Leadership Lessons From Hannah Montana
This afternoon I had the pleasure of watching the Hannah Montana Movie with my daughter...for like the 10th day in a row (she's actually watching an episode on the Disney Channel right now)! Oddly enough I actually learned something, even though I had tuned out most of the movie. Unless you've been living in another galaxy for the last couple of years, you know the basic premise of Hannah Montana: regular girl creates alter ego in order to be both a pop star & a normal teenage girl. On top of that she comes up with a killer disguise to keep people from discovering her identity: she wears a blonde wig! There hasn't been a disguise this clever since Superman put on those glasses & became Clark Kent.
Anyway, during the movie Miley gets herself into a mess in the area of the whole Hannah/Miley thing. Hannah has agreed to be at a dinner in her honor given by the mayor of a small town. Miley however has agreed to go on a date with the ultra-dreamy farmhand that works for her grandmother. Whatever will she do? Her dad, played by the mullet-free, Billy Ray Cyrus leaves it up to her. He says, "You do whatever you think is right." Miley decides that the right thing to do is to try to satisfy everyone. Guess how it ends up? That's right, rather than making everyone happy, both Hannah's & Miley's reputation suffer for it. Rather than satisfying everyone, she ends up hurting everyone.
Life & leadership are full of these kind of moments. We're left with a choice. Whether we choose A or B, It seems like someone is not going to be happy. So we try to opt for A & B. We fool ourselves into thinking that we can actually achieve the goal of making everyone happy, & for those of us in leadership who struggle with being a people pleaser, this really becomes a battle. However, we must decide. What is right?
There are decisions that we have to make in life & especially in leadership that aren't going to make people happy. Our decisions affect people, & sometimes they don't like the effects, but that doesn't mean that the decision was the wrong one. Even my 3 year old daughter made the comment, "She can't be Hannah & Miley." Neither can you. You can either be a leader or you can try to make everyone happy, but you can't be both.
August 30, 2009
August 26, 2009
Are You A Drunk-Part 3
Here's a couple more similarities I noticed between a drunk & being filled with the Spirit as Paul describes in Ephesians
#3-Drunk People Are Passionate People
Have you ever noticed how "enthusiastic" someone is when they've had too much to drink. Some people will tell you how much they love you. Others will talk about the things that they hate. Still others will go on a rant as to why their favorite football team is the absolute best there is (growing up in SEC country, you get to hear lots of this). The bottom line is that because alcohol lowers our inhibitions, we're more likely to act on our passions.
Followers of Christ should be the most passionate people in the world. They should be passionate about bringing Him glory. They should be passionate about introducing others to Him. They should be passionate about seeing His Kingdom expand all over this world. Sadly, that's not exactly what we're known for, is it?
#4-To Stay Drunk, You Have To Keep Drinking
Alcohol's effects eventually wear off, & it's not much fun to be around someone when they wake up with that hang over. In order to feel the effects, they have to keep drinking.
A one time experience with Christ isn't enough for a believer. Just because you had a great worship service this Sunday doesn't negate your need to be filled with His Spirit on Monday & every day after that. Yet that's exactly how we live. A man once told D.L. Moody, "I hope to get enough religion during your meetings to last me the rest of my life." Moody replied, "Did you eat enough breakfast this morning to last you the rest of your life?" I think you get the point.
While Paul warns believers about the effects of alcohol, perhaps there is something we can learn from the analogy. After all, the disciples were mistaken for drunks, & Paul's encouragement was to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit rather than with the power of a drink.
Here's a couple more similarities I noticed between a drunk & being filled with the Spirit as Paul describes in Ephesians
#3-Drunk People Are Passionate People
Have you ever noticed how "enthusiastic" someone is when they've had too much to drink. Some people will tell you how much they love you. Others will talk about the things that they hate. Still others will go on a rant as to why their favorite football team is the absolute best there is (growing up in SEC country, you get to hear lots of this). The bottom line is that because alcohol lowers our inhibitions, we're more likely to act on our passions.
Followers of Christ should be the most passionate people in the world. They should be passionate about bringing Him glory. They should be passionate about introducing others to Him. They should be passionate about seeing His Kingdom expand all over this world. Sadly, that's not exactly what we're known for, is it?
#4-To Stay Drunk, You Have To Keep Drinking
Alcohol's effects eventually wear off, & it's not much fun to be around someone when they wake up with that hang over. In order to feel the effects, they have to keep drinking.
A one time experience with Christ isn't enough for a believer. Just because you had a great worship service this Sunday doesn't negate your need to be filled with His Spirit on Monday & every day after that. Yet that's exactly how we live. A man once told D.L. Moody, "I hope to get enough religion during your meetings to last me the rest of my life." Moody replied, "Did you eat enough breakfast this morning to last you the rest of your life?" I think you get the point.
While Paul warns believers about the effects of alcohol, perhaps there is something we can learn from the analogy. After all, the disciples were mistaken for drunks, & Paul's encouragement was to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit rather than with the power of a drink.
August 24, 2009
Are You A Drunk? Part 2
Last week I referred to a verse where Paul warns believers about being filled with wine, & instead he encourages them to be filled with the Spirit. That verse reminded me of the day of Pentecost & how the crowd at the temple thought that the apostles were drunk. People at the temple that day knew that the apostles were "under the influence"; they simply were mistaken about what that influence was. As I thought about this I made a list of some similarities of being under the influence.
#1- You Immediately Recognize A Drunk
It doesn't take you long to spot the guy at a party or that girl who needs to have her hair held while she pukes in the bushes. One time I was in Gatlinburg, TN with our students over the New Year's holidays. As we were walking back to our hotel right after midnight, we saw a girl being led out of a bar by the police. She was shouting (very slurred by the way) & carrying on so that pretty much everyone in a 10 block radius stopped to see what was going on. None of us had to ask, "I wonder what's going on there?" We all knew. At the very least she was going to be hit with a drunk & disorderly charge.
The point: as soon as we saw & heard her, we knew she had had too much to drink. The question: How readily do people recognize that Christ is living in your life? When people are truly being filled with His Spirit, it's unmistakable. People will see it. They may not always recognize it for what it is, but it's effects are undeniable.
#2-Drunk People Don't Live In Fear
Whether it's walking up & talking to a girl that's way out of a guy's league or doing something incredibly dangerous & stupid, alcohol has a way of dulling people's sense of fear. They don't call it liquid courage for nothing! Fear becomes irrelevant when you're under the influence. The difference for a believer isn't that the fear disappears or is dulled; it's that the Spirit that is filling us & influencing us moves us to overcome the fear that is still very real. The Spirit increases our faith to the point that we act in the face of fear rather than crumbling under it's weight.
Does fear mark your life, or do you find the courage & strength to act boldly in spite of your fear? For the believer, the source of that kind of courage is the Holy Spirit. We are told that the Spirit is not one of fear but of boldness. How have you boldly followed God in faith recently? If you're having a hard time remembering such a time, maybe you need to be filled up.
Later this week, I'll share a few more similarities that I see between these two groups that are living under the influence.
Last week I referred to a verse where Paul warns believers about being filled with wine, & instead he encourages them to be filled with the Spirit. That verse reminded me of the day of Pentecost & how the crowd at the temple thought that the apostles were drunk. People at the temple that day knew that the apostles were "under the influence"; they simply were mistaken about what that influence was. As I thought about this I made a list of some similarities of being under the influence.
#1- You Immediately Recognize A Drunk
It doesn't take you long to spot the guy at a party or that girl who needs to have her hair held while she pukes in the bushes. One time I was in Gatlinburg, TN with our students over the New Year's holidays. As we were walking back to our hotel right after midnight, we saw a girl being led out of a bar by the police. She was shouting (very slurred by the way) & carrying on so that pretty much everyone in a 10 block radius stopped to see what was going on. None of us had to ask, "I wonder what's going on there?" We all knew. At the very least she was going to be hit with a drunk & disorderly charge.
The point: as soon as we saw & heard her, we knew she had had too much to drink. The question: How readily do people recognize that Christ is living in your life? When people are truly being filled with His Spirit, it's unmistakable. People will see it. They may not always recognize it for what it is, but it's effects are undeniable.
#2-Drunk People Don't Live In Fear
Whether it's walking up & talking to a girl that's way out of a guy's league or doing something incredibly dangerous & stupid, alcohol has a way of dulling people's sense of fear. They don't call it liquid courage for nothing! Fear becomes irrelevant when you're under the influence. The difference for a believer isn't that the fear disappears or is dulled; it's that the Spirit that is filling us & influencing us moves us to overcome the fear that is still very real. The Spirit increases our faith to the point that we act in the face of fear rather than crumbling under it's weight.
Does fear mark your life, or do you find the courage & strength to act boldly in spite of your fear? For the believer, the source of that kind of courage is the Holy Spirit. We are told that the Spirit is not one of fear but of boldness. How have you boldly followed God in faith recently? If you're having a hard time remembering such a time, maybe you need to be filled up.
Later this week, I'll share a few more similarities that I see between these two groups that are living under the influence.
August 21, 2009
Are You A Drunk?
I ran across a verse in Ephesians 5 that reminded me of another passage in Acts. In Ephesians, Paul warns believers not to get drunk on wine because of where it leads. Instead, he says "be filled with the Spirit." That reminded me of an incident in the lives of the apostles back in Acts 2. On the day of Pentecost, the followers of Jesus were accused of being drunk, but in reality they had been filled with the Holy Spirit. Is it possible that a drunk & a truly faithful, Spirit-filled believer aren't that different?
After all, Paul compared the two. The crowd at the temple in Jerusalem mistook the apostles for a bunch of crazy drunks too. Next week, I'll point out some of the similarities between the two. Paul didn't warn people away from alcohol & toward sobriety. Instead he encouraged them to be filled with something else that is powerful enough to make you do stuff that's crazy! Next week, I'll point out some glaring similarities between the boozer & the spirit filled disciple of Christ. These are going to be posts about whether or not believers should drink or not. I'm not going there. Instead of focusing on the prohibitive part of Paul's writing, I want us to really consider the alternative that Paul encouraged all believers to partake of.
I ran across a verse in Ephesians 5 that reminded me of another passage in Acts. In Ephesians, Paul warns believers not to get drunk on wine because of where it leads. Instead, he says "be filled with the Spirit." That reminded me of an incident in the lives of the apostles back in Acts 2. On the day of Pentecost, the followers of Jesus were accused of being drunk, but in reality they had been filled with the Holy Spirit. Is it possible that a drunk & a truly faithful, Spirit-filled believer aren't that different?
After all, Paul compared the two. The crowd at the temple in Jerusalem mistook the apostles for a bunch of crazy drunks too. Next week, I'll point out some of the similarities between the two. Paul didn't warn people away from alcohol & toward sobriety. Instead he encouraged them to be filled with something else that is powerful enough to make you do stuff that's crazy! Next week, I'll point out some glaring similarities between the boozer & the spirit filled disciple of Christ. These are going to be posts about whether or not believers should drink or not. I'm not going there. Instead of focusing on the prohibitive part of Paul's writing, I want us to really consider the alternative that Paul encouraged all believers to partake of.
August 14, 2009
Who's Manning The Spotlight?
Remember this: "If the enemy puts the spotlight on your sin, you will be consumed. But if you put the spotlight on your sin, your sin will be consumed."
Sin like to hide in the dark, & we like it that way don't we? After all, we don't want anyone to know. However, you & I must remember that our enemy's plan isn't to simply get you to sin. We're good at that without his help. His goal is to take our sin public, & if you're a leader in ministry, you can bank on that. He's trying to find that thing that he can take public so that he can take you down. He knows that if he keeps the leaders ineffective, the church in general will be ineffective.
So who's got their hands on the spotlight? Is there someone in your life that you can share your struggles with? If you're a leader, are there people who can ask you incredibly difficult questions or call you out when they see you beginning to drift? When you drag your sin into the light, it begins to lose it's power over you. But if the enemy drags that sin into the light, well... I think you know the rest.
Remember this: "If the enemy puts the spotlight on your sin, you will be consumed. But if you put the spotlight on your sin, your sin will be consumed."
Sin like to hide in the dark, & we like it that way don't we? After all, we don't want anyone to know. However, you & I must remember that our enemy's plan isn't to simply get you to sin. We're good at that without his help. His goal is to take our sin public, & if you're a leader in ministry, you can bank on that. He's trying to find that thing that he can take public so that he can take you down. He knows that if he keeps the leaders ineffective, the church in general will be ineffective.
So who's got their hands on the spotlight? Is there someone in your life that you can share your struggles with? If you're a leader, are there people who can ask you incredibly difficult questions or call you out when they see you beginning to drift? When you drag your sin into the light, it begins to lose it's power over you. But if the enemy drags that sin into the light, well... I think you know the rest.
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