Thoughts on Life and Leading

This Mother’s Day includes lots of emotions for me and my family. Our daughter, Jessica is a mom for the first time. Sophia, born on 4.22.11, remains in NICU, but thankfully is progressing. This whole experience has been a huge blessing but has also pushed us in significant ways.

Letha and I are now expected to pray like grandparents. That is a different level of prayer for us. And being put in that position causes me to really miss Letha’s mother, Mary Haynes. Mary passed away in January of 2009. She was an absolute prayer warrior. For years, the entire family counted on her to shoulder the load of praying for us and our kids. I can’t tell you how many times we called her, sometimes in the middle of the night, to pray for a sick kid. And she always did.

Mary is in heaven so now we have to step up and be able to cover the family. I feel the change in responsibility. I can’t measure up to the standard that Mary set for prayer. We miss her. But we have to accept the responsibility.

I do want to say Happy Mother’s Day to my wife, Letha, to my daughter, Jessica, to my mom, Fran. I love you all and thank God for you!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

Today is National Day of Prayer. Seems to me that every day should be National Day of Prayer.

Today in my prayer I am…

thanking God for saving the lives of Jessica and Sophia.

thanking God for the forgiveness of my sin.

thanking God for my family, my church, my country.

worshipping God for His faithfulness and love.

asking God for His wisdom, guidance, provision and blessing.

humbled by the fact that I know He’s listening and responding.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7

When we were in the heat of the fight for the lives of our daughter and granddaughter last week, I came to some fresh realizations and appreciations about my relationship with the church of Christ. When we were told by the doctor that the health of the baby was compromised and that Jessica was in great danger, I did not have time to make the decision to become a part of a church. There was no chance to introduce myself and get to know a pastor. I had to act fast.

All I knew is that we were in trouble and we needed people to pray for us. So I sent out a text to some close friends.

Here is what  I texted:

“Jessica is having an emergency C Section at 34 weeks. Thank God they are here visiting us. Thx for praying!”

We put basically the same thing on facebook. That’s all it took, the news spread. Upon receiving my text, people started praying. Our church and churches all over got the word. People prayed and it worked. We got our miracle!

Here are some things I realized – reasons why I am very glad to be an active and involved part of the body of Christ:

I am known: I don’t have to introduce myself when crisis strikes – they already know me and I know them.

I am trusted: people offer help when I haven’t even asked.

I am covered: God tells others to pray for me even when they don’t know details.

I am supported: my relationship carries us into the future.

I am never alone: they are there for me.

I am needed: people count on me when they need help.

On a regular basis, I am contacted by people who are in serious need but I don’t know them. They are not part of our church. I have no relationship with them and therefore have no clue of what is best.  Of course I can pray for a stranger. But it is very much different when I am in close relationship with someone who is a part of my faith family.

It is heartbreaking to try to help someone who is a total stranger. It is especially tough when they are in crisis and they are talking, desperately, to a stranger.

Here’s the big idea: don’t wait until you’re in crisis before you become a part of a church. If you do, they will not be able to help you to the extent that you need.

I need my church family! And so do you.

In watching the interviews of the poor people across the Southeastern United States who lost so much in the tornadoes this week, I noticed a pattern. Those who lost homes and cars and belongings all agreed: If their family was spared, they were grateful. Those who lost family don’t care at all about their stuff that remains.

With nearly losing my daughter and granddaughter this week, I am consumed with how important family is. God has been helping me to see how important my family is – He has been preparing me (take a look at my blog post from April 12). This is what crisis does for us: it clarifies our priorities. David Chrzan says, “A crisis helps us clarify our values by showing us what really matters and what really doesn’t matter.”

Our world is in crisis. It is time to put our families in their place: just under God.

I am speaking tomorrow about families and relationships. I am passionate this week about my topic. As I prepared for this series, I prayed for and thought about so many people I know whose families are getting bashed around. My heart hurts for them. If this describes you, I am hurting for you.  God has something to say to you.

If you are in or near Palm Beach County, Florida, join us for Indispensable Relationships. If it’s too far to drive, check out the message online tomorrow afternoon.

Much grace to you!

Rick

I had the high honor of holding my granddaughter Sophia for the first time yesterday. I was a puddle. She was so alert and looked me straight in the eyes the entire time. I couldn’t tell her enough how much we love her and how thankful we are that God brought her to us safely. But in a strange way, it was intimidating. As she stared at me, I wondered what she was thinking. In my imagination, I could see her wondering why she couldn’t just be held all the time instead of staying in an incubator. As I watched Jessica hold her, I wondered if she was wondering why we didn’t protect her against all the needle sticks and wires and tubes. Why did she have to wear a mask covering her eyes 23 hours a day? And the tape ripping. If I hadn’t controlled myself, I could have become violent with the nurse who was just doing her job. (btw – God bless these heroes!)

This baby is so fragile. She still weighs only 3 pounds and 8 ounces. My heart breaks every time I see her. But I love her so much and am so proud of her. I thank God she is here with us.

Please keep praying for Sophia and her parents. They have a long way to go. But God has already worked so many miracles!

The last few days have produced exponentially more visits to my blog that any time in its history. I’ve been blogging for well over 2 years. I work hard at coming up with interesting and thought-provoking material.  I do all the stuff they tell you to do when trying to gain readers. Still, visitors are minimal. (My mom would be a faithful reader but she’s not on the Internet.)

All this changed last Friday. When our granddaughter was born last week under extreme circumstances, readership exploded. Seriously, I’ve had more hits the last 4 days than I’ve had in the past several weeks (maybe months) combined! All thanks to Sophia.

So I think I’ll just hand this spot over to her. I’ll just post pictures of her and tell stories about her.

Seriously, she is getting better. Yesterday was good: she had gained 1 ounce (yes, you celebrate one ounce when it is more than 1/64 of her total body weight). She is holding down most of the milk that is being fed to her thought a tube – about 5 CCs per feeding.  Her jaundice numbers have improved.

I cannot express how thankful we are to everyone who is praying for baby Sophia. Please continue! She has a very long way to go. The doctors are saying she could remain in NICU for up to 4 weeks more, possibly longer.  I’m glad to tell you that Jessica continues to improve. She is gaining strength and is providing all the care for Sophia that she can. We are very proud of Jess and Josh – they are doing a great job!

So, lesson learned. If I want people to actually read what I write, the topic has to be Sophia Kate Hanson!

The birth of Sophia Hanson was a gift from God. Without hesitation, I say God worked a few miracles to bring our granddaughter into this world.

Our daughter Jessica and her husband Josh were visiting us from Guatemala where they serve as missionaries. They were expecting their first child on June 1. We thought it would be great to spend the holiday together and to celebrate Jess’ birthday on April 21. They were scheduled to go back home today (Monday).  We had no idea that God absolutely orchestrated the entire experience with the goal in mind of saving Jessica and Sophia’s lives.

Jessica was experiencing some complications and pain but she managed to enjoy her visit. On Friday, we decided that her pain was serious enough that she should be checked out. We made a call to a member of our church who is a Nurse Practitioner for a world-renown high risk pregnancy doctor. When we described Jessica’s symptoms, our friend suggested that she come in to the office to been looked at. It generally takes six weeks to get in to see this doctor but our friend got us an appointment in an hour. As soon as he saw Jess, he insisted that she go straight to the hospital. Once we were there, he informed us that she needed an emergency C-Section. The baby was severely growth restricted. But the more immediate problem was, Jessica’s platelets were dangerously low and she was at extreme risk of bleeding out on the table. The longer we waited, the more dangerous it became. Needless to say, we were all in a bit of shock.

We started to pray. And we sent out text messages and facebook posts informing our family and friends what was happening.  People from all over began to pray. It was Good Friday and lots of people were at church. And they prayed for our family. I can’t thank all of you enough!

The doctor came out of the surgery in just a few moments and told us that Jessica and the baby were OK. We were greatly relieved but were told that neither of them were out of the woods.

On Sunday Jess’ doctor told us that we were only 24 hours away from losing them both. Jessica was diagnosed with HELLP, a very rare and sometimes fatal syndrome that threatened her life and the life of the baby. We had been so close to a complete disaster but hadn’t had a clue.

There are reasons that I say that we received a miracle. If Jessica and Josh would have remained in Guatemala, we would have lost mom and baby. If the complications would have occurred just a couple of days later, we would have lost them. If we would have ignored the symptoms, we could have lost them. Even if we would have had a different doctor, it is possible that we would have lost them. With all of his experience, her doctor has only seen this syndrome one other time.

Jessica was released from the hospital today. Thank God, she is doing pretty well. The baby remains in Neo-Natal Intensive Care.  She has a long way to go. She only weighed 3 pounds and 10 ounces at birth and has lost a little since then. She is having some respiratory issues, is jaundiced and is still eating primarily via IV. But she appears to be a fighter. And I know for sure that God’s hand in on her.

We thank God for our miracle. We know for sure that this was not luck or good timing. It was God.

Wow! Our granddaughter, Sophia Kate Hanson was born yesterday, six weeks early and weighs 3 pounds and 10 ounces. She is doing well, and her mom, Jessica (our daughter) is improving. Lots of people asking for pictures so here are a few: (by the way, thanks to everyone who is praying for them!)

Our friends over at The Resurgence responded to a recent Washington Post article which said that “Christians focus too much on the death and resurrection of Jesus and that we need to focus more on his ethical teachings.” Justin Holcomb did a masterful job of explaining why this idea is nonsensical.

Take a look at Justin’s work here.

The author of the WP article, Erik Reece, makes a very strange statement: “This is why I’m against Easter. It celebrates the death of Jesus nearly to the exclusion of his life.” This comes from a guy reared in a Christian home by godly parents (both his father and grandfather were Baptist ministers.)  So my question for Erik would have to be, “did you even pay attention at Easter?”

Easter does not focus solely, or even mostly on the death of Jesus. That’s what Good Friday is for. Easter is celebrating life! Jesus came back from death, He defeated the grave! Easter is victory!

While I respect the man and his right to an opinion, my heart goes out to guys like Erik. He was surrounded by the story but something or someone prevented him from grabbing the story.

I hope that those who hear the Easter message this year do grab it. It’s not just about the Cross, although that is the focal point of our salvation. Easter is life! Without the resurrection, we are all lost.

The buildup is huge for Easter. We are praying hard and working hard trying to get everyone we know excited about this Sunday. There are networks of pastors encouraging each other, we are inviting people like crazy, we are working hard to see our churches filled with people this Sunday.

So is it worth it?

Once Easter is over, will there be any residual from all of this effort? Or will there just be a temporary spike in church attendance and the week following, everything goes back to normal?

There is a young couple at our church who came for the first time on Easter. They gave their hearts to Jesus. They are serving Him. They support His work.  Is it worth it? You bet it is! If just one person comes to Christ and has their life turned around on this Sunday– it is worth all of the effort and work and prayer and sacrifice.

So I am going full speed this week building up Easter at Cross Community Church. Will you join me?

Here is what I am doing: (click on)

Praying

Volunteering

Inviting

Any other ideas?

I am thinking that this Sunday’s message has the potential to be really good. I am not bragging. It is not my message. It is God’s message. But at the risk of sounding salesmanesque… you really need to hear this one!

We are wrapping up Semper Paratus, an in-depth look at the amazing life of Gideon in Judges 6-7.

Semper Paratus is Latin for “Always Ready”. God told Gideon to be always ready to go, be strong and rescue. (Judges 6:14)

There are 3 reasons why this message is going to rock.

Gideon’s story is one of the most entertaining and inspiring stories in the Bible. The stuff he did was miraculous and kind of unbelievable.  There is a bunch of motivation we can get from his life.

The story could not possibly be more pertinent to where Cross Community Church is right now. Our leaders are connecting with the story on a level that I haven’t seen in quite a while.

I feel like looking at Gideon is a glimpse into my life right now. Those who know me best have to be raising their eyebrows as I work my way through these passages. This Sunday will only be more of the same. Pay close attention to the major points I will make, if you want to explore the deep recesses of the sometimes unusual ways in which I think.

But the message is not about me, it is about Gideon. More importantly, it is about God and what He wants to do in your life. So forgive me if it sounds like I am promoting myself. I don’t mean it that way.

I came across some really valuable material while reading a book last night. Yes, reading is Fun Da Mental.

Christian Reflections on the Leadership Challenge by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner is an excellent read which I recommend for anyone aspiring to lead well.

In a section on leadership relationships and sacrifice, they said the following: “When you look up passion in the etymological dictionary, you see that it comes from the Greek word for pain and suffering. A passionate person is someone who suffers. A compassionate person is someone who suffers with others.”

I’ve seen the movie, The Passion of the Christ several times. I know what Passion Week (aka Holy week – next week!) represents. But I don’t think I’ve ever put together how passion in my life actually means suffering. Through the years, I have gotten pretty intense about some key issues – family, church ministry, helping orphans – and many times my passion on these issues has gotten me into trouble. As I look back, I recall many times in life when I spoke and acted with passion and the results were not good. It may not have been that the responses I received were painful, as much as the passion itself was painful. In order for me to get really in-depth passionate about something, there must be something wrong.  Someone is destroying their life and I am helpless to stop them; a child is going without food and people don’t want to help; Christ-following people are apathetic while their lost friends and family die without Christ. All of these things have resulted in my passion. And all of them have been quite painful. And up until now, I guess I was surprised by the pain. But no longer.

Thanks, Kouzes and Posner for opening my eyes. Of course passion is pain. What else could it mean? Look at how much suffering Jesus endured during Passion Week.

I just pray that I never become passionless. It may get tempting when you get tired of the hurting. But the pain of passion is better than death by apathy.

I have a friend who is a pastor who needs heart surgery.  He’s putting it off until after Easter so he can fulfill his responsibilities at church during the busy holiday season. He is risking damage to his heart. As a friend, I kindly told him that I think he’s crazy.

While I completely get guys like my friend, his dedication and priorities, his decision makes me wonder why we do the things we do.

Here’s my plan for Easter: my daughter, Jessica and her husband Josh are coming to visit us from Guatemala. They are missionaries at Casa Shalom orphanage. This is my top priority this Easter season. I do plan to go to church services, in fact four of them between Good Friday and Easter. But I am not going to neglect my family. Jess is expecting her first child, a girl (Sophia!) who will be born in early June. This will be the last time we are together before their lives change forever. Wild horses couldn’t drag me way. And neither could a busy Easter season at church.

God comes first in my life, clearly He is my priority. But everyone and everything else is a distant third to my family.

It’s going to be an awesome Easter!

While these one liners from tomorrow’s message may not mean much to you, they are serving to get me all geared up! See if they work for you. (BTW, I am preaching again from Judges 6 and 7, the life of Gideon.)

Semper Paratus: Always Ready!

Go. Be Strong. Rescue!

God does not call us to do easy things.

God is relentless when He calls us. (to affect change)

A cave is relatively safe. But you don’t win battles in a cave.

God does not mind our cautiousness. God does mind our disobedience!

Sometimes God reduces our resources because we rely on them too much.

He wants our trust.

Fear will remove you from the battle. But it will also remove you from the victory.

Those who quit lose both the battle and their dignity.

Join us if you’re in town! Cross Community Church!

I have a theory that the number of quality leaders that are making themselves available to various organizations may be in the process of being reduced.

Many successful business leaders in the private sector are saying “no” to opportunities in the political world. Some of our best physicians are deciding not to practice publicly because of increasing litigation. Pastors of successful churches are declining offers of leadership positions in their denominations or fellowships.

The result of all of this?: The quality of leadership is on the decline. Current leaders, please do not be offended or insulted by this. You are doing an amazing job. But we could use some help, right?

I hear it all the time. In the last three weeks, I have heard people respond to simple leadership opportunities with, “I like my lifestyle, I really don’t want to do anything right now” and “It may be time for us older leaders to step aside and make room for some new leaders.” This is code for, “I am not leading anything”.

It is increasingly difficult to get people to step up and lead. There are some valid reasons:

More is expected from leaders and some people prefer low expectations of themselves.

Leaders are held accountable and some prefer to be unaccountable.

Leaders are responsible for others and some folks prefer to fly solo.

You get the idea.

Here is the problem: as the leadership pool dries up, the quality of our organizations and lives decreases. We are all paying the price.

We need men and women who are not afraid to accept the responsibility of leadership. Not everyone is called to lead but many who are, won’t.

So how about it – are you called to lead something? If so, please give serious consideration to the results before you say no.

Patterns – you either love them or hate them. If you are a creative type, one of those free spirits, you probably disdain predictability. Go with the flow is more your style. Spontaneity and improvisation – there we go!

You control freaks (I say that lovingly) among us need order. You not only want to know the agenda, you want to set the agenda. Systems and structure and form – that’s your idea of a good time.

I think I’m somewhere in the middle of those two. I like to know what’s coming next but a little adventure does my heart good. I like variety.

But let me tell you what I don’t like: Ruts. Ruts kill us! A rut is that place where forward progress stops. You keep spinning your wheels but you go nowhere. You expend all of your energy but the scenery never changes.

We need to distinguish between a rut and a groove.

The biggest difference between a rut and a groove is that a groove takes us someplace – we get stuck in a rut. Grooves are when things are working. Life is happening. Stuff gets accomplished. Ruts are different. The harder you work, the deeper you dig. If you are in the same place now that you were a year ago, classic rut! I hate ruts.

While I can’t offer any simple solutions if you are in a rut, I can tell you what doesn’t work: working harder at what you are already doing. As the old saying goes – When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

If we are in a rut and hope to get out, we have to change something we are doing. Here are 3 ideas:

Take a risk: Innovation and risk are necessary in order to get out of a rut. You have to takes some chances. Try something new. The result may be the same but if it is, try something else. Keep trying until you get out of that rut.

Consult with a friend: Ask someone who has been in a similar situation. Maybe they can offer some encouragement and advice. It can’t hurt, right?

Pray: God also hates ruts. Ask for His help and He will assist in the digging out process.

Here’s the deal – never get comfortable in a rut. Others may like it and even resist when you try to escape it (misery loves company) – maybe you’ve been in a rut for a long time – but God did not create you to live in a rut. Get Out!

Examine your situation today. Are you in a rut or in a groove? If it’s a groove, run with it! If it’s a rut…

Always Ready!

That is Semper Paratus translated into English.

Today’s worship events at Cross Community Church were a strange mix of blessing and challenge, celebration and frustration.

God gave us a very direct Word from the life of Gideon. The Holy Spirit stirred our hearts and challenged us as He did Gideon. We are excited and motivated to live out what we heard today. I wish that all of our church family had been present today to hear what God said to us and experience His work among us.

If you are part of our faith family, I am asking you for 3 things this week:

1.       If you were not at Cross Community today, please listen to the message online. Click this link. Listening cannot replace the experience of being present at a worship service, but I know this was a Word from God for the people of Cross Community and I don’t want you to miss it. You can get the major idea of what happened and I believe it can be life changing. If you were at one of the services, encourage a friend to listen online.

2.       Read and study Judges 6 and 7. I am completely convinced that we are currently under the same type of influence that oppressed the children of God in the story. Next Sunday we will continue in the story and see God’s deliverance from the enemy.

3.       Don’t let anything stop you from being at Cross Community Church next Sunday.

I feel like I assume Gideon felt. God has called us to lead the battle as we break up this cloud that hangs over so many lives.  He says, “Go. Be Strong. Rescue.”

I am Semper Paratus! Are you?

I did something strange two weeks ago. I met a guy who said to me, “I want to pray the sinner’s prayer”. And I proceeded to try to talk him out of it. My first response was something like, “let me tell you some reasons why that is a bad idea.”

I know I have some ‘splainin’ to do.

Here’s what happened: I could tell that this individual was in the middle of some type of crisis. I assumed that something had gone wrong in his life and He wanted God to make it better for him.  I have seen it a hundred times – a guy gets into trouble or loses his job or gets a bad diagnosis. And he wants to come to God only to get bailed out. Honestly, I have seen too many people who come to Christ in times of crisis only to abandon Christ as soon as the problem is averted.

So I asked the guy, “What’s the problem that brings you to Jesus?” He told me that his wife had left him and he wanted her back. I explained that giving his heart to Christ probably would not fix his problem. I asked him what he would do if she didn’t come back – or even if she did come back.  I asked if he intended to use Jesus to get her back. Was he trying to barter with God? After some very direct questions, he assured me that he intended to live for Christ the rest of his life regardless of what happened with his wife.

I was convinced. The guy prayed the prayer and I believe, gave his heart to the Lord. I haven’t seen him or spoken to him since.

My friend, Reese Hendricks reminded me today that this is a similar situation to what Jesus did with the rich young ruler. Only the results were different.  Jesus got to the heart of the issue and this man’s motives were not pure. So he walked away from Jesus.

I just wanted to be sure with this guy. I don’t know what I would have done if it had turned out differently. I am glad it went the way it did.

Yes, that is Jesus on the phone. At least He had the courtesy to step outside for His call.

My new pet peeve is cell phones ringing during worship services. Actually, it’s not a new pet peeve, it’s been around for a long time. Which makes it even harder to understand why people have not mastered the art of muting their phones.

During the announcements, we regularly request that people turn the volume down. People chuckle and do nothing. Nearly every week while I am preaching, someone’s phone rings. I can’t tell you the number of times that I have been at THE most crucial point of the message only to have us all distracted by a ringing phone. At the risk of sounding hyper-spiritual, I believe that there is a diabolical (meaning from the devil) plan to distract us from the Word. I am about to cast out some devil from our services!

Recently, some leaders have suggested as potential solutions: public humiliation, a communal stomping of the ringing cell phones and open-air floggings. These are beginning to sound feasible.

By the way, we can’t legally install signal scramblers; that has also been considered.

I am open to suggestions…  anyone? Maybe the church below has a good idea…