Let’s just be forward right quick.  Let’s drop all the excuses and all the self-preservation and just come out and say it.  If you are doing anything more than you are seeking God, then you are not really placing Him first.  I just reread that statement and I can imagine the responses now.  What about your job, how can I be spending time with God 8 hours a day and my job 8 hours a day.  Here is what I am talking about.  There is a point in our lives where spending time with God becomes more than just reading the Word.  It does NOT replace that time of reading the Word, but it becomes MORE.  It is when you are constantly thinking about if God is directing you.  It is when you see someone and the Spirit speaks up inside of you and reveals something for you to be praying for them about.  It is when you are about to lay to go to sleep and instead of turning the TV on you quietly spend time with Him.  It is ALL the decisions that we make.  I look at our walk with God in 4 positions; Encounter with Christ, Growing In Christ, Close to Christ, and Christ Centered (thank you REVEAL).

Encounter with Christ is where we have that start up relationship with God.  It is when we are still wondering if we are saved at times.  It is where we are still trying to find our identity.  Our flesh has full reign, our emotions are out of control, and we question everything we shouldn’t and allow everything that we should, BUT we have been redeemed.

Growing In Christ is when the flesh is being put down a little bit.  This is the phase where time is being spent with God daily.  This is where we are looking to God for answers and wanting to learn more about who He is.  It is phase of our life where we feel like we are always having to fix something in our lives.  Something is always being trained to be different.  New standards and new revelations are exciting and challenging.

Close to Christ is what I call the leadership phase.  It is where we no longer question our salvation.  Our time with God has changed to be less about ourselves and more about others.  Prayer time is more prevalent and consistent.  Daily time with God is still happening along with moments through out the day where there is almost a camaraderie (not in the  familiar role).  Actions and thoughts are geared towards the respect of our love for God.  Understanding the love of God becomes the focus of the relationship.

Christ Centered is what I would categorize as the deep love of God within us.  This is when all the prosperity, self focused, individualized drive becomes obsolete.  Not because it isn’t true or promised, it simply is no longer the focus.  The level of trust between the believer and God is at a point where there is no doubt that God is going to take of our needs, so our entire focus is on others.  It is the highest level of love because it is the lowest level of self.  This is not the time when time with God becomes obsolete, instead it is more consistent and purposeful than it has ever been.  It is when the time with God is out of respect, and the relationship is constant.  It is like we are forever in a conversation with God.  Things change during this phase.  The flesh becomes a resource instead of a source.  No longer is money, job, or position a concern or goal, instead it is closeness with God, reaching others, and changing lives.  It is the moment that personal needs get taken off the shelf of second position to being placed in a box and shipped to New Zealand, never to be returned.  It is abandonment of self into an overwhelming acceptance of God.  It is when the LOVE of God becomes so richly inhabited within the heart.

I am not talking about a list of responsibilities, or a checklist of achievement.  I am talking about the relentless pursuit of a Savior who loves us so much that He lives inside of us.  This allows us to look through Him to see others – seeing them the way that He does.

That is who I want to be… Christ Centered.

Thanks for reading, pass it along.

b

There are a few things that I want to point out.

1 – He is speaking to leaders.  Sure he is mentioning that we need to submit, but in our examples everyone  of us submit to someone BECAUSE we have a responsibility of our own.

2 – He is telling us to get in our PLACE.   In other words, we have to humble ourselves.  It is OUR job to place ourselves in an attitude that is about serving.  We are to take the step that is right in front of us the best that we can.  It is absolutely imperative that we passionately pursue God by silently serving man.

3 – Live care free – SWING FOR THE FENCES.  When I saw that Albert was able to crush the ball over the ball park when he knew he had already won.  It struck a chord with me.  What if we lived that way?  What if we took the time to drop all hindrances and truly run hard after God.

27″But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

²⁹“Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.

³⁰“Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

If only Christians really lived like that.  We would never have to pull teeth to get a project done for our community, we would never have conflict, and we would never get our feelings hurt!  It is our job to love, not take offense. In fact, we are not allowed to get our feelings hurt, no matter how harsh the judgement or offense.  I know that it is a struggle for us all, but the first thing we have to do is to stop making excuses.  In a consultation, or strategic planning process, the first step is to assess the situation.  What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats?  What are we doing well, and what are we failing at doing?  In our lives, we have to be willing to do the same thing.  We have to ask ourselves if we are living out our potential.  We HAVE to stop making excuses;

“I LOVE PEOPLE, I DO.  I MEAN, I DON’T WANT ANYONE TO GO TO HELL OR ANYTHING.”

“I LOVE THEM, BUT I JUST DON’T LIKE THEM.”

“THE ONLY WAY I CAN LOVE THEM IS TO AVOID THEM.’

Yep, you have it all figured out… except… you don’t.

First Statement: “I LOVE PEOPLE, I DO.  I MEAN, I DON’T WANT ANYONE TO GO TO HELL OR ANYTHING.” Loving someone to the point of not wanting them go to hell is being willing to reach them so they do not.  Christ didn’t want anyone to be condemned to the lake of fire, so His response was to die for them.  Those people who have OFFENDED us (because that is why we have a hard time loving them – call it what it is) deserve the Love of God, who are we to disqualify them

Second Statement: “I LOVE THEM, BUT I JUST DON’T LIKE THEM.”  I challenge you to show me a scripture where Jesus didn’t like someone?  Ok, so He yelled at the moneychangers… But seriously, Jesus would walk by a crowd and would be MOVED with compassion.  Moved with compassion – it would literally draw Him to make a decision to “like” them enough to love them, or ignore the drawing of the Spirit.  We have to be careful in this part of our lives.  It is dangerous to think that love doesn’t require a liking.  That will suck the compassion out of the relationship, which will end up in bitterness.  Let me be certain to say, that you don’t have to LIKE their behavior.  We just have to see them the way that Christ did…  Then we not only like them, we love them.

Third Statement: “THE ONLY WAY I CAN LOVE THEM IS TO AVOID THEM.”  Again, Jesus was moved with compassion.  He would literally have dinner with the sinners and the publicans.  It was also obvious that He didn’t avoid the Pharisees and the Sadducees, because the Gospels are full of conversations with them.  Sure, He was correcting them and telling them that they have some issues, but you know what – He did for them too.  And what better example of that love than to die for the very one who nailed you to the cross and say “Father, forgive them.  For they know not what they do.”

Our relationship with God is not to be self centered or self indulgent.  It supposed to be others focused and God sourced.  It has nothing to do with us.  At what point do we realize that offense takes the power out of our hands, and it is truly our fault that we are offended.  As believers, we are to live FREE of the bondage of sin, and that bondage includes offense.  Forgiveness requires nothing of the individual.  Believe it or not, they don’t have to be sorry.  Thank God Jesus set it up that way for us!

Go love someone.

B

1.   To be carried out in earnest. The Bible says that a …a workman is worthy of his hire (Luke 10:7).  If we are to be the integrity filled examples of Christ in our respective places of employment then we have to be consistent in carrying out our responsibilities in earnest.  Earnest means that you are working hard enough to earn the result that you are after.  I look at the life of Christ and His dedication to the work of the Lord.  His traveling, ministry and ultimate destiny were not easy, nor were they convenient.  Instructing the 12 disciples was probably a full time job in itself.  If we are to develop in the gift, position and dream that God has inspired within us, then we have to always carry things out in earnest.

2.  Not trifling or jesting. Wait, you mean that being serious about something requires me to not play and distract from work.  Trifling is when we delay the action that we are responsible for doing.  How many times do we delay an action?  How many times do we not “feel” like doing something.  As good stewards of the position, gift or dream we have to do our part to not delay our responsibility.  In work that means that where God has you,  you should be on time, you should be diligent, you should be ahead and not behind.  In the gifting of God, you should be growing closer and pursuing to develop it.  That means that you should be training, growing, reading, watching and listening to further the gift.  Let’s remember that Jesus spent 17 years preparing for the ministry that God laid out for him.  Luke 2:52  - And Jesus grew in wisdom, stature and favor with God and man.  In our dreams we should be laying them out, making them plain, writing them down and planning for success.  Do your part in taking this walk serious!

3.  Deeply interested or involved. I think of the time when I was working for Lake Charles Rubber and Gasket and there were many workers in the back warehouse that didn’t exactly example the Christian values that I had.  I would get teased and made fun of, they would even try to get me to cuss.  It is all humorous now, but I remember the struggle between wanting to be relevant and wanting to be the right example.  I thought I was failing, but God kept reminding me to love, love, love.  So I did.  I would ask them how their family was doing… and then they would jest.   I would ask how they were feeling after missing days of work… and they would jest.  But I kept interested and involved.  One day a salesman came to the back of the warehouse looking for me. He wanted to tell me that he needed prayer because he had cancer.  He knew that he needed God to work things out and he knew that I had the line to God (all of us do, but you know).  So guess what I did? I took it serious. I got on the intercom and called out on the speaker that I needed everyone to main area.  Everyone came and I said to them ” Bobby has cancer and he wants to pray.”  They all were afraid to mess with God and didn’t want to look they didnt care so they all nodded their heads and agreed to pray.  I saw an opportunity and I took it, I said. “Lets all hold hands.” HA, you should have seen their faces as they formed a circle and held hands.  After praying for a little bit, I told them all to place their hands on Bobby… they did.  Over the next two years I heard so many stories of those same men turning their lives to God.  All because we took it serious.

The point here is that we have to take our next step serious, we have to give it our BEST.  If you are in a position that you know there is something better, still do your best where you are – it is where GOD has you.  If HE directs your paths, and HE knows what is best for you, then trust HIM.  If you are given a gift to teach, or preach, or plan – then develop that gift; read books, listen to tapes, watch videos, go to school – do whatever it takes to develop it.  If God has given you a dream… dream it.  Write it all down.  Break it down into steps.  Believe for steps to take place…

Just be you the best you can be, and let God live through you…

B

WE fail…

I still make mistakes…

WE still make mistakes…

Still…

Oh that the grace of God surrounds this trying heart and refreshes it with vision – that is my daily prayer, that I would never take the opportunity to get hurt, or to hurt (it’s not my right).  For me, hurt is offense – I don’t want that.  No matter how difficult,  I never want to get my feelings hurt, because that is the instance that I become self-focused.  I can hear family saying it now “Oh but you have the right to have emotions, God made emotions…”

Yes God made emotions, like love and joy and peace …  but sin has perverted the emotions into self-preservation. It is out of that perverted, self-focused emotion that shame, hurt, sadness, and offense are birthed.

I know I am just going on, but I want to know how to LOVE like HE does, to really care for people the way that He does.  Don’t get me wrong, I have learned SO much, and Nili and I LOVE… like really, really LOVE people.

Don’t misinterpret, I am not down, nor in any way disappointed… I am growing and falling more in love with God, and thus more in love with people.  And I pray that this passion never dies in me… no matter how much I learn to love.

Oh, that I could love like Jesus…

Oh, that WE could love like Jesus…

That is my prayer…

And if that means I have to fail 900 times to learn how to do it right…

Then as Thomas Edison would say, I will have learned how to NOT do it 900 different ways, and I have found the right one!

Go love somebody

B

This week I want to talk about a few points from a book that our Senior Pastor Corey Naquin purchased for all the staff, Everyone Communicates, Few Connect (by John Maxwell). If you own the book, I would suggest pulling it out and going through it with me as I travel this incredible journey via a blog site.

So, tomorrow starts a new day and let me tell you where it will begin; Failure to value everyone.  That will be our starting point.  The fourth step in building a team is to build relationships.  In order to develop the right kind of relationships, you have to learn how to relate.  In other words, no one is going to care what you want them to do, unless you first let them know their value to you.

Sorry this one is short, but it is first time in about 8 weeks that I can get to bed before 11pm, and I am taking it.

God is simply AMAZING, and so is my wife

Goodnight

B

Personal Reads

Shame Off You: A great book by Alan D. Wright. If ever you want to grow up to be who God called you to be, then read this book.

Who Switched Off My Brain: Carolyn Leaf. This is much more intellectual but very eye-opening. It deals with the power of our words and our thoughts…

Purpose Driven Church: Rick Warren. Ok, so I cannot say that I was expecting a lot from this book simply because our my realm of influence. I was pleasantly surprised. It is an old book and a bit outdated, however – it is a great read for personal and ministry growth.

A Tale of Three Kings: Gene Edwards. I believe I have read this book over 30 times. It is a great yearly read and situationally appropriate at time in our lives! Get over yourself and serve…

Advanced Strategic Planning: Aubrey Malphurs. A very specific subject book, but INCREDIBLE. Probably one of my favorite books right now. Very informative when it comes to thinking outside of the box.

Reveal: Greg Hawkins and Cally Parkinson. For a pastor, this is a great eye-opener about how effective you really are…

Developing the Leader Within You: John Maxwell. The first book by Maxwell that I have read. While I have heard so much about him, this book lived up to every expectation.

I’ll leave it at seven tonight, and will load some more this week. So part one of good reads is done… I simply can’t believe I like reading now!
Much love and until next time…
Love somebody
B

1 – Just because you have been defeated by something for a long period of time doesn’t mean that it is GOD. Let’s all raise our hand and be honest that there are some areas in our lives that we have battled for…. for ALL our lives. If that were the case then I could blame God for all the extra pounds that I have been carrying along. If only physical weight was the worst of it, but it’s not. The truth is we have to deal with the things that are keeping us back. TRYING to deal with them does not solve it, and being afraid of it doesn’t help it.
*****1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
Fear has torment. There are people all around us that live in fear and thus live a tormented life. That ought not be. Make a commitment to let go of that area in your life that has plagued you with fear, and let go of the harshness that you have held on to for someone else who you have disqualified from God’s love. The fact is, we can stink at fixing ourselves. Just because you can’t fix yourself, doesn’t mean that God did it to you. Maybe you just stopped standing, when the Bible says that when you have done all to stand…. stand.

2 – Just because you defeated something doesn’t mean that it will never bother you again. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. We have to guard our hearts and keep some wisdom in our steps. Basically, if you have received the victory from something, don’t go back to the place where you were in bondage. Let it go

Ok, so I have some work to do – but I wanted to post something. I think it actually turned out well. I may read it tomorrow and trash the post, but I tried anyways.
Thank you all for reading, and keep passionately pursuing God, while silently serving man.
B

Practical Step 1: Delegate
Give your leaders something to do. If they are “all trained up” and have nothing to do they will become frustrated, guaranteed. If we look back, we have to realize that we didn’t know what we were doing either, but somebody PLACED trust in me and let me go. Wow – and look at what I get to do now! God is amazing.
***Don’t do what everyone else can do. John Maxwell is so accurate when he says that doing work that anyone else can do is a waste of time. You have been called to a higher level of leading, then let someone else take where you were and you do what only YOU can do.
***Let them go – give them real responsibilities. Don’t delay delegation. If you give someone the “great task” of putting out the chairs after developing them… they will do it for three weeks and they are gone. However, if you give them the entire set up responsibility then you will be surprised by the results!

Practical Step 2: Teach the PROCESS. Judge the PRODUCT
God has placed in your hands the lives of those volunteers. Equip them, let them grow, let them go, and then watch the results. Do not micromanage.

***Judging the product puts value in their WORK, however micromanaging the process degrades their WORTH.

We want people who have been set up for success and growing in confidence. I truly believe that I am surrounded by a bunch of people who are better at what I do than I am, or at least have the potential. I look forward to moving out of the way for them to arise and shine. We have to place the value on their growth and not on our ego. Love people through allowing them to fail, learn, grow and succeed.

I hope that this has been a blessing over the past few days. I will continue to post my leadership development topics along with some projects that I will encourage you to participate in. If you are new to this blog, thank you for taking the time to check it out. I am not claiming to be anyone other than the guy who wrote this. I am simply a man who is love with God, much like you. If you are a regular, or want to be, please subscribe to the feed so that you know when updates have taken place. I am trying to get this information to as many people that I know. Not because I need anything, just simply because the church needs to hear this and grow closer to God and in turn closer to reaching people! Thank you for taking the time, and leave me a comment. See you tomorrow.

b