Letting Go - On Occasion

   Sometimes in life you just need to 'let go!'  I don't know whether I've become too antiquated (not necessarily wiser or more mature), domesticated, or sophisticated - I have found that I am less apt to just 'let go'.  

   If it's true that an antique is something of at least 100 years of age, I'm halfway there. This morning I feel more than halfway there after last night. At the last minute, I was invited to 'see' Righteous Vendetta in concert. After the event was moved from the skatepark to New Beginnings Fellowship, things got kicked off around 8PM which is an hour before my bedtime! I looked around the 'Upper Room' where the concert would be held, I saw a few people my age at the back and then a lot of people much younger than me. I do know that at some point skinny jeans are inappropriate, I am glad they are hard to find in my size - and so is the rest of humanity for that matter. That aside, the music starts and we are off to the races. 

   Growing up going to hear 'The Clash, Ramones, Blondie, or Devo on Cedar Springs Rd. in Highland Park, TX -  I am quite familiar with the crowd, even if they are more than half my age. I knew to move my head up and down to the rhythm, jump up and down at appropriate times. Something in me though said 'beware blowing out a knee at your age'... so I opted to keep it calm.

   As the concert blossomed the activity in the middle of the room was almost as appealing as the music. Being a pastor there are these 'unsaid' expectations on you - one of them is to at least 'appear' in control of ones mental and physical capacities; even if you are not. I really wanted to join in the banging about (mosh) going on, but something in me said 'you are a pastor, what would those gray haired people in back think, what would those purple hair people in front think, what would the people with no hair think, what would Brian's little children who attend our church think?

   The urge to be transformed back to a time of carefree,  organized violence in a mosh pit overwhelmed me - so there I went with Mik (our youngest son, age 26). I banged around a little. I realized quickly that my sheer mass provides a distinct advantage in such occasions - I came out alive! I had 'let go' and am living to tell about it; even if I am a little stiff this morning.

  So many times in life we fear letting go and just living life wide open. I'm not advocating one to throw off 'all' restraints, sensibilities and morality but I am saying that living for and with God requires us to 'let go' and be free. There is nothing better in life than that:

I lay my life down at the foot of the cross

As humble as I know how to be

Take this life and make a new creation out of me 

(Righteous Vendetta: For the Skeptic)

Lesson learned: let go and and experience freedom...

In Christ!

20 $1 Gold Coins vs. 30 Pieces of Silver

   Given the choice, anyday of the week, I will choose 20 $1, gold coins over 30 pieces of silver. We are probably all familiar with Judas and how he shanked (fig.) Jesus in the back. It's amazing how 3rd person betrayals take on a new light when they come to us in 1st person. But like the 30 pieces of silver, the 20 gold coins impact our lives... but in a positive way.
   A couple of weeks ago, someone in our church handed me a ziploc bag filled with twenty U.S. gold $1 coins. At the conclusion of a worship service, I was pretty drained, readying myself for a meeting, hungry... but really energized spiritually from the 'united' worship service. I laid the coins on my desk before I left the office, I gave thanks, not only for the $20 but really for the friendship expressed to me. Their monetary value (while fluctuating with the value of the U.S. currency rates) pales in comparison to the value they have for me personally.
   The things we treasure in life are pretty interesting. We throw things out while hanging onto others like they are the holy grail. It's those personal things that have the greatest worth. The complimentary house cleaning, the help putting up a fence, trimming someones' trees, writing a card, giving a hug, helping them understand Pangea... all of these things speak of relationship - these things we treasure. These things outshine the 30 pieces of silver we may have received during the course of our lives. The lesson here - count your blessings, number your days aright... You'll find plenty of gold coins and eventually you too will give them out to others as the need arises...

In Christ

Inventory

   In my early adult years I had the privilege of being in the retail business. For twelve years I worked

for a fine men's wear store in Texas. On the last Sunday in February we would take our annual

inventory. We would prepare for the inventory a couple of weeks in advance. 'Big Ed' insisted that every sock, tie, belt, pant, suit, shirt... be counted - by hand. Now mind you, this was during an age when computers were first being installed that could track inventories, but did you think a store with a crank handle cash register would modernize to that - no!  Welcome to the days of the Big Chief writing tablet and a #2 pencil!

   What was out on the shelves and racks was easy, it was the back stock rooms that really made the process of inventory a real challenge. We opened every box, looked through the stacks of double-knit polyester LaJolla pants, laughed our way through the leisure suits, and rummaged through the Touch of Class polyester embroidered shirts. It was a searching and fearless inventory...

   I thought about 'inventory' this week and the fourth step in a recovery program: 

"Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."

Why is it so difficult for us to open up and search through the taped up boxes full of yesteryear's hurts and hangups? Why is a moral inventory that reveals our true character so fear invoking?  What is it about exposing the strengths and weaknesses of our character that drives us further away from the very people who can help us most?

   As I've thought about this this week, I've come up with a couple of things:

1. Nostalgia: At times it's easier to take hurts out of the box, hang onto them, re-tape the box, set it back on the shelf of our hearts and minds. Somehow we think that over time they will increase in value.  All the while those hurts and hangups do increase in cost, but not in value. It costs us more and more to hang onto our stuff.
2. Fear: This can paralyze even the best of men or women. Fear keeps us from exposing and disposing of sins, hurts and habits; while at the same time helping us maintain our posing in front of our family and friends. Fear tells us that 'if they really knew me, they would reject me!'

Making the inventory does require searching through the stuff (rubbish) and a fearless attitude, that no matter what you find, you deal with it. However, instead of taping up the box and keeping it, you discard it. If you are having a hard time sitting down to take the inventory, start here:

"Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I'm about; See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong— then guide me on the road to eternal life." (Psalm 139:23, 24 MSG)

The Holy Spirit knows us better than we know ourselves. Take a couple of hours with God, take out that Big Chief tablet and #2 pencil, draw a line down the middle of the page creating two columns (strengths / weaknesses), break it down into periods in your life, list the hurts, sins, habits... victories, successes, blessings... once you've done that - sit down and talk it through with someone. Ask for prayer, seek counsel if need be, reflect and trust (both in God and a trusted friend) to unpack the stuff so you dispose of it. 

What's in the stock room in back that needs to be disposed of? What is keeping you from opening up to The Lord and your friends? What sins have captivated your imagination?  It's that time of year - time for inventory!

In Christ

Tight Focus

A few years ago I purchased a rifle that came with flip up iron sights, which was great. I soon wanted to purchase "necessary" accessories (i.e. bipod, laser / light combo, heat shield, adjustable grip) One of the purchases I made was for a stealth tactical, multi-color-dot scope.

I decided to leave the iron sights on however. This sighting combination really helps me zero in on a target (and I need all the help I can get...) With this sighting combination, I can obtain a target, place a colored dot on it and fire. At first I had a very difficult time acquiring and hitting my target with a high degree of accuracy. Finally, after getting it all sighted in accurately, I began to really enjoy target practice. However, if i really want to be accurate, I flip up the iron sights to bring the target into a tight focus. If I want to put an even tighter focus, I flip up the pin-dot sight, aim and fire. It's amazing what a tight focus can do. Question: Does your vision for life have a similar focus?

I do believe we must approach our life's vision in a similar, tactical fashion. We obtain a target using our natural sight, but too often we fail to tighten the focus in order to hit the target with maximum impact and result. Frustration mounts as we routinely miss our target. Or we may hit the target but we are missing the center of our focus. So pause for a moment, take a deep breath - people can get hurt at this point. (breathing, breathing, breathing, heart rate decreasing...)

Here are a few questions:
1) Are you using all of the assets available to you? (Is the Holy Spirit in control and engaged as a weapon? Are you using the Bible for shaping your vision? Is your focus distorted by the movement of the world around you...?)
2) Is your vision sighted-in? Are there any necessary adjustments for windage or elevation?
3) Have you tightened your focus onto your target?

A transformed vision for life, church, business... begins with an exacting inventory of our assets and liabilities. Then you begin the process of sighting in those assets and dealing with the liabilities, often by making only slight adjustments (sometimes significant adjustments...) At this point you are ready to tighten your focus (breath in and out lightly) pull back slowly (breathing light still), maintaining focus and steady aim, slowwwwwly pulling back to when you are surprised at the discharge. You look, you've hit your target with a high degree of accuracy.

I know this is a "guy" type of article and there are all sorts of analogies I could use, but the question remains, 'does your vision for life have a tight focus...'

In Christ?!

$161,684 Tithe Check!

Standing at the back of the worship center our Finance Ministry Assistant (Linda) came up to me and one of the members I was speaking to. She was beaming but at the same time cautiously inquisitive. She asked this member in front of me - "did you mean to make out your tithe check for $161,684 dollars?"  His response was a simple 'yes, I did' and he explained he had received some royalty on something...  She responded; "praise God! I was almost afraid the decimal point was moved to the right too far...!"  Elated and joyful my heart leapt and then - I woke up from my dream.

Waking up, my heart was pounding and really regretted waking up. I checked to see what time it was (5:38AM), reminded myself I was at the Holiday Inn Express in Albuquerque. I went in to brush my teeth and started wondering about the dream. I came up with a few of interpretations:

1. The dream was prophetical in nature. I rationalized briefly that because the amount was so specific, the dream was in color, the responses of everyone in the dream would have been expected. That business background rationale quickly faded.
2. The dream was culinary in nature. I quickly remembered the 'Cookie Doughn't You Want Some?' from Cold Stone before I went to bed. That then seemed probable cause to me. I kept brushing...
3. The dream was financial in nature. While I know the news is filled with 'sequestration' (which honestly sounds more like a 3-legged horse running in the Kentucky Derby), I know the economic reality in our nation is anything but 'good'. I also know that the Lord is in control of the financial situation in each and every church...
4. (Finally) The dream was doctrinal in nature. One of the previous night's messages by Dr. Greg Frizzell was about powerful prayers resulting in powerful miracles (James 5:15 stuff!)

Oh yeah, #4, that was it! As the Holy Spirit began to unwind that message in my heart while I finished brushing my teeth, I was deeply inspired but also convicted. While I know it's always a good thing to pray for Aunt Susie's infected, in-grown toe nail so she doesn't die and go to heaven and walk the golden paved streets with an eternal limp, the clear realization that deep-seated cleansing prayer on my own part and prayer for the lost in our community is really at the heart of God.

Prayers that transform the heart of mankind come from clean, confident and desperate hearts before God. I was reminded last night that this type of prayer requires my time, attention and devotion in solitude. I will still look for prophetical, culinary, and financial answers to my own whacked out dreams... but when the Lord is speaking Transformationally - I need to put my tooth brush away and pray... With God all things are possible - even handling my morning breath before I hit the bathroom...

In Christ!

A Winning Culture

This morning I listened to an interview with Coach Mike Krezyzewski (Coach K) in which he stated; "It's not about having a winning team but about having a winning culture."  As those words bounced around in my heart and mind, my thoughts turned from basketball (sports in general...) to life.  A great deal of people live and work in a losing culture, which helps produce a culture of blame, suspicion and selfishness. 

There will always be losses and even seasons where our hopes and dreams fail to mirror expectations. While loss is an inevitable human reality, I believe that creating and maintaining a culture of winning is more important than winning itself. When we seek to create and maintain a winning culture - winning becomes an inevitable reality. So how do you create a 'winning culture'?

Spirited cheerleaders, great band, happy fans and pep rallies - while fun and inspiring at times, do little to inspire at the middle of the second half when you are trailing by 6.  A hated opponent can really fire you up for retaliation but that will only inspire us a few times up and down the court. A good butt-chewing from our coach can help correct bad execution or habits but at the core of a winning culture is a transformed life. 

A winning culture (be it a team sport, family, church, business, organization...) is filled with enough people committed to personal and team transformation that creates and maintains a culture of winning. The winning culture is created when there is a collective commitment to:

• An objective operational standard that serves as the foundation
• Authenticity
• Time spent together (eating, celebrating, reviewing, living...)
• Honoring others above themselves

I challenge you today to make the personal and cultural changes necessary to creating and maintaining a winning culture...

In Christ!

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers."  (A2:42)

Bah! Humbug...

   Each year for the past four years we have made it a point to watch 'Scrooge'; the 1970's version with Albert Finney. Charles Dickens' story put to theatre and film is a classic for any generation.  There's something about choosing life that resonates with almost everyone. There's something about that old miserly character Ebenezer Scrooge that just draws us back in time to a place in our own journey that few of us want to even admit.  Early in the story, Scrooge's use of the word humbug becomes a self expression of his own character.
   One of the story's most revealing humbug scenes that calls attention to our reticent tendencies is the engagement breakup scene. Scrooge goes back in time to a critical place where he forfeited the joy and intimacy of a marriage relationship from the idol of 'gain'. Most telling are the cries from Scrooge himself to the younger version of himself, begging "say something you fool, say something..." Not everyone suffers from this humbug of greed but there are other humbugs other than greed. You know yours, I know my own. When humbug is chosen, it's that thing that will draw us away from the people we love and cherish. The results of which are crushing on the spirit of Christmas in each of us, regardless of the month on the wall calendar.
   It's that active withholding of affection, love, praise, spiritual leadership, intimacy... that just causes us to descend into our personal Scrooge-like character. Certainly, it manifests itself in varied ways but mostly in our relationships... The person that humbug ultimately robs is ourself. There is no gain - only humbug!
   That powerful scene ends with Scrooge saying "spirit remove me from this place, I can bear it no more!'  It's that sentiment and insight that begins the process of our own repentance and healing. We each have a threshold of pain that is too much to bear.  It is that conscious choice that cries out to the Spirit of the Living God... 'dear God, remove me from this place!'  
   I want to encourage you to give yourself and your family and friends the greatest Christmas present ever - a heart full of love, appreciation, praise, affirmation, prayer, love, compassion, joy, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control... Rid yourself of the chains of humbug, press into life like never before and choose to live again...

In Christ!