After surveying more than 10,000 people, the Gallup organization learned that people want four things from their leaders: trust, compassion, stability, and hope. Whether you consider yourself as the “touchy-feely type” or not, you can greatly influence others by showing you care and are willing to take action on the concerns and joys of somebody else. In short, regardless of your position, your influence rises and falls with the level of your compassion.
So how’s your level of compassion? Here are eleven questions to help you explore that: [click to continue…]
We’re in an interesting season and it has me thinking a lot about – and working a lot on – home. In a couple of months we’ll be moving from this…
To this…
At times the process has felt a lot like David’s famous whine: “How long, O Lord?” At other times we’ve found ourselves wondering how in the world we’ll get it all done.
All the details.
All the work.
All the thinking and buying and selling and meeting and planning and more meeting…
To prepare a place called Home.
In between all those details, plus the daily joys of work and service which go on regardless, I’ve been thinking about another kind of Home. One that’s more lasting. One where I have a place, but don’t have the task of preparing it… I just have to partner with the Lord to prepare me for the place.
Sometimes, like the Whiner-in-Chief, I look at this hope and ask, “How long, O Lord?” And sometimes I get this sense that it’s sooner than I think. [click to continue…]
One of the most charming words in the English language is the word “promise.” Do you realize that so much of what we experience, of what we know about God, of our spiritual maturity, and of our success or failure in the Christian life has something to do with how we respond to the promises of God? Check this out:
Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God (2 Corinthians 7:1, NLT)
We do not want any of you to grow slack, but to follow the example of those who through sheer patient faith came to possess the promises (Hebrews 6:12, Phillips).
And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires (2 Peter 1:4, NLT).
To put it simply, we are People of the Promise. So let me get nosey a minute. What are you trusting God to do today that only He can do? Where is the evidence in your life that God is keeping His word to you? What is there about your life that can only be explained by the faithfulness of a loving God?
The original card-carrier for People of the Promise was a man named Abraham. And we can learn some things from his example. [click to continue…]
“For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light” (Mark 4:22).
It’s amazing how much we live with the quiet assumption that we can have secret lives. There’s no such thing. There are only those secrets that are known today, and those that are discovered later.
The illusion of secrecy springs from the illusion of control and avoidance of consequences. I want to do what I want to do, without having to face the consequences of my actions should they be negative. I also want to hold on to my insecurities my false beliefs – those things that keep me tethered to a fear of failure or a fear of rejection.
Good luck with that. [click to continue…]
In the last post I shared six signs of a leader who breathes life into organizations and followers, as opposed to those who have a way of sucking the life out of them. Definitely worth a review if you missed it. My guess is, you have probably experienced both types on a personal level, whether it’s in your workplace, your church, or your community. We’ve certainly seen both types on a global or national scale as well.
What I’m more concerned about, however, is the leadership you show, even if you don’t think of yourself as a leader. Everybody influences somebody, and you’re no exception. And all of us can learn from the example of the ultimate life-giving leader, the Lord Jesus. Here are six more signs of a life-giving leader. [click to continue…]
(Get Out of the Boat, Part 3)
(Note: Today is a very special day for me. It was 40 years ago today that the Lord made it clear to a young high school sophomore’s heart that He had a call and gifts for vocational service for me. All I had asked for is clarity, and on this night He did that in no uncertain terms. There are many things I wish I could have done differently in the last 40 years. But if I had one thing I could say – one lesson learned that surpasses all others during this time – what follows is a pretty good expression of it. Hope you enjoy…)
How long are you going to wear that?
How long are you going to treat that uniform as if it’s a tattoo?
How long are you going to assume that past results are a guarantee of future disappointment?
How long are you going to treat failure as if it is a person – namely you – and not an event?
How long will you believe that people who love Jesus never blow it? And people who blow it could never love Jesus again?
How long – how long – will you assume that forgiveness couldn’t possibly mean restoration?
Maybe you’re the one who needs to get out of the boat. [click to continue…]
(Get Out of the Boat, Part 2)
There’s a 92% chance that nobody will ever criticize you for playing it safe.
There’s an 11 out of 12 probability that when all hell’s breaking loose, it won’t be advisable for you to throw yourself headlong into something even more stressful.
There’s only an 8% likelihood the circumstances, life, people or even God would ever ask you to do something completely unprecedented, electrifyingly dangerous, or humanly impossible.
So you can probably just skip this post and resume your normal activities.
Unless…
Unless today’s that one-in-twelve – or once-in-a-lifetime – kind of day. [click to continue…]
(Part 1)
There come those times in the life of every Christ follower when we are faced with a set of choices. These aren’t salvation issues – far from it. But they are faith issues. Growth issues. Issues of maturity and usefulness and power.
One of those choices has to do with your strengths, or areas of confidence. It has to do with whether you will acknowledge that even in the places where you’re an outright genius, God may have a better idea. That maybe – just maybe – He’s even smarter than you are.
Another has to do with just the opposite – your areas of fear or insecurity. Will you be willing to leave the predictable, the safe, and the orderly to do something completely unprecedented if Jesus calls you there? Even if the people closest to you are telling you you’re a complete fool?
Still another has to do with having courage in the wake of failure. Will you believe the testimony of grace that Jesus declares over you, or will you give failure the final say in your life?
It all comes down, friends, to what you do with your boat. [click to continue…]
To a world He referred to as dark, and to people He said were distressed and dispirited, like sheep without a shepherd (that’s you and me), the Son of God appeared on the scene, moving at what must have appeared to some at times to be the speed of light. Unlike any preacher or prophet, rabbi or rabble-rouser they had seen before, He came with a different call – a different invitation.
“Join me,” He said. “Follow me.”
This was not a call for religious people to be more religious. It was not an invitation for unrighteous people to behave righteously. The stakes were and are far higher than that. The deep, abiding happiness He offers (“blessed” He called it) are an invitation to move from time Into Eternity. [click to continue…]
What comes to mind when you hear the word, “Grace?”
Assuming you’ve moved past the former Princess of Monaco or a description of Fred and Ginger (disclaimer: they were before my time), most people with any exposure to the Bible or Church World will mention the cherished hymn.
Or, of course, what the cherished hymn refers to:
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.
And there it is… grace served for breakfast in the Christian walk. Where would we be without the marvelous, infinite, matchless grace of the Lord Jesus?
For a lot of people, however, that’s where the conversation ends. God in His grace sent His Son to die so that I could be forgiven for my sin – and once I turned away from that sin and received Jesus Christ as my savior and Lord, I experienced the beauty of God’s grace.
See what that all has in common? Vital as it all is, it’s all pointed toward the past.
Do a little digging in your New Testament – especially Paul’s writing, and you’ll see a different story. Check this out: [click to continue…]