The Gettysburg Address

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Purposeful Exile - My Journey

Sometimes a statement will really grab me, like the one I recently sent out on Twitter.  The saying seemed to provide context for the last 10 years of my life – what I call “My Decade in the Desert”. 

The statement goes like this… “Every Saint has a past, and every Sinner has a future”.   I must confess… and take responsibility for the fact that…. I have a past.  I have a past that is marked by frailty, failure, and fallout.  You see, as a pastor of 15 years, I succumbed to isolation, insulation, and insecurity – leading to a moral indiscretion that ultimately cost me my marriage, ministry, and good standing with my children and community.  Yup, sure enough… I have a past.

God saw my need for brokenness and complete consecration, and graciously invited me into the desert – to walk with him alone until I was reformed into a fit vessel for His service.  Hosea 2:14, 15 reads, “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. 15 There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor [trouble] a door of hope. There she will respond [sing] as in the days of her youth…”  So, in 2003, the decade in the dessert began – a decade of intimacy and wrestling with God while being in purposeful exile – a time where God would show me I have a future.  In the sovereign wisdom and grace of God, this extended time was needed to reshape a poorly functioning clay pot into a vessel of divine pleasure and purpose.  Jeremiah 18:4 says, “But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.”

 

Now, I’m rejoicing that I have a future.  Having been released from exile and the desert – I am in a season of new beginnings.  With a new dependency on God, I am back in church work and relationship.  I am grateful for the work He has done in me, and blessed to experience grace upon grace with a new season in front of me.  Truly, God has provided beauty instead of ashes, joy instead of mourning, and praise instead of a spirit of despair [Isaiah 61:3].  “Every Saint has a past, and every Sinner has a future”.  

Winning Teams

10 Tips for Effective Teams

Building a strong ministry team takes intentional planning. Use these ten tips to create an effective team that is committed to their mission and purpose.
1. Help each other be right rather than wrong.
2. Look for ways to make new ideas work rather than for reasons they won’t.
3. If in doubt, check it out rather than make negative assumptions.
4. Help each other win and take pride in each other’s victories.
5. Speak positively about each other and about your organization.
6. Maintain a positive mental attitude no matter what the circumstance.
7. Act with initiative and courage as if it all depends on you.
8. Do everything with enthusiasm––it’s contagious.
9. Believe in what you’re doing. Always persist.
10. Have fun!

Burn the Ships - No Turning Back...

Commitment is the foundation of all Success

This phrase “Burn The Ships” comes from a historic conquest of history when, in 1519, Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez landed in Mexico on the shores of the Yucatan, with only one objective…seize the great treasures known to be there, hoarded by the Aztecs. Cortez was committed to his mission and his quest for riches is legendary. Cortez was an excellent motivator, he convinced more than 500 soldiers and 100 sailors to set sail from Spain to Mexico, commanding 11 ships, to take the world’s riches treasure. The historic question is “how a small band of Spanish soldiers arrived in a strange country and swiftly brought about the overthrow of a large and powerful empire that was in power for over six centuries?”

For Cortez, the answer was easy. It was all or nothing! A Complete and Total Commitment. Here’s how Cortez got the “buy in” from the rest of his men. He took away the option of failure. It was conquer and be hero’s and enjoy the spoils of victory…or DIE! When Cortez and his men arrived on the shores of the Yucatan he rallied the men for one final pep talk before leading his men into battle, and utters these three words that changed the course of history. “Burn the Ships”.

He met with resistance from his men. "Burn the ships," he repeated. He then uttered these words "if we are going home, we are going home in their ships". With that, Cortez and his men burned their own ships, and by burning their own ships, the commitment level of the men was raised to a whole new level. A level much higher than any of the men, including Cortez, could have ever imagined.

Amazingly, the men conquered the Aztecs and had succeeded in something where others had been unsuccessful for six centuries. With the victory Cortez and his men took the treasure. Why did they win? They had no escape. No fall back position. They had no choice! It was "succeed or die". Their ships were burned. They had no way to get back. Their backs were to the wall.

To “really succeed” you must have an attitude much like that of Cortez and his men. Cortez and his men did not have a “crutch” or “fall back position”. They frankly didn’t have any options. It was simply “succeed or DIE”. Pretty strong position, isn’t it? How would you like to be engaged in fighting someone with that level of motivation and commitment?

This is the level of motivation and commitment you must have. The “BURN YOUR SHIP” level of motivation and commitment. Take away your crutches and excuses and burn the ships that are keeping you from achieving your goals. Identity the ships in your life that are keeping you from accomplishing dreams. I have a saying and it’s “Dream Big”. I have a new saying and it’s “Burn your Ship”. You see, whatever prevents you from achieving your goals and dreams are ships that must be burned. Not dismantled, or run ashore…but burned and destroyed.

If we know that our ships are still out there, when things get tough we instinctively head for our ships so we can escape. It's just human nature. The path of least resistance. This level of thinking and commitment sees sacrifice as a positive thing, not something weird or impossible, but something to be cherished and fought for. Cortez didn’t allow himself or his men to have the option of going back to Spain. By removing this option, Cortez and his men were forced to focus on how they could make the mission successful. And so it is with you. How can you make the missions in your life successful?

This is really a story about commitment. Commitment is the foundation of success. Not a single accomplishment is ever achieved without it. By focusing on commitment, we seal our future.

God's Work

This week, I will consciously give my work to God.

Excellence is a godly virtue, not just an old saying. If you try to do ministry "on the cheap," you'll forfeit ministry opportunities.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

~ Colossians 3:22-24

How fancy? How plain? Should my ministry look like a Broadway production? Or a humble storefront outpost?

The slaves of Colosse — a declining Turkish city in the days of Paul the apostle — could have been excused for doing shoddy work for their masters, who were by and large corrupt pagans or carnal Christians. Paul nevertheless admonished them to strive for excellence. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,” he said in Colossians 3:23, “as working for the Lord, not for men.”

A carpenter-slave, then, should assemble a chair the way he would assemble it if Christ himself might walk through the door for a spot-check at any moment.

A chef-slave should cook a meal — even for the crankiest customer — as if Jesus were sitting at the table.

Likewise for those of us in ministry. (Sometimes we feel like slaves, don’t we!) If Jesus were at the planning table ... if Jesus were in the congregation ... if Jesus were going to check my work later ... how would I do it right now?

So then, how should my ministry “look,” or “feel”? There’s no correct answer to the “plain or fancy” question. One person is led by the Spirit of God to present a modest, simple product, sensing keenly that this will please the Lord. The next person is led by the same Spirit to present a fabulous marvel — with the same confidence that this is exactly what Jesus will delight in.

The common denominator is hearing from God ... and pursuing that God-given vision with fervor, insisting on excellence within the parameters of God’s dream for my ministry.

People have different tastes, and they tend to gravitate toward ministries with tastes similar to their own. But regardless of taste, people respond to excellence — to the sensation that someone cared enough to give an effort their best. The excellent program you produced for radio or television, the excellent church service you prepared for Sunday morning, the excellent spreadsheet you presented at the ministry marketing meeting ... each one makes the unspoken statement: “I did this for my Lord.” And that level of quality — the passion for God that generated it — draws people. It’s uncommon in our world. People notice. And the one they notice isn’t me ... it’s Jesus.

My Prayer for the Next Seven Days...  God, I give you my work. I give you my ministry. Help me to see the face of Jesus in those I’m serving. Inspire me to give you my best; strengthen me for the sake of offering you something excellent, something worthy of you. I thank you, my Father. I pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.

A Taste of Spiritual Beauty - Ch. 15

• Being Satisfied with God means we embrace and delight in the beauty of God diffused in all his works and words.
• Jonathan Edwards [1746] was deeply concerned that people understand saving faith, lest they be deceived by their own experiences and have "presumptuous peace"
• Fruit does not come alongside a tree and make it good, but is produced by the healthy tree.
• A mere claim to faith [James] is to assent to the truth without delighting in it.
• Faith arises from a spiritual apprehension of the truth, or from the testimony of the Spirit with and by the truth in our hearts.
• We must have both understanding and embracing through the illumination of the Holy Spirit - and thus taste Christ as compellingly attractive.
• Apprehension includes spiritual delight.
• We must perceive, embrace, and approve, from the heart, the spiritual fitness of God's threatening... leading to a revulsion of sin and a withdrawal from the danger of sinning - pressing toward God and holiness.
• A strong call for decisions for Christ may bring people to crisis without contemplation - beware the parable of the soils and the words "I never knew you"
• In saving faith, we both affirm factual truth, but also embrace spiritual beauty.

When Life Gets Tough!

When Life Gets Tough!  James 1

Perspective – v. 2-11

Be careful not to think incorrectly…

Perseverance – v. 3,4, 12

            Be careful not to give up or give in…

Personal Responsibility – v. 13-15

            Be careful not to blame…

Trials and Temptations – James 1:2-15

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

⁹ Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. ¹⁰ But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.

¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.