Catching up

Today's phrase has been "catching up."

6 a.m. to bed is not something I think I even did in college! Maybe a High School Prom night but definitely a strange time for me to turn in. I had some sleep to catch up on, especially after giving my heart a start in the Frankfurt airport. I had to catch up to my phone, which I walked away from to find some food.

When I couldn't find it, I pulled out the iPad and FaceTimed my phone. A nice lady from Lufthansa answered, we laughed (me somewhat nervously), she told me where to meet her and after 15 minutes of walking through that humongous airport, I hugged her, said "Thank you," and sat down.

The Organizing Committee (OC) has done a great job preparing for us, uniforming us and providing great transportation. Volunteers are everywhere and have been very helpful. I even had my altered suit jacket and pants delivered to my room today. Now they're looking for shoes that fit even though I told them I brought other white shoes, "just in case." But I feel like I've been catching up the whole time so far.

Paul, from Canada, is the only other English speaking swim official. A few of the head referees can converse with us but the majority of officials speak only Russian and since we speak only English, I think we're going to get to know each other well this week.

Kazan (emphasis on the first syllable) is a city of contrasts. The vestiges of the old Soviet society with rows of similar buildings is here and then the stark contrast to these fabulous new facilities. Paved streets lead into mud ones after the rain today. Exquisite dining next to high end shopping, bistros (where we ate tonight) and small stores line the Main Street in a similar fashion to most European cities.

We did some catching up on our directions and didn't get lost once, my family might be surprised (but I was with Paul the whole time).

Paul and I will be Reserve officials tomorrow, the first day of swimming, meaning a lot of sitting, being ready to step in if there is a disaqualification call, but otherwise observing the Russian  Federation protocols so we are more prepared to be part of the team for the balance of the meet. We both agreed that was a good call on their part! We'll be catching up with what to do so we don't stick out but can blend in.

Still waiting for my bag to catch up with me. It may be a miracle if it does.

I haven't figured out how to add photos from this iPad. Check out my Facebook page for those.

More tomorrow after prelims.

Over the River & Through the Woods

The first leg of my journey to Kazan, Russia, and the World University Games, was full of excitement almost from the get go. It included my first run through an airport. After all flights on United we're cancelled to Chicago, Polk Travel came to the rescue with a seat on Delta - of course in a different terminal. Downstairs, upstairs, across canyons and chasms to reach a desk, to meet up with a nice young lady, who asked for my boarding pass - the ones I left at United as I sprinted away! The one with my baggage claim number on it. The bag which as of last night had gone nowhere, we think.

Once in Chicago, everyone was very helpful until Lufthansa announced their policy of 1 bag per person and under 10 kg. So I had to check my carry on while still having my backpack. And my first thought was: "I sure hope the clothes I'm supposed to get in Kazan fit!" With the difference in European and U.S. sizes my size 10 shoe could be a child's! Perhaps at least the one bag will arrive safely.

The best part perhaps so far - scoring an exit row on a 747! A very restful nights sleep ensued.
Now a 7 hour layover in Frankfurt. What things to eat - where to find power - make sure I don't sleep through boarding!

For your viewing pleasure, some video from Kazan and the 2013 Universiade. I tried to locate the Opening Ceremonies.......this will have to do. 

The Beatitudes, Part 1

My 2013 personal Bible Study is being spent in the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7. I'm taking my time, verse by verse, word by word, phrase by phrase. Reading some books alongside is really adding depth to the study. What I'm not doing is taking these chapters as possibly self-contained but rather as a part of the larger Gospel of Matthew. Good Bible Study always considers a chapter or a verse in the context of the larger whole, otherwise bad interpretations will lead to usually unfortunate consequences. I'm well past the Beatitudes but have returned again to consider them and decided to share.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed = “happy, fortunate"

poor = “destitute, lacking, needy”

in spirit = “draw a breathe,” from the OT “ruach”

= “the life principle springing from God”

My friend, Dr. Bob Utley, wrote some insightful words on the phrase "poor in spirit": 

"It was often used of a beggar who was dependent on a provider. In the OT this implied hope in God alone! Matthew makes it clear that this does not refer to physical poverty, but to spiritual inadequacy. Man must recognize God's adequacy and his own inadequacy."

"Poor in spirit" also seems to be related to a Hebrew phrase. If my research is right (and it may not be because I don't remember any Hebrew from my 4 week crash course in Seminary), this is an abbreviated idiom that refers to the "poor and crippled in spirit" from Isaiah 66:2. It refers to those that have come to the end of their own strength.

When I add this to the definition of "spirit" being the word used for the breathe breathed into Adam, I can hear Jesus' voice speaking to the condition of my soul. To be poor in spirit means lacking in the necessary life breathe that can only come from God. I'm not sure if this is the best translation in my own words but what comes to mind is: "Blessed and fortunate are those who get knocked on their butt and are able to realize they have nothing in themselves that is good. When that happens, you're on your way to the Kingdom."

This is a theme we can follow through the Scripture:

"I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” - Psalm 16:2

I see it in Paul's description in Romans 7:18 "For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out."

The good that is in us is there because of the presence of Jesus. We cannot manufacture it. We cannot will it into being. Only through an outpouring of God's Spirit can our "poor spirit" breathe new life.

At Easter I will be starting a new message series titled: "Unexpected." It will take a short journey through the Bible touching on a few of the unexpected things that can happen and what we can learn about ourselves and about God. It's on those unexpected detours and in those delays that we find some new things. Perhaps it's those unexpected things that remind us we are poor of spirit and therefore truly blessed.

Do you know you are "poor in spirit?" What new life is God breathing into you because of it?

A Few Things I've Learned from Using Evernote

As I spend some time purging, organizing and sorting (did I mention purging), I've run across a wealth of teaching, training, challenge and encouragement I forgot I had. I'm on a paperless crusade thanks to Evernote (if you want to learn more about using this tool, I'd suggest starting with Michael Hyatt's blog posts). This electronic filing cabinet puts all that learning, all that reading, all that studying, at my finger tips. Since December I've scanned over 5 GB of information, nearly emptying my paper filing cabinet. The two shelves of 3-ring binders, one for each book of the Bible, chock full of sermons, study notes, teachings and Seminary notes are now empty. All scanned and accessible.

Here are some lessons I've learned:

1. Thank you Asbury! I am so thankful that my alma mater is Asbury Seminary. I have colleagues who have kept little to nothing from their schools. I found Asbury to be relevant then and 95% of it still relevant today. The Inductive Bible Study classes were so practical and still provide me today with a wealth of insight and knowledge. I've practiced that approach in my personal Bible Study but scanning in all those notes really helped refresh my heart and encouraged me to press on. The notes from Dr. David Seamands' class on Pastoral Counseling - WOW! Asbury Seminary class notes are the ones I didn't throw out after scanning. Thank you Asbury!

2. Focus on foundations not fads. I went through phases in ministry and could follow them by the articles and notes I kept. Honestly, this was tough to swallow. I saw what I would now see as fads, not long-term helpful ministry foundations. It made me ask the question: What am I focusing on today that will be gone tomorrow?

3. Purging is important. I threw away a lot of stuff that I didn't scan. I kept too much. So I'm asking how I can be more discerning? Using Evernote doesn't change my ability to keep things I don't need. In fact, I just deleted a handful of notes I realized I didn't need to keep.

4. Information is good - Access is necessary. Possessing information and having access to that information are two different things. Evernote gives me access to the notes from books I've read (I have several ministry servants type up notes of quotes), articles from magazines such as Harvard Business Review and Leadership, significant and insightful blog posts and more. The most immediate impact has been to my teaching role. Evernote has provided a powerful search engine for the words, articles and books that God has brought my way. Of course, having access to information and actually using it are two different things as well!


Here's one example of some great teaching and encouragement that had been buried in paper files. I'm glad I kept it. I'm really glad I now have access to it!

From the World Methodist Conference in Brighton, England 2001 - a teaching with late British evangelist Rob Frost: "Communicating the Gospel in Today's World."


1. You need a burden for the lost otherwise you won't have the heart to continue

2. All evangelism must be church based      
--> During the 1st century of Methodism it reached the unchurched      
--> During the 2nd century of Methodism it switched to Sunday School, reaching people within. The invention of Sunday School turned out to be a a detrimental shift in focus from evangelism by individuals through relationships in the community to an internal job of the church.

3. Evangelism must be incarnational - be where people are - Jesus touched, healed, was in the crowd and mixed with outcasts

4. Evangelism must reach the unreached not the already churched or saved - John Wesley liked to say that we should "go to those who need you the most."

5. Evangelism must invite people to belong - not just 4 steps - it's a relationship - evangelism moves people in a relationship of trust

6. Evangelism must be culturally relevant - can't reach surfers in a suit

7. Evangelism must address felt needs: meaning, security, loneliness, spirituality

Evernote has been a tool to help me uncover hidden gems. What could you do with it?

A Relationship Toolbox - Conflict

The number one indicator of relationship health in marriage is how a couple handles conflict. That's what the research says.

Last weekend at Cornerstone Church we completed our Relationship Toolbox with this addition of handling conflict well. The five tools - forgiveness, choices, sex, money & conflict - are the essential building blocks of healthy, God-honoring relationships. Get these wrong and relationships will implode (or explode). Get them right and they provide the atmosphere, soil and fertilizer for growing a great relationship.

I don't always handle conflict well. I tend to be one of those that fights - versus flees. If there is need for a discussion due to a disagreement, I'll walk across the hall or set up a meeting to discuss it. I won't talk with someone else about it. But there are times when it just doesn't matter. A peace-maker will avoid conflict. Neither is the best approach. Running to conflict and running from conflict are both problematic. There is a happy medium to be found. Here's some of how I find that place:

1. Conflict is not bad. Many Christ-followers have this idea that harmony and peace are the highest goals of God's Kingdom. The Bible doesn't support that. Just read Acts 15 and we find two conflicts, one of which was so severe that it divided the world's first missionary team, Paul and Barnabas. God used the conflict to double the number of missionary teams and so the Gospel won and that's what mattered most.

The presence of conflict doesn't mean Jesus has left the relationship. When more than one human being is present, there are going to be disagreements and conflicts. Most are easily worked through, like the personal preference ones (paint colors, music, food, etc....). Some are more serious, which leads to the second thing.

2. Focus on the relationship. When the conflict is bigger than a personal preference it can easily escalate. As soon as I focus on myself, I lose sight of the bigger prize - the relationship itself. In marriage, if my wife loses, I lose because WE lost. Being in relationship with someone, whether in the strong covenant of marriage or the bond of friendship, means we are choosing to set some of our wants and desires aside in order to grab hold of the benefits of the relationship. In marriage it is a much bigger deal as "two become one" and we no longer belong to ourselves. When my wife wins, we win.

3. Speak less and listen more. I tend to become defensive. The best defense I've found against defensiveness is to shut up. Proverbs 10:19 says: "Where words are many sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." It's one of my favorite verses because I need it so much. Conflict always ends better when I listen. If the other party insists on winning then I can walk away with peace in my heart if I've practiced this verse.

4. Ask the right questions. The use of "why" tends to heighten the defenses because it goes straight to the core of our being. On the other hand, asking "what" keeps the doors and windows open. "What led to this approach?" instead of "Why did you do this?" can help conflict lead to something productive rather than destructive.

5. Stay in the room. This is a favorite phrase of my friend, Dan. It is rich with wisdom. God's desire is that every relationship head toward redemption. It doesn't mean people have to agree on everything. It does mean that you remain at the table, engaged in the relationship. Leave the room and you forfeit the right to speak into or about the relationship with integrity.

We leave the room in all kinds of ways: raising your voice; making all-encompassing accusations with words like "all the time" or "everyone"; phrases like: "I dare you....."; and physically leaving the room (office, workplace, relationship).

One of my favorite insights into leadership came from the late Yankees manager, Billy Martin. When asked, "How do you manage a baseball team?" he answered:

There are 25 guys on the team. 5 of them love everything you do and would follow you to hell with a squirt-gun. 5 of them hate everything you do until the day you resign. 15 just want to play ball. Who would you listen to?

Conflict doesn't mean you can't lead. It just might be a matter of figuring out who to listen to the most.

Conflict is inevitable. How we handle it can either help us mature or it will isolate us. We made this last in the series because conflict comes up in the other three areas more frequently than any others. We made forgiveness the foundation because we all must learn to walk in forgiveness every day. If I know how much I'm loved and have been forgiven, I can easily forgive others, on the spot, on a daily basis.

A Relationship Toolbox - Money

At Cornerstone this coming weekend (January 27th) we're continuing our series on the 5 key things we must get right to build healthy, God-honoring relationships. Money is our focus. Get money wrong and it can mess up everything, preventing the cohesion needed to stay together whether as friends or spouses.

1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

When we are more eager for money than we are for Jesus we will wander from our faith and inherit “many griefs.” The original Greek word refers to "pain of body and mind; to have sorrow."

For our culture, the invention of the credit card has brought more pain than anything else because it's brought the one thing that limits our lives more than anything else – DEBT! The pursuit of things has created in our culture a love for money. And it has brought all kinds of pain or body and mind to those who live to be a consumer.

The more debt we incur the more our lives are determined ahead of time. When we go into debt it means we're pledged to pay for a certain period of time into the future. Our time is determined ahead of time and our options are limited. Debt forces us to decline the options God brings our way.

Money is the number 1 conflict issue in marriage. Second is sex and third is family relationships, especially with in-laws. We have to get money right in order to grow healthy marriages and strong friendships.

My wife and I made a couple of commitments early on in marriage that I think have made a difference:

1. She takes care of the books. This is important - really important. For one thing I'm not very good at math!! She has done a great job navigating our financial journey.

2. Tithe first. We are committed to giving 10% and more to Kingdom ministry. It's the minimum God expects of us. We put 10% into the local church and then give on top of that to things like building campaigns, the Live Simply Project, missionary support and more.

3. Buy used cars. 90% of the cars we've ever bought have been used. We don't care what color they are, what kind of seats they have, whether or not they have bells and whistles. We care about safety and gas mileage. We know if we spend less on cars we'll have more to spend on other things, including the surprises God might bring our way.


4. Pay cash as often as possible. We've loved the invention of the debit card. We can keep better track of our spending but also not make it a credit card purchase. We've also finally gotten to the point of being able to pay cash for cars.

5. Pay off credit cards each month. We're not into carrying credit card debt. One of the ways we limit this is to follow rule: always walk away before a big purchase, take time to think. We try not to buy on impulse.

6. Save. After we tithe we save, we pay ourselves. A good rule of thumb we've tried - but not always been able to do - is 10% tithe - 10% savings - 80% spending. As we age and have more spendable income we plan to increase the first two.

Money is a tool provided by God to sustain our lives and build His Kingdom. Use it well and life can flourish. It's not a matter of how much you have but what you do with what you have. How are you doing?

It's My Birthday - Things to Celebrate

Birthdays are good days. It means another year has gone and the gift of another one has been given. I always say that the alternative to growing older is simply unacceptable. One day I'll be ready to be done with this life, but not today and not anytime soon.

Birthdays are celebrations, full of good wishes, remembering, some gift-giving and a day to reflect in the midst of a normal work week. Here are a few of the things I'm celebrating:

1. A wonderful wife who married me when I had hair and a passion and vision to change the world. I still have the passion and the vision. I'm so glad that she's committed to me.
2. Children who are growing up to be fine young women and a young man. I'm proud of them and the direction their lives are heading. Not everything is set in their lives but that's what makes it exciting.
3. A staff with whom I would charge the gates of hell. The synergy, the energy, the passion for Jesus, you can cut it with a knife. It is all coming together to grow the Kingdom at Cornerstone. Thanks Team for being faithful servants, trustworthy teammates and lovers of Jesus.
4. Mary Logsdon's German Chocolate Cake baked from scratch. For 10 years she's made me my favorite cake. I can't eat as much of it anymore (Doctor's orders) but I feel loved.
5. A fellow pastor who just walked by in Panera and said: "You look great. You've lost some weight or gained some muscle and trimmed down." It made me smile. Something to celebrate

It's a new time, a new day, a new year and God is about doing new things. Unexpected things to be sure but He's always at work. Even when we human beings miss the boat, even when we make poor choices, God is at work bringing good out of it all. I can't wait to see what He's got waiting around the next corner - 50!