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DC Email – Self Glory and Our Kingdoms

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Here’s an email I sent out to Elders and Deacons at Crestview based on a DVD series we’re watching entitled Dangerous Calling with Paul Tripp:

We’re coming off the heels of our meeting on August 13 (reminder, if you missed the meeting, the videos and handouts are available from Bob G).  These 2 sessions really got after how much we live for ourselves and fail to be the ambassadors which we’ve been called to be.  There were lots of areas of application and Tripp put his finger on that one of personal worship before God. 
Here’s some key points from Session 7:
·         Through ministry we can build God’s glorious Kingdom or we can attempt to build our own glorious kingdom.
·         The DNA of sin is selfishness.
·         Your actual position in ministry is God’s ambassador; as such, we are called to incarnate the King.
And some points from Session 8:
·         We must continually be reconciled to God.

·         Ministry is only made effective, safe and attractive when it is fueled by our own devotional life.

LRC Email – Leadership and Inspiration

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Here’s the email I sent to leaders in Reno County on Monday, 8/19/13:

Good morning everyone.  Thanks for your continued care for me in the aftermath of the flooding we experienced 2 weeks ago.  Many of you have checked in and continue to be an encouragement to me and, thus, my family.  I’m very grateful to be a part of this community.  And, it’s inspiring, which gets me to our thought for today.
A recent communication card from the KLC asks about the connection of inspiration with leadership.  The answer: “Inspire means ‘to exert an animating, enlivening or exalting influence.’ Something got you fired up.  Now you must motivate others through your words and example.  If you hope to make progress on a daunting, adaptive challenge you cannot do it alone.”  I’m wondering how inspiring our words and actions are, actually.

I’ve had some conversations recently with people who are plenty fired up about a great many things, but their words and actions aren’t moving toward a purpose.  One was fed up with a recent Brownback policy, another couldn’t believe Obama had done this or that thing.  Across the board (and more than likely all the way down to our local level), people get fired up about a great many things.  But, how we act in light of being fired up may help or hinder progress.  So, this Monday AM, what are you fired up about?  How are you speaking and acting?  And, what might you do to be more purposeful, to step into the arena of inspiration, so that progress is made?  Consider these things and, better yet, act on them and see if it doesn’t help move our community along.

Weekend Recap – Counterfeiting…

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My 8/18/13AM sermon, Counterfeiting, from Revelation 13:1-18 is now online.  This sermon continues our work through the book of the revelation of Jesus Christ.  It helps show how believers should act in light of Satan’s work at deception.  Specifically, God calls us to have faith-filled endurance and wisdom.

I hope the sermon was helpful to you and you had a great Lord’s Day.

Weekend Recap – Protected People

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My 8/11/13AM sermon, Protected People from Revelation 12:1-17, is now online.  In this sermon, I attempted to help people see how strong their trust in God can be in light of the victory that is ours through Christ, how we are united to God in this victory and how God continues to help His people until the end.  I hope it helps you.

Dangerous Calling Email – Arrival Danger

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Here’s the email I wrote our elders and deacons today, 7/31/13:

In chapter 11 of Dangerous Calling, “Between the Already and the Not Yet,” Paul Tripp wrestles with the concept of arrival.  Specifically, as we saw last time, he warns of the carnival mirrors of ministry that can distort the true reality of our souls.  Related to that, Tripp gives some clear Results of Thinking You’ve Arrived:
1) You will think that you don’t need what you preach (or teach or study).
2) You will not be open to the ministry of the body of Christ.
3) You will expect of others the perfection that you think you’ve achieved.
4) You will feel qualified to have more control than you have.
5) You won’t feel the need for daily meditative communion with Christ.
6) You will take credit for successes that only grace can produce.
7) You will feel entitled to what you could never earn or achieve.
8) You will be less than watchful and protective when it comes to temptation and sin.
9) You will load more on your ministry than you can responsibly handle.
Again, all of this flows from distortion.  As Tripp closes, he reminds us “that you and I are still a bit of a mess.  Yes, by grace we often get it right, but we also often get it completely wrong.  There are times when we are the exuberant celebrants of the Lord, and there are other times when we are just full of ourselves.  There are times when we are deeply grateful, but there are other times when we feel entitled and demanding…  All of this is to say that the great spiritual war doesn’t rage only outside of us; there is ample evidence every day that it still rages inside of us.” 
What’s the remedy?  “Gospel-driven, Christ-centered ministry, one that gives grace to those who hear, doesn’t start with theological knowledge; no, it starts with a humble heart.  It starts with the recognition of your own need and the acknowledgement that you and I are more like than unlike the people to whom God has called us to minister.”

With you in this dangerous calling…

LRC Email – Takeaways on Failure

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Here’s the email I wrote to Leadership Reno County alumni on 7/29/13AM, highlighting some areas of failure that we learned from recently.  Here’s my email:

Well, the Summer 2013 issue of the Journal of the Kansas Leadership Center arrived in my snail mailbox on Friday.  I didn’t get a chance to dig in to it until Sunday afternoon and a quick skim helped me notice something that might interest us Reno County people…
The article is entitled, “Fail, Why We Must Be Prepared To Fall Short In Civic Leadership (And what to do about it when it happens)” by Chris Green.  What’s of interest to us are the reflections of Randy Henderson, Reno County Sheriff, on the new jail (with some quotes from Dan Deming) as well as Dan Stiffler’s Buhler bond issue ruminations. 
The article concludes with some “Lessons From The Field (How Might One Respond To Failure in Civic Leadership?):”
1) Take the time to diagnose the situation thoroughly.
– Treat failure as a data-gathering opportunity
– Use it to dig even deeper into understanding the different points of view around your issue and more fully explore tough interpretations about why you’ve failed.
2) Put additional effort into managing yourself.
– Closely assess your part of the mess.  Are there behaviors or values you’re holding on to that are getting in the way?
– You’re going to have to be very aware of the stories that others are telling about you.
– Understand that failure is often a reality of exercising leadership on tough issues – there are no easy paths to lasting change.
3) Keep trying new approaches by designing and executing carefully thought-out, skillful interventions.  But accept that the outcome won’t be under your control.
– Don’t lose sight of your deepest purpose.  Hold to it.
– You’re going to have to try something new and act experimentally.
4) Look for others to energize around addressing the situation.
– You will have to engage more stakeholders in the problem, particularly those who haven’t been involved previously.
– Recognize and speak to losses that might be incurred by stakeholders in the problem.

So, there it is.  Reno County’s failures front and center, but great lessons learned.  Read through this article (pp.26-37) and see if reviewing this doesn’t help us catapult out of the failures into progress for the future.  With you in this…

Weekend Recap – ‘Til Kingdom Come

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My 7/28/13AM sermon, ‘Til Kingdom Come from Revelation 11:1-19 is now online.  While a difficult text with many varying interpretations, most can agree that the application of this text points to God’s people being bold witnesses until His kingdom comes.  This text, in particular, gives some encouragement in assuring us of God’s protection and helping reveal to us the kingdom.  I hope this sermon encourages you in this regard, as well.

Dangerous Calling Email – Carnival Mirrors

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Here’s the post I wrote for leaders at Crestview on 7/23/13:

In Chapter 11 of Dangerous Calling, Paul Tripp urges us to be aware of the danger of arrival and, at one point, uses carnival mirrors to illustrate:  
“Rather than humbly standing before the honest assessment of the mirror of the Bible to see myself as I really was, I looked into carnival mirrors. Now, the problem with the carnival mirror is that it really does show you you, but with distortion. You don’t actually have a 20-inch-highneck and a 6-inch torso; yes, it’s you in that concave mirror, but it’s not showing you the way you actually look. The danger of assessments of arrival greets everyone in ministry. The danger that you would quit thinking of yourself as weak and needy is always near. The danger that you would see yourself as being in a different category from those to whom you minister is right around the corner. This danger greets you every day because there are carnival mirrors all around that have the power to give you a distorted view of you. And when you think you’ve arrived, when you quit being convicted of and broken by your own weakness, failures, and sins, you will begin to make bad personal and ministry choices. The reality and confession of personal spiritual weakness is not a grave danger to your ministry. God has chosen to build his church through the instrumentality of bent and broken tools. It is your delusions of strength that will get you in trouble and cause you to form a ministry that is less than Christ-centered and gospel-driven.”  (p.152)

I’m wondering if we view ourselves as weak and needy?  Do you view yourself as different than those to whom you minister?  Have you begun to think that you’ve “arrived”?  Or do you find that you’re convicted of and broken by your own weakness, failures and sins?  Today, remember God specializes in using the broken and bent for His purposes, so rest in the Gospel that accepts you and, with the light of the Gospel pervading your life, LIVE!

LRC Email – Fighting the Hiccups

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Here’s a short email I wrote to Leadership Reno County Alumni this AM:

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written and this has been due to some circumstances in life.  Specifically, I lost my grandmother on July 7.  I had the privilege of traveling home (to Southern Illinois) and being a part of the service.  It was a great time, but hard as that last relative on one side is now gone.  Needless to say, it was a hiccup on the road of my life. 
We all face these don’t we?  We face situations that have the potential to take us out of the game for a season.  We encounter times or seasons that call for refocusing or redirecting our efforts.  We drift into parts of life that mean we’re a little bewildered as to who we are and what we’re doing.  Even a simple vacation, which is an important part of taking care of yourself, can have an effect like this. 
So, how do we fight the “hiccups”?  Well, for me, even writing this short thought meant fighting through the hiccups.  And, I simply recalled a couple of basic KLC civic leadership principles:  Leadership is an activity, not a position.  I have to simply step out and do something.  I also remembered that It starts with you and must engage others.  Reengaging meant stepping into other people’s lives.  And, finally (and maybe most important), I remembered Your purpose must be clear.  Why do I do this?  So that the leadership capacities of you, my friends, are strengthened.  I want Reno County to be better for my children because we are more effectively engaging in acts of leadership. 

Today, what hiccups are you fighting?  Maybe these simple reminders will help you make progress on the issues you care about.  

Weekend Recap – Recommissioned

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My 7/21/13AM sermon, Recommissioned, from Revelation 10:1-11 is now online.  The sermon engages with the revelation that came to John before the 7th trumpet.  Much like the interlude to encourage believers in Revelation 7 after the 6th seal was opened, the 6th trumpet is followed by an interlude to encourage believers.  Specifically, we are reminded at roughly this mid way point in the book, of who God is, what He intends to do and the small part we get to play in His plans.  I sought to encourage and mobilize my listeners to action in being about Gospel work.  I hope it encourages you, as well.