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Leadership Email – It’s A Sucker, Stupid.

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Here’s the email I sent to leaders in Reno County on 12/3/12:

Funny story from a couple of old codgers here at the church: they were sitting in Daylight Donuts for a morning coffee and in walked a family with a little girl, who had a sucker in her mouth.  One of these guys said to her, “Are you enjoying that lollipop, sweetie?”  And she said without batting an eye, “It’s a sucker, stupid.”  I’ve laughed about this story time and again, but all too often this is how our civil discourse is about issues we care about, isn’t it?  We sincerely want to make a difference or make progress, only to be stopped in our tracks by the “It’s a sucker, stupid” people.
I, for one, have been helped by the competencies at this point.  You see, what is exposed in my bristling at this statement is my lack of diagnosing the situation.  I’ve begun to treat a problem as a technical one when it’s an adaptive one.  Here’s another quote from Ed O’Malley in The Competencies For Civic Leadership, p.3: “Technical problems live in people’s heads and logic systems.  They are susceptible to facts and authoritative expertise.  Adaptive challenges live in people’s hearts and stomachs.  They are about values, loyalties and beliefs.  Progress on them requires the people with the problem to do the work, and the work involves refashioning those deeply held beliefs.”  To relate it back to our situation, it’s the belief that a sucker isn’t a lollipop that caused the girl to rebuff those codgers.  Might some of the resistance we face be due to the fact that we’re treating adaptive problems with technical solutions?    We’re engaging brains and not hearts.  So, get back to purpose.  Dive deeper to find that common ground.  And, see if this doesn’t help us make progress as a community. 

Weekend Recap – Lower For A Little While

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My 12/2/12AM sermon, Lower For A Little While, from Hebrews 2:9 is now online.  This sermon kicked off a new Advent series I’m calling Christmas In Hebrews.  There are specific ways that God reveals truth to us in this book.  Specifically, the writer of Hebrews says that in the present, we see Jesus.  We see Him as God become man, as dying for glory and suffering for us.  As we look with spiritual eyes into this truth, we can find reality for this Christmas season.  I hope you had a great Lord’s Day, too.

A Radically Awesome “Moderate” Makeover

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Often, after we’ve taken some time in Elder’s meetings to pray for the pressing physical and spiritual needs of members, regular attenders and other things affecting the life of the church, we have a part of our meetings that are meant to inspire us spiritually.  We find an article or study a Scripture together and find the fellowship this brings deepens us in God and in the lives of one another.

This week, at Elder’s Meeting, we read David Powlison’s introductory essay to the latest Journal of Biblical Counseling entitled, A Moderate Makeover.  His point was that we are so driven by some radical, awesome, life-changing, world-altering goal that we often miss the simple work that God is up to accomplishing in our lives.  He puts it this way:

Make me childlike toward God, and make what I do and say helpful toward others. A moderate  makeover, in other words. Not necessarily dramatic. No adrenaline rush. No scaling the emotional heights. No doing a fire dance on the high wire. No latest, greatest, hottest, bestkept secret. Moderate has this advantage: no odor of hype. No excessive hopes that breed disillusionment. No danger of overpromising but underdelivering. This makeover always delivers more than you think it was promising.

We each found this to be a helpful reminder for pursuing growth in godliness.  And, that would be my hope for you: childlike toward God, helpful toward others.

Make me childlike toward God, and make whatI do and say helpful toward others. A moderatemakeover, in other words. Not necessarily dramatic. No adrenaline rush. No scaling theemotional heights. No doing a fire dance onthe high wire. No latest, greatest, hottest, best-kept secret.Moderate has this advantage: no odorof hype. No excessive hopes that breeddisillusionment. No danger of overpromising but underdelivering. This makeover alwaysdelivers

more

than you think it was promising

Leadership Email – Torching Glaciers

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Here’s the email I wrote this week to leaders in Reno County…

I once heard a speaker use an amazingly graphic image about “torching glaciers.”  I guess this cemented in my mind because it’s such an interesting image.  Think of a glacier, with its slow moving, voluminous mass.  And, picture someone beneath that glacier with a blowtorch, with water dripping little by little.  For many of us, our work seems like torching glaciers.  We know that there are huge, adaptive, wide needs that exist.  I think of non-profit work that I’m involved in and how there will always be another child or family that needs mentoring or strengthening.  I know many of you are on the ground floor, “torching glaciers.”  It’s difficult work at times, but little by little, just like the drops of water from the torching of the glacier, we see successes.  And, even if you’re not in non-profit work, progress may come in big chunks at time (like, undoubtedly, when you are torching a glacier) but by and large, progress seems slow or even nearly stagnant at other times.
For this reason, all of us involved in leadership roles in Reno County should be encouraged about the happenings in Hutchinson this week.  The Hutchinson Community Foundation is sponsoring Match Day.  I view Match Day as a torching of a glacier.  In a sense, we’re empowering the 26 different non-profitswith resources.  We’re widening the scope of the blowtorch so that the HCF’s vision of “a one-time opportunity to dig deeper, to grow each endowment exponentially, so that our nonprofit partners can enrich people and programs for even greater impact” is reached.  Match Day isn’t the final solution to the problems we face.  But, it is certainly a means to be mobilized to make some progress.
Let me personally invite you to consider (if you haven’t been asked already) what you might give on Wednesday, November 28th at Eagle Media (here’s some more details).  We are all, I believe, united around the goal of making progress on the deepest needs facing our community.  Maybe this Wednesday could be a way you can torch a glacier and help make some progress in areas you care about deeply.  

Weekend Recap – Hebrews Wrap Up

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Yesterday, I finished preaching through Hebrews with sermon #67 entitled “Listen Up!” from Hebrews 13:22-25.  The sermon sought to show how compellingly God has shown His heart for His people in giving them real incentives to listen to the message of the book of Hebrews.  Jesus is THE compelling storyline that must be heard and focused in on.  I sought to build and encourage this thinking through my sermon.

It’s been a great study to look at how the storyline of the Bible is so centered in Jesus, who He is and what He came to do.  That seems to be the undertone of the book of Hebrews.

As for the rest of the Lord’s Day, we celebrated the Lord’s Supper together, had an Information Meeting for our Annual Meeting and also spent the evening Hanging The Greens at church.  Advent is truly an amazing season in church life.

Hope you had a great Lord’s Day as well.

Tweets from Revelation 20

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In late May, I began 202 days of journaling through the 404 verses of the final book of the Bible, Revelation.  To go along with my personal study and preparation to preach through this book in 2013, I’m trying to tweet something from every verse.  Today I finished chapter 20.  Here’s a compilation of my tweets followed by the reference.

Revelation 1 | Revelation 2 | Revelation 3 | Revelation 4 | Revelation 5 | Revelation 6 | Revelation 7 | Revelation 8 | Revelation 9 | Revelation 10 | Revelation 11 | Revelation 12 |Revelation 13 | Revelation 14 | Revelation 15 | Revelation 16 | Revelation 17 | Revelation 18 | Revelation 19

Sentencing to eternal punishment rests in God alone. (Revelation 20:1)
God has power to seize and contain Satan’s advances. (Revelation 20:2)
Satan’s work is consistently revealed as deception. (Revelation 20:3)
The hope of the believer — living and reigning with Christ. (Revelation 20:4)
1st resurrection = rising to reign with Christ. (Revelation 20:5)
Sharing in the 1st resurrection is a blessed and holy thing. (Revelation 20:6)
Satan’s power is under God’s control. (Revelation 20:7)
Satan will emerge one again to deceive all kinds of people. (Revelation 20:8)
God comes to the aid of His people. (Revelation 20:9)
Satan’s destiny is eternal torment. (Revelation 20:10)
God’s pure and righteous judgment causes all things to fear. (Revelation 20:11)
You will one day be judged by God for what you have done. (Revelation 20:12)
Whether you’re in the deep blue or dead and gone, judgment will come. (Revelation 20:13)
Eternal punishment is revealed as a lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14)
Anyone not relating to God through Christ will be thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)


Weekend Preview – Listen Up

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This Sunday, we plan to wrap up the book of Hebrews (Hebrews 13:22-25) and what we find in these verses, among other things, are compelling reasons that we should listen to the message of the book.  Hebrews doesn’t happen in a vacuum.  There were real circumstances and cares that led the author to write.  As these emerge, we find hope for how we can listen more effectively.  It’s really a great way to end the book, thinking about why the message it contains is so important.

A Prayer of Thanksgiving…

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From The Valley of Vision:

O My God,
You fairest, greatest, first of all objects,
My heart admires, adores, loves You,
For my little vessel is as full as it can be,
And I would pour out all that fullness before You in ceaseless flow.
When I think upon and converse with You
Ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,
Ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,
Ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,
Crowding into every moment of happiness.
I bless You for the soul You have created,
For adorning it, for sanctifying it,
Though it is fixed in barren soil;
For the body You have given me,
For preserving its strength and vigor,
For providing senses to enjoy delights,
For the ease and freedom of limbs,
For hands, eyes, ears that do Your bidding;
For Your royal bounty providing my daily support,
For a full table and overflowing cup,
For appetite, taste, sweetness,
For social joys of relatives and friends,
For ability to serve others,
For a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,
For a mind to care for my fellow-men,
For opportunities of spreading happiness around,
For loved ones in the joys of heaven,
For my own expectation of seeing You clearly.
I love You above the powers of language to express,
For what You are to Your creatures.
Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

(HT: Challies)

Leadership Email – More on Misdiagnosis

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Here’s the email I sent out to leaders in Reno County this week:

Having seen the importance of diagnosing the situation and looking at one reason we misdiagnose, today, we think about another reason we misdiagnose:
“Find a Pain-Free Fix, Please.  Second, the actions that are preferred by the community are ones that address the manifestations of the crisis with as little cost or pain as possible.  The hurry-up legislation enacted to deal with the economic crisis was designed to stem the hemorrhaging rather than address the underlying causes.
“That approach to the economic crisis illustrates the single biggest diagnostic error people make in framing civic issues: treating adaptive challenges as if they were technical problems (The Competencies For Civic Leadership, p.3). 
Little cost, no pain, get me a solution now.  These things can contribute to our misdiagnosing an issue.  We must dig a little deeper into these adaptive challenges (more on that next time).  But, today, my purpose is simply to place in you a desire for more.  Don’t misdiagnose by settling for quick, pain-free fixes.  They may alleviate short term voices, but will exacerbate long term issues.  Diagnose the situation and see if we don’t make more substantial progress on those issues you care about so deeply.