Productivity
Rest is a good thing, idleness is not. Ecclesiastes 10:18 says, "Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks". Obviously, there are lazy people but most idle potential leaders are idle because of a lack of understanding. They have gotten the wrong perception about what it takes to be industrious or successful. In talking with one young first time pastor years ago I said, "you need to be at your office at work". He said, "I'm bored there. I just can't sit there all day". Being on the job, whether it's keeping office hours or on the move touching lives with encouragement and practical caring requires planning. You can't roam around aimlessly expecting success to occur.

As a young church pioneer I learned that if I would go to the office and get to work, ministry to people would begin to take place. Before long I would have more ministry than I could do. There is something about just "starting". Even when I work in my office at home, I like to get up, get my shower, shave and go to my desk ready to work. There's something about a posture of productivity. I'm ready to accomplish something. However, posture of productivity is only a part of the picture. You must have a plan. There's an old adage that says, "plan your work and work your plan". I'm amazed at how many people live like firemen with their pants and boots ready at the foot of the bed. They are ready for the next fire. If you have that attitude, you will be allowing circumstances to rule your life. There is no planning here. I'm convinced a person can live their entire lives simply "putting out fires" and going from one crisis to the next. It all sounds noble but in the end little will have been built for the Kingdom of God. When Jesus went back to his own home town the Bible says, "he could do no mighty works there except he healed a few sick people". On the other hand the Scripture tells us that Jesus did what he saw the Father doing. From his time with the Father there came a plan. Jesus didn't wander around without purpose. He didn't allow circumstances to set his agenda. He didn't even allow the needs of people to be his primary motivation. Othewise, he would have simply been a humanitarian. It had to be the will of His Father. Doing the will of the Father is the thing that connects our productivity with the eternal.

Once you have gotten the idea or the plan you must act on it. First, capture the idea! Ideas are easily lost. They must be saved. Write them down, make a recording or whatever works for you. When the idea first comes you think it is so clear that you will never lose it. That's not true. Many wonderful ideas that could have benefitted mankind have been lost forever because they weren't captured. Once you capture the idea, now you can ponder it, meditate over it and let it grow and develop. While all this is happening, keep recording all the ideas that are following the original idea. What are you doing? You are dreaming! Dreams get bigger and bigger. As good as this is, it's only a dream until you put the dream into motion. You see, at this point you are simply another dreamer. The world is filled with dreamers. Now is the time to do something with the dream. You will never do anything with a dream until you put it on your calendar or agenda. Working from your calendar is the action part of "plan your work and work your plan". An idea is not a plan until you have it written down. At times I will delegate a task to someone and I'm concerned because I don't see them write it down. If they don't write it down it won't get on their calendar and it won't be accomplished. Haven't you experienced the waiter in the restaurant wanting to impress everyone with his ability to remember the orders of all eight people in your party, without writing it down? You end up with someone's side dishes or a piece of pie with your dieters platter!

What a joy to see the fruit of your labor. It is one of the great inner rewards of life. You can do it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, I received the greatest Valentine's gift possible today. My new granddaughter came home from the hospital! She was born at 5:02 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 12 at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Beverly Hills, Ca. My daughter, Tarah, was in labor for 36 hours! Her husband Scott is a trooper and may be the best husband and father I have ever seen in operation. It was quite an ordeal but the end result was worth it. Easy for me to say, right? Her name is Lucia Terese Crabb. Lucia is the Latin version of my Mother's name, Lucille. Of course, Terese is a shortened version of my wife's name, Teresa. My heart is full as I have held Lucia several hours today and simply watched her sleep. As I feel the celebration of my heart over the birth of this little angel, I am reminded of Prov. 13:12 that says, "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life". I have been married almost 40 years and for several years I have wanted, no yearned for grandchildren. I can't explain what has gone on inside of me for several years but the desire was just there. As it lingered, it was disappointing as hope was deferred, but today I can honestly say, "it is a tree of life".

I wonder what thing you are yearning for today? What is that desire that you have decided would never be fulfilled? I can tell you that if that thing in your heart is from the Lord, it is never too late. There is a day of fulfillment. There is a day when the answer comes. There is a precise moment for a miracle. Be encouraged this Valentine's Day! Reach down deep and stir and arouse that dream of your heart once again. Warm it through prayer and energize it by faith. Any day now could be your day when you will experience your "tree of life"!

Merging Generations

There has always been this tremendous gap between the zeal of youth and the wisdom of the mature. Every generation struggles to marry the two with mostly failed attempts at the union. From the side of the youth comes the argument that the old ways are not relevant to today. The older generation agonizes over the methods of the young and fear all will be lost under their leadership into the future. Yet, every generation seems to make the transition and in actuality progress continues to yield better results in many cases than the former generation could produce. Just look around today and see that on every front improvements have been made. We drive better cars than did our fathers. We live in better houses and use better products of all kinds. Yet…I must confess that I get nervous when it comes to releasing the next generation to lead. I still want to tell them how to do it. You see, I am a control freak!

There is the potential for failure in this scenario of transition. That potential lies in the inclination that is resident with both the young as well as the old. Within the old is a kind of arrogance that looks down upon the efforts of the young. Within the young is this stubbornness that resists the counsel of the more mature, wanting to prove that they can make it happen. In the Bible there is the story of a young, newly crowned king by the name of Rehoboam. He was the son of the great king Solomon. At Solomons death and after Rehoboam’s coronation the people requested a new kind of compassion and sensitivity toward their needs that Rehoboam’s father never permitted. Rehoboam went to the older men for counsel and then to the younger men whom he had known growing up. Rehoboam took the counsel of the younger men and rejected the counsel of the older. The result was a rebellion that cost Rehoboam a divided Kingdom and antagonism that would last his entire reign and into the reign of his sons to follow.

The obvious answer here is a merging of the zeal of youth with the wisdom of the aged. We must have both to move forward as a people. Every Nation, every community and every church must see the two working together in order to move forward in a safe and constructive way. How can it work? There must be a surrender by both the old and the young to the Lordship of Christ. The same is true in every team effort from the football field to marriage. There has to be an abandoning of selfish hidden agendas for the common good.

May the Lord grant us the grace to renounce the pride of our opinions and embrace in faith the counsel of others. Let’s begin by looking at others, both young and old with an understanding that God has made them and placed them in our lives with a purpose. Truth mandates that we have to receive from each other in order to arrive at our desired destination.

Anticipation

Recently, I was sitting in a small group discussion in our CAM (ministers group) meeting. We were sharing the "dreams of our hearts" and the others in the group were encouraging and praying for our dreams. One in the group asked me, "what is the greatest hindrance to your dream"? It took me by surprise but immediately I said, "finding faithful people". My dream is seeing the church mature to a place of fulfilling the dream of Jesus' heart. To do that, we must find faithful people who put the will of God above their personal will and desires. More and more we live in a consumer driven society and church. At the center of that motivation is a voice that screams, "it's all about me"! It's really a bondage of our society from which we desperately need deliverance in order to see the Kingdom of God come to the earth.

The group began to share insights with me and then one person said, "you have been faithful but you have lost your anticipation". Then they compared it to my excitement about the upcoming arrival of my first grandchild. I had shared all about her at lunch that day. They said, "you need to live in anticipation that your dream will come to pass just as much as this baby will be born". I got it! I had made an unconscious decision at some point, that even though it was increasingly difficult to find faithful leaders, I would just do the best I could and whatever happens, happens. I have changed my thinking and my faith for the future. I am believing for those potential leaders who are willing to pay any price to fulfill the dream in God's heart! They are out there and we will meet. A major part of faith is truly...ANTICIPATION! Maybe you have an area of your life where you are trudging along in faithfulness with little or no anticipation. Maybe you have released the dream of your heart and settled for mediocrity. Join me with a new outlook and a new faith! Now, let's approach tomorrow with "anticipation" regarding the dream of our hearts!