Driving

Well, it's finally happened!  My youngest child has a learner's permit and is driving.  Bekah is doing very well, but my nerves are simply not what they used to be!  It's really not her fault, but I've decided that at age 55, I'm just not qualified to sit in the passenger seat while someone else is learning to operate a motor vehicle.  The good news is that she will get quite a few hours in before driver's training starts next month.  I'm hoping by the end of her driver's training that they will be able to sign off on the driving test.  But at least I get a break until August 11 - Bekah's 180 day waiting period will be over and she'll be eligible for her license.  The break is that I won't have to pay for insurance for her until then!

What Kind of Day Will You Make?

In his book, Coach Wooden, Pat Williams lays out the great coach John Wooden's 7 Life Principles.  One of those life principles that Coach Wooden lived by was "make each day your masterpiece."  Former basketball great Swen Nater played for Coach at UCLA.  He said, "John Wooden's philosophy was that you have never lived a perfect day until you have helped someone who can never repay you in any way.  John Wooden's goal was to live a perfect day - not once, but every single day." (page 94)

While there are a number of thing that we can do to become more efficient in our lives, the most important thing we can do is to invest ourselves in others.  Who is it that you could help today - someone who could never repay you for your act of kindness?  What can you do to make a difference, even a small one, in someone's day?  How many opportunities do we miss simply because we are so focused on what we can get out of life? 

Today our church will have a distribution, giving away non-food items to people from the community.  Some of those people will sit in our parking lot for up to 4 hours before they go through the line to get roughly $50-$60 worth of paper products, cleaning supplies, personal hygiene items, etc.  Most of them are so grateful for the chance to stretch their limited funds with this free service provided through the generosity of our congregation.  Those who are working and those who have given will be making a masterpiece of their day today.  What about you?

Aliens

Throughout history we have seen faith play a significant role in secular life.  In ancient times, kings were often appointed because they were men of faith.  This was practiced by many people groups but was especially true in Jewish culture.  The Old Testament is filled with stories of how when the people obeyed God, the nation was blessed.  When they turned from Him, there was trouble in paradise.  The place faith played in culture was the leading indicator of the nation’s success or failure. 

During the 1700’s, Europe and Great Britain were suffering from moral and economic decay.  The Great Awakening, led by men like John and Charles Wesley, brought a revival to the whole of society.  That awakening spilled over into the American colonies where powerful preachers like George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards continued to fan into the flame a spirituality that impacted culture and brought about positive change.  One such change was the human rights movement which, in the early 1800’s, fueled the eventual freedom of slaves, brought an end to child slavery, and gave women a rightful place in society.  The revivalist movement of the early 1900’s continued these emphases as well as providing people with faith in the midst of two world wars and the Great Depression.

But a major shift has taken place.  Secularism has reared its head and demanded that faith take a back seat to humanism – a system of thought that is centered on man’s interests.  The defining moment for our country was in 1948 when the Supreme Court used the “Separation of Church and State” argument to outlaw a time for school prayer.  In 1962, the Supreme Court again ruled that prayer in school was unconstitutional.  Then in 1963, the Warren Court stopped schools from allowing Bible reading in classes.  The Supreme Court declared in 1980 that posting the Ten Commandments in a school classroom violated the constitution of The United States. 

What has essentially happened is that our culture has determined that the Church has no right to political or social influence.  According to those in authority, the only place for Christian faith is within the confines of a religious institution.  Christians who attempt to use their convictions to guide their moral and social commitments are assailed as being out-of-touch with the mainstream and are ridiculed for taking stands that are synchronous with historic Judeo-Christian principles.

This should not really surprise us.  The earliest Christians found themselves in the same position.  Palestine was ruled by Rome.  Thanks to Alexander the Great’s philosophy of world rule through cultural saturation, Christ-followers found themselves out-of-step with a society that was anything but spiritual.  One example of this is found in the life of the apostle Peter.  As Roman persecution of the Christians increased, Peter found himself in the crosshairs of Nero’s aim to exterminate people of faith.  In his reflections on this matter, the Apostle Peter wrote how believers live as “aliens and strangers in the world” (1 Peter 2:11). 

It would appear that from the beginning of time, people of faith have found themselves (for the most part) to be a part of a counterculture – one that had the potential to bring about wholeness, but that stood in opposition to the mainstream of their society.  We find ourselves in that same place today.  In their book, Resident Aliens:  Life in the Christian Colony, authors Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon state that the church should in all times assert “that God, not nations, rules the world, that the boundaries of God’s kingdom transcend those of Caesar, and that the main political task of the church is the formation of people who see clearly the cost of discipleship and are willing to pay the price.” 

If this is indeed the position that we are to take (I believe it is), how then do we take back territory we have surrendered to the forces of evil?  How do we take the battle to the Enemy?  What are the possibilities that our normal daily lives can have supernatural eternal influence?  

 

The foundation for making a difference in our culture lays in our ability to build relationships that have a redemptive quality - to make friendships that literally change our world.  Take a look at Colossians 4:2-6 and see what the apostle Paul challenged the people of his time to do. 

Struggling with Social Media

Ok, my younger pastor friends are all over me about my refusal to dive completely into social media.  They give me grief for not having a Facebook page or a Twitter account.  Oh, they also hassle me for still carrying a flip phone that doesn't have internet on it.  They tell me that to reach 20-somethings I have to become more involved in these other things.

Here's my problem.  I simply don't want to add another thing to my life and schedule.  It's really that simple.  And I'm just OCD enough that if I do take on one of these forms of social media that I'm going to feel obligated to follow along and that takes time!  I'm simply not sure I want to dedicate significant time to social media matters.  But on the other hand, I can see how you can use these tools for ministry.

So I'm going to give it some thought.  Not sure what I'm going to do...

Leadership is Influence

It is time for my local church to vote on whether or not to retain my services as pastor.  I am completing the fourth year of a four-year call, and my tenth year in full-time service to this congregation.  I have actually been associated with this church for over 10 1/2 years.  The church has grown from an average in the low 50's when I arrived to an average attendance last month of 115.  That's not too bad for a church out in the middle of rural Indiana!  God has been good and the church is healthier than it has been in many years.

Votes for pastors can be nerve-wracking.  I do not worry about this upcoming vote.  The worse thing that can happen is for people to say it is time for a change and ask me to leave.  My church board has unanimously recommended me for an extension.  That's cool, and I am appreciative!

But my main thought today is that of leadership.  A position is the weakest and least effective level of leadership.  True leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less.  I love the old leadership proverb:  "He who thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him only taketh a walk."

With that in mind, I'm asking myself the following questions.  You might find them helpful.

Top Five Project:
1.  Who are the five people I most want to influence this next year?
2.  What am I currently doing to influence them?
3.  What will I have to do to increase my influence with them?
4.  How will I measure the successfulness of my influence?

Lead on!

Don't Kill a Dream

Have you ever had someone who shared an audacious dream - a dream so big and bold that unless there was some kind of divine intervention or supernatural assistance it would be absolutely impossible?  Have you ever looked at that person and thought to yourself, "Well, the dream is great but you, my friend, don't have what it takes to pull it off?"  I'm sure you have either encountered such a dreamer or you've been that dreamer.  And if you've been that dreamer, you know how hurtful it is to have people throw cold water on your dream.

I recently attended a meeting where that very thing happened.  The circumstances shall remain private, but I will say that I was angry when I saw a group of leaders pile on a guy for having a dream that didn't fit into their own model.  They were critical of the man's attitude, which, to be honest, needs some work.  But instead of it being an uplifting time, it frustrated the dreamer.  He left that meeting discouraged and wounded.  All of my efforts to redirect the conversation failed.  And to be honest, I was angry!  I called the man the next day and apologized for my failure to keep the conversation positive and I apologized for the attitudes of the others in the room.

I've been one of those guys who has had his dreams crushed.  Sometimes it has happened because of mistakes I've made or just simply having a wild idea that didn't work.  But I've also been the victim of the criticism of others who, for whatever their reasons, didn't support me or my dream.  I've been wounded deeply in the past. 

What gets us through those times?  I think I can reduce it to two things.  The first is simply the fact that we need to tenaciously hang on to the dream that God has given us.  If we believe that our dream is a "God thing" then we must hang on for dear life.  And the second thing helps us with that.  We need others in our lives who are dream encouragers, not dream crushers.  A dream encourager doesn't just rubber stamp our stuff.  They push back.  They help us make adjustments.  They ask the hard questions, but they do it without crushing our spirits. 

To all of my dreamer friends out there - keep on keeping on!

Certified Coach

In December I became a certified coach with the Wesleyan Coaching Network.  I'm thrilled to be able to offer my services in the area of life coaching for pastors and other individuals who desire to grow in their lives.  I will specialize in pastoral leadership but am open to whatever God directs. 

The training to be come a coach was incredible.  The initial two-day training session, reading, mentoring, and practicum hours combined to stretch me in many ways.  I've learned better how to help people develop their own plan rather than me trying to be their "Mr. Fix-It."  I'm less of a consultant and more of a facilitator.  I've found this approach to be most satisfying and have used the approach in my local ministry.  The results are awesome! 

I am available to do six and twelve month contracts.  Rates vary depending on the situation.  Coaching calls are monthly unless otherwise needed.  There is unlimited email consultation between calls.  For pastors / churches, I provide two on site visits at cost.  Contact me if you want to explore what it means to be coached.