Flipping the Org Chart

by Chet 1. March 2012 07:38
I sat down with a friend that I have issues with yesterday afternoon. Yeah, issues. Got anyone like that in your life? Someone you love and care for deep down inside, but can't seem to get along with because of personality differences, orientations of the heart, or simply a difference in opinion over the best shade of blue? Yeah, I've got those kind of people in my life, too. The kind you want to fight for, but in the process of fighting for, often feel like you're fighting against. It's hard to deal with conflict in these relationships, or even to maintain them, but in facing the conflict, I've found both perspective and common ground almost every time. We got to talking about responsibility, empowerment, and authority. As we were doing so, I remembered something I heard a ways back somewhere about turning the organizational chart upside down. In most organizations, be it a business, committee, church, or even a family, power and authority start at the top and drift downward, li... [More]

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Business | Thoughts

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Scope Creep in Exodus 18

by Chet 3. February 2012 08:24
Today on the Daily Audio Bible we read Exodus 18. There are many stories I enjoy revisiting in our yearly revolution through the word, but this one has become both special and a continual challenge to me. Here's the story that always connects with me:  12 Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses' father-in-law in God's presence. 13 The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening. 14 When Moses' father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, "What is this thing you're doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?" 15 Moses replied to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I make a decision between one man and another. I teach [them] ... [More]

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Business | Thoughts

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Where I stand now - Leadership

by Chet 25. November 2010 21:00
Leadership. I've learned so much about this, both from the things I've been taught, the things I've observed in others, or the things I've learned by teaching others. I taught a lesson to the youth at my church a couple months back where we watched a YouTube video called "The First Follower." Looking back, that was one of those teaching moments that probably means much more to the teacher than the students. I have taken leadership roles in the past for a number of reasons, sometimes because no one else will, sometimes because I felt the need to be in charge, and sometimes just because I really wanted to see a mission succeed and saw an opportunity for myself to help achieve it. More often than not, though, my attempts at "leading," especially when it's a position when I'm "in charge" have been met with a bit of frustration. I'm finding more and more that I long to be that "first follower." I long to not just find something and go achieve it, but to find a cause that not only I, bu... [More]

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PDN | Thoughts

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When did I become a leader?

by Chet 8. September 2010 07:44
"When did I become a leader?" I had that question asked to me via text message last night by a teenage friend of mine. I had mentioned to her about how a little prayer ministry she was championing didn't have anybody except little old me show up this past week while she had been away. "But I don't want people doing something just because I want them to do it," she said. "I want them to want to do it themselves!" How common is that desire in the heart of so many people. We find something we are passionate about, we bring in some others and they seem to love it too, but the moment we take a break or miss a meeting or ask them to step up for themselves, no one shows up. And immediately, at least for me and (I think) my friend here, we get kicked into this "well maybe it's not such a great idea if no one else really wants to do it" mode. I pulled a thought from Andy Stanley's book, Visioneering, out for my friend last night. Leaders see what should be, and what could be, and they go a... [More]

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Thoughts | Youth

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Leadership: Grow and Learn

by Chet 4. September 2010 22:03
How can I be a godly leader? That's the question of the disucussion I'm leading on our church's high school youth group tomorrow morning. This is the third lesson in a series of four, and I haven't been present for the first two lessons, nor do I have the materials to look back and see what they covered. So first things first, I want to walk through down the road of where we've been so far. After that, I want to pose the questions, "should we all be leaders," and "is leadership something we should all aspire to?" While I believe we all have circles of influence, I don't think that being known or visible as a "leader" is a sign of a more mature or more important person. In fact, I think it's good to ask, "what good is a leader without any followers?" I think this YouTube video shows that while leadership is of course important the initial step to "get the ball rolling," it is by no means all that is needed to get a movement started. What are the different roles portraye... [More]

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Teaching | Youth

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About Me

Chet Cromer

Hey there. My name's Chet. This is my blog. By trade, I'm an IT Consultant, focusing on data driven software and web development. By identity, though, I'm much more than that. I am an adopted son of God, strong and courageous. I have plenty of faults, but they do not define me. I have a past, but it is not my destiny. I have lots of blood relatives, but most of them do not share hemoglobin with me, but rather simply the blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

This is one of my spots to write. I love writing, but don't do it enough. I run a website called A Walk Through The Word that is also all about writing, but it's more in the context of a once-a-year trip-through-the Bible. This is simply my spot to let stuff out. To vent. To praise. To commentary on whatever it is I want to commentary on.

I'm building a new site called ME2U. This is a set of tools for adults invested in the lives of teens and kids who need useful communication tools founded on accountability, safety, and persistent positive input.

And so that's that. Read along. Discover who I am and what makes me tick. I hope here that you will find glimpses of a life beyond the shallow world often defined by our careers, relationships, and expectations.

If you'd like to catch me on some other parts of the web, just Google me... there's only one other "Chet Cromer" that I know of, and I think you'll be able to tell the difference. Or you can find me here:

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It now appears that every member of my family has a blog. My wife has a most interesting take on the world, and I've set up a blog for each of my kids for me to write them notes, share memories and photos, and hopefully prepare a gift to hand them later in life.

Erin: Myrtles and Muffins

Colton: coltoncromer.com

MaKenna: makennacromer.com

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