Church Matters Because Church Matters- Part 2

On Sundays, we've been looking at the importance of the church. It's clear in Scripture that the church is important to God. And church matters (or matters of the church) are important to God because the church matters.

In Ephesians chapter 5, Paul compares the love Christ has for the church with the love a groom has for his bride. At every wedding there is joy. You can see it on the faces of the brides and grooms. To emphasize this point, recently we've requested wedding photos from the couples in our Bible Fellowship class which is comprised of young married couples (we also have some engaged couples as well). We shared those photos in a slide show on Sunday. Not surprisingly, there was a beautiful bride in each photo. Because there are no ugly brides.

And neither is the bride of Christ. Even with its flaws, the bride of Christ is beautiful. Because Christ "gave Himself for her" (Ephesians 5:25). But unfortunately, many people, many of those who are a part of the church, the body of Christ, don't feel beautiful. Maybe it's because of a choice they made 5 years ago. A decision they made 2 years ago. Something they did 2 months ago. Or maybe, it's because of something that happened to them in the past. And they can't get past it.

But they must. Because Christ sees them as beautiful. Because they've been forgiven. And because the message of the Gospel is too important to live in the long-since forgiven past. Because the church matters.

Fun on Friday

Soccer- As registrations for the One Goal Soccer program that our church offers have exploded this fall, our church's recreation minister has scrambled to secure enough coaches. Out of need and out of a love for my son who is playing again this season, I've agreed to coach his U8 team. I've coached alot of youth basketball but not youth soccer so a couple of guys out of our Bible Fellowship class have agreed to coach with me. They know soccer, I know children.

But if I'm going to coach soccer, I knew I needed a new pair of cleats. This past weekend, Tonya and I looked for a pair of cleats, stopped in the Adidas outlet and found a pair on sale. They fit well and looked pretty good on me, almost to the point where it actually might look like I know what I'm doing. Maybe no one will notice.

Fantasy football- This fall, I'm making my first ever foray into a fantasy football league. I'm in a league along with 11 other guys in our Bible Fellowship class. With 12 teams in the league, it should be interesting to see how it all works out. But while the other 11 guys are hoping to win the league, my goal is simply not to finish 12th and last. That would be embarrassing.

Great Quote Thursday

If life kicks you, let it kick you forward- Kay Yow

Get Motivated Business Seminar- Colin Powell and others

Colin Powell, former Secretary of State and former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, presented the following:

• The best leaders inspire others
• Great leaders resource their organization
• Recognize good performance
• Recognize poor performance
• The essence of leadership is trust
• Look through the windshield, not the rear view mirrors or side mirrors. You can't do anything about what's behind you.

Bob Kittell offered- There are two important steps: Learn something new and do something new. The second step is the hard one but it is the one that causes movement.

James Smith shared:

• It's not the big things but the small things that matter
• You are who/where you are today because of what you did 5-10 years ago
• Your past is not your future unless you allow it to become that

Get Motivated Business Seminar- Bruce Pearl

Bruce Pearl, the energetic coach of the University of Tennessee Men's Basketball team shared the following:

• Raise the expectations you have for yourself
• Focus on the process, not just the end result; you can control the process but not the outcome
• Enjoy the process; be somebody people want to be around
• Put people in positions to succeed
• Treat people fairly, not necessarily the same
• Hard work won't guarantee success but without hard work you won't be successful
• To be a great communicator, be a good listener

Get Motivated Business Seminar- Lou Holtz

Lou Holtz, the ESPN studio analyst, and former national championship football coach, was the highlight of the day. He started by telling the crowd to: "Listen to your spouse. No one loves you more, wants you to succeed more, will be more honest with you." Here's more of what he shared:

• Everything starts with a dream, a vision, not a strategic plan.
• Evaluate the WIN: What's Important Now
• You're either trying to get better or you're choosing to maintain.
• Focus on your purpose. If you understand your purpose, you'll embrace change. If you're changing to meet your purpose, that is positive.
• Lift people up. Have meaningful relationships. People have 3 main questions for their leaders: Can I trust you? Are you committed to excellence? Do you care about me?
• Leaders should: do the right thing; do your best always so you don't negatively impact others; have a kind word of encouragement so people know you care

Get Motivated Business Seminar

I recently attended the Get Motivated Business Seminar with a couple of guys on our church staff. The event brings together well-known speakers (and some speakers I had never heard of) who are leaders in their chosen field (business, government, sports, etc.) for a day of encouragement and challenge.

There were some low points to the day:

• Robert Schuller (Crystal Cathedral) opened the morning by asking, "We're in Knoxville, Tennessee this morning, right?" and you got the impression he truly was not sure what city he was in.
• Legendary motivational speaker Zig Ziglar appeared mid-morning and was "interviewed" by his daughter. However, due to a recent fall and declining health, Ziglar's presentation was, at best, difficult to watch.
• I'm still not really sure what Rudy Giuliani was trying to say.
• There were a couple of sales pitches made during the day. However, if you ignored your way through those, there was some good material shared.

In the next couple of posts, I will share some notes from some of the better sessions from the Get Motivated Business Seminar.

Fun on Friday

Except for the fact that it's wasteful, I always find it funny to watch sprinklers working at the same time it's raining.

Surely no one is surprised that Brett Favre is playing another season. Watching video of fans chasing him and lining the roads near the Vikings training camp to cheer for him was reminiscent of the way people responded to O.J. Simpson when he was on the run from the LAPD.

Great Quote Thursday

A life isn't significant except for its impact on other lives- Jackie Robinson

Book Review- Compassionate Leadership by Ted Engstrom and Paul Cedar

This book published in 2006 includes some of the previous published works of Engstrom and Cedar. Based on the example of Christ as servant-leader, the authors attempt to encourage young leaders to follow Christ's model in relating to as well as leading people.

The book contains significant portions of leadership advice that could be found in any number of other works. In many instances, the authors draw from Scripture to provide biblical examples, much from the life of Christ. However, the book is often very broad in nature and attempts to coverage a wide range of information but none of it in significant detail. Additionally, at times the book becomes somewhat repetitive.

While I would love to recommend this book and following the example of Christ is certainly my goal, this book is only average at best.

One Step

Our church is currently in the middle of a campaign called One Step. The purpose is to encourage, even challenge, both members and nonmembers to take One Step in their spiritual growth process to become more fully devoted followers of Christ. For some people, that may mean visiting a Bible Fellowship class. For others, it may mean they begin to serve in some capacity in the church. While for some, it simply means they take One Step and complete a guest registration card so that the church knows who they are and can then attempt to minister more effectively to them.

I had lunch last week with a friend (now a young Dad who is heavily involved in ministry) who reflected on how, before he became a Dad, he thought he was busy and involved in serving others. Now that he's truly busy, he looks back and wishes he had been more involved when he had the opportunity.

Do you need to take One Step?

Church Matters Because Church Matters

On Sundays, we're currently looking at the importance of the church. It's clear in Scripture that the church is important to God. And church matters (or matters pertaining to the church) are important to God because the church matters.

In Ephesians 2:19, the church is referred to as "the household of God"; in effect, the church is to be a family. Members of a family do things together. Members of a family care for one another. They make memories together. They experience life together.

I am blessed to be a part of a Bible Fellowship class that experiences life together from serving together in our church and in our community to eating out as a group to softball games and much more.

Life together is better. Plus, it's biblical.

Fun on Friday

Met a friend of mine at McAlister's for lunch one day this week. He ordered a salad with fat-free chipotle peach dressing. Won't be trying that.

Last week, we visited my brother and his family in North Carolina. Based on all of the license plates that we saw, much of the state of Ohio was there too.

Great Quote Thursday

Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones- Phillips Brooks

Welcome Home to Justin Wax

My friend Justin Wax, a 2nd Lieutenant with the National Guard, is back home in Tennessee after a year-long tour of duty in Iraq.

Welcome home Justin and thank you for your service to our country. We are thankful for your safe return.

Book Review- Patton: The Pursuit of Destiny by Agostino Von Hassell and Ed Breslin

A new release from Thomas Nelson's "The Generals" series, Von Hassell and Breslin's book provides a brief overview of the complicated life of General George S. Patton. Less than 200 pages in length, this book provides the reader with a nice synopsis of the some of the main points and events in Patton's life. However, I found the book lacking in several areas. Rather than an historical biography, the book reads as though it were written by members of a Patton fan club.

First, the authors go to great lengths in the prologue to denigrate General Omar Bradley when compared to General Patton. The reasoning for this is unclear.

Secondly, Patton is portrayed as possibly one of the great cavalrymen in the history of the United States Army as well as one of the Army's all-time great strategists, tacticians, teachers and trainers, tank unit commanders and so on. While he may have had great strengths in these areas, no man is the best-ever in each of these disciplines.

Thirdly, though the back cover states that the book is written "without varnishing over his shortcomings", the authors make a great effort to explain the reasoning behind many of the "shortcomings" of Patton, from his excessive and unnecessary profanity to his slapping of two WWII soldiers, calling them "cowards" because he was afraid that anyone would accuse him of cowardice. Little is noted of Patton's womanizing, alcohol abuse and depression.

Finally, while the authors include a bibliography of 11 items, there are no notes given throughout the text. In fact, only periodically do the authors refer to previous works by other historians.

To get a sense of the major points in Patton's life, this book is effective in its ability to highlight those events that shaped the general's impact. However, its presentation is too uneven in its pro-Patton nature as to be objective.

I reviewed this book in conjunction with Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program, was not compensated for this review and the opinions expressed are solely mine.

Fun on Friday

Recently at McDonalds as I placed an order for one of my sons:
Me: "I'd like to order ice cream in a cup instead of a cone".
Cashier: "So you'd like a plain sundae"?
Me: "Yes, I guess. If that's what you call ice cream in a cup".

Glad that fall practice for college football began this week and that NFL camps are open.

Speaking of fast food restaurants. The person who creates a way to more easily and cleanly dispense cup lids will make a fortune.

The baseball trading deadline came and went and the Yankees reloaded again. I'm no Yankees hater, but with their vast financial resources, it should be celebrated anytime another team besides the Yankees wins the World Series.

Great Quote Thursday

My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me- Jim Valvano

Book Review- How to Get to the Top: Business Lessons Learned at the Dinner Table by Jeffrey Fox

Part of the Fox Business Library, this book is broken down into 55 short chapters, each filled with thought provoking ideas for use in business and in life in general. In the foreword, the author describes the importance that the family dinner table has played in the development of leaders based on the opportunities it provides for parents to share wisdom and guidance. Fox gleaned many of these concepts in the book from well-known contributors such as George Steinbrenner, the late owner of the New York Yankees; Jim McDonald, the former President and CEO of Starbucks; and Kenneth Feld, the CEO of Feld Entertainment; as well as others.

The practical, easy-to-read chapters include the following titles: "When Thomas Jefferson Dined Alone"; "Quality in Not Job 1"; "Buzzsaw the Buzzwords"; and "Don't Park in Front of Your Store". My favorite, however, describing the necessity of putting the right people in the right positions is titled "Don't Put General Patton in Charge of the Mess Hall".

Elijah- The Importance of Mentoring

On Sundays, we're continuing our look at the life of Elijah, the Old Testament prophet.

II Kings chapter 2 records the last moments in the life of Elijah. He knows the end is near and he begins a journey from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho and on to the Jordan River. At each step along the way, his protege, Elisha, vows to follow his mentor to the end. In verse 9, Elijah asks Elisha "What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you"?; basically providing Elisha an opportunity to glean any additional wisdom or information that my help him in the future. Elisha's response was to request that a "double portion" of Elijah's spirit be upon him. Very possibly, Elisha felt he was only half the man that his mentor Elijah was.

Here's The Point: Elijah had mentored Elisha and gained his respect. Elisha honored his mentor by retracing some major moments in Elijah's life (v. 25) and carrying on the work, in some ways to greater heights than his mentor ever reached. The practice of mentoring is Biblical. Christ and the disciples. Moses and Joshua. Elijah and Elisha.

What about you? If you're not involved in a mentoring process, even an informal one, you're missing out.

Vision Ministry

On Saturday, South-Doyle High School held its annual clean-up day, a day where community volunteers join some dedicated administrators and faculty in preparing the school for the upcoming return of students for the fall semester. As part of our church's commitment to be involved in the community as well at the school through our Vision Ministry partnership (an initiative to provide mentoring to students and encouragement to the faculty) at the school, some members of our Bible Fellowship class for young married/engaged couples spent some time on the South-Doyle campus.

Tree trimming and the deweeding of landscaped beds were the projects our group primarily focused on. Thanks to Morgan and Jamie Honeycutt and Jeremy and Betsy Steeves (pictured left to right with me in the above photo) for carving some time out of their schedule to serve in the community. Working with friends made the work go quickly.

The campus looked noticeably better by the end of the morning. When over 100 people attack a project, great things can happen.

Elijah- Preparing for the Future

On Sundays, we're continuing our look at the life of Elijah, the Old Testament prophet.

It's human nature to wonder about the future. Often, people will ask God for guidance, wisdom and direction when making both short or long-term plans. Many times, we are simply called to trust God and follow Him by faith. But sometimes, as in I Kings 19, God lays out a specific plan of action as He did for Elijah. As Elijah struggles with depression, in verses 15 and 16, Elijah is told what steps to take next (and he is reminded that God will take care of him- verses 17 and 18).

Here's the Point: While we often want to know God's will, we don't often act on what we already know to do. In the case of Elijah, even after God shared a three-step plan with him, there is no record that Elijah followed the plan God had graciously laid out for him. While Elijah is told to anoint Elisha as his successor, Elijah simply calls Elisha as his assistant. Not a way to prepare for the future.