It was a spur of the moment remark that has helped shaped my thinking. It was made in a leadership meeting about the Church. This person said, “We need to be careful about doing ministry under a microscope because the field of view is too small.”

The statement stopped me in my tracks and I quickly wrote it down word for word. I then took the note and put it into my “idea file” on my computer. It has remained in that file for almost one year and I have read over it at least 35 times. Every time I read that line I stop and think about the truth of its content. In fact, I have changed one word and gave it an even greater meaning.

“We need to be careful about doing life under a microscope because the field of view is too small.”

It is possible that every day when we sit down at night or lie in bed we replay the events of the day. We dissect events scene by scene or conversations sentences by sentence in our minds. We replay the day under a microscope. As a result we feel bad because things didn’t go well today that one time. We feel good because of that one compliment. We feel worthless because the day lacked the productivity we wanted that one time. We ride the roller coaster of our daily emotions.

The problem can arise in this type of thinking because the field of view is too small. I believe God works in our lives on a daily basis but I believe his overall plan is much bigger. Think about it this way.

1. Sometimes a failure is the opportunity for something better. One of my first ministries was a flop. It didn’t grow and I nearly quit the ministry altogether. That one year of my life did teach me about life and ministry. It shaped my approach to ministry today and I am a much better pastor because of that failure. That one ministry changed my thinking and would eventually lead me to new Church planting. Short-term failure lead to long-term success.

2. Sometimes a short-term success is not real success. I laugh when I read articles about parenting by people whose children are not yet adults. Many times a good Jr. High student does not equal a healthy Christian adult. Having a good day or week or month does not mean that I am successful in my endeavors. Real success is the long-term results.

3. Sometimes change is bigger than a single event. It is great to make a decision to change. Everyone has to start somewhere. But success is being able to live that decision out a thousand times over. Success and failure are bigger than single events. Success is the result of getting up more times than you have fallen down.

4. Sometimes your greatest advice will come from senior citizens. Our tendency is to listen to our peers. They are fighting the same battles. They understand us and our struggles. The problem is that they have not seen the long-term effects of their thinking and actions. I encourage people to listen to people older than themselves. They have long-term perspective. While they may not understand every small issue we are having they have seen their share of struggles and lived successfully.

5. Sometimes the Bible simply provides us with perspective. I could dissect the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis in a dozen sermons. In fact, I think I have done that. Lately I am convinced that the beauty of that story is not found in the details of Genesis chapters 37-50 but in the perspective. At least two times the story stops and reminds us that God has been at work in the life of Joseph. In slavery, in false accusations, in prison, and even in being forgotten God was working a mighty plan. If we look at one day in the life of Joseph we might see a failure but the big picture is much different.

Be care of thinking that your life is summarized in one day or in one small event. The story of your life, your marriage, your parenting and your Christian faith is written as a long story that cannot be summarized in any cliff note form. Broaden your perspective and you might just see the work of God in your life.

In 2009 I found myself between jobs. I was looking for a new place to preach and then I found a job in Alaska. There were several months I spent while interviewing and then accepting and finally moving. During that time I went to see a comedian with a couple of friends. The evening was going pretty well and the comedian had a few funny comments. About three-quarters of the way through his show a lady who had obviously had too much to drink became very disruptive. The comedian tried to move on but she persisted.

After a few failed attempts to proceed through his material he said, “I am just going to give up since I can’t finish a bit.” “Instead” he said, “let’s get to know the crowd.” He began calling out people and pointing at them and saying, “What do you do?”

As you can imagine he eventually made it to my table. He said, “You in the glasses, what do you do sir?”

I said “I’m unemployed.” Hoping he would drop the question. But no, he continued, “What did you do before.”

I simply stated “I was a preacher.”

I found his response very interesting (and it is the reason I tell you this story). He said, “Well, you never quit really being a preacher do you? You just preach in a different way to different people.” And finally he said, “I respect that” and he moved on to asking other people.

He never came back to our table after that but throughout the rest of the evening he would refer to me as “father” and everyone would laugh.

While it was uncomfortable in the moment to think of what he might do with the information of my career, he did make a very perceptive statement. Preaching the good news of Jesus is not just something you do from the stage every Sunday. It is something all of us do in different ways. It wasn’t really funny, but it was true.

I have mentioned before that over the past 12 months God has taught me the power of prayer. As a result I have being trying to focus more time and energy into my prayer life. While trying to put an emphasis on prayer I have learned a few simple things.

1. Talking about praying is not the same as praying. It is easy to talk about my prayer life and how I need to pray more. Honestly, that really gains me nothing. Saying “I’ll pray for you” is not the same as praying for you. Writing on Facebook, “Praying for you” is not the same as actually praying.

2. Talking about prayer requests is not the same as praying. Hearing someone ask for prayer, receiving a prayer list on Sunday or being on an email prayer team is not the same as praying. My fear is that most of what we call prayer is actually gossip. Do you want to hear prayer requests so that you have information or so that you can actually pray?

3. I don’t need to pray for the other people in the room to hear. Public prayer scares me. I say this because I do it frequently and I hear it even more. I often have to ask the prayers I ask are really prayers or preaching. I know I can find myself praying something like, “I pray these people will take what I just said seriously.” Now, am I asking God something or am I trying to emphasize the importance of my sermon? I really hear people do this when dealing with children. They will pray something like, “Help these children to behave and be nice today.” Is that praying to God?

4. I don’t need to pray about prayer. Recently I have noticed how many times that myself and others actually pray about prayer. “I thank you God that I can pray to you.” Then after all my platitudes about prayer I never actually pray about anything.

5. Prayer is coming before God. He knows me. He loves me. He wants me to thank, ask and seek in His presence. Would my prayers sound different if I was the only one in the room? Would my prayers sound different if I just spoke to God directly? What is really on my heart when I pray?

I want to be a praying person. I want to be a part of a praying Church. I want to experience the power of prayer as an individual and as a community. I think for that to happen we need to grow in our prayer life. I hope these thoughts will help you today.

Words flow from us. They fill the air when we speak. They fill up the internet and email. They are constantly filling my phone with text messages. I read words and I write words. I speak words and I listen to words. Words, words, words.

The question on my mind for the last week as been, “How will I use the words that come out of me this week?”

Will I –

1. Use words to encourage other people or tear them down?
2. Use words to proclaim truth or will I hide behind lies?
3. Use words to help or to hurt?
4. Use words to replay failures or offer a second chance?
5. Use words to forgive or slander?
6. Use words to grow in Christ or fall into temptation?
7. Use words to fight injustice or support it?
8. Use words to give hope or dash hope?
9. Use words to express love or reveal hate?
10. Use words to do good or do nothing?

There are so many options that I can use my words for this week. What will I chose?

Your future is shaped not just by the quality of words you hear but by the words you use. Choose wisely.

In Jesus everyone gets a second chance…

If you were to spend a month in a Church office your eyes will be open to a whole new world. I suppose this is true for every charitable organization. I know it is also true of people who work in the office at the school or other government agencies. In my conversations I have had several people share similar stories but I see the world from a Church office.

The issue that some of us understand and you may not is benevolence. Benevolence is defined as charity or a charitable donation. Honestly it is about money. People come through the doors of the church on a weekly basis asking for money. People want money for their gas bill, water bill or rent. They need help and they want the Church to provide it.

Here are things I have learned from the Church about benevolence requests.

1. Over 90% of all requests are from people outside of the Church. The majority of requests for help are from people who have never nor ever intend to attend our Church or any Church.

2. Most requests are needed today. I received two phone calls this morning and the people need money today. Note – this is hard for a Church who runs on volunteers who are at their jobs. It takes days and sometimes a week to process a request.

3. Everyone has a sob story. I am not trying to be mean in any way. Honestly every request seems to involve a child, someone handicapped, cancer, disability, funeral, divorce or elderly. I have heard similar stories so many times I can usually guess the ending.

I could list many other things I have noticed but these are the biggies.

With so many requests for help, what is a Church (or any organization) to do? Well, I want you to know a few things.

1. We help members, attendees and the people they recommend first and foremost. Knowing the situation is a huge plus for helping. We try to take care of our own.

2. Connection with other local organizations or churches is a must. With an email or two I can usually find out more of the situation. This is especially true in a small town. We have people in our community who request help from every church using different names and family members. Knowledge is extremely helpful.

3. Never give cash. This is true for any one. First priority is to help with food. After that, we help pay bills and that is it. No prescription meds, no pet food, no tobacco and no cash.

4. Most likely you are being played. Just being 100% honest. Very, very few are legitimate needs. People are foolish with their money and that is how they ended up in this situation. I have decided that God asks me to give and I will be judged for that. They will be judged for what they did with it. I can only handle my part of that equation. As a result I ask questions and give to people I think will use it the best they can.

No request is easy to handle. As a Christian I take my faith very seriously and that involves the way I treat other people. I always want to err on the side of being too generous as an individual and as a Church. There is also a point where I have to be wise. There is a fine line between being helpful and supporting laziness. There is a fine line between supporting people’s foolish decisions and helping people who have had a few things go wrong. If you think this is easy, spend a month in the office and I am sure I can convince you otherwise.

Your thoughts?

I first heard it in college. Later I heard it again. One time even used it in a sermon. I am sure you have heard it. Lately I have seen it posted all over Facebook. It is the teaching that the Bible says “Do Not Fear” 365 times. That is one for each day of the year.

The first time I heard it was from a wise older preacher so I was sure it had to be right. Then when I started seeing it everywhere I began to have my doubts as to its validity. Honestly, I really began to wonder about this because this is a leap year. There are 366 days this year so what are we supposed to do on the extra day?

All this lead me to my computer software program to do some research. I searched “do not fear” and “fear not.” I could only come up with 50 to 100 verses. It seemed no matter what phrase I searched I could not come up with anywhere near even 300 verses.

Then I started to actually read some of the verses. Many of them were when angels showed up to talk to people. When people see a real angel they are terrified and most of the time the messenger of God has to begin with saying “do not fear.” How did that get applied to how we should live every day? I guess it applies if you are going to see an angel everyday but I am guessing by day 181 you will stop being so surprised and scared.

So where did this concept come from?

After do some searching around the internet I think I found the source of this concept. There was a book entitled “Fearful to Fearless” that promotes this idea. It takes verses that say “do not fear” and “fear not” along with verses that say “do not worry” and “be strong and courageous” and anything similar. Basically the concept is that God’s word says something about resisting fear each and every day in some way. I am not saying this book was the first to promote the idea but I can see where this thinking came from. There is a broad idea that we should live without fear in our daily lives and with a little editing you can come up with one verse for each day.

It is not true that the Bible says “do not fear” 365 times – one for each day of the year. I do believe that God wants us to live without fear but it does not help us to bend scripture out of proportion. We need to be honest in our reading, study and application of scripture. It is important that we live without fear but it is equally important that we live with honest truth from God’s word.

My ultimate hope is that whenever you hear something about God’s word that you check it out for yourself. Do a little reading and research. In the end good Bible knowledge will help reduce your fears better than cliché’s.

I have a series of books in my library entitled “Six Word Memoirs.” The book is a collection of people describing their life in six words. The first one is entitled “Not Quite What I Was Planning” and the sequel is called “It All Changed In An Instant.” Both titles are examples of six word memoirs people used to describe their life.

The title of the second book has always been on my mind. Life experience has taught me that these words are so very true. Life can change in an instant. In fact, this is one of the first things that went through my mind while sitting in the emergency room with my 14 year old son on Friday night.

First, I sat there thinking about all the plans we had with Dakota over the coming weeks and months. Basketball games and tournaments were in the plans no longer. His life was radically altered for the next 8 weeks at least. Surgery, a cast and multiple doctors visits became our immediate plans.

Second, we were taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. I have to admit that you almost feel embarrassed that your son only has a broken ankle while waiting in the emergency room. One of the nearby rooms had four adults standing outside the room weeping. Another room had a very small child and there were doctors running in and out. In the chaos I wondered about those families. Had they woke up on Friday morning like every other day and found themselves facing unbelievable circumstances by the end of the night?

Life changes in an instant. Maybe it comes as a bad decision on my part. Maybe it comes as an accident that was really no one’s fault. Maybe it is an unexpected report from the doctor. Maybe it is a phone call giving you news you never expected. Life turns on a second’s notice every day for someone. Some days it does that for you and me.

The Christian faith provides people with two great comforts when life is changed in an instant.

1. God can use anything for good. Romans 8:28 gives us a promise that God can uses all things for good. The story of Joseph in the book of Genesis is a living example of how that looks in a person’s life. That does not mean that life will go on the same, but through the difficulties both meaning and purpose can be discovered.

2. We have an eternal hope. I know this is both a good and bad reality. As believers we hold onto the hope of heaven every minute. That is hard because it does mean that we have to say goodbye to people we love. I have been there and I hate it – hate it, hate it, hate it! The flip side is that in our grief we have hope. We have the promise of a land with no more morning or crying or pain because the old order had been replaced.

Someday life will change for all of us. Some way, some day. In my faith I take comfort that God can use it and transform it. I hope and pray you find the same comfort before that day comes.

This past Friday night my son Dakota jumped up to save a basketball going out-of-bounds. It was a simple hustle type play that is often made during a basketball game. The only different to this maneuver was that Dakota came down on his ankle wrong, very wrong. In this one bad fall he broke four bones in his ankle and damaged his growth plate. It required surgery and will take at least 8 weeks of recovery and some physical therapy. His mother and I spent Friday night in the hospital and most of the day Saturday until he was discharged and we could go home.

Many of you know that part of the story but I want to share “the rest of the story.” My wife was talking with Dakota last night and he wanted me to write a blog for him. He wanted everyone to know how he was blessed through this experience.

First – People immediately began to pray for him. Within minutes of the news the emails, texts and Facebook posts came rolling in of people who were telling me of their prayers. Before I left for the hospital at least a dozen people said their family would pray.

Second – People immediately volunteered to help our family. I was offered rides to the hospital. Meals for my other children and any type of childcare needed. People were willing to come to the hospital. Numerous people offered their help.

Third – People contacted Dakota and showed him so much concern. Phone calls and texts came from people to Dakota asking how he was doing. People he never would have thought cared about him suddenly were asking about him.

Fourth – People were giving to him. We received a meal, and he personally got cookies and he even received a gift bag. It made a 14 year old boy feel like a king.

Fifth – People were generally concerned for him. On Sunday morning people continued to ask Dakota about his status and how they could help. He did not feel like anyone was being forced or fake. He was overwhelmed that people cared so much.

While Dakota has experienced a great amount of pain over the past 3 days in his ankle the love and support he has seen in his Church family has been uplifting. All of his brothers have said somewhat jokingly that they hope they break their leg someday. Honestly, I know they do not want the pain but they are jealous of the way Dakota has been treated. That is really a good thing.

I know when I write something like this there will be people reading it who say, “That was not my experience with the Church.” “No one ever treated me like that when I was hurt.” I truly am sorry that was what happened to you. The Church does not always get it right. But when the Church does get it right it is a beautiful thing to watch.

I often tell people that Church is not just about what you are personally experiencing. It is also about the experience you are creating. Thank you to those who made Dakota feel so special. You touched a young boy’s life forever.

I love this quote. It is so very true.