Leadership Thought: The Day I Had Breakfast with A Prisoner, Who Has Become a Prisoner of Christ.

Dear Friend,

This week I sat across the table from a released prisoner who had just spent 30 years of a 50-year prison sentence for robbery and murder.  Released late this past summer for good behavior, Phil was no longer a prisoner of sin, but he was now a prisoner for Christ.

We first met a few years ago when I was involved in a prison ministry at Calvary Chapel, Old Bridge, N.J. I was a part of a team from the church that was leading services at Rahway State, a maximum-security prison for those committing the most serious of crimes.

With a wife who had left him, a family that had turned their back on him, his only friends were those in prison garb. His past had finally caught up with him, and he had little to look forward to but serving the remainder of his life behind prison bars.

But shortly after entering prison, Phil came to know Jesus through the witness of another inmate, and his life was radically transformed. From drinking to drugs, to robbery and then murder, Phil had led a very violent past, but it all changed the day when he met a fellow inmate, and he turned his life over to Jesus.

Following his acceptance of Christ, Phil had become the prison gardener, as well as one of the volunteer prison chaplains. Following my first visit to the prison, I met him several more times, and I was always impressed with the reality of his faith and his witness for Christ.

During our breakfast, Phil gave me a printed copy of his testimony. When I got home, I learned more of the specifics of his conversion.

Phil writes, “Tony told me of a new life in Christ, of hope and forgiveness of sins. I'm on the knees of my heart for the first time with my ear to the air vent. For the first time I hear what God's word says, I repented, God opened my eyes, gave me a new heart, and put his Holy Spirit in me (Ezekiel 30: 25-27). Immediately I experienced forgiveness and peace…the backpack of sin and guilt is gone. I have no more need of ‘fig leaves’ to cover my sin. The blood of Jesus did it all.”

“An hour later they led me out of the hole, and I got a burning desire to read God’s Word. I see Tony and I find out it was a mistake for him to be in the hole and he fought it all the way. But God was in control, and He knew his child Phillip was ‘gonna’ die if He didn't get Tony there quick. He knew I was finally broken. Are you broken yet? What more will it take in your life? God simply wants you to see your helplessness without him.”

I can identify with Phil. Oh, my life had never spiraled out of control like his, and my sinfulness was mild in comparison, but sin has no degrees, and like Phil I too had an empty hole in my heart that could only be filled with God’s love.

If you have that same emptiness, Jesus can fill it. If you have a broken heart, God can heal it. If you want a changed life, you can do as Phil did and as I did when I knelt beside my bunk in 1962 at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes Conference in Lake Geneva, Wisc.

Paul writes. “If anyone be in Christ, he becomes a new creature. The old has passed away, and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).

If you want to experience a newness of life, a radical change from the inside out, I encourage you to do as I did in following the ABC’s of conversion. Acknowledge you are a sinner, Believe Jesus died for you sins, and Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of your life. If you do, it will be the greatest decision you will ever make.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

 

Leadership Thought: A Talk with John Maxwell About My Future I Will Never Forget.

Dear Friends,

I am a great believer in ‘growing while you’re going, ‘learning while you’re listening.’ The apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 5:16 that we are to “redeem” or make the most of our time, and one way I can do that is by continually filling my mind with the wisdom of others.

This is why on my afternoon walks with my dog Maggie, I am almost always accompanied by another walking friend, and yesterday it was the well-known leadership expert John Maxwell. I figure anyone who has written over 100 books must have something of value to say, and he did

Our conversation was private, just me, Maggie and John talking and teaching me through my I phone.

I learned a lot on yesterday’s walk, and because I didn’t want to forget any of John’s wisdom, so I re listened to him while typing some of the valuable lessons I learned during our conversation, and I thought I would share some of these lessons with you today.

John’s message dealt with the importance of focusing on the future, and not the past. As he spoke, I was reminded of what the apostle Paul had to say about this subject. He said, “We are to forget about the past and look forward to the future as we press on to the upward call of Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

John reminded me that “the future is drained by looking back to what might have been” and that we reveal our potential by where we focus. He reminded me that, “If what I did yesterday seems big, I haven’t done anything today.” One remark he made that I will never forget is that “a doubled minded focus depletes energy.”

He quoted the wisdom he had learned from a couple of his friends, one of whom had said, “The most tiring exercise in the world is carrying yesterday on your back.” He quoted Mark McCormack, a sports representative and author who taught him that, “You can’t think clearly about your future if you’re obsessed with the past.”

John stressed to me that “unless I believed in myself, I would never believe in my future.”

During our walk, I learned I must be careful not to “yearn for the past and get stuck in it, but to learn from the past and then let go of it.”

And probably the most important lessons I learned yesterday was a lesson in ‘home improvement.’  He said, “It is better to construct the future than to varnish the past.” I thought to myself how easy it is for me to live in the past, to varnish up past accomplishments and achievements. But such a backward focus will only obscure even greater growth opportunities and accomplishments that might still lie ahead. Wow, that really struck me as important to keep in mind.

John told me he gets tired of talking to people who are always dreaming about the future, but who are doing nothing today that will help them accomplish what they want in their future. “I don’t have time for such people,” he said, “for such people are only involved in wishful thinking and not purposeful planning.”

John reminded me that If I am not doing something today to help me achieve tomorrow’s dream, I am wasting my time. He said, “if I would do today what I want to do tomorrow, and if I will do it well enough, tomorrow will arrive,” and I might add, so will my dream.

And as I arrived back home, John concluded our time together by leaving with me with this parting thought: “The future is that time when you’ll wish you had done what you aren’t doing now.”

Is there someone you would like to get to know better? It’s easy. Just charge up your phone, put on your ear buds, and take a listen. I promise you that you’ll be amazed at the things you can learn about living for the future.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

 

Leadership Thought: The Best Way to Grow Your Church.

Dear Friends,

How is your church growing? That is the question every member should be asking. There are three ways a church grows A church grows biologically. Your parents went to church, and as children you grew up attending that church and today you are still a part of that church. You are there because that is the only church you have ever known. In our rapidly migrating culture, not many of those biological members are left today.

A second from of growth is transfer growth. People, for whatever reason, have decided to leave their church and join another, and they show up on your doorstep looking for a new place to settle.

And the third form of church growth is conversion growth. People unite with your church as new believers. That is the way the early church grew and that is the way today healthy church should be growing.

The real measure of a church’s health is not biological growth or transfer growth but conversion growth. Church leaders should always be asking how many of your members are new believers who have been recently won to Christ, and not just biological or transfer members.

Today in rapidly growing suburbs, many churches are experiencing significant growth, but their growth is misleading, for much of it is simply the result of members moving into a growing area and transferring their membership from one church to another.

If you really want to know whether your church is healthy, leaders must ask themselves who are the new people filling your seats? Are they biological members, transfer members, or members by conversion?

The early church grew because everywhere believers went, they gossiped the gospel. Non-believers watched the way believers lived and they were curious to know what made them so different.

I often remind our church that “every member is a minister.” Every member should be an AOC member: “Always on Call.” Every Sunday member should be praying for opportunities to meet and serve others, but especially those who are visiting your church and who may not know the Lord.

For such visitors, you may become their ‘Welcome Table,’ or ‘Guest Service’ provider.

I often remind our members that they should come to church with an outreach mindset in anticipation of meeting and making new friends. They should be on the lookout for ways to build relational bridges with those visitors who may be non-believers.

Too often members focus on fellowshipping with their friends on Sunday, while ignoring those who are visitors. What a difference it would make if every member would be outreach oriented, determined to make friends with new people and focused on discovering ways to love and serve them.  “How can I help you,” should be in the back of every member’s mind as he/she meets new people.

As believers we are called to ‘find a need and fill it,’ and the only way we can find that need and fill it is by taking the time to be good listeners, to hear the hurting heart and offer help and encouragement.

If we want to see our church grow in the most important way-through the conversion of non-believers-we must focus on our visitors, build bridges of friendship with them by loving and serving them, while always looking for opportunities to share with them the glorious, good news of the gospel. That’s the best way to grow our church.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: Jesus, Country Music, and the Spiritual Classics.

Dear Friends,

What am I going to write about? Each morning I wake up early with the goal of writing something worth reading, something that will encourage you, challenge you, and hopefully point you to Jesus. Sometimes words come easy, and I know right off what I want to say. Sometimes, however, I struggle, and I am not sure what to write or where to begin.

This morning was one of those days. I lay in bed wondering what to share and the thought of music came to mind. Not just any music, but country music and specifically the spiritual side of country music.

Those who know me, are aware that I am passionate enthusiast of classic country music. I’ve attended concerts of Reba McEntire, Don Williams, Randy Travis, Merle Haggard, Travis Tritt, Brooks and Dunn, and my favorite concert of all, George Strait’s Farewell Tour. There is something about country music that speaks to me. I suspect it’s the stories in the music that moves my heart.

I have been rewatching Ken Burns 8-part documentary on Country Music, and if you haven’t seen it, it is a must watch. I promise you that whether you enjoy country music or not, watching this documentary will give you a new appreciation for this music genre. I bet by the time you finish watching it, some of you will be up and dancing to Boot ‘Scootin’ Boogie by Brooks and Dunn.

But as I lay awake this morning, I started reflecting on country songs that carry a spiritual message, ones that have drawn people closer to Jesus. I scrolled through a number of songs, listened to a few of them- and while I knew most of them, there were a few that were new to me. Having done so, I came up with “Crenshaw’s Country Spiritual Classics,” songs that I thought you would enjoy, but more importantly that would point you to Jesus.

They include Carrie Underwood’s, “Jesus Take the Wheel,” recently voted the 4^th best country song of the decade and the song that kicked off her career as a country music super star.  Also, on the list is one of my favorites, “Three Wooden Crosses” by Randy Travis whose music career was sadly cut short by a stroke. Included on my list is Brooks and Dunn’s, powerful rendition of “Believe,” and Alabama’s “Angels Among Us.” On that list is Steve Wariner’s “Holes in the Floor of Heaven,” one of my all-time favorites. And who could forget the gospel classics, “The Old Rugged Cross” and “The Family Bible” by two of country’s greatest singers, the late Johnny Cash and George Jones?  

I can guarantee listening to Vince Gill sing “Go Rest High on That Mountain” will bring tears to your eyes. It was written for the funeral of the late Keith Whitely who died far too young, and it was sung at the funeral of George Jones by Vince and Patty Loveless (bring the tissues). Josh Turner, a strong believer, has two of my favorites on the list, “The Long Black Train” and “Me and God.” George Strait has a powerful rendition of “I Saw God Today,” and included on my list is “Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts

I listened to a few songs that I had never heard before that are worth listening to: Brad Paisley’s “When I Get Where I’m Going,” John Michael Montgomery’s “The Little Girl,” “New Again” by Sara Evans and Brad Paisely, “Thy Will” by Hillary Scott and  the Scott family, “Something in the Water by Carrie Underwood and one I especially loved, “When I Get Where I am Going,” by Brad Paisely and Dolly Parton.

And when you have listened to all of  them,  I suggest the following: Garth Brooks, “Unanswered Prayer,” Merle Haggard, “Pray”, Tammy Wynette, “Precious Memories,” Willie Nelson, “Uncloudy Days,” The Carter Family, “Can the Circle be Unbroken,” Dolly Parton, “He’s Alive,”   Kris Kristofferson, “Why Me Lord,” Hank Williams, “I Saw the Light,” and the all-time country classic, “The Great Speckled Bird” by Roy Acuff.

That’s enough to get your day started with a little “singspiration.” Let me know what you think about my choices and be sure and include your all-time spiritual country classics.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

 

Leadership Thought: The Day We Were Thrown Out of the Mall for Witnessing.

Dear Friends

Seconds after we had left the table in the Menlo Park Mall, one of our team members was sharing with his first prospect. You see John was a part of an evangelism class at our church, and a few of us in the class had decided to put feet to our faith and share Jesus in the mall’s food court.

Now while I have been a part of such ’cold calling’ evangelistic ventures in the past, I always feel a degree of anxiety about going up to a stranger and witnessing. I know the chances are high, that I may face ridicule and rejection, and most people I know don’t enjoy these kinds of conversational outcomes.

Now when it comes to sharing my faith, I am much more relationally oriented. I prefer building a relationship with someone before sharing my faith with them, but I know that we are called to share our faith in season and out of season, and we are commanded to go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel, and a crowded food court seems as much a part of the world as any. And so, after prayer, and armed with gospel tracts, we set out on our mission to share our faith.

I would be the first one to agree that this kind of witnessing is not as effective in today’s church culture as other forms of evangelism, but if it was good enough for the believers in the early church, I presume it ought to be good enough for believers today. If we are told to go into all the world and share the gospel, I guess a food court is as much a part of the world as any, so off we went.

Those early disciples were told that they no longer could preach the gospel in the streets and in public places, but that didn’t deter them, for we find them preaching Christ everywhere they went, even on the steps of the Jewish temple which would be a plenty dangerous place to preach.

After being arrested for witnessing and healing a lame man and being told to cease their witnessing Peter and John said,” Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge. For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).

As American Christians, we have enjoyed relative freedom when it comes to sharing our faith, but things are now changing. Today, among all religions, Christianity is the most persecuted religion of any and the persecution is becoming more and more intense. Those who rule are continually discovering ways to muzzle our message.  In fact, only a few minutes after we began witnessing, we were confronted by security who told us we must cease as we did not have official permission to witness in the mall.

However, despite the growing resistance to those seeking to proclaim our faith, the good news is that it is during times of persecution that the church has always grown the most.

Sometimes like Peter and the Apostles, we must stiffen our spiritual backbones and go for it. Sometimes we have to say, “Enough is enough” and with Peter simply proclaim, “We must obey God and not man” (Acts 5:29).

Billy Graham once said. “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened” (The Right to Lead, John Maxwell, p. 23).

I closed with an example of that kind of courage we should all possess. A 19th century circuit- riding preacher named Peter Cartwright was prepared to deliver a sermon on Sunday when he was warned that President Andrew Jackson would be in attendance. Cartwright was asked to keep his remarks inoffensive. During that message, Cartwright included this statement: “I have been told that Andrew Jackson is in this congregation. And I have been asked to guard my remarks. What I must say is that Andrew Jackson will go to hell if he doesn't repent of his sin.”

After the sermon, Jackson strode up to Cartwright. “Sir,” the President said, “if I had a regiment of men like you, I could whip the world.”

It is true that courage, as someone has said, can be defined by a three-letter word and the word is "YES."

May there be more and more “Yeses” in our spiritual vocabulary when it comes to sharing our faith

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: Why You Need to Love Your Enemy in Our Politically Charged World.

Dear Friends,

I was intrigued by the Message translation of John 3:16-18, one of the Bible’s best-known passages.

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. “God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him (John 3:16-18). 

What really caught my attention in this passage was “God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was.”

God didn’t point his finger at us, and neither should we point our finger at one another. Today we are on the verge of culture collapse as we watch our politicians playing the finger pointing game.  

No wonder nothing is getting done in Congress where contention is the rule of the day and where collaboration and compromise are forgotten things of the past. Government is at a political standstill, and things will remain this way as long as our leaders continue to despise and detest those who disagree with them. The time is right for our leaders to adopt a new strategy and instead of finger pointing, I suggest they might try some hand extending.

What’s happening in our political world is also happening in our relational world where many of us are guilty of also playing the finger pointing game. Political differences are dividing us. Friends are lost and relationships are shattered, as we argue over masks, vaccination policy, and political points of view, and the result is that our relationships are disintegrating right before our eyes.

As believers we must learn to disagree without allowing our disagreement to destroy our friendships.  We must learn to value and love others in ways that transcend our differences, no matter how significant those differences may seem.  Those who disagree with us are not our enemies. We are the real enemy if we choose to harbor hatred and espouse enmity toward one another because they don’t think like us.

If we don’t learn to love and value people who are different from us-politically, socially, relationally- we will destroy the relational bridges we need to cross to win them for Christ. If we only respect the people who share our same values and beliefs, how will we ever relate to and reach those whose views and values are different from ours?  Unless we a build bridges of friendships with them, the walls of our differences will grow and become more pronounced.

Jesus tells us to love our enemies, and as believers we have no choice. Love is not an option; it is a command that must never be forgotten. “A new commandment I give to you that you should love one another as I have loved you.”

Unless and until we stop finger pointing, we will never extend our hands and hearts to them, so they might catch a glimpse of Jesus.

How I view things is how I do things, and if I view people as my enemy I will treat them as my enemy, but if I view them as Jesus viewed them, as friends, I will treat them as friends and the Gospel doorway will be open.

Charles Spurgeon was right when he said, “Our love ought to follow the love of God in one point, namely, in always seeking to produce reconciliation. It was to this end that God sent His Son.”

You and I have no choice but to do as Jesus did. You may not like your brother or sister, but you are still called to love him/her for the sake of Christ, so stop pointing and start praying, stop blaming and start blessing, stop grumbling and start growing your grace filled life, for anything else is not an option.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: Two Letters from Readers I Will Never Forget.

Dear Friends,

One of my greatest joys and one of the reasons I look forward to getting up early each morning is to be able to communicate some thought or idea that I hope might be a source of encouragement to you. You see I was born to be an encourager. Throughout my life I have been blessed to have had many friends whose encouragement has made a significant difference in my life. The people’s name on that list are far too many to name, but their love, support and encouragement have blessed my life in ways beyond my ability to measure.

Whether it was my mom, or coaches, or teachers, or pastors and church members, or ministry associates, or friends like you on my Leadership Thought e-mail list, you have been a refuge of encouragement, and I want to say thanks. It is largely because of encouragers like you that I harbor such a deep longing to encourage others and why I write a daily Leadership Thought.

I have never personally met some of you receiving this e-mail.  We became friends because someone passed along one of my Leadership Thoughts to you, and you took the time to express your thanks, and you asked if I would add you to my mailing list. Some of you I have known for a long time. You may have been a member of one of the seven churches I have served.  You may have been a high school or college friend I’ve known since the 60’s. But whoever you are, I thank you for taking the time to not only read these messages, but to respond with some form of thanks or encouragement. I often say to people like you, “If you keep reading, I’ll keep writing.”

I carry with me some of your kind words in response these daily Leadership Thoughts. Some of them are tucked away in the front of my bible where I can readily access them on those days when I need heavy doses of encouragement.

Just last week I received the following e-mail from a former church member who was responding to a recent message I shared on the power of the encouraging hug.

She writes, "In 1988, late November, or most likely December, it was one Sunday morning after our worship service. You had just come down from the pulpit, and I was enveloped in a strong hug while crying through the trauma of the trial. Oh, how much that hug meant to me. No one in my life was hugging me at that time. It was like I was a leper. You were Jesus’ Surrogate in that moment. It meant so much to me.”

Who would have ever thought that a hug would be remembered from the late 80’s?

Just last week I received an e-mail from a member of another church I pastored who was responding to my challenge to get outside our comfort zones and do some Kingdom service.

“Thank you, Tom, for a reminder to call people.  We are snowed in today so will spend the day calling folks we haven't contacted in a while.”

And a few days later I received a follow up message indicating they had spent the afternoon contacting 8 senior saints who were on the church shut in list.

These are the kind of responses that keep me writing and keep me ever grateful for knowing that in some small way I am making a difference in people’s lives, and for that I continue to be thankful.

I’d love to hear from you, and if I do, I promise I will always try to respond in a timely fashion.

Thanks for your friendship,

Tom