a friday quote: are you gonna go his way?

Musician Lenny Kravitz says he's been celibate for four years. But he admits that it's hard to be both chaste and a rock star, and it took him a long time to bring his behavior in line with his Christian faith.

"It took years to get it right," he says, "to actually do it, and really try to walk the walk and not just talk it. It's not like it's not important—I think sex and intimacy and all that is very important. It's just that I'm going to do it with my wife, and not everybody else." Kravitz also said of his failures to stay true to those convictions earlier in his life, "I knew it was not consistent with my beliefs. So that's hypocritical, and I don't want to be a hypocrite. And I could just feel the emptiness ... it didn't feel good. The feeling afterwards. Just that empty sort of ... weird space. And I'd had enough." [telegraph.co.uk, 6/16/09]

a few thoughts on putting the cart before the horse

My buddy John Turner has some interesting thoughts on one's person's approach to sneaky evangelism. A slice of his intro:

I have a friend, and my friend has a dream. His dream is to introduce everyone on planet earth to a particular lifestyle that I would describe as a “Kingdom Lifestyle”. Using a sophisticated psychological model, he is trying to help people live lives characterized by the peace that passes all understanding, lives of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

And he’s been quite successful at this. He’s written a best-selling book. He’s appeared on nationally televised broadcasts. He speaks to large groups of people all across the country and is beginning to travel abroad, taking this message of peacemaking with him everywhere he goes.

He is also very discrete in his language. He is a Christian — a strong one at that. He went to a Christian college. He’s involved in his local church. He reads his Bible, and he prays before meals. But he doesn’t always sound like a Christian when you hear him speak. You won’t hear any Bible verses or biblical references. I’ve never heard him talk to an audience about sin or repentance or the need to be “born again”. Consequently, doors have opened for him to take his message into communities that might be hostile to more explicitly Christian speakers (like me).

Here are my comments to what he wrote:

Who are you talking about? Who are you talking about? Who are you talking about? Who are you talking about?

Sorry - I got distracted there. ;)

The fruit of the Spirit is an awful nice blessing. And I think it's "advertised" as such in some circles as the destination... a Christian version of the American dream, so to speak.

And just as the world can produce artificial fruit that tastes and smells like the real thing, it still isn't.

The fruit of the Spirit requires the Spirit. And the Spirit requires Jesus. And Jesus requires the Father. And that Trinity requires repentance in order to embrace grace in it's purest form... the form that tastes and sees that the Lord is good.

And yet while we know this, we find that grape flavored soda at Aldi's is cheaper than grape juice. Which is why I imagine more people opt for pop than the fruit of the Vine. (Spiritually, too.)

A great speaker can put butts in the seats.

But only a great God can put people into the Kingdom.

Read John's post in its entirety if you can. I'm interested in your take on what he wrote and my comments.

a friday quote: where is this place for you?

Where is this place for you?

"Inside this room, all of my dreams become realities, and some of my realities become dreams."

- Willy Wonka, as portrayed by Gene Wilder

relational leadership

There are people whom I'm genuinely frustrated with in my life (and obviously others I'm not).

Yet I'm reminded that God is the only One who can control a person and even He chooses not to. He gave humanity freewill to make choices in life, even though we rebel.

So today I choose to engage those people with real love - a messy, ugly commitment that looks like a mudpie, yet somehow tastes better than a bitter tongue.

I hope (and pray) that by serving I can lead the relationship further toward a real-deal transparency instead of the masks we usually assume we fool each other with.

a reminder

Whatever you are going through today doesn't define you.

Good or bad, all it can at best do is refine you.

Your identity and the true status of your life have more to do with what you allow to happen in you versus what you can't control happening to you.

So let your Creator do His thing and show you a much larger Story to live in.

a friday quote: the next ten

"What would I do instead of run out in front of 80,000 people and command 52 guys and be around guys I consider brothers and be one of the real gladiators?"

– New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, on his goal to play football for at least another 10 years, to Sports Illustrated

see you in a few

Apologies. I'm finishing a book write now and will tidy up some stuff here as soon as I'm done.

ten commands around the workplace

This is an adaptation I developed of Exodus 20, hopefully to guide you in whatever "workplace" you find yourself in.

1. Honor your Boss by honoring your boss.



2. Don't let your job become more important than it actually is.



3. Redefine how people think of Jesus by your lips and life.



4. Take at least one day off a week, fully unplugged.



5. Put out some of your best family photos.



6. Don't kill the worth of others in any way - customers, fellow workers, the boss, you name it.



7. Let nothing - not even more money - tear you away from your connection to God.



8. Take ownership of what is yours - leave everything else in its proper place.



9. Overcome the temptation to speak untruths to get ahead.



10. Don't stare at anything or anyone that will cause you to drool.

When in doubt of any of these, grab a broom and start sweeping, Your heart will eventually become humble enough to serve in the way God has challenged you to.

So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. (1 Corinthians 4:1)

a friday quote: spiritual

Often I have conversations where people talk about the "spiritual" part of their life - as if it were a small piece/component of everything else. I tend to like the more organic perspective below.

A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.

- Thomas Merton