this may make your day…

if you’re like me, you’re a sucker for viral videos. if the intensity/emotion on these kids’ faces doesn’t make you smile, you need to get your head checked…

what is religion?

i ran across this verse today, and i just had to share it…

paul, while speaking to the people of athens, said that God has acted throughout history so “that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us [...]“. religion is our attempt to grope and reach and find God.

so, instead of treating people like they are infidels or stupid, why don’t we treat them like they are people who are searching for God and haven’t found him yet, though “He is not far from each one of us”.

just a thought…

best distraction ever

as a former basketball player (seriously can you believe i used to play basketball? ha), i cannot imagine having to make a foul shot while looking at this…

MLK had a way with words

“Power without love is reckless and abusive. Love without power is sentimental and anemic.”

-Martin Luther King Jr

i’ve been sitting in this quote for a couple of days now, and i could not agree with it more. too many times, the pendulum swings one way or another. i think balance is the key…

Manage Differently Now

today at the leadership summit (#tls09), Gary Hamel gave an incredible talk about how to lead our churches now. here are my notes:

We are not losing market share because of ignorance but because of apathy.
•    Maybe we should be thankful for people no longer just going through the motions. UNPRECEDENTED CHANGES UNLEASH UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITIES!
Our problem is not skepticism, etc. Our problem in inertia.
•    There is no standing still.
o    The world is becoming more turbulent faster than most organizations are becoming adaptable.
•    Most organizations get stuck on 1 model. Even if your model is working now, you should be strategic about what comes next. Because your model will NOT work forever.
o    We must change and morph as circumstances dictate.

1. Break denial.
•    Every organization is successful until it is not. BE REALISTIC.
•    Dismiss, rationalize, mitigate, confront
Face the facts.
Listen to the dissonance.
Do we welcome dissent or do we dismiss them?

2. Generate more strategic options.
•    A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush.
o    A lot of us are standing with a dying bird in our hand and we like it, because it is OUR bird. What do we do when that bird dies?
•    Our organization is only a couple of years away from extinction at all times.
•    Whatever process we use, we must make it accessible to everyone else’s ideas.
3. We must deconstruct our paradigms.
•    We’re on a race to uncover our own orthodoxies before our organization loses steam.
•    EVERYTHING IS CHANGING EXCEPT OUR WORLD’S NEED FOR A SAVIOUR.
•    How unconventional should we be? Jesus was unbelievably unconventional. He did nothing the way anyone expected Him to.
o    Maybe we should be sacrificing our practices/orthodoxies.

4. Top down organizations are dangerous. Change normally doesn’t come from the bottom [but it has to].
•    The mental models of the leaders depreciating faster than their authority is the most dangerous thing that can happen in an organization.
•    We must develop organizations that innovate more than they fight bureaucracy.
•    Our organizations are never built to be adaptable. BUT THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT WE CAN BE.
•    Natural hierarchies with natural leaders are ok. But it’s all about being bottom up!

The problem with organized religion is NOT the religion part. It’s the organized part. Let’s try a little disorganized religion. Spiritually powerful and institutionally weak.

word.

i identify with this

“It is impossible to get exhausted in work for God. We get exhausted because we try to do God’s work in our own way.”

-Oswald Chambers

imagination captivation

difficult title but simple idea. what captivates your imagination? what causes your imagination to take off? and when your imagination begins to soar, what is it consumed with?

yesterday, i was thinking about this after reading in chapter 2 of ReJesus. Blaine Hogan responded with, “My imagination is captured when something familiar has been made strange.” i love this response. there is something about being caught off guard that really allows my imagination to take off!

so, what are the things that captivate your imagination? why?

my good pt. 2

once we understand that God’s nearness really is our good, the next logical question seems to be: why are we near to God sometimes and far from Him others?

does God move away from us? when we do things wrong, does He separate Himself from us?

the simple answer is: God doesn’t move. we do.

when we sin, we put a wedge in our relationship with Him. we are consistently, actively separating ourselves from God. it’s what we’re used to. but it is not our GOOD. separation from God is the opposite of what we need! but it is where we often find ourselves. right? many times i will go a couple of days without confessing sin or spending much time in prayer. then, i will suddenly realize that there is a huge wedge between God and me. it’s not because God has gotten fed up with me and is distancing Himself. it’s because i am [actively] running from Him.

God is holy. set apart. sin is the opposite. so, when we are living in sin, we are distancing ourselves from the Holy One. it’s pretty simple, right?

but how do we stay connected to our good? i think it is all about our constant, active realignment with God. this happens as we read His Word, spend time in prayer, and basically just acknowledge our HUGE need for Him in our life!!!

we are DESPERATE for Him. it’s about time we realize it…

my good pt. 1

this is going to be a 2 part post, because i couldn’t fit everything in 1…

we probably all have different ideas about what is good. to some of us, silence and seclusion is good. to some of us, it is good to be surrounded by all kinds of people. my point is that this idea of “good” is pretty subjective. it can be defined differently by everyone.

however, i would love to offer a possibility of a more objective good…

a few days ago, i was reading in Psalm 73, and i ran across a verse that really struck me. Psalm 73:28 says, “But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.” (NAS).

this verse really stopped me in my tracks. “the nearness of God is my good”: how cool is that? all the psalmist cared about was how near to God he was. i love it. so many times in my life, i put my nearness to God on the back-burner. it’s just not that important to me…

however, the times in my life that i look back on and see that i was really close to God were BY FAR the best times i can remember! it seems to me that HIS nearness really is my good even though most of the time i don’t realize it.

let’s live in this truth! an honest desperation for God’s nearness. i think if we really go after this, it will change everything!

RIP King of Pop

you can’t deny michael jackson’s contribution to pop music. i love this tribute by David Ryan Harris…