Tag Archives: community

Overflowing Gratitude and Joy

October 9th, 2017 |

In a world torn apart by both natural events and social contention, offering thanks is a good place to begin healing:
Thank you for…
…Every Mom and Dad that nurtures their marriage and children.
…Every ethical business owner creating sustainable work for their employees.
…Every pastor laboring daily for the flourishing of their congregation and community.
…Every artist making the world more beautiful.
…Every aid worker and first responder in Puerto Rico, Mexico City, Texas, Florida and 100s of other locales.
…Every public official stewarding our resources well.
…Every person of conscience doing today’s work well.

Joyful today:
Today, there are public and secret baptisms with thousands declaring their faith in Christ.
Today people of all political opinions are helping millions rebuild their lives in the wake of storms.
Today, communities are rising from the ashes of generational devastation as all social sectors unite and aim for flourishing.
Today, families are welcoming children into the world.
Today, pastors are comforting the afflicted, preparing meaningful messages and leading their communities toward wholeness.
Today, millions of people of conscience are awakening to the fact that their good work – paid or unpaid, labor or leadership – is the cornerstone of a better future.
Today: grateful.

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Celebrating Today

August 29th, 2017 |

Today. Let’s celebrate:
Today, millions of families welcome new children.
Today, many future spouses will say, “Yes!” to proposals of marriage.
Today, thousands of agencies are working for clean water, justice for the poor and community flourishing.
Today, the gospel is being preached, churches are being planted and many martyrs are receiving their eternal reward.
Today, neighbors of all faiths or none are helping each other.
Today, young women and men are discovering and dreaming of medical cures, technology serving humankind and spaceships to the stars.
Yes, there is divorce, famine, injustice, oppression and war…but sometimes we need celebration and gratitude.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Some Wisdom Amidst the Noise, Part 4

April 18th, 2017 |

Over the years, I have been labeled, “Messenger to the Thoughtful.” This is not, “messenger to the academic elites or people that are rich and smart.” Thoughtfulness is the privilege of every person, regardless of class or race, economics or education. If we approach God and the world with humility and wonder and treat people, with love and respect, we will enjoy a lifetime of learning and grow in wisdom. Here are a few more reflections – please help me keep learning!

Courage is loving instead of hating, responding instead of reacting and serving while others compete for power.

When possible, look for “both/and” instead of the “either/or” limitations. This does not work for moral absolutes, but is desperately needed in practical decisions, public policy and community flourishing.

There will always be others smarter and stronger than us; but we can reach the full measure of the divine intention for our lives.

Thank you, friends, for the good you bring to the world every day.

Thank you to every parent rushing to your kid’s cultural and sporting events today. Yes, it is worth it as you nourish their bodies and minds. Some of you are single, some married, some in blended situations…thank you for caring deeply for your children and nurturing the next generation.

Three Monday thoughts:
Decide ahead of time to make the right ethical choices;
Think deeply and prayerfully;
Act decisively for God’s glory and the good of others.
And inner peace and positive impact will follow.

May today bring tears of intercession, shouts of grateful joy, profound reflection on important matters, delightful laughter as we watch people and a chance to serve someone who cannot return the favor.

Lord, give me a critical mind and tender heart, evaluating ideas and principles without passing sentence on persons. Amen.

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A Flourishing Life

January 4th, 2017 |

When I walk into the one of the few regular bookstores still standing, I am arrested by the large self-improvement sections dominating the non-fiction landscape. From physical health (do we need one more diet and exercise book?) to emotional-relational well-being (do these authors all recycle the same principles?) to sexual satisfaction and business success (you get have it all!), we are awash in advice.

Yet. A variety of surveys reveal deep dissatisfaction with everyday work, unhappy marriages and disillusionment with civic, political and religious institutions. We have more data and information, more resources and support groups, more ways of improving ourselves…yet we still find high addiction and divorce rates, static church attendance and deep anger at the political process.

Answers to these challenges begins with vision. What does it mean for a person, a community, a nation to flourish? What does health look like? We need some understanding of the outcomes of our actions to shape our attitudes and behaviors.

As we begin a new year, the January essays on this site will offer insights into, “A Flourishing Life.” We will explore five dimensions of human wholeness that encompass the spiritual, personal, relational, vocational and occupational facets of everyday life. If you are ready for serious assessment and change, go to www.discipleshipdynamics.com and take the first biblically grounded and empirically validates whole life assessment and begin your new future today!

Flourishing begins with faith

If you are determined to reject the notion of a divine being, please stop reading. All the insights that follow rest on the foundation of humility arising from genuine belief in an Infinite-Personal God who created us with purpose and cares deeply about our daily lives. This God is fully known in Jesus Christ and longs for intimacy with us.

The First Dimension of wholeness begins with our spirituality. This is not a vague notion of “the force” or the illusory and impersonal world new ages concepts. The spiritual life begins and ends with humble submission to the Creator and Redeemer who designed us and desires to dwell in and with us.

Jesus said that all the Scriptures are summed up in one Great Commandment: to love God with all our being…and love our neighbor as ourselves. If we love God, we will participate in the pathways he has designed for intimacy and integrity, healthy and holiness. Prayer and Bible reading, church attendance and times of solitude are not ends in themselves, but divine resources for flourishing! Sharing our faith is the overflow of enjoying God, not an obligation to impose religious strictures.

As we begin this flourishing journey, let’s start this new year with simple disciplines that increase our awareness of Christ’s presence and awaken us to the Holy Spirit’s guidance each moment of our busy day. Start with small steps: a few moments of prayer, with gratitude and requests, praises and longings for others. Open the Bible in the Book of Psalms and read one each day, finding a verse to sustain you. Gather with other believers for mutual support. Find some moments of solitude. Let someone know you are a follower of Jesus and invite them to join your quest for growth.

All other Dimensions of wholeness flow from this foundation of receiving and releasing God’s love. Our humility will open doors of destiny as we listen to God each day.

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Letter to People of Influence, Part Three: Citizens and Leaders

November 6th, 2015 |

In this installment, we challenge a generation pampered by false expectations as well as leaders promising what they cannot deliver and pay for. Enjoy, reflect and share as we try to rebuild a free and virtuous society.

Dear American millennial graduates of public (and some private) universities,
Are you going to dream and discipline or covet and agitate for redistribution?
While you process the timeworn clichés of your tenured professors (who are living off the taxes and donations of the productive)…
Ask yourselves,
“How can I create value and bring good to the world?”
You will never be completely unemployed if you ask this question.
Whether you have your dream job, volunteer or labor away at “mundane” tasks, you can help build a better world if you do your present work well.
Let’s keep working for true justice – equal access, ethical oversight, intolerance of corruption and pathways for all to prosper – and move toward our destiny with discipline.
When we graduate from feeling the world “owes” us and we choose to make the world better with our work…justice and success are not far behind.

Dear candidates, pollsters, pundits, spin doctors and sociological observers:
I am more than a demographic or a gender.
I am more than an ethnicity or national origin.
I am more than today’s identity fashions or an economic status.
I am more than my educational achievements or struggles.
I am a human being made in the image of God and called to worship and work.
I have eternal, inherent value from conception to coronation and I am the object of Christ’s affection as he endured the Cross.
THEN, I am a man or woman, single or married, dark or fair, poorer or richer.
To all in power or aspiring for authority: please remember, “the greatest among you is the servant of all.”
Yes, confidence, inspiration and oratory are part of leading – but they are the fruit of humility, moral courage and thoughtfulness.
When a leader respects the humblest follower, she or he is a gift to the community and nation.

Humility and power are rare bedfellows, but enduring moral and spiritual influence arises from blessing, not bluster, from compassion, not clichés. May God grant an awakening of hopeful realism.

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