Words of Life

Posted: May 17, 2012 in Uncategorized
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When King David’s days were coming to an end, he sat his son Solomon, the next king, down and had a discussion with him about how to successfully succeed him as king.  David said some amazing things like, “Do what God tells you.”  ”Walk in the paths He shows you.”  ”Follow the life-map absolutely.”  ”You’ll get on well in whatever you do.”  These words must have stuck with King Solomon all through his days, whether he was in a good place or a bad place.

Words from our previous generation are gems to us.  David’s words to Solomon must have been gems to him and they are still gems for us today.  As we live out our days, we need to be sure to be intentional about passing along such gems to our next generations and to those who have never heard these words before.  The people that we influence, whether a younger generation or even within our own generation, crave such words of guidance, encouragement, and instructions.  They might know they crave them it and they might not even realize they crave them, but there is a deep-seated craving in all of us to glean wisdom from those who influence us.  

It’s up to all leaders who have a generation (or two) behind them to speak life into those we influence, to give words of encouragement over them, and to speak guidance to them.  Then, they will be ready for the empowerment we give them to lead.

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It makes me wonder what I speak over my kids.  What do I speak over those I influence as a pastor and leader?  I want to be very intentional to speak life into their lives and to believe in them and empower them to become what God has created them to be.  I can’t depend on someone else to do it; Hollywood surely won’t do it, sports celebrities don’t do it, and politicians haven’t done it.  The gems from God’s Word lived out through me can be the thing that inspires someone to his or her own greatness.  The power of life is in my words as the Holy Spirit guides me to speak.  

God has set a course for me, for my kids, and for those I influence.  So, I want to be a catalyst to begin the germination process for the seeds of greatness that area already planted in them.  Any of us can be that catalyst!

Doing it anyway

Posted: May 10, 2012 in Uncategorized
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Sometimes I’m just not interested in doing the things I need to do to make me healthier.  As I’ve been training for my long run, I’ve had quite a few days where I really didn’t want to run.  I was either tired, busy with other things, or just in a mental place where I didn’t want to run.  That happens.

I found, though, that there was great value when I did it anyway.  I found out that there is something that happens inside of me when I discipline myself to do the things I know I need to do even though I don’t feel like it.  I get a sense of well-being, a sense that I’m on the right track, and a sense of accomplishment beyond the sense of accomplishment when finishing my run on a good day.

For example, it was raining a couple of days ago so I didn’t go outside to run.  I decided to run indoors on the treadmill.  Now, I have to tell you that running on the treadmill is like torture for me.  I get so bored and my mind just wants to be done…now!  So, I procrastinated until it was getting pretty late and the longer I waited the more I didn’t want to get on that treadmill!  Image

Finally, though, I talked myself into getting started and pushing through the run.  I got started.  Now, I can’t tell you that I got started and then everything felt great and I finished my run with a smile.  It didn’t work that way.  I struggled with my thoughts of wanting to stop for the entire run.  I was tempted each minute to just take the rest of the night off and relax, after all it wouldn’t really hurt my training plan if I missed just one day!

The truth is that it probably wouldn’t have hurt my training regimen to miss that one night.  I could stay on track.  But, there was a great sense of accomplishment when I finished because I knew the run had been done in the name of self-discipline and that made it a better run for me.  Also, I knew that it was things like this that would allow me to talk to my kids about the value of self-discipline.

We all have those things that we know we need to do but we just don’t want to do them; exercise, spring cleaning, that work project that has been waiting for us to start but hasn’t really caught our interest yet.  Perhaps we can start them and things will start to feel good and we’ll get in a groove to finish them, but perhaps it’ll be a struggle from start to finish, like my run, and we’ll be wanting to be done…now!  

Either way, though, there will be a sense of completion, a sense of well-being, because we know we’ve done something that really needs to be done and we’ve done something good for us that wasn’t a pleasure to do.

Self-discipline isn’t fun.  If it were, we would call it ‘playing’.  But, the truth is that there are some things that simply must be done for our own well-being.  There are some chores that we must slog through in order to be well and stay on our path.

Self-discipline is one of the foundational differences that a leader has.

Think BIG

Posted: May 3, 2012 in Just Thinking, Uncategorized
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I love the way the Apostle Paul loved  to encourage the church. He was always building them up and sharing edifying words with them as he spoke to them, either by the written word or the spoken word. There is a lesson here for all of us as we deal with others. We can encourage and lift people up when we speak to them, even when we need to correct them.

But, today’s thought comes from the book of 2 Corinthians, chapter 6. Once again, Paul is encouraging the church at Corinth even as he needed to scold them.  Here, he tells them “the smallness you feel comes from within you.  Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way.”  (The Message)  The people and the church were feeling insignificant and Paul was telling them that he was there serving alongside them and telling them that they, too, can step up and live big lives.

There is a difference in having a small life and living small.  It sounds like only a rearrangement of words but it’s a major shift in how we think, it’s even a major shift in our lifestyle.  It’s can also be hard for us to shift our mind and life from living small and living big.  Many times, those of us who live small are doing so because they’ve been led to believe they are small people who really don’t matter all that much.  It can be so hard to make that shift to feel significant to others and to God.  However, there are so many perfect examples in the Bible and throughout history of those who have made the transition from small living to big thinking, Moses, Gideon, David, Esther, and so many more from the Bible.  Think of Mother Theresa from history.

Besides that, when we live small life can be easier for us because we’ve set the bar low.  If we set the bar low, then we won’t disappoint ourselves and others, right?  Living small can lead us to frustration because we know we are capable and called to do more, yet we live with low expectations just so we can be comfortable and meet our low expectations.

Whether we believe we live a small life because that’s what we’ve been told throughout our lives or we live a small life because we don’t want the pressure of high expectations, God has given us the tools of greatness.  After all, He has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to live in us, to guide us, and to draw us to a big life, full of challenges, ups and downs, and significance.

My challenge is to step up to the greatness God has called you to.  ”The smallness you feel comes from within you.  Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way.”

Think and live BIG!

 

Contentment versus ambition

Posted: April 19, 2012 in Just Thinking, Leadership
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Contentment can be such a difficult thing to find sometimes.  I struggle very often with the concept of contentment versus ambition.  The apostle Paul tells us to be content in all situations.  In 1 Corinthians 7:17, he tells us “And don’t be wishing you were someplace else or with someone else.  Where you are right now is God’s place for you.”  (The Message).

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I can fully see Paul’s thinking here and understand what he’s telling us.  God ordains our times and places and we should find contentment in those times and places.  However, does that mean I shouldn’t be ambitious and make plans to do something different, maybe something more difficult or with more responsibility?  Where is the balance between contentment and ambition or opportunity.

I don’t think I can answer this question today, or any day for that matter.  It’s such a fine balance after all and there is a definite tension between the two.  However, I believe there is a place in our lives for both.  I believe God does call us to specific places and specific times, but I believe He also calls us to grow, to fulfill His plans for us, and to be all He has called us to be.  The key, I think, is to find contentment in the places He leads us along the way.

For example, some young people are called to be doctors.  Of course, there is a lot of work and education involved in becoming a doctor.  The young person is driven to be a doctor, it’s her hope and dream to be a doctor, and she will stop at nothing short of being a doctor.  These are great attributes, but she has to be sure to remain content as she’s doing the work and gaining the education required to be a doctor.  She must find contentment in school, in serving her community, and in growing into what God has called her to do.

There will always be tension between contentment and ambition.  Both of these things are important and neither is wrong.  The key for us is to balance our ambitions with a Godly contentment of where we are at the moment.  It’s seeing God’s vision for your life and enjoying the journey of getting there.  God’s call on us is for a lifetime and we’ll never really ‘arrive’, so we must be able to find our contentment in the journey to our ambitions.

Goals

Posted: April 12, 2012 in Uncategorized
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It’s funny, as 2011 was ending in December, I could sense a feeling of frustration inside of me that was really bothering me.  I considered this frustration and tried to figure out where it was coming from, without success.  Then, early this year I was reading Mark Batterson’s book, The Circle Maker, and it struck me that it had been a long time since I had set some definable goals and worked toward meeting them.  I am a goal-oriented person, but I had let myself slip out of the habit of setting goals, writing them down, and achieving them.

So, that’s just what I did.  I set a few goals for myself and wrote them down.  Writing our goals down is powerful because it makes them more real; it gives them life. 

Another important thing about goals is that we set goals that will stretch us.  It’s not much good for us to set a goal to keep doing what we’re already doing.  We need to define our goals as beyond what we are currently doing.  We need to make ourselves dream, work, and do things we think are impossible.

One of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of 2012 is just like that.  It was a dream, it would be lots and lots of work, and it seemed impossible.  I determined to run a half-marathon in 2012.  Now, I’m not a runner.  I don’t particularly like running, I don’t experience that endorphin high that runners talk about; running just makes me tired. 

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Goals

But, I set this goal anyway because I wanted to stretch myself with it.  And what a stretch it has been.  I’ve stayed with my training plan and I’m on track to run a half-marathon in Gloucester, MA on May 12. 

Realizing this goal will be so much more than saying I ran 13.1 miles.  Realizing this goal will reiterate to me that I can do things that are hard, I can do things that no one thinks I can do, and I can succeed. 

My encouragement to everyone is to set goals.  Think hard and consider where you are at in life and set some goals that will stretch you, make you work hard, and make you feel like you’ve done what was impossible for you.  Write them down.  Make a plan on how to realize them.  And then, begin the hard work of realizing your goal!

History Lesson

Posted: April 5, 2012 in Just Thinking, Uncategorized
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The Apostle Paul gives us some good advice in the book of 1 Corinthians.  Around Chapter 10, he gives us a little of a history lesson.  He starts the chapter off by saying, “Remember our history, friends, and be warned.”  (The Message)  It’s always good for us to be able to remember our history, learn about the success that we’ve had, about failures and mistakes that were made, and learn lessons that will help us be successful today.  Of course, it’s also very important that we don’t live in the past; we want to learn from the past, honor the past, as we live in our current reality and plan for our future.

Later in the chapter, around verse 11 in The Message, Paul gives us some amazing advice.  He tells us, “These are all warning markers – DANGER – in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat our mistakes.”  History is a great teacher.  We can see that certain approaches or certain philosophies didn’t work in the past and use those lessons so that we don’t repeat our mistakes.  For example, consider the lessons we have learned from letting Hitler go unchecked through Europe in the 1930′s.  These kinds of mistakes can’t be repeated.

Hitler in the 1930′s is a huge lesson for mankind, but there are smaller lessons we need to learn every day; lessons from everyday people.  We can learn from our parents who are so much wiser than we thought they were when we were teenagers.  We can learn from elders who have had so many successes and trials throughout their lives.  We can learn from friends who we allow into our lives as accountability partners.  We can learn amazing lessons of leadership and wisdom, grace and mercy from the Word of God.  God gives us so many places of wisdom to learn from history so we can live more successfully in the future.

Unfortunately, we won’t always learn our lessons from history or from scripture.  Sometimes, we are stubborn enough to want to learn our lessons for ourselves.  We want to rewrite history or we want to think that history wasn’t a good teacher, or we just think we are better than those who failed at something in the past.


So, we need to honor history and learn from it.  We need to live our current realities in light of history, our abilities, and most of all God’s call on us.  Then, we can define a future of success, full of the wisdom of the ages, and our own experiences.ood teacher, or we want to make our own history.  There are success stories, of course, of people who ignore history as a teacher and go their own way, but I think the most successful among us find a balance between learning from history and learning from experimentation.

Reluctant Leader

Posted: March 29, 2012 in Uncategorized
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I’m always amazed when I read the story of Gideon and it seems like I get a new perspective on leadership each time I re-read it.  Gideon was such a reluctant leader and seemed caught up in his own fears as he was threshing wheat in the winepress and hiding from the Midianites.  Yet, God saw him as a mighty warrior and spoke those words over Gideon as He equipped Gideon for his mission against the Midianites. 

Gideon definitely used unconventional warfare in his fight with the Midianites.  His men carried trumpets, torches, and jars into battle.  It seems appropriate, though, that Gideon fought with unconventional warfare because he was an unconventional military leader.  He was truly a reluctant leader.  His reluctance was based on his belief that his family was the least in the land and that he was the runt of his family. Then, God’s angel called him a mighty warrior.  

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Gideon’s lack of confidence can be seen throughout the chapters of Judges 6 and 7.  He was fearful, he wanted lots of confirmation from God in his calling, he used the cover of darkness and a friend’s help to destroy the idols in his father’s camp.  All of these things show that Gideon wasn’t the most confident guy in the world.  

But, God called him to defeat the Midianites and to use unconventional warfare.  It seems there are two kinds of leaders; those who are right out front, ready to unload the full arsenal, in the face of the enemy, and those who are not as ‘out there’ and who aren’t comfortable with the heavy artillery.  

God can use both.  In this case, God chose Gideon because of Gideon’s make-up.  He knew Gideon so well (Psalm 139) and equipped him perfectly for this battle.  I wonder how it would have looked if one of the full arsenal leaders had tried to overthrow the Midianites.  My hunch is that it wouldn’t have gone so well.  God chose Gideon, knowing full well Gideon’s gift mix, to do the job.  He used the gifts that He had given Gideon and propelled him to victory with trumpets and torches.  

God does that. He equips us all differently – some lead out loud, full steam ahead, using all the weapons in the arsenal and some lead more reluctantly, using simpler, quieter weapons.  The common thing, though, is that both leaders are obedient to God, they use the weapons God has equipped them to use, and the victory is won.

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