Stirring Thoughts

I admit that I am a sucker for a good quote. I love a thought-provoking statement that causes me to reevaluate my position or challenges me in new ways. I find that I am a collector of quotes and read back through those that I have written down. It's important (in my humble yet accurate opinion) for us to reflect on the influences that cause us to think. This exercise is our way of achieving good mental health by stretching the boundaries of our thought processes. As I looked back over my notebook of challenging thoughts, these are some that have recently pushed me.

• You can't lead without the willingness to be different, to do what's difficult, and to be misunderstood. It's called courage. -Rick Warren
• The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us. -Billy Graham
• An expenditure of words without an income of ideas will lead to conceptual bankruptcy. -Ravi Zacharias
• Character is what a man is in the dark. -D.L. Moody
• No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying.  -Leonard Ravenhill
• If you can't fly, then run. If you can't run, then walk. If you can't walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.  -Martin Luther King, Jr.
• God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him. -Jim Elliot
• Just because you see the problem doesn't mean you understand the problem. -Carey Nieuwohf
• Ministry leaders often drink a poisonous cocktail of narcissism and isolation. -Scott Thomas & Tom Wood

Reflective Thoughts

I am often challenged by great quotes & thoughts. Here are a few to meditate on:

• I must first have the sense of God's possession of me before I can have the sense of His presence with me. -Watchman Nee
• There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. -Nelson Mandela
• Character-the sum of our abilities to deal with life as God designed us to. -Dr. John Townsend
• I consider looseness with words no less of a defect than looseness of the bowels. -John Calvin
• The proof of desire is in the pursuit. -Rod Parsley
• When values are clear, laws are unnecessary. When values are not clear, laws are unenforceable. -Goethe
• Some people claim to be normal Christians when they actually mean they are nominal Christians. -A.W. Tozer
• Be not angry that you can't make others as you wish them to be, since you can't make yourself as you wish to be. -Thomas A. Kempis
• The difference between the truth that you know and the truth that you live equals the pain that you experience. -Craig Groeschel
• Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. -God

Axioms

I am a collector of great quotes. They fuel my meditative thoughts, are the primers for my writing, and are used in messages as well. I write most of them down in a Moleskine notebook that I will often read back through. I find that they help me keep focused on what's important to me and the character that I am continuing to try to develop. Here are a few that might be worth reading a few times:

• Hard times reveal where we are (and where we aren't) faster than anything else. -Andy Stanley
• As important as the answer for which we wait is the work that God does in us while we wait. -Ben Patterson
• The most successful company is not the one with the most brains, but the most brains acting in concert. -Peter Drucker
• You can't get what you could have until you let go of what you do have. -Kem Meyer
• Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed. -Cavett Robert
• Our personal visions must be released before God's vision can be embraced. -Shannon O'Dell
• Dream fulfillers are finishers because they have learned how to deal with distraction. -Keith Cameron Smith
• Jesus does not come to rearrange the outside of our life the way we want. He comes to rearrange the inside of our life the way God wants. -John Ortberg
• Continuous effort-not strength or intelligence-is the key to unlocking our potential. -Winston Churchill
• Heart is what separates the good from the great. -Michael Jordan
• You can structure for growth or control. You can't have both. -Rick Warren
• God does everything good in the end. If it's not good...it's not the end. -Louie Giglio

Quotables Day 5

With a one day pause in blogging due to great friends from Florida visiting, we are back.

"If I had 300 men who feared nothing but God, hated nothing but sin, and were determined to know nothing among men but Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, I would set the world on fire."

-John Wesley

When I think about the number of people that are not Christ-followers it can be a bit overwhelming.  There are approximately 24,000 people here in Milledgeville.  As Mike and I talked a few months ago he estimated that 20% of the people in our area are actually churched.  That leaves around 19,000 people that are not currently being reached for Christ-and that doesn't include the population in the close surrounding areas. The normal weekend here at Northridge has between 600-650 people.  The task of reaching out and sharing the truth that matters can be daunting in the face of those numbers. 

We are talking about workers for the harvest today at Northridge and challenging people to beat the 80/20 principle of serving (20% of the people doing 80% of the work.)  It is a statement, such as one made by John Wesley, that inspires me and lets me know that our efforts in the pursuit of God's glory can have a great impact. 

I have seen what happens when people are passionate about God's purpose in their lives and committed fully to reaching others.  I have been fortunate to be a part of churches that understood that principle and grew by leaps and bounds.  I have watched as teens became intensely focused on reaching their peers and as a result had youth ministries double, triple & quadruple.  I have seen parents pulling up on a weekend or midweek with a van full of youth & children-most of them not their own-bringing them to expose them to God's love.  I have cheered as parents have baptized their children, children have baptized their parents, and friends have baptized each other.

The question isn't whether our passion for God will be fruitful.  It is a question of whether we will fully throw ourselves into a pursuit of Him for our sake and the souls of those around us.

Quotables Day 4

"The great thing in life is not so much where you stand, but in what direction you are moving."

-Oliver Wendell Holmes

The start of a new year brings about the requisite list of resolutions, a look back at the year that was, and an increased focus on bettering yourself.  I think it is safe to say that we all have things we want to improve in ourselves (if not I would challenge your honesty) and that the new year can be an impetus to work at those changes.  The discouragement comes when we don't see the results as quickly as we had hoped or when we realize that our actual resolutions have been the same for the past five years.  It has taken me several years to get to a point where I didn't allow the vision of who I could & should be to overwhelm the current reality of who I am at this moment.

I've shared with youth for several years now that God will meet you exactly where you are at, but He won't leave you there.  My point is that even though you may have convinced yourself that you are "too far gone", that God doesn't believe so.  However, when you are truly striving to be a committed follower, He moves you down a pathway that leads to you resembling Him more as you strive each day. 

In my mind that is the point that Sir Holmes is trying to make.  As long as we live here we are a work in progress.  The key is to be moving in a direction that leads to us becoming the men & women that God has created us to be. 

Quotables Day 3

"It's not what you do once in a while, it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference."

-Jenny Craig

Yes-I know that I just quoted Jenny Craig, but the principle is true on so many levels.

When I worked in athletics and was fortunate to be part of multiple state championships, coaches and athletes alike would tell you that championships were not won because we showed up at the big game and had good athletes.  It began in the offseason while in the weight room and in the preparation that goes into it ahead of time.

A successful marriage is not had because you do great things for your husband/wife on your anniversary or because you have a romantic date night once a week.  It happens when you love each other, pray for & with each other, and communicate on a daily basis.

Being a godly parent and raising godly children doesn't happen because we take them to church on Sunday or have a special day.  It's in the teachable moments throughout their lives and in the way that we show them how much we love them unconditionally each day of the week.

Being a pastor that makes a difference in the lives of those around you doesn't happen because you are a great communicator and preached a message that blew their socks off on Sunday.  It happens when you are daily in God's Word and when you are a minister to people each day of the week in the middle of their needs.

Becoming a committed follower of Christ doesn't happen when we turn God into a vending machine to be there for us when our times get tough.  It is through the daily discipline of constantly seeking His leadership and guidance and asking for Him to transform us into His likeness that we truly gain a relationship that is consistently authentic.

Quotables Day 2

"My life is my message."  Mahatma Ghandi

Seems pretty simple doesn't it?  No matter what we might aim to be or do, the life that we actually live will describe who we are.  I can stand and proclaim that I desire to be a dedicated Christ-follower, a loving and encouraging husband, a Christ-like father to my children, and a great pastor.  Unless the choices that I make each day reflect those desires, my life will send another message entirely.  It is difficult to see what we are sending to those around us (we are in the middle of our own lives after all and not merely spectators watching from the outside) but if we want to accurately represent our life ambitions, we must give thought to the life that we lead.  It brings to mind one of my favorite verses-Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Quotables

When I worked at the high school I would gather my athletic training staff before our Friday night football games to give them their game-time assignments, pray as a group, and challenge them with a leadership quote for the evening.  I have collected those quotes throughout the years and thought that I would devote a week of blogging to throwing out a quote each day and issuing a challenge based on it.  Interesting to readers or not, here it goes:

"The great end of life is not knowledge, but action." T.H. Huxley

I heard a pastor share the thought that the American church is filled with the most well-read and educated believers that the world has ever seen.  The unfortunate part, he continued to say, is that the same group of believers is also less willing to put what they know into action.  If you were to venture into any bookstore you would find volumes of books dedicated to better prayer lives, healing, repentance, restoration, how to have a godly marriage, etc.  The question (and one that I like to ask people all the time) is: What are you going to do with it? 

It's nice to sit in church and not miss a Sunday.  It's admirable to say that you haven't missed a Bible study/Sunday school in the last 25 years.  It's good to know that you read your Bible every day and have read through the whole Bible 156 times.  What are you doing with what you have learned?  How has the knowledge of God transformed your life to the point where you care for others?  God did not call us to be students only.  The point of knowledge is to lead to a change of lifestyle that is more Christ-like and has an impact on the people around us.