Yes?

Then it’s time to branch out, start bearing some fruit.

The other day, I heard this guy [video] say, “Yo, in my Bible, the trees that bore no fruit and bad fruit were both cut down.” That really hit me. There’s no lukewarm. There’s hot or cold, fruit or no fruit.

(Photo: The Wolf)

So how can you and I begin to own up to God’s calling? ‘Cause it’s definitely not about listening to Sunday sermons forever. There’s more.

For instance, here are some ideas from my life and from some of my friends:

• Volunteering within your church: Can you be a greeter? How about a children’s ministry helper or teacher? Seriously, churches have no problem giving you stuff to do (assuming you’re faithful to actually do it).
• Starting a new ministry within your church: Like a group that gets together before services and prays. Or a cleaning ministry or a moving ministry. Look for needs and then find ways to meet those needs, instead of passing them on as suggestions for other leaders.
• Logging what you’re learning and sharing it: Start a blog or put together an email list or collect physical addresses for regular mail. And then share what you’re learning in your devotions each week.
• Door to door evangelism: Get groups of two together, spread out around a neighborhood, and start knocking on doors. Sometimes the best that comes of it is your connection with the people who go with you. That’s not a bad thing.
• Opening your home: Let everyone know you’re willing to host people at your place for an evening or even for a night. Post it on CouchSurfing.org too.
• Giving away your trade secrets: If you’re a musician, could you play some weddings for free? What if you’re a photographer? Or maybe you could teach a one-off class on business management or home birthing or home schooling, share some of the skills you’ve acquired over the past 20 years.
• Setting up a missions trip: And it doesn’t have to be to Kenya. You can set up a missions project to a city two cities away from where you live… or even stay in the same city.
• Supporting missionaries financially: Our money can go a long way in other countries. Let it.
• Moving to bless others: This might mean moving to another country to help missionaries, or it might mean moving to another city to be a missionary there. Most people don’t even factor this in as an option, but it seems pretty biblical to me. The early disciples were all over the place.
• Offering to share your testimony: Ask your church or other churches or youth camps or conferences and so on. If you start locally through people you know, it’s not that difficult to find a place.
• Keeping believers accountable: Set a weekly time to get together. Exchange phone numbers. You can even connect on Skype. Make a list of things you want to stay accountable for and run through them as often as you can. Give each other permission to let things get uncomfortable. <<This will take time.
• Mentoring someone: Like your kids, first off. Secondly, ask your friends and relatives to see if anyone wants to follow you around. Or you could set it up more like an accountability meeting except with more advice and living examples thrown in.
• Writing a book: It doesn’t have to be as overwhelming as it seems. Consider an ebook (read: PDF) or a small pamphlet you can staple together yourself. Some of my favorite books are only about 150 pages. You can even self-publish a longer work if you can’t get it published the traditional way.
• Leading a Bible study: You can do this in your home, in someone else’s home, at a park, at a university, in a prison, in a box, or with a fox. “Wherever two or three are gathered…”
• Starting a church: I guess I have a less traditional view on starting a church (or maybe it’s more traditional if you take it all the way back to Acts). I’m like get some people together for a Bible study. When that gets too big for a house, look into renting a building or community center. Pray like crazy. Read and meditate on the Bible daily. Pray some more. Worry about “formal education” later, or maybe at the same time.

You have tons of options, and these are only a few. I’m just trying to give you some ideas, get your sap flowing.

How can you stretch yourself? How can you go beyond what you’re comfortable with right now? Often, doing the things we don’t want to do is exactly what we’re supposed to do.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Make a plan. Within one month have one of these (or one of your own ideas) in motion. How will that happen?

(2) Take the first step right after making a rough plan. I mean like within half an hour of finishing this article. Maybe it means emailing that friend about starting an accountability group or calling your pastor to see about helping in the youth ministry. Whatever it is, take that action to get others in on the plan.

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And a friend recommended him on Twitter.

I thought, Man, this guy must be pretty amazing.

Later, I learned that Josh Riebock is a full-time writer and speaker and the author of mY Generation, A Real Journey of Change and Hope. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m looking forward to it.

I did have the chance to chat with Josh. We talked about how he quit his job as a youth pastor to do what God actually wants him to do. We also talked about his book, and Josh shared a story from it toward the end of the conversation.

If you’re like me, interested in all the back story of becoming a writer and motivation to follow God, I think you’ll enjoy this.

*****

Marshall: All right, so for everyone who doesn’t know you (or know about you), can you give a rundown of who you are, Josh?

Josh: Sure. I’m from the Chicago area and lived there for most of my life. Through that, I became a huge Chicago Bears fan. I love the Bears.

I’ve been married now for coming up on five years, to an amazing girl, a girl I grew up just a few houses away from. A couple weeks after we got married, we moved to Austin, Texas, and that’s where we live now.

We love it. It’s a creative, warm, thought provoking, musical, and young city. Oh yeah, and I love Bon Jovi too. That’s important.

Marshall: Bon Jovi’s fun.

So why Austin?

Josh: I’ve seen them four times in concert!

As for Austin. Kristen (my wife) and I knew that we wanted to move. We just felt like if we stayed in the Chicago area, there was a better chance of us becoming stagnant. Not growing. Not learning. Not experiencing new things.

We wanted to move somewhere that was really different from where we were, somewhere that would stretch us, and by stretching us, really inspire us to live more and love better. Austin seemed to fit all of those things. I’ve never been anywhere quite like it.

Marshall: Very cool… or actually getting hot soon, right?

Josh: Haha. Yea, it gets really hot here. It’s been in the 80s for a while, and it’ll be in the 90s and 100s by June, I guess. But I like the heat. After living in the Chicago cold, the heat is a breeze.

Marshall: Classic Texas. I’m more a fan of heat than cold too.

The back story

Marshall: I read that you were a youth pastor for a while. Was that in Austin?

Josh: I was a youth pastor near Chicago for about three years and then here in Austin for about two.

Marshall: Okay, so how did you get into that in Chicago first?

Josh: Well, like a lot of things in my life, it feels like it happened by accident. I had finished college. I don’t know how, but I did. And afterward, I had no idea what I was going to do.

I knew I didn’t want to work in a traditional office setting, but that was about it. A friend of mine, a guy who’d played the role of friend and father in my life, told me that I should work in a church.

I told him that he was crazy. At that point, I really enjoyed being around God, but I didn’t really like being around church. But, I agreed to go to an interview anyway.

They offered me the job. And I took it. Like I said, it all felt like an accident.

Marshall: Wow, so when you moved, did you already have the other job lined up?

Josh: Yeah, the job at the other position was ready when we moved down here.

Marshall: But you’re a full-time writer/speaker now. How did you move into that from being a youth pastor? Accident?

Josh: Haha. Well, I think I just started to ask myself if I was really doing what I was supposed to be doing.

Asking myself, am I really putting my passions and gifts to use? Am I really doing what God wants me to do? Or am I working in a church because I’m too afraid to really do those other things?

So I woke up one morning and just had a sense that I needed to quit my job. And that freaked me out, because we’d only lived in Austin a little over a year. We’d just bought our first place down here. It seemed kind of… stupid, irresponsible, crazy.

But, that sense of needing to quit didn’t go away. And I didn’t want to be someone that talked about faith but didn’t live with it. I didn’t want to be someone that chose the smart thing over the obedient thing.

And so, with Kristen totally with me, we began praying/talking/thinking about what I should do. And I came to place of realizing that if I could do anything with my life, I’d want to just tell stories. I wanted to write and speak. And I’d been doing some of that through my 5+ years in church work, and I’d seen it produce some cool things in people’s lives.

So I quit. That was almost five years ago now.

Marshall: Those are some tough questions, things I think many of us go through… I know I do.

Josh: I had a really hard time with it.

Marshall: Listening to this back story, I feel like I’m in the same place you were. Looking back, are there any suggestions you’d give for how to put that into practice once you realize the new direction God’s taking you?

How do you just quit your job like that? What next?

Josh: Well, I’m not sure I’d always recommend it, but I did just quit me job, ha…

Marshall:

Josh: On a more abstract level, I think we all have to respond to what God is doing in our lives. I think He asks that of us. For me, I felt like that first step was to step away from where I was, but for others it might not be.

It seems like we all have to take that first step. That first step towards what we’re made to do. That first step may not be a grand one, it might be subtle. But the majority of people never take even that first one.

Marshall: Your first step was quitting your job. What was your second step?

Josh: Well, the second one was putting myself out there as far as writing and speaking went. I started writing articles, and getting rejected on most. I went after speaking gigs, and again, either got rejected or never heard back from most people.

But I just kept at it. And the scary nature of it all forced me into a kind of dependence on God that I’d never known. I was finally living, and oddly enough, I also experienced an intimacy with God that I’d never known.

I needed Him every day. I needed Him before too, I just never realized it. So much of what was going on was internal. My character needed to catch up to my ambition.

Marshall: Oh, I love that. I’m all about dependence. It’s one of those things that, as Americans anyway, we shy away from it. We want independence. But really when we look at the Bible, it’s the opposite – it’s all about dependence.

Josh: I know…

It’s really backwards. We think that we’ve “made it” when we no longer need help, when we’re strong enough to go a few days without God. When the Bible seems to suggest that we’ve made it when we realize, day after day, moment by moment, that we’re nothing without Him, and we need Him for everything.

But most of the time, we resist the steps and seasons that show us all of that.

The book

Marshall: All right, I love talking about all this back story, I could go on for a long time here. But lets get into your book, My Generation. How did that come about?

Josh: Well, I wanted to write. I didn’t really know what I wanted to write about, so I just started writing, and My Generation is what came out. I guess I figured that the content would tell me what I’m writing about.

Marshall:

Josh: And what came out were the stories of broken, messy people, including me, and how we were finding hope and healing.

Marshall: I should have spelled it “mY Generation” because that seems to help convey more of what it’s about, with the Y-Generation focus. (I like that by the way.)

Josh: No problem. I knew that you meant.

Marshall: Yeah.

Josh: But yeah, I guess I should have said that the stories are about this broken and messy generation. And about what it might look like for us to play a part in breathing hope and healing into it.

Marshall: Someone said, I’ll have to look up who it was [hey, it was Shawn in the comments], that it explores alternatives to the usual “how to reach Gen Y” methods. Do you think that’s accurate?

Josh: Well, I think so. I didn’t want to write a “how to help people” book, because I don’t think it really works that way. This book isn’t “go do these four things, and something great is guaranteed to happen.”

mY Generation is the stories of how people have been a part of changing my life, and about how God has, at times, used someone as screwed up as me to change the lives of others.

But what people do with it is up to them. So if people want a “how to” book, they’ll hate this, and it will drive them mad.

Marshall: Good point about how it really works, how we actually learn things.

Who do you hope reads it? Who did you have in mind?

Josh: I didn’t want to write a book for pastors, or only people that were in leadership positions.

I wrote it for anyone who wants to be a part of changing people’s lives. That could be a friend, a painter, a pastor, a business owner, a mom, or whoever. Simply those who care about this generation.

Marshall: And how did you figure out that’s what you wanted to do (or just were doing) in your writing?

Josh: Well, I wanted to talk to my friends and myself. I don’t think that pastor’s are going to change the world. It’s average Joe’s like us who will. God is going to use us, if we let Him.

Marshall: Reminds me of the book, Roaring Lambs, which focuses on lay people being the real, “in the trenches” people who are going to make things happen.

Josh: Yeah. I believe that.

Marshall: Okay, I just saw the time. I had no idea! Let me ask you just one more question – I want to be fair with your time.

Josh: Cool. Yeah, we’re flying.

Marshall: Let’s see, you’re not a how-to guy, but can you share one story, a sneak peek from the book or perhaps something new, of how people can change lives… like how someone’s done it for you or you’ve done it for someone else?

(Big question… sorry.)

Josh: Sure, man…

Well, Kristen and I had a friend who fell into a pretty dark life. Spirit channeling. Drugs. She was just surrounded by people who claimed to care about her, but they really only cared about getting things from her.

At some point along the way, she was out with some friends. She was attacked and raped. Through the rape she got pregnant. Through the pregnancy she had an abortion. And through all that, most of the Christians that she knew turned and ran from her.

They told her that God was done with her. They told her it was the last straw. They ran from her pain.

She was left trying to navigate all the pain and junk alone. She was living with a guy that sold LSD. And she just felt trapped.

So one night, we had her over for dinner, and Kristen (my wife) asked her to move in with us.

And for the next season of life, she did. The book tells that story, and what happened after she moved in. But the point is, often as Christians we wait for pain to show up, or we run from it.

But that’s not what Jesus did at all. He was always moving towards pain. Getting messy. Getting involved. Engaging the junk.

Sometimes we wonder why we aren’t a part of incredible moments, incredibly healing moments. And what I’ve found in my life is that I’m not a part of healing moments because most often, I’m not in the places where healing moments happen. They happen in pain and mess. And too often, I’m running from those places, rather than running towards them.

Marshall: “Moving towards pain”… I love that (I wrote about it somewhere too). That’s a fantastic observation, one that’s difficult to live but very rewarding.

The wrap up

Marshall: Thanks for spending so much time with me, Josh. I loved it.

We’ll have to leave it here for now.

Josh: You bet, Marshall. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Marshall: You’re welcome. How can readers get in touch with you?

Josh: <josh [at] joshriebock [dot] com> is great.

Marshall: Alrighty… and Amazon for mY Generation? Is that cool?

Josh: That’s perfect. Thanks so much.

Marshall: You’re welcome. Thanks again for all the time you’ve spent.

Josh: Have a wonderful day. Later, my friend.

Marshall: Adios.

*****

Serving Suggestions:

(1) You can check out Josh’s website for more information or follow him on Twitter if you’re into that. And if you want the rest of that story, you can of course check out mY Generation.

(2) Discuss the conversation. Did you like it? How could I improve these? What did you like best about what Josh said?

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At 17, Nate’s already built two websites, sold one, and now released his Manly Manifesto and accompanying eCourse (more on that at the bottom).

I discovered Nate through a comment (I think) and wanted to support him since he’d just started. So when I found out he was about to give away a free eBook and eCourse on the topic of Christian manliness, I asked if he’d like to do an interview. He agreed, and this was the result.

*****

The vision

Marshall: All right… so Nate, for anyone who doesn’t know you or hasn’t visited your site, can you share a little about yourself and what you do?

Nate: Well, I am a 17-year-old, Christian, young man. I first started building websites at the age of 15, and I wrote a couple of blogs on topics such as eCommerce (Build Your Own eCommerce Website) and college (Debt-free Scholar).

In 2009, I re-evaluated my priorities and decided to start a blog on the topic of manliness. After selling Debt-free Scholar, I launched Practical Manliness in February 2010 with two goals…

1. To learn more about manliness.

2. To help others learn more about manliness.

3. To build a community of people working toward manliness.

Marshall: Which is how I found you.

That’s quite an ambitious start. Have you always been ahead of the game?

Nate: Not quite…

In fact, I am still not ahead of the game.

Marshall:

Nate: I try to write useful posts that will help my readers learn more about manliness, but I have made more than my share of mistakes.

For instance, the week that I started, I published a post about stationery (as in letters). However, I spelled the word as “stationary” (standing still) in the title. Embarrassingly, I did not notice the mistake until a reader pointed it out.

Just yesterday, I made another major blunder. My posts are automatically scheduled to post at 6:00 in the morning (while I am still asleep). Normally, this works fine, but yesterday I discovered that I had accidentally scheduled two posts to publish.

By the time I realized the problem, there was nothing I could do about it. Already, all my RSS, email, Twitter, and Facebook readers had been notified of the two new posts. As a result, I lost about five subscribers who didn’t want that many emails.

Well, live and learn.

Marshall: Yeah, but for the rest of us, we got to read two posts from you, though.

Nate: :)

Marshall: I think I’ve done something similar on a few occasions actually. But like you said, live and learn… better to learn now than never.

Nate: Exactly.

Another time, I accidentally published a draft… I meant to hit “Save” but instead I hit “Publish.”

Marshall: Yes, I remember that one, Nate. And I got a chance to get in touch with you more as a result.

Nate: Hopefully I will at least never repeat the same mistake twice.

It is great to see how my mistakes can actually be used for good through the Providence of God!

Marshall: Absolutely.

I want to ask you about how you got interested in working online in the first place, but first I want to go back to what your site is about. I’ve been a fan of The Art of Manliness for a while now, and your site’s similar in theme. One major difference, though, is the Christian background. Is that right?

Nate: I started Practical Manliness in the same general niche as AoM, but with the major difference of Christianity.

1. Christianity: PM is Christian while AoM is secular (according to their FAQ)

2. Practical: As the name indicates, PM is more focused on the practical side of manliness, although some “theoretical” topics are published also.

Marshall: Right, which is why I really appreciated your writing.

BondChristian is Christian and tries to be practical too. I tend to value those highly.

Nate: Yes, I always enjoy the “serving steps” at the end of each of your posts!

Marshall: Hey, thanks so much, Nate.

The background

Marshall: Okay, how did you get into working online? Was there a particular person or site that inspired you?

Nate: That’s a hard one…

Actually, I can’t remember exactly how and why I started working online, but I think that one of the main motivations was the opportunity.

As a 15 year old, I didn’t really have that much opportunity for offline ventures, but my interest in entrepreneurial activities lead me to look for different opportunities online. Especially back then, the playing field was virtually level.

Since I didn’t have much money, I first started using Blogger and WordPress.com to build my blogs. After a year or so, I upgraded to a BlueHost account and purchased a few (to many) domain names.

Right now, I have probably about 10 different domains registered, and I run two websites. The others are all vacant.

Once I got my own hosting account, I started using WP self-hosted, and I have used it ever since. I am a HUGE WordPress fan.

Marshall: Yes, I use WordPress and BlueHost too.

Nate: They are both great!

The manifesto and eCourse

Marshall: So jumping into what initially inspired me to do this interview with you, I hear you have a manifesto coming out soon (Update: It’s totally out now. Grab your copy here). Tell us about that.

Nate: Yes, I first started working on this manifesto about a month ago.

Soon after Practical Manliness launched (or perhaps just before, I don’t remember), I started writing this ebook to explain what I consider the “17 vital attributes of manly men.”

Marshall: How did you come up with those?

Nate: I brainstormed a variety of important traits and then condensed them to 16. After writing those 16, I decided to add the 17.

Marshall: I’m looking forward to checking it out. Are you going to sell it from your blog, or how is that going to work?

Nate: I plan to give the manifesto away rather like Chris Guillebeau did on The Art of Non-Conformity.

At the end of the manifesto, I have a three-step, action plan that will help people apply these traits. The action plan involves signing up for my five week “Manliness Boot Camp” (also launched on April 6th).

In the boot camp, people will be given practical challenges to help them apply the principles discussed in the ebook.

Marshall: Chris Guillebeau… I’m a huge fan. I was just about to ask about how you decided to do this. It seems like you got much of the idea from Chris.

Nate: Pretty much…

Marshall: I know I’ve been working on something similar, and I got the idea from him as well. I already have the newsletter up, but it’s pretty lame right now.

Nate: I am signed up for your newsletter, and I have enjoyed reading your points in them!

Marshall: Thanks, Nate. I’m looking to revamp that soon hopefully. Getting back to yours, though, I love the practical, action plan side of it and can’t wait to see what you’ve done.

Nate: I am still working on weeks two through four, but week one is ready to go. To “graduate,” a person must complete one challenge per week. Each week will have about five to ten different challenges to choose from with links to sources for more information.

During week one for example, one task is speed reading, another is nonfiction reading, one is giving a speech, another is giving a debate.

Each enlistee only has to complete one task per week, and each task has solid guidelines to help evaluate when the goal is reached.

Marshall: That’s pretty intense… from your end, I mean, putting it together and from the user’s side.

Nate: Once the brainstorming is finished, the rest is pretty simple, but the brainstorming (of task ideas) can be a difficult process.

Marshall: I was about to ask why you were doing this through the ebook (to start with) instead of just blogging it, but it seems like this way you’ll be able to present it in a much more structured and action-oriented format.

Nate: Yes, that and the permanency. The way I see it, an ebook is a bit more “formal” or timeless than a blog post and a bit less timeless than a physical book.

Marshall: Ah, good point. Same reason I started my newsletter: so I could recycle old posts to new visitors.

Nate: That is handy too.

Marshall: Apart from getting people to sign up and complete the various tasks, what do you hope we get out of this program?

Nate: I plan to write thorough articles about most of the goals in the “boot camp” and then link to them from the emails. So far, I have done that for at least one. The article on essay writing will be linked to (if I remember) from the first week’s email.

Marshall: So your main goal then is to drive traffic back to the site. Am I understanding that correctly?

Nate: Yes, I hope to drive traffic to my site so that I can keep building a strong community of manly men.

Marshall: What does “manly men” mean to you? I mean, why not write about some other topic?

Nate: I was just having a conversation about the definition of “manly” with a reader yesterday, so I have been doing some thinking on this topic.

In short, I would define “manly” as “a state of being in conformity with the role the Bible explains for men”. A manly man, in my opinion, would be a man who is working toward that goal.

Obviously, no one can be completely manly (i.e., conformed to the role explained in the Bible), but we should all be working toward it.

Marshall: I like that definition… it definitely sets Godly, manly men apart from manly men who define it by some arbitrary standard of “coolness” or “toughness.”

Nate: Yes, I have always been frustrated by people thinking that manliness is simply some vague idea of a big, “tough” guy. While that guy could be manly, a normal office worker could be just as manly.

Marshall: So it seems like that’s the primary benefit readers could get from your blog and the course… they could learn how to better define what it even means to be a man, and find the encouragement and resources to pull it off. How’d I do with that summary?

Nate: Sounds good!

The advice and future plans

Marshall: What’s one piece of advice you would give to someone reading this interview, particularly related to manliness, how to encourage it, and really live it?

Nate: Well, that’s a tough one. Probably my best piece of advice would be to read the Bible daily.

Since true manliness is the state of conforming to God’s truth (revealed in the Bible), every man should know the Bible thoroughly.

Marshall: Excellent advice, Nate. Certainly can’t go wrong there.

All right, finally, what are your plans down the road, Nate?

Nate: Well, in the short-term, I hope to promote my new manifesto, continue writing three weekly articles, and build a thriving community of manliness.

In the longer-term, I plan to continue writing PM and hopefully write an actual book on the topic.

Besides that, I am not really sure. I will be looking for where the Lord leads.

Marshall: That’s awesome. You certainly have a lot going on as it is. It’s such an encouragement to hear from others who are really digging into the Word and living it out for others.

Nate: You, with your blog and life, have certainly been an encouragement to me!

Marshall: Thanks, Nate. I appreciate that. I’ll link up to Practical Manliness, but are there any other ways you’d like people to get in touch with you?

Nate: That would be great! Thanks again for this interview!

Marshall: You’re welcome. I loved it. Thank you for spending so much time with me and sharing.

Any last thoughts you’d like to share? Otherwise, I’m going to sign off.

Nate: I think that is it. Thanks for the opportunity!

Marshall: All right, I’ll see you around. Adios.

*****

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Check out Nate’s blog, Practical Manliness, get your free copy of The Manly Manifesto, and sign up for the course (at the end of the manifesto). I’ve been impressed so far. Even if you’re not into manliness, #fistbump Nate on Twitter or shoot him an email. Support is always amazing, especially when you’re just getting started.

(2) It’s easy to read something like this but not actually learn anything practical. So what do you take from this interview? What lessons did you learn that you can (and will) apply right now?

(3) As always, I’d love some feedback on the interview. How’d I do with the introduction? What kinds of questions would you like me to ask? Should I keep doing these at all?

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…Even though I didn’t know what to do.

Writing recommendation letters is one of those skills most of us don’t consider too often. At least I don’t. Not many people want my recommendation, I suppose.

But as huge fan of recommendations, I think it’s important to develop this skill – it can certainly carry over into informal recommendations in daily conversation.

So this is what I did to write my letter. I’ve also included some questions for you because I’d like your help in improving my (and other reader’s) recommending skills.

Googled it

I had written one of these letters about two years ago. Two years ago. So yeah, I had totally forgotten what I was doing.

Google provided some templates, which I used to structure of my letter. I’m all about creativity and breaking rules to stand out, but I thought it was a good idea to figure out what rules I was breaking.

Do think a template is a good idea?

Learned about the audience

I don’t know if this is always the case (I imagine it often is) – I didn’t know who I was writing to. I knew it was some committee, but the name didn’t reveal much. So I looked them up.

This took some extra work on my part, but I think having at least a few faces helped me sound personal without too much casualness. (Like I didn’t use the word “casualness” in the letter.) It also gave me some background on what they were looking for in a candidate.

Is that too much work considering the benefits don’t seem that impressive? What do you think?

Focused on stories

This is a big problem with my writing – I don’t tell enough stories. I usually ignore the voice telling me to include more stories here because I’m writing how-to posts. I’ll try to change that. With the letter, though, I specifically focused on writing detailed stories and nothing else.

• I told about how my professor used an unusual exam/quiz combo to help students know where they stood in the class.
• I explained about how he’d shared about his former life as a lawyer.
• And I gave a few examples of when he’d gone beyond the classroom to help and get to know his students.

Do you think writing primarily with stories is a good idea or do people want “just the facts (ma’am)”?

Include something (slightly) negative but provide a rebuttal

Without any negativity, I think most recommendation letters feel fake, especially from a business perspective. It’s one thing to know someone you get along with well – it’s quite another to give the impression that a professor is universally perfect.

So in my letter, I included a brief section about why some students didn’t like his class.

What do you think – is that a good idea?

Ended with a recommendation I’d given to my brother

Instead of ending by recommending this professor for the award, which of course anyone writing a recommendation letter is going to do, I ended with a story of how I recommended him to my younger brother. And my brother is now trying to get into another class with him.

I think if I were reading the letter, I’d appreciate some creativity toward the end instead of a fizzle out that’s been done a quintillion times before.

But is it better to stick with a traditional template?

Now that I’ve shared what I did, I want to open this up (as if it’s ever closed) for you to share your thoughts.

• Have you written recommendation letters, for professors or otherwise? How did you do it? What would you add, or subtract, from what I did?
• Perhaps you’ve been on the other side – perhaps you’ve had to read these letters. As a reader, what do you suggest?
• Are recommendation letters even worth the effort? Here’s something I didn’t address – how would you decide when to write them?

I’d love to get your input on how to best serve others through these letters.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Write a letter of recommendation. Even if it’s just for practice, I think you’ll learn a lot about serving because you have two (sometime competing) interests to keep in mind: the one being recommended and the one reading the recommendation (to say nothing of your own effort to write it).

(2) Share about your experiences with writing (or reading) letters of recommendation. (Or even if you have no experience, I’d love to hear your thoughts.)

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• How to “one-more” and take advantage of incremental growth

Photo: Darwin Bell

How do you think those onions grew? Think about it.

*****

In college, I decided to start taking more classes per semester. I didn’t know how many more, but I wanted to push myself. So did I jump right into it? Well, yes and no.

I did immediately start taking more classes, but I didn’t jump right into a 21 unit, course load. Instead, I started with 14 units. Then I bumped up to 15 units. Then 18. Finally, I went for 21. (I would have tried more, but by then I’d graduated.)

The point isn’t how amazing I was in college. Other students thought I was insane because they were going full time at 12 units, but I knew the truth: the insane students took 25 and 26 units (and I’d heard of 35+ unit semesters).

The point is that I would have struggled (and yes, it would have seemed almost insane) to go straight from 12 to 21.

But I hardly noticed the one at a time increase.

One-more

I call this “one-moring.” One-more is a verb roughly meaning, “to add one more at a time until you totally obliterate your goal.” Something like that. So I could say, “I one-mored my college classes.”

I bet you’ve one-mored before. You just didn’t give it a ridiculous name. I like naming it because it makes me more aware of it and helps me remember to use it more often.

One-moring works because it helps alleviate the fear of scary big change. You can’t always take a leap, but you can always step just once more.

Some examples to try one-moring

• One-more the games you play with your children
• One-more your attendance at church meetings per month
• One-more the dollars you tithe
• One-more the books you give away
• One-more your date nights with your spouse
• One-more the compliments you share each day
• One-more the hours you spend volunteering

The possibilities for one-moring are almost endless.

(Oh, and you can one-less too. Say one-less your Coke consumption per week or one-less your cursing for the month.)

Encourage others to one-more

One of my favorite parts about one-moring is its effectiveness for encouraging others. You can almost always encourage someone to one-more (for the same reasons it can work for you).

One-moring isn’t always the best strategy. Sometimes the outrageousness of an audacious goal is what sparks your enthusiasm to follow through with it. But when you’re not going to do anything otherwise, try one-moring it – try encouraging someone else to one-more.

You might find one more isn’t enough. Just like those onions, which grew one layer at a time.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) One-more something. Anything (but I suggest one-moring an activity that serves others like the examples I gave).

(2) Have you ever one-mored before? Share a story about how it worked for you. Stories are always an encouragement for those who are still considering it.

• 15 ministry ideas to get your brain going
• How I wrote a recommendation letter – what would you add?
• Slavery 101: Fundamentals for slave life
• “You’re not a Christian if…” (Part 1)
• Option overload

Photo: ktylerconk

Once upon a time, everyone understood slavery. You either owned a slave or were one. Sure, some cultures traditionally never had slaves, but for the most part, it’s been a normal part of life. Until now.

Now slavery’s banned.

(But secretly – or not so secretly – I’m bringing it back.)

Because of this general distaste for slavery, most of us don’t really know how it works (or worked) anymore. How much do you know about it? If you have any input you’d like to add, let me know.

For now, here’s some of what I’ve learned about slavery. I’ve wanted (and needed) to write this for a long time. It’s the backdrop for bondChristian. Now that we finished the Others-oriented fruit of the Spirit series, I thought I’d go into more detail on the topic of slavery over the coming Wednesdays. This is the introduction.

What’s a slave?

A slave is someone who’s completely subservient (not the most popular word in the world) to a dominating influence. A slave obeys a master, but more than that, the master actually owns the slave as a type of property.

So the master not only can but should use the slave as a tool – that’s the entire purpose of the slave. The slave’s whole mission in life is to offer the best possible service to the master.

So what’s a master?

The master is that dominating influence. The master has complete control over the slave to do anything with the slave.

The master has an independent purpose or motivation. While the slave’s purpose is completely tied to the master, the master’s goals and ambitions might be separate and do not have to involve the slave at all.

Again, the master is supposed to use the slave to accomplish his own purposes. A master who does not use his slave to full potential is wasteful and stupid.

What’s the master/slave relationship like?

The master/slave relationship is asymmetrical. Equality is out of the question. The master is in a position of authority, and the slave is in submission. The master can entrust a slave with responsibilities, but these decisions are always made by the slave on behalf of the master.

Depending on the purposes of the master, the master can actually treat the slave very well. On the other side, though, the master could treat the slave like garbage. It all comes back to what the master wants, not the slave.

If the master treats the slave well, the slave is probably going to like the master more than if the master treated the slave badly. Either way, though, the purpose of the slave stays the same: to serve the master whether the slave likes it or not.

Both the master and slave must trust each other

• The master gives the slave instructions then trusts that the slave will follow them.
• The slave trusts that the master’s instructions are good and follows them.

Of course, though, the master has more control in the relationship. If the slave fails to follow instructions, the master can punish the slave or get rid of the slave altogether. But the slave still has to follow instructions even if and when the instructions fail.

So the slave is far more dependent on the master than the other way around.

Who’s responsible for what?

In general, the master is responsible for results, while the slave is only responsible for obedience. I say “only,” but obviously that’s not always (ever?) easy.

• The master makes the plans. The master says what to do. If the plans work out, fantastic for the master. If not, not so fantastic for the master.
• The slave follows the plans. The slave does what the master says. If the slave follows the instructions, fantastic for the slave. If not, not so fantastic.

So while “success” for the master might be measured in results, “success” for the slave is measured in obedience and submission.

That’s a key issue in slavery. The slave, as an extension of the master, represents the master. The master is accountable for what the slave does, both the good and the bad. If the slave pulls off some amazingness, the master gets the credit, but if the slave louses everything up, the master gets the blame.

The slave only gets credit or blame for obedience or disobedience.

A master and his slave is like a craftsman and his chisel

• If the craftsman carves an amazing, wooden figurine, the master gets all the credit. Someone might note his fine chisel, but no one gives the chisel credit for the job well done.
• If the craftsman produces some mangled mess, the master gets blamed. Someone might say, “Dude, you need to get some sharper tools,” but it’s still the craftsman’s fault for using that lousy chisel.

The master is like the craftsman here, and the slave is like the chisel. The chisel is only required to perform its specific function well: to stay sharp, to stay strong, and so on.

The slave doesn’t have to worry about the final product – just obey the master’s instructions.

How does slave property work?

As property, the slave has no rights. The master can use the slave for anything and treat the slave however he wants. In a sense, the master has the rights from the slave – the master has the rights the slave doesn’t have.

This means the slave is completely within the master’s control but also benefits from being the master’s property.

Benefits of being property

No one can mess with the slave without also messing with the master. Again, it’s like someone vandalizing the craftsman’s chisel. If the craftsman cares at all about that chisel or really his property in general, that vandal’s is in trouble. Since the master is superior to the slave, the slave has better protection as a slave than if the slave were fending for itself.

The slave enjoys part of the master’s reputation and comforts. Obviously, being the master himself is better than being the slave. But if the slave has to choose between an excellent master and no master at all, often the reputation and comfort is better than going on alone. For example, which is better, being slave to a king or free as a serf? Freedom’s not always best.

Who is that master? Whose is that slave?

This is the last point I’d like to bring up. The master is a “who” – the slave is a “whose.” Bringing everything I’ve already mentioned together, you can see how the master is defined independently, as an independent person. The slave, though, is defined by the master.

The very identity of the master and slave are different. It makes sense to ask who the master is because the master has an independent purpose, but it doesn’t make sense to ask who a slave is. Instead, we can ask whose a slave is.

And in this way, the slave is able to point directly to the master while still keeping the reputation of the master:

• [Speaking of the master] Q. Who is that? A. The master
• [Speaking of the slave] Q. Whose is that? A. The master’s

In each case, the focus comes back to the master… the way it should. And that is what slavery is all about.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) Go read up on slavery. Study it. There’s more to learn from slavery than you might think.

(2) Share what you find in the comments.

(3) Over the coming weeks, I’ll match slavery to Christianity. See if you can find how that might work? How do you as a Christian function as a slave?

This post is part of “The bondC guide to slavery” series. Click here to read the rest.

• Your objections to slavery (and my responses)
• Success = Submission
• Top 10 reasons to become a slave
• Living for something greater than yourself
• What’s the hardest part of missionary life? Being forgotten?

Michael's new book

Michael Holmes offered to send me a free copy of his book I Shall Raise Thee Up toward the end of 2009. I had been impressed with his blog, so I jumped at the offer.

Since then, he and I have chatted briefly through Twitter and blog comments (he’s often over here too), and I’ve enjoyed getting to know him more.

Michael is Christian speaker, writer, and now author focused on leadership, business, and marketing. Whew – his book is about personal success from a Christian perspective.

I’d like to use this post to share my thoughts and notes on the book. In some areas, Michael did a fantastic job. In others, not so fantastic. I think you and I can apply some lessons from this to help serve others, even if we’re not writing or promoting a book.

I liked that Michael gave me a free copy

Michael’s blog attracted me in the first place because it offered practical, biblical tactics for marketing. That’s refreshing. Michael feels like he’s going for a “Seth Godin for Christians” strategy. I’m a Seth fan and a Christian, so naturally that jived.

The general idea here is to create amazing products and let their amazingness market themselves. Once everyone’s talking, the conversion takes care of itself, whether in pesos or lost souls.

I appreciated Michael’s take on this. And when he offered free review copies of his book, I wanted to support his effort since he seemed to actually be doing what he was teaching.

Lesson: Create an amazing offer, an offer others will love supporting. What do others love supporting about you?

I didn’t like the titles

To get a feel for it, here are the chapter titles:

• Greatness
• Isolation
• Desire
• Character
• The Law of Vision
• The Law of the Extra Mile
• The Law of Persistence
• The Law of Stewardship
• The Law of Service
• Greatness Revisited

Note to authors who want me to love their books: titles matter to me like crazy. I do judge a book (and a chapter and a section) by its cover.

The subtitle, Ancient Principles for Lasting Success, sounded like a better (though still not great) title.

I don’t always follow my own advice, and that’s a shame. But if you want to grab me, you need captivating titles (and headings) that both describe the content and make me a compelling promise. I’m picky like that – but more importantly, I think others are too, even if they don’t notice it.

Lesson: First impressions matter. Help others by describing benefits.

I liked the practical application

I loved it actually.

Toward the beginning, Michael talks about how to get the most out of his book. He says to apply the lessons and teach them to others. Apply and teach – that could have  been me thinking those exact thoughts. He had me at that point – I wanted to know more.

Also, at the end of each section, he includes group discussion questions. I wish everyone did this. Even including them at the back of the book would be cool.

I don’t read non-fiction straight through. I jump around, re-reading various sections. I read the discussion questions for each chapter first, wrote them down, and covered the chapter with the questions in mind. This seemed to help me keep the chapter in perspective.

Michael did a good job creating that framework with his questions.

Lesson: Get your followers to actually do something – anything. They’ll remember better.

I didn’t like that I couldn’t find the hook

The book was an awkward read for me actually. At times, the repetitiveness bored me. Let’s get on with it, I thought. The book wasn’t repeating itself – it was repeating other success books.

Also, while the book certainly covered a number of crucial areas for success, I struggled to find a unique, central theme. If someone asked me why they should read this book instead of another book on the same topic, I’m not sure I could give a succinct response.

I think part of this was a result of trying to cover too much in one book. It’s only about 130 pages of reading. Tackling a topic like personal success in that space might have been too ambitious.

This also might be a personal preference. I tend to thrive on tactics, and it’s almost impossible to cover that much landscape adequately and stay practical at the same time. As a result, the book felt choppy.

Without a unique, driving theme, I felt lost at times. I Shall Raise Thee Up needed more consistency to hold it all together.

Lesson: There’s nothing new under the sun. Reminding is what it’s all about. But reminders have to be consistent.

I liked the sound bites

For me, the book was more about hidden gems. It was more about finding bits and pieces that grabbed me. I found many sections that resonated – I kept thinking, “Yeah, that’s a great point.” And I wrote them down.

These stand alone sections were fantastic because I was able to spring off them into my own thoughts.

Can you answer some of your toughest questions (or at least your most frequently asked questions) in a sentence or two and in a way that is memorable? That’s what these sound bites did. They might have been disjointed (see above), but they did provoke my thoughts.

Lesson: Be concise. And have concise answers ready.

And my biggest criticism of all..

I Shall Raise Thee Up is self-oriented.

Of course, that was the purpose of the book – personal success. It didn’t pretend to teach how to create success in others. Still, I wonder because for me, personal success is directly tied to creating success in others.

To be fair, I appreciated the group discussion questions at the end of each chapter as I said. They did promote some level of group interaction. And self-orientedness is my criticism of almost all writing (including this post) – I can’t blame Michael too much here.

From a learning perspective, the reading process taught me a lot about what works and what doesn’t for writers. I think it’s beneficial to study both the success and shortcomings of others to build a well-rounded understanding of anything.

Overall, I Shall Raise Thee Up was a good book, but I’m not sure it stands out from the many other Christian, success books on the shelves. As Seth Godin likes to say, “Good is the opposite of remarkable.” That’s why remarkableness is so elusive.

Serving Suggestions:

(1) I’d check out Michael’s blog first. If you enjoy what you read there, you might considering checking out the book as well. I should say, though, the book is focused more on personal success than on marketing and business as the blog is.

(2) Michael’s a great guy – I’d definitely encourage you to hit him up on twitter or shoot him an email to say hey.

(3) Finally, how do you learn from others? Do you just copy success? Why not also look at how you could improve on what others do? If you have lessons you’ve learned this way, feel free to share them in the comments.

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