Home Base

Great video. The enthusiasm and excitement among boys ends up being a moment that one would rather forget and quickly. I wonder what words ensued.  


The great moments of our lives will always be accompanied by or preceded with ones we would rather "pass" on. But don't fret; rather, choose to make the best of it. Enjoy the moment.  But it's in these moments that your character is honed and tested. Don't abandon it. Don't dismiss it.  

James 1:4 (NIV)  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Perseverance is something EVERY leader should work on and through purposefully.  It's all too easy and quite common to complete a year or two in one ministry and then jump ship when the next "late and greatest" comes along.  In doing so, I believe may youth pastors and ministers missed out on the harvest that would have been theirs.   

My wife and I have always believed in building home base. You can hit a single or a double, but the goal is to tag home base. That's true in kickball as it is in baseball.  No point in loading up the bases if you never get to eventually tap your foot or plant both feet at home base.  In the same way, we don't want to just do an evangelism event then jump to the next thing on schedule or sponsor an event whether at church or at work and then move one. Our plan of action must be  based on a plan that is intentional and purposeful- get to home base. Do we follow up on new converts? How is the follow up to your hoo rah rah at last week's staff meeting? Do we seek to mentor a new trainee at work or a new ministry team member at church? Thats part of the route to home base.

In closing, what do your bases look like (plan of attack, business plan, vision/goals, etc). You gotta know what first, second, and third look like before you get there. And most importantly, what does home base look like? As one applicant asked me during his presentation, what is considered a "win"?  

Father, thank you for ultimately getting us around the bases to eventually tag home base. Direct us today to be good stewards of our time and resources. Teach us to persevere and see things though.  In Jesus' name.   

Stuck

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shatch/

How we quickly choose to follow rules over principles because they are convenient and easily measurable. The reason why Christians pose the question "how far is too far" is because there is a misunderstanding of the ultimate "prize" of singleness. Many singles struggle with purity because they think the ultimate goal of singleness is virginity. This cannot be further from God's intentions.

The old way to address this question was to give a good round about answer- if you have to ask you've gone too far. But it would be better if we taught our people, the ultimate "prize" of singleness is PURITY.  If two young people loved each other and kept purity in view, there would never be a question of ever "going" too far because the purity preempts this. When your goal is to never encroach on what is not yours until the appropriate time, you walk on firm footing.  

On the other hand, you hear of stories and statistics that students who committed to "True Love Waits" were almost as likely to have sex before marriage. Why? Because they made virginity the end goal instead of purity. And the question of virginity and all the technicals is just about rules. It is easily achievable for one to be a technical virgin but dishonor Christ.

1 Samuel 15:22But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

Let's live by the principles found God's word instead of striving to accomplish a checklist of Christian "to do's". Find out what matters to God and live by it.

Makeshift

http://malate.wordpress.com/2008/04/03/a-breather-in-camarines-sur/

What is the cost of "makeshift solutions" that will eventually deteriorate? Yes, the job is done faster, progress can be made instantly, but if we do not build as an "expert builder" using the right materials with careful planning, so goes longevity and sustained usage and the growth of commerce from one side of the bridge to the  other.

When an organization begin to use "quick fixes" to get things accomplished without regard for longevity, it is a good sign to reconsider your commitment to its tenets. Is what I'm working for a temporary fix that will lead to a permanent solution or am I applying a temporary fix to a problem that will always look for quick fixes for this problem?

Regardless if this is ministry or running an organization, a leader knows where the temporary fix should be applied and when it is wiser to wait to properly plan a permanent solution.

On another note, I like pastors and leaders who use creativity and add a bit of humor in their communication.  Ed Young, Jr. is a gifted communicator but I think his true asset is his high leadership acumen.