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Archive for the ‘Motivational’ Category

The Meaning of Success

Posted in Leadership, Motivational on December 9, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday we talked a little about leadership.  When I think about leadership, normally the idea of success enters the picture in my mind.  So today I am thinking about what it means to be a success or successful.

Patrick Lencioni, in his book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, has one of the best definitions of success I have seen.  He defines success this way:

Success is not a matter of mastering subtle sophisticated theory, but rather of embracing common sense with uncommon levels of discipline and persistence.

So often we think of success as a destination.  We think, “when I just make supervisor, I will be successful” or “when I have that second house in the mountains, then I will be a success.”  Or, in the church we might think, “when we reach ‘x’ many in Sunday School, then our church will be successful.”

What Lencioni is saying is success in not a destination, it is what happens along the way.  We don’t become successful when we develop and follow a specific set of steps to reach a place.  Success is not a fluke of lining up all the elements of life into the perfect sequence and then “POW” – success.

Success is really found in understanding what needs to be done and then being committed and persistent enough to do it day in and day out.  Thus understood, success my look different for you than it does for me.  It is more about defining your purpose in life and then living every day to carry it out.

Are you hoping to be “successful” some day or are you being successful today?  Your choice.

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Are You a Leader?

Posted in Leadership, Motivational on December 8, 2009| 1 Comment »

One of the most important attributes a person can have is the ability to lead.  You don’t have to be in a position of authority to lead.  I believe that if more people understood this fact, our world would be a better place.

I remember when my middle son was 4 years old, he took to soccer with a passion.  He was serious about it.  We practiced near a train track.  When his teammates stopped to watch the train go by instead of focusing on the drills, he kept on.  When his teammates were leaving the field in the middle of a game because they would rather play with the kids on the sidelines than play in the game, he was driving down the field  to score.  He was the leader.

What makes this relevant to my point today is that, my middle son is a behind the scenes kind of guy.  While my youngest is the guy on stage, singing, acting or speaking, my middle son is the one running the sound or the lights or the video.  He does not like being out front (at least not at this stage of life).  But yet he understands even today what it means to lead.

You don’t have to be out front to be a leader.  Leadership is more about character than it is about how many people you can tell what to do.  In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that if your idea of leadership is being able to tell people what to do – you are not much of a leader.

The best example of a leader I can think of lived a little over 2000 years ago.  His leadership was not handed to him in a position.  In fact, he came from nothing.  He lead not by commanding a following but rather by living with passion and focus and complete surrender to his calling.  There is something contagious about that.

What are you passionate about?  I challenge you today to lead out – don’t wait for permission – just do it.

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Give Thanks

Posted in Motivational on November 25, 2009| Leave a Comment »

It is hard to believe how quickly this fall is moving, but tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day.  I will not be posting tomorrow or Friday, but I will be back to it on Monday.  I pray that you have a blessed Thanksgiving.  One of the exercises I do periodically and especially around Thanksgiving is to ask myself a question for reflection.  I am asking you this question today as you think about that for which you are thankful.

Here is the question:  “What are the three things that you would miss the most if they were taken away tomorrow?”  Think on that question for a while.  Those are blessings you have been given.  This is the season to be thankful.  Make sure this year to give God the praise and gratefulness deserved.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving holiday filled with family, joy and the love of God!

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Now That’s Living

Posted in Formation, Hope, Missions, Motivational on November 24, 2009| 2 Comments »

You don’t hear it much any more, but growing up I remember hearing the phrase, “Now that’s living!”  It usually followed an experience of excitement or joy.  It conjured up the idea that someone had “made it” and now they were all set – really living.

Yesterday we began to look at what it means to be in the world but not of the world.  There is no doubt in scripture that God’s people are to be in the world but there is also an idea of being set apart.  So how do we do that?  The first thing you need to remember is that it is a journey toward a goal.  You will have days where you do very well and then you will have days when – well, not so much.  But that is life.  The key is to stay focused.

This past summer we were at the beach in California as a family.  It was awesome – the tallest surf they had had in years.  But with the incredible waves came an extremely strong current.  We got out and body surfed on the waves – riding a wave into shore and then fighting our way back out to deeper water to catch the next one.  What happened with each wave is that we got carried further and further down the beach.  But we were having fun and living life and just taking it as it came.  After about 20 minutes of that, I realized we were 1/4 mile away from where we started.  Because of our lack of attention to what was happening, we were carried away from where we should have been.

The same is true in life.  If we are to be in the world without being of the world, we have to be focused on the goal of living for Jesus.  We cannot take life as it comes and disconnect.  We have to stay engaged in our relationship with Christ.  But how?  Here are a couple of things to work on:

1.  Stay committed to your personal time with God – Prayer and Bible reading will keep you grounded

2.  Stay connected with your faith community – We all need each other to stay focused

3.  Find someone to hold you accountable – God designed us to need one another

Remember that Jesus commands us to be salt in a tasteless world.  But if we become so diluted by the world, we lose our effectiveness and become useless for the kingdom.

We are called to be light in the darkness.  We are called to show hope when everyone else is in despair.  We are to show love to those who don’t even know what the word really means.  There is nothing more relevant than that.

Now that’s really living!

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Your Chance to Ask

Posted in Motivational on November 20, 2009| 1 Comment »

In case you haven’t noticed, my passions drive most of the content of my writing here.  Most of what I write about deal with spiritual formation and growing to be more like Jesus.  This blog will always be focused heavily on that subject, but it dawned on me today – maybe I should ask you if you have specific topics you would like to see me address here from time to time.

So here is your chance – let me know what you would like to see addressed here.  Ask me questions or suggest topics – I will do my best to address them.  Just leave me a comment here or email me at the address over in the right column toward the bottom of the page.

I look forward to hearing from you.  Have a great weekend.

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Struggles Are A Part of Life

Posted in Grace, Motivational on November 19, 2009| 1 Comment »

I have been reminded this week that life brings all kinds of trials, whether it be the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job or just difficulties at school.  We may be tempted to ask, “Why?”  But we must remember that we live in an imperfect world where struggles are a part of existence – we can’t escape them, no one is immune.

As I think about those trials and struggles the reality sets in that we really only have two options when faced with trials.  The first is give up and check out and the second is to hang on and lean on the hope that God has better days ahead for us.  The weak give up and check out – trying to remove themselves, at least mentally or emotionally, from the situation.  The strong face the struggles and strive to grow through them.

Now here is another reality – we all have days that we are strong and brave and we all have days that we are weak and defeated.  The key is to remember who’s we are as followers of the way.

Earlier this week I talked about being transformed.  Trials are the very workshop in which that transformation takes place.  No matter the struggles and trials you are facing today, God is still God and we never will be.  God loves you and has a plan for you.  There are better days ahead.  So be strong in God’s strength knowing that those who persevere will be stronger, wiser and more fit for God’s service on the other side of the struggle.

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No Solo Journey

Posted in Community, Leadership, Motivational on November 13, 2009| Leave a Comment »

“We are not on a solo journey.  We are on a journey of souls in relationship with one another.” LaPinsky Phillips

I have talked about LaPinsky before.  He is one of the most profound thinkers I know personally.  I love being around him and every time I am, I come away a better person.  This quote from LaPinsky reminds me that we are not alone.  God is always with us and God created us for community – relationships with one another.  We are designed to experience life together – to love each other and to seek to serve one another.

Have you ever gone through the process of listing people who have impacted you throughout your life?  It is a humbling exercise.  If you have never done it, or haven’t done it recently, I encourage you to take a few minutes right now to do it.

Now that you have done that exercise, here is an even more sobering task for you.  Of the people who know you, whose list would you be on?

Would you appear on anyone else’s list?  What can you do today to ensure that you will?

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Does Your Faith Own You?

Posted in Formation, Motivational on November 12, 2009| 1 Comment »

Part 2

Yesterday, we talked about owning our own faith and the importance of wrestling with Jesus’ teachings for ourselves and not just taking what we are told at face value.  Today I want to take that thought to the next level.

Once we own our own faith – truly internalizing the truth of Jesus’ teachings – then that faith will begin to affect the way we live.  What then begins to happen is that our faith begins to own us, more accurately, the One in whom our faith is placed begins to own us.

I believe this is what Paul meant when he was addressing the believers in the church at Philippi when he said, “continue to work out your salvation.”  You can read it here.  It sounds strange to say that we should “work out” our own salvation.  But Paul brings clarity in the next verse when he says that God “works in you . . . according to His good purpose.”

At the risk of seeming like a simple play on words, I want you to vividly see the distinction between Owning Your Own Faith and Your Faith Owning You.  Owning our own faith is when we internalize the truth of the Bible – really dealing with the issues and settling in on the truth for ourselves.  What happens next is that very truth cannot lie dormant.  God will work through it to change you from the inside out.  That is the working out of your salvation – that is your faith owning you.

How is your salvation working out in you?

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Do You Own Your Faith?

Posted in Formation, Motivational on November 11, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Part 1 (2 will come tomorrow)

Last night I had the opportunity to teach a New Testament Survey class at our local Junior College.  I had a blast.  We discussed an overview of a couple of New Testament books and some other things as well.  But one of the questions I asked the students last night and I also ask you today is this:  Do you own your faith?

Studying the Bible is the key to our spiritual journey.  But if the information we find there is just that – information – then we haven’t accomplished much.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that if our understanding of scripture and Christianity does not make it from our head to our heart then it is meaningless.  Put another way, if what we learn does not affect how we live, then we are wasting our time but more devastating than that is that we are wasting God’s time and mocking God’s plan for our lives.

In order for the truth of the Bible to make it from our heads to our hearts, we have to truly wrestle with it ourselves.  If you haven’t noticed, the teachings of Jesus will mess you up.  There are things we just have to deal with for ourselves – which means we cannot take what our instructor or our preacher or our Sunday School teacher or even our parents say without really dealing with the issues for ourselves.

At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked the disciples two questions (you can read it here):  “Who do men say that I am?”  And the second, “Who do you say that I am?”  The difference is huge.  The answer to the first carries no commitment.  The answer to the second should change your life!

Do you own your faith?

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Just Have Fun

Posted in Family, Humor, Motivational on November 3, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I was reading over some notes I took from a seminar this past summer with Ruth Haley Barton and I began to have ideas for a blog post dealing with what she said.  But for some reason, as I meditated on how to put my thoughts into words, it dawned on me – most of my posts lately have been pretty  serious.  I mean, I hope that you have found some glimmer of benefit from some of them, but by and large, the content has been fairly heavy.

Soooo – today, something different.  Today, we talk about fun.

Why in the world would someone who is not a follower of Christ want to choose a life that he or she perceives as dull, boring and demanding?  Answer – he or she won’t!  The life of a Christian should be fun, exciting and filled with adventure.  Is yours?

Here is what I want you to do – quit reading this and go have some fun.

Ok – you are still reading!  That can mean only one of two things.  Either you aren’t paying attention or you don’t even remember how to have fun.  If you fall into the first category – go back to the top of this post and start over.  If, however, you fall into the category of not knowing how to have fun, here are some suggestions:

  • Go to lunch with someone for no reason at all
  • Take off early, rent a movie and just kick back this evening
  • Go out to a nice dinner with your significant other
  • Pull out  a game you haven’t played in a while and get the kids gathered around the table and have a game night
  • Read a book that has nothing to do with your job or anything else you could actually learn from
  • Get on the intercom in your office and keep paging yourself (don’t even disguise your voice)

Be creative – God has a great sense of humor!

HAVE FUN!!!!!

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