Archive for February, 2009

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Don’t Get Caught Slippin’

Friday, February 27th, 2009

Close to 14 years ago, I heard a message, from 2 Chronicles 26, by Chuck Swindoll. The essence of the message was detecting when there is slippage in the life of spiritual leaders. These principles made and continue to make an uber impact in my life and ministry, and I thought i would share them with you. There is slippage in your ministry when:

  • When greater battles are fought within instead of without.
  • When more attention is directed toward the leader instead of the Lord. 
  • When God's help is nice but not absolutely necessary for ministry. 
  • When worthwhile reproofs are resisted rather than received.
  • When the consequences of sin are ignored instead of feared. 

How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Psalm 119:1

He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out. Proverbs 10:9 

What other indicators of slippage in ministry can you add to this list? 

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Awareness

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
Black_man_praying_in_church

As many of you know, this is the season of Lent. It is a season, on our way to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus, that is designed to foster an awareness of God, neighbor and self. For whatever reason, and sadly so, I have never really thought much about the personal and community significance of Lent, that is, until this year. Maybe I didn't pay attention to it because it involved sacrifice and surrender or because, I ignorantly assumed it was something on which the Catholics had cornered the market or maybe because I didn't want ashes (a symbol of mourning and contrition) on my forehead. How vain! 

This year I am, we are (family) taking a different approach. We are going to lean into this season and ask God to make us more aware of Him, our neighbors and ourselves. I desire to appreciate more deeply the price that was paid for my freedom. One way, among others, I have decided to lean into this season, is by praying. For the next 40 days, I am going to personally (my wife and I will pray it together as well) pray the Jesuit Examination of Conscience and journal what God says to me. There are five moves or steps to the prayer. The following bookmark size example was adapted from Through All the Days of Life, a collection of prayers compiled by Father Nick Schiro:

Thanksgiving

Lord, I realize that all, even myself is a gift from you. Today, for what things am I most grateful? 

Intention 

Lord, open my eyes and ears to be more honest with myself. Today, what do I really want for myself? 

Examination

Lord, show me what has been happening to me and in me this day. Today, in what ways have I experienced your love? 

Contrition

Lord, I am still learning to grow in your love. Today, what choices have been inadequate responses to your love? 

Hope

Lord, let me look with longing toward the future. Today, how will I let you lead me to a brighter tomorrow?     

You can find a fuller explanation of praying the Jesuit Examination of Conscience here:

http://www.norprov.org/spirituality/ignatianprayer.htm

What are some ways that you are going to lean into this season as you prepare your heart to remember Jesus and become more aware of him, your neighbors and yourself? 

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A Riot of Colors

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

S520~The-Night-Watch-1642-Posters

I ran across an article the other day which highlighted the restoration of Night Watch, one of Rembrandt's paintings. It's called the Night Watch, but this moniker has proven to be something of a historical misnomer. As they were restoring the painting, they came across a severe build up of dirt and varnish. It was traditionally thought to be a night scene. The recent cleansing, however, has dispelled this idea. The picture is a riot of colors – blues, greens, reds, oranges, browns and yes, lemon yellow. The dirt kept the patrons from seeing the brilliance of the colors in the painting.

As we walk and serve, sometimes we inadvertently pick up dirt in our lives, and there are times when we intentionally pick up dirt. Either way, if we do not cleanse ourselves internally, we can get dirt build up and people conclude that our lives are a night scene, when there are vibrant colors waiting to break forth. Now, if we neglect daily cleansing, we will experience spiritual decline until we no longer feel the need for spiritual things. As we fail to see our need for frequent cleansing from our sins, cleansing becomes something we no longer sense a need for. The fact is, we need frequent and daily spiritual cleansing.  

I believe cleansing and healing happens in several ways: through the water of the Word (Ephesians 5:26, Psalm 119:9), confessing sins to God (1 John 1:9), and confessing our sins to one another (James 5:16). These habits keep the dirt from building up in our lives on a day to day basis. Moreover, we will worship God in purity and holiness and we will serve people with integrity. Also, and probably most importantly, these daily practices will allow the brilliant colors of God's grace, forgiveness, love, freedom, peace and power to explode and shine through in our lives and our world. 

When was the last time you let Jesus cleanse you through the aforementioned practices? Do you have a safe place where, or a safe person with whom you can share your deepest struggles and who will pray for you? 

What other frequent spiritual practices do you think can help cleanse our lives? Let me know what you think. 

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He Will Meet Your Needs!

Saturday, February 21st, 2009
Provision

A group of people had been following Jesus and listening to his teaching (Mark 8:1-10). They had come from great distances and been with him for days. As time went on, all the food they had, was gone. Jesus had compassion on the people. This means he had the inner disposition that fully understood what they were going through, went with them to the place where they were weak, vulnerable, lonely and broken, and was going to do something about their situation. The disciples asked a practical question about their ability to feed so many people in the wilderness with so few resources. This question lacked understanding and faith in Jesus' person, power, and presence to meet the needs of his people in a new crisis. He asked them what they had and they responded, seven loaves. So, Jesus took seven loaves and fed four thousand people. Amazing!

We really can trust Jesus to meet our needs by remembering that: 

1) He is affected by our needs; 
2) He can and will use inadequate and natural resources to supernaturally meet our needs; 
3) He is not limited to meeting our needs once; and 
4) He will satisfy our needs and will sometimes give us more than enough. 

He really is a faithful provider. So, let's trust God even when we can't trace God!

In what ways has God provided for you in the past? How has God's work in the past encouraged you to trust him with your future?

    

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One Van. One Village. (125)

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009


bHQ9MTIzNDk3NTU4MzMwNyZwdD*xMjM*OTc1NjEyMTM*JnA9MTIwNzQxJmQ9andBbU*1aVJFaEM4YVRzdCZuPXR5cGVwYWQmZz*xJnQ9Jm89ZmIzOTUzMjBjMGMwNGQ5Mzg*MjJiNjVmZDdlMWI4NDM= One Van. One Village. (125)

Thanks for your support over the last several months, reading my blogs. Living in the blogosphere over the last several months, God has allowed me to meet some incredible people/leaders whose hearts are broken for God for his people, one of which is Milan Ford. 

Milan is the author of ThePewView blog, has a book coming out soon, is a survivor of ministry and loves Red Vine licorice. I have grown to really appreciate his insight, leadership, and friendship.  A couple of weeks ago he posted a video that wrecked him and then motivated him to get involved. That involvement led him to help Laurie Kroll, Director of Village2Village Project in Uganda, raise $16,000 to buy a van that will help them continue to serve the villages of Uganda. My kids and I watched the video one morning before I took them to school. The video touched me deeply for several reasons. 

1. Our church has a heart for missions in Africa (Congo and Liberia). My partners and I got a chance to see the suffering firsthand when we visited those countries.
2. Our family's love for the continent was expanded and deepened when Marvin Jr. and I visited South Africa in 2007. 
3. Our keyboardist, Enock Segawa, whom we love deeply, is from Uganda and I know how his heart yearns for his people.

I know the economy is struggling and I know you are giving to your church and probably a host of other organizations, but I would like for you and your family to consider this ministry. If you will, take a moment to watch the video and learn a little more about the Village2Village Project. The Williams tribe has already made a contribution and is praying for Milan as he champions this cause. Thank you and may God richly bless you.      

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Mirrors

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

Mirrors

I want you to close your eyes for about 5 seconds, and think about how you look. What did you see? I'll tell you what I saw. I saw a young man with a head full of hair, 34 waist, and rock hard body. When I open my eyes and look in the mirror, that image is altered. I have a little less hair, okay a lot less hair, a 36 waist, and body parts that are more like jello than Gibraltar. I mean, my eyes are the same color and I am the same height, but I have changed. I am not the same person, physically, I was five or ten years ago. Some of those changes I embrace, some others I deny, and others I really don't care about. Isn't it true that when we look in the mirror, we see what we want to see and ignore what we don't want to see? 

I believe this to be true of our inner lives as well. When someone holds up a mirror to our inner lives, we see what we want to see and ignore what we don't want to see. Looking into the mirror of the Bible and spending time confessing our sins to God and others is a sure way of practicing an often overlooked, but sorely needed spiritual habit – self reflection or self examination. Self reflection helps us to see where the flaws and potential flubs are in our lives. I have made some dumb mistakes that could have been easily avoided if only I had taken time to practice self reflection and self examination. Self reflection helps us to see who we really are and who we are becoming. Each day, when we look into the mirror of Holy Scriptures, we have a chance to determine if we are going to be destructive or imaginative, holy or soiled, compassionate or selfish. This is the reason why attending worship is so important. It is in worship where we meet our loving and perfect Father. As we bask in his presence, we are taken far away from the frenetic lives we lead and it is where we make decisions about what kind of person we desire to be and become in the world. Ponder these questions with me: 

Are you smarter than you were yesterday?
Are you making better decisions in your personal and professional life than you did yesterday?
Are you saying no to sin more today than you did yesterday? Last week? Last year?
Are you kinder to others and yourself than you were yesterday?
Are you more patient than you were yesterday or last week?
Are you calmer and less anxious than you were yesterday, last week, or last year?
Are you more caring and passionate than you were yesterday?
Are you becoming the person you want to become? That God desires you to become? 

Martin Buber said, "You cannot find redemption until you see the flaws in your own soul, and try to efface them. Nor can a people be redeemed until they see the flaws in its soul and try to efface them. However, whether it is an individual or a people, whoever shuts out their flaws is shutting out redemption. We can be redeemed only to the extent to which we see ourselves."    

Let's hold up the mirror to our inner life and let God, through his word, show us who we are and the people he desires us to become. 

Tell me what you think. 

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Where is My Treasure?

Sunday, February 15th, 2009
Treasure

 

Our Teacher, Leader, Forgiver, and Lord said in Matthew 6:20, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Anything that becomes my everything, is considered my treasure. Here are some “where is my treasure, where is my heart” questions: 

 

1. What occupies my thoughts and daydreams when I have nothing else to do?

 

2. What is it that I fret about most? Whatever I worry about or get anxious over the most, is an indication that that is my treasure.

 

3. Apart from my immediate family, who or what do I most dread losing?

 

4. What are the things I measure others by? This question is very revealing because we tend to measure other people by that which we treasure.

 

5. What is it that we know we cannot be happy without? 

 

There are only two types of treasures: the ones we amass, acquire and accumulate here on earth, that are vulnerable to rot, decay, and corrosion; and the ones that we amass, acquire and accumulate in heaven that are not subject to rot, decay and corrosion. They have eternal value. No, we cannot buy our way into heaven; that price has already been paid. What Jesus is calling us to is to simplify our lives and leverage our time, resources, and all we have and all we are for the sake of people in need. 

 

I would like for you to ponder these questions with me over the next several days. The answers to these questions, like a mirror, reveal where our treasures are and thus, where our hearts are. 

 

What are some other questions and ways that you have used to determine what is your treasure?

 

   

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Now

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Now_watch
 

Yesterday, as I was leaving the office, I ran into someone who knew me, but I didn't know them (I get that an awful lot). We chatted about a message I did a couple years ago. The conversation quickly turned to the weather and how we were having an absolutely gorgeous day. Now this wasn't small talk; this was real talk because in the middle of winter and what has turned out to be a brutal and bitter one, God blessed us with a 56 degree, sun-filled, azure sky, day. It was a beautiful day. All was right with the world. But, I quickly turned the conversation to tomorrow's weather, which was going to be 31 degrees. 

As soon as I thought and said it, I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit. He said to me:"Why are you fantasizing about tomorrow instead of being fully present today? Oooooh, I was busted! Have you ever found yourself not being fully present in the moment? You know, 

  • Planning work in your head while talking with your spouse  
  • Checking email, blogging or twittering or "facebooking" while helping your kids with their homework (No wonder they got that big old "F" on the last assignment).
  • When your son/daughter has to call your name 10 times before you actually hear them
  • "In a minute, son" 
  • "Maybe" 
I think this happens because we have a tendency to live in the "when and then" instead of the now, and in the world of good intentions, instead of real time action.  

When I get my money right, then . . . 

When we get a bigger house, then  . . .

When I finish school, then  . . .

When I have time, then . . .

When I finish this last sentence, then . . . 

When my program goes off, then . . .

When the game is over, then . . . 

I think you get the point. The problem with when-then and good intention living, is that most times when never comes and good intentions remain inactivity. Also, when I fantasize about the future, precious moments and experiences of today slip away. Then we wonder where has life gone and how did it pass us by so quickly. 

Because our life is a vapor, a mist, here today and gone today (James 4:14), let's lean into life, live in the moment, and be fully present. This means that I am totally immersed in today's experience instead of fantasizing about the future – when things will get better. Always fantasizing about a better future, implies something is wrong with now, today. Now, this moment is a gracious gift from God, and I believe God wants us to be fully present in it and savor each morsel.

What about you? Tell me what you think? 
  

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Really Stupid People

Monday, February 9th, 2009

No_stupid_people
 

I think at some point in our lives we have all heard the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). Here is a summary of the story. A man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. This man fell among thieves. A priest comes by and a Levite comes by (both men should have helped him), but they pass on the other side. A Samaritan comes along and stops and helps the man. This was significant because Jews and Samaritans did not get along. The Samaritan in the one you would least expect to help the man. The Samaritan puts oil on his wounds, binds him, puts him on his donkey and takes him to a hotel. He tell the innkeeper that he will pay any additional expenses for the man on his way back. Before Jesus told the parable, he asked who is my neighbor, that is, who qualifies as worthy of neighborly acts. Then Jesus tells the story about a man who was in trouble and who is in need of a neighbor. Jesus tells the story so that it is a stupid person who is in trouble and in need. 

A very important point of this story is that you would not travel this road alone; you would travel in groups because this road was notoriously dangerous. This man should not have been traveling on this road alone. He was stupid. Not only was he stupid, he was really stupid. Jesus said he was robbed and beat up. Robbers around the world have a general ethic they follow. If you give them what they want, they usually don't beat you up. If you resist, they will, more than likely, beat you up. So, we have a man traveling on a very dangerous road, alone, with merchandise, and when they tried to rob him, he resisted. He was not just stupid, he was really stupid!

I think the purpose of the parable is to show God's values. Even if a person is in trouble because of their own stupidity, they are worthy of our neighborliness and our charity. We tend to be more willing to help those who are innocent victims. It is much harder to help someone and have compassion on someone who got in trouble because of an addiction, a weakness, and hanging around the wrong people. People are people. The bottom line for Jesus followers is to help human beings, even really stupid human beings, and not just some human beings. This is a very difficult parable to live, but not an impossible one to live.

Are there some really stupid people from which you have been withholding neighborliness and charity? Even if they got in trouble because of their own stupidity, in Jesus' eyes, they are worthy of your compassion. 

Tell me what you think.  

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Bong!

Thursday, February 5th, 2009
Us-gold-medals-michael-phelps-1024x768

This has been a very difficult week for 14 time gold medalist, swimmer, Michael Phelps. A photo was taken of America's "golden boy" hovering over a bong (a smoking device, mainly used for marijuana and other drugs). He says that he does not smoke marijuana on a regular basis, and said that he will learn from this "stupid mistake." This did not matter to USA Swimming. Today, after a week of silence, USA Swimming suspended him for three months from the sport that made him a champion. 

USA Swimming is not the only one that is punishing Phelps. Kelloggs was the first major company to withdraw their endorsement, saying that the Phelps photo was not in keeping with Kelloggs' family image. Parents, coaches and sports commentators were less than nice to Mr. Phelps, saying that he had disappointed many kids who looked up to him as a real American sports hero and embarrassed the sport of swimming. This fallout may be just the tip of the iceberg. 

Phelps did issue an apology for his poor judgment, was willing to submit to the discipline from USA swimming, but is not certain if he will compete in the 2012 Olympics. Because he knows he is the best chance for the USA to win multiple gold medals, I wonder if there was a subtle threat in the announcement of his uncertainty to compete.  

Here are some of the questions I have pondered over the last several days: Did he apologize for his actions because he stands to lose millions of dollars in endorsements or was he genuinely remorseful for what he did? Are the media making too big a deal over this issue or is it as serious as many are making it out to be? Should Phelps have been suspended by USA swimming for his actions? Was USA swimming pressured from the public to suspend Phelps? Should he and other sports figures be viewed as heroes? Is it just his business as to what he does in private or should he and other sports figures be held to a higher moral standard? 

How does this story relate to Jesus followers and how we treat other believers and leaders who sin and use poor judgment? What about grace and forgiveness – do we dispense them as freely and generously as we issue criticisms and self-righteous judgments? How should we respond to this story? What lessons can we learn? 

What do you think? I would love to hear from you. 

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