Joy in Fathering

Being a dad is a remarkable process for growth and influence. I think a lot of us get frustrated because we can't win at being a dad. Something in us would like it to be about winning, but it's not a competitive game with our kids.

Look at 3rd John verse 4: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." Let's think about what John is saying here. (Yes, he's talking about about the Christians he's responsible for, not necessarily his physical children. But we dads are about discipling Christians, especially our own children.)

John, the "beloved disciple", knows about suffering, and about joy. No greater joy? Wow!

John does not say, "I have not greater profit" or "I have no greater happiness" or "I've never been given grief by my children."

Note the active, present tense -- 'have' and 'are walking.' This is not joy from past tense work, but current assessment.

Walking is not wandering. John talks about "the" truth, not "a" truth. There is a specific path of discipleship.

What other thoughts do you have?

Sobering Economic Charts

This set of charts about our "Frankenstein Economy" in the US is sobering, to say the least.

How should Christians lead in such times? How will be distinctive?

John Piper Writes from Cambridge

Great Fresh Words letter from John Piper: "How to Respond to Horrifying Sayings of Jesus."

Economic Growth In Iraq

Check out this article about the amazing economic growth in Iraq since 2003. The GDP per capita has doubled, and the Brookings Institute forecasts real GDP growth of 495 in 2006-2008.

Do you think the flax 15% tax rate has anything to do with it?

Remembering Names

I'm pretty bad at remembering names. Ok, I'm really bad at it. I appreciated the tips here.

Real Leaders are People Who Can Make Things Better

Marshall Goldsmith writes eloquently about

Check out the article to get the whole story, it's great.

He concludes with an important point for each of us, men:

"Real leaders are not people who can point out what is wrong. Almost anyone can do that. Real leaders are people who can make things better."

Holiness Manifesto

Men, check out this Holiness Manifesto. I found there is depth here worth considering, and checking your personal (and family) life against.

More on Raising Boys

Doug Giles continues his series on raising boys. I like the strategy of raising boys who take care and improve what they've been given to manage, and to defend others. This gets you away from jock-or-not, but keeps you in the sphere of tough-and-tender.

Get Tozer-ized!

I've loved reading A.W. Tozer's books for years. They act like that firm 2x4 you need applied to my head, regularly.

So I was delighted to see this quick summary by Todd Rhoades, "Formula for a Burning Heart."

A couple of points really wacked me:

"It is our wretched habit of tolerating sin that keeps us in our half-dead condition."

" There must be a radical change in your habits of there will not be any permanent improvement in your interior life."

Fighting Discouragement

It can be all-too easy to slip into discouragement, even for a little while. I know I've been battling it recently.

Our good and gracious God sends me lots of reading to remind me of His faithfulness. And that's the key, I believe, to overcoming discouragement -- remember God's past work, ongoing promises, and the future He has planned for us. Jeremy Taylor writes "It is impossible for that man to despair who remembers that his Helper is omnipotent." Discouragement is spiritual amnesia. As Mark Batterson points out, "So Far, So God." That's the fact too focus on, men.

Leadership Longevity

I know many of the readers of this blog are in leadership positions in their local church. Check out this excellent set of ideas from Ray Glider for building lasting ministry.

Volumes

From March 20 Fortune magazine:

"The peoples of the earth sent and received 400,000 terabytes of information by email in 2002, according to research by the University of California at Berkeley's School of Information Management and Systems. That's equivalent to the print collections of 40,000 Libraries of Congress. (And that was measured way back in 2002; the quantity has only grown since.) "

Phone calls in 2002? 17 million terabytes of data.

Now we should distinguish knowledge from data, and communication from transmission, but even so.... W-o-w.

Men, let's keep teaching our kids how to manage the glut of information available, and discern what's truth, what's useful. So we need to be learning this first.

What Would an Atheist Think about Your Church?

Todd Rhodes has an interesting post about an atheist's impressions from visiting Willow Creek. What are the impressions that not-yet believers have about your church?

Keep Moving...Or Die

Apparently sharks have to keep moving or they die. (Apparently there are some places where sharks sleep, but if you come across a sleepin shark in your travels, my advice would be to let it lie.)

Blogs have to keep moving to. Some poor soul has counted how many blogs are started, and how many are still active 6 weeks and 6 months later -- tens of thousands get started, because it's so easy to start, and less than 5% are still active 6 months later.

[Thanks to those of you who write me notes when I don't post something here for a few days. "Where are you? Are you ok? I miss you, please write again soon" messages are very encouraging.]

As Christian husbands and fathers, we need to keep moving, too. Our relationships -- with our heavenly Father, with our wives, with our children, with extended family and neighbors and coworkers -- all need nurturing and action to keep moving. Our study of the Word needs to continue; it's a living Book for us. We need to continue to sharpen the skills and talents we've been given, so that we can continue to serve others well.

If I could speak with you, dear reader, I suspect we'd share at least one thing in common -- a desire to just sit down and procrastinate on what we should be doing. Yes, we need rests, and God has ordained rhythms in life we should pay attention to. But if you're taking a "rest" because you would just rather not think about it for a while, watch out! Take a rest to get back into right relationship with Christ, and because you are looking forward to more and greater service.

My pastor says there are only two kinds of marriages -- those being worked at, and those that aren't. There are only two kinds of sharks -- the moving and the dead. There are only two kinds of Christian men -- those moving forward, learning how to walk in better rhythm with God and with one another, and those lardassians sitting around listening to the wrong whiny voices from their flesh.

Christians Should Feel Complimented

Nice insights from Don Feder: "What really enrages the Hollywood left is the realization that, more than any other group in our society, evangelical Christians—who now constitute the largest voting bloc—stand in the way of its political agenda: abortion on demand, a contraceptive culture, erotic indoctrination masquerading as sex education, universal day care, the complete societal acceptance of homosexuality and hate-crimes legislation that criminalizes religious speech. By attacking Christians, Hollywood is advancing its agenda... Over the past 40 years, Hollywood has been primarily responsible for the rapid degeneration of our culture. Modern cinema is filled with violence, sadism, sex at its most animalistic, crudeness, nihilism and despair. If Hollywood wants to treat Christianity as the antithesis of all it holds dear, Christians should feel complimented."

Teaching Others to Pray

Here's a too-short article about teaching others to pray. I think it would be better titled, "Coaching Prayer Leaders."

Start Leading Yourself

Bill Hybels' article "The Art of Self-Leadership" is a must-read. I've read a lot of material on leadership, and this is a classic. Don't get hung up if you're not a pastor -- people reading this blog are leaders, and Hybel's counsel does apply.

Print it off, read it twice today. Think about what you need to do differently and start doing it.

Then make a plan to reread it in a month.

Listen to CT Teaching Online!

I strongly encourage you to check out the Cross Trainers teaching, available online. Mike Swaim's March 1 class on Peter is dynamite! The most recent four weeks will be available online, updated every Monday.

What Makes for Church Growth?

Todd Rhodes has a collected some information about the differences between large (growing) and small (not growing) churches. Summary:
-- Growing churches are most likely to be theologically conservative, with members actively participating in ministry, usually with local authority and raising up pastors/staff from within. Oh, it helps a lot to have a pastor who has been there a long time.

Raising Boys

Doug Giles reminds us that God made men to thrive in tough conditions in his column, "Raising Boys that Feminists Will Hate":

"First off, parents, please note that the cradle God created for His firstborn was rough country—a thorny, critter-laden and butt-kicking badland. God wanted His boy brought up in undomesticated surroundings. The feral fashioned something in God’s first boy, Adam, that Xbox, the mall and cell phones just couldn’t provide to the charge under His tutelage.
Yeah, God’s earthy 2IC was directly connected to the Spirit of the Wild. Adam lived in primitive partnership with untamed beasts, birds, big lizards and monster sharks. This is the way it was. And God said, “It is good!” Imagine that: good being equated to having no anti-bacterial gel, no bike helmets, no Trans Fatty acids, no poodles, no motorized scooters, no concrete and no Will and Grace. I know this doesn’t sound like “paradise” for postmodern pantywaists that are immoral, lazy, stupid and fat, but it was God’s—and His primitive son’s—idea of “Yippee Land.”