Saturday, December 25, 2010

Practical

From early in my Christian life I have looked for the practical application to the Gospel.  I want it to work on a day-to-day basis.  I want to be a follower of Christ not just on Sundays.

Last evening we attended a Christmas eve service at the Rockefeller Chapel on the University of Chicago campus.  We went to what we thought was a Christmas program for our granddaughter,  Anashe.  Turned out to be a little bigger production than that.  I wore my best orange Cabella's long sleeved t-shirt.

The chapel is huge.  The ceiling is somewhere between 60-70 feet to the top.  It has a two console pipe organ...real thing...that dominates the side wall on the right in the front.  The service was Episcopalian in flavor, led by the "church" there at the chapel.  I guess it really would be more a cathedral than chapel.

It had been a long time since I had heard pipe organ music.  There just isn't anything like it.  We listened to a prelude and then it accompanied us as we sang Christmas carols.  We realized by the shape of our voices how long it had been since we sang songs in 4 parts.  It was much more formal than we have experienced in recent years and yet it still had a beauty.  I wanted at times to raise my hands to the loving Father who had sent us his son.

In the midst of the program they had the kids add their parts and it reminded me of a youtube video I saw a few days ago.  In it the kids portrayed the Christmas story--the birth of Jesus.  They were from Australia or New Zealand based on their accents.  But one thing stuck out in contrast to where I was last evening.  They mentioned that Mary and Joseph stayed in a stable and then they showed something I had never seen in the portrayal of the story before.  A pile of cow manure.

At first I was a little shocked but last night it all made sense.  When Jesus came he made sure he came to our world in all its unglossed glory.  Stables have animal manure in them.  I haven't seen one yet that didn't stink.  That's why mucking out stalls is not the most enjoyable work to be done.  If you think bed bugs are gross what would it be like to sleep in a barn with animals...in their waste?

But that's when I had my Aha! moment.  My Father...your Father...is very practical.  He came to where the entire people he wanted to reach could understand...a stable.  Not a pristine five star hotel, the mansion of the governor or the castle of a king.  He came into our world in such a way that we could all identify with his humanity and humility.  How practical is that?

So I'm excited to see what new ways the Father surprises me with his practicality in the New Year.  Watch for him to show you too.  He is speaking right now.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Getting Serious

Up to this point the things I have been suggesting for followers of Christ have been, in my mind, elementary.  I'm not saying that to discourage anyone.  Again, that is part of the perspective I have as a prophet.  I am looking for the best of the best, even though I don't always achieve that myself.

Obeying traffic laws and being courteous to others just scratch the surface of what I believe as followers of Christ we are to be doing on a daily basis.  If we are to be salt and light in the world we have to be making a larger impact that even that.

Years ago I heard a sermon (during kid's time!) at a church in Glasgow, Scotland.  The pastor was talking about the use of salt as a preservative.  We are to preserve the culture we are a part of from rotting.  If we are not doing our job as salt, the culture will rot and we as the salt will be thrown aside as worthless.  We bring light when we push back the darkness.  Light the smallest light in a very dark room and it will begin immediately to reveal things in the dark.

If we are going to preserve our culture and bring it to obedience to God we need to address the deterioration of our families.  A lot has been made of the $100M donation of Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook to the Newark, NJ schools.  The school system there is spending $22K per year per student to educate them...with dismal results.  The problem is not just the education system but the families the kids come out of.  How is throwing $100M to the schools going to change the homelife of the kids?  It isn't.

Someone asked me recently what was the one piece of advice I would give to them as they are raising their children in this world.  I said rather quickly, "You and your husband need to focus on your own emotional healing so that you can raise your children."  No one else is going to do that for you as I learned after spending thousands of dollars to send my kids to Christian schools.

The need for emotional healing is the result of sins committed against us by even well-meaning people.  Emotional healing also includes the need to admit our own sin in perpetuating the behaviors that result from our emotional brokenness.  At some point after working through the pain we need to step up to the plate and change our behavior, taking responsibility for our continuing agreement with the evil that was foisted upon us.

Only then will we be able to impact other families in our communities.  As a pastor I never found anyone who didn't want help in my travels around the neighborhood.  They all recognized their needs and were looking for someone to show them how to move out of the cycle.  At that time I wasn't a very good example of how to do that.

But as we get healed and come more in line to agreement with the Father we are going to be able to have the capacity to give to others, to impact those around us and to be the salt in the community we were meant to be.  I have met thousands of people who have at one time or another been active in their churches who have failed to see healing in their own families.  And, therefore, have had nothing to offer those around them in the same fix.

We have to be living proof that the Gospel of Christ can impact and change lives before others are going to look to us for help in getting their own house in order.  That doesn't mean we have to have perfected our family life but we can't give answers to people that we haven't seen work in our own homes.  Authority and believablilty come when we can demonstrate with our lives that what we say is true.

Are we hopeless?  Not at all.  All we have to do to receive what the Father has for us in the way of healing from our brokeness is to open ourselves to his work.  I KNOW God can heal families because I have seen him do it in MY family.  I KNOW he can change lives because I have seen him do it in my life...and hundreds of others.  I KNOW he can change our world...one person at a time.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Tipping Point

I started listening to a book on tape today entitled The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.  My mind began to race as he told the stories in the first chapter.  Here's the race.

Lots of money is spent every year on marketing and yet some of the biggest surges in sales of some items came as a mere fluke.  Gladwell tells the story of how Hush Puppies almost disappeared from the scene until some young people in Soho started wearing them, influencing their friends and others to go out and buy them.  Sales went from 30,000 pairs to 430,000 pairs.  At some point the surge reached a tipping point and the momentum had a life all its own.  Hush Puppies never did any advertising to fuel this growth.

I like to apply stories like this to following Christ.  As those of you who know me are well aware I feel that the church has failed to be salt and light in the world.  We are not leading our culture.  We are not preserving it from destruction.  Each one of you reading this post can think of probably ten things that illustrate deterioration of our world.

My contention is that the only way this trend will be reversed is...one follower of Christ at a time changing their behavior and living righteously.  We can't wait for our neighborhood church or the mega church down the street to make the first move.  We have to make individual choices to change our choices to reflect the righteousness and holiness of God--with our neighbors, with our co-workers, with strangers.

Those of you who read my post on Lawlessness know that I am trying to drive the speed limit in my travels.  The other day I was driving to a store on a road marked 35 MPH.  That is not the speed people like to travel on that road.  The person behind me was a well-dressed man who had been riding my tail while I did the posted speed limit.  He finally just couldn't wait any longer.  He passed me on a double yellow line and hurried to where ever he was going.

That aggravates me.  He makes it harder for me to drive the speed limit and it stresses me out when someone is riding my bumper trying to make me speed up by intimidating me.

But I'm looking at the bigger picture.  I can't blame the world for the state things are in if I am contributing to it.  I can't blame the church for it's failure to be salt and light if I am not personally putting energy in living to impact my world.

Where is the tipping point?  Will it take ten of us driving the speed limit to change things?  One hundred of us "doing unto others" before it begins to rub off on our world?  A thousand of us in our community living in such a way that our neighbors can only give glory to God for our impact on the community? 

One of the teens who grew up in the church I pastored sent me a letter as part of the organization that is sponsoring their church plant.  He told of over 200 people in their church a few Sundays ago who, upon being challenged by their pastor, took off their shoes in church and donated them to those without shoes!  They walked out of the church in their sock feet, into a snow covered parking lot and drove home without shoes.  They got a taste of what a person without shoes lives every day.

How many of us would it take before the tipping point would be reached and the church would begin to bring the real life of Christ to our world?  It's a slow process but it is possible.  I want to live to see that.  Will you continue to join me in living as Christ would live every day...starting right now?

Monday, December 20, 2010

Ponies

Every kid should have the opportunity to spend some time on a farm with all the fun it brings.

My uncles that lived near the family farm were never very rich guys.  One dabbled in farming while working in the mines.  The other one dabbled in trading animals while working in the mines.  Both of them were fun loving and made sure the kids around had fun when they came to visit the farm.

One of the ways we had fun was to ride the ponies.  The fun began in trying to catch them in the pasture.  Most of the time they didn't have halters so we had to be smarter than them to catch them.  We had reins...but that was it.  Saddles belonged to the estate crowd.  We rode bareback.

Now ponies are known to have ideas about being ridden.  One of the ponies that was at the farm at one particular visit had a habit of reaching around and biting the one trying to get on...in the butt.  That obviously was painful and didn't add to the fun of the rider, just those who were watching and waiting their turn.  We had to learn to hold the rein tight on the opposite side of the pony's head so we could keep it from reaching around to bite us.

There were never enough ponies to go around so we took turns riding them.  Some of the younger ones required help like being lifted up on the pony's back and being led around but us "reglars" could go on our own.

As I've mentioned before my cousin Dan and I should have lost our lives on the farm for all the crazy things we tried.  The ponies were involved in several of those escapades.  Fortunately, you can only fall so far from a pony's back.

The hay barn sat behind the farm house a couple of hundred yards.  We rode the ponies back the lane to the barn, into the barnyard, across the exposed sandstone and into the barn...attempting to catch onto the beam above the barn door to dismount on the way in.  This was to immulate the many TV cowboys we had seen do a similar feat.  It was not successful.  We usually ended up laying in the dust at the door while the ponies went on back into the barn.

My cousin Dan's house was on the other side of a little "ravine" from the farm house.  The little meadow there sat down below the rock wall that ran along side the farmhouse.  There was a little gate with an overhead frame above it that led into the meadow.  The cattle had made a path sloping down the hill to the bottom where the path made a sharp right turn and then up the hill to Dan's house.

We used to ride the ponies down that path.  If you've ever rode a pony you know their little short legs don't allow for a very graceful trot or run.  So whoever was behind the other as we rode down that path got to laughing at how funny the other one looked bouncing up and down on the pony.  Then both of us would get to laughing, finding ourselves hanging onto the bouncy ponies, trying to keep from falling off.  One time Dan ended up in front of the pony's front legs on his neck...before he fell off.

There were only two times that I remember getting close to one of us really being hurt.  That's when we ended up riding something bigger than a pony.  One of those special not-quite-full-sized horses was Old Bob.  He was the mainstay in the early days on the farm.  Just before leaving on a Sunday afternoon to make our way home, Dan and I got on Old Bob to get one more last ride.  I was in front on the reins and Dan was sitting behind me.  For awhile.  Until he kicked Old Bob where Old Bob hadn't been kicked in many years.

That old horse somehow managed to kick in his turbo-charger, took a leap and Dan rolled right off the back.  Really, he did a somersault (that he didn't even try) getting kicked in the head on the way around.  He ended up with a gash over his eye that required a few stitches.

Another time we were out at my Uncle Carl's house a few miles out the road.  He had another bigger than usually pony AND a genuine, real saddle to go on it.  Wow!  We hadn't had that luxury ever in our pony riding days.  So we hitched up the saddle and got ready to ride. 

I was riding the horse around the yard having visions of Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger when I started to get this choking feeling right under my chin.  I finally figured out that I had ridden under the clothes line and it was tightening up, threatening to take me off the horse.  I dropped the reins, grabbed the saddle horn and hung on...until the belly band broke and me and the saddle went off the back.  I guess the saddle had been in storage awhile and rotted that important part of the fastening system.

We can still laugh about those times when we get together.  My Mom probably would have wrapped me up in some kind of protective clothing if she had known all the antics we got into on the ponies.  But I survived and with a little artiritis here and there have lived to tell about it.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Christmas at the farm

We spent several Christmases at the Wright family farm where my Mom was raised.  We often stayed with my Granny in a little wide place in the road called Dixie about 10 minutes from the farm.  We did that because the farm house was full of others who came in for the holiday.

But the most fun was when we stayed at the farm with everyone else.  Before we all arrived my Uncle Jr would go out on the ridge and get a scrub cedar for the Christmas tree that sat at the east end of the house.  We'd play outside in the cold with the other cousins who had come for the holiday.  I remember coming in to the house, getting warm and falling asleep after a busy day.

One Christmas we traveled to the farm in our '55 Chevy.  Mom had to pack the trunk in such a way that she could hide the gifts from Santa Claus that would be under the tree on Christmas morning.  That year I had asked for cowboy boots.  I was thrilled when I opened one of my packages and found the brand new pair of brown cowboy boots with round toes and the fancy stitching up the sides.  The first thing I had to do as soon as I got a chance was try them out.  I went straight for the manure pile outside the dairy barn and tested them for farm use.  My Mom just couldn't appreciate my need to do that.

Another year we traveled to the farm in our brand new '64 Olds.  We had picked it up just a few days before we made the trip.  In fact, I remember our license plate arriving from the dealership at the farm.

The arrival of the snow on Christmas Day was almost better than the new car.  We got somewhere around 6" and the farm became a winter wonderland.  The funnest part was sledding on the hill across the road from the farm with my cousins.

To add to the atmosphere we got some old tires (before the EPA) and set them on fire to give us a place to get warm and dry out while we went up and down the hill.  We didn't have a lot of fancy sleds.  We improvised.  We got the hood of an old Crosley car with it's turned down nose (when it was on the car), flipped it over and rode it down the hill.  We could usually get 5 of us on it.  There was no steering it.  It went where it wanted to go...very fast!  It was a blast.  I can't imagine a ready-made sled being nearly that much fun.  We won't talk of the danger of the sharp edges.

There was one serious store-bought sled that I remember.  We took turns riding it down the hill.  One time my cousin Dan and I went down together on that one.  The two of us could get into more trouble at the farm.  In this case we went flying down the hill laughing all the way until we realized we were heading very quickly for the pond at the bottom of the hill.  It was hit a fence post or take a very cold bath in the pond.  We "chose" the fence post and it knocked my cousin a little silly...all the more fun.

I even remember my Dad, who wasn't much for outside things like this, taking that sled down the hill for a ride.  He didn't go straight down like we did so he avoided the choice of the pond and fence post.  Instead, he made as sharp a turn as he could...and spilled everything in his pockets on the hillside.  That included a pocket knife, change and probably a fingernail clipper besides his keys.  We laughed as we picked up all the items thinking about seeing my Dad come down the hill.

We flew down that hill all day except for a few breaks for food.  By evening the hill was icing up and the Crosley hood got even faster.  I don't think I've ever had that much fun sledding since.

Another Christmas I remember a bunch of us being there.  The women got the food together for us, cooking a pot of soup on a couple of burners to get enough heat to it to finish it off.  The kitchen counter was lined with goodies and we all ate our fill and laughed until our sides hurt.

The memories keep flooding back as I write.  I'll have several more posts with antics from the farm.  It was a childhood dream.  And I don't remember the "things" I got as much as the fun times with family.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Racing

Today I'm thinking about adding some flowers to my blog.  Nah!  Probably not.

When I was a kid my Dad and I didn't do a lot of fun things together.  He was an only child who lost his Dad when he was 2.  His step father didn't come into his life until 4 or 5 years later.  So he didn't know a whole lot about being a father.

One thing we did have in common was a love of cars.  I can remember as a kid hanging on the back of the front bench seat looking at all the cars going by as we drove some place.  I could name them all--make, model and year.  Of course, that's when they all didn't look alike and the styling changed every year.

I lived in Louisville, KY about 5 miles from the state fairgrounds where they had a 1/4 mile paved asphalt oval race track.  On a Fri or Sat night we could hear the cars going around the track in the distance.

One night out of the blue my Dad told me to get ready we were going someplace.  I couldn't imagine where he would take me on a Fri night.  We didn't often do things like that together, especially on a whim.

Much to my surprise and joy we ended up at the race track at the fairgrounds.  On Fri nights they ran the older models...cars from the late 40's and early 50's...in lap races but also in figure eights.  It was fun to watch two cars approaching the X of the figure eight wondering if they were going to hit.  One night a couple of them did and one ended up sitting atop the stack of tires they placed there for...well, I'm not sure what for.

That began a regular activity for us happening several times a year.  On Sat nights they ran the late models...60's.  They were faster and sleaker.  It was something to see a car that was a current model running on the track.  Someone really had to have the bucks to do that!  One of my neighbors ran a late model and I would occasionally go down past his house to see the car off the track being worked on.

We would often get to go in the pits to see the cars up close.  It just further fueled my love of cars, especially the unmuffled roar of the engines.

As I grew older we stopped going to the oval track but my buddies now took me to the drag strip to see the cars, again with wonderful unmuffled engines, roar down the track from a standstill to over 100 mph in a quarter mile.  Wow!  That was moving.

I still love racing and enjoy watching the NASCAR races on TV.  When I was a kid it was rare to see them televised. 

One of the fun things that happened while I was at the Bargain Hunter was we sponsored a weekly race series car.  We got free tickets to go to the Mansfield track to see it race as a major sponsor of a car.

One evening we went over for the Hooters 250.  I thought about bringing ear plugs...but I didn't want to be a sissy.  I made sure we sat down close to the track on turn 4 so we could get the benefit of the acceleration of the engines.  I came home that night unable to hear well and it lasted a day or so more.

Maybe that's why I need hearing aids.  Aw, it was worth it and still is to see and hear the cars turn loose their horsepower.  One of my dreams is to drive a NASCAR in one of their schools around the country.  It's part of my bucket list.  What's on yours?

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Jeeps

Let's do something fun today!  Well, it may not be fun for you but it will be fun for me.

As a young boy I remember sitting in front of our first television, a 12" screen, black and white Motorola (which I have sitting in my shop, by the way).  One of my favorite shows was the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans show.  I was especially taken by the Jeep, Nellie Belle.

Part of my fascination with that show was I was remembering the Jeep my grandfather had bought in 1949 (or 8 as some of the family say) to use on his farm.  It was a dark green CJ3.  It had an indestructible 4 cylinder flat head engine, the military style tires for mud and a Willys tailgate that was let down with chains.

When I visited the farm the location of the Jeep was one of the first places I'd go to after getting out of the car.  My cousins and I would sit in it for hours playing all sorts of make believe. 

We went everywhere in that Jeep...over the 280 acres of the farm, pulling wagons, trailers, hauling things or just out for a drive to see the cattle on Tunnel Ridge.  Later after my grandfather died, my uncle would drive us into town to get supplies and we'd always tag along, two of us together in the passenger seat.  Usually, it was my cousin Danny.  Back then, the canvas top was long gone and my uncle had built a white plywood top to go over the two seats to keep warm in the winter. 


As I got older, reaching the big 12, I was allowed to try to drive the Jeep moving it around from place to place.  In fact, that's where I learned to drive.  I had to stretch holding on to the steering wheel while pressing the floor starter button and depressing the clutch to get it started.  Sometimes there just wasn't enough of me to get that done.

As I grew older my cousin Dan and I would get the Jeep out and drive it around the farm occasionally getting it in a situation where we needed the help of the tractor to pull us out.  One time in particular we had killed the motor and the Jeep was sitting too close to the rock wall, threatening to go over it backwards.  Part of that problem stemmed from being too short for us to get it started, let out the clutch and get it going away from the peril.

When my grandfather originally bought the Jeep new he purchased a short wheelbase trailer to go with it.  The axle was located right in the center of the trailer.  It was the hardest trailer to back that you have ever seen...but that didn't stop my cousin and I from trying it.  Over and over and over again.

When my grandmother died we went back to the farm for the funeral.  I had my new wife, Pat, along.  We had just been married a few months.  I remember taking her for a ride in the Jeep out into the old orchard.

In 1986 we went back to the farm while at a family reunion.  The Jeep had been sitting for some time and hadn't been used on a regular basis.  All we had to do was pour gas in the carburetor and make sure it had a jump and it fired right up.  By then the two pedals for the clutch and brake had rusted together...but it still drove.  In fact, if I remember correctly, my daughter Nissa took it for a drive.

I remember asking my uncle who still owned it (and still does!) if I could buy it from him.  He wasn't willing to sell it so I returned back to PA where we were living at the time and bought one of my own.  It was a '61 Willys Jeep CJ5, red with a white hardtop probably bought at Sears.  The original 4 or 6 cylinder motor had been replaced by a Chevy 283 V8 from a '68.  The owners had used it to plow snow and wanted some more horsepower.  They also equipped it with a J C Whitney overdrive.  And most importantly, it had a Willys tailgate with chains to let it down.

I've had a lot of fun in my Jeep but not as much fun as I would have hoped.  I drove it everyday back and forth to work for about a year when we first moved back to OH.  Then I used it to drag trees in the woods around our home when we bought out in Millersburg.  I occasionally got it out and ran down the road, taking the various grandkids for a ride.  Yea, they go for the Jeep when they get to my house now, sitting in it and playing make believe.  When we lived in OH my grandson,  Briggs, used to ask me to take he and his brother Rece for a ride in the forest (the woods around my home).

I can't drive my Jeep now.  PA wants me to have it look like new to get Antique Plates on it.  The other option is to license it regularly but that would drive the national deficit up even further to bring it back to road-worthiness. 

Why do I keep it?  Because it still means fun to me.  It still brings out the boy in me and reminds me of all the fun times I had on the farm, exploring, seeing the countryside and doing the work of a farmer.  Every kid should have that experience. 

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Adam & Eve Syndrome

It's always someone else's fault.  It's never my responsibility.

Where did that come from?  From our dear friends and close relatives, Adam and Eve.  It began when God asked Adam why he ate the fruit of the tree that was specifically banned.  Adam's response:  Eve made me do it.  A number of years ago a comedian had a funny line that was equally suspect: The devil made me do it.

When is it our responsibility?  Today.  The world will only change when we take personal responsibility for our individual behavior, repent of our failings and seek to obey, not because the law says to but because we are in relationship with the righteous Father.

It is so easy to justify our behavior because "everyone else is doing it."  That sounds like something I used to say to my Mom when she asked me why I did or why I needed to do something.  That's how I justified speeding when I was traveling so much.  I was just keeping up with the traffic.  In fact, if I didn't go faster "they" would pass me.  So?

Why do we obey the laws of the land?  Because we are afraid of getting caught?  With the police forces trimmed back and busy with so many other crimes I have a better chance of getting by with something.  Observe how many people run stop signs or red lights (except for the ones with cameras!).  Their odds of getting by with it are pretty good (unless someone with what they think is a green light and the right to enter the intersection collides with them).

If our behavior is based strictly on what others are doing we are in trouble.  We have to come to a point where we are behaving righteously because of our relationship with the Father--regardless of what anyone else is doing.  My inner motivation for obeying the laws can't be based on whether I am discovered or not.  There are too many things we can do that no one will ever know whether we are persons of integrity or not.  It has to be based on our relationship with a God who is personal and delights in our obedience.

Our behavior can't be based on the Old Testament idea of "an eye for an eye".  We can not excuse our behavior based on the behavior of others.  "He was just being a jerk so I just gave him back what he deserved."  At some point someone needs to be the adult in these types of situations and refuse to retaliate.

If we as followers of Christ keep following others in their behaviors we are soon going to live in a very frightful world.  There won't be enough laws to stop the dangerous behavior of everyone.  We will get to a point where it won't be safe to enter an intersection because we won't be able to depend on the other person to stop.  We won't be safe on the streets because someone else will decide that they need to take what we have.  We will experience anarchy--total lawlessness.

It is time for those of us who claim to be followers of Christ to behave righteously, accept responsibility and act lawfully because we are people of the King.  We are the salt and the light of the world and the culture is counting on us to stem the tide of evil and selfish behavior that is driving the world to lawlessness.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Management vs Leadership

I want to spin out a few things about management and leadership.  It would be fun to have a dialog about these principles if you are interested.

For me, management is stewardship of resources.  Making the best use of time, finances, available tools--basically what you have.  The key resource in any organization is the people.  I've seen it in churches, in business and other organizations.  There are an awful lot of managers who are not good stewards of their resources, especially people.  In too many cases managers, especially if they are doing the hiring of their personnel, don't know how to identify the gifts and talents of people in order to put them in the right place to exercise their gifts.

It takes someone who knows people to do this effectively.  How do you find out what a person's passions are?  This can be especially difficult if the person you are interviewing doesn't have a handle on who they are.  I have always found it helpful to find out what a person would do if money were no object.  What do they love to do if given the time?  What has always lit their fire and brought energy to them over the course of their life?  What motivates them to get out of bed each morning?  By the way, I learned a lot of these questions and answers for myself when reading What Color is Your Parachute? years ago when searching for a job.

For me, I love to bring order out of chaos.  Now I'll do my share of complaining when the job seems overwhelming but given time I can bring something into shape.  I want to make an organization run like a Swiss clock.  I want to see it work at effectively as a 4G network...fast, reliable and hitting the marks. 

I've had a person working with me in a sales position who really wanted to be a band director in high school.  As you can expect they really weren't that good at sales.  They were hired to sell because they could be had cheaply.  They were cheap but ineffective...and they experienced a lot of stress attempting to succeed at something they weren't gifted at.  Last I heard they were still working in a high school directing a band.  I've known persons who were very organized experiencing lots of frustration working for a boss who wasn't organized...and continually got in their way.

That's another aspect of good management...turning someone loose in their gifting.  If someone is organized, encourage them to put things in order.  Don't criticize them for freaking out in the middle of a mess.  If someone isn't as prone to being organized make sure they are in a creative position that allows them to go with the flow of their creative ideas whenever they hit them. 

I marvel at the management in many high tech firms.  They provide their programmers with bean bag chairs, balls to throw, toys to play with.  You need those after writing code for any length of time. They also encourage their employees to work when the creative juices are flowing.  24 hours straight if that works for them.  I even heard of one company who put their programmers in the basement with a refrigerator full of Mountain Dew (at the time, the most caffeine you could get) and dared any of the other "normal" employees to go down there and bother them.

How does leadership differ from management?  For me, the critical factor is vision.  A leader has vision about what is ahead and is constantly articulating that vision to spur the troops on.  What is the goal we are all working toward?  To be the best camp for kids?  To be the best ministry for emotionally broken people?  To be the best at reaching those who are unchurched?  To be the best small publisher in the region?  To be the best HVAC service department in our county? 

If someone isn't articulating the goal we are moving toward, the troops lose heart in the day to day grind.  Working 8-5 or 6-4 or whatever hours you work doesn't mean anything if all you get is a paycheck.

Part of leadership's role in sharing the vision is reporting how we are getting closer to the fulfillment of that vision.  How are team members doing their jobs and exercising their gifts in ways that are helping us get closer to our fulfillment?  How am I doing in helping the organization to achieve our goal?  I've known companies who have given small things as an incentive to their workers just to spur them on...a $5 gift certificate to McDonald's, a gas card for $20, a $2 bill for every compliment they get when a job is finished.

Vision is the sizzle of the steak.  If you've ever had a steak delivered to your table on a hot plate, still sizzling from the grill, you have a picture of what I am talking about.  Roast beef piled up on a plate just doesn't make my saliva flow like a sizzling hot steak on a plate does.

We have so many organizations in our world that are being led by managers without the ability to be good stewards of their resources.  We have so many more that are being led by people who can't articulate a vision and get the team behind it.  No wonder so many of us (I forget the per percentage) dread going to our jobs each day, some doing it for 40 years!  That would kill anyone.

Are you managing without being a good steward of your resources?  Are you being managed by someone who doesn't understand your gifting and passions?  Are you in an organization with a passion-less leader who can't articulate the vision of where you are going?  In some cases we can't change these situations quickly.  In some we don't have power to make the change in the organization.  But each of us can change our own behavior, commit to working where our hearts come alive and model for others what it is like to have passion for what we are doing. 

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Modeling

I've been on a prophetic kick the last couple of posts.  Let me move back over to story telling for a bit.

I have attended more hours of classroom and seminar instruction that I can remember.  In the first year of my Master's program I was assigned 10,000 pages of reading.  As I am filling out job applications I keep remembering more things I have been exposed to.  I know there are some things still rattling around in my brain that haven't come to the fore yet.

Of all the instructions I have "heard" the ones that have stuck with me the most are the things I learned by modeling--watching someone do something.  As I worked with persons in Theotherapy it wasn't the things the participants had learned in class that caused them the problems they were facing.  It was the actions of others (or the lack of actions) that caused the problems--behavior they had seen modeled that they embraced for themselves.

For instance, what did you learn about conflict resolution in your family setting?  Did you observe your parents having a quarrel?  Did they yell and shout at each other or did they clam up and go quietly about their business for the rest of the day...or week...or month.  Were they able to talk out their disagreements, hear each other clearly and resolve the conflict?  Or maybe you never heard your parents have a disagreement.  In that case, you learned (falsely) that couples always get along and don't ever have quarrels.  How realistic is that?

One of the things my Mom used to tell me when I got bored as a kid (before I was able to have a summer job) was that I should go out and watch the birds.  I always thought that was lame and it didn't interest me in the least.  But more importantly, I never saw my mom go out and watch the birds!  What I saw her doing (and doing and doing) was work from dawn until dark.  She was the first one up and the last one to go to bed and she seldom sat down to do anything relaxing.  So when I got bored I was looking for activity!  Give me something to do.

I learned the lesson all too well.  I find it hard to sit down and just do nothing.  I still seldom go out on my deck and watch the birds.  In fact I seldom go out on my deck except to sweep it off, move something around or bring things out and put them away when the season dictates it.

I have learned some great things through modeling.  I watched my Dad tackle home remodeling projects when he hadn't had any instruction from his Dad in how to do things.  I have learned incredible skills in building from some of the best craftsmen I have seen.  They taught me how to lay block, frame houses, hang drywall, finish drywall as I watched them perform their gifts with such skill.  I've also learned how not to do some things but most of those I learned on my own by trial and error.

One of the other most important things I have learned is how to relate to people.  I used to follow my friend Nate Miller around in OH when we first moved there.  He never met a stranger.  It didn't matter how weird or quiet or outgoing they were, he could become their friend in a matter of minutes.  He drug all sorts of kids to his farm to have them work alongside him and impact their lives.  He isn't shy about meeting anyone including thieves.

The rest of that story is that we were camping one time down near Loudonville, OH when someone took off with our coolers.  Nate saw them going and ran after them calling out for them to stop.  He got our cooler back and he also brought back the guys who stole it.  He sat them down and talked to them!  And it was with the kind and gentle instruction of someone who loves you.  I had never seen that before!

I learned anger from others and unlearned most of those responses by watching others.  I've learned how to have a better relationship with my wife from others.  I've learned more about becoming a man of God and walking in my gifting from others who have shown me the way.

I hope you have had positive role models in your life.  If you haven't there is still hope.  I can remember when the book Wild At Heart first fell into my hands.  I longed for some men to show me how to live like the Godly men I read about in Eldredge's book.  The book came into my hands after I had cried out to God for a role model for Godly manhood.  I got the book and then the Father began to bring me examples of Godly men to model my life after.  I was literally taught by the Holy Spirit how to be a Godly man (I am still in need of instruction in that area!).  So don't give up if you don't have a role model for positive behavior.  God can still meet your need.

Lawlessness

This one will probably step on some toes...but isn't that the job of a prophet?  That's why the OT prophets tried to talk God out of calling them to that responsibility.

I want more spiritual authority in my life.  I want to see the powers of darkness pushed back and the captives set free.  Those of you who know me well know that my theme passage in life is Isaiah 61.

One of the brothers in the body of Christ that I listen to often is Arthur Burk.  He is out on the edge in his spiritual walk and that's the kind of guy I want to hear from.  A mutual friend of ours mentioned to me around New Year's last year that Arthur had suggested that if we want more spiritual authority in our lives we need to be obedient to the law.  Now he is not advocating just being Pharisees or Sadduces and trying to keep the 614 Jewish laws for the sake of the appearance.  And he's not trying to get people to become proud of their "righteousness".  He wants to see more Christians with spiritual authority active in the world.  I'd say we need it, don't you?

So what practical thing did he suggest?  That we as Christians obey the speed limit.  Stepped on my toes!  I had gradually over the years stepped up my speed on the road to keep up with the traffic.  I had noticed in frequent driving that the cops usually didn't bother you doing as much as 10 mph over the speed limit.  In fact, I had heard 15 was now the new limit to get one of them to introduce themselves to you along the road.

I felt convicted, not by the judgment of the person who shared this with me, but by the Holy Spirit.  I want more spiritual authority in my life.  I want to see the power of God released through me as a part of the body of Christ to do battle with the forces of darkness that are ruining the lives of too many in our world.

So shortly after I heard this call, I began to set my cruise control to the speed limit regardless of where I was--local roads, rural roads, interstates.  25, 35, 45, 55, 65.  I got to see the front of a lot of cars in my mirror very close to my rear bumper.  People didn't like it who were following me.  They passed me on double yellow lines, single yellow lines, turning lanes, anywhere they could get around me.  I have been amused to see how many of them I meet at the next traffic light.

I haven't (well, most of the time) used my speed to aggravate them.  I don't pull out in the fast lane on the interstate just to slow someone down.  I have pulled off the road to let some of the drivers go by.  I don't want the stress of having them right on my tail.  In fact, I've noticed something.  In eight months of driving 45 minutes to work every day I found myself arriving both at home and work less stressed.  Our road trips have been less stressful.  I kinda like not having the worry of getting a ticket or getting in someone else's way or having them get in my way and stressing about it.

I live in a conservative county, Lancaster, in PA where there are a lot of church-going people.  Some of them wear little coverings on their head to affirm their being under authority.  Some of them drive black or dark vehicles to avoid the things of the world.  Others look just like me.  But I don't see many of them driving the speed limit. 

I have wondered, what would happen to the traffic here in Lancaster County if the professing Christians drove the speed limit?  For that matter, what would happen if they began to obey the rest of the traffic laws like stopping at stop signs, stopping at red lights, only using designated turn lanes to make a turn?  Take it a step further.  What if the Christians would begin to be courteous in their responses to other drivers?  Would it make a difference in the culture here?

I believe it would...one person at a time.  Think about it.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Manipulation

I've read so many books and articles and heard so many speakers I can't always remember where I heard something.  But there are things that stick in my mind as if nuclear charged by the Holy Spirit.  What I'm writing about today is one of those.

I don't know about you but most of my Christian life I've heard sermons and teaching on how to be a nice guy.  I've heard lots of sermons that were chock full of truth but didn't have much practical application to my life.  That's because the speaker didn't go there.  It's difficult to talk about how truth applies to your life.  You might reveal something about your own sins.  Or you might step on the toes of someone who is important.  Or someone who will confront you because they didn't like what you said.  It came too close to home for them.

But this one is serious and I don't think that I heard it in a sermon.  Manipulation is being used daily by Christians.  Broken Christians who are trying to get their needs met by someone other than God.  They are attempting to cause the behavior of someone in their life to be changed so that it meets their selfish needs. 

It's a lot easier to try to get someone else to meet our needs than to do the hard work of touching the pain and working through to healing with the Father.  The Father wants to be intimate with us and to meet our every need but he is a gentleman and won't barge into our lives.  He waits to be invited.  And sometimes the process of inviting him is much more difficult than just trying to get someone else to meet our selfish needs.  Sometimes the Father doesn't jump when we snap our fingers like someone else in our lives might if we put pressure on them.

When we are broken we don't think of others, but only ourselves.  We are our primary concern because we are in pain.  No one else's pain or life is as important as our own.  It is really immature behavior.  We look to someone else to meet our needs just as a child does.  The problem is God wants us to come to him with our needs and not go to others.  He wants to be the source of all our resources.  Yes, he will use people but they will be responding to his will in their lives and not ours as they come to impact us.

Here's where it gets really sticky.  Manipulation is witchcraft.  And there are Christians every day practicing witchcraft in attempts to get their needs met by someone else other than God.  Manipulation is witchcraft because we are trying to control the lives of others and get them to do our will.  When we do that it gets in the way of that person listening to the Father for guidance to do his will.

Manipulation is sticky because it usually involves someone in our lives that is close to us...a boss, a work colleague, a partner in a marriage, a family member, a brother or sister in the church.  It really puts the person in the focus of the manipulation in a very difficult place.  They have to take a risky stand to thwart the manipulation.  They have to put at risk a relationship that is meaningful to them on some level.  When someone is confronted about manipulation or they don't get their way it can get ugly.

How is manipulation touching your life today?  Are you the victim of someone's manipulation?  Are you the manipulator?  My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will do for us all today what he promises...that he will lead us into all truth and he will reveal our sin to us.  Expect it.  He is faithful.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Shy

I know it's hard for those of you who know me today to believe that at one time I was shy.  I didn't feel very good about myself.  I had to fight with my mom to get to wear the latest in clothing styles.  She wanted to make my clothes...and I wanted to wear HIS peg-legged pants that didn't fit my huge calves and Aigler wool socks that made my feet sweat and itch.

Anyway, I was backward.  My mom had often told me to just go up to people, stick out my hand and introduce myself.  But no one listens to their mom when they are a teenager.

One summer when I was 13-15 I went to Ridgecrest, NC outside Asheville to a Baptist youth camp for a week.  I shared a room with an older guy from our church, Ken Johnson.  I looked up to him as one of the wiser ones to get to know.  He was also a good friend of another of my friends, Larry Dye.

I remember laying in bed one night talking to Ken about how shy I was and how hard it was to meet people and feel like I belonged.  He said, "Just go up to people, stick out your hand and introduce yourself to them.  Then ask them who they are and find out about their lives."  Wow, you just don't ever know what some seemingly off-hand comments you may make can so greatly influence someone else's life!  And yes, it was the same thing my mother had said to me.

I have learned in years of meeting people that one thing all people like to talk about is...themselves.  In fact, I am amazed at the intimate things people will share with you if you are willing to listen regardless of the setting you are in.  I have met so many very interesting people by introducing myself and asking them what they do, what they like, what hobbies they have, where they are from or if they are a native to the area we are standing in at that moment.  In fact, I have said that meeting a new person is like opening a Christmas package to me.  I am always surprised and delighted with what I find.

I'll have to tell you a reverse of that situation.  We were on the University of Chicago's campus for a prospective parents' weekend with Benjamin.  At a reception at one of the professor's homes I walked up to a guy and asked him what he did after meeting him.  He replied that he was an orthopedic surgeon.  "Wow, you fix joints and muscles."  I was impressed and I knew right away that he probably had a check book that could write out the tuition and board check of $28,000 without batting an eye.

But the funny thing is...and most people don't do this...he asked me what I did.  At the time I was selling fabric among the Amish communities of IN, PA, OH and IA.  His face lit up and he became genuinely interested in asking me more about my job.  You see, most of the time when you ask someone about their lives they will talk for hours without asking you about yours.

He was really impressed, so much so, that when we saw him on campus the next day with his son the first thing he said to his son was, you'll never believe what this guy does for a living.

The reason most people will talk about themselves as long as you will listen is that most people don't have someone who will just listen to them.  Who will ask questions to get to know the real them.  Everyone has a story to tell and believe me, from experience, I know that God hasn't created a one of you alike.  Just ask me!

I hope some of your best Christmas gifts you open this year are the lives of others around you.

Winkey Pratney

I stayed awake last night thinking of several blogs I wanted to write so I might as well get them off my mind while I am awake.  Maybe I can sleep tonight.

For some reason the time I was in the navy traveling around the world I had several divine appointments where the Father connected me with people that influenced my life.  I don't have ones as dramatic as that now but there were plenty of them then.

As I've written before I ran in to a variety of people who were not followers of Christ when I joined the navy.  My faith at that point had been tested but not to the extent that it was when I encountered a metaphysician, a voodoo practitioner, homosexuals and others with strange theological views.  I was floating around in the Mediterranean without local theological libraries to visit so I depended on God to bring me the resources I needed.

I don't remember where we were in the world or what brought me to an aircraft carrier but I do remember standing on the level below the flight deck, used as a hangar.  I was talking with one of the persons who had put on some kind of program and I mentioned what I was facing in reaching the other guys on my ship.  They brought out a loose leaf 8.5 x 11 notebook with a red cover called Youth Aflame by an author named Winkey Pratney.  I believe he was from New Zealand or Australia.

The notebook was a comprehensive topical study of several Bible themes.  As I worked through it looking up every scripture I found myself going back and forth throughout the whole Bible learning scripture that I had never been exposed to.  I studied it every day as I sat in my office after working hours for several months.

It put significant tools in my hands and also exposed me to Biblical theology in a way none of the courses I later took in seminary did.  In fact, I'm glad I had this book before I went to seminary!  It also dove-tailed with the book from Francis Schaeffer that came to me about the same time.  I'm not sure where that notebook is right now but I'm sure I could find it if I dug in enough boxes.

Fast forward to 1988 and Washington DC.  I was there for a leadership conference and hadn't found anyone to hang out with.  One evening I went out for dinner after the afternoon session had ended.  I remember walking out from the hotel, down the street past several restaurants.  It was early for dinner, about 5 ish, so none of the restaurants had a lot of patrons.  After walking a block or two I turned around and walked back to a restaurant that had caught my eye.

I ended up in an Italian restaurant if my memory serves me well.  I was seated at one of those upholstered seats that ran past several 2 topper tables with individual chairs on the other side.  While I was beginning my meal two men walked in and were seated about 2 tables away from me.  I couldn't help but overhear their conversation and to my amazement, one of the men identified themselves as Winkey Pratney!

I boldly invited myself to interrupt their conversation and introduced myself, telling Winkey that the story of the loose leaf notebook I had.  He mentioned that that was a rarity.  I had seen it in print in a bound book but it wasn't nearly as helpful to leaf through as I had found the copy that I had.

Long story short, as we talked I mentioned to him that I was a pastor (in my third year at that time) and that I wanted to communicate to my congregation better.  He told me to ditch the style I had been taught in seminary, get a lapel mike and get out from behind the pulpit.  He said to tailor my messages to a 16 year old who would be sitting in my congregation and I would find that I was communicating more effectively.

I remember doing that and it changed my speaking style forever...and I believe for the better.

The stories my friend Nate told me this week about his encounters with people in Panama reminded me that God our Father knows where we are and he knows what we need.  He is ready to supply that at the appropriate time...without fail.  May you experience some of his loving actions like that today.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Management

Many of you have heard me hold forth on management in conversations along the way.  I'm going to write some about it today but I need to give a disclaimer. 

As a person with prophetic tendencies, I am looking for things to be the way that they are meant to be.  That comes from the spiritual world where prophets call the people of God back to the way God wants it to be.  We are always seeing things that are out of place and calling them into place.  Like all of us we have the seeds of the garden of Eden and the perfection of God's creation deep in our hearts.  With that comes the longing to have things be the way they were before the fall and the way they will be in eternity.

I am amazed at the lack of management I see throughout our world of business and government.  I might as well add Christian ministries to that list.  My perspective has been from the place of small, entrepreneurial businesses who have to be managed well or they don't survive.  During my work career (that I hope is not ended) I have seen businesses of all sizes managed poorly.

In particular I remember going after the weekly inserts from a new Kroger store in New Philadelphia, OH.  It was an early super store.  I was working for the Bargain Hunter at the time and we were able to put their weekly inserts of food specials into specific neighborhoods to insure peak performance.  I was amazed that they had built this huge new store and didn't know where they were expecting their customers to come from and therefore couldn't tell me which neighborhoods they wanted to place their flyers in.  It was no surprise that the store closed within a couple of years of opening because the business they wanted wasn't there.

Another business I'm aware of came through a very good business climate and apparent success...with debt, outdated equipment and disorganization.  It's amazing that they can continue in business.  They should have money in the bank, all the latest equipment and a well oiled management team in place to take them into the future.  Instead, their future is questionable.  They felt good about what they had accomplished but it was far less than their potential.  The potential was wasted and so were the resources that passed through their hands over the years.

So what if a company isn't managed well?  As long as the owners or stockholders are being paid well and have what they want does it really matter?  It matters.  Poor management wastes resources.  In the case of a small business if they don't manage their resources well they don't produce the profit they should.  Or to put it another way they don't adequately cover their expenses in a way that allows them to rightfully provide for their employees who do the work for them.  They don't generate enough resources to fund giving back to their communities, to the poor or to others who have needs.

I'm still reading through the Time/Life series on WWII.  In the most recent volume I am reading I came across a report by Ernie Pyle, a familiar correspondent during the war.  He had discussed the cost of war with some of the troops who were fighting to take Italy back from the Germans.  They figured in some rough way that it cost $25,000 per German that was killed.

Think about that.  Think about the cost of war...in capital, human resources, natural resources, time.  Even wars that aren't managed properly (if you can even get your head around that) cost incredibly more than they need to.

I'm passionate about managing things well.  I don't like to see things wasted.  I think it is a crime to waste things...and people.  I'm sad that persons like myself who are gifted and have much to offer are instead sitting at home drawing unemployment.  I don't think that would be happening if things in our world were managed well.  I've never had enough that I felt like I could just throw it away.  My hope is that I can work out the rest of my life helping others manage resources well and providing for those who aren't able with the surplus. 

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Family DNA

There's been so much written about new discoveries pertaining to DNA.  They can now tell if you have a gene that will make you susceptible to cancer.  They can determine whether you will struggle with obesity.  What other things are found in our DNA?

I'm not a scientist but one of the things my sister-in-law, Jennifer, said while we were together at Thanksgiving sparked a thought.  She described us as a "giving" family.  I believe that is in our DNA.  We see a need and seek to fill it.  We give when the rewards are not always monetary.  We give when some one needs to receive.

That, just like other traits of our families are passed down through generations.  In my family we spent a lot of time outdoors doing yard work, gardening and just cleaning up.  I thought I would die every summer when I had to spade up the garden by hand (no rototillers here!)  I thought I was going to die of sweating when I had to mow the lawn.  That's when starting a lawnmower was...pull, pull, pull...you get the picture.

But as I matured I began to love being outside.  I still miss the mowing, weed-eating, cutting down trees and cleaning up brush that I did on my property in OH...and the properties of my neighbors if they didn't run me out of their yard.

The giving and the outdoor work is in the genes of my adult kids.  They got a lot of it from their mom who has always traded, scratched together and bought flowers to plant.  Both CA and Nissa like to plant flowers and work in their outdoor creations.  We all like the smell of bark mulch as we spread it in the spring.  CA has gone into her neighbor's lawns and cleaned up when they were unable to.

Ben's propensity for outdoors has come out in his gardening in the city of Chicago.  He started out just cleaning up the vacant lots around his house.  His passion evolved into first a 20 plot garden for the community at a vacant lot to a neighborhood garden project that now has 160 plots, has spawned more neighborhood gardens and won he and his colleagues a first place in the mayor's neighborhood garden category.

None of the giving my kids have done has brought them financial gain.  In fact, if you garden you know what it costs to plant flowers.  One of the times Ben was out cleaning up the alley behind his house his 15 yr old neighbor came out and asked if he could help...but he was expecting to get paid!

The genes I mentioned in the beginning that caused cancer, obesity and other problems for us lead us to know that there are other things that can be passed down to us that aren't good.  In fact, again without being a scientist, I believe that the wounds of past generations can also genetically alter us and cause us to behave in ways that are "cancerous".  We need to be aware of those genes and seek the Father's healing of them so they don't pass on to other generations.

Our family can attest to the surety of the Father's healing of old wounds and the Holy Spirit's help in changing behaviors that are "cancerous".  We're not in our perfect bodies yet, nor do we act like it always, but the hope is there that He will continue to heal us of our broken genes and release us to function in our healthy, Godly genes.

May you experience that in your life today.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Holy War

I'm not sure I have my head and heart around what I'm going to write about today.  I guess that's okay since this is a blog which by definition is an ongoing conversation.

I've now read six of the thirty-seven Time/Life books I have on WWII.  The human cost of that war was incredible and the conditions that people suffered through during the fight were horrendous.  The cost of the war in financial resources was also beyond belief.  The Allies lost over 33,000 planes alone in the war.  The economies of the countries at war were shifted toward supplying materiel to the war effort.  No wonder subsequent politicians have entered wars to bolster their economies.  But that's a whole other subject.

What I can't seem to get my head and heart around right now are the implications of the model of war to the spiritual realm.  Is the intensity of the fighting and focus on the enemy something the body of Christ needs to adopt toward evil spiritual forces?  I don't see the passion and focus on the enemy among the Christians I know with few exceptions.

I do know several persons who are on the front lines of the battle for those who have been severely emotionally abused and controlled.  They are daily fighting battles in the heavenlies for the lives of those who have been so severely abused.  They are selling out for the victory over evil in the lives of those they touch.

It is obvious to me that we have fallen asleep at the wheel as the body of Christ in stemming the tide of evil.  Pat brings home stories of the kids who are victims of a lack of sound parenting.  Their parents are floundering and fighting but they don't know what they are fighting against.  They are just fighting and the kids are casualties of the war.  Some of these parents may be involved in churches but my guess is that many have either given up or ignored the invitations of the churches because they don't see them as relevant to the issues they are facing.

What does it look like (compared to a world war) when Christians go to battle against the enemy?  Do we make sacrifices, accept food rations and do with less to promote the war effort?  Do we seek to undermine the war effort of the evil one who is destroying our world or do we succumb to the "nice" words of the enemy to get us to put down our arms?  Are we using subversive tactics to thwart the efforts of the forces that are attempting to overpower us?  Are we putting all our financial, human and other resources toward the war effort to see evil defeated and the kingdom of God expanded?

I know that I am not.  As I said, this is a work in progress for me.  I'm not sure of the implications for what I am doing and who I am yet.  I am expecting them to become clear to me as I continue to read and listen to the Spirit interpret them for me.  Am I going to be part of the resistance or capitulate to the apathy that surrounds me?  What does being part of the resistance really look like in today's world?  As I have seen in the past I believe our warrior God will make this clear to me in practical terms.  I need it nice and simple...and clear enough to work. 

Friday, November 12, 2010

Numbness

Today I'm feeling kind of numb.

My task was to go on the usajobs.gov website and apply for some government jobs in the area.  I took a nap...then went to get my newspaper.  I read the USA Today every day and then I do the puzzles.  First the crossword and then the two Sudukos.  As is usual for Fridays, I got all the possibilities in the blocks but no solution to the puzzle.  I ended up taking a guess on one of the blocks with only two possibilities...and I was wrong.

Wow, then I was tired again and took another nap.

I finally got downstairs before my computer to apply for some jobs.  But first I have to do the bookwork.  I needed to pay some bills and enter a few transactions that we've done in the last couple of days.  That's enough to get someone motivated to get a job seeing the bank account dwindle.  Ah, but Pat got paid today.

Gosh, now it was time for lunch.  Made my sandwich, gave Rocky a Cheeto, baked so he can keep his slim figure and sat down to eat lunch.  Done now...and back to the computer.

I pulled up Management and Program Analyst jobs and then did a search for Project Manager jobs.  There were only 1902 in the US for me to look at which I did.  All 1902.  I focused on two and saved them for further review.

I finally got down to applying for the jobs.  Man, can that be intimidating.  One was with the IRS.  Of course, there were lots of disclaimers about exaggerating your abilities and experiences, lots of new terms that I'm sure explain the simple processes of management that I have performed.  But they were cloaked in mystic language to make them seem intimidating.

After filling out the first application and the questions about my experience I filed my application.  Let's keep it rolling.  On to the next job application where I found I had to use a different website to apply for it.  I had to set up a new account and it wouldn't take things quickly from the usajobs.gov site that I had set up with resumes, etc.  Another questionnaire and more questions that I think I answered honestly...if I really understood the question.

About 2 1/2 hrs later I am exhausted and done with my two applications.

So why am I numb?  Because it looks like I am looking for a job and not something that I can delight in when I go to each day.  Is it because I don't know what these jobs will look like?  Is it because I don't know the people involved in each of these offices?  Is it because I haven't found the right one yet?  When will that come and what will it look like?  How long will this process go on?

In a lot of ways it would have been easier today to go clean out the shop or wash the truck or take a walk...or anything else other than look for a job.  Will the numbness go away? 

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Belonging

Several years ago when we were traveling with a healing ministry we found ourselves in Nashville, TN for a free evening.  We went to see the movie Antwone Fisher.  Briefly, the story is about a foster child who was abused, had lost contact with his family and was carrying a lot of anger into his stint in the navy.  One of the lead characters, a psychologist played by Denzel Washington, encouraged Antwone to find his family.

After a search, Antwone found his family and was invited home for a banquet where he was welcomed by his extended family...a family he had never known.  I was touched deeply by the scene because it hit a wounded spot in my heart.

I thought about that scene again the other day after Pat and I had been in Washington DC with her sister for a couple of days on a weekend.  Since we've been adults I don't think the three of us have spent any time like that just hanging out.  The crowd has always been bigger and there has been other agenda.  On my side of the family we only have a reunion over a short weekend every two years, hardly time to get to know your relatives very well.

In this case, I was the focus of the encounter.  My future and the future of my wife were at stake.  Jennifer was helping me to put my resume together for some possible government jobs.  I value her opinion because she is traveling in that world.  She also helped me to work on interviewing skills.  I've never been to a high-powered interview before.  In most cases I've found my jobs within my network of friends.  She grilled me to toughen me up for the stressful face-to-face job interview.

I wasn't sure just what to make of the time the three of us had together.  My sister has always lived at great distances from me and we have never spent much time just hanging out.  I've had a lot of friends but have always felt a little "outside" of those circles.  It was a little difficult for me to get a handle on the fact that someone close to me in my family (that alone is something to get my heart around) would be willing to be my advocate, would be willing to go to bat for me.

Jennifer didn't hold back, didn't patronize me, didn't let me rest easy.  She asked me to step up to the plate and consider the experiences that I have had and the expertise I have developed over the years.  I believe she really heard me and genuinely encouraged me to consider more than what I have looked for in the past.  I guess what made her more believable to me was that she was part of my family, part of the intimate group of people who have seen me at my best and worst.

Belonging to an intimate group of people, who have your back, who will stand with you regardless of the circumstances, who will cheer you on to the greater heights you are meant to soar in...I'm still not sure what that feels like all the time.  I catches glimpses of that occasionally, just as I did when Antwone walked into that intimate family gathering and they welcomed him with open arms.

While I may not experience that much in this life, I can look forward to joining the banquet of the Lamb and being part of that intimate family for eternity.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

God's Will

I just finished reading another book brought to me by my wife who looks over the high school reading list and picks titles for us.  It was Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult.

It was a moving book and brought me to tears...and also helped me to get in touch with my heart.  It is so easy in the regular every day world to lose your heart.  Life becomes routine and getting something done is all that matters.  It is easy to forget people...humans...relationships.  People are what matter.

So what does this have to do with God's will?  For me, I need to be around people.  I need to be involved in people's lives.  My heart longs for connection with others on a basic level.  That is part of God's will for my life.  It's easy to forget and easier to overlook when others are not as quick to go to that intimate place with you.

Does it really matter where I work or who I work for?  Does it really matter what I do for a living?  Or is the most important thing to be connected to the people who are in life with me, daily and otherwise.

While I was finishing up the book I got a call from Nissa.  She asked if I would like to go to a harvest party in Reuben's class tomorrow afternoon.  She had called him and he was thrilled that she would ask me.  So was I.  I want to connect with my grandchildren, to have them know my heart, to have them know me...and in so doing know some of who they are.  I'm looking forward to being with Reuben tomorrow and then getting to bring both he and Maddie home from school.

God's will.  Sometimes it is easier to let it sneak up on you than to spend so much time laboring over it.  Am I doing it right?  Am I listening carefully enough?  Am I pursuing the right path?  Seems like that puts more on me than on God to let me know his intentions for my life.  I think I'm going to let it sneak up on me.

I'm going to pursue jobs and opportunities and relationships and let God unfold the details.  He knows his will better than I do and is able to communicate it to me in spite of my hard head, my less than capable hearing and my bend to do my own thing.

Where do we go today, God?

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Divine Appointment-Copenhagen

Unfortunately, many sailors in the navy do other things than look for a church when they hit port. Bars get busier, brothels cash in and restaurants serve lots of food to those tired of ship board fare.

I must have had duty because I stayed on the ship that first day in port.  The first wave of sailors went over and came back with wild tales of debauchery--couples being intimate in broad daylight in the parks, homosexuals trying to pick up a date with bold invitations, live stage shows with unmentionable acts.  It was obvious that Copenhagen had it's share of evil.

But where evil abounds so much more does grace abound.  I knew if evil had a strong presence in Copenhagen then my Father had a strong presence there too.  One of my shipmates handed me a flyer in Danish that mentioned something about Jesus...I could at least make that out.

As I left the bridge with the flyer in hand I asked the Father to show me to his people in this city.  I remember going down several ladders to get to my berthing compartment.  Along the way, another of my shipmates caught me and said "Hey Murf, I know where some of your people are!"  He proceeded to give me directions to a group doing street evangelism with drama.

I made my way across the city with growing excitement looking forward to fellowship with other believers.  I found the street group, YWAMer's (Youth With A Mission), who also had a coffee house in town in the building where they lived.  I went back there with them, spent time among a group from all over the world there to make witness to Christ.

One evening we sat in the coffeehouse chatting with an avowed Communist.  Another fellow was also at the table with me.  We shared our belief in a God who was there and enjoyed a challenging conversation.  When finished I discovered the fellow was from TX, had read Schaeffer and was tracking with me as we shared our faith with the young man.

As we left one evening walking back across the city me and a couple of guys who were with me sensed that someone was following us.  As we pondered it we agreed that it was the presence of the Holy Spirit that was escorting us.

We ended up our visit in Copenhagen sharing communion with the YWAMer's there and departed to find our next adventure in Christ...courtesy of the US navy. 

By the way, Brother Andrew also worked out of that building.  Our ship had been rumored to possibly be making a trip into Leningrad--a first since WWII.  I took the occasion to pick up 10 Russian New Testaments to be delivered to someone when and if I ever arrived there.

Divine Appointment-Greece

I hadn't thought of it until this morning as I pondered writing this post that God is able to orchestrate things even using the US navy.

On our trip to the Mediterranean we were scheduled to go to Barcelona.  Instead, some type of crisis in the middle east diverted us to Greece (but God used it as you will see!).  We were to go into port there later in the cruise but this time we were diverted to Piraeus, a smaller port alongside Athens where a berth was available for us.

My captain was better suited to steer a desk but had to do some sea time to keep on his upward path.  Put someone like that in a small port like Piraeus and something is going to get broken.  In our case it was the main prop that got nicked on the anchor chain of another boat.  An expensive driving lesson.

Once we got tied up liberty was called and we flooded into town.  One of the first places a sailor goes is to the USO to get oriented.  They were braced for our arrival because when we came into town we brought with us about 5,000 friends...all a part of our group.

I walked up to the information desk to inquire about an English speaking church for services the next day, Sunday.  The desk clerk excitedly told me that she had been praying that she would be able to direct some of the arriving sailors to her church...God preparing the way.

It was at this church service the next day that I met the kids backpacking around Europe who introduced me to Francis Schaeffer and his books, particularly The God Who Is There.

Can you see how the Father who knows the hairs on our head and feeds every bird prepared the way for me to find someone to help me witness to my shipmates?  My ship was heading to Barcelona and we got diverted to Athens.  The USO desk person just "happened" to be someone who wanted to lead others to her church.  The backpackers just "happened" to have found that church that morning and pointed me to a source of theological understanding that deepened my faith and sharpened my witness.

Today I know that as I sit here at my computer some 39 years later that God the Father knows where I am.  He knows how he has gifted me.  And he has a place for me to be at this time in my life.  May you know today how much he loves you and is aware of every breath you take.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

My Mommy Told Me So

I had finished 2 1/2 years of college and some work before I went on active duty in the naval reserve.  But the world I encountered was far more complex than what I had seen up to that point.

As I began to get to know the guys on my ship and discuss my beliefs with them I realized that I was ill-prepared to answer all their questions.  I had been a Christian for years already but had never encountered real challenges to my faith.

As I began to meet the guys and get to know them I encountered the following.  One guy was a red-blooded Christian who believed the Vietnamese (who we were in a war with at the time) were just like dogs.  He wanted to kill them all.  He believed that's all they deserved.  Though he professed to "loving" Jesus I couldn't stomach his pure hatred for other creations of God.

Another fellow I met was practicing voodoo on board the ship when we were out to sea.  He would go out to the rescue boat on our ship after dark and practice his religion.  Although I never chatted with him much I heard about his "faith".

Two other fellows were obviously effeminate.  They shared their plans with everyone on the ship as they were preparing to get out of the navy.  They were going to leave their wives and join two other men and live as homosexual couples.  Again, not something I had talked about in Sunday School.

One of the other guys was a professing Mormon.  Seemed like a nice guy, quiet, clean cut but didn't seem to mix with the crew very well.

The guy who challenged me the most was a fellow who professed to being a metaphysician.  I was vocal about my faith as any good Baptist raised kid was.  I knew enough to get someone saved.  In fact, I probably had a PhD in salvation from all the biblical sermons and altar calls I had experienced in my growing up years.

But this guy really stopped me in my tracks.  As we shared our beliefs, he would always challenge me with the question, "How do you know God exists?"  That's when I realized that the best answer I could give him was because "My Mommy told me so!"  That's how deep my theology was at that time.

It was about this time that we encountered the backpackers in Athens, Greece at the English-speaking church service.  They pointed me to Francis Schaeffer and his book The God Who Is There.  It gave me the framework to begin understanding where the metaphysician was coming from.

Francis Schaeffer had come to his own crisis of faith in his early 50's and spent 3 years reading his Bible and pacing around a chalet in the Swiss Alps.  He arrived at the conclusion that God did exist and the Bible was true.  Subsequently, his children began to bring their college mates home and he developed a way to help them see the end of their philosophies.  They fell short in their claims and he led them to faith in Christ and belief in the Bible.  His home in Switzerland became known as L'Abri and young people from all over the world began to flock there to find faith from an intellectual base.

After reading Schaeffer's book and others as well as a trip to Switzerland (I'll share about that some other time) I began a time of discussions with the metaphysician.  We would stand on the bridge (an unoccupied space when in port) and discuss the reality of God and what I saw him doing in the world.  There was always a crowd of other guys standing around listening to us discuss.  That fellow never came to faith that I am aware of but the discussions impacted others on the ship and the body of Christ grew among us.

I had finally owned my own faith and it was deeper than the pat answer I was able to give before...because "My Mommy told me so."

I've often wondered--Who is carrying the mantel that Francis Schaeffer did in that time?  Who is answering the intellectual questions of those God-seekers who are searching for truth and reality.  Speaking to them in tongues probably isn't going to bring them to faith.  Neither is the flashy, loud, screaming TV preacher.  Who is helping those of us with a rational mind find a child-like faith in the Father? 

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Jesus Freaks

A few years ago Pat mentioned that she and I were Jesus Freaks to someone that was a generation younger than us.  They laughed, hadn't heard the term and were surprised that we would want to be called such.

It was popularized during the late 60's, early 70's.  With the hippie movement and all its drugs, free love (cheap sex) and other revolutionary ideas about our culture there came a resurgence of a personal relationship with Jesus.  It wasn't typically encouraged in main stream denominational churches.  It had tastes of the hippie culture from ocean baptisms in CA to the congregating of east coast surfers in growing charismatic churches.  Young people were looking for meaning but weren't ready to give up their bell-bottomed jeans, long hair and off beat persona.

I had walked away from my involvement in church as a senior in high school.  It was costing me friends by being a "Christian" and I didn't see much difference in their life style and that of the kids outside of church.  But after wandering around in college for a couple of years I was longing for meaning and something to invest my life in.  I returned to a small Baptist church in Reynoldsburg, OH where I was living at the time.

It just so happened (Ha) that a radical Baptist pastor named Arthur Blessitt was dragging a cross across the US, preaching where he could, bringing kids out of the drug culture into a relationship with Jesus.  He had florescent orange stickers with a peace symbol on them that pointed to Christ.  He told of druggies, hippies, bikers, prostitutes and others who weren't typically welcomed in church finding peace and release in Jesus.  He really believed that the Acts of the Apostles could be lived again.  At 20 I was hungry to see that too.


In fact I had walked away from the church because it didn't seem relevant to the issues I was facing.  To hear that the Gospel was powerful enough to set people free was just what I was looking for.

I jumped on board and began the ride of a life time.  I became hungry to read the Bible and spent time with a close friend four years my junior who was as passionate about following God as I was.  We shared our faith with others and spent time reading the Bible.

Soon I was called to active duty in the navy.  I had dropped out of college and lost my deferment.  When I arrived on my ship I discovered that my chaplain was a Pentecostal.  Many of the chaplains were just as carnal as the rest of the crew and took the navy as a way to avoid serving in a congregation.  He introduced me to a charismatic church that was drawing kids from the beach culture to Christ.

During my time in the navy I continued to see God move in remarkable ways.  We fellowshipped with sailors from other ships in our NATO fleet.  I served as protestant lay leader on our ship since none of the officers wanted to do it.  That involved holding worship services onboard when out to sea.  At one point the chaplain from the carrier wanted to have me ousted because I wasn't ecumenical enough but the crew "revolted" and the captain asked him to return to the carrier and not come back.  We had Bible studies and guys came to know God.  Sometime I'll write about the discussions we had on the bridge when in port with the metaphysician.

We met Christians when we came to ports around the Mediterranean.  Someone gave me a book to study called Youth Aflame by Winky Pratney.  I studied it while at sea.  We worked in a Youth With A Mission coffeehouse in Copenhagen, Denmark and did some street evangelism on another cruise.  With met kids in Athens, Greece who introduced me to Francis Shaeffer that resulted in a trip to Switzerland later in the cruise.  We knew that we were on a trek that was led by the Holy Spirit at the expense of the navy.

I remember writing letters back home to friends about the things we were experiencing.  One of my friends said it was like getting letters from a modern day apostle Paul.

So what is God doing today that resembles the Jesus Freaks...those who were sold out to Jesus and following him?

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Leader of the Band

Last night brought back a lot of memories.  We heard the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra.

Coming from KY where all the rednecks live (at least that's what the outside world thinks) I experienced some world class opportunities.  One of the things my school system did in Louisville was take us to the symphony.  It was a bus trip that got us out of class and that's the way we looked at it.

But my life was transformed the first time I heard live music played by an orchestra.  I had always loved music and enjoyed listening to our hi fi, turning up the bass and "feeling" the music.  But nothing compares to the opportunity to hear live music played.  I remember sitting on the edge of my seat in the balcony, eyes darting back and forth to the different sections of the orchestra that were called to play by the conductor.

The music would ebb and flow...first quietly, then with all the vigor the instruments could muster at the hands, arms and lips of their players.

Passion was on the faces of those who played.  They weren't just running a bow across some strings, they were talking with deep emotion using the instrument that had become a very part of them.  It was drama without words and stirred our emotions.

Last night I was reminded again of the pomp and circumstance of an orchestra.  The first chair in the violin section was a focal point of the orchestra.  In fact, first chair in any section carried with it respect and leadership.  Aside from the tails, it's fun to think about the duel of the first chair with others who are competing for their spot.  It's as intense as a football game can be only they were knocking instruments and not helmets.

Respect was conveyed and appreciation was humbly accepted.  The various instrumentalists were caught glancing back and forth at each other, obviously enjoying the making of music with each other.  The first chair was pointing out things and drawing their colleagues to more depth.

The featured guest soloist between focus times, stood there with great facial expressions feeling the music and with glances to each section calling them out to higher levels of accomplishment to give the audience an opportunity to share in the emotional exilaration with them.

Back to the first symphony I saw as a teen...the conductor!  I remember sitting there watching the whole thing unfold and saying to myself that I wanted to be a conductor.  I wanted to practice with the different sections of "instruments" in a organization until they had their part down and then blend them all together to play the "piece".  I wanted to help others reach their full potential and mix together with others to delight the "audience".  I wanted to conduct.

It's obvious that watching an orchestra play that they didn't sit down 15 minutes before the performance and pull that off.  It took hours of coaching and practice to bring them all together.  The same with any organization.  No one can make lasting changes overnight.  It takes a long time to change the culture of an organization whether it is religious or secular.

I still want to be a conductor in the lives of an organization.  Where is that stage for me, Father, to bring glory to you?

Thursday, October 7, 2010

819 and Counting

As I wrote in a fb posting recently, I didn't learn how to read until I was out of college after 2 1/2 years and found myself in the navy.  I could read the words but I couldn't tell you the plot of what I had read if it was a story or the content of the information if it were a textbook.  I got through my 2 1/2 years of college playing bridge when everyone else took a break from studying for finals.

I can remember deciding that I was going to teach myself how to read for comprehension.  I determined that I would read a page in a book until I could grasp what was being said.  I determined not to put a book down that I had started to read until I was done with it.  I have since abandoned that discipline.  Some books just aren't worth reading once you get into them.

So for whatever reason I started to read and record the titles of the books I had read.  My first one on my list from October 30, 1970 was The Immoralist by Andre Gide.  Don't ask me where I got that one!

Since that time I have read over 819 books.  I realized the other day when I was typing them into an Excel spreadsheet that there are a few I forgot to write down and there are about a dozen that I have read more than once.

My first year in seminary I was assigned over 10,000 pages of reading.  Believe me, some of those books weren't worth reading.  I remember sitting in the library at Eastern Mennonite College reading a book on theology.  I had read page after page and they all seemed to be the same jumbled up mess.  I turned over 50 pages or so and read another page and it seemed just like the one I had finished before.  I don't know how someone can make something about God as boring as a theologian can make it.

My most notable books?  The first is The God Who Is There by Francis Schaeffer.  I'll talk about this in another blog sometime but I'll simply say now that my theology and belief in God was basically "My mommy told me so."  In the world I was in in 1970 that didn't go too far.

While in Athens Greece I found an English speaking church (another story for another time).  There I met some kids backpacking around Europe.  I told them of the things I was encountering in my faith and they directed me to a book.  In fact, one of them gave me the book by Shaeffer and told me to read it.  If I ever got to Switzerland, I was to drop it off (another story).

I remember sitting in the USO in Athens reading Schaeffer's book...and taking notes on it.  Something I had never done while in college.  It was transforming because it opened the door of philosophical thought and Christianity.  I'll tell you how that impacted my life in...another blog.

The second book came into my hands many years later entitled Wild At Heart by John Eldredge.  I had been asking God for some model of what a man of God was supposed to look like.  I was interested in the day-to-day face of someone who was walking with God, not some Christian celebrity who was hidden behind the donated wealth they had acquired.  I read and reread this book.  I've loaned that copy to someone and didn't get it back.

Currently, I've been reading a lot of the classics and appreciating them in a way I couldn't when I was in high school.  I've also enjoyed series by Jan Karon, books by John Grisham and many, many more.

I'm an old school guy.  I can't imagine not holding a book in my hand when I read it.  I hope they always commit some of them to paper.  In the meantime, I'll keep reading and expanding my knowledge about so many things.  Thank you God for the creativity of yours that you loaned to authors to be able to write for our enjoyment.