4 friends everyone needs

I saw this article on Lifeway and just had to post - enjoy;)

The Developer
Your best friend will always be the person who brings out the very best in you. According to Billy Graham, he wouldn’t have made it as an evangelist if he had to minister alone. Over 53 years ago, Billy Graham met his staff and best friends: Cliff Barrows, George Beverly Shea, and Grady Wilson. These three men protected him, strengthened him, counseled with their wisdom, and corrected him when he needed it. He is convinced that without these friends he would have burned out within a few years after his first groundbreaking crusade in 1949 (Just as I Am: The Autobiography of Billy Graham, pp. 125-129).

Developer friends will bring the gift of encouragement to your life and bring out the very best in you.

The Designer
We tend to think of mentors as a personal, hands-on coach. The Latin and Greek define them more as “advisors” or “wise men.” Jesus was a master mentor. He ministered to thousands, trained hundreds, equipped twelve, and had an intimate friendship with three men.

Designer mentors may live near or far, be acquaintances or strangers, or may even be dead. They “design” our lives through Scripture, books, tapes, articles, or seminars.

The Disturber
We need friends who will shake up our status quo. Disturbers ask us difficult questions, forcing us to take a closer look at motivations and ambitions. Disturbers know when we have retreated into our comfort zones, and they call us out to greater effectiveness. God uses disturbers in our lives to become the object of greater force that breaks inertia and propels us to greater achievement.

A biblical picture of a disturber is in Deuteronomy 32:11. In this passage the mother eagle tears up the soft nest to reveal sharp thorns that bring discomfort to the eaglets. Because of discomfort, the eaglets leave the nest and learn to fly. The mother develops her young by repeatedly pushing them out of the nest and catching them until they become skilled flyers. Eagles were never meant to stay in the nest and neither were we. The disturber pushes us to learn to fly.

The Discerner
In a lifetime of relationships, perhaps only a handful of people are willing to play this vital role because it requires mutual vulnerability. More popularly known as accountability partners, discerners bring the gift of spiritual insight into our lives. They know how to speak the truth in love. They know how to exhort and rebuke, seeking to keep their friend on the right track. They are also vulnerable—the true friends who will walk into the room of your life while everyone else is walking out.

Proverbs 27:6 reads, “The wounds of a friend are trustworthy, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.” Always be slow in choosing your discerners and even slower in leaving them.

If you are without close friendships, I urge you to seek them out.

When my brothers were to young to be wise

I am reading a great book right now called "This Beautiful Mess" by Pastor Rick McKinley. His preface is that Jesus said of the Kingdom of God that it was coming and is in you. While most evangelicals wait for the Kingdom, or claim to be building the Kingdom, Rick believes that the Kingdom of God is here now and is also coming. His plea is to recognize that even though it is not visible the Kingdom is here and that we are called to live in it and be signposts to others directing them towards the reality of the present Kingdom and the physical Kingdom that is coming when Christ returns. Here is a poem from the book that I really felt.

"When my brothers were to young to be wise but to old to name things creatively, they invented a game called: Let's take turns jumping off of Tom's roof and throw the cat after the person who jumped. At least they took turns... Later when my brothers were too young to be wise but old enough to put their scientific knowledge to use, they played a game called: Let's pour gas over this giant pile of weeds and light it on fire. At least the Doctor said that their eyebrows will grow back... Later when my brother was old enough to be depressed but too young to know how to cope, he would play a game called: Let's go to Tom's house and do a lot of drugs and drink all his step dad's beer. At least there was that one English teacher who asked id something was wrong... but what could you say? We are so poorly equipped to deal with these troubles, and there are so few doctors of the soul these days... What is there to do? I know some people who fight it all their lives, kicking against the goads until they bleed to death. Others, like Dad, ignore it, thinking that hard work, sunshine, and the passing of time will resolve it. Still others, like Mom, ostracize and cast blame by leaving condemnatory evangelical polemics taped to your bathroom mirror. But now my brothers and I are old enough to begin to be wise, yet still young enough to climb the cold roof to talk and to smoke. So I will play a new game called: Let's go and bear one another's burdens. At least I will not laugh at your pain, I will not try to fix your problems, I will not ignore your suffering or condemn you with my piety... I will simply lie here next to you in the cold while we breathe our smoky prayers to God." ~ Raeben Nolan

Music I am listing to today:
1. Calling on You - Stryper
2. 8th Grade - Chris Rice

Church Marketing?

This is a quote from an article by Al Mohler. He is the president of Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY and a prominent voice for the Southern Baptist Convention. The subject of the article was not directly what I am posting but is a response to a book written by George Barna called "revolution". Here he is pictured to the right. The half face makes him look like Nelson from the show Home Improvement. Can't you just smell the irony!? Kidding - that has nothing to do with the article... here goes.

"In God in the Wasteland, David F. Wells points to the problem of approaching the church from the angle of marketing. "A business is in the market simply to sell its products; it doesn't ask consumers to surrender themselves to the product. The church, on the other hand, does call for such a surrender. It is not merely marketing a product; it is declaring Christ's sovereignty over all of life and declaring the necessity of obedient submission to him and to the truth of his Word. When the church is properly fulfilling the task it has been assigned, it is demanding far more than any business would ever think of asking prospective customers. Simply put, the church is in the business of truth, not profit. Its message--the message of God's Word--enters the innermost place in a person's life, the place of secrets and anguish, of hope and despair, of guilt and forgiveness, and it demands to be heard and obeyed in a way that not even the most brazen and unprincipled advertisers would think of emulating.""

Pulling Teeth

Cameron had two teeth pulled today. We tried to pull them - well I say that but we weren't too aggressive with it because pulling teeth is a lot like ripping a nail off of someone else's finger. I just couldn't bring my self to pull really hard. And twisting the tooth... I just can't imagine twisting someone's tooth out of their head - AAGGHH!

A $300 dentist bill will change your mind real quick though. I will be pulling those teeth myself from now on. Heck I'll probably start tonight on the rest of them. What's the difference - they'll all come back by the tenth grade - right?

One tooth that was pulled today had been ridiculously loose for about 5 weeks and had finally lodged itself again sideways. It was a lesson to me that most bad habits have a small window to be corrected without help from a professional. God gives grace in that window to break a bad habit that holds you back. I heard John Maxwell say "You form habits, and then they form you." Don't wait to break a bad habit until it costs you dearly. Do it now and save yourself the trouble of needing professional help. God again gives grace to us in the pulling of our own teeth. Yank them out before it becomes more than you can handle.

That had to hurt!

My family and I went to the Columbus Zoo today and we saw this in the parking lot. This was shocking but what we saw when we drove around to the back of the car was just plain jaw dropping. It appears as if the car was just purchased due to the fact that it was still sporting a temporary tag. Oooh - Sorry 'bout your luck man.

Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality

I have been reading an excellent book by Dr. Henry Cloud. The book is entitled Integrity - The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality. If you read any of my previous blogs I refrenced "the diamond life" by Kevin Meyer. I am on first base which is character (developing leadership skills). Dr. Cloud says that someone's character is two sided and looks like a wake that is left from a boat. The two sides of the wake are relationships and results. Everything falls into one of these two categories. He mentions that character is only mastered by someone who continually gets better at what they do (results) and continually develops those around themselves (relationships). People of integrated character (all the parts working in union with one another) are defined by six characteristics.
1. Are able to connect with others and build trust
2. Are oriented toward reality
3. Finish Well
4. Embrace the negative
5. Are oriented toward increase
6. Have an understanding of the transcendent
I will go in detail with what I learn in a later post but i also recommend the book to anyone. Enjoy!
~Tim

The Diamond Life

I came across a sermon by a pastor down in Atlanta by the name of Kevin Meyer. He introduced a grid for personal growth quite like nothing I've ever heard. He calls it "the diamond life". It is in the shape of a baseball diamond and there is a point of growth at each base.

He says that everyone starts at home and finishes at home. You don't get to bat from first base just because you made it to the big leagues. Home plate represents (1) calling. When you discover God's unique direction for your life He grants you clearance to go to First base which represents (2) character-leading yourself successfully grants you clearance to go to Second base which represents (3) community-winning with others. Once you have learned to lead yourself and others this now allows you to go to third base which is (4) competency - winning at work. Lastly home plate stands for (5) significance. Kevin believes that you will not live a life of significance until you run the bases in the right order - calling, character, community, and lastly competency.

He makes mention of the verse in Romans 12:2 - Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Kevin makes the point that one of the patterns of the world is to run the bases backwards. I can't tell you what that did to me. It is so easy to run the bases backwards because it is not only accepted by others but expected. God will not bless a backwards base running pattern where his children run to third (competency) and cheat the other bases. They aren't just cheating others they are cheating themselves. Kevin asked the question "What is it called when you run the bases backwards?... Little League!".

It's only funny if you're five. After that we have to learn to run the bases in the right order. It is then and only then that God will allow you to win with significance after you honor Him with your calling, character, community, and competency.

The Diamond Life... Give it a go and let me know what you think.

~Tim