Great Ideas & Reminders - Are They Your Epiphany?

Ecclesiastes 1: 16-17a  I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom,

Epiphany - "a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something" (dictionary.com)

Recently I woke up with a rather important thought about a work experience. I had not thought about it the during the previous day or evening. The subject had become a bit more prevalent but not to the point of daily reflection.

It felt like it could have been an epiphany.  I am sure many of you have had some of these moments. These moments when you feel like you now know something that was delivered to you through a momentary illumination of reality. You feel it may not have been totally apart from your mental capacity, but not within it just yet. It came in advance of you reaching it. I believe these could be "next level" blessings of the wisdom God gives.

Real epiphanies are truth and understandings. Truth is Christ. Like my apparent epiphany, it is real easy to dismiss God as the spiritual author of these special events. Of course there is also the danger of thinking a crazy idea of your own is from God too. The first filter that I use is I ask myself a question. "How much was I thinking of this subject, and how important did I think it was at the time? If those two measurements are fairly low, then I ask myself "is there a particular personal gain that makes the reality super sweet for me?".  If that is low too it is a good sign, if it is not, that does not mean it is a bad idea, ... it just means to proceed with caution. When you are comfortable with the filters, then please join me in acknowledging the fact that we did receive them ... they are being delivered to us, from Jesus Christ, through the role of the Holy Spirit.

I believe that when one becomes a Christian, every future aspect of their natural talent and/or human wisdom becomes an experience with God. It seems to me that the whole book of Ecclesiastes is an account of the delivery of an epiphany to Solomon! As much as he tried Solomon just could not separate what he may have felt his natural wisdom could attain and the wisdom God gave him. When he tried to separate it he always realized that it became "a chasing after the wind". This was such an immense epiphany Solomon writings became 12 chapters long.

Epiphanies  are not always dramatic illuminations, they also can be dramatic reminders. I had one of those lately too. About a month ago I had a scheduled debate with a former pastor who, through his own declaration, had become an agnostic. With the acquisition of a M-Div, and over 8 years of pastoral ministry, this man somehow has succumbed to the devil's efforts (he does not believe in the devil either) and now denies the deity of Christ or that there is any deity.

This person (let's call him John) is a very intelligent person and has several other degrees in psychology. As you might imagine, the potential of this person's intelligence in the community of Christian theologians is something that the devil is very aware of. Right now it is not clear whether the devil is succeeding in damaging the faith this man already has or whether or not he is repelling a faith that he never had. Either way, the devil has won many battles. Please pray for my next "debate" with him in June.

Two hours into a four hour meeting with him I felt a dramatic reminder from God. I was enjoying immensely the "debate". It actually was the deepest conversation of my life and I was enjoying it, hoping that at some point I could influence him with a logic that would "win" and thus help his "human wisdom" move back toward Christ. However, two hours into the discussions God delivered to me a dramatic reminder, and that reminder was ... "you cannot influence him apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, not only working in John, but also working in you and any godly wisdom that comes out of your mouth".  As John was speaking and explaining a certain point, I prayed earnestly with eyes wide open that Holy Spirit would completely take me over along with what comes out of my mouth. I remember that was a point of relief as I finished the next two hours of discussions.

Whether or not you woke up one day with a important thought so intense you wondered why, or whether your sensed you experienced a remarkable reminder, let us all thank the deliverer of all phases of wisdom.

Let's fight the temptation to claim them for ourselves.

Reassurance of a Call

2 Peter 1 3-10  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. .........

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive ........

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, ........

Making your Calling and Election Sure.

Many Bible translations have the same heading ... "Making Your Calling and Election Sure". When you first read this, one might think that this was referring to significant church leaders or just pastors.  However, the call here is that everyone is called to His glory, goodness and godliness. Many other passages talk of how we can do that through exercising our spiritually gifts. This passage speaks of something that should precede our gifts. It speaks of glorifying Him through our goodness.

The call that I have in glorifying God is to shepherd, coach, encourage and challenge Christian leaders in what ever role they find themselves. Although we as Christians will never shed our sinful nature until we enter our heavenly home, God calls us to be set apart from the world. This actually means that our behavior should be set apart from worldly behavior. People need to see a difference when they encounter us. We need to feel a difference when we encounter each other. Not being set apart from the world's behavior destroys the reputation of Christ. Let me give you an example.

The company I own provides disaster services. Early in the 1990's I had an estimator named Sherry. She was an outstanding salesperson, energetic and effective. She grew up in a family that went to church but had move away from any connection with church or God. She saw what my life in Christ looked like and worked for me during my own major transformation toward Christ. We had many talks and one day I took her to lunch and shared the gospel in more detail using the very popular bridge illustration. On that day she told me she was not just not ready. Sherry liked to party.

Several months later we received a call from a prominent church in our area. The church is led by a pastor who is seen occasionally on TV today. They had a fire at the church and needed us. I sent Sherry to this fire damage to represent us. Hours later she came back, poked her head into my office and said. "Ron, if that is what Christianity is like, I want no part of it". Without waiting for my reply she walked away and went back to work. I sat there somewhat stunned.

After I gave her time to "cool off", she explained how badly she was treated. She told me of the arrogance of the people she met and the poor treatment she received. A few years later the pastor of this church had an emergency water damage in his own house and never paid his bill. Months later, my attorney told me that this pastor has many unpaid bills with many contractors, and those that know him well will not do business with him or this church. This pastor and this church may have a very public fancy ministry, but behind the scenes is behaving in a way that destroys the reputation of Christ. It grieved me then how it set back the development of Sherry, and who knows how many others.

We all need to balance the "call or vision" with the call to "goodness". Friends, I have been reassured of my election and call. Many of you have helped with that. My first and foremost call is for "his own glory and excellence". My secondary call is to glorify Him through business ventures and effective leadership development. When applicable, I must exhort those whose behavior has not been set apart from unbelievers. I (we) must balance our boldness with goodness. Jesus got aggressive with many people including church leaders. However Jesus is remembered more for his kindness than His aggressiveness. I wonder how he would have addressed the church that was arrogant toward Sherry. Leaders will never be salt and light if they continue to lead in darkness. 

Goodness should never be overshadowed by the vision. I would question the validity of your vision if where you are going overshadows the person in need in front of you. If that were the case, Jesus would have only preached the doom to come and never would have healed the sick or warned of the demise of those who would hurt little children.

We need to be bold with each other. Helping leaders by "admonishment with goodness" on the surface seems impossible. But it is not impossible. If it my call, it is not impossible.

So what is your call? Whatever it is remember this  ...... goodness first.

P.S,  Sherry continued to work for me for about a total of 10 years but later remarried the second husband she previously divorced and moved to be with him in Florida. Years later she called me to tell me that she had finally accepted Christ and was reading the Bible I gave her for Christmas every day. What joy I had that day on the phone with her!

When Things Look Fruitless

Many months ago I send a survey out. A few commented that I had become too personal by inserting too much of my own life experiences. One seemed so adamant that the person unsubscribed shortly thereafter. There were, of course, those who enjoyed the transparency and learned from it. I must admit that I need to be personal in order to teach on leadership. There is a false belief that to be a leader you must not do anything that makes others think you are weak or imperfect. That includes writing about it.

That is why I need to be blunt and say I cannot do what I do without being personal. For if I am to try to satisfy those who want information only and nothing personal, I will quit writing now. Over the last 15 years I have been told several times that I am a strong leader, and a good teacher who should have considered being a pastor. However, no one really knows how weak I really am. There is no doubt that I can relate to two Biblical characters. Peter for his boldness including his weaknesses, and Jeremiah for his lamenting and seemingly ineffectiveness as he warned God's people over and over again.

The Bible says you can recognize a good tree by its fruit. Good fruit, good tree, bad fruit, bad tree. This verse has caused me to think that God wants me to do what I do that bears fruit.  For the last two years the company I own and lead (www.portersnetwork.com) has increasing been bearing good fruit. Praise God for that. I feel my leadership in that has been effective. So when I ponder where to spend my time, this verse overpowers the Jeremiah in me and pushes my emphasis into business and to consider going "all in" to corporate life.

During the last two months of this journey, I came across 2 Peter 1: 4-8. I cannot escape my total devotion to this chapter. Its context is about "our calling".

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. NIV

These verses are not about the effectiveness of unbelievers, or their organizations. Many unbelievers have effective products and businesses. This is talking about the 'effectiveness IN our knowledge of Christ'. That assumes we have Christ in our lives already and have a certain level of knowledge of him. As a businessman and ministerial, I see the application in both areas of my life. Since God has given me these gifts, I am "called to be effective" as my life demonstrates growth adding goodness to my faith, self-control to my knowledge ... and so on.  Preceding effectiveness is this requirement ... "if you possess these qualities in increasing measure".  That means ... leaders cannot stay where they are ... we must keep growing.

Think of it in terms of the fuel mileage of your car. Sometimes in winter, we do not notice our miles per gallon diminish until the tires lose so much air pressure, we realize they are going to go flat if we do not inflate them. Once inflated, we notice that our mileage increases and then actually realize the reason for it. On the one hand I am trying to choose the right seat on the right bus while checking my "tire pressure of godliness". On the other, I wonder if Jeremiah just needed to check his godliness, or whether he simply needed to persevere because of his calling. As one might imagine, it is an intense mental exercise.

I suspect many of you will agree that our flesh does not drive us into scripture when we get discouraged. On the contrary, our flesh drives us away. Fortunately, I have overcome my flesh enough to be challenged, somewhat sustained and somewhat comforted by this chapter. It contains a promise that I can have faith in. Right now, I am just trying to add to my life goodness and kindness. I will try to love those who are hard to love and continue to control my desire to throw in the towel.

Whether this is the last chapter in my "book" or whether it is simply a "crisis of belief" that every Christian leader goes through, I do not know yet. Yet I know I must write this to move on, wherever that leads.

There is an old saying. Misery loves company. Please know that I write this not to inflame the misery within you or to invite you to a pity party. I write this because ultimately I have confidence that there are many like me, who are not sure about what to do next. For now, I will focus on finding increasing measurements of godliness.

That party I do invite you to.

My Apologies For Low Empathy

Acts 20:31  Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears."ESV

Empathy is: "the intellectual identification with vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another". Dictionary.com

Offering coaching myself led me to believe I should experience being coached myself, so some time ago I hired a professional coach. That is all he did and he was really good at it. After several sessions he complimented me about my own awareness of myself,  particularly my strengths and weaknesses. Evidently I should have been coached longer by this person since it may have exposed my lack of empathy for certain people a lot sooner.
 

At first glance, I see that I do have empathy for many people. When I heard on the news this morning that 16% of Americans are using and in need of food stamps, ... my heart grieved. When I hear the hurt of simple people who lack the ability to understand my heart grieves for them. When I go to Africa and see the hurt, the famine, the lack of what we have come to believe are needs, .. my heart cries out for them. So it is not like I was clueless and lacked a beating heart.

However, I have always known and understood that I lack a certain kind of grace for people I believe are smart, or through their education or experience, should know better.  As I type I could add a bit of satire and sarcasm by acknowledging that maybe the reason I lack empathy for smart people is because I am not that smart myself, therefore being unable to "intellectually identify" with them and their hurt. Ah, ... but that would just be an escape and excuse for my sin and put the onus on others for not having any empathy for me. Who knows, ... maybe there is nothing satiric about it.

For the most part what I lack can go unnoticed unless I say something unkind or if I challenge or admonish people I have categorized this way. Paul did not share my weakness or predicament. In one simple verse above he showed me what I need and what I find to be critical to my development and to any leader.

Friends and leaders, Paul cried for smart people that should have known better. He admonished and corrected godly people that he most likely had a part in choosing and ordaining in the church of Ephesus. Our scripture verse states he did this for years. He shed tears for the spiritually mature elders who were overseers, teachers, and most likely even the elders who pastoring the church. And ... he kept on shedding tears.

For eight years now I have had many opportunities to travel and teach leadership regionally, nationally and oversees. In those eight years I have challenged all kinds of leaders including some very prominent people, including James MacDonald. I thank the Lord I delivered that with a bit of empathy for him, since on his blog, he publicly acknowledge the noteworthiness of my point with him. But in my travels I am going to assume that I have not performed well with everyone, and I want to publicly apologize to anyone that still subscribes to this newsletter-blog that I have challenged with apparent lack of empathy. I ask for your forgiveness. 

Most teachers will tell you that God teaches the teacher before he can teach others. Today I only write what I have been taught first. It is my hope that through was God revealed to me, I can help other leaders just like me, who will never reach their full potential until they experience the delivery of empathy for everyone they lead, everyone they work along side of, and everyone that leads them.

In closing, may I ask if there is someone you have to shed a tear for today?  Is it a friend? Is it someone you don't agree with? ... a co-worker, a family member, a subordinate, your boss ... or your pastor?

How about committing to work with me today in developing an inner empathy, ... an empathy people will follow.

Success - A Chasing After the Wind?

Ecclesiastes 2:11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. NIV

I would suspect that we all talk to ourselves once and a while.

I enjoy debate, there are times when I want to debate with myself over certain ideas or subjects, taking both sides of an issue and finding out which one seems to be true and accurate. God prompted this characteristic of mine ever since He embedded His promise in Proverbs 2, when He promised wisdom to those who sought it with the intensity of a search for silver or hidden treasure. That serves me well most of the time, but it can lead some to think I am argumentative. I really don't want to be, but I sure do have to watch that I don't become that way, or portray myself that way..

Solomon's Debate

You would think that a guy like Solomon, who attained the greatest level of wisdom, would not have to debate with himself over anything. However, the book of Ecclesiastes is twelve chapters of just that--a lengthy debate over the meaningfulness of his life.

Come on! What was he thinking? And why? Here was a guy who began his reign with a solid demonstration of strength and power when he took care of a couple of his father David's nemeses, then out of humility appealed to God for wisdom because he felt his wisdom was the level of a "small child." He became more wise and wealthy than anyone in the world and had more women in his life than any man could imagine. Yet he had not found enough happiness to identify that his life, or anyone's life, contained meaningfulness.

In his debate he reflected on his material success, his own great wisdom, times when he slipped into folly, and the perceived success of handing over an inheritance to his descendants. Reflecting on it all, he declared it to be meaningless to him, a chasing after the wind. He does not actually define what the "wind" is. However, he does insert and repeat that "it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God" (Eccl 5:18 NIV).

His varied repetitions of this verse reveals what Solomon is learning in his debate with himself. He comes to realize that the times of joy in his life were the most meaningful to him, reflecting that the perceived success of his life, he had now set aside in his mind. He goes on to declare that the time we spend with him in "debating over this subject" could be a sign that joy has not been achieved. Verse 20 says, "He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart."

Friends, life is all about the "joy" of "toil," not about the common worldview of success, the size of your business or church. In the pursuit of joy, Solomon adds his simple path to joy in chapter 12 when he declares, "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man"( Eccl 12:13).

Sometimes We Get Our Eyes on the Wrong Ball

Friends let me leave you to think about one more way to understand the theology of meaningfulness. Shaping your leadership through the lens of success is like shaping your life around good deeds in pursuit of salvation.

Shaping your leadership through the lens of success is like shaping your life around good deeds in pursuit of salvation. 

Some times we get our eyes on the wrong ball. I believe Solomon is teaching us that our first measurement in our churches and businesses should be the "joy-o-meter." Discover the meaningfulness of joy, then we can go on to study other prudent measurements of church attenders, ministries, revenue and business profits. In the same way faith produces good deeds, joy produces God defined success. Solomon, the wisest and richest man in his time defines success as in the size of your JOY!

That, my friends is most meaningful. That we can chase.

Leadership & Reconciliation Encore Post

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

As leaders, we must be the initiators of reconciliation.

People who have been leaders for any length of time will eventually find that there are times where they fall out of fellowship with one or more of their followers. Although this can happen for a variety of reasons, a short list of some of the most common would include:

1. A simple misunderstanding 
2. Poor performance by the follower 
3. Poor management by the leader

The Importance of Being the Initiator 

Invariably, small issues fester within teams, only to be compounded when new conflict occurs. Trying to build a team with a variety of broken relationships will ultimately develop an aroma of disunity. And initiating reconciliation is one of the hardest parts of being a leader. Why? Because it is very hard to do.

A regenerate leader has to put off the "old self,” who wants others to take the first step. Forget for the moment when you just need to eat some humble pie and apologize for your actions. That is hard, but not as hard as initiating reconciliation when one of your followers has performed poorly, and through correction or discipline, falls out of fellowship with you. While some form of relational stress is expected, effective leaders watch diligently for the remnants of bitterness or anger. When these signs don't subside in a reasonable length of time, the leader needs to take action. In other words, the leader needs to become the “initiator.”

Four Responsibilities from Scripture

What are we called to do in today's scripture reference? Take a moment to read it again and see if you can spot at least the four responsibilities that I see.

1. Recognize God's call for us to do what we normally would not want to do. We are "new creations," putting off what we wanted to do in the past. Sometimes the old self wants to initiate pain, not reconciliation.
2. Acknowledge that God is not calling us to do something He has not modeled for us first. He gave us a ministry that is precious. We need to treat and treasure it like a gift. 
3. Learn also that the wrongs of your followers should not "count against" them so much that you as a leader fade from your role as the "initiator,” the one who initiates reconciliation.
4. Preach and teach reconciliation within your organization or ministry. If we model it, we can not only teach others to do it, but we can also require it within our own organizations and churches. Ban the soil in which Satan likes to farm! 

God was the first initiator. He took the initiative to reconcile himself with us through sending his Son. We were completely in the wrong and should have gone to him first, begging to be reconciled to Him. But man did not do that, nor could man accomplish on his own what Christ accomplished for us.

Because God took the initiative with us, we must take the initiative with those we lead. Would you agree with me that everyone reading this has some form of relationship that could be shored up? If you would try today to become an "Initiator,” trust me when I say that a blessing is waiting for you.

Do Leaders Need to Be Holy?

This is an encore TCL article by one of our TCL board members. Its message so important and timeless, I must post it again, though a year later.

By Pastor Chris Carr     (Executive Pastor of Ministries -  Bethel Church - Crown Point, Indiana

I have to admit from the get-go that writing this article was a little daunting. What do I have to add to the discussion on leadership? A simple search at Amazon.com shows almost 350,000 available resources on leadership. It would seem that perhaps everything there is to say about leadership has been said at some point.

"And yet I do find something missing from most discussions on leadership today – the necessity of personal holiness."

We must pray for God to help us achieve personal holiness.

And yet I do find something missing from most discussions on leadership today – the necessity of personal holiness. There are plenty of books and articles about rules or laws of leadership, keys to leading an effective team, how to be not simply good but great, and how to use your gifts to their maximum potential. But there appears to be few people discussing the vital issue of personal holiness in the life of a leader.

How important is personal holiness in the life of a leader? Before I answer that with my thoughts on the matter, answer it for yourself – how important do you view your own holiness to your success as a leader?

The Importance of Personal Holiness

My answer to this question is that personal holiness is the most important issue to leadership success. I realize that this is a fairly bold statement, so let me take a moment to back it up. My belief in the importance of personal holiness comes from the foundational truth that, as believers, our ultimate goal in life is to bring glory to Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 10:31, Col. 1:18). Flowing from that, our goal as leaders should be to lead in such a way that our followers are influenced to pursue Christ’s glory as well. Our ability to glorify Christ is in direct proportion to how holy we are becoming (2 Cor. 3:18).

"Our ability to glorify Christ is in direct proportion to how holy we are becoming."

Robert Murray M’Cheyne, a Scottish pastor in the mid-19th century once stated, “what my people need most is my personal holiness.” I couldn’t agree more. Without personal holiness, a Christian leader has no foundation from which to lead.

"If your integrity or morality is in question (which they likely will be if you aren’t pursuing holiness), you cannot be an effective leader."

You might not consider personal holiness to be a vital issue if you aren’t a pastor or a ministry leader. I would challenge you to reconsider. If you are a business owner and your employees (or customers) know you are a believer, you will be unable to lead them effectively if you aren’t living out what you claim to believe. If your integrity or morality is in question (which they likely will be if you aren’t pursuing holiness), you cannot be an effective leader.

How to Pursue Holiness

So, how do we pursue holiness? First and foremost, we begin by focusing on Christ. Second Corinthians 3:18 tells us that as we look at Christ, the Holy Spirit transforms us into His image, with ever-increasing glory. Something about simply focusing on Christ makes us more like him (1 John 3:2).

Second, we must be faithful in our study of the Word. In John 17:17, Jesus prays, “Sanctify them by truth, thy word is truth.” We become holy as we get into the Word and the Word in turn gets into us.

Finally, we become more holy through prayer. As we pray and seek the Father’s face, He pours out the Spirit and draws us closer to him (Acts 4:31, Jude 20).

As God is holy, let’s continue to strive to be holy in all we do (1 Peter 1:15), setting an example for our people to follow.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.