upward & inward

Some new (and old) lessons from August. Ongoing administrative excellence is hard. Period. It takes constant tweaking and adjustment...and a whole lot of leading. Pray for the best as you prepare for the worst. People don't resist change, people resist loss. My bride's laugh remains contagious and refreshing - at the very same time. I am blessed. Believe it or not, there are 4 other candidates for president. Can you name them? The power of example is more noble than the example of power. (a variation of line that Former President Clinton used in his speech at the DNC) Man's plans are at the mercy of God's power (Republican Convention and Hurricane Gustavo) Good leaders seek order in the swirl of issues. Getting the right people in the right seats makes a HUGE difference in a ministry. When we focus our attention on anything in place of God, He is grieved. From the Love & Respect book I'm reading: Husbands crave respect from their wives. Wives crave love from the...

From the previous 3 Digging Deeper postings we now have: * The selected text (Acts 1) * 16 Content items * An outline of 2 summarized text divisions From these, we get to create a subject sentence and a lesson aim. Subject sentence. Keeping it simple, a Subject Sentence is a complete sentence of 10 words or less whereby a reader/listener with moderate Bible knowledge will have a reasonable idea where in the Bible the text can be found. I usually mix the content summary divisions together in order to produce the subject sentence. In this example, for this text I wrote the following subject sentenct: Jesus gives last instructions and apostles choose Judas’ replacement. So, why bother? This forces us to think critically about where we are studying in the Bible and to be succinct in our descriptions. If someone asks what the lesson is about, the answer can be short, sweet, and to the point. The aim of the lesson. If you are teaching (even if it's just yourself), the aim of the lesson...

The Shack, by William P. Young, challenged me in many ways. And, although I probably need to read it again to fully grasp my reactions to it, I offer these thoughts: The tragedy upon which the book is based was really hard to for me to deal with. I understand how the tragedy must be so very tragic, because of it's importance in the rest of the book as the father's anguish over the event is addressed. Still, this "Great Sadness" was at times overwhelming for me. The Trinity is presented in a very unique way, to say the least. And, because the Trinity is, for me, difficult to understand, much less describe, I hesitate to criticize. Regardless, however, anthropomorphisms (applying human characteristics to God) are always difficult when trying to represent the Spirit or the Father. With Jesus, it's more clear, of course. The unity of the Trinity, clearly represented in the book, is most comforting and appealing. The book's cover quote from Eugene Peterson equa...

From the previous installment of this Digging Deeper series, we have 16 content items to work with from our selected scripture found in Acts 1:1-26 . The next step is to separate the 16 content items into 2-4 meaningful sections. Why do this? Helps us develop the lessons, truths, and applications with more clarity Forces us to again think through the Scriptures with a bit more rigor If we use this for teaching or leading a discussion, then we can arrange the lessons in manageable chunks. How do we describe the sections? Using as short a sentence as we can, simply summarize the story or events of the section. It's that simple. Don't get hung up on perfection. Effectiveness is sufficient. Here is how I divided the 26 verses into 2 sections: Jesus gives instructions to His disciples and is then taken up before their eyes (v1-11) Matthias is chosen by lots to replace Judas the betrayer (v12-26) Next step: The Subject Sentence and overall Aim of the lesson.

After the first step of defining the scriptures for study , the next step to digging deeper is to develop a list of content items. Here are the attributes of content items: Content items boil down the Scriptures to pure facts Must be personally meaningful to the studier No more than 20 total Try to keep the content item brief to one line - abbreviations are okay, as long as you know what they mean. Content items can cover a part of a verse or multiple verses or chapters In our example, Acts 1:1-26 , I have developed 16 items: Author refers to former book about Jesus’ works, teachings, and instructions (v1-2) After Christ’s suffering, He showed Himself to many and continued teaching (v3) Once while eating: ‘don’t leave Jerusalem; wait for gift of Holy Spirit’s baptism (v4-5) Apostles asked: are you going to restore kingdom to Jerusalem? (v6) Not 4 u 2 know; rcv pwr fm Spirit, witness in Jerusalem, Judea/Samaria, ends of earth (v7-8) Jesus taken up before their eyes and they stared at Hi...

Today is my parents anniversary. 57 years ago, they began a journey together in which they're still progressing. Happy Anniversary, Bob and Marilyn Smith!!

I mentioned previously that I was going to share a Bible Study approach that I had been taught. This approach, which I had always called "homiletics" (with the result called a "homiletic"), has for years helped me prepare for preaching, leading discussions, teaching classes, and even generating a list of questions for others to review before discussions in a group setting. However, as I looked at the origins of the word, homiletics seems to be focused primarily on preparation for the delivery of a sermon (also called a homily). When viewed this way, I believe this limits the approach to just preaching as opposed to the benefits of personal application. So, as yet unnamed, I will attempt to describe this Bible Study approach simply as a way to dig deeper into the Bible in order to uncover lessons and truths before (finally) applying them in our everyday lives. To begin, we identify the scriptures we are going to study. This can be an entire book of the Bible or just ...

A buddy of mine asked in our weekly conversation for suggestions on how to be more faithful about Bible Study. For me, I told him, I tend to stay in the Bible better when I know I'll be discussing it with someone who has an expectation that I'm prepared to discuss it with him/her/them. This led to the discussion about adding a discussion point to our weekly conversations: 2 truths and an application. What is/are "2 truths and an application?" This isn't as simple as it looks. However, its simplicity lies in the expectation and focus with regard to Bible Study. While I believe strongly that the Bible is as relevant and accessible as the local newspaper, devoted Christ followers have a responsibility to look deeper to uncover the Spirit-led revelations we each need to grow "in Christ." The complexity remains in the manner in which the revelations of truth and application of them are (or aren't) accomplished. So, over the next week or two, I'll try...

Yo!

Just read a reaction from Craig Groeschel's presentation at the Leadership Summit from Mark Beeson ( long posting ...). I'm planning to get Craig's book and was struck by an interesting Franciscan blessing that Mark shared from it: “May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and the exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, and starvation, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.” I found myself feeling uncomfortable after services this weekend. I couldn't put my finger on the reason for this discomfort then, but...

Here is one church's video testimony on what they expect of their church. What do you think? What is your expectation of your church? Does this resonate with you? Or not? Why or why not? Favorite quote: "I want to change the world." Stated by a boy, maybe 10-11 years old...

I wrote in an earlier post about my response to the recent movie, Dark Knight. Since then, I've spoken with others of their reaction, specifically, to the character of the Joker. It's easy to minimize this character as an anarchist or even a sociopath or psychopath. However, if we seek to understand our lives as that which is lived on a spiritual battleground - battling for our souls and the souls of others - then maybe we can this opportunity to learn from this character as much as we can about how we are to be aware of and react to that which is evil. What prompted this post was two reactions that tested my reaction to the movie. One of the folks on staff and my oldest son observed that they found themselves liking the Joker. The testing for me came with my deeper response that I, too, found myself wanting to like this guy. For example, in one scene, the Joker painted this picture of an abusive father who scarred a smile upon the Joker's face. However, later in another ...

Yet one more announcement was made this past weekend. Effective August 3, Terry Allred joins our team as the Director of Connections. In this role, Terry will provide well organized processes and environments in which volunteers may become the living sacrifices we are all called to be. Additional responsibilities include great first impressions, Celebrated Recovery, and Christ-focused Athletic ministries. His wife Norma, and daughter Emily have also been an active part of our church family for over 6 years. In addition to bringing decades of organizational and leadership experience from the business world, Terry has served Christ in His church in a variety of ways. Serving at Central and in other church communities, Terry has been a part of church boards, finance committees, while also teaching adults and students, leading small groups and mission trips, and greeting. His wife Norma serves at Via Christi Health Systems in their IT department and daughter Emily is transferring to WSU th...

The boys and I went to see Dark Knight, the new Batman movie. If you haven't seen it, you may not want to read this as I might give too much away. Having warned you, here are my observations: Lewis, who had already seen it, warned me that it was a dark movie. He was right. The Joker, most excellently played by the late Heath Ledger, epitomized the evil described in Romans 1 where God allows us to wallow and drown in our sin such that our calloused hearts increasingly know no bounds with regard to selfish desires. Like most action flicks, it stretches credulity beyond reasonable doubt. Batman's struggle to keep his moral compass steady was strongly evident and reminded me that we never know how easy it is to let the storms (or pleasures) of life tear away our moral moorings, if we're not careful. One of the more interesting quotes was from the Joker to Batman: “madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push.” Taking that quote and bending it a little, I...

So, it's hot. The high for the day reached at least 100 degrees. On the Tahoe, the temperature read 107 at one point, but I'm not sure how accurate the gauge is when the truck is just sitting on asphalt. Tomorrow, the predicted high is 103! I'm thankful for: Air Conditioning! Homes/church buildings which hold in the coolness... A rotating earth on the right axis that will eventually get us past August and into cooler months. Green trees that throw shade on the house, lawn, cars, and us, too. Breezes that move the trees and the air to provide some relief when we're outside. My Father in heaven who makes weather work right...even if it's a little uncomfortable at times. That June and July wasn't like August (although I'm told it can be some years...)

Check this blog posting from Tim Shraeder. This really resonates with me. While I am a big proponent of communicating early and often (although I'm still improving on this front...), the worship folder takes time and energy that we may not be spending wisely. According to Tim, the pro's of removing the regular "bulletin"? the budget savings... we cut our monthly printing budget 75% going this route the environmental savings… we’re not killing as many trees. It’s a “green” choice and one that people in our church would rally behind. in terms of our organization, it forced our ministry leaders to plan out their events way in advance and caused them to be more organized instead of waiting to the last minute… which tended to be how we did everything. it forced us to prioritize and condense. We went from publishing everything to being careful to choose what would further the mission and vision of our church. And we had to do so in a few sentences versus a whole paragraph. ...

This week, I had the privilege of spending time away at a lake in Oklahoma with my boys and bride. We had a great time and I'm glad we were able (through the generosity of the dwelling's owner) to have a great place to unwind. Did I unwind? My first concern was that I would be distracted by the responsibilities (and blessings) I have this weekend. However, with exception of some time spent yesterday preparing, that hasn't been a big deal. No, the larger consumption of my conscious thought was from a project that had to be finalized this week thanks to a material discount that we were able to use only by the end of the month. I had hoped it could wait until next week, but emails, project cost calculations, and approvals all had to be accomplished. I'm NOT complaining. However, I am realizing that time away requires planning, too. Identify what requires completion and what can wait. Delegate (with authority) all that is appropriate to do so. Document, document, document -...