Spiritual Growth

Ho Ho Humbug!

by Andy Wood on December 11, 2008

in LV Stories

(The Further Adventures of Eugene Davis, Sophomore Christian)

“Have you seen this?” asked an angry voice one Sunday morning.

Yep, it was Eugene Davis, sophomore Christian and resident expert on what everybody else should and shouldn’t be doing.

“Seen what?” I asked politely as Eugene shoved a Sunday bulletin in my hand.

“All these parties!” he said.

In the midst of the activities list, Eugene had highlighted three youth fellowships in one week:  the Jr. High, the Sr. High, and the All-Youth Pizza Pig-Out and Christmas Party that night after church.

“Well, there’s never a bad time to eat pizza,” I joked.  “Don’t you know the wise men caught up with King Herod at Pizza Hut?”

But Eugene was in no joking mood.

“That’s not the point,” he fumed.  “It seems like all we ever do with these kids is feed ’em pizza and take ’em on trips.  When I was a teenager, we learned to give and do for others.”

“When you were a teenager, you were lost,” I replied.  “Furthermore, when you were a teenager, Chicago was a cow pasture.” [click to continue…]

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The Popcorn Tree

by Andy Wood on September 5, 2008

in Enlarging Your Capacity, LV Cycle, Turning Points

The LifeVesting Cycle

1. Allocate your resources.
2. Explore the possibilities.
3. Follow your passion
4. Execute your plan.
5. Protect your investment.

6. Enlarge your capacity

When I was still a kid, my dad built a flower box for my mom. We got some nice, rich soil from a place behind our house where we had a lot of mulch and trees. She planted some flowers in the box, and we were excited to see what would come out.

What came out was something that at first looked like a weed. But this was no weed. It was a tree. A popcorn tree, my dad said.

I was entranced. It was my first sense of fatherhood and stewardship, all rolled into one.

If you aren’t familiar with them, popcorn trees, or Chinese tallows, grow in moist climates. They grow rapidly, and can get pretty big. They make great shade and ornamental trees, and in the fall, their seeds split open to appear like popcorn.

I watched this little tree take off, and soon we transplanted it from the flower box to the front yard. We got more and more into trees, and soon found four more popcorn trees – then some redbuds and dogwoods. I had this sense of pride and ownership in all of them, but none more than the original – the queen of the yard – as she quickly grew taller than the eaves of our house.

Then one day the unthinkable happened. I came up the street to my house, and found the most horrific sight. Someone (my dad) had taken shears and whacked my tree off at about six feet. The queen of the yard now had a crew cut.

It was ugly.

Shameful.

Hideous.

“Pruning,” he called it.

“Disaster” was what I called it.

Of course, my dad knew a whole lot more about trees and all things agricultural than I ever will. (I once asked him, “How’d you get so smart?” He said, “I keep my ears open and my mouth shut.”)

Anyway, the queen began to reshape. To spread. To grow, not just taller, but shapelier, even more beautiful.

This life lesson became even more applicable to me as I grew spiritually. [click to continue…]

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More to Come

by Andy Wood on May 29, 2008

in Five LV Laws, Principle of Eternity, Principle of Increase

AnticipationSomebody gave a very large sum of money to a respected businessman to bless a poor pastor. Thinking that the amount was too much to send all at once, the businessman forwarded just a portion along with a note that said simply, “More to come…”  In a few days the pastor received another envelope containing the same amount of money and the same message:  “More to come…”  At regular intervals, there came a third, and a fourth.  In fact, they continued, along with those encouraging words, until the entire sum had been received.

In much the same way, the Holy Spirit has chosen to give us His blessing in “measured amounts.”  It’s staggering to realize the full extent of the salvation Jesus Christ has purchased for us.  It will take eternity to comprehend it all.  So as you receive good things from the hand of a good God, remember, there’s more where that came from.  And if you have ever thought of becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, here is a sampling of what He promises:

[click to continue…]

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How Two Businesses Can Point You to Remarkable Growth

by Andy Wood on May 23, 2008

in Enlarging Your Capacity, Five LV Laws, Hoarders, Leadership, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle, Principle of Increase

GE adIt’s a long way from Fairfield, Connecticut, the home of General Electric, to Henderson, Nevada, the home of Zappos.  The gap is even wider between their respective products and services.

GE is a multinational American technology and services conglomerate.  Zappos sells shoes, handbags, and other items online – to the tune of more than $1 billion this year.

Both made the news last week.  And it all has to do with their “Bottom 10.”

General Electric is a household name; chances are, you have something in your home with it’s name emboldened on it.  The only original company still listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, more recently, GE is the company that Jack rebuilt, and one of the most admired in the business world today.  Jack Welch determined in the 1980s that GE would be number 1 or 2 in  particular industry or leave it completely.  He also started the practice of firing the bottom-performing 10% of his managers every year.

Last week the Wall Street Journal reported that GE was sending its century-old appliances business to the auction block.  Say it ain’t so!  The American company that “brings good things to life” may be bringin’ ‘em from Korea or Sweden or somewhere else.  From a sentimental perspective, it hurts.  But from a management perspective, it was an overdue decision.

[click to continue…]

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Come Join us on a Grow! Journey

by Andy Wood on May 22, 2008

in Enlarging Your Capacity, LV Cycle

A couple of months ago, Brent (my associate and partner at Turning Point Community Church) and I were in a “Sez Who” mood and we confronted the question:

Who sez you have to have a slump in the summer?

So we began exploring ways to make summertime a growth time – corporately, spiritually, and in every other way.  The result was a spiritual growth campaign we just started called Grow!

I’d like to invite you to join us.

Feel free to include your small group, youth group, bridge club, antique car collectors group, prayer circle, missionary society, civic club, blog network, softball team, church, or small nation.

Here’s the way the Grow! campaign works.  It has four components:

Grow Book Cover1.  The Grow! Manual
This is a 13-chapter growth manual that can be used in a variety of ways.  It is PACKED with scripture-based discussion starters, spiritual foundation/formation truths, and opportunities for you to apply the principles in each chapter to “write your own story.”

You can download the manual in .pdf format by clicking here.   If you would like the manual in hard copy, spiral-bound format,  email me for details in how to get it.

2.  The Grow! Podcast
You will have the opportunity to hear a motivational message via the TPCC or iTunes Podcasting (or, if you’re in Lubbock, you can join us in person May 18-August 10).

3.  Grow! Groups
Consider starting a group – even if it’s a group of 2 – to discuss  what you’re learning, how you can pray for each other, and how you can apply the principles discussed in each chapter.

4.  Grow! Online Forums
We’re in the process of establishing some online discussion forums – primarily through blog networks.  The central location for this for starters is our church’s Nfusion Blog.  I’ll also be doing some here.  But we’re interested in establishing a participating bloggers network.  If you have a blog of your own, consider helping us, and we’ll link people to your site.

There are two types of Grow!  forum formats.  The first involves posting insights related to the current chapter.  This could include additional verses, questions, etc.  The second involves establishing discussion forums that ask people to respond to specific questions.

If you’re willing to be included in the Grow! network – even if it’s just occasionally – please reply to this post below or contact me via email.

A very dear friend who lived thousands of miles from me, who by God’s grace I helped influence to become a follower of Christ, wrote me afterward and said these amazing words: 

“Let’s pray together and grow together, even though we’re mere earthly miles apart.”

I issue to you the same invitation.

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