No Middle of the Road

“We have been created for a purpose.”- Rick Warren

In this day and age, it is pretty hard to figure out who hasn’t heard anything about Rick Warren.  Whether good or bad, his name has come up in a conversation about a best-selling book, a political agenda and relationship with President Obama, or Saddleback and its pastor hosting a political debate or “forum” (I truly do not see the difference beyond theory and definition).  Some atheists and church-haters despise Rick Warren and everything that he stands for, while some Christians and non-Christians live upon every aspect of The Purpose-Driven Life.  That is until The Shack or some other best-selling book sweeps Christendom and its outer realm like Jabez and Benett’s Book of Virtues once did.

What I admire admire about Rick Warren is that he is unashamed about what made him successful as a pastor.  I’ll even say how God made him successful in that realm. 

Look deep into The Purpose-Driven Church and see a man following God’s lead, both prayerfully and faithfully.  Prior to pastoring, Rick Warren had faith.  Prior to having a mega-church status, Rick Warren sought to please God.

Stop for a moment.  Think about what I just put out there.  Substitute “Rick Warren” with your name and his status with your achievements and accomplishments.

Prior to becoming a parent and a spouse, ______________ sought to please God.

Prior to getting a driver’s license and a car, _________________ sought to please God.

Prior to teaching Sunday school and leading VBS, ________________ sought to please God.

Prior to (whatever it is that people see as your big thing), did you seek to please God?

Now that you have done it and achieved it, do you still seek to please God? Do you seek to please Him more and more?

There’s no middle of the road with God.  I don’t believe that He’s nonchalant about how we handle His kingdom business.  We either please or grieve God.  There isn’t a safe place where we can straddle this way or that way.  Either we please Him or we simply do not, and then that’s when we grieve Him.

I could have used T.D. Jakes, Robert H. Schuller, Billy Graham, or the late Oral Roberts.  Imagine if I had used someone like Kirk Franklin, Brian Welch from Korn, or Steven Baldwin.  Each of these men have a story that speaks about times when their very own lives grieved God as well as the dramatic turnaround that led to them seeking to please God.

God is either pleased or grieved with us and our actions.

Do you please God? Do you grieve God? 

Seek to please Him today and forever.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.- Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

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Special Events and Beyond

“I shape my own destiny.” – Laurie Beth Jones

Your special events are only as special as you make them.  Sadly, if your approach and attention to your special events resemble your regular routine, then you need to assess your readiness to make it a success.  You make special events a success by making them special.  You make them special by adjusting your approach to them.

• Preparation: How you prepare will impact how you perform.  If you are lackluster in preparation, don’t expect to tap into some hidden gem of enthusiasm and energy that wasn’t present before it is time to perform.  Go full strength with your preparations.
• Promotion: You have to talk it up and take it up a notch. You are to talk it up to get others talking about what’s coming.  If you don’t show any enthusiasm about what you are putting on, then you won’t see many people rushing to get there.  Talk it up and take it up.  Introduce something new.  Innovate it.  Put a new spin on an old idea. Let it wow your audience.
• Presentation: Small budgets don’t have make your events small-scale ventures. Get others to partner and support your efforts.  Look at your vendors for discounts.  Do you always use the same caterers or order from the same local restaurants? Ask for a discount and offer premiere signage.  See where you can cut costs without cutting corners.  Keep your presentation flawless and fantastic.

Remember: You shape your own destiny.

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Excuses or Excellence

 

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”  ~Benjamin Franklin

Exceed expectations. Are you getting any closer to excellence?  Merely meeting expectations is a minimum.  When you exceed those same expectations, you start to enter into excellence.  We are to offer God our best every step of the way.  Excuses do not excuse us from the expectations of our Eternal Father.

We have to go further than we have ever gone before.  We have to take actions that will lead to exploring new territory.  Excuses are just excuses.  They do not excuse us from His expectations.  They can hinder us from doing His will or walking by faith.  They can harm progress in our spiritual maturity.  They may not even help us at all.  We have to see what excuses really do for us.  They offer nothing but trouble because they lead to procrastination, problems and poor performance or pitiful productivity.  That’s what comes forth out of excuses.

Let excellence serve as your trademark.  Lead by example.  Let excuses go.  Let others see the distinct qualities that set you apart from the crowd.  Demonstrate that you are not simply going with the flow.  In fact, if you live for Him, it may even cause you to go against the grain at times.  You begin to discover that God has put more in you than you think, but you won’t discover it until you have been put to the test.  When the tests, trials and troubles come your way, it won’t be time for excuses.  That will be the time you set your heart on excelling beyond expectations.  At that point, you become David facing a giant called Goliath.  Right then, you become Moses standing before a raging Red Sea.  In the midst of  it, you stand out like Paul, writing as a concerned parent to his dear children, addressing believers in Rome with an assurance that every Christian is more than a conqueror.  We overcome with overwhelming strength supplied by the Supreme God, God Almighty.

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Imperfect People and a Perfect Plan

70 He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71 from following the nursing ewes he brought him
to shepherd Jacob his people,
Israel his inheritance.
72 With upright heart he shepherded them
and guided them with his skillful hand.
Psalm 78:70-72 ESV

God does something miraculous with us. He uses imperfect people to accomplish the glorious work of His perfect plan.  Imagine that.  He uses whoever He chooses.

He chose David…

God Chooses Us
The choice is God’s, not ours.  He is open and honest when He states that His ways are not like our ways.  In fact, He clearly states that His ways are above ours.  God is autonomous.  He is God Almighty without our help.

…and took him from the sheepfolds…he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people

God Moves Us
God moves us from where He has us to where he wants us.  When you get a chance, check out Jonah’s story.  Jonah tried to get away as far from God’s determined destination for as possible, but God got him right where He wanted him.  God will move us.  He can move us like He did David and place us in a privileged and predestined position.  He can move us.

With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.

God Uses Us
God used David to accomplish much through his livelihood and his life.  Even some of David’s stumbles and snafus led to him crafting beautiful psalms that resonate with hearts and souls today.  David was used by God.  God uses individuals who don’t have the right resume or the perfect portfolio.

God uses whoever He chooses.

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Clean Up Time

And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought;  Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.  And he taught daily in the temple. . . Luke 19:45-48 (KJV)

I am a royal mess.  I mean it.  I literally keep my desk, car and “area” of the house a real mess.  I’m just messy and unorganized.

I keep things in an uproar.  Chaos is essentially where I thrive.  I keep mounds of paperwork (who said automation is modern) and I am not thrown off when things are not altogether “in order.” Yet, I live and work with orderly people who care enough to share with me how bad I can be while exercising my lived-in practices.  I decided during this long weekend to do something about me and my mess.

(What does that have to do with Jesus and casting folks out of the temple?)

Just like Jesus, I had to go into where the mess existed.  Jesus had to go to where it was and do something about it right in the midst of it.  Jesus spoke out against all that He saw going on there. (In fact, the disciple whom He loved adds some details about Him making a whip for driving folks out of the temple.[John 2:15]) I won’t dare repeat the things that came to mind, but the closest I can get is mea culpa.  (Oh, Lord, help me and have mercy today.)

Jesus got up close and personally involved in cleansing the temple.  He spoke out against the “swap meet” for God’s people in God’s house, referencing two major prophets – Isaiah and Jeremiah. (Uh Oh, those are some powerful prophets!) Needless to say, as I got deeper into clean-up time, I wasn’t quoting the Scriptures as much as I could hear my grandmother’s voice in the back of my mind saying: “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” (Really? Is that so? I could argue against her theology but I respect the deceased and I think she probably would have a better perspective on it than I would.  You think?)

Okay. Where was I ? (You know I said I am unorganized.) Anyhow, it’s like Jesus when I get to moving and ordering things around.  I changed the entire environment.  I can’t say that I did everything that I need to do, but I definitely made some real, genuine progress. 

Jesus taught in the temple.  That goes along with His proclamation as a “house of prayer.”  Here’s the real deep part for you.  I didn’t teach as much as I learned.  You see, I learned that my mess was interfering with the “pursuit of happiness”  [Not the Will Smith flick with his son; that was the Pursuit of Happyness, I believe] for my family and people who I work with (when I “work”).  It also let me know that if my daughter didn’t have to ride in my car, she would gladly ride in something else.  I learned how being me and letting things go and get out hand can lead to me hurting others.  That is not good.  That is not a Christ-like existence.  I had to make a change to make my relationships better off.  I will definitely keep you posted. (Keep me in prayer.)

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Reflect on Results

Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.- Peter Drucker

How often do we accomplish a goal and then quietly reflect upon it? I am not sure about the experience of many others, but I have seen where we get our desired results and instinct leads us into celebration, not reflection.   Take a long, hard look at what you have done, the effort and energy put into doing something right, and then simply reflect upon it quietly.  Discern what more could have been accomplished or how to improve on the effort the next time.  Keep thinking forward for the next opportunity.  Identify opportunities that exist now that you have accomplished this goal.  You need to build upon the success of this latest triumph, but you need to do so with some time to reflect upon what you have already done.  Use the victory as motivation for more movement.  Keep that enthusiasm burning among your people to get them over the next hurdle that is headed their way along the journey.  Take some time to simply reflect, then regroup and go forward with an action plan for further success.

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Built Up by the Bay

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. Hebrews 10:24 (NKJV)

I learned most of what i know and have come to understand about God, salvation, church, ministry and being a minister of God right by the bay.  It has been under Dr. Timothy J. Winters, the pastor of Bayview Baptist Church in San Diego.  San Diego has presented many learning opportunities for me in the Lord’s service and through the non[rofit and educational sectors of service within my community, but I have truly learned a different skill set under Pastor Winters and through Bayview Baptist Church.  I have been built up in what has been dubbed as “America’s finest city” for the work of the Lord.  My past is exactly that; it has passed on.  So, as I look forward towards 2010, I am inspired by the man who influenced and impacted me as my father in the ministry to reach new heights and accomplish new things that will lead to others being inspired and influenced as well.  I pray that Life Path Ministries touches lives in new and innovative ways for God this year.  I pray that we are able to reach hearts and souls for Christ.  If God could do such a work with me,  He surely can build up others by the bay and shoreline, the border and beyond.

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