As I write this we are set to launch our 2nd Global Impact Celebration at NorthBridge. It's a time when missionaries and ministry leaders come to our campus for 5 days to share their stories. These experiences are like few others for me. They stir my soul and energize my mind. I think I just love being around Kingdom leaders like these - partly because of 6 words...
1. Calling - People don't do what these men and women do without an awareness of God's call on their life. A single life, acting out of a divine calling from a Holy God, is a powerful force for good in this evil world.
2. Mission - Their cause is Jesus' cause - people. It's not about buildings or dollars. They are reaching into the pit of Hell itself and reclaiming souls. They are running into the face brokenness to bring wholeness. They are on the front lines of an unseen war, battling the enemy of God for every single life. They know why they get out of bed in the morning. Because every life matters... to God... and therefore to them!
3. Passion - When Kingdom leaders talk about their work I feel their passion. Whether telling of triumph or heartbreak their stories are punctuated with emotion. Their work matters - and they are sold out to it. This is no 9-5 gig. This is real life and heart and eternity stuff. It touches their soul... and it touches mine.
4. Character - In spite of isolated exceptions, Kingdom leaders are the most honest, authentic, and hard working people on the planet. They know they represent Christ to the world. Even though they're still human and mess up, they work hard at living with integrity and discipline. While others are fighting for position and possessions these men and women put a serving towel over their arm and ask what needs done.
5. Risk - Kingdom work is hard and playing it safe won't get it done. Helping the hurting and bringing hope to the lost requires sacrifice and innovation. It means trying and failing and learning and trying something else. It means risking relationships and reputation. Sometimes it means putting life itself on the line. But Kingdom leaders believe the cause is worth the risk!
6. Blessing - Kingdom leaders make God smile! Like a child that brings joy to a parent, God loves those willing to trust and serve Him. He blesses those who work for peace and show compassion. He empowers those who lay it all on the line to show and tell of His great love. He rewards those faithful to His calling. Simply put, God loves Kingdom leaders. And, frankly, I like hanging out with folks who please God.
Social Media - The New Neighborhood?
Some time ago I started getting emails from people inviting me to join their favorite social networking site. Most of the time I just hit the delete button. Then one day, after some prodding from my kids, I decided to join one just to see what all the fuss was about.
You know those movies where the magician waves his hand, there's a pop and a puff of smoke, and something that wasn't there suddenly is? Well it wasn't quite like that... but close. Today I find myself "updating my status" and leaving comments on Face Book several times a day. I'm tweeting and following tweets, blogging, instant messaging, and having more interactions with a greater number of people than ever before.
This week I've instant messaged with a couple of friends across the country that I hadn't talked to for years, used Skype to talk with another friend working in eastern Europe (complete with video), and discovered a close family relative on Face Book who I didn't even know existed. That's just this week. So what's going on here? Is this just some crazy fade I've fallen into? Check out this YouTube presentation from the folks at Socialnomics.
It seems to me that the concept of "neighborhood" may be changing. In my grandparents day they would walk down the street to the corner market, pausing and talking with a half dozen neighbors along the way. They'd stop in to check on Mrs. Smith who'd been ill and they'd wave as they passed Mr. Jones mowing his yard. Just that quick drop-in or smile and wave said volumes about those relationships. They were friends - more than just acquaintances. They were neighbors!
In many ways that's what this new network of connections feels like to me. When someone pushes the "like" button on my status or leaves a comment on one of my postings it feels like a high five from a friend... like that wave to a neighbor that means 'I might be over later to borrow your lawn mower.'
You know those movies where the magician waves his hand, there's a pop and a puff of smoke, and something that wasn't there suddenly is? Well it wasn't quite like that... but close. Today I find myself "updating my status" and leaving comments on Face Book several times a day. I'm tweeting and following tweets, blogging, instant messaging, and having more interactions with a greater number of people than ever before.
This week I've instant messaged with a couple of friends across the country that I hadn't talked to for years, used Skype to talk with another friend working in eastern Europe (complete with video), and discovered a close family relative on Face Book who I didn't even know existed. That's just this week. So what's going on here? Is this just some crazy fade I've fallen into? Check out this YouTube presentation from the folks at Socialnomics.
It seems to me that the concept of "neighborhood" may be changing. In my grandparents day they would walk down the street to the corner market, pausing and talking with a half dozen neighbors along the way. They'd stop in to check on Mrs. Smith who'd been ill and they'd wave as they passed Mr. Jones mowing his yard. Just that quick drop-in or smile and wave said volumes about those relationships. They were friends - more than just acquaintances. They were neighbors!
In many ways that's what this new network of connections feels like to me. When someone pushes the "like" button on my status or leaves a comment on one of my postings it feels like a high five from a friend... like that wave to a neighbor that means 'I might be over later to borrow your lawn mower.'
If this social media is in fact a new 'neighborhood' culture I have to say that I like living here... a lot! The ability to open my smart phone and check to see what my friends are up to at any time is pretty cool. I can read their comments and respond with my own 24/7/365. It's a feeling of continual connectedness - of authentic and, maybe more importantly, ongoing community.
So what are the implications of this new type of connectedness? In my world I'm wondering what opportunities and what challenges this presents for organizational leaders and for the church? How does it impact the way we mentor and coach and teach? Does it change the way we think about groups, classes, community, or even our scope of influence? How might outreach and marketing be different and what impact does this new neighborhood have on ministry? Those are just a few of the many questions I'm processing.
Now I'm wondering what my new "neighbors" think about all this! Because my lawn mower really is broken again.
Now I'm wondering what my new "neighbors" think about all this! Because my lawn mower really is broken again.
Help! I Need Somebody.
Do you recognize those words? Help, I need somebody. Help, not just anybody. Help, you know I need someone. Help! In 1965 those lyrics gave The Beatles yet another #1 hit in both the U.S. and the U.K. They were written by John Lennon at a time when he was struggling to deal with the rapid rise of success. "I was fat and depressed and I was crying out for 'Help'," Lennon later told a magazine. Those words were the "first crack in the protective shell" that Lennon had built around himself, wrote Ian MacDonald.
I'm learning that this idea of playing God is as old as the Garden of Eden. In the beginning God said to man about Eden (I'm paraphrasing here of course) 'All of this is for you. Enjoy. Have at it. Just one thing I ask. So that I know and you know you're choosing to love and obey me, stay away from this one tree. Just the one! Don't eat its fruit. But all the rest is yours.' Then the enemy, Satan, appeared and said - 'It's ok. Take a bit. It's good. And if you eat it you'll be like God.' So they ate it. And we've been trying to be God ever since.
"Help! I Need Somebody" is a great declaration that we finally realize we're not God and that we really do need Him to guide our lives. It is the starting line for every kind of healing and recovery journey. Of course it's one thing to acknowledge our need. It's another thing entirely to be willing to receive help. The world is filled with people who know they are hurting and empty but just aren't ready to receive the hope they need.
But just uttering those words can convey a willingness to change direction. When spoken with broken awareness of our desperate need they act as an invitation to change us, to make us different, to make us whole.
When I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anybody's help in anyway. But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured, Now I find I've changed my mind, I've opened up the doors.
And that, of course, is the point of the help and the hope that God offers. It sets us on a new path, in a new direction, with new life in Him. Jesus repeatedly said "cast your cares on me," follow my ways and learn of me," "I've come to give you new life."
Help! I Need Somebody are the words that help us begin to change course, to stop pretending, to stop hiding, and to stop the hurting. They are words of pause and of openness. They are words of surrender. But they are also words of acceptance, of attention, of willingness to take one step and then another and another in a new direction. They are words that open up closed doors and allow the healing grace of God to penetrate deep into our pain, our sorrows, our emptiness, our soul. That's why Lennon's words really are a loud message of hope whether he knew it or not.
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down. And I do appreciate you being 'round. Help me get my feet back on the ground. Won't you please, please help me? Help me. Help me.
Sounds like a great pray to me. One that we all need. One that I've prayed... again... today!
Recently I've been reading and teaching from the book Life's Healing Choices by John Baker. Interestingly Baker points out that those very words are the doorway to a life-changing journey toward healing and wholeness. In fact they are absolute requirements to experiencing freedom from what Rick Warren calls the "hurts, hang-ups, and habits" that keep us stressed out, drained, depressed, and hopeless.
For all of us, that act of saying "Help! I need somebody" is an acknowledgement that we're not really super heroes and that we don't have all the answers. They bring to light what we work hard to keep hidden - that we're really broken, inside at least, and that we can't fix ourselves. They declare what God and everyone else around us already know - that we're really not God.
I'm learning that this idea of playing God is as old as the Garden of Eden. In the beginning God said to man about Eden (I'm paraphrasing here of course) 'All of this is for you. Enjoy. Have at it. Just one thing I ask. So that I know and you know you're choosing to love and obey me, stay away from this one tree. Just the one! Don't eat its fruit. But all the rest is yours.' Then the enemy, Satan, appeared and said - 'It's ok. Take a bit. It's good. And if you eat it you'll be like God.' So they ate it. And we've been trying to be God ever since.
"Help! I Need Somebody" is a great declaration that we finally realize we're not God and that we really do need Him to guide our lives. It is the starting line for every kind of healing and recovery journey. Of course it's one thing to acknowledge our need. It's another thing entirely to be willing to receive help. The world is filled with people who know they are hurting and empty but just aren't ready to receive the hope they need.
But just uttering those words can convey a willingness to change direction. When spoken with broken awareness of our desperate need they act as an invitation to change us, to make us different, to make us whole.
When I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anybody's help in anyway. But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured, Now I find I've changed my mind, I've opened up the doors.
And that, of course, is the point of the help and the hope that God offers. It sets us on a new path, in a new direction, with new life in Him. Jesus repeatedly said "cast your cares on me," follow my ways and learn of me," "I've come to give you new life."
Help! I Need Somebody are the words that help us begin to change course, to stop pretending, to stop hiding, and to stop the hurting. They are words of pause and of openness. They are words of surrender. But they are also words of acceptance, of attention, of willingness to take one step and then another and another in a new direction. They are words that open up closed doors and allow the healing grace of God to penetrate deep into our pain, our sorrows, our emptiness, our soul. That's why Lennon's words really are a loud message of hope whether he knew it or not.
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down. And I do appreciate you being 'round. Help me get my feet back on the ground. Won't you please, please help me? Help me. Help me.
Sounds like a great pray to me. One that we all need. One that I've prayed... again... today!
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