"a walk to remember..."

yesterday, I got outside and went for a little hike in the woods with my two sons...and 20 other men and boys. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...
Actually, it was really good. We got to spend some time together doing a "manly" thing, and I got to observe my boys and gain a little more insight into their development as men and potential leaders.
Aside from the initial feelings of guilt, like, "man, we really ought to do this more often", I was struck by another thought; the desire to lead is so prevalent in the psyche of young boys. We were with a large group of men and boys from our church, and it was almost laughable at how the boys jockeyed for position on this very narrow trail.
I don't know if you've ever had the opportunity to observe the machinations of the man cub first hand, but it really is comical and educational. In part, because those of us who have bigger bodies and refer to ourselves as men, really don't get much beyond those desires to run pell-mell through the woods, throwing rocks and poking things with sticks...but, that's another conversation for another time.
As I mentioned, the comedy is found in the jostling and shoving, trying to be the first one, leading the way, prancing and pawing, asserting one's dominance...running ahead, tiring out, but summoning just enough energy to stay with the guy who's trying to pass us by...(great lessons in human nature)
So for a few hours yesterday, I got to observe, first hand, this inherent desire to lead. Each boy, in his own way, trying to make his presence felt, trying to be a dominant figure on the trail, leading the charge through the wilderness.
Just trying to lead.
I think all of us, male or female, go through this developmental phase. We want to be seen as someone who is out in front, leading the charge. We want to shoulder the responsibility, to be trusted. We want to be valued enough to have followers, people who consider us worthy of following.
My own son, verbalized his desire to lead simply in asking me, "hey dad, can I be the leader?" So, he lead.
Then, after he had been leading for a while, a most extraordinary thing occurred, he turns to me and asks, "am I doing a good job leading?"
My response, was something "wise and fatherly", like, "oh yeah, buddy, you're doing a great job". I wasn't aware until later, as I thought about it, how important that small exchange was for him.
Not only to be seen as the leader, but to be affirmed in his position and performance.
I think all of us cry out for that at our core. We want so badly to be seen as a leader, we want to be affirmed in that role and we want to know we are doing a good job.
The problem is, as John Eldrege says in his book Wild at Heart, we have been wounded somewhere along the path of life.
So instead of being built up in our capacity to lead, while trying to make our way to the front of the line, our confidence was shattered, our spirit crushed, in a manner, that for some, still bears repercussions in our lives. And so we allow another to step in front and we follow in silence and brokenness.
I won't take the time in this format, to unravel the intricacies of this conversation, but instead, make an attempt to hone in on this one detail.
- Each of us is called to lead in some capacity.
Whether at home, in our workplace, in our school, we all have been given a mandate by God himself, to show others the right way to go.
We cannot wait to lead until we have acquired followers or what we feel are an adequate number of followers, we cannot wait to lead until someone asks, we must endeavor to lead, even if it seems no one is following.
Because, even if no one is following at the moment...people are watching, waiting to see if you seem to know where you are going. And if we follow Christ, there is no doubt, that the trail we're on is the right one...and every once in a while, we'll sense Him, cheering us on, giving us those "attaboys" that we need to hear.
So, as we allow Christ to set the pace and do our best to follow Him, not worrying about those who jostle and bump, trying to make their way to the front...
You just might be amazed to find, as you successfully navigate a hairpin turn in the trail, that there is a line of souls stretched out behind you as you make this journey we call life.
Lead on my friend, lead on!

say what?

I was reading in Acts recently and was struck by a verse I've read a gazillion times.
In Acts chapter one, Jesus is talking with the disciples post-resurrection and telling them about the eminent arrival of the Holy Spirit.
Then out pops the question that we see asked multiple times throughout the 4 gospels:
"Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
I thought about the question and the mindset from whence it was birthed...those guys, the disciples, the people following Jesus around, were still waiting for him to don the political/military mantel of conquering hero and overthrow the Roman government. In spite of all they had witnessed Jesus do and say, they were still caught up in the circumstance surrounding their lives in first century Palestine...wishing Jesus would wave His magic wand and make it all go away.
This line of thinking provoked this thought in me:

Not much has changed in nearly 20 centuries since that conversation recorded in the first chapter of Acts occurred. We still have questions and concerns that have to do with everything that's going around us. We want to know when the change is going to come...when is God going to address our social ills, conquer injustice, end poverty, fix the economy, etc...?
And many today assert that we can "be the change"...
However, and I do not intend for this to be, in any way, a political commentary, perhaps the change that we desire to see occur externally, must initiate internally.
Maybe, the question we should be asking is;
"Lord, what do you want to change in me?"
Instead of running around pointing fingers and blaming God for the circumstance we find ourselves in and crying out to Him to change it, perhaps we ought to ask ourselves, what needs to happen in me in order for God to work in these other areas of my life?
The beauty of the Acts account is found in the verses following the question regarding the kingdom...(Acts 1:4-8) Jesus, in a sense, gently brushes the question about their political agenda away and in a sense says, in order to help the disciples get the point, don't worry about such things, cause here's what I'm going to do for you..."you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Essentially saying...Here you are worried about these little things going on around you...I want to empower you to change the world!
This, I believe is the rallying cry for us...We're so worried about the stuff going on in our lives and around our world, God wants to begin the process of fixing those things, by empowering us to change them from the inside out!
What is it, that needs to change in you in order for change to begin around you?

running man

It's so funny and infuriating, how susceptible we are to the folly our pride produces.
Even when we know what we're doing or about to do will end with disastrous results, we forge ahead like a charging rhino, lumbering in to the fray with a "devil may care", bravado.
I can't tell you how many times, I've shaken my head in attempt to rid it of the rubble of my stupidity, brought down by pride's subversive whisper...
As i look back through the annals of time i see more public figures and even nations who have been brought low by the alluring notes of pride's serenade.
Oh, that it were so easy to look forward by looking back...but then again, perhaps it is.
Our problem, is this issue of pride. Though we can learn from history, we choose to ignore it, believing that through our superior intellect, technology and ingenuity we can overcome the specter of blunders past.
So, lest I ramble further, I pose a couple of questions.
Why is it so difficult for us to lay aside our pride and admit when we are wrong or in need of wise counsel?
Why do we refuse to see that we are headed down a path that is well trodden and littered with the bones of those whose pride blinded them to the hazards that became their undoing?
Perhaps it's like the age old story of the man who refuses to stop and ask for driving directions even though he knows good and well he is hopelessly lost...

We constantly run from the appearance of need...
If I ask for help I am weak,
If I admit I'm wrong I am a fool.
I don't need anyone to help me...i am self-sufficient, i am master of my destiny.

Funny, for those who relish the perception of power and control, we frequently flounder in the shallows of insecurity, flailing away, yet never really making any headway or achieving much of value because we just can't seem to get out of our own way.
And there we stay, wallowing in the repetitious folly that is handcuffed to us by our pride.
Perhaps the race is best run while following someone who knows where they're going.
In the end, we might even discover the key that unlocks the fetters of our pride.