Over the past few years I have developed a love for World War II history. Not sure how it got started, but I am in too deep to ever get out now. I guess what keeps me reading is that every book, every battle account I read teaches me something new about leadership, decision making, strategy and even about community.

 

Ship of Ghosts is the latest book for me - and it was fascinating. James D. Hornfischer (see Hornfischer's site) does a great job telling the story of the USS Houston and her crew. It would be a great book if all it did was chronicle the battles they fought in the Asian theater of WWII. But the book is less than half over when the story shifts to the survival of the crew in the most brutal circumstances. The Houston's sailors were among the thousands who worked in slave-like conditions building the infamous Burma-Thailand Death Railway. Remember Bridge over the River Kwai? That's the other half of the story. Not surprisingly, the movie got most of it wrong.

These men survived starvation, forced-labor, disease, physical and psychological torture. If the account is only half true, I am amazed any made it out alive. In fact, over 16,000 Allied troops and over 200,000 native laborers died building this rail line.

So how did the survivors make it through? Sheer will power and the power of community. OK, there was some luck in there as well. But they survived together. When one fell sick, the others cared for him. Multiple times a man facing starvation would dig into a personal, hidden stash of rations and pull out a can of condensed milk to give to a man who was a few steps closer to death than he. More than once a man would step in and take a physical beating for another who would not have possibly survived the punishment meted out by their captors.

Books like this challenge my thinking. Make me wonder about my commitment to my small group, to my friends, to my co-workers. They cause me to examine the depth of my relationships.

And they challenge me to read works outside my profession or my comfort zone. To learn from unexpected sources.

So what do you read - I mean aside from the latest books from Christian authors? What stretches your thinking? Got a good book to recommend? I'm looking for the next good one.

A series of storms knocked out the phones in our Call Center two days ago as many of you were calling to register for the Group Life Conference. To help serve you, we've extended the deadlint to this Friday... the 13th!

You can still save $40 per person over the regular rates. You'll also get the best choices for breakouts, some of which fill up quickly.

See  conference details by clicking here.

We are all environmentalists. At least in group life. You know, “I planted, Apollos watered, God caused the growth.” Henry Cloud and I do a lot of teaching about the environment a group creates. We’ll unpack this more at the Ancient-Future conference this fall at Willow. In any case, I have been thinking about that environment in the group I hang with on Friday mornings. Just this morning that was clear again…and I remembered when the group started.

About 2 years ago I asked a group of guys from the neighborhood to meet regularly to process life. That is basically what a group is – a laboratory for life. We practice community there and then inflict what we have learned on the rest of the world. I asked the guys after we started, “Why did you say yes when I invited you?” The answers were great.

A stay-at-home dad said somewhat humorously, “I just want some adult conversation!” A single parent dad of 5 said, “Because group has always been my life blood. An al-anon group saved my life and this men’s group is one of the few places in my week where I do not have to perform or get criticized. I run a $100 million company and that’s what I endure all day.”

Another wanted to make a positive turn in his marriage, while another was eager to see the group as a catalyst for serving others. Others mentioned an intentional environment that would challenge them to grow in all areas of life. And then a seeker in the group spoke. “I guess I am the resident seeker here—at least that is how I view myself. I am here because you guys have been my friends in the neighborhood—you fell like family. Actually, closer than family. And you make me feel like I belong even though I don’t believe like you do.”

It is a safe, caring and sometimes chaotic gathering. But the environment is conducive for growth and for lives to open up. And that’s a big deal to me.

It's a little after 6 AM here in Illinois. I am in my "Branch Office" ... it's actually our sun porch, surrounded by a crabapple tree, lilac bushes and a couple of giant oaks. In front of me to the left is Vicki's "shade garden" full of hostas and stuff that likes the shade. To my far right is the "sun garden" with... stuff that likes lots of sun. I am not a gardener. I just try to mow around stuff that shouldn't be mowed. Most of the time I succeed.

The best thing about the "Branch Office" is watching the sun come up. This time of year it's around 6:15 AM when the sun peeks over the top of Dan and Norma's house and casts long shadows across the back yard. Lots of little diamonds posing as water droplets on the plants and grass. The sun filters through the leaves and wakes up the wildlife. We have lots of cardinals, blue jays and red wings, you know, birds that are named after baseball teams. There are chipmunks, too, that think Vicki's garden is the best salad bar in Algonquin.

The thing is, if I don't get myself out of bed early enough, I miss the benefits. The little diamonds evaporate. The birds and chipmunks, full of seeds and worms and plant parts, must take little naps later in the day. When the sun goes up too far, it simply illuminates all the work I've been avoiding in the back yard.

There are lots of benefits to being a "Super Early Bird." (This is where we turn the corner and shamelessly plug the Group Life Conference.) You see, if you register early enough you save $40 per person over the regular rates. We call it the Super Early Bird rate for a reason... the deadline is July 10... just a couple of days from now. In addition to the discounted rates, you'll get the best choices for breakouts, some of which fill up quickly.

Be a Super Early Bird... see details by clicking here.

A couple of weekends ago we celebrated the 25th Wedding Anniversary of a guy I had in a group 10 years ago who now lives in Colorado. He and his wife threw a big bash in Chicago, re-stating their vows at a church where they were married, and standing before the same pastor who married them all those years ago. Quite a deal these days—a pastor and a marriage that survived 25 years!

He is a commercial real estate guy who made a commitment in our group I’ll never forget. It was about 1997 and 5 of us were meeting Tuesday mornings for prayer and support as dads. He had 5 kids. But he loved to do deals—and he was very good at it. We had been in some challenging discussions about how we invest time in people. He walked into the meeting and said, “I am cutting back to 4 days a week and spending that day with my kids—no matter what.” Though we had to remind him of that promise a few times, he stuck with it.

Then Friday night his 5 kids all stood up to talk about their relationship with him, their mom and the fact that their parents were role models for them. These kids were ages 13-23, but I remembered when they were 3-13 and he made that statement. Now it was paying off. Pretty cool.