Aug 04

Be Wary of Judging Past Heroes

Everything is being examined in our culture–from food brand names to faces on Mount Rushmore, nothing is beyond criticism. Universities are renaming buildings and statues are being placed in storage all because we are judging past heroes as unworthy of esteem. Let me offer four thoughts for us to consider as we go through this process.

  1. Be aware you are judging the heroes outside of their own context. The study of history involves the constant evaluation of past events, but in order to properly evaluate one needs to understand the context of the person or event. To take past leaders and heroes and judge them based upon our current cultural standards is grossly unfair. In many ways, you could argue they could never meet our standards because they had often a completely different set of cultural standards and expectations which they were totally immersed in through their entire lives.
  2. Recognize that you are failing to appreciate traits worthy of esteem. If past generations esteemed these men and women as impactful, influential, and worthy of emulation, then we should pause and ask ourselves what traits existed in these heroes. If we focus solely on their failures and mistakes, we miss out on the virtuous and worthy qualities of their lives. Men like Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant demonstrate many worthy qualities that our present generation needs to know and appreciate.
  3. You are forgetting that all humans make mistakes. A Christian perspective, and a perspective from anyone who has lived past 10 years of age, is that all people fall short of ideal. Since when did we think that honoring and esteeming a man or woman for worthy contributions and sacrifices in one area meant they were morally pure and virtuous in all areas? I believe if we were to apply such rigid standards to every person we could have no heroes, statues, or legends except Jesus Christ the only perfect person! We need to honestly see their failures and learn from them too. The Bible is an amazing book because God revealed its heroes with all their warts, sins, and successes. Yet, even in these unabashed potrayals of men like Samson, David, and Peter, we find heroes of the faith worthy of honor and emulation.
  4. Consider how the future will judge our generation and show mercy. Any student of history can tell you how swiftly culture changes through the years. Who knows what type of culture will exist 100 or 200 years from now? How will they judge our heroes and leaders? Will they judge them by their standards or by ours? Will they pull down all the men and women we felt were worthy of honor and recognition? I hope they grant us mercy; we certainly need it. Let’s give past leaders mercy and grace too. See their flaws; see their successes; and appreciate what we can learn from them. If we do that, we can be thankful for their courage and willingness to enter the public arena–offering themselves up to posterity.

I think past generations would want the same thing many are wanting today–understanding. Let’s grant that blessing to them. Understand who they were in the context of their times and value their contributions, while also learning from their failures.

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Jul 29

Has COVID Dimmed Your Light?

We teach children to let their “little Christian light” shine all around the neighborhood. Jesus said Christians are the “light of the world” (Mat. 5:14). I think we need to add an additional verse to the children’s hymn which currently speaks of hiding our light under a bushel or letting Satan blow out our light. Let’s add a verse something like this “don’t let COVID dim my light!”

The dramatic changes and affects to our culture because of COVID-19 have impacted Christians greatly. Churches did not meet for over 2 months offering virtual services only. Sunday schools have been suspended. VBS was postponed till next year. Attendance in worship is down a significant percentage after churches have restarted and there are less assemblies.

I understand some of the reasons. I also know that the temptation is real for Christians to let their lights go dim. Their love for Christ can grow cold. We need church assemblies for edification, exhortation, education, inspiration, affirmation, and correction. We need group Bible studies to challenge and inspire. We need accountability and volunteer roles to fulfill. We are tempted to fill our lives with other things. We can become selfish and focused on our pursuits. The good “habit” of church can be a lost “habit” we feel we don’t need anymore.

Jesus commands us, “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning” (Luke 12:35). We must constantly be on guard against temptation; understanding the flesh is weak (Luke 22:31-46; Mat. 5:13).

On these hot summer days our flowers need water daily. If they don’t get regular water, they will dry up and die! A Christian needs daily watering too of the “living water” found in Jesus and His word (John 4). Has COVID and the chaos of 2020 dimmed your light? Put some effort into letting your light shine in this dark world for Christ.

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Jul 22

The Importance of Listening

“President Theodore Roosevelt was a man of action, but he was also a good listener, and he appreciated that quality in others. Once in a gala ball, he grew tired of meeting people who returned his remarks with stiff, mindless pleasantries. So he began to greet people with a smile, saying, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” Most people, so nervous about meeting him, didn’t even hear what he said. But one diplomat did. Upon hearing the president’s remark, he leaned over and whispered to him, “I’m sure she had it coming to her!” The only way to find out what you’re missing is to start listening”(1).

We are poor listeners to one another. Maybe, this is why we are shouting so loudly and violently at one another. The Holy Spirit tells us to be “quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger” (James 1:19). The ancient Proverbs writer said, “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame” (Prov. 18:13). A key character quality we should all seek to develop is listening.

Consider these three reasons why we should use our ears more than our mouths!

First, listening is an act of love and compassion. We communicate love to others by listening. Prioritize looking at the speaker seeking to maintain eye contact. Be attentive, yet non-anxious. Respond with caring, loving questions that seek to clarify and explore the persons thoughts. Give the speaker non-verbal feedback cues that signal your love and concern. Love isn’t just spoken, it is demonstrated through hearing.

Second, listening is done with the heart, as well as the ears. What most desperate, hurting people need is someone to truly listen to them. Suicides have been prevented, divorces avoided, and nations brought back from the brink of war because people chose to truly listen and care. Listening with the heart means understanding the person’s background and perspective, hearing non-judgmentally, and feeling their emotions with them.

Third, listening is the only way we can truly know what the other person is thinking or feeling. As John Maxell says, “A good leader encourages followers to tell him what he needs to know, not what he wants to hear.” Many messages are tough to say and hear, but cannot be known unless communicated. Listening is a means of discovery and exploration into another’s mind. Listening prevents, educates, instructs, and avoids. We should invite others to speak so we can listen. As Larry King said, “I remind myself every morning: nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening” (1).

Determine to make a difference by listening from your heart!

(1) – John Maxwell. The 21 Indispensible Qualities of a Leader. p. 74-80

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Jul 01

God Uniquely Created You!

Michael Phelps has won 28 Olympic medals, of which 23 are gold medals. This is the most of any Olympian in any sport. Americans watched his Olympic races with excitement pulling for his victory. Fewer Americans recognize the name Hicham El Guerrouj. El Guerrouj is an Olympic Moroccan runner who holds two Olympic gold medals and is one of the greatest middle-distance runners of all time. For many years, he held the world record in the mile, 1,500-meter, and 2,000-meter races.

These two athletes illustrate how God uniquely designed them for their particular athletic competition. They differ significantly in height. El Guerrouj is five feet, nine inches tall. Phelps is six feet, four inches tall. Amazingly, despite this seven-inch difference in height, the two men are identical in one respect: they wear the same inseam on their pants! You see Phelps has relatively short legs and a very long torso, while El Guerrouj has incredibly long legs and a short upper body. Phelps body is ideal for swimming with long arms and torso to pull his body through the water, while El Guerrouj has long legs for fast running.

Their uniqueness doesn’t stop there. At peak fitness, Phelps weighed 194 pounds, which is 40 percent heavier than El Guerrouj, who competed at an ultra-light 138 pounds. In running, every extra pound is a curse, but in swimming Phelps needed every pound of muscle he could use to propel him forward!

Imagine if you switched these two athletes. How would Phelps do as a long distance runner? How would El Guerrouj do as a swimmer? Obviously neither would have been world class athletes in the opposite sport because their bodies were not uniquely designed for the sport (1).

I believe God uniquely designs each of us for service and contribution in this world. Paul said, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). We are each made differently. We are not expected to match someone else, but to use our unique skills and talents. Your skill set may not make you famous or win you an Olympic gold medal, but God created you to bring glory to His name! Choose your right fit and give it all for the Lord’s glory!

————

(1) The source for this illustration was the book Atomic Habits by James Clear.

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Jun 23

Paul’s Six Step Method for Dealing with Anxiety

Paul understood we would have worries and anxieties in this life [see my post about this]. Paul himself dealt with many (2 Cor. 11:16-29). We certainly have reasons to worry today. Our recent wave of fear, crisis, and worry should drive us to God’s word for an answer. Paul’s answer can be seen in Philippians 4:4-9. There we find six steps to deal with anxiety today.

  1. Rejoice in the Lord (Phil. 4:4). Paul intentionally focused on choosing joy in the Lord. Though he wrote from a Roman prison, he still chose to highlight his joy all through the letter. Paul had joy despite his circumstances because he had the Lord. The world’s happiness will always come short of the joy found in the Lord!
  2. Be Reasonable (Phil. 4:5). Paul is expressing the idea of calmness under pressure. We need to have wisdom, patience, and reasonableness about us. Don’t be flighty and jumpy at every concern. We need to be balanced, grounded, and centered in God. Picture yourself as a great cruise ship slowly steaming ahead in faith despite the world’s waves and winds.
  3. Pray with Request and Thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6). If it is not worth praying about it, then it is not worth worrying about! Worry is like a rocking chair, you can rock all day and get nowhere! Prayer should be our first and most powerful response to the anxiety we feel. God gives us an open invitation to pray, but He requires we count our blessings through thanksgiving when we do.
  4. Accept the Peace of God (Phil. 4:7). God’s peace is an inward reassurance that Christians possess through faith. It is a peace that protects or guards our hearts and minds from the lies, anxiety, and threats of Satan. God’s peace is there, we have to choose to accept it by casting out fear (1 John 4:18).
  5. Meditate on Good Things (Phil. 4:8). When you feel anxious, ask yourself what have you been putting into your mind. A constant diet of negative, anxiety-producing information will increase your worry and blood pressure. Paul tells us to focus on pure, good, honorable, and lovely things.
  6. Live according to your theology, not your anxiety (Phil. 4:9). Paul ends this section by reminding us to practice these attributes. In reading this article, you probably haven’t learned anything new, but hopefully it has served as a reminder to practice what you know. We have to live our faith, not our fears.

May Christians represent the peace and joy of God in world desperately in need of it today.

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Jun 17

The Father You Try Not to Annoy

The concept of being wanted by a father was foreign to Francis Chan. His mother died while giving birth to him. His father never had a meaningful conversation with him. There was no comfort, affection, or physical touch, except for the beatings he would receive for disobeying or bothering him. His goal in the relationship was not to bother or annoy his father.

Francis naturally translated these same thoughts over to his Heavenly Father. He lived not trying to annoy or upset God. His earthly father died when he was twelve. He was relieved in many ways to be free from the burden. But he still lived with the fears and desire not to annoy God (Crazy Love, p. 52-53).

As I read Chan’s personal story I couldn’t help but wonder how many live trying to not annoy God. They view God like an umpire ready to call strikes and eventually yell loudly, “You’re Out!”. We view God like an inattentive father trying to get his own work done; the message is clear, just leave him alone and don’t bother him. This causes many to not consider pursuing a relationship with God, but they just focus on not annoying Him.

This is very bad theology though! It is a wrong view of God and strips its victim from a vibrant personal relationship with God. The truth is God wants you! He formed you from the womb and created you for a specific purpose (Jer. 1:5-6; Ps 139:13-14). God loves you personally. He knows the hair on your head and values you (Mat. 10:29-30). He sent His Son to die for your sins so you could live with him for all eternity (John 3:16, 14:1-6). God wants a relationship with you! He isn’t too busy for you. But He also isn’t a Father you can ignore! He demands your respect, obedience, and attention. He offers you comfort, love, affection, peace, security, and strength! He desires you! So don’t live aloof and distant from God, thinking you are okay just not to annoy Him. That is not who your Heavenly Father is. He wants a daily relationship with you.

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Jun 09

Old Wisdom for New Technology

What is the latest debate going through social media? 2020 has had so many they seem to change daily. We are living in crazy times! Spending time on social media is no longer a relaxing time of seeing pictures from friends and family, but it is an anxiety-filled experience of finding out the latest topics that divide your friends and family. Add in the fact that many were [are] quarantined, which has caused increase use of social media. Social media creates a constant cultural narrative and debate that we often feel we must weigh in on ourselves. I want to share some ancient Proverbs that should inform our posting! Before posting consider this old wisdom for new technology.

  • Words are powerful! “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” (Proverbs 18:21) What you post, comment upon, tweet, or snap-chat matters! Words can encourage, but also destroy, they can give hope, or cause despair. Your words matter, so measure them!
  • Silence (not typing) is an option! “Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble” (Prov. 21:23). Everyone has an opinion. Since they are sharing theirs we feel like others need or want to hear ours. Often the best thing we can do is be silent. We can avoid much trouble online and in daily living if we control our tongues!
  • Consider your sources! “With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered” (Prov. 11:9). Applying this verse to social media, we could write, “Your news feed can destroy you!”. People’s opinions, news articles, and blog posts often come from a worldly, secular, godless perspective. It can harm you emotionally and greatly influence your thoughts and beliefs. Consider your sources, it is only through truth and godly knowledge that you will be delivered. In other words, read your Bibles to know truth and know right from wrong, not social media.
  • Be real, not phony! “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth, a stranger, and not your own lips” (Prov. 27:2). “A flattering mouth works ruin” (Prov. 26:28). Social media temps us to be someone we are not. We feel compelled to fit an expectation and image supplied by the world. We pretend, pose, and fake it. Proverbs sees this as arrogance, foolishness, and leading to certain exposure. Be yourself. Realize you are seeing the best of others online and they are real people too.

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Jun 03

Our Obsession with Who is the Greatest?

The Michael Jordan documentary “The Last Dance” was highly successful and introduced younger fans to Michael Jordan. It reignited on sports talk shows the discussion of who is the greatest basketball player of all-time. ESPN even produced a list of the top players of all-time. This same debate happens in every sport, even sometimes between sports in the conversation of who is the greatest athlete.

I would like to weigh in on this discussion, not to argue for one player over another, but to share some thoughts I have about our obsession with who is the greatest. While this can be a fun debate, I think we often miss the forest for the tree by such a focus. So notice three problems with focusing on the question of “Who is the greatest?”.

First, focusing on selecting the one greatest of all does a disservice to recognizing the unique talents and skills others possessed. For example, basketball players fill different positions. How do you accurately compare a center like Shaq or Kareem to a guard like Jordan or Magic? They had very different skills sets, expectations, and body types.

Second, focusing on selecting the one greatest of all nominates a winner and then divides allegiance along those lines. Fans or “experts” select who they feel is the greatest and put them up on a pedestal. People choose and debate who is the greatest and take sides based on their opinion. It divides people into various camps.

Third, focusing on selecting the one greatest of all fails to really capture the true essence of greatness. These arguments in sports are really about who is the greatest AT something. Truthfully, they are just proclaimed “great” because they could shoot or hit a ball and do it better than everyone else. It truth, it isn’t a statement about their love, kindness, generosity, worth, or status; but simply saying they were great AT something.

Jesus’ disciples had a similar debate. It wasn’t about sports icons, but it was the same debate that rages today, “Who is the greatest?” (Mat. 18:1). This debate still rages in churches, businesses, marriages, and generally anywhere there two or more are gathered! At the root of most any dispute is a debate about “Who is the greatest?”.

The “Who is the greatest?” debate is so troublesome and concerning because it fails to recognize the talents and skills of others, divides people along party lines, and fails to capture the true essence of greatness. Read the three points earlier I made about debating the greatest sports icon, and see if they don’t apply directly to a church, family, or business. Jesus taught us that true greatness is servanthood (Mat. 20:26-27; John 13). Maybe we are so obsessed with selecting the GOAT’s of the sporting world, because we live each day jockeying for position and seeking to crown ourselves the GOAT of our own little arenas. We are just like the disciples arguing with one another “Who is the greatest?”.

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May 27

Who are you mimicking?

Every child learns the annoying game–“Repeat” or “Copy Cat” at some point. They will repeat everything you say right after you say it. Parents eventually have to break into the game and make the child stop repeating everything. Adults sometimes describe this action as “mimicking” another person. It simply means “to imitate, copy, or impersonate.”

We get the word “mimic” from a greek term used in the Bible. John uses the term in 3 John 11, when he says, “Beloved, do not imitate evil, but imitate good.” John says literally don’t mimic evil, but mimic good. When it comes to you playing the “Repeat” or “Copy Cat” game in life, you need to only repeat or copy good, not evil!

What does this mean for our own life? Here are some thoughts . . .

  • The scary part of parenting is that kids are going to play the “Repeat” game in life. They follow and imitate their parent’s example and choices more than anyone else. If you are a parent, are you giving an example of good or evil for your kids to mimic?
  • We are created in a way that makes us naturally desire to imitate and follow others. We mimic those around us, those we esteem, and the celebrities of our culture. Thus, we must be very intentional and cognizant of who we put up in our own lives as worthy of imitation. We need to seek to find strong Christian examples to mimic!
  • The world puts up all kinds of evil examples for us to mimic. The world will shape us through music, TV, movies, books, sports heroes, and celebrities. It is very tempting for us to mimic these examples. They have glamour, money, the cool factor, and are plentiful. But if we are honest, we must admit that while they often contain elements of good, much of their lifestyle and message is evil. We must refuse to mimic the world’s idols.
  • The only person truly worthy of our mimicking is Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul got it right, when he told the Corinthians, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). As a Christian, our imitation should always be of our Savior! We are to mimic his light in this world of darkness.

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May 21

Vision Questions For Church Leaders Dealing with COVID-19

How is your 20/20 vision going? Just a guess, but I am thinking the Lord was laughing at some of our January sermons about our “20/20 vision” for the year! But all is not loss, church leaders should consider these five vision questions as they deal with COVID-19. These questions will help you use this situation to more effectively serve the Lord in the months to come. Let me encourage elderships and church staffs to discuss these questions together.

  1. “What have we learned from COVID-19?” This is uncharted territory, which your church, community, and families have never experienced. What has God taught you through the experience? Many churches were forced to stop conducting in-person services for nearly two-months; did you ever expect that? Traditional service times, go-to ministries like Sunday school, and traditional pastoral and evangelistic practices have been made void during this time period. What have you learned that can help you be better into the future?
  2. “What is our vision?” Your church should have a specific, easily understood, and inspirational vision. There are generic visions (like “Love God; Love People” or “Save, Equip, Send”) which every church has to some degree; but I am challenging you to be specific in casting a vision for your church family now. Nehemiah cast a compelling, specific, and unifying vision to rebuild the wall. What vision will your leadership team cast for the future?
  3. “What opportunities for the cause of Christ has this provided for us now?” Your community has changed; with changes come new opportunities. The effects of COVID-19 will be far-reaching when it comes to addictions, depression, financial burdens, and way-ward church members. What needs are present that you have the opportunity to serve? What exposure has the church gained through online services or benevolent outreach that present opportunities?
  4. “What are our strengths as a church family that we can use for Christ?” COVID-19 has been a test for your church family. What has it revealed about your core membership strengths? What new skills and talents have you seen? What are the values of your church that have been revealed?
  5. “What threats do we have as a church going forward?” What are the dangers lurking in the next month, three months, six months, or year ahead? Are there fiscal threats to our church treasury? Are core ministries threaten at ever being the same–for example Sunday night services or children’s Bible classes? Knowing and foreseeing the threats is not paranoia, but is wise so you can appropriate navigate and mitigate them.

What other questions would you add that church leaders should be asking?

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