I hadn’t planned to fail.

Sure enough, upon further inspection, the washing machine in the laundry room directly above was spewing rusty water onto the tiled floor and down thru the walls to the bathroom below. What a mess. A soon to be expensive mess.

It could have been avoided had I planned to fail.

I probably could not have avoided the malfunction of the machine. After years of near daily use, it had reached its life expectancy date. While the timing was a surprise, the inevitability shouldn’t have been. The problem lay in a decision that I made the first day it was installed just short of ten years ago.

Instead of planning for its failure I acted as if it would live forever.

When asked if I wanted to put a water pan under it, I declined. It probably cost extra, or would have delayed the installation in some way, or maybe I’d just never seen how much water a damaged machine can produce. Whatever my reasoning, I made a decision that now will cost me plenty.

They say that “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” All I know is this: I’m going to get better at planning to fail.

I’m already thinking about other appliances in the house that have expiration dates. Do I have safeguards in place for that inevitable day when they quit working like they did on the showroom floor? I’ve got a water heater in the attic. Have I planned sufficiently for its failure? That will be a fun day.

What about as a leader? Am I planning enough to fail?

Am I spending enough time thinking about succession plans and things with expiration dates? Or am I sticking my head in the sand and pretending like everything will just last forever. The best time to make a good decision is before a lack of foresight costs you more than you can afford to pay.

How about personally? Do I have a plan for failure?

What am I going to do when I’m tempted, when I’m discouraged, when I feel like throwing in the towel? You know it’s going to happen. The exact day and circumstances may be surprising, but the inevitability shouldn’t be. What will be my safety net? How will I keep the overflow from messing up those around me? If I don’t have a plan for failure, the stain and destruction may cost more than I had bargained for.

This time when I purchased a new washing machine I chipped in a few extra bucks for the floor pan. That baby looks great right now but its going to quit working someday. I’ll be ready for it this time.

Failure is inevitable, stupidity is just an option.

Where do you need to plan to fail?

Recently Joel and Ellen Cave planted Glow Church on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia with 350 people their first weekend. I got to spend some time with them at the ALLACCESS Conference. Great couple! We look forward to “glowing” reports in the future. (Yes it’s corny, but that’s how I roll.)

This weekend Greg and Stacy Allen will be launching LIFT Church in Newcastle, Australia. I met Greg and Stacy last year when I spoke at Celebration Church in the Austin, Texas area. They will do great!

If you think about it – pray for them this weekend.

Say it with me: “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!!!”

No, the trepidation comes from the annual exercise of trying to prepare and deliver a message that navigates the veritable minefield of emotions that women are feeling on that day. You’ve got women who are: mom’s, want to be mom’s but haven’t been able to yet, mothers who’ve lost a child, women who’ve lost a mother recently, moms with wayward children, women who have lost their husbands, women who would LIKE to lose their husband, women who would like to find a husband, career moms, stay at home moms. The list goes on.

I try to do my best but over the years, admittedly, there have been times that my sermons probably did more harm than good. My heart was right but my sensitivity meter was broken. Clueless might best describe it.

Honestly, we could probably just blow right thru Mother’s Day. Ignore it from the pulpit. It not in the Bible. Just a few years after it became a holiday, the person who created it was arrested for disturbing the peace while protesting against it. We could just take a pass and avoid the potential pain entirely.

That’s probably the best idea, but unfortunately it’s not the one I’ve chosen. I still think its a great weekend to tackle issues that impact women and give them an encouraging word from the wisdom of God. We’ve just got to be less clumsy.

So here’s what I’m doing this year:

• First – Debbie sat me down and made me read this blog post by Amy Young. It was golden! I was going to innocently violate the most basic no-no – asking mothers to stand so I could pray for them. I would have ruined Mother’s Day for someone. Good catch Deb!
• Second – I made a list of several women who represented some of the above mentioned stations in life and then asked them to help me with the message.
• Third – I’m praying like crazy that God will use it in a powerful way.

Now I’m really looking forward to Mother’s Day. It should be great – if I don’t figure out a new way to mess it up

As a pastor, you have a variety of emotions on the day after Easter. Since this is my 25th Easter (we’ll celebrate that later this year), I’ve experienced all of them at one time or another – sometimes all on the same Monday.

Sometimes you feel…

• Delirious – The service went great, or your neighbor came for the first time, or you broke through a growth barrier and you feel like you’re walking on air. We’ve had a few of those in our time. I can remember being dog tired on Sunday afternoon but wanting to take a walk in the neighborhood just to talk to God about my feelings. I couldn’t believe that he would use us like this. I couldn’t believe how many people came to church on Easter. We broke through a growth barrier on this our 25th year. It never gets old.

The antidote? Tell somebody. Good news becomes better news when it shared. If you can’t think of anybody else to tell, tell me. I’m still a sucker for a good story.

• Disappointed – Frankly, things didn’t go as well as you had anticipated. Maybe the message didn’t work, the service flow was choppy, or there just weren’t as many people as you had hoped for. My wife is a great counterbalance for me when my expectations are out of whack. “Seriously, when did we ever dream that we would be disappointed with an Easter like this one?”

The antidote? Lower your expectations. If you can’t meet your expectations, and your ability to enjoy the season you’re in is constantly in turmoil, you may need to lower them. I’d rather minister from a healthy place than at an unsustainable pace.

• Discouraged – This one happens when you feel pretty good about you’re  own Easter until you start reading all the tweets about everybody else’s Easter. Their great news makes your good news feel like trivial pursuits. You could just stop following them. Probably not a bad idea. If it doesn’t lift you up, why take it in? The problem is this: simply unfollowing doesn’t get to the root problem.

The antidote? Broaden the we. “We had a great Easter” should include everyone in the body of Christ. The only one that really has a bad Easter is Satan. Bummer for him.

• Depressed – After a few Easters I noticed that even “Delirious” and mild depression can coexist. (I’m not talking about a long lasting, see a doc and take some meds type depression.) We could have a great Easter celebration, God met with us in pretty incredible ways, and two days later I’m feeling like the sky is falling. Someone recently told me that he discovered, while studying several great and accomplished ministers, that an unusual number of them resigned their posts shortly after Easter. Go figure.

The antidote? Just get some rest. Chances are, your body over adrenalized in the build up too and actual accomplishment of this incredible day. Don’t talk to anyone, quit anything, or make any long term commitments. Just chill. You’ll feel better soon. Besides, you’re going to get another swing at it this week. The last I checked, we celebrate Easter 365 days a year.

What do you think?

What do you do to get the mojo back?

If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.  2 Corinthians 5:13-15

Devotional:

Last week, my son came down with the stomach bug at 3 in the morning.  After multiple episodes, changing his sheets, clothes and cleaning him up, I found myself lying in his bed attempting to help him go to sleep.  I was in a bed too small, lying on the side of the bed that still had residue from one of the episodes (we ran out of sheets) and my son was kicking me thinking he was playing a game. Did I mention it was 3am?

As I was laying there, I began to think that all I was experiencing, mainly the lack of sleep, was well worth it to show my son how much I love him.  I love him enough to do the unthinkable.  I love him enough to do the undesirable.  I love him enough to do the uncomfortable.

It’s easy, however, to do what I did for my son. The question is, “Am I willing to do whatever is needed to show others that I love them?” Will I share my faith with those who don’t know Christ? Will I give up my time, money, and other resources to help those in need because of love? Will I do that which makes me uncomfortable to show love to those God places in my life?

I hope that I am never woken up by the cries of my son again.  I hope I am never cleaning up the stomach bug at 4am.  I hope I never have to sleep in my son’s bed again.  But, if it does happen again…I will do it all over again, because… Love Compels.             – Ernest Smith, Mount Pleasant Campus

Soul Tattoo:

Love compels us to do the unthinkable, the undesirable, the uncomfortable!

Action Steps:

1. Show love to someone today that may be out of the norm for you?
2. Read 1 John 4:7-21

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12

Devotional:

Having compassion is an integral part of being a Christian.  A follower of Jesus that lacks time to be compassionate towards others is like a fireman that hasn’t the time to put out fires.  In Matthew 25:34-46, Jesus further defines compassion as more than a feeling.  One must not “feel sorry” for a family that is hungry.  A Christian must act on meeting the needs of people around them.  As Jesus’ disciples, we are commanded to have our eyes set on the things of the eternal, (Colossians 3:2) this resulting in a selfless approach to life.  In the scope of eternity, one realizes that his life on earth is too short to be self-centered.

Jesus’ whole purpose for coming to earth stemmed from his compassion for humanity, wanting all men and women to have a restored relationship with God and the opportunity to live in His presence forever.   When you take a close look at how Jesus lived His life on earth, he also touched people that no one else would dare touch, healed outcasts that no one paid attention to, and ate dinner with the scum of the earth.  Jesus didn’t even send a hungry crowd home without being properly fed (if you consider raw fish and bread proper).  Our savior and leader manifested compassion perfectly.  As His followers, we have no choice but to do the same.  ”Clothe yourselves with compassion.”  This means nothing less than a lifestyle of caring for others.       – Joey Svendsen, James Island Campus

Soul tattoo:

Ask God to reveal potential obstacles in your lifestyle or perhaps some sin in your heart that prevents you from living a compassionate life towards others.

Action Steps:

1. Reflect on Philippians 4:13 and through prayer, commit to being more compassionate.

2. Brainstorm a list of ways in which you can show compassion to others.  You may be surprised of the opportunities you’ve been overlooking right under your nose.

3. Evaluate adjustments that may be needed in your life, in order to be more compassionate.  This may include adjustments in your budget, leisure time, and regular commitments.

4. Be compassionate.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:  Who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!  Philippians 2:3-8

Devotional:

Several years ago I sat down with a couple to begin premarital counseling.  They were sharing with me the story of how they met and fell in love, and at the end of the story, I asked what I thought would be an innocent question, “So, why are you getting married?”   Without skipping a beat the groom-to-be answered with a big grin on his face and said, “I’m marring her because she makes me happy.” And as the bride blushed while nodding in agreement, I repeated my question, “So, why are you getting married?”

The couple looked at me quite confused and almost offended. “What do you mean?” The bride asked.

“I just mean that if happiness is what you seek, it might be easier to get a puppy or a new car. With the divorce rate hovering around 60%, it sure seems like a lot of people aren’t finding the happiness they seek in marriage. If you’re happy now, is getting married worth the risk of losing that happiness?”

The couple sat silent, as I’m sure they weren’t expecting a pastor to be so skeptical of marriage. But my intent wasn’t to question their upcoming marriage or the institution of marriage itself, but to make a point that often times when we make our own happiness our primary goal, happiness is very hard to find.  Counting on other people to meet our own need for happiness always leads to disappointment and is ultimately selfish.

I have found the same thing in my own marriage.  When I seek my own happiness, I usually end up unhappy.  But when I make loving my wife my aim, when I put her needs and happiness first, my own happiness is a byproduct.  It’s hard to wrap your mind around, but true joy isn’t found through selfishness, but it is found through selflessness, by putting others first.  Happiness that seeks our own pleasure ahead of other people will last only for a time. But the happiness that comes from seeking to love someone else first, will last a lifetime.    - Alex Johnson, Asheville Campus

Soul Tattoo:

True happiness is a byproduct of selflessness.

Action Steps:

1. Pick someone in your life today and try to make them happy.  Could be a spouse, co-worker, family member.
2. Meditate on Philippians 2:3-8.

And now, O LORD, for what do I wait? My hope is in You. Psalm 39:7

Devotional –

Like the difference between stones on a dirt road and nuggets on a golden one, our Hope is vastly a more spectacular matter than mere wishing. Ours is hope with expectancy, founded in belief, in Christian faith, and in one True Treasure. Much more than limited human whimsy, ours is hope that is established, promised and secured—hope in an unlimited God—hope that we are certain to see fulfilled.

In Christ, by whom we have the “propitiation [forgiveness] for our sins,” we make our way past the hopelessness of the flesh to the hope we have through him. By God’s generous gift, mercy, divine grace, and sacrifice, Jesus became our Hope, and our bridge to a heavenly home. We who love the LORD are provided and coincided with the certainty that God is working out His perfect plan in and through us, that He is working it all together for our good, and that we are assured of a present comfort, a future and a place in eternity with Him. – Yogi Blackmon, Internet Campus

Soul Tattoo:

I joyfully hope the invisible; I confidently hope the unseen! I affirm the Spirit of God over me and within me, and I lift up my spirit to God’s love, wisdom, guidance, and grace. I receive the truth of His promises and of my eternal hope in Him, and I ask Him to make my life a testimony.

Action Steps –

1. Research and study what the Bible says about HOPE. Read Jeremiah 29:11, Hebrews 11:1, Psalm 62:5, Psalm 143:8, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, John 16:33

2. Meditate on the verses that jump out at you, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you build spiritual strength, faith, confidence, and relationship.

3. Pray and speak the Word over yourself and over others.

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”  The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”  “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” Luke 10:25-28 NLT

Devotional:

Several times in this passage the word ALL is mentioned. That is a big word. To give God all of something means we cannot have one ounce of selfish desires.  This applies to loving your neighbor as well.  Selfish desire is what caused Satan to be cast out of Heaven, Adam and Eve to eat the fruit, and pretty much all of our fights with those around us. I want my way! If God loves me then He would answer my prayers, the way I want. To be more like Christ and to be His shining example, we have to really get our heads around the idea of sacrifice.  We must understand the concept of dying unto ourselves (Luke9:23-25).  Putting others first.  Putting our spouse’s needs before our own. Letting the car cut in front of us and giving them room to come over.  I am not talking about being a pushover, where people can do whatever they like and you say ok. I am talking about loving God so much that you realize He can give you all that you need and more. Yes, He loves you and will bless you. We will however, have to sacrifice our earthly wants and desires, and focus on what He wants for us.  Over time and persistent striving for what He wants and what pleases Him, or desires for what we want change. When we can get to the point where He is really all we need then He gives us more than we can ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20-21) When we get that relationship fully correct, then it is easier to love our neighbors and understand whose will comes first.           –Seth Farrior, Internet Campus

Soul tattoo: 

To truly love God or someone else, you have to get rid of ALL selfish desires. That is sacrifice.

Action Steps:

1. Ask God to search your heart and soul right now, for any area (career, family, finances, or relationships) that you have selfish desires.

2. Write them down.  Pray over each one.  Tell Him you are willing to sacrifice these desires for a better relationship with Him.

3. If you are married or have kids, do this as well. Pray and ask God “Where am I putting my own selfish needs in front of my spouse or kids?”

“Have I not commanded to you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Devotional: 

When I was growing up, my parents introduced me to the world of sports by signing me up to play in the community league. From Kindergarten through 6^th grade it was baseball in the Spring and Summer, basketball in the Fall and Winter. Basketball was my favorite. Some of the drilling we went through was intense, but for a couple of seasons, we went undefeated. As I got older, it became apparent that I was not built for a career in sports, but one thing I learned from those early years in athletics was the importance & value of submitting my personal concerns to those of the team.  In regards to intercessory prayer, persistence can mean that my team (myself & the ones I pray for) will ultimately benefit if I put in the extra time & training as a prayer player.

I think sometimes “strong & courageous” in Joshua 1:9, can prompt us to think only of huge obstacles.  In a Hollywood-framed culture, it’s easy to picture being “strong & courageous” as going into battle with a William Wallace or overcoming a physical impediment like Forrest Gump. As a believer, it’s easy to understand “strong and courageous” as enduring extreme obstacles such as spiritual war fare, the desire to give in to unhealthy behavior, or engage in difficult conversation.  I am realizing that sometimes being strong and courageous is overcoming much simpler things like insecurity and impatience.

Do not be afraid to pray for someone you don’t know.  Do not be afraid to be that witness and pray out loud for someone else. Pray with courage and be strong against the desire to give-up. Be persistent and have faith that God hears you knocking.  Someone on your team is depending on you and your diligence.  Even as Jesus hung on the cross, he prayed on behalf of others. “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:24 NLT) – Aaron LaFalce, Asheville Campus

Soul Tattoo: 

Be a prayer player.

Action Steps:

1. Read and meditate on 1 Timothy 2:1-2 , Matthew 5:44.

2. Ask God to lay someone on your heart to pray for.

3. Pray for that person.