“Who is in the stands cheering for you in the marathon of life?
We’ve all had people in our past who believed in us when we didn’t have the strength to believe in ourselves. Being a youth worker means that you get the privilege of doing this for someone else. So keep up the good work. Keep encouraging. Continue to remember names. And dive deep into the lives of the students you are walking through life with.” Doug Fields
I pass this on to you in light of several things God is working in me. I recently started reading a book entitled The Climb of Your Life, by Dr. Chris Stephens. That name is likely not very familiar to you, but to me he has had an incredible impact on my life. Chris was one of my Youth Pastors when I was a teenager. Chris has an incredible testimony of how Christ rescued him from a life of drug addiction, and the mess that type of life creates. He is now the senior pastor of a church in Knoxville TN, which was named one of the fastest growing churches in the United States. As I read through this book I can see Chris on every page, what he has written about is what he has really been living out for over 20 years. The main point of the book is this; we (Christ followers) are all on a climb/journey in life and just as someone who climbs a mountain needs others to make it to the top we also need others in our lives to push us, pull us and prod us to achieving more than what we ever thought possible.
As a teenager I had the privilege of seeing Chris live this out. He challenged me to know what I believe and why I believe it. He set an example of a missional life style. And he boldly proclaimed God’s word, whether it was to one or to a thousand.
There is also a warning to us, that while we are able to be influenced to be more, we are equally able to be dragged down to be less of whom God has called us to be. We need to make wise choices as to who we tie ourselves to as climbing companions if we are to reach the peak of our potential.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
FEAR Part 2
I went to see the movie The Watchmen opening night, and refrained from writing anything about it to give me adequate time to process the movie. I don’t intended to review the movie at this point other than to say that it is very thought provoking and raised a number of emotional responses in me. Not to ruin the movie for anyone but the concept is an interesting twist on what is a rather common theme in modern literature and cinema. The idea is that as a separated world we are a danger to ourselves, on an unavoidable collision with self destruction. The answer to world peace is presented as a form of the Arabic proverb, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” I won’t belabor the examples that I could point to but the enemy that threatens humanity becomes the source of unity. I think back to movies such as Independence Day, were an alien invasion and thereat of world wide destruction leads to common purpose and therefore understanding and peace among the nations. Armageddon staring Bruce Willis is another example; the earth is threatened by a massive meteor that again threatens the human race, so the common enemy to survival draws us near. And recently with The Watchmen, a super being is seen as a universal threat that brings the warring world to a halt and refocuses its energies to a common goal.
Maybe there is some truth to this premise, that which we universally fear draws us nearer to one another. What if instead of a universal fear of alien invasion, super beings, or devastating natural disaster we began to understand and universally fear the Lord our God. Over and over again in the Bible we are taught, and shown that we are to fear God. In fact we are told in Proverbs 1:7 that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;”
What if we as humanity all learned to live in the fear of the Lord our God? What if we as Christians, all over the world began to live in the fear of God? Would we see peace? Well no. The Bible is clear that until Christ’s return and rule we will have war (see Matthew 24:4-31) But we are also told of day when there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain (Revelation 21:3-4)
So if you are a believer what do you have to fear? Fear the Lord, and all of these other fears that we have will fade away.
Maybe there is some truth to this premise, that which we universally fear draws us nearer to one another. What if instead of a universal fear of alien invasion, super beings, or devastating natural disaster we began to understand and universally fear the Lord our God. Over and over again in the Bible we are taught, and shown that we are to fear God. In fact we are told in Proverbs 1:7 that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;”
What if we as humanity all learned to live in the fear of the Lord our God? What if we as Christians, all over the world began to live in the fear of God? Would we see peace? Well no. The Bible is clear that until Christ’s return and rule we will have war (see Matthew 24:4-31) But we are also told of day when there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain (Revelation 21:3-4)
So if you are a believer what do you have to fear? Fear the Lord, and all of these other fears that we have will fade away.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Future Fear
What would you do if you weren’t afraid? I think this is one of the most helpful questions I have asked myself in recent times. I have to confess an incredible lack of action because of the fear that I have. I fear what others will think. I fear what will happen if I fail. I fear wasting time and resources on something that doesn’t pan out. I fear, therefore I stay safe – doing the safe things.
Now I understand that there is such a thing as healthy fear. It is fear that keeps us from doing stupid things. It is fear that keeps us civil, and it is fear that preserves life. However, there are times when fear hinders growth; it stops us from being innovative and trying new things. And at the end of it all, safe is not compelling, there is no risk and no reward. Safe is simple, but stepping out and breaking the mold is hard. I have often heard the saying, “if it’s easy than it isn’t worth doing.” Taking the hard road, blazing new paths takes risk, it is hard work and it may not pay off.
I am being challenged by Craig Groeschel’s “IT” as he quotes Robert F. Kennedy who said, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” Craig goes on to share that churches, ministries and leaders that have the “it factor” about them fail and fail often, because they are always trying new things, they are living into creativity and innovation, and often failure comes before you can learn how to do it right.
We understand this principle in some areas of life, like sports and the arts. To become a great basketball player you have to be willing to endure some losses, to miss the shot, to cost the game. If you desire to be an excellent guitarist, you must first be willing to be an awful guitarist. No one picks up a guitar and starts playing with precision, without first picking away some clunkers. But, when the stakes get higher our fear entangles us.
What if instead of fearing failure, we started to look at failure as the road to success. What if instead of viewing others failures with negativity, we viewed them as one step closer to achieving something great.
What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
Now I understand that there is such a thing as healthy fear. It is fear that keeps us from doing stupid things. It is fear that keeps us civil, and it is fear that preserves life. However, there are times when fear hinders growth; it stops us from being innovative and trying new things. And at the end of it all, safe is not compelling, there is no risk and no reward. Safe is simple, but stepping out and breaking the mold is hard. I have often heard the saying, “if it’s easy than it isn’t worth doing.” Taking the hard road, blazing new paths takes risk, it is hard work and it may not pay off.
I am being challenged by Craig Groeschel’s “IT” as he quotes Robert F. Kennedy who said, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” Craig goes on to share that churches, ministries and leaders that have the “it factor” about them fail and fail often, because they are always trying new things, they are living into creativity and innovation, and often failure comes before you can learn how to do it right.
We understand this principle in some areas of life, like sports and the arts. To become a great basketball player you have to be willing to endure some losses, to miss the shot, to cost the game. If you desire to be an excellent guitarist, you must first be willing to be an awful guitarist. No one picks up a guitar and starts playing with precision, without first picking away some clunkers. But, when the stakes get higher our fear entangles us.
What if instead of fearing failure, we started to look at failure as the road to success. What if instead of viewing others failures with negativity, we viewed them as one step closer to achieving something great.
What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
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