Links to Your World, Tuesday August 31

At AwesomenessReminders.com you can buy a $10/month subscription and every day someone will call you and tell you how awesome you are. (Time)

 

24 Things You Might Be Saying Wrong

 

BBC News reported on a man who paid for a van in China with 100,000 yuan ($14,700), all in pocket change he gathered over years. So save those sofa quarters.

 

“A new study shows that people feel morally cleansed when they are physically clean, and as such are more inclined to judge others more harshly” (Wired reports on the study).

 

Donald Miller suggests 7 things that you should do this week if you're a 20-something: http://ow.ly/2wsEL

 

Awesome! This kid pulls his tooth out with a rocket. Dad’s filming, which means, of course, that mom wasn’t home—

 

 

Posts at “Get Anchored” since last Tuesday:

“A political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it”

 

“Some day this will all be a Wal-mart”

 

If Only She Woulda Let Him Bring in His Guitarist…

 

A Message for the Whole World

 

Winning Ways: Be Part of Our Baptism Celebration!

 

Islam, Christianity, and “explicit contemporary doctrines of political violence”

“A political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it”

Russell Moore, on Glenn Beck’s rally at the Lincoln Memorial this weekend:

It’s taken us a long time to get here, in this plummet from Francis Schaeffer to Glenn Beck. In order to be this gullible, American Christians have had to endure years of vacuous talk about undefined “revival” and “turning America back to God” that was less about anything uniquely Christian than about, at best, a generically theistic civil religion and, at worst, some partisan political movement.

Rather than cultivating a Christian vision of justice and the common good (which would have, by necessity, been nuanced enough to put us sometimes at odds with our political allies), we’ve relied on populist God-and-country sloganeering and outrage-generating talking heads. We’ve tolerated heresy and buffoonery in our leadership as long as with it there is sufficient political “conservatism” and a sufficient commercial venue to sell our books and products.

Too often, and for too long, American “Christianity” has been a political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it.

…

Where there is no gospel, something else will fill the void: therapy, consumerism, racial or class resentment, utopian politics, crazy conspiracy theories of the left, crazy conspiracy theories of the right; anything will do. The prophet Isaiah warned us of such conspiracies replacing the Word of God centuries ago (Is. 8:12–20).

Read the whole thing. And you should also listen to the 14-minute interview Collin Hansen held with Greg Thornbury, who believes the “robust cultural program” laid out by Christian leaders such as Carl F.H. Henry and Francis Schaeffer has been hijacked.

“Some day this will all be a Wal-mart”

HistoricLOLs.com--

If Only She Woulda Let Him Bring in His Guitarist…

Ouch! Let me suggest that our church’s “INVITE Strategy” and this approach to evangelism are on opposite ends of the spectrum:

(HT: Abraham Piper)

A Message for the Whole World

Okay, you decide to use a GPS “pen” to write the world biggest Google Earth message. You drive 12,238 miles across 30 states in 30 days to do it. What would your message be for the world?  For this guy it was:

I can think of a better message for the world.

Winning Ways: Be Part of Our Baptism Celebration!

“Pastor Greg, would you baptize me?”

Not an unusual request of a pastor. Except this one was made on the edge of a water hazard while four men played golf. I read the story in a church leadership journal.

Just before his move to another church, Pastor Greg Asimakoupoulos accepted an invitation to play golf with his friend Marty. Seven years earlier, Marty had been a reluctant visitor to Greg’s church. The young father had been turned off by institutional religion in his youth, and regarded the golf course as the best place to spend his Sunday mornings.

That first Sunday in church, Marty noticed an announcement for the annual men’s golf tournament. He signed up for the outing, won handily, and showed up in church the next Sunday for the award presentation.

He and his wife continued to attend due to the friendships built with other young adults and they eventually committed their lives to Christ. The young man threw himself into church life, but as the years passed he never followed his commitment to Christ with baptism. That changed in that last round of golf before his pastor’s departure:

As we approached the ninth tee, with a meandering brook and a cascading waterfall, Marty surprised me with a question: “Pastor Greg, would you baptize me?” I thought he was joking and reached for my driver. Marty reached in his golf bag and retrieved the Bible I’d given him the day he became a Christian. “I’m serious,” he said. “You know I’ve never been baptized. And, well, here’s water. What’s standing in the way?”

The pastor grinned and nodded at the parallel to the Ethiopian official in Acts 8:26-40. They removed shoes and socks, stepped into the water hazard, and Greg baptized his friend. “I welcomed my brother with a bear hug as he stepped out of the water,” the pastor recounted. “A water hazard on the ninth hole had become holy ground.”

If you’re ready to follow Christ in baptism, I’ll joyfully baptize you just about anywhere—even a water hazard. But this Sunday, we’re going to have a Baptism Celebration in our auditorium during the 10 a.m. service. Contact me right away if you want to be a part of the Celebration!

_________________________________

Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 950 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Islam, Christianity, and “explicit contemporary doctrines of political violence”

There is no Christian equivalent—either for sophistication or influence—to the body of revolutionary political thought that arose among the Sunni Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the middle of the last century, or in Iran in the Age of Khomeini. To say this is not to confuse Islam and Islamism, or to imply that Islam is always and everywhere a violent religion. Nor is it to deny that the scriptural barriers to Christian violence are notoriously easy to breach….But Islam is equipped, as Christianity is not, with explicit contemporary doctrines of political violence. Where Christianity has grown more militant…it has been in a derivative and defensive way.

--Christopher Caldwell for Slate, reviewing Eliza Griswold's The Tenth Parallel.

Links to Your World, Tuesday August 24

The Most Ridiculous Bootleg DVD Covers of All Time

 

Why do we all use Qwerty keyboards?

 

WSJ: Discovering Hats, a New Generation Brims With Anxiety Over Etiquette

 

Yikes! Some medical experts are saying that antibiotics will be ineffective in as little as 10 years. (story)

 

50 Things a Woman Should Never Do

 

7 Questions to Ask to Detect a Lie

 

Car & Driver tested texters on a closed course and found they were more distracted—more deadly—than drivers who were drunk but keeping their eyes on the road (Wired)

 

Imagine being trapped underground for 4 months while waiting for rescue. There’s a sermon illustration in there….

 

Just Moved? 10 Tips for Finding a New Church Home

 

4 Things in Your House Dirtier Than A Toilet

 

Austin’s ArcAttack:

 

 

Posts at “Get Anchored” since last Tuesday:

Jesus is The Point

 

“A sudden sense of joy and warmth and a resounding note of love”

 

Quick Colorado Trip

 

“Followers of Jesus”

 

LeaderLines: Our Leadership Huddle and the Transformational Church Survey

 

Winning Ways: What Are the 15 Most Precious Pages of Your Bible?

Jesus is The Point

What’s the point of every story in the Bible? This is worth 4 minutes of your time:

 

“A sudden sense of joy and warmth and a resounding note of love”

Believe me, it was often thus:

In solitary cells, on winter nights

A sudden sense of joy and warmth

And a resounding note of love.

And then, unsleeping. I would know

A-huddle by an icy wall:

Someone is thinking of me now,

Petitioning the Lord for me.

My dear ones, thank you all

Who did not falter, who believed in us!

In the most fearful prison hour

We probably would not have passed

Through everything - from end to end,

Our heads held high, unbowed-

Without your valiant hearts

to light our path.

"Believe Me"

Irina Ratushinskaya

Kiev, 10 Oct. 1986

Ratushinskaya wrote of her experiences in a Soviet prison in Grey is the Color of Hope, published in 1988.

Quick Colorado Trip

Michael had a week between his summer semester and his last college semester this Fall, so we took a quick trip into Colorado. Diane and Stephen weren’t able to go so you could call this a father-firstborn trip. Downside: Seventeen hours in the car. Upside: great weather, spectacular sights, and exclusive father-son time. A good trade.

At Mesa Verde Park, we made the climb up this (but from the back, which was “only” a 40-story climb, 2 miles of switchbacks):

At the top:

 

Trail ride:

“Followers of Jesus”

As for your name, we recommend that you stay away from "Christians," as that will only remind people of your founder and his gruesome death. We think "Followers of Jesus" would work, as it would focus on the life of your founder and emphasize his ethical genius. It would also downplay redemptive religion, with all its talk of sin and repentance, as well as that business about his coming again (such speculative theology will do your movement no good, in our opinion). "Followers of Jesus" is also vague enough to leave room for the imagination, allowing you to shape the movement according to the felt needs of your target audience.

--Mark Galli, imagining the advice a marketing firm would give the first-century apostles about the new church

LeaderLines: Our Leadership Huddle and the Transformational Church Survey

Have you signed up for our leadership huddle? It’s for everyone at Hillcrest who has a position of leadership or service. You have your choice of either August 22 or August 29, from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. We’ll meet on the third floor of the Education Building (also known as “The Summit,” where our youth meet). Breakfast will be served.

Earlier this summer I encouraged our congregation to participate in a nationwide “Transformational Church” Survey. The results are in, and I’ve asked Herb Ingram to bring us a report about the findings. Herb spent a week in Glorieta learning about this national church emphasis, and I think you’ll be inspired by his report.

“Transformational Churches,” according to the leaders of this emphasis, Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer, “make disciples whose lives are being transformed by the gospel, so that the culture around them is ultimately transformed.”

There are seven areas of focus:

• Missionary Mentality

• Vibrant Leadership

• Relational Intentionality

• Prayerful Dependence

• Worship that Actively Embraces Jesus

• Community that Connects People with people

• Mission in Word and Deed

From the survey conducted within our church membership, we were pleased to see an overall high level of satisfaction reported by the congregation. But in each of the 7 areas we’ve identified something to work on. I want 2010-2011 to be a year where we roll up our sleeves and work on raising our effectiveness in these areas. The leadership huddle is the best place to introduce you to these findings. In the weeks following the huddle, I’ll write more about Transformational Church in LeaderLines.

Join us this Sunday, August 22, or next Sunday, August 29. Contact Herb Ingram or Jami Dismukes to let them know which Sunday you’ll attend.

________________________

Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by more than 300 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

Winning Ways: What Are the 15 Most Precious Pages of Your Bible?

If you could only give someone 15 pages from your Bible, which would you choose?

Gordon MacDonald raised that question in one of his devotionals. He spoke of a visit to China 25 years ago shortly after it had opened its doors to American travelers:

My travel partner and I met a Christian woman who had not seen a copy of the Scriptures for two decades. When she spoke to us of the Scriptures, her recollection of certain stories was faulty or distorted. What could you expect from someone who hadn't seen a Bible for that many years?

Since all Bibles in the possession of travelers entering China at that time had to be registered at the border, and since we did not sense a calling to be Bible smugglers, my traveling companion and I could not pass on the Bibles that each of us had with us. But, on the other hand, it occurred to us that we could tear out certain pages from our Bibles and offer them to her. At least we were brave enough to feel certain that Chinese officials would not check our Bibles closely enough to see if every page was there.

And then he added this challenge as an aside: “By the way, if you could only give someone 15 pages of your Bible, what sections would you choose? You have minutes to decide.”

So, what’s your answer? I'd tear out the Parable of the Prodigal Son for her, or the pages where the Sermon on the Mount is found. I'd definitely include the story of the cross and the resurrection. And Romans 8. Oh, and probably 1 Corinthians 15 about the hope of resurrection. Am I up to 15 pages yet?

What about you?

Try this little exercise and it should spark something within you. It should renew your appreciation for God’s precious word, but it should also move you to want to share that word with others. If we really believe that the Bible has the power to change lives, then we’re withholding help from our friends and family if we’re not trying to connect them with the Book.

This Sunday @ 10, we’re going to look at four ways to ignite a new passion for Scripture in those we care about. Philip’s interaction with the Ethiopian official in Acts 8 will show us the way.

_________________________

Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 950 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

“Putting Mecca time in the face of Greenwich Mean Time. This is the goal.”

The post title is a quote from a hotel manager in Mecca, commenting on the attempt to standardize time from the point of Mecca instead of from the prime meridian, representing 0 degrees longitude, which passes through the Greenwich Observatory. Having London regarded as the starting point for measuring time is regarded by some as lingering colonialism. It’s an interesting story about the assumptions behind standardizations and measurements. Read it here.

“How you gonna lift it with your arms folded tight?”

Now the kids are all standing with their arms folded tight

The kids are all standing with their arms folded tight

Now some things are pure and some things are right

But the kids are still standing with their arms folded tight

I said some things are pure and some things are right

But the kids are still with their arms folded tight

 

So young so young

So much pain for someone so young well

I know it's heavy I know it ain't light

But how you gonna lift it with your arms folded tight?

Arcade Fire, “Month of May,” Suburbs

 

LeaderLines: Be Part of Our ‘Second Impressions’ Team!

You’ve been hearing about our “First Impressions Team.” Now I want you to join our “Second Impressions Team.”

The First Impressions Team was tasked with hiring an architect and deciding on a Master Plan for our facilities. That plan will be presented to our church on Wednesday, August 25, 6:00-7:30, in the auditorium. In a previous edition of LeaderLines I wrote about the five things our proposed Master Plan addresses.

Once our First Impressions Team presents their report on August 25, their work is done. But the work of a Second Impressions Team never ends!

Charles Arn wrote about the importance of establishing “second impressions” among church visitors in a church leadership article. “First impressions are important to first-time guests at your church,” he wrote, “but the half-hour after service can determine whether they'll come back—and stay.”

Research shows again and again that “Friendliness of the people” is the most important thing newcomers look for. And the most important time for “friendly talk” is immediately following the service.

After thinking about his experience of looking for a church after a move, Arn suggested some ways to increase repeat visits:

• After-service hosts: “A greeting time during the service is good if folks resume their conversation with the newcomer following the service. It's bad if they pretend nothing ever happened. If your people are not naturally congenial with newcomers, then appoint ‘hosts’ for after the service. They are to make a beeline to newcomers, escort them to the coffee table, introduce them to others, and invite them back.”

• The three-minute rule: “In one church we visited, the pastor reminded the congregation that no one could talk to anyone they knew for at least three minutes after the service! It worked for us. We met a wonderful person who had been attending for the past year. Our conversation lasted over 15 minutes! And we'll look for her friendly face when we return.”

• Church tour: “Guests are hesitant to wander around, even though they'd like to. So, offer a short tour after service. It's a low-commitment, limited-time, high-information event. The guide explains activities that take place there throughout the week, and guests naturally ask questions. It's a much easier next step than, say, joining a membership class.”

• Follow-up contact: “It's standard for pastors to send a ‘thank you for visiting’ letter. We got nice ones from every church we attended. But following our second visit to several of those churches—nothing.”

Arn’s research findings underline the importance of making a good second impression after a good first impression. “In typical, plateaued churches,” he wrote, “nine percent of all first-time visitors join the following year. But among second-time visitors (twice in a six-week period), 17% join. And third-time guests unite at a rate of 36% in the ensuing year. The pattern is similar for growing churches: 21% of first-timers, 38% of second-timers, 57% of third-timers return and join.”

His conclusion? “A unique follow-up contact with second-time guests is like planting seeds in good soil. A follow up strategy for third-timers is like bringing in a ripe harvest.”

So, as Hillcrest leaders, be sure to come out and hear the report from the First Impressions Team on August 25. But be part of helping us make good second impressions on visitors, too!

_______________________________

Each Thursday I post my article from "LeaderLines," an e-newsletter for church leaders read by more than 300 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "LeaderLines," sign up here.

Winning Ways: Getting Ready for the Hillcrest Master Plan

At Hillcrest, we're putting the finishing touches on a Master Plan for our campus. This process started months ago with the election of a committee charged with the task of finding and working with an architect to recommend improvements to our property.

The Hillcrest Family will see the recommendations in 2 weeks, on Wednesday, August 25. The proposed Master Plan addresses five issues. Below, these are not listed in order of when we'll tackle them. Once the plan is approved, we'll decide what project to tackle first.

There are five considerations in the plan:

First: Maximum Use of the Auditorium. As you will see in the Master Plan, there's a way to seat 800 people within the exterior walls of our current auditorium. We don't need seating for 800 yet, so we aren't proposing changes to the auditorium yet. But all other decisions on the Master Plan assume our congregation has the desire and ability, by God's grace, to see 800 in a Sunday morning worship service. So you'll see that the Master Plan suggests a way to maximize the use of the auditorium.

Second: Wise Decisions on Parking and Landscaping. If we plan to seat 800 in the auditorium, we need to anticipate where to park the 375 cars that such an attendance will bring with them. Also, since our campus landscaping is the first thing that people see, we need to address it as we deal with parking.

Third: More Appealing Entrances and Easier Way-Finding. We are so blessed for the facility that we enjoy. But 40 years of expansion have resulted in a confusing maze of hallways and building connections. And, since almost all of our parking is far from our auditorium, attendees have to work their way through the bends and turns of our hallways to get to our worship service. Think about it: Our most attractive entrance (under the steeple) is the least used! We want to keep that entrance, of course, but we want to make the most heavily used entrances more attractive, too! And once you enter one of those more attractive entrances, we want your walk to the auditorium to be a straighter shot than it is now. The Master Plan offers a way to do this.

Fourth: Better Security for the Children's Wing. As you know, the children's hallway gets the heaviest traffic. It's a shortcut from our largest parking lot, and it's the best route to the gym and the 3-story Education building after the worship service. The problem is, the only people in a children and preschool hallway should be parents and their kids. The Master Plan has a solution to route foot traffic around the children's wing.

Fifth: Additional Education Space. We are blessed with wonderful education space, and we have no need for more at the present time. But if our congregation has the desire and ability, by God's grace, to see 800 in a Sunday morning worship service, where will 800 meet for small-group ministry? We'll run out of space for our Hillcrest Kids ministry sooner than any other ministry, and the Master Plan addresses this.

Be in prayer for the August 25 meeting where we present our campus Master Plan to the Hillcrest Family!

Tom

(This article first appeared in LeaderLines, an e-newsletter I write for our church leaders. Anyone can subscribe to LeaderLines by clicking here.)

__________________________________

Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 950 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Quitting in Style

Yesterday a JetBlue flight attendant got on the intercom after his flight landed in New York, announced his resignation from 20 years of flight service, grabbed a couple of brews, and left the plane by way of the emergency slide.

As one JetBlue employee put it: "It's something we all fantasize about. But we have kids and a mortgage or are just too chicken - or sane - to go through with [it]."

Not surprisingly, there’s some real sadness behind this story. But an emergency slide to make his exit, y’all: Points for style.

New York Daily News

Links to Your World, Tuesday August 10

Robber Calls Wendy's to Complain About the Cash They Gave Him

 

This guy really doesn’t like August.

 

Time reports: “Post-Reform Credit Card Scene: New Dirty Tricks Replacing the Old Ones.” This is so maddening, especially as a dad with sons launching.

 

“Paul Yarrow of south London has a hobby: he likes to appear on television. So whenever a news camera crew gets set up in a public venue, he hangs around in the background on camera. So far, he’s been spotted in more than twenty broadcasts in the UK.” (Neatorama)

 

The mythical memories: How a fifth of us fondly recall happy events... that never actually happened

 

Insect Sushi:

 

Study: Obsessive Web Surfers Are More Depressed. An important article for parents of teens.

 

You needed a good laugh, so here are some actual headlines with meanings the editors probably didn’t intend: http://ow.ly/2lsPP

 

Ten:

10 Notorious Criminals Proven Innocent After Execution

 

10 Expenses You Don’t Need

 

Top 10 Signs Your Kid is Lying

 

And OU fans rejoice: Study shows that women find men dressed in red more appealing.

 

Someone once said, “Stress is hearing your mouth say, ‘Sure I’d be glad to’ and hearing your gut say, ‘Not on your life.’” If you have a hard time saying “no” to requests, learn these 7 Simple Ways To Say “No”.

 

What happens to “non words” that the Oxford English Dictionary declines to publish?

 

Posts at “Get Anchored” since last Tuesday:

“The periphery is now the mainline, and the mainline is the sideline”

Supercaving: Good Luck With All That

LeaderLines: Leading with a Limp

Winning Ways: Simon-itis

Is Life Best Lived “Well-Planned” or as One “Summoned”?

“The periphery is now the mainline, and the mainline is the sideline”

Why does the media still call certain denominations “mainline” and continue to assume of them an influence they no longer have? And what caused the mainline denominations to become sideline organizations?

The respected and provocative religion scholar, Rodney Stark, has been researching those questions for a new book. I’ve read three of his books (Cities of God, The Rise of Christianity, and God's Battalions: The Case for the Crusades). Patheos interviewed Stark, co-director for the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, about his findings. Excerpts:

When I was very young, there was a Protestant mainline and they were the Congregationalists, the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, American Baptists, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and more recently the media would include the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Once in a while they would even stretch things far enough to include the Unitarians and Quakers. These were the high prestige denominations, and when people became prominent and successful they would shed their old denomination and join one of these.

Now, the belief that these are the mainline denominations simply won't go away. Everyone keeps pretending that these are the folks that count. But the fact is: that's ancient history.

…

These denominations have continued to lose members at an incredible rate, and they're tiny now compared to what they were, say, in 1960. Yet one keeps hearing about the "mainline" denominations and this "periphery" called evangelicalism. Well, the periphery is now the mainline, and the mainline is the sideline.

…

Jeffrey Hadden published a book in 1968 called The Gathering Storm in the Churches. He understood what was happening. He said that a big gap has opened up between the pulpit and the pews. It has two dimensions. One is religious -- the people in the pulpit are no longer really men of God. And the other is political -- the people behind the pulpit are very much men of the Left, and most of the people in the pews are not.

The upshot of this, he anticipated, was going to be the continuing decline of the so-called mainline denominations. And what he said was true. The decline has continued. I believe the Episcopalians lost another 3 percent last year. These have become small, not very important denominations.

…

There are congregations within these denominations that are growing very impressively, very quickly, very strongly. Guess what? They have evangelical clergy.

When asked what he thinks about “progressive evangelicals” such as Jim Wallis of Sojourners, he said:

The only thing I wonder is why he claims to be an evangelical. Except that he gets much more attention. If he did not claim to be evangelical, he would just be another liberal Christian. But this way, he gets to be the media's favorite evangelical. Martin Marty will invite him to the banquet.

A colleague of mine, Byron Johnson, and one of his graduate students, just published a study in which they look at whether the evangelical commitment to social conservatism is breaking down. Jim Wallis and his ilk want to claim that young people are all wising up and moving his way. So Byron Johnson and his student look at some large data sets of self-identified evangelicals.

They don't find anything of the sort. Of course, the media want evangelicals to become liberals, so they will jump on any speck of evidence that anybody produces. But the evangelical commitment on what are called the cultural issues is just as strong and just as conservative as ever.

Read the whole thing.

Supercaving: Good Luck With All That

I just finished James Tabor’s new book on supercaving, Blind Descent, about the race to find the deepest cave on earth. I’m still scratching my head as to what drives cavers to spend weeks underground under conditions such as these (page 16):

Drowning, lethal falls, premature burial, asphyxiation, hypothermia, hurricane-force winds, electrocution, earthquake-induced collapses, poisonous gases, and walls dripping sulfuric or hydrochloric acid. There are also rabid bats, snakes, troglodytic scorpions and spiders, radon, and microbes that cause horrific diseases like histoplasmosis and leishmaniasis. Kitum Cave in Uganda is believed to be the birthplace of the ultra-term the Ebola virus.

Caving hazards related to equipment and techniques included strangulation by one's own vertical gear (primary and secondary ropes, rappel rack and ascender connections, et cetera), rope failure, running out of light, rappelling off the end of a rope, ascenders failing on muddy rope, foot-hang (fully as unpleasant as it sounds), and scores more that, if less common, are no less unpleasant.

One final hazard, so obvious that it’s easy to forget, deserves mention: getting lost.

Supercaves create inner dangers as well, warping the mind with claustrophobia, anziety, insomnia, hallucinations, personality disorders. There is also a particularly insidious derangement unique to cavers called The Rapure, which is like a panic attack on meth. It can strike anywhere in a cave, at any time, but usually assaults a caver deep underground.

And, of course, there is one more that, like getting lost, tends to be overlooked because its omnipresent: absolute, eternal darkness. Darkness so dark, without a single photon of light, that it is the luminal equivalent of absolute zero.

Those who explore supercaves endure all this for weeks, knowing that getting out will take you hours if not days of patient climbing back up over the same treacherous route you took getting down (page 93):

Helicopters make extractions from jungles, deserts, oceans, and even the highest mountains possible. Similarly, submersibles enable rescues from deep beneath the sea. No such technologies could come to the aid of these supercave explorers.

Um, yeah. Good luck with all that….

LeaderLines: Leading with a Limp

“My music is the product of my pain—

and that which has cost me the most pain to produce

the world seems to have the most pleasure in listening to.”

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Can you lead injured?

It’s an important question, considering that no one escapes the “good fight” (2 Timothy 4:7) without a few scars. As leaders, personal or family problems can leave us distracted. A bad leadership decision—or at least an unpopular one—can leave us or those we lead in doubt of our capabilities. Our projects can get torpedoed by unforeseen circumstances—the economy or the loss of key team players, for example.

“Life is difficult,” wrote M. Scott Peck in the opening line of his book, The Road Less Traveled. It’s a line as true as it is simple. And when life proves difficult, we need to know how to lead injured. Here are a few suggestions.

Remember. Remember that everything in life is “Father-filtered,” and he causes all things to work together for our good (Romans 8:28). As a pastor, I’ve often voiced this prayer during others’ crisis times: “Lord, in large ways and in small ways remind this family that you are present with them.” When you hurt and you still have to lead, look for the “large ways and small ways” that God keeps showing up.

Retreat. Hollywood prefers military stories of stubborn resistance against impossible odds. A story of military retreat doesn’t make for a good flick. But in real war, it’s a wise military officer who knows when he’s under-resourced for the conditions he’s facing. When you’re leading with a limp, retreat is sometimes the wisest option:

• In the thick of your hardship, spend more time on the work tasks you like, re-assign deadlines to a later date, postpone a major decision, and take the personal days the Personnel Manual provides.

• Send fewer emails and hold shorter conversations—I can’t stress this enough.

• Resist the tendency to overshare with those you lead. I’ve read the blogs from Christian leaders who advise us to be more “open” and “authentic” about our lives. Sorry, but those you lead don’t really want you crying on their shoulder. There are certainly exceptions to this rule, but err on the side of discretion when you’re hurting. Find someone to talk to who isn’t depending on you for leadership.

No doubt, sometimes there’s no getting around a decision that has to be made or a conversation that has to be held or a deadline that has to be met. In those cases, return to the first piece of advice and “Remember.” But when the hardship is at its heaviest, retreat where you can.

Remind. It’s not always possible or advisable to hide your hurt from those you lead. This is especially true in church leadership. In these cases, know that your pain—as with everything else about your life—is meant to be a platform to put Jesus on display. And let me add that this is therapy for you, the leader, and not just encouragement for those who watch you. I thank God that my position as pastor required me to speak of him even in my dark times. Why? Because there have been times when saying what I was supposed to say got me to where I was supposed to be.

If you’re leading with a limp right now, grab hold of the wisdom of Brooke Fraser’s “The Desert Song,” from 2008—

This is my prayer in the desert

And all that’s within me feels dry

This is my prayer in my hunger and need

My God is the God who provides

 

And this is my prayer in the fire

In weakness or trial or pain

There is a faith proved of more worth than gold

So refine me, Lord, through the flames

 

I will bring praise, I will bring praise

No weapon formed against me shall remain

I will rejoice, I will declare

God is my victory and He is here

 

And this is my prayer in the battle

When triumph is still on its way

I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ

So firm on His promise I’ll stand

 

All of my life, in every season

You are still God,

I have a reason to sing

I have a reason to worship

 

This is my prayer in the harvest

When favor and providence flow

I know I’m filled to be emptied again

The seed I’ve received I will sow

Winning Ways: Simon-itis

Time magazine once reported that in South America many of the statues of St. Mary are carved with a removable Christ child. A woman will make a request of the Virgin, then take away the baby and threaten not to return it until the wish is granted. With other statues of saints, it is common to turn their face to the wall until a plea is answered.

Are we any different? We can start seeing our faith as a tool to gain personal benefit. We can start conducting our church work as if it involves nothing more than discovering the right formula or following the right procedure or conducting the right technique. We can start regarding the matters of our faith in superstitious ways: thinking that tithing is some guarantee of financial security or thinking that church attendance is some guarantee of earthly happiness, or thinking that carrying a Bible wards off harm.

C.S. Lewis once wrote that these earthly desires of ours need to give way to a much stronger desire:

Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.

What is the “holiday at sea” we’re being invited to? As the Presbyterians put it, we’re meant “to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”

In Acts 8, we see a man named Simon Magnus who offered money to the apostles to buy the ability to dispense the power of the Holy Spirit at will. He saw the Christian faith as a means to gain personal benefit; he never sought out a loving and obedient relationship with the living God.

When I’m feeling badly, I go to my doctor and he examines me for symptoms of this sickness or that sickness. Based on the symptoms, he can determine what illness I have. Let’s call the sickness of Simon Magnus “simon-itis.”

This Sunday @ 10, we’re going to identify the symptoms of simon-it is and examine our lives for any trace of the illness. It’s time we stop being satisfied with our “mud pies” and accept that invitation to the “holiday at sea”!

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Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 950 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.

Is Life Best Lived “Well-Planned” or as One “Summoned”?

David Brooks reflects on two ways to live life:

The person leading the Well-Planned Life emphasizes individual agency, and asks, “What should I do?” The person leading the Summoned Life emphasizes the context, and asks, “What are my circumstances asking me to do?”

Read an explanation of the two approaches here.

Links to Your World, Tuesday August 3

NYT: Exploring Algae as Fuel. Please, oh, please, oh please.

 

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? British scientists claim to have solved the mystery

 

The Bible doesn't specifically say premarital sex is wrong, does it? Read “Solomon's Line on Premarital Sex” by John Thomas.

Thanksgiving Dinner should be fun: Jan Schill, the daughter of a judicial candidate in Oklahoma, really doesn't want her father to be a judge. So much so that she took out a full-page ad telling people not to vote for him. And started a blog: www.donotvoteformydad.com.

 

It could soon be illegal to roll your eyes when at this city council.

 

“Yawning has been observed in many species of vertebrates, including dogs, cats, chimpanzees, and birds. But why do we yawn? Does it serve any real purpose (besides, perhaps, subtly hinting to a conference presenter that his or her allotted speaking time has elapsed)?” Seed magazine reports on attempts to explain it.

 

9 weird ways people claim to be able to foretell your future. How about just putting your future in the One who really knows it?

 

50 Things A Man Should Never Do. Joe Carter admits the list is subjective: “We’re creating a list, not drafting law. There’s no penalty for disagreeing. It doesn’t mean you’re evil. It just means that you’re wrong.”

 

Ten Things That Should Lead You to Marriage Counseling

 

Anne Rice, vampire-novelist-turned-Christian, “has joined the loud and growing chorus that sings, ‘I love Jesus but I hate his bride.’” A shame.

 

Man hit by six meteorites blames aliens

 

This tiny 330 square foot apartment in Hong Kong, transforms into 24 different rooms.

 

Posts at “Get Anchored” since last Tuesday:

So…What Makes a Christian “Conservative”?

 

Now and Then

 

Imaginative Baby Pics

 

Witnessing to Your Robber

 

“If we do not treat a mosque the same as a synagogue or church then the church will be next”

 

Winning Ways: Our Sizzling Summer Schedule

 

“When you get something taken away from you, you respond two different ways….”

 

“Art can’t satisfy a longing for beauty. Art can pique it.”