in between

There is a moment in the middle...

in between the old and new thing...

called many things.

It's true name is transformation. 

Instead of pining for the old or the new, lean into this moment right now.

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Go on...

right now...

swing. 

the next billy graham might be drunk right now

I wish I could take credit for this clever title, but it comes from another blog where the writer reminds us to not take for granted the kind of transformation God can do in the heart of someone who is willing to let Him.

I'd also add the next Billy Graham might be a lukewarm Christian...
a hobbyist who is more concerned with their next hunt/run/trophy/collectable....
a hard-hearted pessimiist...
an annoying politician...
a partying neighbor...
a quiet Christ-follower...
an insecure loudmouth...
a absentee spouse or parent...
an atheist who spews venomous words about God...
the list goes on.

Read the original article here: http://www.russellmoore.com/2012/01/02/the-next-billy-graham-might-be-drunk-right-now/

"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer." (2 Corinthians 5:16)

a new year of new living: the landowner

I wrote this parable more than 15 years ago, and happened to share it this past Sunday. On the heels of my previous two posts, here is something to read and ponder in your own life.

---

The Landowner

A man naively and arrogantly purchased a new house. It was on an expansive piece of useful farmland, which he reasoned was an impressive addition to the great deal he had haggled for on the house. All of this on paper seemed like a great idea... except this man was a businessman and not a farmer.
 This new landowner decided to use his free time to work out in the fields. He got up early on the first Saturday morning he had free because he'd heard that’s what farmers do. With a canvas bag of tools over his left shoulder and a “Farming For Dummies” book in his right hand, the man walked out into the farmland like a quarterback about to take the field.

Four hours and four-hundred callouses later, the man determined "that" was enough "of that."

So the great piece of land sat out there, empty and barren. Each day the man would get up to go to work and drive past its expansive emptiness. A nagging guilt set in, for as a businessman he knew it was more than a wasted field - it was a wasted profit.

Perhaps that's why one day he sat down and devised a new plan to put the immense field to productive use. He divided the land into several slots to rent to outsiders needing a place to plant their items. They would pay back to the him, the landowner, a percentage of the profits they made. It seemed like the perfect plan to address the depression of the undeveloped property.

That is, it "seemed" like the perfect plan. The man still didn’t understand the finer aspects of farming, including the aspects that involved large machinery. He inadvertently divided each section of land in such a way that the various farmers had to literally plow over another farmer’s section to get to their own.

No one realized this at first, as they only knew where their boundaries ended and assumed that paths had been laid out for such an issue. Eventually it all came to a head and fights became common. Farmers that had to get to their areas in the middle would trudge over the other farmers’ areas, and those farmers would react by spitefully doing the same to the middle farmers’ land in order to “get even.”

That year yielded very little in terms of crops. The farmers couldn’t get past their own demands, didn’t want to replant the prospective crops, and consequently gained no profit... a hard financial loss felt very much by the landowner... who eventually called the project a failure. With a complete sense of defeat, he reasoned he’d have to find a way to learn to live with the guilt of a failed project that would stare him in the face every day.

That is, until the day when the old farmer came, knocking on his door step.

“Son,” he said, “Looks to me like you have a problem managing your fields.”

“You’re telling me!” said the man. “It’s just not worth my time.”

“What if I promised you that it was?” hinted the old man. “You could make more than an adequate share of profit by following my plan. That land out there that’s wasting away because you don’t know how to handle it... doesn’t have to.”

This sounded rather interesting to the man, as he was indeed tired of seeing things go to waste. But as all “sharp” businessmen must ask, naturally so did he: “What’s the catch?”

“Well, ‘the catch’ is simply this... you turn land ownership over to me, and I will let you live on the property for free, take care of all expenses, and share with you a profit so great that it will revolutionize the way you live.”

The man waited for a laugh that never came to what he presumed had to be a joke. “Are you kidding me?” asked the man. “You actually expect me to give up MY land for some profit that I can’t see? What if I don’t gain anything? I’ll have lost my property over some bad deal! You must be crazy...”

“I’m not finished,” interrupted the old farmer, “You can cancel the deal at any time. But if you do, you gain nothing except the land back. This is the only condition: you gain no profit by canceling... just the land again, to deal with all over on your own.”

Maybe it was the exhaustion of his failure, or maybe there was something genuine about the farmer. For whatever reason, the man found himself surprised that he was even thinking about it. “So let me get this straight... I give you the land, and I get a huge profit on anything you make on it. But if I change my mind at any time, I get back the land and just lose any ‘profit’ you might make?”

The farmer smiled, “Son, it’s not profit ‘I might make’; it’s profit ‘We will make’.”

"You'll put this in writing?"

"I sure will. But you also have my word."

And as the man looked at the old farmer, he knew there was more to this man than age. There was experience, and confidence out of that experience. “You know what,” said the man, “I have no clue how you're going to do it, and maybe that's why I'm even considering this. With your escape clause, I see no way that I can lose. Besides, you probably know more about farming than I do and can squeeze a few bucks out of this place. Okay... it’s a deal.”

It wasn’t too long before what was a torn and battered field once again became a clean, fertile opportunity for growth. The businessman kept an eye out, and would watch how every day the farmer would come and invest his time tending the fields. At first the business man was skeptical, all the while noting on paper what sorts of changes the farmer was making. Yet the more he looked each day, the more he saw that the field was being shaped into the best it could be, most likely, he assumed, because it was being shaped by the best hands.

When it came time for harvest, the business man anxiously awaited to see what sort of profit he had gained by this investment. And when he did... he was shocked.

“All of it?” he asked. “What do you mean I get to keep all of it?”

The farmer smiled. “I mean that you get to keep all of it, son. All the profits, every harvest... it’s all yours.”

“But that’s incredible! This is more than enough!”

“I know,” shared the farmer. “That was the idea.”

“So what do you get?” asked the man. “Don’t tell me you did all of this for nothing.”

“I’ll tell you something,” said the farmer, “I do gain something. I gain seeing a beautiful piece of property not go to waste. Don’t take this the wrong way, but son... you were destroying this property.”

“No offense taken,” he said.

“Good,” the farmer continued, “because I love farming. I do it well. And after you let me invest myself into developing this land, I was able to take it from a burden to a blessing. There’s nothing like doing what you were created to do because you’re being who you were created to be.”

The business man was amazed. “I have no idea what you mean. I mean, I do... but I've just never known that kind of fulfillment. Just tell me one thing, though... why did you have to take ownership of the land? Couldn’t you just have asked me to hire you? I know I’ve gained so much, but I still don’t get why I had to give up the land.”

The farmer smiled his familiar smile and said, “Son, if I didn’t own the land, the harvest wouldn’t have been even half of what it was.”

Puzzled, the man asked, “Why is that?”

“Son, if I didn’t own it, I couldn’t freely make the adjustments I’d need to in order to shape it up. I’d have to keep checking in with you, asking you if it was okay to make decisions you know nothing about. You’d keep poking your head in, and son... we both know you’re not a farmer.”

“Alright, alright,” said the man. “Just tell me how I can pay you back. You’ve given me way too much for me to just sit around and not do anything for you.”

And with that question, the farmer knew his work had not been wasted. For it was not a field that he had been tending to, but a man’s heart. Every day that he labored out in the fields to produce a profit he would not claim was another day spent ripening the soil of this man’s soul. And the harvest of this kind of crop, a willing heart, would yield more than anything he could produce out in the field.

So with a tender spirit, the old farmer answered the man’s question. “Son, I’m a farmer. I help get peoples’ fields in order. You’re a business man... you help get peoples’ business in order. You have skills and gifts the Lord gave you that others need, just as I had the skills and gifts that you needed. Son, now that your fields are straightened out, you go love your neighbor and help him with what you do best.”

The farmer smiled, turned and walked out of the house whistling a familiar tune.

The man... well, you know what he did.

Because it's what you would do.

the intention for the exorcist

On the heels of Halloween, I'm intrigued by this quote from the writer of "The Exorcist" - the book that the pop culture movie was based on:

"That I am regularly hauled out of my burrow every Halloween like some furless and demonic 'Punxsatawney Phil' always brings a rueful smile of bemusement to my lips as I lower my gaze and shake my head, for the humiliating God's-honest truth of the matter is that while I was working on The Exorcist, what I thought I was writing was a novel of faith in the popular dress of a thrilling and suspenseful detective story—in other words, a sermon that no one could possibly sleep through—and to this day I haven't the faintest recollection of any intention to frighten the reader, which many will take, I suppose, as an admission of failure on an almost stupefying scale. But it's true! … Every [Halloween] I put out the pumpkin with the cutout eyes and nose and face, and the basket full of Snickers and Mars bars beside it; but I do keep wishing—oh, ever so wistfully and—let's face it, hopelessly—that The Exorcist be remembered at this time of the year for being not about shivers but rather about souls, for then it would indeed be in the real and true spirit of Halloween, which is short for the eve of All Hallows or All Saints Day."

—The Exorcist author William Peter Blatty. This October marked the 40th anniversary of his book's publication. And about his inspiration for it, Blatty says, "When I first heard, in 1949, of an actual case of demonic possession and an exorcism going on nearby while I was a junior at Georgetown University, I remember thinking, 'Someday, somebody's got to write about this, because if an investigation were to prove that possession is real, what a help it would be to the struggling faith of possibly millions, for if there were demons, I reasoned, then why not angels? Why not God?'"

[10/28/11]

how (ordinary/super) heroes are made

Some people grow up reading the Bible. Others grow up reading Harry Potter. I happened to grow up reading comic books.

Yep, I said it out loud.

Back then it wasn't a big deal. Then some time after that it became a big deal - you were a geek for doing this. And then now it's not quite a big deal again.

Super heroes are popular - so much so that Captain America's movie release weekend bumped Harry Potter down to second place in its second week. (Although Harry Potter probably isn't too worried, given its opening weekend)

I've always known that following these fictional adventures - Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Captain America - brought into the focus of my life the reality that I am here for a reason.

We all are, actually - it involves living in a much larger Story than "me, me, me."

This week at a large convention called "Comic Con" the star of the upcoming movie "The Amazing Spider Man" put it rather profoundly and personally: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wemtXS4Zx9o




Good fiction wakes us up to the hidden truths of this world. There is a reason we all cheer on the "good guy" because deep down inside we know that there is a "good" underneath the "bad" in our world. There is also a reason why we ache over tragedy, for we know that tragedy shouldn't exist in the first place - as if hidden within us there is an awareness that this world shouldn't have been broken by humanity in the first place.... it started out good and should be that way again.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

I'm not sure what you grew up with, but I hope it was something that awakened a calling inside of you to be the hero that this world needs. Perhaps you jumped too quickly into horror movies and haven't gotten past that sense of feeling scared around every corner of life, or maybe you were exposed to sex and nudity in ways that have always made you feel like your body is nothing more than a biological toy.

Unfortunately today's comics have turned in those directions, so with rare exception do I support them. There are still some solid "younger kids" comics that keep the adventure and the innocence alive.

Maybe that's why I started writing this post in the first place. Perhaps we are now the rare heroes who need to not only join into the pages of the Story - God's Story - and likewise be the very pages of Truth in a world of fiction. The people around you need to know what is worth fighting for, and if you know... if you truly know the values of the Reality that exist in the thought bubbles of our thought bubbles... then it's time to start sharing it and living it.

With great power comes great responsibility.

(You knew that was coming, didn't you?)

"Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives—and we publish it." (2 Corinthians 3:2-3, MSG)

the "disability" we don't need to choose (but often do)

There's always something to complain about... from local stores you feel mistreat you and traffic that frustrates you, to politics you won't listen to and people you won't agree with.

Maybe it's just "life" in general.

Today.... I'm going to try to instead praise God for those thoughts. - not the content of them (because what we complain about can become quite the black hole) but the fact that I have the ability to think and articulate... to feel and understand those feelings,

Maybe it's because a half-hour ago I met someone who has a disability and couldn't stop repeating the same sentence. I can't begin to tell you how humbling it was to realize the simple things I take for granted.

Or maybe it's because I often am that person without realizing it - repeating the same complaint, over and over.

There is always something to complain about.

Then again, there is always a reason not to.

Right?

hate mail and blah, blah blah

This week I received my first official piece of "hate mail" regarding my weekly newspaper column. It just so happened that I got it after having written this week's article (but before it was published for him to read it) - ironically on the subject of how we as a culture have taken less to holding our tongue versus spewing out our grumpiness.

I know it's common to copy and paste things on Facebook, Twitter or blogs that shows how smart we are versus how dumb others are, be it politicians, co-workers, customers, local businesses or neighbors.

We are more apt to cry about feeling short-changed than we are to become the change we want to see in the world.

This is why I attempted to reach out to the person who wrote me, although I have not received any response. I honestly wonder if it's even a real email address or a manufactured one, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and ask to hang out locally so we can have a conversation about his feelings and thoughts.

I wonder if he'll take me up on it... or if he was merely interested in a drive-by blast.

Meanwhile, I have a favor... can you and I please become less interested in proving how intelligent we are and how idiotic others are? We get it - you're a Republican and Democrats are stupid; or you're a Democrat and Republicans are stupid; or you're an independent and everyone else is stupid; and so on.

And likewise, you were mistreated at a place of business... and they are dummies, dummies, dummies. Or you were offended that a church didn't meet your needs, because that's what they're "supposed to do."

I apologize for the edge, but not for what I hope it does in a surgical manner. We are accomplishing nothing by merely becoming recycle banks for derogatory content, and could instead use that energy to start something productive.

I heard something a couple of days ago that struck me - people complain about drug houses and gun houses in neighborhoods, but the reality is if you or I would have put something positive there instead they drug house or gun house couldn't have gone there.

Hmm.

So please read this week's article: If You Can't Say Something Nice

And... let's remember that we are capable of more than posting yet another "blah, blah, blah" rant or "hate these people with me" boycott that really does nothing to build bridges but only erects fences.

"A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions." (Proverbs 18:2)

a surprising opportunity

Well, it's official.

After an important lunch today, I am now officially a part of group of a couple dozen people who will represent the Cleveland area and suburbs via the local NBC news (WKYC). About 3 or more times a month I will take part in a 4-minute segment for the 7pm news called "@The Table" where I can take part in commentary and conversation on hot topics.

Honestly, I'm only sharing this because I feel like I'm swimming in a deep end of thinkers and it was quite humbling to be in their midst - mayors, councilmen, judges, radio personalities, and so on. I am out of my league, so please keep the prayers coming. Hopefully I can bring something that may add to and guide the conversation in a God-honoring way.

Then again, isn't that the same opportunity all of us have everyday - be it in a home, workplace, or school environment? In fact, comment here and let me know how I can be praying for you in whatever your opportunity is.

Thanks!

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:17)

why truth will tick you off

The Truth will set you free.

But first... it will tick you off. 

Let's face it...

we'd rather live a "don't rock the boat" life where we call the shots.

It's a nice boat.

Comfortable seats.

Full of the latest toys.

We've spent a lot of time filling it with things that soothe us.

Then again, while that boat may seem expertly built and secure...

that boat has a hole in it.

Sometimes we see it, and sometimes we don't.

Even weirder, sometimes we see it and pretend we didn't.

You know what I mean, especially about that last part?

So will we stay on the sinking Titanic where we are the "King of the World?"

Or...

will we accept the ladder that just dropped from the rescue offered above? 


You know, out of all the courageous changes we must make in life...

this shift is the hardest.


For it involves confessing we are not God...

and He is.


We confess this not just with a head nod...

or the occasional appearance at a church service...

but with life change that we allow Him to power up in our lives.


Life change that affects everything.

Yeah, everything.

That's why truth will tick you off.

The upside, though?

It's momentum can tick you off of the sinking boat... if you let it.

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (Jesus, John 8:32)

do you have dimples?

I can't golf... at all. 

Unless it involves a putter and a windmill.  Or a mechanical alligator.

Ironically, I remember when I was asked to give a demonstration about how to hold and swing a golf club.  It was in junior high, and I nailed the whole presentation. That is, except for the part where I forgot to actually show the class how to hold and swing a golf club. I did everything but that part because I got nervous.

Some days I still feel like I'm forgetting something important when I speak in front of people, such as in a Sunday morning church service or in a seminar I may be teaching.  I keep thinking, "Who am I to speak? I'm flawed and foolish... what good could God possibly do through me?
 
I have learned one thing about golf, though, which is that what looks useless may actually have a purpose.

Case in point, those silly looking dimples that cover the surface of a golf ball minimize the air resistance it faces while traveling. In most cases, the ball will actually travel twice as far and as fast because of these bumps.

In other words, something that appears useless is more important than we realize.

As you look at your life, what bumps appears "useless" and "unnecessary?"  I'm not speaking about sin, but rather odd aspects of your life that actually are of more importance than you realize.  Do you feel "dimpled" in some way that actually is God's gift to you to use for his purposes and glory?

And if you do... what's it going to take for you to start using that as an asset for your Creator?

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." (1 Corinthians 1:27)

your title or your influence?

I once worked in a job where I feared for my job... everyday. And I wasn't alone.

It wasn't because of the economy, and it wasn't because we were all bad employees.

It was because our boss was insecure and came across like a lion to everyone. He was someone who only cared about the idea of success than in creating the environment for it.

I've been in the exact opposite situation, though. I've served in church staff teams where we were so inspired by the character and direction of our main leader that we climbed over ourselves to be a part of what he was up to.

It's the difference between transactional relationships versus transformational relationships:

• Transactional relationships:
• You focus on what needs to happen.
• You're concerned with the appearance of non-failure.
• You spend your time one-upping each other.
  
• Transformational relationships: 
• You focus on who each person is becoming.
• You're concerned with the health of people.
• You spend your time sacrificing for each other.

Every relationship, organization, classroom and work environment tends to run with one of these two models dominating. You can influence that, whether you're at the top or bottom of the totem pole.

• T: Take the initiative in your own life first - become the person you want others to be.
• R: Raise your eyes - set your focus on things above versus things of the earth (Col 3:1-4)
• A: Ask others questions - find out who they are and what they're most concerned about in life.
• N: Nurture conversation - set up regular lunch times where everyone gets together to chat.
• S: Say the mission - don't just nod your head at what's on the wall, but use it in conversation.
• F: Face people - don't multitask during conversations (close the laptop and turn off your phone).
• O: Own mistakes - if you know you did something wrong, apologize right away.
• R: Raise standards - stop using the phrase "That was good enough."
• M: Mind your mind - introduce people to new thoughts and ideas that can lead to change.

In the end, you will influence others either out of your:

• Title: Parent, spouse, employer, employee, customer, teacher, student, pastor, tither, guest, regular, etc
• Influence: Your integrity, your passion, your relationship with God, etc

So... what is your next step to create healthy people instead of yet another power play?

The most important [commandment],” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31)

becoming a connector

We all see dots in this world that seem disconnected.  It's because they are... inside of us, around us, and between us.

A "Connector" is someone who steps up to this opportunity.

Someone who takes the seemingly ordinary and helps people see the extraordinary in them... to help those who are asleep in their own indifference to wake up to a deeper reality than what they've perceived... to see the fingerprints of God in a world full of fig leaves that cover Him up.

The secret of being a "Connector" in life, home, family, friends, church: Letting God shift what is happening in you so you can shift the momentum of what’s happening around you through the abilities, skills, and attitude He's placed within you.

Want to to change everything around you in a moment?

Let God change everything in you in this moment.

born on the fourth of july, fifty years later

You never know the amazing impact that can come out of your life... especially if you are a teenager with vision and happen to live in Ohio.

http://www.aolnews.com/weird-news/article/happy-50th-birthday-stars-and-stripes/19537928

seeing my blind spots

I made a friendship covenant with four people... people who see me from a variety of angles and different personalities.

Specifically, I handed each a slip of paper that reads as follows:

Our friendship is important to me, as are your insights into my life to help me become more like Jesus. I’m asking you to over the next week to speak 100% truth into me, be it encouragement I can handle in the right way or discouragement from things I’m doing the wrong way. I commit to be a good listener.... please be a gentle yet honest speaker.

There's also a spot for my signature, and I signed it to indicate my intent to be open. That in itself is a challenge for any of us, including me. Because the moment someone starts to tell you something that you haven't dealt with it's easy to get defensive.

And yet I am committed to any growing pains, which means that for the next week or so I will be extra aware of some of the blind spots in my life.

Tonight I'm also taking part in a "360 Degree Review" with the lead team I serve in our church. This is another opportunity for us to help one another better figure out what we should continue to do, where small adjustments should be made, and what kind of major course corrections are needed. This is truly a big deal, for the health of a church fulfilling its God-given vision begins within the spiritual and relational DNA of its leadership.

Needless to say, in all of this I will have to remain open to new ideas and filter those through my sense of how God is leading my life. I'm looking forward to who I may become on the other end of it all. Thanks for your prayers in this process, because I want to grab what matters and cast aside what doesn't.

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.

what if?

We've seen in recent years how innovation is happening more quickly than it has in other decades. Throw out the status quo and consider, "What if?"

• "What if we made a better automobile?"
  
  Ta-da! Smart cars.
  


• "What if we reinvented the circus?"
  
  Presto-chango! Cirque Du Soleil.
  


• "What if cell phones became even more convenient?"
  
  Clear an eardrum. Bluetooth.
  


• "What if I could choose my own infinite playlist with NO commercials?"
  
  Download this! Mp3 player adapters become standard in new cars and satellite radio takes off.
  


• "What if the garage sale went global?"
  
  Eureka! Ebay and Craig's List.

There are magazines devoted to nothing more than telling you what the new "thing" is. Sometimes they take off in powerful ways, while many other products and inventors fall to the wayside.

Innovation is about letting bigger things get smaller and smaller things get bigger; turning things upside down and inside out; exploding the obvious into smithereens and letting a group of scattered ideas become powerfully networked; marrying two words that don't belong next two each other to create or rebirth a concept the world has been yearning for.

Innovation IS about reinventing the wheel.

We obviously we see this in the consumer market, but what about if this is true in your relational circles, too?

• Past arguments: What if you brought innovation to a situation you've written off? What if you began to look at the "idiot" on the other side of the fence with eyes that looked past the hurt and found a place of healing?
  


• Future weariness: Often we drop out of very worthy commitments when the excitement wears off and life wears us down. What if you found a deeper reason to be doing what you do now so that when you get tired of it you're still willing to do what is right?
  


• Rescheduling for relationships: That favorite hobby or activity that takes you away from or puts you on a different schedule than the people in your life? What if you found a different time to do it to better invest in your relationships?
  


• The God factor: Have you figured God out so much that you've forgotten He's bigger than your brain? What if you became willing to relearn something you're sure of as if you were a child... because that's how He invites you to come to Him.

The list can go on, but you get it. Innovation is about asking, “what if?” with an attitude of hope and faith and the absence of fear.

I dare you to ask, “What if?” Maybe the next Google won't come out of you, but perhaps the next great movement of care in the people around you will.

a manly moment

A word, to guys of every age...

Every great man champions a great cause given to him by his Creator. If you won't seek it, you'll settle for a lesser existence that seems like a life but is merely an exchange of sleeping - whether in bed or walking around half-awake.

I dare you to dig deep and stop being bored, waiting for life to serve you candy.

Grab your Sword!

Serve your King!

Love fully!

Restore truth!

Extend hope!

Live!

LIVE!

LIVE!

"Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king." (1 Peter 2:17)

whether you realize it or not

You are a leader.

No matter what position you hold to another person from anywhere in a 360 degree perspective, there is someone else who is setting their life and decisions according to the patterns they see in you.

For instance, we all know that kids watch their parents. They will choose their language and base their consumption habits based on the patterns in their households. If mom or dad live inspirational lives, the general rule is the kids will be inspired; if mom or dad live reactionary lives, the general rule is the kids will become reactionary to life.

But have you ever considered how parents watch their kids? A young child can lead a parent to spend oodles of money on certain toys and activities (Chuck E Cheese, anyone?), not to mention the power teenagers have in influencing what is considered "cool" or not. This is why you will often find adults driving cars they can't afford and wearing clothing they shouldn' (or can't). You will also find, though, kids inspiring their parents to become more active, playful, and carefree about life when we begin to make the wrong things our top priorities.

You get what I'm saying? Everyone is a leader, whether they realize it or not.

There are those who add a little bit of direction to the overall climate of a group by the tiny contributions they make - for better or for worse. One person may comment how much they enjoy the gifts of another... and everyone is a little blessed. Another person can talk about how they "just don't get into" this one thing that another person does... and everyone is a little poisoned.
So the question is what are you leading people to do?

• Forward: Perhaps it's stereotypical - what we think of as a leader. You motivate people forward... toward something of worth. It could be your favorite cause or perhaps something even more important - their eternity with Jesus Christ.
  
  
• Backward: Maybe you're a backward leader. Your pessimism has become contagious in the circles you're in as the problems you have with "so and so" start getting taken on by others. If this is you, you may find yourself ranting a lot about everyone from celebrities to how the butcher at the grocery store cheated you out of two cents of ground beef. And you may even want everyone to be as ticked off as you are.
  
  
• Neutral: It could very well be that you are a neutral leader... you influence others "not to care" because you've chosen not to. You hear the same appeals that others do, but don't want to get involved. In fact, you may even assume that since you're not ranting or criticizing that you're better than the backward leader. Actually, you could very well be worse because you're setting the tone that it's okay to do nothing... to come and go as you please... to decide commitment to a community or a goal simply isn't worth your consistent energy.

Moses is one of the most popular leaders in history. Funny thing, though - the guy didn't think he had what it took. He was short-tempered and self-conscious about a speech problem he had. "Mo" didn't think God could use his life for anything significant.

Sound familiar?

Even if it's your first time up to bat, you are a leader. Leadership doesn't always require speaking in front of crowds, becoming the CEO of a large corporation, or leading an entire nation out of slavery (as Moses did). Often it's something that happens with your family during dinner, in your cubicle at work, how you handle an issue in your neighborhood, or the relentless commitment you offer someone who has caused you hurt.

Need some inspiration? Check out this guy from ancient Egypt who stepped up to lead at a time when his people needed hope.

Again, sound familiar? We all need hope, don't we?

The world needs leaders who will lead people into a deeper connection with God. This is something you can tear down, pour apathy into, or stir up some genuine motivation for.

"A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm." - Henrik Ibsen

pony up

I spoke with a few folks this past week who need to be reminded of this story:

There are twin boys of five or six. Mom was worried that the boys had developed extreme personalities -- one was a total pessimist, the other a total optimist -- their parents took them to a psychiatrist.

First the psychiatrist treated the pessimist. Trying to brighten his outlook, the psychiatrist took him to a room piled to the ceiling with brand-new toys. But instead of yelping with delight, the little boy burst into tears.

"What's the matter?" the psychiatrist asked, baffled. "Don't you want to play with any of the toys?"

"Yes," the little boy bawled, "but if I did I'd only break them."

Next the psychiatrist treated the optimist. Trying to dampen his out look, the psychiatrist took him to a room piled to the ceiling with horse manure. But instead of wrinkling his nose in disgust, the optimist emitted just the yelp of delight the psychiatrist had been hoping to hear from his brother, the pessimist. Then he clambered to the top of the pile, dropped to his knees, and began gleefully digging out scoop after scoop with his bare hands.

"What do you think you're doing?" the psychiatrist asked, just as baffled
by the optimist as he had been by the pessimist.

"With all this manure," the little boy replied, beaming, "there must be a
pony in here somewhere!"

(blank) you

This is a short slice from an interview I recently did with Len Evans. The topic had to do with how I transitioned from one way of serving God to another. I hope there's a takeaway for you in this:

You know, there’s this famous painting by Georges Seurat where he used millions of little dots to illustrate a public park and the people in it. I realized that ministry is just like that - when I would say, “I love students,” it was like all I could see was that one little dot in my calling. What God began to reveal in me during those very hard years of being “in between” church roles was that we often get so focused on our dot that we fail to see the bigger picture.

So what happens when God asks you to start painting in a completely different spot? Does He have that right if in the past you were sure He’d called you to ________?

This is hard teaching God gives us.

No, really... think about it - this is hard, hard, hard teaching God gives us.

We are quick to fill in the blanks of our soul with stuff we did in the past, when the best thing we can do is leave them blank. The last thing that gave you a sense of worth may very well get in the way of the hole inside you that God intentionally wants to fill with Himself. And often the people around us think our choices to wait on God are foolish - especially when there is a tough call to make.

Perhaps you went to school for ______, but your life ended up with you doing ----------.

Or maybe you believed that the relationships closest to you would be ________, but instead they've ended up being @!*#;&.

And the opposite can be true, too... for a lot of us, we have intentionally settled for a life of ++++++++, but God has a ________ that starts with Him, ends with Him, and is through Him... and your lesser lifestyle is holding back from a fully-alive existence.

Here's what you need to remember - while this does affect you, you are setting a bar for others in these choices. We are naturally all inclined to live life at the lowest common denominator, which is why when someone chooses to embrace grace as it's intended to be used - to connect with a Holy God - we create a stablity around us simply by being who He is making us to be.

Don't be deceived - God would much rather have you filling in the blanks of your life with Him versus anything you would do for Him.

We are, after all, human BEings... not human DOings.