There are some things in life that you won't ever be ready for. No matter how far in advance you know about it, no matter how much time you have to prepare for it, it still comes out of the blue and knocks the wind out of you.  

Saturday felt like this when I got an emergency group call and learned that a significant mentor, a giant of man, passed through the vale of this life into the next. Work feels heavier. Mission feels heavier. It all feels heavier. I'm thankful though the sun still rises. 

I'm not particularly good at tributes and similar things that require, as my wife would put it, "emotional vulnerability," but I'm hoping that this will serve as a fitting personal memorial of someone who has left a significant imprint on my world. I think it's worth in this space pausing and reflecting on the significant lessons I learned from him. This space exists after all because he took a chance on me. If not for him I wouldn't have ended up in Cape Town. If not for him, I definitely wouldn't have ended up doing catalytic work with movements in East Africa. 

Lesson #1: Jesus is Lord. This shined through clearly all that Floyd did. Nothing else mattered in comparison to this. If things were to drift from this central point, he'd quickly bring it back. If people or organizations would try to recenter and reframe the work Floyd would drop everything to try and course correct. This is a particularly important lesson to consider because movements will never last if Jesus isn't central.

Lesson #2: Screw branding. Yes it's important to have a name and a nice logo. But it isn't central. In light of the expansiveness of the kingdom of God it doesn't even matter; logos and names and fancy slogans fade away but Jesus remains. One of the last things Floyd said to me before I left for East Africa was "Brandon, it doesn't matter if any of the churches or groups started there have the name All Nations. It doesn't matter who you are working with or what they are called if the kingdom is expanding. Never let that be a hindrance." Movements require collaboration. They require deprioritizing "the brand" so that the key message ("Jesus is Lord") remains central. Floyd got this and lived this and did his best to coach us in this.

Lesson #3: People deserve love and care. We talked a lot about emotional intelligence and the importance of developing it alongside the how of developing it. That's probably not surprising to those that know me. One lasting imprint that we have to take with us, whether catalytic coaches, movement leaders or even bigger strategists, is that people deserved to be seen for who they are first and foremost, image bearers of God. And secondly, that they deserve to know you care. Floyd strived to model this day after day.

Lesson #4: Take a chance on people. No matter how crazy it might seem. Floyd modeled this and the mission landscape is full of people that would agree. My own story is an example of this. I joined up leaving a job managing computer servers for a university. I was a geek into sci-fi and fantasy and video games. But he wasn't afraid to call out something more - we have to too if we want to see movements thrive. Movements are full of leaders someone took a chance on.

Lesson #5: Leaders are people too. Leadership is lonely and often leaders are ignored and perceived as unapproachable as people. I remember one time we were meeting and I said, "hey! There is a new moving coming out my wife doesn't want to see called Cowboys and Aliens. Wanna go?" He got a big smiled and immediately said "Yes!" Later, after a number of movie trips, he thanked me for reaching out and expressed how important it was to be seen as a person too and not just an unapproachable leader. So - don't be afraid to approach leaders. Treat them as people. It's OK (and often important) to at least try to be their friend. 

Lesson #6: Poke the sacred cows! It’s not just ok but important to poke the sacred cows every now and again. More often than not sacred cows become hindrances to Lesson #1 above ("Jesus is Lord!") and they should be exposed for this. It will actually be necessary even to see genuine kingdom movement. I loved Floyd's stories about doing this (and the occasional trouble it got him into it) and it's a challenge we'd all do good to take up.

I could keep going but will pause there. It's been raining a lot here since Saturday but today the sun rose and is shining bright in the sky, at least for this moment. It's important to look up and recognize that. I'm still sad that I'll never get to take a deep dive into Crucifixtion of the Warrior God or Pauline Dogmatics with Floyd.  It's disappointing that he wasn't ever able to walk out of his hospital room. I'm thankful he's resting squarely in the love of Jesus now though. And challenged to continue living into the example he set.