Leading during Hard Times

We are in the midst on an ongoing and seeming unrelenting world wide economic recession. Despite the horrific suffering world wide  that this economic down turn has caused, there is another crisis being revealed with much graver implications. The vanishing of  our national prosperity has revealed a severe lack of leadership in every aspect of human government.
  Much of our inability to overcome the downturn in stock markets, banking, housing and other main economic indicators has resulted from the lack of moral fiber in our elected leaders worldwide. The price of true leadership never varies during crisis:

1. Courage
2. Frank and honest communication
3. Long term planning
4. Willingness to sacrifice for the common good
5. Humility
6. Moral commitment to absolute truth

  Since the corruption and hubris of Wall Street and the global markets came crashing down in October of 2008 we have seen very few willing to 'pay the price' to lead us out of this recession. We have seen massive borrowing and printing of money, but no real honest and bold leadership. The facts are that many individuals, families, local, state and national governments are in deep and unsustainable debt. We simply have to change the way we live to bring real and lasting change to our economic worlds. Who will speak the truth into the midst of this harsh reality?

  Not only have our leaders failed us, but our media who have become a part of the consumer propaganda machine, don't dare speak the truth either. We are told to buy more.... get the latest gadget and keep riding on the Ferris wheel of consumer fantasy.

 The fact is we are in a recession for some very good reasons. We have created an entire economy built on greed, deception and short term gratification. We are wanting our pleasure fulfilled right now regardless of cost and consequences. We have met the enemy.... and he is us! We criticise our leaders and fail to remember we elected them! We elected them largely because we would rather believe the lies of short term and grossly ineffective 'solutions'. 

  There really is no easy way out of the global economic crisis. There really is no gain without pain. The solution will come when we accept the real moral truths revealed to us as a society by God himself. When we return in humility to those truths we will find the prosperity we have squandered over this last generation. Prosperity and blessing are not accidental.... they are born of a commitment to truth lived in community under God.

Jim

Prodigal

Prodigal

Mind unsettled, an anxious burn

My heart is melting, I can't find home

Something tells me, I'm not who I was

The pressures mounting, I've come undone

Someone's calling to a place I love

Confusion lifting, a soul reborn, I know the power of unseen love.

While fools proclaim a counterfeit, I've found the real in the house of love

Father's waiting outside the house, his tears still falling from a broken heart

I've waited too long, it's time to go, I am falling     forward into his arms of love.

A Singular Commitment

In our desire to achieve and have lives of meaning we often find ourselves struggling with commitment issues. What will I study or major in at college? Who will I marry or develop a serious relationship with? What career calling should I pursue? Making life impacting decisions is never easy. But there is one decision that rises above all other life decisions in terms of its impact and importance. Psalm 37 has so much truth with regards to making commitments that it can't be avoided by anyone who wants direction and wisdom to be at work in their daily life. In Psalm 37 and verse 5 we read about a singular commitment that we must enter into as soon as possible, "Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust him, and he will help you."
  In our seeking for direction and preparing for success, we dare not leave out the importance of our supreme relational commitment. We NEED God. While modern society places religion and spirituality at the periphery of our culture, we dare not ignore the need for knowing God. We strive for 'stuff' and security while ignoring the ONE who outlasts and ultimately provides everything we need. You ignore the 'faith factor' at your own peril!
  For too many of us there is a huge disconnect between our beliefs and our daily lives. We try to live compartmentalized lives. God on Sunday. (or another 'religious' day) Work on Monday. Party on Friday etc.... But it wasn't meant to be that way. Our lives were meant to be a seamless flow of relationship where love is at the very center of EVERYTHING we do and are. Until and unless we make that kind of a singular commitment we might just wind up going places we were never meant to go, becoming someone we were never meant to be and never achieve the dream and vision that God himself has planted in our souls.

Jim

Reflections on 26 years of Marriage to Mary

  Mary and I just celebrated our 26th anniversary on the 29th of June. I have always said it feels like we're just getting started in our marriage. Time spent with someone you love moves much faster than you would like. We were blessed to spend a little time in Destin, Florida walking the beaches and reflecting on God's goodness to us both over the last 26 years. Although we don't have a 'perfect' marriage we are indeed very blessed to love one another more than we did on the day we committed ourselves to one another in marriage in 1985!
  What are some of the things we have learned along the way that have kept us close and committed to one another? The first thing that keeps our relationship and healthy is the word RESPECT. When I first met Mary I only knew her from a distance. We had mutual friends. From the very beginning I have had nothing but respect for Mary. I admire her love and compassion for others. In fact I am deeply humbled by that compassion. From a distance I found myself wondering what it would be like to know someone like Mary in a closer and perhaps more intimate way. Mary had a depth of character that drew me to her. I wanted to know her and learn from her. I knew that I had a lot of 'head knowledge' about mercy and compassion but was weak on the actual living of it. What could Mary teach me?
  The next thing that was key in cementing our relationship from the very beginning was a shared VISION of life. When I finally had the guts to ask Mary to spend some one on one time with me we had amazing talks about vision. What do you see yourself doing with your life? What would you do with your life even apart from ever being married? Mary had a clearly defined understanding of who she was and what she wanted to do with her life. She told me that she felt called to work with children in Bangladesh or some other Asian nation. Her education was in Physical therapy and she was already working in Chester County, Pa. with disabled children. I went to visit her at work and watched her care for children with serious disabilities. I was humbled and amazed at her competent and compassionate care for hurting children. I left her workplace thinking that this was the type of person I could spend my life with!
  I had felt that God would have me also working in some form of international ministry. I knew that in order to be effective I would not be able to marry someone who did not have a similar call. Mary had that and more. Mary didn't just understand where she was called.....she was already living it right where she was.
  The third thing that has been key in our relationship is Attraction. As I began to reflect on the respect that I had for Mary and the vision we shared my eyes opened to the beauty of who she was. What began as admiration moved forward to a deep and abiding attraction that had endured and even grown over time. Mary is indeed an amazing beautiful woman. Proverbs 31:30 warns us, "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised." There is a superficial beauty that is truly temporary and fleeting...but a woman whose character and love is rooted in truth has a lasting attraction that time cannot fade or mar. When I look at Mary I see a woman of true beauty that I will love until the end of time itself.
 Finally, I would like to share one more essential quality that keeps our love for one another fresh and vital. Mary and I both love God with all our hearts. We love one another....but we also love God more. We recognize that we are frail and imperfect people in need of a fresh and ongoing relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I will not love Mary perfectly....we will fail one another at times. A fractured and broken relationship can be healed, renewed and strengthened by the God who initiates all relationship. As I continue to reflect on the first 26 years of our marriage I do so knowing that all the glory for our love goes to the God who brought us together. We've only just begun! The best is yet to come. I love you Mary!

Jim

The Measure of Success

I have yet to meet anyone who would not desire to succeed in life. We were born and created to achieve and make a difference with our lives. But what is the best measuring rod of success? What does success look like?
The world is full of various views and beliefs about life. What would be success to Mother Teresa the Saint of Calcutta would be viewed as abhorrent disaster to the Donald Trump's of our world. I have been deeply impacted by the biography "Bonhoeffer" by Eric Metaxas. This book tells the story of a theologian from Germany who lived during the era of the despot Adolf Hitler. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a brilliant thinker, writer and Pastor who during his lifetime was challenged to confront and resist evil at a high price. Though offered the chance to spend the war time teaching theology at a seminary in America, he heard God's call to return to his native land.
  Bonhoeffer had to take his beliefs, values and thoughts about God out of the classroom and live them in the most trying of times. His faith was refined by the fire of horrific evil and his measure of success was altered forever. Bonhoeffer as a man called by God to resist evil (he was implicated and eventually executed for his role in an attempt to kill Hitler) believed that success for the Christian was inseparable from obedience toward God.
  Have you ever asked yourself the question, "What would God have me to do with my life?" Do you choose you own way in life? Do you believe that there might be a greater purpose beyond your own individual comfort and ease? When you see suffering are you unmoved and indifferent? Would you say you are pursuing a meaningful vision with your life? What is it? How do you plan on achieving it? Would it take faith for you to achieve your life goals..... or could you achieve your goals apart from any beliefs at all?
  Life is so brief. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a single man in his 30's when his attempts to resist evil was found out by the secret police of the Nazi era. He endured torture and suffered the same fate of the Jewish people he desperately sought to protect and assist. He was willing to die so that others might live. He died two weeks prior to the end of World War two.... a last desperate act of revenge by the madman Hitler ensured his death by hanging.... he failed.... or did he?
  Bonhoeffer obeyed an inner call from an unseen God and defined success for those of us who say we believe in a God of love and justice. How do you measure success?

Jim

Becoming You

Becoming.... to be in the process of being who we were meant to be. My wife told me she was speaking with a young mother recently who had seen the latest 3-D ultrasound images of her developing child. She was fascinated with the intricate details now visible to her even while the baby was still in the womb. Children's development is utterly fascinating and rewarding to watch. We are drawn to their development of facial features, body types, language, motor skills etc.... And if we know their families we are equally fascinated and careful to make note of the similarities or differences. But there is an aspect of becoming that goes far beyond the visible. Inside of all of us  is the everlasting reality of the real YOU that outlives our frail mortal bodies. Our Spiritual self was created to develop and mature in line with our physical body. We were born for love and relationship with one another, but also with God. When our faith life remains undeveloped or lacks nurture and care we become malnourished. While our mother and father give birth to us physically, God almighty deposits in each of us the marks of eternity. God is as fascinated with you as your mother and father are. Look at Psalm 139:17, "God, how difficult your thoughts are for me (to comprehend); how vast their sum is! If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with you."
  All of us are born with both a physical and spiritual DNA that marks our uniqueness....from our fingerprints to our dreams and desires, we are all created by an amazing God to show forth his beauty in creation.  When we are not fostered and developed spiritually our inner core becomes weak and damaged. Our flesh grows and matures but our ability to really know purpose, vision and destiny are hindered. Even when our father and mother fail us we are not removed from divine purpose. Again Psalm 139, 13-16, "For it was you who created my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother's womb. I will praise you, because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made, and I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.
  You are remarkable. You are wonderful.... and your days are planned. Have you ever had that spoken into your life? For too many of us we feel a sense of confusion when we think about issues like identity. Who am I really? Those sort of questions become very difficult for those raised in broken or abusive homes where the uncertainties of daily life are so intense. Becoming you is a challenge when you don't have a guide along life's journey. We hit roadblocks like peer pressure and the challenge of conforming to other's expectations and demands. We give up on finding out who we are and 'settle' for becoming like everyone else. Instead of celebrating our uniqueness, we struggle wearing another's 'clothes' and dreams.
  So much of discovering who we really are flows out of walking in the garden of secure and unconditional love. A simple prayer can often help us discover who we really are: "God, open the eyes of my heart!" Your creator longs to unlock the mystery of why you're here, who you are and how much he loves you. The first step on the pilgrimage of self discovery is a conversation with the one who made you. He's ready to listen.

Jim

The Fuhrer Principle

I am reading the biography, "Bonhoeffer" about a courageous German Pastor who stood up to Adolf Hitler during the horrific Nazi period of history. Early in the book  my attention was captured by a phrase which described the cultural expectation of Germany at the time. The nation and people were beaten down by the horrific loss in World War One as well as the treaty of Versailles reparations being paid out while the economy tanked. The national mood was said to be demanding a new kind of leader who would forcefully advance German interests to overcome  the present level of pessimism and despair. The nation was in need of a strong and forceful leader. Onto the scene came as we know one of the most evil and diabolical leaders in history. Adolf Hitler was a powerful and charismatic speaker who knew how to play to the "Fuhrer principle". In public he carefully crafted an image of both power and willingness to compromise for the good of the 'Fatherland'. In private, he worshipped power and nothing else. Many religious and social leaders of the day fell for his deception early on and once power was quickly and  totally in the hands of the Nazi party they were forcefully removed of any significant influence. How did Hitler arise so quickly? Could it happen again?
  In desperate times of economic turmoil people are more prone to deception. Abusive and power hungry leaders play on their people's insecurities and promise much for so little.... the surrender of individual will and liberty. Every dictator knows that fear is their friend. If you can strike at the uncertainties during times of tribulation you might just create a revolution. The trouble with the Fuhrer principle is that it creates dictators and despots who speak of unity and nationalism while solidifying power and control.
  No man or political party can ever be your savior. We must be careful during this ongoing world wide recession that we listen carefully to those who ask us to surrender invididual freedoms for the sake of 'security' or national well being. Freedoms surrendered are seldom if ever reinstated apart from revolution or war.
  We need wisdom, discernment and a measure of skepticism toward leaders who promise much with no practical means to deliver on their word. Be careful who you relinquish power to in your personal, family and national life. I will leave you a famous quote to put the "Fuhrer Principle" in perspective, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." (Lord Acton)

Jim