Even know-it-alls can learn something...

I work for a great church.  I am also blessed to work for a Pastor who just so happens to be a good friend.  He knows Zach and I quite well and when he suggests that we do something, we usually trust his judgment.  Several months ago Pastor Travis suggested we attend this years Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit.  I admit, I wasn't overly thrilled when I learned I had already been signed up to go.  In fact, I was hoping for something to come up so that I could back out.  Thankfully, nothing did! 

For the two days of the Summit Zach and I had to get the kids up and out the door before 6:30 for the 45 minute drive to El Paso.  We were meeting a church in El Paso that also opened up their nursery to watch our kids.  This was a televised conference, with the multiple speakers being in Chicago and sending live feed out to all the other locations.  All of these factors joined together to make a "I don't know about this" moment in my mind.  But can you believe it, with all my skepticism, I actually learned some things!? 

The leaders included Bill Hybels, Condoleezza Rice, Jim Collins, Craig Groeschel, Patrick Lencioni, and John Ortberg, among others.  There was so much that these great leaders said that I just wanted to throw my hands up in the air and yell, "YES! That makes so much sense!"  or "YES! Where's so-in-so, so that they could be hearing this too!"  (I know, shame on me.)  So, I'm going to share some things I loved from this conference:

1.  "A leaders most valuable asset is their energy and ability to energize." - Bill Hybels

2. "Don't talk about going 'there' until you explain why you can't stay 'here'" - Bill Hybels

3. "Remember that it is a privilege to be a leader." - Bill Hybels (personal note, I forget this sometimes and need to remember how blessed I am to be in a position to lead others.)

4.  "The greatest quality of a leader is their irrepressible optimism." - Condoleezza Rice

5. "Out of struggle comes victory, after Friday comes Sunday." - Condoleezza Rice

6. "The x-factor of great leadership is humility combined with great will." - Jim Collins

7.  "Mediocrity comes from chronic inconsistency." - Jim Collins

8. "Don't fear or resent the next generation, believe in them." - Craig Groeschel

9. "If you're not dead, you're not done." - Craig Groeschel

10. "People act honorable when they have been shown honor and respect." - Craig Groeschel

11.  "Being all things to all people means you are nothing to everyone." - Patrick Lencioni

12.  "The discoverer of the role of forgiveness in human affairs was Jesus Christ." - John Ortberg

13. "Everyone benefits when a leader gets better." - Bill Hybels

14. "Jesus will not allow HIS church to be easily destroyed." - Bill Hybels

There is a lot more that I took away than these little snippets.  I came away with some reading, with inspiration, and with a drive to see how much more I can do, not just in regards to the Youth group, but with the church universal. 

As the Summit was coming to a close, the volunteers passed out a card with a prayer written on it.  The idea was to enter into a covenant with someone else to pray this prayer every morning.  The Prayer is added below.

Click on photo to enlarge it.

What are you doing with your talents and energy?  Your creativity and resources?  Together, we can change the world.

Lessons from toddlers...

Earlier today the kids and I were outside watering my plants.  As I was turning on the water faucet I got some water on my skirt and leg.  Knowing that we practically live on the surface of the sun out here, I was not too concerned about it.  I notice Noah had gone back inside the house and head towards the door to go in and see what he was doing.  He was already headed back outside and he had in his hand a towel, which he used to try and dry me off.  He went inside specifically to get something to help me out.  I was touched by his thoughtfulness.  At the tender age of two, he is already thinking of others.

What happens to us as we grow up that makes us so anethesized to the needs of others? There is a new show on television that my husband came across the other day.  I can't remember the name of it (help here Zach) but it is narrated by John Krasinski.  The premise of the show appears, after just catching a few episodes, to be about how the human brain acknowledges certain things.  For example they ran an experiment where they put a clown on an unicycle and had him literally ride circles around people who were on their cell phones.  These people never noticed the clown.  Later, the producers of the show went to the people and asked if they noticed the guy on the unicycle.  Their response was no, they didn't notice anything and they were certain they would have.  At this point the producers show them tape with evidence of the clown.  Those people were shocked to say the least.

Obviously we are so easily caught up in our own little worlds to the point of blinding us to the people around us.  How many people do we encounter on a daily basis that are in need of something and we never realize it?  And, if we are able to notice and recognize their needs, how willing are we to see that those needs are met?

Maybe I should start taking lessons from my toddler. 

Blessings to you all on this day.

Quite the role model if you look past the tantrums and nose picking.

Never Alone

I am a Christian.  I am also a member of the United Methodist Church.  I am a Methodist by choice.  Yes, I was brought up in the Methodist Church, but that is not the reason I am one today and choosing to raise my own children in the Methodist Church.  There was a time, most of the years I was at McMurry actually, that I was completely lost.  Searching for my place in this world, searching for something that was true and worthwhile.  I remember one night in particular, kneeling on the floor of my tiny dorm room, pleading with God for answers.  My last two years at McMurry was spent with me on a mission.  I needed to find out what it was I believed.  I researched, wrote papers on topics that were, at the time, mysteries to me, all the while trying to discern for myself what was real and what was not.  I questioned all facets of religion, not just Christianity, starting with my beliefs on the very basics, starting my faith journey at the very beginning.

I can not pretend to have all the answers.  What is truth for me may not be truth for someone else.  That's okay.  I have particular beliefs about certain issues which is why I am still a member of the United Methodist Church.  The Methodist church best aligns with my own beliefs, once I decided what they were.  I am fully comfortable raising my children in this tradition, but hopefully equipping them with the ability to one day discern for themselves what they believe to be truth.

I have been blessed to be able to teach Confirmation to 12 youth these past few weeks.  I have learned alot myself.  Last week we discussed a tool for discernment known in the Methodist tradition as "the Wesleyan Quadrilateral."  For those of you unfamiliar with this, the quadrilateral is a way to prayerfully discern what God's will is for you by using scripture, tradition, reason and experience (the four sides of the quadrilateral).  I earnestly want my youth and my own children to have the ability, the tools, and the maturity to go prayerfully into Scripture, and through what they already know through their own experiences and what they have been taught in their church tradition, use their God-given gift of reason to discern their own path in this world.

We have also been teaching that even though this is a tradition in which we have chosen to live our lives, it is not our place to judge what someone else believes.  I may disagree, that is my right, but I may not judge. 

I have blogged before about certain beliefs that I consider false prophecy.  Though I do not judge those who may be misled (in my opinion) I do pray for them and encourage everyone to never believe something just because someone you trust tells you that is truth.  Ask God for wisdom because wisdom is something He never withholds.

One last thing, there is a reason they call it a "Spiritual journey."  We are forever learning, always questioning, always listening, and always teaching.

In other news Zach is spending his week in Denver with a crew of Wesley students doing mission work.  Today they are painting a house.  He texted me,"Caulking with college students is worse than with Jr. High kids."  Having experienced caulking with junior high kids, I can only imagine.  At least I know that they are enjoying themselves.

I am spending my week with my kids who are on their Spring Break.  The weather has kept us indoors for the most part and we have a case of cabin fever that has resulted in lots of screaming, tears, and a mommy about ready to tear her hair out.  Thankfully, my trusty weather man tells me the rest of the week is going to be beautiful so I hope to spend much of our time outdoors in the coming days.

I hope the rest of your week is overflowing with blessings of your own.

"I'll hold tight to what I know, You're here and I'm never alone" - Barlow Girls

Musings...

Presently I am sitting in my chair, watching House Hunters, sipping coffee and writing while Noah naps and the dog chews a giant bone outside in the back yard.  Pretty blissful I must say.  I'm still feeling a little groggy from our weekend trip back to Plainview.  We really enjoyed our time with family but sleep was definitely not on the agenda.

Last night marked the beginning of Sunday night youth meetings with my group from Morning Star.  We saw 4 new faces! It was a good night and I am very excited for things to come.  I was also able to make it over to Wesley in time to listen to Zach preach.  He preaches every Sunday night but this is the first time I have attended.  The kids were with Zach while I was at youth.  Those two have those college kids wrapped around their little fingers.

Listening to Zach's sermon and considering other things happening around us, I have found myself dwelling on certain aspects of church leadership.  As Zach put it last night, leading, in any fashion, in the church gives you an incredible amount of responsibility.   We must be careful, in all that we say, to not lead anyone astray.  For so many, especially in youth, those meeting on Wednesdays and Sundays are the only time some kids hear anything about the Lord.   So many places in the bible warn against false prophets (Matthew 7, 1 Timothy 4, Hebrews 13, etc) and you do not have to look far to see false prophets among us today (see Harold Camping).

He so crazy...

Recently, Zach has gotten into the habit of listening to talk radio, specifically, Christian talk radio, and yesterday on our way home we listened to quite a few different stations.  Some stations were good and gave good information.  Others, however, made us just shake our head in amazement.  Amazement that there are people out there that will believe what someone says just because they write a book and claim to use the Bible as a reference.  This got me thinking about my job and other's who do the same thing Zach and I do.  It's a sad fact that so many churches hire people to teach their youth and children without checking first what their beliefs are and following up on what they teach.  It's also sad that so many parents trust the religious upbringing of their children to the church, and the humans the church has hired, without being aware of what is actually being taught.  Even in my own experience, so few parents thought to ask questions pertaining to what I and others I worked with were teaching their children about Christ.  Scary!  Now, I hope and pray that I will never lead a single person astray and I will continue to pray daily for wisdom and discernment.  I do hope that people will not take everything they are told by a supposed "teacher of the Word" at face value.  A true sign of a "cult" or "false prophet" is that asking questions about what you are hearing is discouraged.

So, I guess, through these rantings, I'm beseeching each of you to question, to discern, to search out answers to your questions, and not lean on the teachings of one person.  Also, I know for sure I'm going to be paying close attention to who is teaching my children and what they are being taught.  As a teacher and a leader I pray never to become complacent with my great responsibility.

As a final note on this matter I look to James, Chapter 3.  It reminds us "that we who teach will be judged more strictly." We never stop teaching, even if it's our day off...