Video of Previous Post

I just found this video of the amazing story I described in my previous post. Trust me, you will want to watch it.

Impact

Last week was a great week. I spent most of it in Atlanta and was on the go the whole time I was there. Went to the U2/Muse concert with Melody, participated in a goal-setting group with some really sharp people, got to sit in on Northpoint Church’s monthly staff meeting, had dinner with my friend Kristi and several non-profit organization leaders, attended the Catalyst conference, hosted a luncheon for Backstage Leadership, and got to hang out with several other friends to wrap it all up.

Every event was great and I could share lots of things I learned and experienced from each of them. However, one thing that happened at Catalyst impacted me in a way that I will not soon forget. During one of the Friday sessions, we watched a short video about Compassion International, an organization that helps children in poor areas of the world. At the end of the video, the MC for the conference interviewed onstage a young Kenyan man who had been in the Compassion program. In a thick accent he shared the story of his life; how he had to scavenge for food as a child because his mother was sick, how his younger sister died from starvation, how he was rescued by Compassion, sheltered, clothed, fed, and educated. How he came to know Jesus. How he is currently in seminary in the US so that he can go back to Kenya as a pastor. What a powerful story. But the kicker was still to come..

The way Compassion is organized, it seeks to pair up every child that it helps with a sponsor. The sponsor funds that specific child’s basic physical and educational needs for around $35/month, and the sponsor and the child are encouraged to write back and forth.

Back to Catalyst. As the young Kenyan man finished sharing his story, the MC asked him if he had ever met his sponsor, which he hadn’t. The MC then told him that they had arranged for his sponsor to be there and for them to meet, right then. When the young American man walked out on stage and the 2 men embraced, the scripted program fell apart in the most beautiful powerful way. Although both men were visibly impacted, the Kenyan man was simply overcome with emotion, weeping loudly and bear-hugging his sponsor. For a long time. No words were needed. No questions were appropriate. Just the picture of 2 lives changed forever. There was not a dry eye in the room.

For the past few days I cannot get that scene out of my mind. Through sponsorship of a child for a few dollars a month, two people’s lives have been changed forever. Something about the simplicity and power of that cuts through all the busyness and often insignificance of the things I think about on a daily basis. I hope and pray that this story will stick with me, that it will affect the way that I think about how I spend not only my money but also my time. That I will devote my life to things that truly matter and not get caught up in all the rest.

A Conversation with Chuck Colson

Ok, I meant to follow up that last post much sooner but that obviously didn’t happen. One of the things I have been working on recently is helping out with the launch of Backstage Leadership, an innovative leadership development experience dreamed up by my good friend Greg Darley. Without going into all of the details, the program has 2 major components; first, unique Q&A sessions with experienced leaders, and second, ongoing coaching to help participants implement the things they are learning.

Tonight we officially launched the program with a great group conversation with Chuck Colson. In case you are not familiar with him, you really should check out this wiki, since I would not be able to do him justice in only a few sentences. The session began with Mr. Colson talking for a few minutes about one of his passions, a Biblical worldview, and ended with him fielding questions of all kinds from the Backstage participants. The Q&A portion of the night was simply amazing. Although none of the questions were especially notable, the answers were very much so. Mr. Colson is a Godly man with a lot of life experience and wisdom and his answers to all the questions were full of great nuggets of truth.

The whole experience reaffirmed for me the value of intentional dialogue with people who have more wisdom and experience than I do. I am looking forward to the upcoming coaching sessions and many more similar conversations over the coming months.

PS – If you are at all interested in participating in Backstage Leadership, please let me know and I can get you more details.

Of Mice and Men, Part 1

About a month ago I wrote that I was going to try and share some of the things that God has been doing in my life recently, but obviously I still haven’t gotten around to it. Part of the reason is that it is still a work in progress and I feel like anything I might write would not be conclusive. But if that were a good reason for not writing, then I guess would never write.

I think the best way to sum up what has been going on with me is to refer to a very popular book that I read a few months ago, “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson. The book is a parable and therefore usually generates one of 2 reactions; one, that it is childish and simplistic, or second, that it is profound and extremely useful. I am definitely of the second opinion, as the parable seems to mirror the recent part of my life in many ways.

In the book several characters are living in the “maze” of life, enjoying the “cheese” that they have found or acquired, when one day they wake up and the cheese is gone. Each of them reacts differently to this crisis; one immediately takes off in search for new cheese, another waits for a while then goes, and one sadly never goes anywhere at all. But the one that I identify with the most is the hero of the story, named Haw.

Haw goes through a progression of thought that I think is typical of many people. At first when the cheese is gone, he sits around pretending that things aren’t so bad without the cheese, and hoping that it will return somehow. Then after a while he realizes that is not going to happen. He knows he is going to have to make some changes, but he is faced with indecision and fear. Indecision because of several seemingly equal passages into the maze, and fear of both the unknown and of failure.

That place in the story illustrates exactly where I have been for the past year or so. And although I was very aware that the cheese was gone and also very aware of the fear and indecision, I couldn’t seem to get myself out of that place. So like Haw in the story, I stayed there for quite a long time.

Thankfully, that is not the end of the story. But that is where I will stop for now. Part 2 to come soon..

A Step Back

Hello again. I know, I haven’t written in a while. It wasn’t intentional. In case you didn’t know, for the past 2 1/2 months I have been taking a sabbatical from my leadership responsibilities at church. That may not be a big deal to some people, but seeing as how I moved to Columbia to help start and pastor the church, it is a really big deal for me. I didn’t really intend to take a break from writing as well, it just kinda happened.

There were many reasons for taking a break from my weekly roles at Midtown. First, simply to rest from doing “ministry stuff.” I have been heavily involved in organized ministry for over 15 years with no break in the action other than an occasional vacation. Second, to focus on my financial situation. In light of the current housing market, my home inspection business has not been doing well and I needed to spend some time and energy on making the business work and/or finding other sources of income. Finally, and most importantly, I needed to be able to step back and evaluate some things in my life. To hopefully get a good perspective on the whole forest and not just the individual trees. To seek God with as few other distractions in the way as possible.

It has been an interesting experience so far. In some ways refreshing. In some ways enlightening. In some, depressing. God is stretching me in ways that I didn’t think I could (and definitely never wanted to) stretch. Like physical stretching before physical activities, it is not much fun. But I know that it is doing me good in the long run. And I am learning, ever so slowly, to trust God with the process rather than trying to control it myself. In some upcoming posts I hope to be able to formulate some thoughts on the things he has been teaching me over these past few months.

Come Alive!

The impact of a person doing what God created them specifically to do is a powerful thing. I got to be on the receiving end of that recently, so I thought I would share it with you. This past weekend I had a great little road trip/getaway with 2 good friends, Alison and Blackwell. One of Blackwell’s old roommates is a chef who now owns 2 restaurants in the mountains of Georgia, and he invited Blackwell to bring a couple of friends up to visit. So Saturday we took him up on the offer and made the 3 1/2 hour drive to Clarkesville. We arrived at lunchtime and met Jeremy at the first of the restaurants, Hawg Wild BBQ. Jeremy welcomed us, sat us down, and proceeded to have us brought out what must have been almost every item on the menu! Ribs, pulled pork, catfish, slaw, beans, sweet potato casserole, hushpuppies, and more. He was like a kid showing off a new toy… telling us about each item and how they make it, including the 5 sauces they make from scratch. We ate till we were more than full, and it was all great! And to top it all off when it was time to go, Jeremy wouldn’t accept a dime from us for any of it. Too generous.

After lunch we rode up to Lake Burton where the 2nd restaurant, a fine dining establishment called Water’s Edge is located. Jeremy went in to prep for dinner and we got a pontoon tour of the lake from Shanna his wife. The lake and the houses on it are beautiful, and we even had the laugh of getting caught in a little rain. After taking our stuff up to the cabin we were sleeping in, showering and changing into nice clothes, we headed down to Water’s Edge for another amazing meal.

To get an idea of what it was like, imagine the best tasting food that you have ever put into your mouth and imagine that every single item at the table tasted that good. Shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, spinach and chicken flatbread, gumbo, salads, filet mignon, grilled trout, shrimp fettucini, butterfinger cheesecake, crepes, and key lime pie. Everything was literally perfect. Alison became the plate envy of everyone at the table with the Filet, which was the best I have ever tasted. Jeremy was busy in the kitchen, but Shanna and the servers took awesome care of us the whole time. I could hardly even imagine a better meal. After the restaurant slowed down, Jeremy got to come out and sit down with us while we drowned him in compliments. And again… he wouldnt let us pay for a thing.

I know this has been a long story and it might even be starting to sound like a commercial for Jeremy’s restaurants. But its not. The point of all this is, this weekend I got to experience the results of someone who is passionate about what they do. Jeremy has been to culinary school, and is obviously a great chef. But what takes the experience to a whole new level is the passion and gusto that he puts into it. You can see in his eyes the enjoyment he gets from wowing people with his amazing food creations. John Eldridge says in “Wild at Heart” to find the thing that makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who are alive. People like Jeremy inspire me, and I look forward to the day when I discover what makes me “come alive” like that.

Tragic Hero

As you may remember, I am in the middle of reading through the Bible this year. (in fact, some of you are doing the same) I am currently in Judges and just got to the well-known account of the life of Samson. There are lots of crazy details to his story, but what struck me this time was the big picture – the tragedy of his life. Even knowing the end of the story I was saddened when I read the part where Delilah shaved his head and he lost his strength. 

In the end of course, God’s power became famous through Samson. But how sad is it that it was through him continually chasing women that were not Godly and ultimately through his imprisonment, torture, and humiliation? Although my life may not be characterized by the flamboyant style (or muscles) of Samson’s, my heart is often the same. And when I get to the end I do not want my story to be “how tragic, but look how God was faithful.” I want God to be revealed through my following him with everything I am.

God – as the song says, “bind my wandering heart to thee.”

An Historic Day

On the day of our new president’s inauguration, many people will celebrate and cheer. Many will complain and even be depressed. I think the following words from a fellow blogger captured my thoughts well.

_______________

…..regardless of your political view, today is a momentous day in the history of our country.
A black man will lead the free world…..

….Racism will not be solved.
The economy will be no better.
Wars will not suddenly end.

After all, [he] is just a man, a sinful, broken man, who will place his hand on God’s Word and promise us a bunch of stuff.

The history making moment will take place when you decide whether to piss and moan about policies, decide to place all your hope in just a man, or decide to fall on your knees and pray for the leadership of our country.

______________

Who is my faith really in? Myself? A Political candidate? Or the One who is greater than us all?

Goodbye, and Good Riddance

2008 is the first year of my life that quite honestly I would erase if given a chance. It seems like I have taken 2 steps (or sometimes 20) back in almost every area possible. In the words of John Mayer, “I am not the man I used to be lately. You have caught me at an interesting time.” I could go into a long discussion about the testing of my faith or learning to trust the goodness of God, but I have have written about those things before. Instead, as I begin this new year, I hope to run forward with the heart of these verses from Philippians:

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Wanna Join Me?

In my previous post I promised that I would share with you one of my goals for the upcoming year. So here it is…. I am going to read through the Bible in 2009. To some of you I am sure that sounds cheesy and “religious,” but hear me out. I have read through the Bible in a year once before, and it was one of the best things I have ever done for a couple of reasons. First, the “structure” of it helped me to spend more time focusing on the spiritual elements of my life and God than I ever would have otherwise. Like most Americans, the spiritual part of my life is one that often gets pushed aside by the demands of daily life; family, friends, social activities, even church itself. The problem is, this eventually catches up with me as eventually I run into questions and issues that only spirituality can address. 

Second, and more importantly, during that year I felt God speaking to my heart more than at any other time in my life. It sounds hokey and I can’t even begin to put it into words, but I cannot count the times when I was reading the Bible that something in the passage (or sometimes a seemingly disconnected thought) would flash through my mind and resonate so strongly in my heart that I knew God was speaking to me. Now if you know me well, you know that I do not use that kind of language very often. I am a very logical person and do not over-spiritualize every little event or decision. In fact, I am always skeptical when other people say things like that. But I cannot describe it in any other way.

So all that to say.. I am going to do it again in 2009. And I would like to invite you to join me. Seriously – think about it. Whether you have done it before or not.

Here’s the cool part if you decide to give it a shot: I have created a Facebook group with a message board to discuss the passages read each week. Instead of trying to do it by ourselves, we can read though it together at the same pace and discuss what we are reading as we go. Please check out the group here, and send me a message if you want to join. I sincerely hope that you will consider it – I am sure that your 2009 will be better if you do.