New Creation

We just had an incredible Sunday morning at my home church, Crossroads! Today was baptism Sunday.

Dean, our pastor, shared with us that being baptized is not only a command of Jesus, but it is much like a passport. It publicly identifies Who we belong to. Going under water also symbolizes us dying to sin and emerging from the water is symbolic of us being resurrected as a new creation in Christ--a fresh start!

At the conclusion of each of our three services, we got to hear testimonies from those being baptized of what God has done in their lives and we got to celebrate with them as they got "dunked." I love the way this is done at Crossroads as each person's testimony is read so we get to see the transformational power of Christ in each person. It is always very cool and today was no exception. Today, there were a total of twelve who did this.

The best part though was what happened at the end of each of the services. Dean invited anyone who was feeling the tug of God to be obedient to that prompting and come forward to be baptized themselves (with no preparation at all other than a change of clothes). In all, there were 19 or 20 additional people baptized! While we didn't get to hear their testimonies, God moving in this way was the best testimonial of all. Yea God!

This not only was a tremendous day for those 31 or 32 lives who will forever be changed. It was also a big day for the rest of us as who have asked Jesus to be the leader of our lives as we were reminded that we are all new creations in Him!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

1 Corinthians 5:17

So Close & Yet So Far

I was watching a little bit of the Olympics last night and saw an American woman compete in downhill skiing (sorry, I can’t remember who it was). She ran, to me, what looked like a good race. In the end she finished 1.3 seconds behind the leader which, again to me, seems really good. But it was only good enough for 18th place!

That really struck me for some reason. Watch the second hand on your watch…1.3 seconds is not a lot of time. Yet, in this particular race, 16 other competitors were bunched within 1.3 seconds of one another. This isn’t a 40 yard dash either in which the times are in the 5 second range, the total time for the race was more than a minute and a half.

I’m sure this American skier ran through her race in her head. If I’d only come closer on that second gate, if I’d only stayed tucked a little tighter in the straightaway… Little things. They obviously make a difference, a big difference in a race like this.

They make a difference in our lives too. That little extra effort on the project you are working on. Going the extra mile to help your neighbor who is sick. All these things can make a huge difference in our lives and the lives of others.

Little things can make a big difference in a negative way too. That little glance at the attractive waitress. Taking that pen from work to use at home. These can become a slippery slope toward destruction.

So let's make it a point to pay attention to those little things so we can make a big difference in the big things!

Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?
1 Corinthians 5:6

The Power of Leadership

According to a new survey released in January by national workplace expert Lynn Taylor, author of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant –TOT (John Wiley & Sons), U.S. employees spend 19.2 hours a week (13 hours during the work week and 6.2 hours on the weekend) worrying about “what a boss says or does.” Click here to read more.

That number is staggering to me. Almost half of the work week spent worrying about their boss. Sad.

Though that number of hours is shocking to me, it shouldn't be. I spent a couple of years with a boss who was the king of all tyrants. He's the guy I wrote about in Bleedership, Biblical First-Aid for Leaders in which I contrasted his leadership style with the leadership styles of the great leaders in the Bible.

He was our president and I was vice-president of sales. I saw first-hand the negative effect a tyrannical boss can have on an organization, and not just emotionally. My boss hurt the company's bottom-line...significantly.

Like most companies, we had a mission statement. Something that was nice and flowery, something that sounded really good to clients. However, what we found is that informally, our mission statement changed. It became, Do whatever it takes to avoid the wrath of our boss. I'm serious about this.

This became the way we made decisions. What will make him less mad? Whatever the answer was to that question is how we proceeded. We were so afraid to make a mistake and make our boss angry that it paralyzed us and the company suffered.

On the other hand, our previous leader did things quite a bit differently. He allowed his team to do their jobs the way they thought was best and he allowed them to fail. He also saw his primary role as to remove obstacles so that we could more effectively do our jobs. As a result, we felt like trusted members of the team and we wanted to work that much harder. That team thrived and so did the company.

And then it came crashing down. That's the power of leadership--so lead well!

Synergy

In my men's group, we all recently took a survey called Your Unique Design which provides us a snapshot of how we were made. I have done these types of thing before, and though this provided me with similar results, it was done so in a different way which was helpful to me.

The big thing for me though, was how different the results were for everyone in our group. I was reminded as others in my group were sharing, that not one of the guys was made wrong. They were not a mistake and God knew what He was doing.

The thought also occurred to me that if everyone was the same, it would be a very boring world. Besides, life would be much more difficult.

Yes, people who are different than us might frustrate us or annoy us. They might even make us angry because they do things so differently. However, when others are different, that means that they have strengths that we don't have. This can be very helpful if we work together as God designed.

The definition of "synergy" is: the interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects. I believe that is what God had in mind when He created each of us. This wouldn't be possible if we were all made the same.

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.

Romans 12:4-6a

Leadership

I am a leadership junkie. I love to go to leadership conferences, good ones at least. I love to read books on leadership and I love to hang out with leaders. In short, I love learning more about it because I believe that everything rises and falls on leadership.

So it was with interest that I read an email recently which contained a list of things John Maxwell says we can do to become better leaders. I thought I'd share this list here:

Let go of your ego.
The truly great leaders are not in leadership for personal gain. They lead in order to serve other people. Perhaps that is why Lawrence D. Bell remarked, "Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things, and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things."

Become a good follower first.
Rare is the effective leader who didn't learn to become a good follower first. That is why a leadership institution such as the United State Military Academy teaches its officers to become effective followers first - and why West Point has produced more leaders than the Harvard Business School.

Build positive relationships.
Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. That means it is by nature relational. Today's generation of leaders seem particularly aware of this because title and position mean so little to them. They know intuitively that people go along with people they get along with.

Work with excellence.
No one respects and follows mediocrity. Leaders who earn the right to lead give their all to what they do. They bring into play not only their skills and talents, but also great passion and hard work. They perform on the highest level of which they are capable.

Rely on discipline, not emotion.
Leadership is often easy during the good times. It's when everything seems to be against you - when you're out of energy, and you don't want to lead - that you earn your place as a leader. During every season of life, leaders face crucial moments when they must choose between gearing up or giving up. To make it through those times, rely on the rock of discipline, not the shifting sand of emotion.

Make adding value your goal.
When you look at the leaders whose names are revered long after they have finished leading, you find that they were men and women who helped people to live better lives and reach their potential. That is the highest calling of leadership - and its highest value.

Give your power away.
One of the ironies of leadership is that you become a better leader by sharing whatever power you have, not by saving it all for yourself. You're meant to be a river, not a reservoir. If you use your power to empower others, your leadership will extend far beyond your grasp.

The Power of Failure

I was watching Joyce Meyer on TV with my wife Connie a few days ago. She had John Maxwell on as her guest. To be honest with you, I can't remember what it was they were talking about exactly. However, I remember one thing that John Maxwell said that has still stuck with me.

He said, "We impress people with our success but we impact people with our failures."

Wow. I know this to be true, but why is this?

Here are a few reasons why I agree with Maxwell that we impact others through failures more so than through successes:

• I listen to people who seem like they have it all together. But I really listen if they reveal to me that they have failed. Perhaps it is their humility that draws me toward them. Humility significantly increases the chance of making an impact.
• All of us fail at times. We are thus able to relate more easily to those who have also failed.
• When someone is really hurting about something, who else can best speak to that wound? Someone who has been wounded in the same way.

So remember, God never wastes a hurt. Fail forward!

12-3-1

Yesterday, Dean, my pastor shared with us about Jesus and the model He gave us for relationships. He said that in Jesus' outer circle were many people. One circle inside of that contained less people who regularly heard Jesus’ teachings. One circle inside that one contained His 12 disciples. Then inside of that was a circle of three: John, James and Peter. Then there was one more circle which contained John.

Jesus spent more time with each group of people as He went toward the middle. John, He shared everything with. John is actually referred to as the one He loved (John 19:26-27 among other places). It wasn’t that Jesus didn’t love anyone else—that is totally not true. It was just that John had a special relationship with Jesus. He was the one Jesus let get closer than any other.

Dean went on to say that this is an excellent model for each of us. 12-3-1. It would be good for each of us to have a group of around 12 people who have access to our lives and that we can “do life” with. Further, it would be great to have 2-3 people who can keep us on track. Then, to have one who has complete access to our life would be wonderful. We were meant to do life together, in community.

There were eight friendship roles discussed that we should each look for in our lives:

1. Coach – Who brings out the best in me?
2. Thinking – Who challenges my mind?
3. Listening – Who hears my dreams and my heart?
4. Sympathetic – Who cries with me?
5. Laughing – Who belly-laughs with me?
6. Correcting – Who respects me?
7. Playing – Who has fun with me?
8. Seeking – Who deepens my faith?

Answering these questions was a great exercise for me for two reasons. One, it showed me how incredibly blessed I am with the people that God has placed in my life. And, two, it revealed a couple of gaps that I have in my relationship roles that I need to fill.

I encourage you to answer these questions, then to seek to fill in the gaps.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17

Patience and Faith

Approximately once per month I conduct a Private Briefing for those interested in learning more about Truth At Work. This morning was one of those mornings.

My awesome bride accompanies me to these meetings to help me get setup and to greet the guests and give them name tags, etc... (Did I mention to you that she is awesome?)

Because of the snow we received over the past several days, we decided to take Connie's car because it has four wheel drive. We arrived at the location of our briefing at around 7 AM (for the 7:30 meeting) only for me to realize that the keys to the building were at home on my key chain...D'OH!

We live 15 minutes away which means we would be returning at the start of our meeting if all went well (which also means that a locked building would be all that would greet our guests if they were early). So, we rushed back home and called our oldest daughter who is 21 (and amazing) and asked her to grab my keys and start driving toward us. She did so which saved us close to 10 minutes (did I mention my daughter is amazing?).

We turned around with keys in hand and tried to hurry as best we could, yet it seemed like everyone wanted to pull out in front of us and drive extra slow this morning...Ugh! It seems each vehicle in front of us could have had a sign on it like the truck above. My patience, and my faith, were being put to the test.

All the while, I was praying and reminding myself that I can do nothing about the situation. In my head I knew that God had it figured out and that I needed to just release it to Him, yet I was trying to control the situation from where I sat. Not only did I find out that was impossible, all it did was create more unwelcome anxiety in me.

Though stressed at times, in the end, I did a fairly good job of remaining calm (nowhere near perfect, but better than I used to be!). We arrived back at our location with five minutes to spare and only two cars were waiting on us in the parking lot. We quickly got setup and started only five minutes late with 12 in attendance.

The meeting went great and two big lessons were once again learned by me:
1. Always bring your keys if you need to unlock something
2. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Enhanced Performance

A friend of mine named Brian Keel puts out a weekly devotional that I receive via email (if you would like to receive this, simply email him here). It is usually very good. I thought last week's was excellent so I thought I'd share it here:

Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) were in the news again recently when Mark McGwire admitted, as many have long suspected, that he used steroids during his playing career. The general consensus is that his confession was prompted by his return to the game as a hitting coach and was timed to allow the dust to settle before spring training begins. Plenty of what he said felt like justification and covering of tracks but I think he was right on at least one point.

Steroids, HGH, Synthetic Testosterone and all the other PEDs are against the rules. So using them is cheating, plain and simple. However, a person doesn’t just take these substances, put their feet up and wait to get big and strong. The only way to get the benefit is to head to the gym and work and work and work. The PEDs allow a person to workout harder and more often that they could otherwise. They don’t make you strong all by themselves; they just make your hard work pay off faster.

In the same way, reading your Bible and going to church won’t make you a stronger Christian if you just kick back and put your feet up after. You need to take what you’ve learned and work and work and work at it. These activities enhance your ability to follow Christ and have an impact on the lives of others. It makes your hard work more effective. And it’s all perfectly legal.

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:9

The Richest Man in Town

Humble, thankful, joyful and always eager to help and encourage others. Those are just a few of the traits the richest man in town had. Invest three minutes and check out some of the others above. I think it will inspire you today!

From a Place of Worship & Rest

Last November, I had a very interesting meeting with someone who had spent the past five years on a prophetic team at The International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City. I have to be honest, I didn't even know such teams existed.

Anyway, after our prayer time at the beginning of our time together, she shared with me some things that God was speaking to her about me. One of those things was that I would get my best ideas in the coming months and years coming out of a place of worship and rest.

I thought, That's nice. But deep in my heart, I believe I was actually saying something more like, Yea, right. I have never met you before in my life. Like I'm really going to believe that.

You see, I have always felt that in order to get breakthroughs, you just need to focus more and work harder. So, what I was now hearing sounded like a foreign language to me.

In late December, I then attended the onething conference put on by IHOP in Kansas City. During that conference, Mike Bickle delivered a message on loving God with all our hearts which really rocked my world (I highly encourage you to click here and invest 38 minutes to watch it). During the message he shared that according to the Bible we are incapable of loving God totally on our own. We need His love to be poured into our hearts so we can love God properly.

Anyway, since that time, I have been asking for this increase of love in my heart. And, in this past week, I have truly noticed a change in my heart. I have sensed my love actually growing for God. Sounds weird, I know, but it's true.

Yesterday, I was at Toledo's House of Prayer from 9:30 - 11:30, which I try to do each Wednesday morning. I found myself just worshipping God and resting. I was actually not thinking about anything but Him (which is rare for me). And guess what happened?

I actually got seven or eight different ideas just dropped in my spirit. It was like they came from left field. Some were related, some not.

Then today during lunch I was working out and listening to praise and worship songs and the same thing happened! Three new ideas.

Amazing. At least to me. There must really be something to this. God is so good!

I do believe that God is changing my paradigm a bit, no? So what do you say--would you like to join me on this journey of seeking Him through worship and rest?

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Matthew 6:33

Creativity

Invest three minutes and check out this video of Raymond Crowe--very entertaining.

As I watched this a couple of things hit me:
1. I was reminded of how great wholesome entertainment can be
2. It is amazing the creative things that can be done with the bodies that God gave us

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14a

Overcoming Adversity

My family has become a fan of American Idol since its second season on the air. It's one of the few shows that most of us watch with regularity.

This past week there were two contestants who really touched me. The first was 18 year-old Shelby Dressel who was born with a nerve issue which does not allow her to smile on the right side of her face. In the interview shown above, she admitted she is very self-conscious about this. However, as you will see, she does quite well in her audition.

Below, is the audition of Dave Pittman, a guy who was diagnosed at the age of nine with Tourette syndrome. He also knocks it out of the park. Watch it below.

I love it when people overcome adversity!

We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Romans 5:3