I hate to start a piece with a bunch of disclaimers, but I think I should.
- This is a little off my reservation, but only a little.
- This article is addressed to Christian people who still believe they are or should be an influence in the culture and society. If that doesn’t describe you, there isn’t much of value for you here.
- This article is addressed also to those who have a growing sense of frustration that the America you thought you knew is a thing of the past.
- This is going to come across as very cynical, but I don’t mean for it to – I am actually very hopeful that you and I can be salt and light in this world.
Still with me?
OK.
I had an “Aha!” moment the other day. You may have figured this out a long time ago, and maybe I’m late to the party, but hey, I was a 10-month baby. [click to continue…]
(Or Ministry… Or Job… Or Spiritual Gifts… Or Life Mission… Or…)
Years ago I had the privilege of visiting South Korea and preaching in two different evangelistic crusades. One day our hosts took us to a beautiful national park – a very busy place, with lots of booths, a walkway up a small mountain, and a Buddhist temple.
As we were walking down the mountain and enjoying the beautiful scenery along the wide walkway, a young Korean woman approached me and asked if I was from America.
“Could I talk to you as we walk?” she asked. “I’m learning to speak English and it helps to practice with someone who speaks it.”
She spoke English pretty well, albeit with a beautiful Asian accent.
“What do you do for a living?” she asked.
If you travel overseas or have any experience speaking to an ESL (English as a second language), it’s pretty common to try to simplify your vocabulary in order to be understood. I was a pastor at the time, and was pretty sure she wouldn’t know what a pastor was. So I chose a different word…
“I am a minister,” I said.
Her whole countenance changed. Suddenly she was in the presence of someone important!
“Oh! You are a government official?”
Yes, I know I shouldn’t have… but I literally laughed out loud. Then I tried to explain to her that in the U.S. we use the English word “minister” in a different way.
I think she was disappointed. Anyway… [click to continue…]
It’s one of the loneliest of all encounters,
The most agonizing of all relationships,
Where it seems as though the very air you breathe
Pushes hard against you as you try to move forward.
Yet move you must.
The calling is too strong…
The need is too great…
Press on …
Press on against the wind. [click to continue…]
Chances are, you instinctively know how important and powerful a little encouragement can be. Now there’s scientific evidence worth paying attention to that’ll back that up.
This was reported yesterday in Fast Company. A recent study published in the Basic and Applied Social Psychology Journal suggests that the more detailed and specific an adviser expressed confidence in a student’s potential for success, the more likely that student would be to take action to pursue that success. [click to continue…]
Something keeps you moving. It gets you out of bed in the mornings. It narrates your hopes and dreams. It defines your values and informs your motives in all you do and say. It’s often invisible or subconscious, and at times can act as a puppet master or a judge.
Call it your Alpha, or your First Life. Some people call it “Lord,” “boss,” or “Prime Mover.”
Regardless of the name, the good part is that you can decide who or what your Alpha is.
Meanwhile, despite what you may be reading in the latest edition of the Not-My-Home News, you have been included in a cosmic Master Plan for all time. God has His own Alpha, and invites you to enter into that experience with Him.
“He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything” (Colossians 1:18).
“He Himself,” of course, refers to Jesus Christ. And because He is the first to rise from the dead and remain alive (to this very day), Paul says He is our First Life… our Alpha. [click to continue…]
In his book, Rekindled Flame, Steve Fry tells of moving to Nashville and talking to some Christian recording executives about a potential project. When asked what he was working on, he told them about wanting to write a worship musical that focused on the character of God. To his surprise, they were very cool to the idea.
Frankly, they said, most believers wouldn’t buy an album about God.
Seriously?
Yep.
According to their demographic studies, that kind of project wouldn’t appeal to most Christians.
Later he met with a book editor that he knew had his finger on the pulse of the Christian marketplace.
“I want to write about God!” he said. “I want to take snapshots of the many wonders of His character and just focus on Him.”
“I’d like to help you write that kind of a book,” he replied. “In fact, the Christian market desperately needs that kind of book. But honestly, the average Christian is not going to buy a book about God.” The editor added: “The only way you can get the average believer to read a book about God is to somehow show them how God benefits them.”
I want to say I’m surprised, but I’m not.
I want to say I’m offended, but I’m not.
I want to say I’m the exception… [click to continue…]
Are we there yet?
No.
When are we gonna get there?
Five minutes sooner than the last time you asked.
We’re never gonna get there.
We’ll get there.
When?
Soon enough. Look outside and see how far we’ve come and how fast we’re moving.
Are we there yet?
+++++++
I’ll bet you’ve had a few conversations like that if you’ve ever been on a road trip with kids (or maybe a few adults). And inevitably, the younger he or she is, the sooner this question pops up:
Why does it have to take so long to get there?
And the only right answer, which they can never seem to grasp at that age, is, because to get there, first you have to go here. And here is where we are. But we can still enjoy being here until we get there.
The Christian life has its own version of “There Yet.” [click to continue…]
How many times have you said it? Or heard somebody else mouth something like this…?
I just want to do God’s will.
I wish I knew what God wanted me to do.
How can I find the will of God for my life?
Tell me how this is supposed to fit into a grand plan!
I want to do God’s will, but I’m wired to lead. Is that wrong?
I know God has a plan in all this, but for the life of me I can’t see it.
I’m willing to follow Jesus, but how can I know how it all will turn out?
I did what I thought was God’s will and instead of feeling joyful it felt terrible… instead of everything working out, it all looked like a failure.
How do I know that if I surrender my life to God’s will He won’t make me be a missionary somewhere in a place with lots of mosquitos or cannibals or something?
Ever since Jesus Christ burst onto the scene and called those fishermen to follow Him, those who have chosen to say yes have discovered the mystery and marvel of finding and fulfilling the will of the God of the Universe. And make no mistake about it… God wants you to know His will. But He also wants you to develop the spiritual muscles necessary to discern it. Check this out: [click to continue…]
It’s been a couple of years now since I repented of New Year’s resolutions. I knew it was time when somebody asked me about mine a few years ago and I said, “Oh, you know, the usual.”
(Totally irrelevant side note: Wouldn’t be funny to go into a gym today or tomorrow and find some dude who’s built like a tank and who looks like he’s lifting one and say to him as those muscles rip through his shirt – “Ya’ know, those New Year’s resolutions never really work.” Anyway…)
That’s why when somebody introduced me to Mike Ashcroft’s idea and book a few years ago it really hit a nerve. The idea is very simple: Build your year around one simple word – one theme that describes who or where you want to be at the end of the year. What amazes me is how easy it is to land on a theme based on what I call my descants of the soul – the themes that seem to be repeating themselves in my life recently.
In 2011, my one word was Finish! I didn’t finish a lot, but it was exciting to think about. Lean was the word in 2013. And my one word for 2014 was One. Both have been helpful in shaping my thinking and focus for the year.
This one is different. It’s more of a call to action, and frankly, a part of me doesn’t like it. I’ve reached a point in my life where a significant part of me is screaming out for quiet, simplicity, retreat, and life on the porch.
Not time for that yet. [click to continue…]
This is about a Father with four sons…
A Sailor.
A Driver.
A Flyer.
A Walker.
The Father provided richly for each of his sons. He gave them a home in which to flourish. He provided resources upon which to build their futures. He even saw to it that each was uniquely equipped and trained to succeed, according to his own natural bent.
Yet despite their obvious advantages, each son seemed convinced that there was more to life than living under the watchful, seemingly all-knowing gaze of his Father. Each seemed determined to find fulfillment on his own terms. And despite the obvious objections of the Father, each chose to go his own way. [click to continue…]