While we were on vacation, I had the chance to watch the Tony Awards. Since I love New York theater, I usually enjoy the Tony’s; but this year was disappointing for a number of reasons: 1. It seems Hollywood has taken over Broadway; 2. Catherine Zeta Jones in no way deserved the Tony over the other actresses that were up for the award; 3. Mostly I was disappointed in the “new” offerings coming down out of Broadway this year…except one. (More on that later.)

Granted, the Tony’s give away an award for “The Best Revival of a Musical” every year, but this year there were revivals of revivals, like La Cage aux Folles, Finian’s Rainbow, and a revival of Bye Bye Birdie after a sequel of Bye Bye Birdie had closed a number of years ago after only four performances. (Last October my wife and I happened to see the revival of Bye Bye Birdie starring John Stamos and Gina Gershon…and it was awful! No wonder it closed after only four months.)

Broadway isn’t the only place this is happening. Now I see there is going to be a “revival” of Hawaii 5-O on TV in the fall. And this summer there is going to be a “revival” of The A-Team in the movie theater (…did we really need that???!!!).  It seems that instead of the old adage “everything old is new again,” recently “everything new is old again”!

Where are the people like Jeremy Wood, who has made cutting the lawn a form of art? I read in Fast Company magazine that Jeremy has attached his GPS device to the riding lawn mower he uses to cut his mother’s grass, and then maps it out, so that it looks like a giant etch-a-sketch drawing. How’s that for making something “old” “new” again?

Is our 21st century culture so devoid of creativity that we have to rely on old ideas, and cannot come up with anything new? The writer of the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes famously said about sin, that “there is nothing new under the sun.” When it comes to TV, Movies, Art, Books, Music, and, yes, Broadway Musicals, can we please have something “new under the sun”?

Which brings me back to the one musical on Broadway’s Tony Awards that really caught my eye. There is a new musical based on a conceptual album by punk rockers Green Day called American Idiot. I’m not a Green Day fan, and I’m not even sure I would like the show or its contents. But it was the one “preview” on the Tony Awards that made me say out loud, “now that’s different.” It was intriguing, innovative, and more energetic than almost everything else on the Tony’s this year.

Where are the people who are going to make something new on Broadway, in Hollywood, on iTunes, or in the Book Store? I’m hoping this new generation “gets it” and will contribute things we’ve never seen before. And, frankly, why can’t some of these things come out of the Church…the place where New Creation happens every day? (Within the areas of the Church, of course, where there is Christian freedom.)

What are your ideas, not on making “everything new, old again,” or “everything old, new again,” but on making something completely new?  Please leave a comment with your ideas!

I watched customer service failure at Target the other day. My wife was in the dressing room, while I waited outside and observed three (count ’em: three!) less-than-motivated employees half-heartedly putting clothes away, and gatekeeping the entrance to the dressing room. They were all complaining about how tired they were, and were barely doing any work.

Some poor guy came up with 7 pairs of shorts to try on. One of the three “red shirts” said in a snide voice, “Only six items.” Poor Guy said, “Even if they’re different sizes of the same kind?” Red Shirt, nastily: “Yep. Only Six.” Poor Guy walked away with his head down, and came back later with six (count ’em: six!) pairs of shorts. If it had been me, I would have left. I would have bought shorts elsewhere.

I was instantly reminded of a tweet that I saw from Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence and The Little Big Things (which is, by the way, an excellent book!). Peters had been spending the weekend at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Tysons Corner, Virginia. His tweet said that three times he had heard these words coming from the mouth of an employee at the Ritz:  “I absolutely can!”

I absolutely can. What a great way to make a customer feel appreciated. What a great way to gain loyalty. What a great way to provide true, caring service. How much does it cost to use those three words? It often costs nothing.

What if Red Shirt would have said to Poor Guy: “You absolutely can take seven shorts into the dressing room. I’ll just check them when you come out.” Poor Guy would have felt respected and somewhat special. He may have even felt loyalty to the Target brand.

I have encouraged our staff at Mt. Calvary to “lead with a ‘yes.'” It means leaning toward a “yes” before you lean toward a “no.” It means saying “I absolutely can” to any reasonable request.  It means showing care, concern, and respect for those whom we serve. It means building loyalty. It means that the first instinct is to serve.

Wouldn’t it be great if the places you frequent would use those three words that most anyone would love to hear? I absolutely can! What a great theme for customer service.

When and how can you use those words in your life? What are your ideas for “leading with a yes”?

For the past few days I’ve been watching people’s attitudes. And I’ve been watching how their attitudes impact my attitude. It’s been an interesting test. I started on Saturday when my wife, Tammy, and I had to run some errands:

• Car wash: Outgoing and friendly cashier put me in a happy mood and led me to leave a generous tip for the guys drying the car.
• Lunch at Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Gregarious and engaging cashier tried to save me some money and led me to leave a generous tip for the guys cooking our food.
• Trader Joe’s: Cool dude with tattoos, funky glasses, and rolled up jeans checked us out and held a conversation that literally made me want to be his “friend.” If it was an acceptable practice at Trader Joe’s, I would have left him a generous tip. I left Trader Joe’s knowing that I would be back again soon. I always seem to get good customer service there.

The great Romantic poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, wrote:  “Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.”  I wholeheartedly agree.  But I would add:  “…except for a bad attitude and lack of enthusiasm.”

On Sunday I left Milwaukee to drive to Nashville so that our son could have a car for the summer. I flew back home on Monday, and stopped at the airport shop to pick up a newspaper. I felt a cloud move over my head as I entered the store. There was a long line of customers. The cashier was dour, down, taking her time, making it known that she would rather have been anywhere but there. My mood was immediately altered for the worse. I ended up going to another store to get my paper. It took me a while to recover. If I had been attempting to write at the time, there would have been no way.

My creativity flourishes when I am in an environment where people are outgoing, pleasant, and pleased to serve. I don’t care if you’re not in a good mood. At least fake a good mood. It might actually help put you into a good mood. Do you realize how much your down and dour attitude impacts me?

I realized the altitude of attitude when I flew home on Monday. I took Southwest Airlines for the first time in a long time. It seems to me that they hire a different “type” of person. I did quite a bit of flying on my sabbatical last fall. Never once was I impressed or had my mood altered for the better by a flight attendant from any of those airlines.

But the flight attendants and counter people for Southwest Airlines were pleasant, funny, making jokes, smiling at customers, making them feel comfortable, and doing anything they could to make the flying experience a good one…which is a rarity these days. Boy am I glad Southwest now flies out of Milwaukee. I’m going to be taking that airline more often.

While I’m at it, let me put in one more plug. I have recently been making it a habit to write my sermons at an Alterra coffee shop. The people who work there are quirky, funny, friendly, and seem like they actually enjoy being there. It makes for a creative environment. Their attitude inspires me; it creates energy in the place; it perpetuates my creative spirit. My sermons are much “easier” to write, and flow a whole lot better in that kind of space.

What is your story about the way in which the attitude of others impacts you?

The day after Easter 2010, Coach Brad Stevens and the Butler Bulldogs almost won it all. In the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, they fell just short of a National Championship as they lost to perennial powerhouse Duke University.

But like the old camp song, “Bullfrogs and Butterflies,” the Bulldogs have been “born again.” They can teach a thing or two to small organizations, young people, and even small churches.

Butler’s coach, Brad Stevens, was the butt of many jokes during the final four weekend. People said he would be going out after the game with Justin Bieber; they said that he looked like he was twelve-years-old; they said that if he lost, he’d go running home to his mommy.  In the end, Stevens got the last laugh.  He did what many older, and more experienced coaches have never done before.  He took a team to the national championship game.  In actuality, Stevens is 33.  But his relative youth is an example to many of those who are young, or “young at heart.”

1 Timothy 4:12 says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” Hard work, determination, goal-setting, and creativity will get you a long way, no matter your age.  Stevens left a successful career as a marketing guy for the Eli Lilly Corporation to pursue a career as a basketball coach.  A gamble?  You bet.  But with his goal in mind he rose through the ranks of assistant coaches to become a head coach, and ultimately the coach of a team playing for the national championship.

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young. You set the example.  You set the goal.  You be the first to try the creative option.  You take the risk.  You do it with faith and character.  Young and old will look up to you.

Butler University is “born again” in the eyes of the nation because it is a small liberal arts school that has had a major impact. Butler University claims only about 4000 students.  It now has a basketball program that has defeated teams that come from schools double, triple, or quadruple that size.  You can bet that a great many basketball players and students will be taking a second look at Butler University because of the incredible run they had this March.

Butler is a school that has had an impact not only on the city of Indianapolis, or the state of Indiana, but on the entire United States through current students, alumni, family, friends, and those who root for the underdog. It just goes to show that it’s not the size of the organization (or church!) that matters.  When it seems as though the numbers put you up “against the odds,” relationships and heart matter.

Those who were related in some way, shape, or form to Butler showed their school pride. A small school did big things.  The Bulldogs used their underdog (pun intended) status to gain support.

How can you, or your organization, or your church use seeming weaknesses to garner renewal and support? At our church, Mt. Calvary Lutheran, Milwaukee, we encourage one another to be “pray-ers,” and “bring-ers,” and “tell-ers.”  Though we are a congregation of only 400 or so, we have an impact on an entire community through our school.  Though our Sunday School is made up of mostly very young children, they used their time to make cards that are distributed to members who are in the hospital.  Through a brand new program called “Mt. Calvary Home Makeover,” our small congregation will be having an impact on the lives of those who live in less than comfortable conditions.

This Easter, 2010, Bulldogs and Butterflies have both been “born again.”

What ideas do you have for small, young, or seemingly insignificant organizations to have a big impact in the community, the church, or society as a whole?