Category Archives: Journal Entry

Value

Some get their value from making others feel less worthy.
Some get their value from fading things.
Some get their value from always being right.
Some get their value from pleasing the Lord.

Let our value come from the One who knows everything yet still loves us and sent His Son, Who is worthy, to die for us. He alone makes us worthy. Everything else is but rags.

We know our righteousness cannot save us, it was never able to. So why allow it to damn others?

Wealth can be more valuable than genealogies, health may extend your life, a commendable career can give purpose to your days, but all are fading. Live as a light, and draw others to Him. He alone can save from any debt. He alone rescues. Let the light of your virtue shine boldly on Him.

If it wasn’t for Jesus, we would be lost too.

Ephesians 5:8-14
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

A Different Approach To Leadership: The Vine

I have often heard Church leaders use corporate America’s model of leadership, the pyramid model, to guide their praxis. I believe this, albeit wildly successful, isn’t in line with Jesus’ model. In fact, I believe it is in direct conflict with His servant leader style as shown in John 13 when He washed His disciples’ feet.

The pyramid model places leaders at the top which even as an illustration places everyone else under them. No where in the Gospels or the whole New Testament is this found. Rather we have Philippians 2, John 13 as mentioned before, Mathew 23:11, Mark 10:31, and many passages from Paul about being a slave to Christ. None of these place a leader on top of anyone, these passages and more place leaders beneath others, which leads me to a different picture, one I believe Jesus points to and shows us throughout His life.

I believe Church Leadership needs to separate herself from Business Leadership by leaving the pyramid illustration for the vine. Pyramids themselves were a product of great ingenuity of man by the use of many slaves. It has and continues to lead businesses to great success, but for the Church I believe it an idol much like the one ring of power in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the rings. Like Lady Galadriel said, “All shall love me and despair!”, it leads to great power and the building of large structures lasting millenniums, but was that ever His goal for us?

A vine was created by God employing no slaves. Using it as a model places leaders beneath all who follow them. This is found throughout the New Testament. It places leaders nearest the Source where its roots can grow deep in Him for nourishment. It requires the Church to release her hold on the idolatry of worldly success and it embraces fruitfulness and the harvest from a life lead in faithfulness.

This change would place the Church where no business will ever go, it would lead to the cross. That is where following God lead Jesus. Buildings will fall in time, but the salvation afforded us by Jesus will endure till the end. The vine model helps people to regard others as betters, lead to a more peaceful marriage, and has a different understanding of success- one that is dependent on intimacy with God.

I am not a successful Church or business leader/entrepreneur. I have never written a book or lead a seminar. I am a homebody who reads the Word, looks around, and thinks too much. I do pray I am seen as a success by my wife and kids, and by He who made me and continually unmakes me.

May the vine model lead you to depend more on Him, for much like Jesus, it flips the world’s understanding upside-down. (Flip the pyramid model over to reveal the vine and you’ll see what I mean).

Speak Over Me

Speak over me Lord.
For when You speak, things exist
where before there was nothing.

The heavens and earth were made
by Your voice.
By Your call
the sea opened and at the right time
a path for Your people was made.

Speak over my family Lord.
May this reality crumble and melt like wax
before You.

You overflow storehouses
as You let fall the rain upon a farmer’s field,
multiplying the harvest.

Speak over me Lord.
May Your will be done
and Your Name be praised.

It is getting hard to see Lord,
but I know when You speak
things change.

Jesus, when You invited Your disciples to follow,
You showed them a Kingdom not of this world.

Jesus, when You called Lazarus from the tomb,
You revealed a power greater than the grave.

Jesus, when you uttered, “It is finished,”
You opened wide the door of our salvation.

Speak over me Lord.
I trust in You more than these horses.
They threaten to trample me if I don’t succumb.
Their pounding hooves batter against the gates;
they buck and kick at me.
Their intent to oppress and crush falls short
of Your shadow over me.

Your words give Life!
Your words are Life!
Your words give Truth!
Your Word is Truth!

Speak over me.
Deliver and rescue me,
You are mighty to save.

Lift me up out of this mire,
Purify me in Your fire,
Though the times are dark and dire,
I’ll sing Your praise with the choir.

Among Those Who Do

Have you ever stared into the eyes of a lion? I did once at a zoo. Even behind the bars, his glare was fierce. He sat atop his hill truly the king of his now miniaturized domain. I was the only person there. He looked down at me and stared right into my eyes. Within moments I wanted to look away, but I didn’t. I remember the intimidation I felt but suddenly memories of staring into my dog Rex’s eyes soon washed it all away. It was the lion, that only knew the zoo, who looked away first.

I know there are those who don’t know the love of the Master. Leave the zoo of this world and come among those who do.

Future, Present, Past

Prophets, artists, or scholars. It all just depends on the timing…

I was recently reminded from an article that September 1 was the anniversary of the extinction of the passenger pigeon, which is a case in point:

The prophet warned it would happen even when all signs said it was impossible. The artist commented on the experience of wonder as a flock a mile wide flew overhead and blocked out the sun. The scholar writes about the loss and reminds us of lessons learned.

This Moment

The day comes when you realize you are a terrible and tragic Captain of your
family’s vessel always doomed to crash upon the rocks,

When you’ve done everything, checked and rechecked, only to come up empty and find the rocks are upon you yet again,

You know it shouldn’t be this way, you know the stories, you can picture it easily, the answer is something you’ve memorized but is always out of reach,

When you are there, remember this life is but a moment, but a moment, the sun will rise!

Oh this life is a moment, it rages so,

You can feel its anger and desperation as it tries to overwhelm, listen to its siren call, “You are a sinking ship no matter what you try,” the song echoes over and over, over and over,

What does it want? It wants eternity.

Deceive you it will, it knows, oh it knows, Time will serve its purpose revealing the Truth even a moment cannot deny,

Soon it will all be over, and that is its doom,

There is One who conquered over all, He is the Rock this moment’s ship cannot outmaneuver.

We may crash, we might be perpetual strangers here, but the Son will rise!

This time will end, the sharp edges of this broken life that cut so deep they threaten to puncture hope itself will cease,

It isn’t keen enough to sever us from His Promise signed by His Blood and it knows, Oh it knows,

Be comforted, this moment will end.

Sex and the City

The American community is a very consuming community. Sex is huge over here. It is one of the greatest powers given to us by God through which we, mysteriously, take part in His divine role and create life. The American community has been at work destroying that life confusing the gift of God with its tragic obsession over lesser things.

Sex is a power we can harness in the role God created for it, which blesses a community by establishing a strong foundation of identity: this is a family, here is a father and a mother honoring marriage (the image of God), with boundaries in place that keep order to the chaos of passions and desires. It is by wantonly giving over to such elements of degradation that the erosion of the strength of our vows, our spoken word, by which God created the heavens and the earth, begins.

Think of it like a plot of land or a city with walls built around it. The walls create definition; here is inside a city, here is outside a city. Inside a city, there is protection. Outside its walls there is no authority or agreed state of terms and laws put in place by which to protect against the warring opinions of control. Inside a city there is a government/leader who creates identity- this is who we are and what we do, this is who we are not, and laws are kept in place to solidify that identity by taking away freedoms to those who don’t adhere to them.

Family is a microcosm of the city definition as stated above. The agreed set of terms were stated in the vow ceremony upon which the couple embarks the great adventure of establishing a new city, a new plot of land defining who they are and what they do.

Evangelism is the act of communicating a better way to build. People don’t know by and of themselves that there is a better way. It is foolishness to think a child knows better than a parent before their mind is even awakened. It is by education that we learn, and being educated in the ways of God, the ways set by the Creator, we are made complete in a world that is perpetually fallen and incomplete.