Leadership Thought: A Non Devotional on the Ways That Friends Can Minister to You in the Midst of Your Sorrow.

Dear Friends,

Did you ever finish an e-mail, click send, only to wish you could immediately retrieve what you sent? That's the way I felt last Friday after sending an update on Jean’s health condition. I never would want my Leadership Thoughts to be about me or my family, and I was embarrassed and very uncomfortable after sharing the message I did.

But the response to that e-mail on Jean’s health was so overwhelming that I felt the need to provide a follow up.

I started to respond to those calls and e-mails from so many of our friends-friends and loved ones from so many of the churches Jean and I have served over the years, but it simply became overwhelming and with limited time due to her needed care, and frequent visits of nurses, and friends, I gave up.

I can’t begin to tell you how overwhelmed I was by the outpouring of your love, and when I woke up this morning, I felt like I had to write and say "thank you," "thank you," "thank you" for your care and concern for Jean and me. Yes, again I say thanks from the bottom of my heart.

It is one thing to comfort and encourage those going through a health crises; it is another thing to be on the receiving end, but in doing so I have again been personally reminded of just how and therapeutic such love can be.

Yesterday a dear friend from Fort Lauderdale called. She is the kind of person who would  take the time to saran wrap your wife's car, and then secretly move it to the senior pastor’s preferred parking space. My poor wife spent hours searching for that car which she knew she had left in her regular parking spot.

Yes, Margie was that friend and she called yesterday and then sent "pirate" pictures of the time Jean and some of her friends dressed up as pirates, and drove again and again to the Crispy Creme window, each time securing free doughnuts that were offered that day to anyone dressed up as a pirate.

We laughed and laughed at some of the capers a trio of Jean and her friends were involved in while we served at Calvary Chapel, Fort Lauderdale.

As we closed our conversation, Margie knowing that we were planning to try and take Jean to Outback, reminded us to make sure someone takes a purse big enough to "stuff away all that delicious brown bread they provide with  dinner." 

I can personally attest to the fact that laughter and love have significant therapeutic value to the one who is going through a difficult time.

I have cried far too much in the last few days, but the best remedy I've discovered to dry my tears is to remember the love and laughter I have shared with so many of our friends who have taken the time to call or write.

I am reminded of the Psalmist who wrote, "Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves" (Psalm 126: 6TLB).

God has the incredible capacity for restoring life beyond our understanding. He can sow seeds of sadness  and from them produce a harvest of joy. When burdened by sorrow, we can be assured that even our times of greatest grief will end, and we will once again find joy. 

I won't ever divulge whether we followed Margie's procedures for 'bread larceny' but I can tell you that when I and my three daughters wheeled Jean out of Outback yesterday, we all had  smiles on our faces, for what greater joy could anyone experience than the joy of being with those you love, sharing stories of life and laugher, and knowing that, in spite of your pain, God is still in control and that one day He will wipe away every one of our tears.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom 

P.S. "A teardrop on earth summons the King of heaven." Charles Swindoll.

Leadership Thought: Thoughts on the One Who Is the Love of My Life.

Dear Friends,

As many of you know the greatest treasure, I possess is now lying in a hospital bed in the upstairs bedroom of our  home. 

For the first time in 54 years of marriage we are now sleeping in separate beds as her 7 year battle with Parkinson has entered a new stage, one which has stripped her of her independence and stolen the energy and vitality that once made her the most popular girl in her high school senior class.

Yesterday was an emotional day for me. Earlier in the day, I collapsed in tears as I tried to wake her from 11 hours of sleep. Getting no response to my efforts, I panicked and in desperation called Hospice for help. Fortunately, by the time they arrived, Jean had opened her eyes and wanted to know why I was crying. 

Through my tears, I blurted out "I thought I was losing you and I am not ready to let you go."

As my daughter and I stood beside her bed last night, I prayed that God would miraculously cure this debilitating disease. But if He chooses not to heal her, would He at least slow down the progression to give us as much time as possible to laugh and love together.

Hopefully Jean will have months and even years ahead of her, but when the time comes for God to call her home she is ready and prepared for the journey. In fact she has assured me that she is looking forward to the trip to heaven where she knows there will be no more earthly pain.

Yes she is ready, but the problem is that I and my children are not prepared to let her go.

There is a poignant song by one of my favorite female country artists, Patty Loveless titled “How Can I Help You Say Goodbye.”

"How can I help you say goodbye? 

It’s OK to hurt, and it’s OK to cry

Come, Let me hold you and I will try.

How can I help you to say goodbye?" 

It is never easy to say goodbye to the ones we love and it was not easy for Jesus who conquered death itself

We see him shedding tears of sorrow as He stands beside the grave of his good friend Lazarus. His tears were real, genuine and heartfelt and because they were we can be certain that He knows and understands the same pain we are going through as we confront the loss of our loved ones.. 

"Jesus promises that "There are many homes up there where my Father lives, and I am going to prepare them for your coming. When everything is ready, then I will come and get you., so that you can always be with me where I am. If this weren't so, I would tell you plainly. And you know where I'm going and how to get there."

"No, we don't, said Thomas. We haven't any idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?"  

"Jesus told him, I am the way- yes, and the truth and the life. No one can get to the Father except by means of me" (John 14:1-6.TLB).

Letting go of loved one is one of the hardest things we will ever have to do, but it is made easier when we know where our loved ones are going, for as Thomas Moore has written. "Earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot heal.".

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: A Message and Some Mango Juice and a Ministering Member.

Dear Friends.

I often remind church members that ministry takes place from the pulpit to the pew and from the pew to the pew and from the pew to the pulpit.

Ministry takes place from the pulpit to the pews as the pastor shares a message that hopefully encourages and inspires those members sitting in the pews.

Ministry takes place from the pew to the pew as members express their love and concern for one another, sometimes called body life ministry.

And finally, ministry takes place from the pew to the pulpit as members find ways to encourage and serve their pastor.

It is easy to forget that ministers need ministry as well as members. Sometimes ministry can be hard and demanding, and yes, even at times, discouraging.

As ministers, we are generally more comfortable being on the giving end than on the receiving end. But sometimes it’s important, yes, even necessary for us to be on the receiving end. 

Last week was particularly challenging for me.

Addressing the decline  in Jean’s health as she continues battling Parkinson’s, has necessitated a change in my schedule, resulting in my having to work almost exclusively from home.

Care giving can be emotionally and physically draining, something I have discovered in caring for my precious wife. I was feeling this way last week. I was worn out, and discouraged, and then they arrived.

At my front doorstep was a message in the form of a personal poem written to Jean and me, and along with it there was a bottle of mango juice.

The one who left it knew I loved Trader Joe’s mango juice, something he discovered at a recent meeting at his house.  I had been sharing my love for mango juice, and hearing me speak about it, he proceeded to lead me to a kitchen closet. In opening the door I discovered what must have been at least 50 half gallon bottles of mango juice lined up on his closet shelves, which, like me, he had purchased at Trader Joe’s.

Since then, like connoisseurs of fine wine, we have often talked about our love for "our juice."

Along with that that bottle of mango juice, I noted an 8” x 11” piece of paper with a picture and some typed words. They were not just any words, but words my friend had crafted into a personal poem. The poem was brimming  with love and appreciation for Jean and me. His words were too flattering to share lest I be accused of making this message self-serving, but I can tell you that tucked away in that four-stanza poem were words I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Yes, my friend knew that ministry takes place from the pulpit to the pew, and the pew to the pew, but on that day when his pastor needed a spiritual and emotional lift, he knew that ministry takes place from the pew to the pulpit, from a member to his minister.

We sometimes need to be reminded as one pastor commented, "That stained glass windows are a lot like pastors. They're really good at hiding stormy weather. They may appear to be immune from the roughness of life. But they’re not-unless they're well protected."

My friend left some juice and a piece of paper with a few typed words on my doorstep. However, he may never know their value of that bottle and those words, gifts of love and kindness that this pastor will never forget.

Maybe inwardly he knew what that pastor wrote: that ministers, like stained glass windows, won't be much good  "unless they are well protected."

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: Why I Am for the Rights of the Unborn.

Dear Friends,

Yesterday was Sanctity of Life Sunday and many churches throughout our country addressed the issue of abortion from the pulpit.

There is no greater hot button today than the issue of abortion. It has separated family and friends and divided the heart of our nation.

I am unashamedly prolife, and I believe in doing whatever I can to protect and preserve the rights of the unborn, I know there are some reading this who hold a differing view. I respect your right to disagree, but I strongly oppose your position.

It has been said that the most dangerous place to be in America is not the inner city where gangs threaten innocent lives. Or in the prisons where only the fit survives. The most dangerous place to live is in the womb of a mother who is being told if she doesn’t really want her baby, than abortion is the solution.

Abortion is presently the second most common surgical procedure in the nation, only slightly behind circumcision.

The vast number of abortions performed in our nation are performed for social reasons.

Rape, incest, life of the mother, and severe fetal deformity account for only 2 to 5% percent of all abortions. The remaining 95 to 98% are simply casualties of convenience.

Since 1973 when the Supreme Court decided to legalize abortion over 60 million babies have been aborted, 23 times the number of Americans killed in all U.S. Wars

More babies die from abortion each year in this country than the total of all Americans killed in the 12 years of the Viet Nam war. In fact, if the memorial for the deaths of the unborn were built on the same scale as the Viet Nam War Memorial in Washington D. C., the wall would be almost 50 miles long.

In 1993, the Tampa Tribune editorial displayed a cartoon. It showed a lone man shouting at God.

“God, why haven’t you sent us people with cures for cancer and aids, and answers to world hunger and all the social problems?

God answers, “I did.”

And then the man responds, but “Where are they”?

God answers, “You aborted them.”

Who knows what some of those 60 million lives might have accomplished had they not been destroyed in the womb.

A professor at UCLA Medical School asked his students a hypothetical question.

“Here is the family history. The father has syphilis, the mother has TB. They already have four children. The first is blind, the second is deaf, the third has diabetes, and the 4^th has TB. And now the mother is pregnant again. The parents are willing to have an abortion if you decide they should. What would you tell them?”

The students respond, “It’s a no brainer. Counsel them to have an abortion.”

“Congratulations,” said the professor. “You have just murdered Beethoven.”

The tragedy of abortion is that those who are being killed can neither represent themselves before a court of law nor defend themselves from sure death.

We hear passionate pro-choice advocates echoing cries in support of a woman’s reproductive rights, but when it comes to choosing between a woman’s reproductive rights and the life of an unborn child, the answer to me seems clear and unambiguous. The innocent child’s life should trump the reproductive rights of a woman.

Proverbs reminds us that “We are to rescue those being taken off to death and save those stumbling toward slaughter.  If you say, ‘Look, we did not know this’-does not he who weighs his heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it? And will he not repay all according to their deeds?” (Proverbs 24:11-12  LBT).

I believe God has a special heart for the poor, needy and vulnerable and who fits that description any better than a helpless child carried in a mother’s womb.

I believe if we as individuals and as churches will bless those who are the poor and weak and vulnerable, those who cannot repay us, He in turn will bless us and our churches.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

P.S. In the words of Dr. Seuss in Horton Hears  a Who, “Please don’t harm all my little folks, who have as much right to live as us bigger folks do!”

Leadership Thought: We All Need the “Big Mo” in Our Life.

Dear Friends,

Last night I was watching the Connecticut Seton Hall basketball game. For much of the game Connecticut had the upper hand, stretching the lead to as much as 13 points in the second half. But in a matter of minutes this all changed. A couple of steals and several costly turnovers by Connecticut led to easy
Seton Hall baskets and created a swing in momentum that changed the course of the game.

Suddenly Seton Hall had captured the momentum, and their  home court fans were now fully engaged and energized as they watched their team creep back into the game. With two seconds left and a point behind, a tip in by a Seton Hall player enabled them to eke out an exciting one point victory.

What was the key to their victory? It was a momentum shift.

A train moving at top speed can easily crash through a five-foot-thick reinforced steal barrier. owecere the same trrain on the same track, ifBu But if you place a one-inch block of wood on the track in front of that same train while it is at rest, the train can’t move and inch along those tracks.

Momentum can make the difference between winning and losing in a basketball game, but it can also make a difference in winning and losing in our spiritual lives.

Our Christian life should be active and growing. We should be moving forward and making spiritual progress daily. But sometimes we get stuck in a spiritual rut, and we lose our momentum. We feel like that train  which is stopped by that one inch block. We just can’t get ourselves moving.

There are people who come to know the Lord, and they are so excited, and they start moving full speed forward with God. They build up their spiritual momentum, but them something happens.

They start ignoring those spiritual disciplines and they slowly begin losing that spiritual momentum.

Their quiet time is inconsistent, their church worship becomes irregular, their prayer life is now sporadic, they no longer are enthusiastically sharing their faith, and the fellowship they once enjoyed with others is almost nonexistent.

They have put on their spiritual brakes, and in doing so they have lost their momentum and are slowly coming to a spiritual stop.

But it is never too late to regain that momentum.

If this describes you, God is calling you to confess your sins, repent and  return to the things that produced your spiritual momentum. Luke writes, “Therefore, turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19

Obedience is the key to reestablishing your spiritual momentum. You must get back to those things that God called you to do. Obey Him in your thoughts and actions and reestablish those spiritual disciplines and  in so doing you will “draw near to God” (James 4:8).

Remember momentum demands movement, so get moving and keep moving toward that glorious finish line.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

P.S. The only place a believer cannot stay; he or she can’t stay put.

Leadership Thought: The Pulpit Perfect Storm-Naked and Unusable.

Dear Friends,

Sunday was the culmination of a perfect pulpit storm.

It was Jean’s birthday, and my son had flown up from Savannah to surprise her. He and two of my daughters spent the day rearranging  our bedroom to make things easier for their mom to navigate with her walker.

Jean and I watched “helplessly” as  the three of them spent the day renovating our living quarters. They moved things, reorganized things, threw out things, all to my dismay and discomfort.

I am a person who admittedly struggles with change, and as I watched the total reorganization of our bedroom, I had the feeling my life was becoming a reorganizational casualty.

It was Sanctity of Life Sunday, and I was scheduled to preach.

In the midst of all this chaos of change, I tried to put the finishing touches on my message.

When I walked into church on Sunday with message in hand,  I knew something was going on inside of me that made me anxious and uncomfortable. I sat there praying as the worship team finished leading us in worship, and when it was time for me to step to the pulpit and teach, I felt totally unprepared and overwhelmed with the challenge before me. My legs were unsteady, my eyes blurred, and I felt naked before the congregation.  And standing there before them I recognized I was unable to share a thing I had prepared to teach.

Embarrassingly I spoke from my heart as I told them what had been going on inside of me the last couple of days, and I apologized for my inability to deliver the message God had given me. I suggested that maybe the best thing we could do was to gather in groups and pray, but I didn’t even have the energy to organize them to do it, and so I simply sheepishly walked off the platform.

And then Pastor Jared graciously stepped to the pulpit, organized our time of prayer, and he prayed that God would use this time to do a mighty work in my life, and in the lives of those who were present for worship. We prayed in groups, and when we had finished, I was suddenly surrounded by the whole congregation who laid hands on me and prayed over me.

I thought of Paul’s words “I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (TLB)

It’s hard for us to admit our needs and difficult to acknowledge our weakness.  

But God can transform a burden into a wonderful blessing. He can use it to humble us and remind us of our weakness, and in doing so, He protects us from the kind of arrogance and pride that can hinder and undermine our ministry.

Recognizing our weakness makes us more and dependent upon God, something that is critical for all of us to understand and accept.

It is in our weakness that our strength can be provided, for God doesn’t only use our strengths in ministry; He uses our weaknesses as well.

Paul says, “God comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (2 Corinthians 1: 4 NIV)

So, looking back on this pulpit experience, I am glad to be reminded that God will use even the bad stuff in our lives and use it for our good and His glory.

Yours in faith, and still learning and still growing at 81!!!!!!

Tom

Leadership Thought: How Do You Become an Expert Christian Witness?

Dear Friends,

John Maxwell has been recognized as the greatest leadership expert in the world. He has spoken over 1,200 times, written over 120 books (most of them best sellers) and has traveled all over the world sharing his knowledge and his leadership expertise.

I have been personally blessed by his writings and having read many of them I appreciate and respect John for his teaching gifts. But the thing I admire most about him is his love for Jesus.

When asked what was his favorite thing to do, one might think he would have said, writing bestselling books, or traveling all over the world speaking to large groups on the subject of personal growth, and principles of leadership. But you would be wrong. He says his favorite thing to do is to share his faith with others. He admits he wasn’t always very good at it.

In a recent message on “How to Share Your Faith” he describes how he developed his ability to communicate his faith to others. (See below for the link should you wish to watch the message)

He points out how he felt so inadequate in his early days of witnessing for Christ.

As he would share, people would ask him theological questions which he couldn’t answer.

He would respond by admitting his inability to answer the question, but he would always say, “I don’t know the answer,  but let me go and find it, and I will get back to you.

This happened hundreds of times, John said.  Over the course of many years following this procedure, he said I kept learning new answers to new questions and  each time I  got better at being able to express my faith until today I feel very competent in witnessing to others about my faith in Christ.

When people now come to him and say, “John, you are so brilliant,” he would say, “No. You don’t need brilliance to share your faith. You just need to take what you have learned and keep on practicing it. The more you learn and the more you practice, sharing your faith, the better you become at sharing your faith.

John says, "The bible doesn’t say a wise person wins souls; it says when you share your faith you become wise." The more you share, the wiser you get and the more souls you win for Christ.

Learning and practice are the keys to becoming good at whatever you do in life, but it is especially true when it comes to evangelism and sharing your faith.

There are no overnight witnessing experts.  You become an expert by repeatedly learning and practicing the things you have learned and suddenly one day you discover you are beginning to get good at what you do.

There is no greater joy as a Christian than leading another person to saving faith in Christ. I hope, if you don’t already know how to do this, you will start learning and practicing today. 

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8DkX994KMA

Leadership Thought: A Message for Those Wishing to Unsubscribe to Leadership Thoughts.

Dear Friend,

One of my favorite quotes is by Isaac Newton, "Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy.

What made me think of this was an e-mail I received yesterday asking to be taken off my Leadership Thought mailing list.

My friend was honest and tactful. His message didn’t scream,  “Take me off your mailing list, I don’t need any more junk to read as I already have too many unwanted e-mails taking up space on my computer screen.”

No, my friend was kind and thoughtful, and his closing words caught my attention. “I am not looking for another devotional. I already get too many of them, but I am always open to chat with a brother in Christ.”.

I hope my response to him was gracious and tactful and I made every effort for it to be so. I thanked him for his honesty, and I told him I completely understood, for I often feel the same way about unwanted email that screams for my attention.

I closed by giving him my phone number and told him “I was always open to chat with a brother in Christ,” and I hoped he might feel free to call me any time.

My Leadership Thought mailing list has substantially grown over the years, and I have no way of knowing how many of you immediately click the delete button each morning when the words “Leadership Thought” pop up on your screen.

If this is you, I apologize. Most of us are already too busy to be bothered by unwanted e-mails., so please help me update my mailing list by simply asking to be “unsubscribed.” Trust me, you won’t be the first to make such a request.

Paul reminds us we are “to speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15), something my unsubscribing friend did so very well.

So, in all of our communication, let us be conditioned to “speak the truth in love.” We already have too many cancel culture communicators who may know the truth but who lack the relational ability to combine that truth with love.  Both are needed.

And like I shared with my unsubscribing friend, if you would rather chat about truth rather than read about it, please send me your phone number and I’ll be glad to give you a call.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought:  God’s Required Course: Forgiveness.

Dear Friends,

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. (Luke 23:34 NLT)

This is a true story, told to me by a young seminary student I met years ago. I'll call him Aaron (not his real name).

Late one spring Aaron was praying about having a significant ministry the following summer. He asked God for a position to open up on some church staff or Christian organization. Nothing happened. Summer arrived, still nothing. Days turned into weeks, and Aaron finally faced reality—he needed any job he could find. He checked the want ads, and the only thing that seemed a possibility was driving a bus in the south side of Chicago . . . nothing to brag about, but it would help with tuition in the fall. After learning the route, he was on his own—a rookie driver in a dangerous section of the city. It wasn't long before Aaron realized just how dangerous his job really was.

A small gang of tough kids spotted the young driver and began to take advantage of him. For several mornings in a row, they got on, walked right past him without paying, ignored his warnings, and rode until they decided to get off . . . all the while making smart remarks to him and others on the bus. Finally, he decided that had gone on long enough.

The next morning, after the gang got on as usual, Aaron saw a policeman on the next comer, so he pulled over and reported the offense. The officer told them to pay or get off. They paid . . . but, unfortunately, the policeman got off. And they stayed on. When the bus turned another corner or two, the gang assaulted the young driver.

When he came to, blood was all over his shirt, two teeth were missing, both eyes were swollen, his money was gone, and the bus was empty. After returning to the terminal and being given the weekend off, our friend went to his little apartment, sank onto his bed, and stared at the ceiling in disbelief. Resentful thoughts swarmed his mind. Confusion, anger, and disillusionment added fuel to the fire of his physical pain. He spent a fitful night wrestling with his Lord.

How can this be? Where's God in all of this? I genuinely want to serve Him. I prayed for a ministry. I was willing to serve Him anywhere, doing anything . . . and this is the thanks I get!

On Monday morning, Aaron decided to press charges. With the help of the officer who had encountered the gang and several who were willing to testify as witnesses against the thugs, most of them were rounded up and taken to the local county jail. Within a few days, there was a hearing before the judge.

In walked Aaron and his attorney plus the angry gang members who glared across the room in his direction. Suddenly he was seized with a whole new series of thoughts. Not bitter ones but compassionate ones! His heart went out to the guys who had attacked him. Under the Spirit's control, he no longer hated them—he pitied them. They needed help, not more hate. What could he do? Or say?

Suddenly, after there had been a plea of guilty, Aaron (to the surprise of his attorney and everybody else in the courtroom) stood to his feet and requested permission to speak.

"Your honor, I would like you to total up all the days of punishment against these men—all the time sentenced against them—and I request that you allow me to go to jail in their place."

The judge didn't know whether to spit or wind his watch. Both attorneys were stunned. As Aaron looked over at the gang members (whose mouths and eyes looked like saucers), he smiled and said quietly, "It's because I forgive you."

The dumbfounded judge, when he reached a level of composure, said rather firmly: "Young man, you're out of order. This sort of thing has never been done before!" To which the young man replied with genius insight:

"Oh, yes, it has, your honor . . . yes, it has. It happened over nineteen centuries ago when a man from Galilee paid the penalty that all mankind deserved."

And then, for the next three or four minutes, without interruption, he explained how Jesus Christ died on our behalf, thereby proving God's love and forgiveness. He was not granted his request, but the young man visited the gang members in jail, led most of them to faith in Christ, and began a significant ministry to many others in south Chicago.

He passed a tough exam. And, as a result, a large door of ministry—the very thing he'd prayed for—opened up before him. Through the pain of abuse and assault, Aaron began to get a handle on serving others.

Forgiveness is not an elective in the curriculum of servanthood. It is a required course, and the exams are always tough to pass.

Forgiving (like giving) improves our serving!

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Taken from Improving Your Serve by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 1981 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Leadership Thought. : A Foot Washing Service in a Church I Served That I Will Never Forget. 

Dear Friends, 

Yesterday, I shared a message on servanthood and the 'Taylor Towel' my daughter, Rachel, received upon her college graduation from Taylor University. It was meant to be a reminder to her and all other graduating Taylor University students that they were being sent into the world to be servants of the Master Teacher of Servanthood, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In the message I shared how humbling it was to bow down before someone and wash their feet. And yet that is just what Jesus calls us to do. We are to be humble foot washers, serving all we can with the same spirit He showed His disciples. 

I received a response to my message from a former member of a church I served in New Jersey. He reminded me of a time when I took the leaders of our church into the sanctuary after a particularly heated meeting and led them in a foot washing service. 

I didn't recall much about the service, except for remembering how humbling and difficult it was for me to have my feet washed by another brother. 

It is generally easier for most of us 'minister types' to wash others' feet than to have our own feet washed. Most of us are much more comfortable giving ministry then receiving it, which is unfortunate for some of the greatest blessings we can bestow on others is graciously and thankfully receiving their gifts. 

And by the way, my friend reminded me that it was his “stinken” feet that I had washed, and how he would never forget this foot washing experience.

Only hours from the cross, Jesus gives his disciples a foot washing lesson they too would never forget.

He doesn’t teach them to be more zealous or dedicated or more committed. No, he gives them one of the greatest examples of love the world has ever seen by simply bowing down before each of them and washing their feet.

Jesus didn’t make a big deal of what He was about to do.  He didn’t stand up and draw attention to Himself. He didn’t say now watch me and take notes for you are going to learn a significant lesson about love in action.  No, he simply and quietly knelt down before each of those disciples and began washing their feet.

Jon Courson says it far better than I could when he shares the following application to this event.

“In our culture, not everyone wears sandals or goes barefoot. And even if they did, the roads aren’t dusty or muddy-so this passage might not mean (literally) washing feet.”

“You’re washing your car in the front yard. Maybe it’s old and cruddy and doesn’t run very well. Instead of complaining about it-. why not extend your hose a bit and wash your neighbor’s car?”

“Or maybe it means washing your neighbor’s windows while he’s on vacation.”

“It might mean washing diapers in the nursery- or washing the dishes without being asked.”

“’That sounds good’, you say’.  ‘But I’m going through such hard times right now that I’m not in a position to wash anything.’”  

“Really? At any given point, at every single point in our lives, we live by ‘Basin Theology.’ That is, we either call for the basin, like Pontius Pilot did, (Matthew 27: 24) and wash our hands of everything we know to be true of ministry and service- or we  take up the basin and wash someone’s feet in humility and love.”

“At a time when Jesus was going through a time of intensity we will never understand this side of eternity, He didn’t wash His hands of those who would deny and betray him. He washed their feet.” Jon Courson Application Bible Commentary of the New Testament, p 554

And then He said to those disciples, even as He also says to us: “I have given you an example, Go and do likewise.”

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: Watch Out for Those Cracks in Your Character.

Dear Friends,

“Real success does not compromise personal integrity. If you are not a success by God’s standards, you have not achieved true success.”  These words from the Life Application Bible are commentary on Proverbs 11:3,5 where the writer states “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. The righteousness of the blameless makes a straight way for them, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.”

These verses and commentary remind me of a story that took place in 1958 in a little mining community in northeastern Pennsylvania.

A small red brick building was built that was to be a combination building, housing both the police and the fire departments, as well as serving as a community town hall.

The town was proud of that building; it was the result of great sacrificial  giving and much careful planning. When the building was completed, they held a ribbon cutting ceremony, and most of the town was present. It was the biggest event of the year for that small community.

However, within two months, they began noticing some ominous cracks on the side of the red brick building. Sometime later, it was noticed that the windows wouldn’t close correctly. Eventually, the floor shifted and left some ugly gaps in the corners of the building. The roof began to leak, and within a few more months, the building had to be evacuated, much to the embarrassment of the builder and the disgust of the taxpayers.

A firm did an analysis shortly thereafter and discovered that the blasts from a nearby mining area were slowly but effectively destroying the building.

Unseen down beneath the building, there were small shifts and changes taking place that caused the whole foundation to crack.

You couldn’t feel it or even see it from the surface, but quietly and deep within there was a weakening of the structure.

A city official finally had to write across the door of that building, ‘Condemned. Not fit for public use.’ Ultimately the building was demolished.

A lack of integrity in little things will grow like those cracks left by those blasts from the nearby mining area. And little by little, the cracks will grow until that lack of integrity will ultimately bring down the foundation of our character.

It may not be noticeable on the outside. Only we may be aware of those little cracks in our character that we chose to ignore, but sooner or later, when the building falls, our lack of integrity will be revealed for the whole world to see.

Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest examples of integrity who ever lived. He wrote, “I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me.”

Good words for us to remember in an era where persons of integrity seem harder to find than a two-dollar bill.

I challenge you today to ask yourself if there are little cracks in your life that need some attention. Are there any little crevices that are forming in the foundation of your moral character which, if left untreated, will destroy your reputation? Is there something that you need to return that you borrowed?  Is there something you said you would do, but yet haven’t done?  

Yes, I know these may seem like little issues, but don’t forget the story.

No one may ever know those little cracks that are forming in your character, but they are present. They may be hidden to the eyes of the outside world, but they are known to you.

Do something about them and do it today. You will be glad you did. Who knows,  you might  avoid the collapse of your character.

Yes, it is true: “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity, and in the words of Scripture, “great will be their fall.”

May we always remember that “the only thing that walks back from the grave with the mourners and refuses to be buried is the character of a man. What a man is survives him. It can never be buried” (21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell, p 62).

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: Are You Looking for a Project That Will Make a Difference in Another Person’s Life?

Dear Friends,

One of the greatest gifts you can give to another is the gift of appreciation. Appreciation lifts our spirits; it energizes us and reminds us that we are valued and of worth.

Appreciation is the wind beneath our wings. It keeps us going when we are ready and tempted to give in and give up.

I can’t tell you how words of appreciation have positively impacted my life.

I still have an old Bible stuffed with letters of appreciation I have received over the years. That Bible is a treasured storehouse of encouragement. Whenever I find myself down or discouraged, I simply open that Bible and out pours those notes and letters of appreciation from those who loved me and reminded me of my value. That’s what appreciation does. It values its recipient.

It is so true as the late psychologist William James reminds us that “The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”                                                                                                                                    

When we are thirsty and “the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.” Benjamin Franklin. Appreciation is the water that satisfied and refreshes a dried-up spirit.

Recently I read a good reminder of the need to take time to let others know we appreciate them. The words come from the pen of Sarah Langs, an employee of the Major League Baseball Chapel ministry.

Sarah writes, “We should be telling people who aren’t dying how much we appreciate them. I don’t know how we make that a thing, but that’s really been (my) takeaway. I appreciate every single word, every single punctuation mark from every single person, but I look at people who I work with who are healthy and fine, and they’re just as appreciated, but no one’s telling them. I would love for us to have a way to tell those people that. That’s my next project.”

Appreciation opens a doorway to a person’s heart. Everyone longs to be appreciated, and when you express appreciation to another, you will have made a friend for life.

To help remind me of its importance of appreciation, I imagine everyone having an invisible sign hanging around their neck saying, “Please help me feel important.”

You might imagine that everyone you meet has a “10” on their forehead, a wonderful reminder that everyone you meet is a person of value.

I am always looking for ways to express genuine appreciation for special qualities or characteristics a person possesses. I will ask a person, “ Do you know what I like or appreciate about you,” and then I will share and affirm those special qualities or characteristics  I noted.

How do you know someone needs appreciation? Just check and see if they are breathing, and if they are, then they are a candidate for appreciation.

And the best setting in which to provide it is when others are around to hear it, for then appreciation is magnified.

One writer reminds us that appreciation, like encouragement, “is biodegradable; it has a short shelf life,” so you need to offer it consistently for people never grow weary of receiving it.

I wonder how many marriages might be renewed, employees retained, and pastors restored because someone took the time to appreciate and value them.

As Sarah Langs reminds us “that’s make appreciation our next project.”

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: Are You a Can Do or a Can't Do Kind of Person.

Dear Friends,

I love being around positive people, people like the ones who go fishing for Moby Dick and take the tartar sauce with them.

I don’t know if they still produce the “Master Teacher,” booklets,  but I still have one of their pamphlets from my teaching days.  It was titled  "Eight Ways to Create a Positive Climate." Although meant for teachers, it could just as well be directed to those in other walks of life.

These wise words caught my attention. “The teacher action vital to high productivity is maintaining a consistently positive attitude and using ‘can,’ and ‘do’ words or phrases. Conversely it is wise to use three words sparingly: ‘can’t,’ ‘don't’  and ‘no.’ These three words actually undermine a productive climate and stop creativity and individual initiative cold.”

When I was coaching basketball and my players would tell me why they couldn't do something, I would tell them the story of the bumblebee. The tiny bumblebee has a small wingspan and a heavy body structure which makes it aerodynamically impossible to fly. However, the bumblebee ignores this scientific truth and chooses to fly anyway.

Whenever I would hear one of my players use the “I can’t” phrase, I would correct and admonish him saying, “Change your language or change your team.”

If we were to be a team of winners and not whiners, I needed to cultivate a “can do” and not a “can’t do” attitude amongst our team.

One of my favorite stories involves  identical twins. One was a hope filled optimist, always seeing the good in every situation. The other was a doom filled pessimist who perceived a problem lurking around every corner. The worried parents brought the boys to the local psychologist.

He suggested to the parents a plan to balance the twins’ personalities. On their next birthday, put them in separate rooms to open their gifts. Give the pessimist the best toys you can afford and give the optimist a box of manure. The parents carefully followed these instructions and then observed the results.

When they peeked in on the pessimist, they heard him audibly complaining,  “I don’t like the color of this computer…I’ll bet this calculator is going to break…I don’t like this game…I know someone who’s got a bigger toy car than this.

Tip toeing across the corridor, the parents peeked in and saw their little optimist gleefully throwing the manure up in the air. He was giggling as he was talking to himself saying. “You can’t fool me. I know there has got to be a pony in here somewhere.”

Wherever I am, I hope I am hanging with hopeful and optimistic people like this little manure slinger. I want to associate with the Calebs and the Joshuas of this world. When the other spies were finding reasons why they couldn’t  enter the Promise Land, Caleb and Joshua were ready to claim what God had promised. Surrounded by naysayers who were convinced that they were only grasshoppers in the face of their enemy, they were taking up arms and ready to claim what God had promised them.  

“We should by all means go up and take possession of (the land), for we shall surely overcome” (Numbers 13:30).

I love the courageous words found in the opening lines of Psalm 27.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the defense of my life, whom shall I dread?

When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,

Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear;

Though war arise against me, in spite of this I shall be confident” (vv. 1-3).

Brothers and sisters, it’s time to march against the enemy, look him in straight in the eye, and like Caleb and Joshua proclaim 'I gottcha.' 

And while the crowd may be shouting, “you are wrong,” “you are foolish,” “you'll never win,” you just keep on smiling as you remind them that you are a “Can Do” kind of person with a bottle of tartar sauce in your back pocket.

Action Point. What will you do today that the world might suggest is impossible?

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom