As a pastor, sometimes it feels we wear a lot of hats. This is a random list I quickly put together of roles I sometimes get to play as a pastor:
I’m sick of Satan’s dirty little tricks. Criticize me all you want for the strictness of this post but I’m not taking a chance in this area if my life and I want to use this post to encourage men to do likewise. If I’ve learned anything about being a man it’s that I am weak in this area. I’m tired of sitting with couples whose marriage is rocked because of an affair. If a man without proper discipline in his life tells you he’s not tempted sexually he’s most likely lying or impotent.
In nearly every situation I encounter (all but one or two that I can remember), the affair didn’t start in an instant; it started over a series of time and moments of indiscretion by the man (or woman). I can’t intelligently speak to this issue from a woman’s perspective, but here is the progression of the sin of adultery in a man’s life:
We have almost created a culture where the term management is seen as a negative term. I believe this is dangerous.
With the rising interest in the field of leadership, the task of management is starting to get a bad name. Organizations don’t look for managers anymore, they look for leaders. It seems unpopular or not as appealing to say “I’m a manager” as it is to say “I’m a leader”.
In organizations today, leadership has overpowered management as the desired function. I understand it ….But…
Then all the people left, each for his own home, and David returned home to bless his family. 1 Chronicles 16:43 NIV
What difference do you make in your home? David returned home to “bless his familyâ€. Do you bless yours?
I am sure your family loves you. You are the mother, the father, the brother, or the sister. Of course, they love you, but are you lovable?
I threw out a Tweet last night to see what might be a good Friday discussion. I got one suggestion that we talk Christmas music. We did seem to develop quite an interest this week on favorite versions of Little Drummer Boy. Read that post HERE. Lots of Twitter and Facebook friends, however, said they weren’t fans of the song.
That prompts the questions:
Yesterday our small groups pastor, Ben Reed, had a “fun†voicemail from church member Estavon Williams demanding he be allowed to lead a small group. You can read about that phone message here. Ben, of course, dropped everything to get him signed up to lead.
Today I got the call. Listen to Estavon’s complaint against me by clicking HERE.
How would you respond? Now keep in mind, I’m not as nice as Mr. Reed and prefer the direct response. I plan to go running soon, with my shorts (that are not that short BTW) and don’t want to feel intimidated into recognizing everyone who happens to honk. Normally, I get lots of honkers.
What would you do?
I was talking with a doctor recently. He said increasingly physicians are deciding not to attempt private practice. They are choosing to work only for guaranteed salaries at a hospital, afraid to take a risk of self-employment. In his opinion, it’s changing the way healthcare is done in America. I can’t speak with authority about the field of medicine, but I have noticed the same trend occur in other fields. I talk with people regularly who are settling for security rather than take a risk in this economy.
In a way, it’s completely understandable….
Yesterday I watched the Tennessee Titans seem to fall apart on the field. From being shut out from scoring to fighting on the field to the defeated look on the Titan player’s faces on the sidelines, this is obviously a team in difficult days. As a student of leadership, I have tremendous respect for coach Jeff Fisher and, although I’m a more silent NFL fan, I have enjoyed watching his team since the Titans came to Tennessee. I’m wondering now what it will take to bring the team back together. I suspect it’s more than getting a new quarterback.
I wonder if the biggest dilemma for the team these days is a leadership issue.
I had lots of suggestions to my Tweet yesterday asking for a favorite version of the Christmas song Little Drummer Boy.  Here are what the kind folks on Twitter suggested: (You might also find some new friends on Twitter this way. I’d recommend all of them to you!)
You will see the Twitter name followed by their suggestion:
