Instruction from the Master

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse of the mule, which have no understanding but me be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you." Psalm 32:8-9

Some of the Lord's instruction is very clear. For example the phrase "pray always" means you should pray all the time. That's pretty clear if you ask me. On the other hand there seems to be some of the Lord's instruction that tends to be more illusive. It is harder to know His exact plan or leading. Leading a church or a family can be very sticky at times and requires a ton of wisdom and discretion. The path is not always marked out for us. Yet, this passage gives us great hope. God instructs, teaches, gives direction, counsels and guards. He is the ultimate guide in any situation. Sometimes that instruction is hard to discern. Yet, a part of his guidance comes through our conscience and the freedom He gives to His followers. The writer of Psalms gives a contrast. The contrast is a horse that must be bridled to move in the right direction. The man or woman of God is free to listen and hear from God and then act. Sometimes we get it wrong, but that is just a part of the deal. When we seek Him with our whole heart and honestly strive to walk in His ways, there is tremendous freedom. We don't have to be like a bridled horse. We can become a wild stallion with the heart of the Master inside of us prompting us to move and take action. Isn't that a beautiful word picture? May I live closely enough to Him today that I hear His voice and respond with vigor as he leads. 

Future Orientation

I am amazed at the difference it makes in my life when I stay focused on the future. I meet a lot of people who like to whine and complain about their current circumstances. I fight the temptation at times myself. Check this out... Proverbs 4:25-27 says, "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil." In essence, stay focused on the future and the path that is required to get there. Don't let yourself be distracted by activities that don't contribute to the vision God has placed in front of you. Make sure your feet are moving forward! Wow! What a challenge to us today. What is the vision God has for your marriage, for your ministry, for your work? Don't let anything get you off the vision. Stay focused and keep putting one foot in front of the other. This is wise living! 

The Power of One Idea

This past Sunday God did something pretty amazing at South Bay Church. We had over 50 new people step up and make one of the most important decisions of their lives. They made a decision to use their gifts and talents to serve and be a part of God's kingdom. We prayed like crazy all week and worked like dogs trying to get ready for this day. Through this experience I learned a significant leadership lesson.

The solution to your problems can often be found in one idea or one strategic step. South Bay Church is moving from one to two services on January 31. Which means that we needed to double our volunteer base in less than one month. We got in our "war room" a few weeks back and started asking God to give us a solution to this problem. We felt like he gave us what is now known as the "t-shirt idea" from God through Renan! :-) We had over 100 t-shirts made with four different colors. Each t-shirt had the South Bay logo on the front and each color represented one of our ministry teams. I taught out of the book of Esther about making your one life count. At the end of the message I challenged every person to make their life count. "God's kingdom is moving forward with our without us" I said. "but if we say 'yes' to His call to serve than we get to be a part of something so much bigger than just our lives." At the end of the message each person had a small commitment form in hand and the colored t-shirts lined the pipe and drape surrounding those in their seats. During the challenge time each person was given the invitation to fill out the card and go grab a t-shirt signifying their desire to be a part of the South Bay vision to change the world! Standing by each group of shirts were the different team leaders. I had everyone in the church count to 3 with me and then we clapped and hollered like crazy for all of those who were taking the step to get in the game. Initially only one person stood up. I was about to pee in my pants. Then another 50 stood up all at once. Wow! It was one of the best moments in the history of our church. Watching people struggle and then say, "I am not going to live for me anymore, I'm going to start making a difference." God used one idea that came from a brainstorming meeting as a staff. When Renan said it in our meeting we all said, "That's it!" We all agreed! It took us close to 45 minutes of brainstorming to get that one idea, and that was actually relatively short. I feel like in the past I've often stopped short of the one idea or been to lazy to mine for it. I think God uses our brains and infuses creativity for the purpose of extending his kingdom. I just think we've got to be willing to get in a room with our teams and do the dirty work of brainstorming until it comes! The vision and impact is worth it.

What problem are you facing today, both personally and organizationally? Get a whiteboard, get your team, ask God to move and start brainstorming. Watch and see if He doesn't give it to you!

You Get What You Tolerate

You get what you tolerate. That's true in your family, at your job, and many areas of our personal lives. I recently had this revelation in training my son. Whatever behavior I'm willing to accept he will give me. If I give him 5 requests for obedience before I enforce consequences, he will always wait until he knows the consequence is coming. If I accept only immediate obedience he will learn to obey immediately. Often we accept things in our life that we should not accept. Some of you are facing an addiction to some chemical or some habit that you know needs to be annihilated, yet you continue to tolerate it.  Others are in unhealthy relationships with a spouse or a co-worker and you continue to accept their abuse and dysfunctional communication. At times in my life I want to accept behavior patterns of anger or a lack of joy that I know need to change. I find myself wanting to make excuses for a lack of excellence or a lack of commitment in my life and in our organization. I am challenged by this thought: "when we accept apathy and carelessness with the tasks of the kingdom it becomes the norm." I am being challenged today to not accept anything less than God's best. In the power of His Holy Spirit and because of His grace I am seeking to acknowledge areas in my life, in our church and in my family that need to change. I am learning to say, "that's not acceptable" to myself and to our team. In love I am learning to say, "you are better than that, God has put something greater inside of you." The vision God has given me for my life and for our church is worth calling people to a higher standard of living. What are you tolerating that you know you shouldn't tolerate? In the power of the Holy Spirit and with God's love challenge yourself and those around you to take it up. The vision is worth it!