Are You Proud Of Me?

I just finished watching the first episode of American Idol. I was struck by something that happened just as the show ended. The last girl to audition, Leah from New York, was interviewed like many others and had an emotional story- like many others. She auditioned and knocked it out of the park and won a trip to the next round in Hollywood. When she exited the audition room there was no huge family waiting- no friends- no big celebration- just a hug from a guy who had been waiting outside.

What happened next was huge- Leah called her dad in New York and the first thing she asked was this, "Are you proud of me?" There was no screaming to the person on the other end- just one simple question from a daughter to her dad- are you proud of me? There was only one thing that mattered to this girl in this moment and is was that her dad was proud of her- it wasn't the guy there with her or that she had just met Randy and Simon or that she was going to Hollywood, but that the key man in her life, her dad, was proud of her. A question that every daughter wonders about and yearns to hear a resounding YES to from her dad, but also a question that many times goes unanswered by dads all over the world.

Just something to think about.

Stop Trying To Get Rich!

"What we're going through is not just a recession, it's a reset.

Sure, the impact of the crisis is being felt economically, but the root cause isn't economics, nor is it the failure of free enterprise and capitalism. The problem is the abuse of free enterprise and capitalism--greed."

These are the first few lines of an article entitled Stop Trying To Get Rich! written by John Hope Bryant for Forbes.com-

I once was told that my blogs were too long so the whole article can be read at:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/22/wealth-greed-success-leadership-careers-managing.html

It is a different look at the current economic situation, but quite refreshing.

I highly suggest reading it.

Being Married...

As I sit here today- I have been married for just over a year (sorry I am not one of those weirdos who knows it down to the day). Marriage is awesome and having the best wife ever makes it that much more awesome. Leading up to the actual marriage ceremony many people gave me advice on marriage- some was good, some was horrible, and some was just weird, but one thing that both Loren and I kept hearing was, "The first year is always the hardest." It seemed like everyone always cautioned us to the dreaded first year. Our first year was very fast, fun, exciting, and a bunch of other cool action words- it was anything but hard.

The purpose of this blog is not to brag on my marriage, but I would like to offer 10 things that I learned in my first year of marriage:

1. Your spouse is not God and they never will be- do not worship them.

2. Communication is everything. If you fail here you will fail everywhere.

3. Don't buy into the lame marriage cliches that everyone will offer you- 90% of them are wrong- learn for yourself and have fun along the way.

4. Budget well- don't try to be a bling bling couple and be drowning in debt for the sake of looking the part.

5. Be honest- with your spouse and yourself.

6. Set realistic goals- chances are you won't have a 400,000 dollar lakeside property in the first few years and that is OK.

7. Find good friends- quality not quantity.

8. Don't bring your work home with you.

9. Out serve each other every day.

10. Make God's glory foundational to everything you do.

I Resolve to....

I can't believe it's already 2010! Time flies by and each year on this day or around this day millions will make their famous New Years resolutions. Whether it's to quit smoking, to loose 25lbs, or some other quest to work towards- it usually always happens the same way- it works for a week or maybe three at the most and than everything goes back to normal. Call me cynical, but call me a realist in the same breath. This happens all the time- not just at New Years and the problem is not that that you can't stop smoking or loose weight- the problem is a lack of consistency. Websters defines consistency as the achievement of a level of performance that does not vary greatly in quality over time.

So yes your goal is attainable, but chances are it is going to take time and you have to be willing to commit. So often we want the quick fix, both in the physical and moral goals that we set, but as you have probably seen in your life- things like this don't happen quick.

So in 2010 let's resolve to be consistent and at this time next year we can all look back and see many goals accomplished!

Have a great 2010!

My Favorite Website

www.9marks.org

A group of pastors committed to cultivating and encouraging these 9marks in the local church:

1. Expositional Preaching

2. Biblical Theology

3. Biblical Understanding of the Good News

4. Biblical Understanding of Conversion

5. Biblical Understanding of Evangelism

6. Biblical Understanding of Membership

7. Biblical Church Discipline

8. Promotion of Christian Discipleship and Growth

9. Biblical Understanding of Leadership

If you were wondering, I whole heartedly AGREE with and ENCOURAGE all 9. There are a ton of free resources, articles, tools, etc.

Grace

I've been thinking about grace a lot lately-

By definition grace is the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings. There is nothing we can do to earn it, no amount of money could ever buy it, there will never be enough good works done to earn it- quite simply it is up to God. For a long time I had a hard time with grace- its not understanding grace as a whole that I struggled with, but it was understanding why me in particular. That's the amazing thing about God's grace- it finds people who are loveless and without any strings attached says- I, the God of the world, love you- here is my Son on the cross for you, as a payment for sins- all I ask in return is for your faith in what I have done through my Son on your behalf. That's huge- the very God who created everything comes to earth in the form of a man and lives life as a lowly servant with one purpose- the cross. No glorious ending- no big crescendo - no climatic ending- just Jesus Christ alone on the cross for those who would believe.

To many this was Christianity's weakest moment, but really it was Christianity's strongest moment ever. The gap between men and God had been filled by Christ himself- the suffering servant became the strong Savior. What a picture of grace for a world that is desperately in need of it!

And so grace goes on- from church pews to prison bunks- from the villages of Africa to the villas of Los Angeles and everywhere in between. Undeserved, unanswerable, but available to all.

Have you thought about it lately?

Burnout: The Myth & The Reality

Within my short time in vocational ministry the topic of burnout has come up again and again. Its major context is to not let it happen to you in ministry. There have been many books and articles written on the topic with tactics of how not to burnout, warning signs that you may be burning out, and the like. Within pastoral ministry and church work alike many people will burnout and some even to the point that they will never be the same towards the Church. This is sad, but an all too true reality whether we recognize it or not. I want to address a myth concerning burnout in the church and than a reality concerning burnout in the church.

The Myth: if someone works too hard he/she will eventually burnout. Working hard is good for us as long as it's healthy- remember work was created/mandated before the fall in Genesis 3. Not working hard or making excuses to not work hard is called being lazy. I know many people who work very hard every day and have done so for the past 20 years. My father-in-law owns a plumbing business and has worked very hard his whole life- he hasn't burnt out from plumbing. Just like lawyers don't burnout from trying legal cases. Ditch diggers don't burnout from digging ditches. So you see, burnout does not come from working hard. So where does it come from?

The Reality: as John MacArthur brilliantly put it- burnout comes from constantly trying to meet unmeetable goals that are placed over you. Example: your a sales manager at a retail store and you do about $200,000 in business annually. Your boss comes to you and says $200,000 a year is good, but this year we need to do $1,000,000 in business. This is an unattainable goal for your particular company, but you work like crazy to meet the goal- you stay late, work nights and weekends, recruit and train new employees, etc. You begin to get tired from the long hours- you realize you have neglected things that were once important to you like family, exercise, eating right, sleep- and you start hating what you are doing. You begin to burnout and eventually leave the company. Now this is a loose illustration of a point I am making, but the truth of it can be carried over to church workers, pastors, lay people, business execs etc.

Is burnout killing your church, staff, congregation, volunteers, etc.? Trying assessing the goals that you have placed over those whom you are leading- you may be surprised at what you find.