Is Your Legacy Forgettable?

It’s more than what you make or what you do its what your made of.  Our self worth gets wrapped up in our successes or the compliments we receive.  Our self worth sometimes comes from the size of our check to the title we have that identifies us.  The truth is all that stuff is nice but really doesn’t matter.  Our self worth comes from what were made of.  The character that we possess and the integrity in which we live out that character.  Something that takes a lifetime to develop and earn can literally be gone in seconds leaving us with questions and scars.  So focus on who you are and not so much what you do.  Only one of those will truly leave a legacy people will talk about in the way you want them to.  The question is: forgettable – easily forgotten, would that define your legacy?

Officer, It’s Not Me

In the area that we live in which happens to be an upper class township I have heard of two armed burglaries in the last couple days so naturally my senses have become heightened because of it.  Last night around midnight I had to call the police because of a suspicious car that circled my house several times before parking in a very awkward spot.  Two weeks ago I probably would have never made the call because we are used to cars being in our driveway/parking lot.  However with a heightened sense and probably a small case of fear, I made the call.  They arrived, situation was explained, the officer had his cuffs out and his hand on his gun as I approached them, needless to say the fear increased for me.  I thought can they see the “bad guy” only to realize that they thought I was the bad guy.  Nothing happened and it was harmless but it got me thinking.

When we know the enemy is out there and when we know that danger is close it puts us on guard and makes us listen and look for things that we wouldn’t normally look for.  The reality is there is danger and there is an enemy lingering and waiting for a weak point to bring us down.  Maybe by a character situation, a choice we have to make or a big glaring sin that is out there.

What safety guards are you putting in your life to watch out for the enemy?  To watch out for the attack?  If you think it will never happen to you, be careful your probably the perfect target.

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.

Response To The Unexpected

When I spoke a couple weeks back and launched our Christmas experiences, I said this quote, “A person’s character is revealed by his or her response to the unexpected.” It’s so easy to say that but then when the unexpected happens and you have to live it, that is when it gets difficult.  I love the fact that God uses ordinary people to do the extraordinary but sometimes because of the unexpected that will happen in my life I don’t even feel “ordinary” enough for God to use me.  Ever feel that way?  Ever feel like you blew it?  Ever feel like what’s the point?

I’ve been bombarded with messages from students and adults over the last couple weeks that feel that exact way and are ready to quit.  My challenge to you is this, if you are a Christ Follower, then you are a child of the King.  It may not always feel like it but we don’t walk through life based on emotions and walk through life based on what is happening around us or to us…we walk through life with a joy knowing what was done for us.  Find comfort that your joy is found in Christ and Him alone.  Maybe as the new year approaches you need to get away from the business of life and run to Him.  For those who read this who may not be a Christ follower, there is so much that will keep you from a true relationship with Christ because you will try to fix it before you run to Him.  If only I can quit looking at that porn, or put down the bottle, or step away from this addiction of sex and drugs.  If only, if only, if only.  Just a reminder that you will never be good enough and you will never have it all fixed before you run to Him…so just do it now, He is waiting.  He loves you.  Don’t give up.  Don’t quit.  What a great way to start out the new year by giving everything to Him.

Maybe your unexpected moment before the new year gets here is to humble yourself and admit that you don’t have all the answers and don’t have it all figured out.  Maybe your unexpected moment of surrender will reveal more about your character than you thought.

Are you resolution maker?  Are you a goal setter?  What changes for you in the new year?

Lost Generation

So much is made of this generation and how it is lost and has no direction.  Isn’t that said about every generation and won’t that be said of every generation to come?  Every generation thinks that there generation is better than the one that came before it and every generation feels that they had more vision and purpose than the generation that will follow.  The reality is, your generation is what you make of it.

There are those who make poor choices.  Those who feel that acceptance is more important than character.  Those who feel that the choices they make today to be popular will not affect them later in life.  Those choices do make a difference and they do affect you for the rest of your life.  I am a walking testimony to poor choices and consequences that come with it.  On the flip side there are those who make great choices.  There are students who not only want to see change happen in their generation they want to be that catalyst for it.  There are students who choose to live a life of character and sacrifice.  These are not just students in the church these are students who have a heart for the hurting, broken and forgotten people of generations past.

I so strongly believe that students are not only the future but they are now and they can make a difference and they are making a difference.  They are not the lost generation but if anything they are the generation who has the greatest potential to bring people together of different backgrounds, cultures and differences.  They have more tools at their disposal, they have more technology at their disposal and I truly believe they are about being real and transparent and forgiving.

Have you given a teenager a chance?  You may just find that you can learn from them.  You may just find that they become your friend.

Check out this video of a girl of this generation who is trying to make a difference.

The 3 C’s

It all starts and ends in the world of leadership with the big three of C’s. Chemistry, competency and character. The more I work with and lead people I understand how true this is. There are those who you see and think, “Wow they would be perfect”, only to find out later a big C is missing. I have known leaders who had character and competency but could not work and lead a team. The opposite is true as well.

I like to stop and ask myself, which one of those am I the weakest at and how can I improve that? Whether it is in my family, with my friends, with my staff or with those who I lead, how can I get better? Leaders are learners. How can I learn from my mistakes? How can I help others learn from my mistakes? How can I learn from others mistakes?

There are certain things that in a team or an organization you can do without, for instance if they don’t wear deodorant, bearable but gross. The three C’s are crucial to any team or organization not matter how big or small? Which one do you need to work on today?