destroyed in your own life and that Right would reign. And it is ok for you to say, without hesitation, “Come back soon, Lord. Even yet today. Tarry not!”

In the meantime, let us do our best to live the good, to live the righteous, to love with all our hearts. When confronted with horrible pain - like now - let us weep for our losses. When given an opportunity to do the good, let us not hesitate. For opportunities for good in an evil place can blow by quickly.

I want to be your pastor - all the days of the week. Not just on Sundays. Even on the Tuesday mornings of this past week. I don’t claim answers myself. I believe we worship the One with the ultimate solutions. This week, with tear-filled eyes, beside you all, I point to Jesus. With bended knee, beside you all, I grieve with you. With all the passion I can muster, I hold on to our relocation papers and pray for our new home, where evil will be no more.

Your fellow journeyer, Pastor Mark

Politics and Pulpit: 100 Days Of Love

Good Friday morning Church Requel!

Today marks a 100 day milestone in reverse. Today marks 100 days until our 58th quadrennial presidential election on November 8th. Both of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions are in our rear view mirror. One need not be a prophet to predict the great divisiveness and bitterness to come over the next century of days. Our United States will not seem so united. Without doubt we are about to witness a great time of lovelessness in our conversations and feelings toward one another.

Let this not be said of us at Church Requel. Rather, let this day be the first of 100 days of love!

I know there are strong beliefs - on both sides - that if the other side should be elected, life in this country would never be the same again. I know these views are not just those outside the church, but are felt strongly by good people within our beloved Church Requel. I implore you, as your pastor, to maintain great love for one another at all times in the 100 days to come.

Some have asked me - as your pastor - to express my opinions on the debate at hand, to use my influence to influence you as to how you should vote. I will not do so. I do believe I have the right to express my political opinion, even from the pulpit, so I will not disparage other pastors who will use their authority differently than me.

However, I believe my greatest influence upon you should be the influence to live for Christ and to build His kingdom for the glory of God. I will not sacrifice that influence upon the altar of political expediency. I can win your hearts for Jesus or I can win your hearts for a political result, but I cannot do both well. The end result of my political persuasion would be a church of like-minded political believers sprinkled with a minority of resentful, hurt opponent congregants struggling with divisive thinking.

This does not mean that I will not have opinions to share from the pulpit that you may find difficult to hear. I can promise that everything I talk about will be grounded in Scripture and will be a cause for us to think twice about some views we may take as a given. The Bible often speaks against our culture and our commonly held beliefs. My job as your pastor is to compare what the Word of God says with what our society tells us. They are not the same. From either side! I pray over these next 100 days that if my sermons should offend, that they would be equal opportunity offenders.

In the meantime, how should we love one another when we have so very different views about the direction our country should go? I recommend we listen without bias and speak with respect.

We listen without bias when we focus on what another person tells us, even when their opinion is much different than our own. We listen without bias when we hear what they are saying without spending our listening attention on coming up with counter arguments. We listen without bias when we acknowledge the other person's feelings, even when our own feelings may be hurt. We listen without bias when we grant their right to their view, even when we are most certain of the rightness of our different view.

We speak with respect when we say what we mean without being mean about what we say. We speak with respect when we love the person we speak to more than we love what we speak.  We speak with respect when we believe in our listener as much as we believe in our candidate.

Church Requel, I love you more than my words can convey. The only One who could love you more is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May I remind you that many in His day were most certain of their own political correctness. Yet Jesus did not respond to their divided acrimony with expected simplicity. His harshest response came upon those, who were most certain of his agreement. He surprised many others when he hardly responded to them with any harshness at all. 

So, let's not be quite so sure of ourselves and of our own correctness except in one choice, the right choice, the best choice: the choice to love one another.

Enough words for this week, I think. All my love, Pastor Mark

Taking A Blog Break [Announcement]

My dear readers, I will be taking this week off from publishing the Church Requel Blog.  I plan to have the Church Requel "What's Happening" post up on Friday, October 5th. The next podcast will be published on Wednesday, October 10th. I'll resume my regular weekday writing schedule on Thursday, October 11th. Many blessings in Christ! Mark

3 Regular Referee Return Day Reminders

Today is R³ Day - "Regular Referee Return" Day! This morning we all woke to the welcome news that the NFL and regular referees have settled their dispute and that the NFL refs will be back to work in tonight's game.  What a relief! We no longer will be able to complain about blown calls the replacement refs made. We can all get back to our age-old complaining about the blown calls the regular referees make. 

It's true, isn't it? We have built into us a basic desire for fairness. We want right to prevail. From an early moment in our childhood we've learned to perfectly pronounce: "That's not fair!" In our games, in our elections, in our workplaces and schools, in our courts, we cry for what's right. We only want justice. It's not something we have to learn. It's something that seems a part of our very DNA as human beings.

God's Word has much to say about this topic. Justice is talked about no less than 134 times in the Bible.  Today - on this Regular Referee Return day - I'd like to remind you of 3 important R³ reminders we learn from the Scriptures.

R³ Reminder #1 - Blown Calls Are The Norm, Not The Exception.  We'd like to think that we live in a fair world. In the real world the Seahawks get the touchdown and the win, despite the unseen foul and the Green Bay interception.  Amos 5:7 could easily be the Packers' theme verse of the week:

"There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground."

And here's the real rub. Even when we try to make the right call, we often get it wrong.  In the tons of ink spilled over the blown call Monday night, hardly anyone is writing that the replacement ref blew it because he wanted to blow it. He blew it because he didn't know the rule. He blew it because he was inexperienced. He blew it because he wasn't ready for the NFL.  He didn't blow it because he intended to blow it.  

The iPhone and Life: Thinner Lighter Bigger Faster

The new iPhone 5 announced yesterday.

Yesterday Apple announced its newest iPhone 5.  This sixth generation smart phone will be 18% thinner and 20% lighter. Yet the screen will now be bigger - 4 inches instead of 3 1/2 inches. And the iPhone 5 should be screaming fast with LTE speeds up to 4 times faster than the older 3G models.

 Thinner. Lighter. Bigger. Faster.

I joked on my Facebook wall last night that this describes my current weight loss plans.  I'm on the new iPhone 5 diet.  I want to be 18% thinner and 20% lighter. Yet I'm also doing strength training so my "front screen" will be bigger. And I'm running - trying to get faster - attempting six miles in under an hour.  Isn't this what we're all striving for in our physical fitness?

Thinner. Lighter. Bigger. Faster.

This is not only the mantra for our phones and fitness, but also in our places of work.  We are all expected to do more with less.  Businesses are working with thinner margins and lighter workforces. Yet they expect bigger output and bigger profits.  And let's not forget that we no longer maintain inventories, so please deliver everything faster!

Thinner. Lighter. Bigger. Faster.

Teachers teach larger numbers of students in their classrooms, but must deliver even better overall test scores.   Newspapers must deliver online access from top-notch reporters, while the price pressures continuously push for free.  Factories expect their employees to work faster, accomplish more, and meet ever more exacting standards for fit and finish.  Salespeople watch their commission rates decline while their expected sales quotas only increase.  Everywhere you look...  

The Collision of Church, Politics and Facebook

I've noticed something new happening on my Facebook wall: the collision of my friends, their faith, and their politics. This is not the first national election since the advent of Facebook. This is, however, the first election since Facebook has gone mainstream. Four years ago my Facebook friends were either tech-oriented or youth-oriented. Now many of my Facebook friends couldn't tell me the first thing about their IP addresses and, like me, are getting to the age where they have to think a moment to even remember their street addresses.

Four years ago I knew that many of my congregants possessed widely different political viewpoints. But unless these same church members were part of the same small group or family, they didn't know one another's political leanings. Fast forward to 2012. Now a majority of us are connected to one another via social networks like Facebook. I maintain a special friend list just of Church Requel members and check it every day. Many of them do the same. I LOVE being connected to one another this way...

Except when it comes to politics. A wise man once said that politics and religion, like oil and water, don't mix. What I'm witnessing is probably the same thing you are seeing. Many of my friends' walls are filled with reposted snarky and one-sided photos, which are considered funny to one side while hurtful to the other side.

Supporting My NAMI Wife - My Highest Calling?

"Hey, you're Mary Kay's husband, aren't you?" the fellow sitting at the cafe breakfast counter called out to me.

I'm a pastor and it's Monday morning. My day off. My head was buried in the morning paper. If I thought I was hiding out from the masses who needed my help, I needn't have worried. I'm Mary Kay's husband, after all, and more folks are looking for her help than mine.

"Yes I am."

"I need to talk to her today. My son is off his meds again and got into some trouble. I thought she could help me get his medical records shipped out."

I give him her number and then listen as he tells me about his son's latest problems. He tells me that Mary Kay helps him get things done for his son. "She knows just who to call."

For ten years Mary Kay has been the director of our county's National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. She tells me that 1 in 4 Americans are impacted by a mental illness in the U.S., and I believe it.

When we meet a new couple and we all introduce ourselves, we do the typical American thing by telling what we do. I tell people that I'm a pastor and receive some positive affirmation usually. Mary Kay tells people she advocates for people who have a family member with mental illness and most often the conversation just stops.

Or maybe it would be better to say the surface, polite, getting-to-know-you conversation stops. One of our new friends will lean in, sometimes with tears, and share their struggle with a son or daughter, a brother or sister, a mom or a dad, who suffers from mental illness. Schizophrenia. Bipolar illness. Depression.

This conversation can last several hours. I've learned over the years that many people are walking around with deep hurts and great frustration. Mental illness, it seems, carries with it a stigma - a certain knowing that this is one topic we don't discuss in polite conversation. So when a new friend discovers a welcoming "I've been there too" reception from a person like Mary Kay, the floodgates open up.

When I was in college I studied to be a businessman, not to be a pastor. In my real estate class I learned about the principle of the highest and best use. One can make a profit by purchasing property that is underutilized and converting it to its highest and best use.

Over the past ten years I've changed the main purpose of my life to what I hoped would be my highest and best use - to be a pastor. I love encouraging people with the good news of Christ, with the difference He can make in one's life. I love what I do. The writing. The thinking. The sharing. The leading.

Some mornings, like this morning, I wonder if my highest and best use is really being Mary Kay's husband. I have no doubt of people's need for the good news message of Christ. I have no doubt that people need the encouragement of authentic Christian community.

For many reasons, though, the church is not where most people are turning. Loving, caring, front-line advocates for human kindness - like the kind Mary Kay offers - is where today's hurting person will turn first. Why? Because Mary Kay has been there herself. Because she has practical advice. Because she knows the people who can help, and the ones who can't. And because she genuinely cares.

Maybe the next time we are in one of those meet-new-people situations, I should just introduce myself with my highest and best use - as Mary Kay's husband.

Hatfields & McCoys: 5 Beliefs That Make Me One Too

The History Channel attracted almost 14 million people  to "Hatfields & McCoys" on Memorial Day.  This realistic retelling of the greatest family feud in history set an all-time record for basic cable. 

What is about this story that attracted so many viewers?  The historic accuracy of the story? The exceptional writing? Kevin Costner?  

Nancy Dubac, president of The History Channel as well as executive producer of Hatfields & McCoys believes the attraction goes even deeper.  “One of the things that was overwhelming when I first read the script was that there wasn’t a good guy and a bad guy,” she says. “The nuances are fascinating.”

I agree with Ms. Dubac.  The show is not about black and white, good guys or bad guys.  At the end of the 6-hour miniseries I was left with the haunting conclusion that they're all bad guys... and maybe there's something in the DNA of Hatfields and McCoys that's in my own DNA as well.

Here are 5 ways to know if I could belong to the Hatfields & McCoys, no matter how I pronounce my last name.

1. Believe that principles are more important than people. Judge Valentine 'Wall' Hatfield makes the observation that he can't believe this whole feud started over a pig.  The stolen swine was the reason given, but the trust between the two families had already deteriorated by the time the hog thief was brought to court.  Am I more concerned about my rights than I am about my relationships? On a hillside 2,000 years ago Jesus taught us that  we should "settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court." (Matthew 5:25)

Yale Grad Keegan Legacy: "The Opposite of Loneliness"

I read this morning of the tragic death this weekend of recent Yale graduate, Mariana Keegan, who will be remembered as an aspiring writer, actress and activist.  I would not have known her or felt the incredible loss were it not for this touching and impacting essay written only a week ago for her graduation.  Here is a brief excerpt from "The Opposite of Loneliness:"

We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that’s what I want in life. What I’m grateful and thankful to have found at Yale, and what I’m scared of losing when we wake up tomorrow and leave this place.

It’s not quite love and it’s not quite community; it’s just this feeling that there are people, an abundance of people, who are in this together. Who are on your team. When the check is paid and you stay at the table. When it’s four a.m. and no one goes to bed. That night with the guitar. That night we can’t remember. That time we did, we went, we saw, we laughed, we felt.

I recommend you take five minutes out of your day and read the entire essay.  You'll be glad you did. You'll appreciate your life - and Mariana Keegan's life - so much more.

Later in the essay she writes: "We’re so young. We’re so young. We’re twenty-two years old. We have so much time."  No one could have realized that she had only days to live when she wrote this.  

This may be her greatest legacy: to not take life for granted. To not take the connection to one another's lives for granted.  To make the most of every moment.  Not just to get the most out of life, but to give the most back to life.  She wrote about the opposite of loneliness.  This is what her life was all about, being connected in loving webs of relationships and friendships.

I belive this story impacts me today so much because on Sunday afternoon I came very close to losing my own 22-year old daughter, Jillian.  While riding home with 3 other girlfriends from a wedding in Wyoming, a car sideswiped them in Iowa, driving them into a concrete wall in a construction zone. At 55 miles an hour their car bounced off the wall turning 360 degrees, almost flipping over in the process.  It was a miracle no other vehicle hit them and that no one was seriously hurt.

Why did Mary Kay and I receive this miracle of protection while Mariana Keegan's parents, Kevin and Tracy, did not?  I don't begin to know the answer.  I can't know how Kevin must be feeling, but I can barely begin to feel the empathy of one dad to another as I write this blog through my own tears.  

What I do know is this.  None of us know about our tomorrows. I plan on loving in my todays as if there were no tomorrows.  And the next time I see Jillian?  I plan on giving her an extra long hug.

Thanksgiving Meals: Food, Finances, and Families

Hey everyone! Pastor Mark here.  I'm writing this special message to let you know that we will be helping financially strapped families this Thanksgiving with all the food and fixens necessary for a great family Thanksgiving meal. Over the next three weekends we'll be gathering food, finances and families whom we may serve.  I'd like to give you plenty of time to pray and consider how you might help.  There are 3 ways you can be a partner with us!

Food -  We will be collecting groceries over the next 3 weekends at our Church Requel services.  You may bring can goods or boxed goods.  Anything that will keep and that would fit the theme of a Thanksgiving meal would be welcomed. Cans of vegetables or fruits would be great.  Boxes of stuffing or boxed desserts would be wonderful too.  As a church we'll raise the money to purchase turkeys, potatoes and yes, even the turkey pan.

Finances - If God should lead you to be generous in your finances, you may give money to help us make these food and fixens purchases.  Also, if you are not a regular attendee of our congregation - but want to help - you can give this way.  

Families - We'd also like you to begin thinking of families that could use the extra help this year.  (It could even be you!  That would be great!)  You can email me, or call me (419.564.1525), or - if you attend CR - fill out the names of people on the back of the Connection Card in church.  It would really help us if you could give us the family's address, contact name, and phone number too.  We hope to distribute the meals the week of Thanksgiving.

How many meals might we give away this year?  I have no idea.  Let's leave that up to the food, finances, and families that God lays on our hearts.  All I do know is that this is the kind of thing a requel church does as a normal kind of thing.  Thanks for your generous support!  And thanks also to Sherry and Randy for their passion and leadership this Thanksgiving season!  - Pastor Mark

Len Edgerly's Insight of Amazon's Jeff Bezos

My good friend and fellow podcaster, Len Edgerly, received the golden ticket invitation to attend the Amazon press conference this past Wednesday.  Len is the author of The Kindle Chronicles, self described as "the Friday podcast all about your Kindle."  I love The Kindle Chronicles, or TKC as those who listen every week have come to know it.  Len does a marvelous job of keeping Kindle lovers up to speed on all things Kindle with news, tech tips, content, and interviews with interesting guests.  I've even been a guest a time or two.

This week's edition of TKC is all about the big news from Amazon regarding the new E-Ink Kindles as well as the brand new tablet, dubbed Fire.  Over the past few days I've read all about first impressions of the red-hot Fire, comparisons to the iPad, as well as the marvels of new Silk technology, and the concerns about privacy.

No where, though, have I read about Jeff Bezos and his performance and straight-forward confidence while giving his presentation Wednesday.  No where, that is, except in this week's edition of The Kindle Chronicles.  Len, with his front row seat, had perhaps the best view of everything happening with the CEO of Amazon.  As always Len carefully crafted his spoken prose into his microphone.  Sadly, I fear none of it will see print.  That's the nature of a podcast, of course. And Len is just too modest to trump his own horn.  So I've taken it on myself to do it for him.  Here's his recollections of Jeff Bezos walking out onto the stage:

This bald guy wearing jeans, a white shirt, no tie, and a dark sports coat strolled in from the darkness of stage right.  There was no announcer's voice booming an introduction and there was a ripple of uncertain applause greeting him. They didn't know if they were supposed to applaud or wait for him to start speaking.

The first thing he said was, "Welcome and thank you very much for taking the time to be here this morning.  It is very much appreciated by the whole team." He never said who he was, but of course that wasn't necessary. It was Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon.com.

Len goes on to describe Bezos recalling the skeptics who at one time thought the Kindle would be a flop. With a simple chart Bezos demonstrated the huge succcess of the Kindle in these past 4 years.  After this, Len begins his more personal thoughts of Jeff Bezos:

I'm going to switch here to calling Bezos "Jeff" because his remarks made me feel as if I knew him, even though I've never had a chance to shake his hand. It felt like he was revealing a fairly personal story. From the front row I thought I saw his eyes glistening with moisture - not quite tears maybe - but a show of intensity and perhaps pride. He spoke deliberately like a man giving a testimony in church instead of a triumphant CEO making a pitch to investors or Bloomberg.

Len couldn't resist making the comparisons between Steve Jobs of Apple unveiling the first iPhone in 2007 with Jeff Bezos's performance this week.  While not seated in the front row, Len tells us that he was there at the MacWorld Expo when Jobs took the stage.

I don't remember a similar feeling of approachability or self-revelation in Job's presence. Dynamic, charismatic, trans-inducing, yes! And it was great fun to be a part of it. But Jeff Bezos talking about the Kindle is an entirely different way of being in the world. What I saw was partly an evident humility, but it was mixed with a fierceness for the vision he's been pursuing.

This is the kind of quality insight from Len Edgerly that makes his The Kindle Chronicles so worthwhile week in and week out.  The rest of the tech world is filled with the technical specifications of the newest gadgetry. And Len covers this tech talk with the best of them.  But it is Len's intuitive perception of the human element of the Kindle phenomenon that makes me want to listen.  Thanks Len for your weekly work of love.

Review: The Daily Has Become My Daily Habit

Reading The Daily has become my morning habit. I am a fan. I look forward to reading it every morning. The Daily is a daily newspaper that looks like a magazine and is designed specifically for the iPad. Why do I love The Daily so much?  It's a joy to read (watch, listen, experience - one verb doesn't do it justice).  It's priced right. It tells me all I need to know about the news of the day.

Reading The Daily is an experience. It's what newspapers and magazines should be, what they all eventually will be.  The Daily is designed specifically for the iPad. Each page can be viewed either in portrait or landscape mode. Indeed, the design changes depending on how you're holding the device. Embedded within each page is so much more than text with a picture. Often there's video or audio too.  

There's an interactive aspect to The Daily that's difficult to comprehend until you've experienced it. One does not just read The Daily.  When I'm holding today's issue in my hands, I'm touching, swiping, exploring, taking quizzes, participating in surveys, and writing and sharing my own opinions.

The Daily is priced right too.  New subscribers receive the first two weeks for free - without the need to "cancel at any time." After the initial two-week trial period, you as the new subscriber, will have a choice: either $0.99 per week or $40 for the year. This, in my opinion, is an incredible bargain. I don't know how they do it. Even at the more expensive weekly option I'm paying less than 15 cents an issue.  Take a dime and a nickel to your local newstand and see how far it won't get you!

Video: N.A.M.I. Richland County Health Walk

Have I ever mentioned just how proud I am of my wife?  Mary Kay Pierce is the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness - Richland County.  She is passionate about helping families who have a family member suffering from mental illness.  And that's a whole bunch of folks!  It's estimated that one in four families in Ohio have a family member suffering from some sort of mental illness. 

That job is big enough, but like everything else, funding is now tough to come by.  Governor Kasich just released his budget and, not surprisingly, the budget for Mental Health was slashed yet again.  So how does Mary Kay respond?  Not with a "woe is me" attitude.  She is out trying to raise funds.  Next month, on April 16th, N.A.M.I. Richland County is sponsoring a walk / 5k run out at the Richland County fairgrounds.  I'm going to be out there!  How about you?  I'd love to put together a team from Church Requel!

Two days ago, Mary Kay was interviewed by WMFD Anchor Brigitte Coles.  Here is that interview.  Way to go, Mary Kay!  Keep up the great work! (You can download the show from WMFD here.)

N.A.M.I. Richland County Health Walk from Mark Pierce on Vimeo.

Antennagate Leadership Lessons

This morning I watched the 34-minute response from Steve Jobs and Apple to the Antennagate issue of the past 22 days.  I do not own an iPhone 4.  Because there is no 3G data service in my area I recently made the decision to go with the htc EVO and Sprint, and so far I am quite happy with my decision.

Nevertheless, I was most interested in watching Steve Jobs' response to the iPhone antenna criticisms.  It seems to me that any leader worth his salt should be following this news story closely.  What do you do when your product or service receives criticism?  Especially what do you do if you think the criticism is unfair or out of proportion to reality?  As a leader of a new church I thought I would write down my observations and thoughts after watching Apple's press conference.  Here, in no particular order, are my 8 conclusions.

Conclusion #1 - Leaders are criticized.  The farther out in front a leader is, the more criticism he or she will likely receive.  Love Apple or hate Apple... they have a string of successes over the past 5 years that put them in front of the crowd.  There isn't a leader anywhere doing anything at anytime that doesn't receive criticism and sometime lots of it.  If you want to be a leader, expect to be criticized. 

Conclusion #2 - The more out in front you are, the more criticism you are likely to receive.  If you haven't received a lot of criticism recently, maybe you haven't really accomplished all that much.  Great achievement and great accomplishments do not come with only glowing fanfare.  In fact, the greater the fanfare, the greater the criticisms.

Conclusion #3 - When a specific criticism is leveled, respond in a timely manner.  This doesn't necessarily mean right away.  Jobs made the point that it had been 22 days since they've been selling the iPhone 4 and receiving antenna complaints.  A day over three weeks.  Time enough to get their facts straight.  Time enough to let cooler heads prevail.  Time enough not to blow up and make the problem worse.  Not so much time that it appears you are not concerned about the issue.

Conclusion #4 - When a specific criticism is leveled, respond in a factual manner.  It's one thing to say, "That's not fair," even if it isn't.  It's another thing entirely to sit back, collect the facts and then share them as straightforwardly as possible.  Does the iPhone have a problem with its antenna?  Yes.  Is the iPhone 4 the only phone to have such a problem?  No.  How big is the problem?  According to Apple's internal data, not nearly as big a deal as both their critics and the media have made it out to be.

Conclusion #5 - When a specific criticism is leveled, respond in a transparent manner.  Maybe the thing which impressed me most about the Apple press conference was the authentic and emotional way Jobs spoke about their desire to please their customers.  It was clear to me that this was a big deal to the folks at Apple, that they genuinely cared about their customers and were grieved to have been on the receiving end of such criticism.  Jobs certainly didn't express an "I don't care" or flippant attitude.

Conclusion #6 - Do what you can do, admit what you can't.  Apple will provide every iPhone 4 customer with a free bumper, which Consumer Reports has shown will solve the antenna problem.  They will reimburse their customers who have already purchased a bumper.  However, they are geared up to make phones, not bumpers.  There aren't enough Apple bumpers for everyone.  (Three million phones were sold in the first 3 weeks!)  So they are contracting with outside bumper manufacturers to provide a choice of solutions for their customers.  Also customers have 30 days to return their new, undamaged phone for a full refund with no restocking fee.

Conclusion #7 - Set a short-term evaluation date and then consider what next steps might be necessary. Sometimes a solution is good once and forever.  But far more often it is a good idea to set an evaluation date, a line in the sand on the calendar.  For Apple this is September 30th.  Apple and their customers will have two and a half months to get this resolved.  And then they will evaluate to see if they need to go further.  This provides the incentive for customers with real problems (not just the media or Apple's critics) to actually take action to solve their problem.

Conclusion #8 - Realize that you can't make everyone happy.  It's admirable that Steve Jobs and Apple want to take care of everyone who has a real problem with their product.  And it's good to come out and state your case so everyone knows your side of the story.  But it might be a little wishful thinking to want every user to be happy.  Some people are, by nature, unhappy creatures. 

Rock Cookie Bottom's iphone antenna video song really got it right I think.  If you don't like the iPhone 4 - for whatever reason, antenna or otherwise, take it back!  Seems simple.  Not a big deal... certainly nothing to warrant the "Antennagate" label of the critics.  The sad truth is that some people will criticize you and no matter what you do, they just won't like you, your product, your leadership, your solutions - even your effort to make a solution.

Like Apple, you may want every one of your customers or users or (in my case) congregants to be happy.  And you (and I) should work as hard as possible to make the experience of the product or the service to be as good as it possibly can be.  But, and here is the important qualifyer... your happiness (and mine) cannot be determined by our customers' (or congregants') happiness.

Every now and then we have the opportunity to watch great leadership.  And if we're really wise, we'll learn from it.  From where I sit on this particular issue, Steve Jobs and Apple are responding in an appropriate manner and are demonstrating why they are leaders.  I hope my own leadership bar will be raised by their example.

Today We Celebrate Dual Citizenship

This evening at Church Requel we will study the first half of Philippians 1:27, which is the New International Version of the Bible reads this way, "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ." The main verb used is πολιτεύομαι (politeuomai), which has as its root the word polis, the word for city.  New York City is often referred to as Metropolis.  Here in Ohio on the Ohio River we have Gallipolis.  It's where we get our word for politics.  The New Living Translation, I think, really gets it right when they translate: "Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ."

Today, as we celebrate Independence Day here in the United States, Christ-followers celebrate dual citizenship.  We conduct ourselves in a manner consistent with the freedoms and responsibilities of the citizen BOTH of the U.S. and of Heaven.  There is no inconsistency or contradiction here.  Citizens of Heaven should make excellent Americans.

Certainly our founders thought so.  We may forget in this modern age that the first settlers came to America seeking religious freedom.  In the midst of difficulties, trials and debate - when it seemed like the Continental Congress might not be able to agree on the Declaration of Independence - which we celebrate today, they paused for prayer.  Out of that prayer came the phrase "e pluribus unum," One out of many.

Yesterday the Washington Post reported an exciting new finding about our Declaration of Independence.  Researchers have scientifically figured out that in one of his early drafts, Thomas Jefferson changed his wording of Americans from "subjects" to "citizens."  He smudged his ink so well and then traced his original lettering so closely that it has taken 234 years for us to figure out what he originally wrote down.  Today we are not "subjects" of the crown or of the government.  We are citizens!  That has an entirely different meaning, with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities that go along with it.

In the same way, we Christ-followers are not just "subjects" of heaven.  We are citizens of it.  We live as if we were in the Presence of God (heaven) regardless of our place, time, or company.  We live in a certain manner - not because we are better.  We are, after all, sinful men and women saved by grace.  We live in a certain way because of Who we know.  And because of Who knows us.

Today on this 4th of July I encourage you to celebrate your freedom with all the gusto you can gather.  But as you do so, remember your dual citizenship.  Celebrate not only your freedom as an American, but also your freedom in Christ.

Celebrating St. Patrick's Life

Many folks will be wearing the green today.  Personally, after work, I'll be meeting with our church leadership at the Old Bag of Nails, listening to Dr. Simple.  I'm sure it will be crowded.  Shaun is planning on going over early to save us some seats.

So what do we have to celebrate?  I'm sure many have no idea - any excuse for green beer is a good excuse.  Christ followers at Church Requel have much to celebrate, though, about St. Patrick's life.  Much about his life is lost to time and myth.  But two authentic letters survive this bishop, who died on this date in 460.  Here are a few things to remember:

• He was a missionary, who returned to Ireland as an adult after being kidnapped as a young teenager.  He received a call from God and served that call faithfully.
• He was a teacher, taking a cue card from Jesus' teaching style, using whatever local props he could find to illustrate God's love and character.  Patrick's most famous illustration was the use of the 3-leafed clover to illustrate the truth of the Trinity.
• He was a baptist.  By his own words he baptized thousands of the Irish into the faith of Christ.
• He was a preacher.  He spent 30 years spreading the word of God throughout Ireland.
• He was an outsider.  While he is celebrated with Irish culture, St. Patrick himself never considered himself Irish.  He was a Briton - a foreigner in Ireland.  Consequently, his life was not an easy one.  We also are sojourners, here on earth.  This life, this place is not the Christ-follower's home.  Let's not get too comfortable.
• He was a survivor. He was persecuted, specifically in a trial.  Not surprisingly his accusers were other Christians.  (Why is it that our greatest trials often come from within?)

Let's all celebrate safely today and enjoy the fellowship of good friends, fine food and beverage.  Wear the green.  Walk in a parade.  Make the most of life today.  And remember you are celebrating someone who followed God's call as a missionary, teacher, baptist, and preacher despite being an outsider.  Today celebrate the survivor in all of us!

Listening to No One Would Listen

I used my day off yesterday to listen to the Audible version of No One Would Listen by Harry Markopolos. I found both the book and the audio to be so compelling that I looked for opportunities to do other things while I listened.  This financial thriller was so good that I finally gave up trying to do anything else and just sat down with my iPod to listen.

No One Would Listen is the story of Markopolos and three others, who figured out as early as 1999 that the highly respected Bernie Madoff was running a Ponzi scheme, ultimately cheating investors out of more than 60 billion dollars.  The fascinating thing about his story is that on three different occasions, in 2000, 2001, and again in 2005, Markopolos provided detailed documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proving his case against Madoff.  Each time Markopolos was ignored.

Markopolos tells how he was frightened by the possibility that either the mob or, after Madoff was arrested in December 2008, the federal government would attempt to murder him because of what he knew.  The reader, in his or her more rational mindset, would be right to believe that Markopolos might have exaggerated this danger to himself.  But then again, when either billions of dollars are involved (in the case of the mob) or massive embarrassment is involved (in the case of the S.E.C.), one may excuse Mr. Markopolos for his paranoia.

Markopolos' own self interests may have contributed to the fact that no one would listen.  Richard Tofel, writing for the Wall Street Journal today, provided this insight in the WSJ book review of Listen:

The author of "No One Would Listen" is fond of describing himself as "slightly eccentric," but he is not exactly self-aware. By his account, the fault for his having been ignored throughout eight years of warnings is everyone else's. But that conclusion requires ignoring much of his story. 

Mr. Markopolos's first Madoff-charging submission to the SEC came at a time when his own firm was competing against Mr. Madoff's. He was clearly not trying to be selfless: "If there is a reward for uncovering fraud," he wrote to the SEC staffers, "I certainly deserve to be compensated."

For those who like to read either finance or thrillers, No One Would Listen is the perfect amalgamation.  Listening to the audio version is especially a luxury, with Scott Brick doing a masterful job of reading the story.  The audio editors must have thought it would be helpful to have other readers handle the email portions.  These portions, however, I found amateurish and distracting.  However, near the end of the book, the audio book also includes the scathing comments by Rep. Gary Ackerman (in his own voice) during the SEC interview at the Madoff-SEC Congressional hearing.  This was compelling after having listened to the Markopolos story.

For me listening to Listen was a special treat.  Before my career change to become a pastor in 2004, I had worked in the financial services industry for 25 years.  So much of what I read in Listen confirmed the lessons I had learned about the investment industry, investments and investors.  Look for another blog post from me later this week for some lessons learned from Listen.

E-book Math Doesn't Add Up for Publishers

Two news stories from the past week juxtapose one another in my mind on this Monday morning.  First is the story that the Apple iTunes Music Store celebrating its 10 billionth download last week.  Imagine! Billion always gets my attention.  This is a business that is only seven years old!  Now, contrast this celebration against the angst taking place in the book publishing business.

Today's New York Times includes an article explaining why the e-book pricing of $9.99 just doesn't add up for book publishers.  Amazon has defended the e-book consumer's demand for the electronic book discount.  But, according to the publishing industry, there's not enough money to go around even at the higher $26 hardcover price.  On a typical new hardcover, the bookstore pays 50% of the retail book price, yielding only $13 to the publisher.  The author is paid $3.90 and the printing/shipping/storage costs $3.25.  Cover design, typesetting, editing, and marketing add up to another $1.80.  Of course many books also aren't profitable and will need to be written off.  The industry pleads its case saying:

Without accounting for such write-offs, the publisher is left with $4.05, out of which it must pay overhead for editors, cover art designers, office space and electricity before taking a profit. 

Does this story sound vaguely familiar?  The internet has completely changed the way many industries conduct their business.  When I began my stock brokerage career with Merrill Lynch in 1979, retail stock commissions were the norm.  Not so anymore.  More recently the music recording industry has been rocked to its core (actually that's not true as the core may not even still be there) by the iTunes Music store.  Who buys an entire CD at $18 just to own one favorite song track these days?

So to hear the print publishers talk about why it's so unreasonable to charge $9.99 for a new e-book simply makes me think, 'Here we go again.'  The simple truth of the matter is that the marketplace will ultimately determine the future of book pricing.  We call this concept the free enterprise system.  If and when a company can offer a preferred product at a lower price, those companies with a locked in higher cost structure will be left behind. 

Welcome Mansfield News Journal Readers

ChurchRequel.com was fortunate to among five North Central Ohio bloggers featured in this morning's News Journal.  For those who make it all the way back to page 4J of today's paper and then who actually ventured forth to search for this blog in your browsers, congratulations on completing your quest!  This blog is a collection my (Mark Pierce's) writings, quips, thoughts, ideas, opinions, rants, and even a few raves.  A little over a year ago Mary Kay and I began a new church in our home.  We called it Church Requel.  Why Requel?  You've heard of sequel, right?  And prequel?  We wanted to be a church in the requel sense - fashioned as a New Testament church, but in a new and fresh and relevant way for today's culture. In October the home church became a public church, meeting on Sunday evenings at 6PM in the Mid-Ohio Conference Center.  (For more info about the church, click here.) 

While much of what I write relates to the church and its new ministry, I find so many things in today's society to be of great interest. Here are some recent non-church posts you may enjoy:

• Men of a Certain Age Not Escapism TV
• Repentance, Tiger Woods' Way
• Four Lessons Learned from Olympic Opening
• Letterman-Oprah-Leno Appealing. Why?
• Is Dropping Facebook Really the Best Solution?

Being a pastor, of course I also find much to write about in the Christian realm.  Certainly most of these posts are valid for all readers, not just those who happen to attend Church Requel.  Here are some of the ones that are fairly recent that may also be of benefit to you.

• Be Meek, Not Weak
• Are You Still Packed Up With God?
• My Prayer for Faithful Bible Readers
• How Should Pastors Respond to Haiti this Weekend?
• Remembrance of Past Provides Faith for the Future

I'd love for you to roam around this space.  Feel free to check out the archives and the categories.  Check out the photo albums in the right-hand column.  Also, along the top of the blog, you can click through to some of the other spaces I keep up on the internet.  If you like what you see, I'd love to welcome you as a regular reader.  You're welcome to subscribe in your online reader or subscribe in your email box.

Men of a Certain Age Not Escapism TV

This man of a certain age likes to watch TNT's Men of a Certain Age, which wrapped its tenth and final episode of its rookie season Monday night.  Men was created by and stars Ray Romano, who made his fame and fortune (he became the highest paid actor in TV history in 2004) with Everybody Loves Raymond.  I was always a fan of the comedic Romano.  I became intrigued when I watched his interview with Oprah last November promoting Men.  Maybe it was just me, but I sensed an uncomfortableness on Romano's part as the interview seemed to steer in the direction of his comedy, rather than the dramatic role he envisioned for Men. 

Men of a Certain Age centers around the lives of three middle-aged friends: Joe, Owen and Terry.  Joe, played by Romano, is a divorced man, with two teenage children, a party-store business, and a gambling addiction.  Owen, played by Andre Braugher, is the married family man struggling to make ends meet by working as a salesman at his father's car dealership.  Terry, played by Scott Bakula, is the single, never-quite-made-it actor, who often looks for love in all the wrong places.

If you're looking for escapism television, don't come to Men.  It defies easy pigeon-holing.  Most would call it drama, but it's not really drama like you typically find in today's television choices.  Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes:

What makes "Men of a Certain Age" so surprising is that it steadfastly refuses to bend to the cliches of the premise. There are more melancholy and plaintive moments than humor - acerbic or otherwise. When you think it will leaven or undercut the tough emotions and veer somewhere safe or familiar, it doesn't. The series has more of an interior, existential aspect than anyone had a right to expect, and one that TNT doesn't usually dabble in.