Jesus and Amway

I read this story in the book Emerging Churches by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger.

Christians must simply be the good news and not have an ulterior motive. Dieter Zander illustrates this point from personal experience. A strange couple lived down the street. He typified them with the comment, "I bet they sell Amway!" Indeed, at one point, they came over and sought to sell him Amway products. He replied with a firm no, and he hasn't had any further contact with them in four and a half years. God nudged him through that contact. How he felt about that couple is how most non-Christians feel about Christians. Zander faced the challenge, "How can we be friends with people so that they don't feel this way about us?" His new agenda is to do good, to bless others as the Abrahamic covenant commands. He wants to be good news to people consistently without another agenda.

Zander's experience struck me quite hard because I've been guilty of being kind to people primarily so that I could get an opportunity to share my faith with them. How inauthentic is that!?!?

The key is to shift our motivation to simply doing good in the name of Jesus so that Jesus can naturally draw people to Himself. This will most often give us the opportunity to share our faith, but our first agenda is simply to do good. Our faith must be a living faith that people will invite into their lives because they have experienced our Christlike goodness and not because we have manipulated them for our own hidden intentions.

Give the gift of a good book

For the past twenty years I have read at least fifty books per year. I think it started when I was just a boy and my mom didn’t discourage me from reading comic books but encouraged the fact that I was interested in reading at all. Over the years I’ve moved on from comics (but occasionally enjoy going back for a little Spider Man) and have become fairly broad-based in my reading.

As Christmas approaches, in my opinion, there’s not a better gift to give than a good book. But only if it really is a good book. So, here are some books I’m recommending this holiday season. But don’t take my word that they are good—read them yourself!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This was hands down my favorite read of the year. It can actually be found in the young adult section at Borders but it’s a great book for adults of all ages. It is a work of fiction and has a wonderful storyline that you won’t be able to put down.

Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. I actually read this one twice. If I could write my own worldview, this would be it. Rob writes from a Christian perspective but he doesn’t smack you over the head with his faith. This is a tremendous gift for anyone who might want to explore the Christian faith in a very engaging way.

The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman. This one isn’t quite as easy to read but it’s worth working your way through. It explores our global economy, discusses the effects of the superior education of foreign nations and enlightens on how outsourcing is turning the world market upside down.

The Secret by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller. Mark Miller is the Vice President of Leadership Development at Chik-Fil-A. This book contains the secrets of Chick-Fil-A’s amazingly successful leadership development program. Once you read it, it will no longer be secret!

Too Small To Ignore by Wess Stafford. Wess Stafford is the President and CEO of Compassion International. This should be required reading for every person living in the United States. Once you read it you will never look at another child in the same way. It contains a fascinating story based on the truth of growing up both in Africa and North America.

Second Guessing God by Brian Jones. Brian asks some hard questions in this book (questions we’ve probably all asked at one time or another), and gives honest and insightful answers.

Chazown by Craig Groeshel. If you liked The Purpose Driven Life, then you’ll enjoy this new book by Groeshel. Very pragmatic exercises to help you discover why you’re here and what you should be doing.

The Secret Message Of Jesus by Brian McLaren. This one’s a bit deeper read, but well worth the effort. Brian offers a fresh look at the life and teachings of Jesus—a look that shouldn’t be missed.

What It Means To Be A Buckeye by Jim Tressel. Actually, this book is a compilation of stories written by OSU football players over the past several decades. If you want to give a great gift to a sports fan . . . you can’t miss with this!

The day after

The day after Thanksgiving is always a unique day. Put up the Christmas lights. Watch some more football. Eat leftovers. But do we still give thanks?

This morning I received a phone call from a friend from my past. His son, who just graduated from high school last year, was stationed in Iraq. He called to tell me that his son was killed in action this week.

Shortly after the phone call, I left the house and headed to Reed Funeral Home. I perfomed the funeral for an 80 year old man on Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving) and today (the day after Thanksgiving) he was being laid in the ground. He received full military honors at his graveside. Is there any sound more lonely than Taps?

A 19 year old and an 80 year old. I'm certain that my friends expected to see their 19 year old son again. There would be many more Thanksgivings together. I also know that when my 80 year old friend went into the hospital for routine knee surgery that his family was expecting to celebrate this and many more Thanksgivings with him.

But here we are, the day after, and both are gone.

No more Thanksgivings together in this lifetime.

Life is fragile.

Maybe the day after Thanksgiving we should continue our thanks giving? Who do you have in your life that you could pick up the phone and call? Who could you write a short note to? Just wanted to say, "I thank God that you're in my life."

Don't wait until next Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving

On this Thanksgiving Day I say, "Thank-You, Father." Thank-You for loving me each and every moment . . . regardless. Thank-You for forgiving me . . . no matter what. Thank-You for refreshing me when I'm weary. Thank-You for laughing with me when I make a fool of myself. Thank-You for being patient when growth comes so slow. Thank-You for holding me up when without You I would certainly fall. Thank-you for picking me up when down I have tumbled. Thank-You for being near, even when, to me, You seem far away. Thank-You for play that lightens the journey. Thank-You for broken hearts that remind me of the seriousness of the journey. Thank-you for children who reveal what Your Kingdom is really all about. On this Thanksgiving Day I say, "Thank-You, Father."

Nickelodeon

For anyone who has kids, grandkids, or simply is around kids, you know what Nickelodeon is. With 80% household penetration, it tops all of the other children's cable networks. The Nickelodeon web-site is the number one children's online destination. It is one of the nation's most profitable networks.

A senior executive explained Nickelodeon's stance: "The whole premise of our company was founded on serving kids, and what we've found is that when you do good things for kids, it happens to be good for business."

So my question is this: Does Nickelodeon really care about kids, or do they really care about business?

Here are some revealing insights from Juliet Schor's book, Born To Buy.

The secret of Nickelodeon's success is its core philosophy: "kids rule." In everything that they do, Nickelodeon tries to take the child's perspective. The network has positioned itself as kids' best friend, on their side in an often hostile environment. Donna Sabino, director for research and development at Nickelodeon's Magazine Group, explained the thinking to me: "It's hard to be a kid in an adult world. The adult world doesn't respect kids. Everywhere else adults rule; at Nick kids rule." The Nickelodeon worldview is that childhood has gotten tough. "Kids are experiencing increased pressure for achievement and activity. They don't have enough time for homework, they're overscheduled." Nickelodeon gives them what they need: "funny, happy, empowering." There are thirteen criteria a program must have to pass the muster at the network, including good quality, a kid-centered message, humor, and edgy visual design. In theory, these are good criteria. But in practice, when kid-centric and edgy come together, what often results is attitude--an antiauthoritarian us-versus-them sensibility that pervades the brand.

In my opinion, the last thing that children need with their parents is an "us-versus-them" attitude.

Jesus loves children for who they are, not as a means to an end. All of us adults should do the same.

Wess Stafford

Wess Stafford, the President of Compassion International spent this past weekend with us at RiverTree. He had dinner in our home on Friday evening, spoke to our TreeHouse Kidz children's servants on Saturday morning, addressed our Leadership Community later that same day and then spoke in all of our weekend services. A very full schedule and he did an amazing job.

I've had the privilege of spending a good deal of time with Wess over the past year--he is my mentor who has become a dear friend and brother in Christ. I've watched him in a variety of settings . . . but this weekend was different. This weekend I watched him interract with a variety of people: Leaders, children, affluent, struggling, needy . . . and he valued every one. And I do mean every one. I watched him engage people and bless them. He got on his knees and talked with children. He laid hands on people and prayed for them. He gave big hugs. And the response? People wanted to be near him.

This weekend, through Wess, I watched Jesus in action. And now, I have a better understanding of why people wanted to be near Jesus.

Picnic

Spencer Burke, of Newport Beach, California, writes: "On one occasion, our community was getting kicked out of a park because of our interaction with the homeless. 'You can't feed the homeless here; you need a permit,' the policeman said. I replied, 'We are not feeding the homeless. We are having a picnic. We're eating with them.'"

What a great attitude shift that would be for me. I'm not "feeding the homeless, I'm eating with them." Sounds like the way Jesus lived and treated people. The poor never felt denegrated by Jesus--they felt lifted up.

Confessions Of A Pastor

"Confessions Of A Pastor" is the title of Craig Groeschel's new book. Craig is the Senior Pastor of LifeChurch.TV, one of America's fastest growing churches. His book is not just for Pastors, in fact it's a great read for everyone who occasionally struggles with following Christ.

Tha chapter titles alone caught my attention: Chapter 1, I Can't Stand a Lot of Christians; Chapter 4, I Hate Prayer Meetings; Chapter 8: I Stink at Handling Criticism. You've got to love the guy's honesty!

One of my favorite quotes from the book: "I had become a full-time minister and a part-time follower of Christ." Ouch.

I give it three out of four stars. Well worth your time to read.

Space Invaders

A friend of mine heard me talk about the desparity in video game graphics from "when I was a boy" to "now." When I was growing up we played Asteroids (which was in black and white) and Space Invaders (while, though fun, the animation left a bit to be desired).

Sooo, he sent me this "Space Invaders" web-link. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rojJQ3u_ms&NR

Pushed

I was reading 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 in "The Message" this morning. One phrase struck me: Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees.

So often, I approach difficulties in life with a "why me?" attitude. Or "how can I get out of this?" In reality, life's challenges can be a very positive opportunity for us to enter into a deeper relationship with God through prayer.

It's similar to what Joseph said in Genesis 50:20: "You planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good." What the Evil One sends our way to do us harm, God can turn around and use for good.

How will you look at life's hardships today? Perhaps they're an opportunity . . .

In the news

Check out this link for a story about Momentum Christian Church. This is the church that RiverTree helped plant in October of this year. Very cool!

http://www.newsnet5.com/station/10290933/detail.html?taf=nn5

Leadership a la Chick-Fil-A

I spent the past several days in Dallas at a Leadership Network multi-site church gathering. One of the highlights of our time together was when Mark Miller, the Vice President of Leadership Development for Chick-Fil-A, came in and talked with us. Mark gave us Chick-Fil-A's "skill requirements" for leadership.

At Chick-Fil-A, leaders:

See the future.
Engage and develop others.
Reinvest continuously.
Value results and relationships.
Embody the values.

As you can see, it's an acronym for S.E.R.V.E.

This is one of the best descriptions of leadership that I have ever come across. By the way, you can read all about this in Ken Blanchard's and Mark Miller's new book, The Secret. It's a great read.

Got shoes?

“WHEN SOMEONE STRIPS a man of his clothes, we call him a thief. And one who might clothe the naked and does not—should not he be given the same name? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat in your wardrobe belongs to the naked; the shoes you let rot belong to the barefoot; the money in your vaults belongs to the destitute.”—Basil (“the Great”) of Caesarea (329–79), Christian bishop and theologian

Momentum

The following is an exciting announcement from Dan Smith, the Lead Pastor of Momentum Christian Church in Cleveland. RiverTree helped launch Momentum this fall.


Hey,
For any of you in the Cleveland area -- this Friday on TV5's (ABC's) 6 o'clock news, there is going to be a 3 1/2 minute story done by Ted Henry on Momentum! Check it out...
Peace,
Dan

In the details

Check this out from 1 Corinthians 6 in The Message:

Our work as God's servants gets validated--or not--in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we're beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we're telling the truth, and when God's showing his power; when we're doing our best setting things right; when we're praised, and when we're blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.

Our work gets validated--in the details. How are you doing in the details of life?

So what's the issue?

Is anyone else confused about Issue 3?

On November 7th, we need to be good citizens and head to the polls to cast our votes. However, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to understand what the issues are really about.

A few nights ago I was watching television. A commercial comes on with a wonderful warm feel about children and how if I’ll vote “for” Issue 3 then I’ll help ensure that kids will receive a wonderful education. Well who wouldn’t vote for that?

Unfortunately, the advertisement was very misleading. There was no mention that Issue 3 is really about gambling!

So I did some research. Here’s what I discovered. Just the facts.

If Issue 3 passes, then 9 developers will receive licenses to open gambling establishments.

If Issue 3 passes, then studies show that 109,000 individuals will become pathological and problem gamblers. On the average, 10 more people are affected by one person’s gambling addiction. That means that more than one million people will be damaged.

If a gambling establishment is within 50 miles of an individual, that person is 50% more likely to become addicted to gambling. Incidentally, there will be 4 gambling sites within 50 miles of RiverTree!

If Issue 3 passes, then Ohio will become a Class III gambling state which will make it much easier for tribal casinos to be opened in our backyard.

And by the way, Issue 3 has loopholes that leave thousands of Ohio students out in the cold. There are NO guarantees how much will be paid out in scholarships or when they will be paid. The top 5% grants disappear after just 12 years, but the gambling establishments continue to rake in money.

Now, we all need to be good citizens and vote. And that’s the beauty of a democratic society . . . we get to decide how we want to vote.

But let’s be crystal clear about this: Issue 3 is not about education, it’s about 9 licensed gambling establishments making massive amounts of money and hundreds of thousands of lives being destroyed.