When Ministry Gets Fun

Last evening was so cool at our teen community. Love what I see
happening with the students but what is happening among the leaders
is very special. The Epic team is gifted, creative and passionate.
I get excited to see other leaders emerge and then experience the
flow of God's passion and heart thru them. There is nothing like
experiencing the Lord of the universe using you to change even a
small part of the world. That is what they are experiencing. I am
so proud of these leaders and more, I am excited to see how the hand
of God will continue to flow thru them in Epic and who knows how
else. These guys and gals are changing the world... and their world
is changing, too!

Governors

It is a blast to be on the golf cart, be the one driving and go down
a hill as fast as possible. I love to stir in my golfing partners,
"What's he doing?" But you must know that the golf carts have a
governor, a restriction on how fast they will go. That restriction
is for safety. James 3 says we need governors for our mouths.
Sometimes, especially in heated moments. Our moths can run too fast
and become dangerous for those riding with us in life. A governor is
the ability to stop yourself from speaking something you may feel at
the moment, resisting the downhill movement of the relationship, for
the protection of those you are speaking to and those around you. If
the governor of our mouth is removed, the pace in a heated exchange
picks up and the damage begins to multiply.

Opening the Future Thru Obedience

Yesterday at GR Church many new people chose to trust God in
tithing. They are in for such a cool life of seeing God's hand,
having their own God-stories and expanding their faith to many other
areas. Money is such a hard place to trust the Lord and yet, the
choice to obey stirs faith for family, future challenges and
everywhere else. Here's the deal. If money is the hardest area and
the Lord shows up there... where will he not show up? That is why I
am so jazzed today for those who took the risk, took God at his word
and are entering the best days of their lives. I am excited to pray
for them. I am excited for their families. They will see the Lord
in ways others only hear about. So cool to follow the Lord! So cool
to lead others to the open door of God's blessing.

Leaders on the Shelf

It can happen that we are called to lead but not accepted as a
leader. I Samuel 10-11 Saul is anointed to lead but some question
his leadership. My observation is that we have the tendency to fight
in those moments, to push back. Saul, he goes about life, no need to
assert his position as king. He goes about life and waits.
Eventually, the need for a leader becomes apparent and he steps up,
uses his influence, makes tactical steps and wins the day.

Crisis always opens the door for new leadership. The leader who
pushes their way in will lose influence. Those who know they are
called and are willing to go about life and allow the Lord to open
the moment for them gain credibility. Being put on the shelf as a
leader can be painful. Moses knew he was the leader but it was 4
decades before he led. Eventually, he becomes one of the most
critical leaders of the Bible. Waiting is hard. Waiting for you
time is immensely hard. Watching the months and years go by, knowing
you have something to offer, wondering what God is doing, or is He
doing anything? But the time comes. The Spirit moves and the
opportunity explodes. Time to lead. And then it becomes clear to
others. Your time will come. The call to leadership is about a
larger purpose. Don't let the dream die but don't fight the wrong
battles either.

Leading by Mantra

We have a strong conviction at GraceRiver that we are people of
destiny. That is our mantra. When that mantra is experienced even
lightly it becomes a flood of hope, passion and conviction that
explodes in faith and determination. We so believe it that we make
decisions because of it. Our current building questions we are
facing thru a deep conviction that we must respond not just to our
circumstances but to our destiny. If we walk in the destiny the Lord
will protect and provide. We, then, will walk in bold faith and
therefore be stretched and as a result we will experience major moves
of the Lord.

"People of Destiny" was the mantra God told the Israelites coming out
of Egypt. It was also the words to the church (The gates of hell
shall not hold you back. I am with you always. You will do greater
miracles than this.). When this mantra captures the imagination of
people the future unlocks, opportunities are everywhere and a people
are formed. When we are captured by this mantra we will live it out
loud and that will capture the imagination of the community. We lead
by mantra. We lead by it. Leading by mantra means saying it,
believing it, making decisions with that deep conviction, facing
obstacles thru that lens, instilling that vision into the hearts,
minds and imaginations of our people. I cannot wait to see how this
mantra, a word we did not make up but received from the Lord, will
unleash faith, form families and neighborhoods and become magnetic.
We have a mantra that feeds our hearts and powers our imagination.
We have a mantra that stirs persistence and determination. We are
PEOPLE OF DESTINY!

Leadership, Placing and Re-Placing

The journey of GraceRiver Church has been intriguing. It has taken
us a bit to find our stride. Some of that is getting the right
people in the right places. Sometimes that can be a tough job
because a part of that is getting people who are in the wrong places
to be re-placed (put into another context). Tough as it may be it is
always the right step and when it is connected to the right heart
(deep conviction that all people have a part and place but it may not
be in their current context) it is a move of God, an avenue the Lord
uses to re-place them in the context they will flourish and have impact.

The "right place" is not a place without growth and struggle but it
is a place of fully buying into the vision and values. it is a place
that feeds your soul as you lead, give and serve others. Jesus
obviously experienced it. "My food is to do the will of my Father."
He said this when he was tired but was connecting the woman at the
well to the possibilities of life with him. Tired he was, yet
experiencing a passion flow into his own heart.

Leadership is about the right people in the right places and helping
the people who are misplaced to be re-placed (getting out of the
wrong place, put into the place they should be and getting who should
be in their former place... all three actions are essential). Feels
like we are fast approaching this momentum building at GR. These
next weeks and months are going to be very special.

Near and Far Choices

The alarm went off at 5:20 this morning to the news describing the
sell off of the overseas stock market. Already the government was
speaking to not join the fears. It is amazing how the fears of
people thousands of miles away, people we will never meet nor ever be
in proximity to have major impact upon our lives. What if this kicks
in a worse economic time... and it just might. Our fears do have
consequences upon the world. Our choices and decisions do reach far
beyond our own world. People who will never know us will be touched
by how we live. So, I put in a cancelation of a stock order. I'm
just hoping that my choices here at GR church will have influence on
thousands of people.

People of Destiny

We've been walking in destiny at GR. Destiny doesn't mean a life
without struggle, challenges and questions. It is however a sense of
purpose that refuses to give up, that opens our eyes wide to see how
the Lord will move and provide. This past week we had amazing God
moments. With having to move out of our building (another move) the
question was "Where to?" And the answer was not obvious. We spoke
with the middle school but no go. Eventually we would come back and
ask again and thru some conversation the door opened. Being people
of destiny doesn't mean we accept things. When the middle school
said no we kept praying and finally found a way to get them to say
yes. Yes it is, to the best school in the area! Yes it is to a
destiny that seems to keep unwrapping as we move forward. Yes, too,
to a group of people walking in faith and being formed by questions,
struggles, challenges and then the obvious move of God.

How do you walk in destiny? One step at a time, and in such belief
that you refuse to take no and should the answer be no, you look for
anther open door from the Lord. This destiny thing is pretty cool.
Can't wait to see how it unfolds in the next weeks and months.

Unconventional Paths To Leadership

Just how does one become a leader? Or maybe the better question is
what makes a leader? I Samuel is an interesting look at a leader who
doesn't think organizational. Samuel is a "seer" a judge, a
prophet. His leadership "power" flows from his listening to the
Lord, the Lord revealing himself to Samuel. This "seer" is GIVEN
influence by the people who know he hears from the Lord. As is often
stated, leadership is a lot less about position and a lot more about
the person (heart, skills, relationships). Some of us are very
gifted at org thinking and we bring God's hand to people and
communities that way. Others of us are more "seer" types, breathing
God's breath of life into people in decision and crisis times,
pointing direction as the Lord reveals himself to us. Leadership is
influence and influence is given, people choose to allow us to
influence them. Strength of personality can give influence. But so
can the quiet moments of sitting with the Lord and experiencing His
presence (thru the Word).

Say It Again and Again and ...

This isn't much of a listening culture. I would guess that some of
our aloneness has stirred us to talk... and to be listened to.
Listening is an act of dignifying, honoring, caring, respecting. But
there's not a lot of it going around. It is a discipline to listen
to another, to really stay engaged and not think about our response
before they finish their thought. It isn't hard to identify the
hunger to be heard. When you come across someone dying to be
listened to you might encounter this:
-they talk fast, afraid of not being able to finish
-they say it again and again. Repetition means I don't feel heard
yet. So I keep saying it and saying it and ...
-they get loud. Seems like we feel that the only way we can be heard
is to talk loud.

We do seem to be hard of hearing! But that is less a health problem
than a heart problem. The people we most need to listen to share the
same space with us. But those can be those we are less attuned. It
is hard work. But it is one more way to change the world, one person
and one neighborhood at a time.

What is Faith Anyway?

What is the difference between faith and foolishness? Haven't we all
known people who trusted the Lord but He didn't come thru? Was that
God's let down or the person's? Was it God wanting to do something
different than they had dreamed? In this journey of GraceRiver
Church we have come across numerous obstacles and challenges.
Believing that this is God's call we keep looking for His hand...and
it keeps showing up...at the last possible moment. The thin line
between faith and foolishness can be hard to navigate. It isn't just
persistence, it is a rock solid belief that the Lord is doing this
AND a willingness to allow him to "re-story" what he is doing. When
it seems like He has abandoned us we keep looking for his presence,
remaining open to the Lord showing us that what we thought he was
going to do was not quite on target. He is still Lord! Faith is
holding on to the word, hanging on to the hope, walking when we feel
like sitting, staying open to His new ways and His timing. Faith is
openness to the Lord to rewrite the journey as He deems it should
be. Faith is trusting that there are reasons to the rhymes we face.
My growing understanding is that God is always up to something
bigger, different, special. Faith is taking the journey with Him and
letting Him tell the story of the journey.

Caught by My Shadow

I went for a run around 5:30 this morning, early I know but the only
time I would get it in. The street lights create a shadow as I run.
On one turn my attention was grabbed by some trash people had out
(funny how we get caught in other people's trash isn't it). As I
turned to look my shadow came racing past me (the light that was in
front was now at a different angle throwing my shadow to the front
side) and momentarily spooked me. It looked like someone else was
catching me when it was just my shadow catching up.

Our shadow does eventually catch us. Where we've been does
eventually catch up to where we are and can even get ahead of us
("Your reputation precedes you!"). Shadows are distortions, too long
or short, not clear representations of who we are. But, they do "get
ahead" of us as we go thru life. I guess the best we can hope for is
that if we continue to be ourselves the distortions may be
characterizations, taking the best and distinctive components of who
we are and highlight them. I'm hoping my distortions are on the good
side and that as the light changes and moves around me, where I've
been and where I'm going converge and I don't spook anyone else!

Sensitivity

One of the most significant leadership disciplines is sensitivity.
Daniel Goleman (Primal Leadership) says that EQ (Emotional Quotient)
is THE key to impact upon the world. Sensitivity is about being
aware not only of what we feel but what others might be
experiencing. Sensitivity can be the key barometer that can cue us
when to speak up and when to be quiet and when to think a second time
about what we are going to say before we say it. The "My mouth gets
ahead of my brain" expression is really about sensitivity. Am I so
passionate (frustrated, etc) that I just must express it? Can I
think thru how to say it so that it can be seen and the message not
get lost in the emotion? Increasing sensitivity will open doors to
hearts of people and open doors for life. Without it, people guard
themselves against us, unsure of what we will say and wondering if we
will say it hurtful and in the wrong places. Sensitivity is
increased by our own awareness of what we are feeling/ dealing with
and then doing the hard work of resolving that so that we do not let
it leak. That never means we do not speak the truth but the question
is more of is it truth or "my truth" (my opinion). The bible says it
like this, "Speaking the truth in love..." One part of love is
sensitivity.

Leadership in the Fog

One of the tasks of leadership is to build momentum. Momentum is
clearly the leaders edge in accomplishing great work. Momentum is
built one step at a time, celebrating the wins and protecting the
momentum by facing and eliminating the obstacles. That in itself is
a challenge. Obstacles can be finances, contacts, places and even
people. "Getting the right people in the right places" is a key part
of leadership. The wrong people in the place that doesn't suit them
will kill the momentum.

Once momentum is kicking, leadership becomes more of keeping it going
by removing the obstacles. But, what if we are leading in a fog?
What if the direction isn't so clear for the moment? What if the
obstacles seem overwhelming? At GR we are in a season of fog, having
to find another place for our worship with not many options. We are
leading thru the fog with lots of prayer (listening as well as
asking), a strong sense of destiny, trying to live out the Bible
stories of the people of Israel as they journeyed from Egypt to the
promised land and lots of talking together. We are walking thru the
fog. I am aware that how we lead thru this fog can be helpful to
many families and individuals as they navigate foggy times. GR, the
forecast is foggy for a bit but the Lord is with us. Let's go!

Where Do Leaders Get Vision

Where Do leaders get vision? One place is from God. Leaders
experience an inner push, a calling that moves the leader to see the
future and to be drawn to it. That moment can come by prayer but the
God-vision can also come in worship or in a gathering of other
leaders as they share. That is the power of our "Fuel" coming
January 26 at 4pm. Hanging around other leaders stirs our own
leadership and enlarges our vision.

Another place leaders get vision is from the day to day stories of
what the Lord is doing (or in a business, the wins of the day/week).
That is why it is so crucial to pass on the winning moments to those
who lead you at work, church or wherever. Vision is all around us
and we can get it from any number of places, from God, others and
even as we walk thru the streets. Without vision, people lose their
way and end up who knows where. Don't miss the "Fuel" gathering that
will stir your leadership January 26.

Signs Along the Way

I was driving thru Ohio to WV a few years back and came across a
bizarre sign, "Lowing Flying Aircraft". I started laughing. Low
flying? I'm in a car...sitting down. How low do they go? Are they
going to land on the highway? Should I duck? I'm still laughing and
I still have no idea why the need for the sign. For the record, I
didn't see any aircraft whatsoever as I traveled!

I wonder if the Lord ever places signs in front of us that in the
moment have no meaning, no relevance but still they are placed before
us? Like parts of His word? Some of it has more meaning in one part
of life than another. Some signs are time sensitive I would guess.
Some of the truth of the word is time sensitive, too.

I still have no idea why the sign was posted but I did watch. Some
of the scripture commands can seem a bit weird, too. But who knows,
they just might be directions we will need as we motor thru life.
Watch for the signs along the way. And if they make no sense, keep
watching, you might just see a low flying aircraft!

Okay so we got a Wii for Christmas. Wii for us most often means WE.
I admit I do some gaming by myself but not much. Sheila and I now
have a mostly sweat free golf experience! And, she now has a bowling
alley in her house :). We got it for us to play together. Families
need to play together to stay together. So do couples. I have one
game (baseball) that I will play solo, otherwise it's we for the wii.

This past week at GR we talked about having a destiny. If you check
out the Bible, most people who had a destiny constantly fought to
keep the dream in their heart alive. When we are walking toward a
destiny we can look silly, like we are only day dreamers with no
chance in ... That's the cool thing about having a God-destiny, it
doesn't matter what others think, only what you think as you keep
listening to the Lord. That's also why we need others around us who
can keep speaking our destiny to us when no one else sees it and we
doubt it ourselves. The Bible says it like this, "Faith comes from
hearing (the word)". Sometimes you do need someone else to voice
your own destiny so that you can believe it and keep walking in it.
Who speaks that for you?