How to Change the World

We all want to make an impact on our world today, right?  To leave this earth knowing that we’re leaving a legacy.  But only a very small number of us get to be in (or want to be in, for that matter) positions that carry enough influence to actually change things.  So I propose another way…one that can create a ripple effect of ginormous proportions.  And it is a simple, one-life-at-a-time, three-pronged approach totally rooted in love:

1. Listen more intently.
2. Encourage more readily.
3. Give more generously.

It’s so simple that anyone can do it, yet bears a difficulty because it requires you and me to think less of…well…you and me.  We’re forced to think of the other guy when we approach it this way.  Think about it.

If we were to listen more intently, we might actually hear what others are saying. I am horrible about concocting my response to the other person before they are even finished talking!  How am I supposed to respond to what the other person is saying if I have not heard what they are saying.    Another bad habit I have is interrupting before the other person is done to interject the response I concocted to the thing they are talking about.  You know, the thing that I didn’t hear because I was responding in my head.  Kind of humorous, isn’t it?  I was unable to find research to back this, but I read somewhere recently that the average person interrupts someone else in conversation every 15-18 seconds.  If I would take my focus off myself, I might actually learn something.  And imagine the problems, conflicts and issues I could avoid just by listening.  Also, listening more intently can lead to the second thing.

If we were to encourage more readily, others mighty actually feel better about themselves and us. My brother has a God-given ability of encouragement, in my opinion.    He sees the best in people and hands it out eagerly.  If my day sucks, many times I will call him up just to get lifted up out of the rut.  Do you know someone like this?  I think this is a huge act of love and selflessness.  To take the time to realize something positive about another and then to go the next step and speak it.  To encourage is literally  to instill courage into others.  If I am down about my job and receive encouragement  from a peer, my attitude changes and my countenance is uplifted.  I think intentional listening is closely tied to encouraging.  it’s hard to point out the good things of another if you do not listen for them!

Lastly, if we were to give more generously, need would become more scarce, injustices would be eliminated, and love would be spread. The recent movie The Blind Side is a wonderful illustration of this.  Michael Oher was a teenager without a home, a family, and a future.  That is until he met the Tuohy family.  To sum up a very powerful story, the Tuohy family took Michael under their wing, giving him food, shelter, clothes, and a future.  Most importantly, they gave him love.  What would happen if we all saw the world through the lenses of love like the Tuohys?  It is easy to say that the Tuohy’s gave because they had it to give.  But we can all give out of our resources.  It may be $10 to provide clean water.  It may be an hour a week as a tutor to a child that is struggling in school.  Or taking assessment of our stuff and giving away what we don’t need to those who need it.  

The bottom line is this: each of us has the power to change the world one life at a time.  We just have to be willing to put others before ourselves.

Filed under: rethink

Your Love is Strong

I have been listening to a song almost non-stop this weekend by Jon Foreman.  Absolutely love it!  It’s called Your Love is Strong.  This song has ministered to me incredibly and I hope it does to you too…

Listen to it here.

Heavenly Father, You always amaze me
Let your kingdom come in my world and in my life
You give me the food I need to live through the day
And forgive me as I forgive the people that wronged me
Lead me far from temptation, deliver me from the evil one

I look out the window, the birds are composing
Not a note is out of tune or out of place
I look at the meadow and stare at the flowers
Better dressed than any girl on her wedding day

So why do I worry?  Why do I freak out?
God knows what I need, You know what I need

Your love is, Your love is
Your love is strong

The kingdom of the heavens is now advancing
Invade my heart, invade this broken town
The kingdom of the heaven is buried treasure
Will you sell yourself to buy the one you’ve found?

Two things you told me that You are strong
And you love me, yes, you love me

Our God in heaven hallowed be
Thy name above all names
Your kingdom come, Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us today our daily bread
Forgive us wicked sinners
Lead us far away from our vices
And deliver us from these prisons

Filed under: renew , jon foreman, your love is strong

Beautifully Rich

I’m reading through the book of Leviticus on my year long journey to read the Bible cover-to-cover.  I find it hard to relate through most of it because I neither have experience around the types of animals mentioned nor do I have the stomach for the amount of blood required in the sacrificial process.  However, I find my faith refreshed as I read for a few reasons.

I see Jesus. The Lord is patiently teaching my feeble mind to look for Jesus as I read through the Old Testament books.  It is very difficult, yet quite rewarding at the same time.  To uncover the mysteries is invigorating!  The entire Bible, from animal sacrifices to the final days of Revelation, points to Jesus and is dripping with Him.  HE fulfilled every type of sacrifice.  Which leads me to the fact that…

I don’t have to perform the sacrifices. God knew that it would be only a matter of time that the sacrifices would turn into meaningless ritual for many.  That they would perform the sacrifices while their hearts drifted to idols and other gods.  I believe He also knew that no one could satisfy the tremendous debt sin has caused, regardless of how accurate the sacrifices were performed or how often.  It is our sin nature that proves this.  Which points to the reason for the sacrifices…

Sin is serious stuff. As I read through the detail of the sacrifices, I cannot deny the reality of the crushing weight of sin.  Paul said in Romans that the wages of sin is death.  How do we escape and find freedom?  Simple solution is costly sacrifice.  The people were required to bring their best bull or lamb or goat or bird.  The offerings were to be without blemish.  The bread had to be free from leaven, or  yeast, which is a biblical symbol for sin.  This leads me to the wonderful truth that…

Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice. In His sovereign wisdom, God knew that our sin nature would plague us, and that the separation between us and Him due to our sin would require the greatest sacrifice.  And that was His one and only Son.  He gave Jesus freely so that the wages of sin would be paid by His perfect blood, therefore giving us life.

I never realized how beautifully rich the book of Leviticus could be.

Filed under: renew, rethink , Jesus, leviticus, sacrifices

One year out of ministry

One year ago, I left my career in the ministry to move to Knoxville and re-enter the workforce.  It has been a big adjustment.

First of all, I went from a creative role as a worship pastor at a church to a technical role as a project analyst at an engineering and construction site.  Very challenging shift.

Secondly, working for a church is much different then working in a regular job.  Some things I had to reacquaint myself with…

• Cusswords. Don’t have a problem with it, it’s just not something you hear in a church environment…or at least one in the south!
• 5:00 AM. My clock didn’t used to have this time on it.  It usually didn’t start before 6:30 or 7:00.
• Meetings don’t end in prayer. For some reason, this has been the biggest adjustment of them all.
• Security.  All I can say about that is “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”  HA!  Seriously, the place I work is quite secure.  Think “national security”.

It has been very refreshing for me to be back at a “normal” job.  The ministry is tough.  Demands are quite high and you have to live in a glass house.  It sucks.  I like the fact that when I go to work, I don’t have to pretend to have all my junk in place.  (I could use another word there, but I’ll choose to keep this censored. )

So the change has taken some getting used to, but I like it.  There are some really good people that I have gotten to know.  And I have an opportunity to live out the gospel before many people who do not have a relationship with Jesus every single day.  Can’t get that in a church!

Filed under: relive

Stop Trying to Be Perfect (part iv)

Grace.  Grieving.  Growth.

Rounding out my recap of last Sunday’s message brings us to generosity.  This is a hot topic right now in our society because of the earthquakes in Haiti.  There are many outlets to give to the victims of this horrendous event.  But instead of giving a list that would be far from exhaustive on ways you can give to Haiti, I want to share what God’s doing in my heart in the realm of generosity.

For a very long time I have been extremely stingy with my finances.  Giving to my church was usually done out of obligation rather then joy and excitement at the chance to give.  I’d pass one less fortunate then me on the street and do everything I could to ignore them so I wouldn’t have to give or feel guilty for not giving.  Opportunities to give were, to me, a nuisance.  An inconvenience.  How wicked is my heart?

The Lord has pressed in on this area of my life and the only way I could respond was to ask Him to change me.  And He’s been working.  The slow and steady pace of the process has made me realize how deeply rooted my selfishness has been.  The way God works is beautiful.

Today, I’m still selfish.  I still think of keeping MY money for MY security.  But through opportunities to give to organizations like Compassion, Water Missions International, and my church, God is melting this heart of stone.  His leadings are becoming a bit unnerving because He is stretching me way out of my comfort zone.  But I know it’s necessary in order for me to grow as a disciple of Christ.

Filed under: renew , generosity, giving, renew

Stop Trying to Be Perfect (part iii)

I continue this little recap of my pastor’s message from last Sunday and how it has been working out in my life.  Part 3 is on growth.  This is one of my favorite things to think about and talk about.  But instead of regurgitating things said before, check here and read a 5 part series I did on my pursuit of personal growth.

Tomorrow I’ll finish up with part iv, focusing on generosity.

Filed under: renew , mantra, personal growth

Stop Trying to Be Perfect (part ii)

The second piece to the puzzle when considering how to cease the pointless pursuit of perfection is grieving.  Matthew 5:4 says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”  For years I have interpreted this to be geared towards those who have lost loved ones or who are enduring great tragedy.  But my pastor, Bobby, cast a different light on this.  This verse, I learned, is more about the condition of one’s heart rather than circumstances endured.  It has to do with a grieving that is brought on by an honest assessment of our hearts from God’s point of view.

Proverbs 21:2 says, “every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weights the heart.”  What this says is that my perception of life, my ideas, my plans, all of my inner thoughts are right to me as I compare to other lives and as I rationalize the validity of “me”.  But if I will humbly seek God’s vantage point, my eyes will see the horror of what is the real condition of my heart.

God wants us to be broken sometimes over the condition of our hearts. Can I be real?  My heart is wicked.  I received something in the mail the other day about giving to the people in Haiti after the horrific earthquakes, and my response was to scan over it and then put it in a pile of junk mail deemed for the trash can.  Why?  Because I give other places and don’t have anything else to give.  I’m furious at myself as I write this because I put my cushy, well-provided for little American life before the homeless, starving and orphaned populace of Haiti…all because I need to make sure I have enough for food and entertainment and the such.  How disgusting is that?  It is a reality I have realized about the condition of my heart.  I will always put myself before others when left to my own devices.

I need to tie this to yesterday’s post on grace, because it is reflections upon God’s grace that has brought me to this point.  It isn’t some self-despising, beat up session, but rather an honest assessment on the current condition of my heart when I hold it up to the light of grace.  Grace is something I do not deserve and never will.  Nothing I have done or will do can earn me God’s favor.  It was a decision He made to sacrifice Himself for the sake of each one of us.  When you consider the weight of His sacrifice in light of the magnitude of our sin, it can only bring you to a place of realizing that nothing in you is good when left to your own.

So are you willing to grieve over the condition of your heat?  To take an honest look at what’s inside from God’s perspective, to join with the psalmist and pray:

Search me, o God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts.  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  (Psalm 139:23-24)

Filed under: renew , renew

Stop Trying to Be Perfect (part i)

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m devoting the rest of this week to discussing how the message from church on Sunday is playing out in my life.  There were four thoughts my pastor, Bobby, focused on, and the first of those is grace.  The first place to stop on the road to realizing we aren’t perfect is to accept God’s grace.

Answer me this.  Can someone receive grace if they have never become broken over their need for it?  Over the course of my life, I have read, talked, learned, studied, and sung about the grace of God.  But I would say for the majority of it, I had not been truly broken over my need for it.  I lived, to some extent, to a list of do’s and don’ts that I learned in church, which led me toward dependence upon myself and the list and away from the realization that I couldn’t live reliant on my own power.  I was a white washed tomb, clean on the exterior, but a festering cesspool of pride, lust, and self-absorption…to name a few.

That all changed, however, when the Lord began to break me at the very depths of my being.  My world fell apart and the only place I knew to turn was upward.  For the first time, I saw my extreme need for God’s grace to rescue me from myself.  And I’m so thankful He has.

So I ask you this question.  Have you become broken over the sin and depravity in  your life and recognized your need for the grace of God?

Filed under: renew , grace, renew

Brain dump

My brain is swimming.  So much going on…so hard to keep up.  The ensuing brain dump is a necessity for my sanity…

• My four kids are absolutely amazing!  Got to spend some one-on-one with my 7-year old, Stephen, this weekend and that was priceless.  Pizza, soda, popcorn, Wii, and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.  How can you top that?
• Speaking of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Mr. T was in it.  One of the many highlights for me.
• I get to lead worship at Celebrate Recovery every Friday night, and this past week was incredible!  (CR is a Christ-centered 12 step program.)
• Church today was off the chain.  The Ridge band opened with one of my fave Switchfoot songs…”Stars”.  These guys (and gal) are legit.  Tal-en-ted!
• Bobby, aka Pastor, brought a very good message to kick off the “No Perfect People Allowed” series.  Guess what?  You’re not perfect.  Neither am I.  Now that we have that out of the way…
• Saw Avatar tonight with Bobby, aka Pastor.  Out of this world.  It blows my mind that there are creative types out there who can dream up entire new worlds filled with new animals and plants species.
• God is pushing me hard in a few areas, especially as I press into Him more and more.  It is a wonderful place to be!  I just ask for the strength to obey as He leads…that’s tough!

I want to break down Bobby’s message this week and how God is speaking into my life through it.  There were four points: grace, grieving, growth, and generosity.  That will just about cover this week, so I’m stoked!

Filed under: relive , relive

Just As I Am

The other day, I was thinking about my kiddos and praying over them when God impressed on strongly upon me that each of them were created exactly as He intended.  Every cell of their body, every piece of their personality, He created and loves and knows intimately.  In the days since, He has spoken the same thing to me regarding other people in my life, as well as myself.

God don’t make no junk.  It’s something I heard my  brother tell me recently as we discussed life and how to live it.  That is so true!  He took His time creating you and me, putting together every detail with skill and precision.

So why do I feel so unworthy, inadequate, and messed up?  The simple answer is sin.  May we reclaim that word from the churchy, Sunday School answer it has become.  Sin is a powerfully destructive force that has ripped each of us apart, stained us black, and separated us from the intimate relationship with God that we were created to have.  It is evil.  It’s a disease.  And it’s very much alive in all of us.

The illustration I have used a lot with my kids is from Spiderman 3.  In it is the battle with an alien symbiote that aggressively attaches itself to a host, and then contorts the host’s characteristics, truly becoming a monster.  Many times Spidey tries to get rid of it, but it just clings to him.

That’s sin.  It’s nasty.  And, if I can be honest, you and I are powerless to combat it on our own.  We need to be rescued from it.  And that is the brilliance of the cross and the One who willingly died upon it.  Jesus took away the power of sin on our lives and gave us the power through His Spirit to overcome each and everyday.  And here’s a beautiful fact: it isn’t because of anything you or I have done or ever could do.  It is only because of His great love for us that He did what He did.  He accepts us as we are so that He can restore us to become who He created us to be.

There’s an old hymn I love that was written by Charlotte Elliott.  The story behind Just As I Am is a beautiful and powerful lesson for all of us…

Filed under: renew , just as i am, charlotte elliott