Here is something worth spending some time reflecting on:
1. What would you say is the specific purpose for which God caused you to be born?
2. What do you think God wants to accomplish through you?
3. What is your specific, divine assignment on this “scratch”?
4. Why do you think God placed you where you are?
--Wayne Cordeiro, Doing Church as a Team
Monday, August 4, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Response to Challenges
We have a choice about how we deal with life's endless challenges. We can react with hope or despair, with courage or fear, with enthusiasm or indifference.
--Maggie Pinkney, Pocket Positives for Living
A reader responds:
I choose Hope, Courage, and Enthusiasm, as undoubtedly Maggie does as well.
But to be Hopeful one must plan comprehensively and expeditiously, and execute effectively.
One can't help being Courageous in one's quest if one is Hopeful.
And finally, if one carefully implements all of the above in sequence, one's attitude certainly must be one of Enthusiasm!!
With that Enthusiasm under one's "utility belt," one has no guarantee of ALWAYS being successful, but it sure empowers one to keep on trying.... it gets a bit tiresome sometimes, though!! :) - José
--Maggie Pinkney, Pocket Positives for Living
A reader responds:
I choose Hope, Courage, and Enthusiasm, as undoubtedly Maggie does as well.
But to be Hopeful one must plan comprehensively and expeditiously, and execute effectively.
One can't help being Courageous in one's quest if one is Hopeful.
And finally, if one carefully implements all of the above in sequence, one's attitude certainly must be one of Enthusiasm!!
With that Enthusiasm under one's "utility belt," one has no guarantee of ALWAYS being successful, but it sure empowers one to keep on trying.... it gets a bit tiresome sometimes, though!! :) - José
Monday, July 28, 2008
Lovett Weems on faithful vs. fruitful leadership
"Faithful ministry," the watchword of my generation, was typified mostly by Mother Theresa’s statement, "We’re not called to be successful; we’re called to be faithful." I believe that, and I’ve said that. But I don’t say it anymore because it plays to a lack of accountability that many clergy feel. It’s almost as if faithful is more a condition. It’s part of being instead of doing.
Faithfulness is always directional. It’s not riding a stationary bicycle—it’s a Boston marathon! It’s faithful in a direction—faithful toward the reign of God. You’re faithful toward justice. You may not end up where you are headed. You may plant one kind of seed and another crop grows—God has that kind of sense of humor—but it’s not, "Oh, I’m not doing this. I’m not doing that. I’m being faithful." No, it is faithful in a direction. You are risking. You may make mistakes in that. You may not be successful.
John Wesley had a set of three questions: is there faith?, is there fire?, and are there fruits? The concept of fruitfulness led Wesley to do things that, in his mind, he really didn’t believe. He was not convinced, in theory, that women should preach—but it was the fruits of their preaching that led him to sanction it. He didn’t think that there should be lay preachers; but he supported it because he saw its fruits. In a sense, he was able to rise up above his principles by seeing the reality of what advances the gospel.
I’m not as concerned about thinking about fruitfulness as setting a goal so we’ll know if we’ve made it or not. I’m convinced that when you focus on the outcome, you make the journey. It’s only when you say we will do this program so that...that you know how to run the program.
The Reverend Doctor Lovett H. Weems, Jr. is Executive Director of The Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary, where he is also Distinguished Professor of Church Leadership.
Faithfulness is always directional. It’s not riding a stationary bicycle—it’s a Boston marathon! It’s faithful in a direction—faithful toward the reign of God. You’re faithful toward justice. You may not end up where you are headed. You may plant one kind of seed and another crop grows—God has that kind of sense of humor—but it’s not, "Oh, I’m not doing this. I’m not doing that. I’m being faithful." No, it is faithful in a direction. You are risking. You may make mistakes in that. You may not be successful.
John Wesley had a set of three questions: is there faith?, is there fire?, and are there fruits? The concept of fruitfulness led Wesley to do things that, in his mind, he really didn’t believe. He was not convinced, in theory, that women should preach—but it was the fruits of their preaching that led him to sanction it. He didn’t think that there should be lay preachers; but he supported it because he saw its fruits. In a sense, he was able to rise up above his principles by seeing the reality of what advances the gospel.
I’m not as concerned about thinking about fruitfulness as setting a goal so we’ll know if we’ve made it or not. I’m convinced that when you focus on the outcome, you make the journey. It’s only when you say we will do this program so that...that you know how to run the program.
The Reverend Doctor Lovett H. Weems, Jr. is Executive Director of The Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary, where he is also Distinguished Professor of Church Leadership.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Lincoln: Prayer and action in the little things
Prayer often clarifies our vision of what needs to be done, but we should not expect to emerge from prayer with a lightening bolt of divine insight. The interplay of prayer and action is usually more subtle. Usually the understanding of one’s task unfolds gradually as a sense of reverence, and prayerfulness starts to permeate our life as a whole.
Psychologist, Ira Progoff, relates an event in the life of Abraham Lincoln that reveals the subtle, yet profound connections between prayer and action. Lincoln had a rich prayer life and he’s regarded as one of our most spiritual presidents. In his early years he had intimations that meaningful work lay ahead for him, but that he would have to refine his intellect and acquire professional skills if he was to fulfill his destiny. In his frontier environment, however, few tools or opportunities for professional development were available and Lincoln feared that his hopes would never be fulfilled. One day a stranger came by with a barrel full of odds and ends and old newspapers and he offered to sell the lot to Lincoln for a dollar. Realizing the man was needy, Lincoln, with his characteristic kindness, gave him a dollar, although he had no idea how the barrel’s contents would ever be of use. When he later cleared out the barrel, he found among the junk, an almost complete edition of Blackstone’s Commentaries. These books helped Lincoln become a lawyer, and eventually enter politics. The reverence Lincoln felt for others, which are often the fruits of prayer, created an opening for a life changing event, that otherwise might not have happened. You see Lincoln did not get zapped during prayer with a sudden revelation of his life’s work. Humble ingredients: a barrel of junk, a stranger down on his luck, a dollar, and Lincoln’s innate compassion, combined unspectacularly to help shape the destiny of a nation and affect millions of lives.
I suggest that Lincoln’s prayerfulness made him sensitive enough to respond to a nudge from the Holy Spirit to buy a box of junk. Who knows what God can do in a life prepared by prayer? Who knows what God could do in your life if you were prepared?
Don’t you sometimes feel an itch that begins with questions like: “Is there more to life than what I’m experiencing?” “Is the meaning to my life gone now that I am retired/my children are grown?” If you are looking for answers to questions like these, talking to your pastor is a good place to begin. There are also several good “itch-scratching” programs you might plug into like Sunday school, Companions in Christ, Disciple Bible, Emmaus walks, mission work and many more that can help you explore the changing meaning and purpose of your life. Maybe the itch you feel is to start a class or program that will scratch someone else’s itch.
One last thought, perhaps you have moved beyond the resources of your local church. Check out the seminaries in your area or the religion departments of your local colleges. Think about it, pray about it and act.
Psychologist, Ira Progoff, relates an event in the life of Abraham Lincoln that reveals the subtle, yet profound connections between prayer and action. Lincoln had a rich prayer life and he’s regarded as one of our most spiritual presidents. In his early years he had intimations that meaningful work lay ahead for him, but that he would have to refine his intellect and acquire professional skills if he was to fulfill his destiny. In his frontier environment, however, few tools or opportunities for professional development were available and Lincoln feared that his hopes would never be fulfilled. One day a stranger came by with a barrel full of odds and ends and old newspapers and he offered to sell the lot to Lincoln for a dollar. Realizing the man was needy, Lincoln, with his characteristic kindness, gave him a dollar, although he had no idea how the barrel’s contents would ever be of use. When he later cleared out the barrel, he found among the junk, an almost complete edition of Blackstone’s Commentaries. These books helped Lincoln become a lawyer, and eventually enter politics. The reverence Lincoln felt for others, which are often the fruits of prayer, created an opening for a life changing event, that otherwise might not have happened. You see Lincoln did not get zapped during prayer with a sudden revelation of his life’s work. Humble ingredients: a barrel of junk, a stranger down on his luck, a dollar, and Lincoln’s innate compassion, combined unspectacularly to help shape the destiny of a nation and affect millions of lives.
I suggest that Lincoln’s prayerfulness made him sensitive enough to respond to a nudge from the Holy Spirit to buy a box of junk. Who knows what God can do in a life prepared by prayer? Who knows what God could do in your life if you were prepared?
Don’t you sometimes feel an itch that begins with questions like: “Is there more to life than what I’m experiencing?” “Is the meaning to my life gone now that I am retired/my children are grown?” If you are looking for answers to questions like these, talking to your pastor is a good place to begin. There are also several good “itch-scratching” programs you might plug into like Sunday school, Companions in Christ, Disciple Bible, Emmaus walks, mission work and many more that can help you explore the changing meaning and purpose of your life. Maybe the itch you feel is to start a class or program that will scratch someone else’s itch.
One last thought, perhaps you have moved beyond the resources of your local church. Check out the seminaries in your area or the religion departments of your local colleges. Think about it, pray about it and act.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
A spiritual practice
Here from one of the spiritual classics is a useful spiritual practice.
What is here urged are internal practices and habits of the mind. What is here urged are secret habits of unceasing orientation of the deeps of our being about the Inward Light, ways of conducting our inward life so that we are perpetually bowed in worship, while we are also very busy in the world of daily affairs. What is here urged are inward practices of the mind at deepest levels, letting it swing like the needle, to the polestar of the soul. And like the needle, the Inward Light becomes the truest guide of life, showing us new and unsuspected defects in our¬selves and our fellows, showing us new and unsus¬pected possibilities in the power and life of good¬will among men. pp.31-32
How, then, shall we lay hold of that Life and Power, and live the life of prayer without ceasing? By quiet, persistent practice in turning of all our being, day and night, in prayer and inward worship and surrender, toward Him who calls in the deeps of our souls. p.38
A Testament of Devotion, Thomas Kelly
What is here urged are internal practices and habits of the mind. What is here urged are secret habits of unceasing orientation of the deeps of our being about the Inward Light, ways of conducting our inward life so that we are perpetually bowed in worship, while we are also very busy in the world of daily affairs. What is here urged are inward practices of the mind at deepest levels, letting it swing like the needle, to the polestar of the soul. And like the needle, the Inward Light becomes the truest guide of life, showing us new and unsuspected defects in our¬selves and our fellows, showing us new and unsus¬pected possibilities in the power and life of good¬will among men. pp.31-32
How, then, shall we lay hold of that Life and Power, and live the life of prayer without ceasing? By quiet, persistent practice in turning of all our being, day and night, in prayer and inward worship and surrender, toward Him who calls in the deeps of our souls. p.38
A Testament of Devotion, Thomas Kelly
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Nourishing Ourselves
If we don't nourish ourselves, joy will elude us.
We nourish ourselves whenever we enter into activities that build our energy reserves. Consider this list of common nourishment sources:
1. Music - What songs lift me?
2. Thoughts - What thoughts speak to me?
3. Experiences - What experiences rejuvenate me?
4. Friends - What people encourage me?
5. Recreation - What recreation re-creates me?
6. Soul - What spiritual exercises strengthen me?
7. Hopes - What dreams inspire me?
8. Home - What family members care for me?
9. Giftedness - What gifts activate me?
10. Memories - What memories make me smile?
Finding Joy, by Dr. John C. Maxwell
We nourish ourselves whenever we enter into activities that build our energy reserves. Consider this list of common nourishment sources:
1. Music - What songs lift me?
2. Thoughts - What thoughts speak to me?
3. Experiences - What experiences rejuvenate me?
4. Friends - What people encourage me?
5. Recreation - What recreation re-creates me?
6. Soul - What spiritual exercises strengthen me?
7. Hopes - What dreams inspire me?
8. Home - What family members care for me?
9. Giftedness - What gifts activate me?
10. Memories - What memories make me smile?
Finding Joy, by Dr. John C. Maxwell
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Symptoms of an undernourished soul
Leaders need to be spiritually mature and healthy. The busy pace of our lives can lead us to a place where we are not taking in enough spiritual food to keep ourselves healthy. Pastors are at greatest risk, because we can fool ourselves into thinking that our time spent in Scripture preparing for a sermon counts as devotional reading. It does not! Years ago Harvey Cox identified some of the signs of an undernourished soul which now describe our whole society.
The symptoms of an undernourished soul appear in countless ways: violence, lethargy, alienation, alcoholism, deterioration of the family. The shrunken modern psyche is “just as much a victim of industrialization as were the bent bodies of those luckless children who were once confined to English factories from dawn to dusk.”--Harvey Cox, The Feast of Fools,
Lest we fall into despair, P.L.Berman offers this word of hope:
“It does not matter how long your spirit lies dormant and unused. One day you hear a song, look at an object, or see a vision, and you feel its presence. It can’t be bought, traded, or annihilated, because its power comes from its story. No one can steal your spirit. You have to give it away. You can also take it back.”
--P.L.Berman, The Search for Meaning
The work of the church is to bring back to life the souls of people who don’t even know they have a spiritual problem. This is one reason why churches need leaders who can do more than just chair a meeting.
The symptoms of an undernourished soul appear in countless ways: violence, lethargy, alienation, alcoholism, deterioration of the family. The shrunken modern psyche is “just as much a victim of industrialization as were the bent bodies of those luckless children who were once confined to English factories from dawn to dusk.”--Harvey Cox, The Feast of Fools,
Lest we fall into despair, P.L.Berman offers this word of hope:
“It does not matter how long your spirit lies dormant and unused. One day you hear a song, look at an object, or see a vision, and you feel its presence. It can’t be bought, traded, or annihilated, because its power comes from its story. No one can steal your spirit. You have to give it away. You can also take it back.”
--P.L.Berman, The Search for Meaning
The work of the church is to bring back to life the souls of people who don’t even know they have a spiritual problem. This is one reason why churches need leaders who can do more than just chair a meeting.
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