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You Think You Know? (Or "a Minister, a Doctor, and a Plumber")

2012-05-25T09:27:37-04:00

It's been ages since I posted a puzzler. Here's one to get you through a Friday.

An off-duty policeman is working as a night watchman in an office building. He's doing his rounds, and he comes to a closed door. Behind the door, he hears voices. He hears people talking and an argument seems to be taking place. Voices are at a raised level. He hears one of them say, "No, Frank, no! Don't do it, you'll regret it."

Bang! Bang! Bang! He bursts through the door. What does he see? A dead man on the floor...and the proverbial smoking gun.

In the room, are three living people: a minister, a doctor, and a plumber.

He walks over to the minister and says, "You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent... [insert remaining Miranda Rights here]."

How does he know that it was the minister that pulled the trigger?

Okay, chew on that one. I'll post the answer on Monday. You can email the answer (my email link is to the right on this page just under my lovely photo). First correct non-Googled response receives the thanks of a grateful nation, and a mention in my international blog read by thousands - okay - hundreds.

Have fun and good luck!

Leadership and Fish Tales

2012-05-23T10:50:48-04:00

Smart leaders plan ahead for problems and have a plan for dealing with them. A fictional "fish-tale" communicates this principle well.

A young couple decided to start their own business. He was an engineer and she was an advertising copywriter. They wound up buying a small salmon cannery in Alaska. They soon discovered they had a problem. Customers opening a can of their salmon discovered that the fish was gray.

Sales sagged. Investigation revealed that the problem was a result of the way they processed the fish. “This is a technical problem,” said the wife, “and you’re an engineer. You have to find a way to fix this.”

A month later, the husband announced that they would have to replace some machinery and make other changes. It was going to take at least 10 months to do the job and it was going to cost a lot of money. “We have to do something sooner than that,” said the wife, “or we’re going to go under.”

For the next two days she pondered the problem and came up with this solution: There was nothing wrong with the salmon—it tasted fine. The problem lay in its looks. So she changed the label on the can. In bold letters, right under the brand name, the labels thereafter announced, “The only salmon guaranteed not to turn pink in the can.”

Smart and effective leaders have a process built in to deal with changes, disappointments, and simply the unexpected.

Anticipate, look ahead, foresee, and expect problems. You’re either dealing with a problem right now, coming out of a problem, or about to enter into one.

Be ready and have a plan. Deal with the problems as they come and do not let them sway you from completing the vision and the task.

New Message Series: Return!

2012-05-17T09:00:00-04:00

This Sunday we begin a brand new message series based in Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians.

During his missionary journeys, Paul fell in love with the church family in Thessalonica. After spending some time there, he left for Berea, then Athens, and from there to Corinth, where he remained for more than a year and a half.

In Corinth, the church in Thessalonica remained on Paul's mind and in his prayers. The persecution that had begun there during his short visit persisted and was intense.

Paul was concerned about the Christians of Thessalonica standing firm in the gospel under the persecution they were suffering. According 2:17,18, having been separated from the Thessalonians but a short time, Paul strongly desired to return there a number of times. Satan, however, in some manner had prevented him from doing so.

Unable to go to Thessalonica himself, Paul sent Timothy to strengthen and to encourage the Thessalonians. When Timothy rejoined Paul in Corinth, he brought Paul an exhilarating report of the Thessalonians' faith, love, and hope (cf. 1 Thessalonians 1:2,3). Relief and joy prompted Paul to write his first letter to the Thessalonians.

He wrote to tell them how thankful he was for their remaining faithful to the gospel and to further encourage them in their faith. Being relatively new Christians, he also wrote to supply what was lacking in their faith (3:10). One of the key themes he wanted them to grasp was the imminent return of Jesus Christ. He mentions it in all five chapters.

You can hear and see our messages at our Vimeo channel, our website, or our podcasts on iTunes (search: LowCountry Community Church), or right here on this blog every week. Join us!

Emily, Kenya, and God's Provision

2012-05-15T09:00:00-04:00

Our daughter, Emily - a Clemson University sophomore, leaves today for a two-week service/mission trip experience in Kenya with Love Africa. We'd appreciate your prayers for her and the team. You can track their progress through their blog site here.

The following is a post she wrote in April:

"In a little over a month about 30 of us will be traveling to Kenya. Thinking about the small amount of time that we have left to raise money and get prepared physically, emotionally, and spiritually can be very draining. For me, the process leading up to this trip has already been a whirlwind, which I never imagined. God has put me through a very big test this last month or so.

"For about 5 years now, I have known that I was called to pursue international missions as my career and ever since I have been incredibly blessed with abundant support both financially and prayerfully. The multiple mission trips that I have been on have been cent free on my part; family and friends gave more than I ever thought. Naturally, I began to think that since God was calling me to go to Kenya, the money would come in with no problem, just like it had in the past.

"Little did I know that this wasn’t going to be the case, God wanted me to give up the money to Him and completely trust that He could provide.

"I didn’t have near enough the amount of money that I needed for the deposit and I was a few hours away from not being able to go. I was upset and questioning God, then my parents came to visit me and we just prayed that God would give me a sign that the money was coming and if not, it just wasn’t his plan. Less than an hour later I got a call from Nathan saying that there had been an anonymous donation to me and in that moment I knew that I was officially going to Kenya. Yes, I had to go through a storm to get there but coming out of that storm has been the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me.

"I have learned how to give over every part of my life to God, pray continually for things that I trust God can handle rather than just hoping He can help me. So many other students have experienced miracles just like this and I know that if God is showing up now He will definitely show up on our trip to Kenya. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do through our team and the people that we encounter. Please just be praying for our team that we can trust God to provide and that He will show up like we couldn’t even imagine while we are there."

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21

Sleeping Through Your Greatest Opportunity!

2012-05-14T09:00:00-04:00

If you were given the opportunity to be President or Prime Minister for one day, what would you do? Declare war on some dinky little nation? Bomb your enemies? Appoint your friends to office? Make some off-the-wall executive decision?

There was one twenty-four hour period in U.S. history when we did not have an elected president. In 1849, General Zachary Taylor - “Old Rough and Ready” - had been elected president. He was following the outgoing James K. Polk. Taylor was to be inaugurated at 12 noon on a Sunday; that was when Polk’s term expired.

Taylor was a devout Christian and refused to be inaugurated on the Lord’s Day; it was agreed then, that he would be sworn into office on the next day – Monday at 12 noon.

That left the Senate in a bit of a quandary. The country would be without a president for 24 hours. David Rice Atchison was tapped to stand in the gap. He was serving as a Senator and due to his Senate Office he was the third in line for the Presidency. The President and Vice-President’s offices expired, leaving the country without leadership. So Atchison was sworn in. What did he do? When asked, he commented "I went to bed. There had been two or three busy nights finishing up the work of the Senate, and I slept most of that Sunday." He not only slept on Sunday night, but all through Monday morning. He didn’t awaken until 2:00 p.m. on Monday afternoon!

Do you sometimes feel like Atchison? The opportunities to do something great are in your hand, but you find yourself in a spiritual, physical, or emotional slumber? And at times, you sleep right through your opportunities!

Most of us feel that way from time-to-time. I believe though, that most of us have an inner sense that there is a mission to fulfill; an eternal destiny to pursue. But we often end up pursuing the tyranny of the urgent. We end up playing defense rather than offense.

The key to living the life you were meant to live is to never stop pursuing your God-given purpose! Or you'll wind up, like Atchinson, sleeping through your greatest opportunity - your "three-score and ten!"

Getting On Well With God

2012-05-11T11:01:16-04:00

"Not many of us get on really well with God. We may not actually quarrel with Him; we maintain an attitude of benevolent neutrality; or we dwell in His presence in sullen silence. I have often thought that the most amazing biography ever written is the inspired record concerning Enoch. He walked with God!"

- F.W. Boreham, The Passing of John Broadbanks

Five Principles of Dad-Hood

2012-05-10T08:00:00-04:00

Here's this past Sunday's LCC worship service and our third message in our four-part series, "Restore." You can view dozens of our services and messages on our Vimeo channel here.

(If you're having trouble viewing the video, click here.)

Baldness, Time, and Managing Opportunities

2012-05-01T14:42:17-04:00

In ancient Greece statues stood like sentinels around the cities. Some represented famous people and Grecian ideals; others were dedicated to their gods. Paul spoke of one marbled diety in Acts 17:22-23: "I even found an altar with this description: 'To an Unknown God.'"

Another was called the Statue of Opportunity. It portrayed a human being with a normal body. The head, however, was unusual. It had long flowing hair in the front and was bald in the back. It was a constant reminder to every Athenian that opportunity was something you could grab as it was coming toward you, but once it passed you by, you couldn’t get hold of it anymore.

The same is true of time.

If we lose control of our time, we lose opportunities. If you and I can steward our time well, we will be ready for opportunities when they arise.

Leaving a Legacy

2012-04-25T12:00:13-04:00

Here's this past Sunday's LCC worship service and my first message in our new, four-part series, "Restore." You can view dozens of our services and messages on our Vimeo channel here.

(If you're having trouble viewing the video, click here.)

The Church in Vegas

2012-04-23T17:55:27-04:00

This may come as a surprise to you if you don't reside in Las Vegas, but did you know there are more Catholic churches in Vegas than there are casinos?

Not surprisingly, some Sunday worshippers will give casino chips rather than cash when the offering basket is passed.

Since they receive chips from various casinos, the churches have devised a rather ingenious method to collect the offerings.

The churches send all their casino chips to a nearby Franciscan monastery for sorting, and then the chips are taken to the casinos of origin and cashed in.

This is all done by the chip monks.

(Never even saw it coming, did you?)