hitting the fan

When the poop hits the fan, it is never evenly distributed.

When the poop hits the fan, you find out quickly who the spectators are and who the friends are.

When the poop hits the fan, you appreciate the non-poop moments more.

When the poop hits the fan, you tend to remember when you have helped others clean up their fan or when you have walked by and gawked.

When the poop hits the fan, you realize who has been honest with you and tipped you off  that the poop was coming and who has talked to everyone else but you.

When the poop hits the fan, you realize that it’s going to take a lot to clean it up.

When the poop hits the fan, you really learn more about your need for God in different ways.

When the poop hits the fan, you write blog posts like this one.

Character

Watching a teenager go through the mix-master of highschool is like watching a Krispy Kreme donut go through the line – extreme mixing, extreme baking, extreme burning, and extreme smothering. While the process for the donut is good, it doesn’t seem to be so good for teens.

This week, I have started a new quest to take my kids through a study in Biblical character. At this point in my life, my influence on them has shifted. And so I have to begin using the highest and most significant authority I know – the Bible – more than anything else. It’s not that I haven’t before, but I now need to reveal the more in-depth truth of God’s word to help mold and shape the character of my kids.

Up this week – Cheerfulness, Contentment, Devotion, Faithfulness

Make the call

Friday, while working on a client’s web site, I really felt an overwhelmingly sense about something going on with the client. I dismissed it, but it nagged at me. So, I stopped what I was doing and called the pastor. I first asked him a leading question to even see if what I sensed was on the money and if I was being led by God to even talk with him about it. Sure enough, he confirmed it. I shared what I was sensing with him. And you would have thought I just gave him a brand new car. It lifted his day and brought incredible encouragement.

You! Reading this! Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call someone to encourage them. It will absolutely make their day. People need good news and encouragement. So go ahead. Make that call.

disposable

I find that more and more we get nervous to invest in people. What if they leave? What if circumstances remove them? What if? Jesus had no such reservation. I think Jesus demonstrates great leadership and at the same time great relation building. Not one of His disciples was fired. They were crazy. They were self centered. They didn’t give everything they had all the time. One betrayed Him. One sold Him out. Over and over He had to pick up their slack and help them get the job done. Not once did He reject them. I find that I must keep investing in people and building relationships and loving and caring and sharing. It’s the Jesus way.

Verbs and dialog

I was having dinner with my brother and a mutual friend. And one guy said something that blazed in me. They were talking about what is important in writing a novel. And I heard these words – verbs and dialog.   I never heard that before. I thought and thought and thought about it. And they were right.

Verbs talk about action. What’s happing? What is the thought? What is the main activity?

Dialog. What is being said? How did they say it? Who said what?

Life is about these two things more than we know. What did we do or are doing or are going to do and who have we talked to about what. I think we need to be living lives that people could easily describe and recount with verbs and dialog. It’s all through the Bible. It’s through history. And now, on this earth, we can determine to live a life that is novel worthy.

Rescue

Jesus rolls up on the scene. A woman is caught in adultery and now the court of the crowd is ready to kill her with rocks. Jesus steps in, says His famous line, and the crowds disburse. He rescues her.

Question – which one in that scene are you. You could be the person that is pointing and ready to throw the rock. You could be the person guilty and in need of a rescue. Or you could be like Jesus and ready to respond to the 9-1-1 call. I think the most fun, in all the world, is bailing people out who have no hope. I haven’t had a lot of opportunities. But I want to and I want to be able to.

You may need rescuing right now. Email me or leave a comment. You may be a rock thrower. Put it down and repent. But all of us can rescue someone. And the moment you make yourself available to it, you will soon find opportunities abound.

Focus

Keeping the main thing the main thing. What is the main thing? How do you know it’s the main thing? What are you doing that keeps you from doing the main thing? What are you doing that is a distraction from the main thing?

So many times in business or orgaination, you see them begin something and have great sucess. Then, because they are scared of boredom or losing their position or members or income, they add more and more to the thing and it dillutes the focus on that thing and diminishes the excellence.

So what is your main thing? What do you do well? If I asked ten of your friends, what would they all say was the thing you are amazing at? That must be, then, your main thing. If I then asked those ten friends what you were doing that was a waste of your time and was not your main thing, what would they say?

The point is, there are only a few things that are worth doing. Let’s do those. Main things. If they aren’t worth doing, drop em. If you stink at it, quit it. If you have no zeal or no energy for it, it will suck the life out of your main thing.

Leadership training

This has been on my mind a lot lately. As I look at kids my sons age, I wonder who will make them into leaders. I look at people working in not so glamorous jobs and wonder if they will learn anything while in that job and who will train them to be a leader. I think everyone can be a leader. But doing a superb job doesn’t make you a leader. It just makes you an excellent worker.In fact, I have seen a lot of great workers get promoted, and then flop in the place of leadership. There could be lots of reasons, but doing a good job doesn’t train you how to be a good leader alone.

For me, leadership training has come in many forms. I had amazing guys that kept hammering on me about character and leadership and faithfulness. Guys like Pastor Duane and Pastor Phillip and Mick and Randy and Glen and on and on and on. They would talk to me about leadership and demonstrate leadership and talk to me about my demonstration of leadership. They continually pushed me in every way. And when I really wrecked, they would put the spiritual jaws of life on the scene and help pry me out of it. They helped me in my leadership.

I also learned leadership by following some not so great leaders. Just the opportunity to watch them make mistakes and bad decisions and see how they mishandled things, opened the door of education. Then when I repeated their mistakes, I completed my lab hours.

I learned from great men and women who wrote significant pieces of text that would stir and challenge and confound me. And those books were not all about leadership. But they all taught me amazing things.

So now, writing this, I wonder what I must do now to help promote leadership. God is obviously stirring me about this. So to be still and do nothing would be some sort of mismanagement of God’s direction. So, I am going to begin praying about how to unfold this with the team God has blessed me with. Leadership mentoring can be so amazingly rewarding. And I want to see the rewards of that.

My prayer today

I am asking God to bless me amazingly financially. Why? I have dreams to write big fat checks to the church. I love the church. I love its role on the earth to reach people for Jesus. I love its role to restore people to life. I love its role in helping shape the character of young people. Sure sure. I know. What about all the damage the church has done. I could use that excuse about everything. The sum total of all the good the church has done on the earth far outweighs the bad.

So, my prayer is God will keep blessing me so I can keep giving. And I am praying for bigger blessings so my checks to the church can get bigger.

The church has bills. They need to buy supplies and equipment and materials and all that it takes to do the work of the ministry. But more than that, it takes money to reach people and I want the church to be able to afford to do that!!! How bout you?

Tired

Is anyone else tired? I don’t know if it’s the heat or just the time of year or what. But lately I am working a lot of hours, sweating alog, and not really getting enough quality rest. I think it’s time to review my goals, priorities and margins. But until then, I am beat. I hope you are finding ways to stay refreshed and energized.