It's Sunday morning, about 20 minutes into the first service and I am NOT at LifePoint. I am actually sitting in my camper on Tybee Island about to walk down to the beach for the day. Now this is not the first time I have been out on a Sunday but this time has had me doing a lot of thinking, reflecting and looking forward.
There was a time in my life when I would be going totally crazy if I missed a service. (Is everything going OK? Are they missing me? Can it survive without me?) These would be my thoughts. Hopefully I have moved past that.
This morning as I was thinking I realized that there are probably two things that have been the catalysts to my growth in this area:
1) I have an amazing staff. Having a team as incredible as the one we have at LifePoint makes it easy on me to just go and not worry. Knowing that they are there and that we won't miss a beat makes my life so much more peaceful than it could be. By the way, for those of you reading this, please tell them how much you appreciate them!
2) It's not about me! Now, I don't want this reason to take away from what I just said about the staff but this really is why I can relax when I'm gone. LifePoint is NOT about joe tessin or anybody else for that matter. I have had to realize that it is going to be OK and that this whole thing is about God and what He is up to in our world.
See, what I'm trying to say is that I have had to grow past my own insecurities about who I am and what I am part of. For LifePoint to be about me and my personality would paralyze it's ability to be bigger than me and if it isn't going to be bigger than me then it isn't going to be very big.
I'm asking God to give me years and years of leading the staff, teams and people of LifePoint but in that to help me stay focused on the reality that this is His vision and His doing. I have just been invited along for the ride. If I keep this in focus then I think I increase my capacity to be effective but when I loose sight on this my days may be numbered.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Papa is FOND of me
...on the water, there on the mighty sea You spoke of love deep as the ocean When You spoke of Your love for me I am loved by the Father I am loved by the Son It...
...heard you singing in the silence, a simple melody Words of love, O I can hear it My Father is very fond of me
These lyrics are from Chris Tomlin but I have to admit I love when this song is done by CHRIS HILDRETH at LifePoint. Chris H. is such an amazing friend but he is also so gifted at leading people into the presence of Papa. (If you haven't read "The Shack" by William Young stop reading and go buy the book, then you will hang out with Papa)
This past Sunday our band and Chris sang this song. Today it came alive for me.
As Carey and I sat on the beach in Tybee Island, GA we watched dolphins swim along the shoreline and sat and took in the beauty of all Papa has created.
As I have many times in my life, I came face to face with the reality that "My Father is VERY Fond of me".
It's one thing to live life and an entirely different thing to live it with the reality that God the Creator of it all is fond of me. I'm a bit overwhelmed right now!
By the way, My Father, is very fond of you as well. Bask in His goodness this day!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
THE COST OF CERTAINTY
I'm reading one of the most challenging books right now, that I have read in a long time. "The Cost of Certainty" by Jeremy Young. While the book is totally resonating with me it is also totally rocking my world.
The culture of the church that I have grown up in is one that promotes certainty at all levels and costs. The goal is to be certain what truth is and to be certain that what we believe about God is absolutely correct. Can I just say that seems a bit arrogant to me!
I was in dialog recently, with a guy who God is using to really challenge me, about the idea of absolute truth. After a comment he made another guy in the group posed this question:
"So are you saying that you don't believe that there is absolute truth"
His response: "I'm not at all saying that I don't believe in absolute truth. As a matter of fact I am quite confident that there is absolute truth! However, what I am saying is that who do I think I am to say that I have discovered what absolute truth is"
wow! That was my response. Now I know that there will be those who read this and think that I have gone off the deep end. (Did you just now come to that conclusion?)
I will also say that most who have that feeling are those who have grown up in the same culture that I did that has caused us to think we have it all figured out and have held certainty up as the goal in life.
One of my greatest desires in life is to learn and grow. I've concluded that I can't do that if all I seek to expose myself to are things that further validate and embed what I already believe. Where's the learning in that?
So, while the book is a bit of a stretch I will press on and seek to know God more. In that process I think I may just have to settle on the reality that He (God) will become even more mysterious to me!
The culture of the church that I have grown up in is one that promotes certainty at all levels and costs. The goal is to be certain what truth is and to be certain that what we believe about God is absolutely correct. Can I just say that seems a bit arrogant to me!
I was in dialog recently, with a guy who God is using to really challenge me, about the idea of absolute truth. After a comment he made another guy in the group posed this question:
"So are you saying that you don't believe that there is absolute truth"
His response: "I'm not at all saying that I don't believe in absolute truth. As a matter of fact I am quite confident that there is absolute truth! However, what I am saying is that who do I think I am to say that I have discovered what absolute truth is"
wow! That was my response. Now I know that there will be those who read this and think that I have gone off the deep end. (Did you just now come to that conclusion?)
I will also say that most who have that feeling are those who have grown up in the same culture that I did that has caused us to think we have it all figured out and have held certainty up as the goal in life.
One of my greatest desires in life is to learn and grow. I've concluded that I can't do that if all I seek to expose myself to are things that further validate and embed what I already believe. Where's the learning in that?
So, while the book is a bit of a stretch I will press on and seek to know God more. In that process I think I may just have to settle on the reality that He (God) will become even more mysterious to me!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
REAL LIFE!
This morning I had a thought that has been running through my mind for a while now, so I had to go do some study/research.
In John 10:10 Jesus said that He had come so that "we might have life..." and in Mathew 7:13-14 He said, "enter through the narrow gate.... the wide road leads to destruction.... but the small gate and the narrow road leads to life."
Jesus reaches into the Greek language both times for the meaning of this word life and He uses the same word in each verse. It means breath and vitality. In neither case is what Jesus talking about referring to an afterlife but He's talking about the kind of life He has created for us here and now.
Here's the hard part: In Matthew He says that "few will find it." Man, I want to be one of the few. Here's my thinking:
Most people walk a long way down a road seeking life, only to wake up and realize that they are on a road that leads to destruction. When we "wake up" we have a choice:
Do we keep walking because it has become easy and comfortable or do we enact and "emergency plan" to rescue ourselves and get back on the narrow road that leads to life?
One more thought that I will unpack later. Jesus said, "I am the life."
There is no life apart from Jesus, but does simply knowing about Jesus mean we have life?
In John 10:10 Jesus said that He had come so that "we might have life..." and in Mathew 7:13-14 He said, "enter through the narrow gate.... the wide road leads to destruction.... but the small gate and the narrow road leads to life."
Jesus reaches into the Greek language both times for the meaning of this word life and He uses the same word in each verse. It means breath and vitality. In neither case is what Jesus talking about referring to an afterlife but He's talking about the kind of life He has created for us here and now.
Here's the hard part: In Matthew He says that "few will find it." Man, I want to be one of the few. Here's my thinking:
Most people walk a long way down a road seeking life, only to wake up and realize that they are on a road that leads to destruction. When we "wake up" we have a choice:
Do we keep walking because it has become easy and comfortable or do we enact and "emergency plan" to rescue ourselves and get back on the narrow road that leads to life?
One more thought that I will unpack later. Jesus said, "I am the life."
There is no life apart from Jesus, but does simply knowing about Jesus mean we have life?
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Tuesday Morning Meditation
This morning as I sat outside and watched the birds and felt the breeze I was mediating on the goodness of God. I found myself reading Paul's words in Galatians. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." Galatians 2:20
Here's a few thoughts and questions I have:
What does it mean to "no longer live"?
What does it look like for "Christ to live in me"?
This is a big struggle I think for those of us who consider ourselves "followers of Christ". We spend much of our life trying to imitate Christ and quite frankly we ain't gonna get it done. (that's my GA slang coming out)
How can we imitate Christ? I've spent much of my life acting as if I was trying but I come up a bit short every day.
What I need in my life is less acting like Christ and more allowing Christ to live His life in me. The rest of this week I intend to ponder how I can stop doing and start being. Being one with Christ and allowing His life to take total control of what I think is my life.
Here's a few thoughts and questions I have:
What does it mean to "no longer live"?
What does it look like for "Christ to live in me"?
This is a big struggle I think for those of us who consider ourselves "followers of Christ". We spend much of our life trying to imitate Christ and quite frankly we ain't gonna get it done. (that's my GA slang coming out)
How can we imitate Christ? I've spent much of my life acting as if I was trying but I come up a bit short every day.
What I need in my life is less acting like Christ and more allowing Christ to live His life in me. The rest of this week I intend to ponder how I can stop doing and start being. Being one with Christ and allowing His life to take total control of what I think is my life.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Summer Slow Down
Summer is officially here! I guess it actually has been for a few weeks now, but we are well into the "summer slow down". I know that this means a lot of different things for all of us:
1) We don't have to get up as early to get the kids ready for school.
2) We may stay up later but our evenings are not filled with homework and projects to work on.
3) Vacation!
Summer is a unique time of year and we should take advantage of the gifts it brings to us. During the year we get so busy and focused that at times we loose sight of the things that matter most. As you vacation this summer take notice of the things you share as a family and identify ways you can implement some of those things throughout the rest of the year. Even after school starts back!
Take advantage of the opportunities you have to reconnect as a family and make a decision to not let it get so out of balance in the future.
1) We don't have to get up as early to get the kids ready for school.
2) We may stay up later but our evenings are not filled with homework and projects to work on.
3) Vacation!
Summer is a unique time of year and we should take advantage of the gifts it brings to us. During the year we get so busy and focused that at times we loose sight of the things that matter most. As you vacation this summer take notice of the things you share as a family and identify ways you can implement some of those things throughout the rest of the year. Even after school starts back!
Take advantage of the opportunities you have to reconnect as a family and make a decision to not let it get so out of balance in the future.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
STILL PROCESSING
After a week long trip through Illinois and Indiana I am still trying to land some of my thoughts. During my time hanging out with some other church leaders I was able to not only land some thoughts but also allow some other thoughts to take off.
It's good to find environments where we can think and not have it all figured out. Real growth in life comes, not when we look for our beliefs to be validated but when we have discussions from an open perspective.
So now I begin the journey of trying to process what is swirling around in my brain. For the next week or so I will be traveling on summer vacation with my family and this should afford me some still time and think time.
We will be camping in the North GA mountains. Nothing like a cool mountain stream or a big rock back in the woods to sit and ponder. For me that is some of the best places to connect with God.
I intend to journal my thoughts for about a week and then see where God takes me.
I am so glad that I don't have everything figured out! I am so glad that I don't have all the answers! I am so glad that I am part of a church that allows people to explore, grow, think and seek and that trusts God to lead people where only He can.
Wait! I hear the birds chirping and I see the sun coming up. Got to go!
Happy Camping!
It's good to find environments where we can think and not have it all figured out. Real growth in life comes, not when we look for our beliefs to be validated but when we have discussions from an open perspective.
So now I begin the journey of trying to process what is swirling around in my brain. For the next week or so I will be traveling on summer vacation with my family and this should afford me some still time and think time.
We will be camping in the North GA mountains. Nothing like a cool mountain stream or a big rock back in the woods to sit and ponder. For me that is some of the best places to connect with God.
I intend to journal my thoughts for about a week and then see where God takes me.
I am so glad that I don't have everything figured out! I am so glad that I don't have all the answers! I am so glad that I am part of a church that allows people to explore, grow, think and seek and that trusts God to lead people where only He can.
Wait! I hear the birds chirping and I see the sun coming up. Got to go!
Happy Camping!
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