My One Word

Our lead pastor shared a book with the staff at Christmas this year which expounded the principle of selecting one word to focus on for the next year. Deciding on the word is a matter of prayer, meditation, and even a little inspiration. It becomes the main focus for your goals, fuels your actions, and keeps you centered on mission.

My “one word” for this year is calling. It’s a term used in many different ways, but often refers to the purpose you feel God has given to you and in many aspects, specifically for ministry. While I believe in the power of that particular principle I also believe we have a calling for each of the roles we should fill in our life.

Recognizing I have a calling as a husband and father shapes many of the decisions I make. I realize the power of the relationship I share with my wife and children and my need to choose to live that out with the best impact and integrity I can. I believe I have a calling as a friend and will choose to be present in times of need and be ready to sacrifice to help when necessary. I am called as an influencer in my community and should realize the potential of my impact and choose my words, actions, and generosity very carefully. I am also called at this stage in my life to be a pastor and must always keep that in the forefront of my thoughts as it shapes so much of what I do and say.

I don’t have all of the parts of this “one word” figured out, but I realize the power of staying focused on discovering the depth of it this year. I want to live fully in my calling—not just now, but also for what the future holds.

True Purpose

"We can all find a purpose on this earth larger than ourselves." Danielle Green 

Danielle Green is a Notre Dame alum and women's basketball player who also served in the Army. She was critically injured in May 2004 while serving in Baghdad, Iraq and suffered significant injuries including the amputation of her left hand. Danielle recently received the Pat Tillman Award for Service on the ESPY's (ESPN's sports award show), but it wasn't just for her dedication to sports and country. After earning the Purple Heart for her injuries and dedication, she committed her life to working with returning veterans as a readjustment counselor. Who better to help our military veterans reacclimate to society than someone who has gone through it themselves?

I have a tremendous amount of respect for Danielle on many levels, but it is her commitment to living a greater purpose that stands out. She gets it. She has not only modeled a servant minded attitude through her sacrifice, but also through her ongoing dedication to helping others. The idea of enduring sacrifice is not foreign to her, but is clearly part of who she is.

What if we each chose to live by this philosophy? Imagine the difference each life would make if we committed to this thought? This is what defines a real leader to me: someone who has dedicated their life to being part of something larger than their own preferences, schedules, and pleasure. Not only is this admirable, but it's the most fulfilling way to live. 

Known: I Am Enough

We carry far too many labels. We identify ourselves by our physical characteristics and our abilities. We carry the label of our past and present mistakes, hurtful words spoken over us, and failed expectations. Our life history can burden us with hurts from a painful family background and bullying. Those that we trust and respect can obliterate our confidence in minutes with words and actions that never seem to leave us. It can leave us feeling like we can't measure up to the right standard-that we will never be good enough. This is the ultimate label of discouragement and hopelessness.

It takes a certain point of confident maturity to cast aside these ill-fitting labels and grasp who we really are. It's a crisis of identity that prevents us from forging ahead and fulfilling the purpose that God has given us. This is an important step in our own faith development when we can confidently say, "I am enough." It is a statement that affirms who God intends us to be while casting aside the lies and mislabeling that derail us from the right path.

What Are You Doing?

Do you know what you're doing? I can rattle off a quick list of the things that I am doing without a ton of introspective thought. I know the things I need to do each day and what projects I'm working on. I know where I am investing my mental capital and where I am shifting my energies (at least attempting to). I think often about my roles as Christ follower, husband, father, and pastor and how to be better at them. 

These are all important things, but I still wonder if I really know what I'm doing. In all of those important things do I see God's specific purpose for me? If I can begin to glimpse His sovereign plan for my individual life, then everything I do makes sense in the perspective of a much bigger purpose. I am no longer consumed only with personal productivity or a happy, healthy family. Instead I am able to pursue all of these potentially positive things through the lens of fulfilling God's exact mission for me. Some may not be able to see the difference, but it completely changes my motivation for fulfillment. 

Bigger Picture

I keep feeling that there is something more than what I see and experience. Even the simple pleasures of family, friends, and faith have a deeper component to them that brings me great joy when I catch a glimpse. It's hard for me to fully describe, but it's a taste of the bigger picture God is painting for us. It's the touch of deep love, the urging to be part of social justice movements, the upwelling of deep emotion in worship, and an innate desire to make a substantial difference in another's life. It's a deep current of meaning that runs underneath everything we do, think, and feel. 

I sense it more in some times than others. I believe it's always there, but my grasp of it fades as I get distracted. Most of us recognize there is more to this life than we see, but we end up ignoring it over time. Do we stop believing in this mystery because we don't understand it? Do we lose touch with it because we don't want to see God working in every part of our life? 

Our life is less than fulfilled when we ignore the hidden beauty God is trying to show us. The deeper themes are there for us to tap into if we are willing to see what He is doing.

Making Sense

Working in the mission field is not always glamorous. There are times when you feel you are making a huge impact and there are times you are cleaning toilets. Both of them are important in their own way even if one leaves you feeling more fulfilled than the other.

We were working together on a project on this last trip cleaning two large swamp coolers. They were covered in tar and grime and needed to be scraped clean and then repainted. It was fairly tedious work and we spent two days trying to get them ready to paint. The first day we worked at it was a bit monotonous as it took a long time to prep. Honestly, our biggest obstacle was our motivation.

Our original (mistaken) thought was that we were doing this so they could be put back in storage for some future potential use. After asking a few questions I discovered that they had been removed from the kitchen roof and were going to be put back up there for summer use. Once we understood what they were going to be used for, it changed our motivation and we didn't seem to mind the work as much.

When we understand the purpose behind what we are doing it changes our level of energy. We now have a connection between our task and a goal that makes sense. When we understand what the purpose is for something we tend to work harder at it and find more joy in the process. Connecting the dots to see the bigger picture is a key part of fulfillment and our personal motivation.

One Direction

We had an outside work day at Northridge this morning and had about 30 people knock out a

tremendous amount of work in a short period of time. As we were working one of my friends commented, "It's amazing what you can get done when you have a group of people focused on the same purpose." While it's not the most profound thing I have ever heard, it is most certainly true. It applies to work crews, athletic teams, bands, the cast in a play, a restaurant staff, and a short term missions team. Our combined energy and focus will enable us to efficiently accomplish more than if we worked independently.

While we may accept it as truth, we still struggle to put it into reality. There has to be intentional effort to align ourselves under one purpose and find a way to work together. Imagine the differences in our churches, families, and communities if we would put this into practice. If we can humble ourselves to make it work we'll find fulfillment in the journey and in our results.

Get to It

In John 13, Jesus is sharing His last meal with His disciples and shocks them all by His actions before they begin to eat. Verses 3-5 share this: "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him." 


Jesus had a complete understanding of His position in relation to God and what God was going to do, and His immediate reaction was to get up and serve. I don't believe this is written this way by accident. It reveals the model of servant leadership that Christ set for us and the example that we are called to follow. When we begin to gain a glimpse of God and His work in us-even if it is a small glimpse-it should spur us to get up and get to work as well.

That act of serving extends beyond the church and the local & global mission fields. As a father & husband my calling is to serve my wife and children and the rest of my family. I am to serve my neighbor and the people in our city that are in need. I am to serve with the resources I have been blessed with including money, time and energy. Most importantly, I am called to serve God no matter where He sends me or what He asks me to do.

This isn't an obligation for any of us. It's a response forged out of love for God and the confidence that we will one day be returning to Him.

On Purpose

In John 12, Jesus is predicting His death to His followers and says in verse 27, "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour?' No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour."

Obviously Jesus is God and has a greater understanding of things than we do-even in His human form-but it is the dedication to His true purpose that stands out to me. Even though what He was about to endure was going to be the most difficult thing He had dealt with, His commitment to fulfilling that purpose was greater than the temptation to walk away.

What about our purpose/calling in life? Are we willing to pursue it even if the journey is difficult? Do we even have a clue what our true purpose is? Do we have the disciplined obedience to stay true to what God has revealed to us in the midst of trials?

I don't have all of the answers (obviously), but I know that God has called me to be a follower, husband, father & pastor. I forget how important that calling is and allow the distractions of the mundane to pull my focus away from it. I let tiredness seep into my daily routines and neglect to keep my eyes intently centered on the prize of pursuing Christ in this life.

I pray that I stand firmly on my calling and see that it was for this reason that I have come to this time & place.

Who Are You?

Husband. Father. Son. Brother. Pastor. NY Mets fan. Big voiced. Former teacher. Sports lover. Sarcastic. Wounded. Healing. Mainland family. Beach bum. Passionate. Quickly graying. Struggles with life balance. Created to teach. Loves to worship. Battles with consistency. People pleaser. Headstrong. Visionary. Hard worker. Affectionate.

We use a lot of different labels to describe ourselves. Some of them we readily admit to and others can be identified better by the people close to us. These all are part of our identity and create the picture of who we work to be and the image we portray to those around us. It is the difficult balance of who we are trying to be and who God wants us to be that causes tension in our daily lives.

If we would let our identity be one simple thing-follower of Christ-the rest of the labels we strive for would fall in line.

You Are Not

I would like to be able to give credit to the author of this piece*, but I honestly don't recall where I picked it up. I believe it might have been Rick Warren's blog, but I could be wrong. I do know that it encourages me each time I read it and it had an impact on several people at our Sunday services when I read it as well.
You are not your past
You are not your failures
You are not your parents
You are not your sister
You are not your regrets
You are not your sin
You are not your weight
You are not your divorce
You are not your unemployment
You are not the choices someone else makes for you
You are not your brokenness
You are not your bitterness
You are not your abuse
You are not your loneliness
You are not your marital status
You are not your tax bracket
You are not your crisis

This is who you are:

You are loved
You are forgiven
You are redeemed
You are destined
You are set apart
You are a new creation
You are valued
You are gifted
You are chosen
You are prized
You are reconciled
You are called
You are noticed
You are pursued
You are a child of The King
You are a co-heir with Christ
You are a royal priesthood
You are adored, cherished and treasured by the God of this universe.

When you choose to stop living out who you are not and start to live in who you are, it changes everything.

*Thanks to Kristen Brooks for researching and finding the true authors of this entry. You can see the original posting on their blog HERE.

A Time Like This

In the book of Esther, the young woman of the same name is presented with an interesting opportunity. She has been placed in a position of power and now has to make a choice. She can take a risk and save her people, but it might also lead to her own death. Her uncle Mordecai challenges her to take action in Esther 4:14 and says, "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

How differently would we approach each day if we would make decisions with this verse in mind? If we would realize that God continues to strategically place us in the right place and time for His glory it would alter our perspective. We would see the opportunities that are in front of us-both big and small-and would take advantage of them. Not only would this lead us to fulfilling God's plan for our lives, but we would see our faith increase, our families grow closer together and a church that is unstoppable in sharing the message of Christ.

We are here today for "such a time as this." What will we do with it?

Finding Purpose

Each year that I lead a team out to AICM, I experience different things. The children that we minister to will change, the vision is being refined, the staff roles there will shift, and the teams that travel to Arizona are never quite the same either.

There is one constant in each year however. I see a group of people who become concerned for the welfare of others and who find satisfaction in what we do while we are there. Part of this is a fundamental part of who we are-when we are part of something positive, we tend to feel positive.

I think the larger element is that we were created to serve. God did not intend for us to grab onto some truth of who He & His Son are and keep it to ourselves. Our purpose in this life becames wrapped up in His purpose-to see that other people get an opportunity to choose to follow God on their own. When we are actively involved in living that out we can live with a greater sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. We become "doers" of the Word and not merely "hearers." It is in finding this purpose that everything seems to click.

It should give us pause to consider why we won't relentlessly pursue that same purpose in our hometown, but wait for a special trip to find ourselves aligned with God's intent for our lives.