A few years ago our church hosted a golf tournament to raise money for our annual Halloween Kid’s Carnival.
What did you expect? We’re a suburban church located within two miles of a Country Club.
The twist was this golf tournament was for EVERYONE.
No skills, golf clubs or etiquette required.
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I am really good at snap judgments.
If there were an All-Star team for reading other people’s motives I’d be on it. No, I’d be the team captain.
I’m not sure if my skill comes from my desire to understand people or need to judge them.
It’s not something I’m terribly proud of; it’s simply something that is.
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One of my favorite characters from the Anchorman movies is Brick Tamland.
He’s friendly, agreeable and smiles all the time.
He also rarely knows what’s going on around him.
In one particular scene an argument has erupted in the newsroom and because Brick doesn’t want to be left out he chimes in with one of my favorite lines from the first movie, “I don’t know what we’re yelling about!”
After more yelling Brick bursts in again with, “Loud noises!”
It’s these two lines that perfectly illustrate some weekday mornings at my house as Stacey and I prepare for work and to get the kids to school.
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If you were to ask me what my favorite punctuation mark was (And why wouldn’t you? It’s a great conversation starter) my answer would be fast and simple.
I love the … aka the ellipsis, aka dot, dot, dot.
Really it’s my favorite punctuation by far (side note: the parenthesis is my second favorite).
The ellipsis is fantastic.
Depending on their context and placement in a sentence, ellipses indicate an unfinished thought, a slight pause, and nervous or awkward silence.
Ellipses are the ultimate cliffhanger.
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While I was pursuing and wooing Stacey I made it a habit of being sneaky and romantic.
No date was all that conventional.
It was my goal to keep things fresh and interesting and sweep her off her feet.
It worked.
The problem was I might have set the bar a little to high for myself. When it came to being romantic there was nowhere to go but down.
Surprise notes, flowers, and chocolate were becoming routine.
I vividly remember telling Stacey’s mom one night while waiting for her to come downstairs for our next dating adventure that I wanted to, “keep Stacey on her toes.”
The element of surprise was my best weapon.
I believe it was a huge help in winning the heart of my wife and I also think it can help in leadership.
I love consistency. There is strength stability. Reliability is a requirement for strong leaders.
I’d also like to throw in the idea of a surprise every now and then.
Let’s keep things fresh.
Let’s be adventurous. Let’s try something new. Let’s be unconventional.
Let’s keep people on their toes.
Jesus was the master of using the element of surprise.
Born in a barn.
Sabbath law-breaker.
Hung with the nobodies.
Greatness by becoming the least.
Victory through death.
Jesus laid his life down and gave us uninhibited access to God.
Be consistent, stable and reliable.
Just remember to keep things fresh every now and then.
Use the element of surprise.
Surprise someone with kindness, love, and compassion today.
