Revolution

Whine, Whine, Whine

2012-01-10T10:06:00.001-06:00

The other day our pastor was preaching from Philippians 2 & the idea of "working out" our salvation & faith in Jesus Christ. The point of the message was that God has done a work in us, but we have a responsibility to work what God has done in us out through our life. As I was looking at this passage, I was struck by the fact that immediately following this instruction to "work out our faith" is the command, "Do everything without complaining or arguing..."

Could it be that our level of complaining & arguing & what we choose to whine & complain about is an indicator of how spiritual growth & maturity? After all, Paul goes on to say that the result of cutting out the whining & complaining is that we become "blameless & pure" & that we "shine like stars in the universe."

So why is this important? How does this really have any impact on our spiritual maturity? Here are a couple of my thoughts:

1) Whining, Complaining, & Arguing Is Usually An Indicator Of Selfishness
Sure, there are times when speaking up & pointing out something is not only right, it's necessary. However, my own experience & the experience of some people I recently talked to about this is that we complain about mostly meaningless stuff that our complaining won't change anyway. We just don't like it, so we let everyone know we don't like it. What that communicates is that everything is about what we want, & that's selfish. And I'm pretty sure that selfishness is the antithesis of Christ-likeness. So if we're known as a whiner or complainer, there's a good chance we are not growing in our faith.

2) It's Just A Waste Of Energy
Think about it, of all the things that you & I have ever whined & complained about, how often did we really end up getting our way? Everybody I've asked that questions to said they couldn't really remember a single instance where incessant complaining got them what they wanted. That tells me one of two things. First, what we put so much time & energy into complaining about was so insignificant that we don't even remember our "victory" when we got what we wanted. Secondly, our whining doesn't really work, & eventually we have to just learn to live with a situation or decision we're not crazy about. Why not put our energy into learning to live with it on the front end? After all, weeks, months, & years from now we won't remember it because it wasn't really that significant, & there's a good chance we're going to have to learn to live with it anyway. Why waste the time & energy? As believers we've been called to an urgent mission to advance the Kingdom. We need to make sure that when we speak up against something that it doesn't end up distracting us from that mission.

So maybe Paul was actually on to something. Maybe our willingness to let things go & a willingness to not always have to have our way is a major mark of growth as a follower of Jesus. And as a result, we are used by God to shine like stars in the middle of the darkest darkness imaginable.

Does God Care About A Football Game?

2011-11-21T09:00:00.000-06:00

Growing up in the south, football, especially college football, is an obsession. Sickness may be the best word to describe. Anyway, it's definitely a disorder. People get their team's logo tattooed onto their bodies, have their cars custom painted to match that atrocious Tennessee orange & name their kids & pets after their favorite players. Some people even go so far as to think God somehow gets caught up in this hysteria. Now personally I've always believed that God has bigger things going on other than making sure Kentucky somehow managed to beat Ole Miss (the fact that either won could be argued as a miracle), but I'm beginning to think I might have been wrong.

Thursday night a guy who has been an obsession for a lot of people since he was in high school changed my way of thinking. In the name of full disclosure I must tell you I am one of the fanatics here in the south. I LOVE the Florida Gators, & Tim Tebow is like a national treasure for Florida fans, but even in all his years at Florida, I never thought God really cared who won or lost a football game. Then Thursday night, Tebow led the Denver Broncos to yet another win & to make it better it was against the Jets, a team no one expected them to beat. After the game, not only did they talk about Tebow, but they also talked to Tebow who took every opportunity to share his faith. If that weren't enough, after he left the set, the guys on the NFL Network continued to talk about Tebow's character & faith. With TebowMania hitting a fever pitch in Denver, Jesus actually got most of the spotlight.

So maybe God does care who wins a football game, if it's going to put His Son in the spotlight. If winning something as insignificant as a football game will allow Jesus to somehow get the glory that our world wants to throw at a guy who can run & throw, then maybe God does have a team or a player that He pulls for. After all, the Broncos were an absolute mess a few weeks ago, & they still look ugly for about 95% of the game, but then it's "Tebow Time". Then when the dust settles & the post-game flattery begins, the player in the spotlight deflects it all toward His Savior. So yeah, maybe God does care about a football game, just like He cares about that 3rd grade class you teach, those patients you see, that business you run, or that ministry where you serve. Perhaps leveraging whatever platform you have for the glory & fame of Jesus draws your Heavenly Father's attention & gets Him involved. Just a thought.

We Need More Builders

2011-10-31T09:28:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I was in a meeting with some of my student leaders about some of the things we're looking at implementing in our student ministry in the near future. As the excitement in the room became more & more apparent, one of my seniors said, "We need to do this now so that I get to do this." It was at this point that I said something that had to have been from God because I'm not smart enough to have said this completely off the cuff. This is what I told that student & all the other older students in that room.

"You May Not Get To Reap All The Benefits From These Plans But You Get To Be A Part Of Actually Building It, & I'd Rather Be A Builder Than Just A Consumer."

Here's the thing: Builders make a difference. Builders leave a mark. Builders lay the foundation & build something that others enjoy, & oftentimes, builders are the ones who are remembered.

However, building is more difficult. Building is risky, but being a builder is an absolute necessity. No matter what arena of life we're talking about, if all we have are consumers, things eventually implode. One the other hand, if a generation or group of builders rise up & take the risk to move things forward, they can propel a business, a ministry, or a nation into a new season of growth & transformation.

Be a builder. Invest in builders. Challenge the next generation to be builders, not just consumers.

A Huge Blindspot In Student Ministry

2011-10-14T10:20:00.002-05:00

I've been working with students for over a decade, & in my opinion one of the biggest blind spots & most neglected areas in most student ministries is in the area of teaching & equipping students to be good stewards financially. Thinking back over my own experience as a teenager, the only time I ever heard this brought up was in October which was always "Stewardship Month" in my Baptist church. That of course was likely due to the fact that the new budget would be proposed in November, & leadership wanted to either guilt or motivate everyone to support the upcoming budget.

However, I can never remember hearing it taught within the student ministry or hearing why financial stewardship & wise handling of money was so important. Honestly, I could understand why so many people think that the church is after their money. Too often I've heard preachers & teachers discuss money & stewardship divorced from the real spiritual issues involved. When we do that, the message is cold, forced, & too often manipulative. However, when we set financial stewardship in the greater context of the stewardship of one's life, it begins to make more sense. And when we go a step further & connect how that stewardship with our lives & our stuff connects to our mission as God's people, it can actually become compelling.

Recently I broke the ice with our students on this issue & much to my surprise it was really well received. In fact, I even had a 7th grader say, "I want to hear more about that." That blew me away, but it also opened my eyes to how big a blind spot this is. Think about it: If we have adults who are poor stewards of their lives & their finances, where do we think those habits were cultivated? Those patterns were developed when they were teenagers & got that first job & just assumed that every penny that they earned was just for their consumption. The result is that years later they are greedy people, no matter what tax bracket they are in. Then we have the difficult task of breaking those habits & attitudes. The real problem isn't financial; it's spiritual. They are serving their stuff & not God. As a result they don't invest in God's Kingdom. So instead of trying to get them to invest in God's Kingdom first, we have to tackle the real spiritual issue: where their devotion lies. Then we can give the prescription to fight greed: GIVING.

This fall our students are going to be challenged in this area through both teaching & in some opportunities to partner with our entire church as we begin a capital campaign that will allow us to continue to pursue God's vision for our church & student ministry. I would encourage all student pastors to figure out how to lead their students down this same path. Who knows, it may pay big dividends in the future as they become adults who have refused to let the pursuit of stuff to dominate their lives.

Jesus' Weirdest Sermon?

2011-10-12T09:48:00.003-05:00

Monday I wrote a little about the small group of students I meet with & invest in on a weekly basis. One of the tips I gave about building such a group was to "Focus On Discipleship First & Leadership Naturally Develops". This time around, our group is going through the entire Gospel of John in detail this semester. Each week our students study two chapters of John's Gospel. Then we all come together to discuss it & work on Scripture memory.
This week our reading takes us into what has to be one of Jesus' weirdest sermons. To some people who have been in church for years, it may not seem weird because you have heard bits & pieces of it over & over, but put yourself in the place of a 1st century Jew. It's obvious from the passage that this was a really weird sermon. So what was Jesus' main point?

"Eat My Flesh & Drink My Blood"

Let's face it, that's weird. This is Jesus' Dawn of the Dead/Twilight sermon! As a result of this sermon, the Bible tells us that many people stopped following Jesus. It was too weird & too hard for the big crowds to handle. And here's the thing, I think Jesus did this on purpose. He preached a hard message & one that was almost impossible to ignore so that people would be forced to make a decision. Two times prior to this message in John 6, John makes sure to point out that the crowd was following Jesus because of the miracles & that they were asking for even more. Jesus wasn't going to let this crowd dictate His ministry to Him, & He didn't want their trust & faith in Him be built on how impressed they would be by His latest trick. The miracles served a purpose, but ultimately, everyone had to place their faith in Jesus, not simply His miracles.

At the end of the day, people aren't just trusting a miracle worker. They are being asked to put their faith in the Son of God. As someone who teaches God's Word regularly this reminds me that even though we do teach people how to live in a way that aligns with God's word, at some point we have to preach the hard message that it's not just about living a "good life"; it's about putting our faith in Jesus & Jesus alone.

The Best Thing I Do As A Leader

2011-10-10T09:45:00.001-05:00

There are a lot of people that think they are leaders, but here's a defining trait that sets true leaders apart: Leaders Replicate Their Vision In Others. If you want to be a leader, you have to lead people & not just a big group of people. If a leader wants to truly lead, he or she has to invest himself or herself directly into a small group of people. I believe this is true in any area of leadership whether it be coaching, parenting, business, or ministry. When you're a coach you need to replicate your vision for the team in your assistants & in some key players so that it trickles down to the 3rd string punter & the waterboy. If you're a parent, it should be obvious who you need to be investing yourself in. Parents need to have a clear vision for their families. Then it needs to be communicated & demonstrated to your children so that they will eventually understand & adopt it themselves. In ministry you have to invest in a small group of people who can help you implement & achieve the vision God's given you as the leader.

As a leader, I don't know that there has been anything I've done that has paid off more than investing in a small group of my students & replicating the vision in them. Then I just unleash them to pursue it with their lives. I've been asked a lot how I do it, so here it is, & it's incredibly simple.

1) Make It Available To Anyone
When putting a group together, I always make it available to anyone who wants to explore the opportunity. This does two things. First, it might draw in someone that I may not have recruited myself. Secondly, it defuses any accusation of favoritism because in the end the student decides whether they will be in the group, not me.

2) Create High Expectations
Even though I make this small group available to anyone, I know it's not for everyone. I intentionally set the bar high for the group I'll be working with. They know upfront what's expected of them, & some simply won't want to do it or aren't ready. And there's nothing wrong with that. I'd rather someone realize this isn't for them than for them to commit to something that they won't be able to complete. Also, contrary to what some may think, teenagers want to be challenged & rarely are. Challenge your group to go farther than they ever have.

3) Focus On Discipleship First, & Leadership Naturally Develops
I have said for years that discipleship is leadership. If a person is growing as a follower of Jesus, she will become a leader because she will begin to use whatever influence she has in order to lead people toward Jesus & to bring Him glory. Every follower of Jesus has the potential to lead. They may not lead a church or a ministry, but they can influence & lead those they interact with everyday outside the walls of the church. Yes, I create leadership projects for my group, but the overwhelming content of our time together is focused on growing as a disciple. So utilize the classic spiritual disciplines: Bible study, prayer, Scripture memory, & fellowship among believers.

4) Don't Give Everyone Everything All At Once
One of my mentors told me that the quickest way to kill a ministry is to "give everyone everything all the time." What that means is that if there is no levels to your ministry, a 7th grader & a 12th grader are treated exactly the same & have access to the same things. As a result that 7th grader who has had access to everything from Day 1 will likely drop out around 10th or 11th grade because they've "been there & done that". On top of that, would any of us really argue that you should develop a 7th grader boy the same way that you would 11th grade boy? My small group is open to both middle school & high school students, but the specific leadership track is only available to high school students. In the end the students who have been in the group as middle schoolers will be better prepared to handle the leadership track than they would be if I had let them have it from the beginning.

5) Turn Them Loose
You can't hang on to a group forever. In fact, you probably can't hang on to them until you think they are "ready". You have to unleash them to do ministry. It may be small but you have to turn over responsibilities & appropriate authority to them. A group that stays in training too long usually stagnates & isn't as useful as one who is trained & then released, even if they might be a little rough around the edges. Look at Jesus' disciples. They weren't really "ready", but it was time for them to lead, so Jesus unleashed them.

That's pretty much it. That's what I have done with my student leadership groups over the years, & over & over again, I've seen God use these students to do some amazing stuff. I wish there was a way that I could invest like that in every individual student, but it's not just not realistic. No leader can individually invest in every person under their leadership, but they have to be investing individually in someone.

Kids Are Full Of It

2011-09-27T09:09:00.002-05:00

As I've been reading through Proverbs another common theme has jumped out that might make some folks a little uncomfortable. It can be found throughout the book of Proverbs but is summed up pretty well in Proverbs 22:15.

"Folly is bound up in the heart of a child but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him."

Yep, that's right Scripture basically says there are times where the only thing that will get through to a child is a good ole fashioned butt whooping. It's just the nature of childhood to be foolish & childish, & there are some lessons that can only be learned the hard way. This principle crashes hard into the conventional wisdom of our warm fuzzy, politically correct, the kids are always right world.

I'm not saying a time-out, the naughty spot, sitting in the corner & all those other ways of disciplining children aren't effective. What I am saying is that there are lots of ways to administer discipline, & we should make use of all of them. Sometimes sitting a kid down is all they need, but we've all seen that kid that made us think, "Well all he needs is a good whooping!" When you have multiple tools to get the job done, you'd be foolish to think a one size fits all approach works.

Parents, use ALL the options available to us to discipline our kids & to teach our kids the path of wisdom. They're not going to figure it out on their own. They must have your help, & sometimes it's better for them to hurt a little now than be allowed to wander into an area that's going to cause long term, deep hurts that last for years. If you have to tear that little rear end up every now & then do it, because Scripture makes it clear that your kids & my kids are full of it (foolishness), & sometimes the "rod of discipline" is the only thing that will drive it out.

Don't Even Try

2011-09-23T08:55:00.001-05:00

As I've been reading through Proverbs this month, a theme has been woven throughout the entire book that I want to look at today because it kind of jumps off of what we looked at earlier this week about disputes & arguments. Check out Proverbs 23:9,

"Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words."

Wednesday I said we should be willing to drop some disputes before they ever stop because of what's at stake. There's another reason why we should drop it before it ever gets started. According to this verse, a fool isn't going to listen anyway, so don't even try.

Have you ever had someone in your life who consistently asked for your advice & then just as consistently ignored it? Frustrating isn't it? Having worked with students for over a decade I have lots of those stories. A student wants some advice on a situation, but when they get solid, wise, biblical advice, they ignore it. The truth is they didn't want advice; they probably wanted validation. When you or I don't give it to them, they either give to themselves or keep asking until they find someone who gives it to them. They're going to do what they want no matter what. The Bible calls those people fools.

If there are people in your life who consistently ignore wise counsel, dont' even try to correct them or guide them because it's going to fall on deaf ears. Those people aren't interested in what's right or what's beneficial. They are simply interested in doing what they want, no matter the cost or consequences.

Be careful how you pour out your advice & wisdom. Be sure you're not throwing "pearls to the swine". Instead watch those who claim to want your guidance, & invest in those who demonstrate it by their actions.

Just Drop It

2011-09-21T08:45:00.001-05:00

Today as I continue to share some things that are jumping out to me as I read through Proverbs, I want to jump back to Proverbs 17 & talk about something I read this week that has continued to stick with me. In Proverbs 17:14, we find this nugget of wisdom,

"Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out."

If you're like me, you love to be right. I mean you LOVE it. There's nothing like making that decisive point that makes the other party realize how misguided or misinformed they were is there? However, if you're like me you may have also learned that being right can come at a cost. When you or I are driven by being right, we put a relationship in jeopardy. Solomon & the others who contributed to the Proverbs understood this. That's why this verse is there.

An argument can be a devastating thing, so we need to carefully weigh the cost of starting one. We've all gotten into disputes & arguments where somewhere along the way we thought, "Why are we even arguing about this?" or even worse we think, "What were we arguing about again?" It's amazing how are need to be right can drive us into a heated dispute but along the way that issue that we thought was so important somehow gets forgotten in the middle of the argument!

What if we started to drop it? What if we started to drop the little things that don't really matter & aren't worth the time, energy, & damage that will result from the battle? I know, some of you think that being right is the most important thing in the world, but if you can't correct someone lovingly then you're totally missing the whole "love your neighbor" part of following Jesus. Truth is vitally important but so are people & so are our relationships. I love what Jon Acuff said yesterday, "It's impossible for me to love my neighbor when my need to be right, overwhelms my desire to be righteous."

Next time you're tempted to dive in head first into an argument, remember what you might be unleashing, consider how you might be seeking RIGHTNESS over RIGHTEOUSNESS, & whether or not you could just drop it.

How have you seen arguments & disputes in your own life damage relationships? Was someone's desire to be right at the core of it?

The Dynamic Duo

2011-09-19T09:02:00.002-05:00

As I've continued to read through Proverbs this month, I came across this verse today. It's Proverbs 19:2,

"It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty & miss the way."

Did you get that? Zeal, passion, & excitement are great, but if that's all you've got, you're not going to go very far. Zeal & passion have to be complemented by knowledge & wisdom. Without knowledge, information, & wisdom, passion can take us down some weird paths. When we combine these two qualities, great things can happen in us & through our leadership.

How many of us have ever started talking about something that we were very passionate about, but very soon we revealed just how little we actually knew & understood about the situation? How many times have we gotten all fired up about something & got started only for it to fall apart because we didn't really know what we were doing? In both cases we had a lot of passion & enthusiasm, but it's simply not enough.

If you're passionate about something, marry that passion to a desire to learn & gain understanding. Passion gives you the drive, but knowledge, wisdom, & understanding give you the direction. So don't run on passion & excitement alone. Seek wisdom, understanding, & knowledge about whatever it is that makes you come alive, & when you complement your passion with real understanding, you will go further faster as a leader.

Who Checks Your Motives?

2011-09-16T09:37:00.001-05:00

Have you ever sat back & watched someone & wondered, "Why in the world are they doing that?"

Do you think that someone has ever looked at your life & asked themselves, "What is he/she thinking?"

We've all done it. We've all seen someone do something or say something, & we think to ourselves, "What?" However, I bet if we actually asked that person what was going through their head & what their motivation was, they would give us a reason that makes complete sense...to them.

Proverbs 16:2 says this:

"All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord."

Have you ever noticed that we always seem to have a really compelling argument for why we do what we do? If you're like me, you can talk yourself into just about anything. In fact, some of the things that we now look back on with regret, we at one time thought was a really good idea. You've probably wondered to yourself, "Why did I do that? How did I think that was a good idea?" Well, this explains it.

We always think we're in the right, even when we're dead wrong. The only person who can really weigh our motives honestly is God. With that in mind Solomon goes on to tell us,

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, & your plans will succeed."

Since we can always talk ourselves into thinking we're right, we need to have some other filter that we can use to gain some insight on ourselves. That filter is God's will revealed through His Word. Proverbs is loaded with the concept that wisdom comes through listening to outside instruction, & there is no better outside instruction than God's Word. God's Word has this really uncomfortable way of pointing out where our lives are out of alignment with His plan for His people, & when we're confronted with that we get to choose whether we want to be a fool or a person of wisdom. If you want to wear the label of fool, then ignore God's Word & do what you wanted anyway, but if you don't really want to be known as a fool, then redirect your life to get into alignment with the path God has laid out in His Word. Then your plans will succeed because your plan is built first & foremost on honoring your Heavenly Father & staying faithful to the path He has for His people.

Rotten To The Core

2011-09-14T09:21:00.001-05:00

This morning as I continued to read through the book of Proverbs, I came across Proverbs 14:30 which says,

"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."

Is that graphic or what? Rotting bones? Think about it, even after we die & our bodies are buried, someone can come back years later & our bones will still be there. Obviously the decay that's spoken of here is intense if it could be characterized as "rotting the bones".

The root of the decay is envy, & our culture trains us to be master's of envy. Of course, we would never call it that. Nobody would call themselves greedy & envious; other people are but not us. But has the average American & American family leveraged every minute of their day & penny in their bank account in order to pursue the "American Dream" simply out of some innate drive? No, our nation & so many of our families are caught in the current plight out of sheer envy. We have to have what "everybody else" has. We have to do what "everybody else" is doing, & in the end we're exhausted, broke, & disillusioned. After all shouldn't having it all & doing it all makes us feel like we've arrived? Why then are our families maxxed out financially, physically, & emotionally? Why are so many families weaker than they've ever been?

It's simple. Envy. We want what we think everybody else has, but the truth is we don't really know what they've got or what they're doing. In addition to that, why in the world do we want to live somebody else's life. Why would we want to waste our life trying to have someone else's. Envy is simply telling God, "What you've given me isn't enough. The life you've given me, the things you've provided for me, all of it isn't enough. I have to go out & get more because You & Your plan aren't enough." In the end instead of building something, we begin to rot, from the inside out. Our envy rots us at the core. It leads to resentment not only toward God but toward anyone that we perceive has what we think we have to have. Left unchecked, envy will rot & destroy our lives & our relationships, even if we get the stuff we want! We may have the stuff, but we'll be alone.

The remedy: Peace. Peace with who you & your family are, peace with how God has provided for you & your family, & peace with your place in life. When peace begins to waver & you begin to think you need what others have, call it what it is: envy. Then ask yourself, "Why do I think I have to have that or do that or be involved in that?" Usually the honest answer will be less that motivating. Find your peace in God & the plan that He has for you. You'll never find it in trying to replicate someone else's life.

Are You Listening?

2011-09-12T09:20:00.001-05:00

Today as I was reading Proverbs 12, I ran into one of the most common themes found in the Proverbs. Proverbs 12 opens with this line,

"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid."

Did you get that? Through Solomon & the other writers of Proverbs, God is basically calling a group of people stupid! Who are these idiots? It's the people who will not listen to the advice, correction, or input of others. In verse 15, it says that fools think that their way is always right. They can't imagine listening to someone else's perspective. However, the wise person listens to advice, perhaps even seeks it out.

There is some tension in this though. Who do you listen to? Do you listen to anyone who has "advice" for you? After all, if you have ever led anything, whether it's a multi-million dollar corporation or a Little League baseball team, you know that you get plenty of unsolicited advice. So do you listen to all of it & act on all it? No! Here are a few guidelines I use to filter the "advice" that comes with being a leader while still trying to exercise wisdom by respecting the correction, wisdom, & advice of others.

1) Always Listen To Those Who Actually Have A Relationship With You.
Hear these people out. They have a vested interest in you & the ministry or organization you lead. These people are less likely to simply be trying to get their way.

2) Always Listen To Someone Who Is Willing To Talk To You Personally.
If someone either comes to you directly or sets up a meeting with you in order to share some input or advice, you should honor their willingness to deal with things directly. When you get emails or notes from people who want to give you their input or perspective, try to meet with them one on one. If they refuse or give you the run around, that should tell you they're more interested in getting their way than working with you & seeing you & the organization succeed.

3) Ignore Anonymous "Advice".
If someone can't put their name behind their "advice", then it's not worth your time. Period. In fact, if there's no name on it, I wouldn't even bother reading it. There's a good chance that it will be loaded with misinformation & attacks against you. When you read that stuff, your inclination will be to try & fix it, but you can't because they weren't a big enough person to even put their name on it. It will become nothing but a distraction that will pull you away from your mission.

Remember, listening doesn't necessarily mean implementing, but it does mean seeing the other person's perspective. Giving someone an honest hearing sometimes is all they need. They need to know their feelings & ideas have will be taken into consideration, even if it doesn't translate into implementation.

So are you stupid, or are you listening? Who are you listening to? Are you listening to the right people? Are you getting distracted by the wrong people?

It's Obvious

2011-09-09T10:03:00.000-05:00

The last couple of days I have been reading through Proverbs 8 & 9 as our church as a whole has been invited to read through the book of Proverbs for the entire month. As I was reading one big thing jumped out of these two chapters.

Wisdom & foolishness are obvious.

That's right, both of them are obvious. We tend to think that foolish behavior is obvious, but wisdom somehow is mysterious, even elusive. However, take a look at these two chapters. In these chapters wisdom is personified. Also in these two chapters wisdom builds her house at the highest point in the city. She prepares a great banquet & sends out messengers & maidens to issue an the invitation for all to come to her home. It's a metaphorical invitation to leave our current way of life & embrace the wisdom of God & a life built on the wisdom of God.

However, at the same time the Bible tells us foolishness is just as obvious. In Proverbs 9 foolishness also has her house at the highest point of the city. She also calls out inviting people come to her home. The way of foolishness is obvious. The invitation onto the foolish path is just as obvious.

Two things jumped out at me in these chapters. First, we have to stop pretending that godly wisdom is somehow this mystical thing that only some people can aspire to. Wisdom calls out to everyone. The Bible says wisdom calls out to the simple. You know what that means? It means you don't have to be the most intelligent person in the room in order to discover & embrace godly wisdom. Secondly, the difference between wisdom & foolishness is not how obvious one is & the other isn't. The difference is in how easy the two paths are. The path of foolishness doesn't require discipline or understanding. Foolishness even calls out that "stolen water is sweet." Foolishness is lazy, undisciplined, & ignores the obvious path of godly wisdom & makes excuses like, "That's just the way I am." That may be true, but it doesn't have to be that way forever.

There are two paths that we can take. There are two invitations being sent out to us. Which one will we choose to accept? Which one will we make the path of our life?

Double-Edged Proverb

2011-09-07T10:18:00.001-05:00

This month our church is going through the book of Proverbs as we also go through a weekend teaching series on Proverbs. Over the course of the month I will be sharing some of my thoughts as I read through the Proverbs day by day. I won't cover all of them, but when something really jumps out, I'll talk about it.

Yesterday I was reading through Proverbs 6 which is just crammed with a bunch of warnings against foolishness, laziness, & adultery/lust. Wedged right there in the middle of this proverb is this:

"My son, keep your father's commands & do not forsake your mother's teaching. Bind them upon your heart forever; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, & the corrections of discipline are the way to life..." Proverbs 6:20-23

The direct context for these verses is the following instructions concerning immoral women, lust, adultery, & all the junk that comes from falling prey to our own desires. However, there is an obvious broader application. It's clear that the point here is that the instruction of one's parents is vital to growing & living a healthy & potentially godly life. When we hear these verses taught we immediately go to the point of "children, obey & respect your parents" which is great, but this proverb is double-edged.

Shouldn't we also ask parents to evaluate what it is that they are teaching their children. As parents, almost everything we do communicates a lesson or value to our children. We can take our children to church programming as much as we want, but if our real, everyday message doesn't reflect biblical, godly values, then which message do we really think is going to win out in our children's lives? Whatever we teach will guide; it will speak to our children; it will echo in their hearts & minds. What are we teaching?

Labor Day Recommendations

2011-09-05T12:19:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd change things up for the holiday by recommending some reading, music, & entertainment ideas to you. Checking out these recommendations might give you some insight into how I think & where I'm coming from.
Books I'm Reading & Re-Reading
Think by John Piper-Great stuff from one of the smartest guys in ministry
The Seven Checkpoints For Youth Leaders by Andy Stanley & Stuart Hall-Classic

Songs On Heavy Rotation
"Barton Hollow" by The Civil Wars
"Poison & Wine" by The Civil Wars
"Waves" by Bela Fleck

Blogs I'm Visiting
Jenni Catron-Check out her series "Leading At All Levels".
Ron Edmondson-Ron has had some solid stuff lately.
Bowman Family-Features great pics of my gorgeous daughters & my wife's take on things.

TV Shows Worth Your Time
White Collar on USA-It's smart, funny, & has great cast chemistry. New season in January.
Seinfeld-Been watching a bunch of re-runs lately. I actually forgot how great this show was.

Are You Losing Or Are You A Loser?

2011-09-02T08:34:00.000-05:00

We can all think of teams, organizations, & even churches that can never quite get it together. Even when they have the right resources, the right people, & the right timing, they somehow manage to blow it. At the same time, we can also think of groups who have a less than glowing history of success, but then all of a sudden they make the turnaround & find success. Look at the Boston Red Sox. They've had talent, money, & opportunities to succeed, but for generations they found ways to lose, sometimes to obviously inferior opponents. Now however, they are one of the powerhouses of baseball & have won more championships in the last 10 years than they had in 80 years prior to that.

So what's the difference between losing & being a loser? Is it as simple as your "record"? I don't think so. I think it's a little more subtle. I think the difference is your perspective on losing because we're all going to lose, & there's at least a decent chance we'll have as many or more defeats as victories.

The Difference Between Losing & Being A Loser

Is Determined By Whether You Endure Losing Or Tolerate It.

When you endure losing, you're still actively pursuing the win. You still expect to win, & as a result you still have a chance to taste victory. However, if you, your team, & your "fans" begin to tolerate losing. The chances of real victory are virtually erased. Just like the football team who thinks they're going to lose before they even put on their pads, organizations & ministries who simply tolerate their losing as "that's just the way things are" might as well not even show up because the end has pretty much been decided.

I really think it's this subtle difference in how we view losing that makes us a loser or not. When we as ministry leaders think that we just cannot break through a certain barrier, then we probably won't. When a business internally admits that growth just can't happen because "we've never been able to do that before", then they're right; growth won't happen.

If you have any influence with a team, organization, or ministry, challenge those you work with to endure the losses, learn from them, & press on toward the victory. The minute you tolerate losing, you've resigned yourself to the fact that neither you nor God can do great things through your leadership.

Your Biggest Battle

2011-08-19T08:00:00.001-05:00

I know your biggest battle.

I know the battlefield where you have the most at stake.

Your biggest battle isn't with that guy at the office who always steals the glory. It's not the struggle, as great as it may be, to get your financial life in order. Your biggest battlefield is the same as mine.

Our Biggest Battles Are In Our Hearts & Our Homes.

The battles raging in your heart will determine everything else in your life, & the battles waged for your home & your family will have a greater impact on your legacy than anything else you do in life. Who cares if you can retire as a multi-millionaire by 50 if your family hates your guts or maybe even worse, doesn't even really know who you are?

We can see this at work in 2 Samuel 11-19. David has built an amazing life. It seems like everything is perfect. Then like so many powerful leaders, he inexplicably throws it all away to fulfill a momentary desire. He lost the battle in his heart. The result is that his life, his family, & his kingdom are thrown into chaos. He has sex with Bathsheba, murders her husband, & marries her all in an attempt to cover up his defeat. Part of the consequences of David's defeat is that is family began to fall apart around him. One of his sons lost the battle with lust & committed an unspeakable act. When David did nothing about it, his other son lost the battle with anger & rage & committed murder. All the while David sits by like he's helpless to do anything about it. When all is said & done, his family has been utterly devastated, & it all traces back to his defeat in 2 Samuel 11.

Years later, David's son, Solomon, wrote these words, "Above all else, guard your heart." Solomon knew the devastation that came from losing the battles in the heart & home. He knew his family's story, & his own story has some baggage too. Knowing all of this, the wisest man who ever lived basically says, "Before you do anything else, you must guard your heart. Your life flows from what you let in your heart."

What's in your heart? What are you letting in? Whatever you let in, whatever you allow to go unchecked could threaten to take you down. And when you go down, you won't go down alone. Chances are you'll take down those you care about most too. So again, I ask, "What desires are you battling in your heart?"

Kindergarten!

2011-08-15T10:10:00.000-05:00

Today marked the beginning of an era in our home. Today was Julia's first day of Kindergarten. In the last couple of days her anxiety level had gone up a few notches. Saturday night she had a full on emotional breakdown because she didn't want to go to school, but this morning she got up, got dressed, ate breakfast, grabbed her backpack & was ready to go. As we walked her into the school & down the main hallway, it was kind of hard to tell what she was thinking. She was being very quiet & taking everything in. When we got to her classroom she found her chair & cubbie-hole, & after putting her backpack & lunchbox away, she sat down & started working on a coloring sheet. I talked to her for a few more minutes before telling her that we were going to leave. She smiled, gave us a hug & kiss, said "Bye", & went back to her coloring sheet.

It was really sort of anti-climactic. We were anticipating at least some sort of emotional outburst, if not from Julia then surely from her mother, but no, none of that. Julia was as cool as could be, & the only thing that had Valerie upset was that she had left the camera in the car. Of course, as I'm writing this Julia may be throwing the mother of all fits because she has finally decided that Kindergarten isn't for her. This afternoon I'll get the play by play of her day, but so far so good. We'll see how tomorrow goes when Mom has to drop her off at the door & can't walk Julia to her classroom.

Courage Exposes

2011-08-12T10:22:00.000-05:00

Wrapping up our look at the indispensable nature of courage to our faith & our leadership, we turn our attention again to the aftermath of David's victory over Goliath. We've already seen that faithful courage inspires courage & triggers jealousy & insecurity, but when we look at another aspect of I Samuel 18-20 we see this:

Faithful Courage Exposes Your Real Friends.

Even though Saul's insecurity & jealousy jump off the page during these chapters, Jonathan's devotion to David is just as apparent. These two young men were such close friends because they were so alike. If you look at Jonathan prior to his friendship with David, you'll discover that he too was a faithful & courageous warrior. At the beginning of chapter 18, David & Jonathan make a covenant together. They sealed their friendship. As a symbol of Jonathan's devotion, he gave David his robe, tunic, sword, bow, & his belt. There is huge significance in this act. First, Jonathan is demonstrating that he is willing to serve his friend, even though he is royalty. Secondly, the very items he gives to David are symbols of Jonathan's royal status. It's almost as if there is a transference of authority & status going on. David is putting on the royal garb. Deep down I think Jonathan knew his friendship with David would cost him, & he was OK with it because he, like David, wanted to see God's plan become reality.

This level of devotion is huge because Jonathan became David's inside man. Jonathan warned David of Saul's intentions so that David could escape. Jonathan was David's only advocate before Saul. No one else stood up for David. Where are all the people who were just a few verses earlier singing songs about David? They were gone; only Jonathan remained.

When we stand in faithful courage, we'll gain both fans & enemies, but what matters are the true friends that we can really count on. Who are those people in your life? They are absolutely vital for both your faith & your leadership.

Courage Pulls The Trigger

2011-08-10T09:33:00.000-05:00

As I continue to look at the centrality of courage in our faith & in our leadership. I noticed something else in the aftermath of David's encounter with Goliath. The first thing we mentioned was that faithful courage inspires courage. However, there's something else that will likely result from your act of faithful courage.

Faithful Courage Triggers Jealousy & Insecurity.

Go read I Samuel 18-20 & look at what is going on with King Saul. Saul loves David until David "shows him up." Saul couldn't stand the fact that David was getting some attention. Saul knew that David's faithful courage exposed his faithless cowardice, & he couldn't handle it. He went from loving David to making his top priority the capture & execution of David.

Don't be surprised if the same thing happens to you. When you decide that you are going to stand for the things of God, there will be a backlash, & that backlash will probably come from someone you didn't expect. It's all rooted in jealousy & insecurity. They feel as if your faithful courage exposes their lack of faithful courage, & they may stop at nothing to squash that feeling. They'll take shots at you. They'll undermine you. They'll say things like, "Yeah, but..."

How do you deal with them? First, know that they are there & when you stand for Christ, they will not like it. Knowing that they're in the background is half the battle. Secondly, do what David did. David didn't rebel against Saul; he tried to reconcile & help Saul understand. However, reconciliation requires two people's involvement. When it's clear that those people don't get it & don't want to get it, follow David's example. Take off. Get away from them. You don't have to literally hide out in the desert, but you don't need to be around that kind of person. They'll suck the life out of you.

Just because acting & living out of faithful courage triggers jealousy & insecurity in others, don't let it stop you from standing in faith & stepping forward in faithful courage toward the life & plan that God has for your life & your leadership. Just be ready for the backlash.

Courage Inspires

2011-08-08T08:55:00.000-05:00

One of the indispensable qualities of both leadership & discipleship is courage. It is non-negotiable. The primary difference in the courage of a follower of Jesus is that their strength & courage is rooted in who they follow not just in what they can do. Our courage must find its roots in our faith in Christ.

There's a lot of talk about courage in leadership & courage when it comes to following Jesus day by day. However, I think we need to take a little time to see what happens when we step out in faithful courage. Sometimes when we listen to stories of faithful courage we tend to romanticize it a bit. This week I'm gonna look at three things that we see in David's life that are the direct result of a singular act of courage.

In I Samuel 17 you may have read a little story about a young shepherd who kills a giant soldier. The story of David's encounter with Goliath is by far the most well known episode of his life, but the aftermath of it tells us a lot about what happens as the result of one act of
faithful courage.

Faithful Courage Inspires Courage.

Prior to David's showdown with Goliath, the entire Israelite army was hiding in tents. However, when a young boy walked onto the battlefield & conquered the giant, the army rose up, found their courage & absolutely took the fight to their enemy. Why? Because courage always inspires more courage. Whether it's jumping off the high dive as a kid or being the only student to take a stand for their faith in their school, when one steps up, others find it within themselves to do the same.

You may be in a position where you feel you have to stand alone, but take heart in the fact that you may not have to stand alone for very long. Your act of faithful courage may be the very thing that inspires others to stand with you. However, it is the one who is willing to stand alone who rises to the top & is viewed as the leader. Don't be afraid to stand alone because, like David, even if you stand alone face to face with a giant, you are not really standing alone.

What Is Your Default Mode?

2011-08-05T08:00:00.002-05:00

The default mode is the way something or someone responds to a situation. It's built in; it's the programming. Default settings are great on a computer because if we screw something up, we can click the default button & it restores all the original settings to whatever we're working on. Then we can make adjustments as needed.
The question we need to ask is "What is our default mode?" Spiritually speaking, what is your default response to God's prompting or leading in a situation. The reason I ask this is because I've seen far too many people who operate with the default setting of "No!" Sure, they've always got a good reason. It might be money, time, risk, or a whole host of other reasons, but the real problem is that their default setting is "No". They don't slow down enough to consider the fact that maybe, just maybe, God might want them to move forward in spite of all the really good reasons not to. They don't stop & remember that God is bigger than even their best reasons to stay where they are.

Can I get a little personal here? Parents, we're the worst about this. Too often we allow the parental instinct to protect override our trust in God. In the process, we protect & shield our children from the blessings of following God radically. See, we know that radical faith, trust, & obedience leads us to do things that are crazy, expensive, time consuming, & even dangerous in our pursuit of God. So we retreat to our default mode of "NO!", & we have great reasons to say "No", but don't we serve a God who is more than capable of dealing with our reasons "why not"?

I'm not saying that we need to completely switch our default mode to "Yes"; I mean we do have to use wisdom. But if we're going to have a knee jerk response to God's promptings, shouldn't it be closer to "Yes" than "No"? Shouldn't we at least be open to the possibility that God might want to do something amazing in our lives or the lives of our children in spite of the long list of reasons why we think it might not "work"?

Is It Really Safe?

2011-08-03T08:00:00.003-05:00

"The safest place in the world is in the center of God's will."

This is a statement that I've heard thousands of times in the church culture. However, I'm afraid it's terribly misleading. In the big theological picture, it's true. God does take responsibility for the life that's fully surrendered to Him. On the other hand, radically pursuing God's will guarantees nothing remotely regarded as safety. Sadly though many of us guage where we are in our faith journey by how safe & secure our lives are in the moment. The thought that the center of God's will might actually be risky or outright dangerous is totally foreign to many American believers.

But what if pursuing God's plan might actually lead us into a danger zone? I mean look at some of the situations early followers of Jesus found themselves in. Paul found himself in jail or shipwrecked. Peter was so close to execution that when God busted him out of jail everybody thought it was his ghost. Even going all the way back to the Old Testament we find guys like David. In 1st Samuel 21 & 22, we find David trying to follow the life God has called him to & all he has coming his way is trouble & danger. He's on the run from the king that he has served faithfully. By the way, the king is his best friend's father & David's own father-in-law. Not only that, but he finds himself armed with only one thing: the sword of Goliath. Not a bad weapon, until David finds himself in Gath, Goliath's hometown. So David, the man after God's own heart, finds himself a hunted man who is now standing in the hometown of his most famous enemy & victory, & he's practically wearing a trophy of that victory by parading around with Goliath's sword.

What if following God & being in "the center of His will" actually leads us to places that are not only uncomfortable but might even be dangerous? What if we shouldn't be gauging our faithfulness by how safe & secure our lives might be & instead should be measuring by the depths of risk that our faith might require of us? I'm just thinking out loud a little bit, but I know that Jesus told us to expect trouble because of all of the trouble He encountered, yet so often we think following Him should lead to safety, security, & material blessing. What if we are dead wrong?

2011-08-01T07:00:00.005-05:00

Everybody has made a bad deal or a bad trade in their lives. Somewhere along the way I'm sure you gave up something hoping for a payoff or at the very least hoping that there would be no negative effects. But sure enough, down the road you were burned by your trade.

In Genesis 25 we find perhaps the worst trade in history. A guy named Esau traded away his birthright for a bowl of soup...lentil soup, not exactly the most scrumptious thing ever served up. For a bowl of this amazing culinary delight, Esau didn't just trade away wealthy & authority, he forfeited the spiritual implications of his birthright. Esau's family wasn't just any family; it was the family God chose to use in order to make Himself known to the world. For some soup, Esau forfeited the part he could play in God's plan.

This sounds ridiculous, but we do it all the time. We trade God's plan for a momentary desire & the temporary feeling of fulfillment that comes from feeding the desire, but guess what? That desire will be back, & we will again be faced with the temptation to sell out in order to feed the desire. We have to learn from Esau that the thing we are throwing away might be the very thing we need most.

What is your bowl of stew? What desires in your life threaten the plan God has for you? Are there places where you are already compromising God's design for your life & leadership just to satisfy a temporary desire? Here's one question you can ask about four areas in your life in order to reframe that desire:

What story do I want to tell...

-About my faith & journey/relationship with God?

-About my marriage?

-About my relationship with your kids?

-About my legacy & influence in this world?

When the tension arises, & you are tempted to trade God's eternal , unchanging plan for your temporary, ever changing plan, ask this question. Once you know what story you want to tell, you can backtrack & map out how you can get to the ending you would like for your story. Live in a way that is consistent with the story you want to tell, & you will set yourself up to live the life that God desperately wants for you.

Driven & Enslaved

2011-06-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I read a quote from Tim Keller that said, "If we take our meaning in life from our family, our work, a cause, or some achievement other than God, they enslave us." When I read that I thought back to talking about being driven yesterday. I truly believe that if you can honestly answer the question, "Who am I trying to please?" you will discover what drives you. I also believe that many, if not most, of us find ourselves driven by the things that Pastor Keller mentions in this quote.

Too often we're driven by our work or the fact that our work provides for our family. We men tend to really wrap ourselves up in the position of provider, & there is nothing wrong with that. However, how many men can we think of who destroyed their families in the name of providing for their families? Still other people strive to give their children everything they didn't have. They want their children to excel in everything they do, & again, there's nothing wrong with that. However, how many families have we watched self-destruct because mothers & fathers offered their children up on the altar of athletics or academics rather than offering them up to God? Perhaps most deceptively, thousands upon thousands will wrap themselves up in their religion, their church involvement, & their ministries. Again, nothing wrong with it, but how many stories do we have to hear about pastors who blow up their families, churches, & influence before we realize that even the drive to build a ministry isn't what should drive us.

All of those things are good things, but when we become driven by our family, our job, or even our ministry itself, we've gone off the tracks. When we seek to please our spouse, our kids, or the people we lead & serve with at church more than we seek to please our Heavenly Father, our drive has become unhealthy. Ironically, when this happens not only do those once good things enslave us, we often find that we are robbed of them as well.

So I ask again, "Who are you trying to please?" Honestly answer that & you'll discover what drives you. If you're not seeking above all to please your Heavenly Father, you are risking not only your freedom but also the very things that God would like to bless: your family, your work, & your ministry.

Driven

2011-06-06T09:07:00.000-05:00

Everyone is driven, but we're not all driven by the same things. When we say someone is driven, it's more likely that we're recognizing that the person is driven by something different from what drives us or that his or her drive is expressed in a very different way from our own. In the end though, we're all driven.

The real question is "What drives me? What is it that serves as my motivation?" The answer to this question reveals the grid by which we make decisions, relate to others, and determine our priorities. But how do you really answer the question of what drives you? I think another very simple question, if answered honestly, will make it clear what drives you & me.

Who Am I Trying To Please?

That's it. If you can sincerely answer this question, you'll know for better or for worse what is driving you. I'm not going to make you feel good by telling you there are no wrong answers to this question; there are definitely wrong answers. We've all known people who attempted to please everyone around them, & in the end it burnt them out because making everyone happy is a huge myth.

Answer this question for yourself. If you don't like the answer, sit down & begin to figure out what you need to do in order to shift what drives you.

Great Expectations

2011-05-24T10:40:00.000-05:00

Every summer this idea of our expectations fills my mind in a big way. That's because every summer I go with a bunch of students & some adult leaders to camp. At camp, amazing things happen, lives are changed, & you can feel the weight of God's presence. Then of course we go home, & after a few weeks, those feelings begin to wane. Why is that?

I believe with all of my heart that the difference is in our expectations. We go to camp, & we expect God to do great things. In fact, if something didn't happen, we might be tempted to ask for a refund! However, when we get home do we expect God to show up or do we expect "church" to happen? We can't have the "camp experience" every time we gather for worship or for some activity, but we can have the most important element in that experience: God Himself. All we have to do is expect Him to show up, invite Him to show up, & at times beg Him to show up as we repent of our reliance on cool production, great music, & ministry tools in general that try to manufacture an encounter that can only take place when God shows up. Don't get me wrong; I love all of the technical advances & tools we have available to help set the stage for an encounter with God, but those things are not the encounter. If God doesn't show up, it was really a waste of time.

God shows up when we expect Him to. He honors our desire, our pursuit for Him & Him alone. As we get ready to head to camp next week with our group, my prayer is not that God would show up at camp, but that he would make His presence known & felt each & every time we gather as a group or come by ourselves to Him in prayer or in His word, that when we walk away, we know we've been in His presence & that we've heard from Him.

10 Things I Learned In Seminary-Part 3

2011-05-20T11:27:00.000-05:00

Here are the last few lessons I picked up in the course of my studies for my Master's Degree, & yet again, none of them are academic lessons.

4) How To Synthesize Thoughts & Communicate Them Clearly
Trust me, this is a big deal for guys like me who are preachers. We tend to want to include every detail or bit of info that we pick up in our research. However, you can't do that when you've been given the assignment of reading a 400 page book & summarizing both the content of the book & our critical thoughts of it in 3 pages! You have to learn to communicate only the essential.

3) You Have To Know "Why" Your Seminary/School Is Training Students
Before you enroll in any school & pay those nice tuition bills, you better know what that school is producing. What's the reputation of the school you're considering? Does the "product" their producing match up with your goals post-graduation? Make sure that your vision matches the training you'll be receiving. Many seminaries are supposedly training pastors & leaders, but there is little evidence to back it up. Instead, they are producing very smart pastors who don't know how to lead anything. Do your homework!

2) Online Or Extension Work Is An Amazing Advancement, But It's Not For Everyone.
I managed to complete an entire Master's Degree without ever setting foot on Liberty's campus or inside a classroom. However, I dont' think everyone could do that. In fact, I don't think I could have done it 10 years ago. I just didn't have enough self-discipline or motivation. However, if you've got the maturity & drive to take advantage of these programs, do it, but again, make sure the school your looking at has been doing this long enough to offer a quality online or extension experience.

1) Waiting To Pursue A Seminary Degree Was One Of The Best Things I've Ever Done.
When I was in college I was constantly told that I had to tackle my Master's work immediately after graduation. However, the most common argument I ever heard was that if I didn't do it then, I would never do it. To be honest, that wasn't the most compelling argument. The other argument that was more implied than actually stated was that only seminary grads are ready for ministry. Frankly, Scripture doesn't back that up, & experience hasn't really taught me that either. I waited until I wanted to pursue the degree & until God began to nudge me toward that degree, & it took about 10 years for that to happen. However, in that decade I learned things that no classroom could ever teach, & I learned lessons that actually prepared me for seminary rather than the other way around.

Thanks for reading my thoughts. Hopefully someone reading this is contemplating either seminary or furthering their education in general & these insights will get you thinking about things that maybe you haven't thought about before.

10 Things I Learned In Seminary-Part 2

2011-05-17T09:05:00.000-05:00

Picking up today where I Ieft off in talking about the real lessons learned from my seminary "education".

7) Don't Go To Seminary "Because" Or For The "MDiv."
This goes to motive. Yes, it's true, for better or worse, that the typical church system is on where a seminary degree will open the door to more opportunities, but is that really the best reason for pursuing a Master's Degree or a PHD? If you're going to pursue that kind of training, do it for the training, not the piece of paper at the end, & that leads me to the other point. Don't just go get an MDiv because that's what you think you have to have. Over my 10+ years in ministry I've learned that most of the problems that we face as pastors & as churches are not due to the fact that our leaders need more doctrine, biblical, linguistic, or church history education. The problems that plague so many churches are due to the fact that the leaders aren't really leaders. When choosing a degree, choose a degree that will equip you in an area you know you need. That means you'll have to actually research schools & the different degree programs instead of just being a lemming who jumps off the same cliff as everyone else. If you need the MDiv, great go for it, but make sure that's really where you need to be trained.

6) Never Read A Book Without A Highlighter
This doesn't just apply to seminary, but that's where the lesson really became concrete for me. Because I was consuming so much information every week, necessity dictated that I have a huge stockpile of highlighters. However, I've transferred that principle over to all my reading. After all, how in the world am I going to track down that great idea or quote from a particular book if I haven't highlighted it, underlined it, or in some way pulled it out of the sea of letters & words surrounding it?

5) How To Process Lots Of Material Quickly
The way my program was designed, I had assignments due at the end of every week that included discussion boards, papers, & quizzes or tests. In order to do those assignments there was LOTS of reading. Some weeks I had around 300 pages of reading to do. That meant I learned really quickly to find & process the important material. By the end of seminary, most of the time I was only reading headings & the first lines of paragraphs. If the first line was something that resonated, I would continue. If it was just more supporting material for another idea, I moved on. This may be one of the most practical lessons because life requires us to take in, process, & act on lots of information at a faster & faster pace every year.

Check back tomorrow to read more lessons learned.

Ten Things I Learned From Seminary-Part 1

2011-05-16T09:24:00.000-05:00

Last week I wrapped up my Master's Degree coursework through Liberty University. As a result of the intense workload, I haven't really been blogging much, especially in the last year. So I wanted to get back into it this week by sharing some important lessons I learned while during my time in seminary. Most of the lessons probably aren't what you'd expect because they have nothing to do with the curriculum of the seminary.

10) Seminary Doesn't Make You More Qualified For Ministry.
For you "church people" out there, if you think a piece of paper from a school makes someone more qualified or fit for ministry, you are insane! You're basically saying that God can only work through people who have not only the academic but also the financial means to pursue a degree. I knew when I was in college back in the 90s that I didn't "need" seminary to pursue my calling. Oh yeah, & just in case you need the Bible to back up this idea, Acts 4:13 reminds us that the apostles were "ordinary, unschooled men". Being with Jesus trumps an impressive seminary degree every day of the week.

9) Seminary Doesn't Really Make You Smarter.
Let me explain this because it's a very personal lesson. I was blessed to get my undergraduate degree from one of the finest universities in the nation in a major that was preparing me for ministry. Plus, I'm a learner by nature. I love reading. I love listening to other people in ministry who are further down the road than I am. So when I started seminary, I already had a huge foundation of "knowledge" through my formal & informal education. That means a lot of the information from my courses was not new, but it did reinforce & remind me of things I had learned over the years.

8) Doing Master's Work & Full Time Ministry Demands Boundaries.
If you decide to pursue a graduate degree while doing full time ministry, you better be ready to draw some hard boundaries in your life. Full time ministry will consume every moment of your life if you allow it, which isn't healthy to begin with, but when you add the label of "full time student" to your life, you're really piling it on. This means you've got to learn to say "No". You have to be willing to say, "Sorry, can't do that, I've got 2 papers & an exam this week." You also have to look at your calendar & plan your semester, & you have to prioritize your course schedule. Professors don't care if you overloaded your calendar with meaningless meetings that caused you to turn in a below average paper 3 days late. Create clear boundaries. It's a lesson that you'll benefit from beyond your time in seminary or grad school.

Check back in tomorrow as I continue to share some lessons I learned from pursuing "higher education".

Soulprint

2011-01-10T15:27:00.000-06:00

I wanted to share with you guys about a new book that's about to hit your favorite bookstore's shelves or website. It's called Soulprint by Mark Batterson. Mark is the pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. Mark has already had best sellers like In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day & his most recent release, Primal. Mark is a leader & thinker that I believe more people should be paying attention to.

In Soulprint, Mark uses the life of David to illustrate how the defining moments of our lives shed light on our destiny. Mark's unique style breathes fresh insight into stories that many believers will have heard over and over in sermons & Bible studies. One of the most important insights that Mark brings out is that often our greatest advantages are hidden in what we perceive as our greatest disadvantages. It's in these areas that we learn the skills necessary & develop the character necessary to fulfill what God has for us, & in the process, God gains even more glory. After all, of all the people God could have used to kill a giant, He chose a shepherd, not a soldier.

Soulprint is a great read, & a quick read which is always a plus. Soulprint doesn't quite live up to some of Mark's other works, but then again, each book should be judged on its own & not necessarily to any other work. I would recommend Soulprint to anyone, & while you're ordering it, go ahead & add on one of Mark's other books because you'll want more after you've finished Soulprint.

In compliance with regulations introduced by the Federal Trade Commission, I must inform the reader that Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of Soulprint for review purposes.

There's No Such Thing As "Just"

2010-10-19T15:30:00.000-05:00

The other day I had the chance to speak to some of our ministry volunteers in preparation for a major event in the life of our church. I wanted to pass along some of what I shared with them because the principle I shared with them applies to every ministry.

There Is No Such Thing As "Just" In God's Kingdom.

Every week there are awesome people who get to church early or stay late in order to serve. However, there are also days where those people think to themselves, "I'm just saying hello to people as they come in," "I'm just rocking this baby," or "I'm just trying to get through this kid's class without killing anybody." Most of us have those days. On those days we question whether what we're doing is really making a difference. Let me assure you that what you do matters. You may think you're just smiling and saying hello, but to that person who is giving God & the church one last chance, you're helping to create a warm, inviting environment that takes them a step closer to encountering God in the worship service. You may think you are just taking care of babies & toddler, but you're actually helping lay their spiritual foundations while serving their parents so that they can worship without squirmy kids crawling all over the place. What you do matters.

Imagine if you didn't do what you do. Imagine if there wasn't a friendly face to meet a newcomer & to get them the information they need. There's a good chance they would never get comfortable enough in your church to let down their guard long enough to experience God in worship. Imagine if you didn't provide a safe, secure place for children. Moms & dads would be more focused on if their kid is OK than on listening to God's word. The thing that you think you're just doing may be the very thing that allows someone to encounter God; it may be the one thing that makes their experience with church so positive that they decide they'll be back next week & maybe even bring another family with them.

There is no such thing as JUST.

The Belichick Factor

2010-10-18T14:37:00.000-05:00

I've been absent from the blog world for quite awhile. The last several weeks for me have been all about school work, ministry, & pneumonia...that's right pneumonia. Needless to say, it's been fun! Last night I wrapped up my 1st term of the fall semester & now have a little time to devote back to writing & sharing some of the stuff I'm picking up about life, ministry, & leadership. And fittingly, one of my favorite coaches has yet again provided me with great material.

I'm not ashamed to say I love Bill Belichikc. I've written about him before here & here in regard to what I saw as some arrogance that had crept into his decision making, but in the last couple of weeks the coach returned to his roots. Recently, Belichick & the Patriots traded away one of the best receivers ever in Randy Moss. Then last week the team brought Deion Branch, a former receiver, back to the team. On paper, this is not exactly what you would call an upgrade. Randy Moss is a hall of famer; Deion Branch virtually disappeared upon leaving New England. However, in his first game back & only 4 days after joining the team, Branch has a huge game yesterday. What's the point?

The point is that Bill Belichick is a great leader because he knows how to put people in just the right place so that not only are they successful but they help the entire team. Sometimes that means letting someone go because their time with the team is over, even though they are still talented; other times it means bringing in a guy that no one else wants & putting them in the just the right place so that the player and the team are better. He may be the best at doing that.

That's what separates good leaders from great leaders. Good leaders can utilize team members who bring a lot to the game, but great leaders see beyond the obvious talent & are able to see exactly how a player can be positioned so that the player & the team experiences great success. It's no accident that Belichick is considered a genius by many in the NFL. He knows exactly where he wants his team to go, & he understands how to position every member of that team so that everyone wins.

As a leader in your business or in your church, are you using people or positioning people? It's easy to use Randy Moss; he's a world class talent, but there are very few people on that level. Instead why not discover the talent that you already have, & then strategically position them for success, both their own and the team's?

God Is Up To Something

2010-08-25T07:00:00.002-05:00

The other night I got a Facebook message from a friend of mine who recently moved...to Wales. That's right, that Wales; the one across the pond in the U.K. He & his family have picked up & moved to the U.K. to do mission work with the teenagers & student ministry workers there in Wales for the next few years.

Well, to make a long story short, my friend & his family couldn't even get through customs on Saturday morning in London before they ran into some roadblocks. It turns out that there was an inadvertant mistake in their 3 year old daughter's paperwork for her visa. The British officials said she had to go home. So my friend put his wife & daughter back on an airplane to the States in order to straighten out this mix-up. First day on the ground & he has immediately been separated from his family; immediately the enemy attacks.

Well, I prayed for my friend. I know he is exactly where God has called him to be & I know God has something amazing in store for them & the Welsh people. Then I got up early on Monday morning to get started on the first day of a new semester of seminary work. As I worked, I picked up a book that I was supposed to read. I turned to the first assigned reading for the semester, & there it was staring me in the face in big bold letters: THE WELSH REVIVAL. Well, I stopped & prayed again because even if this was a coicidence, which I don't tend to believe in, it was a coincidence that reminded me that God is up to something in this world, & my friend is right in the middle of it.

So I'd ask that you pray for my friend Kevin Wilhite. Pray for him, his wife, Amanda, & their little girl, Hannah, as they are trying to sort this visa situation out. God is up to something in the place where a huge revival broke out over a 100 years ago. I pray that God would use Kevin's ministry to lead students to faith in Christ & to equip them to reach their land for His glory & Kingdom.

Gotta Brag A Little

2010-08-17T12:22:00.000-05:00

Today I just need to brag a little bit on my alma mater, Union University. U.S. News & World Report issued their annual assessment of colleges & universities, & yet again Union was ranked as one of the top universities at both the regional & national level. Union has historically been a strong school, but I have to applaud the leadership of Dr. David Dockery. His leadership has been instrumental in Union's rise to prominence. He has a vision for the university that is driven by his vision for God's Kingdom, not simply to have a successful university.

While I was a student, I watched the school literally transform, both physically (the campus got a great face lift) & in terms of vision. The faculty & staff at Union are top notch. Some of them have played pivotal roles in my life & ministry, & I still count them as friends & mentors. I'm proud to be a Union grad, but on day's like today, I get really excited about my alma mater & about how God is going to continue to use Union to equip students to advance the kingdom whether they enter the nursing field, the education system, the business world, or ministry.

Hitting The Links Early

2010-08-16T16:11:00.000-05:00

Usually when I share some links it's at the end of the week, but I found some great stuff this morning as I was reading that I just had to go ahead & share with you. A lot of this stuff is directed at church & ministry leaders, but many of the principles laid out are just as important to apply in our personal lives as they are in our churches & ministries

Insider Language

The Death of the Five Year Plan

10 Characteristic of Growing Churches

The Pain of Growth

Name One Non-Negotiable Leadership Characteristic

These are some solid insights from some great leaders. How do some of these leadership principles apply on a more broad, everyday life kind of way for you?

To Live Big You've Got To Ask Big

2010-08-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

Pretty much every believer knows that Jesus said that He came to give us an abundant life. However, few of them would say they're experiencing it. They're lives feel mundane, boring, & worst of all, predictable. Where's this adventurous, epic, abundant life that everybody talks about? After all, our lives rarely feel big or epic. Here's something to think about in regard to this whole tension. If you want to LIVE big, then you will have to ASK big. When your prayer life consists of "rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub" & "now I lay me down to sleep" kind of prayers, then it shouldn't surprise you that you're life feels sort of small.

I'm really learning right now that God's power to move in & through my life is directly linked to my boldness in prayer. Prayer wasn't given to us simply to ask God for stuff that later we're glad He didn't give us. Prayer is about power. Bold prayer brought before God unleashes Him to do what only He can do. When we pray boldly, we are expressing our expectation that God is going to show up in our lives & do something that is so amazing that it can only be explained by God & His power.

If you're life seems small or like it's not living up to what Jesus said about it, ask yourself if you're really asking God to work in BIG ways in your life. Because if you want to live big for Christ in this world, then you will have to ask big from God.

Global Youth Camp Takeaways

2010-08-03T12:58:00.000-05:00

Here are a few takeaway ideas that I got last week at Global Youth Camp:

1) The reason why God doesn't show up in many of our churches is because we don't expect Him to.

When you come together with your church, what do you expect to happen? Do you come with great expectations of what God is about to do? Do you expect something life-changing to happen, or do you expect church?

2) God can use your adversity as a stepping stone to your destiny.

We studied the life of Joseph during camp, & if anyone experienced adversity, it was him. Set up by his dad's favoritism, hated by his brothers, thrown in a pit, sold into slavery, abused, falsely imprisoned, forgotten by those he helped in prison, he knew what it meant to face suffering & adversity. But God was at work behind the scenes using every bit of it to position Joseph in the right place at the right time.

3) Distracted passion will drag you away, but devoted passion will draw you near.

Joseph devoted his passion back to the one who gave it to him to begin with. He channeled his passion into serving God. His brothers on the other hand allowed their passion to simply run wild. Take a look at Joseph's brother, Judah, & everything that goes down in Genesis 38, & you'll see what happens when you're passionate about yourself & what you want.

4) Our ministries are not "for us"; they should be "by us" for a lost world.

We all fight the tension & temptation to not develop ministries that simply cater to our people. We know we're supposed be reaching the world, but it's awfully easy to turn inward. When we do that, all we are doing is robbing the world of the hope that they desperately need & that we have in Christ.

5) Prayer really does work.

Prayer is the real deal; it's not just some ritualistic activity we do to look holy. The problem is that we rarely pray bold prayers. Instead we pray weak, shallow prayers that really don't ask God to show up & do what only He can do. Bold prayer isn't about pride, like some people think; it's actually the complete opposite. Bold prayers are born out of a humility that recognizes that we can't make it happen. It's a result of a dependence on Him & His power.

What Do You Expect?

2010-08-02T11:39:00.000-05:00

Every summer I have the same discussion with students & the leaders who work with our students. The question arises about the time students come back from their camp experience. Everyone wants to know how to "take camp home". After all, we've all experienced the amazing week at a camp, conference, or retreat only to watch it fade away within the first few weeks back home. It's demoralizing to everyone & sort of makes you wonder if what you experienced was even real.

Fortunately I've seen a few groups who didn't let that fire die. Somehow they managed to not only keep it alive but to feed it as well. The common thread wasn't that the groups "took camp home". If every week & everyday at home was like camp, then camp wouldn't be as special, but what they did was to take the core of what camp is back to their student ministries, churches, & lives. The bottom line was that they took home their expectations. For some reason when we're at a camp or retreat, we expect God to do ridiculous & amazing things, but when we go home we expect something different. We expect church to happen, but we don't necessarily expect God to fall on a place that is undeniable & life changing. When we change those expectations, God honors it. He shows up & does the amazing.

We express those expectations by how we approach everyday life & how we approach our times together as the church. When you come together with your student ministry, men's group, or entire church do you expect God to do something great, or do you expect to go through some kind of program? Do you beg God to show up & touch people's lives? It's time for us as ministry leaders to lead the way by coming to God on our faces begging Him for His presence & for a movement that can only be explained in Him.

One Week Can Change Everything

2010-07-25T16:09:00.000-05:00

24 hours from now a group of our students will be kicking off their week at Global Youth Camp. It never fails that this one week at camp becomes a turning point in the lives of some students. It will be a week that we'll look back on & recall what God did in their lives & how the course of their lives were forever changed. It's great to be a part of it because I know God is going to do something ridiculous, but I never know exactly what it is that He's going to do. The anticipation is half the fun. Please remember our students as we're away for the week.

Putting Yourself Out Of Business

2010-07-19T10:52:00.000-05:00

Recently I had to talk to a group a little bit about the issue of ministers' leaving one place of leadership for another & how at times people are rocked by the departure not just from an emotional & relational sense but also in the spiritual sense. There are times when those we have served & led feel as if their spiritual life has taken a massive hit because the pastor they have learned from is leaving, & while there are many factors involved in this, it's important to understand that it's up to us as leaders to walk away knowing that we've done everything we could do in our role to ensure that this doesn't happen to the people we have served.

If someone we've led feels as if we are their connection to God, then we have not done our job. The role of a pastor is to equip & prepare the people of God for the work of ministry. The role of any leader is to empower the people he leads to do more together than any of us could ever do on our own. That's why my personal philosophy of ministry & leadership is that I should do my job so well that I am constantly putting myself out of business in one area or another. Of course there is the need on the part of those that we lead to take personal responsibility for their own growth, but as the leader, we have to make sure that we are putting measures in place to issue that very challenge in a variety of ways. Otherwise, you will leave one day to take on a new challenge & the work you leave behind may crumble because you built, probably inadvertently, a ministry & organization on what you could do & not on what others were being equipped to do.

This concept holds true in every area of leadership. Whether you're a parent, a business leader, or pastor, do your job as the leader so well that it's putting you out of business.

And

2010-07-14T11:54:00.000-05:00

"The evil habit of seeking 'God and' effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation. In the ‘and’ lies our great woe. If we omit the ‘and’, we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been secretly longing."

These are the words of A.W. Tozer in his classic The Pursuit of God. They were written over 60 years ago but are just as relevant to our 21st century world. Most believers fail to encounter & experience God because they are seeking God and something else. In so doing, they effectively negate the part of them that might pursue God. God requires a single minded pursuit of Him. Pursuing His will, His plan, His protection, or His blessings is no substitution for simply pursuing Him. In pursuing Him, we find Him, we come to know Him, & eventually we find & experience all those other things that we have longed to find.

What is your "and"? What have you attached to your pursuit of God? How can you cut it loose & simply & purely pursue God & God alone?

Paralysis Or Freedom

2010-07-08T14:38:00.000-05:00

When life comes along & punches us in gut & shatters our illusions of control, most of us will respond in one of these two ways: paralysis or freedom. The realization of just how little control we have will either cripple us or set us free.

Many are paralyzed by this realization. The result is worry & anxiety. This paralysis leads you to worry & stress over everything. You even worry about worry. In fact, that's pretty much what anxiety is. It's the worry & fear of worry & fear. It feeds itself, & it has the power to completely bring your life to a halt.

The opposite reaction is one of freedom. The result of this is growing faith. When you realize that the world around you doesn't hinge on your ability to control everything but instead rests on the power of God, you will feel an awesome sense of relief & freedom. No longer do you have to make things happen. You simply have follow God & His plan for your life. He will make things happen.

So when life shatters your illusion, how do you typically respond? I know this isn't a popular idea, but worry reveals our lack of faith. Whatever it is you stress & worry about, that's an area you have not trusted God to control & take care of. Let go of it; give up the worry & experience the freedom of knowing that you don't have to be in control because God Himself is in control & at work to take you where He wants you to go.

Shattering The Illusion

2010-07-06T09:43:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I made the statement that in the big scheme of things, we don't really have control; we merely have the illusion of control. And every once in awhile an event or series of events comes along & shatters that illusion. The unfortunate thing about this idea is that it's not intuitive. I don't know about you, but I don't wake up & think about the fact that I'm not in control. In fact the opposite is true. We tend to focus on the handful of things that we do have some control over, & we overestimate our control at that. In addition to that, we scramble to acquire more control over more & more of our lives. Then it happens. That event comes along & slaps us in the face & shatters the illusion we've worked so hard to maintain. The scary thing is that most of us have to experience the shattering of our illusion.

It says in James chapter 4, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." And is there anything more proud than for us to think that we really have total control? Like I said last week, "Spiritual maturity does not equal self-sufficiency." As we grow in our faith we actual should recognize our lack of control & our dependency on God. When we begin to think more highly of ourselves than we should, we are putting ourselves at odds with God. It shouldn't surprise us that just around the corner lurks something that reminds us of just how little control we really do have. So the first thing we need to do is to remind ourselves everyday of our dependency on God. Again, this is not intuitive; we have to be intentional about building this into our lives & the way we see the world. If you go read the model prayer given by Jesus in Luke 11, you'll see that Jesus intends for us to be reminded daily of our desperate need for God, even for something as basic as our food. If Jesus wants us to be that aware of our need for God's provision, maybe we should take note.

Our Grand Illusion

2010-07-05T13:43:00.000-05:00

The other day I was having a discussion with people & the idea of control came up. We were talking about how we like to have control over our lives, jobs, churches, etc., & that when things come along that take away that control, it messes up our little world. However, as we were talking, this thought came to mind:

Did we ever really have control, or do the events in life that seem to take the control away from us simply take away the illusion of control?

Right now, about 20 to 25 miles away from my living room is a beach, and on that beach is a reminder that we are not in control. On top of that, we didn't lose control when there was an explosion on that oil rig & the spill began. We simply thought we had control. Think about it; a hole in the ground, a mile under the ocean's surface was all that it took to remind us that we are not in control, & as hard as we try & as advanced we become in some areas of life, we really don't have that much control over the world.

I may be overstating things a bit, but if what I'm thinking is true, what do we do about it? This realization will probably drive people to two opposite reactions: paralysis & freedom. This week I want to explore this idea a little more & would love feedback from you.

An Ugly Lie

2010-06-30T14:26:00.000-05:00

An ugly lie is running wild in our churches & in our lives. It's the reason why there doesn't seem to be real connections & relationships happening. It's why so many worship leaders are frustrated that those they lead seem to be going through the motions or disengaged. It's part of the reason so many believers & church members are so tired. Ready for the lie that we so often believe? Here it is:

Spiritual Maturity=Self-Sufficiency

Now remember, you would never say you believe this with your lips, but what about with your life? We sometimes think that a solid, mature Christian either has no problems or can handle all of the problems that they do have. However, deep inside, in those places where we actually face reality, we know our lives are a wreck, but we can't let anybody know. What will they think? Afterall, a growing, mature believer shouldn't deal with this. So we try to fix ourselves. The only problem is that we couldn't fix ourselves before Jesus, & we still can't fix ourselves after Jesus. Only Jesus transforms us. Could it be that the heights of spiritual maturity are actually marked by radical self-insufficiency, a radical awareness of our deep, constant need for the work of God in & through us?

Consider these words from Lamentation 3:22-23, "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." How about that? God extends new mercy to His people everyday. Maybe that's because we need His mercy poured out, like new, everyday. We have to guard ourselves & our churches from the lie that the goal is self-sufficiency. In fact, it's just the opposite; we're to grow more & more dependent on God as we become more grounded & more mature in our faith.

Why We Need Leaders

2010-06-29T14:11:00.001-05:00

I heard it again today, another story of a church leader who was brought on board to follow a former leader who wasn't a bad person, in fact, everybody spoke highly of him. He simply was no longer effectively leading. However, it wasn't long until the new leader was being advised to follow in the footsteps of the former leader, "So and so did it this way," or "We've always done...". Every leader has been there. You've been brought in to lead, sometimes because the person you're following has failed to lead, yet there's the strange gravitational pull to what's known, familiar, or comfortable for those you are leading. As a result, there's a pull on the new leader to conform.

Don't do it! That doesn't mean everything your predecessor did was terrible, but you've been positioned by God to lead. Part of that leading is challenging the status quo, pulling people out of their places of comfort & familiarity. The fact that the status quo exists is why leaders are so desperately needed. At one time the status quo you're challenging was innovative; it was like breaking glass, but over time that innovation became the "new normal". That's why you're leadership is so desperately needed right here, right now, wherever God has positioned you.

Somebody out there needs to read this today, & at some point all of us will need to read it to remind ourselves of the importance of what we do as ministry leaders.

Think about this question: How do you challenge the status quo in a way that honors the past but still blazes a new trail into the future?

Putting Band Aids On Cancer

2010-06-22T12:05:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been reading in the Gospel of Matthew. It's good stuff from the very beginning; yes, even the genealogy is cool. As I was getting into the Sermon on the Mount, I came to those very well known & convicting statements that Jesus made:

"You have heard it said, 'Do not murder'...but I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment."

"You have heard it said, 'Do no commit adultery'. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

These are some depressing verses for most of us because it shows us just how deep our sin goes. It reminds us that we're not sinners because we sin, but that we sin because we're sinners. It's practically ingrained in us, & the problem that Jesus encountered was that people, especially religious people, liked to give the impression that they're OK. It's as if we believe that as long as our sin doesn't become one of the "BIG" or "PUBLIC" sins, we're good, but Jesus says the complete opposite. Jesus says that we're worried about our actions (can people see our sin), while God is concerned about our heart (the root of our sin).

In essence, we try to put band aids on our cancerous, dying lives by acting like we've got it all together. Even after we trust Jesus & accept His gift of forgiveness, we continue this pattern. We try to look healthy even when our lives are drying up. Jesus is concerned about our hearts, not simply our actions. Jesus understands that if He owns our hearts, our actions will eventually be transformed to look like our transforming heart. So how's your heart?

What heart issues are you struggling with? Don't think just about your actions; what is it in your heart that is coming out in your actions? What needs to change in your heart "intake" so that it can be transformed? Rip the band aids off & target the real issue in your life with the power of the Light of the World.

The Myth Of "The Natural"

2010-06-18T14:55:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite movies as a kid was The Natural with Robert Redford. In the movie he was this ridiculously gifted ballplayer who overcomes some obstacles & bad decisions & finally makes it to the big leagues. I loved that movie. I've seen it countless times. But as I've grown I've realized that it's a myth. There really is no such thing as "a natural". In fact, that message is in the movie. Robert Redford's character, Roy, was often told by his dad that "he had a gift, but that it wasn't enough."

A lot of us have been blessed with incredible gifts, but the gift itself is not enough. We have to work at it. We have to cultivate that gift & sharpen those skills where we excel. The problem is that we don't communicate the fact that we're good at something because we work on it. Too often we allow people to simply acknowledge the gift without recognizing the work that goes into the gift.

Leaders, you need to communicate to the people around you that the things they think you are a "natural" at only appear to come naturally because you work on it. In my world, that area is in the realm of speaking. God has blessed me with the gift & the passion for it, but there is so much work that goes in that no one ever sees.

If you want to continue to excel in an area where you're considered a "natural", you have to work on it. You also need the people around you to know that working on that area is a priority to you. If you're a gifted artist, you might be able to crank out a project quickly, but would it be as great as the one that you had time to really prepare & work on the project? I know I can pull off an impromptu talk, but the talk that has been prepared extensively, fine tuned, & prayed over will always be better.

What area are you considered a "natural"? Have you helped others around you realize the work that has to go into that skill? Have you helped them recognize their "natural" gifts? Have you taught them how to work on it & sharpen it?

What Are You Married To?

2010-06-15T10:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I heard a powerful & convicting quote from a somewhat surprising source. Andy Stanley told a group of Southern Baptist pastors, "Most of us are married to a model of ministry, & we flirt with the Great Commission." It's a surprising source because Andy & Northpoint are so closely connected with a model of ministry. It's copied all across America, people flock to conferences so that they can be taught the model, & churches are split over that model & countless other models for "doing church". Andy's quote is a sobering reminder that the WHY of ministry is bigger than the HOW of ministry.

If you're reading this & are either overtly or subconsciously connecting your model as the way to accomplish the Great Commission, you're missing the point. There is no absolutely foolproof model. Models are tools & just like the ones in your toolbox, none of them can handle every job. Models depend on your history, your resources, your culture, but the Great Commission transcends all those things & goes straight to the heart of God: a desire to see people changed by Jesus.

The moral of the story? I think its twofold. First, we shouldn't disregard other models of ministry simply because we've never done it that way before, but secondly, we shouldn't get so wrapped up in our hip, cool, cutting edge model either. In a few years, the world will have changed again & today's cool model may be obsolete. It's the why of ministry that has stood the test of time. When we make that our priority we can free ourselves up as leaders to embrace different methods & models to take care of the how of ministry.

Take a good hard look at the church & ministry you serve in. Are you married to the HOW or the WHY?

The Stronghold of Jesus

2010-06-14T09:57:00.000-05:00

Our church just wrapped up week 2 of our series "Streams" with a look at the stronghold in David's life. In 2 Samuel 5, the Philistines are bringing their full forces against the David, the new king of Israel. David's response to such a threat wasnt' to call together his chief advisers in the situation room. Instead, verse 17 says that "David ran to the stronghold." The idea of the stronghold is a constant theme running through the life of David. It was the place he & his men would retreat to while on the run from Saul. In fact, if you read through the Psalms you'll find it all over the place. David knew that God was his shield, his refuge, his fortress, his stronghold, & his salvation. At the stronghold David found refuge from danger, renewed strength, & a revelation from God. It was a place of safety, a place to regroup, & a place to seek God's direction. As this part of David's story closes, God gives David the guidance & instructions he needs for victory over the Philistines.

The really powerful truth is this: David's stronghold was a place, but our stronghold is a person.

David had a place where he could go to draw near to God, but in Christ, we have the opportunity for God to live in us day by day. The fortress & stronghold can accompany us no matter where we go or what our circumstances may be.

We will encounter battles in life. The question is "What will we do?" & "Where will run?" Will we trust in our own strength & wisdom, or will we run to our stronghold, Jesus Christ, to rest in Him, live in His strength, & discover His will?

7

2010-06-07T10:11:00.001-05:00

It was 7 years ago today that I married the greatest woman in the world. Thinking back a couple of things stick out about that day. First, it was me that picked out the bridesmaid dresses. Anyone who knows Valerie knows that she's not the greatest it comes to making decisions & dress stores present too many options. So I stepped up & made the selection. The second thing is that months & months went into planning a wedding that only lasted a few minutes. Seriously, the ceremony was really short; that's how we wanted it. But there was still months of planning, most of which I thankfully didn't have to deal with, that went into it. I pretty much picked out the bridesmaid dresses, checked out on the planning for a few months, then showed up on the wedding day with my tux.

Oh yeah one other very vivid memory of my wedding is that I didn't get one single bite of my groom's cake. My family took home the leftovers of it, but by the time we got back home from the honeymoon, it had somehow vanished.

Seven years later, Valerie is more amazing now than she has ever been. She's not only a wonderful wife, she's a crazy awesome mother to the two most amazing little girls in the world. I'm truly blessed to have her in my life. I'm like a lot of husbands in that I probably take her for granted too often, but thankfully we have days like today not just to buy cards & gifts & to go out to dinner but to be reminded of the blessing of a wonderful & godly wife.

I love you Valerie.

We'll Miss You

2010-06-01T09:21:00.003-05:00

BUZZ....BUZZ...BUZZ

Every morning for the last several months my phone has awakened me bright & early with a text message. I have to admit that sometimes it was irritating. After all, everybody wants to sleep in every once in awhile. Sadly though, I won't be getting that text with a quick thought & Bible verse every morning anymore. Stephanie Parmer, the student who sent it out everyday to everybody in her contact list passed away yesterday & is now with the Savior she loved so much. She was only 16 & hadn't been following Jesus that long, but in that short time she impacted so many lives. She was silly but unforgettable. Stephanie will surely be missed by everyone who knew here, but let's not forget who she lived for. Let her witness & example challenge & motivate us to live for Christ as she did. She was never ashamed of her Savior, may we follow in her footsteps.

Desperation

2010-05-25T11:03:00.000-05:00

Desperation: that's not a word that many people would like to have attributed to them is it? However, it's an essential ingredient in the Christian faith. Recently I was reading some in Exodus & came to chapter 33. The picture of Moses in this chapter is one of a desperate man. He desperately wants the presence of God to go with Him. In fact, he begs God to not send him & the people away into the Promised Land unless God's presence goes with them. Moses realized that the only thing that set Israel apart from the rest of the world was God, not the people, not Moses, but God.

And it's after this desperate plea that God allows Moses to see a brief glimpse of His glory. It seems to me the lesson here is that desperation for God's presence opens our eyes to see God's glory. The reason why so many of us haven't seen a radical move of God is because we haven't run out of options yet. When you're desperate for God, you've run out of all your "plan B's". You have to have Him or you'll have nothing.

If we want to see God's glory in our churches & ministries, then we have to remain desperate for His presence. Our plans & strategies are great, but they have to be built on a sense of our desperate need for God to act on our behalf.

Hitting The Links

2010-05-22T08:09:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since I highlighted some of the stuff that I've read that I think you should check out too. So here are just a few links to some good stuff.

Craig Groeschel did a series of posts on honor this week. Two of them were particularly good.
To Highly Esteem
Honoring Your Church Leaders
These posts from Craig are really good. I think that in the case of church's, most of the stagnant, lifeless ministries could begin to be cured simply by honoring those that God positions in leadership.

Here's an interesting post from leadership & marketing guru, Seth Godin. In Good at Talking vs. Good at Doing, Seth stresses the need for action over & above talking. I'm pretty sure most ministries & ministry leaders need to read this.

Parents should check out Airplane Mode from Reggie Joiner. Reggie is doing some great things for family ministry & is a voice that both ministry leaders & parents should be listening to.

Who else or what else are you reading that I should know about?

Lead Or Leave

2010-05-19T09:21:00.000-05:00

Much has been made about the fact that so many teenagers, especially guys, leave the church soon after they graduate high school. In fact, I've read studies that put the number as high as 90% that leave the church between high school graduation & college graduation. The problem is fairly complex. Part of it is that we tailor children & youth ministries to appeal to a youth culture, but in many cases, once a student leaves the youth ministry, he or she enters a new church culture: the one of their parents or worse, their grandparents. Some people like to blame youth ministries & say that youth ministries are simply trying to draw a crowd & not really building disciples. While there's a good bit of truth in some of those ideas, it's way bigger than that. It's not just a youth ministry problem; it's a church problem. To take it a step further, it's a church leadership problem.

One of the biggest reasons why young adults walk away from the church is that they don't have a sense of real connection beyond their youth ministry. The bottom line is that many of us as leaders have failed to prepare students to lead in the church. Therefore, they leave the church. This generation desperately wants to be a part of something that matters. It may shock some people to imagine that more students get excited about a ministry project than about a pool party. When I was a teenager that wasn't the case, but this generation is different. They want their lives to count; that means they will only invest their lives in things they believe will count. Too many times we've failed to help them connect that sense of purpose to the mission of the church, & even more often we fail to give them opportunities to lead in a meaningful ministry setting. We've reduced discipleship to a classroom, to a book, to a program. Teaching is important, but some of the best teaching involves getting our hands dirty.

Churches & youth ministries have to work to equip their students to lead in the church if they don't want their students to leave the church. Thoughts?

Lessons Learned-Part 5

2010-05-07T08:06:00.000-05:00

Finally, here are a couple of lessons about what's really important & about not losing your passion for what you do.

9) Your Family Is Way More Important Than Your Ministry
If what you're doing in church is sucking the life out of your family, stop, take a few steps back, & take an honest look at what's going on. Is your place of ministry, whether it's a volunteer or staff position, more important than your role in your family? Seriously, should we even have to ask this question? If the work of the church is destroying the work of God in your family, things have to change. I can't tell you what that will look like, but I can tell you that you can't keep doing what you're doing without some serious consequences. Prioritize where you're irreplaceable, & that place is your family. There are hundreds if not thousands of people who can do your job, but you are the only one who can be the parent or spouse your family needs.

10) If Your Ministry/Leadership Is Your Job, You're Not Really Ministering/Leading
When you blend these two things into one, you're missing the point. I've told teenagers over & over, "You don't always get decide who you lead or how many you lead, you simply get to decide whether you will lead." Ministers especially get wrapped up in thinking their job is their ministry, but that's not really the case. If the only ministry we do, if the only leadership we exert is in our official, paid role, then we're not really ministering or leading; we're providing a service for a price. Some of the most important leadership I've given has been in these months where I haven't been employed by a church.

Lessons Learned-Part 4

2010-05-06T08:10:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of lessons about leadership and how to handle your relationships with successors.

7) Don't Be Ashamed Of Who You Are & How God Has Shaped You
Most ministry leaders waste some of their best years worrying about what others think & trying to figure out how to please those people. Stop it! Instead discover what God is saying to you & work on pleasing Him. Once you've learned how God has made you & shaped you to lead, to do anything less is disobedience in the name of keeping people happy. Here's a not so big secret: Those who lead in the direction God is leading usually make a few people mad along the way. Don't sacrifice your God given character, talent, & vision to lead just to keep some people "happy" who will probably never be happy.

8) Pray For Those Who Step Into Your Shoes
If you're leaving one place of leadership or ministry, pray for whoever follows. It doesn't matter whether you know them or get to meet them face to face, pray for them. Those of us in church world tend to think changing a staff situation is a cure-all, but it's not. Whoever follows you is going to deal with the same stuff you faced, both good & bad. And who better to pray for them than you? After all, you've lived it; you know exactly what they will face & what they will need to overcome obstacles & to continue the momentum in that position. So pray for them. If you can meet them, great. If they're totally anonymous, great. Just pray for them.

God has designed you to lead in a way that is unique to who you are. That means you need to understand who you are to maximize your leadership impact. Also, leadership is a stewardship. One day you won't be the leader anymore; praying for & supporting the leader to follow is an extension of godly leadership.

Lessons Learned-Part 3

2010-05-05T07:39:00.000-05:00

Today I want to share a couple of lessons I've learned that have to do with stepping back & gaining some perspective & on really learning about God's faithfulness to us.

5) Everybody Should Take Sabbaticals
Extended time away from whatever it is you do is important. Stepping back gives you perspective that you can't get when you're in the middle of your work. I know that this is one of the hardest things to do, but you really need to figure out a way to take some extended time off to learn lessons about your leadership or ministry that you would otherwise be unable to learn. On top of the lessons learned, you will be able to recharge & prepare for whatever is next in your ministry or work.

6) God Really Is Faithful
We say stuff like this all of the time in church, but we rarely put ourselves in positions to prove it. We hedge our bets; We have "Plan A", "B", "C" and so on & so on. It's not until you do something radical that you really learn this lesson. It's not until you do something without a safety net that you realize how faithful God is to His people. Yeah, it will probably look crazy, even to you, but if it's done in faithful obedience to God, you can count on His faithfulness in return.

Ironically, God has already taught us that its when we rest (take a Sabbath) from all of our trying & striving, we can see His faithfulness to provide for us. However, most of us will neglect that truth our entire lives. We will never slow down or stop & simply rest in God.

Lessons Learned-Part 2

2010-05-04T08:58:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple more lessons I've learned or relearned over the last few months as I've had time to step back from ministry & reflect on leadership, ministry, & life

3) Trust In Leadership Is Essential
If you don't have this, you don't have anything. You can be talented & charismatic, but if you don't capture the trust of people, your time as their leader will only be as long as it takes them to realize they can't trust you. If you're a point leader, the leaders who follow you must trust that you have their back. They have to know you want what's best for them & not what's best for you. If you fail to do that, they'll eventually leave. It's that simple.

4) There Are More Important Things Than Being Right
This should be obvious, but most of the time we operate like being right is our most important goal. Convincing people that you're right is great...if you're right, but sometimes there's something else that's more important & more powerful: being so comfortable with your position that you don't have to convince others, you simply live it out & let your life speak louder than any other argument.

Both of these are lessons that are true to life in general, but they're incredibly practical to leadership as well.

Lessons Learned

2010-05-03T10:05:00.000-05:00

During this break from day to day church ministry & consequently without a paycheck, I've learned some valuable lessons that I don't think I could have ever learned otherwise. I'll be sharing a list of them today & over the next few days. So here they are in no particular order.

1) Your Real Friends Are Revealed
Unfortunately many relationships within the church aren't built on mutual love but on mutual convenience. As long as the people we're "in relationship" with are useful to us, the so-called relationship appears healthy, but the minute we're no longer useful to each other, the "relationship" dissolves because it was a relationship built on convenience & not a real connection. As a result, you learn very quickly who your real friends were & who you were using & who was using you. It's an ugly but all too real truth in many churches. As leaders we have to understand it & be the first to set out to build authentic relationships, not relationships of convenience.

2) Save, Save, Save
Can you afford to trust God? Literally, can you financially afford to trust God? Many of us can't follow God into a lot of places because we simply haven't created the margin necessary to do so. If you're not building the discipline of saving into the rhythm of your financial life, then you are setting yourself up to be a slave to your bills rather than a servant of your God. In relation to this lesson is another: It doesn't take as much money as you think it does to live. The reason so many of us live paycheck to paycheck is because we choose to not because we're forced to.

Words Matter

2010-04-29T08:53:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I was going through a bunch of stuff in my nightstand, mainly throwing stuff away, in preparation for our move. As I was going through the junk, I found a box I hadn't opened in a LONG time. It was full of notes & cards that I have received over the years from former students, volunteer leaders, & parents. I try to hang on to all the cards I get because somebody to time to sit down & write it, & I value that. I looked through some of the cards & thought back to things like a special 18th birthday celebration that a former student's parents threw where they invited people who had been major influences on their son, & I was privileged to be there. The truth is they had a bigger influence on me than I did on their family. I read some of the notes & wondered where that kid (who is now like 24) is now.

Then I got to the bottom of the box & found a stack of cards that go back all the way to 1995 (That's literally one of them; I scanned it onto my laptop). I was in 11th grade. The cards were from the greatest teacher I ever had; even though sometimes I thought she was just plain nuts! In hindsight, I realize that's what made her great. I was on our school's academic decathlon team (yeah, I know "nerd alert") that year & she was the "coach" of the team. Those cards are full of encouragement that she poured out on all of us who were a part of that group, & she didn't just say those words to us; she took the time to sit down & write us all individual cards & letters of encouragement. Now, almost 15 years later, I still have those cards & it's weird how things she wrote way back then have become reality.

The bottom line: words matter whether their positive or negative. Encouragement is powerful, & we never know just how badly somebody might need to hear a word of encouragement or blessing. Better yet, why not write it down, crystallize that moment, make that blessing concrete, permanent so that they can reflect back years later on how powerful your encouragement was to them. And thanks to Mrs. Kee for teaching me another lesson all these years later.

Crunch Time

2010-04-26T20:11:00.000-05:00

Well, we leave the beach on Tuesday to head back to Phenix City. Once we get home, here's a list of just a few things we have to do. I'm sure Valerie could add more, but I'm looking mainly at the big stuff.

1) Pack everything that's in our house into a box or sell it.
2) Do some work to the house in order to get it ready to sell. Things like replacing a post on our front porch, some touch up painting in some spots, & cleaning the carpets. And of course clean the place from top to bottom on our way out.
3) Get a moving truck & put all the boxes & furniture into the truck.
4) I also have two major projects left for this semester in my seminary classes: a book critique & a research paper. On top of that I have my normal week's work: a few hundred pages, discussion boards, & tests

Oh did I mention we have just two weeks to do all of this? The moving stuff wouldn't be stressing me as much if I didn't have the school stuff bearing down on me. The next two weeks are going to be a blitz for our family. I'll just be glad when we get everything out of the truck & into our new place.

The Calm Before The Storm

2010-04-20T08:16:00.001-05:00

Today we're going to head over to Ft. Walton Beach/Destin, FL to spend a few days relaxing on the beach before heading back home. Once we get back, the moving blitz begins. We've got a few minor things we've got to do to the house to get it ready to put on the market. Then of course, there's the packing & more importantly the throwing away or selling. One positive thing about moving is that it can be a great opportunity to get rid of some stuff that's been cluttering up your house. One top of all of this, I'm coming down the home stretch of this semester's seminary work. I've got book critiques, tests, & research papers coming over the next 2-3 weeks as we're getting ready to move. So I'm hoping that we can enjoy the next few days at the beach before we have to get to work in order to make our move. We'd definitely appreciate your prayers as we tackle everything we've got ahead in the next few weeks.

We're Moving

2010-04-18T14:56:00.000-05:00

Today our family was at First Baptist Church of Robertsdale, AL in view of a call for the position of Student Minister. Yesterday I had a great meeting with some of the leadership of the church where I had the opportunity to share my vision for ministry. It was a great time to hear from them & to share the vision for ministry that God has given me. After that, we had a meet & greet with more people from the church. This allowed me to meet some families that I hadn't already met. I was pretty impressed with the fact that some families with children who weren't in the student ministry yet came to the meet & greet & actually had some well thought out things they wanted to talk with me about.

This morning we had a great worship experience centered on the mission that God has called us to to advance His Kingdom around the world. I even got to meet a guy that we'll be working with in Moldova who knows my friend Roger Glidewell & Jamey Dickens who served as a Global Mentor in Moldova through Global Youth Ministry. Definitely a small world!

So with today, we close a one chapter & get ready to start a new one in the coming weeks. Thanks to everybody who has been praying for us over the last several months. It's been a tough time for us, but I know I've learned lessons I would have never learned otherwise. I'll be sharing some of those soon. Thanks again.

Prayer Request

2010-04-16T08:47:00.000-05:00

This weekend my family & I will be heading to a town just north of the Alabama gulf coast for our final visit with a church there about the possibility of my leading the student ministry there. I'll be meeting specifically with the deacons, administrative team, & staff on Saturday before a church-wide meet & greet in the afternoon. We've met a lot of the students & their families, but this will be an opportunity to meet more people outside that specific group.

On Sunday I'll share a little bit about myself during the worship service. Following the service, the church will vote whether or not to formally offer me the position. Should they make the offer & should we accept, we'll probably be hanging around town for another day chasing down leads to secure housing. Valerie has already been doing some research in that department & has found some possibilities.

We ask that you pray for FBC & our family as we continue to seek God's direction in this process. Everything so far has been a very positive experience, but we don't want to make a decision based on our feelings but upon His will. Thanks.

The Battlefield Is The Same

2010-04-14T10:05:00.000-05:00

Right now I'm right in the middle of my Systematic Theology I class in seminary, & the other night I told Valerie that pretty much the one thing I've learned in all of this studying is that as much as we like to think we've evolved or grown, the battlefield that people live their lives on is the same. It's the battlefield for the truth.

We like to look at different eras in human history & think that things are totally different than in any other time. It's human nature to think that we're so unique that no one else, no other era in history or culture has experienced what we're experiencing. Specifically, it seems like in our time, people like to say that things are worse than they've ever been, but the more I study God's Word, history, theology, & all that stuff, the more I'm convinced that we're still pretty much the same. We're still battling to find truth, yet so many of us in the middle of a battle for the truth suppress the truth. We try to find the truth in ourselves, even though we'd admit that we're pretty screwed up people. That doesn't seem like a good place to find truth, I'm just saying.

If we are going to find the truth, we have to look outside of ourselves. We're too easily deceived by ourselves. We believe our own lies more quickly than anyone else's. The truth is available for us. God has revealed Himself to us in the creation around us, in our own internal sense of right & wrong (even though we like to ignore it), through His word, & most clearly through His Son Jesus. If we want to discover the truth, we have to look somewhere else than in the mirror.

That's Not Fair!

2010-04-13T10:23:00.001-05:00

One of the greatest tensions in leadership is the desire to be fair. The concept of fairness is pervasive in our culture. Everyone demands that they be treated fairly, that they get their fair share. When that cultural norm bumps into our role as a leader, there is inevitable tension. Leaders have decisions to make that will affect people, & those people demand that the leader lead in a way that is fair, & the leader himself feels the pull toward fairness in his own leadership. However, there is something bigger than fairness pulling at the leader as well, & if you're a Christian leader, this is especially true. The longer you lead the more you realize that fairness & leadership are really incompatible. Fairness is usually determined by our present desires, but leadership demands we see the long-term destination.

Absolute fairness in leadership is a myth. It doesn't exist & never has. God Himself doesn't even treat us fairly. After all, if God were fair & gave us what we deserved, it would be really ugly. Even if you just brought it down to the level of fairness that we usually operate on which is all about what we think we need right now, God wouldn't dare treat us "fairly". If He gave us what we wanted now, it's likely that it would ultimately destroy us. Instead God does what all good leaders do: He keeps the big picture, the long-term destination in view.

As a leader, you have the responsibility of leading people into a future that they won't always see or understand. In the midst of that, you'll probably hear, "That's not fair," but don't be distracted by the world's mantra. Fix your eyes on the finish line, on the destination that you have been called to lead others to. Don't try to be absolutely fair; it's impossible. In fact, it's actually an enemy to your organization, ministry, or family.

Spiritually Stunted Babies-Part 4

2010-04-08T10:10:00.000-05:00

This week I've been looking at how spiritually stunted babies are like real, physical babies. This whole idea came out of observing my two little girls, especially our 2 year old Audrey. So here's the last parallel that I want us to look at. When we act like spiritual babies or when we're spiritually stunted...

We Still Need Someone To Clean Up Our Mess

Believe me I could have used much more descriptive terminology because I'm thinking about a particular mess. Parents might not want to admit it, but the truth is that one of the greatest days in parenthood is not the day your child takes his first steps or speaks her first words; it's the day when your child finally learns how to use the potty all by himself! It's a great day when a parent doesn't have to deal with poopy diapers & all that goes with it, but imagine what it would be like if your child never hit that milestone. It wouldn't merely be gross; it would be tragic. They would forever be dependent on someone else to take care of a basic need.

Spiritually stunted babies are just as tragic. They constantly are running to someone else to clean up the mess in their life. Sure, every now & then we all need the help of others, but we all know people who are constantly having crises that they can't deal with on their own, & they need their pastors or some other spiritual leader to "fix" their mess.

Leaders, at some point you have to put the baby on the potty & let them learn how to deal with the poop in their life. If you don't challenge your people to deal with their crap & take responsibility for it, you are part of the problem. Why are you stunting them? Do you feel a desperate need to feel needed, & these clean up projects help meet that need? It may make you feel indispensable, but it's tragic. You are setting up those you lead to forever be dependent on someone else to actually deal with their issues. They'll never learn how to deal with the messes they make, with the conflicts they're a part of, or to take responsibility for their own growth.

Spiritually Stunted Babies-Part 3

2010-04-07T07:34:00.000-05:00

Sadly, churches are filled with spiritually stunted babies who cling to their routines & who throw fits when someone dares to challenge the statues quo. Why are these people stunted in their growth? Here's a possible answer:

We Still Need Some Help Feeding Ourselves

It's funny to watch a little kid try to feed themselves. They get as much food on them as in them. It's cute when they're learning how to manipulate a fork or spoon to get the food to their mouth, but it's not cute when all of this happens & a few minutes after the meal, the kid is complaining because he or she is hungry. For most kids there is a stage where they should be able to feed themselves but sometimes they still need Mom or Dad to spoonfeed them in order to get what they need.

Spiritual babies are not that different. They either don't know how or refuse to feed themselves spiritually. To draw a parallel, they get just enough of God's Word into their lives to make a mess. That's why it's not uncommon for spiritually stunted babies to be self-righteous hypocrites who hold people to standards of "holiness" that aren't even biblical. Each Sunday they climb into their high-chairs, known as a pew, & demand to be fed by the pastor or their small group leader. If you want a picture of a spiritually stunted baby, go check out the Pharisees in the Gospels. They embody the idea of spiritually stunted.

The question leaders must ask themselves in this area is, "Have we actually taught people how to feed themselves?" Too often we assume that because people are in church, they know how to discover the truth of God's word & how to apply it on their on. That's not always the case. Leaders, take time to teach people to feed themselves; don't keep them in the high-chair just to stroke your ego & to make yourself feel needed. Yes, teaching them to feed themselves is messy, but in the end, you'll be equipping them to take responsibility for their own growth.

Spiritually Stunted Babies-Part 2

2010-04-06T07:25:00.000-05:00

All of us hit the pause button from time to time in our spiritual growth, but sometimes something happens and our growth gets completely stunted. It's as if we're spiritual 2 year olds & we definitely know how to show it. Here's the second way to spot the spiritually stunted babies:

We Still Throw Fits

Yesterday I talked about the fact that little kids love routine & when that routine gets messed up, the kid usually flips. That of course leads to the fit. We've all seen them. The kid momentarily loses their mind as well as control of their body. They jump up & down or roll around uncontrollably; there's usually crying or screaming involved. It's fun, big fun, but usually if the parent can wait it out, it's over relatively quickly.

The same is true of a spiritual baby. Babies, both spiritual & physical, are still primarily focused on themselves & their needs. And both spiritual & physical babies cry & throw fits when they have a need they think is going unmet. Here's the thing: not all fits are the result of purely selfish desires. A lot of times the needs are real, but the way a person goes about expressing the need is what is selfish. That's where it takes real leadership to determine whether you're dealing with a selfish person or someone who has some growing to do & is just acting selfish.

So the next time that person throws a fit because you messed with their routine, you have to figure out whether they're being selfish at the time or if they are just plain selfish. A lot of times a little kid needs you to stop & explain things further to calm them down. Then they're good. Remember that simple practice next time somebody throws a fit.

Spiritually Stunted Babies

2010-04-05T08:21:00.000-05:00

All Christians go through seasons where we aren't growing. It may be due to our laziness or it may be some other sin that drags us off the path of Christ, but no matter what the cause, we've all been there. Those who deny that are lying to themselves! However, I've also noticed that our churches are filled with a lot of people who don't look like it, but they are spiritual babies. They've been Christians for a long time, but somewhere along the way their growth was stunted. They may know the language & the culture, but in reality they're reliving the same year(s) of their faith over & over again.

This week I'm going to give you handfull of ways you can spot the spiritually stunted babies around you or maybe that stunted baby is the person looking back in the mirror (that's how it is for me sometimes). Here's the first way that we (church people) act like spiritually stunted babies:

We Like Routine

Babies like routines. Babies need routines in order to function at their best. Try messing with a two year old's routine & see what happens (we'll talk more about that tomorrow)! But here's something I've noticed: Little kids get into routines & they expect their parents to keep them up even if the child doesn't really participate. For example, my younger daughter learned a little prayer song & she insists that we sing it at meals & at bedtime along with our other prayers. She would sing along enthusiastically, but lately she doesn't participate at all. But guess what? If we try to skip the song, which is getting kind of old to her mother & me, she freaks. She has to have it done that way.

In the same way, our churches have been built on routine, & there is nothing inherently wrong with that. Routine is important, but why should a routine stay in place when it is no longer useful? But that's exactly what happens in many ministries. The routine & the status quo are guarded, even at the expense of the ministry.

Watch out when you start messing with the routine. Those who need it will freak.

Who's The Boss?

2010-03-31T09:06:00.000-05:00

It's not uncommon for these two terms to be taken as synonymous, but I think there's a subtle difference that we need to understand.

Bosses motivate from their positional authority.

Leaders motivate from their relational connections.

Maybe I've oversimplified a little bit, but not by much. Bosses know they have leverage because their position in the organization says so. Meanwhile, leaders know that their followers have a choice as to whether or not to follow them. When a leader begins to operate more as a boss, he or she is expending that precious relational capital that he or she has been building with those he or she leads. Effective leaders understand that having positional authority isn't enough. They understand that in order to really lead & motivate others there has to be an ongoing relational connection built on trust, integrity, mutual submission, & love. When those things begin to erode, leadership erodes. How can someone follow a leader that he cannot trust? How can a person follow the leader that she doesn't feel a sense of love & concern from?

The differences may be subtle, but the effects won't be. Leaders who act more like bosses will lose followers because following is a choice.

What are the implications for this idea in your life? At work? In your church? In your home?

Leadership Roudtable

2010-03-30T12:06:00.000-05:00

If I could sit down around a table with 10 other leaders for a day of discussion & learning, these are the people I would invite (& who would accept the invitation because this is hypothetical). I've also linked to their blog, twitter, or Facebook page so that you can check them out further.

1) Andy Stanley
Anybody who knows me, knew this name would be at the top or near the top of the list. His leadership and developing of other leaders has been highly influential in my life & ministry.

2) Roger Glidewell
My friend & mentor Roger Glidewell has forgotten more about ministry than many of us will ever learn. I've known him for over 10 years, & I still learn fresh insights from him everytime we talk.

3) Ben Arment
Ben is a young leader who God is using to do some really cool stuff. He's got a new book on the way called "Church In The Making". Would love to spend a couple of hours downloading some stuff from him.

4) Anne Jackson
Anne is real, sometimes uncomfortably real, with her readers, but that's what makes her compelling. She doesn't just deal in platitudes; she's firmly planted in the real world.

5) Michael Hyatt
Michael is the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing & an uber-blogger. The man is loaded with wisdom, & I'd love to have some of it rub off on me.

6) Perry Noble
Perry brings a fresh, fiery edge to the contemporary church leadership landscape. He asks hard questions & isn't afraid to give his opinion.

7) Truett Cathy
Not only could Truett Cathy give us all insight on how to lead with integrity, even when it doesn't make sense in the market, he could also provide lunch. And I'm always up for some Chick-fil-a.

8) Carla Sanderson
Carla is the Provost of Union University in Jackson, TN, & she's like family to me. She understands leadership like few people I've been around. Union would not be what it has become today without her leadership.

9) Rick Warren
Rick has been criticized over & over from people on the left & the right, yet he keeps moving right along. He's also stated that he's devoting the second half of his ministry to developing future leaders of the church. How can any of us argue with a goal like that?

10) John David Mangrum
It's most likely that you have no idea who this guy is...yet. I met John David about a year ago in preparation to work with church plants in Greenville, SC. J.D. & his wife Natalie picked up & moved to Greenville to start Origins Church in order to reach downtown Greenville. They pretty much knew no one & on top of that, they were expecting their first child. Last summer some students & I spent a week working with J.D., & I was really struck by his humble leadership & his vision to reach downtown.

As I was making the list, I realized how hard it was to keep it to 10 & keep it somewhat diverse. Who would you like to spend a day with, sitting around a table & learning from one another?

The Prerequisite For Growth

2010-03-26T08:46:00.000-05:00

Just the other day I was talking with a friend who has really been struggling with some stuff over the last several months. Long story short, there has been some conflicts in his life that he has tried to work on, but he doesn't seem to be able to make any headway with the others involved. At the same time, the issues are not just things he could walk away from. So he's learned some of the lessons that you can only learn through perseverance. As we talked, he made this statement to me, "I'm glad this junk didn't get resolved 3 or 4 months ago because I wouldn't have learned the lessons that I've learned." Wow, talk about getting some perspective. How many of us can say we're glad that some of the junk in our life won't go away because we're learning from it?

In the course of the conversation, I had this thought: The only reason he has grown in this is because he was willing to admit he had room to grow. In the process of this conflict, he has recognized his part and talked about how he messed up, & that's the difference: humility. You cannot grow without humility. Humility is a prerequisite for growth. Pride says, "I have it all figured out", "I'm right", "I don't have to change". Meanwhile humility says, "I don't have all the answers", "I could be wrong, stranger things have happened, or "I still have a long way to go".

How many opportunities have we missed out where God really wanted to teach us something or stretch us, but because we were too proud to admit our need to grow, we let it slip through our hands?

have to vs HAVE TO

2010-03-25T08:56:00.000-05:00

As I've been reading Seth Godin's Linchpin, I've been blown away by some of the insights that Seth brings out. On of the concepts that is central to the book is the idea of "the work", namely the indispensable part of what you & I do in our jobs or ministries. "The work" actually makes up a small part of what we actually do everyday, but it's the stuff that can make us vital. A thought came to mind as I was reading:

There's work that we have to do & then there's the work we HAVE to do.

What I mean by that is that whether you're a student, an accountant, a teacher, or a pastor, there are things that you "have" to do; it's required; it's in your job description. However, at the same time there is the part of your work that you HAVE to do. It's that part of what you do that makes you come alive; it's the part of your work that sets you apart from everyone else in the classroom or office. If you don't do it, you don't feel like yourself; you don't feel like you've brought everything you could to the table. In short, you feel incomplete. The tension is leaning into the stuff that we have to do so that we can do the work that we HAVE to do. Usually the stuff that we feel is mindless & pointless only serves to put us in a place where we can do that part of our work that is unique & potentially game changing.

What are the "have to's" that you struggle with doing? What are the "HAVE TO'S" that make you come alive, that set you apart from those around you? How do you manage to push through the "have to's" in order to do the "HAVE TO'S"?

25 Random Things

2010-03-21T22:20:00.001-05:00

1) These folks are on heavy rotation on my iPod right now: The Band, U2, Andy Stanley, Bela Fleck, Eric Clapton, Carlos Whittaker, Randy Newman, The Allman Bros. Band.

2) My latest obsession is 24 (Yeah, I know it's been on TV for like 7 or 8 years)

3) I've met a few "famous" people. My coolest brushes with celebrities were meeting Steven Curtis Chapman & his wife in a bookstore in my hometown & meeting John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin (my favorite band ever).

4) Some ministry goals include doing ministry on every continent, preaching at FBC Jackson (they helped giveme a great start), & speaking at Global Youth Camp (led by my mentor Roger Glidewell).

5) One of my childhood obsessions was The Dukes of Hazzard.

6) Some of my favorite meals are Enchilasagna (my wife makes it...awesome), BBQ, & fresh seafood.

7) I received an A in a class that I never attended in college. Thanks to whoever that professor was!

8) I've swam in the Arctic Ocean

9) Never tried sushi until a couple months ago, & it was in Bentonville, Arkansas. Something tells me that probably wasn't the best place to have my first sushi experience.

10) Some of my best memories include: grilling out & taking roadtrips to the Swamp with Clayton, Larry, Ben, & Andrew, staying up way too late & causing trouble at the Renaissance Hotel in Atlanta with Nick, Colin, Evan, Lane, & Jared, & having deep conversations in the early morning hours with Andy Dodd & Stan Key.

11) If I weren't in ministry I'd probably be a lawyer or politician (weird huh?).

12) If you made me pick an absolute favorite movie, it would have to be The Shawshank Redemption.

13) If you made me pick an absolute favorite book, it would have to be The Lord of the Rings for fiction & Visioneering for nonfiction.

14) I love studying history. When you dig beneath the bare-bones stuff they cover in textbooks, you get a much bigger & more human picture of the events that shaped the world in which we now live.

15) I was honored to be asked to participate in the memorial service for a member of the 82nd Airborne Division who jumped into Sainte Mere Eglise on the night leading up to D-Day in WWII.

16) I've sung "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at the top of my lungs with a couple of other guys in a totally empty Wrigley Field. One of the guys climbed in a dumpster outside the stadium to get a piece of the old grass that had recently been replaced. I settled for a chunk of brick that was broken off the wall behind homeplate.

17) The first song I learned to play on guitar was "Every Rose Has Its Thorn". Sad, but true.

18) I preached my first sermon on March 19, 1995, the day after Michael Jordan returned to the Chicago Bulls. It's weird how you remember some things.

19) I've been to a lot of concerts. The most surprisingly good one was Fleetwood Mac's reunion tour that I wasn't even planning to go to & the most disappointing was one of the times I went to see Eric Clapton. Even my dad, who thinks Clapton is the man, would tell you something wasn't right about that show.

20) If I had to recommend one band to you that you've most likely not heard of, it would New Grass Revival.

21) I went to college less than a mile from where I went to high school. It may seem kinda sad to you, but it was definitely the right choice.

22) Growing up my family owned a piano that no one could play. Seriously, nobody had a clue about that thing. Plus it was in a room that you pretty much couldn't get in because it was so junky. Never understood why that thing came into our house. My day probably wonders about that too.

23) I just noticed that I have dried snot on my leg, presumably from one of my children.

24) I regularly volunteer to clear the table & do the dishes after dinner, but only because bathtime for the kids follows dinner, & I'd rather wash dishes than my kids. Bathtime makes me crazy.

25) I have asphalt embedded in my hands & feet from two separate incidents, one that involves being dragged behind a truck. Painful is an understatement.

Headed South

2010-03-20T10:22:00.000-05:00

Looking forward to spending some time this weekend at a church in south Alabama with a group of volunteers and staff talking about youth ministry. I'm excited to talk with them about where they have been, where they are, & where God wants to take them next. And I can't wait to preach Sunday morning. I never get tired of sharing from God's Word. I love it. I'll be sharing some insights that I picked up from the life of David that I think are so central to our growth as disciples & as leaders.

Already had some great fresh seafood (Thanks to all the cooks). That's always a bonus about heading down to the coast.

Would appreciate your prayers as I hang out with these great folks this weekend.

Dear Southern Baptists...Part 4

2010-03-18T07:24:00.000-05:00

One final thought for my partners in crime in the SBC; it's simple: Work Together. I'm not just talking about supporting the Cooperative Program. I'm talking about truly working together & supporting one another & the work God is doing in our ministries. Can I ask a question: "Why are we willing to support ministry in Africa or some other faraway place, but we won't support the ministry across town?" Why is it so hard for church planters to get local support in most places? While I've seen some places that are extremely open to church planters, I also know that in a lot of places, they're seen as competition. I personally know a planter who couldn't even get meetings with local pastors to share his vision. When will we realize there are more than enough lost people for all of our churches and then some? When will we realize that we can accomplish far more together than on our own?

Perhaps the reason so many of our churches have stopped growing is because we're too worried about protecting our turf instead of looking to take new ground. Churches should definitely seek God's leadership for their individual congregations, but shouldn't leaders also seek God's leadership as to how they can work together on some things to impact their communities? Shouldn't they also work together to see how they can really support & help one another in ministry? We should work together to complete one another rather than compete with one another. When we stop playing defense against other churches & ministries & collectively go on the offensive to advance the Gospel, we'll see an awakening like none of us have ever seen.

Dear Southern Baptists...Part 3

2010-03-17T08:09:00.000-05:00

Here's the deal, most denominations are, but especially the SBC is in desperate need of new blood in leadership. Sadly, there is still a "good ole boy" system in a lot of the SBC. The result is twofold: young leaders check out altogether from the denomination (the funny thing is that many of these young leaders are doing some great stuff in a non-denominational setting) or the young leaders lash out at the establishment which of course leads to a backlash from the establishment.

This shouldn't surprise us. Young leaders, by nature, challenge the status quo. It's part of their DNA, & there is nothing wrong with it. However, if these young leaders haven't been trained in how to channel that energy, it can become destructive. This is where the older, more seasoned leaders in the SBC (church & denominational level) need to invest in these young leaders. In recent years, there have been some steps taken in this direction but not nearly enough. There are some amazing young leaders in the SBC who are beginning to get some attention like Matt Chandler & David Platt, but there are more out there, & they need to be brought into the rethinking of how the convention is going to function in this new, potentially post-denominational, world. The old ways of thinking are probably not going to work in this new era.

Let's keep pushing the envelope in this area. Young leaders, don't check out; don't lash out. Instead, let's find some constructive ways to enter the dialogue & to initiate change. It's time to change the game.

Who are other great young leaders in the SBC that are flying under the radar but who need to be recognized & need to get into the mix of what's going on in the SBC?

Dear Southern Baptists...Part 2

2010-03-16T09:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I encouraged SBC leaders both at the church & denominational level to stick with what we do best: working together for the advancement of the Gospel. Our mission endeavors at home & abroad & our equipping of students & church leaders should be our priority, not politics, not social issues, simply the Gospel & raising up leaders for God's movement. The ironic thing is when we focus on the Gospel, the social issues are impacted by it. but for some reason we're backwards.

Today I want to ask a serious question, "Why Do We Always Have To Pick A Fight?" A lot of times the SBC is seen as the antagonist pitted against the pro-choice or homosexual community, but just as often we're antagonists toward one another! We've fought & split churches & shamed the Bride of Christ over issues like music, the role of women, alcohol, and now one of the biggest issues facing SBC churches is the issue of Calvinism. In fact, right now in my homestate of Tennessee a somewhat anonymous memo has been circulating through churches that is designed to help churches "smoke-out" Calvinist pastors & get rid of them. I'm not here to debate Calvinist theology, but I do have a question, "Do we really not have any other important things to take care of as churches?"

When we fight like this, no matter who wins, we all lose. Well, all of us except the enemy. We're never going to have perfectly uniform theology in every pulpit & church in the denomination. If we were, we would be setting the denomination back about 500 year to the pre-Reformation era when there was only one church, & that didn't work too well either did it? Instead of focusing on all of our differences, why can't we rally around our common cause? I know both Calvinist & Arminian leaders who are passionate about the authority of Scripture, the sovereignty of God, & the urgency of missions. Why can't we band together around that instead of taking cheap shots at one another?

What are some other examples of silly, self-defeating fights that those of us in the SBC have gotten into that did nothing but stall the movement of God in our churches? How do we resolve some of the tensions & get on the same page?

Dear Southern Baptists...

2010-03-15T12:05:00.000-05:00

This week I want to talk a little bit about my spiritual heritage. I grew up in a SBC church & attended a SBC university. However, I have never over-identified myself as a Southern Baptist. In fact, it saddens me when someone seems to be more proud of their SBC membership than their part in the Body of Christ. So I want to write this week about the SBC, not to bash it, although I will challenge the status quo on some things & not to stroke the SBC ego, although I will point out a couple of areas where progress is being made.

In some ways, I think we have entered a post-denominational era, but I don't think that means the denominations have to be dissolved, but it does mean that the denominations will have to rethink how they work as an organization & as individual churches. That's why my first word to the SBC is this: Stick With What We Do Best. Baptists aren't good at politics, & usually we have been terrible at PR, but historically we've been really good at working together so that the Gospel goes forward. In this new era, I think it's so important that the SBC focus on missions both at home & abroad. That's what we've always been good at. Stop trying to transform the political landscape & start transforming the culture with the power of the Gospel. Our collective resources should be going to equipping & sending missionaries, setting up church planters, & equipping college students at our universities & seminaries to be the church in whatever field they go into. If that means some of our state entities have to cut back, so be it. This should be THE priority. It should be the thing that defines us, both inside the denomination and out; right now, that's not the case.

I'm no SBC big-wig. In fact, no SBC big-wigs are likely to read this, but that's OK because change in the SBC won't come from the big wigs; it will come from the people on the ground who refuse to be distracted from our calling. I know what God can do in & through us, but I also know how easily we've been distracted from our calling, from the only thing that matters, from the only thing we've been perfectly equipped & empowered by the Holy Spirit to do. Let's stick with what we do best, & let the other stuff take care of itself as God transforms the hearts & lives of people we are able to reach with the Gospel.

Ship It

2010-03-13T12:42:00.000-06:00

I'm reading through Seth Godin's latest book Linchpin right now (I know I'm behind but needed a break in class schedule so that I could focus on this). Just read a quote in the book from Steve Jobs that says, "Real Artists Ship." The point is that whatever you've created isn't art until it's shipped out for people to interact with. It's just a project until it ships. That doesn't sit well with perfectionists because we like the project to be perfect before it is revealed. The problem is that anything you actually create (art) will not be perfect. No matter how hard you work it will not achieve total perfection. Godin goes on to say "Shipping isn't focused on producing a masterpiece." Instead, it's focused on finishing & sharing. If you started that project, isn't it worth finishing, even if it's not perfect? Isn't it worth sharing with others?

So whether it's that blog post that your trying to make absolutely perfect or that lesson plan or sermon that you just have to fine tune one more time, hit publish, ship it, share it. Is it perfect? No. Does it have to be perfect to leave an impact? Again, no.

What are you working on that you are afraid to ship? Isn't it worth finishing & sharing with the world? If not, why did you start it? At one point you thought it was worth it, & it was, & it still is.

Think Orange

2010-03-12T12:57:00.000-06:00

I just recently finished reading "Think Orange" by Reggie Joiner. Reggie was one of the founding pastors of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA. Reggie led the family ministries at North Point, and along the way Reggie realized the desperate need for the church to really partner with the home in the spiritual teaching of children and teenagers and to have an integrated strategy for family ministry in the church. "Think Orange" lays out the principles behind this strategy for family ministry. I would encourage all pastors along with their children & youth staff to read this book. You don't have to buy into everything that Reggie lays out, but it will make you think and hopefully ask some serious questions about your ministries and your partnership with the families of your church.

10 Things About Audrey

2010-03-10T07:30:00.000-06:00

Well Sunday was Julia's 4th birthday, and today is Audrey's 2nd birthday. As you can imagine, the last few days have been a party (especially with grandparents in town to spoil the girls). Here are a few things about the latest member of the terrible two crew.

10) Audrey is tough. You might not know to look at her, but she doesn't let big sister push her around. There have been times when Valerie had to hold her after an accidental fall b/c she knew that Audrey would go punch Julia for accidentally knocking her down.
9) Audrey loves spicy food. I'm serious, I've watched her eat salsa out of her bare hand, no chips, just a handful of salsa.
8) Audrey loves going outside but hates getting "outside" on her hands. If she falls in the grass & gets a little dirt or leaves or grass on her hands, it's as if she's paralyzed. She'll just sit there until somebody helps her up & cleans her hands
7) Audrey has no fear. I'm sure most of this is that she watches her older sister, who was a big coward at Audrey's age, & thinks she can do whatever Julia does, & for the most part she does. She'll climb up on stuff & jump off, hoping someone will catch her, or she may just dive head first off of the couch just for the fun of it.
6) Audrey is funny. By that I mean she intentionally does things for a laugh. She's not funny by accident. She works on it. Anybody who knows Valerie knows that Audrey definitely got her sense of humor from Valerie (and to those who don't know Valerie, that was sarcasm).
5) Audrey loves her sister. Not only does she copy everything Julia does, but when we pick her up from the nursery at church, she couldn't care less about seeing us. The first thing out of her mouth every week is "JuJu"; then she takes off down the hall toward Julia's classroom.
4) Audrey actually sleeps in her bed all night, in the dark. This is a big deal because Julia still hasn't mastered this.
3) Audrey is great at hiding. She will find a place to hide, & then get really quiet, like you could be standing within a few feet & you might not realize she's there.
2) Audrey can count. She doesn't know she can count, but she always knows exactly how many pacifiers she goes to bed with & if at any point, one is unaccounted for she alerts me so that I can find it for her. That doesn't get annoying at 4am at all.
1) Audrey loves music. Of course, Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus is big with her, but just a couple of weeks ago, she was standing on my bed holding a tiny toy guitar that goes with a Hannah Montana doll pretending to play while some Eric Clapton was playing on my Ipod/alarm clock. My dad & my friends would be proud!

Happy Birthday Audrey!

10 Things About JuJu

2010-03-05T08:38:00.000-06:00

This weekend is Julia's 4th birthday, so I thought I'd share some stuff that you may or may not know about her. Hope this doesn't come back to haunt her in 10 or 12 years (actually I hope it does; it will keep the boys away).

Here are 10 things about Julia in no particular order.

10) Julia loves coffee, but she won't drink from her own cup. She prefers to drink from mine.

9) Her favorite book: whatever Dora, Berenstain Bears, or Princess book she has most recently brought home from the library.

8) Her favorite movie: I would say it's a toss up between Cinderella & Hannah Montana the Movie, but she usually prefers to watch episodes of shows like Dora, Hannah Montana, or something like that recorded on DVD. Movies require too long of an attention span.

7) Favorite Restaurant: Too close to call between Olive Garden & Chick-fil-a (definitely my child). Olive Garden is huge to her b/c of the breadsticks & Chick-fil-a has a playground & kid's get free ice cream.

6) Julia is actually a very good card player. Uno is her specialty but she's getting better at Go Fish. I told her there's a city of lights out in the desert just waiting for her.

5) Julia is obsessed with her reflection. She sits at the dinner table & does silly stuff so she can watch her reflection in the glass of our china cabinet.

4) Julia is all girl except for one thing: WRESTLING. She loves putting on makeup, even if she does look like Lady Gaga when she's finished, but she loves to wrestle. She stands there & huffs & puffs. Then she says, "I'm getting mean!" right before she jumps on you.

3) Julia loves Audrey. She says that she's her best friend. Hopefully that won't change too much. That will make my house a lot calmer during the teenage years.

2) Julia is the worst person in the world to try to watch a movie with. You literally have to explain everything that's happening & why. I always thought Disney movies were for little kids but apparently they need explaining as if we were watching some artsy movie with French dialogue.

1) Julia just learned how to say "living room" this week. For the last year and half, it's been the :wuh-wuh-wuh wum" (that's my best attempt at spelling the noise she would make). Now she really over-enunciates "li-ving room". I guess it is a little sad, but at least now we don't have to translate it.

Happy Birthday Julia.

Acquaintance or Hearsay?

2010-03-03T10:28:00.000-06:00

A.W. Tozer in writing about the Holy Spirit said, "Acquaintance is always better than hearsay." He was talking the necessity for the Holy Spirit working in & through Christian leaders. His fear was that leaders would have heard stories about how the Holy Spirit without every having experienced it for themselves. He knew that if that happened there was a chance that eventually people wouldn't even think about those past stories of the Holy Spirit's work.

As leaders in the church, we have to remember that we cannot program or produce the thing that God is calling us to. The mission is just too big! However, we will always face the temptation to believe we can. Now more than ever, with all the resources available to us, we will be tempted to by-pass the power of the Holy Spirit in our own lives & in our ministries in favor of cool stories from the past & all the cool technical things we can use to produce a program.

While I think we are called to create environments for ministry, we have to remember that we can't produce the experience that we and those we lead so desperately need: a real, life-altering encounter with God. That can only be produced by the work of the Holy Spirit. So, we need to work our tails off to create the right kind of environments, but we also better be praying our tails off, begging God to add the one thing that we cannot provide, but that is absolutely essential in leading people to a growing relationship with Christ.

If you had to tell a story of how the Holy Spirit is working in & through your life, how old would that story be? If you have to go back 2 or 3 years, could it be that you are leaning on hearsay rather than an acquaintance with the Holy Spirit?

2010-03-02T10:46:00.000-06:00

I Don't Have To Do That

Last night I watched a couple of my favorite new shows, Pawn Stars & 24 (I know 24 isn't new, but I finally caught up with the rest of the world). During the episode of Pawn Stars, Rick who is co-owner with his dad, the Old Man, was complaining about how messed up their stockroom was. Their pawn shop in Vegas on a given day has anywhere from 3000 to 4000 items back there, & theoretically, it's supposed to be organized. Rick's son, Corey, is supposed to be in charge of this as manager of the shop. When Rick & the Old Man confronted Corey & his sidekick Chumlee about the situation, Corey responded, "I'm the manager, I don't have to do that!". As you can imagine that infuriated Rick & the Old Man; guess where Corey spent the next several hours? Yep, the stockroom. Unfortunately, it's that kind of attitude that could keep Corey from growing into being a leader. Managers "don't have to do that"; leaders "do that even if they don't have to".

Now contrast that with 24 & Jack Bauer. Jack isn't even supposed to be in the middle of this mess, but he is. Guess where Jack is in the middle of the crisis? He's out in front. Even though he's in charge, he's the first one in on the operation, & it's not because Jack enjoys smacking people around or shooting people (although he does); it's because Jack is a leader. And as Jack leads he inspires the other guys he's working with.

The difference between leading & managing is in what a person thinks is "beneath them". A leader understands that he has to expect more from himself than he does from others. He may not be able to do it all, but he can do enough that the others around him are inspired to follow & do what he can't.

What have you said, "I don't have to do that," about? Maybe getting in there & doing that is the one thing that is holding you back from a breakthrough in your leadership.

2010-02-25T09:46:00.000-06:00

Three Questions

Integrity is essential to being a leader. The path to influence is paved with integrity. Integrity is what ultimately inspires people to give you influence in their life that goes beyond simply having a position of power over them. It has to be a priority for leaders. I love what Perry Noble says, "If we don't make integrity an issue, one day it will be an issue." Here are three questions to ask to see how you're doing?

Am I More Loyal To God Or Myself?
Integrity means being unified or whole. That means we cannot have divided loyalties. Unfortunately, the two biggest things that threaten a leader's loyalty to God are himself & the mission to which God has call him. God is bigger than your calling or vision. You must remain faithful to God even if it means your vision has to be slowed down or put on hold for a while.

Where Am I Pretending?
Hypocrisy is practically synonymous with a lack of integrity. A leader has to take a hard look in the mirror & ask, "Am I the same no matter who is around?" Better yet, why not ask the people you live with. Warning: you probably won't be very comfortable with their answers. Leaders who lack integrity due to their hypocrisy live in fear, but those who live consistent lives don't have the fear of being found out because there is nothing to find.

Which Desires Tend To Win Out?
John Maxwell reminds us that even the most solid, consistent leaders will have conflicting desires, but it is the leader's integrity that determines which desires will prevail. You might be able to lie to yourself about your loyalties or hypocrisy, but it's a little harder with concrete actions. Simply ask, "Who was served by that action or decision: me & my desires or God & His desires for my life?"

Like Perry says, we have to make integrity a priority in our lives. Otherwise, the lack of integrity in our lives will become an issue. Remember integrity is about being authentic, but authenticity isn't about perfection; it's about consistency.These questions are fool proof, but it's a good place to start.

How do you check yourself? What questions do you ask yourself? Who do you trust to give you a check-up every once in a while?

2010-02-24T10:07:00.000-06:00

Forgotten God

Lately I've been reading a lot of stuff for seminary, but I have managed to do some reading on the side, particularly some stuff by A.W. Tozer. Right now the focus from Tozer has been on the Holy Spirit, & after some reflection, I have to agree with him that we have come to a place of neglecting the Holy Spirit, which is of course, God Himself. The crazy thing about that to me is that the Holy Spirit is the person who dwells in us upon our salvation, & He is the one who empowers believers & the church to do the work & will of God.

Sadly it's possible for us to "do the Christian life" & to "do church" all without the Holy Spirit. Tozer calls this "turning the crank". We organize a group, hire a pastor, develop some programs, & "turn the crank." That's all there is to it. All the while we neglect the Spirit of God & His role in our lives & ministries. I know there have been times in my own life & ministry where I simply turned the crank; I relied more on my talent & ingenuity than on the Holy Spirit. The scary thing is when you see results from your work, & you think that the Holy Spirit has been moving even though you've never once stopped to seek His guidance or power. As a result you keep doing what you do. This isn't just about the church; it's true in our personal journeys with Christ as well. We follow a prescribed program for Christian growth separate & apart from seeking the Holy Spirit's power & guidance for that growth. We have to understand that as Christians we are called to do impossible things, & we are trying to do them "without first being empowered by the God of the impossible."

How have simply "turned the crank" in your personal faith? How have you neglected the Holy Spirit in your place of ministry? What can we do to get back to a place where we are desperate for the guidance & empowering of the Holy Spirit?

2010-02-18T08:31:00.000-06:00

Living & Leading In Crisis

It's hard to really define a crisis; it's sort of subjective. It may seem like a crisis to you or me, but to someone else who has faced much tougher situations, it may just be another day. However, it is safe to say that all of us will have to face circumstances that rise to the level of crisis by our own definition. Here are a couple of principles that I'm in the process of learning that are good to keep in mind.

1) Refuse To React
It's our natural inclination, but it is not likely to be our best option. Uncertainty, turmoil, & crisis surround us, & we feel like we have to do something, & we have to do it now. Fight that instinct; reactions are usually born out of emotion & emotionally charged decisions can be dangerous. This is played out in scripture in Isaiah 36 & 37. King Hezekiah faces a national crisis. Jerusalem is surrounded by the Assyrian army. He sends his men to the city wall to discover just how bad things are, & they find out that if possible, things are worse than they thought. However, neither Hezekiah's men nor the people of the city reacted to the threats of the enemy. The king had told them to remain silent, do nothing, simply report back. Rather than react to the crisis, do some recon; then respond wisely

2) Retreat To The Vision
Once Hezekiah understood the nature of the crisis, he did what great leaders do. He fell back on the vision that God had given. For the nation of Israel that vision was tied to their relationship with God. Through the nation, God would make Himself known to the world. Hezekiah sees this as a perfect opportunity for God to do just that. Therefore, he runs to God & sends his men to find Isaiah, God's prophet. They ask God to intervene on their behalf & to show Himself through this situation. When crisis comes, the last thing we should do is scrap the vision. The current strategy might need to be tossed, but the vision is what gives us direction & clarity in the midst of all the uncertainty. What is it that God has led you to do in your life or in your area of leadership? That's the thing you need to go back to. We don't have to have miraculous resolutions to crisis. In fact, the miracle was only possible because of Hezekiah's faithfulness to the nation's God-given vision. Following the vision led to the miracle that led to the resolution of the crisis.

How do you handle crises? What principles have you learned in dealing with crisis & uncertainty? Are you a reactor or a responder? There is a difference.

2010-02-17T11:18:00.000-06:00

Live & Learn

We all know the old saying right? It tells us that some things just have to be learned by experience, but maybe we could turn that old cliche' around in order to be a little more practical. As a parents, leaders, & teachers one of the most frustrating things we face is when the people we're trying to invest in simply don't get it. It drives us crazy because we want to see some kind of forward motion, some kind of progress. Before we dump all the blame on those we're trying to teach, let's look at the old "live & learn" line & reapply it. Look at it this way.

"Live it & they will learn it, but if it's not lived, it won't be learned."

Maybe the reason why there's no growth, no change in those we're trying to lead is because there is no growth or change in us. That's the great disconnect, especially those of us called to lead & teach in the local church. We teach "life changing truth", but our lives fail to demonstrate that change. When Jesus taught His disciples, He didn't allow a sermon outline or lesson plan to limit His teaching. He taught with words & action. Words don't have the same kind of shelf life that actions do. So let your words complement your life, & chances are that you'll see more progress in those you lead.

Where is there a disconnect between your words & actions? In what context do you most need to redefine & reapply the "live & learn" concept?

2010-02-10T10:20:00.001-06:00

Two Ways God Grows Leaders-Part 2

Early on in David's life, it's evident that he was growing in his faith & as a leader that God could use, & it all stems from his obedience. Whether he was tending his father's flocks, playing some tunes for the king, or delivering lunch to his brothers on the battlefield, David was obedient to serve God & others. However, David's radical obedience led to the other thing that sparked growth in the future king.

2. Opposition

David knew that God had appointed him to be king over Israel. The only problem was that Saul was still on the throne, & Saul felt threatened. Unfortunately, leaders who feel their position is threatened don't always create the healthiest environments. Saul set out to kill David, & David had to literally run for his life. He fell in with a group of men who would become some of his most loyal followers, but they weren't exactly the most honorable or noble bunch of guys. In fact, this band became more or less outlaws living out in the wilderness, hiding out in caves. Along the way, David grew as a leader & as a man of God. He had to learn how to lead a different group of guys. These weren't soldiers in the classic sense; they could abandon David at any time. However, they were loyal, faithful followers of the future king.

David's continued growth in the face of opposition is evident in two instances where David could have easily eliminated his opponent. In I Samuel 24 & I Samuel 26, David had two opportunities to kill Saul & end this life on the run. His men even saw these opportunities as God ordained opportunities, yet David's obedience to God trumped his desire to be rid of the opposition. David chose to honor God & the king. As a result, God honored David, & eventually took care of Saul without David having to raise his sword.

Obeidience to God will bring you into opposition with others. And that opposition has the potential to compromise your obedience. If your goal is to simply defeat the opposition, you will abandon obedience. However, if your goal is to navigate opposition in a way that is in line with the laws & principles of God, then you can stay on an obedient path, & in time, the opposition will fade.

Do you try to avoid oppostion? If you're being obedient to God, it's impossible. When you encounter opposition, what's your goal? Are you simply trying to win, or are you trying to leverage that opposition as an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Christ & as a leader of others?

2010-02-09T08:25:00.002-06:00

Two Ways God Grows Leaders

I'm sure there are lists like this all over the place, but I think there are two general ways that God can really put your growth as a disciple & as a leader on steroids, without the nasty side effects.

1. Obedience

Nothing accelerates our growth spiritually like obedience. Jesus says that obedience is the way that we express our love for Him, & when you look at the life of David, you find that obedience was the springboard for God growing David & advancing him as a leader. Go check out the first few scenes from Scripture featuring David in I Samuel 16-17. In I Samuel 16 we find the prophet Samuel looking for the man God had chosen to be the next king of Israel. God leads him to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem. Samuel knows the future king is from this family, but the one God had chosen was the last person that any of us would have picked. In fact, David is practically an afterthought. Everyone assumes that one of David's big strong, good looking older brothers is God's chosen king, but no, God wasn't looking for another man, like Saul, that looked like a king. He was looking for a man who had the heart of a king. The thing that catapulted David to the forefront of the nation was his heart for God which was rooted in an obedient, faithful heart.

When you read the first episodes in David's story, you realize that he was obedient no matter how small the situation seemed. The reason David was even on the same battlefield with Goliath was because he obediently served his father & brothers by delivering a bunch of breads & cheeses. I wouldn't call that a glamorous assignment, yet his obedience put him in a place where he could be used like no one else in the nation. Though David was obviously imperfect, his life is characterized as one of obedience & David as a man with a heart after God.

What unsurrendered parts of your life might be holding you back from becoming the disciple of Christ & leader that you could be? If you want to know Christ more deeply & to be used more mightily, you must first be obedient, & obedient even in the little, seemingly insignificant stuff.

2010-02-05T12:23:00.000-06:00

LQ-One Last Thought

As I finished up looking through this very familiar story from the life of Moses, I noticed one more thing that is so important to leadership. The Bible says that after Moses identified the right leaders to surround himself with, he "appointed" them to be in charge of different groups within the camp. Moses didn't just give his new leadership team to do lists; he gave them authority. It really would have done Moses no good at all if he didn't empower his team to actually do the work that was keeping him away from his primary role. These leaders didn't have to run to Moses about every case. They went to him when they recognized that the issue was bigger than they were equipped to handle. Otherwise, they took care of it & didn't worry Moses with it.

If you want your ministry or organization to grow, you have to let go of some of it. The only way you can have total control over your following is if you keep it very small. Most leaders want their movements to grow, but they sabotage it themselves by refusing to empower the leaders around them with the authority to lead certain parts of the movement. When you appoint someone else in your ministry, you're bestowing some of your authority to them in order to further the mission & vision of your organization. If you want your Leadership Quotient to grow, you have to be willing to appoint other leaders & to give them the authority to lead.

2010-02-04T08:47:00.000-06:00

LQ-Character

The final quality that Jethro mentions to Moses as necessary for leadership is character, & it flows out the depth of one's integrity. Even Jethro links the two as he says, "men of truth who hate dishonest gain." Character matters.

In the case of Moses, he needed to surround himself with leaders that he could trust totally. He had to know that these leaders wouldn't allow anything to compromise their integrity & character. And there's more going on here than just "dishonest gain" in the financial sense.

How often do team members have a chance to undermine the team leader for the sake of their own leadership, reputation, or advancement? It happens more often than you might think. How often does the associate pastor of a church have to make the choice to either affirm or deflect complaints about the senior pastor with whom he serves? How often does the assistant manager have to listen to the complaints of co-workers about the boss? It happens all the time. How that team member deals with the situation reveals his or her character. If he chooses to listen to the criticism & even join in the criticism, he's not only undermining the leadership above him, he's unwittingly undermining his own as well.

Dishonest gain can be more than simply taking a bribe. In leadership, it can be putting self ahead of the vision, taking credit for work that someone else did, or undermining other leaders in order to make oneself look or feel more important. It all reveals what our character really is. Character is built slowly by daily living a life of integrity, & we all know it can be destroyed quickly by a single act of dishonesty or selfish pride. Guard your heart, grow your integrity, & you'll grow your LQ.

2010-02-03T08:45:00.000-06:00

LQ-Integrity

Jethro's advice to Moses concerning the recruiting of new leaders revolutionized Moses leadership & allowed him to focus on his calling, not on the things that seemed to be urgent at that precise moment. After talent & wisdom, Jethro advises Moses to look for men who are "trustworthy" or "men of truth". I'm calling this integrity.

In order to determine another's integrity, you can't focus purely on talent. Talent easily lends itself to building an image, but integrity is bigger than that. John Maxwell says, "Image is what people think we are. Integrity is what we really are." A committment to integrity is so crucial today in a world where lapses in your integrity seemed to be magnified in the spotlight created by the 21st century world. Leaders have to be fanatical about integrity. It's what give you & your organization credibility with those inside & outside your group. Moses was going to be empowering people to make major decisions that would affect the lives of lots of people in the camp. He had to know that they would make wise & just decisions. He had to know that they were more committed to the truth, especially the truth of God's word, than to the admiration of others.

Integrity is difficult to gauge because it's so easy to disguise. All of us a masters of image management. However, when we lose control of that image & the truth comes out, everyone can see it, & everyone is affected by it. As leaders we must set the example for those we lead by becoming people who live lives characterized by integrity, no facades, no masks, & we must call those we lead to pursue that kind of life as well. As we consistently live out what we say we believe, we move closer & closer to the greatness that God has called His people to.

2010-02-02T11:25:00.000-06:00

LQ-Wisdom

After Jethro said that Moses should be looking for "capable men," he encouraged Moses to seek out men who "fear God." What do we know about fearing God? First of all, let's just go ahead & get it out there that it's not about being scared of God. The Bible defines the fear of God as "the beginning of wisdom." Wisdom is the second key component to our Leadership Quotient.

Godly Leaders Cultivate Their Own Wisdom & Collect The Wisdom Of Others.

Whether you're looking for potential leaders for your team or if you're looking for an opportunity to be a part of another leader's team, wisdom is key. How do you cultivate your own wisdom? That's simple, go read Psalm 119. That entire psalm is a praise to God about the greatness of His word. In verses 97-105, we learn that amazing wisdom is within our grasp if we will meditate on & obey God's word. In fact, we can have wisdom that blows away our elders & teachers. I've written more about that HERE. So leaders need to be people who are cultivating their own wisdom by seeking out & obeying the wisdom of God. Leaders also collect the wisdom of others. The wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, had more to say about seeking godly, wise counsel than anyone. Maybe that's why he was the wisest man around. Leaders understand that they don't have all the answers. They recognize their limitations & seek out others who can speak wisdom into the situation. Wisdom is a priceless quality that we must look for in the leaders we surround ourselves with.

Talent is the starting point in leadership. You've got to be capable, but that's not enough. Andy Stanley writes, "Your talent & giftedness as a leader has the potential to take you farther than your character can sustain you." Cultivating & collecting wisdom is the beginning of growing your character so that it can sustain you as your talent propels you.

2010-02-01T08:57:00.000-06:00

LQ-Ability

Last Friday I asked the question, "How important is talent?" As I looked at a familiar story from the life of Moses I realized that the things that Moses is supposed to look for in potential leaders aren't talent based. Talent plays a part, but perhaps a smaller part than we would assume. Here are the the four things Moses should look for. These are the things that make up our LQ, our Leadership Quotient.

1) Ability
2) Wisdom
3) Integrity
4) Character

Ability is the first thing that is listed when Jethro is advising Moses, but why? I think some of us think ability or talent is listed first because it is the most important thing. But what if talent listed first because it is the easiest thing to spot? I think that's what Jethro is telling Moses. It's as if he's saying, "Moses I've been hanging around your camp, & I've even noticed their are guys who are capable of doing these other jobs that are distracting you from your mission; open you eyes!"

When we're looking for potential leaders to serve with, why do we spend the majority of our time evaluating talent? Talent is important to leadership & ministry, but is there anything that might be more important? Talent is easy to spot, so don't waste your time & your organization's time by "evaluating" talent. As we'll see from the rest of Jethro's list, there are other things to consider when building a team, & they're actually bigger than talent. After all, talented people can usually be trained or taught to extend their talent into other aspects of their work, so we have to look at more than just talent.

Do you spend the lion's share of your time simply evaluating talent or do you dig deeper? Why do you think we're so preoccupied with talent? Is it because it's flashy, or is it because we're afraid to scratch underneath the surface to discover what's hiding underneath the talent?