The Royal Priests of Balkum

by Andy Wood on October 20, 2010

in Uncategorized

On a county road in rural Alabama, in the heart of peanut country a long time ago, a unique, once-in-a-lifetime gathering of people took place.  It was about this time of year.  And I happened to be there.

It was a meeting of the Royal Priests of Balkum.  And I had been asked to address them.

Let me hasten to say that there wasn’t much about those in attendance that day that looked particularly royal.  Priestly either, for that matter.  There were some farmers, a few teachers, lots of retirees, some pastors, some homemakers, a missionary or two.

The program actually said “Henry County Baptist Association.”  The sign outside said, “Balkum Baptist Church.”  And I had been asked to speak on an assigned subject:  the priesthood of the believer.

They didn’t hear me groan.  But groan I did.  The “doctrinal sermon” they called it.  And this year’s doctrinal theme had become a denominational hot potato.

But duty called, and the Baptists of Henry County awaited.

And so did the Lord.

He was waiting on me to learn a priceless lesson. [click to continue…]

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Nests and Stones and Comfort Zones

by Andy Wood on October 18, 2010

in Tense Truths

On the Steps of the Temple

Have you ever felt as though you had been shoved out of your nest, or your comfort zone?

And that God was doing the shoving?

Have you ever been forced to move, had some people removed from your life that you depended on, or taken away from a comfortable church or home situation?

Maybe He was teaching you something you may not have learned any other way.  Maybe He was placing you in a strategic spot to be greatly used by Him – as improbable as that might feel. Maybe, just maybe, He was taking something dead and bringing it to life… or putting something to death that needed to die.

Maybe He was taking you from “living stoned” to “living stone.”

One of my favorite places in Israel is the steps of the Temple, where Peter most likely preached on the Day of Pentecost.  There behind the cleansing pools and in front of what was then the main entrance to this massive building, Peter declared that the stone had been rolled away, and that Jesus Christ was alive.  Thousands of people responded to his message.

That was then.

“Now” was a lot uglier. [click to continue…]

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Batter Splatter: Seven More Half-Baked Ideas I’m Working On

by Andy Wood on October 15, 2010

in Half-baked Ideas

Here are seven more ideas, thoughts, or “wish I’d said thats” baking in my mental oven lately. How about you?  Do you have any half-baked ideas you’d like to share?  Drop it in the comment box below. 

Want to see more?  Try here, here, or here.

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“God is a violent pursuer of a wayward soul.” – Brandon Gilbert

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“Even when we fail to validate the gospel, the way we respond to failure can validate the gospel.”  -Nathan Ables [click to continue…]

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Team Ginger Ale

by Andy Wood on October 13, 2010

in Esteem, Life Currency, LV Cycle, LV Stories, Protecting Your Investment

Last night the Texas Rangers won their first-ever postseason series.  

And they celebrated with ginger ale. 

Why? 

Because Josh Hamilton, the Rangers’ star outfielder, graciously refuses to go anywhere near alcohol. 

When the Rangers clinched their division in Oakland back in September, as beer and champagne flowed in the visitors’ locker room, Josh changed in a side office and left the clubhouse to go speak to a church group in Oakland about his life and testimony. 

But last night, after winning the division series – something the Texas Rangers (and former Washington Senators) had never done – the team made sure it would be a team celebration. [click to continue…]

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Storming the Gates of Loneliness

by Andy Wood on October 11, 2010

in Esteem, Life Currency, Love

“Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which others find inadmissible.” (Carl Jung) 

In an eastern hospital years ago, a group of medical students were doing a pediatric rotation.   As they worked with these hospitalized kids each day, they noticed that the patients responded with great joy to one particular med student.  Nobody could figure out why.  So they talked one of their cohort members into doing a little spying. 

The observer followed him around all day and discovered nothing.  Finally that night, the mystery was solved when the young doctor made his last round. [click to continue…]

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The Lamp

by Andy Wood on October 8, 2010

in Enlarging Your Capacity, Esteem, Five LV Laws, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Legacy

What comes to mind when you hear the name “Solomon?”

Yeah, that.  Wisdom.  Too bad he lived long enough to throw his life into reverse. 

Solomon was a piece of work.  He went from healthy, wealthy and wise to hedonistic, weird and wicked.  Finally, toward the end of his reign, the Lord had seen enough.  He spoke to Solomon and told him he was going to tear away all but one tribe from his son (1 Kings 11:13).

Okay.  But why not clean house?  Why not do a clean sweep?  He’d done it before with Israel’s first king.  And may I just say… Saul may have gone from compromiser to crazy, but compared to Solomon, Saul was a saint.

So what gives with God? [click to continue…]

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Demands and Desires

by Andy Wood on October 6, 2010

in Enlarging Your Capacity, Five LV Laws, Insight, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Increase

(The Squeeze, Part 2)

In the previous post I introduced the idea of the squeeze – that when life comes calling or the world comes knocking and we get squeezed, whatever is on the inside comes flying out.  Specifically, when life or the world squeezes, two things quickly become evident – what’s in your character (your decisions) and what’s in your heart (your desires).

That why Peter addresses this encouragement to a group of Christ followers who were living life in The Squeeze:

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good (1 Peter 2:1-3, NIV).

When Our Flesh Demands Relief

People who are hurting instinctively crave relief.

NOW!

Like Job, the tendency is to move from “Lord I’m trusting you for deliverance” to “Lord stop it now or explain yourself!

When we stubbornly hold onto the demand for God to change things, five kinds of behavior emerge. [click to continue…]

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The Squeeze

by Andy Wood on October 4, 2010

in Five LV Laws, LV Cycle, Principle of Freedom, Protecting Your Investment

Maybe I’m weird (okay who said that?).  But this video fascinates me, and I can watch it over and over.

Maybe it’s the technology involved in capturing the motion.  Or…

Maybe it’s because it illustrates an important truth I learned years ago:

Q. – Squeeze an orange until something gives, and what comes out? 

A. – Orange juice.

Q. – Why does orange juice come out?

A. – Because orange juice is what’s inside.

Q. – So what comes out of you when you get squeezed?

A. – Whatever is inside.

The Squeeze.  Can you relate?  The truth is, sometimes the world or the devil or life-in-general comes calling, and there ain’t room enough in this here peel for the both of us.  Something’s gotta give. 

And out it comes… whatever is on the inside.

That’s why I just smile whenever I hear somebody blurt out something, then hurriedly say, “Oh… I didn’t mean to say that.”  [click to continue…]

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Do You See What He Sees?

by Andy Wood on October 1, 2010

in Five LV Laws, Following Your Passion, Insight, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Principle of Eternity

“There is nothing heavier than compassion. Not even one’s own pain weighs so heavy as the pain one feels for someone, pain intensified by the imagination and prolonged by a hundred echoes.”(Milan Kundera) 

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Ever read about the double-pump miracle Jesus performed?  Fascinating story, about a blind man in Bethsaida.  Jesus led him outside the village and spit on his eyes.

“Do you see anything”? He asked.

He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

So Jesus double-clutched.  Once more, he put his hands on the man’s eyes. This time he saw everything clearly.

It doesn’t bother me that it took two rounds with the Son of God for a blind man to see clearly again.  It does bother me that many believers, myself included, have gone many rounds with Jesus, and we still don’t see clearly at times.

He saw people that looked like trees.  We see people that look like other things – jobs, economic status, social labels, racial stereotypes, gender.  Jesus saw something else entirely.  You can too, but it doesn’t come naturally. 

“I see people; they look like trees.” 

What do you see?  Butcher, baker, candlestick maker?  Hot babe, geek, hero, freak? 

They may as well be Klingons, unless we learn to see from Jesus’ perspective.  We talk a lot about pursuing our own passions, but you can never fulfill your deepest passion unless you first embrace his.  Take a look: [click to continue…]

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Somebody’s Praying

by Andy Wood on September 29, 2010

in Turning Points

I’ve told this story before in a little less detail… 

It happened about this time of year.  It was one of those seasons where I felt like a cue ball – big, white and ugly.  What times I wasn’t having head-on collisions with somebody else’s destiny, I was being slam-poked with a Big Stick.

Life hurt.  And for a while I was too stupid, too busy, or too young to see it.  I was overwhelmed with a college load.  I had multiple responsibilities in my church staff position (my first).  And I’d had some seismic shifts in relationships that had left me reeling and lonely.

That’s when I happened to drop by to see Willie Mae Dawkins.

I don’t remember why.  I do remember that I ate at her home occasionally.  But more than likely it was because her son, Mike, was in my youth group.  I liked Mike a lot.  And most likely, I had dropped by to see what he was up to.

Mama was sitting on the front porch. [click to continue…]

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