The participants were divided into smaller groups. One of these resource people was present as we listened to the recordings of our messages. I had brought a message I had preached from Habakkuk. Just as I was about to play the sermon for the group, in walks Tom Long. (If you are not familiar with this name, look up Thomas G. Long, the author, on Amazon.)

As the recording began, I felt intimidated. Surely this professor of preaching from Princeton was looking for something besides an ordinary sermon that I preached a few months ago. Surely this message, preached to a small group of people in north Alabama, was lacking in some way. Was I ever stunned when he motioned for me to turn off the recording and then proceeded to speak words of affirmation, encouragement, and value. I am very grateful for that moment. I am also grateful that I did not preach a message for him (in other words, preaching the kind of sermon that I think he might have wanted to hear).

2. If you are thinking about purchasing an e-reader, you might do well to read this post by Michael Hyatt (CEO of Thomas Nelson) in which he compares several of the most popular options. Also, you might enjoy watching this video of him unpacking the Kindle 3. I have a Kindle 2, and watching this video made me want to “update.”

3. Anne Jackson has written a new book entitled: Permission to Speak Freely: Essays and Art on Fear, Confession and Grace. I encourage you to look at some of the essays from this book. For a list of excerpts found on various blogs go here. Anne writes with a fresh honesty that is both real and disarming. You can visit the Permission to Speak Freely Web site here or her blog here .

4. I am really thinking through my ministry right now. Specifically I am thinking about my use of time and my own functioning in a given week. This time, I am not thinking about how to be more effective. Rather, I am thinking about how to be more like Jesus.   The question that I continue to wrestle with is this:

If Jesus were a minister in my congregation and in the city where I live, what would he be doing that I am not doing? How might he spend his time on a typical Thursday? I would love to hear your thinking on this one.

I got back from Nashville this morning at 2:00 AM.

Charlotte and I were there for the birth of our first grandchild.

Brody was born on Thursday at 5:03 PM.

Of course he was born without clothes.

A nurse wrapped Brody in a swaddling blanket. For several days in the hospital, he was wrapped in an assortment of these baby blankets.

Now of course, the grandparents are supposed to have clothes. Only this grandparent didn’t.

Yep, I forgot to take my clothes to Tennessee.

Now that’s embarrassing to admit.

I’m not sure what happened. Early Wednesday morning, Charlotte and I were getting ready to leave our home in Central Texas and travel to Nashville. Charlotte had her suitcase packed. She also had clothes to hang up in our car. I packed another suitcase. I also brought pants and shirts to hang up in our car. There were enough clothes to wear for four days.

I put everything in the car. Well, almost everything.

That night we got to Nashville. We were unloading our car and bringing our clothes into the house. As I hung Charlotte’s clothes in the guest bedroom closet, I had a sick feeling.

I forgot my clothes.

No shirts.

No pants.

I only had shoes, underclothes and what I arrived wearing, a shirt and a pair of shorts.

I could not believe this.

So the next day, I bought a pair of pants and for four days borrowed Phillip’s (my son-in-law) shirts.

Somehow, in the middle of this wonderful birth, I forgot about the inconvenience of not bringing my own clothes. I was totally absorbed in the birth of this little boy and condition of my daughter. Sometime soon, I want to reflect on what it means for me to be a grandfather (thanks Monica T. for suggesting this in a comment on Facebook). I have so much to learn though I am excited about the opportunity.

(By the way “Poppie” is the name at this point at least until this child changes it.)

Question:

What did your grandparents do right? What would you like to duplicate when you have grandchildren?

Mother and baby (and father) are fine.

More later, but for now we are so grateful and excited about this first grandchild.

(The following is a post by my friend, Jordan Hubbard, Senior Minister at the Belton Church of Christ in Belton, Texas. Jordan is a good friend, an excellent preacher, and a good thinker. Enjoy!)

The church in Philippi had issues. Something was happening in this congregation of believers that caused division and discord. The joy of the Philippian jailer and the enthusiasm of Lydia had been replaced by tension and anxiety. This tension centered around Euodia and Syntyche, two women who were key figures in the Philippian church. The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in this anxious situation. Paul helped to found this church and so had some authority with the congregation. As an apostle, Paul had the mandate to address the issue and command a solution to the division affecting this small faith-community.

What is remarkable is that Paul’s letter to the Philippians never mentions the issue. Paul constantly avoids the issue in the congregation in order to address a deeper concern. Paul exposes his agenda for this church in the following words:

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1-4)

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)

Paul’s concern for the Philippians is not to address the issue. In fact, we don’t know what the issue in Philippi is! Instead, Paul pushes an agenda that the Philippians mature and learn to empty themselves for one another, just as Jesus emptied himself for them. The deepest concern is not to provide an easy answer for a problem, but rather for the church to grow to be more like Jesus in denying themselves for the sake of others.

Ronald Heifeitz in his book, Leadership on the Line, identifies two different kinds of leadership challenges. There are technical concerns and adaptive challenges. A technical solution provides easy and fast answers to present issues, while adaptive solutions address deeper concerns and require real leadership. Most congregations expect their leaders to provide technical solutions rather than adaptive challenges that cause real growth.

I have two small children. I spend much of my time as a dad being a referee between them in their squabbles. But I have hope. I have hope that these children will grow and a day is coming when they will not need me to intervene. I expect that my children will mature, and I do everything I can to support that agenda.

What if Paul’s agenda for the Philippian church is God’s agenda for your life? What if the real task of spiritual leadership is not to solve problems but to equip believers to be mature, loving and self-emptying? How comforting is the thought of living beyond easy answers to growing to be more like the self-emptying Christ? In your experience, how much does church leadership center in on the technical solutions versus. the adaptive challenges that lead to maturity?

Sometimes we are more hesitant about doing what is right than doing what we know is wrong.

In other words, we may hesitate greatly to do what we know God wants us to do, while we hardly pause at some opportunities to do wrong.

The itch to sin may feel a lot more intense than the heart felt desire within to live in such a manner as to bring God pleasure.

In his book, The Royal Way of the Cross, Francois Fenelon wrote:

Do you hesitate or resist so much when the world sought to seduce you through its passions and pleasures? Did you resist evil as stoutly as you resist what is good? When it is a question of going astray, consciousness of heart and reason by indulging vanity or sensual pleasure, we are not so afraid of “going too far;” we choose, we yield unreservedly. But when the question is to believe that we, who did not make ourselves, were made by an All-wise, All-powerful Hand to acknowledge that we owe all to Him from Whom we received all, and Who made us for Himself; then we begin to hesitate . . . . (p. 19)

Some of us are more hesitant about being a fully devoted follower of Jesus than we are about sinning.

Some of us fear . . .

. . . that if we yield to God, he will not come through.

. . . that if we surrender to God, what we experience in him will not be as satisfying as indulging in what our flesh wants.

. . . that if we give ourselves over to God, we will give more than we will get.

Fenelon continues:

What are you afraid of? Of leaving that which will soon leave you?

What are you afraid of? Of following too much goodness, finding a too-loving God; of being drawn by an attraction which is stronger than self, or the charms of this poor world?

What are you afraid of? Of becoming too humble, too detached, too pure, too true, too reasonable, too grateful to your Father which is in heaven? I pray you, be afraid of nothing so much as of this false fear–this foolish, worldly wisdom which hesitates between God and self, between vice and virtue, between gratitude and in gratitude, between life and death. (p. 21)

Question:

Can you relate to this? Have you ever found yourself hesitating more to do what is right than to do what you know is wrong? What was at work in your thinking/heart at that point?

When it comes to marriage, Lea and I struggle with the same things you struggle with. We often find ourselves taking one another for granted for the sake of less important things. Things like busyness, ministries, work and hobbies will always crowd a marriage for time, but I think the biggest challenge for any marriage, including ours, is balancing marriage and raising children. This is especially a struggle when you have young children.

I firmly believe that the ONLY thing that should be more important than your marriage is your relationship with God. Raising your children should be of the utmost importance, but not to the degree that you put your relationship with your husband/wife on the back burner. One couple recently said this about their marriage, “We don’t have a marriage. We have a business. We make money, pay bills and raise kids, period.” How sad!

I’m amazed at how many people justify putting their marriages on the back burner for their children’s sake. If you invest all your energies into your children and none into your marriage, your marriage will struggle to survive when the kids are grown. What happens is, once the kids are grown, you’ll look across the table at your marriage partner and realize you really don’t have anything in common anymore.

So to keep your marriage happy and healthy, you’re going to have to be willing to invest time in it. Finding time to reconnect in your marriage is healthy. Lea and I strongly feel that raising our boys takes lots of time and energy, but not to the point that we lose the healthiness of our marriage. We personally feel that we must reconnect regularly for our marriage to remain healthy. Sometimes we reconnect in our marriage by simply …

• Making time a couple of times a week to go for a 30 minute walk together.
• Going on a date once a week and trying to talk about things other than just the kids.
• Calling home from work just to say “hello.”
• Spending twenty minutes at a Sonic drive-up just to talk.
• Having lunch together.
• Going grocery shopping together.
• And it’s very healthy when we can occasionally spend a night away somewhere or have a whole weekend away.

Our children are SO important in our lives, and we should be investing a ton of time into the ministry of parenthood. But our children also need to see their parents display a healthy marriage, and for that to happen it takes investing time. That’s why finding ways to reconnect is so important.

Question:

What has been important to you in reconnecting in your marriage?

• Change the oil
• Change the light bulb in the living room ceiling fixture
• Go by the hospital and check on Mrs. Smith
• Pick up clothes at the cleaners

Once I have written these things down, I will sit there for a minute or two and then others will come to mind:

• Order tickets to the game
• Get a substitute teacher for my class

It is amazing how many “to do” items we store in our heads. I have found that just getting them on paper and not being dependent on my memory alone is a real stress reliever. (No, that doesn’t solve personal organization issues, but it is a first step.)

2. I have just moved from Backpack to Things to handle my projects and to do lists. Things may have some issues, but I was ready for a change.

3. I have spent some time reading about the problem–the HUGE problem–of human trafficking. Oh my goodness! You might be interested in reading some of the extensive study released by the U.S. State Department in June (2010). You might also look at the International Justice Mission and The A21 Campaign (Abolishing Injustice in the 21st Century) websites.

4. Perhaps you have read books by theologian Roger Olson (Professor of Theology at Truett Seminary, Baylor University). Roger has just started a new blog.

5. I encourage you to read the wonderful letter written by Jonathan Storment to Rick Atchley. (For a number of years, Jonathan was a co-worker with Rick at the Richland Hills Church, outside of Fort Worth, Texas. Jonathan and his family have moved to Abilene, Texas where he will be preaching for the Highland Church.) The letter is warm and gracious and is a very nice tribute to Rick, who mentored Jonathan for a number of years. You can find his letter here.

The following is a post which appeared on her blog earlier in the year:

“The scriptural teaching that the work of God through the church can be accomplished only by the energizing of the Holy Spirit is very hard for humans to accept, for it is a concept that frustrates our own carnal desire for honor and praise, for glory and recognition.”

–A.W. Tozer, Tragedy in the Church: The Missing Gifts



These are the opening words of Tragedy in the Church by A.W. Tozer. Not one to mince words or beat around a metaphorical bush, Tozer cuts to the point and reminds us of our desperate need of the Holy Spirit. Desperate-because our need is greater than we can ever know. Desperate-because God has a way of responding profoundly to those who ache deeply for Him. Desperate-because God rewards those who urgently, actively seek Him.

As Tozer suggests, our dependence on the Holy Spirit humbles us-reminding us of our inadequacies, weaknesses, and inability to do things on our own. Our need for the Holy Spirit is yet another in a laundry list of reminders that we are not God. But oh, how we need Him.



Father, Pour your Holy Spirit afresh on and in me today. Stir up the hunger for your Spirit in my life that you may be the one who is given all honor, praise, glory, and recognition. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The photograph to the right has become one of the best known pictures in US history.

The photograph became famous because of Lee Harvey Oswald, alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy. The picture was taken as Oswald was being gunned down by Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner. This took place on a Sunday morning, November 24, 1963, as Oswald was being transferred to the Dallas County Jail. The photograph won a Pulitzer Prize.

The man standing next to Oswald (in the light suit) is former Dallas homicide detective James Leavelle. Leavelle was told to handcuff himself to Oswald. They walked into the basement area to exit into the police garage where a police car was waiting. Leavelle and a small group had already expressed their reservations about transferring Oswald to the Dallas County Jail because the police had received a number of death threats regarding Oswald. Police Chief Jesse Curry told Leavelle that they were going to do the transfer this way because he had promised the media that the move would be public.

Note the following from yesterday’s Dallas News:

An ambulance rushed Oswald to Parkland Hospital, where President John F. Kennedy had died almost exactly two days before. Leavelle kept trying to revive Oswald, trying to get a pulse. “But he never did gain consciousness,” he said. “We were about halfway to the hospital, when he took a deep breath and then relaxed. I think that is when he died.”

The officer’s last moments with Oswald prompted thousands of questions for Leavelle later, as a stunned world searched for answers. “They’d say, ‘Did he confess? Did he admit it?’ But he never uttered a word.”

Leavelle is about to turn 90. He continues to get telephone calls and letters thanking him for his service.

Isn’t it interesting that Leavelle has been living for 90 years and yet the public only knows him for what happened during just a few seconds of his life?

Sometimes, tragic moments have a way of marking a person’s identity.

I was thinking today about how easy it is to allow a few seconds of our lives to determine and form our identity. One snapshot can often be allowed to be the sum total of our identity and consequently determine much about what we do in the future. For example, a person may have experienced one or more of the following difficulties:

• Divorced
• Former drug user
• Fired twice–loser
• finished everything required for the Master’s degree but the thesis
• Filed bankruptcy ten years ago
• Overweight
• Got pregnant and not married when 19
• Helped to get a girl pregnant while in college
• Parent of a drug addict

For many people, these difficulties have a way of marking them forever–at least in their minds. It is possible for a person to live for 40 years and yet always identify himself as a person who went through a divorce.

Perhaps a good exercise as you begin a new week is reminding yourself of your true identity in Jesus. Your identity in Jesus trumps any failure or any other identity marker. Perhaps your soul needs to hear this.   

Question:

Does this resonate with you? Do you ever find yourself allowing a moment from the past to become your identity marker?

The gentleman who said these words did so as a weekend of training for our small group leaders came to a close. He thanked the speaker, the leaders of our small group ministry, and all of the life group leaders. I really appreciated what he said. Expressing gratitude to these people was important–very important.

Far too often men and women serve in a variety of ways only to hear nothing. Absolutely nothing!

They serve and serve and the response is…

…Silence.

Or, they may hear something like this: “Uh the next time we have a seminar, let’s do this instead of that.”

Really?

No thank you. No gratitude. Now the guy is going to make suggestions to these people when he has not even thanked them for what they did?

I suspect that a “thank you” is long over due for some people.

Question:

Can you think of people in your world who really need to hear a word of gratitude from you? Name a few people who really need to hear this.