Do You Have It? Do You Know Where to Get It?

I love It!  I like how It was organized.  Groeschel and I share the same sense of humor for It and with It.  I can appreciate a book that summarizes the entire thought into bullet points.  Groeschel says, “It is what God does through a rare combination of these qualities found in his people:  Passion for his presence, A deep craving to reach the lost, Sincere integrity, Spirit-filled faith, Down to earth humility, Brokenness.”  There It is.  Put It into practice.  Live It.  Breathe It.  However, this is no equation.  It may not happen.  Ouch! Reality hits.  God is the owner and dispenser of It.  I can’t drum It up.  As a leader, it disheartens me a little.  However, there are lessons to communicate to the team in order to be ready for It if It happens.

Here are a couple of my takeaways from It.  I have experienced fun with teams before.  Fun is extremely important.  Peer to peer fun, fun with supervisor and fun with those that report to you.  Teams that have It, have fun with It and with each other.  There seems to be a lightness and a seriousness at the same time.  When it is time to get serious teams that get It, get to It.  However, they are not just breaking ice when they are having fun, they are being who they are.  And It thrives in this environment. 

I love the way Groeschel put it in chapter 11, “Do you have It?  Does It have you?”  It having you is probably the most overlooked path of all.  It has to possess the leader and those in the organization.  It is true that It can’t be had on islands.  It wouldn’t be effective.  But if there aren’t “island times” of aloneness to develop one’s own heart then It won’t ever come around.  Part three is the most important part in my mind.  Four actions for God to do in my life:  Disturb me God (p. 171), Stretch me God (p. 176), Ruin me God (p. 179), Heal me God (p. 183).  I doubt any organization whose leader is not genuinely working through these with God will get anywhere close to It.