Have you ever wondered what your calling in life is? We know that the purpose of our lives is to bring glory and attention to God, to worship God. But what avenue does God want you to take to fulfill that purpose? God calls some people to be missionaries to foreign countries. He calls some people into the medical field. He calls others to be preachers and teachers of His word. He calls others still to be businessmen and entrepreneurs. He gives some a heart for children and for teenagers. He gives some a heart for worship and expressing that through music. He calls some to be homeschool moms and others to be working moms. He calls some to serve their country though politics, and others to serve in the military.
The possibilities are nearly endless. But I'm not just talking about careers here. I'm talking about a purpose. For example, let's say you teach math at an elementary school. Being a grade school math teacher? That's your career. But investing in the lives of young children and teaching them basic mathematical equations so they will be better equipped for high school, college, and the rest of their lives? That's your purpose. And that kind of purpose is what I'm talking about. A soldier's purpose would be to defend his or her country in times of war and to protect our freedom of our country, and also to promote and ensure peace in times of peace. A doctor's purpose would be to help heal sick people and to prevent disease and injury from happening, and also to educate people on the importance of health and how to stay healthy. A missionary's purpose would be to take the Gospel to places that haven't heard of Jesus and to spread God's word and God's love to those in need.
So what do you think your purpose is? What do you have a heart for? What do you want to spend your life doing? What do you think God might be calling you do to?
To help figure that out, I encourage you to do a lot of self-evaluating. It will take time for you to understand and realize what God's purpose is for your life. It seems that most people figure it out in their teens or early twenties. But that isn't always the case. Some people realize their dream much earlier or much later than that.
The apostle Paul figured his purpose out somewhere around his twenties. In Acts 7:58, it says that Paul was a young man when he was at the stoning of Stephen, and we know that it probably wasn't but a few months after this that he gave his life to Christ and Jesus changed his name from Saul to Paul. It's pretty reasonable to assume he was out of his teenage years, given his power and influence, but wasn't in his thirties yet because he was a "young man." Paul became an evangelist. He traveled around the known world, visiting churches and cities and spreading the Gospel wherever he went. But what exactly was Paul's purpose? What did Paul feel like his God-given purpose was? Was it to preach the Gospel? To train up Christians in their faith? To make glorify God by making tents (which was his profession, Acts 18:2-3)? Actually, we don't have to guess or speculate. Paul tells us specifically what his purpose is. In Colossians 2:2-3, Paul writes, "My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Paul explains in the previous verse that the "they" he is referring to the church of Colosse, the church of Laodicea, and everyone else in the world.
Anyway, that was Paul's purpose. Paul understood his purpose and devoted his life to fulfilling it. So I ask once again, what do you think your purpose is? It's incredibly important to know your purpose. In the King James Version, Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." Nobody wants to be that guy who's thirty-five years old and spends all of his time playing Modern Warefare 3 in his mom's basement. Get out there and find out what God wants you to do! God designed you as a completely unique and one-of-a-kind individual. Your DNA is different from everyone else's, and there is no one else in the history of the world quite like you. He created you for a purpose and only you can fulfill that purpose. No one else can do it for you or do it in the way you would. You are specially unique.
Psalm 139:14 says, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made..." You're the only you that will ever exist and your purpose is specifically tailored to meet who you are. Don't waste your life by missing out on that purpose.
Showing posts with label Action. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Action. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Don't Try To Change The World
In the past few weeks, we've done a lot of talking about what it means to love others as Christ loves us. We've talked about everything from servant leadership to unconditional love. We've seen that love is a verb, not a feeling, and that we can love people just by being patient, kind, humble, respectful, selfless, forgiving, honest, and committed to them. That sounds pretty easy, doesn't it? And it sounds really nice- in theory. But how exactly does this translate into reality? In what ways can we physically carry out unconditional love?
In James 1, James writes about what true religion is. He says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." To me, James is saying that we should care for and provide for those who cannot do it themselves, and he's also saying we should also remain pure in our faith and not corrupted by the world. For now, I'd like to look at the first part of what James says: "...look after orphans and widows in their distress..." Do you think that we as the American church do a good job of taking care of the orphans and widows? How about the mentally disabled, the physically disabled, the homeless, the unemployed, the elderly, and everyone else who cannot fully provide for themselves? Do we do a good job of taking care of those who cannot take care of themselves? I would like to think so. I would like to say yes. But I'm not so sure that I can.
I go to church in Madison, Tennessee. A few decades ago, Madison used to be the hot spot of north Nashville. Just five-eight minutes north of downtown Nashville (excluding traffic), Madison was once the place to be. Back in the day, all of the famous country singers lived around Madison and Goodlettsville, the town just west of Madison. There used to be many great aspects of Madison, including clean streets, a friendly atmosphere, and the original Shoney's. But times have changed and so has Madison. Madison is now the run-down part of north Nashville. The singers and stars now live south of Nashville in Brentwood and Murfreesboro, and Madison is now populated by minority groups. The streets are rough and dirty, and so is the average person you'll see while driving through Madison. Crime rates are high and it isn't the safest or cleanest town anymore.
I go to the First Baptist Church. We average around 100 or so on a Sunday morning. Just ten or twenty years ago, it was normal for over 600 to be present. In a three mile radius of the church, there are 16,000 youths under the age of 18. But our youth group, over the past year, has averaged less than 15 on a Wednesday. But it isn't the numbers that matter: it's the community around the church. Our problem is that we are trying to minister to second and third generations of unchurched people. That means that neither the parents nor grandparents of the teenagers we're trying to minster to went to church, so naturally it's really hard to connect with these youths or give them a real reason to come to church.
Let me tell you: when people are coming to your church and are getting saved and the atmosphere is great and the momentum is swinging your way, there's nothing better than church. But when nobody wants to come, when guests don't come back, when you rarely see new faces on Sunday morning, and when you feel like nobody cares anymore, that's hard. That's disappointing. That can suck the life out of any church.
When you're discouraged in your faith, it's hard to see the point anymore. I think a lot of times, we look at our society, our country, our world, and we get so discouraged. We see all kinds of evil and Godlessness and we get discouraged. We can work so hard and pray so hard and put in so many volunteer hours, but when the world looks worse tomorrow than it does today, we feel like we are working for nothing.
When I read John 6, the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000, I wonder of His disciple Philip ever felt the same way. John 6:5-7 says, "When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, 'Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?' He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, 'Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!'" I think when Jesus asked Philip how to feed the 5,000 men, Philip looked over the vast sea of people and thought, "There's no way we can feed all these people! Why bother trying?" Can you relate to Philip? I sure can. I look at the amount of teenagers who haven't even heard of God or of Jesus, I see the homeless people who sleep on my church's steps, I see the homeless and hungry people who eat a free lunch at my church on Mondays, I see the amount of work it will take to transform the community of Madison, and I get discouraged. I get so discouraged that I question the point in going to church. I wonder if it's even worth trying.
Let's go back to the story of Jesus, Philip, and the 5,000. Right after Philip declared the job impossible, another disciple suggested an idea. John 6:8-9 says, "Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 'Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?'" This is a completely different approach than Philip had. Andrew had a few supplies but knew he wouldn't be able to feed all 5,000 men. Note that Andrew, like Philip, admits discouragement. He wonders how such a small amount of food could feed all 5,000 men. But regardless of his discouragement, I love his attitude. He said, "I know I can't feed all 5,000, but I can at least feed two or three. And I won't let the fact that I can't feed them all from keeping me from feeding some of them."
We all know the rest of the story. Jesus takes the five loaves of bread and the two fish and multiplies them into enough food for all to eat. And they had leftovers. In fact, they had more left over than they had to begin with. They started with five loaves of bread and two fish, and after all had eaten till they were full, they had twelve baskets of bread left over.
I want to leave you with Galatians 6:9. The apostle Paul writes, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." I encourage you to not look at the whole problem. Don't try to help all of the homeless people in America. Don't try to adopt all the orphans. Don't try to financially support all of the elderly. Don't try to change the world. You can't do it. The world is hopelessly lost to evil and wickedness. It will never be a better place until Christ comes back to destroy it. So don't try to change it. Instead, try to change someone's life. Instead, do what you can with what you have. We each have what we need to change someone's life. There are people out there that we can help. God has equipped you with the proper gifts, talents, skills, and ideas to impact somebody out there. Some of us can financially bless someone who is in desperate need. Some of us can mentor someone and share our wisdom and knowledge.
Some of us have a ministry or goal we want to see accomplished, but we're waiting for someone else to do it for us. Get out and do it yourself! What will you do with your life? We all have five loaves of bread and two fish. The question is, How will you use yours?
In James 1, James writes about what true religion is. He says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." To me, James is saying that we should care for and provide for those who cannot do it themselves, and he's also saying we should also remain pure in our faith and not corrupted by the world. For now, I'd like to look at the first part of what James says: "...look after orphans and widows in their distress..." Do you think that we as the American church do a good job of taking care of the orphans and widows? How about the mentally disabled, the physically disabled, the homeless, the unemployed, the elderly, and everyone else who cannot fully provide for themselves? Do we do a good job of taking care of those who cannot take care of themselves? I would like to think so. I would like to say yes. But I'm not so sure that I can.
I go to church in Madison, Tennessee. A few decades ago, Madison used to be the hot spot of north Nashville. Just five-eight minutes north of downtown Nashville (excluding traffic), Madison was once the place to be. Back in the day, all of the famous country singers lived around Madison and Goodlettsville, the town just west of Madison. There used to be many great aspects of Madison, including clean streets, a friendly atmosphere, and the original Shoney's. But times have changed and so has Madison. Madison is now the run-down part of north Nashville. The singers and stars now live south of Nashville in Brentwood and Murfreesboro, and Madison is now populated by minority groups. The streets are rough and dirty, and so is the average person you'll see while driving through Madison. Crime rates are high and it isn't the safest or cleanest town anymore.
I go to the First Baptist Church. We average around 100 or so on a Sunday morning. Just ten or twenty years ago, it was normal for over 600 to be present. In a three mile radius of the church, there are 16,000 youths under the age of 18. But our youth group, over the past year, has averaged less than 15 on a Wednesday. But it isn't the numbers that matter: it's the community around the church. Our problem is that we are trying to minister to second and third generations of unchurched people. That means that neither the parents nor grandparents of the teenagers we're trying to minster to went to church, so naturally it's really hard to connect with these youths or give them a real reason to come to church.
Let me tell you: when people are coming to your church and are getting saved and the atmosphere is great and the momentum is swinging your way, there's nothing better than church. But when nobody wants to come, when guests don't come back, when you rarely see new faces on Sunday morning, and when you feel like nobody cares anymore, that's hard. That's disappointing. That can suck the life out of any church.
When you're discouraged in your faith, it's hard to see the point anymore. I think a lot of times, we look at our society, our country, our world, and we get so discouraged. We see all kinds of evil and Godlessness and we get discouraged. We can work so hard and pray so hard and put in so many volunteer hours, but when the world looks worse tomorrow than it does today, we feel like we are working for nothing.
When I read John 6, the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000, I wonder of His disciple Philip ever felt the same way. John 6:5-7 says, "When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, 'Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?' He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, 'Eight months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!'" I think when Jesus asked Philip how to feed the 5,000 men, Philip looked over the vast sea of people and thought, "There's no way we can feed all these people! Why bother trying?" Can you relate to Philip? I sure can. I look at the amount of teenagers who haven't even heard of God or of Jesus, I see the homeless people who sleep on my church's steps, I see the homeless and hungry people who eat a free lunch at my church on Mondays, I see the amount of work it will take to transform the community of Madison, and I get discouraged. I get so discouraged that I question the point in going to church. I wonder if it's even worth trying.
Let's go back to the story of Jesus, Philip, and the 5,000. Right after Philip declared the job impossible, another disciple suggested an idea. John 6:8-9 says, "Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 'Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?'" This is a completely different approach than Philip had. Andrew had a few supplies but knew he wouldn't be able to feed all 5,000 men. Note that Andrew, like Philip, admits discouragement. He wonders how such a small amount of food could feed all 5,000 men. But regardless of his discouragement, I love his attitude. He said, "I know I can't feed all 5,000, but I can at least feed two or three. And I won't let the fact that I can't feed them all from keeping me from feeding some of them."
We all know the rest of the story. Jesus takes the five loaves of bread and the two fish and multiplies them into enough food for all to eat. And they had leftovers. In fact, they had more left over than they had to begin with. They started with five loaves of bread and two fish, and after all had eaten till they were full, they had twelve baskets of bread left over.
I want to leave you with Galatians 6:9. The apostle Paul writes, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." I encourage you to not look at the whole problem. Don't try to help all of the homeless people in America. Don't try to adopt all the orphans. Don't try to financially support all of the elderly. Don't try to change the world. You can't do it. The world is hopelessly lost to evil and wickedness. It will never be a better place until Christ comes back to destroy it. So don't try to change it. Instead, try to change someone's life. Instead, do what you can with what you have. We each have what we need to change someone's life. There are people out there that we can help. God has equipped you with the proper gifts, talents, skills, and ideas to impact somebody out there. Some of us can financially bless someone who is in desperate need. Some of us can mentor someone and share our wisdom and knowledge.
Some of us have a ministry or goal we want to see accomplished, but we're waiting for someone else to do it for us. Get out and do it yourself! What will you do with your life? We all have five loaves of bread and two fish. The question is, How will you use yours?
Thursday, December 8, 2011
SERVE: Reinvent Continuously
Today, we're going to look at the third concept The Secret teaches us in the acronym SERVE. We learned yesterday that the first E stands for Engage and Develop Others.
The R stands for Reinvent Continuously.
See the Future
Engage and Develop Others
Reinvent Continuously
V
E
This concept is all about learning and improving. If you want to survive, you have to continuously look for ways to do your job better, with less effort, in less time, with less cost. If you never look for ways to improve, then you never will improve. And if you don't improve, you will fail. You won't survive unless you reinvent continuously.
One of the most important questions you could ask is, "Is there anything we are currently doing that could be eliminated with few or no bad consequences?" In other words, is there anything we are spending time, money, and effort on that isn't giving us a reasonable return on? I can give you a very good example. At the Chick-fil-A I work at, we sell cheesecake and lemon pie. However, no one hardly ever buys these items. As a result, in the spring, we won't be offering them anymore. We'll be using our assets more wisely. So if you're looking for a way to get the reinvention wheels turning, ask yourself and others this question.
Reinvent Continuously is also a very important concept to apply on the personal level. Let me reiterate that if you never look for ways to improve, you will fail. This is as true on a personal level as it is on a business level. If you want to be a servant leader, you must always be on the lookout for ways to improve yourself. I believe the best way to do this is by learning. If you applied the concept of self-evaluation I talked about in SERVE: Engage and Develop Others, then you'll find areas you personally need to work on. I realized I lacked servant leadership, so I picked up some books and I'm learning how to be a servant leader. If you've evaluated yourself and realized that in order to Reinvent Continuously on a personal level, you need to fix X, Y, or Z, then look for ways to learn how enhance your performance.
If it's possible, I highly encourage you to find a mentor who can help you. I keep going to a few managers and the operator at my Chick-fil-A and they are more than willing to help me out. You can also read books. Whatever helps you, I encourage you to never stop looking for ways to improve and to enhance performance. If you want to survive and thrive, it's a key concept to understand.
The R stands for Reinvent Continuously.
See the Future
Engage and Develop Others
Reinvent Continuously
V
E
This concept is all about learning and improving. If you want to survive, you have to continuously look for ways to do your job better, with less effort, in less time, with less cost. If you never look for ways to improve, then you never will improve. And if you don't improve, you will fail. You won't survive unless you reinvent continuously.
One of the most important questions you could ask is, "Is there anything we are currently doing that could be eliminated with few or no bad consequences?" In other words, is there anything we are spending time, money, and effort on that isn't giving us a reasonable return on? I can give you a very good example. At the Chick-fil-A I work at, we sell cheesecake and lemon pie. However, no one hardly ever buys these items. As a result, in the spring, we won't be offering them anymore. We'll be using our assets more wisely. So if you're looking for a way to get the reinvention wheels turning, ask yourself and others this question.
Reinvent Continuously is also a very important concept to apply on the personal level. Let me reiterate that if you never look for ways to improve, you will fail. This is as true on a personal level as it is on a business level. If you want to be a servant leader, you must always be on the lookout for ways to improve yourself. I believe the best way to do this is by learning. If you applied the concept of self-evaluation I talked about in SERVE: Engage and Develop Others, then you'll find areas you personally need to work on. I realized I lacked servant leadership, so I picked up some books and I'm learning how to be a servant leader. If you've evaluated yourself and realized that in order to Reinvent Continuously on a personal level, you need to fix X, Y, or Z, then look for ways to learn how enhance your performance.
If it's possible, I highly encourage you to find a mentor who can help you. I keep going to a few managers and the operator at my Chick-fil-A and they are more than willing to help me out. You can also read books. Whatever helps you, I encourage you to never stop looking for ways to improve and to enhance performance. If you want to survive and thrive, it's a key concept to understand.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
SERVE: See the Future
One of the books that I've just read is The Secret by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller. It's a book written with the purpose of disclosing the "secret" of becoming a great servant leader. It's written in story-form and is very easy to read (and it's short), so I highly suggest picking it up.
One of the concepts The Secret teaches is the concept of SERVE. It's an acronym that stands for five things. In five separate posts, I will unpack each concept and how the concept applies to our lives. In this post, we'll look at the letter S.
S stands for See the Future.
See the Future
E
R
V
E
If you are a leader, you have a responsibility to plan, look ahead, and to try to anticipate the future. It is your job to set goals and objectives for your team to aspire to meet. And once that goal is met, it's your job to figure out where to set the next goal. The purpose of these goals are to set expectations for growth and motivation for hard work.
At Chick-fil-A, we have certain goals for our Drive-Thru. We had this one goal of getting one hundred cars through the Drive-Thru in just one hour. That would mean each car would spend less than 30 seconds in line after ordering, and that we'd have to have enough cars come through the Drive-Thru. This isn't easy an easy task, but each individual was very motivated to accept the challenge. Why? Because the first team to get one hundred cars would be awarded with $100.
This goal was met a few weeks ago. The people who worked Drive-Thru that hour were awarded with the $100 because they reached the goal. They worked really hard and they had enough cars, so they were able to meet the quota, and then some. They actually got 105 cars that hour! The results of that were an improved Drive-Thru and we're now getting more cars through the Drive-Thru on average than ever before. Because our Operator could See the Future and set that goal, the entire restaurant benefited. If you want to be a servant leader, you have to set goals for your team to strive for. But there's more to it than that. As a leader, you have to be passionate and excited about the future. In the words of The Secret, "If you aren't passionate about something out there in the future - if it doesn't fire you up and get you out of bed in the morning - you can bet your team is not going to be passionate either."
One other responsibility of being a leader is you have to set core values that your team shares and can be passionate about. Chick-fil-A is another great example of this. Chick-fil-A's Mission Statement is: Be the best quick-service restaurant in America. Our Corporate Purpose is: 1) To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us, and 2) To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A. These three values drive all that Chick-fil-A does as a company. But the thing is, someone had to come up with these values. Someone had to take the time, sit down, think for a long time, and decide what values would guide the company. That's what the leaders of Chick-fil-A did, and if you're a leader, it's what you should do, too. In the words of The Secret, "Values are a big deal. They are the cornerstones of the culture the leader is trying to create. Remember this: Our values are the beliefs that drive our behavior."
Okay, I know what you're thinking. "What do core values have to do with See the Future?" Allow me to explain with an example. If you're a team captain on the basketball team, you can't expect everyone to make 90% on their free throws at the start of the season. That's expecting too much (something I'll elaborate on in the next post). Acknowledge that at the beginning, your teammates will most likely shoot a lower percentage than what you want. So what should you do to get the team's percentage to where it needs to be? By hard work and practice. Take it step by step. Set small goals to keep a steady rate of improvement. When an individual hits the goal of 50%, raise it to 60%. And so on until you read 90%. All of this comes back to the team's values. If no one values hard work and practice, no one would improve. The team and each individual must value hard work and dedication for the goal to become reality. A servant leader will set values for his or her team. If you don't set values, it's almost impossible to reach your goals.
Another part of Seeing the Future is trying to anticipate obstacles that you might encounter and planning ahead for obstacles you know you will encounter. Maybe you've heard the expression, "I'm praying for the best, but planning for the worst." That's just another part of Seeing the Future: anticipate obstacles. If you want to be a servant leader and serve others as best as possible, you'd do well to try to identity future obstacles and begin preparation to overcome them.
I am trying to become the best servant leader I can be at Chick-fil-a, and in all areas of my life. The first step to doing this is See the Future. Set goals, set values, and anticipate obstacles. That is the S in SERVE. In my next post, we'll look at the first E in SERVE.
One of the concepts The Secret teaches is the concept of SERVE. It's an acronym that stands for five things. In five separate posts, I will unpack each concept and how the concept applies to our lives. In this post, we'll look at the letter S.
S stands for See the Future.
See the Future
E
R
V
E
If you are a leader, you have a responsibility to plan, look ahead, and to try to anticipate the future. It is your job to set goals and objectives for your team to aspire to meet. And once that goal is met, it's your job to figure out where to set the next goal. The purpose of these goals are to set expectations for growth and motivation for hard work.
At Chick-fil-A, we have certain goals for our Drive-Thru. We had this one goal of getting one hundred cars through the Drive-Thru in just one hour. That would mean each car would spend less than 30 seconds in line after ordering, and that we'd have to have enough cars come through the Drive-Thru. This isn't easy an easy task, but each individual was very motivated to accept the challenge. Why? Because the first team to get one hundred cars would be awarded with $100.
This goal was met a few weeks ago. The people who worked Drive-Thru that hour were awarded with the $100 because they reached the goal. They worked really hard and they had enough cars, so they were able to meet the quota, and then some. They actually got 105 cars that hour! The results of that were an improved Drive-Thru and we're now getting more cars through the Drive-Thru on average than ever before. Because our Operator could See the Future and set that goal, the entire restaurant benefited. If you want to be a servant leader, you have to set goals for your team to strive for. But there's more to it than that. As a leader, you have to be passionate and excited about the future. In the words of The Secret, "If you aren't passionate about something out there in the future - if it doesn't fire you up and get you out of bed in the morning - you can bet your team is not going to be passionate either."
One other responsibility of being a leader is you have to set core values that your team shares and can be passionate about. Chick-fil-A is another great example of this. Chick-fil-A's Mission Statement is: Be the best quick-service restaurant in America. Our Corporate Purpose is: 1) To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us, and 2) To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A. These three values drive all that Chick-fil-A does as a company. But the thing is, someone had to come up with these values. Someone had to take the time, sit down, think for a long time, and decide what values would guide the company. That's what the leaders of Chick-fil-A did, and if you're a leader, it's what you should do, too. In the words of The Secret, "Values are a big deal. They are the cornerstones of the culture the leader is trying to create. Remember this: Our values are the beliefs that drive our behavior."
Okay, I know what you're thinking. "What do core values have to do with See the Future?" Allow me to explain with an example. If you're a team captain on the basketball team, you can't expect everyone to make 90% on their free throws at the start of the season. That's expecting too much (something I'll elaborate on in the next post). Acknowledge that at the beginning, your teammates will most likely shoot a lower percentage than what you want. So what should you do to get the team's percentage to where it needs to be? By hard work and practice. Take it step by step. Set small goals to keep a steady rate of improvement. When an individual hits the goal of 50%, raise it to 60%. And so on until you read 90%. All of this comes back to the team's values. If no one values hard work and practice, no one would improve. The team and each individual must value hard work and dedication for the goal to become reality. A servant leader will set values for his or her team. If you don't set values, it's almost impossible to reach your goals.
Another part of Seeing the Future is trying to anticipate obstacles that you might encounter and planning ahead for obstacles you know you will encounter. Maybe you've heard the expression, "I'm praying for the best, but planning for the worst." That's just another part of Seeing the Future: anticipate obstacles. If you want to be a servant leader and serve others as best as possible, you'd do well to try to identity future obstacles and begin preparation to overcome them.
I am trying to become the best servant leader I can be at Chick-fil-a, and in all areas of my life. The first step to doing this is See the Future. Set goals, set values, and anticipate obstacles. That is the S in SERVE. In my next post, we'll look at the first E in SERVE.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Stirring the Waters: God's Guidance
I just wanted to post today to simply say that God is good.
Over the weekend, I participated in an awesome event called Encounter. Encounter is an all night worship service, led by youth for youth, and by believers for believers. I'd been praying for God to do something in my life, to let my use the spiritual gifts that He gave me. That night, at Encounter, I was presented with an awesome opportunity. The details are anything but worked out, but basically, God's opened the door for me to start using my gifts. And the coolest thing happened the next morning at church: another opportunity of the same sort presented itself! So three days ago, I was stressed and worried that I wasn't doing what God wanted. But now there are two opportunities for me!
When I was scared and my future uncertain, I resorted to praying to God and asking for His guidance. Philippians 4:6-7 became my prayer: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." This verse so perfectly describes my past week. I was so nervous, so anxious, so stressed. But in the midst of that, I told God what I wanted and surrendered my petitions and requests to Him. And suddenly, something happened: two words really stuck out to me: peace and guard. I needed God's peace. And finding His peace became my priority. Why? Because it's better to have His peace than to have all the answers or to know what will happen. Trusting God and relying on Him are so much more fulfilling and securing than if I tried to know all the answers.
Now I'm still a little worried and unsure because those two opportunities still have to be okay-ed by some adults. But I believe in a big God, and if He can bring eight teenagers together to believe in the same thing and to want the same plan to happen, His plan won't stop there. This has to God. This is God, and if He wants something to happen, if He wants to use me and my friends, nothing will stand in His way. So I take comfort and solace in His timing, in His planning, in His wisdom, in His love.
Keep me in your prayers. I feel God's spirit at work, stirring the waters for something big, and I can't wait to see what it is. The King is at work. My King loves me. The King of Kings is using me to further His kingdom and to glorify His name.
God is good.
Over the weekend, I participated in an awesome event called Encounter. Encounter is an all night worship service, led by youth for youth, and by believers for believers. I'd been praying for God to do something in my life, to let my use the spiritual gifts that He gave me. That night, at Encounter, I was presented with an awesome opportunity. The details are anything but worked out, but basically, God's opened the door for me to start using my gifts. And the coolest thing happened the next morning at church: another opportunity of the same sort presented itself! So three days ago, I was stressed and worried that I wasn't doing what God wanted. But now there are two opportunities for me!
When I was scared and my future uncertain, I resorted to praying to God and asking for His guidance. Philippians 4:6-7 became my prayer: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." This verse so perfectly describes my past week. I was so nervous, so anxious, so stressed. But in the midst of that, I told God what I wanted and surrendered my petitions and requests to Him. And suddenly, something happened: two words really stuck out to me: peace and guard. I needed God's peace. And finding His peace became my priority. Why? Because it's better to have His peace than to have all the answers or to know what will happen. Trusting God and relying on Him are so much more fulfilling and securing than if I tried to know all the answers.
Now I'm still a little worried and unsure because those two opportunities still have to be okay-ed by some adults. But I believe in a big God, and if He can bring eight teenagers together to believe in the same thing and to want the same plan to happen, His plan won't stop there. This has to God. This is God, and if He wants something to happen, if He wants to use me and my friends, nothing will stand in His way. So I take comfort and solace in His timing, in His planning, in His wisdom, in His love.
Keep me in your prayers. I feel God's spirit at work, stirring the waters for something big, and I can't wait to see what it is. The King is at work. My King loves me. The King of Kings is using me to further His kingdom and to glorify His name.
God is good.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
"...Everyone knows that..."
Everyone has thought this. I most often think this in Sunday School or when in deep discussion with friends. When someone expresses an opinion about Christianity that I don't agree with, sometimes I'll keep quite. I won't offer my opinion unless they believe a totally unintelligent ideal. Usually, my excuse is "Why say what I believe? Everyone knows that viewpoint..." That thought is such a trap! When a belief is expressed by a friend and I don't agree with it, I think of my belief but don't share it. I think, "If they believe that way, they surely have considered the other options and chosen the one that makes most sense to them. Disagreeing would just make me look foolish." This type of thinking is simply not good. When I think that thought, it keeps me from speaking up and saying what I believe.
Many people don't grow up in church. Many people don't read the Bible. Since many people don't spend a lot of time with strong believers or in God's Word, they wouldn't know many Biblical or godly beliefs or foundations. Without that knowledge, they will believe something else. If nobody tells them something different, how can they ever know? Don't be afraid to share your beliefs. Without you expressing your beliefs, that belief may never be voiced.
Recently, a fellow blogger wrote about her interpretation of a verse. She thought it meant one thing; I always thought it meant another. I suggested my thought and she quickly and readily agreed with me, saying my interpretation made more sense. Voice your beliefs. Don't shrug it off. What if your belief changes a life? Speak up!
Many people don't grow up in church. Many people don't read the Bible. Since many people don't spend a lot of time with strong believers or in God's Word, they wouldn't know many Biblical or godly beliefs or foundations. Without that knowledge, they will believe something else. If nobody tells them something different, how can they ever know? Don't be afraid to share your beliefs. Without you expressing your beliefs, that belief may never be voiced.
Recently, a fellow blogger wrote about her interpretation of a verse. She thought it meant one thing; I always thought it meant another. I suggested my thought and she quickly and readily agreed with me, saying my interpretation made more sense. Voice your beliefs. Don't shrug it off. What if your belief changes a life? Speak up!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Be Like Forest Gump
I bet you've never heard that before. "Be like Forest Gump." You have to have seen the movie to know what I mean. But there's a reason, a entirely spiritual reason to why we all need to be like Forest. But before I explain this, I'd like to first share with you part of my past. As Leonardo DeCaprio said numerous times in Inception, "There's something you must understand about me." When I was ten years old, I unwittingly stumbled across pornography. It twisted, changed, skewered, and morphed my young and innocent mind into a sick and lewd mind. You have to go through what I did to understand precisely what I mean. What I've done is in the past, and I'm trying to recover from it. I still slip up, but that's part of the recovering process. Unfortunately, those images are burned into my mind. I just have to simply try to think of them, and I can instantly think about almost every single image I ever saw online. I'm sure I spent hundreds of hours surfing webpage after webpage, and I can recall nearly every image. That's just the way guys are wired, and I know two dozen more young men who can vouch for what I'm saying. It's just how it is.
Sexual immorality is like an injury. I know injury can be an awkward word often reserves for big boo-boos or athletes, but sexal sin is like an injury. Picture yourself with a skull fracture. You have a head injury, and you desperately need recovery and healing, otherwise you'll die. A key step to healing is to protect that head injury. You must guard it, keeping infection and bad things away from it. If you guard it and look after it long enough, that fracture heals and it is better than new! Dealing with sexual sin is the exact same thing. When you become introduced to sexual immorality, your mind has been injury. If you want healing, you must guard youself, protect your mind, stay away from impurities lest you become infected with disease. How? How can you keep yourself from looking, doing, wishing, thinking?
Philippains 4:8 says, "Whatever is true... noble... right... pure... lovely... admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." That's saying to think about pure things, things that aren't lewd or impure. If you train yourself over time to focus on pure things, you'll become trained to not have sinful thoughts. There are a few good techniques to train yourself. First, you must be trained to bounce your eyes. This simply means to avoid looking. But why not look? After all, it's only window-shopping, I'm not buying! I'm only looking at the menu, I'm not ordering! Jesus said in Matthew 5:29, "If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away." Kind of gross, right? I hope He wasn't being literal, otherwise I would be eye-less. He was encouraging us to not even look, because looking is the start of a downward spiral. The second is to replace evil thoughts with good ones. Jesus stated, "I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
Here is where we must be like Forest. Paul wrote that we should "flee from sexual imorality." Flee! Run, get away, take a walk, clear your head, turn off the TV, unplug the computer, sit at a different table. Do whatever it takes to stay away from sexual immorality. Run, Christians, run.
Sexual immorality is like an injury. I know injury can be an awkward word often reserves for big boo-boos or athletes, but sexal sin is like an injury. Picture yourself with a skull fracture. You have a head injury, and you desperately need recovery and healing, otherwise you'll die. A key step to healing is to protect that head injury. You must guard it, keeping infection and bad things away from it. If you guard it and look after it long enough, that fracture heals and it is better than new! Dealing with sexual sin is the exact same thing. When you become introduced to sexual immorality, your mind has been injury. If you want healing, you must guard youself, protect your mind, stay away from impurities lest you become infected with disease. How? How can you keep yourself from looking, doing, wishing, thinking?
Philippains 4:8 says, "Whatever is true... noble... right... pure... lovely... admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." That's saying to think about pure things, things that aren't lewd or impure. If you train yourself over time to focus on pure things, you'll become trained to not have sinful thoughts. There are a few good techniques to train yourself. First, you must be trained to bounce your eyes. This simply means to avoid looking. But why not look? After all, it's only window-shopping, I'm not buying! I'm only looking at the menu, I'm not ordering! Jesus said in Matthew 5:29, "If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away." Kind of gross, right? I hope He wasn't being literal, otherwise I would be eye-less. He was encouraging us to not even look, because looking is the start of a downward spiral. The second is to replace evil thoughts with good ones. Jesus stated, "I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
Here is where we must be like Forest. Paul wrote that we should "flee from sexual imorality." Flee! Run, get away, take a walk, clear your head, turn off the TV, unplug the computer, sit at a different table. Do whatever it takes to stay away from sexual immorality. Run, Christians, run.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Time To Tell!
Evangelism is an essential part of being a Christian. It's as important as recruitment is to the military. Without new recruits, the Army couldn't continue it's operations. While God would not simply stop existing because people stopped believing in Him (He isn't like Santa), one of Jesus' last commands was to recruit soldiers for God's army from all nations.
Last summer, my youth ministry-to-be traveled to New Smyrna Beach for a mission trip. It was our summer camp, and the theme was extemporaneous evangelism. We set out in small groups to evangelize to anyone we saw on the beach. I'll never forget walking up to those people and asking them if I could talk to them about Jesus. For a fourteen-year-old, it is heart-pounding to walk to a middle-aged lady and ask her on the spot about her spiritual beliefs. I had two friends with me for this particular conversation, but they were too timid to speak, so I felt as if the pressure was entirely on me to make sure this lady knew Jesus. The adrenaline pumping through my body, blood flushing my cheeks and ears, I stuttered, "Ma'am, may I ask you a few questions about your spiritual beliefs?" Luckily, she replied, "Of course, son, what is it?" I stumbled through my partially memorized Way of the Master evangelism technique. Fortunately for me, this particular lady claimed to already be a Christian and to have followed Jesus for years. She helped calm my fears by adding, "I'm so proud of you kids for doing this! I wish I was brave enough to do this sometimes."
My youth pastor repeatedly made this conversation an example to us. He argued against this lady's belief system, that we should always look for opportunities to recruit soldiers for God's army. Unfortunately, the American church has become too much like the recruitment staff of the military. Maybe you've seen the military's adds on TV. Perhaps you've even seen their billboards beside the highway, or their adds in the local paper. There's a chance you've even noticed their stores in shopping centers. Those stores are their local recruitment centers; they're where you go to apply to defend our great country's freedom. Much to my dismay, the American church has adopted this system of recruitment. We'll advertise on TV, beside the highway, and in the paper, and we'll even go as far as to be at our church building. But we rarely go any further. We sit in our churches and wait for the world to come to us. But why would the world come to church if they think the church is a scam, filled with hypocrytes, a bunch of disillusioned dreamers, or no different than they are?
If we think that we can convert to the military's form of recruitment and obey Jesus at the same time, we are miserably incorrect. We can only help people if we go out and help them! Take action and tell the world that Jesus lives!
Last summer, my youth ministry-to-be traveled to New Smyrna Beach for a mission trip. It was our summer camp, and the theme was extemporaneous evangelism. We set out in small groups to evangelize to anyone we saw on the beach. I'll never forget walking up to those people and asking them if I could talk to them about Jesus. For a fourteen-year-old, it is heart-pounding to walk to a middle-aged lady and ask her on the spot about her spiritual beliefs. I had two friends with me for this particular conversation, but they were too timid to speak, so I felt as if the pressure was entirely on me to make sure this lady knew Jesus. The adrenaline pumping through my body, blood flushing my cheeks and ears, I stuttered, "Ma'am, may I ask you a few questions about your spiritual beliefs?" Luckily, she replied, "Of course, son, what is it?" I stumbled through my partially memorized Way of the Master evangelism technique. Fortunately for me, this particular lady claimed to already be a Christian and to have followed Jesus for years. She helped calm my fears by adding, "I'm so proud of you kids for doing this! I wish I was brave enough to do this sometimes."
My youth pastor repeatedly made this conversation an example to us. He argued against this lady's belief system, that we should always look for opportunities to recruit soldiers for God's army. Unfortunately, the American church has become too much like the recruitment staff of the military. Maybe you've seen the military's adds on TV. Perhaps you've even seen their billboards beside the highway, or their adds in the local paper. There's a chance you've even noticed their stores in shopping centers. Those stores are their local recruitment centers; they're where you go to apply to defend our great country's freedom. Much to my dismay, the American church has adopted this system of recruitment. We'll advertise on TV, beside the highway, and in the paper, and we'll even go as far as to be at our church building. But we rarely go any further. We sit in our churches and wait for the world to come to us. But why would the world come to church if they think the church is a scam, filled with hypocrytes, a bunch of disillusioned dreamers, or no different than they are?
If we think that we can convert to the military's form of recruitment and obey Jesus at the same time, we are miserably incorrect. We can only help people if we go out and help them! Take action and tell the world that Jesus lives!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Stepping Out or Closing In
Every been inspired to do something great, but then chickened out? Me too. It happens all the time. When I get that feeling that I should do something, like tell someone about a problem I've been having, or tell someone about Jesus, seeds of doubt form. What pursues is a battle between good and evil. Will I follow what can only be God's leading hand, or succumb to fear and do nothing?
Nelson Mandela once said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
It's hard for me to follow up after this quote, for this is such a powerfully riveting quote. Mandela tells us that our playing small helps nobody. In other words, when we give in to fear and don't believe in ourselves, we're actually hurting people and ourselves. He also said that when we let our own light shine, we unconcsciously give other people persmission to do the same. In my youth ministry, it often happens that my youth pastor will ask a question and no one will answer... until one brave soul meekly gives his answer. Then another, encouraged by his brother in Christ, is able to speak up and answer. The snow ball effect soon begins to roll, and many students want to share their answers. It all started with one who decided to let his own light shine.
Who are you not to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, or famous? Don't give in to the sterotypes that restrict you from becoming you God wants you to be. Step out, and don't let yourself close in. So stand up! Use your voice! Be strong! And you'll release your own light, and in the process, allow those around you do to the same.
Nelson Mandela once said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
It's hard for me to follow up after this quote, for this is such a powerfully riveting quote. Mandela tells us that our playing small helps nobody. In other words, when we give in to fear and don't believe in ourselves, we're actually hurting people and ourselves. He also said that when we let our own light shine, we unconcsciously give other people persmission to do the same. In my youth ministry, it often happens that my youth pastor will ask a question and no one will answer... until one brave soul meekly gives his answer. Then another, encouraged by his brother in Christ, is able to speak up and answer. The snow ball effect soon begins to roll, and many students want to share their answers. It all started with one who decided to let his own light shine.
Who are you not to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, or famous? Don't give in to the sterotypes that restrict you from becoming you God wants you to be. Step out, and don't let yourself close in. So stand up! Use your voice! Be strong! And you'll release your own light, and in the process, allow those around you do to the same.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
What Is Your Fire?
Everyone has that little calling in ministry, whether it's a heart for homeless people, a passion to teach children, or a zeal for maintaining the church property. A striving Christian will recognize this gift in his or her heart. Where is yours? I recognize where my fire is directed to. I have a strong passion for martyrs and the Underground Church. I love to read of Richard Wurmbrand, or other heroic believers who were willing to, or who did, surrender their physical lives for Christ.
In my small but striving inter-city church, I recognize many pursued passions from fellow brethren. One couple started a computer lab, which is open to teach people in the community how to use computers, which is handy for job applications, among other tasks. Two men has a combined passion for homeless people, and have started a ministry that feeds fifty to sixty homeless or poverty-stricken people on Mondays. One young woman, a close friend of mine, has a passion for worship that usually leads her to other churches to lead their worship services. One elderly man has such a heart of servitude that he voluntarily painted the entire second floor of church, by hand, and by himself. Another friend, my closest, has a strong passion for evangelism, and is a skilled apologist, whom I have seen communicate clearly and effectively with lost people. I myself have witnessed this friend lead six or seven people to Christ. One lady used to be on staff, but the church could not afford to pay her for her many long hours and hard dedication, and yet she still continues to volunteer her time to be the children's ministry leader! My pastor, even with all the long, hard hours he puts into working at church, started a photography ministry, an area he is very skilled in and has a passion for.
I am surrounded by strong brothers and sisters in Christ! My church, though it may only have a hundred attendees, is filled with active Jesus Freaks who lead their own ministries. A special attribute of my church is the rule that if you have an idea for a ministry, event, or anything else, you are in charge of it. This is a spectacular way to get the church body involved. If you want to do something, you don't have to wait. You can start doing it!
So what about you? What can you do for God? If you are skilled with bicycles and live in a city dominated by university students, perhaps you can start a bicycle repair shop to minister to the students in your city. Or if you have a passion for sewing and live in a northern state, perhaps you can start a ministry to clothe the homeless people when winter comes. Or if you have art skills, why not volunteer to make posters for church events, or even paint rooms with a beautiful design? And if you enjoy to spend hours upon hours online or playing video games, it may be time to ask someone at church if you can run sound or EasyWorship (the slide show system) at church.
There are an endless amount of possibilities out there, and each church has needs. Find out where to plug in and get active! When Paul wrote about spiritual gifts, he wasn't only saying Christians would have emotional or spiritual skills; he meant we would have physical skills, too. So figure out what you are good at (or could be good at, with a little practice), and start working!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Stop Thinking!
"How can I work for God?"
"What does God want me to do?"
"Who am I supposed to be helping?"
We all ask these questions every once and a while. The problem is that the only person who has the answers is a God who chooses to remain vocally silent. I've always wondered how I could figure out what God wanted me to do, and that's a noble query. Yet if that's where the thinking stops, it's a big waste of time.
In the brief season I played football, one of the coaches would always tell me, "You're thinking too much, Logan. You need to stop thinking about it and just do it." My problem the whole season was that I would think too much about doing a move and wouldn't ever get around to doing it... until the opposing player had already leveled me. And what made the star players great? They had trained their bodies to naturally preform the moves; they didn't think about it because it came naturally. That is exactly how it must be for Christians. We need to train ourselves hard enough so that we can get to the point where we stop thinking our "moves" through and we can naturally do them. If we can get to the point where we don't think about talking to strangers about Jesus or talking to someone we can't relate with or serve without being asked to, that is when we reach the point of being a "star" Christian.
You see, when we learn to program ourselves to react by doing instead of reacting by thinking, our spiritual sense get sharpened and we begin to react naturally by helping, serving, and doing. Then the questions turn from "How does God want me to help?" to "There's something I can do!".
"What does God want me to do?"
"Who am I supposed to be helping?"
We all ask these questions every once and a while. The problem is that the only person who has the answers is a God who chooses to remain vocally silent. I've always wondered how I could figure out what God wanted me to do, and that's a noble query. Yet if that's where the thinking stops, it's a big waste of time.
In the brief season I played football, one of the coaches would always tell me, "You're thinking too much, Logan. You need to stop thinking about it and just do it." My problem the whole season was that I would think too much about doing a move and wouldn't ever get around to doing it... until the opposing player had already leveled me. And what made the star players great? They had trained their bodies to naturally preform the moves; they didn't think about it because it came naturally. That is exactly how it must be for Christians. We need to train ourselves hard enough so that we can get to the point where we stop thinking our "moves" through and we can naturally do them. If we can get to the point where we don't think about talking to strangers about Jesus or talking to someone we can't relate with or serve without being asked to, that is when we reach the point of being a "star" Christian.
You see, when we learn to program ourselves to react by doing instead of reacting by thinking, our spiritual sense get sharpened and we begin to react naturally by helping, serving, and doing. Then the questions turn from "How does God want me to help?" to "There's something I can do!".
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