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I enjoy the daily email devotional from the Henri Nouwen Society

You may want to subscribe.  It is free and offers many excellent insights into our heart before God and in  a community of Christ followers.

Here is a taste!

Creating Space for God

Discipline is the other side of discipleship. Discipleship without discipline is like waiting to run in the marathon without ever practicing. Discipline without discipleship is like always practicing for the marathon but never participating. It is important, however, to realize that discipline in the spiritual life is not the same as discipline in sports. Discipline in sports is the concentrated effort to master the body so that it can obey the mind better. Discipline in the spiritual life is the concentrated effort to create the space and time where God can become our master and where we can respond freely to God’s guidance.

Thus, discipline is the creation of boundaries that keep time and space open for God. Solitude requires discipline, worship requires discipline, caring for others requires discipline. They all ask us to set apart a time and a place where God’s gracious presence can be acknowledged and responded to.

 

- Henri J. M. Nouwen

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Healthy Leaders, Leadership, Ministry Reports, Questions Coaches Hear, Resources

How I Serve Christ by Serving Leaders – Is there a way I can serve you?

RoyGLRetrSep2010dMaybe it is part mid-life crisis and part empty nest but I have been under a sense of deep conviction in recent weeks. The only way I know to say it is, ” I am aware that I will answer to God for what he has given me.

Am I being a faithful steward?

Where is the balance between ego driven marketing of one’s “products & services” and humbly letting people know of the assignment I sense God has given to me?

I am not sure I manage this tension well.  But I have been spending time with God seeking to get my motives right and to hear in a fresh way His assignment for me.  HERE IS MY LATEST VERSION OF MY CALLING STATEMENT

My contribution:
I assist and encourage Christ followers, and especially ministry leaders, to live vibrantly and effectively for the long haul.

HOW do I invest in this contribution: 3 PRIMARY WAYS – 

  • TEACHING is a grace gift entrusted by Jesus Spirit to me so I may contribute to Christ followers being transformed by his grace and truth.
  • COACHING is a set of skills I employ to help people get clarity and make progress in facilitating change.
  • WRITING is a discipline to grow me as a communicator and a means for sowing in other hearts what God has made alive and fruitful in me.

BEING A MAN WITH A LIFESTYLE OF:

  • TURNING to God in faith
  • REJOICING  in my Lord in hope
  • and loving God and others through HONORING and GIVING

One of the places I come alive is when I am sitting with leaders over coffee or tea!

This document overviews my ministry and should answer most questions a leader or group might have if they are seeing how I might contribute
(Click to Download)

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Resources

If You Want to Grow Spiritually Over The Next 12 Weeks…

Robertson McQuilkin has two new small group studies that are some of his best writing yet!
Living the Life 1: God’s Standard For Christian Living
Living the Life 2: God’s Provision For Christian Living


Go on a eye opening journey over 6 weeks through the 10 Commandments and how they summarize in our daily life how God defines loving Him with our whole heart and loving others as our self.

In Living the Life 2 be caught up in a fresh experience of your love life with Jesus through the inside partner, the Holy Spirit.

Each week study is divided up into five daily studies. At the end of each week are questions to guide a small group discussion.

These studies are the core of the most valuable seminary course I received from Robertson in 1980. They are now filled with authentic personal illustrations, challenging questions that get all the way to our heart motives, and eye opening insight into the Bible.

Do Not miss these! Roy King http://www.royking.org

Order today by calling 800.458.2772 or online at http://www.lifeway.com or at a local LifeWay Christian Store.

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Book Reviews, Resources

MUST READ FOR EVERY AMERICAN CHRISTIAN!

A study was done of American Pastors asking them to list the top issues or problems facing the church today. Every black pastor placed racial reconciliation near the top of their list. None of the white pastors even put it on their list. When I start sharing about what God is teaching me about reconciliation my fellow white Christians sometimes say, “Why are you living in the past?” “Civil Rights was fixed in the 60s.” The majority ethnic group in America (for just a few more years) just cannot seem to enter into the shoes of an African American brother or sister in Christ and even begin to see America through their eyes.

Pastor John Piper’s new book BLOODLINES: RACE, CROSS AND THE CHRISTIAN has been the study of our Wednesday 7 AM at Bojangle’s group of 2 white guys and 2 black guys for several months. We have laughed together, “Amened” (is that a word) together, and teared up together. God is doing some special stuff in our hearts.

Ask Jesus to give you eyes to see and ears to hear and then read this book.

To Buy BLOODLINES in book or Kindle Click Here

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Audio, Resources

Habits of Healthy Heart – A New Lifestyle

This summer I started putting together messages to capture the lessons God has been teaching me over the past year. Click below to download a note taking outline for the three messages. The audio from the chapel talks at Columbia International University http://www.ciu.edu are also provided here. Please give me your feedback as I continue to refine and add other messages to this series.

Click Here for Note Taking Outline for the Three Messages

Message 1 – A lifestyle of Turning To

Message 2 – A lifestyle of Rejoicing & Thanking

Message 3 – A lifestyle of Honoring & Giving

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Resources

My Medical Journey… Feb 8, 2012 ( a summary and update)

Wed Feb 8 – I am in the middle of my second week of working full time again. My schedule is about 40 hours a week for CIU and 16 hours of therapy and exercises spread over (Mon – Sat). I told Pandora yesterday that I felt very busy and was very tired by 8 PM each day but recovered well overnight and the pace seems sustainable. What is missing is my travel… Normal for several years has been at least 2 trips a month usually 3 to 4 days each and often over weekends. Add to that one or two International trips of 2+ weeks each and you add in quite a bit of planning travel, preparing messages and training, Skype and Phone calls to get to know the church, ministry or leader I was coaching, and it added several hours to every week. For 2012, because of blood clots and thinners to deal with them my travel is very limited. I have not been out of Columbia since the end of October — a record for nights home for the past 15 years.

But God surely knows what is good… because right now the work at CIU and therapy seems a full plate. HERE IS HOW YOU CAN PRAY FOR ME OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS!
Thurs Feb 23 – Speak in CIU chapel http://www.ciu.edu – Title – WHISPERS OF THE SPIRIT IN THE I.C.U. (10:50 to 11:40) open to everyone!
Sunday Feb 26 – Preach both services at Sandhills Community Church http://www.sandhillschurch.org (services: 9 and 10:45 AM) Title – LIVING THE LIFE GOD INTENDED FOR US! Both will be recorded and the audio will be available a few days after I speak for free download.

I continue to get calls or people coming by who have just heard that I had a serious medical stop out and they had missed it. They are very apologetic and want to know what has happened. So — here is my word to those folks AND just below you will find links in chronological order to the posts that will catch you up.

FIRST — let go of any guilt or disappointment that you missed out on this chapter of my journey. It is a very busy world and we all are living in our own story with the Father, Son and Spirit. We can simply not absorb everyone’s story that we may know or have served with at some point. My family and I were MORE than well cared for by God’s church. I am thankful there are ripples of some influence that have been granted by God’s grace to flow out through students, alumni and churches I have been privileged to give to of what God has given to me. But I don’t expect everyone to keep up with my rather fast changing complicated scene that the Father assigned to me. SO — relax..chill…and be blessed!

Here is the journey that started November 4 and will probably continue to influence my time and energy for most of 2012 — as predicted by my care providers.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three (includes a pdf you can download of Scripture that has encouraged me)
Part Four (includes a devotional by Henri Nouwen)
Part Five (I received more comments and calls from this post than any I have made in the past year!)
Part Six (includes two photos taken by my son during my time in ICU)

I welcome any comments and advise!

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Book Reviews, Questions Coaches Hear, Resources

Recommended Book: FROM EVERY PEOPLE AND NATION: A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF RACE by J. Daniel Hays

Published in 2003 by IVP New Studies in Biblical Theology (series editor D.A. Carson)

This book explores a tension between blacks and whites in American in their perception of race problems. Dr. Isaac Mwase, a Black professor and pastor says the race problem is THE most important issue facing the Church today. In contrast Daniel summarizes the view of race by most white evangelicals (of which I am one) as 1) Still entrenched in inherited racism and only interested in the Bible if it reinforces their prejudiced views. 2) Many people assume the Bible simply does not speak to the race issue or 3) Many other whites are simply indifferent to the problem assuming the status quo is acceptable and the Bible supports their current practices. I was probably between descriptions two and three just 10 years ago. Reading this book is another step in seeking to bring racial issues under the authority of Scripture. I am seeking to answer the question, “How should a white man in the early 21st century express being a Christ follower?” Daniel Hays research helped me in my journey.

He confirms some things I had suspected in going back through Bible commentaries and surveys (written by white authors) that I had studied over the past 40 years..there were not only blind spots there was poor scholarship and errors being perpetuated. He also challenged me to read the Scripture with a more accurate perception of race and ethnic diversity that I had for the most part read over. His book follows a biblical flow with chapters covering sections of the Old Testament and then the New — ending with God’s vision of the kingdom found in John’s Revelation.

In his FINAL THOUGHTS he captures well what is becoming a frequent theme in my prayers:
“Most of us know the theological truth of racial equality, yet we waver and remain tentative. . . we still have strong ties to the old ways of our culture and we are reluctant to venture out in trust into new sociological areas, where all races are equal in practice and not just in theory. . . My hope lies in the next generation of Christians, aptly called ‘Generation X’. . . I am optimistic that they can sever the ties with the ‘old man’ from our culture and make some real progress toward the vision of Christian unity that the Scriptures present. . . What it needs is leadership: pastors, teachers, parents, and peers; people who will teach, challenge, rebuke, encourage, dream and weep until the church actualizes the unity that lies on the heart of our Lord.”

WILL YOU AND I BE SOME OF THOSE LEADERS?

CLICK HERE TO BUY THIS BOOK FROM AMAZON

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Resources

Medical Update as of Jan 23, 2012

Monday Jan 23 marked exactly 2 months since I came home from the hospital.  

Here a couple of photos from my time there.  

One is me on the ventilator and the other is first evening out of ICU and in a chair with my son Mark helping me with my breathing therapy.

On Jan 23 – my allergist said all tests have been negative and there is no need to follow-up.  I am to stay away from Benicar and all ACE inhibitors and ARB medications.

I have set some goals you can join me in prayer for:
Going to the beach in mid-Feb for a weekend.  (First time out of town)
Going on a backpacking trip with Mark and some guys in April.
Increasing to a full-time employee w/ CIU in February
Doing my therapy exercises 6x a week (75 minutes each) and 3x week cardio (at least 30 minutes)
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Resources

Recommended Read: MISSIONAL COMMUNITIES by Reggie McNeal

My granddaughter and I would like to suggest you make Reggie’s new book MISSIONAL COMMUNITIES a read for this coming year.

BIG IDEA: From page 13 “A post-congreational culture requires a strategy of engaging people right where they already live, work, play, go to school, and pursue their hobbies and passions. It’s incarnational. It lets them live more intentionally, learning to love God and their neighbors more, making a contribution to their community, all with people they know and are known by. This is the recipe for a new church life form — missional communities.”

ONE FAVORITE QUOTE: What is the missional concept of church? From page 17 “the people of God partnering with him in his redemptive mission in the world.” He then goes on to unpack each phrase.

The majority of the book looks at various missional communities around the world in a case study style. 1) European missional communities, 2) Soma communities (primarily in NW USA but spreading, 3) UT Austin campus, 4) Future Travelers Cohort (two communities were the focus: Austin Stone Church, Austin Tx, and Community Christian Church Naperville, IL), 5) Mission Huston.

RELATED RESOURCES:
Leadership Network www.leadnet.org

OneHundredX (a global ministry with initiatives around the world www.100x.org

For Britain and missional communities check out FRESH EXPRESSIONS by Church of England and Methodists in cooperation

For churches networking to work at being missional communities see THE EXPONENTIAL NETWORK and NEW THING NETWORK

TO PURCHASE MISSIONAL COMMUNITIES FROM AMAZ0N CLICK HERE!

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