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Archive for March, 2011

I’ve Got This

Posted in Hope, Motivational on March 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »

What are you worried about today?

You may be concerned about safety.  After last week’s horrific earthquake and tsunami in Japan that would be understandable.

Or maybe you are worried about the economy.  Retirement is out there somewhere but will there be enough or will I have to work until I die?

There are any number of things we could concern ourselves with today, but I want to remind us of one simple truth – God is in control.  Matthew 6:25-26 says this:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

In the midst of all that is going on around us, remember, God is saying, “I’ve got this.”

Be blessed today!

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Sharing Hope Through Gentleness

Posted in Grace, Hope on March 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I use Bible Gateway for my online Bible.  Anytime I need to look something up, it is there to help.  Last night I went there to do a little reading and on the home page they list a verse of the day.  Yesterday’s verse was this:

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,   1 Peter 3:15.

What an amazing reminder.  Our entire approach to how and why we should share our story is found here.  We share our story to explain the hope that we have in Jesus.

I don’t know how often you stare hopelessness in the face, but when you do, there is no mistaking it.  You can see it in a person’s eyes.

The writer of 1 Peter reminds us that for those who follow Jesus all out, we have a hope that makes a non-believer curious.  A hope that allows us to hear a bad report from the doctor and yet still know that God is in control.  Don’t think for a second that the hope you have is not obvious to others.  It is obvious because it is not the cultural norm.  It doesn’t make sense to a person who doesn’t follow in the Way.

So this verse tells us that we should be ready when someone asks us how on earth we can still have hope when the world around us is falling apart.

But don’t miss the final instruction from this verse.  The writer says we must be ready and willing to share our story and to do so with gentleness and respect.  I have used this cliché before, but it is true – people don’t care what you know if they don’t know that you care.

Our sharing of our stories must be done through a relationship.  We must be gentle and show love and respect to others.  Quite honestly, just as much hope will be communicated through that gentleness and respect as will be relayed through your telling of your story.

As St. Francis is credited with saying, we should tell others of the love of our Savior and when necessary, use words.

Show hope through gentleness and respect today.

Be a blessing!

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How Do You Use Technology?

Posted in Community on March 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »

On Monday, I talked about how we sometimes need to disconnect from all the things that pull at us and spend time with God.  (You can see that post here).

Today, I am going to a workshop dealing with how to use FaceBook as a tool.  At the risk of sounding contradictory, there is no question that we need to get away from technology at times in order to meet with God.  But the reality is that technology is a huge part of our lives now.  And it is becoming more so all the time.  Technology is changing at the speed of light.  I just saved enough money to buy an iPad and already, the next generation is about to hit the stores this Friday (YES!!!!).  10 years ago, the most common use of a cell phone was to actually punch in numbers and call someone.  Today, a smart phone can do just about anything – and yes, even make calls!

Social networking has become a secondary life for many people.  There are online communities that, for some, have taken the place of real community.  In fact, can I just get something off my chest here?  I really wish the people caught up in Farmville would actually move to a farm and quit inviting me to play – sorry, don’t mean to offend but enough is enough.  OK, I feel better.  In a world in which we are more connected to one another through social media, people suffer from being more alone than they have ever been.  How often do you meet people in person anymore?  Much of the communication we engage in on a daily basis is via email or FaceBook messaging.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the age in which we live.  But how can we use this technology to actually engage one another more fully?  How can we use technology as a tool to build real community – to build the Kingdom?

How are you using technology to make a difference in your world?

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Visionary Leader or ADHD Idea Generator?

Posted in Leadership on March 8, 2011| 2 Comments »

The other day, a friend of mine described a few leaders she has known as ADHD Idea Generators.  You may know the type.  They have a new idea for every staff meeting.  The staff leaves each meeting not knowing if they should complete the steps to carry out the vision of three weeks ago, or move to tackling last weeks big idea – or simply can it all and start on this week’s brain child.  The problem is that many leaders with this approach see themselves as visionary.  But in reality, they are, as my friend described – ADHD Idea Generators.

The difference between an idea generator and a visionary leader is that a visionary leader not only has vision, but also the strategy to see that vision come about.  The visionary leader also must possess the patience to stick with it to see it through.  So a visionary leader is more than an idea person.  A visionary leader sees where the organization needs to be and then puts together a plan to get it there.

Which describes you?  A visionary leader or an ADHD idea generator?

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Sometimes We Need to Disconnect

Posted in Formation on March 7, 2011| 1 Comment »

I had to be in Dallas this past week for a few days for a board meeting.  Over the last few years we have become a family and the three times per year we are together is always a blessing.

It used to be that returning home from being out of the office for a few days was always a killer.  There would be phone calls to return and email to contend with along with the piles of mail that accumulate.  But now days it is much different.  My email comes to my cell phone and laptop.  My voice mail at the office is forwarded directly to my cell phone as well.  The only thing to deal with on return anymore is the piles of mail (I am not sure how to remedy that situation).

There are certainly benefits to being connected.  But it can also be a drain.  There is never a point that I am not connected.  Sure, I suppose it is a choice – I could turn off my cell phone and leave my laptop at home.  Honestly, I have improved my ability to manage this connectivity, but the reality is that it is always there.  As long as we have it hanging over our heads, it is hard to be alone with God.

We need times in which we can disconnect from all of the things pulling at us so that we can focus on what really matters – our relationship with Jesus.

Find some time this week to disconnect and focus on Jesus.  The other stuff isn’t going anywhere anyway.

Be blessed.

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The Power of Multiplication

Posted in Church, Community, Leadership on March 4, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday’s post began the conversation about the importance of relationships in leaving a legacy.  Today, I want to expand on that idea.  If we truly believe that relationships are the best way to impact the world, then how do we make the most of our efforts?  I want to make a suggestion that on the surface does not sound logical, but the numbers don’t lie.

Wednesday, on the plane, I had time to finish a book I have been working through by Dwight Robertson entitled, You Are God’s Plan A (and there is no plan b).  It is a challenging but extremely practical offering that causes us to think about many of the same things Lucado pushes in his book.  Robertson talks about this idea of legacy in terms of investing in or pouring ourselves into others.

He makes a case for the idea of multiplication.  It is counter-cultural to think of a legacy in this way.  We tend to think of great leaders or speakers who have left a legacy.  We think about people like Billy Graham or Rick Warren or Bill Hybels when we think about those who have impacted lives – and it is true.  But if we look at Jesus’ life, we see that he poured himself into a few, who then did the same.

I have heard this before but I don’t know that I have every seen it in the form of a chart.  Here is the scenario.  If you were to have the opportunity to speak to 100,000 people per year; over twenty years you would have potentially impacted 2 million people.  That is nothing to sneeze at but what if you were to invest yourself for a year into just two people and then instill in them the desire to do the same?  So the first year you would impact 2 people.  Year two you would impact two new people, but the people you impacted in year one are now impacting the lives of two other people each.  Suppose this were the pattern for twenty years.  The chart shows you the results.

I am no mathematician, but even I can see that almost 3.5 billion people is more than 2 million.  Isn’t that amazing?  And all from a simple effort of impacting two lives at a time.

That is plausible.  I can do that!  You can do that!  I realize that there will be attrition and those who do not carry out their commitments, but just think about the possibilities!

Don’t let Satan lull you into doing nothing with a sense of being overwhelmed.  Just start with two.

Who will you invest in this year?

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The Legacy of Relationships

Posted in Community, Leadership, Motivational on March 3, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Last week we finished our class on Wednesday nights over the book and study series by Max Lucado entitled, Out Live Your Life.  Over the past 6 weeks, I have done a lot of pondering about what I am leaving behind.  When I am gone, will people say, “I am glad he was here.”?   Or will anyone even notice I am no longer around?

It is an intimidating question!  But it causes me to think about what I am doing (or not doing) today in order to insure that my life is going to count for something.

As a minister, I have been to the threshold of death with many, many people and watched them step through that doorway.  As I sit and listen to people in their final days, or with the family members who are left to carry on after a person dies, there are always a number of topics of conversation.  We talk about their life-long career, their family or maybe their church and community activity.  But without fail, the most meaningful memories are the personal stories – the memories of how the person impacted a life.

At the end of this existence, what matters most is relationships.  The most important relationship of course is the one a person has with Jesus.  That makes all the difference.  But as we remember a life, the accomplishments of that person fade in comparison to the relationships he or she built while here.

So I am back to my question – what kind of legacy will I leave behind?

How about you?  Are you building a legacy?

More on this subject tomorrow – be sure and stop back by!

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The Biggest Loser With Cookies and Milk

Posted in Formation on March 2, 2011| 4 Comments »

Last night, as I finished a second helping of dinner and Kristi began talking about making cookies for desert, I realized that someone had left the television on in the living room.  The show that was on was The Biggest Loser.  I chuckled to myself as I thought about the irony of sitting in front of the TV with a plate full of cookies and watching The Biggest Loser.  But as I thought about what I was doing, I began to realize how disconnected I have become from what is happening around me (being disconnected from TV is not typically a bad thing).  It did not really bother me to watch people struggling to regain control over their obesity while I munched on a warm chocolate chip cookie.  One would think that the show would cause me to rethink my eating habits.  But nope, I just sat there and continued to eat.

Many times, this disconnect occurs in our spiritual lives as well.  We can sit through a church service on the weekend and then live a life contrary to what we just heard about throughout the week.  Often times this is the result of compartmentalization.  We keep our spiritual lives separate from the other areas of our lives.  The problem is, there is no such thing as a spiritual life and a work life and a home life – there is just life.  It all flows together, so we need to realize that the way we live on Monday is a reflection of who we really are on the inside.  We need to realize that as followers in the Way, we must strive to stay engaged in living for Christ – in striving to live as he lived – and not just on Sunday.

Going to church on the weekend and listening to Christian teaching with no intention of acting on it is just like sitting in front of the TV watching The Biggest Loser while stuffing your face with food.  If we are truly to make a difference in this world, we must remain engaged – we cannot allow ourselves to become disconnected.

I challenge you today to take a few minutes to analyze your life and then make it a point to reconnect to Jesus.

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