“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.”  Luke 21:34 NIV

Jesus recognizes the problem of when we get weighed down with all the cares of life.  But He was good enough to also recognize what happens if we do this.  Look at that last phrase – “that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.” He’s pointing out that if we focus on the cares we miss the point that He is coming back.  There is an end to our cares but it’s not all going to go away now.  He never said it would.

What he has done for us though is give us something else to put our focus on right now.  You see in order to give some of our habits up (worrying about the crud of this world is a habit, ask yourself how much you do it) you have to have something else to put your focus on right now.  He is stating that in the end all of the things we will endure are not as important as the fact that He is returning.  That not only means an alleviation of stress but we have work to do.  Lets get the focus off of us and put it back on Him.

He even points out how we try to cope.

1. drunkenness – numbness, we don’t want to feel pain so we berry it all forms of substance abuse.  But when we numb ourselves we never heal and we’re numb to what God is trying to do for us as well.
2. anxiety – we freak out, because we can’t deal with it.  This comes from the illusion that we had or should have control of everything in our lives.  There is no such thing as control.  Although there comes a peace from knowing God is sovereign.

This little post isn’t about how to be mentally healthy.  It’s about why you should want to.  In the end the only answer is Jesus.  He is the only thing that makes sense.  Those of you dealing with a #1 or 2 from above begin the process of telling yourself ‘NO’ when those negative feelings attack.  We still have work to do and when you focus on that, I mean really begin to think about that, it’s going to get better.

Leadership can and most usually is a difficult task.  It is simply not a process of giving commands but getting people to do what is needed.  A part of leadership is to help one’s people accomplish the goals that are set before them.  But there can be a multitude of reasons why this doesn’t come off so well.

People are flawed and will usually error on the side of what’s easier for them.  One of the things that will separate a good ‘spiritual leader’ (pastor, elder, deacon, small group leader, etc.) is the ability to discern what’s worth the effort.  They should have the ability to take in what they believe God’s will is while taking out their personal wants and interests.

Joshua, the leader that took Moses’ place, was facing a dilemma of trying to get his people to see what their God given path was before them.  As usual they couldn’t see the same things Joshua was seeing.  Check out this passage and notice his leadership technique.

14 Then the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am a numerous people, since all along the Lord has blessed me?” 15 And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up by yourselves to the forest, and there clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” 16 The people of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us. Yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have chariots of iron, both those in Beth-shean and its villages and those in the Valley of Jezreel.” 17 Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are a numerous people and have great power. You shall not have one allotment only, 18 but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders. For you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.”

Joshua 17: 14-18 ESV

Technique – Restate the Obvious.

Now here’s why I think he did this or here’s the possible intention behind his words.

• I am one of the last surviving people from the Exodus.  I have seen God do the impossible on multiple occasions.
• This project/task is not based on your limitations but it is based on God.
• God has promised, actually entered into a covenant that He will deliver this land to us to dwell in.
• Lastly, I have confidence in you…

Sometimes we need to restate the obvious.  Upon hearing/seeing a vision from God repeatedly, the future will begin to sink into our heads now.

It also reminds me to stop with the pity parties for myself because my problems are small compared with most of these people.

I talked with a gentleman yesterday who is separated from his wife.  This is the good part because then it all goes down hill from there. I can’t get too specific but it involves drug use, drug dealing, multiple jail times, unfaithful spouse, you get the picture.

The good part to this story? He tells me that God found Him while he was in jail.  Not him finally believing and following, but God got him.  He hasn’t used, hasn’t been around his old friends, and is seeking how to do this life right.  I love hearing about how the God of the universe chooses to love us by reaching down, picking us up out of the dirt, brushes us off  and makes us one of His!

Now here’s the funny thing.  I have heard this before.  Seriously, like a month earlier I almost heard the same story from another guy.  Then the wheels starts to turn in my head.  God is getting ready to redeem a people!

There is a part of our town here that God is about to call home.  He is about to destroy old habits, stop generational sin, rescue the fatherless, deliver the users, and care for the destitute.

That’s why a few months a go God puts in my head to start some type of recovery group this year.

This fall we will have two recovery groups begin.  They are the beginning of of something that I think God is going to bless over time.  There are so many people out there with, as I like to say, “junk in their trunk” that they need something like this to begin unpacking all of it.

Please pray for this with me.  Pray that we can become a church that will become the lighthouse in our community.  That we will be able to go to bat for those that need us the most.

Luke 18: 11-13  ESV

11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

What a bad scene.

Both guys in their church praying to God.  One thanks God for his life by comparing himself to others.  The other guy is wracked with conviction and guilt.

But at least this guy understands who he is.  Because of that look what happens.

Luke 18:14 ESV

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Jesus was the one telling this story.  Jesus shows us who gets His mercy and grace. The day you start looking around thinking how much better you are than everyone else be careful. Here are some quick points from this passage.

• Justification doesn’t come by works so no man can boast. (see Ephesians 2:8)
• Justification comes only after one realizes their brokeness.
• Justification was not based on the tax collectors faith.
• Justification was freely given called grace.  No restitution was required.

Where are you at today?  Still comparing yourself to others?  Do you or have you cried out to God for mercy?  Only one of these guys was made right with God which one will you be?

I was listening to some of the Elena Kagan confirmation hearings. At one point Senator Dianne Feinstein asked her how could the Supreme Court over turn gun legislation based on decades of litigation based on a 5 to 4 decision.

Basically (and I am summarizing here so if I am misquoting please forgive me) Kagan stated that doctrine can be changed.  That if the precedents set are found not to be useful or the doctrinal foundations begin to erode then change will happen.  Also if some of the original facts that established the doctrinal beliefs are found to be misgiving then it can change.

Meaning, that the beliefs of the High court can change when they find it no longer useful for what they are trying to do.  Although, they should respect precedents.

In Honor of God at the Movies Oak Leaf Style

Now, funny thought comes to mind.  I think it’s important to understand something here.

Culture reacts the same way with Biblical Doctrine.  Culture will accept long standing biblical doctrine as long as they like it and it helps them in what they want to do.  When it stops working for them it is time to change.

Questions that come to mind:

Is it ok to change doctrine?

When is it ok to switch from one doctrine to another?

Can everyone be right?  If not, then who has the right answer?

These are just some of the questions that I have been asking myself over the last couple of years.  Because, I have found myself changing lately?  Am I changing to help myself cope with culture?  Or, is God showing me how it really is?

What about you?

Hmmm, what was I trying to say?

I think what I meant was, “Look, everyone has doubts about things in their life.  By not talking about them it isolates you and makes the doubts stronger.”

What do you mean you don't know where we're going!?

I don’t think I have ever counseled with anyone that was doubting a decision they made, their relationships, their own self worth or even their faith and thought, “You Idiot!”.  Want to know why?  Because, I’ve been there.  And so has everyone else in the Universe.  We all have doubts.  We all have times in our lives where we are always questioning ‘why’.

Doubts come from a lack of faith in what you think should be the accepted norm.

That means WE are interpreting a set of circumstances and have judged it on predetermined data.  The problem is many times the way WE interpret things is based on past evidences and faulty human judgments.  [By the way a great book on this is Blink.]

By discussing these things out with others we are able to hear the thoughts in our heads out loud.  Someone else is then able to help you see where you are struggling.  Then WE can make a better judgment call on what WE are doubting about.

Social Media along with blogging has allowed people the ability to process out loud just be careful of who you are listening to.  Personal conversations are still the best way to wrestle with your doubts.

If you are a Christian here’s a great example for you.

Jesus Appears to Thomas

24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.

25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Thomas the apostle was no idiot.  And it just might be that if you are brave enough to talk out your doubts that God just might show up and give you the 411 through someone.

Try it and find out…

Reading a blog post from Seth today I was reminded of what ‘gifting’ is really like.

Read this little excerpt:

A gift certificate from a rich uncle is a present as well, it’s not really a gift.

A favor is something we do for someone hoping for an equal or greater favor in return. (Hence the phrase, “return the favor.” No one says, “return the gift.”)

A present is something that costs money, sure, and it’s free, but I don’t think it’s a gift.

A gift costs the giver something real. It might be cash (enough that we feel the pinch) but more likely it involves a sacrifice or a risk or an emotional exposure. A true gift is a heartfelt connection, something that changes both the giver and the recipient.

It reminded me again that even though God is sovereign and He owns everything His gift of His son really did cost Him something.  It cost him ‘emotional exposure’ as Seth would put it.  The idea that God gave a life for risk of having Himself turned down.  His gift is truly a “heartfelt connection” that was meant to draw us close to Him to have communion with Him.

Gifts are costly.  It’s what gives them value.  It’s what sets them apart from favors or presents.

If God has modeled this for us then let’s take this one step further.  Where are you doing this?  Outside of family have you done this for anyone else?

I got to admit when it comes to those outside my immediate family circle I pretty much stink at this.

I need to step it up a notch.

For a topic as big as this there is not just one answer. BUT, I do think that there are two parts to discipleship that have been missing in the Church that have been staring at us right in the face.  These two parts were mentioned more that once by all the different people that posted.

I am going to tackle the first one now.  In all of the discussions there was an element that had to be present for any discipleship to work at all.  Whether that was a group or a class.

It is the personal involvement of one believer in the life of another.  This we can call Personal Discipleship. It is not relying on a program or system to better someone but an individual that works in part with the Holy Spirit.

I was reading a blog the other day that talked about a difference between mentoring and coaching.  Both parts are uniquely different according to that article but both parts are needed in Personal Discipleship.

Let’s look at mentoring as one half of the personal discipleship mentioned above;

Mentoring is the act of putting time & effort into someone.  Most of the time this is more for their benefit and not yours.  Although, as it pertains to a Christian life it will benefit them, you, the church and those around them.

• Mentoring is giving of oneself to build up another individual.
• It can cost the mentor up front with not much visible potential for a return.
• It’s like investing though, because you expect some type of return.
• Even though you may expect a return ‘don’t’ always expect to see it for yourself.
• There is no set periods of time for mentoring because everyone learns differently and has different needs.
• Mentoring increases your capacity to love because it causes your empathy skills to develop.

Who have you been mentoring lately?  Where have you benefited from this type of relationship?  What does this look like for the church (big C) in general?

We will hit the second part of this later this week. Have a great Monday!

Helping people become like Jesus.

Yeah, not a complicated definition huh?

So what I have been thinking about is how do I help people get from point A to point B.  If you are a Leafer that means “Leading People from where they are to where God wants them to be.” It’s what keeps me up at night and ticks me off when I see some of our attenders/members walk away from God even though they were going through the motions of discipleship.

That might mean they were in a group, taking a class through Oak Leaf University, or involved in a Volunteer Team.  Whatever it is, it reminds me of the mind set “here’s what we have to offer, you need to find your own way.”  It’s kind of passing someone the Duct Tape and sayin, “Knock yourself out.”

You know, in education Billions of dollars are spent on Exceptional Students (ESE).  They (the government) realize that a regular classroom & regular resources is not enough for everyone.  It is the same for the field of Psychiatric Medicine.  The book I was trained with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM 4) has 3Xs as many disorders as there are different divisions of Special Education. That means everyone does not do well with the same treatments and everyone needs to be seen as an individual.

So what does that mean for the church?

I got a hunch.  In the words of Gary Hamel, a brilliant guy,  he says, “Why in an economic downturn are businesses changing but the church is not?” According to Gary the church will die out if we do not change and address the needs of the people.

Now before you start to write something I fully believe that everyone needs to be changed by the gospel first.  Jesus has to take up the residency in us as Lord and our souls must be regenerated by the Holy Spirit.  But it is the process of what happens before & after that, which concerns me at the moment.

This is an ongoing thing that I will be writing about periodically but I would love to hear what you think?

Are we missing something in the church today when it comes to Discipleship?

Been reading Deuteronomy and just about finished up.  I am at the end of Moses’ life and at the beginning of Joshua’s term as leader of Israel.

Moses, possibly the greatest prophet of all time.

Had a great upbringing.  As Pharaoh’s son he had a great education, good food, fun, and maybe not an easy life but a secure one.  Little did he know that not too far away his family and people were living in slavery under horrible conditions.

I think about how at early middle age he had his conversion.  He saw the injustice of his people and when he acted out of anger he killed an Egyptian gaurd, fled the country and lived as a Shepherd for 40 yrs.  God found him, confirmed a conviction in his heart and sent him to free his people.

He got them out of Egypt by miracles performed by God.  Combated continuous idolatry by the people. Gave them the law (not just the 10 commandments). Lead them in battles against hostile city-states. Begged God not to kill the Hebrews when He had just about had enough. Then at the end of his life at 120 after 40 years of service was not allowed into the promise land because of past sins.

This leader of leaders had a rough life………….right?

Well, when you think of it he got a 1/3 of his life living as a prince and another 1/3 being secluded and left alone as a shepherd.  About 80 years of peace and quiet…

Yep, it’s all about perspective you see.  We associate with they guy.  We’re like, “Common God, that’s harsh.”  But how quickly we forget about the 80 yrs of being left alone and doing what he wants.

As leaders, I hate to say it, we like to complain.  We have a tendency to be like, “Woe is us…”  In reality it is a privilege and honor to serve God. We are not owed anything by God.  The fact that we live and breathe is because God blesses us with another day.  That is called grace freely given.  Doing works for earthly rewards is not too smart.

Next time you think about what a rough time you are having keep it in perspective.  Especially if you are a leader.  I venture to say that your life hasn’t always been rough.