Many years ago Stephen Covey wrote the best-selling book, "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." One of those habits was: "Begin with the end in mind." In other words, define what you're working towards before you start. On paper, this seems to make sense. Before you get in the car, know where you are going. But in many ways, we hop in the car and try to figure out as we're driving where it is we are going. In your career, what does success look like? If you're a Christ-follower, what does a mature Christ-follower look like? If you're a youth pastor, what do you want a graduating senior to be like? To know? If you're married, what does a healthy, fulfilling marriage look like? If you're a pastor, what does a growing church look like? Once the end is defined, the steps to get there usually fall in place.…
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When it comes to investing, most of us understand the relationship between risk and reward: the lower the risk, the lower the reward. As risk increases, so does the possibility for a greater return -- or a greater loss. The same is true in other areas of life. Many start-up ventures fail because the founders were reluctant to take any risks. Or they took a great risk and experienced a great failure. On the other hand, we enjoy the benefits of great companies who were willing to risk everything and succeeded. Healthy, growing churches know when to minimize risk and when to venture out into the great unknown. To walk by faith and not by sight is risky. Christ-followers who help other people find their way back to God risk rejection. They do so because they believe the reward is worth the risk. In marriage, love requires risk. Although we've…
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"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness — in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior" -- Titus 1:1-3 We read these verses at our elders Bible study a few days ago. Maybe it was the time of day (6 AM) or the fact that I hadn't had much coffee, but reading these words -- especially those in bold print -- really grabbed me. In fact, I teared up a bit. I was reminded once again why I love to preach: it has been entrusted to me. That's not language I would have used when I…
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In buying our house, we found out we could save money on our home owner's insurance by bundling it with our car insurance. Not only was it cheaper, but since we were able to stick with Progressive, it made the process even simpler. There's was only one catch: as part of the new policy, we are required to use Progressive's Snapshot device for thirty days. In case you don't know, it's designed to plug into your car's computer and uploads a record of your driving patterns. Before plugging in Snapshot, I was perfectly comfortable with my driving patterns. I stopped before hitting the car in front of me. But noooooo, that's not good enough for Snapshot. I get penalized if I stop too fast -- Snappy (that's my pet name for this annoying device) beeps three times to let me know I could have stopped more gently. And it's always…
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Integrity lies in the gap between. The closer a person's behaviors are to their beliefs, the greater the integrity that person has. When the gap is stretched to the point where one side cannot see the other, integrity is weakened, if not lost altogether. Parents may say to their children, "I want you to tell the truth" but if the child has never seen that behavior in the parent, the gap between erodes the message. A leader may hold followers to one set of criteria or expectations without ever holding themselves to the same standard. The gap between demotivates and disillusions. People of character are continually working to minimize the gap between. In biblical terms, it means to not just be a "hearer" of the word but also a "doer" (James 1:22). As long as we're human, the gap will never be completely closed. That doesn't mean we have to…
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