Cause to Pause

That is the phrase the recruiter used to convince Richard Stearns to consider the possibility of talking to the people at World Vision about the idea of becoming their organizations president. Did you notice how many variables were in that sentence? No one asked him for a commitment, only a consideration. And he ran from it. He ran from the possibility of considering the idea of giving up a cushy, high paying executive job at Lenox Tableware. From the possibility of considering giving up his nice house, the large salary, the company perks, Everything that went along with a “life well lived”. His reasons were sound:

• I don’t know anything about fundraising
• I don’t know anything about the poor-let alone the poor in other countries
• I just don’t want to
• I can’t do it, I’m simply not qualified

And a myriad of other seemingly sound, logical reasons. The World Vision board had just one reason to counter his arguments: They believed God was calling him – specifically, to their organization.
In the end it was the recruiter’s one phrase that cracked the shell. Through that crack God poured a series of confirmations to the call. Confirmations that Stearns promptly ignored or disregarded. Confirmations that ultimately led to the final question in the interview:
”You will be exposed to horrendous, heartbreaking things. Children in garbage dumps, women losing their  children to disease, people on their deathbeds dying of AIDS. Would you be comfortable with that.”
And his answer “No, I am most certainly NOT comfortable with that! I am terrified of it! If you are looking for Mother Theresa, you’ve got the wrong guy.”
Stearns thought his answer had gotten him off the hook. He had followed God’s prompting, he had passed the test. He put his life on a symbolic Mt. Moriah and God would provide another person to take the role….only to find out that was EXACTLY the answer the board was looking for!

What follows this opening story is NOT your typical “the poor are starving, you have a nice house” guilt trip. On the contrary, what follows is a narrative of how one man deals with those feelings. The feelings that it is never enough. The questions of “am I the rich young ruler?” or “should I just be grateful for the blessings God has given me and steward them wisely?”

The title “The Hole in Our Gospel” comes from the idea that there is something missing in our message. That there is this great disparity between the hope we have within us and the actions it should promote. And that what this book does so well. It combines the facts of our Gospel message with the disparity in resources throughout the world without adding guilt.

The book also takes an interesting tack in that it simultaneously comes at the reader from three different angles.

• The facts and figures about what the growing gap between the world’s richest and poorest
• Stories of actual people who represent those facts and figures
• The author’s own personal journey through this process as he grapples with the enormity of the situation and his own life and personal resources

As one who has been on short term mission trips and seen “the other part of the world” I can attest to the feelings you have when you come back. The feelings of “I spend how much on WHAT?!?! while these people are starving?” And the confusion that brings. This book deals with those things and prompts you to act. Act in a way that is “our reasonable service”.

What about you? Would you be open to God’s call for your life?

OK, well maybe I am sometimes. Truth is, we all are. If you don’t feel fear, you are either dead or a fool. Of the three, I’ll admit to being afraid. Sometimes.

The real question is not “Should we feel fear?” but rather “When fear comes, then what?” This question and a host of others are addressed in Max Lucado’s new book – Fearless out today from Thomas Nelson publishers. In typical Lucado style, he takes a complex issue and breaks it down into small chunks you can deal with. Here’s a 60 second spot from the author.
The very topic of fear is overwhelming. Just thinking of it can paralyze you. However, if you look just at some of the more common “fear factors” they begin to seem less overwhelming, manageable even:

• Fear of not mattering
• Fear of disappointing God (personal one for me)
• Fear of overwhelming challenges (another one for me)
• Fear of not being able to protect one’s kids
• Fear of global calamity

Each one worth taking time to meditate on and find out what God has to say about it in scripture. All that is laced throughout the book:

“Why are you frightened?” He (Jesus) asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt?” Luke 24:37-38
(Don’t hurry past Christ’s casual connection between fright and doubt. Unanswered qualms make for quivering disciples.)   Page 142

“Jesus doesn’t want you to be afraid, nor do you.”   Page 12

If the Fear of What is Next is what grips you “Make friends with what is next.”   Page 132

Also laced throughout the book are subtle reminders of the time it which it is written. Right now as we are in the midst of – if you believe the media – “the worst economic time in history”. Max Lucado references this, however the message in this book will apply long after we are out of this present ditch.

You can read this book in a single, rainy afternoon and walk away feeling encouraged. Or you can take your time, look up the scripture references upon which he bases his arguments, meditate on them and ask God what He would have you learn.

“Somewhere between Pollyanna and Chicken Little, between blind denial and blatant panic, stands the levelheaded, clear-thinking, still-believing follower of Christ.”   Page 158

Tags: attitude, expectations, LinkedIn, perpective

Just finished Chuck Swindoll’s book on Elijah. This is book number five in his series “Great Lives from God’s Word”. I’m kind of a Swindoll fan as his radio program was a key part of forming my faith and beliefs in the early years of my Christian walk. Combine that with Elijah being a “kick butt, call fire down from heaven, Ultimate Fighter” kind of prophet and I was really looking forward to this one.

This particular book chronicles Elijah’s life from a slightly different perspective though. We may know about his strength through the Mt. Carmel Incident, we may know about his weakness from the Gentle Breeze Episode. However, what Swindoll does so well in this book is to take those episodes and the whole of Elijah’s life and look not at the heroism of Elijah, nor at his “human weakness”, but at the genuine humility of Elijah. He presents him in such a way that we see how easy it would be to get puffed up and full of pride at the mighty way God was using him – and the way others reacted to his very presence, and contrasts that to the way Elijah really responded. All the while tying in life applications.
From Elijah’s early years hiding out by a brook, waiting for God to provide him food via “crow delivery” as a boot camp in trusting God, to the very end when he was taken up in a fiery whirlwind, the process was a constant building and shaping. Each subsequent victory building on the faithfulness of the past. Many of the things that God called Elijah to do had less to do with the task at hand (rebuking pagan worshipping leaders for example) and more to do with forming the relationship between Lord and prophet. Which at the end of the day, is still the way it is now. God doesn’t “need” us to get something done. He uses us – if we are willing and obedient – and in that process shapes us to be who He really intends.

The book ends with a great summary of Elijah’s life and how, even though it was centuries ago, his responses and subsequent actions can be imitated today. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time to come.

Next stop: Max Lucado’s Fearless.

Tags: attitude