Leadership Thought: The Best Booster Club You Could Ever Join.

Dear Friends,

One of my favorite words is affirmation. It has been called the second cousin to encouragement.

When I think of the word affirm, I think of making something firm, for that is what affirmation does. It firms up and strengthens sagging spirits.

I love to be on the lookout for someone doing something positive and then come alongside them and give them an affirmation ‘boost.’

The painter Benjamin West was just trying to be a good babysitter for his little sister, Sally. While his mother was out, Benjamin found some bottles of colored ink and proceeded to paint Sally’s portrait. But by the time Mrs. West returned, inkblots stained the table, chairs, and floor.

Benjamin’s mother surveyed the mess without saying a word until she saw the picture. Picking it up, she exclaimed, “Why, It’s Sally!” and she bent down and kissed her young son.

West was always fond of pointing out that it was his mother’s kiss that made him a painter, and a famous one at that.

Proverbs 25:1, says “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”

West’s mother’s words were ‘fitly spoken’ and unleashed Benjamin’s prodigious talent and painting.

Not only do children need affirmation, but everyone needs it.

Both young and old need to hear those powerful words that can strengthen our spirits.

So let me suggest that you always keep your eyes open wide in search of someone to firm up, support and sustain.

Those words, “you did a great job,” “I appreciate your kindness,”  “I love your smile,” “I’m amazed at your energy” might be the words that can make a difference in one’s day and maybe even one’s life.

Even though it happened in 1972, I still remember the words a respected pastor spoke to me over the phone: “Tom, you would be a perfect fit for the position,” and those affirming words forever changed me and my ministry.

So, if are not already a charter member of the “Affirmation Booster Club,” join today. You’ll make someone glad you did.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: You Can't Have Enough Good Friends Living in Your Home.

Dear Friends,

Tucked away in the Apostle Paul’s closing remarks to Timothy is a verse that is easy to miss. Paul writes, “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments (2 Timothy 4:13). Scholars suggest that the parchments may have been part of the Old Testament. In any event, this got me to thinking about the importance of good books and what friends they have been to me over the years of my ministry.

Some of my friends have been sitting on my shelves for over 50 years, but like the Word, there some things that never grow old.

There has always been a battle brewing in the Crenshaw household over the number of friends I have brought home. I remember as we were leaving Fort Lauderdale to retire 14 years ago, I found an old cardboard box Jean had dumped in the corner of my office with a note that said, “Sort out the most important 100 books and put them in the box and give the rest away.” Those words struck terror in my heart. Get rid of my friends. Send them packing. “No, no, no, I can’t do it,” I cried.

The retirement part didn’t work out any better than her efforts to ditch my friends. Most all of them traveled north with me and found residence on a new set of shelves that take up most of my office.

Only a lover of books can understand and appreciate how difficult it is to give your books away. Maybe I am just  selfish for I know my library takes up considerable space in my office, and in my apartment, but you can’t just walk away from your friends.

Years ago, I copied down a quote that has stayed with me to this day. It was Mark Twain who said, “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read at all.” 

Abraham Lincoln said, "My best friend is a person who will give me a book," and Thomas Jefferson said, "I cannot live without books. "Leaders are readers." They are always searching for new ideas and looking to discover new information.

One of the best sharing questions I know is, “What books have had the greatest impact on your life and why? When I think about this question, I find myself hard pressed to limit my answers for there have been so many books that I  am not sure where to begin or where to stop.

I acknowledge that if there is any wisdom that comes from my mouth, it has probably come from someone I have read, and while I may not remember his or her name, their wisdom has permeated my mind and left its imprint on my thinking.

Books are wonderful friends, and you can't have too many.  But if you could choose but one friend, let that friend be the Bible, for contained within it is all the wisdom, truth, and knowledge one needs to possess to live in victory today, tomorrow and for all eternity. The Bible is your greatest friend and your dearest companion!

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: Books and Authors Who Have Influenced My Life.

Dear Friends

This morning as I looked beyond my computer to a bookshelf filled with favorite friends, I took a few moments to reflect on how these friends have impacted my life.

I have never personally met any of the authors of these friends, but I live with daily gratitude for the truths they have shared over the years, truths which have forever impacted and influenced my life and ministry

I have learned leadership principles from John Maxwell, preaching insights from Chuck Swindoll, parenting skills from James Dobson, biblical truths from Warren Wiersbe, and devotional inspiration from Oswald Chambers.

I think of other writers like Oswald Sanders, David Jeremiah, Randy Alcorn, Win Arn, Peter Wagner, James Kennedy, and Philip Yancy, all of whom penned words of timely truth that addressed specific areas of need in my life. 

I am indebted to these writers, as well and others like them, but if I had to choose only one from a list of influential authors, it would be Rick Warren, whose wisdom and insights have most profoundly impacted my practice and understanding of ministry.

Rick recently retired after 40 years of ministry at Saddleback Church in California, a church he started, and one which grew to be one of the largest and most influential churches in the world. In 2002 Rick, who once was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, wrote The Purpose Driven Life, which according to the George Barna Research Institute is the second most influential book ever written.

Today over 30 million copies of the book have been sold. The book became so successful that it generated enough income to enable Rick to return his last 25 years of church salary to his church. That should be enough to make almost anyone curious enough to read his book.

What I appreciate about Rick is his record of personal integrity and his ability to present spiritual truth in clear, concise and practical ways.

I always keep handy his “Purpose Driven Life” booklet, containing the first 7 chapters of The Purpose Driven Life, which is a wonderful resource to share with both believers and unbelievers alike.

I am on Pastor Rick’s e-mail devotional list, and this morning I received a message that sparked today's Leadership Thought. I share it as a sample of the writing that has touched and impacted millions of lives

Should you appreciate the thoughts expressed in his devotional below, I would encourage you to pick up a copy of The Purpose Driven Life. I think you’ll be glad you did.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

P.S. “We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.” Rick Warren

Plant Now and Be Patient

November 25

by Rick Warren “Let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest.” Galatians 6:9 (GNT) The time to start planting is now. I talk to people all the time who say, “One of these days, I’m going to . . . ” They’re going to serve more or give more when they retire, or when they get a raise—one of these days.  But “one of these days” is none of these days. You can’t wait for things to get better; you need to start planting now. Why? Because the sooner you plant, the longer you’re going to enjoy the harvest in your life. But the harvest is not always going to come in your time. There’s always a delay between sowing and reaping. You plant in one season, and you harvest in another.  You have to be patient and not give up! This is one of the principles that the Kingdom of God operates on. In Mark 4:26-28, Jesus says, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head” (NIV). The results will come, but they will come slowly and as part of a process. And because it takes time, you have to choose to be patient: “Let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest”(Galatians 6:9 GNT). Choose to forget about last year’s crop failure. Instead, start focusing on the long-term harvest in your life. If you’re in financial difficulty, you didn’t get that way overnight. You took years to mess things up, and it’s going to take a while to put things back together. There is a time of delay between sowing and reaping. The Bible says in Psalm 126:5-6, “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest” (NLT). What loss have you been grieving over? Maybe you’ve lost your job. Maybe you’ve lost your health. Maybe you’ve lost a loved one. Maybe you’ve lost your savings. Maybe you’ve lost half of your retirement in the last few years. Maybe you’ve lost your dream. Mourning is okay; moaning is not. Instead of moaning, get moving!  Today is the day to plant the seed.

Leadership Thought: A Personal Thanks to Those of You Who Have Changed My Life.

Dear Friend,

As I sit with in front of my computer and the morning light begins to stream through my window, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the life God has given me.

I read a greeting from my son's college football coach and pondered his closing admonition: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” from Dr. Seuss. I was grateful for this reminder.

How blessed I am for the countless friends I enjoy who have brought smiles to my face and joy to my heart. I count them among my greatest blessings.

Just yesterday I sat with one of those dear friends for breakfast. We were enjoying our time together when something he said suddenly touched my heart, and I began to weep uncontrollably. However, at that moment I felt no embarrassment because I knew I was with a friend who would understand.

Laughter and tears are qualities that only true friends can enjoy together.

As I reflect on that that breakfast, I am filled with gratitude for the countless friends I have enjoyed who have touched and blessed my life, and those of you receiving this greeting-you are counted among them.

In 50 years of ministry, coaching, teaching, and writing, I have accumulated many kinds of friends, and each one of them has impacted me in uniquely different ways. Every friend is a precious and treasured commodity in my bank of memories, and if you're reading this you included in that bank of memories, and I say thanks.

Someone said, "Old age is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes," and I can attest to that.

There is still so much I still want to accomplish before that roll reaches it; end, and that is what gets me up every morning and fills me with anticipation and excitement, and so today I look forward to the ways my life will be different because of the things I will have learned and the people I will have met.

So, I say thanks to you who are pastors, coaches, teachers, mentors, teammates, children, relatives and yes, readers who have encouraged me and blessed my life in so many ways. I am thankful for all of you, but most of all I am thankful for the One who has made it all possible, my Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation I enjoy and the peace I possess through faith in Him.

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and again I say thanks for your friendship and the blessing you have been to Jean and I and our family.  We love you!

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: Who Says Prayer Can't Do the Miraculous?

Dear Friends

There is a remarkable story about intercessory prayer told by author and preacher Tony Campolo.

A prayer meeting was held for him just before he spoke at a Pentecostal College chapel service. Eight men took Tony to a back room of the chapel, had him kneel, laid their hands on his head, and began to pray. That’s a good thing, Tony wrote, except that they prayed a long time, and the longer they prayed, the more tired they got, and the more tired they got, the more they leaned on his head. “I want to tell you that when eight guys are leaning on your head, it doesn’t feel so good.”

To make matters worse, one of the men was not even praying for Tony. He went on, and on praying for someone named Charlie Stoltzfus: “Dear Lord, you may know Charlie Stoltzfus. He lives in that silver trailer down the road a mile. You know the trailer, Lord, just down the road on the right-hand side.” (Tony said he wanted to inform the pray-er earlier that it was not necessary to furnish God with directional material.)  “Lord, Charlie told me this morning he’s going to leave his wife and three kids. Step in and do something, God. Bring that family together.”

Tony writes that he finally got the Pentecostal preachers off his head delivered his message, got in his car to drive home. As he drove onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike, he noticed a hitchhiker. I'll let him tell it from here: We drove a few minutes and I said, "Hi my name is Tony Campolo. What’s yours?” He said, “My name is Charley Stoltzfus.”

I couldn’t believe it! I got off the turnpike at the next exit and headed back. He got a bit uneasy with that, and after a few minutes, he said,  “Hey Mr., where are you taking me?” I said, “I’m taking you home.”

He narrowed his eyes and asked, “Why?”

I said, "Because you just left your wife and three kids, right?” That blew him away. “Yeah! Yeah, that’s right.”  With shock written all over his face, he plastered himself against the car door, and never took his eyes off me.

Then I really did him in as I drove right to his silver trailer. When I pulled up, his eyes seemed to bulge as he asked, "How did you know that I lived here?” I said, “God told me.”  (I believe God did tell me).

When he opened the trailer door, his wife exclaimed, “Your back! Your back!” He whispered in her ear, and the more he talked, the bigger, her eyes got.

Then I said with real authority, “The two of you sit down. I’m going to talk and you are going to listen!” Man, did they listen! That afternoon, I led those two young people to Jesus Christ. (John Ortberg, The Life You Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People.

Not all our intercessory prayer experiences will turn out as dramatic as this one, but God can do incredible things when we intercede for others.

There is power unleashed when people pray. But too often we don’t receive answers to our prayer because we don’t really expect answers from our prayers.

We are like the church that “prayed without ceasing” (Acts 12:5) for Peter’s release from prison and then when he was miraculously released and showed up on their doorstep, they didn’t believe it could be him.

Let us be reminded of the words of John Wesley who said, “God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.”

Let the saints of God remain on bended knees.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: When Was the Last Time You Heard Those Words “I Blew It, I’m Sorry and I Apologize?”

Dear Friends,

Last night I heard words I hadn’t heard for a long time. On a zoom call during our umpire association trustee meeting, I heard one of our leaders admit “I blew it,” “I screwed up,” “It’s my fault and I’m sorry and I apologize to all of you.”

How refreshing to hear someone acknowledging a mistake and take responsibility for it.

When was the last time you heard a politician echo those words: “I was wrong” I made a mistake and I apologize.”

If you did, it was probably because he/she got caught doing something wrong, and was now trying to do damage control  rather than openly and honestly admitting the mistake and without excuse taking full responsibility for it

Simply put, when “we mess up we need to fess up.”

The more you do in life, the more you will fail, but the more you fail, the more you can learn if you are anxious and willing to admit those mistakes and learn from them.

Be honest and “don’t chase you mistakes.” Admit them, realize we all make them, and then move on.

People will appreciate and learn from your example. They will respect you and you will build greater trust with them when they see you are honest and open about your mistakes.  Honestly, transparency and vulnerability should be key words in every leader’s vocabulary.

Rather than losing respect for someone who makes a mistake, I gain respect for that person who openly acknowledges it.

Believers should be  aware of the importance of acknowledging our mistakes for as the apostle Peter writes “we are to “Confess (our) faults one to another, and pray one for another, that (we) may be healed.” James 5:16.

So, whether in the office, at home, or in church, be reminded of the value of honesty, transparency, and vulnerability in addressing your failures and mistakes.

And when do make one, admit it and take ownership of it. Humble yourself and acknowledge your mistakes and move on with your life. “Be humble and you won’t stumble.”

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

P.S. General Peyton C. March wrote: “Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error.” Quote taken from the internet

Leadership Thought: A Remarkable Story of Forgiveness.

Dear Friends,

In Winning God’s Way, Loren Cunningham, the founder of YWAM (the Christian ministry “Youth with a Mission”) shares a powerful story of how God can use forgiveness to bring a person to faith in Christ.

In Paris, just prior to World War II, there lived a Frenchman of Italian extraction named Enrico. He was in the construction business. Not long after he had come to know Christ as his personal Savior, he was out late one-night walking near his lumber yard. Just then, he saw two shadowy figures jump out of a truck and make their way into his lumberyard. He paused and prayed. “Lord, what should I do?” A plan came to his mind. He walked over to the two men, who by now were already loading some of his lumber onto their truck. Quietly, he started helping them load the lumber.

After a few minutes, he asked them, “‘What are you going to use the lumber for?”

They told him, and he pointed to a different pile of lumber. “That stuff over there will be better for your purposes,” he explained.

When the truck was filled, one man said to Enrico, “You are a good thief!”

“Oh, but I am not a thief,” he replied.

“Yes, you are! You’ve been helping us out here in the middle of the night. You knew what we were doing.”

“Yes, I knew what you were doing, but I am not a thief,” he said. “You see, I’m not a thief because this is my lumberyard, and this is my lumber.”

The men became very frightened. The Christian replied, “Don’t be afraid. I saw what you were doing, and I decided not to call the police. Evidently you just don’t know how to live right yet, so I am going to teach you. You can have the lumber, but first I want you to hear what I have to say.”

He had a captive audience. The men listened to him, a relationship was formed and within three days both men were converted. One became a pastor and the other a church elder. A load of lumber was a cheap price to pay for two souls, especially when you consider that Jesus taught us that one soul is worth more than the whole world.

It wasn’t just the gift of lumber that led those two men to Christ. It was his act of forgiveness extended to them when they were caught in the act of stealing. They knew Enrico could have them arrested and they knew that instead, this man was forgiving them, even before they repented. It was like Jesus on the cross-extending forgiveness to us before we repented.

Psalm 32:1-5 reminds us that God not only forgives our sin, but He restores our soul. He takes away the guilt of our sin just as the old Gospel hymn writer expresses,            

“O precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow.

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

There is not only power in the blood to forgive sin but there is power to remove it, and as the late great saint Corrie Ten Boom used to say, “to bury it in the deepest part of the ocean where God puts up His sign that says, ‘No fishing.’” And once removed a new creation is fashioned out of the  one, and while the old man has passed away, the new man is born for eternity. (Paraphrase of  2 Corinthians 5:17).

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

 

Leadership Thought: A Good Time to Graduate from Kindergarten.

Dear Friends,

During this Pandemic when life has slowed its pace for many of us, what a wonderful opportunity we have to grow and improve in some area of our lives.

We have a cottage on Lake Ontario in northern New York, and one of our most significant annual family traditions was to measure the annual growth of our children. One of the first actions they would take after our five-and-a-half-hour pilgrimage to the lake would be to run into our bedroom, where Jean and I would measure them to see how many inches they had grown over the previous year. I remember how excited they were to be measured. They seem to take competitive pride in noting who had grown the most. Those growth marks are still penciled on the wall of our bedroom. This past summer I was once again reminded of these visual growth testimonies, and I thought to myself how grateful Jean and I are that all of our children are healthy and still growing-albeit not in the physical sense as measured by some old pencil marks on a wall, but in the spiritual sense of maturing in their understanding of who they are as children of the King. There is no stunted growth in any of their lives. 

The Apostle Peter reminds us that we are to "grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ". (2 Peter 3:18). "Like newborn babies, crave spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good" (1 Peter 2:2-3).   Growth like children is not automatic for as Tennessee Ernie Ford used to say (I know this reference really dates me) "Too many people start out at the bottom and sort of like it there."  How sad that many of our lives are spiritually stunted, maybe because we stopped growing many years ago, and sadly we are now learning that death begins where growth ends. 

I don't remember who said it, but many years ago I copied a quote that I have never forgotten, the writer said, "When someone misses the opportunity for growth and improvement, he may feel regret. If he goes long enough without growing, he begins to feel he has had an unused life. And that is not unlike an early death". 

How unlike the words of William Barclay, the author of one of the best New Testament commentaries ever written who wrote, "We should count it a wasted day when we do not learn something new and when we have not penetrated more deeply into the wisdom and the grace of God."  

It is easy to be like the child who decided he would quit school. He said "I hate school; it’s an awful place. All they do is ask a lot of questions. I can't write. I don't know how to read, and they won't let me talk. There is nothing to it, so I quit."  "But son," the dad said, "you are only in kindergarten."  And there are some who still may be at that kindergarten stage of their spiritual development. They haven't gone far enough for the fun. They are spirituality stunted, stagnant saints who have never learned that death begins where growth ends. 

Only toadstools pop up overnight. Growth takes time, it takes effort, and it takes a steadfast commitment to daily self-improvement. One of my favorite writers was the legendary basketball coach John Wooden who once said, "It is what you learn after you know it all that counts." 

So, my encouragement to all of us, myself included, is to find that spiritual wall in your home and see how you measure up. Are you growing and if not, why not? Today can be the start of a new commitment to spiritual growth, and a good place to begin is at Genesis 1:1 and a wonderful place to end is Revelation 22:21. I promise if you read everything in between you will be a different person, maybe becoming a spiritual giant in comparison with what you were a few years ago. 

I end with the words of a senior saint who ends his correspondence, with these closing words: "Yours at 83 and still growing." 

May each of us capture his spirit.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Pastor Tom

Leadership Thought: Content or Covetous?

Dear Friends,

We have heard that “the grass is always greener on the other side of the street,” and that is often true. But as someone once remarked, "so also is the water bill.” You and I have an awful habit of comparing ourselves and what we have with those who have more.  As a result, we often miss the best God has for us because we fail to appreciate the blessings we already have.

The Apostle Paul provides us a model for the contented life. He tells us no matter what the situation, “I have learned the secret of contentment” (Philippians 4:12). No matter what my circumstances, whether I live under a bridge or in a penthouse, whether I am rich or poor I have learned to be content because contentment comes from within and not from without.

Unfortunately, in today’s world when we are bombarded by ads of every variety that are always promising comfort and convenience, happiness and contentment, we are tempted to think we will also find that happiness in some product or some service. But these things seldom bring happiness or contentment. Just ask some of the lottery winners whose newfound wealth has brought them nothing but misery and discontentment. 

We are too much like the guy described in the following bit of doggerel:

“As a rule, mans a fool

When it cool, he wants it hot.

And when it’s hot, he wants it cool.

Always wanting what is not.”

Happiness comes from within and not without. If there is a vacuum within your heart, Satan will steal in and convince you that happiness is found in a credit card. However, like cotton candy, our purchases may bring temporary pleasure, but soon after the purchase we want something newer and bigger, which almost always means more money. As someone said, “greed has a growling stomach.”

Paul tells us in Philippians 4:10, “My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”.

Christ will meet all of our needs, but never all our greed. God wants the best for us, but often we miss that best because we fail to recognize the blessings we already possess.

An ancient Persian legend tells of a wealthy man by the name of Al Haffed, who owned a large farm. One evening a visitor related to him tales of fabulous amounts of diamonds that could be found in other parts of the world, and of the great riches they could bring him. The vision of all this wealth made him feel poor by comparison. So instead of caring for his own prosperous farm, he sold it and went out to find these treasures. But the search proved to be fruitless. Finally, penniless and in despair, he committed suicide by jumping into the sea.

Meanwhile, the man who had purchased his farm noticed one day the glint of an unusual stone in a shallow stream on the property. He reached into the water, and, to his amazement, he pulled out a huge diamond. Later when working in his garden, he uncovered many more valuable gems. Poor Al Haffed had spent his life traveling to distant lands seeking jewels, when on the farm he had left behind were all the precious stones his heart could have ever desired.

Security can never be found in a safe deposit box. Jesus has taught us that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15), and He advised his disciples “to lay up treasures for themselves in heaven rather than on earth” (Mt. 6:19f).

Let us never forget that contentment never comes from the accumulation of things, but from the assurance that “God will never leave us or forsake us”, and that’s a promise we can count on.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Pastor Tom

P.S.  "Contentment is realizing that God has already given me everything I need for my present happiness." Bill Gothard

Leadership Thought: A Rescinded Letter of Resignation I Wrote to a Church Three Decades Ago.

Dear Friends

One of the challenges of producing a daily “Leadership Thought” is sometimes you wake up and you are just not sure of a subject or topic to share. This morning was one of those mornings. I  sat at my computer wondering what to write, and then suddenly out of nowhere the word endurance came to mind.

Endurance has played a key part in my life whether in teaching, coaching, or pastoring, and yes, even in marriage. I went to my file cabinet and pulled out a folder with articles I had saved on the subject. Among those articles was something that I had written to a church in 1990- July 22^nd to be exact. As I began to read the letter, I was overcome with feelings of love and gratitude for the people to whom I wrote this letter.

I share this letter for anyone who, like I was and who might be going through a rough patch in your life, and who might need to find the hope and endurance needed to “keep on keeping on.” I share my letter

 Dear Friends and Members,  

"On my wall hangs a portrait of a runner, approaching a long and steady incline that would pose a challenge for any runner. The caption reads, “The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running.”

"The ministry is more like a marathon than a 100-yard dash. Most everyone can run 100 yards, (some a lot faster than others) but not everyone can run a marathon. The key to running a successful marathon, is more dependent on endurance than on speed. This analogy surfaced in my mind before I walked into our special session meeting last Monday night."

"As most of you know, I had left for vacation, having submitted my resignation. I have since learned why it is an unwritten rule that no pastor should ever suddenly resign on a Monday, after a staff or session meeting or before a vacation."

"I was tired and discouraged.  For two months, I seriously questioned whether I had the creative energy, enthusiasm, and endurance to lead this church. These qualities, along with vision, have always been characteristic traits of my ministry. They were gone. I was empty and I couldn’t seem to catch my second wind, The hills stretched out before me were steeper and more daunting. I was spent and I couldn’t catch my second wind. I had become a passive leader, and I knew that a passive leader was not what the church needed or deserved."

"In retrospect, I realized I had viewed my ministry as more of 100-yard dash that a marathon. I hadn’t paced myself, and quite frankly, I didn’t feel I had enough within to finish the race. However, a short vacation provided me with a new perspective. I spent two days by myself at a spiritual retreat center, and I read a book by Tim Hansel, You ‘Gotta’ Keep ‘Dancin, and this book and the 13 pages of legal pad notes that I recorded from my reading provided me with a fresh perspective on my ministry That weekend provided a time of spiritual restoration, something that I so desperately needed."

"The multitude of cards, letters, and phone calls I received over the course of the last five weeks, as well as the petition, signed by so many of you urging me to reconsider my decision, provided the most encouraging affirmation I have ever experienced in  20+ years of ministry. Your encouragement and affirmation were like a runner’s tailwind, adding strength to my weary legs, and oxygen to my gasping lungs. Knowing that so many of you were meeting, both formally and informally to pray regarding my decision, provided a piece that was clearly supernatural in nature."

"After returning from my retreat, I had the following impression clearly imprinted on my mind- ‘If I am convinced that God has called me to this church, and I am, and if I have not been clearly convinced that God is leading me away from this church, then could that not be a sign that He desires me to remain."

"At last Monday night’s session meeting, I shared my intention to use the next six months to determine if I might experience the kind of restoration and renewal I needed and that were a necessary requisite for effective leadership. After a wonderful time of sharing our thoughts and perspectives on ministry together, the session affirmed my decision to continue as your pastor."

"In closing, let me thank you for your tremendous support an affirmation during these last few weeks. You’re many letters and expressions of love, and concern have meant more to me than you could ever imagine. They provided the physical and spiritual energy that would be on the necessary requisites for effective leadership. After a wonderful time of sharing our thoughts and perspectives on ministry together, the session affirmed my decision to continue as your pastor."

"In closing, let me thank you for your tremendous support and affirmation during these last few weeks. Your many letters and expressions of love, support and encouragement meant more to me than you could ever imagine. They helped provide me a second wind. They lengthened my stride and quickened my spirit."

"May we continue to pray for one another and may each one of us be reminded that the race is not always to the swift, but to the one who keeps on running. And above all, “Let each of us run with perseverance, the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (and let us) not grow weary or lose heart (Hebrews 12:2–3 NIV)."

Yours in ministry,

Pastor Tom

P.S. A few years ago I came across Tim Hansel’s book and rediscovered inside the book the 13 pages of hand written notes I had taken while on my retreat 32 years ago, and today they remain as a constant reminder that it is not always the most fleet of foot that wins the race, but the one who is the prodder, who endures and refuses to quit because he knows that “slow and steady wins the race.”

Leadership Thought: Are You an “Unfair Weather” Friend.

Dear Friends,

Those who know me well, know that I love country music, real country, or classic country as it is better known. I love Johnny, and Randy, and Willie, and Merle and Waylon and George Jones and the like.  A few months ago, I called out to my good friend Alexa, and said “Alexa, play me some Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson,” and she did. And while I know most every song that Willie and Merle ever sang; I didn’t know the one she played. I listened as my old friends musically reminisced about what it means to be “unfair weather” friends which happens to be the title of the song.

In that song two of country's greatest musical troubadours beautifully define the meaning of friendship. Read and listen to their words.

“I might wind up stuck out on some old forgotten highway
Somehow you'll show up and sure enough be ‘goin' my way
You're always there, right where you've always been
My come whatever, unfair weather friend
I don't have to wonder where'll you be if I should need you
All I have to do is close my eyes and I can see you
Always there, right where you've always been
Sometimes this whole world is my worst enemy
And I know where to run when it gets to me
No one else but you can make it all make sense
My come whatever, unfair weather friend”

Jean and I have accumulated a lot of friends over the years, and we are so how grateful for every one of them. I remember the time we sat down over Christmas a few years ago and took time to re-read a huge stack of cards and letters that we had received during a period when we were both recovering from cancer surgeries. During that time, we again savored every line of  love and encouragement expressed within those letters  from so many of our  “unfair weather” friends. We were once again reminded of the fact that friends can be wonderful medicine for the soul.

One is lucky to have friends, but one is especially blessed to have “unfair weather” friends who, as one writer expressed it, “will  step in when the whole world steps out.” These are the kind of friends who will show up on your doorstep at the time you need them the most.

One of the greatest “unfair weather” friends in the Bible was Onesiphorous, a little-known friend of the Apostle Paul. Onesiphorous visited Paul while in prison and who “refreshed him and was not ashamed of his chains” (2 Tim 1:16). Onesiphorous certainly lived up to his name which meant “bringing profit,” and he did just that for Paul.  Onesiphorous left his family in Ephesus and traveled a great distance to Rome, spending two months encouraging Paul while he was imprisoned. He expended his time and money and risked his own life to make the long arduous journey to bring food, clothing, and money to assist his “unfair weather” friend.

To possess an “unfair weather friend like Onesiphorous is a wonderful treasure.

Proverbs 17:17 reminds us that “a friend loves at all times,” and this is the perfect description of an “unfair weather” friend.

Today let’s thank God for the “unfair weather” friends in our life who have “loved us at all times,” and let’s in turn recommit ourselves to loving others in the same way- “at all times.” Why not drop a note or make a call to one of your “unfair weather” friends and let them know how much you love and appreciate them? And while doing that, why not begin to cultivate some new “unfair weather” friends whom you love and who will love you in return. If you do, one day they may be able to you as one friend said to another: “To be your friend is to possess a great gift.”

Yours in faith and friendship,

Pastor Tom

Leadership Thought: A Disciple’s Job Description: Listen, Learn, Show and Share.

Dear Friend,

Yesterday we learned that a disciple is not a deluxe model  Christian. A Christian and a disciple are one in the same. A Christian is a disciple, and a disciple is a Christian. If you don’t accept the fact that you are one of his disciples, then it may be because you are not a Christian, or at least not the kind of Christian Jesus desires you to be.

The late bible commentator William Barclay writes, “It is possible to be a follower of Jesus, without being a disciple; to be a camp follower, without being a soldier of the king; to be a hanger- in some great work, without pulling one’s weight."

Barclay continues, "Once someone was talking to a great scholar about a younger man. He said, 'So-and-so tells me that he was one of your students.' The teacher answered devastatingly, 'He may have attended my lectures, but he was not one of my students.' There is a world of difference between attending lectures and being a student. It is one of the supreme handicaps of the Church that in the Church there are so many distant followers of Jesus and so few real disciples." (The Gospel Commentary of Luke, William Barclay, quoted from The Tales of The Tardy Oxcart, Charles Swindoll, p.162)

Author Eugene Peterson writes, "Discipleship is anything that causes what is believed in the heart to have  demonstrable consequences in our daily life."

What Barclay and Peterson are saying is our beliefs should be reflected in our behavior. There should be a relationship between our life and our lips, our creed and our conduct, our doctrine and our duty.

Jesus sums up a disciple's job description with two words: "Follow Me.” Two simple words that are meant to be a disciple's marching orders.

A disciple is one who seeks to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and who mimics the life of his leader.

Paul writes, “From the very beginning God decided that those who came to him should become like his Son” (Romans 8:29 TLB).

It was God’s plan from the very beginning of time that his followers should become like him.

Jesus wants us to walk in his footsteps, to listen to Him, to learn from Him, and then to go into the world and show and share His love.

A disciple listens to the words of Jesus. When Jesus speaks a disciple seeks to listen to his every word. When Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration, God spoke from heaven with a clear command: saying, “This is my Son, whom I love……listen to him (Matthew 17:5).

A disciple learns as well as listens. He is not just a hearer of the Word, but a doer of the word. What he hears is lived out in his daily life. There is a consistency between what he hears and what he does.

Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me” (Matthew 11:29). A disciple  not just a listener but a learner who seeks to put into practice the things he learns. The disciple yearns to learn, and like a sponge he soaks up his Master’s teaching and lives out what he learns.

A disciple shares what he learns. The thrust of his words, “Go and make disciples" is clear. We are not to shelve the things we have learned, but to share them with others. We are to gossip the gospel, to spread the good news to as many as will listen.

And finally, we are to show the gospel. We don’t share the gospel and forget about the people with whom we shared it. No, we show the gospel through our lives. We translate the truth of the gospel through our actions as we live out what we learn.

As pastor David Platt writes, “Disciple making is what happens when we walk through life together, showing one another how to pray, study the Bible, grow in Christ, and lead others to Christ.” (“Church Growth Magazine,” David Platt, from the internet”).

As disciples we are to listen, learn, show and share the Good News. Our command is clear, and our destination is defined: We are to “Go into all the world and make disciples.” 

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

PS. I am indebted to David Platt for his article on Disciple Making from "Church Growth Magazine," and an article by Anthony Carter, pastor of East Point Church in East Point, Ga for his perspectives on discipleship (both taken from the internet)

Leadership Thought: Are You a Christian or a Disciple? A Lesson on Christian Discipleship.

Dear Friend.

I have often wondered if we need to change our names. All around the world those who follow Christ have been called Christians. When you fill out a religious survey, one of the choices you can check to describe you includes the term ‘Christian.’ But what if instead of Christian we were to read the word “disciple.” Would that make a difference in how we checked the box?

The early followers of Jesus were called Christians, resulting from their testimony and witness in the city of Antioch (Acts 11:25). But before the word Christian became widely used to describe a follower of Christ, the word ‘disciple’ was used. Followers of Christ were disciples. 

A disciple is not a deluxe version of a Christian. No, a disciple is a Christian, a  follower of Jesus who seeks to practice the disciplines of Jesus.

The word disciple comes from the Latin word ‘discipulus’ which means a pupil or a learner. A disciple of Jesus is one who seeks to be like Jesus. He loves like Jesus; he learns about Jesus, and He lives in such a way that He reflects Jesus. In short, a disciple of Jesus follows Christ so that he or she can be like Him.

As disciples we are called to make disciples. Jesus commands us “to go into all the world and make disciples” "Matthew (28:19).

So, the question is what does a disciple look like? What is a disciple’s job description?  What does a disciple do to fulfill the commands of His Master?

Pastor and author David Platt says disciples are to be disciple makers. “Disciple making is what happens when we walk through life together, showing one another how to pray, study the Bible, grow in Christ and lead others to Christ” ("Church Growth Magazine," David Platt, quoted from the internet).

Based upon this description, how would you say we are doing as disciples? Is there someone we are teaching how to pray? Is someone learning more about the bible because of our instruction? Is there someone who is growing in his or her faith because of our impact and influence. And is there someone who knows how to share his or her faith better because of your training?

A student is to look like his teacher and a disciple is to look like his ‘discipler,’ but if there is no one involved in discipling there will be no disciple production.

This brings me to the question of whether the church needs to improve our disciple making ability, so that we can better fulfill our calling to “make disciples.”

If you and I are not already involved in discipling another believer, why not? What keeps us from fulfilling the divine command Jesus puts forth in the Great Commission ‘to go and make disciples.” Is our failure to follow His command a reflection of our unwillingness to be obedient to His commands or is there another reason?

I suspect the reason is not due to a lack of our will, but more due to a lack of knowledge. Most of us would probably admit that we are not sure where to begin? What do I do and how do I do it?  

Tomorrow we will explore a disciple’s job description and learn how we can fulfill our calling as disciples.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

P.S. “Conversion without discipleship is openly implied in much of our evangelical preaching. It has become strangely possible to be Christ’s without taking up the cross. C.D. Alexander, Drapers Book of Quotations for the Christian World, Edythe Draper, p. 41.

Leadership Thoughts: The Sad Story of a Written Love Letter Left Unread.

Dear Friends,

I love the little story of the pompous college professor who was standing before his students while putting down the Bible. "This doesn’t make any sense to me. It is just a bunch of unintelligible gibberish – just a book of fairytales," he said, with an air of intellectual superiority. 

With that, one student boldly stood up and said, "Sir, the Bible is God's love letter to his children, and if you don’t understand it then perhaps it’s because you been reading someone else’s mail."

Yes, the Bible is God's love letter to his children, and yet so often that love letter goes unread and unstudied.

As believers we need to be students of the word, studying the word on a daily basis. The Israelites discovered that when they sought to gather huge amounts of manna and store it, so they didn’t have to gather it daily, it rotted.  Neither can we expect to gain proper spiritual nourishment by feasting on the word for a day or two while forgetting it the rest of the week. God’s word can be stored in our hearts, but unless it’s gathered daily, it will quickly lose its nourishment.

Our study must be daily, and it should be systematic. Whether we are studying the word from a bird's eye view, (viewing large chunks of it – as reading through the Bible in a year) or the worm's eye approach, studying small amounts, and breaking it down into little bites as we reflect upon those paragraphs or verses, or even words, we need to be studying it regularly, consistently, and systematically.

We need to remain flexible in reading the bible, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us regarding our approach an application. We need to find what works for us and stay at it until the Holy Spirit directs us down another path. 

However we choose to read God's word, we need to remember Paul’s exhortation to Timothy: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman, who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).

The great preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon provides us good advice. He writes, "Never, never, neglect the word of God. The word will make your heart rich with truth, rich with understanding, and then, your conversation, when it flows from your mouth, will be like your heart, rich, soothing, and sweet…full of rich, generous love. Go Christian, to the great mind of riches, and cry to the Holy Spirit to make your heart rich onto salvation.  So shall your life and conversation be a boon to your fellow man; and when they see you, your face will be like an angel of God. Wise men will stand up when they see you, and men will give you reference."

This is the kind of man I want to be, and I know this is the kind of person you want to be as well. 

Let us be known as 'people of the book.'  So today, if you are lagging behind in your study of God’s word, let me encourage you to make a new commitment to begin re-reading those personal love letters He has written to each one of His children.

Yours in faith and friendship, 

Tom.

P.S. Remember, "it is not how many times you have been through the Bible that is important, but how many times the Bible has been through you."