Leadership Analogy

The other day I was trying to explain to one of my direct reports why I act the way I do in certain situations and I said, "I lead like a chess match rather than a marksman..."




I proceeded to explain that I occasionally struggle with "analysis paralysis" meaning that I'm so concerned about eliminating future moves by making a bad decision that I sometimes struggle to decide at all.





To run with the chess analogy, you can't set up the uber-powerful and strategic "castling" move (see the picture on the right) if you have made a mistake early on in the game and exposed your king to a "check" by the opponent. I have been blessed (and cursed) with an analytical mind. This means I generally have multiple scenarios running through my head for every decision I'm trying to make, big or small.



The strength: when I've got time to think and prepare I generally have contingencies covered and I make a complete decision.



The weakness: "Would you please just make a decision already...no one cares what the parking lot should look like in 35 years the traffic is backed up on 51!"



Some of you lead like a sawed off shot gun. You can pull the trigger quick and plaster the target with holes. You have your weaknesses too...I'm just saying!



I'm learning that the best leaders know their strengths and weaknesses and I'm thankful to have mentors and friends in my life who care enough about my development to point out my weaknesses so I can grow.


Get to know your style, and make provision for your weaknesses, it's the first step toward becoming more effective!

The Christmas Gnome

Welcome to another addition to Friday's Fun Family Facts.

If you have not been following my blog over the past year let me catch you up. I have an interesting family! So on occasion, and always on Fridays, I post a story about things that have happened in my family. Usually these things are from my childhood but today I have a special treat...a glimpse into the present!

About 5 years ago we (my family) all got fed up buying cheap presents for everyone (which ironically cost more) and decided to take all the money we were spending on everyone and concentrate it on one person. The result, we spend less and get nicer things. Enter the Christmas Gnome...

Having an interesting family, it isn't possible to just do a normal name exchange. Without a certain element of mystery, competition and bitter sarcasm it just doesn't fly with us. The Christmas Gnome provided all those essential elements to our name exchange and for the last 5 years we have relied on him to help us navigate through the logistical nightmare that is buying presents for a big family.

I wanted to give you a glimpse into the mind of the Christmas Gnome (and consequently into the personality of my family) so I've copied an email that he wrote to my family below. Please know that everyone in my family is trying very hard to figure out which one of us is masquerading as this vicious little imp...it really has been a mystery. If any of you have an idea who it might be I would love to know!

Well,

I know you have been eagerly awaiting this email for days now, so let me get right to it...

This year we, the governing body of the Bishop/Cushing-and-Extension-Christmas-Gift-Purchase-and-Delivery-Extravaganza led by the illustrious Christmas Gnome, are going to experiment with something a little bit different.

Rather than just send a boring email with your gift recipient's name in it, we are going to make the actual name acquiring portion of the present exchange process part of the fun! You will be receiving an email in the next 24 hours with three clues as to who your secret gift recipient is for this year.

You will only have three days to figure out who your person is on your own and then I will send a cheat sheet so that you don't buy presents for the wrong person. The first person to email thechristmasgnome@gmail.com with a correct guess for who you think you have this year will win a highly coveted and desirable prize (to be awarded on Christmas day...).

As always you can begin "replying to all" with your Christmas lists so that your mystery Santa can know what to buy for you. Your Christmas list will be due no later than December 15th...a very nice day for things to be due indeed...

The amount to be spent this year is $50.00.

The Christmas Gnome

Here's what the Christmas Gnome thought would be good clues to describe me...I was not very happy!

JOHN
1) TALENT: The Scrabler...or is it Scrabbler?: Could win at Scrabble every time, if only spelling weren't an issue
2) LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8ISuRkO3Fs
3) ANIMAL: Shrew

Sometimes having an interesting family is fun. Other times, it's just down right painful!

Ruth Stumbled into her Calling

The other day, I had the privilege of watching a DVD of T. D. Jakes over lunch with Pastor Furtick.

Now, I enjoy any time I get to spend with Pastor Furtick, but when it includes wings and a GREAT sermon by T.D. Jakes I'm not sure there is anything better!

Jakes was preaching from the book of Ruth and in classic Bishop Jakes fashion he hammered out a principle that was right on.

"Ruth stumbled into her calling!"

Read back through the book of Ruth sometime and think about all of the things that could have gone wrong leading up to her becoming the wife of Boaz and consequently the Grandmother of King David.

She could have let depression take her out when her husband died.

She could have gone with Orpah back to Moab.

She could have given up when Naomi freaked out and started calling herself bitter.

She could have decided not to go to the wine press.

and these are just the things she could have messed up. You have to consider the ways that Naomi may have chosen differently or maybe Ruth's real redeemer might have said yes at the gate, or maybe Boaz would have been late getting to the field that day and missed Ruth altogether.

Ruth stumbled into her calling! And if we're honest, most of us have stumbled into ours as well. If you feel like you're a self made man/woman I would take a poll of all the times things might have worked out differently for you.

My guess is you have stumbled into your calling too. Give praise to God for his leading, and blessing in your life He has more to do with it then you're currently giving Him credit for.

What Googler's and Elevators Have in Common

The lead staff read this article together the other day and it was VERY good!

It's about the culture of Google written by employees at Google. It was really exciting reading the article because in a very non-spiritual way there were some striking similarities between the way they think and the way we (all of us that would call ourselves Elevators) think.

A quote from the article: "The attitude is to pursue ideas that another company dismisses as outside the realm of possibility." - Niniane Wang (Engineering Manager).

Maybe you don't see it, but when I read that quote I feel like Niniane has been spying on us!

Here are some examples:

Grinders and 50 gallon barrels at Easter.

Worship CD and cool T-shirt for First Time Guests.

Spontaneous Baptisms.

launching a new service in 26 days so that our Butler Campus will still be able to reach people beginning January 11, 2009.

We never start with the question, "What's possible?" instead we ask, "What's the best case scenario?" and then we do everything we can to try to achieve that scenario.

If you want to be part of this type of culture then click here and get signed up.

If you don't...well that's fine too. I just can't kick the phrase, "I despaired at the thought that my life might pass me by without God moving mightily on my behalf." - Jim Cymbala, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire

Sunday Night Worship Experience

If you attend the Butler High School campus of Elevation Church you heard the announcement yesterday - Elevation Church is adding an evening worship experience at the Butler Campus.

The Worship Experience will begin at 6:00pm with a full Children's Ministry. For the first time since I have been the Campus Pastor we have additional capacity. We have been averaging over 1250 people attending the Butler Campus each week and this past Sunday we had over 1400 people for the first time in our history.

This is a VERY exciting time for our Campus we have an additional 615 seats to fill and because of our growth we NEED them.

We have 26 days left to build a new contingency of volunteers who will make the 6:00pm Worship Experience their opportunity to make an impact in the lives of the people who come to our church. If you want to be part of making the Elevation Experience a reality at the Butler 6:00pm Worship Experience please email Gene Lakey glakey@elevationchurch.org and get signed up now. You can also check out our online application for volunteering.

There are still thousands of people who need to know Christ living in our neighborhoods and in some cases in our own homes. The time is now! and the opportunity has never been better. Get on board as a volunteer for the 6:00pm Worship Experience at Butler and be part of the vision of reaching people far from God...

PRAY

Sometimes there is nothing left to do but pray.

There has been a tragic situation unfolding over the past week involving one of Butler's volunteers (Danny). At this point, I don't feel comfortable sharing the details of the situation, however, know that a week ago Danny was seemingly healthy and today he is on life support in the hospital.

Will you pray! Pray in such a way that God will hear your cries for a miracle and grant them.

God ultimately knows the conclusion of this tragedy, but until we know the conclusion, let's continue to pray in faith and believe God for a miracle.

Psalm 20

1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.

3 May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.

4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.

5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.

6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven
with the saving power of his right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.

9 O LORD, save the king!
Answer [a] us when we call!

Thought of the day

To be a person who is able to get things done you have to create the broad picture and "shape that picture into a set of executable actions..." - Execution - Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan

Casting the vision takes more than just communicating the plan it also requires a good strategy for executing the plan.

Maybe you should consider the implications of what you're about to tell you employee, teenager, spouse etc... Are you ready to help them get from here to there or are you about to ask them to drive to your destination while you hold tightly to the map?

Like I said, just a thought!

We Still Have BOLD Prayers to Pray

I was reading a book called Axiom written by Bill Hybels (The Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church) this morning.

He wrote, "Slowly but surely, that "God can do anything" feeling fades, bold prayers quit getting prayed, and the beginning of the end is near."

Here's what I want to say to us: we still have BOLD prayers to pray!!!

Here are the facts:
1) When the Porter Ridge Campus was launched it was done as a product of bold prayers and audacious faith on the part of our staff and the volunteers that went to be part of the movement.

2) When the Porter Ridge Campus was transferred to the Butler Campus it was done as a product of bold prayers and audacious faith on the part of the staff and the volunteers who grabbed onto the vision of seeing people far from God filled with life in Christ and were selfless enough to embrace and welcome the change.

Butler - We still have BOLD prayers to pray because you still have friends and family members who are far from God and need Christ to invade their life like He has invaded yours.

So here's what I need from you today...I have a meeting at 10:30 today that will determine whether we can make our next BOLD move toward achieving our vision. Will you pray BOLD prayers with me today that God would open doors and clear away obstacles.

I can't give you more than that right now, but assuming you will be praying with me today I hope to make an incredible announcement this Sunday!!!

I need you Butler Campus! We've got a big vision and not enough seats. Will you get in the trenches with me today?

From Porter Ridge to Butler to...

On March 6th, 2007 the staff of Elevation Church (which at the time was less than 10 people) sat down to have a conversation about what to do. Within a 10 week span we had grown from barely 1000 people to over 1700 in our two services at our only campus. Out of this conversation we determined to launch a 2nd campus...we were ignorant about the implications of that decisions and VERY passionate to see God continue to reach people far from God, so in our minds there really wasn't any other option.

32 days later we launched our second campus at Porter Ridge High School with you at the helm; a rag-tag group of renegade volunteers who were ready to take over Union County. On Easter of 2007 there were 501 people worshipping with you.

For those of you who were there during the next few months fighting for the Porter Ridge campus you remember the excitement of seeing your friends who would never have given church a chance walk through the doors of Porter Ridge High School. It was in those times that you developed the reputation for being absolutely insane. We could hardly have you in a worship night or live recording because of the fear that you would literally explode with excitement.

Fast forward to September 23, 2007 the Porter Ridge Campus was transitioned to Butler High School in order to strategically place it in the middle of a densely populated area on the edge of Union County. At Butler High School we launched with 2 services and saw 1186 people walk through the doors only 6 short months after that first conversation in March.

On Easter Sunday 2008 Butler Campus had 1388 people in attendance - packing that place wall to wall. All the while you, the same insane rag-tag group of volunteers have stuck with it; have fought for the vision of seeing your friends and family members who were far from God be reached with the life changing power of the Gospel of Christ.

Today, Butler Campus, our average attendance is 1250 and 6 of the last 15 weeks we have seen over 1300 people attending our campus - we're SLAMMED!

Now, there is a building being built and the opportunity to grow is coming but that's 10 months away. 10 months! Last year we more than doubled the size of our campus in less than 6 months. 10 months is a long time to wait when every single day that passes is potentially the last opportunity you'll have to get your friend to come. So let me pose a question to you Butler - what are we going to do in 32 days?

Elevation Church has been defined by it's audacity and you're considered crazy even by our standards. You're the ones who stepped up to start Porter Ridge; who stepped out in faith because you believed God would do the miraculous and because of your faith and sacrifice, He has! It's time again! People are looking to you to find out whether you still believe that God can do the impossible. There are still thousands of people to reach and I believe you have the vision and passion to reach them.

What are you going to do? Are you with me?

Decision Making Process - Courtesy of Nehemiah

I've been reading the book of Nehemiah for the past several weeks and something I hadn't noticed on the first few passes jumped out to me this morning. (if you don't get enough out of your time reading the Scriptures, it's probably because you're not camping out long enough...).

Nehemiah 2:6 reads: "so it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time."

Let me give you some context. Nehemiah is upset by the reports he hears about his hometown which is in ruins. He wants to go back to restore it but needs the approval of his current boss. When he pitches his plan to the boss he has already thought through the timeline. So when pressed, he has an answer. As a result he is sent with his boss's blessing and provision.

In Nehemiah 6:15 we read that the wall was finished in 52 days. This timeline is so amazing that when their enemies hear about it they KNOW that it was done with the help of their God.

Here's what jumped out to me. God often blesses us because we're blessable. Those of us that do the hard work of seeking God on the front end (Nehemiah 1:4-11) have the benefit of His divine insight into our problem (Nehemiah 2:6). The fallout of that process is that even our enemies are impressed (Nehemiah 6:15).

Here's the first draft of the process that I pulled out of the text. There's plenty more to be gleaned from this story but this was enough to create some momentum in the decisions I was making yesterday morning:

1) Seek God (Nehemiah 1:4-11)
2) Make your plans according to His insight (Nehemiah 2:6)
3) Gain the approval of those with the power to make a difference (Nehemiah 2:8)
4) Prepare for opposition (Nehemiah 2:7-10)
5) Survey the Problem (Nehemiah 2:11-15)
6) Describe the problem to those that will do the work (Nehemiah 2:16)
7) Cast the vision (Nehemiah 2:17-20)
8) Celebrate (Nehemiah 8)

The Wringer

Welcome to another addition of Friday's Fun Family Facts.

If you've been a follower of my blog (that eliminates most of you...) you have probably gotten the sense that my family is pretty "unique".

We (my family) love unique people and we hang around with them too. My family's heroes come from lists of starving artists and philanthropists; people like My Step-Father's dad Val Cushing or, for that matter, my Step-Father himself...(yes, that is a bagpipe maker's company website).

Now, as a child growing up in a family with this philosophical bent, there are certain experiences that I was privileged to have that you, frankly, missed out on; living in a Tee-Pee, Gutting my own turkey for thanksgiving, sharing dinners in my home with political idealists wanted by the FBI for anti-war protests, and while other kid's brought fruit role-ups to school for snack we brought boiled eggs from our own chickens and fresh figs!

The price that one pays for this kind of upbringing, however, is that occasionally there are hazards in the home brought on by a commitment to natural, homeopathic/organic living. Your mom, for instance, washed your clothes in a washing machine - mine used a Wringer Washer:

Romantic...right? Actually, I can tell you from first hand experience that they work quite well as long as no one gets their fingers caught in the shirt they are feeding into the rollers because, as a 5 year old boy, they are trying to help their mother by feeding said shirt through the rollers while she has gone off to answer the phone. Let's just say that when you put something in the rollers as thick as a 5 year old boy's arm, the lever that releases the rollers gets jammed. Therefore, the only way to get that object (as thick as a boy's arm) out is to reverse the rollers and let it role it's way out - just the way it went in...

But these hazards aside, I can definitely say that my upbringing has added a richness and flavor to my life that a lot of you missed out on by having normal lives. And, as a minister, it gives me a quiet confidence knowing that there is little you can say that will surprise me.

Enjoy your weekend. I'll see you Sunday!

My Junk Drawer Interprets Nehemiah

We have one...and you do too!

That stupid drawer that haunts you at night when you're trying to sleep. Stuffed to every square inch with receipts, expired coupons, phone books from the past 2 years, pens, rulers, a cloth measuring tape, ripped envelopes with doodles on it from a phone conversation last June...It's a junk drawer!

Here's the beauty of the junk drawer, when you need to clean up quickly, you can pull it open shove your junk in it and slam it shut. Your guest gets to sit just 3 feet away enjoying how clean your house is. You, on the other hand, are sweating to the thump of that tell tale heart beating away from within the junk drawer.

I was reading in Nehemiah this morning and something struck me. Even though the most memorable part of the story told by Nehemiah is how they rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem, after you get through the first 6 chapters you don't hear much else about it.

With the wall fixed after 52 days the Israelites had nothing but their internal matters to turn to. And as they read the law of God and remembered their history they came to the chilling realization that they may have fortified themselves against outside attacks by fixing the wall, but it was their internal struggles that took down the wall to begin with. If they didn't figure out how to obey God's commands and live according to his principles they would eventually be right back where they started.

I guess you see where I'm going with this...we stuff our junk in the junk drawer and celebrate the fact that things look clean. The problem, however, is not the junk, but the fact that the junk was strewn around to begin with. At some point the junk drawer is going to get full so unless you begin to fix the behavior that's making the place a mess you'll eventually run out of hiding places and sooner or later you'll have to fix the real problems...

Yes, That's John Bishop With Jake and Mike

For those of you who know me...you will think this picture, which was taken at a Community Outreach luncheon I attended yesterday, is very ironic.

For those of you who don't know me...let's just say I had to write the names down so I wouldn't look like a fool later when I was telling people about this picture.

To give you a little more perspective, one of Chunk's (our Executive Pastor) favorite games to play with me on road trips is the football trivia game. Here's how it works:

Chunks: "John, I'll say a mascot you tell me the city.

John: "Okay"

Chunks: "Bears"

John: "Uhh...I'm just taking a guess here...uhh...Miami"

Chunks: shouts of disbelief and endless ridicule...

If Chunks had asked me to match the name Jake Delhomme or Mike Rucker with a team before yesterday I don't think it would have gone well.

You Want To Get Connected to Elevation Church...

To those of you who are currently attending Elevation Church and not involved this is for you.

I have come to a VERY profound conclusion over the past few weeks...

You really want to get plugged into Elevation Church!

I am overcoming a delusional faulty assumption that I didn't realize I was living under: I assumed that you didn't want to get plugged into Elevation Church and it was my job to motivate you, cast vision, convince you, persuade you, and otherwise manipulate you to "give it a try".

I have seen hundreds of people have their lives radically changed because they began to give sacrificially, use their gifts on Sundays on a volunteer team, get plugged into a Community Group and begin to apply the truths of Pastor's message to their life, and feel the joy of moving from an invitee to a host by committing to the growth of our church through evangelism, and yet, I still had this faulty assumption that you didn't want to get connected...

I've changed all that. Now, I have realized that you DO want to get connected, there are just barriers that you (or I) have put in the way that make it difficult to do so. So I have listed two common barriers and their solutions below. I hope this will clear the way for you to get involved...

1) You really want to get plugged into Elevation Church, but you don't think we need you.
In one sense you're right, we set the place up this past Sunday and we will set it up this coming Sunday with or without you. We were around before got here and things seemed to work...

But in another sense, we DO need you terribly. Our vision is to see people far from God filled with life in Christ, which necessitates GROWTH. That means we may have enough volunteers today, but we'll need more tomorrow. We may have enough group leaders today, but when you finally get your lost friends to come they'll need a place to get connected too.

So go ahead and jump in there's plenty of opportunity for you to make an impact!

2) You really want to get plugged into Elevation Church, but you don't know how.
Maybe you already fell for my trap and clicked on one of my links above and found yourself at an easy online connection point...but just in case you didn't, we have an easy online connection point for you to get involved in any one of the 4 G's (Gifts, Giving, Groups or Growth). Go ahead and click a link and let the mouse take you. It's kind of like facebook, hit one and you won't be able to stop...

Gifts - Giving - Groups - Growth

Also, we have a table set up in the lobby of every campus that we call the "information table". There are very nice people called connector's that can get you connected on the spot.

If you are at the Butler Campus, you can also take advantage of the "orangepeople". And hey, you may get a bag of Cheetos out of it! Not bad!

I'm sure there are more barriers, but hopefully I've eliminated two for you.

Lead Like a Follower

Lately, I have been coveting motorcycles I see on the road. the other day I saw one in my rear view mirror just as I was getting ready to pull off the highway that I thought looked particularly nice.




To my surprise, this motorcyclist turned off the highway with me. Over the next few miles I did my best to keep this bike in my sights and was glad at each turn that it stayed right behind me. As I approached my community and prepared myself to watch as the bike disappeared down the road I was shocked when it followed me into my community.

I immediately concocted a plan to follow the bike back to its house so that during the next community yard sale, I could buy a coffee mug in exchange for a conversation that might lead to this guy selling me his bike real cheap.

Here was the problem, he was not leading...I was! He had followed me for 3 miles and was still behind me and I had limited options for how to find his house. I could have pulled over and let him pass, and then pulled in behind him and followed him home - a little creepy but effective. Or, I could have let it go - actually, that would not have been an option now that I think about it, it was a really nice bike.

So, what I actually did was let him lead me from behind.

For the next quarter mile I drove just a little slower so that he would stay close. By correctly reading his intentions I would anticipate his next turn and was able to follow him from the front all the way to his house. Don't worry, I played it cool! I don't even think the guy knew I was following him...

Here's a paradox of leadership that's illustrated in my stalking this guy: Having a position of leadership can often be the biggest enemy to actually leading. When you allow your position, title or authority to dull your senses you stop paying attention to the subtle intentions of the guy behind you and you run the risk of removing yourself as the leader by making directional decisions without gathering the right data.

with the motorcycle in my community, I was successful at other times, however, I'm still learning how to keep my eyes on the road and the rear view mirror recognizing that sometimes I need to lead like a follower.

A Response to our Struggles

This was my response to a good friend's email earlier. He is going through a hard time and I wanted to encourage him. I have seen him at his highs and lows over the past year and a half and his integrity has endured. As a result, I can say with confidence that God is moving in His life even though the circumstances seem to point to His absence.

I wanted to share this email here because I believe many of you are going through the same challenges. The economy is bottoming out, your family is walking a tight rope, your spiritual strength is waning and you need to hear God's voice this morning. I hope getting to see a behind the scenes peak at my personal communication with a friend encourages you:

________________

I was reading in Nehemiah this morning writing furiously because God was speaking to me in a way that is atypical in my time with Him. Here is some of the fruit of what He taught me this morning...I think it might be for you too!

11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12 I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.

13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal [a] Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work. (Nehemiah 2:11-16)

You are not at the peak of despair, but the beginning of the inspection process! The promise of God's Word is clear in this passage as it lands not on the frustration of the torn down walls, but on the promise of the work that will be done. It sounds like you've got some ruined walls in your life right now, but the walls are not the point, the walls only provide a good workshop for God to continue building his greatest work yet.

Know this: You are not trying to face life with the courage of a mighty warrior, you ARE a warrior and as such you HAVE courage! God has brought you this far and He is taking you on.

4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever. (Psalm 23)

You may be heading into the valley today, but God's plan always has been, and always will be, to take you THROUGH it! Don't faint in the process, embrace God's timing, continue to rely on Him and look forward to the day that you have come THROUGH the valley. By definition, there is always a mountain top on the other side of the valley.

________________

"Remember, the teacher is always silent during the test." - Pastor Steven

A Lopsided Approach to Lack...

Every time Heather and I get into a situation where money starts to get tight we end up having the same conversation, "We need to cut back!"

"Cut back" usually means stop eating out, buy less groceries, don't drive around so much, make coffee at home instead of going to Starbuck's (Heather's standard suggestion...).

If it's really tight we'll start thinking through other things we could cut: Cable? Internet? clothes? Heat?

In thinking through this the other day I realized that our approach is very lopsided. We are good at figuring out ways to cut back, but what about figuring out ways to increase our income?

If I'm at a yard sale with $50 bucks in my pocket and I see a nice Honda Collection, Project H leather jacket that a guy is selling for $100 I've got two options: talk him down (cut back) or go get more money (increase my income).

Here's the principal: if there's a shortage there are two streams to consider the one flowing in and the one flowing out.

In personal finances increasing your income is often not an option, especially in the short-term, but that just might be the answer in other areas of our life.

As a father I have it good right now, I've got one kid that gets my undivided attention. When I get a second, third and fourth kid, however, I can't approach my love for them with a "cut back" mentality. Dividing my love 4 ways won't benefit anyone in the end. No! I need to figure out how to increase my income. How to love 4 kids with the same intensity as I loved 1 which means I need to increase my income.

The same is true for you in many areas of your life. You're too busy at work to volunteer at church. But having a "cut back" mentality when the options are cheat my boss, or cheat God only guarantees that someone loses. Instead, do the hard work of figuring out how to maximize both options. Get creative and go for the win/win.

What Fire?

Welcome to another installment of Friday's Fun Family Facts... (This was a tradition that I had at the beginning of this blog's life that I thought I would pick back up, at least for today. To read some of the other entries you would need to scour the archives looking for titles with words like tee-pee, diarrhea, Starving Artist etc...)

So, I was a curious kid!

We had found a family of rabbits hiding under a gigantic blackberry bush behind our barn. In an attempt to catch one of them (I think we had just read Brier Rabbit) we dug a hole and buried a metal 5 gallon bucket in the ground. I think we were hoping that one of the rabbits would accidentally fall into the bucket and we would be able to keep it, and pat it, and love it and call it George...

Years later I rediscovered said metal bucket buried in the side of the hill behind our barn. I had to cut away the grass that had grown over the top of the bucket and when I did I discovered 5 gallons of water and slime...

Now, before you judge me let me give a few disclaimers about what you're about to read:

1) I was way too young to know better; probably about 14...
2) I was bored.
3) I was home alone.
4) I knew that Gas was flammable, I just didn't know that it floated...yet.
5) I was NOT anticipating that the floating gas would flow over the lip of the bucket and stream down the hill in a snaking, spreading, conflagration of fear and tumultuous panic scaring the virgin landscape of the once beautiful yard.

So having seen the water in the bucket I made the VERY logical mental leap that I should pour some gas into the bucket and light it on fire to test the questionable theory that gas was, in fact, flammable.

It burned...

Thankfully, however, I was able to beat the flames into submission using a 6 foot piece of flashing that was beside the barn.

Upon extinguishing the fire, I did what any normal 14 year old would do...I took a quick glance around to make sure that no one had seen any of this, wiped the sweat and charred grass from my forehead, turned, walked casually back to the house, and pretended that nothing had happened.

Amazingly, no one ever found out. the most I ever got was, "John, why do all the hairs on your forearms look like that?" to which I just grunted and said, "I don't know."

Mom...Dad...I promise this was the only time I almost burned myself alive using gas.

...behind the barn.

...without a thorough plan for what to do if things were to go terribly wrong.

Best Practices or Bold Prayers?

I was at a conference recently when a speaker asked the question, "Are you working from best practices or bold prayers?"

Seemed like a good question on the surface...it got some "amens".

After thinking about this idea for a few weeks however, I started to get a little frustrated by it. In my thought process I kept pitting the best practice against the bold prayer and every time I would come up short. I don't think it needs to be that way.

In other words, I came to the conclusion that the question would be better phrased this way, "are you working from bold prayers and then best practices?" I believe that we need to ask God for the boldest thing we can reasonably ask for, and then work VERY hard to achieve those ends using the BEST practices we can.

So you ask God to bring back your kid (sister, friend, parent, spouse, etc...) who has wandered away from the faith (bold prayer) and then you get to work living a life worthy of the calling you have received humbly bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:1-2).

The greatness that God has called us to as the body of Christ requires both bold prayers AND best practices.

If you aim at the "best case scenario" and miss you've still hit something in proximity to the "best case scenario"...still not bad!

Leadership Lesson From the Birds

Have you ever seen those huge flocks of birds flying is gigantic swarms. They sway back and forth and heave and swell...it's kind of freaky, like you're watching gigantic insects or something. (check out this link if you have no idea what I'm talking about...)

I saw one of these flocks the other day while I was waiting at a stoplight and as I watched thousands of birds swarming back and forth. I started to notice that the movements were actually started by small pockets of birds. the whole group would be flying one direction and then, seemingly, one lone bird would turn around and head back another. Inevitably, other birds would follow and new movement would swell in the new direction.

It occurred to me while watching these freaky birds that this is how I feel in a lot of situations as a leader. I'm not typically the archetype "goose at the front of a perfectly formed V..." where I set a direction and everyone falls in line... More often, I feel like that one stray bird in the midst of thousands clamoring to make the vision I deem most important a big enough deal to sway others and create movement.

In some ways, I like it like that...it's comforting to know that you're being followed by people who chose to follow me. This is what I've discovered in my experience: learning to create a following when people have a choice to follow you is the ONLY way to create a REAL following when people don't have a choice.

Butler Campus Volunteers

Volunteers, I wanted to post a VERY serious post as a way to say thank you for all that you do. Yesterday, we had one of the largest attendance days we have ever had at Butler with 1366 people. Thanks for staying committed to the vision of seeing people far from God filled with life in Christ.

Reason #1: You get to experience really cool things to and from Butler Campus. Consider the following:












Reason #2: You could be driving this (which seems worse to me):












Reason #3: You will have great role models who will teach you about hard work and discipline like our wonderful graphics designer Ryan Hollingsworth:












Reason #4: We have great health care:












Reason #5: We get to turn these:












Into These:

To the volunteers who make it happen: thank you for your dedication! You are making a significant difference in the lives of people who are coming to Elevation Church.

We Have All Lost Our Minds

We are psycho at Elevation Church...

At Butler High School where I am the Campus Pastor, our parking team is crazy!

The greeters, they are neurotic!

Ushers, yep, they're "off their rocker"!

First Time Guest volunteers, First Impressions Team, Volunteer Headquarters people, Ekidz workers, Production Volunteers, Lobby Team members, Connectors, Volunteer Coordinators, group leaders and yes, even the staff have all lost their minds...

We are freaks! We actually believe that by waving, smiling, pointing people to their seats and/or parking spots we are making a difference in people's lives. Our volunteers work, sacrifice, show up early, stay late, and give everything they have every Sunday, because at the end of the day we're all clinical...we believe that it actually matters!

And you know what, it does! Today I had the amazing priviledge of leading someone to Christ in my office. The best part of the story is that she was only in my office because the volunteers at the Butler Campus were faithfully tending to the details this Sunday. As you were waving and pointing people to their spots, or greeting someone with a smile or directing that person to their seat, there was a woman coming to church for the first time. That same woman was so welcomed by you and so touched by the worship experience that you make possible that she found her way to my office today and accepted Christ.

Butler Volunteers - we've said it hundreds of times before - but the sermon starts in the parking lot. And when you show up to do what you do, people far from God pull into the parking lot, feel welcome, hear the powerful Gospel and respond...Don't miss it! You are part of this story!

Thanks for your sacrifice and dedication...for yet one more person you really are making a difference.

Halloween Traditions...

I come from a VERY competitive family!

Every year we would carve pumpkins, but we couldn't just carve them, we had to out do the other siblings in the room with a artistic masterpiece in gourd-ish medium. This conditioning has resulted in a very strange obsession in my life that flares up once a year around the end of October.

This year's pumpkin carving is titled: "ode to my neglected puppy..." (My dog, Oliver, has been very sad since Jeremiah was born 17 months ago so I have memorialized him in pumpkin flesh.) Enjoy!

And, just in case you can't tell what this image is...check out a real picture of Oliver to the right.

I can't post a blog without some kind of lesson, so here you go: Even a warty, lumpy pumpkin can be turned into something creative. If you feel like the world has handed you a gourd (work with me here...) you can always turn it into a jack-o-lantern!

Be blessed, and happy pumpkin carving...

Behind the Scenes with Pastor Furtick...

The other day I was part of a meeting that Pastor Furtick was leading. He took the principle from Seth Godin's book, The Dip, and described how the principle actually found it's origins in the Word of God.

You'll have to read Godin's book to understand what he meant by it because I will focus the rest of this blog on Pastor's interpretation of his principle.

Pastor suggested that there are two main reasons why we will go through spiritual dips in our life:

1) Disobedience - Sometimes we make stupid decisions and create our own problems for ourselves. We borrow more money then we can pay back and find ourselves in financial crisis. We neglect our kids by working too much and then suffer the consequences. He pointed to David and Bathsheba, Jonah, and Peter as Biblical examples of this idea.

2) Divine Dips - There are other times that God puts the pressure on us. We are doing all that we know how and we still find ourselves in times of struggle. At that point we have three steps to follow: 1 - Receive God's activity; 2 - Remember how he has walked with us in the past; 3 - Respond to God's direction.

Now, I know you probably had to be there to experience the weight of this teaching, but trust me, it was a VERY profound moment.

Here are a few quotes to consider:

"The teacher is always silent during the test..."

"God's past performance always predicates His future ability..."

"Is my integrity worth suffering for?"

To close out the talk Pastor highlighted Psalm 23. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil... In classic style Pastor highlighted that we are walking through the valley. We might be in the valley today, but God's intention is to take us through it.

If you're in a Dip today follow Pastor's advice. if it's because of sin or disobedience then repent. If not, then Receive, Remember and Respond and know that no matter how deep your dip is the same God that lead you into it has every intention of leading you through it and on the back side of any valley is always another mountain top!

Thank You Irekka

Last night my small group had the privilege of being introduced to a wonderful mom named Irekka. (Check out Tonia Bendickson's Blog on the story here.)

We found out about her because of our relationship with Communities in Schools - Safe Journey a program that helps teenage mothers graduate from high school and pursue their dreams in college.

Irekka's story is tragic - 19 with 2 kids, living in an apartment with a box spring to sleep on, a pot with a broken handle to warm up her kid's bottle, no money, no support, and seemingly no reason for having hope - yet, the characteristic that stood out most about her was her Joy.

Some of the ladies in our group treated Irekka to her first dinner at Olive Garden, we stayed behind and loaded furniture, dishes, clothes, and food into the apartment. When Irekka returned she walked into a fully furnished apartment. Her little girl Meiara was so excited she was literally bouncing off the walls. Irekka said, "I've been praying for 2 months that God would help and He did...I'm so happy!"

Irekka's joy and contentment was remarkable.

Thank you Irekka for reminding me just how blessed I am and for resetting my vision. Your best is yet to come. We're praying for you and more importantly, we're with you!

It IS my fault...

Pastor Furtick posted a blog recently titled "How IS it my fault". Check it out here.

As I'm sitting here looking at the index card he referenced I'm thinking about the frame of mind I was in when I made the comment.

In reading through Habit 1 of Steven Covey's book I was struck by this line: "Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions." (Covey, 71) - you should probably read that line again...

I wrote in an exercise that we did while studying this habit together that I need to spend less time in asking why something happened (i.e. assigning blame) and a lot more time using the "why" to answer the question, "how do we make it right next time."

One thing that has begun to sink in for me is that no matter who's fault it is and no matter what the solution is the problem is ultimately my responsibility. If it was a staff member that dropped the ball, for instance, I'm not off the hook. I need to ask, "How can I coach them better?", "What resources do they need to be effective?", "Was the way I communicated my expectations ineffective?", "Does this staff person have what it takes?", "Do I need to release them from the pressure of these decisions?" etc... It's a subtle shift but it is absolutely necessary. At the end of the day if my leadership does not have direction modifying influence on the people I lead I cease to be necessary as a leader!

So how IS it my fault? Well, if I'm really the leader it's all my fault. Now that we've got that out of the way, how can we fix it moving forward...

I'm So Far Behind!

I'm signing up for Facebook!

I am also considering twitter!

Someone asked everyone in the audience at the GroupLife conference at Willow Creek last week (side note: average age 48-52) whether they had a Facebook account...I was one of 7 people who did not raise their hand in a room of 1500 people. The other six...an Amish family!

I'm signing up for an account. If I deny you as a friend don't take it personally, I probably just don't know how to work the thing!

GroupLife Conference Takeaways

I don't have time to write about all of the things that I'm taking away from the GroupLife Conference at Willow so instead I'm going to give you the first three that come to my mind:

1) Being in connection with other great leaders is my #1 resource for advancing the work that God has placed in front of me.

2) Everything is an experiment (thanks Mark and Heather). Therefore, start trying stuff!!!

3) The model of ministry that is going to work best for us is the one that we are most excited about. So...we need to pick one and start!

and for a bonus:
4) What we have going on in Charlotte, NC is borderline miraculous! We are part of a very special move of God...I can't wait to get back.

Drummer's are Supposed to Keep The Beat

Let's imagine that I was at a conference at some point where there was a drummer on stage. In this hypothetical situation you could imagine that this drummer was actually a very talented young person who had a bright future as a drummer and you would not think that this blog was in any way a slam on said drummer...

But here is one thing I understand about drummers: the fundamental purpose of drummer is to keep the beat...agreed? Sure, they add a lot more then just the tempo, but there isn't anyone else in the band that will pick up the slack on the beat if the drummer decides to play without a click track.

So if you were at this hypothetical conference with me trying to sing a great song like Hosanna (for instance) you might be a little distracted if the drummer started at about 60 beats per minute and ended at about 100 beats per minute.

He might have had great fills, an incredible amount of passion, he might have been worshipping and carrying the weight of the musical experience, but when all was finished he would have neglected his central purpose as the drummer...he would have failed to keep the beat!

One thing I have learned as a leader in my short experience is that it is easy to get caught up in the passion of circumstances, pressures, or exciting moments in ministry and lose sight of my main purpose - to cast vision and lead people. I might develop great systems, or put together phenominal reports. I might extinguish fires, or pull off great announcements, but at the end of the day none of that matters if I fail to keep the beat.

Taking a lesson from the drummer, keep the primary purpose in focus and if you can't do it all make sure to at least keep the beat...the guitarist can alsways jump in with a cool solo, but no one else is watching the metronome!

Changing Stuff...

I think there are people who really love to change stuff all the time. They annoy people with the desire to make things different. They are always looking for a new way, a better way, a short-cut. Sometimes they change stuff merely because it hasn't been changed in a while.

People who like things to stay the same all the time get very frustrated. They feel like they are trying to grab smoke. They are constantly searching for their Penelope (Lost Season 4) to keep from having their brain meltdown in the midst of things that are always shifting.

Hello, my name is John Bishop and I like to change stuff...all the time!

This past weekend, my wife and I shifted the furniture in our living room, again.

Today I am re-doing all of the reports for the ministries department.

My hair style will be different in 6 months then it is today.

The style of clothes I wear is radically different than it was 6 months ago.

The next time I get glasses they will be very different then the ones I'm currently wearing (probably, John Lennon transitions...)

It's just the way I like it!

Early Morning Thoughts

It's 6:26am.

I've been up since 12:30am.

Some people (much more spiritual than me) pray when God gets them up early.

I have been reading Influencer (Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, and Ron McMillan) and furiously scribbling charts, structural problems, system breakdowns, organizational ideas, and new initiatives as fast as possible trying not to loose what God is showing me about the ministries of Elevation Church.

For some reason this morning was set aside for me to loose some sleep. But I would gladly trade sleep for the opportunity to do what I do...

This past Sunday we had 4485 people attending our one of seven worship experiences across three campuses 29 months into our church's existence; we had 152 people accept Christ bringing the total number of people who accepted Christ during the three weeks of the Gospel series to 903. These numbers are following on the heels of 1044 people being baptized during our Awakening series...and I can't sleep!

Pastor Furtick said it this way, "We need to let the victories God gives us be our fuel not our ceiling."

God has pumped my spirit full of $4.85, 93 octane gasoline...I can sleep later!

It's Been a While...

Oh blog how I have forsaken you...

Right now I am eating a piece of celery with organic peanut butter crunch, crunch crunch...let me explain!

We are in the middle of a Daniel Fast where we have committed to eat only whole foods. We are in the middle of one of the most intense spiritual seasons we have ever been through. Over the past few weeks we have baptized 1044 and then encouraged our people to invite their lost friends to church beginning this week. Our hope is that 1,000 people will come to faith in Christ over the course of the next 3 weeks.

crunch, crunch crunch

Tomorrow we are going to have the first night of a two night student event where Pastor Steven will personally challenge the students of Elevation Church to get ready for this school year. They are about to be released back into one of the richest mission fields on the planet (the public school system) and we would be foolish not to take advantage of the opportunity we have fire up our students right as they get back into it.

crunch, crunch crunch

So why are we fasting? Because we recognize very clearly that unless the Lord builds the house, the laborers labor in vain. God has chosen to move through us in this season and we are doing everything we can to keep the spotlight shining on Him.

Deliverables

"It all comes down to the deliverables..."

This is the line that stuck to my brain the other day while I was eating dinner with a very brilliant business man in our church.

It's one of those statements that's brilliant because of it's simplicity. It doesn't take a doctorate to understand how to apply it; it a basic concept with profound implications.

Here it is:

Everything I do and everything that the people who report to me do on a daily basis have to "link" in some way to the big picture initiatives of our church.

If we are going to hit 10k people in 2010 as a church, then there are a considerable amount of things that need to occur in order to get us there.

Therefore, as I am on vacation next week, I will be reverse engineering everything that I do into a list of deliverables that feed back into the bigger vision of our church.

"Frankly, if I'm doing something that doesn't help me hit one of my targets, it's a waste of time..."

I agree! Now, let the schedule hacking begin.

Staff Advance

I'm sitting in my office preparing for our "staff advance" coming up next week.

I always get a little bit nervous when it gets near staff advance season; the kind of nerves you get when you're applying for a new job, or getting married.

There's no fear, just an unsettled feeling that I'm about to commit myself to something far bigger than my abilities, skills or vision.

Last year at staff advance we finalized the details of our Dominate Campaign, presented comprehensive analyses of our departments, presented reports based around the content of the Leadership Pipeline and set goals for the remainder of 2007.

It was intense!
It was challenging!
There were at least a half dozen times when I could feel my heart beating in my ears!
and we came away exhausted; spiritually, physically, emotionally...

IT WAS AWESOME!!!

This year proves to be no different.

I just finished my part of a project we're working on that I've titled, "Discovering our 'brand'", that will no doubt spark some great discussion. I also just had a meeting with Larry Brey, our Connections Pastor, about three major projects we are tackling this fall. He is presenting those projects to the lead staff at Staff Advance and we want to make sure everything is ready to go.

We read two books, Honor's Reward by John Bevere and What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith. I don't know exactly what to expect from this year's advance except that it will be VERY overwhelming and we will be setting the course and speed for the next major season of our church.

The last 10%: My Pastor will be coming to Staff Advance straight off of almost two weeks of study, reflection, vacation, prayer and family time. I expect that he will have a double dose of intensity saved up for us and I can't wait!!!

How to Be a Good Husband

For 3 months Heather (my wonderful, gracious and forgiving wife) has been begging me to install the little clips that hold the cabinet doors shut so that our precious little boy won't sneak into them and drink caustic chemicals.

Reasonable request, right?

So, being a good husband, the other night, I bribed Erika's (my sister-in-law) boyfriend, Ben, into "helping" me install them. Here's how it went:

While I was sitting at the kitchen table balancing our check book, Ben struggled to install the clips all on his own. To my credit, I went and got him a drill, knocked all the screws off the counter, and regularly checked Ben's frustration level - I had every intention of "helping" if it got above a 7, I promise!

Ben did a fabulous job installing the clips and Jeremiah (who you can see over on the right of this blog...) was adequately frustrated the next day trying to get out the Clorox Clean-up.

The ironic thing about this story is that Ben installed the clips in about 20 minutes.

Hmmm...
Option 1: Spend 20 minutes intalling the clips and keep my son away from deadly chemicals and please my wife.

Option 2: Drag my feet for 3 months, risk my sons life, force Heather to stand guard at the kitchen sink 8 hours a day trying to keep my boy out of the "death closet", and then forfeit my 'husband credit' to someone else...

Sometimes I wonder why Heather doesn't schedule regular P.E.T. scans for me...

For all husbands out there, take a lesson from Ben. Just install the 'clips'! I mean seriously, what's wrong with me?

The Last Post on Galatians

[Read: Galatians 6:1-18]

Paul says, “God cannot be mocked, a man reaps what he sows.” (v. 7)

I’m tempted to write a post that begins with the question, what do you want to sow in the lives of the people around you? But, most of you are just as selfish as I am (if you don’t believe me, take this test) so it will be much better to ask this question:

“What do you want to reap?”

Here’s what I want to reap in my life:
o Generosity
o Kindness
o Wisdom
o Love
o Forgiveness
o Grace
o A healthy family
o Joy
o Peace

What occurred to me after I scribbled out this list is that most of what I want to elicit from others is exactly what Paul told us to exemplify in our lives as the “fruit of the Spirit”. (Score: Paul – 1; John – 0)

Secondly, I started asking myself this question, “If I want to reap a healthy family what do I have to sow?” Well, I should probably sleep more, eat less, and exercise!

“If I want to reap generosity what do I have to sow?” Money! Time! Basically, I have to let go of “my” stuff. As I start focusing on others’ needs I will begin to reap my needs…

Sometimes when I read the Bible I’m left with the impression that someone planned the whole thing out…(for those of you that didn’t catch it, that was a sarcastic statement intending to point out that God knew what He was doing when He put this book together).

Well, I’m entering into blogivion - the cross between my blog and oblivion – where I will have to struggle with what to write and will probably end up writing nonsense posts for a few weeks... Just thought I’d issue a warning.

If you liked going through a book of the Bible leave me a comment and let me know so I won’t feel like I wasted the last 2 months of my life. Maybe I’ll do it again with another book sometime if you liked it…

Life by the Spirit

After the Elevationbishop blog blackout of 2008 that extended through the duration of my wife and my vacation to Florida where we celebrated our anniversary and attended a marriage conference that Pastor Furtick was generous enough to send us to, I'm back with the next section of Galatians. I hope you enjoy it...

[Read: Galatians 5:16-26]

Just to encourage you when you fail, Paul says in Romans 7:14-20 that he can’t do it either. The things we want to do we don’t do them, and the things we don’t want to do, we fall into the same traps over and over…

This struggle is the tension we live in and if it describes you then you’re in good company. (It’s when you want to do things that you know are wrong that you should begin to worry…)

One more thing about this section:

When the Spirit fills us at salvation, He places His attributes in us. Paul calls those attributes the “fruit of the Spirit”.

You’ve Got ‘em! If the Spirit of God is dwelling in you, then you’ve got ‘em. So the next time you’re not displaying them in your life and relationships ask God to make a withdrawal on His deposit…

He Created the Universe!

[Read: Galatians 5:1-15 (again)]

This section of Galatians is about freedom. Paul starts by saying, “It is for freedom that Christ set us free.” (v. 1)

Immediately following this declaration, Paul launches into a discussion about circumcision. Now, if you’re not familiar with the Old Testament law that required all Jewish boys to be circumcised, this discussion seems a little out of left field. But notice that Paul says a man who ‘lets’ himself be circumcised. Circumcision would normally take place on the 8th day of a Jewish baby’s life (Check out the details here: Genesis 17:10-14). In other words, the only man that would ‘let’ himself be circumcised is being ushered into the Jewish faith as an adult.

Here’s Paul’s question in a nutshell: If the Jewish people were given the promise, symbolized by circumcision, that they were the people of God and that some day God would be sending them a savior to free them from the bondage of sin, why would someone who has the opportunity to accept Christ’s freedom directly want to try to get to Christ through circumcision?

The reason Paul is so angry at the people who are recommending circumcision to these new converts and luring them away from the truth and from freedom in Christ is he understands what’s at stake. James tells us that, “whoever keeps the whole law and stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10). There is no grading curve in the law. You either keep the law, perfectly, or you are condemned by it, entirely! There’s just no middle ground.

If you are someone that is trying to do better, trying to be good, trying to quit drinking, trying to stop looking at pornography, trying to quit gossiping etc… You know that no matter how hard you try you have never been able to get free. But in Christ we are a new creation the old has gone and the new has come… (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). It’s probably time to quit trying and allow God to work through you.

He is, after all, the guy that created the universe and keeps it in balance. He formed the earth and everything in it. He breathed life into every living creature and formed mankind in His own image. I think He can probably handle your problems!

Treadmill Woes

[Read: Galatians 5:1-15]

I was running on the treadmill at the "Y" the other day when a very tragic and embarrassing thing happened.

A women got onto the treadmill next to me and began jogging. About 3 minutes into her workout the spray bottle fell off the machine and made a very loud noise which caused everyone in the gym to turn and look just in time to catch the next 10 seconds of this poor woman's workout routine.

While the woman was trying to catch the bottle, she hit the towel that was hanging over the bar and it slipped and fell onto the belt. The woman then proceeded to hop around the belt trying to avoid the towel only to accidentally put her right foot down off the belt. Since her left foot was still moving with the belt her body took a sudden spin to the left and this little chain of events ended with an embarrassing yelp from the woman as she stumbled and almost fell off the treadmill.

Paul says in Galatians 5:7 that our faith is like a race. He suggests that we are "running a good race" when we are trusting in Christ but when we begin to put our faith in religious rules he asks, "Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?"

Let's just be clear, even if the spray bottle and towel falls off, keep your feet centered on the belt. Trust me, it's safer that way...

Slight Diversion

I'm going to need more time than I have to pour over the next section of Galatians. So this morning I thought I would take a slight diversion to let you in on a little secret...

This morning I saw Jin driving a Volkswagon Jetta right down the center of the main road. I know for a fact that Hurley lives two houses up from me, and I think the guy across the street is "Henry Gail" - of course, I don't ever see him.

I have also noticed that there is a little sink hole developing in my front yard. Occaisionally, it seems like there is a little puff of black smoke creeping out of it...

And this morning while I was getting ready I heard a loud noise outside that was obvisouly the pilot eating monster. It turned out to be a guy mowing his lawn, but you know, the island does crazy things...

So do I think that my neighborhood is actually an island with hatches all over it? Not yet, but if you hear reports that I've disappeared down the storm drain by the sink hole in my front yard, now you'll know why.

Heather and I just finished season 2 of Lost, and I'm infected. If I don't get my hands on season three soon, I might just go crazy.

If you've never watched the show you might want to commit the next 6 weeks of your life to catching up. It's a great show!

Two Women, Two Sons, One Promise

[Read: Galatians 4:21-31]

Now, before you get all bent out of shape from reading this passage let me make a disclaimer. The people Paul was writing this letter to would not have made as big a deal about Abraham having kids from two different women, or the reference to the word slave. These concepts are touchy for us, so it is hard to overlook them, but if we intend to extract the meaning that I believe Paul was trying to get at, we’ll need to look past them.

Here’s how I understand this passage, Hagar and Sarah and their respective sons are being treated metaphorically. Hagar represents Abraham’s disobedience, while Sarah represents God’s sovereignty to fulfill His promises.

The background for Paul’s arguments can be found in Genesis 16 and Genesis 21, but let me give you the abbreviated version here.

o God told Abraham that He was going to make a great nation through Abraham’s children.
o Abraham waited most of his life struggling to have kids with his barren wife, Sarah.
o Abraham got frustrated waiting on God’s plan and he “took matters into his own hands”.
o Abraham and Sarah agreed to have kids through Hagar, Sarah’s servant.
o Later Sarah conceived a child (Isaac) and the promise that God gave to Abraham was fulfilled through him. (Isaac’s son’s name was Jacob. Jacob was later renamed Israel and Jacob’s 12 sons became the namesakes for the 12 tribes of Israel)

Back to Galatians: when Paul says that we are children of the free women, he is saying a lot. By accepting God’s promise of salvation, by placing our faith in Christ, we are participating in the promise of God. On the other hand, by trying to make it on our own, we are “taking matters into our own hands”.

Some of us just don’t like the idea that God is in charge. But guess what, it doesn’t matter what we like, He’s in charge anyway. If He gives us a promise, He will fulfill it, and any short cut we try will ultimately create nothing but heartache and disappointment.

There is only one way, God has already determined the way it will play out and His name is Jesus Christ!

Regaining our Passion

[Read: Galatians 4:8-20]

Paul talks about the Galatians, how they were so welcoming and loving while they were caring for him in his illness. He even suggests that they might have torn out their eyes for him. But now he is wondering where their joy went; isn’t that just like religious people! We forsake grace and joy for narrow-minded rules and constraints.

I drove by a church this morning that had signs on the posts at either side of their driveway. The signs read, “For church business only, security cameras activated…”.

You may not find that offensive, but I thought to myself, “how the *&$# (when I am tempted to cuss, I actually picture an asterisk the and sign, a dollar sign and a pound sign in my mind…just in case you were nervous…) are they going to switch their mindset on Sunday morning to welcome people that come to hear the gospel if all through the week they are guarding their property like it’s a military compound?” The unfortunate conclusion I came to is that they probably aren’t interested in welcoming new people on Sunday.

When Jesus first saves us we are willing to cut out our eyes to help people around us, but slowly, as religion creeps in, we tend to forget about the tremendous gift we have been given in Christ and we tend to lose our joy.

DON’T!

Fight against the temptation to give in to the selfish, shortsighted, narrow-minded, inwardly focused, hard-hearted, unforgiving, religious midset that rots so many believers from the inside out.

We have been called to live a life that honors Christ, and Christ in honored when we give a glass of water to someone who is thirsty. When we walk an extra mile with our captor, when we give more to the one who has stolen from us, when we risk that our parking lot will be used during the week by teenagers who want to skateboard in order to avoid scaring away people that may be impacted by the gospel.

Sons and Heirs

[Read: Galatians 3:26-4:7]

Don’t miss this, God tells us through Paul in Galatians 3:26 that we are all sons (or daughters as the case may be) of God through our faith in Christ.

This is a REALLY BIG DEAL!

Let me paint the picture I see when I read something like this in the Scripture.

Here’s you: living in a nice neighborhood in the suburbs of Charlotte. Great working class neighbors, police officers, bankers, teachers etc…and all their kids seem nice, that is, except for 'that kid' across the street and his friends. You’ve never seen him do anything, but you’re convinced that he’s rotten to the core. One day, you and your wife are going on a date and you're late. You pull into the drive way, jump from your car to hers and speed out of the driveway having forgotten to lock your car. You notice as your pulling away that ‘that kid’ is across the street playing football with his friends.

When you get back from your date you’re shocked to find your car destroyed. The stereo, your iPod and headphones are gone. Your briefcase that had your computer and company check book in it are gone. The car is trashed. The seats are slashed, headlights are busted out, the tires are flat and there’s a key scratch running the entire length of the driver side.

Of course, you call the police and get them involved, but after a couple weeks it becomes clear that even though you are absolutely convinced that it had to be ‘that kid’, there is no evidence to prove it. He’s gotten away with it. To make matters worse, every time you see ‘that kid’ now, he looks at you with that frustrating little smirk...

Here’s the point, ‘that kid’, is you and I! And here’s how God responds. He doesn’t call the cops, get frustrated and write you off, he adopts you. He treats you just like one of the family. When you turn 16 he gives you a car. When you go to college he foots the bill. He feeds you, clothes you, and looks after you. He calls you son!

Since we’re ‘that kid’, I guess I’m just really thankful that God has decided not to treat me the way I would have treated ‘that kid’.

We’re sons and heirs, but when I read this passage, I’m reminded to avoid the temptation to start believing that I deserve it.

Diarrhea Hill (a Friday's Fun Family Fact)

Welcome to this week's installment of Friday's Fun Family Facts...This post will have nothing at all to do with anything. You should definitely not read another section of Galatians to go along with this post!

It has been quite some time since I have posted a "Friday's Fun Family Facts" so for those of you who are not 'lifers' on this blog, let me give you a brief update.

I have a very interesting family... and there are, therefore, lots of good stories to tell. That's it!

My bedroom looked out across the road on the Eastern side of our house toward a little hill. We nicknamed the hill the diarrhea hill because it didn't have any grass on it. Every time it rained, thick, smelly, goopy mud with chemically residue would slide down the hill and create very inviting wallows at the base of the hill. To a 7 year old mind it was a very simple fact that the hill must be made of thousands of yards of poop; hence, diarrhea hill.

One day, about 12 hours after a pretty hard rain, my siblings and and I were overcome with temptation; we just could not resist the urge to investigate the hill. We marched across the street into the festering mud wallow. Of course, within a matter of seconds Anna and I were caught in the quick-mud, making embarrassing noises with our shoes sludging and spelching our legs deeper and deeper into the diarrhea death trap in our struggle for freedom.

just as we were about to disappear from sight into the bottomless pit of excrement my father bounced into the driveway - he always got home early on Fridays, but somehow we never seemed to remember that he got home early on Fridays. My older brother who had managed to avoid the limb trapping detritus soup hole ran across the street to recruit my father's aid.

What I saw was the silhouette of my father, a large looming man, with what looked like an axe or shotgun clutched in his right hand, walking with an angry gait toward Anna and I as we began to make peace with our inevitable tomb. I was convinced that he was going to off us and let us sink into oblivion to be discovered by paleontologists in 10,000 years. Of course, he did not, and the shotgun turned out to be a life stick that he intended to use to pull us to freedom.

My dad ruined his shirt, Anna lost her shoe and we all lost our dignity as we were hosed off outside in less that appropriate public attire by my mom who almost lost her consciousness from laughter. Although I was freed from the hill's grasp that day, I never felt completely free from the power of the diarrhea hill. Nightmares, claustrophobic panic attacks and paranoid sidelong glances marked my experience for several years following that VERY traumatic day.

We’re all Slaves. Who’s Your Master?

[Read Galatians 3:15-25]

One of the hardest things to get over for people who are wrestling with Christianity is the truth that we are all slaves (for the back story on this comment check out Romans 5:20-6:23).

If we are not believers we are slaves to sin and selfishness; we are chained to the law which was set up to reveal how far off the mark we really are. On the other hand, if we are believers we are slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:19-20). Either way, we are slaves. There is never a time that we are completely autonomous; we are always subordinate to something.

Here’s the difference between our states before and after belief in Christ. Before we believed we were slaves to the law and the law itself was our task master. Therefore, when we broke any law, caused any injustice, wounded any friend, violated any principle it was ALWAYS counted against us. We were in a state of perpetual debit on an account that had started in the deficit.

Now, however, we are slaves to righteousness. We are still accountable to the same standard and as Paul says in Galatians 3:21, the law is not (and never was) opposed to the promise of God given to Abraham. The difference is that now when we break the law, cause an injustice, wound a friend or violate a principle it is placed on the back of the Crucified Savior, Jesus Christ. It is no longer counted against us, but against Him. And in His infinite wisdom, grace, mercy, love…we are counted righteous before God.

Before faith we were slaves to sin. After faith we are slaves to gratitude. We cannot repay Christ and we would take a wrong step if we tried, but we can serve Him. We can place our lives at His disposal and expect Him to use them. We can give Him our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. We are, in other words, free to be enslaved by Christ.

The Plot Continues

[Read: Galatians 3:1-14]

Keep in mind as you read this post that this section of Scripture was written to Jewish Christians. Paul, himself, was a Jewish Christian…

Abraham is being held up as an example of faith NOT for his obedience to the law. It is suggested in this passage that Abraham was the first “believer”. In Paul’s mind, it seems clear, in this passage, that he sees himself as a true Jew, a true Christian, AND an heir of Abraham. In other words, Paul is suggesting in this letter that the chosen people of God (that is the people who lived by faith) in the Old Testament, were really believers.

I could launch off into a discussion about who comprises the “real” Israel, but I don’t think that would be very profitable. There is a lot of controversy surrounding this discussion and, frankly, it doesn’t benefit any of us to dive into irresolvable controversy. So, instead, I’m going to point out the beauty of God’s plan in this story.

God identified a people through the blood line of Abraham. Part of the promise he gave to Abraham was that MANY nations would be saved through his faith. Paul, being both in the blood line of Abraham (as a Jew) and a believer because of his belief in the resurrected Christ (Acts 9) serves as a liaison to the “other nations” referred to in the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 12:3.

In other words, you and I (non-Jewish believers) were part of God’s plan from the beginning. As you are reading the letter to the Galatians you need to keep in mind that apart from the faith of the Jewish nation we would not know Christ. Their history is our history all the way up to the time of Christ. From the resurrection on, we – who are believers through the sacrifice of Christ – are also heirs to the same promise that was given to Abraham 4,000 year ago.

This stuff never gets old to me! As believers, we are part of the greatest story ever told, and through you and I the plot continues as we see people far from God filled with life in Christ.