Weekly Thought – August 7, 2018

Fred once sent his daughter a scrap of paper with just a few words: “Brenda, opportunity is not mandate.” He was trying to succinctly tell her every open door did not necessarily require walking through. Fred considered every decision carefully, rarely letting impulse interfere with the process.

The BWFLI Roundtable schedule for fall is robust. Teams will be in Kentucky, Texas, and Illinois. Keep praying and supporting financially when possible. Each gift is gratefully received and carefully used.

Call or Mandate

There’s a difference between a mandate and a call. A call is personal; it comes to the individual. A mandate is collective, corporate. The mandate is the organization’s reason for being; the call is the individual’s reason for service.

A leader needs to have a sense of call, and dedication, to serve effectively. Prison evangelist Bill Glass emphasizes this in training his prison counselors. “You have volunteered to be a counselor, but you have dedicated your life to personify Christ in this prison.” He goes through a litany of experience that might exasperate, even frighten, a volunteer ( e.g. getting cussed out, having urine thrown at him, or hostile body language shown). The dedicated counselor will hang in and not be driven out by these behaviors.

A call may change. A person might sense a call to a different organization, or a different form of service. Sometimes I think the call may lead someone out of ministry.

Recently I talked with a pastor in Iowa whose primary ministry was in the teaching role in a church populated by older, long-time Christians. I asked him how he was doing and he admitted he was very unhappy. And not surprisingly, so was the congregation. I asked him, “What is your real love?”
“Winning people to Christ” was his quick, passionate answer.

“In your saint-saturated organization,” I said, “there are probably very few who haven’t heard and responded to the Gospel. When you get up to preach you don’t see anyone who needs salvation. By gift, you are an evangelist. Have you considered leaving the vocational ministry and going back to automobile sales where you are constantly in touch with unsaved people?”

“That’s when I was the happiest,” he said.

He let his ego, family demands, and social expectations push him into seminary and the pastorate. I later checked on him. He resigned from the church, went bac into sales, and is extremely happy and effective. His call “to win souls” did not match the organizational mandate to do expositional preaching for mature Christians.

Many I know need to seriously determine if their call and their organization’s mandate are in sync.

This week carefully consider: 1) How did I recognize my call? 2) What is the primary mandate of my workplace? 3) Who in my environment can help me analyze the fit?

Words of Wisdom: “A leader needs to have a sense of call, and dedication, to serve effectively.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Nevertheless, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each person, so must he live. I give this sort of direction in all the churches.” (1 Corinthians 7:17 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – July 24, 2018

Fred valued his friendships and peer relationships. His generosity of time and mental energy endeared him to those around him. He once said he was going to the grave with a lifetime of confidences. He could be trusted to be who he said he would be and certainly trusted to do what he said he would do.

Fall 2018 is quickly filling with What’s Next Roundtable events. The excitement about sharing experiences and Fred’s ideas on mentoring, networking, and persevering grows week by week.

Responsibilities to Our Peers

I see two clear ways we can benefit our friends and peers:

1) Be an individualist. Oftentimes when I am lecturing to college students, I toy with them a bit by asking all those who feel they are non-conformists to hold up their hands. Without fail, nearly 95% of the audience raise their hands. I always laugh, if only to myself.

Actually, a conformist and non-conformist are the same personality types because they are both outer directed. They both form their opinion and behavior by finding out where the “in” line forms. The non-conformist wants to know where the line is, so he won’t be in it, just as the conformist wants to know where the line is to make sure he is first in the queue. They are just two sides of the same personality.

The nature of an individualist is having a friendly attitude, being part of what is going on, while not jeopardizing their values. He hopes the peer group is right and joins them enthusiastically, but removes himself if they are wrong. He takes the responsibility of challenging the peer group.

2) Be redemptive. When I have the opportunity, my responsibility is to be redemptive. Transformation isn’t just a personal process designed for me alone; it is a process I participate in for the benefit of my peer group. I am responsible for creating an atmosphere of redemption. The ultimate is bringing God’s power to the people and situations in which we find ourselves. I define redemption as simply evil with good wherever we are.

Being redemptive is played out in the Biblical analogies of salt and light. Chasing away darkness is not the function of light; it is to provide an atmosphere for clear sight. When we are salt, we are a preservative – we preserve the rightness of life. We also bring a constructive attitude to our peer group.

Redemption takes discipline. I do not pray for miracles, but rather a willingness to join God in His process or working out matters. Prayer is not for me to change God, but for me to conform to Him. Biblical principles discipline our thinking and our contribution to our peer group. I believe there is a genuine gift in delineating the principles in order to face the day to day situations with discernment.

This week think about: 1) How am I bringing redemption to each of my environments? 2) What am I doing to clearly hold to my principles? 3) Who models these principles for me?

Words of Wisdom: “Transformation isn’t just a personal process designed for me alone; it is a process I participate in for the benefit of my peer group.”

Wisdom from the Word: “When David finished offering burnt sacrifices and peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing over the people in the Lord’s name. (1 Chronicles 16:2 NET Bible)