He's Back

Mom was ridiculous…

Growing up, I had a rule: DO NOT CROSS THE STREET. As I think back on this: it was ridiculous. There was nothing wrong with the street, nothing wrong on the other side of the street, noting wrong with my legs, but for some reason, this was a solid rule for me. If I broke this rule I would get in serious trouble. My older brother could cross the street, but not me. What difference was a few years? What would change in me the day I became “old enough to cross the street”?

The street was only a few hundred yards from my house. I could go twice this distance in any other direction but I was not to cross the street. What was it about this one direction?

I know you are thinking this is stupid, that at my age I could get hit by a car. And you would be right. 

Sometimes rules are made to protect us. Not to restrict us. Was I restricted? YES. Was I protected? YES!

Over the past few months I have seen a lot of people posting out how ridiculous some of the rules of the Old Testament are (were). Things like eating pork or shellfish, others like wearing different woven clothes and even tattoos (marking the body), to name a few. But what if the rules were not as restricting as they are protecting? Maybe the rules are there to teach us something, maybe teach us about the heart of God? 

What most people don’t know about these rules is that they came shortly after God introduced himself to an entire nation. A nation that had adopted rules, habits and customs from surrounding nations. These rules were set to establish Gods people with direction, protection and an insight into the very heart of God, rules to set His people apart. After all, wouldn’t a rule restricting a person to clothing of a single material teach us something about purity? One material would be pure-only one material-Like God, only one.

I really don’t think God cared much about their fashion but much about their loyalty. And to a people who was surrounded by nations who sold out to the latest greatest god with the most to offer, they needed to learn loyalty. To a nation that would one day hear that there is only ONE Son, ONE sacrifice and only ONE way to God, they needed to become a nation of loyalty. 

So when reading these “rules” Ask yourself these questions: Would breaking them hurt me? Would breaking them hurt others? if the answer is no, ask: what was/is God trying to teach us through this rule? After all, every rule falls into two areas: Love God or Love others. So if breaking the rule does not hurt others, does it hurt/offend God?

The New Testament changes things. And when it comes to sin, this really is where we should be reading. In it we read that we all fail at the rules (sin) and that’s when the ONE Son came, lived, died and rose to pay the price for my sins and everyone else's. 

So before we are quick to determine for ourselves what is and isn’t sin, knowing how much it hurts God and the price he paid for it, We might want to really dig in and see what He thinks sin is. After all, God gave His Son. Thats a pretty serious price for our sins. One we should take pretty serious. 

Out of 27 books in the New Testament, the word repent is in them 66 times in 60 verses. Sounds like there might be a message here.

P.S. this is about our personal sins, not the sins of others! How we handle others can be a sin in itself if not done through the love others command!!!!

In my neighborhood...

I have 4 neighbors. I’ll call them number 1, 2 3 and 4.
I speak to 1 a lot. We often have long conversations about any and everything.
I speak to 2 less than 1 but whenever they come or go, I always say “hello” or “have a great day”.
Number 3, I don’t speak to very often at all. Once or twice a year we will have a conversation or if something happens in our neighborhood, we will certainly talk then.
Then there is number 4. I never speak to him. There are no hard feelings, I just never really connected with him.

So I feel closer to number 1 than the rest even though they all live exactly one house away.
How can number 4 who is so close feel so far away? It is simple: distance is not just the amount of length it is also the amount of relationship. We feel closer to those who we know the best, spend the most time with. We feel distant to those we never talk to, listen to, care for or even acknowledge.
A side effect of my lack of relationship with number 4 is that my perception of him is entirely based on my assumptions and not the facts. I assume he is quite, I assume he doesn't really like me. In fairness to him, I should get to know him. It is not fair for me to place assumptions on him that may or may not be true.



You have probably figure out by now that I am talking about us and our relationship to God. Some people feel really close to Him while others feel miles apart. In reality, He is right there. He is right where he has always been and will alway be. The more time we spend together the more I understand Him, the more I hear from Him and the more I trust Him. When there is distance, it is because I have walked away, not Him.

So I ask: Is God more like number 1, 2, 3 or 4 to you?

The fact that number 4 and I never speak does not change the physical distance at all and it does not change the fact that number for is real. At any time I can walk over and start the relationship.

Here is my simple challenge: start tomorrow and give God just 2 more minutes more each day than you do now. That’s 120 seconds! If you spend 10 minutes now, make it 12 minutes. If you spend no time with Him, then 2 minutes will be easy. I promise He will seem closer and closer to you.
Give him one minute of prayer- thank him for whatever is good in your life, ask Him for help with the stuff thats bad and give Him one minute reading His word- read Luke then James in the Bible. Its kinda like one minute of Him listening to you and one of you listening to Him.
Once that is habit for you, feel free to add another minute.

Saving the Titanic

A short story: 2100 People from point A going to point B

A complicated story: 1250 People from point A never make it to point B

What sank the titanic? Was it her speed after the final broilers were brought online?

Was it her lack of turning radius?

Was it the size of the iceberg?

Lack of proper radio communications?

I venture to say it was simply: the timing. The ship could turn, and did, too late. The ship was designed to do exactly what it did. It was well aware of the hazards of ice. 

So it wasn't a malfunction and it wasn't the unknown. 

It was the time they started the turn that sank them or it could be said: the amount of time the ship did NOT turn.

We know our crisis: obesity, illiteracy, crime, poor choices and we more than know how to avoid them. Then why, as a culture do we wait till it is upon us to react.

It is believed that a mere 30 seconds sooner and the titanic would have been spared the icy depths.

30 seconds! 

We respond in the 30 seconds (or when the crisis is upon us) when what would it have looked like if we had 3 minutes, 3 hours, 3 days, 3 years sooner?

30 seconds sank the Titanic after extreme panic and efforts to save her. 60 seconds would have resulted in the exact same maneuvers and panic of operators but saved the ship (this is also where we respond) but why don't we start a dock? When mapping out the course? that is exactly what the Boys & Girls Club is doing. We know the crisis and we know the results of subtle maneuvers and how they don't just save lives, they avoid the whole panic mode by avoiding the problem years in advance. 

If Titanic would have left port with just 1/4” of a variance in her course, she would have missed the iceberg by miles. We are not looking for collisions or even near misses, we are looking for a clear path to a successful future and that is accomplished by knowing the obstacles, knowing our capabilities and reacting in the proper time: when setting the course.

This is the simple effect of a well placed encouragement, a recognized achievement, help with homework and a pat on the back for doing the right thing. These little gestures result in slight course changes that save lives. I still remember, and feed off of, the encouragement I received as a child. It fueled future behavior and some of these course changes have guided me past what could have been a crisis but instead was an amazing view off the port side.

One kid at a time, we can…and do avoid crisis.

Just my thoughts.

The answer to many questions is: Keep doing what we are doing. And do it well.

We were asked at our weekly leader meeting: what can we do to put a dent in poverty and hunger?

At first the question was heavy and without a lot of hope. Then I thought about the very core of what we are doing at the Boys & Girls Club, our mission: To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

After much thought, that very mission is, in reality, the answer to the question. Our local organization sees over 1000 kids a day. When we achieve our mission, those kids, some of which are living in poverty and are hungry, will grow up and break the unfortunate cycle they were born into. 

I cannot think of one person who reached their potential, who is productive, who is caring and who is a responsible citizen, that is in poverty and hungry. Oh it is possible, just not probable.Those thousand kids will grow up. Lets assume we meet our mission. These kids will marry and likely have kids of their own. Now our 1000 kids and the values we instill have impacted another 3000 people (their suppose and at least 2 children), not to mention any friends they might have mentored along the way. So we, by simply following our mission will put 4000 plus people our of poverty and hunger. 

In the grand scheme of things, 4000 isn't a lot. But according to the Boys & Girls Club of American: “In 2012, Boys & Girls Club youth development programs, training and services impacted nearly 4 million children and teens.” So what if these 4 million kids grow up and get married and have 2 kids of their own: thats 7 million people that may have been on the path to poverty but are now productive, caring, responsible citizens. 7 million is a dent!

I read somewhere that if you feel your job matters to someone, you will find satisfaction in it. Couple that with a good team, measurable goals and a strong since of community and now you know why I love my job. 

The opportunity that becomes a offense.

Once upon a time: I had the opportunity to sit in a training with a group of other people. This training was one of those that-while it had to do with my job-really doesn’t offer practical every day chances to engage it (or does it?)  Still, If its important to my superiors, shouldn’t it be important to me, regardless of my assumed relevance? The same people who made the decision to provide this training also made the decision that I was (at one time) the best person for the job. Why would I doubt their decision making now? Hmm...

So I pull out my notepad and prepare to take anything from this speaker that I could put in my tool belt. As the speaker began to equip me for success, between dribbling down as much gold as I could, I looked up and around the room for some sort of confirmation that the information was as good as I thought it was. What greeted me? A few people also taking notes but what alarmed me was a few ‘glazed over eyes’ looking past the speaker and at some imaginary spot on the wall behind him. I thought to myself “They just tuned out for a second, they will surly reengage in a second.” After several more points, and several more minutes, I saw these same glaze. One that continued throughout the presentation.

What were they thinking? 

Perception is the known facts and then imagination filling in the blanks. So my mind started filling in the blanks for them: “Why am I here?”, “Couldn’t this been a little later?”, “Don’t they know how many hours I work?”, “Does this guy do that to his hair on purpose?”. What I was pretty sure they were NOT thinking was this: “This is going to be awesome.”, “Slow start but it’s about to get real.”, “I’m up, I’m ready, bring it on and set me up for success.”.

Now, after time has passed the person is not as much a concern for me now as the lingering attitude. One that, I am sure, was years in the conditioning. One that I am sure to encounter in the future. It is these attitudes that really concern me. Can they be fixed?

Here we have people mere feet from the boss, the one who invited this person in to share, the one who hires, fires, promotes, demotes and will later either tell others of our good work or maybe never speak of us again. Do these attitude holders not think the boss is watching them? Do they not care? Do they think they know everything the speaker is saying? Do they think this is useless information (For the record: any information that we refuse to use, is useless information)?

Can this attitude be fixed? Why was mine different? While I am not wanting to be on a pedestal, I think the answer is: the box. Mine is opened. theirs was more than likely, closed. See, I have a pretty big tool box in my garage. And it is full of tools. Some I may never need and less than relevant in my typical environment. But if and when I ever would need that tool, I have it. It may need some cleaning or greasing to get it to work, but it is there because I was willing to put it there and keep it there. 

All this to say: An open box will always be more desirable than a closed one. Can a close one be opened? Yes, but each one is different and has to be willing to be opened.

My box isn’t perfect and the tools there will always be limited by my knowledge and use of them. But I will keep it open, I will learn as much as possible from anyone willing to put a little something into it and I will always be willing to share it.

So the next time you find yourself in a mandatory offense, ask yourself: is there an opportunity here? Are there any tools here that I can collect? And if all else fails and you decide to keep your box closed and taped up, at least learn to fake it! Act like you care and that just might hold your paycheck for a few months more.

By the way, with a little time, I could deliver this guys presentation if I was asked to (not as good as him of corse). Not because I am smart, but because I am open and willing. Are you?

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast" 'Peter Drucker'

Beauty and the Beast Rewind: the typical relationship.

This classic is filled with inspiration and romance. It captures the hearts and awakens the imagination. But the story is different than real life in only one way, yes one: Its backwards from the “typical” relationship. If we were to play this film backwards, we would see an all to familiar synopsis. One, most of us have been in close proximity to, if not played a major role in. Let me give you the rundown, backwards:

We have a couple that are madly in love, happy and destine to live happily ever after. A prince and princess. They have learned to love and earn the love of the other. But then one of them starts to change (maybe both of them change) and selfishness set in. The once prince charming now is prone to being alone, doing his own thing and even becomes mean. He has lost his manners and looks less and less like a gentleman with each passing year. Soon the love is a forgotten skill and self is the only motivation left. Now the transformation is complete. The man has become the beast. The woman tolerates it in hopes that things will get better, hopes for a small glance, a small jester, but the longer it goes, the home slowly becomes a prison: The beast, it’s warden. The request have been replaced with demands. The two were so much alike and in love-now are almost different species and incompatible at best. Things get so bad that all signs of love are gone and fear has taken its place. Questions fill her mind: How did he get this way? Why is he so mean? Can he change? Should he change? Is it may fault? The only thing left to to is flee, to run, to return home into the comfort of family, leaving the beast alone and lost. But the home of our youth cannot fill our souls of our adulthood. We need a helper, a true love, a friend for life.

So we have the classic story told backwards. A fairy tell turned around and into real life. This story happens too often. The culprit: complacency and selfishness. See when we have been exposed to something for a long time, that something becomes expected and even deserved. We forgot what it was like to earn the love of others because, well, it’s just been there all this time…and it’s MINE! This is our mistake and this is where the cures of the beast set in. Complacency leads to selfishness. Selfishness is a trait for beast, not couples.

So all along, the cause of the curse is the cure for the curse. Unselfish acts earn the care of others. Not demands, not expectancies, not arrangements. Nope, just unconditional love. That means, regardless of the way they act, I choose to love them. REGARDLESS. Once we set conditions, we are not being unconditional and unselfish. Conditions like honesty, kindness, and loyalty. If all these fail, unconditional love is there to win the day. And make no mistake: setting a number of times he/she can fail at any of these is a condition.

The great thing about unconditionally love is that it starts with the only one in the relationship that you can change: YOU. But rest assured, it is contagious. 

SO there is hope for the beauty and hope for the beast, as long as YOU are willing to set the new unconditional standard in the home.

And they lived happily ever after…

P.S. I choose to focus on the man to stay true to the fairy tail but this is a gender neutral problem. The man or the woman can become the beast, sorry ladies.

It's been a wile but I'm still here.

A quick update on the Cannons: we are loving life. We both have health, good jobs, an amazing church family with Crosspointe Fellowship Church. I have been too busy to be on here much but I see you are still checking out the blog so I will try to post something soon.

Thank you!

Thats my judgement and I’m sticking to it!

The other day I was checking out one of our Boys & Girls Club buildings and the custodian, who happens to be a retired roofer, offered to take me up on the roof to survey some leaks. We proceeded to set up one later, climb to the first level roof, pulled up another latter and set it up on the second level roof. Now I am not afraid of heights but I have extreme respect for them. I stay way off the edge and as safe as I can be. This retired roofer was very comfortable near the edge. Too comfortable for my taste. I asked him to step back and to be careful and he laughed at me. I’m so glad he got a laugh out of me but I was serious. He made me nervous. He informed me that he has been on roofs his whole life and was very aware of his footing. His confidence was not contagious at all! We checked the roof and climbed back down to solid ground and (in my opinion: safety).

What is my point in this story? Well, I am glad you asked. See, this man claimed to be careful and skilled but I didn’t care. I wanted him to be careful and step back. He claimed he was safe. I saw things another way. I wanted to absolutely ensure his safety. Now in the Christian world, this same scenario plays out every day-all day. You see someone approaching danger and try to warn them and help them and they jump and call it “judging them”.

Never once did this man assume I had anything other that his safety in mind. He didn’t mind my caring for him. He did, as I mentioned, find it humorous.

Please don't assume people are judging you when they try to help or point out a possible pour outcome of a situation. We are not judging you, we are trying to protect you. After all, it is our job:

Galatians 6:1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

And if by chance you do call yourself a believer, you are baptized and claim to follow Christ and you do fall into sin and are fine with it; You can expect to be judged by other believers. Again, it is our job (in love, always in love):

1 Corinthians 5:12 It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. 13 God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”

So please don’t get offended when I ask you to step away from the edge. You may be safe, you may think you are in control but why chance it. Step back where we all know you will be safe.

“Based on the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data, there are 70 annual fatalities for Roofers per year”

Why We Fail

You have head it and I have heard it. Time and time again: You have tried and I have tried and we both fail. So much so that the next time, we don’t really even attempt. I am talking about the challenges we get from so many churches today. You know, after the three points and after the blanks are all filled in, there is the big “take-home challenge”, The “what to do”, the “how to live it out”, the “this week” or “next 40 or 90 days” and on and on. Really though, we have no reason to fail: we have just been showed where the Bible tells us to do it, we were told how Jesus or the other Bible characters did it and if they did it, surly we can. But we fail, I fail.

So why do we fail? In my opinion, we fail because we cannot succeed. Now, I know that sounds like a “duhh” statement but think about it for a minute. We cannot succeed in living a life that is pleasing to God. If we could do it, do you really think God would have sent Jesus to die for my sins? Our sins? If there was any other way, don’t you think that our creator would have taken that way. It is through the perfect life of Christ, his death and his resurrection that our failures are wiped away. Not through my success (or lack of) in meeting a challenge. 

Now don’t take this as a free pass to live a life of foolish choices and stupidity. But also don’t just try to live better because myself or some pastor told you to. You try to live a life pleasing to God out of sheer gratefulness for what Jesus did for us on the cross! But know that you will mess up and know that His grace is still sufficient! 

But also know that Jesus didn’t leave you here to fail. And unfortunately, with 3 solid points, an acronym or two and 3 to 5 blanks, there isn’t enough time in Sundays message for this part: Jesus gave you everything you need to succeed: The Holy Spirit. It’s truly sad that Jesus’ work on the cross isn’t talked about in a service every now and then, but the Holy Spirit gets no love in a lot of church messages (except for the charismatics!). See we were left with a helper, The Helper! We sing about him when we quote from Zechariah 4:6 ….’Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. But we don’t share it in our challenges. Look, it is God’s will that you live a life pleasing to Him. Don’t you think He wants you to succeed at that? Every good and perfect gift is from above and the Holy Spirit is a good and perfect gift!. Instead we tend to convince you that we are right and you should meet the challenge because of that. We word it in cleaver ways so you can remember it, heck sometimes we say what God said SO MUCH BETTER than when he said it (Ok that was a little sarcastic but just listen sometimes.), we use creative visuals, movie clips and images. And it works, you and I walk out saying: “I’m gonna do it this time!” And we leave the Helper out completely and we fail. When will we learn to lean on Him? When will we accept the entire gift that God gave us? I don’t know about you but I am tired of trying to do something on my own that I was never meant to do on my own! My might is not enough and my power is weak, but by His spirit! 2 Corinthians 2:4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

Jesus was and is the greatest thing to ever happen on this planet but even he said that it’s best if he leaves because something else is coming:

John 16:5 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

I am not knocking on any challenges you are given at any church. I repeat: the challenges are good! We should try to live better, we should be growing in spiritual maturity and we should repent of our sins. But what I want you to know is this: weather or not the challenge is offered with the assurance that we have a great Helper to get us through it, WE DO have just that: A great Helper, the Holy Spirit, to get us through it. So take the challenges but lean on the one who can and does succeed.

If we could have done it on our own, we wouldn’t need the Cross.

If we could do it on our own, we would not need the Holy Spirit.

So next time you think you cannot do it on your own...you are right, you cannot do it on your own and you don't have to!

They all got it wrong!

I have noticed a trend in the social network arena. This is not a new trend and it most definitely is not limited to Facebook and Twitter. What is this trend you ask? Well, I am so glad you asked because I am about to answer: the trend is people feeling the need to find their identity in their relationships. It seems that people don’t feel complete or even relevant if they do not have a person to call their own. We seem to think that a significant other is all we need to be happy, to be complete, to be who we were meant to be. 

Disclaimer: Now being married to an amazing wife for 19+ years, you may be thinking: “What does HE know about being alone?” Well as of right now, I was alone longer than I have been married. And Don’t get me wrong, I love having my bride at my side and would not want it any other way but we cannot limit our identity to our relational status.

I think a part of the problem is what we have been fed. I am not talking about our food, I am talking about our other great intake: TV, Music and Movies. I am not going to tear them apart as some “Christians” do, I love entertainment! Just last night I went to a double feature and I enjoyed it. But when this intake starts to mold our core beliefs, I start to worry.

So here is the problem: The fairy tales messed up! The fairy tales got it all wrong. Our little girls and boys are watching them and idealizing these stories based on one major misconception: “And they lived happily ever after”. They base the whole movie on its climatic ending where the princess gets her valiant prince and they take the throne. As awesome is this happy ending is, it seems to teach us that we are not complete until our prince charming shows up and saves the day. See we forget one important thing in almost all of these movies/stories: The princess’/prince’s identity is not found in the end after the dragon has been slain and the evil witch has been conquered, NO! The princess’/prince’s identity is found in who their father is! See Snow white, Sleeping Beauty, Prince Charming and the rest, were BORN with their identity in place because of the family they were born into. Somehow we have changed that to them not being complete until the princess is united with her knight in shining armor.

So naturally we have all learned to look for our happy ending, our ride out into the sunset on our white horse with our princess/prince at our side. We want the happy ending but I fear it is because we have forgotten about our “Happy Beginning”.

Let me tell you right here and right now that:

You are not who you are because of who is at your side! 

You are who you are because of the One who died!

Lets see how Christ sees you (Who you are!):

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Lets see who your Father is:

Romans 8:14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Lets see what your identity is:

Galatians 4:7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Lets see who your family is:

Romans 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

So:

To the Cinderella who feels like a slave, you are a daughter of the KING! 

To the Snow White who feels forced into servanthood, you are a princess of the GOD!

To the Sleeping Beauty who feels dead and un-useful, you are alive in Christ!

To the warrior looking to be knighted for slaying the dragon, you are already in the LORDS army!

To the Beast looking for true love before the last pedal drops, True love died in your place and finds you perfect when His (Jesus) blood dropped!

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

What the fairy tales got wrong, God got right!

Stop looking for your happy ending and lean on your happy beginning!!!

If you want to know more or have clarity, message me and I will be glad to talk to you, after all, I would love to spend time with such royalty as you!!!!

And no, dating is not bad….until you are defined by it.

Thanks to Kyle Idelman and Chris Hopkins for the thought. 

Barrel of Monkeys

Barrel of monkeys

Ok, so I don’t really remember having and playing with the “Monkeys” when I was a kid. I am sure at one point or another: I had a set. I am sure I never knew there was a game you played with them and I am equally sure that there is just something fun about  the very sight of these little plastic hook armed chimps!

For whatever reason, the other day I was thinking about leadership and these monkeys, linked together by the arms, came to mind. I think they say a lot about leadership and couldn’t get the thought out of my mind. So I trekked across town and into the toy store, I had to have a barrel of monkeys! Low and behold there they hung-right on the end of the isle front and center as if calling my name. Now I had to choose a color. Ok course I walked out with a red set and the receipt. Now as an owner of a brand new set of monkeys, I saw on the label “Instructions on bottom of barrel”. Was I the only one that didn’t know this was a game and not just a goofy toy? 

Well I just had to play it. My opponent would be Sheila (who I am sure owned monkeys as a kid). I thought I would be cleaver and let her go first so I could watch her monkey hooking technique….I was wrong! She hooked all 15 in a long chain of monkeys without dropping one! So now it’s my turn to be the hook master! I choose my lead monkey carefully-picking one that would be hard to hook with another. Now for my very first (possibly ever!) hook! And I dropped it! I couldn’t hook the very first one! Sheila beat me fair and square! Sheila is the monkey master and I am the 46 year old fool who just bought a barrel of monkeys only to be beat by my wife!

So Just what do these monkeys have to do with leadership? Well the top monkey is the boss or the leader and the rest are the team being lead. There is work to do: get more monkeys on board without dropping them! A successful leader team is one where all of them are strung together and hanging safely by the leader. Here are some observations I saw:

The leader carries more weight than the rest. The burden is on that top monkey! Try to sympathize with them and their weight.

All of the monkeys have a smile on their face. At the end of the day, is your team happy? Even in adversary or differences, a good leader, who responds well, will have a happy team of monkeys!

The team is able to handle the weight on each of them. While the leader does hold all of the weight, each team member has a job to do and a weight to hold. If you cannot handle the weight, move to the bottom of the monkey chain and work your way back up!

The Leader/team is boring and no fun as long as it is in the barrel. Get out of the barrel and do what you were made to do!

Each monkey has a lead arm and a load arm. I think every part of a team has a lead role and a follow role to play. What areas are you leading and what areas are you following?

A good leader uses his entire team and understand each of their positions. Sheila got the feel of how the monkeys responded to her movement and the role that each of the played. She used this to her advantage and won!

All it takes is one not doing its job for the rest to suffer. One monkey not hooked right or hooking right will cost the whole team. Are you doing your job? Is your team working with their strengths? 

How can you, where ever you are in the chain, help the rest of the team?How can you support your leader? Are you the leader? Are you handling the weight?

I know this is just a kids toy but I think the chain of monkeys holds a lot of truth to the way leadership works. Don’t be afraid to reach out and take someone along with you and help them take someone along with them.

All in all, we are all just a bunch of monkeys trying to hold on and hang on!

Disclaimer: This isn't leadership in it's entirety, just one aspect of it.

A possibility as to why we flee:

I have worked in children’s church for close to 20 years. On some Easter messages, I would get a live lamb as a visual in church. We would head out to a farm and pick one, then the shepherd would go in and get it. First of all, this experience was very humbling.  See to represent the sacrificial lamb, we had to pick a spotless one without fault. Now this farm had hundreds and hundreds of sheep. You would think, that out of that many, a perfect one should be easy to fine: nope. The shepherd would finally catch one and bring it to me and I would tell him that that one wasn’t good enough or right and I would ask him to get another. This gave me some insight on what it must have been like before Jesus. It also taught me that perfection is something to be highly valued. It was these lambs that you wanted to breed and grow a better flock. So to give up the good ones was hard and costly. But this really isn’t my point. 

Something even more interesting I learned was that as the shepherd, the man who raised these sheep from birth, the man who fed them every day, the man who protected them, as this man stepped into the fence the sheep did something interesting: they fled away from him. Which ever way the farmer went, the sheep would go the other way. At first I thought the poor guy would never catch my needed sheep but the farmer was smart. He would move one way to get the sheep to go the other way (the way he wanted them to go). If he needed them to the left, he would go to the right. He would pick a corner to trap them in and then move in to grab the sheep. Now I had no reason to think the sheep would act different...or did I?

John 10:2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

I want to point out a few things in the passage:

First: “the sheep listen to his voice”, now these sheep I am talking about did not listen. As a matter of fact, the farmer used his voice to run the sheep where he wanted them to go. But with Jesus or a “good shepherd” the sheep listen to his voice, not run from it.

Second: The shepherd “leads them”. I think that a good shepherd will know how to lead and not chase, trick or trap the sheep to get them where they need to be. 

Third: “he goes on ahead of them”,  this is probably the first clue to the real life problem that this shepherd had AND many churches have with the leaders or shepherds. When “he goes on ahead of them”, I see several things: he is exposing himself to whatever dangers they may come to, then he is also between the sheep and the potential threat. I also see a good shepherd not leading his sheep anywhere he himself is not going! Notice I didn’t say “willing to go” but going. When you “go out ahead of them”, you are going there first! Anyone would say they are willing but do they go out ahead?

And lastly: “his sheep follow”, These sheep did not follow. they fled. But here Jesus says they will follow! Now I know that our pastors today are not Jesus and cannot be expected to be Jesus but I do see a problem with the church today: people are fleeing away. Now most of them are fleeing towards other flocks (other churches) but rest assured: they are fleeing. It’s been found that 83% of first time church visitors are from another church. You have probably done this too, it’s ok. But you do have to figure out if the problem was with you the sheep or with the shepherd.

Questions to ask:

Do you listen to his voice? Before I get into this first question, never take your faith solely from the mouth of any one man other that Jesus and His Word! Always write down the passages and look them up! If information comes from outside of this, don’t be afraid to ask for the reference and look it up! All of that being said and assuming the Word is being preached, are you listening? and by listening I mean listening and obeying? Or are you resisting what is being said? Do you lean into the messages or are you pulling away? Are you accepting the challenges or rejecting them? Because if you believe the Word is being preached and have checked and still resist, you are not just fleeing the church but also God. Repent now!

Are you being led by your shepherd? Are you drawn in by the church leading you or are you being tricked into the corner? I find that when we experience the true gospel in others, we want to follow them. But too often the church plays another game: good coffee, fun music with a secular song thrown in every now and then, exciting lights and decorations. One thing you have to notice is that in John 10, Jesus never mentions using the sheep pin as a tool. The environment will not matter when there is a good shepherd. He didn’t say to clean up the pen, to paint the gates, put up better signs or give them better food in the trough. Nope everything here points to the good shepherd. It is important to have a good environment but that should not be the tool to get you there and keep you there. It’s all about where the healthy focus is. Is it on Jesus and reaching the lost? The sheep that is under a good shepherd will feel more like part of the family than it does part of the flock.

Is your shepherd going ahead of you? Do you see your church/leaders doing what it is asking you to do? Are they doing it ahead of you? The shepherd here did not join the flock, he led it and went out before it. We should see every challenge in full effect by a good shepherd before we are asked to meet it. We should see the love of Christ first in them. Are they preaching on humility? Are they humble? Honesty: are they honest, integrity…. Are they cutting the path for you? 

Know that the leaders today are human and the person speaking in John 10 is Jesus (God) and know that we humans will fail. I am not expecting a perfect pastor or leaders in all of this rant. That, I know I will never find. I am simply saying that this may be why so many people are fleeing instead of following.

Who is who: You are a shepherd if you lean someone (and you should). I am not talking about just pastors here but any shepherd. The shepherd in John 10 is clearly Jesus and while we are not The Good Shepherd, we are called to follow Jesus and do what he did. and he lead people and you are a sheep if you are following under someone (and you should).

Please don’t be offended that I call you sheep. Jesus did it first and it is an honor to be a sheep under a good shepherd! But as a sheep, are we following our pastors? Are we following our Good Shepherd: Jesus? If not, start now! 

As a pastor/leader are you a good shepherd? Are the sheep your true concern or is your job or your paycheck, your comfort or even your pride? Are the flock more apt to flee or follow? I find that a good shepherd needs no tricks or methods to get the sheep to listen. Being good is all.

Solution

John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 

That is a shepherd worth following! One more concerned with the flock than his own life (whether it be his safety, his comfort or his paycheck).

If you find that more people under you flee than follow, you also have to ask: is it bad sheep or am I a bad shepherd. Jesus has given us everything we need: The example of following him, the instruction in His word, the gifts and the power through the Holy Spirit to accomplish the work He has already set aside for you to do. Stop trying on your own and start leaning on the Son. 

The Trek Through the Woods

Years ago, Sheila’s Grandfather (a very huge man in every sense of the word) purchased a piece of property. He was very eager to show me the boundaries of this new property. I should add here that a good portion of this property was heavily wooded. I’m not just talking trees. I am talking trees, bushes, vines, briars and bamboo. It was thick. Grand-Dad marched into the uncut woods: no paths, no machete not even a stick to knock spiderwebs out of the way. Just this big man bulldozing through the brush. And he wasn’t taking his sweet time. He was plowing through the woods with me trailing behind: at the same pace he would if he was walking through the mall (not that you would have EVER gotten this man in a mall!). He seemed to be having no trouble at all. Me on the other hand: I was struggling to keep pace. Mosquitoes all over me, spider webs in my hair, limbs that he pushed through were slapping me like an offended Wal-Mart shopper. My arms and neck were being cut from sharp branches and briars. It was the hardest thing I have been through in a long time and it hurt. 

Why am I telling this story? Well if you follow my FB post, you know that I just finished a few books on discipleship: ‘Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman’ and ‘Follow Me by David Platt’. Both of these books talk about truly being a follower of Christ-not just the invitation but the warning that goes with it. As I reflect on the challenges of both of these books, I couldn’t help to remember this journey into the woods after this great man. See, we are called to follow and the path that Jesus took and it is not easy: It is rewarding but by no means easy. If you think it is, you’re probably doing it wrong. Well back to my story: This trek happened many many years ago, Grand-Dad has gone on to be with Jesus and we are left here missing him but after all this time, as I closed this second book I realized something about that walk: As hard as it was for me to follow, Grand-dad (like Jesus) had a much tougher job leading! See there is nowhere in following Jesus that he has not already been before you. If you are attacked by mosquitoes, he was first and probably more, if you got spider webs on you: you got what he left behind, if you got hit by limbs: he was hit first and had to push though them. See Grand-Dad made a path of sorts. While it wasn’t a clean path, it was way cleaner than when he went through ahead of me. This is the same with Christ. When He said his yoke was easy, it is because He has already been there before you and did the work. It is through Christ that I can succeed.

So whatever your struggles, whatever your burdens, if you are following after Jesus, he has made the journey easier by going before you. 


Thank you Grand-Dad for leading the way so many years ago. I’d have never made it through without you.

Thank you Jesus for leading the way every day. I'd never make it through without you.

Display a life of Grace....

and they will want a taste!

Here are the Bible verses used in the sermon today (10/21/12). I certainly hope you find them useful.

Luke 9:23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Display a life of Grace and People will want a Taste

1 Peter 2:12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

We are Christ ambassadors, not “we should be” we are, like it or not

2 Corinthians 5:20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Our worth is defined by what we follow. If I spend all my energy on _____, I am only good to those who want ______

2 Kings 17:15 NIV...they followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless?

People are not our projects, they should be our passion, after all, they are His passion

Romans 10:1 it is my desire

27 Then the king of Assyria gave this order: “Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires.” 28 So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship the Lord.

1 Peter 2:9  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 

We want to be like Jesus? Hunger like Jesus
He was weary, it was lunch time, disciples went for food, she left her water jar

John 4: 31Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”

32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”

33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”

34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.

Our commission: Matt 28:19 [feed, heal, water, save trees? NO] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

It’s the great commission

Not the great suggestion, or omission James 4:17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Romans 10:14-15 (NLT)  Reference only on screen

14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? 15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

So How do we: Display a life of Grace and People will want a Taste?

1 Peter 2:12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good (not deserved) deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Thank You for stopping by: Leave a comment and let me know you were here.

Would you treat them different?

I am amazed that I know people and treat them one way, then I find out something about their life, a tragedy, a problem or a struggle, and then the way I treat them changes. My heart is now invested in them. My actions are more intentional and my conversation with them deepens.  My concern is: why did I change with more or new information about them. I mean, shouldn't I treat everyone the same? The person didn't change, my information about them did.

Am I wrong to feel a little guilty about my difference? Sometimes maybe but that is what relationships are really all about. Our investment in others needs to be growing and true relationships will bring new information that will bring more Opportunities to better invest into that relationship.

My take away is to try to treat people as fragile valuables and not be carless with my words. God, teach me to see what YOU see and to feel what YOU feel. Those souls were purchased by the blood of your Son Jesus Christ and I need to treat them like it.


Thank you for life lessons!