leadership

Passing The Baton

12 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 32 Comments

Last night was an epoch in my life, as well as in one of my favorite people’s, Joseph Gilchrist.

I became a Youth Pastor when I was 17 years old. There was no fanfare, no ceremony, no certificate. Simple a job to do and no one else to do it. I’ve read that the best leaders in life are the reluctant ones; and after preparing my first Bible study for a group of teens in Dryden, NY before I was even out of high school – thinking I had just presented everything I knew about the Bible the first night – I was definitely reluctant.

But God is faithful, as well as a rewarded of those who diligently seek him. Sometimes that reward is just enough to prepare your next Bible study. But it certainly extended on into the next 16 years of my life, affording my the opportunity to speak before audiences large and small, to counsel thousands of teens, parents, and other youth pastors, and to travel to nations. It is an honor I will never forget as the call shaped who I am today.

But two years ago, I felt the call changing.

The grace I had experienced previously – the energy, joy, and vision – was ebbing. And that’s when I knew a roll change was upon me.

The easy thing would have been to bail the moment I felt God calling me into a new season. Sadly, without good leadership around us, that’s what we tend to do. And I know far too many people who’ve done that, both as teenagers and as adults. I call it the rip cord mentality. It happens in companies, ministeries, marriages, and friendships. It’s selfish, and extremely destructive.

But anything worth doing is worth doing right. In our circles, we call it carrying the elephant.

It’s heavy.

It’s tiresome.

And sometimes it just plain sucks.

But if you can endure it, the results are incredible and well worth the price of admission.

Last night Joseph Gilchrist took my place. He’s grown up over the last 7 years in our youth ministry, so he knows the DNA; and he’s mentored under me for the last 2 years with the direct intention of replacing me. And that he has. Meanwhile I slide into a new role as Associate Pastor of New Life, supporting Pastor Kirk as his second in charge (a role I have mentored in for a good many years as well because he was willing to carry the elephant).

Josh Finley – lead pastor of Elim Gospel Church in Lima, NY – made the 3 hour drive at my request to surprise Joseph as guest speaker for his installation at 33 Live. He was joined by other surprised guests including Campus Target director Toby Cavanaugh. From start to finish the whole night was powerful, poignant, and set an incredible tone for the rest of Joseph’s ministry.

I couldn’t be more proud of Joseph if he were my own son. And there is a very real aspect to which he is a spiritual son.

Go and do more than I ever was able, Joseph. The call and anointing on your life are uniquely your own. Wear your own armor well and fight the good fight of faith. I’m behind you all the way. ch:

Photo courtesy of: @KaliLynnMusic

Filed Under: leadership Tagged With: Campus Target, Joseph Gilchrist, Josh Finley, ministry, race, Toby Cavanaugh, youth pastor

Tone Setting

11 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 10 Comments

Setting the right tone at the beginning of any venture is imperative. It tells all those you’re working with exactly what they can expect, and what you expect as their boss or co-worker.

But doing so takes a lot of work. Experience gained through years, enduring one’s own set of scars, and lots of study are a few keys. But being able to articulate all that for the benefit of a diverse group is even more labor intensive. It’s one thing to be able to do something naturally, it’s another to explain why and how you did it.

However it’s much harder to define standards “as you go” than it is to initiate them right from the get-go. So while many prefer to just wing it because it demands less prep time, ultimately they’ll suffer the long term effects. Miss managed employees, poor work environments, emotionally disenfranchised team members, and suffering business or church models are just some of the ramifications.

If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. So take your time and accrue experiences of your own. It’s easier to set precedent now than make exceptions later.

Before you embark on any new venture ask yourself a few key questions:

• What are the qualities of the people I want to spend the majority of my day with?

• What are the values I want everyone to have in common?

• What kind of work ethic and environments will promote the greatest team collaboration among the most diverse group of people?

In discovering what you value the most, you’ll be able to better cultivate and communicate atmospheres where others feel comfortable with what’s in your head.

Day 1 for New Life Media employees yesterday was all about these defining company qualities. From our company profile and mission statement to our vision and core values, the executive team did a tremendous job at setting the tone properly. The result is team members who aren’t left wondering what unspoken expectations there are; they are comfortable and therefore free to be themselves. And therefore they perform better.

Of course playing with new iPads is fun too. But even that’s one of our core value: fun! It help alleviate stress in hectic environments (which our office is).

As the military is famous for teaching: BLUF – Bottom Line Up Front. It’s what successful organizational models are built on. You can qualify your statements all you want later, but just say what you need first so people know where you’re coming from. Trust me, your teams with thank you for it. ch:

Filed Under: business, culture, geek, leadership Tagged With: BLUF, company profiles, development, employees, expectations, management, New Life Media, staff, standards, tech training, work environments

New Life Media: Staff Training Week

10 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 9 Comments

One of my latest co-creations is coming to life today. I do wish I could enjoy it a little more – 15-hour work days for a week straight leaves the sensory capacitors a little numb – but I’m thrilled regardless.

New Life Media is a marketing firm specializing in public image design, and is the brain child of master designer Jason Clement, business guru Kirk Gilchrist, marketing sensation John Cobb, and myself – master guru of sensational something or otherness.

While the company’s website won’t be public for another week or so, we have employee orientation and training all this week. We’ll be unwrapping new iPads, playing with toys, trying on apparel, talking tech and design, smelling new business cards, and diving into our sales strategies and delivery models.

As with any new for-profit venture, I get fired up about having the ability to employ people (something I’ve learned I can do much better than the government, thank you very much). One of my greatest joys in life is to help provide income earning positions that fit with peoples’ dreams. It’s truly a privilege, and I’ve fallen into it by sovereignty, not on purpose.

Many good things await New Life Media. And many organizations will be better for her existence. Here’s to another Kingdom business birthed for God’s glory. ch:

UPDATE 5:54pm ET – What a fantastic first day for all involved. I’ll be posting pics tomorrow. Lots of laughs, and lots of good content. Very proud of our new staff. Thank you Travis, Kristen, Nina, Rebekah, Candy, Theresa, John, Kirk, Jason, and Jamie for doing our office build out! Peace.

Filed Under: business, culture, geek, leadership, marketing, news Tagged With: design, employees, friendship, launch, marketing, New Life Media, staff, training

The ALDI Shopping Cart Effect

9 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 34 Comments

Have you ever had your best intentions blow up in your face? A good deed? A kind gesture? Where instead of the desired outcome suddenly you’re back pedaling, trying to figure what went wrong?

I call it the ALDI Shopping Cart Effect.

The first time I went to an ALDI grocery store was when we moved to Watertown in 2005. Jennifer and I were filling our cart – enjoying shockingly low price points for our young family – when I remembered I left my wallet in the car.

I ran out and found my wallet on the seat. After I locked the car and turned to head back in, I saw a lady nearby who was just about done loading her groceries into her car.

And just like that it hit me. I’m in a new city, I’m called to serve people. Here was an easy chance: offer to return her cart to the store and save her a trip.

Don’t startle her.

Smile big.

“Hi M’am, I’ll take that for you.”

She looks at me, then looks down at her empty cart.

Hesitation.

“Seriously, truth is I’m heading back inside the store anyway.”

She looks back at me. Uneasy. Still not passing the cart off.

This is not going as planned.

As if to help her along, I place a hand on the bin-side of the cart. “I totally got this.”

Finally she lets go with a “Thanks” that sounds way more like a question than a grateful reply.

Trying to shrug off the awkwardness of it all, I walk the cart back to the store and push it into all the other carts. But there’s this weird key-chain thing, and all these slots, and people fumbling with change, and–

I’m getting dizzy.

Everything’s spinning, a blur.

Then it hits me.

OK – so it wasn’t that dramatic. But I’d still stollen that woman’s quarter.

She probably thought I was a strange little chronic cart grabber who lived on the street surviving off quarters; some people ask for change at stop lights, I just take ALDI shopping carts.

Why do they have that quarter mechanism anyway? Are ALDI patrons just far more prone to throwing stainless steel shopping carts in their trunks and peeling out? Like a quarter is really going to overrule that desperate urge. Maybe its not such a safe place to shop with my family after all?

Of course then I had to face my wife which just added insult to injury. But we both got a good laugh out of it. Her more so.

The key to analyzing backfired plans is taking yourself out of the equation and looking purely at the experience of the other person. My wife and I use the phrase, “When you do ________ it makes me feel ________.” This is a successful tool in marriage, in church life, and in business. We can have the best intentions, but if the end experience is not positive for the receiver, intentions become inferior to the issues of the heart.

That, and learn from the mistakes of others.

To this day I still half-expect that lady to jump out at me in the parking lot somewhere and ask for her quarter back.

You’re welcome. ch:

Filed Under: culture, leadership Tagged With: ALDI, good deeds, groceries, help, intentions, motives, quarters, service, shopping carts

Backstage Right

8 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 6 Comments

Most people at New Life never see backstage right. And for good reason. It’s ugly. It has a work bench, cables, staging area, racks, shelves, and more odds and ends than we know what to do with.

Yet backstage areas have always been my favorite. There’s a sense of raw anticipation about them. That great things are prepared in these wings. It’s where strings are changed, cables are repaired, cues are made, and prayers are offered that will never be heard elsewhere.

To the public it’s objectionable, but to the performing artist it’s home.

My dad always told me growing up that the most glamorous jobs to the public are actually 90% grunge and 10% glory.

The myth of overnight success is just that – a myth.

People with anything worth promoting have labored and strived and crafted and honed and cried for years.

The public sees the 10% and thinks it’s 100%. So be careful not to make the same mistake when comparing your present creative circumstances with your eventual goals. Anything worth doing is worth taking your time and doing it right. Because your 10% will come.

Here’s to all those wading through the mire of the 90%. Enjoy the journey while you can – it won’t last forever. ch:

Filed Under: leadership, production, worship Tagged With: back stage, behind the scenes, dues, glory, grunge, labor, practice, preparation, production, work

The Snowflake Conundrum

6 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 13 Comments

What was your most recent “it will never be exactly like this again” moment?

I had the distinct pleasure of playing drums for a very talented and anointed worship leader this week, Miss Janelle Gmitter. Playing drums is the most lucid, natural musical expression of worship for me even though most people see me behind a guitar or piano. It’s effortless, and therefore lends itself to a spiritual connection that’s different than leading from the stage-center position.

As I was getting lost in the flow that Janelle was leading us in, it dawned on me: this moment of worshipping the Lord will never happen again. Sure, other opportunities will present themselves, but never precisely like this one.

My snowflake moments in life are becoming my most precious. How many snowflakes fall from the sky in northern New York in one storm alone? Untold billions, if not more. Yet it’s statistically impossible for any two to ever be the same structurally.

The common occurrence of rare moments is one of God’s most intentional conundrums.

By default we’re creatures of habit. As people our efficiency excels with repetition. Yet without the infinite possibility of the random we’d be bound to the torture of the mundane.

No two people are the same, nor are the relationships we’ll have with them.

No two works of art are exactly the same, nor are two work projects, two trips to the same destination, two dinners with friends, two encounters with God, with your spouse, or with your children.

I see my kids everyday, yet by virtue of their rapid growth I’ll never have again what I have at the present.

Snowflakes may be common, but that single one over there is one of a kind.

Make sure you take time to savor the rare moments of your common day. You’ll never have them again in quite the same way. By doing so we pay homage to the brilliance of God in giving us a mystery that simply falls from the sky. ch:

Filed Under: #heavenmeetsearth, culture, leadership Tagged With: common, drumming, Janelle Gmitter, moments, opportunity, perception, rare, relationships, snowflakes, value, worship

For Those Who’re Watching

2 Jan ’12 By Christopher Hopper 18 Comments

Yesterday Judah and I worshipped together during third service at New Life. He’s often distracted by his older brother and sister, but since they were en route from Rochester with their mom, Judah’s singular focus was pretty neat to watch.

He would look up at me and do what I was doing.

It started with clapping.

Then some hopping.

Soon he was squinting his eyes, looking up at me to see what hand I was raising. I couldn’t figure out why he was squinting – honestly, it was super cute – until I realized I was squinting.

I couldn’t stand it any more and knelt down to hug him and tell him how good of a little worshipper he was being.

If you’ve felt convicted lately about not doing something you know you should be, please consider this: our deliberate efforts are often more about someone else’s gateway to success than our own.

While your actions may very well benefit you in some meaningful ways – financial, emotional, physical, or spiritual – they probably will benefit someone else far more profoundly.

So whether it’s the way you worship in church to that book you’ve always been getting around to writing to that exercise routine you’ve been delaying to that friend you’ve always said you’ll visit, do the people watching you a favor and start.

The best motivation is realizing some things we can’t do for ourselves. We can only do them for others. ch:

Filed Under: #heavenmeetsearth, culture, leadership, The Hopper Kids, worship Tagged With: actions, commitment, deliberate, dreams, judah, motivation, new year's resolutions, worship

Operation Christmas Child Warehouse

1 Dec ’11 By Christopher Hopper 4 Comments

My sister Natalie just sent me pics and video of her and her husband Joe working at the OCC processing plant in North Carolina.

Given how much our church participates in this program every Fall, you’d think I’d know the stats on how many boxes go through this place. All I can tell you is, it’s a lot.

So here’s to the generous people who’ve donated time and money to make this venture what it is to millions of children each year. ch:

Filed Under: #heavenmeetsearth, culture, leadership, pictures Tagged With: children, giving, Joe, Natalie, NC, OCC

The Lair

20 Nov ’11 By Christopher Hopper 2 Comments

Serving people.

It’s what makes our Production Team tick at New Life.

But often we focus so much on serving the people that come in to our services, we don’t realize we’re also serving one another as Production Team members: doing things for one another’s ministries that make them run smoothly.

When we’re “in the lair,” our own execution of duties with excellence ensures someone else has all they need to do their job with excellence.

We are co-dependent.

We are a team.

One of the greatest motivators for doing things with excellence is recognizing that other peoples’ successes are based upon what we provide them.

Get in the lair, dig in, and serve with excellence. ch:

Filed Under: culture, geek, leadership, production Tagged With: ministry, production, service, team work

God Doesn’t Need Our Worship

17 Nov ’11 By Christopher Hopper 10 Comments

God doesn’t need our worship.

We do.

God’s not suffering from an identity crisis in which He needs constant reminding of his attributes or character.

But we do.

God doesn’t benefit from the hundreds of Biblical commands outlining demonstrative, physical expressions of exuberant worship.

But we sure do.

Last night as I watched 33 Live’s worship team lead teens into passionate praise of Jesus, I was impressed with the simple fact that, of all the things this young generation needs – and all generations, for that matter – they need to worship a living God and experience His presence.

My father raised me with a powerful saying: “The worst place to be is where the Holy Spirit was.” I want to be where He is.

Exciting things are happening in Jefferson County, NY, and the Holy Spirit is here. ch:

Filed Under: #heavenmeetsearth, culture, leadership, music Tagged With: dance, music, obedience, praise, singing, teenagers, worship

Man Overboard!

16 Nov ’11 By Christopher Hopper 1 Comment

In the end, it’s all about people. Whether sending them on ahead of us, or leaving a legacy they can benefit from and follow in our footsteps, people are the only thing we can take with us. Because they’re the only thing on the planet that will last forever.

Understanding this does not diminish the need for natural excellence – like how our church carpets are groomed, how are ministries are run, or how the community thinks about our organizations – but actually increases the importance of our behaviors, as they ultimately equate to affecting people.

All that being said, however, it’s imperative we keep majoring on – well – the majors.

Tonight I get to help baptize over thirty new Christians.

Thirty.

No matter how times I see it, I never get sick of it. And with the myriad of activities going on at and around New Life, I consider it one of my greatest honors to help usher people into the way of following Jesus.

Man overboard! ch:

Filed Under: #heavenmeetsearth, culture, leadership Tagged With: baptism, discipleship, obedience, priorities

The New Disclaimers

15 Nov ’11 By Christopher Hopper 24 Comments

Disclaimers are a weird thing. They started anxiously. “Don’t jump into the lake over there; it looks deep but it’s really shallow.” Such information could literally save your life.

While I don’t know this for sure, I can pretty much surmise that greed made disclaimers what they are today. Greedy attorneys, and greedy plaintiffs.

The sad part is that we don’t even realize how much of a moron most of our cultural disclaimers assume we are. To gauge it properly, you have to carry the logic through to the end.

For instance, “Employees must wash their hands.” And I always want to finish it with, “But the rest of you, don’t worry about it. You’re only carrying the infant stages of the bubonic plague under your finger nails.”

Or this one I clipped off a piece of new clothing for Levi:

Good to know as I frequently hold my child as close as possible to the camp fire, the stove top, and pass him over candles for fun; fire retardant garments are essential for all Hopper activities.

The point is, disclaimers at their very core are incomplete and under-effective. Their creators try (and sadly must) do some critical thinking for us. But they can never replace common sense.

So I vote we replace all present disclaimers with new ones, like:

And finally:

Got any more to add to the list? ch:

Filed Under: culture, leadership Tagged With: common sense, employees must wash their hands, feeding wild animals, stickers, warnings