Jack’s Buzz

This feels like a rant coming on, but I will try to contain myself, which is like The Hulk saying he will try not to turn green. I am talking today about keeping promises–a big cause of success or failure. I will tell you about two promise keepers and two promise breakers.

Promise Keeper #1: Iron Man. Janet and I saw the film last night and we loved it. Every movie makes an implicit promise to entertain watchers. Iron Man kept its promise down to the end (they FINALLY play Ozzy’s song during the credits–link is YouTube video a lot like when I saw the band in San Antonio in 1976). The movie has a good plot, excellent effects, terrific acting. Robert Downey is the perfect anti-hero turned around. He even takes a poke at himself with a line acknowledging his need to get his life together. Jeff Bridges: perfect villain, held a glass like he did in Big Lebowski–a wink at his fans. Gwyneth Paltrow is innocent (great acting there!). Highly entertaining. Promise kept.

Promise Breaker #1: Hyatt Regency Reston, VA. Hotels promise a hospitable experience in line with the price charged. We arrived at Dulles and could not find the promised hotel shuttle, so I called. I was told that the shuttle only runs on the hour–it was 10 past. I took the $20 cab ride. The room was nice, but no in room coffee, no free wi-fi (even in the lobby it’s $10/day), and no free newspaper outside my door. Even cheapo Hampton Inn gives me those perks. When the maid forgot to leave me soap (and took the 3/4 bar I left in the shower so I had no soap in the room), that was it: promise broken.

Promise Keeper #2: Apple Computer Service Tech. Apple just started offering a $30 rebate on a software I purchased 11 days ago. The rebate was not available when I purchased, but I thought, “What the heck, let’s see if Apple can continue to over-deliver.” Five minutes later, I received a $30 credit to my Visa. Promise kept, again. (Free ad from me for Apple–buy their stuff!)

Promise Breaker #2: The Whiteboard Sessions. I do not know why, but I was expecting “8 influential leaders” to give me one big idea each on a … whiteboard. I was not expecting to be white[guy]bored.

Whiteboarding is something I do really well. I know this because my students tell me so. They tell me so because–here’s an idea gang–I ASK! At the end of class, students often pull out a camera-phone and snap a photograph of the whiteboard crammed with useful thought-pictures. I whiteboard because it helps people learn. I turned it into a verb because that’s what guys with PhDs do–we turn nouns into verbs, it’s an old trick invented in Middle Germany. But I digress.

Whiteboarding creates the thought of learning, interaction, pictures, problem-solving, and buy-in. My idea is not, apparently, mine alone. Several of my fellow attenders are bored, and wishing someone would help them solve their problems, or so they say. So far, conference has been 6 guys giving about 750 of us their favorite sermon. That’s it.

To be fair, half the crowd, which is still a lot of people, seem to be into this. Maybe they needed to hear a sermon from some “influential leaders.” The music was great; so were the graphics. For me though: promise broken.

So, what promises do I make that I fail to keep? A student takes my class, he or she expects some things. I know what they expect because I start every semester and workshop the same way, I ask. Simply stated, my students expect me to tell them the truth about the subject (church planting or church revitalization) and to do it in a way that holds their attention and causes them to learn. They expect me to know what I am talking about, and to help them succeed at their calling. They also expect me to grade them fairly (I do, but fair to them is sometimes a different letter than fair to me–grades have inflated like the price of gas the last 20 years), and I have only had one student who ended the course thinking I was unfair (he is in prison now). They give me the most valuable thing they own: their time, and they expect me to give them the most valuable thing I own: my expertise.

I keep my promises. OK, not always. I mess up, I fail, I forget, I blow it, I get selfish and just don’t do what I implied or stated I would do. When I realize it, I repent, and I try to make it right. I feel like a dog, and I hate my inefficient, insensitive, incomplete self. I fall on Christ and wonder why he uses me to do anything of significance. I wonder why I have influence, then I receive his forgiveness, and I go back to work, which carries another promise. I try again. I promise again. I deliver again. I keep my promises.

Do you keep yours?