You’ve failed. Again. It’s time to reorganize. Start over. Begin again. Use a fresh approach, a new strategy. When you are discouraged, it’s probably not that you are doing the wrong thing, but you might be doing it in the wrong way. Our natural temptation is to give up on our dream. We think, “Maybe God didn’t give me this dream in the first place.” No, it’s probably just the opposite. However, it might be time to expand your vision and ask God to give you new ways of thinking.
I grew up with a father and a brother who were both avid golfers. My father attempted to teach me the game as well. I caught on but not to the extent that my brother did. I played more for fun than for competition. Now that I am much older, I decided that golf would be a good hobby since my children are grown and I needed something to do with all that time that was spent raising children! My husband and I play about once a week, weather permitting. As I have watched and played golf over the years, I’ve seen several leadership lessons that can be learned from the game of golf.
Summer typically signals the end of the school year. We plan time to vacation, visit families, travel to amusement or national parks, barbeques or maybe head to the beach. It may also be the time when our spiritual lives plateau. Like any fitness or exercise program, we need a spiritual wellness plan to remain active and avoid plateauing.
I’ve been thinking about events in my life recently and the impact they’ve had on who I’ve become as an adult.
Dictionary.com describes a defining moment as an event which typifies or determines all subsequent related occurrences; a point at which the essential nature or character of a person, group, etc., is revealed or identified.
A couple of years ago I was leading a Ministry Formation class on leadership when someone asked me: “What is the most difficult thing about helping people to become Jesus-like leaders?”
My brain told me I needed a moment to think about that. But my mouth blurted out an answer.
“Getting people to realize and appreciate that God really does love them unconditionally.”
And there it was. Out in front of God and everybody – or at least in front of the 25 or so people in the room.
A couple of years ago 65 leaders from Southern Ontario attended our first annual Nfluence conference at West Park Church, London. It was a great time to learn from three seasoned pastors, Dr. Dom Ruso, Steve Adams, and myself. In one session Dom explained how to empower the next generation. One insight he shared that particularly struck me was this.
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:31-32 (ESV)
In 1972, inspired by his military service, Jim Croce wrote and recorded the song “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels).” According to his widow, Ingrid, while at training, Croce felt disconnected from the things and people that he loved. He routinely saw lines of soldiers waiting to use the telephone, many calling about Dear John letters received. Because they did not always have telephone numbers or numbers had been changed, they relied on the help of the telephone operator to be connected.
What was your first reaction when you read the first word? Maybe you just cringed. Maybe you thought I don’t have enough of it. Maybe you thought that time was getting away from you as your kids, grandkids and others grow taller, older, smarter.
Springtime in the southern United States kicks off planting season. The ground is plowed, seeds are sown and watered, and then we wait.
