God Crafts Man-Fishers

18As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 20At once they left their nets and followed him.
21Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
Matthew 4:18-22

Jesus calls Peter and Andrew, James, and John to Himself, and they immediately come and begin following him.

Notice that "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men" contains three action phrases:
Come = one time decision
Follow me = ongoing decision to continue, step after step, day after day
Make you = God's craftsmanship that forms us into man-fishers

The second and third are ongoing, not one-time events. And see the symmetry? We follow; God makes us. God is faithfully ("I will," he says) doing His part in this as we follow Jesus. He does not instantly create us into master man-fishers, but makes us into this over time.

It greatly encourages us to remember that God isn't done with us yet. We're not responsible for making ourselves into anything, that's what God does. (See also John 15:1-17 about abiding in Christ and bearing fruit.)

If You Want to See Change...

Over and over again we want to see positive changes -- in our weight, fitness, relationships, godliness, bank account, abilities to teach well, etc.

There are just three things needed to see positive changes:

1. Vision for the future, improved state. You'll be thinner and able to run a 5 minute mile, out of debt, in the Word every morning, and perfectly in tune with your spouse and children and even that cranky co-worker.

2. Desire for change. You actually want to change. You actually want to be that person with the improvements over where you are now.

3. Follow-through on the means to make the change. You need to eat less, exercise more, change your spending and saving patterns, talk with your spouse on a regular basis, and open the Bible every morning and do more than skimming your eyeballs across the page. Thinking about these things and wishing things does not make them happen. Failing to act differently means failing to make positive changes.

You need all three for positive change.

No vision + Desire + Means = activity without directed purpose

Vision - Desire + Means = unwillingness to continue

Vision + Desire - Means = wishful thinking and fantasies

You can use this framework to help yourself diagnose where you're falling short, or when you're coaching someone else.

Consider Netflix vs. Cable TV

I spoke recently with a man who turned off his cable TV account and starting using Netflix. He misses the sports channels, but otherwise is content. I found one of his reasons especially significant: there's more accountability! If he watches something on Netflix, his whole family will see it listed as "recently watched." This helps him with the temptation to watch things he knows he shouldn't, even if no one else is around.

You probably know that Netflix has the DVD mailing service. Their "watch instantly" offerings continue to expand. Though there's plenty of marginal content, and movies I think men should avoid, there is also a wealth of good material and documentaries. We watch via our computers, but you can purchase inexpensive devices to route the content to your TV so it's easier to watch as a group.

Using Twitter as a Means of Influence

Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson and a real thought leader for using media effectively, talks about Twitter as a leadership tool.

How Can Christian Leaders Get Started with Social Media? from Michael Hyatt on Vimeo.

Why You Need to Stay Humble and Faithful

Good counsel here, from a Q&A on leadership with Ron Edmondson:

If you could give one piece of advise to young leaders from what you've learned by experience, what would it be?

You are not as smart as you think you are. Therefore, stay humble. You have more potential than you can possibly imagine. Therefore, remain faithful. Keep growing, and be patient. Your time will come.

-- Michael Hyatt

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, men!

Keep on doing what is right and good, however tough or inconvenient. You're not perfect, but strive for authenticity with your family as a man serving the Lord.

People need you! "You are not your own, you were bought at a price." (1 Cor 16)

By the way, this is the 100th anniversary of Father's Day celebrations -- it was first celebrated in 1910.

How I Respond to Discouraged Teachers

"Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ." (Acts 5:42)

I've been corresponding with several discouraged teachers in the past few weeks. "No one is learning," one wrote, "so I'm giving it up." Another said, "They don't want to hear anything challenging, just the rah-rah-Christians-are-great stuff. I won't teach that way, so I'm thinking I should go to XYZ church instead." A third wrote this week, "Our minister wants to me to teach the same intro class all the time, and I'm tired of it." Another woman wrote me candidly expressing her frustration this way: "If I don't hear someone say thank you they can just find someone else to do it!"

Just yesterday I talked with a man who seemed convinced that if ministry was hard then God wasn't in it and he should move on. (I suggested he check that perspective against Scripture - it's not a biblical perspective at all.)

Teaching is often tough, challenging, gut-twisting work. There are times and cirumstances where you don't see much fruit. You may not hear appreciation. You may feel forced into situations that aren't your chosen ideal.

Perhaps you need a season of rest. Perhaps you need to seek out a different teaching situation.

Perhaps.

I won't judge you if you do, that's not my perogative.

But I will say, in most situations, you and I need to stand firm, confident in the power of the Lord, working hard and spending ourselves on behalf of others. It's a calling. It's a level of commitment that means we have to (as marathon runners say) "take the pain and tuck it away somewhere" until the race is done. We're part of God's work to beat back the darkness, did you think it will always be easy?

Read that Acts 5:42 passage again. This was how they behaved after they were beaten and abused by the authorities.

Keep on teaching to change lives! And encourge your fellow teachers to do likewise, for the glory of God.

Why the Church is Like a Magnifying Glass

I really liked this analogy from Chris Brauns: the local church is like a magnifying glass. Check it out. Here's an excerpt:

"Put the burning material down on the sidewalk and then use the magnifying glass to focus a beam of sunlight onto the material. You will be amazed at how quickly smoke begins to curl away. My boys and I do this and we think it great. Jamie rolls her eyes.

You know: the magnifying glass does not provide any power of its own. It serves only to direct the power of the sun. But, when it does, it brings light to a burning focus and things ignite.

That is what the local church is supposed to do. By itself, the church, God’s people, do not offer any power. But, a church is like a magnifying glass that God uses to focus and direct His power."

What a great way to pray for yourself, your family, your church: Lord, make me a magnifying glass that concentrates your power in a way that creates results the whole world will see -- and glorify you!

HT: Between Two Worlds

Porn as a Narcotic -- On Women, Too

The neurochemistry of pornography addiction is remarkable, powerful, terrifying. You can learn more about it in this article, "How Pornography Drugs & Changes Your Brain."

Porn is a multibillion $ industry, and therefore track the demographics of their customers closely. We used to think about porn as a guy's issue. No more. The fastest growing demographic for porn consumption - and perhaps 1/3 of paying customers by some accounts! - are women from 18-38.

You see, the neurochemistry is the same for women.

Guys, I highly encourage you to watch this video about one woman's situation:

Get some accountability in your life. Battle this crap. "You are not your own, your were bought at a [HIGH!] price."

Learning from Experience

You'd think we would get this right but we often don't.

Part of encouraging one another and training our children is learning from experience.

This certainly operates at the individual level, but don't neglect the opportunities help yourself, your peers, and your families to learn from experience, too. That's why the study of history is so valuable.

Want to learn a few things about how governments and societies respond to terrorism and corruption? You would do well to review the Peloponnesian War. Want to forecast the impacts of political and economic decisions? Nearly everything has been tried before in some form, and it rarely works out differently because different people are involved this time. Even recent history is helpful -- see this excellent article about the painful lessons from Massachusetts health care, which has all the key elements of the health insurance legislation the US Congress passed.

As my friend says, "The problem is not that we shot ourselves in the foot. The problem is how fast we reloaded and fired again!"

How to Treat Women

Good counsel here about how men should treat women.

Learning from the Khan Academy

The Khan Academy is a remarkable project - over 1400 videos and growing, one guy teaching on subjects like math, chemistry, biology, history, finance, economics, etc. It's a tremendous resource from a very good teacher, amplified by technology.

I checked a few videos on topics I'm reasonably good at, and a few where I personally struggle, and was impressed in both areas.

This would be an excellent resource for:

• Parents helping their kids learn a tough subject
• Teens capable of self-directed learning to tackle a subject
• Adults who need a refresher on a topic
• Adults who never really learned XYZ and would like to now

Check this out, bookmark it.

P.S. I wonder if someone could create a corresponding library of videos for Christian instruction?

Highly Recommended Book: The Masculine Mandate

I give this book my highest recommendation. The Masculine Mandate, by Richard D. Phillips is an outstanding and practical analysis of Genesis. He writes plainly, directly, and without slop.

Phillips corrects a number of misconceptions from the "Wild at Heart" series that concern me.

You can learn more about Phillips here.

If you lead men's Bible studies, if you're involved in men's ministry, if you just need a readable and trustworthy assessment of the biblical role of men -- get this book.

Media Choices Rewire Our Brains

Nicholas Carr gives us some insights into how our media choices are rewiring our brains. See his article "The Web Shatters Focus, Rewires Brains." The easy availability of information via the Internet is having an unintended consequence that we become more distracted and shallower thinkers.

Here is how Carr ends the article:

"There’s nothing wrong with absorbing information quickly and in bits and pieces. We’ve always skimmed newspapers more than we’ve read them, and we routinely run our eyes over books and magazines to get the gist of a piece of writing and decide whether it warrants more thorough reading. The ability to scan and browse is as important as the ability to read deeply and think attentively. The problem is that skimming is becoming our dominant mode of thought. Once a means to an end, a way to identify information for further study, it’s becoming an end in itself—our preferred method of both learning and analysis. Dazzled by the Net’s treasures, we are blind to the damage we may be doing to our intellectual lives and even our culture.

"What we’re experiencing is, in a metaphorical sense, a reversal of the early trajectory of civilization: We are evolving from cultivators of personal knowledge into hunters and gatherers in the electronic data forest. In the process, we seem fated to sacrifice much of what makes our minds so interesting."

As leaders, I recommend that we give this serious thought. We need to create learning opportunities that develop different kinds of cognitive skill, so that we and our children and their children will have both breadth and depth of thinking.

D-Day Anniversary

Today we remember D-Day, the beginning of the end of WWII in Europe. This PBS site has some remarkable facts about D-Day. I didn't know these:

* An invading army had not crossed the unpredictable, dangerous English Channel since 1688

* Louisiana entrepreneur Andrew Jackson Higgins first designed shallow-draft boats in the late 1920s to rescue Mississippi River flood victims.

* Captured Germans were sent to American prisoner of war camps at the rate of 30,000 POWs per month from D-Day until Christmas 1944. Thirty-three detention facilities were in Texas alone.

The Advantage of Legalism

The advantage of legalism is that you never have to grow up and become mature. You don't have to be discerning. You can remain selfish and self-righteous. You can keep all your pride.

Think about that. Think about why God doesn't call us to legalism.

Wrong Teaching on Suicide

This is a cross-post from my Teach To Change Lives blog. -- Glenn

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Teachers, let's correct some common but flat-out wrong teaching on suicide.

These verses have been incorrectly used to say that suicide is an unforgivable sin:

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple." (1 Cor 3:16-17)

Check the context of these verses: they're part of a long passage where Paul is speaking about divisions in the church, and body life.

Also, the English word "you" can mean either an individual or a group. If the context wasn't clear enough, the actual Greek word used here clearly indicates that "you" refers to a group, NOT an individual.

So do not allow people, however sincere, to justify some wrong idea about suicide from these two verses taken out of context.

If I may speak briefly about the issue of suicide, the key issue is always going to be the relationship with Jesus. Suicide is self-murder, and therefore is a sin. But the blood of Jesus covers all sin for those who are redeemed and made a child of God, a new creation. There are far too many situations and factors with suicide to make blanket statements about the state of their soul after death -- except that the redeemed sinner will be in heaven.

Roadmap for America's Future

I heartily recommend Representative Paul Ryan's Roadmap for America's Future to you. (The full PDF article is 87 pages and well-written.)

This Roadmap describes very specific proposals for making changes in federal law on health care, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, individual and corporate taxes, and job training programs. There is clear information here, data to support their recommendations, trendlines (less likely to be cherry-picked data) and projections, and specific example legislation that doesn't run two thousand pages.

Even if you might have a knee-jerk negative response to a Republican proposal, I encourage you to look at this as a model for how to present recommendations. These are complicated issues with impacts experienced over long periods of time. Much of our political communication has been denigrated into sound-bites, which are wholly inadequate for dialogue on issues like these.

I'd like a future version to include revisions to the federal spending on education, housing loan supports, and subsidies.

It's About the Doing

"Many people know what to do, but few people do what they know." -- Tony Robbins

When we're honest with ourselves, we recognize there's a significant gap between what we know to do, and what we do.

What will you do to close just one knowing-doing gap today?

Honoring Our Soldiers and Sailors

Blessed Memorial Day! We're the land of the free because of their bravery and fortitude.

Nehemiah's Leadership Failure

Usually Nehemiah is lauded as an example of outstanding leadership...which he should be. We can also learn from a significant failure in his leadership approach.

Simply put, Nehemiah didn't establish people to carry on the right direction in his absence. He must have been a forceful man indeed, but when he returned to Jerusalem a few things didn't go well:

• Eliashib the priest gave Tobiah storeroom space in the temple (Nehemiah 13:4-9)
• The Levite priests and singers weren't provided for (Nehemiah 13:10-13)
• The leaders allowed the people and foreign traders to desecrate the Sabbath (Nehemiah 13:15-22)
• Jewish men,. including priests, intermarried with non-Jewish women (Nehemiah 13:23-29)

To his credit, Nehemiah vigorously corrected all these upon his return to Jerusalem.

What should we, as leaders today, learn from this story? I recommend you seriously think about the team of people that you're developing who can carry on leadership roles even in your absence. And in your families, what procedures can you establish to make sure things go well when you travel or are unavailable for a few hours or days?

If it only goes well when you're personally present, your leadership work isn't done.

Where to Find Great Christian Cartoons

Best site I know for Christian cartoons: Worthytoons.com

Let the Bible Instruct Us

I appreciated C. Matthew McMahon's article Why I Am A Calvinist because of these two paragraphs:

When I was 21, I had finished 2 years of Bible college. I went to an Arminian School, learned Arminian doctrine, and read Arminian books. I had no previous learning in religion until I attended that school, so I was indoctrinated in that theology without ever knowing whether it was true or false. In my naïveté I believed what I was taught (Surely not to question doctrine was my own mistake, but being indoctrinated in that way helped me to understand more about what I believe now. So it was the providence of God which kept me in my sin of false doctrine for a time.) Not too long after my second year, a friend of mine, who believed the doctrines of grace Calvinist began to challenge me on many of my "biblical" doctrines. I had a well rounded handle on the doctrine I possessed and propagated it thoroughly among my friends at school. But when this young man challenged me as he did, I was not able to refute him. The reason I was not able to refute his arguments had nothing to do with not understanding my own doctrine, for I did. But he came at me with something I did not expect; the Bible. He proposed a whole new system of doctrine which ran completely contrary to my own beliefs. My understanding of sin was so unbiblical that when he told me to read Romans 3:10-18, I was taken back by Paul’s poignant words. I was challenged by the very book I thought I understood. My views of man, Christ, God, salvation, sin, sovereignty, the will, and others were so warped and twisted that my young friend didn’t even need to rebuke me, for the Scriptures were doing it quite well. I had understood doctrine, it was just not the doctrine of the Bible.
So over the next summer, because of that day and that particular challenge of my friend, I devoted my time to reading through the entire Bible and endeavor to take it as it stood rather than what I wanted to read into it. My prayer was that the Lord would teach me His word by the power of the Holy Spirit so that I would know what it said rather than what I wanted it to say. After three months my views on man, Christ, God, sin, salvation and the like were radically transformed. (you would be amazed at what the Spirit of God will do with such a prayer and a simple reading of the Bible.) The point is this, my theology came out Calvinist without ever knowing what Calvinism was. I had not known what Calvin taught or that he was even a person. But my theology reflected nonetheless. The study of the Word of God transformed me. The Scriptures taught me, instead of me trying to teach it. So we see that being a Calvinist is not following after one man, but submitting under the authority of the Bible.

Would that more of us would pray and read Scripture this way! I'm not promoting Calvinism by referring you to this, because I have friends who have read and studied deeply and become convicted Arminians. (We can't all be right on all the elements of our theological frameworks, but we can work towards what builds up one another and makes for mutual edification.)

My challenge to you is to read the Bible as much or more than you read other materials.

Recommending Familyman Ministries

Dads, I recommend you sign up for the free newsletter from FamilyMan Ministries. Great encouragement -- 'cause we're all in process and in need encouragement!

The Biblical Framework on Giving

Looking for a good biblical framework on giving? Check out J.D. Greear's terrific post, "The Generosity Matrix" Husbands and fathers will do well to study this analysis.

Children Not Saved? Read This

I frequently encounter questions from parents who have unsaved children, and are concerned. Jim Elliff has some useful, sound counsel for Christian parents.

A Strategy to Cut Down on Technology Interference at Home

John Dyer recommends a Technology Basket at Home. The whole family parks all their gizmos (laptops, cell phones, etc) in the basket for agreed-upon times, such as for 2 hours each evening. This lets them focus on relationships and time with one another.

Worth trying!

"Grow up!"

"Grow up!"

How many times have you heard that? How many times have you told yourself that?

Men, when we're honest with ourselves, there's a fraction of our time when we're simply not thinking or acting in a mature way. It may be a large fraction, or on a good day a small fraction, but there's still some time daily when we need to "grow up!"

Let's monitor this situation in our hearts and minds. Let's purpose to have fewer minutes of immaturity today than yesterday.

One more thing: if you found yourself saying, "But I'm never immature!" then... pay close attention now...grow up!

Arguing Against Intelligent Design Based on Flaws in the Human Body

I believe it's true that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14). There are simply amazing things about the sophistication of our bodies and how they work.

But there are also some odd things that don't seem to be a match with the idea that a perfect God perfectly designed us. The way our eyes are wired, creating a serious blind spot. The imperfections in our chromosomes. There are others. This article is just one where biologists challenge the idea of Intelligent Design because the designer apparently made some goofs.

I have a good friend who writes about this, and reminds us that we live in a fallen world:

"I have often argued with my church friends that if we fail to take into account the Fall, then we are unrealistic in our creation argument (see Rom 8). Thorns, carnivores, parasites, retroviruses, inefficient splicing, cancer all point to a fallen world. No wonder that man used to live so long and doesn't anymore. When my kids asked me about that last week, I said that they should not buy the argument that the way we count years is different. No matter how you count them, we can all sense that when spring rolls around, it is a new year! Even if you're off by 25%, it is still a long life. Instead, the Fall continues to take its toll until as the physicist will tell us, the world winds down."

FOOTPRINTS...A New Version

A friend sent this to me. Delightful!

FOOTPRINTS...A New Version

Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace.

But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures, and returns.

For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling His consistently.

You and Jesus are walking as true friends!

This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus' are now walking precisely in His steps.

Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are becoming one.

This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change. The footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger.

Eventually they disappear altogether. There is only one set of footprints. They have become one.

This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is back. This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts. Gashes in the sand. A variable mess of prints.

You are amazed and shocked.

Your dream ends. Now you pray:

"Lord, I understand the first scene, with zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian; I was just learning. But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with You."

"That is correct."

"And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps, following You very closely."

"Very good. You have understood everything so far."

"When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that I was becoming like You in every way."

"Precisely."

"So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first."

There is a pause as the Lord answers, with a smile in His voice.

"You didn't know? It was then that we danced!"

What an Austrian Dog Taught Me About Living Boldly for Christ

My first trip to Austria did not go well and was memorable especially because of an encounter with a tiny dog.

I didn’t get much sleep on the flight over the Atlantic, and after arriving at Parndorf had a full day of meetings and a dinner event with colleagues. Not speaking any German, and having no prior European travel experience, I felt out of place and disoriented the whole time. I slept poorly in the hotel in Neusiedl am See, awoke early with a pounding headache and decided to take a walk to clear my head before breakfast.

It was a beautiful morning and I enjoyed getting out on the walking path that led away from the hotel. My headache was beginning to subside as I strode along. I came up behind two older ladies who were chatting away in German. One woman had a little yipper dog in a blue and white sweater on a leash. As I passed them I said “Guten Morgan” and nodded.

That’s when the dog saw me. I had eye contact for only a split second before he raced over and grabbed my pants leg in his teeth, growling and shaking his head back and forth. Stunned, surprised, I just stopped. I looked up at the woman, who was making no effort to yank on the leash or pull the dog away. She said in perfect English, without a trace of apology, “He doesn’t like Americans.”

The dog released my pants leg and trotted away without a backwards glance. The two woman continued on, leaving me standing there, dumbfounded.

My only thought: “I’m so out of place here that even the dog knows I’m an American!”

Here’s my question for us to ponder: Do we live such lives that everyone around us (even the neighbor’s dog) knows that we’re a Christian?

5 Reasons You May Not See Spiritual Growth

Jonathan Dodson gives a good list of 5 reasons you may not observe spiritual growth.

1. Feelings can be misleading.

2. We have trouble seeing incremental growth.

3. Spiritual growth is relative but real.

4. Our church family doesn’t encourage one another enough.

5. God is using trial and temptation to grow us.

Four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody

Classic.

“There were four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important jobs to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did was Anybody could have done.” (Unknown author)

A friend of mine added this: "Somebody thought that was funny, but Nobody laughed."

Leadership Lessons for Pastors and Church Leaders from Miracle

The movie Miracle, about the 1980 US Men’s Hockey Team that beat the Soviets, has a number of terrific lessons for pastors and church leaders. I recommend the film, and have included some YouTube clips below.

Not all-star teams, but a team that plays together

Herb Brooks had intensely studied the Soviet team who won the gold medal in the previous five Olympics. He knew that the general strategy -- assemble a team composed of the best individual amateurs from across the US – would never succeed. Brooks understand that only a team that worked together in a system of play, with the best conditioning, could beat the Soviets.

Consider the men Jesus selected for his disciples. It was nothing like an All-Star team that the religious leaders of the day would have selected! And think about the team God has arranged for you to work with – probably not an “All-Star” team, either. But when you’re taking back ground long-held by Satan, individual talent is insufficient. You need a team working in a system. And leaders often need to work out an "unconventional" strategy!

Coaches push people really hard -- but only when they want to get there

Herb Brooks was infamous for demanding the highest level of conditioning and skill from his players. He pushed and yelled and even jeered or mocked players to bring out their best. Why could he do that, without men volunteering to leave the team? Because the players had volunteered. They wanted to be there. They submitted themselves to intense training because they wanted to win.

The simple truth is that you can’t coach a person to a place he or she doesn’t want to be. But if they want to be there, you can push them and they’ll respond. Great coaches are usually tremendously demanding and unwilling to settle short. Leaders need to understand if they have someone’s engagement, and if they do, be unafraid to push them for better performance.

There are ways in which leaders cannot be your friend, and still get the job done

In the movie, right after the initial team has been selected, Herb Brooks tells them that they’ll be working harder than they’ve ever worked. He then tells them that if they need a friend, they should talk with the Assistant Coach.

The leadership lesson here is simple: You can’t be a person’s good buddy and then coach them beyond their comfort zone. I think you can be friends, but it’s a distant kind of friendship that is secondary to the role of leader and coach. The temptation to be someone’s friend often short-circuits a leader’s ability to develop an individual or a team. It’s significant to me that Jesus did not call his disciples friends until the very end of his time with them (John 15:15). If Jesus has done this sooner, He would not have been able to say to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” or rebuked the disciples as He did.

The second leadership lesson here is that you aren’t going to be able to be bosom-buddies with everyone equally on a team. Becoming too close a friend with some subordinates can create serious issues if you want a team to work together for a bold common purpose.

“The name on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back”

It takes a while for the team members to stop thinking of themselves in the old way – by the school they played for. Herb Brooks puts them through serious pain before they realize that playing as a team for the United States is their new identity.

If you’re working in a leadership team, the name on the front of your jersey (“Jesus”) is more important than your church history, your pedigree, your experiences and credentials. It’s more important than the specific ministry area you serve in.

Taking back territory long-held by an enemy requires sacrifice

Between periods one player has a bruised leg. (These guys are really tough, so I’m sure it must have been quite painful if he opted out.) Herb Brooks yells at the guy and gets him worked up enough to get back in the game.

Leaders push not only in training, but in the big game. Satan has long-held territory which he will not yield easily. Sacrifices must be made. Men and women who don’t push beyond their comfort zones aren’t going to intimidate a well-entrenched enemy.

Inspiring words + Genuine heart expressing them = authentic empowering

Herb Brooks’ speech before their match with the Soviets is masterful, perhaps the best recorded “sports” motivational speech I’ve ever seen. He inspires them. He’s genuine. His love for the game and for them comes through.

Here’s the leadership lesson: if I had said those same words to that team, it would have had no effect. If James Earl Jones had boomed those same words, or a member of the US Olympic Hockey oversight team, it would have been pretty ho-hum. They might have listened politely, but the words would not have empowered them. Leaders must use words, but only words expressed from a genuine heart carry weight and resonate in ways that change others.

Leaders celebrate victories

Toward the end of the film there is a moving scene where Herb Brooks retreats to a back hallway and celebrates the remarkable victory over the Soviets. And he also cheers loudly for the team when they receive their gold medals. Their celebration inspired millions!

Leaders celebrate accomplishments. There are times to work and push and push harder. And there are times to celebrate. Don’t shortchange your team by failing to acknowledge wins and taking time to celebrate.

What do you think of these lessons? Are there others you took from this movie?

Prudence, the Forgotten Leadership Trait

John Ortberg reminds us that prudence is a leadership virtue. I encourage all of us to think about developing and exercising prudence in our lives, and helping our children do the same.

"Prudence is not the same thing as avoiding mistakes. Churches are full of leaders who are afraid to make mistakes, and thereby insure that their churches will never move forward, and that their own souls will shrivel and grow cold from fear and avoidance. But that's not prudence.

Prudence is not hesitation, procrastination, or moderation. It is not driving in the middle of the road. It is not the way of ambivalence, indecision, or safety.

Prudence, says Guelzo, was prized by the ancients because it was linked to shrewdness, to excellence in judgment, to the capacity to discern, to the ability to take in a situation and see it in its wholeness. Prudence is foresight and far-sightedness. It's the ability to make immediate decisions on the basis of their longer-range effects.

Prudence is what makes someone a great commodities trader—the capacity to face reality squarely in the eye without allowing emotion or ego to get in the way. It's what is needed by every quarterback or battlefield general. Thomas Aquinas said it was intelligence about "things to be done."

Prudence comes very close to describing what Paul prays for the church at Philippi—"that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best …"

It is not hard to discern good from bad. But to discern the good from the best …

To recognize from a number of positive options what could lead to the most outstanding outcome

This is prudence."

Read the whole article.

How I Use Blogs, Twitter, and Facebook to Encourage the Saints

Social media can take a lot of time and be a huge distraction. Yet I recommend ministry leaders and teachers explore opportunities to use these tools for two purposes:

1. Amplify your voice for the Lord, and share encouraging information to build up disciples

2. Learn more about the condition of those whose souls are entrusted to your spiritual care

In this article I’ll lay out my own strategy, all with no-cost tools, that lets you do both without having to be “online” constantly.

Individual Twitter tweets are limited to 140 characters. Blogs can support any length text, links, and embedded images, audio, and video. You have a lot more control options for Facebook in terms of who sees the information, than you do with Twitter or blogs. All three have a significant place in online ministry.

There are two key principles to follow:

1. Use each tool to its strengths, and schedule your posts so you set up information when you have blocks of time available, and then drip out the content over time so it’s a constant stream of encouragement.

2. Interlink the tools so that the same content is used multiple ways and different audiences.

Let me work through the tools.

Blogging

I currently run two blogs, each with a different intended audience. Be Bold, Be Gentle is aimed at encouraging husbands and fathers. Teach to Change Lives is aimed at Bible teachers. I use Blogger (a free service) to host both. Were I starting over I would strongly consider using Wordpress on a domain I controlled.

Blogs let me share all kinds of information in multiple formats. Some blog posts are my own writing, and some are designed to point people to valuable content others have published. I tend to get ideas for blog posts in spurts, so I’ll write posts as I can, and then schedule them in advanced to be published. It takes a lot of stress off when you hit a dry spell for ideas, but know you have 1 to 2 weeks of material scheduled for publishing. My goal is to publish a blog post every other day on each blog. Some people are much more ambitious than this, and some publish less frequently. I can’t really create a good level of content at any higher frequency, and it seems to work for me.

I have years of blog posts that are all available to search engines. I can’t really control who sees this information. So I write with a mindset of providing generally helpful information to a broad audience of a lot of different folks.

Twitter

I use Twitter to publish short, encouraging bits to a broad audience. I do have some controls of who sees Twitter information, but not very much. I assume anything I write on Twitter could go anywhere and be seen by anyone.

My objective for every tweet is that it will encourage people. Therefore I try to have a mix of quotes, Bible verses, prayer reminders, and a very few personal comments. I avoid the temptation to tweet about politics or world events – plenty of others do this. I do not tweet about my exact location or my travels or anything that would affect the privacy of my family. (See my blog post about why I don’t talk about my family on blogs or Twitter. ) I also set up my blog posts so they’re picked up by Twitter, so that’s additional content. (See http://www.digitaldrake.com/how-to-connect-your-blog-to-twitter-facebook/ for help with this.)

I use TweetDeck a few times a week to monitor tweets from people that I’m following. I’ll retweet things which will be helpful to my audiences.

I like to have at least four tweets a day: before 5am, mid-morning, noonish, and afternoon or early evening. But I don’t want to have to be online at those times every day. So I use a free service call SocialOomph which lets set up tweets in advance and specify the day and time they will be published. A few times a week I spend about 15-20 minutes and will crank out 2 or 3 days worth of tweets and schedule them. This approach lets me create the content on my schedule, but drip it out steadily to my audience(s).

Facebook

Facebook gives me the most control over who sees what information. My personal guideline is to only friend people I know in person, or have some unusually close online presence with. I’m not trying to get to 5000 friends or anything like that. I created a fan page for “Teach the Bible to Change Lives” which is broadly public, but otherwise I’m picky about my Facebook friends. Most are from our church.

The majority of my Facebook posts are actually redirects from Twitter and my blogs. I’ve simply set those up to automatically be posted on Facebook. I also comment on information others post, and occasionally message someone I know on Facebook.

Facebook is a place where many people are expressive about what’s going on in their lives. It’s a avenue for me to hear about family issues (positive and not so positive). As an elder in our church this is very helpful information, and gives me much to pray about. I notice that more women are active on Facebook than men. It’s probably partially because women are more expressive with words than most men, or represents a lack to time.

Putting It All Together

I’m writing up tweets and blog posts, and scheduling those to be published over time I set up Facebook to publish my blog posts and tweets, so that takes care of the Facebook content being updated over time. I’m checking for tweets from others occasionally, and Facebook once or twice daily. I need to update the Facebook fan page for Teach to Change Lives two or three times a week. (Someday I need to figure out how to automate this process!) That keeps my total time for social media in check, and the emphasis on creating helpful content rather than just being a consumer.

Key tools:

Blogger: http://www.blogger.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com

SocialOomph: http://www.socialoomph.com

My sites:

Be Bold, Be Gentle

Teach to Change Lives

Glenn's Twitter page

Teach the Bible to Change Lives fan page

I encourage you to think about using these tools for ministry. There are already people in these channels, so use the voice God gave you to get His messages in front of them! But guard your heart and use your time wisely.

Marks of a Masterful People

As I grow older I think more about what it takes to develop future generations of leaders, and good citizens all-around. This is not a new problem! Just over 100 years ago Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech in Paris, which was later crafted into a book titled "Citizenship in a Republic."

The most often quoted passage from that speech is this:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Good words! But I think there is an even better sentence for dads to review:

"Self-restraint, self-mastery, common sense, the power of accepting individual responsibility and yet of acting in conjunction with others, courage and resolution—these are the qualities which mark a masterful people."

What can you and I do to cultivate these qualities in our children and youth?

Self-restraint

Self-mastery

Common sense

Individual responsibility AND working with others

Courage

Resolution

A good start is to work towards modeling these qualities in your own life.

Hymn Power

Charitie Bancroft authored one of my favorite hymns in 1863:

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

No Prolonged Infancies or Adolescence

There's justifiable concern in the American church about the high frequency of high school graduates who quickly leave the church/faith.

Here's a hypothesis: They tend to leave because we have continued to treat them like children, rather than transitioning them to adult roles in the church and helping them develop adult relationships along with adult responsibilities.

There is a lot in American culture which celebrates prolonged adolescence into the 20's and even the 30's. The church needs to stand against this tide.

"No prolonged infancies among us, please. We'll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love." (Ephesians 4:14, The Message)

How to Interpret Flak

"But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me." (1 Cor 16:8-9)

Everyone serving the Lord will run into all kinds of opposition. There are people who seem to work against you. There are circumstances that trouble you and impede progress. There are emotional and physical lows that threaten the joy and peace in your heart.

Let's call this flak. That's what airmen in WWII called the anti-aircraft artillery lobbed at them. Occasionally there were direct hits, but the real danger was an exploding shell above your plane, which could blow off your wings. (Wings can take terrific stress from below, but not from above.)

The American bombers used fairly sophisticated navigation and sighting equipment to find their targets. I heard an interview with a vet who talked about how they managed in poor weather, or if fog or low-lying clouds obscured their view of the ground targets. "Oh, that was easy," he said. "When the flak started, you knew you were over the target."

Notice how Paul describes the opportunity he found for the Gospel at Ephesus: and open door, AND "there are many who oppose me." You could say that Paul knew this was effective ministry because he was getting flak!

So if you're feeling opposition and discouragement, persevere because that kind of flak is best interpreted as being over the ministry target.

Remember, too, that ministry is always a team effort. Even if you feel you're alone, it's actually God and you at work.

Forgetting is Our Default State

There's an old joke that men aren't stupid, they just have poor retention.

(It's a good joke because there's some truth in it!)

The word "remember" appears 167 times in the NIV translation of the Bible. Most of the time it is a command, or an admonition to not forget.

We're commanded to do what we don't do naturally. We understand from Scripture that we frequently forget important things. Forgetting is our default state! Therefore we need to work hard at remembering, and helping our families remember the important things about God, ourselves, and the Gospel.

Dad, Mother's Day is Coming

Mother's Day is May 9th. Create some time soon to help your children prepare to honor their mom (and grandmoms!). Step it up this year. Help your children make a card and a gift. Help them think about what they will say to mom that morning, and anything extra special they can do to honor mom. Model with your own behavior!

In most cultures, a godly man honoring a mom is a precious, counter-cultural movement.

Pastoring Your Family

Outstanding article from Justin Hyde, "How I Pastor My Family."

Get it, read it, put these things into practice. (If you're a wife reading this, help your husband put these things into practice.)

I greatly appreciated Hyde's thoughts about making the formal "devotional time" part of the implicit way the whole family operates:

"The implicit aspects are the constant opportunities to listen to your kids, to talk to them, to tell them about Jesus, to tell them about something you read in Scripture, something you've wondered about God, to connect the dots between dinner and worship, to live a life of celebration and sacrifice

"The legitimacy of your "devotion time" is only as solid as the legitimacy of your devotional life. In other words, I reap the rich spiritual benefits at 7:30PM each night because I tilled the soil that morning, during the day, at dinner, and so on. Quality time doesn't replace quantity. In fact, you can only enjoy the quality because you've invested in the quantity. The implicit is the foundation that sustains the rest, only most people don't see the foundation so it's easy to ignore."

Get the whole article, print it off, and read it several times. Pray. Put into practice.

Don't Stop With the First Part of Verse 7

Notice carefully how the LORD describes himself to Moses in Exodus 34:

"4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin."

Great stuff, isn't it? Wow! What a God! How wonderful, how beautiful!

Oh wait, I didn't finish verse 7. God continues to describe Himself:

"Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation. 8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped."

So, God describes Himself as being both merciful and guilt-punishing at the same time. Not alternating states of being. He's both, all the time.

This is why the Cross is key to our salvation. The Gospel message is that Christ substituted Himself for us, taking the punishment we deserve. This is how God's nature is completely honored, and how we are reconciled to Him.

Two Questions Leaders Need To Answer

Craig Groeschel asks leaders two powerful questions:

1. Do you often feel overwhelmed with the sense of burden and responsibility that comes with leadership?

2. Would you say there is a time in your life when you were closer to God than you are right now?

Do you see the connection?

I answer yes to both. I'm purposing to reconnect with the Lord better than I am as write this.

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

The Church, the Christian, and Politics

Excellent counsel from John Piper, worth the watch.

That's My King

Terrific presentation!

The Power of Stories for Our Kids

G.K. Chesterton (author of many wonderful essays and novels) wrote:

"Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist.
Children already know that dragons exist.
Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed."

I encourage you dads and granddads to make sure your children and grandchildren (and any children within your sphere of influence) are told stories about standing strong against evil. When children hear example after example of the struggle and fight against what is wrong, their hearts and minds are sharpened for the real fight they must shoulder in the future.

Need an idea? The Chronicles of Narnia series is great for boys and girls.

Don't limit yourself to fiction and history, though these should be rich sources for you. Tell stories from your past or a relative's past. Help them understand a story that's still being written -- your own story.

The dragons can be killed. It may well require great sacrifice, but the dragons can be killed.

Book Recommendation: Everyone Communicates, Few Connect

Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently

I don’t often recommend John Maxwell books. It’s hard to know what he wrote and what someone on his staff wrote, and he has so many stories and illustrations and quotes from others (which he attributes appropriately) that some books don’t have a lot of original content. I also think he’s a better speaker than writer.

I do recommend the last half of this book for the ideas and practices on connecting with people. This is a significant issue for Bible teachers. Skim the 1st half to get the basic principles, which won’t be a surprise to you. There are still lots of stories and anecdotes and quotes from others, but I didn’t find this to be distracting here. For teachers, I particularly recommend pp. 199-228, the chapter titled “Connectors Inspire People.” His basic formula is

What they know + What they see + What they feel = Inspiration

Inspiration leads to actionable changes as individuals and groups. You want to teach the Bible to change lives, right? Get this book, study it, and start incorporating some of the ideas and suggestions here.

Note: this is not an affiliate link, and I will not earn any money from this recommendation.

How I Get a Lot Read...and Retain It

I read 2-3 books/week, plus lots of other material. (See my Keys to Accelerated Learning training if you're interested in details.)

For reading books, I follow a process very much like the one outlined on this printable bookmark. Get it, develop some good reading habits, and watch your comprehension and retention soar!

"Intellectuals" Get Away With This, But Don't You Do It

"One of the surprising privileges of intellectuals is that they are free to be scandalously asinine without harming their reputation." -- Eric Hoffer

Here's a nice example from Paul Erlich: "The battle to feed humanity is over. In the 1970s, the world will undergo famines. Hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now. Population control is the only answer." (1968, The Population Bomb") Ehrlich also predicted the earth's then-5 billion population would starve back to 2 billion people by 2025. In 1969, Dr. Ehrlich warned Britain's Institute of Biology, "If I were a gambler, I would take even money that England will not exist in the year 2000."

Sounds like pretty poor analysis and prediction, doesn't it? Erlich has won at least 16 awards, including the prestigious 1980 Crafoord Prize in Sweden. HT: Walter Williams

As Christians I believe we should be the best thinkers on the planet. We should work hard at inquiry and discovery, analysis, dialogue, review.

But we need to do this with great humility. Consider this from Paul's letter to the "wise" Corinthians:

18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written:

"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. (1 Cor 1:18-25)

And don't expect to win any earthly awards in the process, brothers. Focus on heavenly rewards that are promised to you, not on the boasting of men.

Proverbs 3 = Mini-guide to Life

Pastor Tim Keller has a wonderful blog post about the importance of what we read in Proverbs 3. He says it's a mini-guide to life.

"There are five things that comprise a wise, godly life. They function both as means to becoming wise and godly as well as signs that you are growing into such a life:

1. Put your heart's deepest trust in God and his grace. Every day remind yourself of his unconditioned, covenantal love for you. Do not instead put your hopes in idols or in your own performance.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart (Prov 3:3-5a)

2. Submit your whole mind to the Scripture. Don't think you know better than God's word. Bring it to bear on every area of life. Become a person under authority.

Lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Prov 3:5b-6)

3. Be humble and teachable toward others. Be forgiving and understanding when you want to be critical of them; be ready to learn from others when they come to be critical of you.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. (Prov 3:7-8)

4. Be generous with all your possessions, and passionate about justice. Share your time, talent, and treasure with those who have left.

Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. (Prov 3:9-10)

5. Accept and learn from difficulties and suffering. Through the gospel, recognize them as not punishment, but a way of refining you.

My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. (Prov 3:11-12) "

I encourage you to read the whole article, print it off, and start praying for yourself and your family.

No Prolonged Infancies, Please!

"No prolonged infancies among us, please. We'll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love." Ephesians 4:14, The Message

One of the worst attributes of US culture is the exultation and celebration of prolonged adolescence. Look at the sitcom plots -- many are about 20-40 year old singles who are still acting as self-absorbed teenagers. Look at the demands on state and federal governments -- take care of us! Look at the attitudes towards men -- generally the same as teenagers have towards any parent or authority figure.

Men, let's work in our families to help our children become youth who become functional adults. Let us celebrate adulthood and speak positively about shouldering responsibilities and leading and focusing on others first. These are good things, worth aspiring to!

Don't Start with "You"

Michael Hyatt and Regi Campbell give some great advice for husbands and fathers when interacting with our wives and children: Avoid starting sentences with "You."

Starting with "you" tends to provoke conflict. Consider their examples:

You never _________

You should have ________

You used to ________

I wish you would ________

I wish you wouldn't always __________

I don't think this is an absolute case. Consider the great sentence that starts with 'You': "You are beautiful!"

But be very careful when starting sentences with 'You.'

Concerned

I have intentionally avoided US politics on this blog for a long time. My heart sank hard when I scanned the headlines this morning. I'm glad that our Lord is sovereign, and I will try hard not to lean on my own understanding. I confess I am very concerned about the teflon-coated slope on to which the US Congress just tossed us all.

Dads, I recommend you think seriously about what you can do to get out of debt, build up an emergency reserve, and help your children learn about liberty and economics.

Church Leaders Getting Training

Two years ago my boss and I went to an excellent training practicum run by the guys who do the podcasts at manager-tools.com. This year we’ve sent four of our lead managers to similar training by the same group. One manager returned from their Chicago session this week and reported to me that almost half of the 60 attendees were from churches. This was a one day, $1000 event, plus travel.

I thank God for all the innovative church leadership out there, people really trying to learn how to do things better. Some of the very best blogs I read these days are written by pastors, church planters, and church leaders. I believe God is raising up a generation of leaders in the church that will have a disproportionately large impact on the world!

Introducing Jesus!

How would introduce Jesus to a crowd of your friends?

Fill Out the Census...Or Not? What's a Christian To Do?

There's been a lot of questions about whether Christians should fill out the 2010 US Census documents or only give the minimal information, or skip it altogether. One man asked for my views. Here's what I wrote to him.

Thanks for your question and concern to respond to civic issues appropriately. The US Constitution calls for a census count in order to determine representatives in the US Congress, conducted according to the laws established by Congress. There is a lot of hoopla about all the information requested beyond the "How many people live here?" question, and whether that's constitutional or not.

Romans 13 makes it plain that we're to live under the authority of the state. We should take a stand against that which is plainly against God's commands for us -- and expect to participate in civic avenues open to use (e.g., the courts), and potentially suffer the consequences from the state when we do. Paul appealed to Roman law when he demanded a trial.

Please note, too, that the Biblical view would be that we submit to the government authorities as they are, not as we think they should be.

Our submission to the state request to complete a census form does not therefore matter if we think the way the census is set up is beyond the Constitution, or asks for information government authorities should already have, or is inconvenient for us. We can avail ourselves of civic avenues open to us if we believe changes should be made. But I don't think there are good biblical grounds to refuse to participate in the census process.

I will fill out the census form that is delivered to my house, and I will return it as requested.

Our census form came in the mail the other day, and I filled it out. There were questions about how many people lived in our house, whether we owned or rented it, and the race of each person. Despite what I'd heard, there were no questions asking about the number of telephones or TVs or cars we owned, educational background, political party registration, income, health issues, or use of compact fluorescent light bulbs. Took about 5 minutes to complete.

Blogging Break!

I'll be taking a couple of weeks off from writing blog posts, to devote my attention on other projects.

Churchill -- Recommended Biography

I heartily recommend men read biographies of great men, of great leaders, of great thinkers and great servants of people. Winston Churchill was no evangelical to emulate, but had many admirable qualities as a leader and a man. Few men influenced the 20th century as Churchill did. (I should say, God used Churchill in remarkable ways on the events of the 20th century.)

The stumbling block for many men is that they are not good readers. This is correctable, but seldom is.

That poor reading capability will not deter men from fully digesting Paul Johnson's new biography Churchill. It's 168 pages of delightful reading, stuffed with good analysis, and easy-to-find lessons to apply in our lives today. The author knew Churchill and lived through the WWII years in Britain. I recommend you start with the six-page epilogue for an introduction.

I recommend all of Paul Johnson's books if you want to learn from history. Johnson writes well, but without injecting too much opinion into the work, or being overly positive or overly negative about real-life strengths and weaknesses, triumphs and mistakes. Reading Modern Times in 1985 catalyzed a great love of history in my heart.

The Family War...and Battle Victories

Dads, you're in a war.

You must simultaneously hold a long-term view (the goal is to create adult disciples of Christ) and the short-term view (what can I do TODAY to lead my family? What does God want them to learn today? How can I make sure I'm growing in the Lord so I can keep leading this family?)

The key to success is to pursue battle victories one day at a time.

Every devotion you lead with your children is a battle victory. Every time you pray with your wife it's a battle victory. Every time you work through a forgiveness issue with your children it's a battle victory.

Jesus Christ has won the war.

Quick Note on Blog Comments

I've been battling a lot of comment spam in the past few months. If you comment on a post more than 2 weeks old, I have to approve it before it will appear. I'm actively deleting spam comments on newer posts, but it's a challenge to keep up. So if you see comment promoting, uh, "organ" enlargement or get-rich-quick schemes, rest assured it won't stay there.

What Does a Leader Need to Hear Over and Over?

There's a great leadership lesson about strength and courage to be learned from the life of Joshua.

Joshua had demonstrated his potential from the time he was a young man. Joshua was one of the 12 sent to spy out the land of Canaan - and one of the two who proved confident in God's leading. Joshua had spent many years serving as Moses' aide. Let's not underestimate the leadership development power of association with godly men! Think of how it would affect a man to stand outside the tent of meeting where God met Moses face to face (Exodus 33:11).

As he neared death, Moses tells the people that Joshua will lead them, and that they must be strong and courageous:

1 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 2 "I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The LORD has said to me, 'You shall not cross the Jordan.' 3 The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the LORD said. 4 And the LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The LORD will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deut 31:1-8)

The Lord commissions Joshua to lead the people into the Promised Land:

14 The LORD said to Moses, "Now the day of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, where I will commission him." So Moses and Joshua came and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting.
23 The LORD gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: "Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you." (Deut 31:14, 23)

This commissioning probably occurred through Moses laying hands on Joshua (see Deut 34:9)

Then after Moses dies, Joshua is again told to be strong and courageous (3 times!):

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them-to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates-all the Hittite country-to the Great Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
6 "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:1-9)


Finally the people ask Joshua to be strong and courageous:

16 Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!" (Joshua 1:16-18)

Let's review: Who is told to be strong and courageous?
Moses tells the people of Israel (Deut 31:1-6)
Moses tells Joshua (Deut 31:7-8)
The Lord tells Joshua -- several times (Joshua 1:1-9)
The people tell Joshua (Joshua 1:16-18)

(And it doesn't end here: at the end of his life, Joshua commands the people to be very strong -- Joshua 23:6)

It's safe for us to infer that leaders should be strong and courageous! The fact that this is repeated so much here suggests:
o The great danger for leaders to guard against is slipping back to our default state: timidity and fear.
o Leaders need to be reminded of the important things.
o Leaders need to remind people of the important things (being strong, courageous, and obeying God's commands).
o Being reminded frequently is a sign of God's love and compassion on us.

Let's strive to be strong and courageous leaders for God's people within the spheres of influence God gives us. Our situation today is no different than this biblical history: we have a bright future, we're a called people, we need godly leadership, and we need to be strong and courageous.

"Stop Sign" Prayer Challenge

Here's my challenge for you: Every time you see a stop sign, pray for someone you know fighting cancer.

Develop habits of prayer like this with ordinary activities. Washing your hands, brushing your teeth, taking out the trash, starting the car, opening the mailbox -- associate all of these with prayer. These are helpful steps towards praying continually, little buoying moments to lift our thoughts towards God.