Attitude

Attitude reflects leadership.

I like that statement. Look at any team, organization, business, corporation, community and you will see that over time the attitude of the individuals of the group begins to take on an eerie resemblance of the leader. If the leader is full of joy eventually the group will be joyful. If the leader is grumpy eventually the group will become grumpy. For good, bad, or otherwise the individuals of the group will pick up the attitude of their leader. You can probably think of a number of examples of this principle in your own life.

So here is the question...What does your attitude tell you about who your leader is?

If Jesus is truly the leader of your life, if you have fully submitted yourself to him, your attitude should resemble his. If he is really the Lord of your finances, relationships, journey, heart, character, hobbies...your life then your attitude should reflect his leadership. You should be full of the fruit of the Spirit. You should have a healthy perspective of your current circumstances. You should be willing to serve others. You should engage others in a loving way. You should have an attitude that reflects the attitude of your leader.

So who is your leader? Your current attitude will be able to tell you exactly who it is!

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2:5)

Good to Remember

This weekend I have the privilege of officiating the wedding of one of my childhood friends. Lucas and I grew up 3 houses from each other in Grand Island, NY and now we both live in Texas. We played football together, we traveled together, we have sought God together - he celebrated with me at my wedding and now I get to celebrate with him at his wedding. While I have officiated weddings before this is the first time I get to be both the best man and the officiating pastor!

As I have been preparing for his wedding I couldn't help but remember how great my wedding was. Colleen was more beautiful than I could have even imagined. That day, was a day I will never forget because I got to make a commitment to her, my friends/family, and God that together we would follow hard after God for as long as we live. I love my wife and I am so glad God brought her into my life! It is good to stop and remember. It seems as if every year this picture becomes sweeter and sweeter.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." (1 Corinthians 13:4-5)

This is Snow

Dallas, what you see out your window today is not snow but white rain. This is a picture of Buffalo, NY snow - they got 31 inches in two days this Christmas season - that is snow! =)

Shape not Shame

Random parenting thought...

My son is a leader. He is one of those kids who from a very early age takes charge wherever he goes. His little mind has an opinion on how things should be and need to be done and he is not afraid to let you or anyone know about it. He is the only kid I know who can rally a group of kids 5 years older than him to follow him around the playground as he yells out, "hey guys follow me - I am a leader!" (seriously that happens every time we go to the playground)

I love that Trey is a leader. I love that this is who God has made him to be. But in a world of two and three year olds his "passionate/intense leadership style" can be a little much. Thus a great parenting challenge - How do we encourage him to be the leader God has made him to be and yet temper his interactions?

Colleen and I want to shape not shame our son. He is leader. There is nothing to apologize for, regret, nor wish things were different. To be honest, I love it when he takes charge and leads even when it is too aggressive with the other kids because I know we can shape that gift within him! I can't wait to see him lead as his future unfolds. So, we never want to shame him for being a leader or for exhibiting leadership behaviors - rather we want to shape his personality and relational interactions to enhance his God given traits. Shaming kids for things that God has hardwired into their little personalities is the fastest way to short circuit the great things he wants to do in their lives. But make no mistake about shaping is hard work. It takes intentionality, process, time, and energy.

Typically, when we shame kids for their behavior it is because we are reacting in the moment to their behavior. But when we respond with wisdom and patience we begin to shape our kids to be the mighty man or woman of God they were designed to be.

How are you shaping your kids?

"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4)

Know or Know About?

Every Tuesday for the next 12 weeks, with my good friend Eric, I am leading theology lunch group with our staff. It is a great time of coming together and wrestling through the holistic picture of Scripture and what God reveals to us about himself. I love my team - they are great mighty men and women of God trying to know HIM better. In the midst of a lot of laughing, here was a thought from our discussion today...

You can know a lot about God without knowing God.

You can know a lot about godliness without being Godly.

You can know a lot about Scripture without believing Scripture.

The most dangerous place to be in the world is to know a lot of information about God without ever really knowing HIM. Where are you on your journey today? Do you know or do you know about?

"Now this is eternal life: that they may KNOW you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:3)

Does He Speak?

That's the proverbial question many of us ask ourselves but I believe it is the wrong question. The right question really is, "Am I listening?"

Matthew 4:4 says, "It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from the mouth of God." I love that - God speaks steady streams of words from his mouth to our heart. He is constantly speaking...so are you listening? Those streams are where the life is!

God in his infinite nature speaks to each one of us in way that we can understand. He speaks those steady streams of words in a unique way to you - in a unique way to me - so that we may hear what he has to say. Scripture gives countless examples of God speaking in these unique ways. He talked to Joseph in a dream. To Moses in a burning bush. To Gideon in the dew of the morning. To Elijah in a still small voice. To Paul in a vision. To you and I in a way that we can hear and understand if our hearts are listening!

One of the unique ways God speaks to me is in finding shed deer antlers. I have only found a few of them in my life but every time I find one, I know God is speaking to me in a way that only I can hear. On Friday morning, I found this shed antler while walking through the woods praying. I was processing some big things with God when out of the corner of my eye I saw this antler buried in some leaves. It must have been a funny sight to see, a full grown man in camouflage, worshiping God in the middle of the woods because the steady streams of words had found his heart through this simple antler.

What unique ways does God speak to you? Are you listening with your heart?

"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." (Hebrews 3:7-8)

Now and Later

"God has great things in store for you!" "God is about to do something amazing!" "God is going to move in a mighty way soon!"

Have you ever heard someone say something like that? Maybe it has been said to you. Maybe you have heard it said to someone in your life. Maybe you have said it to someone else. These simple and true little phrases get repeatedly said in a variety of situations, environments, and circumstances in our lives.

But here's my thought...we can get so caught up in thinking that God is going to great things in the future that we miss the fact that God is doing great things now! While it is true that great things are in store for our future it is just as true that God is doing great things now.

Great things are happening now because he is working in us, among us, through us, and around us. Regardless of your situations, circumstances, trials, or disappointments anytime God is working in you, among you, through you, and around you great things are happening.

Look around your life and you'll see some of the amazing things that God is doing right now. You don't have to wait for some future moment to experience his goodness. You don't have to wait until your situation changes to feel his presence. You don't have to wait until things align just right to enjoy his faithfulness. Instead embrace and engage the way God is moving in your life now!

Don't miss God in the now hoping for God in the future.

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we were filled with joy." (Psalm126:3)

Failure is Better

No one likes to fail. We don't want to fail a test. We don't want to fail to accomplish a goal we have set out to achieve. We don't want to fail in a relationship, an investment, a project, an initiative - we don't want to fail.

But is failure really a bad thing?

Well...Failure is often better than mediocre success. Mediocre success doesn't really do much of anything for us. It keeps us in a place of complacency. When we do things that are "O.K." or "just good enough" it never leaves us asking questions of how we can improve, where we need to grow, or what we can learn. Instead, we become immune and satisfied with the status quo - we want to keep everything just as it is because we know it "works." Mediocrity keeps us from stepping out in faith and taking risks. But when we fail, after we have planned, implemented, executed, authentically tried, we learn and grow.

Failure forces us to evaluate what worked and what didn't. Where our strengths were hindered and our weaknesses were exposed. Failures drive us to look inward to a place self-discovery. It shouldn't be feared but rather celebrated when we take the time to learn what went wrong and what went right. Failure isn't really failure when we learn and grow from our experience.

The old adage "if it ain't broke don't fix it" is really a complacent status quo attitude. Instead, why don't we "break it so we can really fix it?" The next time you achieve mediocre success why not ask yourself "what risks do I need to take in order to experience the possibility of a failure?" And the next time you fail why not ask yourself "what did I just learn?" Failure is better than mediocre success!

"And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test." (2 Corinthians 13:6)