Laodicea was an ancient Grecian city. The Laodiceans produced a glossy, black wool that was prized by the wealthy all over the world. The city was also well-known for its medical industry and as a financial center.

Seemingly, their only major challenge was that they did not have a good water supply. They built huge aqueducts and transported cold water from Colossae and hot water from the hot springs in Hierapolis. Both efforts were disappointing. The water arrived in Laodicea lukewarm.

Whether we’re talking about coffee or iced tea, if it’s supposed to be hot, most people want it really hot. If it’s supposed to be cold, we want it really cold.

Life is like that. Nobody likes mediocrity. We’re not attracted to it and we’re certainly not inspired by it. And . . . . . like the water in Laodicea, the natural tendency is for us to end up in that condition.  Is there a solution? I think so. We can either quit and become really cold, or we can commit ourselves to a personal growth plan and become really hot.

John Maxwell has called attitude “the speaker of your present and the prophet of your future.” It’s our attitude that impacts what we say, or, as the bible says, “From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

And our future? Our attitude determines whether our future is vibrant, productive and rewarding.  Can I control my attitude? I think so. Does that mean I have some control over my future? Maybe more than I realize.

Related Posts: Moratorium On Negativity

Last night our Youth and Young Adult Ministry kicked off a series which I have been excited about for the last few months, it’s entitled Organic Christianity. The series is about stripping everything away, getting down and dirty with scripture, but most importantly focusing on how we can be the hands and feet of Jesus.  We’ve got TOM’S helping us out with our own brand of shoe and tons of other cool stuff.  But what I’ve been most excited about is getting to painting during worship throughout the series and this was my first painting for the series.

This morning I received a very encouraging message via Facebook from one of my past employees; It made my day. It’s power made me think about how an encouraging word can dramatically change the direction for the day.

Legend has it that Abraham Lincoln’s dying mother called her small son to her bedside and whispered, “Be somebody, Abe.”  Only three words, but who’s to say that those three words didn’t change the future of America?  We should never underestimate the power of an encouraging word to a young person who may not get it anywhere else.  I firmly believe those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize.

The statement i speak of is “mountain top experience.” Martin Luther King, III, used that expression to describe his visit to India on the fiftieth anniversary of his father’s trip. The elder King had made the trip to help him further understand Mahatma Gandhi’s successful tactics of passive resistance. “This was truly a mountain-top type of experience for me,” the younger King said. “I remember my mother, sharing this very special experience with us children in the family of how moving this experience was for her. … Now I truly understand that it’s one thing for a parent to share the experience, it’s another thing for you to be physically at the site and experience it for oneself.”

Martin Luther King, III repeated this saying numerous times throughout his life, but most importantly in his last spoken message.  Insane if you think about what he is communicating.  When you think about it, in our daily lives admits the struggles, the climb to the top of the mountain isn’t particularly inspiring. Life is like that. It’s more difficult to be motivated during the daily “climb” The mountain-top experiences are a great reward for a hard climb, but the real value comes from the climb. It’s during the climb that we really develop the strength and stamina for the next challenge. There is a natural tendency to avoid the climb. It’s important for us to see the climb as an opportunity to become stronger and more capable.

Adobe Photoshop Cook from Lait Noir on Vimeo.

In order for us to grow… (fill in the blank)

Well, I like your idea for this song intro, but it’s really missing something. Check out what I put together.

“Extreme” is an okay title for the youth ministry, but I have an idea is quite a bit better.

Really? That’s the graphic you put together for the sermon series? LAME-O. Wait until they see my idea.

That’s the font they chose? I really hate James Cameron now.

Now, saying that excellence in what we do is not important would be ridiculous. We should be operating in excellence in everything we do.

Just remember that some people’s “excellent” is at a different level than yours. Remember that first sermon graphic you designed 10 years ago? Remember the video you made for youth 7 years ago? Okay. We do too. It stunk. But now you’re in a better place.

But aren’t you glad someone back then let you run with a bad idea? If they hadn’t, maybe you wouldn’t even be doing the creative things you are doing now. Somebody invested in us, encouraged us, and gave us the opportunity to run with a bad idea. Thank God for that.

So, just because that idea in the creative meeting or brainstorming session or worship practice isn’t as good as your idea doesn’t mean the idea isn’t good. At some point, if we’re honest, we can acknowledge that not all of our ideas are the best ideas.

But, God used them anyways. Not a bad idea if you ask me.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________ Aaron Alexander, our guest blogger, is Media Arts Pastor at Hope Fellowship in Frisco, Texas. He’s become a good friend over the last year and he likes to think he’s full of bad ideas; but he is so not. You can connect with him at www.aaronalexander.info or follow him @aaronalexander.