Question 1:  Is it helpful -physically, spiritually, mentally and relationally?

1 Corinthians 6:12  ”Everything is permissible for me’–but not everything is beneficial”

Question 2:  Does it bring me under its power?

1 Corinthians 6:12  ”Everything is permissible for me’–but I will not be mastered by anything”

Question 3:  Does it hurt others?

1 Corinthians 8:13  ”Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall”

Question 4:  Does it glorify God?

1 Corinthians 10:31  ”So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God”

Normal isn’t for me.  Normal isn’t for you.

I recent’y blew it again as a father.  This time it was a careless word spoken while with my sons at our fantasy football draft party.  For those of you that might be hoping for some major foul language, I’m sorry to disappoint.  The word that I carelessly spoke was “idiot.”  Now there may be some of you that would scoff and think that I’m being overly dramatic.  But that isn’t a word that we want to be a part of our vocabulary and we certainly don’t want to teach our kids to use it.

Ephesians 4:29  ”Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

The issue really isn’t even about the word as much as it is the fact that I modeled something that I did not want my boys to emulate.

I once again had to apologize and ask for my 2 oldest sons to forgive me.  And once again they were quick to forgive.  My prayer is that God makes up for my many shortfalls as a father so that my children can be all that He intends them to be.

Have you ever had to apologize?

King’s Cross by Timothy Keller

Communicating For A Change  by Andy Stanley (re-read)

Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli

Weird by Craig Groeschel

Who Is My Neighbor by Steve Moore

A Praying Life by Paul Miller

Coffee Shop Conversations by Dale Fincher and Jonalyn Fincher

Do The Work by Steven Pressfield

Love Wins by Rob Bell

How To Be Creative by Hugh MacLeod  (PDF)

Poke The Box by Seth Godin

The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan

Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick

The 1-2-3 Money Plan by Gregory Karp

Marketing In The Moment by Michael Tasner

The New How To Study Your Bible by Kay Arthur, David Arthur and Pete De Lacy

So what have you been reading?

I’m a huge Ohio State fan.  Jim Tressel has been the head football coach there for 10 seasons.  He holds a record of 106-22, and is 9-1 against rival Michigan.  More importantly to me, he is a follower of Jesus.

This week it has come out that he failed to report major violations that took place in his football program.   He acted in a way that was unethical, he lied, he let me down.  I’m incredibly disappointed with the decision that Tressel made. I’m disappointed that winning trumps everything.  I have a ton of questions.  This whole thing has gotten me thinking about what this can teach us about responding when Christian leaders let us down?  I’ve come up with a couple of things that I need to change in how I respond, maybe they will be helpful to you too.

I need to respond with the same grace that I would want.

This is not to excuse what he did or in anyway pretend that it wasn’t wrong.  I am not in a position to determine what his “punishment” should be.  Our decisions always have consequences.  Grace doesn’t mean they get to return to their current position when it’s all said and done.  But far too often I find myself responding to fallen leaders in terms of “punishment” rather than in terms of grace.  I think that says more about me than it does about whatever the leader did.

“But we want justice!”  Really?!  Do we really want justice?  Or do we just want it for some people?

I need to respond with prayer.

I need to pray for Coach Tressel.  That as a follower of Jesus he would admit to whatever areas of his life have become out of alignment with who God has created and called him to be.  That he would respond in such a way as to properly reflect to those that he leads what God looks like.  I need to pray for his family.  Our families always pay the biggest price for our sins.  I need to pray that this would be something that God can eventually use for His renown.

I need to respond with evaluation.

Apparently for Tressel winning trumped character.  It’s easy for me to sit back and ask “how could that possibly happen?”  But it’s much harder to evaluate my own life and ask the hard questions.  Are there any areas that I have compromised my character?  Is there anything that has become so important to me that I’m willing to “bend” my principles?

Winning games isn’t my issue, I’m not a coach.  But maybe “winning” isn’t just for coaches and players.  I’m a pastor, maybe my “winning” is inflating my church’s numbers to make sure that other people think highly of me.  Maybe it’s embellishing that story just a little bit so that everybody thinks I’m funny.  Maybe it’s using somebody else’s material and not giving credit so that I come across as a great preacher.  Maybe it’s covering up my flaws and shortcomings so that nobody knows who I really am.  Or maybe more concerning, who I’m not.

But it’s much easier to talk about somebody else’s failures!  So we normally just stick with that.

I’m hoping that my response to other’s failures can more and more fall in line with who God has created and called me to me.  His ambassador, His reflection.

So how about you, how do you respond when let down by a leader?

According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube.

This stat is astounding to me.  I don’t watch very much TV, but sports is my downfall.  I really enjoy watching sports of all kinds.  There is just something about watching the “thrill of victory and agony of defeat” unfold before your eyes that is riveting.

I am aware that in writing this I may come off as a “fuddy-duddy” or a “stuck-in’the-mud.”  That is not my intent or my hope.  I just know that it seems that somewhere along the road we have bought into another way.  And I am determined to do whatever is necessary to become the man that God has created and called me to be, to follow His Way.

So, do I think TV is ruining us?  No, I don’t think TV is ruining us, we generally don’t need anyone’s help to do that.  But I do have some major areas of concern when it comes not just to how much TV we watch but what we watch.

2 Areas of Concern:

Time

We are always complaining that we don’t have enough time to get everything done in our day.  TV is a huge time waster.  When I watch tv I’m not productive.  I sit there and am entertained.  It’s not bad to be entertained as long as it is kept in proper balance.

Do I have a consistent time with God and His Word on a daily basis or do I claim not to have enough time?  Do I spend time really investing in my wife and my kids or do I not have enough time?  Are there things that my wife has asked me to do around the house but I haven’t had time to get them done?  Are there ways that I could use my God-given gifts but I just don’t have time?  Are there people that I could serve but I don’t have enough time?

Influence

What we watch influences how we think.  When I was a kid if I watched a Western, I would play Western for the rest of the day.  If I watched football, I would play football for the rest of the day.

What we watch influences not just how we think but how we spend, what we desire and what we value.  That’s why marketers spend so much money on commercial spots.  But it’s not just the commercials that influence us, it’s the programs that we watch.  Whether we recognize it or not everything we watch communicates (insert “preaches”) a message to us.

Again, I think the issue is balance.  If I am spending around 30 minutes in God’s Word each day, learning the Way that I should go.  But I’m spending 2 hours each day watching TV and learning a different way to go.  Which way do you think will eventually win out?   (I know my punctuation and grammar are all messed up!)

So now what?

Some Practical Steps To Take

1. Commit the time in your day to God.  It belongs to Him.
2. Evaluate your favorite show for what kind of messages you are being influenced by
3. Go 1 week without TV and see if you live to tell about it. (you won’t miss anything, and if you do you can watch it on HULU)

Do you think I’m a “fuddy duddy”?  I probably qualify just for using the term!

You can go here to read more about Shannon and the book.

A lot of things stood out to me but as I reviewed the book, this is the one sentence that resonated with me the most.

“but the gospel isn’t an invitation to walk down an aisle and pray — it’s a call to transformation.”

I think that sums up where God is trying to take us, and where I am trying to lead my family and the church I pastor.  Too many people claim to be following Jesus but our lives haven’t been fully transformed by His message.

I long to see more stories of complete transformation.

Thought I would share some of my highlights from the book.  Made easy thanks to my Kindle!

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Imagine it this way: If you had only one month left to live, you’d be surprised at all the things that really didn’t matter anymore:

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Solitude is a healthy and prescriptive discipline; isolation is a symptom of emotional depletion.

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The fact is, where you stand will always affect what you see.

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You see, my goal in life is not necessarily to get rich. It is to BE RICH-in my faith, my marriage, my family, and my ministry. It is a choice that I made when I defined what rich would mean. It is an attitude, a value, a decision, an intention.

What good books have you read recently?

I’m sure it started earlier than this but I remember in fourth grade reading a series of books about four American frontiersman.  I was enthralled with their adventures and bravery.   I was convinced that I was born at the wrong time in history because I would have been a great frontiersman!  As I got older I moved on to books about the U.S. Military, about special operations units.  I read every book I could get my hands on concerning small unit operations in the Vietnam War.   I was especially drawn to the real-life accounts of snipers in Vietnam.  My dad was always encouraging me to read, feeding me books by the likes of Zig Ziglar among others.

I love to read. When I read I am stretched, I am frustrated, I am broken, I am healed, I am encouraged, I am challenged.

But most importantly I am changed.

Last year I was busy to the point that I stopped reading.  I didn’t have time and when I did have time I was too tired to read.  As I reviewed 2010 I noticed a spiritual stagnancy in my life that I believe was connected in large part to my failure to read.

So I set a goal for 2011 that I will read through the Bible and 52 other books.  That might seem a little bit outrageous but the number isn’t the point, the point is that God uses books to change me.  And I desperately need to be changed.

So far this year I have read:(affiliate links)

Sticky Teams: Keeping Your Leadership Team and Staff on the Same Page

The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World

After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters

I’m currently reading:
Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion

I will try to keep you updated on what I’m reading.

So what about you? How do you learn? What does God use to change you?

Have any good book recommendations?