Lost Lid

A heavy storm blew through my neighborhood last week. It reminded me of one of those leadership principles I think about so often. It occurred the morning of our usual garbage pickup. Up and down the street, the garbage cans and recycling bins placed at the curb the night before had been dutifully emptied by the sanitation department earlier that morning. But with most people away at work when the winds came, lids, cans, and bins became scattered up and down the street. Anyone driving down our road was forced to avoid numerous objects blown into the street.

At about 3:00 pm I was heading home to get ready for an appointment. As I drove through the garbage can maze, I wondered if I'd find all my cans and lids. A quick survey of the yard revealed a recycling bin and lid, two garbage cans, and ONE lid.

Rats! After a search up and down the street, a search through the landscaping around the house, and a walk through the neighboring yards, it was apparent. The lid was lost.

The lid is a vitally important in getting my garbage out each week. Without a lid, my garbage becomes prone to raccoon invasion. It's not that I dislike raccoons, it's just the mess they make when they get into my garbage.

I had a choice to make. I could: (1) keeping looking; (2) hope that a favoring wind would bring it back; (3) live without a lid; (4) replace the can. Option 4 made the most sense, so $10 and one trip to Wal-Mart later, the problem was solved, the mission accomplished. I could get the garbage out without raccoons getting into it.

So what were the leadership reminders?

1. Storms happen. Sometimes they leave consequences that cannot be avoided.
2. In the wake of a leadership storm, assessing your choices is always the first step.
3. Not every choice makes sense.
4. A leader makes the choice that preserves the mission.

As the church was spreading across Asia Minor, the apostles dealt with leadership storms-storms about Gentiles, Judaizers, legalism versus freedom. Read Acts again and watch leaders in the wake of storms make the choices that preserve the mission.

Leaders lead. Their choices matter, especially in the wake of a storm.

North by North Whatever

I'm standing at a conference in the middle of a worship service and pull my keys out of my pocket. I'm not sure why. I'm surrounded by fellow leaders, pastors and ministers; each of us dealing with different issues, circumstances and journey to travel in our role as leaders. I don't why but I'm staring at my keys. As I do my focus is drawn to one object and I have one of those "man in the window" moments when His Spirit speaks to mine. I am moved, challenged and encouraged all at the same time.

On my key chain hangs a clip-on compass. Can't remember when I got. Can't remember when I clipped it on. But there it was and as I stared at the dial it swung the arrow point to North. In the building in which I stood, I had no idea where north was. But the compass always points to north. Yes, Lord. I hear you .

Just as the compass found north, so does the undergirding principle of a leaders life always bring him back on point. The call that defines our purpose, swings the dial and points the way.

Like every leader, my life sometimes gets really hectic and very full. I can be distracted by work, by leisure, by challenges, by ease. So many things can distract me from the call, the purpose, the direction the Forgiver has set for me. Yet one thing always puts me back on track and reorients me. It keeps me focused on the goal. It's my true north.

Who am I? Bought and paid for by the sacrifice of the Forgiver, I am a man called to know Him and make Him known.

Leaders who follow the Forgiver know their true north. The calling that always points the way. It is the direction our lives will take no matter the circumstances, challenges or constraints.

It is our compass point, the orientating direction of our lives.

Leaders know that remembering it helps us to make course corrections, stay on track, and to keep moving forward.

Without Limit (or Maybe Not)

I was having one of those duh moments in my study and reflection time. It occurred as I was thinking about one of those passages in scripture that those of us in ministry or in church have read, heard, studied or even preached. The living Word was again proving it was sharp and about to pierce right through to the very marrow of who I was.


Let me share the passage with you.
   Matthew 25:15  To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, . . .

There it is. Huge! I know in the past I've read it, studied it, preached it. I can name the teaching points.

· He gave to each one.
· He gave according to their ability
· He gave expecting a return
· He gave and it's our choice how we use them.
· He gave and he will give more to those who are faithful.
(feel free to add your own key points)

But none of these points were what God was speaking to me about on this particular morning. The truth cutting to the marrow of my being was this.

· He gave to each one with limits.


That's right, he gave with limits. We are called to minister, to lead, to work within those limits. Sometimes we live, minister, lead, and work as if there were no limits, no boundaries, no confines. But he gave with limits. Three talents are smaller than five. One talent is smaller than three. Limits.

As leaders it is easy to fall into the trap of being over-committed, over-extended, and operating with little margin in our lives (a trap this leader has sometimes failed to avoid). But if God gave with limits, when we find ourselves consistently operating in that over-extended pace, it's time to admit we've lost sight of His limits, His agenda, His calling.

I've been in one of those evaluation periods, seeking to ensure that I'm operating within His limits. Is it time for you to take a similar look?

I've Been to the Mountain Top Valley

     A week ago I was having my worst day dealing with feelings of blueness and depression in the last 9 years of my life.  Over the years I've had my battles with the darkness, but for a period of years I enjoyed brighter days and not near the struggle, so I was rattled to find myself battling some significant blueness.  Knowing that a break from my regular habits and disciplines often helps in times like that, Cheryl and I planned a weekend away.
     Friday afternoon we headed out to a cheap hotel in but not too close to the city. Dinner and movie, browse time in a bookstore, a good night's sleep, a great day at a great zoo, a swim in a pool later, a card game in a coffee house and by the time Saturday evening closed I was feeling quite better. But it was Sunday morning that was the turning point. Sometimes it is a great thing for a pastor simply to attend another church as a worshipper; to experience a Sunday with no responsibilities other than to meet with God.
     Something in the worship service that morning spurred a thought that I found very comforting. I wrote it out in my journal.
     "Mountain tops are a great place on which to stand, but little growth occurs there. Most real growth occurs in the valleys."
     I've skied in the alpine regions of the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific North West. Above the tree line, the views are spectacular, but there's not much that grows there, a lot of rock, a few sparse trees. But not much else. As you go the mountain, life teems everywhere. "Real growth occurs in the valleys."
     I don't think anyone likes it when they are battling a period of blueness. Like most I love the mountaintop experiences of life. But on Sunday the Holy Spirit was reminding me that He was at work, in the valley. For this leader, it's what I needed to be reminded of. God is at work in the valley, real growth occurs there.
     My God bless the valleys.

iPod Sync

"Sync"-ed

I have an iPod Nano.  On it is uploaded a series of songs, a playlist I listen to when I run, a series of podcasts, everything from Ravi Zacharias, to "Things I Missed In History Class," and a number of messages from a pastors' conference at Moody Bible Institute.  On numerous long drives I've enjoyed the company of my I-pod.  It is always attached to my arm when I am running, whether in a 5k or just taking a trip through the neighborhood.

The other day it hit me how much I was learning from my iPod.  I'm not referring to what I'm learning from all the authors, speakers and sermons.  I'm not referring to the lyrics of some of the incredible worship music.  My iPod has been teaching me in a different way.  I've been learning from how it works.  Not the electronics (though I have had to change the battery), but from how it keeps itself up to date.

Most times when I need to recharge my iPod, I plug it into my laptop.  As soon as I do, iTunes pops up, connects to my iPod, and automatically does a sync.  "Sync" is short for synchronize. When you sync a device, you synchronize it with data on your computer. It updates both the device and the computer with the most recent information.  Data is merged in a real time interface.  If a message or song has been added to my computer, it gets updated to my iPod.  Podcasts that have been listened to on the Nano are removed.  The only time this fails is if I break the connection before the sync is completed.  My iPod even warns me not to do this.  It flashes a message "sync in progress, do not disconnect."

There's the lesson.  Huge isn't it?  The perfect example of what it means to connect with God occurs every time I recharge my iPod. 

I want to be in sync with what God wants to instill into my life and to have what is of no use removed.  Every time I connect with God I should expect that he is going to be uploading new messages for me, but he is also seeking to remove other things.  My iPod teaches me that there are two ways to goof up the process of hearing from God.  First, I can neglect connecting, never getting recharged, never receiving updated messages from God.  The second is to break the connection before the sync is complete, not allowing God to do what he wants to do in my heart and my life that day.

When I see my iPod it reminds me to be sure I'm getting connected and letting the sync take place. 

How's your sync?  Up to date?  Current? Recharged?

The man in the window

 

Bruce D. Rzengota
Norwalk Alliance Church

Prayer is not preparation for the battle, it is the battle.

Questions?

Every leader asks questions. The nature of the questions shapes the leader. What are the questions contemplated in your heart? At this point in my life, in my calling, in my role, I've been struggling with a few. The same ones keep surfacing time and time again. The first one opens the door to so many more.

What does it mean?

What does it mean to want God's glory and not your own?

What does it mean to be all things to all men and yet work only to please the Lord?

What does it mean to be LIGHT when most of the time I avoid the darkness?

What does it mean?

What does it mean if I drive by a funeral and don't wonder about the person's fate?

What does it mean when I count my days and know there are more behind me than are likely to be ahead of me?

What does it mean when I remember that one day I will stand in his presence and give an account?

What does it mean?

What does it mean that I have claimed his name, read his word, shared his truth for thirty-two years and yet still battle with sin, toy with apathy, and get distracted so easily.

What does it mean?

What does it mean that I have been cleaned by grace, set free from sin, empowered with gifts, called to purpose?

What does it mean that I live where I do, surrounded by specific faces—specific lives, specific needs. What does it mean?

What does it mean that I am supposed to lead? What does it mean?

What questions are shaping you? As for me, I am haunted by the ones that begin, "What does it mean?"

 

The Man in the Window

A Sign from God

Devo -- A Sign from God

Signs and wonders. I confess that most of the time I wonder more about signs and wonders than I ever experience them. I have no stories about the heavens opening, dove descending. No writing on the wall, no parting of waters. It's not that I am closed to the idea of God breaking into my day in a miraculous way; it's just that most often I don't expect it.

But one verse is challenging me to change that. It's one of those passages that I have read time and time again. I've heard it quoted, preached and taught, and now it's got me looking for a sign—a sign that is vital to my relationship with the Forgiver; perhaps it is more vital than anything else in my experience with Him.

I'm looking for a sign. I'm trying to develop the habit of looking for it every day as I go about all the other routines of my life. I'm starting to get glimpses of it, and it's powerful. It is both challenging to me and rewarding when I recognize it and obey.

Yep, I'm looking for a sign from God, a divine interruption in the busyness of my day, my life, my mind, my schedule.

What's the sign I'm looking for? It's one that most of us will encounter today and pass right on by, but now I'm trying to look for it and obey.

Want to find it? Get in your car today and drive to a four way intersection. A residential neighborhood is likely to be more helpful, but you can discover this sign in any city, any town. Keep your eyes open and assume the posture of a searcher. Look for the sign. This is critical. If you're not looking for it, you're likely to miss it.

Before long you will encounter it. It is a guarantee I can make from this computer. There it will be right in front of you. Usually off to the side, visible day and night.

It's an eight-sided sign with one word painted on a red background—STOP.

There it is, my sign from God.

STOP

Every time I see it, I'm seeking to remind myself that God wants me to do just that—STOP. Stop and pause, connect with His presence, break the busyness with a moment that alters reality. STOP. I am not alone. STOP. He is in control. STOP. I am loved. STOP. He is real. STOP. Let the eternal redefine the temporal. STOP. He is speaking. STOP. And know that he is God.

I am trying to imagine how my life would change if every time I encountered a stop sign, I stopped, just for a few moments and reconnected with the God who transcends time. I'm looking for a sign from God, and every time I see it, I'm trying to obey.

¹⁰Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. Psalm 46:10 (The Amplified Bible)

Go ahead and look for the sign.

The Man in the Window.