A KING SIZED BED

I read recently that Rick Warren referred to the manger as a king sized bed.  I love that analogy.
Let me run with it.

What size bed do you sleep in?

Our American culture does not relate well to the concept of a king.  We have a tendency to take modern day royalty with the grain of salt.  It seems that most kings today are merely figure heads that don't have any real power.  Royalty seems to be just more fodder for the media to exploit.  After all, how many of us would feel weird bowing down in front of Queen Elizabeth.  (I guess we could refer to her as having slept in a queen sized bed. )

Worse than that how many of us feel weird bowing down to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The wise men got it.  The shepherds got it.  But I wonder if we get it.

Too many of us Christians want to sleep in a crib or single bed rather than a king sized bed, because we do not relate to Jesus being our King.  He just becomes a figure head in our lives or a person we can exploit.

So how about taking time this Christmas to literally bow down to our King.  Someday all of us will.
So why not start now?

SLEEP WELL.

SIMPLICITY PART 2

After discovering what our inward realities (ie. Motivations) now we can move on to our outward lifestyle of simplicity. These outward expressions that follow are a mixture of Richard Foster's book and some of my own thoughts.

1.  Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status.

2.  Reject anything that is producing an addiction in you.

3.  Develop a habit of giving things away.

4.  Learn to enjoy things without having to own them.

5. Develop a deeper appreciation for creation.

6. Refuse to get trapped into buy now and pay later.

7.  Set reasonable boundaries.

8.  Identify and honor your God given priorities.

9.  Learn to delegate.

Let me close with these questions:  What are the inward realities that are keeping you from a simpler life?  Is it performance, possessions, or popularity?

What steps do you wan to take to change your outward lifestyle?

SIMPLICITY part 1

Richard Foster defines simplicity this way:  The Christian discipline of simplicity is an inward reality that results in and outward life style. 

Inward realities can be defined as the motivating factors that cause our lives to be more complex.
Those inward realities can be captured in the 3 temptations of Jesus found in Luke 4.

The 3 realities are as follows: 1. I am what I do. (performance)  2. I am what I have. (possessions)  3. I am what others think of me.  (popularity) These unhealthy motivations usually come attached to our emotional baggage and how we are wired.  Therefore we must have a keen sense of self-awareness.

How do we do that?

1.  Ask God.  When we do, we need to be a better listener.
2.  Be approachable and teachable  to trusted people who will tell you the truth in love.
3.  Be more transparent.  We must be willing to take the mask off.
4.  Consider taking "Strength Finders" or "Style of Influence" or "Meyers Briggs" tests.
5.  Pray for courage.

So what temptation has a tendency to motivate you into complexity? Next time we will look at two more inward realities that lead to simplicity.

Hybird Christianity

There is a brand of Christianity that seems to prevail in our churches these days.  I would call it "Hybrid Christianity".   While "hybrid" has a good connotation in our culture it reeks of compromise when it comes to Christianity.  Hybrid Christianity is a blend of cultural Christianity and real Christianity.  Cultural Christianity is in name only.  There is no reason to share or live out the gospel because there needs to be tolerance and acceptance of other's views. CC believes the Bible to a point, but believes it to be a book of guidance and to be filtered through personal bias and existential reality.  In essence CC is anti Lordship of Christ.  When the Lordship of Christ is diminished there is a cult-like attachment to it.

A Hybrid Christian would adhere to the infallibility of the scripture and the Gospel yet allow CC to infiltrate their thinking,  thus creating a new kind of hypocrisy.  This new kind of hypocrisy demonstrates what "cheap grace" is all about.   There is no real repentance or sense of urgency to see people come to know Jesus.  It is all about compromise and rationalizations and self, dictating the rules for living.  No wonder people have stopped going to church.  

Maybe it is time to be salt and light again?

WHY PRAY?

I confess that I have struggled with my prayer life over the years, but if we can get away from the stereo type definitions of prayer, perhaps it will refresh your thinking.  Here is what I mean.

Prayer is cultivating a relationship with God.  Every relationship is uniquely different because we are all wired uniquely.  Relationships of intimacy require openness and trust, taking time and energy.  This also means your prayer life doesn't have to look like anybody else's.

Prayer is communicating with God.  Communication can be verbal and non-verbal.  Prayer can just be listening.  Mother Teresa said, "Prayer is not asking.  It is a longing of the soul.  Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God at his disposition, and listening to his voice with the depths of our hearts."

Prayer is a connection of the heart.  The pharisees were famous for long heartless prayers. When James says it is the fervent prayers of a righteous man that avails much, he is referring to a heart connection.
Ghandi said,  "Prayer is not asking.  It is a longing of the soul.  It is a daily admission of ones weakness.  It is better in prayer to have a heart without words then words without heart."

Prayer is a constant awareness of God's presence.  Paul tells us to pray continually.  How does that happen?  It happens by integrating my thoughts, words, and deeds with the influence of God.

If we take these definitions to heart we discover that prayer is more than a discipline, more than a compartmentalized practice, but a total awareness and dependence upon God.  Almost like breathing out and breathing in.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Recently one of our pastors in a large church on the east coast committed suicide.  How could a tragedy like this happen?

Someone once said that the distance between expectations and reality is defined by stress.  
Ministry leaders live under the heavy weight of multiple expectations by those they lead as well as self-inflicted expectations.  This is a very dangerous combination.  Let's just call it a double whammy.

When expectations are not being met there are two ways to handle them.  The first is try to meet them all and thus become a disappointment to many and even to oneself.  This can cause overwhelming guilt to mount up.  Once that happens the leader can try to fake it until they make it, trying  to hide their inadequacies and faults and pretend that they have it together.  This is a very dangerous place to be, because sooner or later reality will catch up.  When that happens, it can be devastating to the one hiding and to those who have been fooled.  This way of handling expectations can even lead to a vulnerable person to suicide.  Rather than be found out as a fraud, it is easier to escape by taking one's own life.

The second way to handle these expectations is a much healthier way to deal with them.  It starts with by having an authentic and transparent relationship with someone you can trust to love you and tell you the truth.  Unfortunately too many leaders live in isolation from that kind of accountability.  Along with this, a leader must find ways to de-stress.   This means taking days off, setting boundaries, understanding their limits, and proper exercise and rest.

If you are suffering from great expectations, I encourage you to begin getting in touch with reality sooner than later.

STRESSED OUT !!!???

Someone defined stress as the distance between expectations and reality.  The greater the distance the greater the stress.  It is like having one foot on the dock and the other on a boat drifting away from the dock.  Needless to say a stretching experience.

So what is the answer?

One option is to lower our expectations.  Sometimes the demands we put on ourselves are too high.
Those who feel extremely responsible, or who are over achievers, create demands beyond their capacities.

Option two is to clearly and objectively define the reality.  We can easily view reality through the filtered lens of our emotions.  If we let our emotions define our reality we can easily be deceived and create needless expectations.  Remember the apostle Paul reminded us to fix our mind on what is true.

Sometimes we need to exercise both options to alleviate the stress in our lives.  Here's to dryer days ahead.  If you know what I mean?

"EMPOWERING OTHERS"

The word "empower" means to give authority to.  Empowering others is often neglected for those of us who lead.   Why is that?

1.  We are too afraid we have not equipped a person enough to take the lead.
2.  Many of us are control freaks and just can't let go.
3.  We are afraid that a person might do the task better than us.
4.  Some of us are afraid to empower because we don't want the person to fail.
5.  Perhaps you have empowered others and they have abused their opportunity.

Empowering others certainly involves taking a risk.  It can be a very vulnerable thing to do. But passing the baton of leadership, is essential for any organization or ministry to have smooth transitions and healthy legacies.

So let me respond to these five excuses:

1.  We need to be more intentional about preparing those under our leadership with the skills to take over.  This may mean letting go a little at a time.  As people are faithful with a little they can be given much.
2.  For those of us who are control freaks, we just need to get over it.  The reality is that people are going to fail, and sometimes people are going to do it better.  Think about this metaphor.  How would you like to still be running behind your grown child holding onto the their two wheel bike to keep them from falling?   You would be pretty exhausted.  Let's not forget the joy in our child's face when they rode that two wheeler for the first time, without you holding on.
3.  There can be great freedom in empowering others, because it shifts not only authority but responsibility.
4.  What I have discovered is that empowering others increases our own empowerment.  What do I mean by this?  I have discovered that people so appreciate given the opportunity to lead, they respect the leader who gave them that opportunity even more.

IMPACT!

Do you want to have an impact on people's lives in 2014?  Let me give you 5 principles that will help you touch people's lives in a powerful way.

1.  God has ordained a plan for your life.  Psalm 139:16  Are you willing to get on board with his plan or are you busy trying to make your own plans?

2. God wants to use people who have their heart in the right place.  If your greatest desire in life is to please God rather than men you qualify.  God pleasers can make the biggest difference for His kingdom.  Remember man looks at the outer appearance but God looks at the heart.

3.  God often uses those who are marginalized and obscure to do the greatest things for the kingdom. David was a shepherd boy who was taken from obscurity to the palace.  God used a bunch of fishermen to turn the world upside down.  I have a hunch He wants to use you too.  

4.  God uses those who are available with their talents to help those in need.  Remember God used a harp to sooth the nerves of King Saul.  He used a staff to part the Red Sea.  He can certainly use what you bring to the table.

5.  God grants success to those who meditate on his word, and are careful to obey it.  (Joshua 1:8)
There is no better impact on another person's life than one who is consistently living out what he believes.

May 2014 be a year of IMPACT for Christ!