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Category: The Milk Can (Page 10 of 17)

Functioning by Design

June 17, 2015 /

Manufacturing

Right after college I worked a little over a year at Hewlett-Packard doing technical support for their JetDirect network printing devices. I remember one day I received a phone call from a man in Indianapolis. He was not able to print to his printer in Paris. The man went into a description of network switches, subnets, satellite uplinks. On and on he went describing the complexity of his network. It was my first week on the job flying solo as a tech support agent. And I froze. I did not have one clue what the man was talking about.

After taking down all of the information, most of which I did not understand I put the man on hold. It was at that moment that my coworker, sitting across from me, who had been listening in on this call, asked one important question “Can they print to it in Paris?”

The answer was “yes.” He said, then it is functioning as it was created to function.

We can get bogged down in life with the complexities of life. People can tell you that this is a different world. And it is. They can tell about all of the changes. And they are many. But the ultimate question for each one of us is: “Are we living our lives, are we functioning as we were created to function?” If the answer is yes, then the rest really doesn’t matter.

Ultimately, the one who decides if something is functioning in the way it was designed to function is not the end user, but it is the one who created it. In terms of our lives. It is not our society or the talking head pundits who decide the chief aim of humanity. It is the one who created humanity himself: God.

When was the last time you asked him and sought his answer to the meaning and purpose of life?

Pastor Stephen

Moving from Performance to Legacy

June 10, 2015 /

Performance, always 100%

We are a performance-driven society. I don’t know of anyone who would argue against that statement. Our high levels of performance are often the product of an inner desire for significance. In short, a legacy. The quest for a legacy is a quest for our lives to have significance and influence long after our deaths. So we pour ourselves into achieving high levels of performance.

Performance alone will not create a legacy. Aaron Hernandez, former tight end of the New England Patriots, had performance. But he lacked in character and relationships. He will spend the rest of his life in prison. Bernie Madoff had performance. But he cheated people of their money and drew his family into his schemes. His son committed suicide and he will spend his life in prison.

No matter who skilled we are, no matter how big of kingdom we build, it will all blow away in the winds of time unless we have P, C, and R. Specifically, Performance x Character x Relationships = Legacy

A legacy is formed when we win in our performance, character and relationships.

Pastor Stephen

We All Need Legacy Moments

June 3, 2015 /

Stones in a PileWe all need legacy moments in our lives.

Legacy moments are markers of God’s ongoing faithfulness in the past and promises of continued faithfulness in the future.

In Joshua 4 we read of a legacy moment. For forty years the people of Israel have wandered in the desert, because of their disobedience. The time has finally come for them to break camp and enter the Promised Land. The priests hoist the ark and step into the flood waters of the Jordan River. Before them the waters recede and they step into the middle of the river, on dry ground. Quickly the people cross the river and for the first time their feet touch the soils of the Promised Land. Before the waters return to the flow one more act remains. A legacy moment. Twelve men walk to the middle of the river and pick up twelve large stones. These are brought to camp and set as a maker of remembrance.

“In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” (Joshua 4:21-24, NIV)

These stones are a reminder of the amazing thing God did the past when they crossed the Jordan River. They are also a reminder that it was not a single act, but it was one act in the line of God’s continuous faithfulness to his people when he led them across the Red Sea. They are a promise for the future. Whatever rivers are barriers might stand in the way of God’s promises they will be moved like the waters of the Red Sea and Jordan River.

We all need legacy moments, reminders of God’s ongoing faithfulness in the past and promises of his continuous faithfulness in the future. We need them because we quickly forget what God has done. These markers stand as a barrier to us when we are tempted to turn around and go back to our old way of life. It is not easy to walk past a legacy marker. They demand we turn back around and continue to press forward in the race that is set before us.

What are your legacy moments? Do you have markers of remembrance?

Pastor Stephen

You too can teach!

May 26, 2015 /

Walking off with the stop

It has been said that if you read three books on any topic you will become enough of an expert to teach that topic. I know the academics out there are cringing right now. Mostly because they don’t want to admit is that it is true. It also illustrates something. The path to a successful launch of a new direction, skill or initiative in life may be a lot closer than you think.

What do you want to achieve in the next year? What new skill do you want to learn? Who would you like to help? Can you find three books/resources on the topic and commit to studying them and apply what you learn? You might be surprised what can happen in a year.

For me, a couple of my goals this year are to continue to refine my skills as a preacher and to learn the skills of being a life coach so as to apply that knowledge to the arena of personal discipleship. How am I going about it? My first step for both areas includes the selection of three books on each topic that I am going to read and seek to apply to my situation.

What about you?

Share your dream in the comments or on Facebook. We can keep each other accountable to achieve something new.

Pastor Stephen

Prayer of St. Aluin of York

May 19, 2015 /

On this day, 1,211 years ago, St. Aluin of York left entered into eternity. Today I share a prayer of his:

St Alcuin of York
The Prayer of St. Aluin of York

(735 – 804 AD)

Give me O Lord, I pray Thee firm faith, unwavering hope and perfect love.
Pour into my heart
The Spirit of Wisdom and understanding
The Spirit of counsel and spiritual strength
The Spirit of knowledge and true godliness
and the Spirit of They holy fear
Light eternal shine in my heart
Power eternal, deliver me from evil,
Wisdom eternal, scatter the darkness of my ignorance.
Might eternal, pity me.
Grant that I may ever seek They face with all my heart and soul and strength; and in thine infinite mercy, bring me at last to Thy holy presence where I shall behold Thy glory and possess They promised joys.
Amen
—
Source:
Originally from a bookmark distributed by College Wesleyan Church, Marion, IN.

Are you successful?

May 12, 2015 /

success_2

Today’s post comes from the book Home Run by Kevin Myers and John Maxwell. Early in the book John offers this perspective on success:

I believe God desires for us to be successful. But I believe God’s definition of success is different from the world’s. To be successful, we don’t need to be rich. We don’t need to be famous. We don’t even need to be happy. Success is . . .

Knowing God and His purpose for our lives,
Growing to reach our maximum potential, and
Sowing seeds that benefit others.

That’s the kind of success anyone can achieve, God being their helper.

 

What do you think? How are you defining success?

 

Pastor Stephen

 

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Source:

Myers, Kevin A., and John C. Maxwell. Home Run: learn God’s game plan for life and leadership. New York: FaithWords, 2014. Pg. 19.

The Church in Prayer

May 7, 2015 /

arms open in prayer

 

In 1952, the United States Congress formally established the first Thursday of May each year as the National Day of Prayer. Over the years, this day has taken on many different layers of meaning as the political, social, and religious climate of our nation has shifted.

Today I have been invited to lead our community in prayer for the church and as I shared in my previous post I will lead the church in a prayer of confession and repentance. To help you in your own prayer today and to guide me in my preparations I will share with you the prayer I will be praying.

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Almighty God, as we gather together this day I pray on behalf of your church. I pray that to you all hearts would be open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord.

Your word says to us that “if my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

We confess today, as your church, that we have not turned from our wicked ways and we humbly ask, Lord, that you would forgive us our sin.

We have judged the sin and lifestyle choices in the lives of those outside of your church while continuing in our own idolatry and sexual immorality our own sin, within the church.

Lord forgive us our sin.

We have not sought freedom for the prisoner.
We have neglected and ignored the poor among us.
We have not sheltered the orphan and cared for the widow.
We have not welcomed the stranger and immigrant in our midst.

Lord forgive us our sin.

You gave us domain over this earth, but we have exploited your natural resources without regard for the generations that will follow us. And we have used your scripture to justify our negligence.

Lord forgive us our sin.

We have implicitly supported child labor and the slavery of people by demanding lower prices for our goods at the expense of the poor and vulnerable.

We have accumulated more and more stuff. We have built bigger buildings and bigger houses. We have amassed great wealth in our storehouses and barns. (Luke 12:16-21) We have enslaved ourselves to debt and mortgaged the future of our children. And we have done all of this while our brother and sister live with no shelter. Starve with no food. And die from contaminated water.

Lord forgive us our sin.

We have made our citizenship in this land and our nationality central while forgetting we are citizens of the Kingdom of God. We have intermingled and intermarried with the kingdoms around us, even this very kingdom which we reside in today.

Lord forgive us our sin.

Your word says to us that in Christ Jesus we are all children of God through faith, for all of us were baptized into Christ and have clothed ourselves with Christ. Therefore there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, black or white, nor citizen or immigrant, Asian or Hispanic, neither rich or poor, educated or uneducated for we are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26-28) We confess that our churches on Sunday morning do not reflect the unity you describe. We have chosen to be comfortable in that which is familiar rather than risk being changed by the other.

Lord forgive us our sin.

We have complained about our own suffering and trials. We have claimed persecution and exclusion while ignoring our brothers and sisters who die daily because of their faith in you.

Lord forgive us our sin.

We have become known as people of war and not peace.
People of justice and not mercy.
People of judgment and not forgiveness.
People of hate and not love.
People of division and not unity.

Lord forgive our sin.

So, Lord, we pray that you would make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that we may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console,
not so much to be understood as to understand,
not so much to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
it is in dying that we awake to eternal life.
(Prayer of Saint Francis)

We pray these things in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Amen

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We we the church, those who call themselves the people of God, would turn from our own sin, irregardless of the lifestyle choices and values expressed by those who do not claim any form of a relationship with Jesus, our planet would be transformed. This I believe. And it begins with our confession and repentance.

Pastor Stephen

Praying as a Nation and a Church

May 5, 2015 /

Old Church Sanctuary

This Thursday, May 7th, is the 2015 National Day of Prayer. On this day, Christians in my community, and all across our country will gather together for National Day of Prayer events. In years past, I have intentionally avoided participation in these events. The reason being, in previous communities I served, these events were more of a political rally for a very narrow political ideology than they were about praying of our nation. If I want to go to political rally I will, but I have little time for one shamefully veiled as a prayer meeting.

So it was, when I when I came to our community, I kept my distance from this event. That was until a colleague, whom I respect greatly, asked me to participate in last year’s event. I told him that I would not and gave him my reason. He assured me our community’s event was very different from my past experience. Based on his assurance and my respect for him I said I would still not participate but I would attend the event and observe. And this is what I did last year. I was happy to experience an event centered on prayer rather than political ideologies.

Now here I am a year later and a few days away from this year’s event. Once again, I have been asked to participate in our community’s National Day of Prayer service. This time I have accepted and because I am a pastor I have been asked to lead the group in praying for the church.

So I have been pondering what it means to pray for the church on a day like this. Particularly  in light of what has happened in our nation and world the past year. What kind of prayer should I be praying?

Only one kind of prayer seems appropriate. A prayer of confession of our sin and repentance. It is the only one I can pray, with any integrity, as one who represents the church. Scripture calls the people of God, the church, to welcome the stranger, to care for the poor, to cross racial and ethnic barriers, to be a place where there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail (April 16, 1963) Dr. King has much to say about the role of the church in society:

There was a time when the church was very powerful–in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being “disturbers of the peace” and “outside agitators.” But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were “a colony of heaven,” called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be “astronomically intimidated.” By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s silent–and often even vocal–sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.

By the church’s example, we can bring and end to the racism and violence in our society. By living the example of scripture, the stranger can find rest in the shelter of the church. By our example the deaf will hear, the lame will walk, the oppressed will be released, the blind will see, the prisoner will go free, and good news will be proclaimed to the poor (Luke 4:18). The poor in money and the poor in spirit. This I truly believe.

That path forward begins with the confession of our sin as a church. So this National Day of Prayer will you join me in a prayer of confession and a commitment, by the power of God’s Spirit, to be a different church?

Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

Two Kinds of Leaders

April 28, 2015 /

two kinds of leaders

 

Recently I went through a period of time where I had the opportunity to meet with several community and church leaders in a very short window of time. I noticed something about the meetings. Something that really has caused me some discomfort. I observed there are at least two different kinds of leaders.

The first kind of leaders are draining leaders. Whether I spent five minutes with them or an hour I came away feeling the same. I came away feeling sucked dry emotionally, professionally, and creatively. At best I left our meetings feeling like I needed to take a shower. At worst I felt like a complete failure of a person.

The second kind of leader was a filler. These people had the ability to leave me feeling empowered and charged. I came away from my meetings, however brief, feeling like a better person.

Identifying the two types does not explain my discomfort. My discomfort comes because I am not sure why the difference exists. In both styles of leader are highly successful people. Individuals who are building large teams, amassing great profits, and coordinating significant impactful initiatives.

As I try to figure this out, I am turning to you for help. First, have you observed these differences? Second, if you have, why do you think fill people up and others drain?

Pastor Stephen

 

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Defining the Church

April 21, 2015 /

Loaded Menu Board

 

In my last post, I asked the question, “What if we are not meant to be known by the roles we play and the things we do but rather by whose we are?”

I continue to process this very challenging question and its implications. My struggling has brought to wonder about the church itself. What if the importance of finding our value is whose we are rather than who we are is not only true for persons but also true for churches? Admit it. We define our churches by the things we do. The more programs we run the better. Our success as a church is defined by having more programs than anyone else in town. If we offer an ever increasing diversity of choices of things for people to do we are a success. But if our menu board of programs is not glamorous and loaded we must be a failure.

What do you think? Does the church place more emphasis on what we do rather than whose we are? What difference does it make?

 

Pastor Stephen

 

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