Church Practice…Mission & Vision Pt. 2

Church Practice pt.2:

Assessment & Strategy

“Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction.” Proverbs 29:18

How do we begin to set our sights on new ventures and capture victories in our church? Or perhaps how do we recapture the vigor and passion our church once had is a better question? All too often organic ministry takes shape, spontaneous growth occurs and we just don’t know what to do next. We say that we want more people coming to church but when they start coming many of us don’t know what to do with them. Sure some might say, “well we love them.” And that may be so, but without purpose behind ministry we run the risk of losing these new people because there is just nothing that keeps them coming back. It’s the work of the Holy Spirit to convict and save, but it’s the church’s responsibility to love them and accept them into the family. Without acceptance and then provided roles and duties a new member may begin to feel like the third wheel, unwanted and might be eyeing the exit sign.

Questions to consider:

What is your Church’s Mission & Vision?

Do you have these written down?

Have you shared them with your congregation?

Are they posted in a prominent place within your church so that all can see them?

If your answers to these questions is “I don’t know” and “No”, then dare I say that perhaps it’s time to get started on articulating what it is your church wishes to accomplish, what your vision needs to be and how your mission might be accomplished.

How Do We Get Started?

Scripture tells us that people without vision will perish.

1) Pray:

So perhaps the very first thing you ought to do is pray. This could be done individually at first then corporately with your core group of leaders. But prayer is our direct connection with the one who makes all things possible and the only source of our true power and wisdom in this process. Vision casting cannot effectively take place within the church without first inviting God’s Holy presence to partake in the planning process. Prayer should not be taken for granted or taken lightly. Without His wisdom and direction our Mission and vision for our church will not succeed.

2) Look Back:

I don’t say this so that we will remain there in our past, but rather we might begin to identify exactly why something became successful in your church in the first place. You might be surprised as to why a program or ministry flourished or grew. Was it because of the leadership present at the time? Was it because of the community dynamics?

The whole reason to look back at past victories is twofold. The first reason is because we need to recognize that God was present in the past and He is here in our present planning. He has granted us these moments of refinement and we ought to celebrate them! So we recognize that God was involved in the victories. The second reason we look back is to identify our victories which will motivate us and cause us to believe that these victories are still possible in this present day! Be mindful though, that what worked in the past might not work in the present. This is simply an exercise to identify the victories and the successes so that we can possibly recapture or claim new victories through the planning process.

3) Know Your Community!

There are any number of statistical web sites out there that can give you vital information regarding the demographics of your community. Not only will they provide you with the breakdown of ethnic groupings but also median age, education, house hold incomes, and even a statistic of single parents in your neighborhoods. This information is crucial to recognizing who is living in your church’s radius. When we can analyze this data we can begin to identify what our mission to our community should be. For example if there is a high percentage of single parents living in your community you might begin to use this information to craft applicable ministries to meet the needs of single parents. It is important that as you begin to craft your church’s mission and vision that you have a good understanding of your community and that of its needs.

4) Know Your Church

This isn’t to mean that you are limited to just the people in your church, but rather to be wise and know who makes up your church and its current ministries. When you know your church, its specific dynamic, good & bad, generational demographics, educational demographics, then you will begin to see what their needs are also. From this study you will then also be able to draw from those resources to better help you devise your strategies as you move forward. With your Core group of leaders you can identify church members who could be utilized in any number of ministries and that of their potential. It is important to know what you already have and who will support your church’s mission and vision.

5) S.W.O.T. Analysis

There are other means of analyzing and planning your mission & vision, but this is one tool that I have used and have seen success from. In your Core group, set aside an hour or two to sit down and do a S.W.O.T. analysis of your church while having your community demographics information at hand. What is S.W.O.T.? It is a tool to identify you Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats. Here is a web link to read up further on this vital tool: http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1049.aspx

As you get together have some big poster board paper handy, or a couple of dry erase boards available to that you can discuss and identify your church’s strengths and weaknesses, its opportunities and threats. Write them down as you share, post them on the wall so you begin to see the big picture as you proceed forward. When these are visible you will begin to grasp where your Mission is, what it looks like in your specific community and then you can cast your vision.

6) Identifying your Mission

There are many ways to do this, but with the information you have now already done, you can begin to see what it is God is calling your church to be and do in the community He has placed you in. But be mindful, you must not mistake your vision statement for your mission statement. These two things are not the same…they are hand in glove but the Mission statement ought to come before the Vision statement. Your mission is what you do every day, while your vision is what will take place in the future because you are living out this mission every day. Does that make sense? Mission is intrinsically who you are, while Vision is where you’d like to be because of who you are. Mission =Identity, Vision=future.

Since there are a lot of mission statement helps out there, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel here…use some of these resources to help you. Do some research! Here is a great tool to help you with your mission statement: http://www.firstthird.org/eym/EYM-Tool-2-Identifying-Your-Churchs-Culture.pdf

7) Vision Statement:

Again make sure that you have your mission statement for your specific church nailed down before tackling the vision statement. It’s like trying to build a house without the foundation. You need your mission statement to be clear before you can identify where you want to go. Vision casting might take some time; some continued prayer will be involved. But remember this is your church, your future and good things don’t come from poor planning or no planning. It will take some sweat and possibly tears to get there.

http://scottjeffrey.com/2010/01/how-to-craft-a-compelling-vision-statement/

Video Helps:

http://youtu.be/ioY-YSOKBtY

http://youtu.be/7orBFwkziyg

http://youtu.be/HOSpEFyGWLQ

When I went to college for organizational leadership, I learned this process and it struck me how simple it can be but many times we make it out to be so complex. With your Core leaders there has to be no ego, no sugar coating, just humble servants wanting to invest in what God has given you and your church ministries. When you put your church and community under the microscope it might be painful, yet endure the uncomfortable nature of this process because great things can and will take place if you allow God to use you and your church for His purposes alone!

Feel free to send me questions or feedback if you are interested in starting this process with your church. I have a real passion for churches going through or needing to go through this planning process!

scottstrissel@yahoo.com

May 9, 2013 0

Church Practice…Mission & Vision

Gonna step on some toes, some sacred cows and maybe a few egos.

Here goes…Why do we do what we do in Church? Is there significance in the standard things we do in church on Sundays? Do we continue various things in our services because that’s how we’ve always done them and that’s just how church is done?

Questions to consider:

the bulletin…is it necessary to print one every Sunday or do we just like to have a check off list to go by? Is it because we like order? Is there something sacred about that piece of paper that we glance at and then collect and toss in the trash after the service?

the sermon…is there an altar call at the end? A call for repentance? A challenge for the week to consider and chew on? Does it necessarily have to be at the end of the service and right before lunch?

four praise songs and only four…with tongue firmly place in my cheek, is four the magic number when it comes to praise songs? Or is it just the knowledge that this is the maximum songs any number of generations represented in the congregation can stand? When it comes to the song selections do we intentionally theme the music to coincide with the message or are they just thrown together because we like the songs?

Teachings… do we intentionally share scripture and testimonies with the edification of God and the encouragement of the ecclesia in mind? Teachings aren’t necessarily reserved for the sermon time. These can be present in worship song sets, traditional congregational songs, and scripture readings, dramatic performances, prayer/testimony times. Is there intentionality with these moments of teaching?

Collection of Money (Offerings)…scripturally the collection box was located in the back of the temple, why do we bring it into the forefront of our worship? Don’t get me wrong, if done correctly it can be another teaching moment, but is there a perception (even wrongly so) that all the church is interested in is our money? Do we teach that our tithes are a spiritual act of worship? That what we are doing is declaring that we place everything even our finances in the hands of God? Money can be a sensitive subject in church and to church members…yet do we instruct our members of not its value but its subjugation to the Creator and sustainer of all things?

Churchy Lingo…things like “washed in the blood”, “we’re bible believers”, “CSM”, “DC” “Corps”, even words like “worship”, “testimony” (I know I used it already), “Give God Glory”…and many more of these types of churchy lingo can be confusing to first time visitors. That doesn’t mean that we ought to “dumb it down” (not to be offensive here) or even to talk down to visitors…but what does an outsider see when they come to your church for the first time and hear this foreign lingo? Sometimes we might as well be talking a foreign language.

Traditions are important in that we know where we have come, but don’t mistake tradition for heritage. By that I mean, one holds us back (Tradition), keeps us looking back to the “glory days” and doesn’t consider where we ought to be going (Mission/Vision/Goals). Whereas heritage says, we have a richness of saints who have paved the way for us…we owe it to them to keep our mission and vision clear and set our sights on what is ahead rather than what we have already accomplished.

In your church why do you do the things that you do? Is there significance or are you simply going through the motions? When a church has lost its significance, its mission and vision and has instead is simply plodding along through the motions watch out! A church without mission is a church on the brink of dying away. My hope and prayer is that each and every church evaluates its mission and vision so that though denomination may guide them in the large spectrum and doctrine the local church knows where it’s going, how it’s going to get there and why they meet as a body to worship together.

Coming tomorrow: tools to help restart your church and reinvigorate its mission and vision.

tune in tomorrow as we continue this dialogue.

May 8, 2013 4

True Heroes ARE Real!

news story & interview

Yesterday I commented on the breaking story of the three women who had been kidnapped and held in a home for over tens years. Again how sick is that? Yet in the midst of this sickness and vile evil, a bright light of hope has arisen in this story. A hero by the name of Charles Ramsey. Yesterday he was interviewed by Anderson Cooper and the nation should be honored to have people like Mr. Ramsey in our midst. At face value, he’s a humble guy who doesn’t want any recognition. Upon further review he’s a solid Christian who just wants to do what is right!

Wow! I couldn’t be more impressed with this man! I’m not here to place anyone on a pedestal…and Mr. Ramsey clearly doesn’t want that either…but this is what I’ve been talking about for quite some time now. Christians living the life and not just in word but also in deed.

In the interview yesterday Charles Ramsey lifted up his actual paycheck and told the nation that he didn’t want or deserve a reward and that any kind of reward should go to the women who were rescued. Seriously I was floored and overjoyed to listen to this man speak. Again I’m not trying to elevate him or sound boastful, but we need more Charles Ramseys in our world today!

It kind of provides for us the type of testimony each and every Christian ought to have as well. We aren’t in it for the notoriety, or the money or to sell anything. We are in it for life for Christ and the redemption of the world! What He wants us to say we say, where He wants us to go we go. We are His faithful disciples and ambassadors in a world who needs hope, who needs assurances that good and salvation yet remains.

Today, I applaud Mr. Ramsey for his integrity, his heroism and the fortitude he has displayed thus far. May that be one of the shining examples of godly living to us as well as those around us.

True Heroes…they still exist…they ARE Real!

May 8, 2013 0

Victory in the midst of tragedy!

Breaking News Story:

I saw the breaking news story today about the three women who had been kidnapped and held for ten years. WOW, seriously TEN YEARS! That just boggles the mind to think of the horrors they must have endured within that ten year span. I am overjoyed to hear of their rescue and freedom and mortified at the same time that within our population monsters really do exist among us.

Have you ever been to a Walmart? I’m sure you have. Have you ever looked at all of the faces of the missing people that they have posted on that bulletin board in front of the checkout area? It really is sobering to think that darkness is real in our lives. Sure we can ignore it, but that doesn’t mean that it’s gone. Like a kid who pulls the blankets up over their eyes we can close our eyes to the horrors and pretend they don’t exist but unlike the monsters under the bed and in the closet these monsters are very real!

Another form of darkness in our world, similar to these horrible experiences of these women in our news story today is the plight of human trafficking in our world today. It’s kidnapping on an epic scale. It’s deplorable to even think that there is a market for humans. That one can even put a price on another human being. It’s the modern day form of slavery. One can imagine what these three women experienced when in the hands of this monster…just imagine being bought and sold a number of times on top of these horrors. I’m not trivializing what this breaking story today has detailed but knowing that there are other women out there in similar circumstances even in our own country really churns my stomach.

Freedom was available today for these kidnapped women and I am so joyful for their freedom and I pray for their healing and the help they will need for years to come. Please lift them up in your prayers today as well as those on Walmart walls around the country and for victims in the sex trafficking slave market the plagues our world still today.

Additional links to help stop human trafficking in our world:

http://www.humantraffickingsearch.net/

http://www.humantrafficking.org/

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/trafficking

http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf/vw-dynamic-index/629DCD4153AF8A50852574E800649A74?Opendocument

May 7, 2013 0

Wanted: A Few Good Men & Women!

“Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” 1 Peter 2:12

How do we do this as Christ followers? How do we keep our conduct honorable despite the pressures that seem impossible to resist? I suppose the question we must ask ourselves first is, “what is honorable?” If you were to look at a dictionary some of the similes of the word ‘honorable’ are: “Blameless, upright, virtuous, moral, righteous, principled.” Therefore, if we are to be honorable disciples of Christ we have to possess these qualities as disciplines in our words and our deeds. The hypocritical notion of “do as I say not as I do” cannot apply to us.

Someone is watching you!

I love that classic Michael Jackson song “Somebody’s watching me” , it’s perhaps a bit paranoid but the truth of the matter is that if you profess to be a Christian then you better act like a Christian in your actions! Why? Because there are people looking at you and looking to you as an example what it means to live an upright life! If you blow it and display something opposite of what you are professing then guess what? It’s not just you failing it’s the identity of Christ in you that has been poorly misrepresented. I hate to point fingers and I rarely will, but when churches like the Westboro Baptist church goes out and spews hatred and condemnation, what they are doing is poorly representing Christ to a lost world. Their idea of Christ isn’t something I embrace and in fact they do more harm than good with their protests and divisive signs.

You see the world is looking for blameless, upright people! The world has far too few of them. I’m not just talking about being an honorable GOOD person; I am talking about godly examples of Christ in our world today. This may sound harsh but there are a lot of Christians in this world who talk a good game but bring very little of it home with them in the way that they conduct themselves. My place isn’t to shift the blame on anyone, but if truth be told I too struggle with this in my own life as well. 1 Peter 2:12 tells us that not only ought we be honorable so that others see us do good, but that they too might see God and glorify Him! It’s a double edged sword here. On one side we are to live upright principled godly lives for ourselves and because it brings glory to God, and on the other side others are watching and innately they too want to find this truth for themselves. So that when others see these good deeds displayed in God’s people, they too want what we possess which the indwelling of His Holy Spirit and a transformed life.

How is your soul today? How is your life? Are you living for God or are you talking a good game, but there is very little evidence of Him in your life? I want to first encourage you when I say that God has great expectations for us. He knows what we are capable of and the potential that we already possess to do good in our own world for Him! He believes in you! He loves you! And our calling as Christ followers is to live this life out loud so that others might see Christ through us.

Secondly, this passage reminds you and me that there is so much more at stake here than just our reputations. If we’re wearing the cross on our bodies and as bumper stickers on our cars then shouldn’t we be wearing a transformed life as well? I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be another Christian casualty on the spiritual highway wrought with moral car wrecks! I doubt you do either.

So what?

Live what we say, and say what we live! And may God be visible in every capacity and fiber of our being!

God is looking for a few good men and women to service Him in the trenches of life. Are you up to the task? He believes in you…do you believe in you? Do you believe in Him? Get on with it then! Blessings on you this day and May you live for Him in word and deed! Amen & amen!

May 7, 2013 0

A Supernatural Hero – Resurrection Power!

Ironman 3 news article

The superhero zooms in, a little beaten and bruised…but something keeps him going. With determination in his eyes he faces off with the sinister villain who is intent on destroying anyone in his path. The hero, moments before, had been beaten and considered vanquished. Now he stands before the shell shocked villain ready take him down once and for all.

I have to admit, I’m a sucker for superhero movies! If one were to look at my movie collection one would find a slew of hero films, in fact it’s probably the biggest collection of all of my movies. I love a good versus evil story plot! It evokes in me justice and peace with just a little action and mayhem thrown in. This past week Ironman 3 debuted at theaters all around the country & world. It blew the competition away in that it was the top grossing film of the weekend (probably a few more weekends to go too). What that says to me is that I’m not alone in my love of superhero movies. There are millions out there who line up, pay for film tickets and see these films with me. Why? Why are superhero movies such a popular draw?

Here’s my take – because everyone at heart is looking for a hero! Everyone wants not just to escape into fantasy, but they want some sort of rescue in their own lives. We want to see evil vanquished! We want to see good stand triumphantly over the fallen maniacal villain! At heart, we long for heroes in our lives today!

The man stands in front of the grave of his good friend who is four days dead. The dead man’s sisters are not happy with the visiting teacher. Why hadn’t he come sooner? He is a healer, he could have done something to save him…but now it’s too late, he’s gone! But Jesus stands there and tells them to open the tomb. They must have thought to themselves; ‘Are you kidding me? Jesus he’s been dead for four days, it’s going to smell horrible in there!’ But Jesus insists and after the tomb is open, reeking of death, Jesus does something astonishing. He calls out loudly to his now dearly departed good friend. “Lazarus come out!” The people gathered there with the sisters must have exchanged confused even worried looks at each other. “Why is Jesus doing this?” Some must have wondered, “Haven’t Lazarus’ sisters suffered enough?” And yet something remarkable and awesomely supernatural takes place…there are shuffling sounds coming from the tomb.

What seem like hours pass by from Jesus’ words to what happens next…but it’s mere moments. Everyone is clinging to this last ounce of hope as death has been the unwanted house guest for more than four days. Another moment passes and then there is a sharp intake of breath and then a gasp as the dead darkens the door way of his own grave. Jesus has done the unthinkable, He has risen Lazarus from the death. A body in full rigor, decomposing in the tomb has been reanimated. Where stillness had been claimed within vacant lungs, now breathing and motion has gained access once again. Lifeless is replaced with life. Lazarus is no longer dead…he is alive!

Imagine being one of those witnesses that day? They experienced something they couldn’t quite explain; they see the unthinkable take place. A very dead person is brought back to life! Jesus, God’s one and only son, displaying His very real power over life and death! Is there any other person who has walked this earth and lived human life done more? Jesus who is the Lord of life and death? One who actually has supernatural power? A true hero for all of humanity? It is wondrous to think that not only did Jesus heal the sick and give life to the dead, but He also went to the extreme and laid down His life for all of humanity. When He hung on the cross for the sins of all of us, He went to hell and conquered sin and death! But the story didn’t end with a heroes sacrifice and finality of a mournful death…NO! He brought himself back to life! Jesus even said that He would do this for us: “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life (for my sheep) –only to take it up again.” (John 10:17 NIV)

Is Jesus your superhero? Not in some corny or silly way, but in the very real sense that He has displayed His love for you, He has conquered sin and death for us and that He is the only way by which we can find our eternal home in heaven with God. Jesus wants you to experience this supernatural salvation and deliverance. He comes to each of us and asks if we will accept Him as our savior. I have chosen to follow Him, will you?

John 11:25-26 (NIV)
²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; ²⁶and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

May 6, 2013 0

A Week in Review:

This isn’t so much a pondering as much as it is a recollection of my week:

Monday was a surprise in that we had to call 911, have our 4 year old son checked over because of an episode that we thought was a seizure…a couple late night hours spent in the ER waiting and more waiting. Sent home to ‘monitor’ him which roughly translates to NO SLEEP! But we’re thankful he is fine (no further episodes, thankfully because the first scared the living day lights out of us!)

Tuesday was essentially a wash because of our late night drama…everyone was tired, kids called in absent at school and we just spent time with each other. It’s interesting what a life/death moment like we share together would bring us closer. So we did, we talked, we laughed and we perhaps cherished our time together a little more on our ‘do nothing but emotionally recover Tuesday’!

The rest of the week seemed to zip by, with church programs, visits, office work and continual conversations both work and otherwise. I think today I might try to learn how to play this:

I hope your week went well, if not then hey it’s the weekend so enjoy!

-Blessings on you!

May 3, 2013 0

Whose ‘Will’ is it?

“Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

It’s from the ‘Lord’s prayer’. You’ve probably recited it any number of times, but have you really thought about what you’re actually saying?

When we say to God, “Father you are holy” we acknowledge two things, the first is that He is our heavenly Father and that secondly He is holy. Kinda obvious isn’t? But when we get to the next line of the ‘Lord’s prayer’, what we begin to realize is that our prayer to God isn’t about what we can get from Him, but rather what we can give Him.

A few verses back Jesus even tells His disciples not to pray like the hypocrites who love to hear their own voices and want others to hear them as well. Our prayers can be corporate but they should also be private conversations with God throughout our day.

Back to His Kingdom:

What we mean when we say “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is this: God you are God of my life and I want to be a part of Your kingdom. We are also saying that God’s Will is more important than that of our human will. Essentially what we are saying is ‘God I trust you and I surrender to you!’…but do we really? I don’t know about you but letting go of the control that I have on my life isn’t something that I’m good at. It’s a powerless feeling to let go, and yet when we pray this prayer or something similar to it, we are implying exactly that. If we don’t mean what we say then why are we saying it in the first place?

I liken it to parenting. I’m a father of four children. They mean the world to me and I am proud of each of them for who they are. As their father I want what is best for them. I want to see them succeed in every area of life. In school, I want to see them get good grades and flourish. In social settings, I want my kids to have healthy friendships and strong bonds and connections with others. As future adults I want them to be wise with their resources and smart with their money. I want to see my children succeed and so I guide them and provide them the wisdom that I have learned since I’ve been on this earth longer than they have. In the same way isn’t that what our Father in Heaven wants from us? He wants us to love Him first, but next there is that deep longing for us to succeed in this life! He wants to guide us, He wants to provide for us and show us how to live better lives. The key is that we have to listen. We have to subjugate ourselves, or submit ourselves to His kingdom and His will. When we view this submission not as negative thing or that we are losing our freedom, but rather we are gaining our freedom then it becomes clearer as to how important it is to submit to the will of God.

We don’t pray this line to mean, God wipe out all of my enemies and crush them with your kingdom. We aren’t turning prayer into another selfish edict of our wills…but rather we are first saying, “Lord it has to begin with me…right here, right now…teach me, I am submitting to your will not mine anymore.” When we can say this and actually mean it there is freedom. When we find ourselves willfully submitting to His will great things can and will take place. The world might become fiercer because of it, you might face stronger opposition in your life but you now are fully engaged in the workings of God and not your workings any longer. Our Father in Heaven wants us to trust Him, and He wants us to allow His wisdom and will to guide our lives. He wants us to succeed because He cares and loves us.

This isn’t some magic phrase that we say to make things work better in our lives. This isn’t some mantra that we utter habitually and thereby willing our essence to perform amazing tasks either. No, what we mean when we say these lines to our Father is “Here I am at your feet ready to submit all that I am to your kingdom and your will.”

What does that mean to you today?

Have you submitted yourself, your will, your desires, you hopes and dream to Him?

It won’t be easy, but if you let Him reside in you and allow His kingdom and will to replace yours, you will be amazed that you didn’t allow Him to do so earlier. Make it your private prayer today to say “Lord, your kingdom come (in my life) your will be done (in my life) on earth as it is in heaven.

-Blessings on your day today!

Prayer:

Lord I confess to you many times I have not allowed you access to my entire life. I have held back and tried to force my will not your will to be done. Forgive me and show me today how I should submit myself to you. I know that you want what is best in my life. I know that you want me to succeed. Help me to follow you, help me to trust you with everything in my life. I want to turn it over to you today. This I pray in Your name, may your will be done and your kingdom come in and through my life. –Amen.

May 2, 2013 0

So What?

You know…I hate to do it…but here goes: SO WHAT?

There’s a lot of stories out there talking about the breaking news of Jason Collins’ ‘coming out’ revelation. My opinion really doesn’t matter and I’m not really going to share that, but my whole take on the actual story as a whole is “SO WHAT?”. Meaning does that really effect anything on the court or on the field of play. Take away any moral (conservative or liberal) view on the topic of being gay, and just look at it from the perspective of someone’s professional life. It really doesn’t matter.

Now (and I love flipping the coin) on the topic of Tim Tebow…should the headlines on his story be that he’s a Christian or that he just can’t play the needed position of Quarterback in the NFL? Now, don’t get me wrong I like Tim Tebow, I just haven’t seen him play successfully at a starting QB position in the NFL. Again if the story is or the lead in is that He’s a Christian…again I say “SO WHAT?” Both Jason Collins and Tim Tebow seem to be really great guys and I’m not criticizing them by any means!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against Christianity or defaming/berating anyone’s personal life here, but in the spectrum of being a professional in any sports arena/league a person’s abilities and presence on the field/court should always trump their personal life. Looking at it from an objective stand point (and I’m sure there will be those who will disagree with me), I am sure that there are countless Christians in the NFL yet they don’t rely solely on their faith to propel them in their profession, it also takes hard work, effort and talent. The same is probably true for athletes who are gay…it just doesn’t matter on the field. You can’t rely solely on your orientation and/or personal life to propel you forward.

I am not slamming anyone here, by any means, what I am saying is from an objective stand point of any professional sports all that is important on the field is that a player can play the game and that their personal life remains personal. I wouldn’t stop watching sports because a player comes out as gay, nor would I stop watching a sport if a player came out to declare his faith, Christian or otherwise. On the personal side of things SO WHAT?

I do apologize if I have offended anyone here, not my intention, just a random opinion from a guy who doesn’t have all of the answers…yet 😉

May 1, 2013 0

Steadfast Roots or upended by the wind?

Psalm 1:3 (NIV)
“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”

It is a sunny day today, a sort of resplendent day that makes one long that each and every day would remain just like this one. It is a spring day, still turbulent in the unpredictable nature of the weather…the wind is gusting as it normally does in late April in the Western hemisphere. The temperature will undoubtedly drop this evening as the teasing warmth of the sun will drop below the horizon and we will find our wind breakers, which have now replaced our winter downs who are hanging lonely and longingly in the back of the dark closet once again.

Sitting in the sun shine, for even but a moment, one can hear the louder than whisperings of the Nor-Easter winds as they wrap themselves intimately, sometimes violently around the tall jack pine and the juniper trees that huddle together in our mini ecosystem that is our backyard. On one brief moment it even appears as if the tall jack pine might succumb to the wind’s wrestling match, as a strong gust threatens to topple its long presence of standing at attention. The branches, bending unnaturally, any moment a cracking sound might emanate giving credence to perishing callings of the wind. Yet, no terminal sounds occur, the pine has survived this round unscathed…still standing tall.

As a lowly house cat suns herself on the back porch, the trees hold fast. After all, they have stood the test of time…thus far. Their roots, deeply planted, grounded and stretching out like unseen tendrils beneath the still cold and damp earth of spring. A test to its created design, nourished and prepared for whatever the winds, changing and constant, can throw their way.

Watching such a witness of God’s grandeur, one begins to see the depth of wisdom forged within man as we too face winds of change, speaking much louder than a whisper to our human existence, beckoning us to succumb to its force and pressure. How deep do our roots descend? Like the conifers in their stately display, do our roots spread out like fingers spidering their way deeply beneath the rich earth? Are we grounded in the fertile and fortified soil? Will we stand the test of time? It all culminates in this epic survival and constant journey. A Creator longing for his creation to remain steadfast, deeply rooted and unafraid of that which seeks to upend and destroy.

Why be unafraid? One might ask. Our courage isn’t found from within but from without. A God who richly loves, boldly equips and fiercely defends. Our courage, our longevity and sustaining grace comes from Him…if we allow Him to do so. Then, we too with roots deep within our Father in Heaven, will never be shaken, never be broken and forever be defended by the Creator of all things.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV)
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

April 30, 2013 0

Category: Life