You know the whole “glass half full vs. glass half empty” debate?  Personally, I fall somewhere in the middle with my personality type.  I’m one more prone to ask who drank half my glass of water.

Well in leadership it’s important that we be positive people, looking for the good in others and affirming their steps towards improvement.  However, there is a time to be negative.  There is a time to shine the light in dark places.  There is a time and place to be critical.  If we guard against becoming critical in all our interactions, we can actually use Negativity to our advantage.

How Negativity Can Help a Leader

• The things that bother you, probably bother others as well.  That sign that is always crooked and covered with fingerprints?  If it bugs you, I can guarantee you that it bugs someone else.

• If you aren’t finding negative things in what you do at times, then you’re not doing it right.  We all make mistakes.  We all do things wrong.  We all have room for improvement.  If you evaluate yourself and can find nothing worth improving…there is something wrong with you!

• Negativity helps you to answer the question, “What is the worst that can happen?”  I believe we should be able to answer this question at all times.  Have you thought out the worst-case scenario?  Have you planned for a quick recovery if things don’t go your way?

• Critical eyes bring improvement.  While we are careful to not let our criticism become a nag to those we lead, we also want our criticism to bring about real change.  Let yourself see things for how they really are.

Proverbs 27:5-6 ESV / Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

Years ago I managed an IT department on a university campus, and every conversation we had with end-users (those are the ones with problems) began something like this, “Have you rebooted your machine?”  I swear back in the 90′s this would fix 90% of the problems on a Windows 95 machine.

January is official reboot your life month, right?  You might prefer the word resolutions, quick-fixes, or get better ideas for 2012.  I personally like the idea of rebooting things. Well at this time of year, let me ask you…

“Have you rebooted your resolutions and goals this year?”

Here are 5 ways to take the time to push the reboot button on 2011, and amp up for 2012.

1. Quit pretending everything went perfect in 2011.  What went wrong?  Define it, meditate on it, look into why it didn’t go your way in these areas, and then bury it.

2. Quit pretending everything was terrible in 2011.  What went right?  Some of you might have to look hard, but I can guarantee you that you’ve done something noble and honorable this year.  Define it, meditate on it, look into why it went your way, and then bury it.

3. What challenged you this year?  Notice I used the word “challenge”, not the word “troubled.”  What was hard for you to do this year?  Why was it harder than you thought?

4. What do you want to do this year?  <Insert Dream Here>

5. Pray.  Work through these top 4 and then pray.  But why pray?  Well the Bible tells us so!

Psalm 107:28-30 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven

Matthew 7:7  ”Ask, and it will be given to you seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Matthew 21:22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”

Mark 9:29  And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

Mark 11:24  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

John 14:13-14 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it

Acts 9:40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.

Ephesians 6:18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Philippians 4:6-7 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

James 5:14-16 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another,that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

My family has read through the Jesus Storybook Bible, and it’s become a staple at our Child Dedication events at Trinity.  I love, love, love the style, writing, and heart behind this book.  If you haven’t already done it, then pick one up for your family this year and enjoy it together as a family for some out-loud reading together!

Go to Amazon today and get a copy!

Isaiah 60:1  Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2  For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
3  And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.

We talked with the kids about the differences between hoping and wishing, and kept it short enough that the kids paid attention for most of the 5 minutes. But this year I challenged them to think about HOPE all week long.  I’ve reminded them all week before school to be thinking and looking for examples of hope.  So this week we’ve talked Star Wars “A New Hope”, we’ve talked about hoping that mom will put cookies in our lunch boxes, we’ve talked about how we hope that it snows this week, and everynight before bed I’ve reminded the kids that we can have real hope in Christ.  We don’t have to wish for it, we are given real-life changing hope.

One of the things I found online this week was this great video, which helped illustrate further the idea that we have something inside of us that longs for Hope.  See if you can use it with your family this week to start some discussion as well.

Panic begins to set in, and you’re not sure who can transition slides on Pro Presenter for the awesome God the the Rescue slides you’ve spent all week arranging with cool background tunes to make the teaching slick and presentable.  About that time your own kid’s teacher approaches you and says that your kid is complaining about their stomach hurting and is greenish in color.  ”Are you kidding me!” you think inside.  ”Does somebody have it out for me?!” you ponder in your heart.

Then before you know it the morning is over.  Wait, what happened?  How did we get past the chaos?  Well it’s easy really.  Sunday always happens.  Even if you have a 10 year old running the sound board, and the small groups are a little more chaotic than normal, and your kid has to sit in the back with a trashcan between their legs.  The kids at church have learned something.  It might have not be perfect, but that’s all right.  Sunday doesn’t have to be perfect to be effective. It’s going to happen anyway, just prepare yourself for this fact and you’ll find yourself patient beyond your own understanding.  Sunday’s are funny that way, huh?

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

When I start to feel that heaviness in my chest, and worry that the heartache of that experience –  of “giving him back” – that it will be too great a burden to put on my family, then Father God drops this verse in my heart again.  Love is not self-seeking. And I know that this journey that He’s called us to won’t be free of pain….but simultaneously feel such conviction that living to ensure the absence of pain in my life is not the life I want to live.  And so we choose love and the likelihood of pain over self-protection.

I know this isn’t the answer He would give everyone with that fear; that question that I’m asked nearly daily, “How will you ever give them back?” But for me, this is the answer that He brings loud and clear: Love is not self-seeking.

There are foster children in this city that need love.  No one questions that fact.  To be able to provide that love, but then refuse it because “it will hurt me when I have to give him back”, would be choosing to protect my own heart at the expense of withholding love from a child.  Choosing “me” over “them.”  For me, to continue to say “I can’t foster because I wouldn’t be able to handle giving them back”, meant I was knowingly and willingly seeking my own self-protection over offering love and hope to a child.   God changed my paradigm, and every time I tried to utter the words, “it would just be too hard to give them back”, my heart translated those words to “making sure I don’t feel hurt or pain is so very important to me, that I will not love these children.”  And that refrain of “it would just hurt me too much” when uttered from my mouth, started to sicken me.

I choose to love without regard for self.  I do it badly sometimes, with moments of self-pity and fear and worry.  But I forge ahead in my imperfection, and ask God to show me how to love like He does.  I ask Him to help me trust that He will be my comforter and friend in those times of pain.  I worry, “Is this too much of a burden for my children?  Is this unfair?  To let them love and care deeply for a foster child, then experience the pain of no longer having them?”  But I give those worries to Him and trust that He will use this time to teach my children from a very young age that He is a God of comfort and peace that passes understanding.  I pray my children will know that love is always the best choice, even if it hurts.

I do want to do good. I want to be defined by my ability to offer second chances, to show grace to nasty situations, and be a person that responds quickly in love. However, I’m constantly battling the same thing.  This thing could easily be stated as a question.

When an opportunity comes for me to show grace, or maybe the situation is screaming for me to give a second chance, or maybe I’m convicted deep within my heart to act quickly to extend love to an unloveable person…I’m confronted with this question somewhere down in my heart and mind.

“Is this convenient right now?”

What a stupid question.  I’m not saying that I verbally say this to myself, or even articulate my thoughts to think this question.  What I do is use this question as the filter through which I make all grace that comes from me pass through.  It’s a lousy self-centered filter, but nonetheless the Inconvenient Nature of Grace is difficult to overcome.

The Inconvenient Nature of Grace is a struggle for me, because at it’s heart the question of whether something is convenient for me is important.  There are many varieties of the question:

Can I afford this financially right now?

What will my wife say if I do this without talking to her first?

Do I have a family commitment to make right now?

Is this really a part of my job description?

All of these questions are good to ask for most situations, but to be a person defined by giving second chances, extending grace, and reflecting God’s heart to teh world…I have to move beyond it.  And beyond it quickly.

That’s my confession.  What keeps you from quickly showing Grace when the situation calls for it?  Admit it.  What’s your filter?

I give you “Never Forget”. Sermon was preached (taught, spoken, yelled, etc…) on Sunday, March 14th, 2010.
Download audio file (Never%20Forget.mp3)

“You shall remember the Lord your God…”

Deuteronomy 8:18

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13 is one of my favorite verses in all of the bible.  It’s God’s Promise that he will always make himself findable to me.  Being able to find something when I really need it, is important to me.  Knowing that when things are confusing and dark, that God is always findable is of great comfort.  As I work to create environments for kids each weekend it is always a goal to make sure that God is findable to kids.

How do we make God as findable as possible? It starts with making sure that we actually talk about Jesus.  A novel concept, I know.  It’s easy to partake in storytelling, pushing out that “bottom line” teaching, and working through worship songs without ever mentioning the name of Jesus.  When I teach I try to always tie back what we’ve learned to Jesus.  He fits everywhere, trust me.

Second, we cover our areas with prayer.  We actually pray prayers like, “Lord, help these kids today see you in the midst of all that we will be doing.” Don’t underestimate the power of prayer.  Its after these prayer encounters, that I will often begin to see the best ways to bring attention back to God throughout my time with kids.

Third, we always, always, always, always, always remind kids why we are even at church.  Kids can easily get lost in the hurry and rush of Sunday Morning, and it’s my job to make sure that they remember we are here at church to worship, learn, and grow.  When we take a few minutes to welcome kids each morning, I remind them that we are here at church for a reason.  Even if Mom and Dad brought them…they are still here for a reason.

Finally, I always work to make sure that we are as distraction-free as possible.  I’m not sure about you, but I know that for me to see God clearly I need to eliminate distractions.  For me, it’s computers, music, other people, and maybe even a good old-fashioned fast to get my focus on Him.  For kids, it’s about making sure that when somebody is doing our large group storytelling, that they alone command the attention.  When small group leaders are leading, we want to make sure kids are only focused on what they are leading.

So how do you make God as findable as possible in your Kidmin environments?

I love this entry from the Jesus Storybook Bible.  May we remember God’s Big Surprise for us this weekend and beyond.

Matthew 28:6 “He is not here; for he is risen, even as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

Ephesians 1:7 “in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,”

1 Samuel 16:7 For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart

There are so many more things happening on Sunday Morning then I can see with my physical eyes.  It’s important that I put myself in a place to see things the way God sees them.  I know that my reaction to things is burdened by my flesh, and it is my prayer that I let God use me each weekend to see the spiritual side of things.  This is super hard for me, promise!

I pray that I will see God’s children as he sees his children, that I will react to others the way God would react to them, and that I will forgive others the way God forgives them.  Please Lord, give me the eyes of you.  Help me to be the instrument and vessel that you need this morning!

This is part of the discussion started HERE, and HERE, and HERE, and HERE and HERE and concludes the Sunday Morning Prayer Series.

James 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness

This is the one prayer that always hits the closest to home.  My job is working with people in the church.  It’s my calling, my passion, and part of my life purpose, yet…it’s also my job.  I have to guard myself against having a business-like attitude towards God’s work and His people.

I pray that God helps me to not get lost in the hustle and bustle of staffing rooms, organizing environments, and teaching large groups of children.  I pray that God will give me wisdom about how to effectively pastor the children, parents, and volunteers that I will interact with each morning.  There is the potential for life-change in every conversation I have with somebody each weekend, and I do not want to miss the opportunities that I’m given.

Thank you Jesus, that you’ve given me this unique position to influence families each and every week, and I pray that I never lose sight of the privilege afforded to me to partake in God’s redeeming plan for mankind!

This is part of the discussion started HERE, and HERE, and HERE, and HERE continues the Sunday Morning Prayer Series.

Daniel 12:3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

On a any given Sunday morning there are dozens and dozens of volunteers and servants working with children in three different buildings at Trinity Church.  It is my prayer for those working that God would use the children they work with and lead to soften their hearts to God.  Along with that softening of their own hearts, I pray that they will be sensitive to each and every child’s need.  Everyone would say that they want to be sensitive to the children they work with, but with the chaos of drop-off, dismissal, discipline problems, equipment malfunctions, teacher shortages it can be easy to harden one selves to just “getting through it.”

I pray that the Holy Spirit will make each leader working with children able to easily discern the hearts and situations of the children they work with.  It is my prayer that they will not miss a unique opportunity to sow a word of encouragement into the heart of a young child.  It is my prayer that they will be able to clearly hear when a child is calling for help, and they will be equiped to answer that call with love, patience, and kindness.

I know that those willing to be kind to a child, will reap a wonderful blessing!  May all those that take the time to work with children, take the time to listen to children!

This is part of the discussion started HERE, and HERE, and continues the Sunday Morning Prayer Series.

Jeremiah 19:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

For many just coming to church on a Sunday Morning is a great act of faith.  I realize this, and I pray that somebody hurting comes seeking God on Sunday Morning.  Every week there are hundreds of hurting people that enter our doors and I know that in some way each of them is looking for an answer to their problem.

I pray that somebody searching for answers will find themselves waking up, getting dressed, and heading to church for the first time in an long time.  I pray for the strength of somebody to be brave enough to seek God for an answer to their problem.  I pray that the prayers of somebody’s mother is answered with the arrival of a son or daughter in church this morning.  With confidence I know that the answer to all of life’s problems are found within the bounds of God’s Word, and there is no better place to hear God’s Word than within the walls of our church on a Sunday morning.

Jeremiah 29:13 is one of my favorite scriptures in the Bible, because it gives us the great assurance that God is discoverable.  It’s my prayer that somebody new figure this out each week, so their life can be irrevocably changed for the better.

This is part of the discussion started HERE, and HERE, and HERE, and continues the Sunday Morning Prayer Series.

John 5:25
Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

This is one prayer that I most certainly do each and every morning on my way to the church.  This is a prayer for parents, children, and everyone that enters the building each Sunday morning.  I know that there will be a lot of voices heard at church, from teachers, to preachers, to greeters, and friends they will have their ears filled with voice after voice after voice.  My prayer is that at least one person will be able to discern the voice of God at some point throughout the morning.

I pray that God’s voice penetrates the heart, soul, and mind of at least one person.  I pray that one person in the audience and in the crowd is able to easily discern God’s voice speaking to them.  I pray that it comes through the words of a close friend, or a new friend.  I pray that His voice is heard during a time of worship and solitude.  I pray that as God’s Word is taught with power, authority, and conviction that God’s Voice is heard clearly in their spiritual ears.

I believe that it happens to more than one person each week, but I firmly believe that if God just spoke to one person each weekend…that their world would be changed forever.  Just one person is all it could take.

This is part of the discussion started HERE, and continues the Sunday Morning Prayer Series.