Under-Drinking

The other day I took my 4 year old son and 2 year old daughter for a round of all-you-can-eat pizza at CiCi's (I know...but $4.99 all you can eat?!). For my all-you-can-drink portion of the meal I selected root beer - and immediately I had a heavenly revelation.... "I have been under-drinking root beer all of my life!"

This stuff was amazing. Tossing the straw to the wind, I chugged this nectar - and for a moment, a brief moment, time stood still as the symphony of flavors from the liquid unleashed themselves through my teeth, over my tongue, past my uvula, down my throat and into my stomach - and then again as the gasses rose out of my stomach, up my throat, past my uvula, back across my toungue and out through my teeth!

I made a commitment, a covenant, right there to my children to never under-drink the under-rated beer again.

I immediately headed to Jungle Jim's International Market to purchase a variety of root beers on my journey to discover the best of root beer of all time - the one that would grace the shelves of my refridgerator for the next several years.

Below I share freely with you my results...

First Place: IBC Root Beer...The blend of flavors is so perfect that none one ingredient stands out above the rest - a perfect concoction of smooth-as-silk root beer. It complements anything...anytime. The best presentation of any root beer, it is sold in a nostalgic glass bottle with no colored markings - simple and elegant packaging. Expensive, but you get what you pay for.

Second Place: Barq's Root Beer...The exact opposite of IBC, a root beer with a bite - there is nothing smooth here. So strong it stings, bringing a tear to your eye and a smile to your face. Drink with caution and delite. Packaged in a typical aluminum can, it has great flavor at a fair price.

Third Place: Sam's Brand Root Beer...(okay, so I stopped by Wal-Mart too!). The least expensive beer, but surprisingly good. Strong flavor and solid fizz, immediate tongue shock. With an embarrasing name and a no-frills drink-at-home-not-in-public packaging, it's so cheap there is no website. It's a CONSUMER'S BEST BUY.

Fouth Place: Mug Root Beer...middle of the road in flavor, fizz and presentation. Exactly what you would expect from a fourth place root beer - need I say more?

Fifth Place: Stewart's Root Beer...sweeter than any other brand and less fizz. Not quite flat, but close. A glass bottle bumped it from 6th place - it's "in" to drink from glass right now. Very feminine - but sometimes you have those days! Way over priced. A good drink before bed since not much gas is produced. Try it, but don't buy stock.

Sixth Place: A&W Root Beer...a real let-down. Above average fizz, and good initial flavor - but a bad (almost sour) after-taste. I would stay away from it unless it's your only choice.

When Good Effort Isn't Enough

I've been thinking a lot about leadership and leadership development, and I am convinced that one of the biggest challenges of leadership is deciding who is going to be on your team. Not only that, but how do you cut someone who was good for your team at one point but is no longer a good fit?

As I look back at the short history of Four Corners Community Church, and especially at the way we have managed our leaders and attempted leadership development, one of the areas of growth for me is becoming more and more clear.

You ever know someone who has great intentions, who is really sincere, and who has a good heart - but they just can't get the job done? It's hard to look someone like that in the face and say to them, "thanks for the effort, but..." - and then you fill in the blank. The video above is a perfect example of a person who is trying...but it just ain't workin'.

Difficult conversations do not come easily to most of us (duh!), but someone should have sat this guy down somewhere along the way and had a heart-to-heart talk with him. So it is with some of the people we lead. Sometimes an honest convesation is not only good for an organization, but good for every person involved. In the case of the hungarian rapper, it could have save him a lot of energy and effort...as well as humiliation.

Luckily, as I look at my church right now there are no conversations like this to be had - but I have missed them in the past and more will be coming at some point in the future. I want to make sure I am quick to have those conversations when they are needed, sparing them and us the pain of letting a bad thing go on too long.