All posts in Encouragement
Good People – March Edition – An Emcee & A Worship Leader
If we’re honest, we put all of our friends in different departments. There’s people you work with, go to movies with, go to church with, do business with, laugh with, work out with, golf with, hoop with, get coffee with, go on vacation with, etc. This month I want to celebrate a couple of good people that I’ve done most of the above with, but the one thing I would do with them that I haven’t yet is… plant a church with them. I truly believe they both put 100% into everything they do, especially their marriages.
1. Danny Hoyt. You may or may not have heard of Danny, but just keep watching every award show for the next few years and sooner or later, you’ll see this man on the red carpet interviewing celebrities. Over the past few years Danny has hosted many events around the country for Kia, the NBA, and several musical artists. I believe in Danny Hoyt and know that God will honor the hard work he puts in to wear many hats. His passion for life and Jesus will make an impact on Los Angeles. Danny is good people.
2. Kirk Graham. Kirk is one of the worship leaders and creative at River Valley Church in Minnesota. Check out their worship album here. There’s not many playlist I make on my iPad that don’t have at least one RVC track on it. I have never met someone who is more anxious to change the world for Jesus than Kirk. Uber-talented worship leader? Yes. Passionate and engaging? Yes. Heart for the local church? Yes. But when Kirk and I met in college, he asked me if there was anything he could do for me as a leader of our university’s late night Wednesday worship gathering. I said, “Yes, I need someone to run power point.” And he ran that sucker for 7 months in a back room with crappy audio of the live service with a smile on his face and a Red Bull. I had never heard him sing or lead until someone else told me he had skills and leadership capability. My mouth dropped the first time I ever heard him and could not believe he never told me that he could sing or lead. His heart was truly in a place where he just wanted to serve. I’ll never forget that and am beyond proud of everything he’s putting his hands to.
These dudes treat their wives like queens. It’s cool to see guys like them represent my generation well.
Open Mic
One thing I’ve noticed in my life since I was a teenager was that whenever I encourage someone, 9 times out 10 they say, “I really needed that.” A lot of these people were strong “joyous” Christians yet they found themselves in a place of discouragement. Discouragement isn’t a sin, but what is it? I would define discouragement as the enemy replaying negative thoughts in a person’s head over and over again to get them to a place where they lose focus of what God has called them to do. Whenever I meet someone who would honestly say they’re discouraged, I would simply say they’ve believed lies.
I heard Bishop Jakes say, “Never give your stage to the devil.” He was referring to being very cautious about what outside issues you address in church and which ones you do not. When I think of discouragement, I think of a person’s mind being a stage, it’s open mic there, and the enemy is going to town. “You’re too young, you don’t have enough experience, you don’t enough swag, you’re too radical, you’re not unique and people want unique, you’re good but not great.” And here’s the deal, every single time you read the Bible, it’s like you’re giving God the mic on a stage in your head.
Stop giving your enemy a mic in your head. It’s dumb. He doesn’t belong on that stage.
Kings Go To War
Watching the Bible Series has really been interesting for me. I try to watch it slow by pausing and rewinding so that I can read the Bible while I do it. And during the David and Bathsheba scene, this was the first verse I began to read.
It just challenged my leadership on two levels:
1.) To be where I’m suppose to be… when I’m suppose to be there. As the author sets up this story, is he telling us that David had a lust issue, or a placement issue? Or did he feel entitled to Kingship so much that he didn’t need to go to war? Had he killed enough and had so much confidence in his army that he thought they didn’t need him? I have no idea, but I simply can’t be afraid to ask myself hard questions about my own leadership and placement. The lack thereof only leads to disaster.
2.) To fight more. There’s a season where kings go to war. There’s times where, as a leader, it’s not about giving the most eloquent, clear, and concise orders that make your followers melt in loyalty to your vision and instructions. At some point, people need to see a sword in your hand to keep them believing in the vision. Sometimes when we achieve great success, we live under the notion that our success merits more money, stature, fame, and… less grunt work, less fighting. Kings go to war.
That’s what I had to preach to myself after verse 1. What do you guys think about the Bible series? I loved the black Samson with dreads.
The Tension Between Being Spiritual & Being Practical
There 2 schools of thought when it comes to measuring spiritual growth. One school sums up a person’s spiritual expansion by: 1.) The quantity & quality of their time in prayer and reading the Bible. (the longer you pray, and the more you read, the better) 2.) The level of commitment they give to their to church. (the more involved and the more you serve, the better) This school is very inward focused. If you can spend 3 hours on your face before God, then that’s a big W in this circle.
The second school of thought grades one’s spiritual improvement by: 1.) Their community. (small groups or life groups are key here. “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future”) 2.) Their philanthropy. (how much of their money & time they give to causes, responding to natural disasters, involvement in city programs and community engagement is critical here)
It’s a shame that these schools of thought have opposed each other for years, but I’m beginning to see a new school that has a balance of both. I don’t think you can make your bed in either school and boast about anything you’ve done. “Pentecostals” have way too often found themselves inside the doors of the church expecting lost people to want to come in. And “non-denoms” have way too long found themselves outside the doors of the church at ground zero of some lost people’s hurt and pain with no spiritual potency to actually do anything about their hurt and their pain. It’s almost become bragging rights to simply be around lost people.
You could provide scriptures to support whatever it is you want to do, but no matter who you are, we all could use a little balance one way or the other.
Save The Best For Now
“What’s new?”
It’s a two word question that gets us out of bed everyday to search for the answer. Back in the day… before I was a live… NOTHING WAS NEW. Everybody had their same job for 30 years. There wasn’t much to chase. I’m not intending to discourage a dream, or forecast despair upon the go-getter, the entrepreneur, or someone who aspires to be remembered, but rather, I’d like to encourage all of the above (which I’m in) in their current season.
It’s as if we’re all saving our best for a later engagement, a future event, or a fast-forwarded version of ourselves where we are really doing what God called us to do. We are saving our best for the dream job we’ll have where we feel all of our gifts and talents are being utilized. We feel the gravity and pressure of having something “new” to share, but I would propose that we take inventory of our current season and give it everything we have. For who we are in this season, is but a preview and practice for our next season.
I would even go as far to say this: There may not be a next season. We ought to give this season what we would give if it was our last. Save the best for now.
4 Reasons You Should Go to Catalyst Dallas
1.) Resources. Brad Lomenick and the Catalyst team go to great lengths to make sure that every person who attends a Catalyst event walks away with tangible materials that can help you be more effective in your organization. And… a lot of these resources are FREE!
2.) Relationships. Some people knock people who go to conferences to meet people, but I would challenge their thinking on that. If there’s one thing I’ve experienced in ministry and business… it’s the FAVOR of God like crazy. But looking back on my life, I consistently put myself in a position to be favored. I’ve gone to places I really had no desire to be at, but I would simply go, not to network, but to simply meet people. You never know who you’re going to run into at a conference. One of my best friends in the world today is one of my best friends in the world today simply because we REconnected at conference. It’s well worth it.
3.) Inspiration. Listen here. Judah Smith, Matt Chandler, & Andy Stanley… just to name a few of the speakers that will be there. These dudes are bad to the bone. I’ve NEVER listened to anyone of the speakers lined up for the conference and been disappointed. I’ve always left inspired.
4.) Worship. One of the coolest parts about Catalyst Dallas is the worship. We all often live in our own cul de sac of the church world and never get an opportunity to worship with other people from different denominations and backgrounds. It’s good for you to get around some people who love Jesus just as much as you do, but perhaps they think a little different than you. We all can learn from each other.
The dates for the Conference are May 9-11, 2012. You can sign up for it here.