Looking Back to See the Way Forward

     I have always been fascinated by the way certain characters in the Biblical text stop at very important transitions in their lives and re-tell the history of the Jewish people. They often do this just as the people of God are embarking on some new adventure or plan for the future. That doesn't seem to be the way we do it these days. Modern leadership gurus tell us we need to focus on that end result, that thing that we want to achieve, that place where we want to end up. We hype up the crew with words of confidence about how we can get there. We tell them that we have the the unique experience, vision, skills, talent, etc to make it.
     The Bible likes to look backwards, re-telling the story of how we got to where we are today. But the stories don't focus on our great achievements. They don't recount how the 7 great wonders of the world were created. They don't talk about how humanity put together a "dream team" to solve the days pressing problem. The stories all focus on what God did. They talk about how when we were stopped in our tracks, God came through. They talk about when all was lost, God acted.
     How many times do we retrace what God has done in our lives? How many times do we do this as part of our plan for the future? One of the great things about being a missionary is that people are always asking us how we got to the mission field. We have told and retold the stories of how God brought me to the place where I would even consider missions. We tell the story of how God allowed us to go to new missionary orientation during the school year and how Ruth got paid time off to do that. We tell the story of how God protected me from a community that was intent of sending a message in no uncertain terms that they didn't want a new church in their community.
     As we move into this new phase of ministry and look to the future, I find myself wondering if it will become a reality. I wonder if I am up to the task. I wonder if we will have the resources to pull it off. And then I find myself retelling those stories in my head.... and I realize that I am only here today because God acted. And if I ever get to that goal in the future, it will also be because God acted. That is a comforting thought...

Doug

Leadership Essentials

     I was flying home from a leadership conference last week when I picked up the in-flight magazine and opened it to an article on leadership. Now I have read a lot of books and articles about leadership over the years. But there is something "new" in the leadership literature these days. Leadership trainers are talking about character as the basis for leadership and you can pay big money (up to $13,000 according to the article) to learn how to improve your character as a leader.

Playing a Leadership Game

     Most of the character traits these big time consultants talk about can be found in the Bible... but you probably already knew that. I have been in a lot of leadership workshops, and we usually talk about character as one ingredient for leadership. But last week we spent most of the week talking about character and wrestling with who we are, what we believe, and how that affects our leadership. That is how important it is. It isn't the things you say and do. It's what really motivates those actions and words, deep down in our hearts that makes a good leader. It's called authenticity. It means that we aren't just saying and doing the right things in order to be a leader. It means we're a leader because people want to follow someone with deep personal convictions and character.

     Young people will catch on to our authenticity or lack of it right away. I think that's why we are losing so many of our young people... why they are leaving the church in droves. Our lives just don't seem real to them. Too many of us in the church wear a mask and say "everything is fine here", yet up close you can still see the cracks, the flaws, the defects. Authentic people admit they don't have it together. They show the cracks and flaws. They admit that they struggle with life's issues. Authentic people take off the mask and trust that God will heal the defects.

     I certainly have my flaws and I am painfully aware of them. How about you? Let's all try to be just a little more authentic in our lives. Who knows, an unbeliever might even get an up-close look at us and decide that he or she doesn't have to be perfect to follow Jesus either... 'cause if that was the requirement, none of us would make it
....

Doug