What’s going on?

Collossians 1 – “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness”

Am I ok with suffering? Am I ok with being called names? Am I ok with people mad at me?

Did you know, that if you’ve heard the gospel, someone has been persecuted so that you could hear it? It may be someone you know, maybe not. People have died so that you could hear about Jesus. Sobering if you let that sink in. People have given everything, so that I can give some.

Paul rejoiced in what was suffered for you. That’s the easy part. Then he pretty much said, I’ll take any beating necessary for others to hear about Jesus, for the church.

I love Jesus, and I love His church. But do I love it that much? To welcome persecution into my life so that others may benefit?

I was reading in Colossians yesterday, particularly the way that Paul describes Jesus in chapter 1. A question then popped in my mind that everyone will have to answer someday, “Who do you say I (Jesus) am?”

Now honestly, I was quick to answer something along the lines that Paul wrote. I love how eloquent Paul describes Jesus there.

Then that same voice said that Paul didn’t quote anyone when he wrote that. It was all off the top of his head. He described Jesus based on how he personally had experienced Jesus, not based on what he had read about Jesus.

The question poised to me is without quoting scripture, “Who do I say Jesus is?” Use scripture, because scripture combined with experience will form that picture.

I’m wrestling through that answer and finding that if I am honest with myself, it is not as pretty as I’d have thought it to be.

Ok. So Cookie and I were talking at church on Sunday about blog stuff. I haven’t posted in awhile. She hasn’t posted in awhile. She’s got a better blog, and is a much better writer than me by the way.

And then Russ posted a blog post this week.

So I’m feeling the need to write again. I’m not promising that it’s going to be interesting, or that it’s going to be consistent. I’m still really digging Twitter, and have recently jumped on the bandwagon with Facebook, so a third online presence may be a little much to maintain.

But look for stuff. From me. That may make you shake your head. But it’s what’s going on in mine.

Thanks!

Just wanted to say Hi to anyone visiting from Tony’s blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Leaders in sports have the ability to reach millions of people that wouldn’t give me, or anyone else in vocational ministry, the time of day.

With that thought in mind, there are two sports figures that I now feel that it would be a sin for me to not pray for. One is Shaun Alexander, former NFL MVP and current running back for the Washington Redskins. The other is CJ Spiller, current running back for the Clemson Tigers.

These guys can never let me down, because they have never committed to holding me up. I am committing to pray for these guys.

What would life be like for either one of these guys if even half of the 80,000 people that are screaming at/for these guys on Saturday/Sunday actually prayed for them? Instead of criticizing their performance on the field, begged God for their spiritual protection and influence off the field?

CJ, Shaun, I doubt that you will ever read this. But from one fan of Jesus who is awe at what He is doing in your life, please know that I got you.  Please live recklessly and abundantly following Jesus unashamedly without fear of anyone else.

This morning I picked up another Patrick Lencioni book, “The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive” and it did it again. I read the whole book. Put it down twice, once to get a drink, once to go to the bathroom. It is that captivating.

Here’s a couple of my favorite quotes….

“If everything is important, then nothing is.”

“The key… is to identify a reasonable number of issues that will have the greatest possible impact on the success of your organization, and then spend most of your time thinking about, talking about, and working on those issues.” STAY SIMPLE!!!!

“This is good news for all of us who don’t quite measure up to Rich just yet.” Or Perry Noble, or Tony Morgan, or Shane Duffey. “There is hope for us because we too can become extraordinary leaders if we only embrace the fact that success is not so much a function of intelligence or natural ability, but rather of commitment to the right disciplines.”

“Quite simply, cohesiveness at the executive level is the single greatest indicator of future success that any organization can achieve.”

WHO I am charging hell with is exponentially more important than HOW I am going to do it. Dang. I am so glad that I am wired to be a part of a team. On my own, I suck. Within a solid team though? That is how I was created to thrive.