Grace

The Law of the Nail

by Andy Wood on March 19, 2010

in Executing Your Plan, Five LV Laws, LV Cycle, Principle of Increase

Ever hear of the Law of the Hammer?  Also called The Law of the Instrument, it has been attributed to both Abraham Maslow and Abraham Kaplan (neither of whom were carpenters, I don’t think).

The Law of the Hammer is based on the idea that people tend to look for cure-alls or over-use familiar tools, especially in dealing with people.  It says, “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail”

Wise.  In other words, diversify your toolbox.

I’m not a carpenter either, and six months of bending nails in 1979-80 can attest to that.  But I’ve spent a lot of my life building, working with, leading, and being an instrument of healing to people.  And I have observed a corollary to the Law of the Hammer that is important to remember in dealing with people.  I call it The Law of the Nail:

If you are a nail, and especially if you’ve been pounded a time or two, everything (and everybody) looks like a hammer.

I’ve been on all sides of that.  I’ve been the nail.  Banged the nail.  Straightened out bent nails.  Sat in on more than my share of Nails Anonymous meetings (including pastors’ prayer meetings).  I’ve hired nails to go to work for me without realizing how pounded they had been.  And I have learned, sometimes the hard way, that living in a broken world means working with and leading broken or bruised people.  So at the risk of pounding the metaphor too much (sorry), here are some ideas for finding healing if you are the nail, or in the next post, working with and leading the nails in your organization or workplace. [click to continue…]

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When Your Passion – And Your Religion – is a Liar

by Andy Wood on February 9, 2010

in Five LV Laws, Following Your Passion, Life Currency, Love, LV Cycle, Principle of Freedom

“If only I could build an exit ramp.  Something that would allow me to escape the rules and the never-ending expectations.  Why doesn’t he realize that I’m just not cut out for this kind of life?  That he and I would both be happier if I were on my own?” 

Sound familiar?  It should.  Thoughts like that are repeated daily, as people try to define freedom in their own terms. 

We all long for authentic freedom – the power to make choices yourself, and joyfully live with the consequences.  The good news of our relationship with Christ is that He came to set captives free! Unfortunately, many believers fail to experience that freedom because they pursue a counterfeit form of it in one of two directions. 

In one of the most often-repeated stories in the Bible, Jesus reveals God’s heart toward His children.  It’s the story of a father with two sons – an older one who served faithfully for many years, and a younger son who longed to be “funky and free.”  Each son pursued and believed in his passion.  Neither understood the life of joy and abundance their father wanted to give them because each pursued passion in his own terms.  One sought it through pleasure, the other through outward performance.  To the younger son, freedom meant license to do what he pleased.  To the older brother, freedom meant legalistic obedience to the rules. 

At any given time, you, too, can be a Prodigal or a Pharisee.  All it takes is a desire to find freedom apart from an intimate love relationship with God.  [click to continue…]

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A Dance of Promises: A Scripture Symphony

by Andy Wood on January 10, 2010

in Uncategorized

Raised HandsI am the Lord, and there is no other;

apart from me there is no God.

I will strengthen you,

though you have not acknowledged Me, 

I will sing of Your strength,

in the morning I will sing of Your love;

for You are my fortress,

my refuge in times of trouble. 

Call upon Me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.

 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

My goodness and love will follow you all the days of your life,

and you will dwell in My house forever. 

I will lie down and sleep in peace,

for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. 

Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,

the ends of the earth your possession.  [click to continue…]

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The Sting and the Save

by Andy Wood on October 12, 2009

in Tense Truths

Okay, first watch the short video, then let’s talk. 

This is an adaptation of a story Henri Nouwen used to tell.  Voice, illustrations, direction by Allen Weathers…

Before the dawn of time as we know it, God foresaw.  [click to continue…]

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What to Do When the Leader Screws Up (And the Leader is You)

by Andy Wood on October 7, 2009

in Gamblers, Leadership, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos

JerusalemJust across from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem is a small mountain called Moriah.  Today the Dome of the Rock stands as the old city’s most visible landmark.  But there was a time when, on that very site, one of the most striking ancient structures of all time stood, calling the people of Israel to worship God.  I’d like to tell you why the Solomon’s temple was located there.

It all started with a colossal failure in leadership that left 70,000 people dead.

And the leader?  Israel’s wonder-boy, David.

You remember David, right?  [click to continue…]

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The Perfect Form and the Perfect Storm

by Andy Wood on August 7, 2009

in Five LV Laws, Insight, Life Currency, Principle of Legacy, Turning Points

Seven or eight years ago, I was taking a shuttle from the Founders Inn Hotel on the edge of Regent University down to the shoreline in Virginia Beach.  It was just the driver and me, and to make conversation, I asked him, “Do you know where London Bridge Baptist Church is?”

“Sure,” he said.  It’s not far from here.  You know somebody there?

“No.  But I went there on my very first mission trip.”

“Why would anybody,” he wanted to know, “come to Virginia Beach on a mission trip?”

That night I didn’t know how to answer him – this man who lives in the shadow of Pat Robertson and CBN, Rock Church, and a host of other citadels of Evangelicalism.  Today I think I do.  It was the Perfect Form.

The Proposition

“Mission ‘73” it was called.  I caught a glimpse of an announcement in our church bulletin.  A youth choir mission trip to Virginia Beach, VA, for students who had completed the ninth grade or older.  Hey, I loved to travel and barely made the age cutoff, so I was sold!  I was still a spiritual newbie, and didn’t really know very many people.  But I was undeterred.

Mark Stone, the pastor of London Bridge at the time, was an old friend of my pastor.  We would go to this crossroads of vacationers, military personnel, and growing suburbanites and conduct Backyard Bible Clubs, help lead out in a church revival, and witness along the Boardwalk and beach along the Atlantic.

The Cast

I was among the youngest – and spiritually greenest –of the 64 or so to go on this adventure.  I was surrounded by people who were older, more established, and way more sure of themselves.  I certainly can’t remember them all, but the list included: [click to continue…]

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The Stain

by Andy Wood on June 29, 2009

in Five LV Laws, Principle of Eternity

stainFor Sale: Parachute. Only used once, never opened, small stain.

You and I were created in a stainless image.  Our first parents appeared on the outside as what they were on the inside – innocent in the likeness of their Creator.

Then came the Stain.

Soiled and discolored, we instinctively knew something was wrong.  We tried soaking it out and scrubbing it out.  But the Stain never went away.  Like silver is discolored simply by exposure to the air, we were forever tarnished by the choices we made, and those made upon us:

Passion stains.  Anger stains.  Gluttony stains.  Pride stains.  Fear stains.  Rejection stains.  Deception stains.

Pick a role, we’ve tried it out. [click to continue…]

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Christmas in Stereo

by Andy Wood on December 22, 2008

in Tense Truths

Ever since there was something called “The Christmas Story,” the birth of Jesus has been a two-sided event.  In the familiar stories found in Luke’s and Matthew’s gospels, you read of shepherds and prophets, wise men and kings, Mary and Joseph.  It’s written from man’s perspective.  When the angels announced to the shepherds, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord,” that gives us Christmas from the human side.

Left there (which we usually do), Christmas is all about us.  But there is a different story – one that’s told from the counsel of Heaven itself.  You find it in the gospel of John.

“In the beginning was the Word… And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

That’s an eternal picture.  That’s God’s picture.  And perhaps the best description of Christmas from God’s perspective is the most familiar verse in the Bible:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son….”

This Christmas, celebrate Christmas in stereo.  Take the time to recognize the full picture.  In the words of Charlie Brown and millions before and after him, “Linus, what is Christmas all about?” [click to continue…]

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A Love That Redeems

by Andy Wood on November 11, 2008

in Life Currency, Love, LV Cycle, LV Stories, Waiting

You’ll want to read this story… because it’s yours in some way.

Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;

What do you do when you’ve done everything you know to do?  What do you do when your tried-and-true system, which has worked before, doesn’t work this time?  How do you respond when God makes a promise and you’ve seen it fulfilled – but this time it doesn’t seem to be “working?”

Trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

They’ll laugh when they read this, but I sometimes call Kaye and Mark, whom I love very much, Barbie and Ken.  From a distance, they have a storybook life that looks like an 8×10 glossy.  Kaye was a Baylor Beauty; Mark was a quarterback/safety for Frank Broyles’ University of Arkansas football teams. They married, settled in Little Rock, and had four beautiful children.

Delight yourself in the Lord
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Mark and Kaye weren’t just church wallflowers.  [click to continue…]

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“What’ll You Have, What’ll You Have?”

by Andy Wood on October 9, 2008

in Five LV Laws, Principle of Abundance

Varsity Drive-In, Atlanta

Varsity Drive-In, Atlanta

If you’re ever in Atlanta (we’re here right now for the Catalyst conference) and want to check out the local cuisine, at least once you need to experience the Varsity Drive In.  I’m not talking about its suburban cousins in the outlying communities, but the original, located on the edge of the Georgia Tech campus in downtown Atlanta.  Founded in 1928, the Varsity is the largest drive-in restaurant in the world.  It covers two city blocks, and serves 8,000 hamburgers, over two miles of hot dogs, and a ton (literally) of onion rings every day.  It also serves more Coca-cola than any other single outlet in the world.

The Varsity is an eating experience that begins when you walk in the door.  It’s like a step back in time.  The order counter is massive, and behind it is the most fun and amazing collection of fast-food servers in the industry.  More than 20 Varsity employees have worked there over 20 years.  (Try to find that at a McDonald’s!)  If you want a tiny sense of what it’s like, click here and just listen.

From the minute you get near the counter, you’ll hear that famous Varsity chorus.  It sounds like chaos, but it’s actually its own delightful symphony, set to the rhythm of hurried city life.  And resounding through the melee is, “What’ll you have, what’ll you have?”

Like any landmark, the Varsity has had its share of famous patrons.  But what makes it so special [click to continue…]

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