Sometimes it’s easier to relate to a “Mother Terri” next door while the more stories about the saintly other Teresa becomes overwhelming as we hear more about her way of life.

A good friend of mine travels nearly continually as he manages a well-known rock band. On a recent international flight he was reading a book that challenged him to Jesus’ call to us - to approach our lives as carriers of his life. This friend did the oddest thing – he took the message seriously. He began to put into action what was suggested. He asked nearly the entire Boeing jet, "Who is the most influential person in the church world in this generation?" Without fail each American had the same answer: Billy Graham. The stats were the same for each international, only the person they suggested was different. They all agreed it was Mother Teresa. Their reason why they chose her? "Because she lives such a dedicated life."

My friend persevered with each person. "Do you see yourself ever being able to do what he / she has done?" Their response: uproarious laughter. He clarified, "You don’t have to move somewhere, or do something spectacular. Just start to move in a general direction…" He said every single person had a look on their face that said, "Son, you must be on drugs - of the illegal nature. I’m ordinary. They are extraordinary. Don’t you get it?"

Neither of these two amazing people intended for a single moment to cause anyone to draw the conclusion that others could not do as they have done. Unfortunately, we live in a time that may very well go down in history as the day of "Great Excuses." Or to put another way, this is the era of "Not Enough."
 
I encourage you to move forward with me - a fellow former professional excuse maker (say that three times fast, I dare you!).

In Jesus There Is Always Plenty.
The beginning of the death rattle of all relationships is always always always one simple lie - "We don’t have enough. We must hoard in order to stay alive. The little we have we must grasp onto if we know what’s good for us…"

Every marriage, every relationship, every group begins uniquely. They all die exactly the same way - by beginning to believe and act on this lie.

Be Mindful Who We Allow To Influence Our Thinking / Behavior.
Paul said it succinctly:

This is a classic case of staying away from merely OK influences in favor of the greatly encouraging ones who are going to take you where you are headed. (If you are unclear regarding direction, listen a bit and you will get a clue soon enough.)

My time is invested with those in just two categories –
A.    Those who challenging me forward.
B.    Those who are openly struggling but are honest. I stay clear - way clear - of any who are living a faux spiritual life. These are evident - they spend nearly all their time telling their woes to other similarly woeful church people they hope will believe them!

Talk Up Doable, Local Models
God bless Mother Teresa and all she started. If the good Mother was a near ‘10′ on the serving scale, after a while it becomes easy to overdo stories about her. We can become discouraged at the hearing of them.

If you are a regular communicator, look for two or three heroes you can brag on a bit for various reasons in your local clan.

Jesus is the one real Hero.

God is good - his love endures forever. He is changing lives constantly. Let’s let his story be widely known – constantly!

Who’s Fooling Whom?

My friend Tracy couldn’t believe his eyes. There before him was a twelve foot tall mountain of undigested… vitamins!  The idea of “One a Day” took on a whole new meaning at that moment (sorry, couldn’t resist the beg for a pun). This was just seven day’s worth of vitamins the good people of Omaha had ‘deposited.’

The understanding with all vitamin ingest-ors is simple.
- ‘I invest in my health by adding supplements to my diet’
- ‘Supplements are vital’
- ‘These supplements, though expensive, and a bit inconvenient, will pay off in the long run…’

Maybe. Then again, probably not.

There are a lot of undigested things put into our systems today - things we have decided are good for us or our people.  Again, maybe yes, maybe no.  The pressing question - “Is the healthy stuff being assimilated into lives?” OR “Are people going through the motions for whatever reason…”

Religion we all say we are against is often being conveyed though we miss when it happens just like the unuseful vitamins.  Information without life change produces cocooning.  Cocooning separates people from the presence of the change God’s Spirit desires to bring.

Want to see change take effect? Dismantle the mountain of complexity - operate by the power that has the ability to change lives for good.

Take James’ words to heart:
Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet. James 4:10, The Message

There are a lot of smart and hard-working people out there.  Some are both.

Have you noticed that power and influence most often seem to only be in the hands of a few who use this influence for personal gain or the destruction of others? There is a smaller percentage of influencers who genuinely seek the betterment of others.  These are “Ideators” - a simple word to capture the strengths of these inspired influencers.

Ideators are those who realize that the world is really all about ideas being lived out (not just put on paper or talked about around a big table). 

One challenge is that many ideas are simply “brain burps” that aren’t very inspired (“inspired” is an idea we’ll dig into more soon).  Also, some inspired ideas are left on the whiteboard or the cutting room floor – they aren’t lived out.  The further this age is lived out the more common this occurrence becomes.

Ideators know that good intentions aren’t worth much and so they strive to bridge the gap between intention and application.  These are the leaders who move the world and actually change things. 

If you ask me, seek to become the most rare of whatever potential that Jesus has put within you. Go with that potential strength. Develop that profoundly with all your might. Ideators - we need many.  Here’s to all who can chew gum and bounce a basketball at the same time!

When We Fake It We Look Goofy - Even Freakish

My grandma from Paris, Texas was full of colorful expressions.  She didn’t so much speak English - she communicated in one metaphor after another.  One of my favorites was:

Nana instilled in me a respect for authenticity and skepticism for the fake. 

There is a bit of fake in you, me, all of us (fake = aspiring to define ourselves by something / someone we are not). (Thus far, all the people I have met on the planet are of those offspring - if you meet someone beyond that please call me at once - I’ll figure out a way to get there immediately … I really need to interview them.) 

To be a ‘cat standing on its hind legs’ is a sight to imagine. 

Mainly she told me this ditty was in reference to people trying to behave properly when they were not wired that way deep down.  That is, one way inside, but trying to behave the opposite on the outside.  Life just doesn’t swing that way - at least not for long, for any of us. 

The prayer of former walking cats:

"Here I am God. Love through me - the real me. Ignite me - the real me. Invite many through me - the real me. Thank you for your invitation to me that I am - as I am!"

Let the filters fall.

Notice what is going on through me … I cease hesitating, I engage with you - let the world change. 

Yes Gerald, it really is that untangled … thank you for asking!

Thoughts along the outward journey from Janie Sjogren

Here’s a switcharoo as an entry for today.

My greatest asset on the planet is the lovely and talented Janie Sjogren - we just celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary. I wake up each morning now with two spontaneous thoughts - "Jesus, thank you I have one more day… thank you for the indescribable gift of Janie…" 

As you read here you will see why I use some of these adjectives.  My life has been immensely shaped by her heart.  She is the most remarkable person I have met.  (No kidding, many have told me the same thing!)  Since she doesn’t have a blog (yet) here is some of her heart…

Have you noticed how often the ‘right now’ thing God is up to happens on the way to what we thought was the plan?  If we are open to noticing what he is about, a steady stream of adventures cross our paths. 

New Friend - James C., 75 Years Young

“So you can read better now?”

This was a rhetorical question. I was just making conversation during the long silence.  His eyes lit up - his demeanor said the rest. 

It isn’t ‘cool’ for men to tear up, but he got a little misty - kind of surprising even though we had just met a couple of minutes before. 

This happened in the Ybor City section of Tampa - an older, gentrified area with nice restaurants.  Several dozen friends from CoastlandTampa were together to give away a few thousand bottles of water at a half marathon. What better excuse to connect with people, both runners and the crowd, than walking out a practical expression of Jesus’ love through bottles of water!  Sometimes Jesus ‘cup of water’ - Matt. 25 - is literally what is needed at the moment.

This elderly black man was reading his newspaper as we walked by.  What was unusual about him - he held the paper so close that his nose nearly touched the print! 

“You look like me when I don’t wear my glasses!”

He asked me to repeat myself so I did.  With that we had a conversation going.  I happened to have an extra pair of unisex reading glasses on me.  As he slipped them on, I couldn’t help thinking that they looked pretty good on my new friend. 

Who Gained The Most? Easy Answer

Not too long ago I was intimidated at the notion of approaching a stranger with what was probably an inspired ‘notice.’  Today I couldn’t walk past James without addressing his obvious need. Honestly, the thought that came to me was, “How badly can this go? At worst, I will never see him again!  At best, this could be the beginning of the dominoes toppling in his life until he becomes a Jesus follower… if he isn’t already in love with Jesus.”  Either way there is nothing to lose.

It wasn’t long ago that this encounter would have gone differently. 

A. I would have not noticed him in the least, OR

B. I would have had no idea how to connect with him. 

I now realize God does his noticing through me.  I walk past lots of people with needs - the noticing is not occurring with all who have needs - it is just with those being pointed out by God. It’s very simple really.

This I know - the invitation from on high is being picked up on by me clearly now.  I remember now how I started out noticing when I first began following Jesus, but somehow I lost my ‘glasses’ along the way.  I convinced myself that it is complex and difficult to read God’s eye chart.  Not true at all! 

This noticing thing is contagious and ironic.  The one who picks up on what Jesus is up to is always touched / blessed more than the receiver of ‘glasses’ of any sort being handed out.  Yes, they begin to see, but more importantly, the glasses giver remember how it is to see and how to notice our way into the lives of those God so loves…

Those around me are gaining courage as they see how uncomplex this all is.  Those previously fearful of noticing - noticing myths bite the dust. 

This is downright viral!

It’s All Caught … Then Explained

Some think it’s clever to parrot, “That’s one of those things that is more ‘caught than taught.’”  No longer funny nor clever.  Please explain what isn’t caught.  One thing - please.  Somebody.  ‘Bueller, Bueller, has anyone seen Ferris Bueller?’

When we serve others it is natural they ask, ‘So what’s this all about?’

Peter said, ‘Be ready to give an account of the hope that lies within you…’  Many have given their version of what Pete was alluding to.  My shot in light of the context of his comments is this: His comments on this are located near the question of how to win a not-yet believing spouse.  The answer is simple and by the way flies in the face of dozens of messages I have heard from well-intentioned teachers.  Peter says, ‘Live a stellar life… be careful to not over-use words with those closest near you…’  That is a summary of course.  You read it.  If you hyperventilate I’m sorry but that’s is what Peter says.  You may want to read it several times after breathing into a brown paper bag if the hyperventilation begins to occur.   

Talk Less Or You Might Become Toxic

Peter is clarifying there comes a time when words can begin to cocoon people away from the message.  “Uhh.”  Words get in the way of the message?  Absolutely.  If you are an adult convert you understood this clearly once upon a time whether you can remember that now or not.  In case you can’t remember that just spend half an hour at Starbucks and ask some friendly faces after you’ve paid for their venti sized coffee drinks.  They will confirm Peter’s two thousand year old inspired insight.  

“Might” become toxic - some have the learned skill of talking when its time to talk and listening in right proportions.  Listening a lot is the way we earn the right to have the barest bit of integrity that allows us to become people who can connect with those around us who are in the funnel coming toward Christ.  

Ever try to make a withdrawal without first a deposit in the account at your bank?  You won’t get very far.  I see people who are trying to ‘do evangelism’ (those two words are pregnant - “Can I do evangelism to you?”)  

Deposits come in many ways.  

Listening is one of the most profound ways.  

Listening is perhaps most often done by us slowing down and literally using our ears - however, listening is a comprehensive activity.  We listen with our entire being…

Body language communicates with our entirety that we are an audience to what the person in front of us is about - that what they are up to is IMPORTANT - to us… and guess what - to God.  

No deposit.  No right whatsoever to begin to make a penny’s worth of withdrawal.  

Never again a conversation that has been memorized…  

Hi, my name is uh… (now quickly glance at cue card in left, no, right hand) uh, Steve…  
May I share something with you that is very, very important to me…?

The above actually does ‘work’ with those on the east side of town in Lemming, Iowa and Syracuse, East Virginia.  But since 1974 no reports of church growth have been reported that are deemed credible.

As we launch into the new year new ideas are naturally on the horizon. 
It is also time to consider putting to bed some old ideas - er uh, make that, terms that are less than helpful to us. 

I move that we take a break from using the term ‘Innovation’ for a while. 

When we use words that cause others to stop, listen and ask,

…often we are making progress in our communications. 

‘Seminal’ is a great word that is similar to the “I” word, but it gives room for God to get the glory and it removes the focus upon the human element. 

As we enter into the new year I move this:
 

Christmas, age 13.
“Not again! All you want for Christmas is more fishing stuff… you already have lots of fishing stuff. Why don’t you get a baseball glove like normal kids your age…”

“Can’t help it Mom - all I think about is fish. When you are serious about the fishing world - you can’t have enough equipment to help you become more effective Mom…”

My dad would have understood that truism, but he had died the summer before. Mom got this much - there was something deep inside of me that was nourished as I helped lots of fish encounter their destiny - to come home with me - attached to my stringer!

Jesus came to Earth to gather a planet full of fish. He knew fish. He loved fish. His passion was fish. Hang with fish and you will pick up their odor. When was the last time you heard someone compliment another with a ‘You smell of fish’ remark…

He was not a technique person. His only plan was

• find fish
• hang with fish
• love fish
• accept fish
• heal fish… (you get the idea…)

We do Jesus’ stuff and the atmosphere of the kingdom will change everything.

He endorsed netting.

While we do Christmas over the next few days, I encourage you - sponge up the love around you. Healing is near. Take it in! Let the love around you sink in deeply. Even more, let the nearness of God’s love and those nearby fill you with all that is broken. Let the contagion of Jesus overflow.

It’s way more fun than being ticked off at unchanging relatives!

I lift my eggnog cup (non-fat, low sugar) to you! See you soon.

The news of two horrible shooting incidents in Colorado recently brings back to the national spotlight what I have been shouting from the rooftops for years to church leaders.  If your church is more than simply providing chaplaincy services to your city in a maintenance capacity, wake up and smell the coffee about the dynamic that happens when we invite the city to church. 

As I understand it the idea we are all all about is simply "Invite, Invite, Invite."  With the "Come hither" message, people actually do begin to believe they are welcome.  Go figure!  People in the community take us at our word.  No tricks necessary to get people to show up.  We have the same going for us as did the Church in Acts - the very love, presence and acceptance of a very present God who transforms lives by his presence.   His presence is the attraction - always has been, always will be.  Those who are most desperately broken are often the most in touch with an awareness of God’s very presence.  Sometimes those of us who have a tradition mindset etched into our cerebellum, we can miss that transformational presence. 

My grandpa’s church was filled with Kansas wheat farmers.  Nice folks.  Not a one of them would have liked any of the five churches Janie and I have launched though.  While I love every one of these wonderful people, I usually welcome newcomers and simultaneously explain a bit about this place by saying, "I encourage you to lock your doors.  We are just that kind of church.  I love it tremendously - I hope you do too!"  Frankly, I wouldn’t want to be a part of a church where it wasn’t necessary to lock your doors.  If you want to join such a place, God bless you.  There are an abundance of such places right down the street from you I’m certain.  They aren’t for Janie and me. 

When God is up to great things, hurting people will appear at your church.  (Heads up - they usually sit in the front row!)  Those hurting people come in all kinds of descriptions and states of mental wellness or lack thereof. 

(Please do not categorize the ‘troubled ones’ as being in general the ones who have ‘not yet met Jesus.’  That is simply not the way things work.  As you begin to deal with this issue with your leadership crew, if you apply labels to people coming your way, your board might well become fearful of what might happen.  This categorization business is nonsense and bears no resemblance to the way Jesus treated people.  This could easily scare your board away from Jesus’ current call to the outward aim.) 

There is not a huge difference between the troubled mental states of not-yet believers who are in need of medication-therapy and already believers.  The man who did the violence this past weekend needed profound intervention.  As the story has been explained, it is apparent the young man who did the shooting was some sort of believer, yet was in tremendous need of therapy, medication and who knows what beyond that. 

If time allowed I could tell you literally hundreds of stories of the vagabonds who had been cast off by family, friends, etc., yet they were willing to check out our church for at least a while in hopes of a life altering, God-sized encounter.  With some, that occurred.  Sadly, with some, in the end they simply walked away with their heads held low. 

Great amounts of love flowing through you and me, our crew of fellow Jesus Followers is sometimes in need of augmenting.  Many years ago I hired several off duty, uniformed, armed police people to be present every time our facilities were open.  I took a lot of heat for this decision from our board at the time.  They told me this was a waste of money.  You can perhaps imagine the negative feedback from some, but honestly, the feedback from our weekend crew was 110% simply POSITIVE!  I received letters galore along the lines of "Thank you for watching out for our family in this special way.  You obviously have our safety and interests in mind.  I love this place - you seem to think of everything.  More than ever I want to bring ALL my friends here!" 

I never anticipated as violent a crime as what happened this weekend in Colorado, but we have seen violence occur on our property - including some pretty looney things even while I have been speaking. 

Who Will We Protect?
Jesus spoke of the good hearted shepherd being the one who would leave the ninety-nine behind and at risk in order to search for the one who had gone astray.  That is indeed the heart of a true shepherd.  That is, the shepherd who values the individual more than the system. 

The kingdom of God and wise leadership are a multi-faceted matter.  It calls for ones who can chew gum and bounce a basketball at the same time. 

A shepherd-leader is one who is aware that safety is a huge ’sheepish’ issue.  Such a shepherd-leader is aware that we as leaders are in charge of gathering times because God has delegated that leadership to us.  God’s kingdom is all about ‘righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…’  It is impossible for those descriptions to be held high in people’s hearts when they are fearful that something unsafe could happen to them or worse, to their children.  When an armed, uniformed police person is strolling about who smiles and doesn’t come across like Barney Fife on caffeine, people feel safe. 

Don’t wait until an out of control event occurs as with us on numerous occasions…  This unmedicated, manic, bipolar lady decided she wanted to claim the baby whose number appeared during a Sunday evening service.  When she couldn’t produce the security number the mother had been given, she reached over the half door, snatched the infant, and ran! 

Thank God an ex-football player dad was nearby and happened to be faster than this lady.  Yes she was arrested and hauled off, but not before all four local major news outlets arrived with cameras rolling.  (Do those people circle the city as they listen to police scanners or what?)  Fortunately, we had gotten such favor in the city by serving literally millions at that point, it would have bode poorly on the stations to send a negative story about us.  The lead story on all four stations was, roughly,

"Quick thinking nursery workers avert church kidnapping disaster.  Details at 11:00!" 

For several days, this was front and center in the local papers.  Police in uniforms with guns when present are often walking signs that read, "Don’t even think about it…" 

Invest In The Future
If good things are happening at your church, don’t gamble on what is very likely going to happen on the negative side with something negative.  Don’t go entirely dark with this, but there are many versions of the "Little foxes in the vineyard" you don’t want to deal with.  These are matters that can simply impede your forward progress. 

Last thought - don’t save a few dollars by settling for the half step of "Uh we have Bubba here almost always.  He can stop anyone…"  I’ve heard that time and again about someone or even several off duty cops.  Yet when I ask about various situations that have happened in the parking lot, dads who don’t have custody of a child but try to nab a child… the negative stories abound.  This is a classic example of "Save a dollar and lose a thousand dollars…" if not more (how much is your reputation worth in your city?).  Say it out loud, "We are getting uniformed, armed police present now." 

Minimally, implement this safety policy for 90 days.  Do a review with your leadership team.  Ask for responses regarding the "We feel safe" factor.  You will be surprised at what you learn.  Thank me later!

All of us have gifts, whether we know Christ or not.   

I have found that one of the most powerful ways to lead people toward Christ is to give them a chance to use their gifts in serving others.  In using their gifts they will experience, to borrow a famous idea from the film Chariots of Fire, “the pleasure of God.”   

We would generally agree that leading people away from strange views and perspectives to a scriptural view of Jesus is extremely difficult.  Once people have given themselves to a “cultic” view of Jesus, it is difficult to find their way back to a clear-cut biblical view of him.   

Yet I have seen a number of Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, both of those groups believe in the Arian view of Christ that he was only man and not God, come to a saving relationship with Christ through using their gifts to serve others.   

Early on in my stint as a leader there was no way that I would have allowed a non-believer any shot at serving along side of other believers.  But then along came a handful of Mormons who initially said they were interested in caring for those in need.  Could they help in giving groceries and clothes away?  After thinking it through we said they could, but they had to be paired up with older, mature believers who were grounded in the faith.   

Take a guess at what happened. Within a month, as these theologically-confused people experienced the presence of God flowing through them, the very touch of the Holy Spirit for the first time in their lives, they asked dozens of questions of us, clarifying questions about who Jesus was, his power, who he really was.  It was only a matter of a few weeks until they all came to Christ.  That’s how powerful this sense of God’s pleasure is!  Hebrews 11:6 makes it clear that faith please God.  Essentially, we are allowing people to "play" at even the most basic levels of their faith.   Stepping out and making that "dormant" faith kinetic causes them to sense the pleasure of God - perhaps for the very first time.  People begin to grow from faith to faith.  We get hooked on making Jesus smile and we just don’t want to quit!

The moral of the story is: Encourage your people to step out into the realm of risk with their unique gifts. God will use them.  They will no doubt feel and see the results of God’s kingdom in the wake of stepping out of their zone of safety.  Their great desire is to change lives around them.  The good news is this is God’s goal as well.