Monday, January 23, 2012
A View from Inside the Bear
I have a good friend who frequently uses some "pithy" sayings. One of them was, "Lord, if you don't help me, please don't help that bear."
Another one of his little sayings was, "some days you eat the bear and some days the bear eats you."
Ever had a day when the bear ate you? I know it's not very spiritual but I've had my share of those days and the view from inside the bear really isn't something to write home about. But……it happens. And when it happens we need to know how to handle it.
I’ve heard over and over that the most successful people in the world are the ones who have picked themselves up off the floor more than anyone else.
You have to pick yourself up; dust yourself off; learn from whatever caused you to be on the inside of that bear and make a commitment that this turn of events is not going to be permanent. It's temporary. There's another day coming. And we are going to do everything we can to make sure the outcome will be different. (There is probably another bear coming too so it’s a good thing to learn from this one.)
A few years ago I heard a great sermon on David and Goliath. The speaker talked about why David picked up five smooth stones. The Scriptures don't tell us why so we have to speculate a little bit. This speaker's take on the five smooth stones David picked up was that David was determined to finish off Goliath. It’s possible that even though David felt confident he could do the job with one stone, he picked up a few more stones just in case.
Not everything we try to accomplish happens on the first try. Sometimes we have to back up and take a second whack at it….or a third or a fourth or even a fifth. The key is not how many times we fail or fall but how many times get up or fight our way out from inside the bear.
Scriptures contain many examples of difficult circumstances being turned around to bring great victory. We need to read about the people of Israel staring into the Red Sea and noticing the cloud of dust behind them (Exodus 14); we need to read about King Hezekiah seeing the Assyrian army surrounding the city of Jerusalem and how the angel of the Lord swept through the Assyrian camp (2 Kings 19). We need to be encouraged about how God provided for those who were facing difficult times because two things haven’t changed. One is that difficult times will come (Psalms 34:19; John 16:33); the second thing is that God has not changed (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). He will do the same for you and me as He did for those in Scripture.
Finding your self inside the bear is no fun. I've had more of those days than I care to remember. However, I've learned from those days. I've learned how to make choices that help avoid those days; and I've learned how to fight through those days. I may be inside the bear but I'm going to give that bear a lot of indigestion before busting out!
How about you?
Always in Pursuit!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Review for "I Am A Follower: The Way, Truth and Life of Following Jesus" by Leonard Sweet, Published by Thomas Nelson, 2012
First and foremost let me say that I loved this book. It’s the fourth book I’ve read by Dr. Sweet and each one gets better than the last.
I Am A Follower challenged everything in me. It challenged my own nature, it challenged my training, and it challenged some of my practices over the years. After reading these words by Dr. Sweet, I know it’s time for some changes in thinking and in doing.
For many years I’ve felt that we never really did away with the separation of clergy and laity. I realize some folks think the Reformation did that…and in some ways I’m sure it did. But from my own experiences it has never really been anything but “us and them” when it came to folks in the church those leading the church.
Pastors have been trained over the years to not be vulnerable to the laity; to keep themselves separate. After all, laity are sheep…..pastors are leaders. WRONG! We are all followers. There is one shepherd. We are all sheep.
Dr. Sweet introduces us to the phrase, “First Follower” in lieu of Senior Pastor, Lead Pastor, or whatever title is used to denote that someone is in charge and it’s not you.
This is not a ploy to eliminate leaders; nor is it a plan to do away with leadership training. It is a call though to always being a follower of Jesus Christ. This should always be first and foremost for each and every one of us. One of the great quotes from this book is, “Leadership is a function. Followership is an identity.”
We are also introduced to the idea that leadership is relationship. Another way to put this is that we do life together. It’s not so much “do what I say” instead it is “do life the way I am doing life as I follow Jesus. This reminded me of how the Apostle Paul frequently instructed his spiritual sons, Timothy and Titus about how to handle difficult situations. It wasn’t do what I told you to do rather it was do what you saw me do.
The book is laid in a very easy to read manner. The footnotes for each chapter serve as a great resource for further reading and study. Each section of the book paints a picture of what it looks like to be a follower of Christ in how we live, the Way; and in what we believe, the Truth; and also what’s on the inside, the Life.
I want to thank Nelson Publishing and the folks at Book Sneeze for the opportunity to read and review this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who has a desire to be more effective in following after the Great Shepherd.
I Am A Follower challenged everything in me. It challenged my own nature, it challenged my training, and it challenged some of my practices over the years. After reading these words by Dr. Sweet, I know it’s time for some changes in thinking and in doing.
For many years I’ve felt that we never really did away with the separation of clergy and laity. I realize some folks think the Reformation did that…and in some ways I’m sure it did. But from my own experiences it has never really been anything but “us and them” when it came to folks in the church those leading the church.
Pastors have been trained over the years to not be vulnerable to the laity; to keep themselves separate. After all, laity are sheep…..pastors are leaders. WRONG! We are all followers. There is one shepherd. We are all sheep.
Dr. Sweet introduces us to the phrase, “First Follower” in lieu of Senior Pastor, Lead Pastor, or whatever title is used to denote that someone is in charge and it’s not you.
This is not a ploy to eliminate leaders; nor is it a plan to do away with leadership training. It is a call though to always being a follower of Jesus Christ. This should always be first and foremost for each and every one of us. One of the great quotes from this book is, “Leadership is a function. Followership is an identity.”
We are also introduced to the idea that leadership is relationship. Another way to put this is that we do life together. It’s not so much “do what I say” instead it is “do life the way I am doing life as I follow Jesus. This reminded me of how the Apostle Paul frequently instructed his spiritual sons, Timothy and Titus about how to handle difficult situations. It wasn’t do what I told you to do rather it was do what you saw me do.
The book is laid in a very easy to read manner. The footnotes for each chapter serve as a great resource for further reading and study. Each section of the book paints a picture of what it looks like to be a follower of Christ in how we live, the Way; and in what we believe, the Truth; and also what’s on the inside, the Life.
I want to thank Nelson Publishing and the folks at Book Sneeze for the opportunity to read and review this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who has a desire to be more effective in following after the Great Shepherd.
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