Southeastern University @ the Movies

Don't get me wrong ...I think its great! ... But... We went to see National Treasure 2 @ the movies the other night while visiting family in Lakeland, Florida. Years ago I attended what was then called Southeastern College in Lakeland. You see, going to a movie theater to see a movie when I was a student was forbidden.

I thought it was amusing when an advertisement for the University popped up in the pre-movie advertisements... I suppose that its permissible now. Its interesting how rules change over time. It made me smile. If President Homer could see us now.

Makes me think that before we complete our lists of "right and wrong" and "do's and don'ts" we should think twice. I understood the rule and had no problem abiding by it or any other rule that I willingly agreed to at SEC but as I grow older and maybe a little wiser I recognize the need to have good reasons for the rules we establish.

Actually I am extremely selective in my entertainment choices. I believe it is important to honor God in everything we do. It is also important to distinguish between "sin" and "house rules "-- very often there is a definite difference.

What is God Doing?

As a missional leader I am challenged to lead and live according to the activity of God around me. I must discern what God is doing and seek to be a part of that rather than rely entirely on the 'dry erase board' and strategic planning sessions.

I am a strategically focused leader, I know that and I embrace that, but it is more important for me to allow God's plan to rise up in me through what God is doing in me, what I observe Him doing in people around me, and what He is doing in the world.

I was further challenged in this today when I read Matthew 6:33 in the Message...

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

I need to focus entirely on what God is doing right now because following that activity is going to lead me to what God wants to do tomorrow.

Tampa to Indi...er...Minneapolis

I want to dedicate this post to my friend, John Palmer, who recently wrote a very similar post on his blog. I must admit that when I read his post I congratulated myself for having never missed an airline flight...2 weeks ago...

Today I learned that it is possible for the temperature to drop 79 degrees in 2 ½ hours. That’s because I missed my flight from Tampa to Indianapolis by 8 minutes. Not the flight, mind you, but the 45 minute baggage check deadline. Did you know that it doesn’t matter if you have a boarding pass and can still make it to the gate before boarding stops but if you can’t get your bag on the flight…you can’t go! When I left Tampa it was 81 degrees and when I landed in … Minneapolis … yes, Minneapolis (now on my way to Indianapolis) just 2 ½ hours later it was 2 degrees.

Here’s the kicker. The flight from Tampa to Indianapolis left at 1:50 and the flight to Minneapolis left at 1:58…but I made the baggage deadline (and the final gate call I might add) for the Minneapolis flight. All I have to say right now is… Thanks Abraham for that Ishmael thing (for those who might know what I mean).

So, I am sitting in the Minneapolis airport as I write waiting for my 8:00 p.m. flight to Indy knowing that for the sake of 8 minutes I would have been sitting in my recliner in my living room almost 2 hours ago.

Now…let’s get to brass tacks!

My class ended at 2:30 on Friday and the only hard appointment I had on my calendar was being on an airplane at 1:50 on Saturday. Why was I late? A lack of focus. That’s right John, a lack of focus. You warned me!

On the way to the airport I looked up and saw a sign that said “Tampa 13 miles” and I said to myself, “David, you are going to miss that plane.” You see, I knew about the 45 minute cutoff for checking baggage.

But here’s my lesson…I’ve gotten so comfortable with air travel and I know all about the hoops and the tricks so I got a little too lax with some unbendable rules.

There’s a lot of things in life and leadership that if we get too comfortable we can let down our guard and lose our focus at critical moments. Accidents happen when we’ve done something thousands of times and we divert our attention at a critical moment. Leadership failures occur, most of the time, not when we do something out of ignorance but when we knew better but we just got in a hurry in familiar surroundings and lost focus at a critical moment. Personal Spiritual failure happens when we think that we can loosely navigate the disciplines and the focus that is necessary to stay sharp.

When I came through airport security today I was flustered because I had to hurry or miss my flight. I almost walked away with the man holding my boarding pass. I told him I was flustered because I’d already missed one flight. He said, “just slow down and focus…that will help.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know…slow down and focus. The guy is right.

I’d better close this blog post. I’m sitting right across from my gate but the flight will be boarding in an hour and half…I’d really hate to miss it!

If You're Gonna Fish Keep Your Line in the Water

I never cease to be amazed.

Why can't someone answer the phone at most churches? And why, when an answering machine answers, before I can leave a message, do I have to endure a litany of every service venue the church offers along with start times. Please folks, if all I want to know is the service times I'll look at the website...what? You don't have a website... Oh my.

Leadership and ministry brings a lot of victories and a lot of defeats but one thing I know for sure, If you don't keep your line in the water you can't catch fish.

Don Padgett is my #1 fishing buddy. Neither one of us gets to fish 1/10th as much as we used to when we were younger and had less responsibilities but we still enjoy getting a line in the water once or twice a year.

Don used to consistently catch more fish than me by about 4 to 1. If you know me you know that I think analytically...okay, I OVER analyze everything... so through the years I watched Don. At first I thought that he caught more fish than I did because he just knew more about fishing than I did. He regularly read Bassmasters Magazine and, while I know that he would not want to admit this, he even clipped and filed articles--probably never to look at them again.

After a couple of years I decided that Don was probably catching more fish than I was because he was operating the trolling motor and was always in the front of the boat. Actually that might have had something to do with it but I hate fishing and simultaneously running a trolling motor so I never complained. I figured it was better to catch less fish than to have to run the trolling motor half the time.

But the 4 to 1 discrepancy actually had little to do with his superior knowledge or his sitting in the front of the boat. After much thought and analysis I discovered why Don consistently caught more fish than I did. His line was in the water more than mine!

The gap has narrowed now that I've stopped changing lures as often, getting my line tangled, cleaning out "birds nests" (for you civilians that's a reel backlash), and just generally fooling around. Don and I both have good days and bad days but overall we do about the same (though I must admit that other than this past summer Don usually catches the biggest fish ...biggest fish for 2007 is to the right...if Don had a blog he could post the biggest fish from the last umpteen years--not that we keep track, you understand).

Your line has to be in the water to catch fish. On game day you have to show up. There are a few basics that, when missed, are like being on a boat without your line in the water.

First, for crying out loud, make sure someone answers the phone! That's as basic as it gets. Go ahead and make excuses. If you don't want to catch fish that's fine with me. An organization that doesn't answer the phone is not going to grow.

Click here to check out the Barna Group research on the percentage of churches that answer their phone. A human being cannot be reached at 55% of all churches in America. Its insane that somebody can't answer the phone with cell phones, call forwarding, and other technology. You can't catch a fish if you don't have your line in the water.

The second basic I will mention is a web site. Again, go ahead and make excuses about how you can't find a high school kid and $120 bucks a year to have a website hosted with basic ministry information. If you don't want to catch fish that's OK with me (well, really that's not OK with me but I can't take responsibility for your life).

Here's a few pointers from Tony Morgan on church websites.

We've discovered that at Lakeview Church about 60% of our first time visitors found the church online before they decided to visit. 57% of U.S. churches have a website and if yours doesn't chances are there is a church in your neighborhood that does. Our website isn't the greatest in the world because we do not have a dedicated staffer managing it but it does establish a presence for Lakeview so the person moving from Saskatoon, Mozambique (not a real place:) searching for a church on Indy's westside can find us.

Hey guys and gals...I know it's tough to balance all the demands of ministry but pay attention to a few basics and find a way to keep your line in the water.

Christmas Cheer

Christmas at our house is a festive time. Joyce is the chief decorator and she does most of the work with the exception of the nativities (we have 34) and the train that I set up under the Christmas tree.

It seems that she packs up almost everything in the house and replaces it with Christmas decorations (it's not really that bad but during the process of unpacking decorations, packing regular stuff for 40 days of storage, unpacking the regular stuff, and repacking the decorations for 325 days of storage it seems that way).

Christmas is our favorite time of the year because it is the time when our family intentionally comes closest together more than any other time of the year.

People generally seem more loving and gracious during the Christmas holidays. Family and loved ones become more important during the holiday season than at any other time of the year. People feel generous and compassionate. It's a great time of the year. Not only that, when else can you walk into a Target or a Wal-Mart and hear songs about Jesus playing on the store P.A. system.

Wouldn't it be nice if we just left the Christmas decorations up 365 days a year and somehow sustained the benevolent feelings and the intentional expressions of love?

Hey, if we had Christmas 365 days a year I wouldn't have to put the decorations back into the attic.

Leaders are Readers

I've always had to push myself to read. I really hate to admit that. Watching television is just so much easier. When faced with decision to either read a book or see if Andy and Barney get things squared away with Helen and Thelma Lou (even though I know that they did the last 132 times that I watched the same episode) I'm hard pressed to choose the book.

Well, all of that being said you will be happy to know that once I pick up a book and start reading it, not only am I glad that I did but I actually enjoy it.

I've read more in the last 3 years than I have in the rest of my life combined. My hunger for knowledge has just exponentially increased. What made the difference--being stretched out of my comfort zone and feeling the need to grow.

It's not that previous ministries were not challenging, because they absolutely were and are, but keeping up with a church of a couple of thousand people is ever changing and if you don't keep learning you get mangled beneath those wheels that just keep rollin' down the tracks.

I'm starting a Master's program in Organizational Leadership in January. I'm going to be reading no less than one book a week (or more) for the next couple of years...and probably for the rest of my life.

While Barney and Andy still beckon, the trade off is worth it. Here's a few things I've learned about reading and learning.

1. Leaders really are learners and if you stop learning you will eventually stop leading.
2. The more you read the more you can read. The ability to process and synthesize information keeps increasing with practice.
3. It is important to read from multiple disciplines. I am a pastor and I love spiritually focused books but is is important for me to be exposed to other ideas and ways of thinking. It actually causes me to grow stronger in my own discipline.
4. You can read dozens of books a year if you consistently read in two 15 minute time slots every day. You don't have to do marathon reading...short bursts can accomplish a great deal.
5. Chart out a reading track. Decide what you need to learn and the things you need to pump into your mind for personal development and chart out a reading track that will take you there.
6. If you start reading a book and it stinks, put it down and forget about it. Maybe you will connect with it a few years from now. (Unless, of course, it is assigned reading >:(
   
7. If you are reading a book and you come to a segment of the book that feels like a waste of time start skimming until the book gets back on track for you.
   
8. Don't neglect the classics. When people are still reading a book 500 years after it was written there is usually a reason for it.

Leaders are often overwhelmed with their responsibilities and sometimes they just don't think they have time to read. Big mistake. Books are the stepping stones that will bridge where you are and where you need to go.

Okay, here it is... I'm committed to reading at least 4 books a month (unless, of course, I have to read more on this Masters Degree journey).

Sorry Ange, I'll see you in a couple of years.

You Can't Lead Without Passion

I am passionate about the call that God has placed upon my life. It motivates me at the deepest level of my being.

I've always been suspect of guys who have lost the fire in their belly. You know, those guys who used to be propelled by a mission that gave way to a full blown vision but somewhere along the way they kicked into auto-pilot and started repeating a routine. I've always had this tiny fear tucked away in the back of my mind that I would one day become one of those guys who allows their fire get doused.

Lately I've been thinking about the passion that presses me forward. Where does it come from? How do I keep it alive? How important is that passionate vision?

I'll start with answering the question, "How important is that passionate vision?" My opinion...you can't lead without passion. Otherwise, what's the motivation? I cannot lead another person or organization to the fulfillment of a vision that I am not passionate about. It is passion that causes me to find a way when everyone says it can't be done. It is passion that presses me past the naysayers. It is passion for the vision that motivates me to sacrifice and press forward.

Where does such passion come from? I'm not a business guy and I've never been much on being passionate toward temporal goals...I'm geared toward spiritual results that are eternal. So, where does my passion come from? It comes from the Presence of God. When I encounter the Presence of God through intimacy with the Holy Spirit I "catch" the heart of God. I sense the things that are important to God and the fire that He is stoking in my belly. This incredible passion arises when I am in the Presence of God and this passion motivates me, propels me forward. For me...this is always where the passion comes from.

How do I keep it alive? I've got to stay connected to God's Presence (you notice that I capitalize the "P" in Presence...it is because I equate the Presence of God with the person of the Holy Spirit so to me God's Presence is not a ethereal aura but it is contact with the person of the Holy Spirit).

The Presence inspires the passion for the mission, the passion paints the vision, the vision begs the goals, and the goals guide the implementation.

I can't lead without passion and I really don't think any other leader (particularly spiritual leaders) can lead people on a mission unless they (the leader) feels the mission on the deepest level.

I love feeling the mission, I love being engaged in God's plan, I love the passion that arises in my heart, and I love pulling people around a vision to engage in building things that will last, literally, forever.

Servant-Leadership

I've been reading a lot about leadership the last couple of weeks in preparation for a class in NT leadership that I will be taking in December.
Servant-Leadership has been a focus.

One of the thoughts that I've come across that really intrigues me is the idea that a servant-leader is more concerned about the person or people that he is leading than the organization itself. I've really given this a lot of thought.

How can I be more concerned for the individual when my primary responsibility is leading the organization? How can I be more concerned about a staff person than the well being of a congregation that I'm leading? Wow, that's something to really think about. Who would Jesus have been most concerned about.

OK, I know this could lead to a deep philosophical discussion about the 99 sheep verses the 1 lost sheep, or dialog about the best thing for the many verses the interest of only one. Is it a truth that the servant-leader should be concerned about the welfare of one over the welfare of the entire group?

Hmmm. After pondering this I've come to some conclusions that I think will help me grow.

First of all, in God's plan, if something is best for His Church then it is also best for the individual. If a staffer is not functioning in his zone...his sweet spot...then there's a pretty good chance that they may not be in the best place for them.

Cutting to the chase--I am called and compelled to be very concerned for individuals that I have a responsibility to lead. If I approach situations where an individual is causing detriment to the organization I demonstrate servant-leadership if I approach the situation as a growth opportunity (or a transitional opportunity) for the staffer who is struggling--not for the sake of the organization but for the sake of the individual.

If I can separate out the individual from the global perspective while ministering to that staff person then I can truly look to the best interests not only of the organization but the genuine self interests of the individual.

Anyway, that's what I was thinking about.

Leaders must be Learners

On the way to Atlanta today I read a little bit from Missional Leadership by Roxburgh and Romanuk. A quote from p. 117 says,

"In our experience, many congregations are in trouble because their leaders don't know the most basic principles of leading people, forming effective staff, developing teams, or communicating processes. Crucial to forming missional communities, these skills are aspects of leadership that can be learned in other settings."

My experience tells me this is a very true statement. I must say that I've leaned a little toward entrepreneurial leadership models in my leadership and I am swinging back toward a missional leadership model. The thing about this quote that captured my attention is that simple, basic, universal people leadership skills and just plain old "smarts" are required in leading a church and leading people no matter how missional our focus is.

In my prayer time yesterday one of the Bible passages I read was Proverbs 3:19-20

"By wisdom the Lord laid the earth's foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew."

I know that God knows everything but I never thought much about Him doing the work of creation through His wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. I just always saw this picture of massive power shooting forth and...BOOM... everything was in place. This scripture says that it was an exercise, not only of power, but of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.

One of my core values is the pursuit of the manifest Presence of God. I want God's Presence to propel my life, my decisions, and my direction. I want my encounters with God's Presence to be the origination of all of my actions. I also want to learn and increase in my abilities, in my knowledge, my understanding, and to grow in wisdom. I want the origination of my growth to be my relationship with God but I want to grow in wisdom and understanding so that I can be effective in the creative work that God has sown into my passion.

I have a passion to see church leaders relying upon the Presence and power of God but I am also passionate that they learn and grow in their pursuit of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Gotta have both!

When you stop learning you stop growing, when you stop growing the people around you stop growing through your influence, and when that happens the revelations that we recieve from God ring hollow because they don't find their fulfillment in transformed lives.

Atlanta and Grassroots Leadership

Networking with some guys today about starting and leading a school of ministry. We've got to start finding new and non-traditional ways to train church leaders. Everyone isn't going to go to seminary or even relocate to pursue an undergraduate degree but yet there is a leadership challenge that churches are facing. There's a lot of rural communities that have had churches for years...they are not exactly on the cutting edge but in their own God intended way they are impacting their little town.

Not many leaders fresh out of seminary are anxious to move to a town of a thousand or two and find a job in the town so they have the privilege of ministering and leading a group of people not quite able to pay them enough to make payments on their student loans.

Leaders are going to have to be trained and raised up from the grassroots and inspired and equipped to do the job.

This thing (the Kingdom of God) started out as a grassroots response to a divine plan. If we are going to hit the ends of the earth we are going to have to think of ministry and ministry leadership in different ways.

Corporate Evangelism

Here's a clip from a U.S. News & World Report web article about corporate evangelists:

“But the job of a corporate evangelist is about way more than preaching the wonders of a company to customers and clients. "Evangelism is about selling your dream so that other people believe in it as much as you do," says Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist for Apple Computer and one of the key people responsible for marketing the Macintosh in 1984. "Those people then, in turn, get even more people to believe. Just like Jesus was an evangelist who recruited 12 more evangelists."”

This is a great article and this is just a small excerpt. I encourage you to read it in its entirety...after you finish reading this blog, of course.

The words "Evangelism" and "Evangelist" are words that I've heard and used all of my life. They are words that have been used in the "church world" for a couple of thousand years. I find it interesting that progressive corporations, largely in the tech sector, are using terminology like "evangelist" and "evangelism teams".

It's interesting how you can learn a little more about words and actions that you've employed for decades when you see the words and concepts used in a different setting.

Look at some of the phrases from this USN&WR article to describe corporate evangelism and evangelists:

• "Evangelism is about selling your dream so that other people believe in it as much as you do"

I want to be so charged up and passionate about what I believe and the dreams that I hold in my heart that it just overflows into the lives of others. Fact is, if I'm not excited about something then it is going to look pretty dried up to anyone that I try to share it with.

• "Those people then, in turn, get even more people to believe"

Why does the evangelist get even more people to believe? It is because the evangelist believes his message passionately. If I am going to share good news with someone then it had better be good news to me. Good things are contagious.

• "Just like Jesus was an evangelist who recruited 12 more evangelists"

Viral marketing is a growing marketing strategy that is more effective than direct mail or broadcast marketing. Viral marketing leverages social networks to spread news about a service or product. We used to call it "word of mouth" marketing but it is broader than that.

Jesus built an evangelism network with people who were just as passionate (well, almost) as he was about the news that he carried. In fact, I am a part of Jesus' extended network of disciples.

I am an evangelist. I am deeply passionate about the transformation that has happened in my life through my faith in God.

It's not up to me to persuade people to believe something. The work of the evangelist is to feel the message to the core and to believe that people will have a better life by hearing, understanding, and applying the message.

Things Keep Changing

Change is an important part of our lives and an important thing to consider in spiritual leadership.

I recently read somewhere that the knowledge bank of humanity doubles every 2 years and that by the year 2020 it will be doubling every 73 days. I've heard a few variations of the rate of change but the statement is accurate enough to challenge us with the impact of change on our culture. This is not simply a technological explosion but it is an information explosion that leads to constant flux and change in our lives and in the organizations that we lead.

Remember the Oldsmobile television commercial from a few years ago... images of vintage tank-like Oldsmobiles were replaced with racy and sleek new Oldsmobiles. The voice over said, "This is not your father's Oldsmobile." I think that was a couple of years before they stopped making Oldsmobiles so the advertising strategy could hardly be considered a success. You can't change an image that has been impressed upon generations just by saying something has changed.

Perhaps if we are trying to catch the attention of a generation that thrives on change we should embrace true change instead of just trying to point out that we are somehow new and improved. I suppose that if you have to call attention to the fact that you have changed then the change is probably not all that remarkable and it definitely isn't organic.

After the Oldsmobile commercials gained popularity I heard people cutely modify the phrase and saying it with that deep announcer-like voice... "This is not your father's church." The inference being, "Hey, look at us, see how much we've changed." You've seen it and it's kinda pitiful. A church that does everything just like they always have but they tweak a couple of insignificant things and start touting their relevance. Oh my.

Constant change is a part of our culture like never before in the history of mankind. We shouldn't force change just because we want to be trendy but change comes when we realize our effectiveness is waning. We open ourselves up to change when the things that we value most are starting to slip away. Change is, or should be, an organic response of our passion to reach people that Jesus loves.

I'm glad that some things never change. That is a comfort to me. There are constants that keep us anchored. The core of the message itself does not change but the methods are constantly morphing.

So, how does an organization or church face the inevitable need for change? Well, a lot of complex discussion could be had on this topic but I'd prefer to just make a simple statement about it.

If the organization that I lead needs to change to be effective, relevant, loving, concerned, or reflective of Jesus...then I must change first. When I embrace deep change in the ways that I respond, the ways that I lead myself, the fervency with which I pursue God, the reflection that I am of Christ, then and only then will I be able to lead the kind of organic change necessary to effectively minister to this generation and the ones behind it.

When I become, as a leader and as a person, unwilling to embrace organic changes that are clearly and obviously necessary for the fulfillment of the mission then it's time for me to step aside.

May I (we) be continually transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Transition...Movin' On

The cat is out of the bag. I'm leaving staff at Lakeview Church. Going to the district office to build stuff that will help pastors. I'm looking forward to the transition in an odd way.
Yesterday I noticed that I've been so light hearted. I didn't really know why. I'm not anxious to leave Lakeview. I thought it might just be the pressure that lifted -- and then I figured it out. I've been struggling with this decision for a long time and now that the decision is made I feel the pressure off.
The application...just decide, it aleviates a lot of inner turmoil.
One of my goals is to be a quicker trigger puller. This experience will reinforce that.

Blogging

After messing around with blog for a few months and reading many other blogs I'm finally coming to understand what I want to do with this. I'm actually starting to figure some things out that were a reach for me until now.
I now have a facebook page...check it out... just search "David Delp" and it should pop right up. Or, to make it easier, just click here.
I added a twitter box to my face book. Twitter is an extremely interesting new tool (new to me) using SMS to make posts to a mini-blog. Very interesting. I'm still thinking about the ramifications for communication.

There you have it!

The Other Side of the Fence

When I was the Pastor of a church in northern Indiana I had a neighbor named Ed. Ed was a bit of an aggravation to me because he didn’t keep his yard up very well and he let weeds grow in his flower garden. Thankfully my yard was fenced and it created a very neighborly boundary between our yards.

Other than the junk in his yard Ed was an okay guy and I made it a point to be friendly and engage him in conversation with the hope that a divine encounter would one day arise and I would be able to share with him what Christ meant to me. I felt like Ed and I were friends.

Sometimes I would hear a lot of yelling going on in Ed’s house. Sometimes there was some yelling going on in Ed’s yard. I was glad that I wasn’t Ed, that I didn’t live in Ed’s house, that I didn’t have Ed’s yard with junk in it, and that I had my family and my life instead of his.

Did I mention that Ed was a Jehovah’s Witness?

It finally happened. One Saturday morning, the only day of the week that I could sleep in, a knock came on my door. I got up and went to the door barefooted and in my bathrobe determined to get rid of whoever was at my front door. I opened the door and Ed was standing on my front porch wearing a suit, a pressed shirt, a tie, an overcoat, a hat, his best shoes, and a briefcase in his hand. You see, Ed had to perform some good works to try to earn his way into heaven.

“Ed, hey man, what’s up?” I said as I looked over his shoulder to see if I could see his car in the ditch because he must have surely been on his way to somewhere.

“Could I come in and talk with you for a few minutes?”

“Uh… well… sure… come on in Ed.”

I was starting to get a bad feeling about this.

You guessed it. Ed opened his brief case and pulled out some copies of Watchtower Magazine, the little Jehovah’s Witness pamphlet, and proceeded to ask me questions about my spiritual state. He didn’t ask me for the standard ten cents to cover the cost as others before him had. I started to squirm.

I said, “Ed, I’m a pastor, I love Jesus, He lives in my heart, you know that.”

He said, “Yes, but your Bible is full of errors and our Bible is correct.”

We bantered back and forth until Ed finally delivered his entire spiel. I was steaming. Ed packed and left. I said something nice to him as he left.

When I closed the door it hit me. I was Ed’s big fish “project”. He didn’t expect to win me over to become a Jehovah’s Witness but boy down at Kingdom Hall this story would play really well. I wondered if he would tell them I had my bathrobe on. I got angry. I felt used. I wasn’t sure I still liked Ed. For months prior to this we had talked over the fence in my back yard, we talked about kids, and flowers, and grass, and even the fence itself. He never said one thing about God; in fact when I would mention things about God he always quickly changed the subject. If he wanted to say something to me why did he have to dress up and bring his briefcase to my living room on a Saturday morning? What was wrong with a Tuesday evening while leaning on the fence?

You see, Ed wasn’t concerned about me – I was his project. I didn’t want to be like Ed so I wasn’t interested in any spiritual lessons from Ed.

The Holy Spirit spoke to me in that moment. People don’t want to feel like they are your project. They want to feel that they matter to you.

Here are some actions we can take:
-Pray for “divine encounters”. Pray that God will open doors of opportunity for you to share the love of Christ with someone.
-Preach the gospel to everyone you meet, and if necessary, use words. In other words, preach the gospel by demonstrating care and concern for others.
-Take the time to listen to people’s stories. You must be genuinely interested in others before you can impact their lives.
-Build authentic relationships with people and listen to them before you demand to be heard.
-Write down the names of five people that you care about and that you would like to have a divine opportunity to share Christ with. Then wait for the door to open – God will open it!
Listen to people because you care about them.

It is amazing. When you show people kindness and you have a genuine interest in them it opens a door for you to share with them the greatest treasure that you have.

A Priceless Treasure

About seven years ago our home was broken into. You, I, and most thieves know that somewhere in our homes there is a drawer, usually in our master bedrooms (now the secret is out), where we keep our treasures. The thieves found that drawer and made off with many of my personal items. Old coins I’d had since I was a kid, class rings, that kind of thing. For the record, I’ve found better places to keep my treasures.

Any respect that I might have had for the cunning of the thieves was tainted by the fact that they left one of my most valuable and prized possessions in plain sight. It was right there in the drawer with the other things of much lesser value that were taken. It must have been either a miracle of God in blinding the sight of the thieves or they were ignorant of the value of the item.

It was in a baby food jar so I know they could clearly see through the jar. Inside the jar was a “squishy ball” and 47 cents. The “squishy ball” is indescribable. It is blue and covered with tentacle like projections. I don’t really know what you do with a “squishy ball” except hold it in your hand and, well…squish it.

You see, one Father’s Day when Ashley was about 6 years old she took a baby food jar put the squishy ball that she got at the concession stand at the children’s camp that we used to lead every summer, put all of her money in the jar (the 47 cents), and wrapped it with newspaper and gave it to me because she loved me. It was a gift of great sacrifice because she has always been very fond of money in any form. Fourteen years later I still have that gift exactly as it was given.

Ignorant thieves. They missed the most valuable thing in that drawer.

What gave this treasure its value? It was the heart of a father for the giver of the gift. The treasure had its value because of what it was worth to the one who gave me the gift. Because it was special and important to my dearly loved 6 year old it was special and important to me.

As our church focuses upon this season of considering the “lost” (Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost) we must understand that the value of each person is wrapped up in how much that person means to our Heavenly Father who first loved us and gave his only Son that everyone of us might be found. That’s why every person has such immense value.

Why do we have a heart to see people found by Christ? It is because the heart of the Father goes out to them. Since we love God we value what he values the most—lost people being found.

As we are impacted by the heart of God toward the lost here are a few points of encouragement to consider.

Don’t be afraid – God’s Spirit will “coach” us in what to say when God gives us divine encounters with people who need a relationship with Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:16-17)

Be motivated by God’s love – The Holy Spirit (God’s Spirit) will give us a deep desire to connect with the world around us. Because God loves them his love will “rub off” on us and we will find ourselves really, really caring about people.

Just say what’s on your heart – When engaged in a divine encounter with someone God is drawing just say what’s on your heart. (Mark 13:11) (definition: A divine encounter is a meeting that looks like a chance meeting but it was really orchestrated by God for a purpose.)

Follow God’s lead – God’s Spirit will give us impulses that will be right on if we follow them. (Acts 8, The story of Philip)

As you consider God’s call to you to reach out and connect with those who have not yet been impacted by God’s love pray through and think through these points and allow the Spirit of God to lead you in reaching out to that which is most important to the heart of God—people who need an encounter with Christ.

Tapestry

My seemingly healthy 28 year old nephew died in his sleep on September 1. It was a really tough loss.

As I looked at pictures and videos I thought of all of the holidays and special days that the family spent together. I was having trouble wrapping my head around the loss and being able to put it into words. Finally I found words to describe what I was feeling.

It was as though a tapestry had been woven for years and years. Every memory was woven into this tapestry and completed a picture of my own children's childhood, of our family history, of fun times and challenges. These encounters all woven together formed a picture that was descriptive of our lives. It seemed that the tapestry would just continue to be woven infinitely.

With Brian's passing it was as though someone pulled a thread out of the tapestry leaving it rent, not destroying the whole thing but leaving a space in the picture that could never be repaired.

Loss of loved ones is simply a part of life. We all face it sooner or later and the older we get the more frequently we face it. In fact, given the reality of our mortality, sooner or later all of the threads will be pulled from the tapestry that was once our lives. Eventually no first hand living memories will survive.

Whenever we face a death it reminds us of our own mortality.

I want to leave a legacy behind that will outlast the memories of those who shared this life with me. What can I leave behind that will make this world a better place? Every investment that I make in someone else that can in turn be passed on can and will contribute to my legacy. I'll never know how many people I impact and most of the impact that I have in this life won't even be credited to my account.

I must be mindful of the fact that I am contributing to two pictures or two tapestries. The one that weaves into the lives of my family and friends as life memories and the tapestry that I am weaving through my contributions into other people's tapestries.

There is a picture that I contribute to that will endure and go beyond my life and earthly existence.

I want to be a legacy leader.

I was always taught to finish the things that I start but I want to start things that are so big that they cannot be finished in my life time. The only way that I can do that is to keep making deposits into other people's lives, keep helping others to be better and to step up so that the good that we start together can pass on to the next generation and continue on.

We are all contributing to a tapestry. I want to sow my thread into pictures that will endure far beyond my own life. When I'm gone I will leave a rent in someone's tapestry but I hope there are many other pictures that I've contributed to that will continue to be enjoyed for generations.

A Day in my Life

Our oldest daughter moved back home today.

She needs to conserve resources so that she does not run student loans up so she gave up her little domain and moved back into ours.

It's hard giving up the closet space in what had been dubbed our "spare bedroom." Now it's "Kelly's room" again. Its all cool. I know it won't last forever so I will enjoy this probably-last opportunity to spend a little more time with her under the same roof again.

She's complaining about her younger sister having taken over the bathroom and I told her that she forfeited her rights as the first born and now her younger sister was here before her. Didn't set too well.

God is good.

Character

"You teach what you know but you reproduce who you are."

I don't know who first made that statement but as it has to do with leadership and ministry it is surely truth.

Character and integrity are everything when it comes to ministry leadership.

We must minister out of a context of personal integrity and character. We must work things out in our own lives before we can instruct someone else.

I believe that there are a great number of ministry leaders who teach things that they've not worked out in their own lives. Apostle Paul pointed out a time or two that he had not obtained the full measure of what he was pursuing, I am also challenged by the fact that he encouraged his followers on more than one occasion to imitate the way he lived and led for Christ. He actually told Timothy to live according to the pattern that he had given him. (2Timothy1)

If I do not live a disciplined life I will not lead anyone to a disciplined life. I will only lead someone in developing a prayer life that rises to the level of my own. I cannot lead someone beyond where I am...and when I try without transperancy then I lack character.

Yes, as leaders we can inspire people to reach further than we have and to accomplish things that we've never accomplished, but the fact is we cannot disciple or coach someone in something that we are simply unwilling to pursue with dilligence in our own lives.

Leaders, lead with character. Be who you say you are. Live the way you teach others to live. Be an example.

You can teach what you know but you can only reproduce who you are. Be someone worthy of reproducing.

A New Year: Continuing on the Path

Moving into a new year is as simple as passing from one day to the next but considering the passing of time and making adjustments to maximize the time that is left is another matter.

With the new year should come new activities that challenge and stretch us. For me ... I think I'll dive into the world of blogging. We'll see how this goes.

Sometimes I forget but I never get over the fact that I have the power to change people’s lives; for the better or the worse. It scares me a little. This power does not innately originate with me but it emanates from the things that God has breathed and spoken into me: things that he’s invested in me, in us.

This power to change lives is only applied through some investment on my part and some commitment on the part of the other person. We call it “discipleship”: the making and growing of disciples of Jesus. I sometimes think of it in other terms, i.e. coaching, speaking into, leadership development, etc., but it’s really just brown bag discipleship.

The thing we must understand is that this is a spiritual exercise. If we want spiritual results then we have to sow spiritual seed. We can reason in our own temporal understanding and think up things that will help people, maybe even change them, but for eternal God-results I have to walk in God’s anointing and in spiritual revelation.

John the Beloved Disciple, in 1 John 2:24-27, writes this, “Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”

What, then, is my vocation; what is my calling? It is to be immovable in my reliance upon and my obedience to the Word of God. It is to focus upon the eternal and not the temporal. It is to abide in intimacy with God so I can hear his heart beat and communicate it to those who are hungry to hear it too.

I am deeply impacted by these words of Henri Nouwen from the prologue of The Return of the Prodigal Son:

“I have to kneel before the Father, put my ear against his chest and listen, without interruption, to the heartbeat of God. Then, and only then, can I say carefully and very gently what I hear. I know now that I have to speak from eternity into time, from the lasting joy into the passing realities of our short existence in this world, from the house of love into the houses of fear, from God’s abode into the dwellings of human beings. I am well aware of the enormity of this vocation. Still, I am confident that it is the only way for me. One could call it the “prophetic” vision: looking at people and this world through the eyes of God.”

This is what I want to do and this is how I can really bring about godly change in people’s lives. This is how I must grow disciples and live with an eternal perspective: I must abide in Christ and be positioned to put my ear against God’s chest, hear his heartbeat, and simply communicate what I hear. For me…that pretty much sums up my calling.