The Fountain

Posted October 12, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Awareness, Belief, Context, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Life
Tags: , , ,

Had a remarkable opportunity to go down to the Fountain on 3rd Street in Macon. There is a relief effort going on that has focused on the Fountain area as ground zero in their attempts to help some of the homeless and disenfranchised population of downtown Macon. I met Jesse, a guy who has a quick mind and a desire to discuss the scripture; I met Kimarra a musical producer who desires to put his fingerprint on Hip Hop; I met Scotty who is simply a joy and a whole lot more. The point is that in just a few moments I created relationships that transcended economics and geography.

Several of the guys asked where I was from. When I replied Perry, they were amazed that I had traveled so far to bring food to them.  This is where the church as a whole has failed. When people are surprised that we would feed them, something is wrong. I know that there will always be difficulties when we try to become a part of others activities. (ie. the Red Cross, the Salvation Army – all have strict guidelines and a menagerie of forms) The essence of Christ is to love. When we simply love people we incarnate Christ to them. In fact, when I saw Jesse, Scotty, and Kimmara, they incarnated Christ to me as well. Their love and acceptance spoke volumes as to the impact we each have on one another every day.

Even when we don’t feel like it, or are aware of it, our actions and body language transmit to others. Let us do our utmost to position ourselves to present the best display of our knowledge of Christ possible as we walk out our lives today.

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Plans

Posted October 11, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Context, Creativity, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Leadership, Life, Lifepoint, Me, People, Starting, Strengths, Vision

Well, tomorrow the staff will have an opportunity to share some of the ideas that they have for Lifepoint in 2009. For me, the idea of personal development is crucial. I can’t imagine being the point guy for personal development, but it is a concept that has connected with my very core. When I have talked with people over the past year, the one common thread has been a desire to understand their lives better and to make better decisions for it’s future.

In the past twelve months I have read more books than I have been able to post about. Most of those books have had to do with the idea of personal development. Now I’m not talking about Anthony Robbins – although he has made a good living doing his thing – I’m talking about the mechanics and psychological underpinnings of why we do the things we do. From Marcus Buckingham and his putting your strengths first approach, to Robert Torbert and his vision of action logics to Dee Hock and his view of chaordic organizations, I have read and digested and wanted to do something with the information. Now is the time.

In 2009, there will be many opportunities for people n the Middle Georgia area to come to events hosted by Lifepoint Church (that’s right, a church!) to help people in their personal development. From personal mission statements to strengths that will help you find the right job for you, Lifepoint will embark in a new era of facilitating personal growth for Middle Georgia and it’s citizens.

Needless to say, I can’t wait!

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For Young Men Only

Posted October 9, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Awareness, Books I'm Reading, Context, Life

For Young Men Only is a book that I was asked to review from the Multnomah Publishing company, a division of Random House. The book is insightful in it’s premise to be a “guy’s guide to the alien gender”. After almost fifteen years of marriage, I have learned some of the concepts from the book the hard way – through experience. Since the demographic of the book was out of my present capacity (yeah I’m old!), I decided to enlist the help of a good friend of mine. He is in the trenches (high school) and is confronting these issues daily. Instead of doing a cover review of “Oh the book is great”, I thought that a first hand account of the books main audience would do more than I ever could.

In his own words, I give you Sean:

Well here I go, the book was amazing! If I had to pick a book to give to teenage boys, this would be the book. The real life surveys made the  book seem more realistic. While I read the book, it felt like they were inside my head and answering my questions as the book went on. I even wish girls could read this book so they could get an adequate view point on a guys perspective. Some of my girl friends read some passages from this book and they told me what the book says about girls is totally true. I would really recommend this book to any lonely guy in need of relationship help, but I would also recommend it to any one! As a not so good with girls guy I felt like I have a better perspective on how a girls feels and acts by this book.

Could not have said it better if I had been paid! This book is available at Amazon, Family Christian and your local Christian retailer.  You can also find out more by clicking here. If there is a teen guy under your roof – get this book!

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Happy First Anniversary!

Posted October 5, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Creativity, Life, Me, People

It has been one year since I began blogging. Last year we were in the middle of a series called “Whatever It Takes”, and this year finds me in much more of the same place, only more extreme goals and ideas for next year. The concept of “Whatever It Takes” was about catalizing people to volunteer in areas inside the church – BTW the people of Lifepoint have done great.

More is still to come and I’ll be getting down to brass tacks in the coming weeks, but once you make the decision to do “Whatever It Takes” there really isn’t any place for stepping back.

As with anything we do in life, I have learned a number of lessons concerning blogging:

1. You may think nobody’s reading, but they are

2. When you feel a need to rant…don’t

3. Use the platform to encourage people in the development of their lives.

4. Be prepared for the parodox of your opinion.

5. When you feel the need to open yourself up a little more…do

6. You’re not going to make a living at this

7. Check your spelling twice

8. Check your hyperlinks three times

9. You don’t have to be an expert to comment on something

and finally…

10. People that you never thought you would become connected with will turn out to be the greatest teachers

Here we go again!

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Practices of a Generous Heart

Posted October 5, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Awareness, Context, giving, Influence, Life, Lifepoint, Message Series
Tags: ,

Today we moved beyond the identification of the Pillars of Generosity, to the practices that accompany a generous heart. A lot was said, but I want to hone into an idea. Generosity, by definition, has to do with giving. Giving of time, money, effort, kindness, empathy, creativity, wisdom, love – and the list could go on. In the discussion today we are talking from a Christian point of view, and more precisely from a Christ/Jesus point of view.

Now, regardless of your take on Biblical interpretation, when the main character, Jesus, does anything, generosity is an integral part of it. There is always more than the original gift (which can certainly be an odd choice): mud leads to restored sight; shame leads to freedom; a happy meal feeds thousands more than it should. The point is not the supernatural healing or multiplying – the point is the modeling of generosity that Jesus exemplifies.

Jesus is speaking volumes with his actions. We can discount mud and fish as cheap, but the essence is not the original supposed value of the items, it is what happens when ordinary items become part of a pattern of giving. When giving becomes a part of your life, your life will change.

I’ve made a point to not become political in my posts – there are much better analysts to discuss such things, but through this election season we have seen something that has largely gone unnoticed. Barack Obama, from the onset, decided to enlist the “average Joe” to contribute five or ten dollars at a time to the campaign. In those small amounts people began to feel that they were a part of something. I don’t have numbers, but I would be willing to guess that if you added up the total contribution of an average Obama supporter, you would find a much larger amount than if they had given just one time. Here is what I think is interesting. Throughout the campaign season a habit of giving has been engendered by the Obama campaign. This is not a small thing.

Think about this – the truth is that the Bible promotes the idea of giving (whether rich or poor), and also promotes the concept of blessing associated with giving. The election will come and go, and someone will be the next President, but the combined effect of hundreds of thousands of people giving (some out of their overflow and some out of their poverty) will be, if we believe the Bible, historical in terms of economic effect.

The practices of a generous heart are not a “Christian only” or “Jewish only” concept. The idea of generosity is waiting for anyone who will embrace the giving of themselves and their “stuff” for someone else. The result of such giving is simply amazing!

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The Art of Peacemaking

Posted October 2, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Awareness, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Life, peace
Tags: , ,

I do not need to list the myriad of concerns around the world in regards to Peace. I am consistently amazed at the need seemingly present in religious circles to have a “crusade” or “fight the good fight” or use the “sword of the spirit” to “defeat our foes”. Though we proclaim that our message is Peace our language is anything but.

Don’t missunderstand me, I realize that the endeavour of peace is not a simplistic undertaking. Time, conversations, more time, listening and work are needed – but not force or violence.

One word that must be included in the conversations about peace is the word, “Justice”. Robert McAffee Brown speaks volumes about the search for peace when in Making Peace in the Global Village he says,

“We need to measure our world and the imperative for peacemaking, with an eye to justice. Whatever is unjust threatens peace. Whatever fosters justice is an act of peacemaking.”

These acts that foster justice can be done by anyone at anytime and each is an act of peacemaking – each moves us closer to a realization of global peace. Sometimes when we think of world-wide peace, we tend to become overwhelmed, but the imperative is that the big things are never done by big organizations or big governments, they are always done by small people who, like yesterdays post, have big dreams.

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Dream a Little Dream

Posted October 1, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Awareness, Belief, Creativity, Influence, Life
Tags: , ,

When I was younger, I managed to find myself in trouble quite a bit because of daydreaming. People said that I needed to focus on what was going on and “pay attention”. Now that I’ve added a few more years, I have found great value in daydreaming. I like to think that prior to God’s work of creation, however that happened, He indulged in a little daydreaming. Once satisfied then He did whatever it was that He did.

Dreaming is an incredible gift for us, but even more so if we realize that we all dream differently. We can have the same facts, environment and desire, but our dreams will be completely different.

T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia makes a distinction between day dreamers and night dreamers:

“All people dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous, for they may act their dreams with open eyes to make it possible.”

Today dream a little dream – in the open day – for your dream can, and should, become a great dream that influences many for the good.

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Suffering

Posted September 30, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Awareness, Belief, Life
Tags: , , ,

“We do not want suffering; we want success. We identify not with those who are low and hurt but with those who are high and healthy. We don’t like lepers or losers very well; we prefer climbers and comers. For Christians, the temptation to be conformed to this world is desperately sweet and strong. Yet, says the apostle Paul, we are children of God if we suffer with Christ. … God does not give his hardest assignments to his weakest children.”

 Cornelius Plantinga, Jr

There is such pressure for us to become pressed into a form that is not authentically ours. We have people all around us friends and family and co-workers who try to tell us how we should be. Then we pay people to come and listen to us in therapy and tell us what we should be or do. The stark reality is that we need courage to become who we are. Within each of us is a divinely unique essence that God wants displayed in this world. In our day and night dreams we see flickers of it. When we connect with a character in a great film or story we feel a brief moment of what could be. Too often we see those experiences as fantasy instead of the open window into our real reality.

What we perceive to be weakness is in fact strength – strength that has the capacity to remove any obstacle in your way of becoming the true authentic you.

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Karen Armstrong – Religion:A Force for Harmony

Posted September 29, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Awareness, Belief, Cultural Ideas, religion

Karen’s words are so fitting for how we face the uncertainty around us. She begins by shedding light on the birth of the idea of “believing”. She then moves toward the Golden Rule as a global religious effort. She recognizes the desire for people around the world for change. Typically, the established church would rather be right than follow the words of many spiritual sages to “do unto others as you would have them do to you”.

She posits that people want to be religious, and that religion should be a force for harmony; that the Golden Rule should be global: do unto other countries as you would have other countries do unto you. That we should move beyond toleration to appreciation of the other. Listen, really listen and see how we can have a positive impact by living out the Golden Rule. This has incredible impact on how we continue “doing” church, indeed on how we continue living at all.

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Relationships: Life’s Ultimate Building Block

Posted September 27, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Awareness, Influence, People, Rhythm
Tags: , ,

In the scientific realm there are discussions about a substance called Black Matter. This material is theoretically what connects the universe and holds everything together. Perhaps in the theoretical field the answer is Black Matter, but in the sociological field the substance that holds all of us together is Relationships.

Relationships are unique things. A relationship doesn’t just happen because two people get to know each other. A true relationship happens when two people are willing to talk and listen to each other. The skill of listening actively to each other means letting life open up in front of you.  It means having truthful conversations that give vocal opportunity to everyone and each of those who have spoken feel that they have been heard because the listeners are listening well.

Imagine the last time you were in a conversation. How would you have felt if you had been able to contribute and had felt that everyone listened to your perspective? People sometimes sit quietly in discussions because one or two people are talking non stop about what matters to them. When one takes a break the other begins. This continues several times and then everyone leaves saying that “we had a good meeting”.

The truth is that valuable insight was lost because of the inability of the leader to listen instead of feeling the need to be heard him or herself. The biggest key in conversations is for us to come together as equals. In conversation there is no king and there are no peons – there can’t be for true conversation to take place. When we shed our titles and roles and simply come together as human beings, we are able to hear from varied perspectives. Though a certain answer may not come out of meeting (it seldom does), it should increase our levels of curiosity as something to be relished and sought after. The more we listen, and listen well, the more holistic a perspective all involved will have.

This next week seek out having conversations. but not so that you can be heard. In the conversation, provide plenty of time to listen completely so that the person talking feels they are being heard. You’ll find that if you do that, you will also have plenty of time to talk about the things that you care about.

Before the Internet, email, faxes and phones – even before paper and pen, human beings communicated by having conversations. Building relationships through conversations is the only way true change will ever happen.

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