Martin Luther King Jr.
MLK Speech Video from cedarcreek.tv production on Vimeo.
Poverty Revolution
There is poverty all around us. It affects us whether we realize it or not because sooner or later we are going to choose to do something about it or ignore it and that very action affects us. Social Justice causes have been on my heart more and more which is ironic because I have never really had a heart of compassion. If you get hurt, get up and quit whining. I know this though, I’m not alone, several of you are the same way. In fact if something bad happened in the world, it is easier to throw money at it than to roll up the sleeves and do something about it.
Are you aware of such issues such as, human trafficking, sex trafficking, clean water acts, homelessness, hunger, poverty and fair trade? Half the battle is knowing what is out there, the other half is figuring out what you can do about it. Put your faith into action and do something about it. Look globally, locally and internally. There is poverty all around us if we are willing to look.
My Story Sucks
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard somebody say, “My story sucks”. They have said that their story does not involve radical life change or some sort of rehab visit. They have said that they didn’t do some historic rescue or walk across America to raise awareness for social justice causes. They have said many, many things. The truth is everyone has a story and the uniqueness of that is, not every story is the same. If everybody had the same story then that would suck.
The fact is God is writing your story and how you choose to respond to that is up to you. We fight to allow God to write the chapters of our life out of fear of the unknown but I say that is what makes the story exciting. When you watch the movie and know the ending the story just doesn’t seem to be as exciting. It lacks the mystery and suspense, sure it can still be emotional but it is not the same.
Sit back and enjoy the story that God is writing in your life. Sit back and enjoy that you are the feature character and that God has a plan for our story. One that will prosper us and not harm us. One that will give us a hope and a future.
Are you enjoying the story? What’s your story that God is writing right now?
Haitians In The Aftermath
I was asked today, “What happened in Haiti?” I thought they were kidding. This is being called potentially the worst natural disaster to ever hit. An estimated 500,000 people could be dead. The government has lost a majority of their leadership. Hospitals, government buildings, businesses and homes destroyed. Food and clean water running out. No medical attention is able to be given, there are very few medical personal still alive. Power is mostly out. Communication is down. What can be done?
Prayer and support. Several churches are starting to mobilize efforts to work together or work with organizations to make a difference and help.
“To whom much is given, much is expected.” If you are able to help and are interested in helping, below are several links and ideas to help make a small difference in Haiti.
On CNN, Anderson Cooper interviewed singer Wyclef and they are starting donations through texting YELE to 501 501 It will donate $5 to start…
I know there are several more than this. These are a few that I came across or have heard of. I know that as a church we are putting a plan in place to be rolled out through our blog or Facebook soon.
Character Creep
I get the privilege of teaching a group of our teenagers the book Deadly Viper by Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite. These guys both nailed it on the head with this book as they tackle the topic of character assassins. You never see the assassin coming but before you realize it, it is over, and so are the attacks on our character. It can take a lifetime to develop character and only a moment to destroy it. I am praying for myself and our staff that God will protect us, but just as important that we will not put ourselves in positions to fail. So I wanted to give a couple key points and quotes from the Character Creep chapter that really spoke to our teens and may speak to you as well.
- Character Creep SLOWLY steals integrity.
- Moment by moment we are building a life, a reputation.
- Everything we have worked so hard to build can be destroyed in a matter of moments.
- If you’re not willing to be bold with fellow friends to the point of risking the friendship, then your friendship has superficial value. Oscar Wilde once said, “True friends stab you in the front.”
- The more senior your leadership role is, the less honest criticism you’ll receive from those around you.
- Success By Default: You don’t have to be the most gifted leader or person. If you just stay faithful over the long haul, carefully manage the small things, then you’ll be the last person standing! You will have attained success by default.
- We are second chance people in the second chance business.
- The simple defense against Character Creep is to pay attention to the little adjustments.
- Refrain from doing anything today we’d be uncomfortable reading about int he headlines tomorrow.
They asked a great question, “How would your life change if you knew you’d see it all played out on television tomorrow?” The challenge is to live each day as if those details could be broadcast to the world. Living this way provides a fatal blow to the assassin.
Human Trafficking Awareness Day
In case you didn’t know, January 11th is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. To be honest with you a year ago I had no clue this existed. I watched the movie Taken where Liam Neeson beat everyone down [I'm convinced he even took Jack Bauer over his knee in that movie] because his daughter was taken and sold into sex slavery in Europe. I watched and something happened in me where I wondered if that really went on. Over the last year I have heard more and more about it and God has really turned my heart towards these social justice causes. Really God has opened my eyes up to many social justice issues such as: poverty, homelessness, slavery, clean water, free/fair trade products, all things that I didn’t even know were issues a year ago.
Today I want to focus on this Human Trafficking and want you to check out a 3 minute video to simply make you aware of the issue and cause you to ask yourself the question, what can I do? The reality is this is a huge issue in the United States and affects so many woman and children.
Disclaimer: This video is edgy and may be offensive to some and this video does not reflect Fellowship Church and anybody affiliated with Fellowship Church. This is simply my attempt as an individual to get you thinking. This video is taken from the site Sexandmoneyfilm.com, which is one of several sites that brings to light the issues of Human Trafficking.
What are your thoughts? Did you know this was an issue? What are your thoughts on social justice issues?
Here is a link to a PDF, 11 Practical Ideas to Combat Slavery.
PDF was taken from Charles Lee blog that was promoted through Catalyst.
I Am Second_Colt McCoy
I Am A Champion
I saw this video yesterday and it is well worth the 3 minutes to watch it even if you are not a sports fan or a Texas Longhorns fan. After watching this I wasn’t sure what I was feeling. I was ready to go tackle someone, hit someone, lead someone, help someone, at the very least I was inspired like after I am watching Braveheart and hearing William Wallace scream out “FREEDOM”.
I wonder do we tackle each day with that attitude? Tackle each situation? Do you like the fact that I am using a football analogy about how to approach each day? I hope you are inspired to live out each day no matter what profession you are with passion and integrity. Having a winning attitude is the first step to winning. Even though Texas lost last night [not that I really cared, because I dislike teams from Texas and I dislike the SEC] they put up an incredible fight with a never played before, freshman quarterback, after their quarterback was injured in the first series. They pulled within 3 with six minutes left but lost in the end. They played like a champion.
Whole Milk and Asparagus
There are some things in life that I don’t understand and maybe it’s not my place to. Maybe they are pet peeves maybe they are just my preference. For example: Why won’t college football go to a playoff system instead of using the stupid BCS system and allowing mid-major teams to ruin the bowl games. Why do women need to put mascara on while driving? They can’t get up 4 minutes earlier? I’m sure you have several things that you don’t understand as well.
Something else, why is it so healthy and promoted to drink whole milk as a kid to strengthen bones and teeth but then frowned upon as an adult because it will make you fat? Don’t you still need strong bones and teeth as an adult? Or why when you eat asparagus does it make your pee stink so bad? Once again things that I don’t understand.
I also don’t understand why you would not become a fan of Fellowship Student Ministries. So here is your chance to become a fan and stay up to date with what God is doing in our student program.
Leadership Choices
I am constantly looking to get better as a leader. I have come a long way but I also know I have a long way to go. Leading people is both a responsibility and a privilege. Just because people follow you doesn’t mean you are a good leader, it simply may mean that they have to. I have learned through difficult choices and circumstances what it means to lead with integrity and character and what it means to lead by abuse and the twisting of truth. I am continually asking myself several questions: 1. How do I want to be led? 2. Is how I want to be led best for me or is it best for the organization and cause? 3. Am I leading my team the best I can according to question 1 and 2?
Perry Noble did a post this morning on the 10 choices a leader needs to make in leading his staff, great post. I would say these 10 choices don’t just apply to a church staff but to a volunteer staff in any organization as well as corporate America. Check out what he wrote below.
#1 – Choose to believe the best about the people on your team rather than always assuming the worst about them.
#2 – Choose to trust them to make decisions that matter without having to run every minor detail by your for your approval.
#3 – Choose to believe that when they ask particular questions that they aren’t being disloyal but rather seeking clarification.
#4 – Choose to believe that they really do love the church and want to see it thrive.
#5 – Choose to lead through inspiration and revelation–NOT intimidation, humiliation, condemnation and manipulation.
You can find #6-#10 on his blog at www.perrynoble.com
What are your thoughts? Do these apply to corporate America as well? Do you agree, disagree? Would you change any? Add to any?
