"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!

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.

I LOVE MY JOB!

Over the past couple of weeks I've had the opportunity to enjoy some great times with our students at Bethel Church. And I've come to the conclusion...again...that we have some amazing teenagers who are a part of our student ministry.
For those of you who know me, I'm not an overly excitable person.
I'm pretty low-key and relaxed. However, there are a few things that bring the emotion out in me and one of those things is seeing students grow and transform as their relationship with God progresses and matures.
I've had the privilege of serving in youth ministry for the past 18 years, (and counting...), and over that period of time, Kathy and I have had the honor of serving with some incredible people.
The common thread, that weaves those of us who love youth ministry together, is that passion for students...to see them really get it! To see them grab on to God and really learn what it means to follow Him is what motivates and excites us.
I think that's why I've grabbed on to Rick Warren's words from the Catalyst conference in April...
"...we have to be about helping people move from a come and see approach to church, to a come and die devotion to Jesus Christ."
That's what our lives are to be about...transformation, and that's what has become my mission and passion, now more than ever, seeing students move from a state of ambivalence toward God to a place of complete and utter surrender to Jesus Christ.
So, through all the challenges and triumphs over the years, all of the flat tires and broken down church vans, the near death experiences in church vans, the horrible camp food, did I mention the awful camp food? teaching middle schoolers about "metric-time" in Canada, miles and miles of amusement park pavement and roller coaster track, Lost luggage on missions trips, encounters with scary street people, 7 foot tall transvestites and crazy Rastafarians, broken limbs and busted out teeth of skaters, irate parents, teaching people the wonder and elation of surfing, fainting episodes at Creation festival due to dehydration, countless relationship dramas, the histrionics of middle school girls, over-flowing toilets, puke fests and bathroom breaks along the road, doing "the Mexican two step" because we couldn't resist the road side taco stand, near drowning experiences on the Deschutes, the miraculous healings, Holy Spirit baptisms, radical transformations of drug dealing teenagers, party people learning to "party" with Jesus, athletes seeing there's more to life than what they can achieve on the field of play, bookworms coming out of their shells and discovering their gifts and purpose, kids really getting it and getting fired up enough to reach their entire campus for Christ, students grasping a mentality of service instead of consumption and discovering what it really means to love one another...man, I LOVE MY JOB!
And I'm looking forward to the start of the school year, where we can really ramp up the call, to move students from a come and see approach to church, to a come and die devotion to Jesus Christ!

Stupid Genius...

One of my favorite Saturday morning cartoons when i was a kid was the Bugs Bunny/Looney Toons Show. All those great characters, Bugs, Daffy, Elmer Fudd...classic! As i watch those Cartoons now, I realize how adult oriented they were with the political satire that was woven into the story lines and dialogue...anyway, I'm not writing to analyze the hidden political messages sent to generations through the brilliant script development of the Warner Bros. team.
However, i do want to write about one of the central characters of the later years of Looney Toondom. This is a character from whom we can learn many lessons about life, leadership and yes, even God.
This sage in a fur coat is none other than that anti-hero, Wile E. Coyote.
Wile E. was famous, or maybe infamous for chasing after the Road Runner and trying to make a meal out of that scrawny little bird. He used some far-out methods of trying to match the speed of the Road Runner in an attempt to snatch him...When that failed, Wile E. would create these intricate contraptions that were designed to capture the Road Runner, but when initiated, they always ended up catching, smashing, blowing Wile E. up, or dropping him off a cliff.
One of the things that I've learned from my observations of that self proclaimed "super-genius", Wile E., is that he was great with inspiration, but lousy with implementation.
The similarities between the coyote and me are frightening...so much so, that, in my ministry I've dreamed up these grand and glorious plans only to have them, like Wile E. Coyote, stall or even fail to launch because my inspiration never made it's way to the implementation phase.
My failure wasn't in that my ideas were necessarily bad, but in that I wasn't completely familiar with the intricacies of my personality or my gifts and consequently couldn't get the plan off the ground.
(it's actually pretty humbling to realize your personality can be summed up by a cartoon character...)
The upside is that, I now know I have to surround myself with people who are systems oriented. I need people who can take an idea and develop a strategy or a plan for executing the picture that I have in my head.
Because, I can come up with ideas and visions all day long, but if the implementation of those ideas is left solely up to me...it's going eventually blow up in my face.
The cool thing is that God has designed each of us to fill specific roles in life. When we discover how we are wired and learn how to function in our gifts and grow in our ability to mesh with others who are gifted in different ways, it is amazing to see what God does through us.
I hope you are learning some of these life lessons early on and that your journey of self-discovery begins with searching out God's design for you and not something you found in the "Acme Co." catalog.

awaken the sleeper...

After a nearly 2-1/2 year hiatus from the blog roll, i re-enter with fear and trepidation...well, not really...like most people in my profession, the sound of my own voice, even typewritten is pleasing.
Actually, I've felt for awhile that blogging needed to become a component of my ministry, in hope that my ramblings would encourage, inspire, challenge or perhaps even cause a little chuckle.
Because, at this stage in life and ministry I have to become more committed to building the success of others than I am to that of my own. Even if it threatens job security, and my sense of accomplishment and worth, I must help train up the next generation. Whereby, if my only concerns are for building my little ivory tower of success, I have accomplished nothing. Besides, it would be awfully lonely up there.
So, with that in mind, I leave you to contemplate your own construction projects...