a friday quote: the test of an organization

What I really enjoy most about this quote is the relational component of it.

"No organization can depend on genius; the supply is always scarce and unreliable. It is the test of an organization to make ordinary human beings perform better than they seem capable of, to bring out whatever strength there is in its members, and to use each man’s strength to help all the others perform. The purpose of an organization is to enable common men to do uncommon things." - Peter F. Drucker, Management (HarperCollins), Reader’s Digest, p. 209

When have you seen the abundance of relationships or the lack of them affect a home, a company, a team, or a church?

a friday quote: the secret to her success

I don't normally quote the Oprah, but this statement (from an interview she did with ABC a few years back) is quite revealing. I believe it is her "key to success" as a talk show host, and has great implications for you and I... minus the book plugs and daytime deification, of course ;).

"The greatest running theme for me, aside from 'you are not alone' and 'you must take responsibility for your own life,' is that everybody wants to be validated. In every single interview for the 17 hours of that tape (the anniversary DVD), the theme for every single person, regardless of who it is or what the subject is, is 'Do you hear me? And did what I have to say mean anything to you?'"
- Oprah Winfrey, in a 2005 interview with Diane Sawyer

free seminary style courses

Here are some great resources that are available to you for free. There are two schools offering free seminar style courses. Here's a great sampling from Covenant Theological Seminary:
http://worldwide-classroom.com/courses/

• Ancient & Medieval Church History
• Apologetics & Outreach
• Biblical Theology
• Christ-Centered Preaching: Preparation and Delivery of Sermons
• Christian Ethics
• Christian Worship
• Francis A. Schaeffer: The Early Years
• Francis A. Schaeffer: The Later Years
• God & His Word
• God’s World Mission
• Hebrews to Revelation
• Humanity, Christ & Redemption
• Life & Letters of Paul
• Life & Teachings of Jesus
• New Testament History
• Old Testament History
• Psalms & Wisdom Books
• Reformation & Modern Church History
• Spirit, Church, & Last Things
• Youth Ministry

Also, here are some videos on seminary topics from Dallas Theological Seminary.
https://deimos.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/dts.edu

• BE101 – Bible Study Methods
• BE102 – OT History I
• BE103 – OT History II
• BE104 – Prophets
• BE105 – Gospels
• BE107 – Hebrews, General Epistles, and Revelation
• BE109 – Ruth, Jonah, Epistles
• BE510 – Life of Christ
• NT101 – Elements of Greek I
• NT102 – Elements of Greek II
• NT111 – Intertestamental History
• ST101 – Intro to Theology
• ST102 – Trinitarianism
• ST103 – Angelology, Anthropology, & Hamartiology (Angels, Humans, and Sin)
• ST104 – Soteriology (Salvation)
• BC101 – Introduction to Biblical Counseling
• CE102 – History and Philosophy of Christian Education
• PM101 – Spiritual Life
• PM102 – Evangelism
• PM103 – Preaching I
• SL305 – Dynamics of Leadership
• WM101 – Introduction to World Mission
  

capturing the now

"Gentlemen you're going to be on the field 75 plays. Two or three of those plays will determine the outcome of this game. Unfortunately I can't tell you which ones they're going to be. Therefore you're going to have to play them all." - Vince Lombardi

Something I've been reminding myself (and the amazing members of Connection Church) in recent days is that today is Gameday... and every day is. Specifically, I'm referring to the fact that the greatest moment of your life is right now, for the greatest thing that could ever happen in your life is just a decision away. And to top it off, it's not just an "us" thing... the God of the universe is about to throw each of us a pass that He hopes we each catch and move down the field.

Maybe that sounds somewhat inspirational, because it absolutely is. Yet it drives us to question, "What does that practically mean?" and "How do I 'capture the now' of the moment?"

• The first issue is mindfulness: People step up into their God-given destiny - be it on a daily basis or for their whole lives - when they stop seeing life through small eyes. This doesn't happen naturally, for it requires something "beyond natural" - or "supernatural" - to show us what that we are otherwise blind to. The question is would you rather be blind to such an option or would you rather know what you're missing out on? The worst thing we can do is continue to believe our assumptions on their own will always be right.
  
  How aware are you of the greatest thing that could come out of your life on any given day? Do you allow your mind and heart to imagine yourself taking part in something so glorious that the sheer thought of it makes you weep?
  
  
• The second issue is motive: It's one thing to see what your life can be, and another to find a reason to decide to embrace it. A motive empowers you to live against the grain of the status quo you have set your life to live within. Until enduring the pain of this staus quo becomes greater than the pain of change, we will keep doing what we do and never jump into the vibrant life of reconnecting with our Creator (and our created purpose).
  
  What would it take for you to get off your duff about something you know you need to get off your duff about? A moment of brokenness? Another person?
  
  
• The third issue is method: We need to establish a new trend in this generation to not let the fear of the unknown paralyze us from action. It seems like previous generations threw themselves into whatever needed to happen, even when they didn't know how to solve their problems. We're so used to Google and Mapquest telling us our answers that we freeze up with indirection when the clear steps are not outlined. Maybe Door #1 won't open the way you want it to, so how about seeing if Door #2 is actually a backdoor to get you into the same room?
  
  What tools do you use throughout your day that help you get your most important stuff done? Do those tools make sense to continue to use with this renewed endeavor?
  
  
• The fourth issue is membership: We all need more than a purpose... we need a committed community of purpose that will surround us with others who have decided to not settle for the status quo. Some may feel comfortable enough to open up, while others will simply enjoy the presence of being around others. Either way, we gain a network of relationships that allows us to discover the things that must change - which, ironically, is only possible to have any form of accuracy when we are linked into the one thing that will never change - God Himself.
  
  Are the people you're connected to going to help you simply "be happy?" Or will they help you become more than you are or even imagine for yourself?
  
  
• The fifth issue is maintenance: All of the previous steps have created a culture, and so the remaining step is to be sure that culture stays relevant. Simply put, this means taking eternal truth and being sure it is connected to the "here and now." Every hurdle will give you an opportunity to distinguish between what is the core purpose of your life (i.e. "What I simply must do") versus that which is merely circumstantial (i.e. "What I do because that's the way my life is.").
  
  Are you willing to create a culture that is intentional about upgrading growth potential and downsizing comfort when appropriate?
  

If you want to be a part of something that has real purpose and eternal value to it, you have to be willing to capture the now. Sure, it may take a bit of advance work, but it's well worth it.

It's Gameday.

when a fallen leader hops up with closed eyes

There are three things I need to confess before I go anywhere with this, and then I'm going to unleash a fury of frustration.

First, I am a man who knows the temptation of sin. Just like you, there are certain things that I have let into my mind, heart, soul, and body over the years that I tend to struggle with more than other types of sins. They are my "familiar temptations," and I have confessed them out loud and in private to both God and people so that I might develop a strong defense against their offense. Sometimes they come at me because I've allowed them to hang out inside of me in the past, like a dirty dog that you've fed who won't leave the porch as he keeps scratching at your door. Other times they are nothing short of a clear attack from the devil himself, because he has decided I am someone he wants to take out of commission.

Second, I know what it means to be suddenly yanked away from familiar surroundings that you have found a sense of self-worth in. There was a time when I found security and identity in what I did, or a name plate on the door, or a desk and office I resided in, or the fact that people said "Pastor" before they used my name. Those things felt real good, and on various occasions when I have had to leave such a role - be it for the right reasons or someone else's reasons - I know the struggle of not being able to scratch those itches. It's painful, and it makes you want to grab anything or anyone to scratch them again, even if it's the equivalent of a dirty piece of metal that ends up cutting you open in the process.

Third, I am fed up - actually, can I say it? pissed off - at the immaturity among "leaders" I have had to endure in ministry. I wish I could tell you in this cozy spot of a blog exactly what I mean, but I can't. For one thing, there isn't enough space. And for another, there are people whose privacy my silence continues to protect so that they may grow forward (which means in in some cases that I know more than the average person who only sees the past leader with nostalgia).

(pause)

Wow. I'm pretty worked up.

Now...

what triggered all of that?

I just read an email and it reminded me of how unfortunate it is when a fallen leader hops up with closed eyes. By "leader" I mean someone who has been allowed by others to speak into their lives, which means that as their spiral down began they took others with them (be a loss of innocence, the "final straw" where they no longer trust such leaders, or something else more damaging). And after that former leader has genuinely fallen, rather than letting God do the hard-yet-much-needed work of giving their life new direction they choose to jump into the next thing to scratch their old itches.

Again, I "get" this temptation all to well. I speak as someone who has had to make that same choice several times over the years that perhaps you have... do I act with self-righteous immaturity because I feel wronged or do I slow down, stop, and see if it's time to grow up in some area. By God's grace, each time I've opted for letting the Lord take His scalpel to me. That's not a statement of pride, by the way, but of surrender. I made this choice not because I'm better than anyone, but because (to the contrary) I know I needed it.

I knew it would be bloody... I knew I would lose parts of myself that I rather liked but God found ugly... but I also knew that He could do such surgery better and more effectively if I was still. Otherwise, He'd be trying to cut into me with the blade as I struggled to run away from Him, and that would only create more cuts and scars than were originally needed.

So that said, I share this email about a man whom I've never met and don't know the fullness of his situation. Such a context would usually demand (in our culture) that we just "forgive and forget" or "don't judge" - neutral and lame defense mechanisms that we often opt for when we're too chicken to challenge another person toward hard growth (or allow their imperfections to remind us of our own). But I don't take my cues from this culture, which means that I'm going to stretch in a different direction - one that says, "Yeah, grace, but also holiness."

You may be familiar with the story of Ted Haggard (and if you aren't it's up to you to Google it). It's been three years since he stepped down from being a pastor, which (again) seems like enough time in our culture for him to begin pastoring again. Why would anyone want to stop him from doing so since he's "obviously gifted?" After all, he was a "great pastor," wasn't he?

This is written from the perspective of a man who sees something that the fallen leader does not and refuses to. I have great empathy and prayer for what follows:

MR. HAGGARD AND HIS NEW CHURCH

On Thursday evening of this week, there was, for all intents and purposes, a new church plant in our town of Colorado Springs. Ted Haggard gathered a group of people in his home for a prayer meeting that will, in time, constitute a nucleus for that new church.

And so, it is nearly three years to the day from Mr. Haggard's admission to indiscrete behavior — that resulted in his resignation as senior pastor of New Life Church — that a new congregation begins, located just one mile from the church he once pastored.

The irony of all of this is that, from the very beginning, Mr. Haggard had been counseled to go to another city, complete his restoration program, experience healing in his family and with his addiction, and only then begin again. But, he has made a choice not to do that.

We, who were members of his restoration team and those who served New Life Church as overseers, wish he would not do this. We feel it to be insensitive to a church that provided generously for him and his family for over a year after his misadventure. But, more than that, he violates his own words that he would not begin a new church. Evidently, he changed his mind a week or so ago, and now calls the new endeavor a church rather than a Bible study.

Pastor Brady Boyd, the present senior pastor of New Life Church, has been very gracious to Mr. Haggard. As I talk with Pastor Boyd, there is more concern expressed for Mr. Haggard than there is about the new church plant. Let me ask you:

From what you know about the Ted Haggard situation — and knowing it is a free country — would you consider Mr. Haggard's actions proper and ethical? How would you respond if Mr. Haggard asked for your opinion? Please, let us know at pastors@family.org.

Prayers should be offered for all parties involved.

Be blessed and be a blessing. —HBL

My response?

There is a reason we cheer for the underdog... we know somewhere deep within that it is not in our original destiny to be down. So when someone who genuinely should be "on top" has such an opportunity, we cheer them on.

This is different, though. This is not an underdog scenario, but rather a rebellious rejection of the role of the Master. Mr Haggard, it seems, would rather surround himself with people who will tell him what he thinks versus what he must hear.

And that... will affect more people than just himself. That will tell others that they don't have to deal with the stuff in their life that needs to be dealt with, but rather they can ignore it and call it Christianity. And that will ultimately create a hypocrisy within Mr Haggard that he will choose not to acknowledge so he can "be a pastor again."

I know I am being harder in this post than I usually am. I run the risk of offending some who would rather I take the carefree position of "Mind your own business."

Fair enough. Let's look at the Scripture most people whip out for a quick defensive quote without fully-embracing the rest of it.

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. (Matthew 7:1-6)

Yes, Jesus said not to judge. But He didn't just say that, because He said that the purpose of noticing another's sin isn't to look down on them for it. Rather, it's to recognize it's danger to them and others... only AFTER you've been willing to put yourself through a similar process. The Scripture doesn't say we shouldn't evaluate ourselves, for at the very end of the section it speaks about making proper evaluations about the state of others' relationship with God and what kinds of "holy things" they should be playing with.

In this instance, Mr Haggard won't even allow others to look at the speck of sawdust in his eye as he has closed them shut so that not even he can see it.

Okay, I've made my point. I can go on, but at this point it would be nothing more than an extended remix of what I have just shared. And I also know that I have just opened up a magnifying glass into my own life. Whenever one raises awareness of God's standards, he/she is the first one to be compared to it.

That's fine... bring it on. Judge me... please. Please, please, please... judge me. Not in a labeling sense, but in an evaluative and restorative sense. Push me in places I will box with you to stay out of, because a leader can only lead when he has learned how to follow, and I so desperately want to follow Jesus.

Judge me, not because my life is perfect, but because it isn't...

and I have familiar temptations...

and I welcome (and need) your accountability.

Let's not lower the bar in what it means to lead. Let's keep it right where God put it and grow up into that.

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (James 3:1)

Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. (Titus 1:7-9)

an unfortunate/fortunate irony

People with a long history in any environment have credibility when they speak, even if what they say isn't credible.

On the other hand, if what a "veteran" says is credible, such a person can push truth through barriers the average person cannot.

Use your tenure well.

lessons from a child

Pretty cute, and pretty powerful. Our boys have been doing this, too, since the first allowance they began to earn.

How does that verse go? "...and a little child will lead them." (Isaiah 11:6b)