I Simply Don't Know

Psalm 91 is a powerful chapter promising protection by God in the most distressing of situations.  As you read it you will either be challenged to a higher place of faith or  moved to contemplation and possibly perplexity.  As a young Christian I watched and listened to preachers challenge the hearers to believe God for the impossible in the natural.  The point was that if one had enough faith, nothing negative would ever happen to them.  My dilemma now 40 years later is that I have seen miracles and deliverance from certain death and I have seen many good and Godly people die in less than pleasant circumstances.  Of course, we all die.  The Scripture plainly tells us that we all have an appointment with death and that death for the believer leads to the fulfillment of eternal life in the Presence of God.  What then shall we make of this and how do we navigate difficult situations?  

We have to come to a place, I believe, where we accept that, while He does not want to be confusing, He is very complex.  He is infinite and we are finite.  Our limited human resources can only comprehend a tiny portion of our infinite God.  That is why people who think they have God all figured out are confusing at best and dangerous at worst to those listening to them.  While I know that this article may not be very inspiring, it can lead us to an even greater faith.  Most of the people that I have seen become discouraged and some who have even walked away from the Faith have been people who told us they had HIM figured out.  They even gave us formulas that if we followed promised to solve all our problems.  I have watched and listened to some who made the grandest statements about faith weep in the deepest despair and confusion. Hebrews 11 is called the "faith chapter."  The first half of it tells us of those who worked miracles and saw people raised from the dead by faith.  The second half tells us of others who suffered greatly and lost loved ones in great ordeals.  It goes on to tell us that they were all commended for their faith!  

It all brings me back to a "head scratching" moment of saying to the Lord, " I simply don't know."  The moment that I make this statement I feel this volcanic movement deep within that cries out, "yet will I trust Him!"  For me the last 20 years or so have been years filled with great successes and great challenges to say the least.  There have been some dark days of deep contemplation.  Yet, there is this inner man that rises from the ashes time and again.  It is something for which I cannot take credit because it is not a natural thing.  It is an evidence of an inner connection within this frail human life that maintains a connection with Almighty God.  It is in fact God!  It is Christ in me, the hope of glory!  It leaves me often thinking, "well, I don't KNOW any more than I did when this all began but I have learned that in all situations, He is pulling me through the crisis in perfect peace. "
It is difficult to understand but having been to the doorway of heaven on more than one occasion I can tell you that there is no fear there, only grace and faith.  Believe for what you think is the best and be willing to accept everything else in faith in His faithfulness.

Wineskins

"No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled and the wineskins will be ruined."  Luke 5:37 NKJV

The compatibility of the old and the new is difficult to achieve and maintain.  I was watching a "Downton Abbey" episode yesterday and an older man had been managing the estate for 40 years.  As a new owner came on the scene he wanted to make some changes that would require almost everything to change.  The older gentleman immediately resigned.  He said, "I'm the old broom and your are the new broom!"  While the newer owner was willing for the older man to remain in position and make the changes, the older gentleman knew it was not going to work.  He just couldn't do it!  He did the honorable thing and stepped aside.

There is a day when the old has to make the call and step aside for the next generation to lead.  It is never without pain.  I have heard some great sermons on "renewing the wineskin".  These messages talk about soaking the old wineskin and rubbing oil in it and getting it ready for the new wine.  The only problem with this hopeful sounding analogy is that Jesus says it can't happen.  He said, "no one" does it.  If you can't renew an old wineskin, then what is the hope or place for the old wineskin?  If an old wineskin wants to remain viable throughout it's lifetime it must always remain new.  That is possible!  I have seen a few, very few who saw the big picture and prepared for the future by preparing the ground for the new crop.  Too many of the old spend their last years celebrating their great harvests of the past rather than being involved in the ongoing preparation for a new harvest.    I've been going through some old family photos that are 50-60 years old.  There is my granddad, aunts, uncles, siblings, etc.  I get all excited about it and try to share them with others.  It is obvious that they try to be cordial but they aren't interested. They are interested is showing me new pictures.  I have a choice to make here.  I can cling to the old or start taking pictures of the new.  I must remain involved in the lives and ministries of the young.  Then I will have the opportunity to share in the future.

It appears from the words of Jesus that once a wineskin becomes old, it's old.  The secret here is to remain young inwardly.  Before you think that I am only talking to the over 65 set, I am talking to everyone.  Kingdom advancement requires a discipling and training track that is dedicated to perpetuation.

2 Cor. 4:16 "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day."

Wisdom and Work

In 1 Kings 3 and II Chronicles 1 we read the story of Solomon coming to power after the death of his father, King David.  I can't imagine the pressure involved in following the legendary David.  Many might try to do it by "wowing the crowd".  Solomon proves his worthiness to be his father's successor by crying out to God, confessing his inability to to do the job God called him to do and asking for wisdom from above.  Lessor men, trying to be more, might employ those to make them look good and some would even try to prove themselves in some "real man" exploits.  Solomon seems content to place himself firmly in the hands of Almighty God.  He would either rise or fall by God's power.  

For those of us following the principles applied by Solomon in an effort to achieve good leadership skills, we might think Solomon came to success without much personal effort.  Nothing could be farther  from the truth.  It seems that striking a balance in spiritual matters is difficult.  My good friend Dr. Bill Thomas once said, "it seems we go from ditch to ditch but can't live in the middle of the road."  The Lord wants his followers to be just that, followers.  Yet, he wants us to become humble leaders of men while continuing to remain humble subjects of the King.  It is in the leading of men that we must get out of the comfort of our nest.  Many lessons have been taught from the comfort of the University lectern without proving ones theories out in the day to day world.  Many sermons have been preached from the warm fuzzy place of the pulpit without personally seeing them work in real life.  Solomon cried out for wisdom and strength but after his prayer he got to work building.  The Temple that he built according to the plans handed down by David lasted over 400 years.  You don't build something that lasts 400 years without hard, hard work.  

Solomon was not a passive leader.  He had learned well watching his father lead.  There is a time to pray and a time to act.  I love the NLT translation of II Chronicles 1:1.  It says, "Solomon son of David took firm control of his kingdom, for the Lord his God was with him and made him very powerful."  Solomon took firm control of his Kingdom!  Once we get a clear plan or vision from God we must not camp there and build three tabernacles.  We must not get too comfortable in that lofty place of revelation, we must take action.  True Biblical patterns of success requires a dependence upon God for under girding of the bridge and a willingness to boldly lead our group over that bridge in faith.

Update And Thank You

By now I'm sure you know that I am in the Tampa area recovering from open heart surgery.  My blog has gotten a little behind!  I had triple bypass surgery just 4 weeks ago after a heart attack.  I have remained here to stay close to Doctors as they instructed.  My surgery went well but I suffered a second heart attack about an hour after the surgery that resulted in another procedure to install a heart stent.  I was concerned that two heart attacks, two heart caths, bypass surgery and a stent in five days might delay my recovery.  However, I am ahead of schedule thanks to the power of a loving God and the prayers of the Saints!  

I deeply appreciate all the prayers and expressions of love that you have sent on my behalf.  I plan to be back in ministry at a slower pace in mid August.  

Love and Blessings!

L. A.

What is an American?

As is the case with most Americans, I am a patriot to the core.  It is difficult for me not to get emotional about our great Country.  I cry when the National Anthem is played or when I see a flag draped coffin. Most of us Southerners are true red, white and blue.  Patriotism has been a part of our upbringing.  I am very happy it is so.  I visited Gettysburg battle field not long ago and it was a very emotional experience on a number of fronts.  As I walked the fields stained with blood I wondered what I would have done if I have lived in that time.  As I reflected on the war I thought, "certainly I would not have fought on the side of the South in such an unjust cause as slavery?"  But then I had to admit that I would have because I would have been caught up in the sentiments of the hour just as thousands of other Southern boys of that era.  This year Gettysburg celebrates it's 150th anniversary.  That may seem like a long time but really it isn't at all.  I grew up in the South just 84 years after the Civil War and I remember how fresh the war still seemed as a child. Yet,  to me World War I and World War II especially, put our men and women, North and South, in the same uniform on the same battlefields and while those wars were horrific, they served to forge us back into "one Nation under God". That reunification is a great blessing.  Many Nations around the world today still fester with the infection of past internal divisions.   Being forced together for survival makes a lot of prejudices disappear.  To answer the question, "What is an American", the answer must lie in the evidence produced by those who join in our cause of freedom.  During the last Great War all true Americans rose to the occasion and put aside personal issues to stand together.  The Southerner went to war and fought as an American.  The black man rose to the occasion and fought for a Country that would not allow him to order from a table in a "white restaurant".  That is a true American.  The Native American fought courageously for a Country that took his lush land and marched him to dusty reservations in the West and broke treaty after treaty.  That is a true American.  The Japanese American went off to war to fight for a Country who, while he was gone,  placed their relatives in internment camps because of their ancestry.  That is a true American.  I'm sure there are many others as well.

Today, our birthday as a Country, our Nation still struggles with our own diversity within.  May we continue to embrace those who love our Nation, enter her legally, pledge allegiance to her cause and stand ready to defend her as did all true Americans of the past. 

Characteristics of a Prodigal

The story of the Prodigal Son recorded in Luke 15 is a parable told by Jesus and as all the parables of Jesus, it is told to teach us life lessons.  Today I want to focus on the characteristics of the prodigal.  First we see that a prodigal begins his departure from reasonable thinking with unsound thinking. It goes without saying that before he approached his father he had given considerable thought to his decision to leave home.  Once he approached his father he spoke what he had been thinking, "I want my part of the inheritance."  He was asking for something out of season.  It wasn't time for his inheritance to come to him and that meant he wasn't prepared to handle it wisely.  Of course his desire to get his hands on the money wasn't motivated by sound stewardship!  In essence he was making a decision to come out from under his father's "covering".  A covering is a number of things including a place of tutelage.  This is the reason why the Scripture tells us in the Church that we are not to put a novice into a leadership office.  He or she is not yet ready to assume such a role. They need to spend more time under tutelage.  It is not fair to them nor the Church to release them into leadership too soon.  

Once the prodigal gets the money they almost always run away to a "far country".  In this out of the way place they can party without the eye or influence of their rightful authority.  Of course their blindness can't see that they are also beyond the help of the father in the event of a crisis.  A prodigal casts caution to the wind and spends like a "drunken sailor".  The vision of the prodigal is only as far as today.  He only cares about his money lasting through the next party.  He does not have the ability to see down the road or to save for some contingency.  He scoffs at such thinking.  It is too restrictive for his free spirit.  He has been held back by his father's parameters too long!  As always happens, the money ends and crisis begins.  Just as his money ran out, and friends as well, a famine arises.  Famines are a part of seasons of life.  There are good times and bad times and that is why good stewardship is a must to healthy living.  The prodigal thought that was just the control and fearful thinking of his father. Next the prodigal, rather than returning home for help, entered into a covenant with a person "of that country".  A prodigal will seek help from everyone in a crisis but those who love him.  He can't admit the error of his ways.  Then the bottom comes. It always comes. The timing of brokenness is different for all prodigals.  This prodigal was willing to eat the pigs food and at the lowest point, sanity arrives.  He starts thinking clearer and from these thoughts he starts talking to himself. He says, "my father's servants have it better than me so I'll return home." Then he speaks the words that every prodigal must say before restoration can arrive. He said, "I have sinned!"  Brokenness is a prerequisite of restoration. He was willing to go home, lose his former position just to be back under the paternal covering again.  Of course the love of the Father would not allow it.  While the father had to allow the dealing of God to play out in the son's life (this required brokenness in the father) without interfering, once it was complete and evidenced by the brokenness and meekness of the son, it was now time to extend a fresh forgiveness and reconciliation.  The reconciliation was followed by restoration from the father.  

If you are dealing with a prodigal in your natural family or spiritual family, don't  interfere with the dealing of God in their life.  Trust God in the matter.  As the father of the prodigal we must wait on the process to run it's full course and be ready to forgive and restore when the broken one returns to the father's house.  May today be the day that you see your prodigal coming up the drive to home.  

Deadly Alliances

The word alliance is defined as "the state of being allied; a formal agreement or treaty between two or more... to cooperate for specific purposes."  As we review the definition it should be obvious that an alliance may become constructive or destructive.  My own ministry is called Christian Alliance of Ministries.  Here the word "alliance" is intended to mean a networking of Christian ministry efforts for the common good.  Yet there is a time when alliances are wrong and can work against the common good and even result in opposing the will and work of God.  An example would be on a leadership team.  The Leadership Team in  a Church is not the same as one in the corporate world. In the natural or corporate world a leadership team is primarily comprised of leadership strengths based upon natural education, experience and knowledge.  The contribution of of these team members comes from their experience primarily.  In the Church world a leadership team should be made up of individuals who have experience and training just like in the corporate world but these team members must be motivated from a foundation of spiritual maturity.  

A spiritual leadership team is designed by God to be a diverse group who all bring a different perspective to the table.  The formation of this group is pivotal to the success of the group.  A team should not be chosen based on friendship or longevity alone but primarily by the leading of the Holy Spirit and their potential contribution to the group.  If there is a team assembled because "they all get along well", as good as that sounds, it is shallow and will leave the team and organization weak in time.  Of course we don't want divisive members either.  One leader said, "I don't want yes men but I don't want no men either."  A God directed leadership team of diversely gifted and humble people, who have no hidden agenda and come to the table in a neutral position wanting only to find the will of God, is the perfect team.  To maintain this Holy Spirit led environment requires a careful effort to avoid the formation of alliances around a leadership table.  I have mentioned this before but it is difficult to maintain.  It is so tempting when an issue arises around the table to invite another team member to lunch to discuss the issue.  The moment we discuss the issue outside of the group, we are running the risk of forming an alliance that will leave the diversity of the group tainted and ineffective.  In the business world it may be appropriate but not when the team member's primary goal is to remain neutral to discover within the group the will of God.  Seeing this point makes it clear that only a spiritually mature person who lives a life hidden in the Lordship of Jesus is qualified to serve on a leadership team.  

"We have met the enemy...and he is us!"

The now famous words, "we have met the enemy...and he is us", were written as a part of the Pogo comic strip.  Having grown up in Waycross, Georgia I am very familiar with Pogo, the comic strip whose setting took place in the Okefeenokee Swamp.  When we think of enemies we almost always think of some alien invading army against whom we must rally and turn back at the gate.  I can remember my old Navy days when you might have a running feud with some member or members among your shipmates until there was a brawl on shore with some other group and even shipmates with a grudge would rise to the occasion to defend one another.  Yet, the enemy that is the most dangerous of all is not the one who attacks from without but from within.  The internal enemy often goes unnoticed because no one wants to believe that a friend would betray them.  Even when there are signs of such betrayal most of us refuse to think of the possibility...until it is too late.  Jesus told His disciples that He was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves and because of that "they should be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."

In case you are reading this thinking, "man, I should have seen it coming" as you ponder some past or present betrayal, you are in good company.  Jesus Himself was betrayed by one He had actually chosen as a team member.  There are a myriad of reasons why a loyal friend can become a traitor.  In due time those who are working alongside a leader will see his or her flaws.  It is not a matter of if but when.  A novice in particular has a difficult time following a leader with weaknesses. Let me be clear here and say that I an not referring to sinful habits but idiosyncracies.  We all have them.  From a deficiency of patience to a lack of the ability to stay focused on the vision, leadership flaws are everywhere.  Often these common flaws tend to knock a hero off his white horse in the eyes of the follower and can lead to betrayal.  Betrayal too often comes from the second in command.  This one who is closest to the leader is the one who is paid less and carries a heavy load, always burdened to make the senior leader appear better then he is.  Over time this secondary leader may sour and he or she begins to feel that they could do a better job than the senior leader or possibly they may become a part of a conspiracy to replace the senior leader with another leader who is "much more capable".  These thoughts are devilish and may lead to the destruction of the secondary leader or possibly the senior leader and the entire enterprise.  

We must all carefully guard our hearts and thoughts.  We must reject such mental attacks and keep them at bay.  May we all have the faith and courage to serve with honor and be a promoter of loyalty among our people.  If a leader needs to be removed, let us not be found trying to accomplish a work of light from a place of darkness and shadows.  As leaders we must heed the words of Jesus and not become paranoid but "be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."

You or Us
Part II

In my last blog I talked about a change of paradigm from a "Me and MY ministry" mentality to a mentality of "US".  It is such a slow changing mentality that like most, when we think we have it, we don't!  Even in a flexible wineskin like Church structure is supposed to be, it still proves to be difficult to maintain the position of a new stretching.  That is why revival continues to be necessary.  Revival stretches the wineskin and forces it behind its old parameters. ( I believe a much needed revival would focus not on saving souls, as on saving the church by changing it for good.  Then a changed church would be more effective as saving souls.)  However, as soon as the stretching ends the culture rushes back to it's comfortable "old time religion".  Last week I tried to make the point that while there has to be a change in the attitude in the pew to understand that "I" must be a minister, there also has to be an attitude in the pulpit that says, "I must prepare Them"!  We say it , we have conferences about it and the following Monday Church staffs meet to plan the next "show" so we can have it ready when "they" come to hear and watch.  It is a paradigm that hasn't really changed that much regardless of the rhetoric.

What is at the heart of change?  Much of the time change comes when there is a realization that the old isn't working any longer.  Often that realization comes via economics.  As long as there are people in the pew and money in the coffers change is slow in coming.  I will say that there are many today who are making changes and are deliberately changing their paradigms among their people.  They are beginning to see the outward fruit of disciples being made and local cultures changing for good.  

It comes down to motivation.  As in all fields of labor a critical factor in success is motivation.  One of the basic definitions of a good coach is "a person who gets people to do what they don't want to do in order to help then attain what they want to achieve".  That is a wonderful description of a New Testament leader.  He is not as focused on "hitting the home run as he is on activating his team to hit home runs."  Sales trainers use the old adage, "watch me do it, I watch you do it, you do it."  I think the unspoken finale to this statement is that once "you do it", I find someone else to develop in the same way and you now not only continue to do it but you find another to train and release as well.    

Let me end this by talking abut the "Show".  I use this word critically because I can't think of a better negative example of most church services.  One of my favorite criticisms as a leader came well over 35 years ago when a member of our church said in a frustrated tone, "every time you speak you act like you are training a bunch of preachers!"  He came from an old paradigm of entertainment.  We don't like to think about preaching as entertainment.  However, it can become that. As a matter of fact, if a person hears teaching on a topic once and doesn't do what they hear then the next time they hear it it becomes only entertainment.  Think about the last really exciting movie you saw.  It may have inspired you, it may even have made you think about doing something.  How did that work out for you?  Shows don't really bring about long lasting motivation.  Ahhhhh!!!!  There is the key to true leadership.  Activational leadership must first be motivational!  My cry to all leaders reading this blog today is to change your ministry motivation to Motivation.  Make a decision today and ask the Lord to help you become "Motivated to Motivate!"

Forgiveness: The first step into tomorrow

I was sitting in on a counseling session being led by another pastoral counselor. He was trying to get the person he was counseling to forgive an individual who had hurt them in the past.  To make his point he said, "you must drop the charges."  I immediately saw in my mind a person standing before a judge and the judge saying, "I'm dropping the charges!"  That is exactly what we all must do in order to forgive others.  Forgiveness doesn't mean that we are condoning a wrong or pretending it never happened. It is simply making a decision to let it go.  Someone has said that "refusing to forgive is like drinking poison and thinking it is hurting the other person."  The other person has probably moved on and may not be even aware of you or your struggle.  You need to forgive for you.  Forgiveness is a decision that is made between a person and God.  We make the decision and God gives the power or grace to truly be healed from the effects of holding on to an offense.  There can be no healing and restoration until forgiveness is complete.  

Forgiveness is not a feeling.  Jesus told us to forgive.  He would never ask us to do anything that He wasn't ready and empowered to do for us.  Forgiveness is an action not a feeling.  Once we act by forgiving very specifically, He releases within us His power of cleansing and healing.  That means we need to get alone and verbally forgive with our thoughts and words everything that comes to mind about the person we need to forgive.  Let it out!  The stream may be difficult to start but it often turns into a torrent of emotions.  There is a principle at work here.  Romans 10:9-10 tells us that salvation comes as we do two things.  First, we believe in our heart and secondly we confess with our mouth. This principle of God works in every area of life, not just for salvation.  Make the decision to forgive.  That is the hardest part.  There is this subconscious thing that doesn't want to forgive because it doesn't want to release the person from responsibility.  That subconscious decision keeps a person bound to the offender and the offense.  Make the decision to forgive and verbally speak the specific offenses for which you are forgiving.  You will be amazed at the results!

One last thing, forgiveness is present and progressive.  While forgiveness is spiritually complete the moment it is confessed, it may take time to get completely free in your emotions.  Because forgiveness is not a feeling, uprisings of feelings are common and does not mean a person has not forgiven.  It usually takes time for painful memories to lose their sting.  However, like peeling an onion, verbal forgiveness in an ongoing way will bring total healing in time.  

If you find yourself still holding on to painful memories, remember they are sabotaging  your tomorrow.  
Take action this very moment and open the door on a fresh start.  

You or Us?

When I entered the full time Christian ministry in the early 1970's, the emphasis was on becoming the best minister you could become.  The emphasis was on the ONE being prepared for the ministry.  The outward emphasis was that which, once you were trained, proceeded from the minister.  Then there would be this ongoing, lifelong ministry of improving and becoming better at what you did.

During this time there was teaching on the Priesthood of the Believer and there was some activation of others into ministry.  But deep in the heart of many of those preparing this new "priesthood" was an abiding attitude that still saw the believer, the church member as being second rate in ability.  History would reveal that much of those ministry efforts were shallow but a closer evaluation of the cause was a lack of ministry development within the ranks of the church.  The primary reason?  A wrong focus on developing the believer by the "full time ministers".  This was true primarily because their focus was on "their ministry".  Paradigms are slow to change.  Examples of slow changing paradigms are racism and gender prejudice.  While society smiles and says the change has occurred, practice reveals that total change takes generations.  The same is true within the church.

One of the primary differences between Old Testament and New Testament ministry patterns is the difference between "me and us".  The old testament has many examples of singular leaders ("me")who do exploits, stand out as champions and are held in high esteem by those following them.  It is so tempting to want to be one of those dynamic leaders.  After all, Hollywood doesn't make movies about teams and if they do there is always one hero who stands head and shoulders above all the rest.  The new testament leadership pattern is one of TEAM("us").  I have said this many times before in this blog and other venues but it is a slowly embraced concept in a culture of hero worship.  People in the church have got to change their thinking about sitting and watching a show but it will never happen until the one behind the pulpit is willing to change their ministry mentality and take their primary focus away from Me and put it more on US.  The "Show" has to change.  Rather than our main group gatherings being centered around production it must move to training, preparing and activating the people in the crowd, the CHURCH.  Oh yeah, by the way, people can come to know Christ in that setting too!

Perpetuating A Legacy

A legacy is something handed down from the past.  I have always been a little uncomfortable with "trying" to leave a legacy from my own deliberate efforts so that the world will remember that I had been here and left my mark.  Rather, for me at least, it seems more fitting to walk in unison with the Holy Spirit, obey his dictates and leave any legacy with the Lord.  Another thing about a legacy is that, even though we can leave a legacy, there is no guarantee that the next generation who inherits the legacy will perpetuate it.  Legacy perpetuation depends upon the ones who pick up the baton being moved from an internal legacy and not simply an external one.  

My wife Teresa's mother, Melba Brown just went to heaven after celebrating her 93rd birthday.  She was a Spirit-filled believer in Jesus for over 70 years!  I was honored by being asked to speak at her memorial service.  As I was in prayer regarding the service, the thought came to me that while we were facing the end of a generation it wasn't the end of a legacy.  The challenge for those of us who remain and have been influenced by the life of the departed is take on the responsibility of extending those qualities. It can't really be a thoughtful effort.  That is artificial.  To try to perpetuate a legacy is as artificial as trying to leave one in the first place. As the family was gathering for the funeral, one of my children said, "I'm glad I was raised the way your raised us.  I believe it makes us who we are."  Well, that can be a scary thought but I could tell it was meant to be a compliment.  It had just happened in a normal organic way of being family.

Teresa's Mother and Father were precious "salt of the earth" people. Her mother lost her father when she was 9, the year was 1929, the beginning of the great depression.  She had difficult teenage years and married the love of her life, Frank Brown in yet another infamous year, 1941. This was the beginning of World War II. The war impacted most everyone on the earth and especially the Brown family.  He went to war as a tail gunner on a B-25 in Europe and she stayed home, worked and prayed.  They came out of it changed but rather than becoming victims by the era they were honed by it.  Those experiences became a part of their psyche and soul.  That strength was imparted to their children.  I can tell you as an onlooker and participant that the legacy, while shaped by circumstances, has been perpetuated and a good legacy it is.  

Relax and enjoy life!  Work hard, live for Jesus and obey him.  You may not even see it in your lifetime but you will leave a good legacy and the Holy Spirit will be the steward of it for posterity.     

Opinions

I'm sitting here pondering from experience if opinions have produced more good or bad.  At the moment my recollection is coming down on the side of bad.  There is an old adage about opinions that would not be proper for this venue but it ends by saying, "everybody has one."  The dictionary defines the word opinion as "a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge."  We are so fickle and easily persuaded that opinion should be one of the last things that we would use to make serious decisions.  Most of our opinions have been formed by others or by partial information.  How many times have you had a favorable opinion about someone until someone else shared some juicy tidbit about them that left you tainted toward the person.  There is no fact or evidence that the information is true but you are now ruined in regard to viewing the person in an impartial way.  When a jury is sequestered during a trial it is because of past experiences in the court system.  At the end of each day of the trial the Judge orders the jury that they are not to talk to anyone about the trial.  Why?  Because the Judge wants the person to remain impartial and unbiased regarding the one on trial, and only letting evidence have an impact on them toward the verdict.   

It seems that the world has once again done a better job at justice than the Church.  The Word of God tells us that brothers should not take brothers to court and that there should be enough wisdom in the church leadership to handle such situations.  Yet, often even leadership gets influenced in some negative way that hinders Godly justice.  One of the most deadly pollutants of all is the formation of alliances in the church and especially in leadership.  Leadership should be able to come to the leadership table unbiased and without an opinion with an open heart to hear evidence and the voice of the Holy Spirit.  For that reason our leadership in years past were asked not to meet to discuss church matters of pending business apart from the leadership table.  It is God's will that His wisdom and direction come from the combined diversified wisdom of the individual in the group.  If even two had already formed an opinion at some lunch meeting discussion, the system was now broken from accomplishing God's intent.  

May we approach every situation and every person "wise as serpents and harmless as doves."  May we at the very least do as good a job as the world and see everyone as "innocent until proven guilty."

Success

Success is defined as "the accomplishment of an aim or purpose."  As followers of Jesus we must ask ourself, "whose aim or purpose" are we committed to seeing fulfilled?  It seems to me that the journey may be more important to God than the destination.  It was certainly important during the Exodus.  During that 40 year period, how a generation handled the journey actually kept them from entering their goal, the Promised Land.  Along those lines,  I have always been troubled by  the verse that said, "And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul." (Psa. 106:15) This reveals that God will allow us to insist on having our way until He allows us to go that way.  No man ever gets to the point to where he is 20/20 on knowing the full purpose and plan of God.  We must all remain open and pliable to being adjusted along the journey.  What could make a humble disciple become inflexible along the way?  A belief that they have it all together and that they know the full purpose of the Lord. Then, when we are successful doing a thing once we now believe we know how to do it and we can now mass produce what we have accomplished.  This is not a formula of success, it is a formula for disaster. God has designed us to live in such an intimate place of fellowship with Him that our direction, even our next step will come out of fellowship with Him. Maturity does not mean that we have arrived at a place where we work in our own strength and wisdom and give God the glory for what "we do for Him."  He is not interested!

King David, unlike Saul, is our example of continued desperation in the middle of success.  David even in his success on the battlefield continued to seek the Lord for each detail regarding the next endeavor.  May we become and remain so wise.  It is interesting that the longer we walk with the Lord the more dependent we become.  However, there is a place somewhere in the middle between a novice and a sage that seems to be the most dangerous place.  It is the place of success, the sweet spot of a career when it all seems easy.  That may be the most dangerous place of all.  Jesus said, "blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of God".  May we choose to be poor in spirit and remain in that posture all the days of our lives, regardless of the appearance of success.

                           Where Are You?

 

I was riding by the Sound near the Gulf of Mexico and I saw this nice sail boat listing to starboard and aground.  It could be that it was run aground accidentally, or maybe it was sailed into water that seemed deep enough only to learn it wasn't when the tide went out. (Several great sermons in that last sentence!) Regardless, it was a bad decision based on poor planning.  Three of my favorite leadership questions are: 1.  Where have we been?, 2. Where are we?, and 3. Where are we going?  The three questions require a lot of courage.  Too many leaders don't ask them enough because they don't want to face the scrutiny of their directional leadership.  If the answers are, "We are where we were and we are going where we are", then that raises concerns. Any organization without a forward moving plan is "dead in the water".  

Checking where we have been is always a good thing.  We can evaluate the effectiveness of the past and learn from the good and bad of that which is behind us.  Those lessons can help us evaluate where we are, what got us here and again, the effectiveness of the now.  We can only plan for the future by knowing where we are. Where we are would involve taking inventory.  We need to see what we are doing(success and failures), what are our resources and begin to work with those tools.  From there we can now make a better plan for our future.  A part of moving toward a successful future is correcting the mistakes and/or weaknesses of the present.  As a leader your most valuable resources are your people around you in leadership.  I recommend spending a "think tank" meeting at least twice a year and ask these three questions, giving plenty of time to discuss each one in the group.  Then, apply what comes out of that creative meeting.  Keep notes and review what was said in your next such meeting.  
I am confident you will see great benefits from applying these simply questions.  

"I Could Never Do That!"

I hate the statement, "I could never do that!"  When I hear it I often say, "we can do whatever we must." History records many remarkable things happening when ordinary people made the effort to try.   On the contrary, if a person has a mindset of " I could never do that", the battle is lost before it is begun.  I remember when I first thought about this.  About 12 years ago I had eye surgery to correct my vision and gave permission to the surgeon to make my vision mono vision.  That means that one eye is for reading the other is for distance.  When people heard about this they would say, "I tried that with contact lenses and I couldn't do it."  I remember there was a 3-4 week adjustment and then my vision became crystal clear without glasses!  I had to pay a small price of aggravation for a few weeks to enjoy 12 years of trouble free vision after.  

I think of double amputees running a marathon.  I think of artists who become paralyzed from the neck down who learn to paint with their teeth.  What do they all have in common?  The all came to a place of:

1.  Acceptance of the challenge.  
They had to accept the reality of their situation and the challenge before them.  I remember when my daughter fell from a balcony over 4 years ago and was left paraplegic.  I watched her face streaming with tears the first morning after the surgery when she realized the reality of her limitations.  The very next day she attacked the challenge with strength.  She has never stopped.

2.  Courage to do more than is expected.
When my daughter was considering options for rehab she rejected centers where the emphasis was placed upon learning to live with your disability.  She chose rather, "Project Walk" in California where the goal was obviously, "walking".  I know some would say, "accept your condition and embrace it".  I know there is a place for that too but there must be this drive that says, "I know I can accomplish more than is expected.  

3.  A stamina and commitment to never stop.  
I can't imagine the pain and difficulty involved in learning to stand, much less running on prosthesis legs.  Yet, there are many doing it as you read this blog.  However, there is one thing that none of these heroes possess.  There is one luxury none of them can afford.  None of them ever allow the thought to linger, "I could never do that!"

Noncompliant God

Many years ago I heard a preacher say that the Gospel message had become man centered.  He went on to explain that man had become the center of the universe and God was in orbit around him providing for his every wish.  As I write this today, it seems that is the more the case in this day than when it was first spoken.  When you go back and read writings of many of the preachers and theologians from 100+ years ago you see a very different perspective of God and His nature.  Of course, He was a God of love, mercy, redemption and grace.  Yet, it was clear that man's role was to love, enjoy and serve God. As man lived in "right" relationship with God and lived within the protective boundaries of God's Truth, he would be blessed and live a life of purpose and fulfillment.  But, if man lived outside the parameters of Truth, no such protection and purpose would be enjoyed.

It seems that at the root of this move away from a Biblical view of God and man is a perversion of the nature, personality and Holiness of God.  Man today seems to see God through human understanding only.  As a young man I might hear an unbeliever or a novice Christian say, "why would a loving God allow suffering in the world?" Yet, it would be a very rare thing to hear a true disciple of Jesus ask such a question. Why? Because they had a real, living relationship with Him and an ongoing knowledge of the entire Bible.  Today it is common place to hear Christians say such things and also make statements about their faith and doctrine as, "I know God would never do this or that because he is a loving God."  If you press their belief they will simply say, "I don't believe God would do that!"  Their belief is in their perspective based on what they would like God to be and do, not necessarily the Scripture.  One of the worst cases of this was a few years ago when a man made an appointment to share some "new revelation" with me from the Bible.  He was reading in the book of Revelation and saw Jesus was holding a bow.  He said, "this bothered me that Jesus would be holding an instrument of war, a bow, so I realized that it was  a bow tie as he was dressed up coming to meet his Bride!"  It was all I could do not to laugh in his face!  How could he arrive at such a conclusion?  First, because he was not reading a regular diet of the Scripture.  He was picking and choosing what he wanted to read and listening to teachers saying what he wanted to hear.  Secondly,  he formed an opinion of who and what he wanted God to be and then proceeded to interpret Scripture based upon that man made image.   God is not nor will He become the god we want him to be.  HE IS WHO HE IS!  God is not a compliant God!  We must read the Scripture, Old and New Testament regularly with an open mind and heart and let the Bible tell us what we should believe. We cannot open the Bible with preconceived doctrine and try to find verses to confirm our vision.  We may find those verses but they will usually be out of context.  

Let us remove ourselves from the altar of our lives and ask Jesus to come and sit in that sacred place.  Then, in a place of worship may we serve Him with joy!

God’s Requirements of Leaders

At the end of a service a lady walked up to me and said, “if you don’t give these people what they want, they will leave you and go to a church where they can get it.”  No, I’m not making that up!  What a terrible pressure is placed upon leaders to be and do that which pleases people. In the verses below the Lord tells Israel that when they arrive in the Promised Lane they will want a King like other nations and he gives them guidelines they must look for in a leader.  Let’s look at God’s requirements for leaders.

Deuteronomy 17:14-20

14 "When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,' 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, 'You shall not return that way again.' 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself. 18 "Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.

I.      They must be God’s choice.  We can’t make our leaders the ones we want necessarily, but the one God has chosen.  You may set them in but they must be one “whom the Lord your God chooses.”(V. 14-15)

II.     One from among you.  It is better if they are not a stranger or one not of our customs and culture. Of course there are exceptions in our day I’m sure, but this was important to God.(V15)  Compatibility is very important.

III.    Must not exalt himself above the people.  He can’t use his position to accumulate wealth at the expense of the people.

We could say, he must not see the people as a commodity.  He is truly a servant to the people set there by God.  (V. 16-17)

IV.    They must fear God and live and rule according to the Word of God.(V.18-19)

V.     They must walk in true humility and obedience. (V.20)This will prolong your days in leadership.

No Partiality

Anyone who is asked if they live and lead without partiality would say, "certainly".  Yet, it is a great temptation to show favoritism to some over others. Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with warnings about showing favoritism.  It seems to be a very detestable thing to the Lord.  This is especially true for leaders because our position of leadership is symbolic of the position of the Lord in many ways.  Lev. 19:15 tells us, "Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly."(NLT)  From this verse we can see that favoritism toward either the rich or the poor is wrong.  Again in 2 Chron. 19:7 we read," Fear the Lord and judge with integrity, for the Lord our God does not tolerate perverted justice, partiality, or taking bribes." There are many ways a bribe may be offered and we must be very careful not to allow special favors in our direction to influence us to prefer one person over another. In the Kingdom of God we must treat everyone fairly.  Integrity is major part of our doorway of trust into the lives of people.  Maintaining our integrity is in large part protected by our impartiality. 

Friendship is something we all need.  However, leaders must be careful to keep friendship at a distance from our leadership role and responsibilities.  We must be careful to maintain confidentiality and to create around us an atmosphere of safety.   Impartiality is a big part of that atmosphere.  Let us allow this to cause us to be more aware of the temptation to partiality and to live in the balance of the scales of Godly justice.  

Wholehearted Obedience

Numbers 32:11‘Of all those I rescued from Egypt, no one who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not obeyed me wholeheartedly. 12The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they have wholeheartedly followed the Lord.’ NLT

It is an easy thing to know God's will and then because it seems so difficult, to begin to reason within ourself and stop short of what these verses call  obeying "wholeheartedly".  A part of the definition of this word is "to take a hand full or to have wholly".  The Lord wants all of us in order to get us to a place where He can expect us to give Him our all.  Partial obedience is disobedience!  The Scripture is filled with examples of partial obedience and the resulting fruit is loss or defeat.  We must continue to remind ourself that God is a God of faith and obedience.  We actually prove our faith by our obedience and not by our sermons or talk.  As a matter of fact, it is a very dangerous thing to say we are committed to a certain level and then stop short of fulfilling that verbal vow. (Acts 5:1-10) The least of our loss is the loss in that particular area of involvement.  From the moment that we back away from a level of commitment that the Lord has called us to make, from that moment our lives begin to disintegrate.  We are a covenant of faith people serving a covenant keeping God.  To put it in math terms, 2+2=4.  In the realm of partial obedience, 2+2=0.  There is always a loss when we take a way out that is less than required by God.  However, when we obey God wholeheartedly, 2+2=8 or more.  There is a multiplication of blessing that comes upon those who obey the Lord without reservation. 

Let's examine our lives today and ask Him if there are any areas where we have taken the easy way out.  The easy way always says to God, "I don't trust you to bring me through this situation and therefore I must try to fix it myself."  If you have compromised your obedience, pause now and ask for forgiveness and get back on track to Wholehearted Obedience!