Thoughts on Life and Leading

Last week, I visited a nursing center where our church conducts ministry. After the service, they had a little party for the residents there and they were playing some nice, old school jazz and swing music. One of the residents, “Mr. Freddie”, got up and danced all around. He was a very good dancer, quite smooth. Someone pointed out to me that Mr. Freddie has to get around with a walker, except when he is dancing. This really peaked my curiosity. A little later, I went over and introduced myself. Mr. Freddie told me that he used to be a professional dancer. During WW II, he and a team of several other young people traveled around the country entertaining soldiers who had been injured and were in military hospitals. His eyes sparkled as he talked about it.

When Mr. Freddie was finished dancing and talking with me, he grabbed his walker and hobbled down the hall to his room.

I am amazed that a man who can’t walk without assistance can dance. I am intrigued by the power of the joy he receives from dancing. And I am wondering how to capture that joy.

Efficiency. It’s the name of the game when the economy stinks like it does. Everybody I know is trying to figure out how to make life happen with fewer resources. Either escalating costs or reduced income (or both) is hammering the average family. So we are focused in on trying to save some money.

But efficiency is more than just spending less money. That is not the entire point of efficiency. If it was, we would just buy less food and gas. What we are trying to do is get more for our money. $2.00 for chicken is not enough information. How many pounds of chicken? If it is one pound, not so great, if it is five pounds, now that’s efficiency. Energy efficiency is not just burning less fuel. It’s going more miles on less fuel. The idea isn’t just to spend less. It’s getting more while spending less.

Make the spiritual application. Can we expect to receive more if we invest less? Can we give God fewer hours than we used to and expect Him to provide more of what we need. Thankfully, with God, it isn’t necessarily a matter of how many hours or how many dollars. If our hearts are right, and God knows if they are or not, we can offer to God our best and He will take care of the rest.

I know a few folks who are struggling with giving God the tenth that belongs to Him. Times are tough and budgets are stretched. Surely God doesn’t mind if I give Him less than 10%! The problem isn’t the percentage, the problem is the quality of what we are offering God – less than our best. You can give God 20% but if it isn’t your best, you are missing the point. By the way, I know of a couple of people who are upset because they are making less and they have less to give – their 10% is less than what it was last year. Again, God wants your best, whatever that adds up to being. 10% is just the starting point. That’s minimal. God wants your whole heart.

Here is a really nice thought about efficiency. Little becomes much when you give it to God. He can bring more from less. Give God what He is due and He will surprise you with what He does with it.

God is omni-efficient.

Micah 6:8 The LORD God has told us what is right and what he demands: “See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.” (CEV)

God wants us to be good at three things. In fact He demands it.
Justice: let’s fight for it.
Mercy: let’s exemplify it.
Humility: let’s embrace it.

Simple. Straightforward. Required.

Maranatha Church is beginning a new message series on October 26 entitled wecanshareit.org. The goal of the series is to mobilize the people of Maranatha, and everyone who hears it, toward sharing the love of God in practical ways. I am really excited about the opportunities this series is going to provide.

As you might have guessed, we are developing an interactive web page (with the same name) specifically for this series. As part of this page, we are providing an interactive blog with daily entries highlighting the themes we are discussing. Also included will be videos of the weekend messages and basic info about the church.

Can you take a minute and check out the site? You may want to favorite place it so you can come back daily for the blogs. As the series progresses, we will be exploring some specific projects that we can all be involved in.

Join in, or do your own thing, but be sure you are involved in sharing some of the good things that God has given you.

Something really crazy happened last week. I was contacted personally by an assistant of a now famous Congressman in our area. His assistant asked if the Congressman could visit our church services and address the congregation. Thankfully, I told her that he was most certainly welcome to attend our services but that we would not recognize him or allow him to address our people.

Here is an excerpt from my response:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Congressman’s interest in attending one of our services on Sunday. While everyone is more than welcome to visit with us for the purposes of worshipping God, we are not interested in any type of public recognition of any politician. Our mission is “changing lives by connecting people with Jesus Christ”. A focus upon any individual seeking political office does not comply with our commitment to fulfill our God-given vision. If Congressman ­­_________attends a service at Maranatha Church, he will be treated with respect as would any guest, but we do not give public recognition to individual guests, especially those of public notoriety. We believe that this is consistent with the spirit of the scripture found in James 2:1-4.

Honestly, I had no idea of the firestorm that was about to break out around this guy. Four days after the request came, national headlines are talking about how this guy has possibly been involved in sexual affairs.

The request did not sit well with me. I felt as though he was trying to use God’s time to get votes. I disagree with his politics but even if we were on the same page, I could not allow worship time to be spent politicizing.

Man, am I ever glad that I know better than to allow a politician to use our worship time for personal gain. If I had allowed him to speak…wow, I don’t even want to think about it.

I have heard countless times the last several months that Americans are afraid. Actually, “sacred to death” is the more common expression. The fear is centering on the topic of finances. So I decided to think a little deeper about this idea. What exactly are we afraid of?

We are afraid of:
Not being able to pay our mortgages
Losing our jobs
Not being able to retire when we want to
Having to adjust our lifestyles

The people that I have talked to who are the most afraid have the most to lose. They have a lot in the bank. They have to spread their money around to keep it safe. If the economy totally crashes, they will lose a lot.

Now, I do not want to come across as a jerk but let’s put a couple of things in perspective.

Millions of people around the world don’t know where their next meal is coming from.
Kids is Africa have no clean water to drink.
People in India are starving.
Many Asians live with next to nothing.
And we worry about not being able to make our boat payment.
We have had to cut back on trips to Starbucks.
Our continent is the most blessed, if economics are a blessing.

I realize that there is genuine poverty in America. We have poor among us. But this economic crises hasn’t changed their lives much. They had nothing before, they have nothing now.

I feel bad for people who can’t afford a vacation. People who are looking longingly at retirement have my sympathy. But I am not afraid for them. I am afraid for the starving kids of the world.

Any thoughts?

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you have noticed a distinct reduction in the number of posts recently. I have been suffering with a serious bout of vertigo. Vertigo is more than the recent overrated song by U2. It is basically dizziness. On Monday afternoon, I started feeling it coming on and I have battled it all week. Vertigo usually is accompanied by nausea and yes, I have had my share. The docs tell me that it is probably an inner ear problem.

I ask for your patience and prayer while we figure out what is going on. I have some in-depth tests in a couple of weeks to try to find some solutions. I’m not sure what will happen until then. I can’t drive, and reading/writing is a challenge on its own.

So hang in there, I‘ll be back. Until then, I’ll try to function the best I can in my spinning world.

I am collecting ideas for some upcoming ministry opportunities at Maranatha Church. In a few weeks, we are beginning a new message series about reaching out and sharing the love of God in practical ways. We will be promoting various projects to try to get everyone involved in a ministry activity. We hope to accomplish most of this outside of our church building.

We already have in mind various ideas: nursing homes, homeless shelters, short-term missions trip, beach and park clean up, something for the troops…

Please feel free to throw in a couple of ideas. We are compiling a list. It would be awesome if you could contribute to the list.

Thanks!

It is a very rainy day in South Florida. While tourists are mad and the Chamber of Commerce is nervous, I am a little glad. I am locked in today, prepping for a long day of ministry tomorrow.

I am very proud of a friend of mine. He stood by his wife for several years as she battled serious illnesses. This guy served his wife in every way imaginable. For years, he was a successful businessman, serving as the VP of a large corporation. The last few years, he gave up his job and just helped his wife.

He is the model of strength and integrity. He is faithful. I admire him more than I can say.

A few people have pointed out that he could have made a few decisions in more effective ways. I agree but I can’t imagine anyone loving their wife more than this man did his. He did things the best way he knew how and always with his wife’s best interest at heart. He fought hard for her and now he doesn’t have to look back and wish that he had tried harder.

His job as a caregiver is done. But I believe his job as a example for other men may just be getting started.

I am posting today from Panera Bread in Burnsville, MN. Letha and I are in town to help celebrate the life and home-going of a dear friend. On Friday, Marilyn Kliner went to be with God. Please pray for her husband and my close friend, Denny, as well as her entire family and circle of influence.

Any accusations of me being sentimental today would be correct. Just a thought: go ahead and take Tim McGraw’s advice. Live today like you may not have tomorrow.

God bless the Kliners and all who were touched by Mar’s remarkable life.

This morning, I brought out a old reminder of an ancient truth. While preaching about our positions as believers in Christ in regard to the current economic crisis in America, I reminded the people that, God is in control, by reading the lyrics (I did not sing!) of Twila Paris’ vintage 90’s hit .

Enjoy them and apply wherever applicable:

God is in Control

This is no time for fear
This is a time for faith and determination
Don’t lose the vision here
Carried away by emotion
Hold on to all that you hide in your heart
There is one thing that has always been true
It holds the world together

God is in control
We believe that His chilren will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember and never be shaken
There is no power above or beside Him, we know
God is in control, oh God is in control

History marches on
There is a bottom line drawn across the ages
Culture can make its plan
Oh, but the line never changes
No matter how the deception may fly
There is one thing that has always been true
It will be true forever

God is in control
We believe that His children will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember and never be shaken
There is no power above or beside Him, we know
God is in control, oh God is in control

Brent Maloney and Lindsey Jones are getting married on Saturday! These are two really great people whom God has brought together. Their wedding is in Atlanta and they will celebrate their day with family and friends.

God bless the new Maloneys. Let’s pray for about 100 years of happy marriage for them.

One of the most difficult to develop skills of an effective leader is learning how and when to say “yes” or “no”. How does one determine, is there a list of rules that we can follow that will help us decide what is important and what should fall by the wayside?

In my experience, most leaders have a tougher time with the “no” aspect. A productive lifestyle is usually full of activity and it is very easy to operate in the mode of “full-speed ahead”. This is cool and lots of fun but can sometimes be counter-productive.

I have developed a simple little list for you to consider as you move through your leadership day. Maybe this will be some groundwork to help us all know when to pull the plug or when to stay in high gear. It should at least start some wheels turning.

When considering the yes/no question, run through this list:

Considering the opportunity…

Is it crucial to the fulfillment of your vision? say yes
Is it part of your primary calling? say yes
Does it complement your particular gift mix? say yes
Does it have a multiplying factor? (doing the thing would have exponential results) say yes
Are you being pressured by outside forces? say no
Is it something that is being done, because it has always been done? say no
Would you be doing this simply to please people? say no
Does it take away from your ability to focus on your primary responsibility? say no
Is everyone, or anyone else doing it? say no
Is it fun? say yes
Is it a drag? say no

Obviously, there are qualifiers for all of these scenarios, but you get the idea.

Come on, use your good judgment. Say “yes” or “no” but whatever you do, get on with the thing God has called you to do!

On Sunday, we dropped by the mall for a few minutes. The early football games were over so there were several football fans there, celebrating a rare win. We saw lots of people wearing football jerseys, hats and various paraphernalia, all elated because their team is # 1, at least until next week. I saw one couple who were maybe a little tipsy from too much booze. He was wearing a jersey, she had on an old faded team t-shirt and a bunch of Mardi Gras -type beads. They walked by an Orthodox Jewish family who was dressed in traditional clothing. They were wearing black and the gentleman was wearing his kippa or yarmulke, the traditional skull cap. Keep in mind, this type of clothing is required by the Jewish religion to show respect and honor for God. It is part of their worship. This ritual is centuries old and has substantially deep cultural and religious roots. The first couple, clad in the football clothes looked at, pointed at and laughed at the Jewish family. They didn’t even try to hide their amusement.

What an obvious display of a culture gone ridiculous. The first couple was wearing ugly clothes, with colors that were based on a bad football team. They had the nerve to laugh at someone else who was not nearly as cool as they were, and were clearly very strange. They were superior, in part, because their team won today. The Jews were inferior because, well, their team didn’t even play today.

Jewish people have been around since the beginning of recorded history. This football team for about one generation. The Jews aren’t going anywhere. The football team could be gone as soon as a better offer from another city shows up. The Jews have loved God from the beginning. Football fans are as fickle as they come.

True colors, indeed.

On Sunday, Letha and I had the opportunity to visit a small church in a small town. We were taking a few days away for rest and decided to worship in a completely different environment. It was a refreshing change.

The service was formal and fairly liturgical. There were about 60 people present. The pastor wore a very nice cleric’s robe, we sang all hymns (six of them!), the only musical accompaniment was a small pipe organ and we prayed from a pre-selected liturgy. The pastor preached an excellent message from Matthew 20 about the parable of the laborers. His main point was: many times we think that God is not fair because He does not give us what we deserve. If we think we deserve more than what we have been given, this reveals that we truly have no idea about fairness. We should thank God that He doesn’t treat us “fairly”, or else, we would be in big trouble with Him. I was ministered to by the message.

As we sat there and joined in the praise, I was ashamed of our arrogance, assuming that we know it all and presuming that our way is better. I thought about our church back home and how our services are so different (not better, just different). I thought about how many times we turn up our noses when someone dares to do things differently than we are accustomed to. I was humbled by the sincerity of the pastor, the worshippers and this great worship service. The experience will stay with me.

I found myself well able to worship God in that setting. We should be able to focus on God when things are different. When they don’t sing “our songs” or preach it the way we like it, we should be able to worship God nonetheless. Substance must supersede style.

I will be glad to be back home this Sunday, but a little part of me wants to wear a robe – and I don’t even own a bath robe!

Recently, I had the experience of escorting someone to court. This was not traffic court, it was for more serious offenders. It was a rather disturbing experience. It had been a while since I was among so many people who were so disrespected. These were mostly young people and most were minorities. The behavior of some of these individuals was a little surprising, considering that they were in trouble. I assumed that they would at least pretend to show honor to the court and judge but this was not the case.

I was struck by the despair in the place. While I am trying to create some optimism, some of these people are in no-win situations. Anything short of a miracle and many of these kids are headed nowhere fast. I do realize that much of the bravado is posing, what appears to be tough and hard hearted is really repressed fear and insecurity. My heart goes out to them. And I am wondering how in the world that people who know Christ can ever reach them.

I do know this – these are exactly the kind of people that Jesus hung out with. These were the people that Jesus chose as friends. So it is possible to reach them. And that is what keeps them from being hopeless. Now all they need is some time with Jesus. Or some of Jesus’ friends who are willing to do what He did.

I was reading Bob Coy’s book, Dreamality. Bob is the Lead Pastor at Calvary Chapel in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and has an incredible success story going. In his book, he has a great chapter on stewardship, or the concept that all of our resources belong to God and we simply steward or take care of these resources for a short while.

Let me share a couple of things from the chapter:

“Records show that in a year’s time, Americans have been known to spend:

$110 billion on fast food.
$85 billion on lawns and gardens
$64 billion on soft drinks
$38 billion on state lotteries
$36 billion on vending machine products
$24 billion on jewelry
$23 billion on toys
$20 billion on cosmetics
$13 billion on chocolate
$7.1 billion on greeting cards
$600 million on teeth-whitening products

Consider these startling amounts in light of a few random bits of information, on what it costs to support life in another country.

· Just under $20 will feed a family of four for four weeks in Iraq.
· For $800 you can build a house in Nicaragua, and $25 will feed a family of four for a month.”
(p. 39)

Wow, thanks, Bob for putting some things in perspective. Makes me want to give more away.

As unspiritual as it is, I am thinking today about the old Jethro Tull song, “Too Young to Die” (vintage 1976). The song is basically a rock ballad about a guy whose friends have all abandoned their partying ways because of age and responsibility. He hangs onto the old lifestyle and ultimately dies in the end, crashing his motorcycle into a truck. Edifying stuff, huh?

The point of this post is not the point of the song. My thought is more along the lines of how difficult it is to maintain ministry passion over the long haul . It seems like lots of people get tired and worn down. After years of working and leading, some leaders feel like they are just too “old” to “rock ‘n roll”, or lead. It may not be a matter of age, it may be a matter of miles. Whatever the cause, there are too many people on the shelf, no longer on the front line of making it happen. This is a shame. There is a lot us potential life-changing ministry sitting on the chairs of churches all over the world.

Let me try to inspire you. You are never too old or tired or burned out to lead. Don’t ever believe that you are. Maybe you need a break, maybe even a sabbatical would help. But if you are feeling like the better days of your leadership tasks are behind you (whether you are 20 or 80), think again.

If you are still alive, you’ve got something to share. As our friends, Jethro Tull reminds us in the last line of the song: “No, you’re never too old to Rock’n’Roll if you’re too young to die”.