It is about love
John Eldredge's December letter addressed Christmas and it made a great point. When you walk around the mall wondering what on earth you'll get your wife and you hear Christmas music playing, say to yourself, "It is about love".

Whenever you see a Christmas tree, say to yourself, "It is about love."

When someone surprises you with a visit or an unexpected gift - say to yourself, "It is all about love."

A client came into our office on Monday with a gift of goodies. She recently lost her husband and has been really struggling yet through her pain she thought of us.

It is about love.

A good friend of mine from YoungLife came by my office today. I missed him. He left a little gift.

It is about love.

This season is way too commercialized and society has ruined the message of Christmas. Drown that out. Say to yourself - "It is about love".

Even though we are rotten in places. Even though we have good intentions and fall way short. Even though we think evil thoughts about those who oppose us. Even though we lust and crave and hate. Even though when times are good we turn our backs on Him. Even though...

He loved.

Even though we fall short...He cared enough to love and suffer and die on our behalf.

Even though we constantly forget - He never forgot.

It is all about love.

Soar!

Hating Christmas
Do you hate Christmas? Does any part of you hate it? Here I go with more anti-religion talk but I think deep down a lot of us hate Christmas or parts of it at least. I do. Stay with me, there is a good part of this message to come.

I have grown to hate parts of Christmas. It is too commercial and too chaotic for me. I like peace and Christmas has come to be anything but peaceful for me. I love how my wife transforms our home during Christmas and I love how she cooks treats for others. Our home feels warmer during Christmas and I love that. I don't love how it wears her out. I don't love the endless "to do" lists. I hate - really hate - getting out into the shopping areas. It overwhelms me. I don't like how Christmas makes us all so tired - the travel, the shopping, the parties, etc. It just seems to wear us out.

But in reality, I guess I have figured out that the entire season has really very little to do with Jesus and that is why I don't like it. We get all freaked out and spend gobs of money and we wind up worn out and it really has very little to do with Jesus.

I don't hate Christmas. I hate the commercialization of Christmas. It is supposed to be about love but it isn't. The world has let it become about something else altogether. It is about a new Lexus with a big bow sitting in the driveway. It is about way too expensive jewelry and "this year, show her you really love her". It is about commercialized magic. It plays on our distorted memories of magical childhood Christmas'. "Make this year magical..." (by spending way more money than you should).

The magic of Christmas happened 2,000 years ago. Christ came to earth as a baby. The warrior came to liberate his people. He took human form knowing it would lead to murder. Max Lucado's book An Angel's Story reflects on this as he wonders what the angels must have been thinking looking at Jesus as a baby, "I exist to serve my King and I must watch Him be tortured? How will we sit silent as you suffer?" I've never thought of that but I wonder what it was like for the angels to see Jesus leave their realm and enter the world as a baby knowing full well it would lead to His painful physical death. Why would He endure that?

He came because He loved.

Christmas is about love. It isn't about Lexus', diamonds, playstations, Wii's or magical ski trips. It is about love. Remember and say to yourself over and over these next few weeks - "It is about love".

Soar!

Ism's, 'Ians, 'Ists...
Ferris Bueller said, "Not that I condone fascism. Or any "isms" for that matter. "Isms", in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an "ism"." Ferris Bueller, you're my hero.

Espiscopalian's have female pastors yet they don't call them pastors, they call them Rectors. They think they have it right.
Presbyterians have female elders. They sprinkle for baptisms and think they have it right.
PCA Presbyterians embrace "reformed" theology and unless it is "reformed", they won't support it. They think they have it right.
Methodists baptize babies. They think they have it right.
Baptists don't baptize babies and don't let ladies serve in leadership roles. When they baptize adults, they dunk them under the water and they think they have it right.
But then again, First Baptist here in Columbus has had a female deacon. So they must think they have it right.

How does all of this come about? The "Ians" (Episcopalians, Presbyterians) and the "Ists" (Methodists and Baptists) all think they have it right. They all read the same Bible and they all came up with their own interpretations, traditions and beliefs.

This sounds anti-church and it isn't meant to be but in some ways, aren't the major denominations kind of like cults? Their membership is brought in, taught "the way" and trained to defend/argue their beliefs to other denominations. In many cases, members feel their "way" is the only way. "The Episcopalians have it all wrong because _______". "If it isn't 'reformed', I'm not going to read it." "Baptizing babies is wrong". "Having ladies in any leadership capacity isn't Biblical." "Communion is only for those that have accepted Jesus as their Savior." "Communion is only for those that are members". "Anyone can walk down the aisle and join this church...all are welcome." "We don't allow anyone to join until they have met with the leadership of the church and we have heard their testimony of faith." I have heard it and seen it my entire adult life - denominations fighting each other over who has it "right".

You see where I am going. Who really has it right?

A lot of friends of ours have left Wynnbrook and are looking for a church home. They've been to Christ Community or CrossPointe and they really like the service and the passion but it isn't "church" to them. After 20 years in the Baptist church, they "need" Awana and Sunday School and Wednesday night supper, etc. We feel their struggle. They are conditioned that they "need" these things to have "church", to have "religion".

I wonder why we can't seem to dig beneath organized religion to the passion of a walk with Christ. Or better yet, can't you see how organzied religion tends to cover up The Truth? Jesus is in there somewhere but at times, He is hard to find underneath all the business of church. All those rules - we do this, we don't do that, you need to be in church 3 times a week, the way we baptize, the role of women - seem to bind people up into duty. I had a pastor one time tell me, "I don't read John Eldredge because he isn't reformed." What? You are so bound up in the "rightness" of reformed theology that you won't even pick up and read a leading Christian author?

Folks will say, "I love CrossPointe/Chris Community, I felt alive, I felt the Holy Spirit, I loved the music, God is present in that place but I miss the Awana and the traditional Sunday School and the Wednesday supper and I need all that for 'church'". So they will likely leave and go to a traditional church. I guess my fear is they will trade a passionate walk with Christ for the tradition of the church. They are hungry, you can see it in their eyes, but I suspect they'll trade that hunger back in for the "normalcy" of traditional religion.

All of this may offend readers that are in traditional churches and that isn't my intention. No one has it "right". What is right is what is in scripture. What is right is that Jesus was a rebel who challenged the organized religion of His day. He threw out many of the religous customs because they were man's rules and they were off base. Jesus was a rebel. He was passion. He was love - He healed on the sabboth even though that was against mans' rules because it was the right thing to do.

So today as people search for the Holy Spirit and they search for a newborn passion in their relationship with Jesus they need not seek Him in organized religion. He isn't there. Please don't misunderstand - I am not saying there isn't any faith or passion among those in the traditional church - far from it. I'm not saying the non-traditional church is "it". What I am trying to focus on is how we have come to value "organized" religion (our rules, the way we baptize, 3 services a week, Awana) more than we value the passionate experience of following Jesus. We fall into the routines of church but Jesus was anything but routine.

It seems to me that in many cases, man has taken passionate faith and made it organized religion and in so doing has driven the Holy Spirit out. This isn't anything new - it was the same 2,000 years ago when Jesus came as a rebel to tear down organized religion and set the captives free.

'Tis the season of the Great Liberator!

Soar!

Tough people
John Eldredge said "Be kind to every single person you encounter because every one you come in contact with is under some kind of attack."

It is a good point. We so often think, "What does he have against me? Why is he being such a jerk?" When we have no idea what battles he struggling with. We all struggle. Each of us has a wound (some have more than one) that has haunted us our entire life. Each of us carries around a chain of bondage to some person we struggle with or some past mistake we can't seem to shake.

Haunting - but true.

My brother in law attends a dynamic church in Birmingham and he had this posted from his church on his refrigerator. It ties in with this theme:

Seven words of Passion
1) Forgive everyone who is trying to ruin your life.
2) Help others who are experiencing your same struggle.
3) Be sure you've taken care of those near you.
4) Aim your hard questions at God, not man.
5) Be human enough to acknowledge your need.
6) Be assured, there is a purpose and there is an end.
7) Finally, surrender your life to God and let it go.

I struggle a great deal with a broken relationship. I can't seem to let it go but I have to. I cannot reconcile with the other party because the other party doesn't want to reconcile with me. God doesn't command reconciliation - He commands forgiveness. I need to forgive them so I can move on and they need to forgive me so they can move on. While I can't do anything about their forgiveness of me -- I can forgive them.

These seven words of passion help me in this struggle. When I think they are trying to ruin my life (they aren't - that is the enemy), I just need to forgive them.

When I run into others who struggle with this same issue, I need to open up and share my struggle so that I might be able to help them with the same issue.

I need to focus my attention not on them but rather on those closest to me and to be sure I am taking care of them. We waste so much time worrying about those that truly don't care about us that we ignore those around us who love us and need our attention. To spend time fretting about the struggle, talking about it, worrying about just gives more and more power to it. The enemy loves this. He wants us to wallow in it and to stay trapped in bondage. He hates forgiveness because that takes him out of the equation entirely.

When the tough times resurface, I need to aim my tough questions at God not the person I am struggling with. I'm not going to resolve anything by backing the other party into the corner with my well-articulated summary of the battle. I need to spend my time talking to God and giving Him the hard questions. He can deal with it.

I need to be human enough to acknowledge my need. I need this person. I need a relationship with them. It is OK to admit that I need it and that it hurts that we can't have a relationship.

I need to rest on the assurance that in all things, God has a purpose and I can focus on the end. There is an end to this in Glory. One day, the pain and suffering of broken relationships will end.

Lastly, I need to surrender to God. Quit fighting, quit keeping score and quit looking for yet another snub. Let it go. Quit giving power to it. Give it all over to God. Let the Healer heal it.

Soar!

Freedom
Brad Evangelista gave the message at Otis' farm last Thursday night. In Brad's usual fashion, it was passionate and energetic. What struck me was the point of freedom. Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set you free, therefore do not be entangled again by the yoke of slavery."

It is for freedom that Christ set you free. That is an interesting comment...freedom so I could be free. Free so i can be free. Why would Christ say something like this?

How many of us are still trapped by religion? How many of us are Christians yet are still bound up by a whole bunch of rules. How many of us live our lives like prisoners? How many of us are entangled by the yoke of slavery?

Christ came to set us free but He also came to give us freedom. The cross is "free". The battle was won at the cross. If you accept Christ as your savior, you are forgiven and you are free. But He came to give us freedom -- "it is for freedom that Christ has set you free.." It is for freedom (the goal) that Christ has set you free (the act). The goal is freedom - that is the resurrection. The power in what Christ did wasn't so much in dying on the cross. The power came in the resurrection.

Too often, the church focuses on the "free" part and ignores the freedom. He came to give us freedom. He came to give us freedom from the chains and yoke of slavery that tie us down. Unfortunately, we live within fences of "religion" that tell us what we can/can't do and a bunch of rules. We don't live passionately or dangerously because we fear what others will think of us. We are free - we'll go to heaven - but we don't enjoy the freedom Christ came to give us.

Brad pictured this with a great story. When he was a young kid, he had a paper route. Everyday, he'd mount his Schwin and head off to deliver papers. A block away from his house lived a huge dog that was half wolf, half bear. The dog was huge and the dog hated Brad. Everyday, the dog would see him coming and everyday, he'd sit up on his porch and start barking as Brad approached. As Brad got closer, the dog would explode off the porch and tear towards Brad with blood dripping from his mouth. Right as Brad got to the house the dog would be in full sprint ready to take Brad apart running as fast as his four paws would deliver him toward his lunch. As Brad got to the dog, he'd pull out a paper. Right as the dog was about to eat Brad, he'd screech to halt at the fence that separated him from his meal. As Brad rolled by, he'd take his paper and drag it against the fence all the way down to the corner. This aggravated his adversary and gave Brad a daily victory against the beast.

One day Brad came rolling by and the daily ritual played itself out again -- this time with a shocking turn. As Brad approached, the beast leapt from the porch and charged him. Brad pulled his paper out to aggravate the dog and grinned in anticipation. Right as he approached the fence, his discovered in terror that the fence that separated him from the dog was gone! There was nothing to stop the dog from eating him for lunch. The dog approached faster than ever and Brad knew he was dead meat. He stood up on the seat of the bike and was prepared to kick the dog and swat him with the paper. But right as the dog was about to leave the yard and knock Brad off the bike...he slammed to a stop right where the fence used to be. The dog didn't know the fence was gone and out of habit, he stopped short.

The dog had freedom but he didn't know it. He remained trapped in the prison of his own making. In his mind, he was forever tied to that yard. Someone came along and removed the barrier that entrapped him but he didn't know freedom was his for the taking (or that Brad was his lunch for the taking!).

It is a great picture for us. Christ has taken down the fences that trap us in the ordinary life. He came that we might have life and have it abundantly. Seize the day!

Soar!

Servant
We all want to be thought of as a servant. Servant leadership is a management buzz word - especially in Columbus. Jimmy Blanchard and Bill Turner "wrote the book" on Servant leadership. It is a noble cause. It is worthy.

We all aspire to being a servant - to put other's needs ahead of ours, to quietly serve others not really caring if our work is ever noticed. But how do we react when we are treated like a servant? What happens to us when folks take us at our word and "use" us as servants. What happens if others step on our servanthood as a step in their ladder to the top? Can servant leadership really work in a competitive work environment?

I think about it in a management role. Sandy Weill built Citigroup starting from zero. His ego was the size of Manhattan but he built a huge company and made a fortune. Jamie Dimon was his understudy all those years. When Sandy got fired from American Express, Jamie quit with him and the two set up shop with no business to run. Slowly, they began to buy businesses and cobble together what would become the largest financial services company in the world. When Sandy was at his pinnacle, he turned his back on Jamie and fired him. Jamie had crossed Sandy's daughter (who ran a division that reported to Jamie) and he wouldn't promote her. Sandy wanted her promoted so he fired his understudy and most loyal sidekick. Jamie left and became the CEO of BankOne which was bought by JPMorgan Chase (Citigroup's across town rival) and now Jamie is CEO of JPMorgan Chase. Citigroup has imploded and the press is now saying, "If only Sandy hadn't fired Jamie, Jamie would be running Citi today and Citi would likely have avoided this blow up in mortgage lending." Jamie is now widely regarded as the best CEO in banking and his JPMorgan has dodged much of the current crisis. Sandy forgot what brought him to the dance and rather than take on a servant leader role and cede authority when the time was right to Jamie, he fired him so he could have more time in the spotlight.

I think about it in the church. One of the largest churches in Columbus has recently been in turmoil. Their youth ministry program was, by far, the largest and most successful in town. Kids from all over the city were attending their ministry. Yet the pastor clashed with the youth pastor and didn't want to give him any of the spotlight in the church including forbidding him from ever speaking in a church service. The youth pastor left and that began the long and painful period of turmoil in the church. Down from more than 100 kids each week at youth functions, last week just a dozen came. Hundreds of people have left the church and they are stuggling to figure out the church's future. It is a crying shame that in trying to hold onto power, the pastor lost sight of the church's mission. Hundreds of kids passed through that church to get fed spiritually and now it looks like a ghost town and the kids are gone. He won the battle but is losing the war.

John the baptiser came to pave the way for Jesus. That was his role. He had disciples and his disciples came to him and said "This man Jesus is baptising people, what will you do?" The crowd was telling John - your role is being "taken" by Jesus, he is getting the spotlight, you'd better alter your marketing plan, you'd better step up your activities or else all the glory is going to go to Jesus.

What did John do? He quietly stepped aside and let Jesus do His thing. John was imprisoned and later beheaded. He died a servant. He knew his role and when his prominence was threatened by Jesus - he welcomed it. He knew he had done what he was called to do and now it was time to pass it all on to Jesus. John was the fullback that cleared the lane for the running back to score the touchdown. Fullbacks don't typically get much press but without them, the running back doesn't stand much of a chance. Now Jesus doesn't need anyone's help to clear the lane but He called John to a role and John fulfilled his role and then disappeared out of the spotlight.

I want to be thought of as a servant leader but truth be told, when others step on me, I get my back up and defend myself. I try to shine the light on my accomplishments, my works which flies in the face of servant leadership. The servant serves. Period. Serve!

Soar!

Brokenhearted
I just hung up the phone with a former co-worker and in his parting comment, he took a shot at me about a mutual client, "Listen, they are saying they will stay with you ... for now ... but they might look to do something different soon." Like a knife in the gut.

The client has told me, "I am with you" and I have to take him at his word. But the words of my former co-worker stung. I know what it is - his attempt to let me know he is in control of the situation and that I am just lucky to be hanging on. The enemy jumped all over that and started to tear at me.

Then I opened my daily email from John Eldredge...

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.

He heals up the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (PS 147:3)

"For some reason this has been lost in the recent offerings of the church. Perhaps it has been our pride, which has kept us from admitting we are broken. Perhaps its been the church's almost total focus on sin and the cross. But the Scripture is abundant and clear: Christ came not only to pardon us, but to heal us. He wants the glory restored. Jesus can and wants to heal your heart."

I read that within 15 seconds of hanging up the phone. The issue isn't my coworker or his insecurity or his jab at me. The issue is my heart. It is broken. I need healing and restoration and that ONLY comes from Christ. He wants me fully restored and living the abundant life - not trapped by "I'm just a lowly sinner saved by grace," or, "This is a tough life, full of hardships and trials and stress". NO, NO, NO! If we focus on our pity, we remain in pity. If we focus on our pain, we remain in pain. If we focus on the jabs of others, we remain on defense.

He came to set us FREE of all that. Free. Free and fully restored - fully restored to where we don't even have to "rise above all that pettiness" - we don't have to rise above it because we don't ever have to get down in it. We are restored!

Soar!

Man Fully Alive
The glory of God is man fully alive! I have posted in the past about my hunting adventures. I took up deer hunting last year. My dad wasn't a hunter and i've never had an "elder" show me the ropes of hunting. Masculinity is bestowed - it is taught, it is handed down - and in some sense, hunting is a part of the masculine adventure. Unfortunately for me, I've had to teach it to myself. I have two good hunting buddies and they are showing me a good deal and I do have an older man that is extremely experienced in all types of hunting. He helps me learn from my mistakes but I am, for the most part, doing this myself and that is OK. Not ideal, but OK.

Saturday was a grand day. The weather was incredible - crystal clear blue skies and very fall-like temperatures. I hit the stand at 6:30 am and enjoyed some quiet time with God. I saw a few deer early and then about 8:30, 6 doe walked into my stand area. I set my stand up at the end of a food plot down into a hardwood forest that falls down into a creek bottom. These doe came off the food plot and were heading down into the woods. They walked right up to my stand and hung around for a few minutes munching on acorns. A spike came up out of the woods to check the girls out and then a 4 point came along. With 8 deer now under my stand, I was frozen waiting and hoping for a large buck to come along. I heard something coming up behind me and as I slowly turned my head to the right, a very nice, mature buck came up. He was perfect - almost. One side of his rack was thick and mature with 4 good points and a smaller 5th point. The problem is, his other side was mangled and broken. He had been fighting and lost some of this side. Hard as it was, I let him go but needless to say, it was thrilling. He was almost perfect, almost on my wall.

I went again this morning. I only saw 1 doe and she had a nice 6 point following her up out of the creek bottom. At this point in the cycle, the younger bucks are "pushing" the does. The does aren't in heat yet and the rut hasn't begun...but it is close. The younger bucks are driving the does and the big boys are holding back. Once the rut kicks in, the chase will be on. My hope is that my stand is in the right place to catch the right buck at the right time. So far, I am encouraged by the traffic flow around my stand.

What was trilling beyond words this morning was my first encounter with a bobcat. I've had 2 bobcats in my driveway before but this was the first time I've seen one in the woods. About 10am, I heard a scream way off in the woods. I had no idea what it was - at first, I thought it may be a goose honking and the echos of the woods were playing tricks on me. The screaming continued non-stop and was getting closer and closer. I noticed the squirrels started running up the treees and that tipped me off (that and the hair standing up on the back of my neck). This wasn't a goose. It was a bobcat and he was moving in on me. The screams got louder and louder and then he went totally silent. About the time he went silent, he appeared on my left cruising up right in front of me. About 30 yards ahead of me he stopped and I had a full side look at him. He then disappeared like a ghost into the thick brush. What a thrill!

Now this doesn't ring everyone's bell but I am telling you, you feel fully alive at 8am on a cold fall morning watching the miracle of God's woods. It is thrilling beyond words.

Soar!

Lonely
Why are we lonely? Why do - sometimes - we feel like it is us vs. the world? Why do we crave intimacy with our spouse? Not sex so much as deep intimacy. Why do we long for a few friends that really "get" us? As men, why do we want our father's affection and attention? Why do we need him to take a real interest in us a his son?

It is a fallen world. Broken. This isn't heaven. Those longings we feel are in some strange ways - normal. They are the normal consequences of living in a broken world. People don't meet our needs because deep down, they hurt and long as much as we do. Someone recently said, "Be patient with everyone for everyone you come in contact with is fighting a battle." Everyone that ticks you off today, everyone that is rude to you in a store, everyone that forgets you, everyone...is fighting a deep battle of their own.

We all battle. We all hurt. This is a scary place this world of ours. It is easy to mourn this life because it isn't right. The world and mankind cannot fulfill that deep seated, soul-planted desire we all have for relationship. God put that desire in man and it won't be totally satisfied until we are with Him in His realm. That sense of mourning reflects the longing we have for M-O-R-E -- there has to be more than this life offers. Praise the Lord, there is.

Those twinges you feel are normal. It truly is you vs. the world. The world is out for itself because the world is broken. The hurt, anger, loneliness, lack of intimacy, sadness are all just symptoms of the fall. But there is hope. There is M-O-R-E.

He craves intimacy with us. He is restorative. He is healing. He is power. Lean on Him during the times of mourning this broken world.

Soar!

Time
How much time do we have left? How precious is time? Consider this analogy ...
A long lost Aunt passes away and you get a call from a lawyer - "You have been awarded a modest payout from your Aunt's estate. She conditioned this payout to be spread out over time so it wouldn't burden you all at once. You are going to be paid $100,000 a year for the next 18 years. At the end of that time, there is no more."

How would you feel? $100,000 a year just landed in your lap. How blessed you would feel! You would likely savor those first few years - cherish them. The cash would bless you beyond your dreams. You would start planning to pay off student loans, pay off cars, add a room onto your home -- get your immediate affairs in order. When that first check arrived, you'd likely run it to the bank and hold it to be sure that it wasn't some mistake and the gift would be reversed. But over time, you'd ease into the fact that the money was indeed yours and you'd proceed with your plan. Debt would start being knocked out and you'd hold onto some of the excess.

The next year would roll around and you'd wonder if the hoax would vanish or was it indeed real. Would another check arrive? Indeed, the check does arrive and gift keeps on giving and you'd proceed with your plan.

Fast forward 5-6 years. You've accomplished what you wanted to with that money and it has blessed you beyond words. By this time, you don't have any angst over the anniversary date of the gift because you know the check is coming. You start to take it for granted -- it's a given.

This story can go on and on but let's move to year 14 or 15. How would you feel at this point about the money? Wouldn't we take it for granted? Wouldn't $100,000 seem like no big deal at all? "Gee, that seemed like a lot of money 14 years ago but today, I can't do all that much with it." Wouldn't we be right there? Or, would we all of sudden realize, "Holy smokes, this thing is about to run out, it is about to leave me...I had better really enjoy and savor these last few years."

Where am I going with this crazy analogy?

Kids.

We have them and they seem like such a blessing. We hold them a lot those first few years. We cherish them and marvel at how they bless us. 4-5 years later, a routine sets in and they meld into the flow of the family. At 14-15, there are times we want to throttle them, tape their mouths shut and bar the door so the world can't get near them.

But here is where I am going with this - at 14-15, we have about 3 more years of that $100,000 check coming in and then it walks out the door. Don't you think after 14-15 years of getting that check that we'd kind of wake up and say "Man, I've only got 3 more years of this cash flow, I'd better cherish every moment"?

Time is short. Very short. They grow up so fast that it seems like just yesterday they were crawling around and trying to learn to talk. They won't be around much longer and rather than focusing on how hard it is to raise them, we need to be holding them, laughing with them, making memories with them because in a flash, they'll be gone and we'll be sending them checks to pay for college.

In just 6 years, we'll have a home with no kids. We've had 14 years of kids and we've only got 6 more years to go. With our oldest, we've only got 3+ years. She'll be driving in 18 months so really, we've only got 18 months. Once she gets wheels, we'll rarely see her.

Cherish every moment with your kids. I know they wear you out. I know they can be maddening beyond words but in ways that are 100x greater than the $100,000 check that fell into your lap - they are a blessing beyond our wildest imaginations. Cherish. Cherish.

Soar!

Where the battle comes from...
I am in the midst of battle. Things have gone really well for the first six weeks of the new business. Now, a battle is coming after me - professionally and personally. I am - no easier way to say this - under assault.

The assault is going after my wife as well. Why is that? Why my wife? Satan came after Eve in the garden - not Adam. What is the best way to cripple a man? Take out his wife.

I had breakfast this morning with my band of brothers and Chuck joined our group. He attended Wild at Heart in Colorado in August. He is a pastor of a mainline protestant old-money downtown church. In a few words he said, "that weekend changed my life." Amen. It changed mine too. "For the first time," he continued, "I see the enemy. We don't talk about the enemy in my denomination. We don't talk about battle. I see now very clearly the 'big picture' and the battle all around me." Amen to that as well - that was clearly my #1 take away from Wild at Heart.

He then zeroed in on a key point that struck me right where I am today - "I realized that what I battle is coming IN on me - NOT from WITHIN me."

The enemy's great lie is "see, you really are a failure". "See Richard, this business won't work - your former co-workers will destroy you. You'll be seen for what you are - a failure."

NO. NO. NO. That is just wrong and when we hear that, we need to claim it for what it is - a foul lie hissed by the evil one.

The foul one makes us think it is our problem - that we are far less than pleasing to God. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The battle is coming IN on me. It is coming from the outside. It isn't inside me. Deep down, I am not rotten. Deep down, I have a new heart in Jesus and I have been wiped clean. He fought for me. He rescued me.

He liberated me - He set me FREE. I am FREE of that and Satan has no hold on me. Yes, tough times will come and yes there will be hardships in launching a new business but we shaped this business around God and we sought Him in every step along the way. Like Elijah, God just asks us to trust Him and He will take care of us. Yes there will be some hunger along the way but the Liberator will make every provision we need.

Never forget - the attack comes IN on you - not from WITHIN you. Also never forget (as Brad Evangelista said recently) - Jesus isn't some meek, kind, tame man - Jesus is THE King. THE Lord of lords. He is a warrior and He doesn't save the game by coming from behind to beat the devil with a last second hail mary. No Jesus fights for us and wins for us ALL THE TIME!

Soar!

God's Process
God delivered Elijah. He sent him to the safety of a brook with fresh water and the ravens brought him meat and bread daily. Then God moved Elijah and sent him to a widow and once again, God provided. Later in the story, God has Elijah test the people's faith in Baal. Baal didn't show up at the test. God did. God then had Elijah destroy the prophets of Baal.

Hearing this story, Jezebel puts out a death warrant on Elijah.

After all God had done for Elijah, what would you expect him to do at the threat of a crazy woman? Well, what he did was run. He ran and hid and tells the Lord, "I am no better than my ancestors. I have had enough Lord, take my life." Elijah all of sudden has shifted from obediently following God into the mode of being results oriented. "I'm no better than my ancestors!" God never asked for performance from Elijah - He just asked for faithful obedience and Elijah delivered - until this point in the story.

But God doesn't kill Elijah. Instead He provides a warm fire, fresh bread and water. What a good God we have.

The question for us is, "Am I doing what God requires me to do - or - am I doing what I want to do? Am I chasing my results for my glory or His glory?" That is a haunting question.

In my business - I am performance oriented. Why? Well, clients expect it but it is a dangerous trap. Very quickly, we can forget our purpose. Is my purpose totally performance oriented? Or, is my performance oriented toward ministry? Do I go to work every day trying to "perform" for man or minister to him?

When we shape our daily lives around this perspective - and God's process, our entire outlook changes. God's process for Elijah wasn't for "performance" it was for obedience..."Just follow me Elijah and I WILL take care of you" (my words). Going to work each day, God says the same thing to us..."Just follow Me _________ and I WILL take care of you."

Soar!

Community
Men need community. A man alone is not a pretty picture. When we go it alone, we are wide open for hard times. I was struck by this just today. I had breakfast with my "band of brothers" and it was good to fellowship with them but I came away empty. in the noise and distraction of iHop, there was no connection. We each had our busy lives on our minds - three of the five got calls or vibrating emails on their Treo's. We had a hard time getting much done. It was a very "surface" time. We didn't go "deep" - we couldn't - the environment was not conducive to going deeep. "How is your new job going?"...15-20 seconds into the response, the question went somewhere else, "Tell me about Maine this summer". I came away empty and part of me feels selfish for feeling this way - but - we crave community. We crave it. We need other men to "go deep" into our lives. We don't need accountability, we need "deep".

Bill Shorey put this up on his blog a long time ago and it was a foundational message for me. I came home tonight and pulled out Eldredge's "Waking the Dead" and I found Bill's blog stuffed into the book. Consider this....

The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out. Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find? Proverbs 20:5-6

"There are many men who live shallow live, but deep beneath their surfaces lie grand purposes -- buried. I believe every man struggles with this -- a sort of self-dummying down. Day-to-day life becomes the pursuit of the insignificant, but these men are haunted by a desire to search out and find grand purposes. Those purposes are not absent -- just buried.

The Proverb reminds us of two actions that must take place. First, every redeemed man must come to understand that he possesses a glory that has been buried. He needs to recognize that silt has settled into the deep channels of his soul, turning depths into shallows. He needs a settled belief that he is not meant to remain shallow.

Secondly, shallow men need other men -- understanding men -- who persevere with unfailing love to draw out the hidden glory from the depths of a murky soul. Men of understanding are rare; few are willing to engage in the tedious and dirty job of dredging.

Deep treasures of the soul lie buried in deep waters."

That is what I am saying - I need dredging and it will take other men to help dredge out my channels that have been silted over. I've had a real taste of this and it is so powerful. Real growth, real depth, brutal honesty, challenging questions, strong encouragement come from men who know your story and know when you are off track. That is why today left me so flat - it has been too long since our band of brothers were together and in our first gathering it was too shallow. We've all got silt in our channels and we have real treasure buried beneath the silt -- but we also need our brothers to help dredge it out. We are all haunted by grand purposes - they are in us all, we know it, we want to pull them out but there is so much silt.

This is why we need our band of brothers and our community. It is how Christ designed us.

Soar!

Our Daily Bread
Why is it that God doesn't back up the bread truck for us? Why is it that life seems to come so easy for some and for those that try to walk with the Lord, there seems to be times of want? For my new business, these are appropriate questions. I am three weeks into the transition. I am blessed beyond words. God has been the driver on this business from day one.

My new business partner is a man of strong faith and deep integrity. Our paths first crossed 14 years ago. My children are adopted. When we married, I knew then that there was a strong possibility that I would never be able to biologically father children. Shannon knew this going into our marriage. A few years into marriage, we realized that the doctors were right and so we tried invitro one time to see if God could use man to manipulate our bodies into producing a child. After one try, we knew and we started the adoption process. A short while later, our precious first born daughter came into our lives and three years later, our second daughter came home. God knew before the beginning of creation their stories and knew He would place them in our care as their parents. God knows best!

14 years ago, our daughter was about 6 months old and we were eating out on Valentines night. We got there early and had to sit in the bar area. The line was out the door while we were waiting on our food and I spotted my future business partner and his wife waiting in the hour-long line. We coaxed them into joining us. During our meal, we shared our story about our daughter and the miracle and blessing of adoption. They teared up and said they had just that day learned they would not be able to have biological children of their own. That was no accident. We walked with them through the adoption process and today they have two wonderful sons.

I tell you all that to say that I see God's hand in my new business back from 14 years ago. Sometimes in life (and especially in America) we want God's answers right now. As Americans, we think we are entitiled to it. We're not entitiled to anything. There will be more on the business in later posts but the set up is around our "daily bread".

I have just started a new study on Thursday mornings on Elijah. Ahab was a pagan, corrupt, immoral king. He married Jezebel for political purposes and she was worse than he was. God spoke to Elijah and told him to go to Ahab and tell him that because he was so corrupt, God would send drought for 3+ years on the land. God then gave Elijah very specific instrucitons on where he was to go to get bread, meat and water.

God settled Elijah by a brook and every day, ravens brought him bread and meat. God kept him there for a long while but slowly, the brook began to dry up to a trickle and then it went dry. Now, why would God do that? Next, God sent Elijah into Jezebel's own pagan homeland and instructed him to find a widow who would feed him. Elijah packed up and went and just as God promised, the widow cared for him. She had just a little flour and a little oil but she made him bread. Each day she would empty her flour jar and oil jug and each day, God would put just enough flour and oil back to provide for the next meal.

Why would God do this? Elijah was a good man and did exactly what God told him to do. He followed God each step along the way. Why then would God do this? Why not back up the bread truck for 'ol Elijah? Why not position him in such a way that he never had to worry about his daily bread?

He did position him. God had Elijah in His hand and all Elijah had to do was wait on God. God was going to provide for Elijah but He wasn't going to hand deliver him a bread truck.

What is the application for us? in my new business, I have to depend on God daily. He isn't going to hand deliver to me every single thing I need right away. By putting it in such a way that I -- HAVE -- to depend on Him, I -- CAN -- depend on Him. If He backs the bread truck up for us, how soon will we forget who is driving the truck?

This is a real problem in America. Our wealth is a curse because we have focused on the blessings of wealth vs. the provider of the wealth. It is a problem in the church. We build "campuses" and 5,000 seat worship centers so our CEO pastors can strut across the stage and lead "their" teaching ministries --- we forget who provides the blessings. The recent meltdown at Wynnbrook is symptomatic of this problem.

God gives us our daily bread for a reason. He craves a daily communion with us. Rather than fill our shelves with more than we need, He'd really rather prefer to show up at our door with the day's meal so we can sit down together and commune. What a good God He is!

Soar!

A New Course
I haven't posted in about 3 weeks. If you read back over my posts, you will understand why. Much of what I have written about over the past months have been a set up for a new course in my life. God has been moving in my life for quite some time and part of that move has been a set up for a new career. On Labor Day weekend, I left Smith Barney after 13+ years and bought 50% of a local investment management firm. This has been in the works for a while and I am thrilled that we are now up and running. My partner is a man with a deep faith and great integrity. It is our desire to build a firm around our beliefs and to passionately pursue the opportunities God opens for us.

I will post more but I wanted to get this up so you could be praying for this new adventure.

Soar!

The Quest
The quest for honor is a passionate pursuit of a different kind of greatness.
Though its path runs counter to selfish ambition, it is no less ambitious.
It inspires those who long to live heroic lives.
It calls us to a new kind of courage.
It demands so much of us.
Integrity not only harnesses our passions, but focuses our intentions.
There are some paths, some options and some directions that we simply will not choose.
From Ken Blanchard's Book, The Servant Leader

Soar!

Wrath of God
Keith Cowart gave a fantastic message this morning on the wrath of God from Hosea. Many believe that the old testament God is a god of wrath and the new testament God is a god of grace. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He had wrath in the OT and he has wrath today. Wrath means "passionate anger". God's passionate anger comes out of His passionate love for us. When God speaks anger, it is always to draw Israel back to Him.

God is holy. God is 100% pure. Sin is sin because it is contrary to the very nature of God. It is anti-God, anti-life. He knows it will kill us. And it isn't just sex, drugs and rock and roll....it is pride, it is envy, it is selfishness, it is gossip, it is lust. Satan dresses it up and makes it pretty but it always has a hook and it clutches our soul and kills our life.

God hates this because He knows the cost. He sees us pulled toward the sin and He knows the outcome. God gave himself totally to us knowing we would turn on him.

We can see this in our relationship with our children. We see the decisions they are making and we know the outcome of those decisions. When we counsel them to not make a certain decision and they defy us and do it anyway, it angers us. It angers us because we know best, we know the outcome and we know the ultimate cost of the poor decision. It angers us because our children, like sheep, have gone astray -- they turn their backs on us and the love we offer them in our advice.

So it is with God.

Sin steals, kills and destroys.
God sees it - He sees what it does to us, He sees that it pulls us away from Him, He knows that it makes us deaf and blind.
He is jealous lover of my soul.
He passionately loves me and only wants fullness for my life.
Sin makes my life less than full - less than the design God has for my life.
He stands firm, He is my rock and He alone breaks the bondage.
Freedom! Freedom!
He breaks and destroys the bondage that snares me so I can be free to worship Him fully!
F R E E D O M !!!!

Go to www.youtube.com and type in "Lifetime Everything Skit" - and watch this 5 minute skit.
It is an incredibly powerful picture of God loving us, showing us all the good He created. Then, it shows all sorts of temptations coming against man, pulling man away from Him. It shows the depravity of mankind. In desperation, man turns back to God and God is there to pull man out of the fire and fully restore him.

There was not a dry eye in the service this morning following this message and this powerful illustration.

Soar!

Dangerous Men
I've written a good bit about how the church has dulled men down into compliant, dutiful and nice creatures - and then wonders at some point, "Where are all the men?" The men get enough of this and either check out emotionally from the church or just decide to hunt or play golf on Sundays. Men weren't created to be women. We aren't designed to sit around and share our feelings and have a large circle of other men that we call to check in on every few days. We aren't homemakers and generally aren't cooks. We change the channel a lot. We don't talk very much and most men don't enjoy a nice phone conversation. Men are different animals and thank the Lord for that. God made men and women very different for a reason - it is a beautiful design that only He could have dreamed up.

So why is it that the church has seemingly dulled men down into complacent, tame creatures? What would the church have to gain from telling men that they are supposed to be nice, dutiful creatures? Control. The church wants to control "the situation" at all times. Oftentimes, that means that even the Holy Spirit isn't even welcome. Where the Spirit is working, there is naturally a lack of control and a lot of Pastors don't want to risk losing control. Consider this from Eldredge's daily email;

"That strength so essential to men is also what makes them heros. If a neighborhood is safe, it's because of the strength of men. Slavery was stopped by the strength of men, at a terrible price to them and their families. The Nazis were stopped by men. Apartheid wasn't defeated by women...this is simply to remind us that God made men the way they are because we desperately need men to be the way they are designed. Yes, a man is a dangerous thing. So is a scalpel. It can wound or it can save your life. You don't make it safe by making it dull; you put it in the hands of someone who knows what he's doing.

If you have spent anytime around horses, you know a stallion can be a major problem. They're strong, very strong, and they've got a mind of their own. Stallions typically don't like to be bridled, and they can get downright aggressive - especially if there are mares around. A stallion is hard to tame. If you want a safer, quieter animal, there's an easy solution: castrate him. A gelding is much more compliant. You can lead him around by the nose; he'll do what he's told without putting up a fuss. There's only one problem: Geldings don't give life. They can't come through for you the way a stallion can. A stallion is dangerous all right, but if want the life he offers, you have to have the danger too. They go together."

Wow. This hit me right where I am. I have been in two management situations recently that speak to this. One is in business (and I've written about it) and the other is in the church. In the church case, it is a situation where the men/leadership of the church have not been led. The men have been castrated. Those that dared to be a stallion and say "Wait a minute, I don't agree with this" have been taken out and belittled. Anything that challenged the Pastor's authority hasn't been welcome. Total and absolute control is the number one priority of the ministry. The Pastor hasn't trusted his leadership and as a result has turned the men into geldings. They are good men. Really good men. But, the Pastor hasn't adopted a servant leadership model - he hasn't made it his mission to raise up and train the men of the church. He hasn't helped the wild young stallions grow up into the fully mature, fully useful stallions they were designed to be --- bold and wild and powerful tools for God's kingdom.

Imagine a church where the Pastor set out to build his men into the stallions God intended. Imagine if he made leadership and specifically, servant leadership, one of the key foundations of the ministry. Imagine a church that made it it's business to raise up, train, equip and then empower men to lead. Imagine a church that had programs for 6th grade boys, high school boys, young single men, newly married men, 40-something men, etc. that tought the men at each step what it means to be a stallion - a man of God. Think of what this would mean. Imagine what that church could do in the community. Think about how many men would be at that church to grab this message. Think of what it would do for the women. Don't they crave this? Don't women crave real, strong, powerful, visionary men of God? Don't women want to led? Don't they admire men that are bold in their manhood? Imagine what this would do for families? Men of God trained up all along the way in God - what kind of Dad's are these guys going to be? What kind of husbands? It would shake the foundation of the church.

This is possible. The road map is right in front of it. Imagine. Just imagine.

Soar!

The Passion of following Christ
I've written much lately about Aslan being on the move. He is! Much is happening in Columbus and I can see God setting up the steps for a lot of big things to come. The initial steps are falling into place. What God can do is earth shaking and it is cool to see the steps starting to unfold.

Much is happening in my life as well. This has been the best 18 months of my spiritual life. God has taken me through a second awakening. Like what He is doing in Columbus, I see that He is shaping me for ... more. So much more. So much more than a 9 to 5 stockbroker, paying my taxes, raising my kids, loving my wife and being dutiful. So much more.

Time is short for all of us. We were coming home from the beach today and we hit a bug (or rather a bug hit our windshield at 75mph) on I-10. My daughter saw it and heard the loud plunk as he hit the windshield. She said, "Oh well, I guess he died." I used that to make a point for her..."Today was his day, every bug has a windshield out there with his name on it - it is coming for us all."

The point of this is one of take aways from this awakening in me is that God has shown me over and over again that life is precious and time is short. It is oh so short. We all have a bullet out there with our name on it. Our day is coming. What we make of this life is oh so important.

Erwin McManus said in his book Chasing Daylight, "There are few things more inspiring that a life lived with passionate clarity...Those men and women you admire, who somehow seem to live life to the fullest, would probably be the first to tell you that they are no different from you and me. It's not about talent or giftedness or intelligence; it's about moving out of passivity into activity. It is about a refusal to live a life in neutral and to value the irreplacable nuture of every moment. For these individuals, time is a precious commodity. It is about treating each day as a gift from God and recognizing that every moment lost can never be regained."

We all make mistakes in life but each day the sun drops, the sky turns dark and night fall comes. The day ends and so do those mistakes. They are over and done with. God gives us night to rest and erase the blackboard of our life. Then as the sun rises in the dawn, we are given light and an entirely new day of fresh dreams, fresh hope and fresh opportunities to serve others and love others through Christ. Each day is a new opportunity, a new start and a new adventure.

This awakening in me has been about putting first things first and about seizing the moment of each day God gives me. Any day (and some day) a windshield is coming with my name on it (and your name too). Time is short. Seize the moment.

Soar!

A New Reformation?
We had dinner with Chuck & Deb Wood and their sharp son, Wes friday night. Chuck is with Navigators and ministers to the troops at Fort Benning. We first met them about a month ago on a friday night at Atlanta Bread Co. They were there with about 20 troops holding a bible study fellowship. We met most of these troops (here for airborne training). The men were bright and alive and you could tell something special was happening in that group.

This friday, we heard Chuck & Deb's life story and heard how they minister to the troops. They bought a house in Russell Co. across from the back entrance to the base. From their back yard, they can watch the troops jump from the C-130's in the landing zone in Alabama. Their home is large on design because they typically house 2-3 of the troops and on weekends, their home becomes a "safe zone" for the troops and their friends.

These good people live their faith, morning, noon and night. They (like my YL friends) have souled out to the Great Commission. Their life isn't about their 401k balances, the next promotion or saving for a beach house - their entire life work is about serving the Lord.

That as a way of introducing a new theme ... I sense there may well be a new reformation beginning in Christ's church. Chuck & I discussed this friday night. He is seeing it all across the military. Navigators, which was on the decline on military bases, is now exploding. Seven new chapters have opened on bases across America and men are coming to the Lord. He senses something very different is happening in the Church.

He senses much of what I have been writing about in the community churches. Men are hungry for more. More. There is so much more. He sees that in the troops - there is a need, a desire, a hunger to go deeper - much deeper - than previously before. He senses Aslan on the move. Seeing 20 very bright, eager young troops spending their friday nights at Atlanta Bread Co. eating dinner and studying God's word confirms this to me. God is moving in the lives of our troops.

I think there is a new reformation starting in Christ's church. Jesus came as a revolutionary. Man had taken religion and twisted it into a bunch of rules that were not of God. Christ came and tore the curtain. Christ was a revolutionary. Man was using religion to hold other men as captives. Christ came to set the captive free.

1500 years later, Martin Luther nailed the reformation to the wood door of the church and started a new revolution in the church. Man had taken Christianity and twisted it with a bunch of rules to serve man's needs. The leaders of the Catholic Church were corrupt and abusing the power God had given to them. Luther came in as a revolutionary to set the captive free. God used Luther to launch a period of great growth and freedom in the Christian faith.

I think a new reformation/revolution is beginning. More to come...

Soar!

First Baptist Opelika
Last Sunday, we drove to Opelika to attend First Baptist Church. A great friend of mine is the YoungLife leader in Auburn. He was in my wedding and we worked together for about 8 years. I've written about Jim before - how he left the "world" and followed Christ into ministry. We went to Opelika to worship with Jim and see his home.

I've written about FBC Opelika before but that was only heresay - we've now seen it firsthand and I want to put a post up to honor what God is doing in that town. FBC anchors downtown Opelika. It's steeple is the tallest structure on the "Skyline". In a lot of ways, it is a traditional downtown, Southern baptist church but in a very real way, it is vastly different.

FBC has acquired about 4 blocks of Opelika. The old AmSouth Bank across the street is now part of FBC. They are doubling the size of this 2 story structure and it will contain their administrative offices and youth ministry. On another side of the block there is a singles ministry building and a high school ministry building. It is obvious that the ministry to youth, to college kids, to singles is more than just a token effort. FBC is putting money where the ministry is - there are dedicated buildings to each ministry and you can see the buzz and energy around each ministry. The sanctuary is undergoing a big renovation and expansion that will increase seating by 50%. FBC's budget is nearly $4 million. $4 million is a lot of money especially in a smaller town like Opelika. It is obvious that God is moving physically in a big way in Opelika.

But He is also moving in the Spirit.

We attended their contemporary service. All services (3 of them) are in the fellowship hall which seats I'd guess 6-700 folks. The contemporary service was full. As we walked in, a man greeted us and we told him we were friends of Jim's and he welcomed us and spoke to all 4 of us. We took our seats and I watched this man move around the aisles helping people find their seat, welcoming them and praying. I'm not sure he was praying but I sensed he was. You got the feeling that he was milling around the aisles up and down and from left to right speaking to whoever he could but also praying over all in the building. He was unassuming and modest and serving.

He was the senior pastor.

He stayed in the aisles during the praise music. Only when it became time for the sermon did it become obvious he was the preacher. When he stood up, he made a few brief announcements and welcomed everyone. He was talking about something and there was some confusion and he looked down at one of the associates and said, "You run this place, help me!".

Now, contrast all that with what we sometimes see in our "mega-churches". It all becomes about the senior pastor - his teaching ministry, his stage, his program, he runs the church, the associates all work for him ... it all is about him. This guy at FBC is serving. You can see it. He gives the stage over to his worship team to do what they do best. He gives over the administration to the associates that know how to administer. He is a servant leader in the truest sense.

Is it working? You bet. That contemporary service had upwards of 600 folks in there and 1/2 were young adults 20-30 years old. We were blown away by how many young men and women were there. Sure it is a college town but it was July and most of these young people we were seeing were young professionals, singles, newly married - not college students. The church is busting out at the seams and the Holy Spirit is tangibly present.

The leader is humble and serving those that work with him and those that worship with him and the result is a church with a $4 million budget and tons of fresh, excited, energized folks engaged in the bigger story.

Soar!

Desire
It has been 2 weeks since my last post. Much is happening. in Narnia when it was dark and bleak, hope first appeared when this line was muttered by a beaver, "They say ASLAN is on the move." Aslan, the Christ figure - the very menion of his name made the children both excited and scared. Sometimes following God is scary.

My good friend has "landed" in his new post with Young LIfe in a small town far from home. He gave up the "world" and moved his wife and three young children to a strange town so he could minister to teenagers. Teenagers! Tough group to sell everything and move for but he has a passion for working with kids. He loves ministering to high school kids and he is excellent at it. Yet, he has landed in Narnia and it is cold and dreary and there is a budget to meet and the White Witch is running near him. The enemy (foul one to quote Bill Shorey) is trying his best to plant fear into my friend's heart but there, it will find no place to dig in. My friend is sold out to the Lord.

But is it always safe to follow God? Does He promise us a "good" ilfe if we follow him? No. Yes to the eternal question but no, it isn't promised to us on this earth. Abraham was called out by God. "Follow Me Abraham, leave your family, leave your job, leave your town, leave all that you hold dear, all that you know and are comfortable with ... leave that and follow me. I'm not even going to tell you where I am sending you - just go and I will tell you when you get there." Sound safe?

David. Called out by God and he spent 20 years of his life ... running for it. Sound safe?

Is it safe to follow God? A ship in a harbor is safe but that isn't what ships are made for. (its a great quote) A man isn't made to be safe. God isn't safe. He calls us out.

I sit here on friday night at 2:30 in the morning and I cannot sleep. God is calling me out and I am scared. The enemy/foul one is trying to get in but I feel the Holy Spirit. Even at the darkest of what the enemy has hinted at, whispered to me - i feel the Holy One. I feel his hand on this I am about to do.

My journey is a journey of desire. Why would a man decide to climb Everest? Think about that. Why on earth would anyone set out to do this? Eldredge says "There are many fine reasons not to do it. Climbing Everest is an intrinsically irrational act - it is a triumph of desire over sensibility. A feat of only accomplished through desire."

That desire in me comes from God. He put those creative abilities in me for a reason. He wants me to use them. I am that ship in the harbor and He wants me to sail. He didn't build me to stay docked in the safe harbor. He built me for battle.

The same is true for my YL friend(s). They were built for battle - the battle over the souls of those teenagers. They didn't come out of the womb saying "I think I'll minister to youth some day" - but that desire was installed in them in the factory. Praise the Lord they are following His call - they are being called out into Narnia, called out of their homes, jobs and all they know that is comfortable....called out to follow Him.

Soar!

What path are you on?
Andy Stanley has a 3 part sermon series on his website www.northpoint.org that revolves around the "Path Principle". The basis of the sermon is Proverbs 7. If you haven't read this passage - I suggest you do. It is a powerful passage.

A wise man looks out his window down on the street below. He sees a younger man walking down the street and farther down the street, he sees a woman waiting on him. The lamb headed for the slaughter. As Andy said, "The young man is walking down the street and sees the seductive woman looking at him, waiting for him. He thinks, 'Man, she digs me'. In his head he is hearing the song "Born to be wild". In the wise man's head watching all this transpire, he is hearing the soundtrack to "Jaws" playing."

The wise man knows what is about to happen. The young man, blind to his lust and ego, just sees the bounty -- he doesn't see the cost or the consequences of what is about to transpire. The woman seduces him and says "my husband is away for a long journey and I have prepared my bed. We can make love all night long and enjoy ourselves." All of this plays to the young man's sense of self - this is all about "me", she wants "me", "I'm" the only one, she'll cheat on her husband just to be with "me".

The lamb is led to the slaughter. Read the passage.

What path are you on? In you get on the interstate intending to head to beach, hoping to go to the beach, dreaming of a beach trip but get on the northbound lane, you will not go to the beach. You are heading in the wrong direction, you've chosen the wrong path. It isn't our hopes, our intentions or our dreams that determine our destination -- it is the path we are on.

This young man was headed down the wrong path. Death and destruction lay in wait for him along this path. The wise man, having seen this over and over shouts "go the other way, avoid her at all cost!" How many men in the office setting have fallen into this trap? "It is just a dinner out of town with _______, it is innocent." Or, "I'll watch this pornography on the hotel TV but I won't get trapped by it."

Andy talks about this in the context of premarital sex. Why is that young folks think they want deep sexual intimacy in marriage and decide to spend their dating years practicing sex so much? They sleep around with everyone they date and then later in life, in their marriage, wonder why they have no desire for sexual intimacy. They got on the wrong path. Their path of intention was to stay pure and have an intimate marriage - that was the intention. But the reality was a path of something else and the destination was a far different outcome than they intended.

How many times have we seen younger men make basic business mistakes - take on too much debt, reach too far, buy too much? We see the train-wreck coming and want to shout, "Stop! you are making a mistake". Sometimes we have to learn lessons the hard way but there is real value in the counsel of wiser men around you. Seek them out. Build a network of wiser men that you can lean on so they can look out for you and make sure you are staying on the right path.

This isn't "accountability", this is a band of brothers that Eldredge talks about. No man needs to go through the tough battles of life alone. No man. Surround yourselves with wise counsel. There is incredible value in a band of brothers.

Soar!

Aslan is on the move
In CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, there is a line in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardorbe that captures some of the excitement we feel when we experience the Holy Spirit moving. The land is dark and it is always winter. There is no hope. The children stumble into this cold, dreary land that is under the spell of the White Witch. The beavers take them in to protect them. The father beaver at one point says there is hope because, "they say Aslan is on the move."

Aslan is the lion and the Christ figure and very mention of his name invokes both fear and excitement in the children. They'd never heard his name before but immediately, they knew. They knew.

Where there was darkness and cold, the very mention of his name gave all hope. Aslan is on the move.

Just like Aslan, the Holy Spirit is on the move in Columbus. Much is happening. People are hungry. Very hungry --- starving is more like it --- for MORE. Deep down, many are saying, "there has to more than what I have been hearing and feeling in my church...there has to be more...surely, there has to be more."

There is.

There is more...so much MORE. Christ is moving through the community. People are hungry and the Great Liberator is about to set a lot of people free.

Freedom!

Soar!

Sick of the status quo
Tonight we attended a concert at Christ Community featuring a band from Australia called Five Star Streets. Most of the band is from Australia but the lead singer is from Montana. He left home at 18 - left behind his girlfriend and his Mom and Dad at the airport to board a plane to Australia. He got the call. He signed up for a 6 month study course down under on how to be an effective missionary. As he left all that was comfortable to him in tears and headed out to the plane, something extraordinary happened to him. He put one foot on the ramp up to the plane and froze. He couldn't take another step. He thought, "I don't want to go." Then he heard God say, "There is so much more..." and he took the next step and never looked back.

There is so much more.

He is 22 years old and wise beyond his years. He talked tonight and said, "There is a generation of young folks that are tired of the status quo - tired of not seeing things change. There is so much more and this generation is hungry for that 'more' that he speaks of (and Eldredge speaks of)."

Yes, friend...there is so much more.

We are called to shine like bright stars among a crooked and perverse world.

We are not called to an average faith. We are called to something extraordinary - something mystical - something far deeper than is easily understandable.

Yet our religion tells us to comply, to conform, to avoid tough questions, to be tame, to be "nice". Jesus was anything but a conformist. He turned Judaism upside down by challenging the status quo. He came to set the captive free.

It might take a rebellion to free the church. I am encouraged to hear this 22 year old say that his generation is hungry for more and tired of the status quo, tired of not seeing things change.

Something extraordiary is about to happen in Christ's church.

Soar!

Follow On
Let me follow on to the post yesterday contrasting what Christ Community is doing to what I have experienced in other churches. It is truly unique. But as I re-read what I wrote this morning it struck me as a bit critical of the other church and that was not my intention.

My intention was to focus on the contrast between the two. It is striking. When I was a young believer, we often attended Charles Stanley's First Baptist in Atlanta. My parents became believers and pulled out of the "family" church to try to find "God's" church. We looked in a lot of places and very often, drove to Atlanta to First Baptist. Back then, Stanley's church was growing like gangbusters and they were in a battle to buy property around their Midtown campus. The foul one was working hard to stop them. Roadblocks were often encountered and last minute deadlines were often faced to buy this tract of land or this adjoining building. Once that property came and went, it was too late - some office tower or hotel would be constructed and there was no turning back. First Baptist was landlocked and growing like a weed and they had to act.

But, they waited on God.

I was in a service where they had to raise $________ by Monday or else they would loose the right to buy _____ property. There was no pressure. No one blocked the doors and no one made everyone come up front (I've been in a church where I've seen that happen). Stanley made the call and then, sat back and waited on God. Members had time to prepare. They had time to pray as a family. God moved.

Women came forward with wedding diamonds. Couples came forward with car titles and stock certificates. People deeded other land in the City so FBC could sell it and use the money to buy the adjoining property.

Debt was never mentioned. "Either we raised this money and God moves here - or - we pass and ask God 'what next?'" There was none of the "Oh we raised $4mm and we have our bank to make up the next $8mm..."

They raised every penny God needed to do this work. They sat back and let God move. He did.

Soar!

Christ Community
There is a good piece in today's Columbus paper on Christ Community. Keith Cowart, the pastor, and I attended John Eldredge's wild at heart in Colorado last October. It was a life changing event for me and Keith was also moved by the experience. Ever since, Keith and I have become dear friends. We've been attending his church over the past few months and I feel the Holy Spirit in that place like i've never experienced in a church. They meet in an abandoned Volkswagen dealership - so it isn't the majesty of the building. It is the Holy Spirit. Erwin McManus started Mosaic in LA and they met in a bar. God moved in powerful ways in Mosaic in a hedonistic building and God is moving in powerful ways at Christ Community among the ghosts of Volkswagens. At CC, it isn't about the package. These are not "pretty" Christians. It isn't the country club set. There are CEO's but there are also mechanics, soilders, tattoos, pony tails and a lot of very "average" people. It is a picture of what Christ intended for his church. He didn't draw the kings and CEO's - He pulled together a "Mosaic" of real people with real problems and a real passion for change. This is the picture of Christ Community - it truly is a community of Christ.

I've never seen a church follow the path CC is following. Every church i've ever been associated with follows the "we build it and pay for it later" model. Most major churches (the established, main line churches) have buildings long paid for but they insist on building campaigns every 5-7 years to keep their membership "indebted" to the church. It seems it is a way to keep members from drifting away. New campaigns seems to stir up a slumbering congregation but then in a few years, the money comes in and the new buildings are collecting dust and the members drift back off into the routine of church.

CC is a different kind of animal. They don't seek to build a mega church but instead plan to give themselves away - to seed other new churches (here and in other parts of the country). The more they give themselves away, the more God will bless them. It is a model for all of us. I've written a great deal about Servant Leadership - they are practicing it in a mighty way.

They were ready to launch construction on their new campus and suddenly, they stopped. They decided to wait on God to wait for Him to tell them when to proceed. They are more interested on equipping their members for ministry than they are in brick and mortar. I've been in a church that tried to raise $12 million for yet another phase of their mega church and they raised just $4 million. Yet, they are going ahead anyway and borrowing the rest depending on God to pay back that loan. CC is doing just the opposite. They are putting pride and ego aside and saying "we are not ready - we don't have enough money raised, our ministry teams are not ready, we don't have enough small group leaders trained up and ready...if we proceed, we'll have more debt than we are comfortable with and we will be swamped with new people (new folks always show up at new buildings) and the ministry foundation will not be ready to support this." So, they stopped.

Keith was quoted today saying, "I think we are at a crossroads, are we going to become a church about meeting our own needs (i.e. nice comfortable space) or we going to be a church about reaching others?" Christ Community isn't about religion. It is about a group of people with a passion for following the Lord. He says, "We are a safe place to hear a dangerous message." They don't try to impress people with their spirituality. They are real. They are vulnerable. They leave their ego at the door and are open to whatever God tells them to do.

It is very refreshing. I'll put more on this topic soon...

Soar!

Saved
We went to the pool yesterday afternoon. A young couple was there with their small kids. I know them well. She is from a very wealthy, Southern family - a true founding family of Columbus. As "blue-blood" as they come in the deep South - the truly priviledged - private planes, beach homes, regular trips to Europe, etc. For some reason, this issue of "status" has been nagging at me over the past few months and I have touched on it in many of my posts.

We in the South make a big deal of status. Who granddaddy was seems very "important" to us. Being a "5th generation" Georgian is "important". Being a debutant is "important". We make a big deal of family money in the South. Status seems to be very defining here in the South.

A friend of mine is a pastor here and after he had been in town, two of the most "prominent" members of the church (among the largest donors) commented to the associate pastor that the new pastor "Hasn't been to see us yet - doesn't he know who we are?"

What does that say? "Who we are?" You expect that around the Country Club - you expect that in the business world - but in the church? "My" status is important. "My" seat on the same pew. "My" role in the church as a pillar. I am a big donor, you had better pay your respects to me. Oh sure, that is Biblical - I am wealthy, I am successful - you'd better pay attention to me.

Whose church is it? Ours? Or, is it Christ's church? We've come to value "our" place above His mission. How'd we get wealthy? Who gave us the talents, gifts and abilities? Is everything we do just of our own hard work or is there a larger story at play?

But I digress from my story about this couple. My wife was asking about them and their faith. It is very strong. Both of them are very grounded and they have pulled out of the "family" church where 4-5-6 generations of the family have "pillared" and they have joined a new, progressive, emerging church with a passion for the Lord. My wife asked, "They don't play the society game do they? In that family, how have they managed to pull away and have such a strong faith" It made me think.

They have been "saved".

Truly, I understand being saved better now today than I did before she asked this question. This was a couple destined for "status"...destined for their "role" in society. Junior league, Country Club Board, debutant parties, Heritage Ball, Mardi Gras, serving on the St. Francis volunteer board, etc. They may still do all these things if they make that choice - the difference is, they are making the choice. They are not bound to it. They are not imprisoned by the family's expectations.

You really get the picture of imprisonment. Without the Lord, they were likely to be trapped by all the luxuries of the priviledged life and eventually, would have forgotten where the blessings came from to start with.

This couple has been saved by our Lord. Saved from the "status" life. Saved from the tyranny of having to attend a church because all the family has always attended that church. Saved from the prison of this life. The great Liberator has come to set the captive free.

Soar!

Buying the Lie
We've bought the lie. We have come to believe that "this is as good as it gets" - that to sit in the pew week after week, do good works, faking humility with "I'm just a lowly sinner saved by grace"...being dutiful...nice -- that is what this "saved" life is supposed to be. The lie tells us this is all we can do and that is what Christianity is all about. That is part of the lie.

The second part of the lie is telling us "there is no warfare" - that the battle is over and it ended on the Cross when Jesus died. In dying, Jesus won the war - it's over, finished. Not so.

The church tells us "You don't need to fight the enemy. Let Jesus do that." Eldredge says that is nonsense and it is unbiblical and he compares it to a private in the army saying "I don't have to fight, my general will do all the fighting."

Yet Jesus commands us "resist the devil, and he will flee from you." We are told, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him." Further in 1 Timothy He says, "Fight the good fight" and in Proverbs it is written, we are to "Rescue those being led away to death."

There is a battle my friend. Should we (as nice, dutiful, mild, compliant Christians) just roll over in our society and let evil and the pornographers and the child molestors and the rapists win? Does Jesus call us to be doormats? Or, does He call us to fight for what is good, for what is right, for what is noble and honorable? Does He call us to stand up for the oppressed and to defend the weak? Does He charge us with being men of integrity and of deep character? Yes, He does and folks, that means there will be a fight. Make no mistake, if you won't stand for it (the crap of this world) then there will be a fight.

There is an enemy that does not want you to be a man of integrity or deep character. He wants you possessed by that young women in your office that isn't your wife, he wants you possessed by greed or power or status. He wants you to cheat, to cut corners, to fudge, to lie. He wants to drive a wedge between you and your wife. He wants you cold and distant to your kids - "checked out" and uninvolved in their lives. I just can't say it enough - he will use any trick, any tactic, and strategy to "take you out".

Jesus calls us to fight the good fight. He calls us to resist. He calls us to constantly - not sometimes, not most of the times but to constantly - do the right thing. There will be a fight to oppose you.

Jesus came not as a meek, mild man to be nice and dutiful and to die on the Cross. He came as a warrior to set us free. He had to die to accomplish his mission but the real beauty wasn't so much in His death but his resurrection and ascention into Heaven. The church seems to forget this "freedom". It preaches compliance. It wants men to be meek and mild and nice and in so doing, makes Jesus a warden. That isn't what God designed. He designed us to be bold and creative and willing to fight for what is right. Jesus isn't a warden - He is the great Liberator. He came to set us free. Freedom.

Braveheart William Wallace said "You've come to fight as free men and free men you are. Fight and you may die and run and you may live - at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance - just one chance - to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives but they will never take our freedom."

The lie is that we ignore there is a battle. We choose not to fight and we think that is the solution. It isn't. The liar wants us to roll over and give up without a fight. Wallace is a great Christ figure in Braveheart - Scotland's men had been beaten into submission by the British and were dead in spirit. Wallace comes to free them ... he liberates them. Christ is the great liberator. He came to break us out of the rut, out of the compliant behavior, out of the nice/dutiful lives we lead - He came to set us free!

Soar!

As Good as it Gets?
I enjoyed the movie "As Good As It Gets" with Jack Nicholson - it had some great one-liners including my favorite (which is very sexist)...Nicholson is approached by a young lady gushing over his writing ability. He can't stand interacting with people and being OCD, hates being stopped from what he is doing. This girl approaches him and says, "How do you do it? How do you capture women so easily? I am so moved by your writing and I feel like you understand me at a deep level no one has ever reached before. How do you do it?" Nicholson replies, "I take a man and remove reason and accountability".

That isn't the point of this post (but it is funny...to me). Eldredge talks about the subject of "As good as it gets" in his book Sacred Romance. He says, "If for all practical purposes we believe that this life is our best shot at happiness, if this is as good as it gets, we will live as desperate, demanding, and eventually despairing men and women."

AJ Conyers writes in The Eclipse of Heaven, "We live in a world no longer under heaven." All the crises of the human soul flows from there. All our addictions and depressions, the rage that simmers just beneath the surface of our Chrisitan facade, and the deadness that characterizes so much of our lives has a common root: We think this is as good as it gets. The best human life is unspeakably sad. Even if we manage to escape some of the bigger tragedies (and few of us do), life rarely matches our expectations. When we do get a taste of what we really long for, it never lasts. Every vacation eventually comes to an end. Friends move away. Our careers don't pan out. Sadly, we feel guilty about our disappointment, as though we ought to be more grateful.

Of course we are disappointed - we are made for so much more. "He has set eternity in our hearts." Eccl 3:11 Our longing for heaven whispers to us in our disappointments and screams through our agony.

CS Lewis wrote, "If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world."

So, what if this is "as good as it gets"? It probably is. Life on earth will never reach the "good" we are made for. That desperate longing we have is for another world we really cannot fathom. Reunited with our loved ones, lush pastures and lawns with no weeds, streets of gold, no more pain, no more tears, fruit trees that bloom and produce perfect fruit all the time, postcard sunsets every single evening, no more gossip, no more affairs, no more lust, no more pornography or rape or murder or crime, lean, muscular, perfectly healthy bodies with no more fat, friends that truly understand us and desire our company any time of the day and walking in lush gardens with our Lord any time we wish.

Now that is something to Soar! about...

Success?
A friend of mine shared a note from Ravi Zacharias and I want to summarize it. My friend has left the business community to go into ministry with YoungLife. This makes the second good friend I've had to leave the "world" and join YoungLife. I love YoungLife - of the ministries I support, I get the most out of my support of YoungLife. YL goes into the world of teenagers to love them on their own turf. It truly is the Gospel in action. I am impressed by my friend's (both of them) passion for the Lord that they would give up all that the world expects to hang around with and minister to teenagers. In so doing, they have given up on what the world defines as "success" in order to seek success in their relationship withe the Lord.

To the Zacharias note...

He talks about the distress he used to feel over the starving kids of Africa. "If they were starving, he wonders, why did they look so fat?" While they look fat and full, their distended bellies are a sign of their severe malnourishment.

Just as he misinterpreted their swollen bellies, Zacharias believes it is very possible to misjudge the health of our culture and society. The abundant evidence of material prosperity in our country belies the spiritual poverty of the West.

Everything is "up" in America - real income, longevity, home size, cars per driver, phone calls made annually, trips taken, highest degrees earned, IQ scores, just about every objective indicator of social welfare has trended upward on an upward basis for two generations. Many subjective indicators are trending higher too - personal freedom, women's freedom, reductions of bias against minorities, etc.

Yet the trendline for happiness has been flat for 50 years. The number of people who consider themselves "very happy" has been trending lower for the past 50 years. Yet we mask our unhappiness like a starving child covered in designer clothes. America isn't the first society to mask spiritual starvation with material excess.

Jesus warned the church at Laodicea of this very thing: "For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you were wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked." Rev 3:17

Zacharias says that wealth in an of itself isn't wrong but it is possessive. Wealth will possess us if we are not careful. He encourages us to ask God to evict the love of the world from our heart - so that we may prepare ourself to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Soar!

Power....Am I Powerful?
Ego...do I have a lot to boast about?
Am I rich...hey, i've worked hard, I deserve these benefits.

I have struggled lately with the abuse of power and have posted about it. I've also struggled with those who flaunt their wealth or their talents (ego) to leverage those over others. We live in a society where status is important. In the South, we particularly flaunt our "status". The fact that our great-grandfather was a founder of the city grants us "status" as an elite member of the community. That granddaddy owned the city's largest mill helps secure our "place". Irregardless what kind of human being I am, if "Daddy" was somebody, it gets me a ticket to the "party". It is not just "old" money but "new" money as well -- that I sold my business and am suddenly "wealthy", it secures my place in the pecking order and I can look down on "old" money because "I earned it".

Then I re-read this quote from Erwin McManus and it struck at what has been nagging at me...

"Jesus sentences stand like quivering swords of flame because He did not come to bring peace but revolution. The Gospel is a cutting-edge, rolling thunder, convulsive earthquake in the world of human spirit. By entering human history, God has shattered all previous conceptions of who God is - the life He has planned for us is much like the life He lived.

He was not poor that we may be rich.
He was not mocked that we may be honored.
He was not laughed at so that we could be lauded.

We are not to fill up what is wanting in the suffering of Christ."

Wow, there it is. Our wealth, our power, our "place" in society ... rich, honored, lauded. We all crave it. Non believers crave it and so do believers. We crave "status". Yet Jesus came as a poor man, not a king. He was mocked and laughed at.

Are we to take that He was poor, mocked and laughed at and turn that into a play so that we may become rich, honored and lauded? The Church has even failed in this - Pastors (at times) seem to turn the entire message into somehow being about them or "their" teaching ministries, etc. CEO's do it - the sweat and blood and toil of the employees is somehow turned into "their" (CEOs) success story, their picture on the cover of Fortune, their rapid accumulation of wealth. Dads do it - the success of their son on the baseball field is somehow turned into a reflection of their ability as a Dad. Our daughter's hard work and acceptance to UVA or Duke is somehow the result of all we as parents have done for them.

Christ came that we may lead a different life than this culture draws us to. He didn't do all He did so that we can put ourselves up on a stage. He came that we may be poor, we may be humble and we may serve others.

Soar!

Follow on to "Servant" post
As a follow on to my post about trying to articulate to managers of a company about Servant leadership. I ended up laying out a 4 page summary of my observations and passed it up to the CEO. In this document, I laid out Servant leadership and tried to show where the company was missing the mark and how, if it changed course and began to embrace a Servant model, that it could change the course of business history. The company is wrongly focused. Managers spend all their time worrying what their bosses think and very little time engaged with their direct reports. That upward focus has created an atmosphere where only the good news travels up and executive management has almost no idea of what is really happening to the morale of the salesforce.

My suggestion - turn from being upwardly focused and, instead, be 100% downwardly focused. Give up your power and turn down to your direct reports and empower them - take up an attitude of saying "I am going to do everything I can to make you as successful as you can be in your job - I'm going to know you and your business and when a problem arises, I am going to fight with you until we beat it." Give up your power and give it to those below you to make them better.

Seems like a pretty simple concept.

It fell on deaf ears - ears, it seems, that are simply incapable of hearing. Sort of like witnessing to a lost person - unless God ordains that they will hear - they are incapable of hearing. God sent Moses to Pharaoh to tell him "let my people go" but also added, "I will harden his heart so he will not hear you."

Management's (of this particular company) heart has been hardened - so it would seem.

The CEO called me and basically said "Thanks for sending this, I'm glad you care so much..."

The regional director came to see me and said, "Let's talk about your email and this servient...serve....serving..." I said, "Servant?" and he replied "Yeh that's it, servant leadership - I'm not familiar with that - it must be something important to you..." and then he changed the subject and never addressed that part of my email.

The local manager said "Sounds to me like servant leadership means I would have 15 bosses instead of one and i'd spend all my time trying to make everyone happy."

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It is a heartbreaking effort. Try as we may, sometimes, people just can't hear. We have to keep after it and stay true to the Word and the truth and that truth shall set you free.

Soar!

Dangerous Book for Boys
I read a book review in the Wall Street Journal on a new book entitled, The Dangerous Book for Boys. The book had been a hit in England and Australia but HarperCollins was unsure about its viability in the US. They initially ordered just 90,000 copies for print in the US. Over 400,000 copies have now been sold and next month, it is the feature book at Barnes & Noble for Father's Day. At the rate it is selling, it is estimated it will sell 4 million copies in America. Why?

The book purports to aim itself at a very un-book friendly audience - 10 year old boys and tries to answer the question: What do boys need to know? It includes instructions on how to skip a stone, fold a paper hat, make a battery and hunt and cook a rabbit. It also includes a description of the Battle of Thermopylae but also how to play Texas Hold-em poker and how to use the phrases Carpe Diem and Curriculum vitae.

Here is the irony and here is where it ties into this entire blog and most everything i've been trying to articulate...

"The unapologetic message is that boys need a certain amount of danger and risk in their lives, and that there are certain lessons that need to be passed down from father to son, man to man. The implication is that in contemporary society basic rules of maleness aren't being handed off as they used to be."

"The book is also aimed at Boomer dads, who nostalgically yearn for a lost boyhood of fixing lawn mowers and catching snakes with their fathers - even if that didn't really happen as often as they think it did."

One dad bought it for his son and suspected it would get lost behind his PSP and iPod. The boy took to it immediately, demanding that his dad test paper airplanes into the night even missing American Idol. He added "That's the good news. The bad news is that he now expects me to build him a treehouse."

Isn't that what we all long for? A dad that is involved in our lives? A dad that shows us how to do things? A dad that bestowes on us a masculinity that can only be taught?

Why else would 4 million American men buy a book like this? It taps into something deep within each man - that need for a father. Who put that need into man? The Holy Father - he put that deep need into each of us - the need for a father that is willing to move into our lives and have a real relationship with us.

Some men are lucky - they have fathers that stay involved in their lives, that show them how to fish, how to build a treehouse, how to hunt, how to fix a lawnmower, how to deal with tough situations at work, etc. Others aren't so lucky - their fathers, perhaps so wounded by the absence of their own dads - are completely "taken out" and incapable of engaging their sons.

That need we all feel is there for a reason. God put it in us. He so desires a living, vibrant relationship with you. Talk to Him. Share your struggles, your dreams, your fears and your hopes. He knows. He cares. He loves you.

Soar!