I took this picture while getting in some family time at Ober Gatlinburg recently:

Just because you lace up and get out there doesn’t mean you know what you’re doing. The skilled ones glide across the ice with speed, grace and ease. The ones who don’t (this is my camp, by the way) just look ridiculous.

I’m so thankful that being a Christian isn’t like that! Following Jesus has nothing to do with skill. It’s more about recognizing your lack of it. There are no JV Christians. I sometimes refer to myself as a professional Christian (because I work at a church). That joke is funny because it’s ridiculous.

I love watching brand new Christians lace up and get out there. They don’t “lean on their own understanding” (not that they know that verse). Instead, they lean on their story about what God did for them…and they glide across the ice with speed, grace and ease!

so,

1. If you’re counting on your own mad Jesus skills, cut it out! You look ridiculous out there!
2. If you’re waiting to lace up and get out there because you don’t think you’ve had enough lessons, then stop waiting! Read John 4 and look at what God did through a really confused lady who knew NOTHING except that Jesus was legit.

Have you ever felt like a JV Christian (even if you knew in your head that it wasn’t true)?
Have you ever felt unqualified to do something for the Lord?
What’s a good way to encourage a new Christian to lace up and get out there?

Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

A few months ago I read David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done (GTD).  It was four times longer than it needed to be, but still great.  It’s a much lauded system of time management, designed to boost productivity.   Then I purchased Omnifocus for my iPad and iPhone (a very robust, feature rich program designed to implement the methods in GTD).  Then I decided to completely buy into the system (partial buy-in would never work) and implement it fully.

Almost everything changed.

• Part of it was pleading with God to help me change.
• Part of it was sheer determination to grow more efficient.
• Part of it was the fact that I read several others books on productivity…

…but for me, GTD worked.  With the church growing and with major changes imminent, I had to do a lot more work, I had to do better work, and I had to do it in a lot less time.  It worked.

I now work an average of 45 hours per week.  I’m getting significantly more done than before, working 60-70 hours a week.  I’m closer to my kids and my wife than I’ve ever been.  It changed almost everything.

Maybe it will work for you too. It’s not a magic bullet (I’ve worked really hard to do this right).  And maybe the results won’t be nearly as dramatic (I recognize that this is an admission of my being extremely if not pathetically unproductive in the past).  But if you’re at a loss for how to fit it all in…and you’re willing to work hard to change that, this would be my recommendation.

She’s one of those perfect people…and not the kind you resent for being perfect, either. She’s so humble, that you’re actually glad that she’s got it all together. You know the type.

I was having a conversation with her a few years back, and she said something incredible, something that still shakes me to the core every time I think of it. We were talking about high school craziness and teenage rebellion in general. I told her how awesome it was that she didn’t get caught up in any of that garbage.

I looked up at her, and to my utter surprise, she was crying. I knew for a fact that she hadn’t gotten caught up in any of that garbage, so why on earth would she be crying? Then she said it,

“It’s not enough that I didn’t go the way they went, I was supposed to change the way they were going.”

I think she underestimates the impact she had on her school. Nevertheless, she made an incredible point that I think very few Christians really get:

This isn’t ultimately about morality, its about mission.

Delivered on Wednesday, ahead of schedule..a good bit bigger than expected, given the reputation of the manufacturer.

The packaging was absolutely beautiful.

The first time one of these arrived, it changed everything.  This changes everything, again.

Now we are four.  Four is the future.

The whole thing is, well…let me find the right words…Magical and Revolutionary.

Breonna Jean McCarter

BTW: My fancy new iPhone 4 should arrive any day now.  But, honestly, who cares?

I can’t stand that arcade game with the quarters that get pushed to the edge (but rarely off).  I can almost feel the tension of those coins hovering over the edge waiting to fall, but somehow, against all odds, they manage to hang on.  The game somehow defies the laws of physics, it spits in the face of gravity…how can they not just fall?

I want to kick the arcade game and send a few tumbling.  Not because I want the quarters.  I just want them to fall.  When things are that crowded, when things are spilling out over the edge, it just seems merciful to let a few of them go.

I come across a lot of people who’s lives look a lot like that.  They’re terribly unhappy.  They’ve got things so crowded in that they come spilling over the edge. And yet, against all odds, fueled by the sheer force of their gravity-defying, physics scorning stubbornness, they cling to every last thing. Nothing can fall.  No matter how much gets piled on, and no matter how hard that bar pushes them to the edge, nothing can be let go.

Forgive my lack of blogging over the last few weeks.  Things have been crazy busy…so I decided to let it fall.  If you’re a fan of the blog you may find that annoying…but this way I stay happily married, keep my job, and sleep well knowing I’m not an absent tee Dad.  Also this way, if/when we meet, I’ll actually be nice to you.

That’s me.  I’m a hack poet.  My dad, on the other hand, is legit.  He recently wrote a poem for Sharon (my wife).  It’s pretty darn amazing, so I decided to share it here.

An Ode to Sharon

I’ve posted another one of his poems on this blog, here.

I like their sound (they’re known for their vocals, but their drummer is phenomenal). But I’m a fan because of their occasionally brilliant lyrics.  The lead guy (Ben Gibbard) does most of the writing, and he’s a great storyteller.  I think great storytellers just state the obvious in succinct terms and in ways the rest of us never thought to put it.  And, of course, they have a point.  Or, in the case of “What Sarah Said,” a question worth answering.

The song tugs the ‘ol heart-strings because it tells of a horrifying place that most of us have visited: the waiting room of an ICU. I’ve been to several.  They’re all the same.  They all smell the same, and are filled with all the same faces.  Listen below and follow along with the lyrics.  If you’ve been to one every word will ring true.

What Sarah Said from Lswis on Vimeo.

What a question! Sure, it’s a bit super-sappy…but it’s a good question still.  Who are the people who would endure that dreadful scene and sit with you till the end…lament that their memories of you will always be insufficient?  And once you’ve compiled that list, compare it to the list of people in whom you now invest the bulk of your time.  Do they match? They should.

Joshua 24:15 “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua essentially says: “You do what you like. If you’re going to serve the gods of this world, have at it.  If you’re going to serve the Lord, great.  Pick a side, and get off the fence.  Draw your line in the sand once and for all.  And while I’ve got your attention, let me be clear: as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!”

In this series of posts I’ve said a lot about my parents.  I’ve probably even idealized them a bit.  But for all the talk of strategy and methods, let me be really clear about why they were great parents: There was never a doubt, not even for a fleeting moment, that as for our house we were going to serve the Lord.

I never doubted my faith because the power of Jesus to transform and enrich our lives was constantly on display in our home, through our parents.  No, they weren’t perfect…but they were rock solid and absolutely unwavering.  Jesus was at the center of our home because he was at the center of their lives.  Bottomline.

What about you? Is your banner clear?

Joshua 24:12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’

We’ve all seen the scenario.  Good and godly parents who seem to do everything right.  Good and godly leaders who follow biblical principles at every turn. But then things somehow don’t turn out.  Inexplicable.

But here we are reminded that our best efforts are simply not enough.  Our best efforts are never enough…that’s the point of the gospel.  Joshua and the people of Israel won the war and conquered the land because God chose to fight for them.

Our role in parenting and in leadership is central, but it’s not ultimate.

If in your case things haven’t yet turned out well, it won’t ultimately be your efforts that turn things around, it will be the hand of God. Pray like crazy!

And if in your case things have turned out well, give thanks to God!  He went ahead of you.  It wasn’t by your sword or your bow.  You live in a house you did not build.  You eat from a garden you did not plant.  Praise God!

Now that the Lord has given the land to Israel, and taken Joshua off of the battleground, the rest of the book (chapters 13-24) focuses on Joshua’s leadership as he establishes the house of Israel.  His role shifts from Patriot to Papa, and he does it brilliantly.

Joshua 22:1 At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. 3 You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the Lord your God. 4 And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” 6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

Parents/leaders raise ‘em up, and send ‘em out. It’s what they do. That’s what Joshua’s doing in this text.

“OK, you’ve done well, you’ve learned well, you’re ready to go do this on your own.  Remember the law of the Lord, stick to your foundation.  I bless you.  Go!”

My parents did this well.  I felt blessed. Sent. Released.

It’s hard to let go.  It’s even harder to let go and not meddle.  If you meddle, it shows that you don’t trust.  My parents are funny about this. They’re determined not to meddle.  If I want their take on a personal matter I have to ask for it directly. They’re honoring the fact that I’ve been raised, they’re trusting that they’ve done well.

They’re actively believing that the word of God is true: Proverbs 22:6, “ Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Not easy.

Provided their going is honorable:

Please, please, please, don’t send out your children (or the people you lead), without giving them your blessing.  Not your permission, your blessing.  They need your blessing.  I’m an adult, I don’t need my parents’ permission to do anything.  But they are wise and they are honorable and I need their blessing.

What about you?  If you’re still trying to control your adult children or the people you lead, it’s evidence that you don’t trust them or your ability to raise them up.  Have you given them your blessing?  Have you honored their coming and their going?  If not, you’ve likely withheld that in order to maintain a modicum of control…it’s self-serving and sinful.  They need your blessing!