Archive of May 2008.
May 30, 2008
”Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?” Job 1:10
Satan recognized that Job was untouchable. What a great place to be in life. Few people will pause and recognize this fact concerning Job, the fact that he was protected by a hedge.
Without attempting to answer all of the questions of the book of Job, I do want to point out a few things that we should learn about establishing a hedge.
1. Build a hedge around your relationships. Be very careful to enter into relationships. The Bible is very clear in its warnings concerning who you “walk” with. The older I get, the more I realize how valuable this truth is. I can look back on some relationships as absolutely disastrous for me.
2. Establish a barrier between you and temptation. Most temptation is off limits to me simply by the choices that I make in life. I have created barriers to distance myself from certain lifestyles.
3. Don’t give ear to ungodly manipulators. What you listen to effects you. We’re influenced by what we allow to “entertain” us. Certain music changes your mood. Certain television shows suggest ungodly lifestyles. Be willing to walk away from some conversations. Don’t laugh at crude and vile humor.
4. Negative conversation. Words have power both for life and death. There are some conversations that are over. Don’t revisit them. The argument is settled. I have made a conscious choice to simply not speak of certain topics or people. Most of the talking points on television is “godless chatter.” Avoid it. Turn it off.
5. Distance yourself from bitterness. I have found that gratitude is the answer for bitterness. We’ve all been hurt. Ok. Go on.
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May 26, 2008
”With freedom comes responsibility.” - Neil Kennedy
We are people of privilege. Think about the rarity of our freedoms. In most countries, the ruthless and egocentric work to control and manipulate others for their own life of privilege, whereas in the United States, we work to release and give liberty to one another so that we can enjoy a life of our choosing.
The fact of the matter is that we choose life - either happy or sad, blessed or cursed, fulfilled or wanting, our lives are a reflection of the choices that we’ve made with the freedoms that we enjoy.
”The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” - Mencken
Within our freedom is a dangerous addiction, the addiction of comfort. Our desire to protect our comforts will ultimately challenge the belief in our liberties. It is easy for those who “sit in the seat of mockers” to ridicule the decisions of war, while others have arisen from the comfort of their homes to take the battle onto the field of contest. The contest of freedom always rages against the comforts of safety.
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May 24, 2008
”Wounds from a friend can be trusted.” Proverbs 27:6
Recently, a pastor shared with me that his board was initially very excited about my consulting then suddenly turned and suggested to the pastor that they severe their relationship with me.
What was the problem? Their idea of consulting was for me to come in and flatter them with words of honey. They wanted me to give them a few “business” steps to solve their spiritual problems. When I pointed out the spiritual principles behind their “business” failures they took offense.
Unfortunately, it is becoming the norm for people to want to be able to accomplish great exploits with mediocrity as their standard.
For an example, look at the judging of American Idol. Randy is technical. Paula thinks everyone is a star. Simon is the only one who simply tells you the obvious.
Simon’s judgment can seem harsh at times; however, I understand exactly how he feels. While everyone else wants to have their fun, he wants to find extraordinary talent and expose it.
Paula simply wants to “multiply kisses”. Of course, she is the one accused of delirium.
My consulting doesn’t always seem pleasant at the time, but in the end it produces. Hundreds of churches have multiplied because of my willingness to expect more than mediocrity out of extraordinary people.
I do not present myself as “perfection” nor am I delusional to think that I know everything. I have a unique set of experiences in working the process of establishing two churches, leading a mega-church, and helping hundreds of pastors fulfill their God-given dream.
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May 21, 2008
Presidential Candidate Barak Obama says, ”We cant’ drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times… and then just expect that other countries are going to say, “OK”. “That’s not leadership. That’s not going to happen.”
This attitude is alarming because it’s premise is severely flawed. This belief system is usually spouted by academic elitist with a “Zero Sum” idea of economics. This theory says that economically the earth has a scarcity of resources and that my gain or even the use of a product is at the expense of someone else. This belief system is the basic seed-thoughts of socialism, that community owns and has rights to ALL property and goods. Socialism’s greatest adversary is Capitalism, which is a economic system of which property and goods have private ownership and are generated for profit.
Socialist say, “Profit is evil.” You hear it when political pundits bloviate against those ”big oil companies reaping excessive profits.” Do you know who owns those big oil companies? Most of us that have mutual funds! We are “those” that they want to blame for excessive profits.
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May 17, 2008
Last week, while I was in Colorado Springs, three ministers and I walked through a mega-church facility to see what we could learn. This church has recently went through two major disasters, their pastor was found to be living a double life, perverted and addicted, then a deranged young man cowardly terrorized the campus on a Sunday following services, killing two sisters.
I love this church, I admire the way that they responded with grace toward their founding pastor upon the outing of his sins. I’m in awe of their humility and unity when faced with terrorism. When I listened to the podcast of the service the following Wednesday, I felt the Comforter, the precious Holy Spirit ministering in every word from the podium. This church body is amazing.
Less impressive are the facilities. Walking through the church campus was like dropping in to visit someone’s house without prior notice. It was familiar, like a living room where the participants are so comfortable with their surroundings that they don’t notice the dirt, the misplaced and broken down furnishings, the lack of signage, or the temporary signage addressing permanent problems. Maintenance is obviously overwhelmed, blind, or simply distracted.
I guess I should simply overlook such matters, ignore it, allow excuses to justify such poor stewardship, but I can’t. I’ve noticed a principle - ”Outward sloppiness reveals inward chaos.” When God found chaos, He said, ”Let there be Light.”
I left saddened that their facilities did not represent them well, it caused a question to arise in me, “Why doesn’t the facilities staff rise up to the challenge and represent the church better?”
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