transfering worship to life application

I know good bloggers raise questions and provide answers but I seem to be full of more questions, than answers. I am wrestling with worship and watching a room full of believers emotionally connected to the truths of scripture, walk back into society unchanged by what they have received. Somewhere in my academic history I sat in a seminary class and was taught that it is my job to accurately teach God's word and it was the people's job to receive it and apply it. Well I have a problem, I am too emotionally connected to lives of these people! I cannot watch people I love listen to God's word but live untransformed lives. I'm drawn back to the different images of a cowboy and a shepherd. Cowboys are the image of our country; tough, independent, and very task oriented because he knows that every animal he leads will be sacrificed to reach his goals. However, the shepherd is strong, involved, and very compassionate because he knows that every animal must survive to reach his goals. As a shepherd, I want the best for the people God's asked me to shepherd. I long for them to see the amazing life found in living a life conformed to the image of Jesus and not a life bent on the do's and don'ts of religion. In my pursuit of Jesus I discover the life of His word!

Watching Love Grow

I find it amazing and somewhat confusing to know that I love my wife more today than the day I married her. I know how much I loved her then and I was just hoping to hold onto that level of love for a lifetime but the more we grow together, the more I fall in love with her. I want to spend time with her, I want to know what she's thinking, what she likes, what she dislikes. The longer we are married the bolder I am in proclaiming my love for her.
Therefore, I looked around and began to ask myself do I feel the same way about my love for Jesus. Am I deeper in love with my Savior today than the day I meet Him? Do I want to spend more time with Him, do I want to know what He's thinking, what He likes, or dislikes? The longer we maintain a covenant relationship together, am I bolder in proclaiming my love for Him?
Time together reveals truth! The longer we stay in a relationship with someone the more we will reveal our true feeling for the other person. "Puppy-Dog" love can and will only carry you so far and then life and time will reveal truth. I want the best days of my journey with Jesus to be ahead of me! I want to discover greater worship, deeper truths, and far more intimate guidance in the days ahead. I love you Jesus!
PS I love you too, Lori!

Leadership Resolution

I've recently tried to define my basic strategy when it comes to leadership. I've read, watched, and listened to hundreds of men and women describe leadership, and ultimately I've realized that Christian Leadership should not be defined by the terms of the world by the words of my scriptures. Therefore, I want to lay out what I see as God's leadership lesson as described through His word.
2 Peter 1:5-8 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. NASU
Scripture tells us to add to our faith with ALL DILIGENCE, these additional characteristics and I see a leadership journey in these verse necessary if we want to lead as Jesus led. However, I need to admit each characteristic is harder for a Christian leader than the one before it. Peter begins with faith and no christian leader can lead as Jesus led without faith, you would think this is a no brainer but you'd be surprise how many of us as Christian leaders try to lead through with the same leadership tactic as world but hoping for spiritual results. Peter then tells us to add to our faith with complete passion these additional characteristics and I want to list them for you with a basic definition. Remember, each level is progressive and harder to live out than the one before it.
Moral Excellence is the God given ability to perform heroic deeds.
Knowledge is the truth of God properly comprehended and applied.
Self Control is the restraint to trust the will of God over the will of self.
Perseverance is the spiritual staying power that will die before it gives in.
Godliness is a reverent loyalty to the obedient pursuit of Christ likeness.
Brotherly kindness is the selflessness of being a living sacrifice.
Love is the surrendered choice of dying to self so others can experience Christ.
I find it amazing the two hardest characteristics of the christian life is kindness and love. Knowledge of our field is much easier than finding the time to be kind and to love others. As a christian leader I am reminded of how hard it is to die to self and to live and love as Christ did. But I am committed to the leadership principles of scripture and I hope I can influence others in the body of Christ to the same banner!

What defines your life?!?

After spending 4 amazing days with my son in Washington DC, I have started reflecting on what defines my life. Throughout history most men have been defined by their careers. We have allowed our self worth to be captured in our paychecks and job titles. However, over the last few days I have been in a place where no one knows what I do for a living, with my son who only cared that I was with him. I meet people who were shocked when I opened doors for someone, offered up my seat, or demonstrated kindness to complete strangers. Over the last 4 days I was not defined by my career (pastor) but by my character. I am convinced that God is telling me to focus on the weight of my character. It is easy to allow the prestige of what I do to define my character and to allow everyone to assume things about my character simply because they associate me with my career. But, I want my obedience to the pursuit of God and my transformation to the image of God to define me. I do not live with a hunger for God because it will further my career, if God were to call me out of ministry and into the workplace, I would still live with a commitment to the covenant relationship of my faith. So, what defines you... and do you like what it says about you?

beliefs verses convictions

I guess blogs are a great place to think out loud and I'm wrestling with an idea I need to let out! I listen all the time to people talk about their beliefs. They make statement after statement about their beliefs and it gets me jazzed up to hear the passion in their voices! Now, listening to people talk about beliefs is not unusual since everybody's got an opinion and don't mind sharing it with you. What confuses me is their ability to make decisions to support their beliefs. In other words, what I'm wrestling with understanding the difference between belief and conviction. I here people talk all the time about the priority of their faith but then I watch the development of their faith become their last option. (ie. When did church camp and a mountain top experience with God become less important than sports camp, band camp, cheer camp, dance camp, etc?!?) I'm scared for the next generation of Christ-followers who are watching us proclaim our beliefs and yet live with mixed conviction. I'm not opposed to sports camps, please know I've spent enough time and sent enough money to places all over the south but I pray my children will see me place faith development before athletic or music or art development. Our children will know our convictions by how we set our calendars and how we write our checks. In my own life, I'm trying to be slow to speak and deliberate in what I hold to be my convictions! OK, well now I've got that out of my head.

People vs. Programming

I've always found it so ironic how differently church staff and church members see church programming. Church staff members can become so passionate and emotionally attached to a new program because they see all the different ways it can help and minister to the people. While at the same time church members see programming as another night of the week gone or another activity where the staff wants me out of the house. The church member believes that by coming to the event or program they have done the church staff member a favor and boosted his or her numbers. However, the staff member is hoping and praying that God will use the event to change the church member's life forever. So where's the balance?!? How do we as church leaders help church members see the need for spiritual development, while not making it feel like a spiritual burden? It may be different for every church leader but I believe the answer begins with identifying the church's priorities. As leaders we need to clearly define and clearly communicate the vision and priorities of the church. If we fail to communicate clearly defined priorities then church members are more likely to believe we have a greater interest and investment in the program than the people.

from Sidewalks to Social Networks

I was listening to a man talk one day about the disappearance of sidewalks in neighborhoods. A generation ago families would come home and walk up down their sidewalks learning about the lives of their neighbors. However, somewhere ago the way we stopped using sidewalks, we'd come home with our take-out dinners, close the garage door, and cocoon in our homes isolated from our neighbors. I don't know why, maybe we got busier, maybe we just stop liking our next door neighbors, and wanted to find a way to hand pick our neighbors. We all seemed isolated until the emergence of the SOCIAL NETWORK. Networks like Facebook, My Space, God's Social Network, and personal blogs gave all of us the freedom to hand pick our new neighbors. No longer do we need to learn the social skills necessary for interacting with a next door neighbor who sees life differently, now we can shut them out and simply focus on a network of friends built around common interest or ideologies. Is it good or bad? I don't know, all I do know is that it gives a whole new perspective on the Biblical question, "Who is my neighbor?" Social networks have replaced sidewalks but I hope they don't replace the Good Samaritan.