Learning to Listen

Before our eldest son Noah was born we felt like the Lord told us that he was going to be a leader.  He certainly has two traits of a leader which are: 1) a vision of how things should be; 2) and the willingness to tell people about it.  To put it plainly, he never shuts up.  My standing joke is that he even talks in his sleep, and it's funny because it is true!

Don't get me wrong, in certain ways I love this about him!  I would much rather he be a talker who has "never met a stranger" than a wall flower afraid to say a word.  However, I have noticed something about Noah that will be a struggle if he doesn't grow, and that is his inability to listen.

He is physically able to hear, but his mind is so geared toward talking that he doesn't process the words that are being spoken to him.  This is important because listening is a key to success in every relationship.

• Don't listen to people and they think you don't care about them.
• Don't listen to advisers and you make mistakes.
• Don't listen to supervisors and you get fired or passed over.
• Don't listen to subordinates and they find other jobs.
• Don't listen to God and you'll take every wrong turn.

"Holy Spirit quite my heart so that I can be a better listener.  Show me what I have been missing. Amen"

Earning the Right to Lead

We are HUGE football fans and are so excited about this time of year as the NFL playoffs unfold.  One of the interesting things that emerged from yesterday's games was the "controversy" over the Chicago Bears quarterback, Jay Cutler, not finishing the game after suffering a knee injury.  The critics noted that he stood for almost the entire second half (bringing into question the severity of the injury)and that he didn't engage in trying to help the back-up quarterbacks succeed in the game (bringing into question his commitment to the team).  This is important because quarterbacks are supposed to be the leaders of the team, and there is a lot of talk about "earning the right to lead."

In football terms, a player earns the right to lead through showing up to practice early and staying late, through personal sacrifices made for the team (like playing through pain), and affirming other players who are vital to the teams success but who do not play glamorous positions (like the offensive line).

As I thought about Cutler this morning my thoughts turned to how I earn the right to lead in the areas where I am called to lead.  How am I earning the right to lead my wife?  How am I earning the right to lead my children?  How am I earning the right to lead Faith Community Church?  What things do we do when we we would rather be doing something else, but by doing them we earn the right to lead.  For my wife, I empty and load the dishwasher and vacuum.  For my kids, I slow down and listen and play silly games with them.  For the church, I study and pray.  These are just examples, but you get the idea.

In all of those areas the relationship stuff comes naturally for me.  I love being with people, so I don't mind the "people time.".  It is the other stuff that is hard.  Some people are like me, and others prefer the "behind the scenes" stuff over the "with people" stuff.  Either way there is a sacrifice to be made.

Remember that if you want authority to speak into the lives of others, especially those you are called by God to lead, then you need to earn the right to lead them.  Resist the urge to excercise authority without having built the foundation of credibility.

I would love to hear some of the things that you think give people credibility to lead others!

It's Hard Not To Apologize

After a Sunday morning message I almost always get a one or two line "pep talk" from my dear wife.  Yesterday it was "Don't apologize about sharing on that topic.  Be confident."  It's hard not to apologize sometimes when I'm on a topic that I'm almost sure no one came to church to hear about.  I love the people of Faith, and I want to portray the idea that we are all on this journey together.  I felt like yesterday's topic could have come across as "preachy," and in my mind it should be as Haddon Robinson said, "The language of effective preaching should be the language of stimulating conversation between thoughtful people."  I love conversation, and hate "preachy," so yesterday was difficult.

If you weren't there, we talked about our responsiblity to care for our bodies because they are the vehicle of our spirit; also the vehicle/temple of God's Spirit.  I attempted to use the analogy of a motorcycle rider with the rider representing us and how we submit control of the motorcycle/ourselves to the Holy Spirit.  Then, with the Holy Spirit driving, we let out the air from the tires, mix a little water in the fuel, and never change the oil on the motorcycle.  The idea being that we shouldn't spiritually do the right thing through submiting to the Spirit, then undercut that move through lack of care for the vehicle He uses to accomplish His purpose.

I think that we neglect the spiritual aspect of caring for our bodies, and it is a perfect application of God's way of life being the best way.  He prescribes ways that we should care for our bodies which enable us to do His work AND we feel better and live a better quality of life (abundant life!). 

Are there any areas of our lives that you think that we ignore the spiritual dynamic in?

The Path of Least Resistence

I just skipped eating lunch to go to the Y and excercise.  My whole body is protesting.  My workout partner counldn't make it today, so I am really proud of myself for going.  I am usually a lot more motivated to leave the work on my desk and take the time to go when someone is waiting on me.  It would have been much easier to stay here and mark 2 or 3 things off of my "to do" list.

The fact that we should always question the path of least resistence (like using ANY excuse to avoid excercising) fits well with our discussion yesterday regarding beans and potatoes.  If you missed yesterday we discussed that there is room for everything we want and need in our lives if we will put the most important things on our calendar/schedule first, then allow everything else to fill in around them.  The realization that culture pushes us toward the consumable things that others profit from was key.  No one profits from you having a successful marriage or a strong spiritual life, so don't expect culture to push you in that direction.

This means that almost always the path that is most facilitated by culture, thus becoming the one of least resistence, will be toward profit and away from those things that should be most important.

May God stir our hearts to question taking the easy route.  If you throw something at the trash can and miss, it is easier to "get it next time" than to go pick it up.  If you are tempted to look at something you shouldn't look at, it is easier to look than to guard your eyes and heart.  If you are tempted to worry about the possible, but unlikely, tragedies around every corner, it is easier to worry than to release all things actual and possible into the hands of God.

May we followers of Jesus be a people who do not take the path of least resistence.

Happy New Year

I've had a few people talk to me about yesterday's service and the message regarding making a list of New Year's resolutions.  It was such a great day with the presence of the Lord so real in worship, and the Lord really trying to stir us through reminding us of our importance to Him.

It has been exciting to hear from people who accepted the challenge of making a list of "resolutions" that really matter.  Reflecting on the idea of desiring things that will matter in 10, 100, or 1000 years really changes our perspective on what we desire to have or to have take place in 2011.

I had a paragraph in my notes yesterday that I intentionally decided to skip just before service.  It was a reflection on how much time I spend praying for my back not to hurt.  I was already afraid that some of my comments would be misinterpreted, so I left this out.  But in preparation, when I intially wrote the paragraph, I was convicted about how the pain in my back is not going to matter in eternity so maybe I should limit the amount of time I pray for it - devote more of that time to eternally significant issues.  I was concerned people would think that I was saying that you shouldn't pray over those types of things, but what I think was in my mind was that we easily get caught up in pressing/immediate/personally painful issues that will be resolved in this life at the expense of issues that will not be resolved during our time on Earth.

Looking forward, I am so excited about what I believe God is going to do through Faith Community in this coming year.  Pastor Sam and I had a conversation recently about all that God did last year, and we are both eager to see what comes next.  I said to him that I feel many times that we just need to get out of the way as much as possible and let God work.  It really is amazing to watch Him solve problems in a moment that I have wrestled with for weeks.  I've purposed to take my trust in God to a new level this year.  He has certainly shown Himself trustworthy.

Love to hear from you about ways that God has shown Himself trustworthy in your life, and about things you are excited to see come to pass at FCC.  Comment or email: jlowe@faithcommunitywv.org