Answering the Call

Earlier this year I wrote about the power of a "one word" focus and how it shapes the rest of the year. My word for this year is "calling" and I'm still working through what it means and how the rest of my decisions should be shaped by it. There is more depth in this particular word than I can adequately define right now, but I think that's part of the process of spending the year working through it. I do believe we each have them (several actually) that should guide us the decisions we make and the way we spend our energies.

I don't want to reduce the power of a calling to an action list of behaviors, but I also recognize some necessary steps to live it out:

-Realize you have one. This isn't just about your career passion, but the total person you're becoming.

-Develop the skills to support it. A passionate desire needs to be paired with a willingness to learn how to be better.

-Let it be the mission that fuels your choices. This should lead us to make decisions to increase our integrity and strengthen our character in pursuit of our calling. Everything we do should be structured by our desire to completely live this out.

Exploring your calling can be frightening especially as we are stretched to grow in new areas and to work on our areas of weakness. The satisfaction we gain from living fully in this will be worth the work we have to put in to make it a genuine part of who we are becoming.

Shifting Allegiance

Then he (Moses) took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” Exodus 24:7

That sounds like a group of fairly committed people. In fact, I think they believed the intent of their own words and didn't plan on falling short. In that moment the people of Israel wanted to follow God and stay under his authority. Sadly, history tells us that less than 40 days later they had failed miserably and suffered the consequences of their decisions. 

On the surface it seems hard to believe that an entire group of people could shift their allegiance so quickly. Before we decide to judge the Hebrews too harshly perhaps we should examine our own life patterns first. How quickly we walk away from our commitments? How often do we make bold statements about our convictions and then abandon them in a matter of days? What life changing resolutions have we written down and then ignored once the shine of their newness wore off? 

If we want to make positive declarations about what we will (or won't) do, we've got to have a corresponding action plan to make it stick or we're just making a lot of noise.

Resolutions

A number of people make resolutions at the beginning of the year, but don't always end up following through on them. I don't have specific resolutions, but instead focus on goals that help me fulfill the vision for my life. There is no magic formula for making this happen, but I have found that the following keys help bring about success.

Identify the problem

What is it that you want to change? What tension are you feeling in your life between who you currently are & who you want to be?

Pray about the solution

The best, lasting change will happen with God's direction and strength. Seek His wisdom as you seek out solutions.

See the end result

This is part of vision and having an idea of the man/woman you want to be at the end of this year. Envisioning the end result of your decisions will help you when you struggle to maintain discipline.

Plan out the steps

It's not enough to list an end goal--plan out the things you will do to make it reality. Losing 15 pounds is a great resolution-now plan out the dietary & exercise steps to make it a reality.

Take action

It's time to move beyond the written concepts & put it into action. Taking the first step can sometimes be the most difficult part of fulfilling a goal.

Regularly evaluate

If you don't stop to measure your progress you can fail to realize how much growth has actually been occurring. Regular, realistic evaluations help us to stay on track and make adjustments when necessary as well.

Take the necessary steps today to ensure success this year.

Year End

I wanted to write a powerful blog on the last day of 2012 and the hope of 2013 that awaits, but I don't know that I can do either of them justice in one post. In fact, I find that I'm still reflecting on the past year and learning from my experiences. Suffice it to say that I feel as if I am a better man than I was a year ago and yet I am quite aware that I am not done yet either. I'm extremely grateful that I am loved by a heavenly Father who doesn't grow weary of working on me each year.

I am also still fleshing out my full objectives for 2013, but know that I want to be a more devoted Christ follower, a more engaged husband & father, and a more influential leader. I'm eagerly anticipating the continued work that God is going to do in me, my family, and my ministry even though I know the reshaping won't always be easy. I have some of these steps mapped out, but am continuing to work & pray to see how these desires will become reality.

I pray that I will be able to look back a year from now and see that I took the best advantage of the opportunities God put in front of me. There will be victories and failures, but as long as I am moving forward on the King's pathway for me it can be marked as a success.

Feeling Tense?

It almost sounds counterproductive to say that you need conflict to thrive, but it's been proven true. To increase physical strength you have to create tension that pushes you beyond your current muscular limits. The physiological principle carries over into our psychological health as well. Handling tension in a healthy way will produce stronger people, organizations,  and relationships. Recognizing the truth of this principle doesn't mean that we always embrace the opportunity to grow through tension however. In fact, most people would be content to attempt to avoid it and believe they were better off trying to say in a "middle ground."

 In the past, I have handled tension & conflict poorly more times than I care to count, and subsequently damaged several relationships--some permanently.  Sometimes this is a result of ignoring conflict because we don't want to deal with it or we are afraid of the change that will be necessary in us. We can also forcefully engage conflict without actually working to resolve anything, but cause widespread damage due to our pride and insensitivity. The landscape of the American church is littered with wounded pastors, leaders, Christians, and former church-goers who have dealt with this poorly and bear the battle scars of poorly managed tension.

The key to growing through this is to recognize that there is a tension that needs managing, prayerfully consider the next steps, and then work in humility to see this conflict resolved. It might be painfully uncomfortable during the process, but the increase in trust and strength that results from handling it in a godly way are worth the efforts. Managing tension with humility leads to healthy transformation in us as individuals, in our relationships with family, co-workers & friends, and in the organizations we partner with and lead.

Resolved (Part 2)

The potential for societal change is tremendous if men & women would resolve:

• To do all things with integrity--not just those that other people see
• (Men) To love & encourage our wives with genuine devotion and a desire to see her grow in Christ
• (Women) To love & support their husbands with respect and honest communication
• To parent our children for their benefit and not our convenience
• To model a life of prayer and devotion to God in studying His Word
• That our family will contribute to the benefit of the world around us through our finances, time, and abilities
• To faithfully partner with a church & actively engage in growing closer to Christ & serving others
• To not waste moments with my family, but to intentionally invest in them regardless of our current mood
• To not allow the prejudice of others to taint my view of the people God has put around me
• To be part of the solution for the poor, disadvantaged, forgotten & ignored peoples in our neighborhoods as well as around the globe
• To teach our children to stand for what is right even when it's hard
• To do all things with honoring Christ at the forefront of our ambition

Determined

I was listening to music this week and heard the lyric, "I have decided, I have resolved." It's not a new song, but the line stirred my thoughts.

What is the difference between the two? A decision doesn't necessarily carry conviction & can be easily changed. I decide to do a lot of things during the day that don't necessarily have a huge impact on my life.

When I resolve to do something however, it is usually the result of being fed up with a current circumstance or being so desirous of a positive outcome that I am willing to change. It involves hard work (even when I don't feel like it) and keeping my eyes focused on the prize ahead instead of temporary pleasures & relief along the way. 

Primary Concern

I've been thinking about a lot of things as 2010 has wrapped up and 2011 has now begun. I'm not a huge fan of the resolution format of starting a New Year. I do like the idea of growing as each year passes and hopefully moving even a little bit closer to Christ in the process though. As a way to kickoff a return to blogging after the holidays and stimulate some of my own thoughts for this year, I ask the following question. "What is your primary concern in life?"

I've actually been thinking about this question since I read it early this week and I decided that the correct answer is "me." I am my primary concern in life. I do what pleases me, I listen to the music that I want to listen to, I engage with people that make me feel good, I eat the foods that I enjoy, read the books that I want to read, watch the shows that entertain me and go the places that I truly want to be. If you (dear reader) are honest with yourself, you will admit the same thing.

None of us likes to admit this selfishness (I can assure you that I take no pleasure in confessing this narcissistic attitude), but I think that I must realize it if I am to work towards a different motivator for 2011. As cliche as it might sound, my primary concern must shift from my desires for family, hobbies, church and career to what God wants. My biggest motivator should be to live a life that has God as the central focus and then to let Him work through the rest of my life.

What a difference there will be a year from now if we could all agree to set aside our egotistical agendas and simply be concerned with pleasing God in thought, speech, action, habits and character.