Ken

Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Orlando to watch our oldest daughter play softball for Bethel University. The trip was made possible in large part because of the generosity of Camp Gilead in Polk City, Florida. Camp Gilead has been serving the church since the 1930's and offers free housing to pastors when space allows. I arrived after 10 pm on a Sunday night and one of the staff members met me at the lodge and showed me to my room. A Youth For Christ group from Canada was also there, in addition to several smaller groups. Just behind the lodge is a large deck that overlooks a lake. Early mornings and late evenings were very peaceful and pretty. The room itself is well-suited for a private retreat (no television or WiFi). It's comfortable, clean, and really quiet (the YFC kids were staying at the opposite end of…

World War 2 officially ended on September 2, 1945 when the Japanese surrendered to the Allied forces on board the USS Missouri. Unfortunately, not everyone got the memo. On March 10, 1974, Lieutenant Hiroo Onada became the last WW2 Japanese soldier to surrender. He had been left on one of the Philippine islands in December of 1944. For 39 years he kept up the fight – killing at least 30 Filipino nationals. All efforts to convince him to surrender or to capture him had failed -- including broadcasting messages over loudspeakers and dropping leaflets from the air. When he finally handed over his rusted sword to President Marcos, he described his 29 yrs of unnecessary fighting as “complete unhappiness.” Before we laugh too much at Lt. Onada, are we much different? Have you ever fought a battle that’s already been won? For example, I believe all of us were created…

Intentions are powerful. Whether good or bad, intentions reflect a sense of purpose and speak to motive. By its very nature, something that happens intentionally did not happen accidentally. If I intentionally drop my coffee (which, trust me, I would never do), that is different than if someone accidentally knocks it out of my hand. The difference lies in motive. One person wanted to knock my coffee out of hand -- for whatever crazy reason! That's why trying to understand someone's intent helps us understand what happened. Intent speaks to why -- why did that person knock the coffee out of my hand? Why did my child act out? Why did that employee miss a deadline? Why did the coach run that particular play instead of another one? Intentions can also be tricky. Unless someone tells you their intention, you're left to piece it together from their actions. That's not impossible, but it…