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!
Monday, August 06, 2007
Saturday, August 04, 2007
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!
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!
Sunday, July 22, 2007
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!
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!
Saturday, July 21, 2007
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!
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!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
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!
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!
Saturday, June 30, 2007
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!
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!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
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!
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!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
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!
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!
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!
Saturday, June 23, 2007
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!
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!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
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!
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!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
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!
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!
Monday, June 04, 2007
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...
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...
Saturday, June 02, 2007
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!
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!
Thursday, May 31, 2007
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!
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!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
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."
--------------
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!
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."
--------------
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!
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!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Laughter
My best friend from college serves on a board with a local man that is a mentor of mine. They met at the board meeting last week and exchanged "who do you know in Columbus" and my name came up. This mentor of mine told my fraternity brother that he was worried about me because I was so serious.
That troubles me. Troubles me a great deal. It actually breaks my heart.
I heard last week that a 3 year old kid (i love little kids) giggles somewhere around 500 times a day. The average 40 year old laughs just 19 times in a day.
500 giggles to 19 laughs. 500 to 19. A blowout of epic proportions. The kid wins.
Is it any wonder Jesus said He wants us to come to Him as a child (rather than a 40 year old)?
We take this life (I confess, I do) way too seriously. We worry about things we cannot control. We fret over a stock market or interest rates or our boss who is indifferent. Is it any wonder we rarely laugh?
Laugh. Giggle. Stop taking yourself so seriously. Loosen up.
Soar!
My best friend from college serves on a board with a local man that is a mentor of mine. They met at the board meeting last week and exchanged "who do you know in Columbus" and my name came up. This mentor of mine told my fraternity brother that he was worried about me because I was so serious.
That troubles me. Troubles me a great deal. It actually breaks my heart.
I heard last week that a 3 year old kid (i love little kids) giggles somewhere around 500 times a day. The average 40 year old laughs just 19 times in a day.
500 giggles to 19 laughs. 500 to 19. A blowout of epic proportions. The kid wins.
Is it any wonder Jesus said He wants us to come to Him as a child (rather than a 40 year old)?
We take this life (I confess, I do) way too seriously. We worry about things we cannot control. We fret over a stock market or interest rates or our boss who is indifferent. Is it any wonder we rarely laugh?
Laugh. Giggle. Stop taking yourself so seriously. Loosen up.
Soar!
Danger of Power Misused
Quite by coincidence after my post on power, an article appeared in the new issue of Fortune on United Healthcare and it's CEO. UnitedHealth is a hugely successful company. It was run by a man that grew it from $600 million in revenues to over $70 billion. The stock compounded at 30% a year during his 15 years far outsurpassing the returns of the market.
The CEO's status grew during those 15 years and he became the "face of healthcare" in America. By the end of 2005, his personal net worth exceeded $2 billion - a staggering amount of money that was all given to him via stock options. The article talks about how he abused power and how, as his status grew, so did the company's problem with curtailing him.
"A great CEO becomes dangerous over time. If you are incredibly successful as CEO, you have tremendous power (there is the word...power) within the company, over the board, and everybody's telling you that you are invincible. And then you become the risk to the extent that your own arrogance becomes the problem" said Goldman Sachs' analyst Matthew Borsch.
"Everyone telling you that you are invincible..." ---- remember how power is "intoxicating"?
McGuire never thought it was enough. He tracked the slightest movements of the stock. At the beginning of 1999, McGuire was already rich. He netted almost $49 million from stock sales and was sitting on options worth another $22 million. But he wasn't satisfied. As he began negotiations for a new contract with his board at the height of the tech bubble, McGuire fumed about all the dot-com twentysomething billionaires from their stakes in companies that hadn't made a dime. He was being recognized as one of the most successful CEO's in the country and he was asking to paid accordingly.
He demanded a new option grant of 2 million shares and the board agreed to give him 1 million options. Even has he unloaded shares every year or two (he netted $469 million from stock sales), the board gave him millions of new options.
As the story unfolded, it turns out that McGuire "backdated" his stock options to coincide with the annual low-point in the stock. If the board awarded him options at $50 and the stock fell to $40, he backdated those options as if they were given to him at $40. Of course, he claims he did no wrong but the odds of his timing those options were 1 in 200 million. The one director that he got approval from had a conflict of interest as he served as McGuire's investment manager.
McGuire, once the strongest man in all of healthcare and builder of a hugely successful company, lost his job and his reputation over his greed.
It is an amazing story - a classic story of greed gone too far. It wasn't enough that he built and ran an incredible company. It wasn't enough that he was viewed as the most powerful CEO in healthcare. It wasn't enough that when he walked into a room, he was clearly the most powerful man in the room. it wasn't enough that he was worth about $100 million and made $10 million more a year.
No, what stuck in this guy's craw was that in the dot-com boom, some young tech guys were suddenly billionaires and he didn't think it was fair. Once he was the most powerful man in the room, he did everything he could to leverage his power to make himself even more powerful. A billion wasn't enough, he reached for $2 billion. That last handful in the candy jar cost this man his job and a lifetime's reputation as a great CEO. Like the country music band Montgomery Gentry's song "Gone" - "Gone like a freight train, gone like yesterday....gone."
He leveraged to try to protect his power and grow his power rather than trying to use his incredible power to help others. It cost him everything. Gone.
Soar!
Quite by coincidence after my post on power, an article appeared in the new issue of Fortune on United Healthcare and it's CEO. UnitedHealth is a hugely successful company. It was run by a man that grew it from $600 million in revenues to over $70 billion. The stock compounded at 30% a year during his 15 years far outsurpassing the returns of the market.
The CEO's status grew during those 15 years and he became the "face of healthcare" in America. By the end of 2005, his personal net worth exceeded $2 billion - a staggering amount of money that was all given to him via stock options. The article talks about how he abused power and how, as his status grew, so did the company's problem with curtailing him.
"A great CEO becomes dangerous over time. If you are incredibly successful as CEO, you have tremendous power (there is the word...power) within the company, over the board, and everybody's telling you that you are invincible. And then you become the risk to the extent that your own arrogance becomes the problem" said Goldman Sachs' analyst Matthew Borsch.
"Everyone telling you that you are invincible..." ---- remember how power is "intoxicating"?
McGuire never thought it was enough. He tracked the slightest movements of the stock. At the beginning of 1999, McGuire was already rich. He netted almost $49 million from stock sales and was sitting on options worth another $22 million. But he wasn't satisfied. As he began negotiations for a new contract with his board at the height of the tech bubble, McGuire fumed about all the dot-com twentysomething billionaires from their stakes in companies that hadn't made a dime. He was being recognized as one of the most successful CEO's in the country and he was asking to paid accordingly.
He demanded a new option grant of 2 million shares and the board agreed to give him 1 million options. Even has he unloaded shares every year or two (he netted $469 million from stock sales), the board gave him millions of new options.
As the story unfolded, it turns out that McGuire "backdated" his stock options to coincide with the annual low-point in the stock. If the board awarded him options at $50 and the stock fell to $40, he backdated those options as if they were given to him at $40. Of course, he claims he did no wrong but the odds of his timing those options were 1 in 200 million. The one director that he got approval from had a conflict of interest as he served as McGuire's investment manager.
McGuire, once the strongest man in all of healthcare and builder of a hugely successful company, lost his job and his reputation over his greed.
It is an amazing story - a classic story of greed gone too far. It wasn't enough that he built and ran an incredible company. It wasn't enough that he was viewed as the most powerful CEO in healthcare. It wasn't enough that when he walked into a room, he was clearly the most powerful man in the room. it wasn't enough that he was worth about $100 million and made $10 million more a year.
No, what stuck in this guy's craw was that in the dot-com boom, some young tech guys were suddenly billionaires and he didn't think it was fair. Once he was the most powerful man in the room, he did everything he could to leverage his power to make himself even more powerful. A billion wasn't enough, he reached for $2 billion. That last handful in the candy jar cost this man his job and a lifetime's reputation as a great CEO. Like the country music band Montgomery Gentry's song "Gone" - "Gone like a freight train, gone like yesterday....gone."
He leveraged to try to protect his power and grow his power rather than trying to use his incredible power to help others. It cost him everything. Gone.
Soar!
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Servant Leader
I am in the middle of discussions with a group of managers about servant leadership. One of these managers has had a hard time gaining control of the group that he manages. He has tried a lot of things but the one thing he has never attempted in the 2+ years he has been in place is the go after the heart of the people in his office. Going after the heart...a foreign concept to him.
He sat in my office on Friday and was completely defeated. He has tried everything he can think of but nothing is working. He said he wanted to hear what I thought servant leadership meant (because I had mentioned that to him) and then he would tell me what he thought it meant. I said, "Go ahead and tell me what you think it means". He said, "When I hear servant leader, I think you are telling me that I will have 13 bosses and it will be my job to please them all even when their interests are very different."
I told him that servant leadership to me meant that he comes to work every single day looking for ways to help the people that work for him be the very best they can be. It means he leads with "what is it you need me to do to help make you better?" It means that he sits and listens to his people. Rather than chit chatting about golf, the weather or what you did this weekend, he turns the conversation on his people and gets them to open up. "What are you worried about, what are you excited about, what is it I can do to clear the path for you on an issue, where do you want to be in 3-5-7 years, what are your dreams, what do you aspire to become?"
If a manager asked these kind of questions and really listened, he would take the first step toward the heart of the people entrusted to him. As for 13 bosses - in a way, he is correct. The boss is only as good as the people working for him. If the people feel like the man has no interest in their heart, there is a permanent divide in the relationship. Then, when things get tough, the people won't go to bat for the manager. "He doesn't truly care about me, I'm not sticking my neck to help him." Yet, the servant leader who truly "gets" this and truly moves toward his people's heart will begin to develop a core trust between him and his people. Once a leader adopts this model and proves his intentions are selfless - the trust is built and his people would walk through plate glass for him.
Servant leader means dying to self in some ways and using the power bestowed to you to leverage for the benefit of others. I asked this man, "Imagine your boss. What if he adopted this behavior? What if he said, "you know what, i'm starting all over and I am going to come to work every day trying to make the 20 managers that report to me into the very best managers in the business. If I can make just one of them so very good that he takes my job, then I will have succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. My job is to work with them, fight with them, train them, expose them to other great managers, share each others' successes, learn from each other's failings and let them know above all else, I deeply care about them as a human being."
"What if the divisional manager treated you that way? How different would you feel about your job next week if he shared this with you on Monday morning? You don't seem like you have much passion for what you do now - what if your boss had a passion for helping you become a truly excellent manager? How would that change the way you feel about your job?"
He looked at me and said, "I get it - I get what you are saying."
Rather than coming to work every day trying to keep my boss happy and his boss happy - what if I instead turned all my focus to making the people that work for me happy? Instead of looking up the chain of command, what if I turned my attention and starting looking down the chain of command?
That, to me, is servant leadership. Being willing to give every single ounce of energy I have to make someone else better - especially all those entrusted to us. Not making me better, not getting my next promotion but helping making someone else better. That is a servant and our Lord Jesus set the mark for us. Praise Him!
Soar!
I am in the middle of discussions with a group of managers about servant leadership. One of these managers has had a hard time gaining control of the group that he manages. He has tried a lot of things but the one thing he has never attempted in the 2+ years he has been in place is the go after the heart of the people in his office. Going after the heart...a foreign concept to him.
He sat in my office on Friday and was completely defeated. He has tried everything he can think of but nothing is working. He said he wanted to hear what I thought servant leadership meant (because I had mentioned that to him) and then he would tell me what he thought it meant. I said, "Go ahead and tell me what you think it means". He said, "When I hear servant leader, I think you are telling me that I will have 13 bosses and it will be my job to please them all even when their interests are very different."
I told him that servant leadership to me meant that he comes to work every single day looking for ways to help the people that work for him be the very best they can be. It means he leads with "what is it you need me to do to help make you better?" It means that he sits and listens to his people. Rather than chit chatting about golf, the weather or what you did this weekend, he turns the conversation on his people and gets them to open up. "What are you worried about, what are you excited about, what is it I can do to clear the path for you on an issue, where do you want to be in 3-5-7 years, what are your dreams, what do you aspire to become?"
If a manager asked these kind of questions and really listened, he would take the first step toward the heart of the people entrusted to him. As for 13 bosses - in a way, he is correct. The boss is only as good as the people working for him. If the people feel like the man has no interest in their heart, there is a permanent divide in the relationship. Then, when things get tough, the people won't go to bat for the manager. "He doesn't truly care about me, I'm not sticking my neck to help him." Yet, the servant leader who truly "gets" this and truly moves toward his people's heart will begin to develop a core trust between him and his people. Once a leader adopts this model and proves his intentions are selfless - the trust is built and his people would walk through plate glass for him.
Servant leader means dying to self in some ways and using the power bestowed to you to leverage for the benefit of others. I asked this man, "Imagine your boss. What if he adopted this behavior? What if he said, "you know what, i'm starting all over and I am going to come to work every day trying to make the 20 managers that report to me into the very best managers in the business. If I can make just one of them so very good that he takes my job, then I will have succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. My job is to work with them, fight with them, train them, expose them to other great managers, share each others' successes, learn from each other's failings and let them know above all else, I deeply care about them as a human being."
"What if the divisional manager treated you that way? How different would you feel about your job next week if he shared this with you on Monday morning? You don't seem like you have much passion for what you do now - what if your boss had a passion for helping you become a truly excellent manager? How would that change the way you feel about your job?"
He looked at me and said, "I get it - I get what you are saying."
Rather than coming to work every day trying to keep my boss happy and his boss happy - what if I instead turned all my focus to making the people that work for me happy? Instead of looking up the chain of command, what if I turned my attention and starting looking down the chain of command?
That, to me, is servant leadership. Being willing to give every single ounce of energy I have to make someone else better - especially all those entrusted to us. Not making me better, not getting my next promotion but helping making someone else better. That is a servant and our Lord Jesus set the mark for us. Praise Him!
Soar!
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