Trickle Charge

I own a 500 Piaggio automatic motorcycle. I purchased it a few years ago to help with the ongoing gas crunch we were feeling as prices at the pump soared. I ride it from April well into November and occasionally have even ridden it on an unseasonably warm day in December or March.
Last Thursday on April 1st I went to ride and discovered that my battery was dead. It was my own fault. Being out of town and then country so much over the last two months, I had never thought of starting the bike and getting it charged.

No big deal (I thought). I'll simply give it a jumpstart and be off (right).

Challenge #1: I had no idea where the battery was. After opening every accessible compartment, looking through each service port on the fairing and fenders I still had no Idea where it was.

Challenge #2: I had to locate the owner's manual and seek the information I needed on how to get access to the battery. That would also necessitate locating my reading glasses. A quick read later (not hardly - the Italian owner's manual was not organized in what seemed like a logical way) I discovered the battery was under the tail light compartment.

Challenge #3: To get access to the tail light compartment and the battery, I had to remove the rear hard top stage carrier. Of course since this was an add-on accessory, the owner's manual didn't cover its removal. 20 bolts, four screws and 30 minutes later, I had access to the tail light cover.

There it was, the battery. Success was in sight. I took a 2 amp trickle charger and hooked it up to the terminals. Six hours later, I tested the battery. Fully charged. I tried the starter, and the engine turned over and started.

Success.

I recently spent a month in West Africa,
working with Teams from the US Alliance, the Canadian Alliance, HCJB Global, international workers and indigenous workers doing the same thing (sort of). In the midst of a country locked in darkness as team of individuals installed a radio satellite relay station to allow the Holy Spirit trickle charge access to the land.

To get it hooked up required facing numerous challenges, lost luggage, delayed tools, three cases of heat exhaustion, one broken arm, average weight loss per man was 12 pounds. But in the end, the switch was flipped and it worked.

For all those who went, who gave, who prayed, who stood in the gap, who picked up the ministry pieces at home, the labor was not in vain. In Paul's words, "We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 NIV

Seven Words

One thought led to another. The profound truth of a single statement consumed me as I sat in the window at the coffee house. John Crotts in his book Craftsman: Christ Centered Proverbs for Men said "Everyone becomes like that which surrounds them."

Seven words.

"Everyone becomes like that which surrounds them."

The truth is evident everywhere.

*Surround a positive person with critical ones and the positive spirit becomes more critical.

* Surround an enthusiastic person with apathetic ones and watch how easily passion is lost.

* Surround an outward-focused follower with self-focused believers and watch the burden for the lost diminish.

"Everyone becomes like that which surrounds them."

Sure there are exceptions. Fish that swim against the flow of those in the school. The man or woman of unshakable principle that does not bend, does not waver, does not compromise.

But. . .

Most of us are like the "everyone."

And "Everyone becomes like that which surrounds them."

So today what will surround you? What will surround me?

Which friends, which co-workers, which fellow-followers will be the influences in the "surrounding" of our lives?

It matters.

Living Life Unwrapped

How do you say you want to live your life? Which of these statements resonates with
your heart?

--I want to live a life that matters.

--I want to make a difference.

--I want to count for the kingdom.

--I want to know Him and make Him known.

Or maybe you are more modern in your jargon.

--I want to live an authentic transformed life with Jesus.

--I want to live in community with others and God.

--I want to live a Missional lifestyle.

--I want to journey the different path.

Most of us who claim the name of Jesus, most of us who are in a relationship with Jesus can likely sum up how we desire to live our lives in a statement like one of those. They inspire us. They challenge us.

I read a great quote today about how we live our lives. Leaping off the pages of the book I was reading was this quote:

"How we live our days is ... how we live our lives." -- Annie Dillard

How I lived yesterday, how I live today and how I will live tomorrow determines how I live my life. A simple thought. A profound reality. The life I live unwraps before me each day. The daily decisions of what to do, the day after day expressions of what I value paint the picture of my life.

How do I live my life in the day by day reality so that it matters? Jesus summed it up in two commandments. He made it all about the vertical and horizontal.

Love God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your strength and
from where those disciplines take you, love everybody else.

Game on! Goal set. Target in sight. Unwrap the life that matters.

Love God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your strength and
from where those disciplines take you, love everybody else.

Today, as a leader, as follower, how are you intentionally unwrapping a life that matters?

Stunned

I was watching one of those reality TV shows where belligerent speeders are being arrested. A 17-year-old young woman was pulled over for speeding and possible intoxication. She adamantly refused to cooperate with any request the officer made, let alone the request to get out of her car. Finally having had enough of her defiance, the officer removes his taser and informs her that she will be tased if she doesn’t get out of the car.

The driver still laughs at the officer and even says “right, your gonna tase me. Sure go ahead.” Warning her one last time the officer tases her when she fails to comply. Stunned, she is dragged from the car and falls face down on the ground.

Ezekiel had a vision by the river Kebar. In chapter one he spent 27 verses describing the experience. Finally he declares, “That is what it was like. It turned out to be the Glory of God.” (MSG) Having had that epiphany, stunned he falls on his face to the ground; an instant response to the sovereign God.

What does God have to do to you, to me, to get us to comply to His authority, His lordship, His dominion over our lives, our ministries, our work?

Who are you more like, Ezekiel or the 17-year-girls? When God exercises His sovereignty, do we recognize His authority and respond? Or do we force Him to use the “taser” on us?

May this be a year in which we avoid the “Taser.”

Darn it! There Goes My Favorite Expression!

I've got a fickle electronic lock on my van door. It's the sliding door on the driver's side. At least once week when I press my unlock button on the car remote or the electronic button inside the car it fails to unlock. Sometimes locking and unlocking again will correct the problem, but every so often even that fails to work. The only way to get the door unlocked is the old fashioned way of reaching in and pulling up the lock.

Since this only occurs when I need to get in the back seat for some reason or the other, the electronic lock failure is inconvenient. Really inconvenient! Because of the inconvenience I've noticed that I've developed an attitude about the situation. Whenever it occurs, my mouth is quick to utter, "Darn it!" I have begun to express immediate frustration when the door lock fails.

Immediate frustration?

It's a minor problem with an electronic convenience, and when it fails I immediately express frustration!

I didn't get it. I didn't see the picture. I didn't put two and two together until the other day I heard my daughter use the same expression in the kitchen. As her father and mentor I was about to encourage her with a "It's not a big deal," "Let it go" and a "Don't let the little things bother you."

That was when the Holy Spirit hammered me. "Preach it brother." "Preach it directly to your heart."

There I was standing in my kitchen under the conviction that I had grown so use to convenience that even a small problem led to "immediate frustration."

James said to consider it all joy when you encounter various types of trials. How will I ever consider a big trial joy when just the small ones were leading to "immediate frustration?" Since that day the Holy Spirit has been leading me through a series of heart checks. He's is challenging me to remove the favorite phrase from use, not substituting it with another. Instead to simple accept the inconvenience as just that a little thing.

There will always be frustrations. It's a part of life. And as leaders we open ourselves up to more frustrations with the responsibilities we carry. Have you found yourself quick to be frustrated in recent days.

This leader had, and The Leader wants to correct it.

Trusting in the Christmas Gift

Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways. . . but now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son (Hebrews 1:1-2). It is His birth we are striving to remember in the midst of holiday hecticness. Jesus, the Son of God-let us cling to Him and never stop trusting (Hebrews 4:14).

Never stop trusting the gift described in Hebrews.

He is the. . .
· Reflector of God's glory 1:3
· Exact representation of God 1:3
· Cleanser of the stain of sin 1:3
· Occupier of the place of honor 1:3
· Right hand of the majestic 1:3
· One greater than angels 1:4
· Taster of death 2:9
· Bringer of others to glory 2:10
· Perfect leader 2:10
· Maker of holy ones 2:11
· Unashamed of his brothers 2:11
· Destroyer of the power of the devil 2:14
· Deliverer of those enslaved 2:15
· Partaker of humanity 2:17
· Merciful high priest 2:17
· Taker away of sin 2:17
· Helper of the tempted 2:18
· Messenger of God 3:1
· Deserver of more glory 3:3
· Confidence of our hope 3:6
· Faithful son 3:16
· Key to the place of rest 4:3
· Ascended one 4:14

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive mercy, and we will find grace to help us as we need it.

To all who read these musings, may your worship of the Perfect Leader be rich and full this Christmas.
*All references based upon the NLT.

Getting the Gerunds Wrong

I have to admit that most of the time when I was in school academics was not a priority. So I could often get by with C's and B's based on my half hearted efforts at homework and tests, but because of my lack of commitment, focus and priority there were a number of holes of my own making in my educational background. Many of these would be exposed and require correction why I was in college.

For instance until I was in Greek, I had no idea what a gerund was and how it was different from an infinitive. Here's what I learned.

Gerunds are formed with ING: walking, talking, thinking, and listening
Infinitives are formed with TO: to walk, to talk, to think, to listen

Gerunds and infinitives can do several jobs:
Both can be the subject of a sentence::
Writing in English is difficult.
To write in English is difficult.
Both can be the object of a verb::

I like writing in English. I like to write in English.

But...

Only gerunds can be the object of a preposition::

We are talking about writing in English.

Here is the big thing I learned about gerunds and infinitives.

Gerunds are often used when actions are real, concrete or completed::

I stopped writing.
(The writing was real and happened until I stopped.)

Infinitives are often used when actions are unreal, abstract, or future:

I stopped to write.
(I was doing something else, and I stopped; the writing had not happened yet.)

As believers we often get the gerunds wrong. I'm not talking about the syntax of a sentence. I'm talking about the theology of "praying and doing".

It is very easy to approach life, our work, our ministries, a project, a challenge and get the gerunds wrong. Let me illustrate.

Many of us approach life by doing everything we can to succeed, working hard, planning, theorizing, strategizing, organizing, pushing ourselves. If a problem arises we throw ourselves into it, working hard to fix it, seeking to control it, striving to overcome it. Occasionally we stop "doing" (gerund) "to pray" (infinitive).

Sound familiar?

Stopping "to pray" may be little more than a token acknowledgement that you want God to bless all you are "doing." Stopping "to pray" may be triggered by stress, burn out, overload, fear of failure or even just the guilt of having forgotten to pray. Sometimes stopping "to pray" is a desperate cry for help. We stop "believing it is all on us", we stop "depending on our gifts and skills", we stop "assuming we have the answers" and turn to God "to ask for a bail out plan."

Do you see the problem? It's in the use of the gerunds.

Too often we approach everything with the emphasis on "doing" and only occasionally do we stop "to pray." The use of the gerund on what we do and an infinitive on prayer reveals our dependency upon our works, our talents, our abilities. When we are doing we are not praying. We stop the one to start the other.

I'm convinced that is not the way a leader should lead. Look at Paul's advice he gave in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

Always keep on praying. TLB
pray constantly, RSV
pray without ceasing; NAS
pray continually; NIV
pray all the time; MSG
Never stop praying. NLT

It's never been about stopping to pray. It's always been about "doing and praying." It may be that the hardest challenge for any naturally gifted leader is to believe that there is a big difference between "doing and praying" and just "stopping to pray".

What about you, do you tend to just stop to ask for a blessing? Or are you leading by "doing and praying?"

This next calendar year, this leader will be seeking to get the gerunds right.