Ever had your car break down just to find out that it could all have been prevented if you or the previous owner would have just conducted routine maintenance? I haven't been in that boat myself but I have experienced break downs and of course they're not fun. In the world of faith we tend to hear about two extremes when it comes to our daily living. On the one hand, we hear about religiously depending on a routine or rituals. The daily dose: a certain number of chapters from the bible, dedicated prayer and church attendance. The more extreme types, perhaps the Christian "Tony Hortons" who might someday come up with a program called "Power Faith 90" would throw in regular silence and fasting as part of the daily regimen. Of course all this leaves you feeling forced or programmed to partake in activities that we hope will grow our knowledge of God, instill deeper faith and curb our frustrating sin habits. Then there's the other side of the coin, which relies on chance and spontaneous growth with no routine and no planned growth activities.
Over the years, I have had varying levels of the forced habits and spontaneous theological growth spurts. I have been on both ends of the issue and in between. Some of the hardest times have been when I have had the spiritual breakdowns and while I am not one for relying on extremes, I find some consistency in the circumstance of those regretful times. As time passes I become more and more acutely aware of those commonalities. I don't like the idea of routines and rituals nor am found of the idea of checking off boxes to keep in line with my spirituality; it just feels so manufactured. However, after the worst was over with the breakdown I could begin to repair the damages. So I would read with some structure and I would have planned prayer; over time it was like I was building up a storage of focus and determination. Perhaps one could say I was reinforcing the line or connection between God and I. This is exactly what I believe Paul was talking about when he said "not to be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of your mind." I am realizing that the reading everyday and planned prayer among other things are more like routine maintenance that help prevent spiritual breakdowns. In addition, I learned that there are other things we can do as maintenance to grow and challenge ourselves.
Just like different models have different maintenance schedules, I believe people do as well. Everyday our lives are more packed than ever before and if we aren't careful we run the risk of only reacting in our lives. When we only react to the problems it can cost us greatly just like it does with our cars. My routine maintenance has grown and evolved over time and will change more I am sure but I promise you this when I am living by my routine maintenance plan I am focused, God is the priority and I see spiritual growth. I have posted my routine below so you can see what on looks like. yes, it is still a work in progress and I am not 100% yet which is okay. I hope someday it will be.
Everyday - read the word, read the news, planned prayer, eat right and clean something.
6 days a week - work out, read or do something entertaining.
5 days a week - work at my job, read a book that grows me professionally and or spiritually
4 days a week - pursue my ministry calling (being there, planning, building a relationship, study, strategy etc.)
1 day a week - attend a service, be a member of a small group, do something active outside the house, meet for discipleship (assess the week with a close friend and challenge each other on deep levels)
Go ahead, I dare you. . . Light the Dark!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
What a year. . . .
Been off blogging for a year now. I guess you could say I was one of those people who thought it would be cool but never realized the amount of time and energy it takes to legitimately manage a blog. Of course I never expected to be as legit as Lara and her infamous Farmers Wife Tells All; but I thought I'd be able to at least contribute to the exponentially growing world of blogs on a weekly basis. So then what has me reminiscing of something I did a couple of times a year ago? Perhaps it's the fact that I have had an increible twelve months since then, or maybe it's boredom and nothing better to do, no; actually, I have a desire to write again because as of late I have been getting in touch with my mind more than I have in a long time and as I learn I have an overwhelming sense to organize in text all that is running through this insane brain of mine.
Here we go, today I woke up at 6:00am and read about the world of stocks, went to work and strategized how to survive an impending attack from to other players on a role playing game called Valor during my lunch. Next, I read a little bit of Ruth and Judges for my Bible as Lit class, followed by figuring out a way to teach new employees the intricacy of each position at work. At 3:30 when I was off I stayed late to launch social media for young life college and add it to many of the other social media accounts I support. I have been reading The Career Architect which classifies 95+ competencies in the work place, studying Proverbs for college small groups and speaking from John periodically at youth service. Let me make clear I say all of this not to gloat or show my intellectual prowess (seriously there isn't really any prowess there); in fact I say this because I feel so engaged mentally and while this year was an incredible year of healing and becoming, I am grateful to God for this period of learning, knowledge and discovery.
Proverb 2:9-15
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
10for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
12delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
13who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
14who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.
These verses have been on my heart lately and it is my prayer that the Lord would make this a reality in my life. I urge you brothers and sisters to cry out for Wisdom like Solomon recommnends in Proverbs 2. Then these verses just may become a reality for you. You will begin to see some of the distractions there are in life and set them aside for things that fulfill.
Go ahead, I dare you. . . Light the Dark
Here we go, today I woke up at 6:00am and read about the world of stocks, went to work and strategized how to survive an impending attack from to other players on a role playing game called Valor during my lunch. Next, I read a little bit of Ruth and Judges for my Bible as Lit class, followed by figuring out a way to teach new employees the intricacy of each position at work. At 3:30 when I was off I stayed late to launch social media for young life college and add it to many of the other social media accounts I support. I have been reading The Career Architect which classifies 95+ competencies in the work place, studying Proverbs for college small groups and speaking from John periodically at youth service. Let me make clear I say all of this not to gloat or show my intellectual prowess (seriously there isn't really any prowess there); in fact I say this because I feel so engaged mentally and while this year was an incredible year of healing and becoming, I am grateful to God for this period of learning, knowledge and discovery.
Proverb 2:9-15
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
10for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
12delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
13who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
14who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.
These verses have been on my heart lately and it is my prayer that the Lord would make this a reality in my life. I urge you brothers and sisters to cry out for Wisdom like Solomon recommnends in Proverbs 2. Then these verses just may become a reality for you. You will begin to see some of the distractions there are in life and set them aside for things that fulfill.
Go ahead, I dare you. . . Light the Dark
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Blogger's Block
So I have not updated my blog for quite some time. You might say I have had blogger's block but I don't really believe that to be the case. I think a better way to describe my lack of blogging as of late would be blogger's blindness.
I used to drive to California several times a week for work and couple times I would drive about 200 or so miles to San Diego or almost 300 to Riverside County from where I live here in sunny Yuma Az. Recently I was blessed with the opportunity to serve as counselor for two weeks of youth camp. On the first week I didn't drive so I took the role of passenger. I was surprised because there were parts of the drive that I had not noticed before even though I had taken this route hundreds of times. Curvature of the road, mountain scenes, beautifully placed sand dunes and tree lines quietly garnered my attention almost saying "we've been here all along hoping you would notice us."
This got me thinking about how I had been so focused on my destination that I failed to grasp the beauty of the journey. If we are so focused on the destination we miss everything along the way. A heart friend recently asked me if I am so focused on being as good as I once was; while trying to become who I am supposed to be; how could I possibly focus on now? My question for you is are you the driver in your journey so focused on the destination that you miss the beauty and blessing a long the way? Or, do you let God be the driver so that you can marvel at all He does in, through, and around you.
Proverbs 3:5,6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."
I pray that the Lord will remove my blogger blindness so I can see Him moving and capture it here on Light the Dark. I pray that the readers of this will let God be the driver and in doing so, realize like I did, the beauty of this journey.
Go Ahead, I dare you, Light the Dark!
I used to drive to California several times a week for work and couple times I would drive about 200 or so miles to San Diego or almost 300 to Riverside County from where I live here in sunny Yuma Az. Recently I was blessed with the opportunity to serve as counselor for two weeks of youth camp. On the first week I didn't drive so I took the role of passenger. I was surprised because there were parts of the drive that I had not noticed before even though I had taken this route hundreds of times. Curvature of the road, mountain scenes, beautifully placed sand dunes and tree lines quietly garnered my attention almost saying "we've been here all along hoping you would notice us."
This got me thinking about how I had been so focused on my destination that I failed to grasp the beauty of the journey. If we are so focused on the destination we miss everything along the way. A heart friend recently asked me if I am so focused on being as good as I once was; while trying to become who I am supposed to be; how could I possibly focus on now? My question for you is are you the driver in your journey so focused on the destination that you miss the beauty and blessing a long the way? Or, do you let God be the driver so that you can marvel at all He does in, through, and around you.
Proverbs 3:5,6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."
I pray that the Lord will remove my blogger blindness so I can see Him moving and capture it here on Light the Dark. I pray that the readers of this will let God be the driver and in doing so, realize like I did, the beauty of this journey.
Go Ahead, I dare you, Light the Dark!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Getting to Zero
The other night I went to the casino with a friend. We went to get dinner at their not so fabulous buffet. My friend is a pretty successful business person and I really enjoy some of the conversations we have surrounding business. I hardly ever gamble but my friend wanted to give it a go and started playing the slot machines. I am a fan of Black Jack myself but since I was with him I decided dabble with a slot machine. God must allow us to be dealt harsher with in order to keep us safe because I quickly lost what little I allotted to play; in less than twenty minutes I was done. Unfortunately, my friend was not; let's just say after a couple of hours it was not really his night. Due to the fact I had been so quickly put out of commission, I sat in the lobby frustrated that I had wasted money that I worked so hard for. While waiting I realized that practically everyone in that casino was trying to get back the money they lost, after all that is what my friend kept trying to do. In essence, people were gambling hours of their time trying to get to zero. Sure some get lucky, but most walk away with less than they brought.
This concept of getting to zero appears in more places than on Indian Reservations in Vegas style casinos. I think of debt as another place we strive so hard to get to zero. We see something we like, convince ourselves this is the key to our happiness and go into debt to get it. The following week when everyone is going out and we cannot because we have credit card bills, we wish that we could just be at zero. I am not experienced in being one part of a couple (in fact, I am kind of bad at it), it is common however, to hear people talking about how it used to be when they first met. Husbands and Wives in the midst of a tragic divorce accuse each other of changing and relationally wish they could go back to zero. Women trying to get healthy work out and eat right so that they can get into a size zero and if they made a size zero for guys, guys would try to get there too.
Why don't we walk away when we are ahead at a casino? Why do we pay off that last credit card only to immediately go out and charge it back up? Why can't couples hold tightly to their first love? Finally, why do we work so hard to get healthy only to rubber-band back to where we were before?
I can't answer these questions for everyone, if I could then I would be more successful than Dr. Phil. In fact, I cannot even answer these questions for myself. I have debt I don't want and I am not nearly as healthy as I would like to be. What I can offer is an observation; and if you know me at all you know this is where we get spiritual. . .
We know that Adam and Eve started at zero in the Garden of Eden. The moment that they fell Man went from spiritually zero to more spiritually in debt than we could ever possibly understand in our human intelligence. This is where it gets exciting because I realized that life -deciding to follow Christ and spending years striving to be Christ like- is our spiritual "getting to zero." Here are the implications: we spend at most 80-90 years getting to zero and then we spend eternity going from zero to God's ultimate potential for us. Furthermore, I can throw out name after name of people who did and achieved great things in their life and yet it is but an insignificant fraction when compared to eternity. There is a biblical foundation to support this idea beginning with the fact that Adam was responsible for the Earth and naming the animals. Eve was assigned to aid him in this endeavor. From the beginning God had a task for His creation. In addition, we also read of God using prophets like Moses and Elijah in end times meaning God had more planned for them after they parted ways with their bodies. I believe God will use us just as He does now yet, I believe that this is when we will find the truest fulfillment in our service for the first time ever coming from completely perfected followers of Christ.
As for me, I am going to focus more getting to zero spiritually than any thing else. After all, the Bible says to seek first the kingdom of heaven and then all else will be taken care of. If I can offer any hope for those broken trying to get to zero it is that getting spiritually healthy impacts every part of us because it is the foundation of who we are. Get to zero spiritually and you'll be surprised at the rate other things in your life get to zero.
Go ahead, I dare you LIGHT THE DARK!
This concept of getting to zero appears in more places than on Indian Reservations in Vegas style casinos. I think of debt as another place we strive so hard to get to zero. We see something we like, convince ourselves this is the key to our happiness and go into debt to get it. The following week when everyone is going out and we cannot because we have credit card bills, we wish that we could just be at zero. I am not experienced in being one part of a couple (in fact, I am kind of bad at it), it is common however, to hear people talking about how it used to be when they first met. Husbands and Wives in the midst of a tragic divorce accuse each other of changing and relationally wish they could go back to zero. Women trying to get healthy work out and eat right so that they can get into a size zero and if they made a size zero for guys, guys would try to get there too.
Why don't we walk away when we are ahead at a casino? Why do we pay off that last credit card only to immediately go out and charge it back up? Why can't couples hold tightly to their first love? Finally, why do we work so hard to get healthy only to rubber-band back to where we were before?
I can't answer these questions for everyone, if I could then I would be more successful than Dr. Phil. In fact, I cannot even answer these questions for myself. I have debt I don't want and I am not nearly as healthy as I would like to be. What I can offer is an observation; and if you know me at all you know this is where we get spiritual. . .
We know that Adam and Eve started at zero in the Garden of Eden. The moment that they fell Man went from spiritually zero to more spiritually in debt than we could ever possibly understand in our human intelligence. This is where it gets exciting because I realized that life -deciding to follow Christ and spending years striving to be Christ like- is our spiritual "getting to zero." Here are the implications: we spend at most 80-90 years getting to zero and then we spend eternity going from zero to God's ultimate potential for us. Furthermore, I can throw out name after name of people who did and achieved great things in their life and yet it is but an insignificant fraction when compared to eternity. There is a biblical foundation to support this idea beginning with the fact that Adam was responsible for the Earth and naming the animals. Eve was assigned to aid him in this endeavor. From the beginning God had a task for His creation. In addition, we also read of God using prophets like Moses and Elijah in end times meaning God had more planned for them after they parted ways with their bodies. I believe God will use us just as He does now yet, I believe that this is when we will find the truest fulfillment in our service for the first time ever coming from completely perfected followers of Christ.
As for me, I am going to focus more getting to zero spiritually than any thing else. After all, the Bible says to seek first the kingdom of heaven and then all else will be taken care of. If I can offer any hope for those broken trying to get to zero it is that getting spiritually healthy impacts every part of us because it is the foundation of who we are. Get to zero spiritually and you'll be surprised at the rate other things in your life get to zero.
Go ahead, I dare you LIGHT THE DARK!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Chicken McNuggets
Ecclesiastes 18-20 The Message
After looking at the way things are on this earth, here's what I've decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that's about it. That's the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what's given and delighting in the work. It's God's gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It's useless to brood over how long we might live.
I tried to go six month's without any fast food; as of this week I completely gave into McDonalds. I almost made it half way which would have been on June 22nd. I felt a great sense of anticipation at the window waiting for my McDouble and Six Piece Chicken McNugget meal. I pulled out of the drive-thru ready to tear open the bag in order to get to my highly saturated, mostly fried, loaded with sodium and high fructose corn syrup food when something caught my eye. It was a feral cat with a white coat and golden honey yellow stripes. The cat was quite slim and you could tell from its fur that it had seen better days. Before I go on I want to let everyone know that I do not make it a habit to feed cats, especially feral cats because feral cats are extremely over populated where I live.
Looking at this cat I felt very sad, it was hiding under a car and appeared to not have eaten in quite some time. My friends know I am not by any means partial to animals. When I was younger I was responsible for about 7 animals and the whole experience really turned me off. That being said, the act of me showing compassion for an animal would require dire circumstances on the part of the animal. So I slowed my car opened the door and parted with one of my Chicken McNuggets. Like a parent I wanted to see satisfaction in the cat; I guess I thought it would make me feel better. But the cat didn't do anything. I then decided to drive around thinking it might be scared of me. As I pulled around I saw the oddest thing; rather than just accepting my gift, the cat was attempting to "kill" the Chicken McNugget before eating it. At least that is what is seemed like; I have seen some cat fights in the past and even witnessed cat hunting for field mice so I vaguely remembered what it looked like. The point is that this cat took what was a gift ready for the taking and tried to kill it before eating it.
Not idly does a person part with tiny fried golden morsels from Mc Donald's. Each one crunches perfectly, is juicy with just the right amount of salt and parting with one of these is no small task especially when I only had a six pack. Maybe because the cat was wild and had never been taken care of was its reason for trying to kill its chicken nugget before eating it. Perhaps this cat has had to kill for all of its meals so it did not know how to eat the already cooked food much like in movies when orphans are provided a good meal for the first time.
As silly as this may seem, this got me thinking about God and us. God bestows upon us so many gifts and yet our carnal nature leads us to not accept these gifts; at times trying to kill them before we consume the gifts He's given us. Think about it; our bodies are a gift, our jobs are a gift, our hoopty cars are gifts, even the strong performers we have at work are gifts from God. Have we sought his direction for how to use these gifts? I am sure that if I took the cat home (I kind of wished I could) and fed it chicken nuggets regulary it would become accustomed to how to eat them; the skepticism would leave, and the cat would be able to enjoy filling food without trying to kill it first.
When I think about ways that we misuse the gifts God gives us I think of women that use their bodies as a source of validation rather than God. I also think of men who hate their jobs and go to work work each day with a quiet resentment not seeing beyond the matierial to the spiritual reasons for being there. In addition, I think about the people we managers employ, do we work them to the bone until they have little more to give, do we pay them well, do we offer a sense of hope for them? What would change about their performance if they could answer yes to the last two questions?
Eventually the cat realized that I had given it food accpetable for eating; as a result, it was satiated and I knew my sacrifice had not been in vain. My fear is that we will not realize the gifts God has given us and in turn will miss the fulfillment they bring. We might even someday reach a place where we think God is not helping us. Rick Warren related in Purpose Driven Life that worship is like a mother making a meal for her son. The son is grateful for the good food and the mother is grateful for the fact the the son is nourished and is thankful for the meal. God takes great joy in our appreciation, utilization, and happiness resulting from His gifts. What are you missing about the gifts in your life?
Go ahead, I dare you, LIGHT THE DARK
After looking at the way things are on this earth, here's what I've decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that's about it. That's the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what's given and delighting in the work. It's God's gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It's useless to brood over how long we might live.
I tried to go six month's without any fast food; as of this week I completely gave into McDonalds. I almost made it half way which would have been on June 22nd. I felt a great sense of anticipation at the window waiting for my McDouble and Six Piece Chicken McNugget meal. I pulled out of the drive-thru ready to tear open the bag in order to get to my highly saturated, mostly fried, loaded with sodium and high fructose corn syrup food when something caught my eye. It was a feral cat with a white coat and golden honey yellow stripes. The cat was quite slim and you could tell from its fur that it had seen better days. Before I go on I want to let everyone know that I do not make it a habit to feed cats, especially feral cats because feral cats are extremely over populated where I live.
Looking at this cat I felt very sad, it was hiding under a car and appeared to not have eaten in quite some time. My friends know I am not by any means partial to animals. When I was younger I was responsible for about 7 animals and the whole experience really turned me off. That being said, the act of me showing compassion for an animal would require dire circumstances on the part of the animal. So I slowed my car opened the door and parted with one of my Chicken McNuggets. Like a parent I wanted to see satisfaction in the cat; I guess I thought it would make me feel better. But the cat didn't do anything. I then decided to drive around thinking it might be scared of me. As I pulled around I saw the oddest thing; rather than just accepting my gift, the cat was attempting to "kill" the Chicken McNugget before eating it. At least that is what is seemed like; I have seen some cat fights in the past and even witnessed cat hunting for field mice so I vaguely remembered what it looked like. The point is that this cat took what was a gift ready for the taking and tried to kill it before eating it.
Not idly does a person part with tiny fried golden morsels from Mc Donald's. Each one crunches perfectly, is juicy with just the right amount of salt and parting with one of these is no small task especially when I only had a six pack. Maybe because the cat was wild and had never been taken care of was its reason for trying to kill its chicken nugget before eating it. Perhaps this cat has had to kill for all of its meals so it did not know how to eat the already cooked food much like in movies when orphans are provided a good meal for the first time.
As silly as this may seem, this got me thinking about God and us. God bestows upon us so many gifts and yet our carnal nature leads us to not accept these gifts; at times trying to kill them before we consume the gifts He's given us. Think about it; our bodies are a gift, our jobs are a gift, our hoopty cars are gifts, even the strong performers we have at work are gifts from God. Have we sought his direction for how to use these gifts? I am sure that if I took the cat home (I kind of wished I could) and fed it chicken nuggets regulary it would become accustomed to how to eat them; the skepticism would leave, and the cat would be able to enjoy filling food without trying to kill it first.
When I think about ways that we misuse the gifts God gives us I think of women that use their bodies as a source of validation rather than God. I also think of men who hate their jobs and go to work work each day with a quiet resentment not seeing beyond the matierial to the spiritual reasons for being there. In addition, I think about the people we managers employ, do we work them to the bone until they have little more to give, do we pay them well, do we offer a sense of hope for them? What would change about their performance if they could answer yes to the last two questions?
Eventually the cat realized that I had given it food accpetable for eating; as a result, it was satiated and I knew my sacrifice had not been in vain. My fear is that we will not realize the gifts God has given us and in turn will miss the fulfillment they bring. We might even someday reach a place where we think God is not helping us. Rick Warren related in Purpose Driven Life that worship is like a mother making a meal for her son. The son is grateful for the good food and the mother is grateful for the fact the the son is nourished and is thankful for the meal. God takes great joy in our appreciation, utilization, and happiness resulting from His gifts. What are you missing about the gifts in your life?
Go ahead, I dare you, LIGHT THE DARK
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Why are Christians So Nice?
One of my favorite quotes from the best seller "Good to Great" by Jim Collins says that "we must confront the most brutal facts about our present reality."
In Proverbs 27:6, King Solomon writes "Wounds from a friend can be trusted but an enemy multiplies kisses." Meaning that a true friend might say something that hurts but you can trust them, while an enemy would puff you up if it suited their agenda.
I quote these because I believe there is a very common misconception about Christians in the work place that we are supposed to be nice. When I say nice I am referring to a pop-culture definition that might go something like this: Christian Nicety - the devout manifestation through a person of faith; the actions of always smiling, never in disagreement with anyone, when one allows others to partake in any action despite the possible negative consequences.
At work, I have always have had a reputation of being very direct. Some who I have failed to communicate my intentions have labeled me as harsh, insensitive, and crass. I recall one of my employees coming to my office a few years ago after a rush of business. She was in tears and lamented that regardless how hard she tries, how much experience she has, it never seems as though it is enough. For the next thirty minutes we had a conversation about her being in an entry level job and how she didn't belong there. We talked about her incredible potential and that where she is today isn't equal with where I knew her potential was. I detailed how I value her contributions so much that if I failed to help her grow I would feel like a failure.
At a conference I recently attended the speaker showed a video of Penn from Penn and Teller talking about sharing our faith. He spoke about how Christians should be respected for sharing their faith because if a person truly believes they have the answer to life how much would they have to hate someone to not share it. Likewise in business, if we as leaders in the work place have the feedback that is capable of making someone more successful, how much do we have to hate them to not share it. It is one thing to be scared, its another to literally stop a person's development and hold them in a place where they cannot become financially independent because we are concerned about being perceived as nice. Furthermore, how did Peter feel when Jesus replied "Get behind me Satan" because Peter didn't want Christ to go to the cross? Jesus' rebuke was a critical part of Peter's journey. In the end, Christ also tells Peter that he would be the rock He built His church on. I promise you this, if we as Christians in the world begin having the conversations with those around us that lead to their growth and their success, we will build bridges that lead to conversations about more than performance; literally, conversations about souls.
Go ahead, I dare you; LIGHT THE WORLD!
In Proverbs 27:6, King Solomon writes "Wounds from a friend can be trusted but an enemy multiplies kisses." Meaning that a true friend might say something that hurts but you can trust them, while an enemy would puff you up if it suited their agenda.
I quote these because I believe there is a very common misconception about Christians in the work place that we are supposed to be nice. When I say nice I am referring to a pop-culture definition that might go something like this: Christian Nicety - the devout manifestation through a person of faith; the actions of always smiling, never in disagreement with anyone, when one allows others to partake in any action despite the possible negative consequences.
At work, I have always have had a reputation of being very direct. Some who I have failed to communicate my intentions have labeled me as harsh, insensitive, and crass. I recall one of my employees coming to my office a few years ago after a rush of business. She was in tears and lamented that regardless how hard she tries, how much experience she has, it never seems as though it is enough. For the next thirty minutes we had a conversation about her being in an entry level job and how she didn't belong there. We talked about her incredible potential and that where she is today isn't equal with where I knew her potential was. I detailed how I value her contributions so much that if I failed to help her grow I would feel like a failure.
At a conference I recently attended the speaker showed a video of Penn from Penn and Teller talking about sharing our faith. He spoke about how Christians should be respected for sharing their faith because if a person truly believes they have the answer to life how much would they have to hate someone to not share it. Likewise in business, if we as leaders in the work place have the feedback that is capable of making someone more successful, how much do we have to hate them to not share it. It is one thing to be scared, its another to literally stop a person's development and hold them in a place where they cannot become financially independent because we are concerned about being perceived as nice. Furthermore, how did Peter feel when Jesus replied "Get behind me Satan" because Peter didn't want Christ to go to the cross? Jesus' rebuke was a critical part of Peter's journey. In the end, Christ also tells Peter that he would be the rock He built His church on. I promise you this, if we as Christians in the world begin having the conversations with those around us that lead to their growth and their success, we will build bridges that lead to conversations about more than performance; literally, conversations about souls.
Go ahead, I dare you; LIGHT THE WORLD!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Light the Dark
John 17:15-19 The Message
I'm not asking that you take them out of the world But that you guard them from the Evil One. They are no more defined by the world Than I am defined by the world. Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth; Your word is consecrating truth. In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world. I'm consecrating myself for their sakes So they'll be truth-consecrated in their mission.
In my experience I find that many ascribe to the pastor 100% ownership in bringing people to church, meeting physical and spiritual needs, counseling, evangelism, event planning, teaching the word, dedicated and fervent prayer, convicting us of our sinful lifestyle and the list can go on and on and on. Sure, not one of these things is out of the scope of the minister but is his position in the vast ranks of believers the only accountable to all faith performance? Perhaps the simplest job description for pastors should be subject matter experts a type of Spiritual Human Resources generalist. The hard, physical, put-your reputation-on-the-line working out of faith should be overwhelmingly evident in the lives of the church goers. Furthermore, at a rate that is exponentially more when compared to the pastor because the average church member to pastor ratio is something like 28:1. Sadly, this is not the case, we have in essence resolved ourselves to sit passionately poked by motivating words of the pastor but never moved, no, never so impassioned as to jump to action.
What if God had a physical scorecard for us? For those of you who don't know what a scorecard is; it is a type of business report card where the company takes the most important business analytics and compiles them on one page. At the left of the scorecard are targets and the manager can look and compare his/her results to the target. So, back to spiritual scorecards. . . . What if we could pay 14.95 a month and log onto to "Spirifax" to check our spiritual scorecard. How would we rate in gives of self and money freely or the number of times we actually listened to the Holy Spirit's leading. Would we lose a performance appraisal rating for the amount of times we intentionally broke the law or because we did not log enough service hours. Perhaps we would gain points for having a weekly bible study with the kids. Truth is I don't know; but I know this: My scorecard at work compels me to action and there are times I wish I had a spiritual scorecard with Christ as the target because I know it would motivate me.
On the other hand, if we did have spiritual score cards I am sure we would use them to give each believer a hierarchal ranking. Our flesh seems to want to make everything a competition. We have the power of the Holy Spirit inside us and like the verse above suggests, those of us that are not full time ministry are in the world; literally the trenches not just the pastors, directors, elders, deacons, and church office managers. He has given us a mission there. If we are not listening for the prompting of the Holy Spirit when another colleague or employee is in need we run the risk of allowing ourselves to be of the world Monday through Saturday and only in the world as scripture commands on Sunday. My reasoning is simple; the world's way is about performance driving, about making or saving as much money as possible, and does not often consider the needs of those doing the hard labor. If business men and women merely maintain the environment we are serving only the world, if we risk ourselves for the souls of those God has surrounded us with then we are laboring unto the Lord.
Go ahead, I dare you, LIGHT THE DARK!
Mike
I'm not asking that you take them out of the world But that you guard them from the Evil One. They are no more defined by the world Than I am defined by the world. Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth; Your word is consecrating truth. In the same way that you gave me a mission in the world, I give them a mission in the world. I'm consecrating myself for their sakes So they'll be truth-consecrated in their mission.
In my experience I find that many ascribe to the pastor 100% ownership in bringing people to church, meeting physical and spiritual needs, counseling, evangelism, event planning, teaching the word, dedicated and fervent prayer, convicting us of our sinful lifestyle and the list can go on and on and on. Sure, not one of these things is out of the scope of the minister but is his position in the vast ranks of believers the only accountable to all faith performance? Perhaps the simplest job description for pastors should be subject matter experts a type of Spiritual Human Resources generalist. The hard, physical, put-your reputation-on-the-line working out of faith should be overwhelmingly evident in the lives of the church goers. Furthermore, at a rate that is exponentially more when compared to the pastor because the average church member to pastor ratio is something like 28:1. Sadly, this is not the case, we have in essence resolved ourselves to sit passionately poked by motivating words of the pastor but never moved, no, never so impassioned as to jump to action.
What if God had a physical scorecard for us? For those of you who don't know what a scorecard is; it is a type of business report card where the company takes the most important business analytics and compiles them on one page. At the left of the scorecard are targets and the manager can look and compare his/her results to the target. So, back to spiritual scorecards. . . . What if we could pay 14.95 a month and log onto to "Spirifax" to check our spiritual scorecard. How would we rate in gives of self and money freely or the number of times we actually listened to the Holy Spirit's leading. Would we lose a performance appraisal rating for the amount of times we intentionally broke the law or because we did not log enough service hours. Perhaps we would gain points for having a weekly bible study with the kids. Truth is I don't know; but I know this: My scorecard at work compels me to action and there are times I wish I had a spiritual scorecard with Christ as the target because I know it would motivate me.
On the other hand, if we did have spiritual score cards I am sure we would use them to give each believer a hierarchal ranking. Our flesh seems to want to make everything a competition. We have the power of the Holy Spirit inside us and like the verse above suggests, those of us that are not full time ministry are in the world; literally the trenches not just the pastors, directors, elders, deacons, and church office managers. He has given us a mission there. If we are not listening for the prompting of the Holy Spirit when another colleague or employee is in need we run the risk of allowing ourselves to be of the world Monday through Saturday and only in the world as scripture commands on Sunday. My reasoning is simple; the world's way is about performance driving, about making or saving as much money as possible, and does not often consider the needs of those doing the hard labor. If business men and women merely maintain the environment we are serving only the world, if we risk ourselves for the souls of those God has surrounded us with then we are laboring unto the Lord.
Go ahead, I dare you, LIGHT THE DARK!
Mike
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