Thankful for Stewardship

As the Thanksgiving Holiday fades into the hundred-mile-an-hour rush to the next holiday, I find myself slowing down to be thankful before time slips away into another Christmas Season. One of the biggest gifts I am thankful for is stewardship.

God has called me out of darkness and into light, and has asked me to be a steward of light. God has called me to be salt to a flavorless world, and has asked me to be a steward of my talents; to add something of value to my sphere of influence. God has called me to be a minister of the Gospel, and to give my life as a steward of his Word. Basically, God has called each and eveyone of us to be stewards. Stewardship is at the core of how we should live, yet we usually push it out to the peripheral. As a leader I must learn to steward my life in a way that maximizes my time, talent, and treasure.

I say all of this because I have spent time reading, journaling, and reflecting on something Andy Stanley said at a Catalyst conference a few years back. Paraphrasing Morpheus's words to Neo, "It has been a splinter in my mind." Stanley charged, "Leadership is stewardship. It is temporary. And you are accountable." Leadership is a temporary stewardship that God holds leaders accountable to in the end. That makes me feel both highly energized and painfully nauseous all at the same time, but that is for another post someday.

If you are a leader (of any variety), then take some time and allow that quote to simmer in your spirit. Or at least take a brief moment and think about it...

Inspired by Seth Godin

Thought I would share this leadership tip with you all from Seth Godin’s book, Tribes:

Over-the-Top Underdog Bravery
“Leadership almost always involves thinking and acting like the underdog. That’s because leaders work to change things, and the people who are winning rarely do...Ordinary thinking and ordinary effort are almost never enough to generate leadership. That’s because our inclination is to barely do enough. It takes something extraordinary, a call to action that is irresistible, and a cause worth fighting for to make people actually join in.”

Whether you are a pastor or a marketplace leader, I hope this thought inspires you to do something that no one else is doing to reach the people no one else is reaching!

So ask your self:
What am I doing now that hinders me from achieving maximum results?
What can I change now to improve on my strengths (not focus only on my weaknesses)?
What plans can I make now to set my self up for success in the future?

Think about it...

Reaching and Leading "Generation Exodus"

In ministry, one of the most difficult yet promising demographics to reach is 18-30 year olds. So many of them have been leaving the church that they have been labeled "generation exodus." So how do we keep those who we have and attract those who have left?

Kent Shaffer (www.churchrelevance.com) has offered this advise taken from consulting reports done earlier this year:

How to Reach the Millennial Generation

41% say participate in viral marketing and peer-to-peer recommendation sites
36% say sponsor or advertise in areas of interest to millennials(e.g., extreme sports, music
venues, chat rooms, social networking sites)
35% say deliver a great product at a great price
30% say focus on millennials’ key influencers(e.g., parents, peers)
28% say contribute to social causes that millennials support
21% say contribute to corporate or issue blogs
21% say message millennials through wireless text messaging
19% say exploit contests, promotions, and retail tie-ins
12% say develop online games for company website

Kent goes on to say, "In other words, if your church wants to reach the millennial generation, create a great church experience that is remarkable (creates word of mouth) and targets the key influencers and social catalysts of your local millennial community."

If you are a leader who is trying to reach and especially keep young professionals and twentysomethings, take careful note to what is being said here. Think about it...

Featured Blogger: Steve Furtick

Every once in a while you come across a blog that speaks right to you. I am talking in your face, challenging stuff. There a few of those for me and one of them is the blog of Steve Furtick, lead pastor of Elevation Church. Here is yesterdays blog. It is well worth taking some time to think about:

I used to hate to be confused…November 11th, 2008

Lately I’m learning to love the feeling.When I’m confused about something, it’s:
an opportunity to lean not on my own understanding:

a portal to a deeper understanding of the character of God
a precursor to greater faith
a great occasion to humble myself and seek the wisdom of others
a sign that my God is elevating me to another level, and my current mindset isn’t
adequate for the place God wants to take me next
a birthplace for innovative and breakthrough concepts

You can either avoid confusion because it makes you feel vulnerable-and miss the chance to upgrade your paradigm-Or lean into your confusion, admitting you don’t have the answers, and watch God expand your thinking and grow your soul.

Michael Crichton: We will miss you

Michael Crichton, MD (1942-2008) died Tuesday, November 4 of cancer at age 66. He was an author, political/ethical activist, screenplay writer, director, producer, husband, and father. His novels have sold in the millions with Jurassic Park being one of the most recognized and his television drama ER has won acclaim across the board.

I remember being around 13 year’s old and reading Jurassic Park. I was a volunteer, aka candy striper, for a hospital where my parents worked. My first assignment was working security. Yeah that’s right. They gave a kid my age a radio and keys to doors I should never open. And yes, you guessed it, my friends and I had fun on many occasions. Maybe too much fun. So I ended up answering the phone in the security office, which was not as glamorous as finding ways to misuse power. Most days were pretty slow, so I began to bring magazines to work to read. Those got boring so I decided I would read a novel. Odd, but it was what I decided to do. So while my family was out shopping at Wal-Mart, I ask my mom to buy me Jurassic Park. The only reason I chose that one was that I was still into dinosaurs at that age and the book had a dinosaur on the cover. (I sometimes still chose books because of their covers. I mean, how can you walk by Seth Godin’s new book, Tribes, and not buy it just because the cover is intriguing?)

That began a long and rewarding reading career of Crichton’s book. I moved from Jurassic Park to a Case of Need then to The Andromeda Strain, and on and on. I couldn’t put him down. By the time books like Timeline came out, I was one of those preorders at Barnes and Noble. I fell in love with the power and dynamics of the written word at a young age because of the power and clarity of Michael Crichton. All of the electives I took in college were writing and literature classes. I have had multiple teachers at different colleges tell me that I have a gift for writing, and I always think back to the great opportunity I had at age 13, when I bought my first novel. What if it wouldn’t have grabbed my attention? I honestly believe I would be a different person. I owe Crichton for that.

So that is why I morn. We will never again have the opportunity to read a new Michael Crichton novel, but there are many that he has inspired (including myself) that will rise up to the challenge to produce dynamic literature for the next generation. Maybe it won’t be in the Sci-Fi area or politically or environmental charged or maybe not even fiction, but it will still carry a quality and clarity that made Crichton one of the most recognized writers in the world.

Today is a good day to think about who has helped inspire you, or has moved you, or has mentored you and let them know you appreciate them. Maybe you haven’t even stopped to think about such things. Today, not tomorrow, is a good day to do that…

Historic Times

The votes have been cast and for the first time in American History, the United States of America has a black president. I have read Facebook statuses, Twitters, texts, emails and all kinds of communications either celebrating this historic event or prophesying the down fall of America. Because I run in religious circles, I have even heard people speak of the rise of the antichrist and the end of the world. So I would like to give my take on it all (for what it is worth).

First of all, I am confident (I have a Bachelors in Biblical Studies and Languages and I have almost completed my Masters in Theological Studies) that Barack Obama is not the antichrist. Yes, he has a sketch past and oddly enough he could not even apply to be his own secret service agent because of that past, but that doesn't qualify one to be the antichrist.

Second, Christianity should not be known for casting people in the role of apocolyptic characters when we really don't know what we are talking about anyway. Honestly, biblically illiterate people (can you even quote more than 10 verses from memory or explain with clarity the purpose, themes, or theology of any given book of the Bible?) have all of the sudden become experts on the Bible and on apocolyptic literature. Why? Because a man is black, democratic, and youthful. Just a note of warning: 2 Timothy 2:15 explains that we need to show are self approved to God by rightly using the word of truth. Notice that the word truth is present. Be careful to claim something is truth by God's standards when it may just be your standards, or your cultural standrads, or even your religious/denominational standards. I am not saying these standards are not important or that somehow we can easily suspend them (we all have presuppositions and worldviews), I am simply asking you to know what they are so they do not ultimately control your views negatively. We have the ability to use better judgement when we at least know these things.

Finally, although I do not think Obama is the antichirst (or any other apocolyptic figure in the Bible) I can still disagree with his political stances on issues of abortion, taxes, socialism, etc. What that means is that I can pray for him and for his advisors, that God would guide them and help them. I can pray that God will send bold, godly men of character to work along side of him and help influence and mentor him. Let Romans 13:1-7 comfort you in the fact that God is still the designer of local and worldwide political affairs.

Throughout the book of Daniel, kings and rulers rise and fall. The book starts out explaining that God himself has ordained it to be so. Israel is in exile there. So God raises up Daniel and three of his close friends to work with these Kings. They understood that culture, even though it wasn't their first choice. Because Daniel sought to know his culture, surroundings, and situation, he was able to do amazing things for God and lead Kings to worship his God. He wasn't the head man, but he was the right hand man that changed nations. Why? Because he believed that he could make a difference through prayer and through influence.

So here is what you can do now. People can stop making comments like: It's the end of the world; Better go buy more guns; Hope the Rapture happens soon; and begin praying that God places godly men of character (like God did in the Book of Daniel) in Barack Obama's life to mentor him, encourgae him, and lead him into an even deeper knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Oh, yes I do believe that he is already a Christian, but as I believe for every one of us, we can always grow deeper. The closer our heart is to God's the more it lines up with the heart of God. Obama needs men and women to help his heart grow closer and closer to God's every day, just as we need to pray the same for ourselves.)

Will you join with me and praying for our nation? Instead of fear (which is not of God) I have hope for a better tomorrow for America (and I don't believe that begins in 2010 either). Hope is the most important Christian characteristic we have. Make sure you wear that on your sleeves! Think about it...