Category Archives: Ethos

Discipleship, Ethos, Leadership, Ministry, Questions, The Quest, The Word, Theology, Wrestling With Scripture

Did You Really Just Say That?

Last Friday our church building suffered the wrath of the hail and roughly 1/3 of the building was flooded. Sunday smelled awesome!!!

On Monday a cleaning crew arrived and set up a plethora of fans and vacuums to tackle the moisture problem. Due to all this I haven’t been working at the office but from home or the coffee shop or a restaurant. Yesterday I grabbed some lunch while I studied and then I hit up one of my “thinking places.”

I have a handful of places where I walk and think and dream and ponder. My creative juices start flowing and my brain gets a little exercise and fresh air. Yesterday I went to one of the larger Christian bookstores in our area.

While there I overheard (read: eavesdropped) a woman discussing their church’s Bible reading group with her friend. This woman lamented how boring it was.

“I don’t like to read books over a second time. That’s my problem. I’ve read the Bible before. I just don’t see the point in reading it again. We’ve gone through the whole thing. Let’s just move on.”

I probably stared at the same section of Biblical maps for 10 minutes while I pondered this woman’s statement. I don’t know what was going on in the woman’s heart but I couldn’t help but take her words at face value. Was she really bored with reading the Bible with her brothers and sisters? What was she suggesting they move on too?

In The Divine Conspiracy, author Dallas Willard opens the introduction by writing,

My hope is to gain a fresh hearing for Jesus, especially among those who believe they already understand him. In his case, quite frankly, presumed familiarity has led to unfamiliarity, unfamiliarity has led to contempt, and contempt has led to ignorance.

I wonder what that woman would have done with Willard’s assessment.

Of course, the next logical question is, “What will I do with Willard’s assessment?”

Do I assume an overfamiliarity of God’s word or his Son or his ways? Will I allow a haughty sense of presumed knowledge harden my heart with contempt for the Almighty Creator of the Universe?

Or will I always look to read His words with a heart that is open to the things that I see or that are revealed as I read and listen? Can I truly ponder anew all the things that I’ve “learned” or have been taught?

Isaiah 43:10-12 proclaims,

“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.”

And Isaiah 45:5-8 says,

“I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.

I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things. “You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the LORD, have created it.”

How can you move on from this? How can you feel like you’ve learned all you can about the one who proclaims these words?

May you never tire of reading the words of the Almighty.
May you never assume that you’ve reached the end of your pursuit of Jesus Christ.
May you never hold the leading and teaching of the Spirit in contempt.

Discipleship, Ethos, Experience, Faith in Action, Leadership, Theology, Wrestling With Scripture, Youth Ministry

Cracking Under the Pressure

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A few years ago we were out at dinner with a few friends at a brand new restaurant. The place had only been open a week or so when we gathered together for some cheddar biscuits and conversation.

That night I ordered a big, tall glass of Coca-Cola. When the waiter brought me my drink I grabbed it, lifted it to my mouth, and the glass shattered into a million pieces mere inches from my face.

I would like to blame the demise of the glass on my bulging muscles but the truth is that the glass shattered because it couldn’t take the pressure.

This brand new glass succumbed to the pressure of the heat from the dish washer and when it came to doing its job, holding cold drinks, the glass cracked. Its integrity gave way.

So it is with us.

I spoke to a group of High School students yesterday about submitting to authority (a cracker-jack topic, I know). I told them that this is one area where their integrity can be compromised everyday. It is such a temptation to defy authority or to fail to understand the importance of living under authority. For us, God is the ultimate authority and learning to live under human authority figures helps strengthen our reslove and honors our heavenly Father.

I was honest with them and told them that I have struggled my whole life to live with integrity on this issue. I am independent and I am strong willed. I take issue with poor authority figures and struggle with following men and women I perceive to be weaker leaders. However, God doesn’t put caveats on submitting only to strong leaders or wise authority figures. In Romans 13, Paul states that Everyone must be subject to authorities. That’s a pretty definitive statement.

Standing before them I realized that I was 10 years older than those in the Senior class and I was about 10 years younger than most of the teachers. Every single one of us was under some authority. Some of these authority figures are good, godly, wise, nurturing individuals. Give thanks to God for these men and women. Some though are weak, selfish, and incompetent. Learning to live under both of these types of leaders ultimately gives glory to God and honors his commands.

Often times I have had to learn the hard way and have made many mistakes. Thankfully God keeps repairing the cracks in my heart. Learning to live under authority, good or bad, is just one way to make sure that you are living with integrity.

Don’t crack under the pressure and try to take out your King (1Sam 24). Honor them as you honor God. He is ultimately in control and the ultimate authority of our lives.

By the way, I still had to pay for that Coke. What’s up with that?!?!

Ethos, Experience, Giving Thanks, My Life

28 Years Ago Today… Pt. 2

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Twenty-eight years ago today you adopted me.

What can I say?

Thank you. You opened your home for me, cared for me, disciplined me, and provided for my every want and need.

Thank you for helping me understand the importance of my adoption and for not letting me be defined by it. It was never used as an excuse or crutch. It was a reality but I was your son. No questions asked.

Thank you for your examples and your love. Thank you for the dinners and for watching after your grand-dog when we are away.

Thank you more than words can say.

2008, Discipleship, Ethos, Experience, Faith in Action, Giving Thanks, Leadership, Life, Ministry, My Life, My Wife Rules, Theology

Proverbs 6:1-5

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This is the year that we get out of debt.

Over 7 years of marriage we’ve managed to keep our heads above water but we have accumulated a little bit of debt. We used our credit cards to travel to see family, we moved, we bought a few pieces of furniture, and we bought a few stupid items.

After taking a step back and looking at our finances we concluded that something had to change or we would run the risk of getting into terrible financial trouble. It doesn’t matter that our level of debt was just under the national average. We were failing in our call to be good stewards of our money and so we decided to do something about it.

Today my wife told me that our credit cards have been completely paid off!!!

In just three months, we paid off a (ahem) crapload of money on those plastic traps. We went and did our taxes, found out that we didn’t owe anything, and then used the money we had set aside for taxes to completely pay those puppies off. We are done!!! No more plastic!

The next step is to pay down our car notes. That’s right, we have two of them and owe money on both. It’s ok though. We shouldn’t have bought my car when we did. I had a truck that was paid off but I was tired of driving that big boy around and I wanted a smaller car. Lesson learned. The plan is to have both of our cars paid off by the time 2009 rolls around.

Big PROPS to my wife because she does our finances.

Thanks babe for doing the hard work and for giving me a generous allowance each week. 🙂 I love you babe!

Ethos, Experience, Giving Thanks, Heroes, My Life, Stories

28 Years Ago Today…pt. 1

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Twenty-eight years ago today, You gave birth to me and then you gave me up for adoption.

What can I say?

First, thank you. Your decision brought untold happiness and joy into my life. I am who I am today because you made that life-changing decision. I grew up in a loving family and experienced a large extended family through my school and church. I sat at the feet of godly men and women who challenged me and molded me in to the adult that I am today. Although I was influenced by all these things there are traits and characteristics that I share with no one other than you. I thank you for those things too.

Second, I have never, never felt any ill will towards you and your decision. What good would come from being angry with you? I don’t know if you’ve ever worried about that but know that those fears are unnecessary and misspent.

Third, know that I have and will always love you.

I’ll never know the reasons behind why you gave me up and you owe me no explanations. The reasons you did what you felt you needed to do are yours and yours alone. Just know that I love you and thank you and often pray for you. I think about you every now and then and wonder if you ever think of me. I hope you do.

May you be blessed knowing that you have blessed me.

tune in on the 7th for part 2

Ethos, Film & Theology, Leadership, Ministry, Popular Culture, Preaching, Remarkable, Sermons, Stories

What is Vision?

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Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18 KJVS)

I began thinking about this verse and I remembered a scene at the beginning of one of my favorite movies, Seven Samurai.

Kurosawa’s 1954 classic film begins with a gang of bandits tearing through the Japanese’s countryside. They come to a stop at the top of the a hill overlooking a small, poor, insignificant village. They are about to attack the defenseless hamlet when their leader reminds them that they attacked this village last season. He tells them that they should come back when the barley harvest is in so that they could really wreak some havoc. They agree and they ride off vowing to return and destroy everything. An older man from the village had been hiding on the hill and he overhears the bandits plans and he rushes down the hill to warn the people.

The very next scene show the entire village weeping and wailing and sitting in the dirt in the center of the village. Some are crying out they they wished that they could die right now. Doom and gloom is all around. Most have given up every ounce of hope.

One young man stands up and proclaims passionately that the villagers must fight the bandits. Most of the older men shout him down telling him that his idea is ludicrous. The older men agree that the course of action must be decided by the leader of the village. Every villager stands up and marches to the old mill where the oldest and wisest man living among them resides. The old man will tell them what they must do.

After much deliberation and thought the old man agrees that they must fight these bandits off. He tells them that they must hire samurai to help protect the people. Many of the men argue with the old man’s words saying that they could never afford to hire samurai. They ask him incredulously, “What Samurai would work for barley and rice?”

The old man responds to their doubt by saying, “We will look for hungry samurai.”

That’s vision.

Without his vision, the people would perish. The old man knew that his people were in trouble. He knew their fears and he knew their limitations. They needed help and they needed a different perspective. The old man exhibited vision to see beyond excuses.

Effective vision is most often the most practical. The people were focused on what prohibited them from surviving. The old man focused on what they had and what would help them survive.

Quit whining and crying about your situation and what you think is keeping you and your people from success.

Go find you some hungry samurai and protect your village.

Discipleship, Ethos, Faith in Action, Leadership, Ministry, Preaching

Sermon Prep

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My follow-up posts on the Paradoxes of Leading from the Second Chair have been put on hold (surprise, surprise) while I prep for my sermon this week.

I am preaching on the importance of Leadership Vision. It is a topic that really gets my heart going.

Proverbs 29:18 says that where there is no vision (khaw-ZONE), the people perish (KJV).

I love how the Message interprets this verse:

If people can’t see what God is doing,
they stumble all over themselves;
But when they attend to what he reveals,
they are most blessed.

It is this message that I want to get across this week.

Leadership Vision isn’t about crazy dreams or overly creative ideas birthed by high and lofty positional leaders.

Leadership Vision is for all people who humbly and reverently seek to make sure that their vision is God’s vision.

It is the ability to see what God is doing and the desire to attend to his revelation. If you can’t or are unwilling to see what God is up too then I would suggest that you are in the way.

We will be specifically looking at Nehemiah, the cupbearer of the king. He wasn’t an important official. He wasn’t a member of the royal family. He was a humble servant. His vision was to see that God was glorified through his life and the lives of those he led. His eyes and heart were opened to God’s vision for living and he let God lead him to do great and wonderful things that brought glory, not to Nehemiah, but to God.

Leadership Vision is never about YOU. It is about bringing glory to Almighty God.

I’ll post updates about the sermon throughout the week. Until then, have a great day and keep seeking out God’s vision.

Book Review, Discipleship, Ethos, Experience, Leadership, Ministry, Youth Ministry

Great Freedom and a Greater Responsibility

I’ve been reading Leading From the Second Chair by Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson this week. What a great resource this is! I only wish I had read it a few years ago so that I could have implemented some of its perspective in my first ministry position after college.

According to Bonem and Patterson, a Second-Chair Leader is a person in a subordinate role whose influence with others adds value throughout the organization(2). Basically it is someone who is a leader but is not the “lead leader.” Success for the Second Chair leader is found through influence and building strong relationships.

There is a great amount of freedom in that and I feel a great sense pride knowing that God has allowed me to gain influence and build strong relationships in every single working opportunity I’ve had. From working at a restaurant to campus security to my current position as a youth minister, being in the second chair (or third or eighth) has allowed me to serve in the most pure form of leadership there is: leading/serving without formal authority.

Have I always embraced this truth? Unfortunately not. I have complained and I have missed or refused many opportunities to look at the big picture. The reality is, thankfully, that God has used/is now using/will use my experiences in the second chair as a “transformational season” in my life. That is an awesome truth that I will and must embrace!

Bonem and Patterson go on discuss the three paradoxes of Second Chair Leadership: subordinate-leader, deep-wide, and contentment-dreaming. In discussing these paradoxes I realized how incredibly privileged I am to be in a second chair role. There is freedom but as the number two (or three or eight) I have a even greater responsibility not just to my particular ministry but to everyone that I come in contact with. I’ll unpack these paradoxes tomorrow.

Until then, Are you in the second chair leadership position where you lead? If so, have you ever looked at this position as an opportunity for growth and strength?

What would it take for you to begin gaining influence and building stronger relationships across your entire organization from your current second chair position today?

Discipleship, Ethos, Leadership, Life, Ministry, Preaching

Man Time

I’m headed off on our Men’s Retreat this afternoon.

It will be a nice change of pace to be on a retreat with adults rather than teens. It will also be nice to go on a retreat that I haven’t scheduled or planned. I’m the AV guy and I do have a presentation on Teen Mentoring but it should be a relaxing 2 days.

I’m taking a few books with me. I’ll start Nancy Ortberg’s Looking for God and (hopefully) I’ll knock out a good chunk of Neal Gabler’s 912 page biography of Walt Disney.

I have been trying to get to the bio of Uncle Walt for some time but other books have gotten in the way. On March 30, I’m preaching on The Vision of a Leader and I can’t think of anyone in the modern age with more vision that Walt Disney. Of course, Walt surrounded himself with other visionaries and experts. Men “on the ground” like Ub Iwerks and those men and women of the creative team known as The Imagineers have helped carry out Walt’s vision and have even managed to take his vision further than he ever imagined.

I am convinced that you, personally, can have a vision for something but ultimately vision is a team sport. I once heard that as iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens the other. Sounds like whoever said that knew what they were talking about.

Have a great weekend everyone.